Random Thoughts on the State of the Game

[DeletedUser18332]

Long time player. The game is not as much about mutual support of a common goal as it was in the early days. The push of the development team to cater to mobile play which revolves around personal rewards versus team support is becoming the overwhelming theme. I fear the gaming environment here in Inno will just become more fragmented and diluted than it is now. GvG, GE, Settlements (which I pretty much quit after gaining an emissary), evidently the time and battles to do space station Mars Era and now new battlegrounds. In any guild it is becoming more difficult if not impossible to get everyone in the boat rowing in the same direction. The game has become all about me not about team. I am making a move in both of my worlds to GvG centric Guilds for the time being. One last shot. It appears we PC players are the dinosaurs of FoE. Fewer and fewer to band together. If things do progress in FoE the way I fear they will I'll be back into Medal of Honor and Call of Duty in the not to distant future.

 

[mamboking053]

I think Inno acknowledges that getting a lot of people on at a particular time of the day each day is difficult and from what I've seen, GvG revolves around this. GbG allows more players to contribute to the guild victory regardless of the time they log on so while you might not get a synchronous team event, you might get more participation and collaboration on the event itself.

I'd wait for GbG to arrive...and get about two or three patches...before I'd leave the game.

 

[DeletedUser18332]

Good thoughts but I don't agree with your premise. It was never a problem to get enough GvG fighters on-line before the development for the entire gaming environment started evolving to a mobile centric experience. The carrot was always to develop GvG format so mobile players would have access. As a former project manager for systems development in a major corporation this was never going to happen. To much data for a mobile device to handle in a seamless-fluid environment. Ergo the multiple stop gap measures to placate the users. None of which have been able to recapture the battle experience of 20-30+ on 20-30+ which was the original allure of the game. Frenetic battles on multiple maps. Unfortunately it was a gaming experience here in FoE you were never able to experience if your join date of 2018 is correct.

 

[RazorbackPirate]

Ah, but the good old days. Which are never to return. However, the future looks bright with Battlegrounds, which it sounds like you won't even consider because it's not the good old days of GvG when there were just several hundred thousand players worldwide. Boo hoo to you. If you're not willing to evolve with the game, then maybe it's time you move on. I'm sure the game will be fine without you.

I also find your basic premise a bit insulting. To think that the only way for things to be about mutual support means GvG is shortsighted to say the least. I've never played GvG, but I've received tons of support from tons of players both inside and outside my various guilds and I've given tons of support to tons of players both inside and outside in return. Often in a pay it forward fashion, but mutual support none the less. I also play on PC.

To me, this entire post smacks of the same GvG elitism that turns many a stomach. Get over yourselves already. You don't wan't to do anything other than GvG, so if it ain't GvG, it sucks. Got it.

Get this. We're tired of the refrain. GvG will stay so you dinosaurs can do your thing. Meanwhile players like me, whether PC or mobile, will move on into the future of the game. I will not lose sleep over you leaving if your last ditch effort fails. I doubt Inno will either, their financial reports are drowning out your noise.

 

[RazorbackPirate]

Goods thoughts but I don't agree with your premise. It was never a problem to get enough GvG fighters on-line before the development for the entire gaming environment started evolving to a mobile centric experience. The carrot was always to develop GvG format so mobile players would have access. As a former project manager for systems development in a major corporation this was never going to happen. To much data for a mobile device to handle in a seamless-fluid environment. Ergo the multiple stop gap measures to placate the users. None of which have been able to recapture the battle experience of 20-30+ on 20-30+ which was the original allure of the game. Frenetic battles on multiple maps. Unfortunately it was a gaming experience here in FoE you were never able to experience if your join date of 2018 is correct.

While for you, GvG may have been the original allure of the game, for the vast majority of current players, the mobile players, GvG was never a draw. Mobile had nothing to do with the decision not to port it to mobile. That had to do with the inherent flaws of GvG, namely it's lack of scaleability, reliance on recalc, and maps that could be locked up by 10 guilds or less, leaving thousands of guilds on each server unable to to even get a toe hold on the map.

