Mildly Incoherent Ramblings about the state of the game, and ways to fix it.

[Rippeddisc]

Ignoring everything but the OP...

Every day i've gotten closer to rage quitting. Loot issues continue. 95% of possible raids (C1) (max th9)...are in the 40-70k range. What good is that? Even with the increased loot bonus that doesnt break even with a full army raid. I'm sick of barching....and miss the fun this game was...

countdown has begun...

[TheWompyOverlord]

Took a bit of work to write I assume, nice post.

[bradleytjohnson1]

@coathanger:
Alright theres no point in continuing this debate, as I feel we have both adequately described our positions. I could refute what you said but you already know what Im going to say and I already know what you would say back so lets just skip all that and let me ask you one question:
Do you think the game could be better than it is now with a few tweaks? Do any of those tweaks interfere with Supercell's revenue?

In all honesty we are both on the extremes of this issue while the reality is probably somewhere in the middle. I would argue that supercell considers both money and gameplay, but money first. You would argue that they also consider both, but gameplay first. Both are opinions which cannot be proven as we are not executives in sc. I simply assume that such a profitable company would operate the way most large companies operate - profits before people. If you need more examples than car recalls, I got plenty more. Business is business. Theyre all run the same. A business class will apply to anything you decide to manage, from a McDonalds to a social movement.

So you think that supercell runs their business the same as McDonalds? Okay...

[Freakimus]

I'd love to know what this forum thinks of casinos. Anyway, great thread title.

Lol and this forum would hate hate hate casinos.

[AxionXD]

Why can someone drop $11k real money to make their base stronger than the one Ive been working on for over ten months?

Correction. A maxed TH10 that gemmed everything has the same HP and DPS as someone that maxed their TH10 purely on raided resources.

You either pay with time or money, whichever you determine is least precious to you.

[Pete82]

Well I dont particularly see that as being fair. Not to get into real-life economics, but money has different value to different people, and anyone with $11k to blow on a mobile game probably didnt earn it "the hard way."

Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. It doesn't particularly matter where the money comes from though. It certainly isn't fair from a level playing field point of view, but that is the beauty/curse of the freemium model.

[Coathanger]

@Pshycedalic
I disagree there is always a point to debate, if you enjoy it. Wish you would refute what I said, that is how knowledge is found.

Do I think the game could be better? I think everything in existence could be improved on, aside from the people I love the only thing to improve upon is how I treat them. However there are limits to how much tinkering should be done, especially without forethought lest you end up with unintended consequences you are incapable of correcting.

Do I think my improvements would hurt Supercell's wallet? I am not in a position to determine that I am a gamer/fan not an accountant, market manager, nor CEO and most importantly I am not a developer who makes decisions about what direction to take the game (BTW their wallet is not a factor here). The game is so well done and appeals to so many people the only wrong decision they could make is to shut down the servers. Their time and energies go into making a game for all of us.

If you noticed I argued money is not a factor in improving game play, that ship sailed on the release date back in 2012.

If you want a somewhat accurate comparison compare Supercell to other software companies not car manufacturers. What you will find is Supercell strays from many of their models, does not design the game on a spreadsheet, keeps it simple in comparison and no single item in the game cannot be obtained free of charge.

Business is business however not all business' are alike, like all birds are birds but all birds do not fly. More aptly like all humans are human not all humans think.

[Coathanger]

Actually a good post you made here. My only rebuttal is questioning the reasons behind changes. Like the hero heal reduction time. Is that because people stopped leveling/gemming their heroes before it? I know many who started the hero grind again after that. I would argue that all similar positive changes are only due to increasing profits.

Allow me to allow you to contradict yourself here. Your words. "Go ahead coathanger, ask me some questions about gameplay that is totally just for the players benefit and has nothing to do with increasing profits. I know this is an impossible question - as some features (just one example being the halloween graphical changes (and no other part of the update)) accomplish both player satisfaction and additional revenue (get players who quit to come back and check it out, give the game a fresh look etc). "

But see our arguments are speculation/opinion on both ends. That being said Im not familiar with many other mobile game companies. But in general freemium business models tend to be more "sleezy," if you will, than one-time payment or subscription based games. Ive seen countless games butchered by the freemium model, and while sc is not as bad as some, its surely far away from the best.

Sleazy? Oh yes I agree there are countless freemium games where you must pay to play, this is not one of them. Furthermore CoC is more accurately described as free2play and currently the most successful and most popular(?). Was this a result of a pact with the devil?

Actually a lot what you term as speculations are backed up by SC themselves. Sorry those other games you played were butchered, get back on that horse or well wait till it looks at you funny then beat it.

On a side note: Im guessing the main reason you have the reputation you do is because of your poor attitude. Even in this reasonable post your last sentence just rubs me the wrong way. Its incredibly pretentious and dismissive.

Tu quoque. My reputation in the eyes of my detractors is of little importance. Joan Jett has a song about my feelings on that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RAQXg0IdfI Here are a few lines in case you do not listen.

You're living in the past, it's a new generation

Never said I wanted to improve my station

I've never been afraid of any deviation
An' I don't really care if you think I'm strange


The world's in trouble, there's no communication
An' everyone can say what they wanna to say
It never gets better, anyway

[LordAmbreon]

Probably the best post I've seen on the forums.

Yeah, I agree with Physch's statements. Games are always more fun before they are popular--and let's face it, June was when things started going down hill--also at the same time as kids were getting out of school and looking for a game. I would argue hardly anything extensive is added that is not predicted as "gem worthy" by the folks at sc.

[Humbob]

This was an enjoyable thread and should be eye opening to many who read it.

They obviously have a business model that isn't sustainable over the long term, because its based, as was discussed very nicely above, around frustrating customers. It works, for now. I'm a sucker, I fell for the business model. For me it was Castle Clash, blew probably a grand on "rolling" heroes and then realized that it was all set up intentionally to frustrate people and constantly make it so you have to spend huge money to improve.

I play COC because so many of my family and friends play in my clan and I like helping them. I will quit as soon as the last of the kids grows out of it and gets tired of it, its a titanic waste of time and while I spend basically peanuts on the game, mostly just to gem donations, I dislike the feeling of giving my money to a company that's goal is to frustrate me and all of us.

They have done an almost incredible job of using this forum and youtube to generate interest in their game. If you pay much attention though, you realize quickly that the biggest youtubers are just shills. Galadon is probably the biggest one that isn't just a stooge.

And this is it for me and these games. This is the last time I ever download a grinding game that is trying to sell time by frustrating you. Or trying to sell success by this or that.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, its a completely terminal business model. Castle Clash is already done. They can't find new ways to give you honor badges and resources quick enough. COC is pounding on, for now. No business whose main goal is to maintain frustration among its players will last forever.

On THE VERY DAY that the last of the young people in my clan quits, I'm done. Until then I guess I'll war on with them.