Ah, but the good old days. Which are never to return. However, the future looks bright with Battlegrounds, which it sounds like you won't even consider because it's not the good old days when there were just several hundred thousand players worldwide. Boo hoo to you. If you're not willing to evolve with the game, then maybe it's time you move on. I'm sure the game will be fine without you.

I also find your basic premise a bit insulting. To think that the only way for things to be about mutual support means GvG is shortsighted to say the least. I've never played GvG, but I've received tons of support from tons of players both inside and outside my guild and I've given tons of support to tons of players in return. Often in a pay it forward fashion, but mutual support none the less. I also play on PC.

To me, this entire post smacks of the same GvG elitism that turns many a stomach. Get over yourselves already. You don't wan't to do anything other than GvG, so if it ain't GvG, it sucks. Got it.

Get this. We're tired of the refrain. GvG will stay so you dinosaurs can do your thing. Meanwhile players like me, whether PC or mobile, will move on into the future of the game. We will not lose sleep over you leaving if your last ditch effort fails. I doubt Inno will either, their annual reports are drowning out your noise.

 

[DeletedUser18332]

Never made this post personal. But since you did I looked you up Razor. You are exactly the player I have no need for. One year in and you're an expert. From the looks of your stats your version of support is the same as others I have encountered in your 'Brave New World' types both here and in RW. "What can you give me I haven't earned?" Arc chasers. You do however appear to have the ability to compose a lot of words (though mostly irrelevant and antagonistic) from a very small screen and matching mind.

 

[RazorbackPirate]

Never made this post personal. But since you did I looked you up Razor. You are exactly the player I have no need for. One year in and you're an expert. From the looks of your stats your version of support is the same as others I have encountered in your 'Brave New World' types both here and in RW. "What can you give me I haven't earned?" Arc chasers. You do however appear to have the ability to compose a lot of words (though mostly irrelevant and antagonistic) from a very small screen and matching mind.

I've earned everything I have in both of my cities. Yes, I also have an Arc in both. So what? I earned those too. I've also earned the 200 or so FPs each of my cities churns out daily without ever touching my Arc. Those Arcs also help power up my guild mates and friends GBs in 1.9x swaps that earn me absolutely nothing.

But again, more blah, blah, blah. I think 2015 is calling you.

 

[Emberguard]

Eh. You don’t need GvG, GE or Guild Battlegrounds for the game to be team support based. If you weren’t going to help others without a competition you sure weren’t with one present either.

The most advanced guilds don’t become that way merely because of guild competitions. They get ahead because they work together with what they’ve got and learn from each other’s experiences. Mud threads, swap threads, 1.x, trades in the market and helping problem solve are all ways players support each other. It’s also possible to get close to 100% aid rate in a 80 player guild if you cultivate that guild.

It’s ten times more difficult to solo this game then it is to be in a guild even if that guild were lvl 0. The important thing is those in the guild are active, not whether you do certain guild competitions as that will come with being active anyway. The role of the competitions and lvls is to have a goal to measure your progress by and through having that direction become a better team.

If anything works against teamwork in this game it’s event buildings. Without easy access to goods you need to trade for 3 out of 5 goods. With event buildings you could potentially never trade again

 

[Emberguard]

One other thing, GE isn’t any less “mutual support” based then GvG. You’re all individuals working with each other in both competitions. If you controlled things on the same screen during the actual fights then you’d have a point but you’re not doing that anymore for GvG then you do for unlocking lvls in GE. You’re all doing individual battles seperate from each other in GvG and GE. You’re still going to get your butts kicked if there’s more participation in the other guild then your own regardless of which competition it is

The biggest difference between GvG and GE is if Im the only one online I can take a hex solo because its not cornered off as to who does what. In GE I can’t do my guildmates encounters for them if they decide not to show up.

 

[DeletedUser29726]

One other thing, GE isn’t any less “mutual support” based then GvG. You’re all individuals working with each other in both competitions. If you controlled things on the same screen then you’d have a point but you’re not doing that anymore for GvG then you do for unlocking lvls in GE. You’re all doing individual battles seperate from each other in GvG and GE. You’re still going to get your butts kicked if there’s more participation in the other guild then your own regardless of which competition it is

The difference is that GE doesn't really require coordination. Getting a bunch of people on at the same time to do something in a coordinated manner is both an infuriating struggle (and always has been), and an occasion for social contact with the guild that GE doesn't really fill at all (everyone does their own piece at their own time - great for participation, but i haven't seen a conversation in guild about GE beyond 'come on guys, pick it up' in close to a year probably).

That said, current GvG isn't the old GvG either really owing to much stronger cities with limitless troops supply and treasuries flush from high level Arcs rather than needing coax people to give up their own goods to fill em. It was neat the first time I was able to take down full sectors on my own at a great cost to me (and them) - it's significantly less neat after I've done it hundreds of times and it costs me next to nothing, and there's dozens of people who could do the same - now it's just tedious.

Inno lost control of this game when they released the Arc. It's likely going to keep devolving into a contest of 'who still gives a crap?'

 

[DeletedUser40197]

Long time player. The game is not as much about mutual support of a common goal as it was in the early days. The push of the development team to cater to mobile play which revolves around personal rewards versus team support is becoming the overwhelming theme. I fear the gaming environment here in Inno will just become more fragmented and diluted than it is now. GvG, GE, Settlements (which I pretty much quit after gaining an emissary), evidently the time and battles to do space station Mars Era and now new battlegrounds. In any guild it is becoming more difficult if not impossible to get everyone in the boat rowing in the same direction. The game has become all about me not about team. I am making a move in both of my worlds to GvG centric Guilds for the time being. One last shot. It appears we PC players are the dinosaurs of FoE. Fewer and fewer to band together. If things do progress in FoE the way I fear they will I'll be back into Medal of Honor and Call of Duty in the not to distant future.

Out of curiosity, how do you feel the game was about mutual support of a common goal in the early days compared to now? I understand you feel that the game has shifted towards a catering to mobile players, but what made it more of a team game in the beginning? I've only been playing since 2017, so I'm not sure what you're referring to and I'm interested to know.

 

[DeletedUser29726]

Out of curiosity, how do you feel the game was about mutual support of a common goal in the early days compared to now? I understand you feel that the game has shifted towards a catering to mobile players, but what made it more of a team game in the beginning? I've only been playing since 2017, so I'm not sure what you're referring to and I'm interested to know.

Picture a game without Arc, potentially even without Traz depending how far back you're willing to go. Picture being limited to SoKs as the only FP event buildings (and perhaps not even that if you're going back as far as no Traz). Picture major events that you can get those SoKs from being only 3 times a year (easter, summer, winter) and them being balanced such that getting 4 is a pretty good haul for a free player. Now while this may all sound pretty miserable to you, imagine what it'd take to enjoy success in GvG under these conditions with every resource limited (both troops and goods), and costs and sector defense bonuses the exact same they are now. You either need a lot of help or you need to be exceptional at using what resources you have. Furthermore in this environment of scarce FP imagine what a big deal it is to make an additional FP daily from your townhall for everyone in your guild - so there's a big motivation to actually care about leveling your guild up and pre-HoF GvG is the *only* way to go about that.

There's really no way to go back to what it was - but it really demonstrates how badly inno lost control of the in-game economy of their game.

 

[DeletedUser18332]

Good evening Alskah. In the early days FoE was centered on GvG for team play. It was important to join a Guild for the support of other members to fair trade for the goods you needed to advance in the game. Once in a Guild everyone participated in GvG in some way, shape or form (if your Guild was driven to move up in the rankings) because it is the primary driver of Guild Prestige. You were either a fighter, farmer, defensive unit supplier or in most cases some combination of all three. There were no prizes for winning each battle (by product of today's everybody gets a prize mentality) just the battle points earned at the end of the day and the sector prestige points awarded to the Guild at recalc the next day. GE is like winning a Cupie Doll at the carnival. I fight a battle I get a present. It's not so much about helping the Team as helping the individual. The leveling crowns are good but if you want to level up your Guild get HoFs. Settlements same story different drain on time and resources. My original point was the game is too convoluted and diluted in effort to allow a Team concept. You may have 70 members but they have their attention and resources divided in 5 different directions.

 

[DeletedUser18332]

Agree totally xivarmy.

 

[DeletedUser]

None of which have been able to recapture the battle experience of 20-30+ on 20-30+ which was the original allure of the game.

Why does no one care about accurate historical statements anymore? The game launched in April of 2012 and GvG didn't come to the live servers until February of 2014. That's almost two full years. So no, GvG was not the original allure of the game. If anything it was PvP, which is mentioned in the very first Changelog announcements as already having been part of the game.

Picture being limited to SoKs as the only FP event buildings (and perhaps not even that if you're going back as far as no Traz).

SoKs were released in the April 2014 Easter Event, two months after GvG.

Furthermore in this environment of scarce FP imagine what a big deal it is to make an additional FP daily from your townhall for everyone in your guild - so there's a big motivation to actually care about leveling your guild up and pre-HoF GvG is the *only* way to go about that.

The Hall of Fame was introduced in June of 2014, so there was only 4 months of GvG pre-HoF.

In the early days FoE was centered on GvG for team play.

As I noted above, this is simply not accurate.

 

[DeletedUser18332]

You probably need to get back in your sandbox Stephen. Since you were not here at any of those points you referenced I am pretty sure your commentary is not relevant. My comments were based on my experiences within the game not just from reading the coding notes you have accessed or someone from Inno provided you.

 

[DeletedUser18332]

To provide the historical correctness Stephen so rudely requested to no know purpose. I will interject this preamble for my commentary: WHEN I JOINED THE FOE GAMING ENVIRONMENT. Which was long before you did. Also your comment about GvG Team play not being accurate points to your ignorance of the game.

 

[DeletedUser]

You probably need to get back in your sandbox Stephen. Since you were not here at any of those points you referenced I am pretty sure your commentary is not relevant. My comments were based on my experiences within the game not just from reading the coding notes you have accessed or someone from Inno provided you.

My information is based upon the announcements of features from right here on the Forum. If you experienced GvG in the early days of FoE, then you were time traveling. Or hallucinating.

To provide the historical correctness Stephen so rudely requested to no know purpose.

The purpose is to refute your claim that GvG was responsible for the success of FoE. A feature that came along almost 2 years after a game is available is in no way responsible for the early success of FoE that kept it growing to and through the advent of GvG. And there's nothing rude about correcting misinformation.

Also your comment about GvG Team play not being accurate points to your ignorance of the game.

My comment was in response to this:

In the early days FoE was centered on GvG for team play.

This is factually incorrect, as for the first 20 months of FoE there was no GvG, so it could not have been "centered on GvG" in any way because GvG wasn't there. Now if you want to amend your statement to say that your early days of FoE were centered on GvG, that might be true, but irrelevant in discussing GvG's historical role in the game itself.

 

[DeletedUser29726]

SoKs were released in the April 2014 Easter Event, two months after GvG.

The Hall of Fame was introduced in June of 2014, so there was only 4 months of GvG pre-HoF.

Yes, they did come in not long after it. But it was slow til they were widespread because it was still a couple years before event frequency started picking up. Early SoK cities were limited to a few whales and it wasn't that big an impact on the game as a whole until you started getting events where people not spending a single diamond were walking out with 20 at times.

 

[Freshmeboy]

As it was in the past so it shall be at present and in the future....all games that achieve early and continued success due to their design MUST start adding content to keep long term players interested and increase new blood otherwise they grow stale and die. There is also a potential backlash to this format....too much can be overwhelming after awhile and when features aren't deleted it can become a boggy mess of dookey...Let's hope FoE doesn't fall into that trap.