Dear GA,

I have been a major user on the forums, and I have read much of the posts.... Hell, there was never an unread post in here. Nowadays, all I see are unread posts. I'm so disappointed in what we mages as a community seem to be receiving from you, as a company.

I've seen in other posts that you have updates.... "planned," but why planned? I know you are working on two new games at the moment, but don't you think you should make the first game you all created stable first before even attempting to create another game? All this will do, is make the slowed updates slower not only for this game, but it would slow your updates of the other games as well. You seem to be failing at keeping this community happy, what makes you think you can keep two communities happy?

I... Have hoped in this game far too long, but... that is probably because I am idealistic. I see vast potential in this game, but... I don't see vast potential in you as designers or a company anymore, I used to think you were geniuses.... creating such a simple yet addictive game... but all I see inside the game now is, crash loop this, or... lag banish that.

The worst thing I have seen of late, is the horrendous amount of players being banned.

Marcomec
tommasso
Limbus

This is just to name a few, and the first two had spent hundreds on this game.

Some things the community thinks may be causing this, are crash warping, and blast warping... But I will state that I 100% believe that none of these recently banned mages, had anything to do with outside apps. Now, what I do now, is that these mages seem to be getting banned for bug exploitation, or location "spoofs..." Crash warping, may actually register them in a different location, but people use the glitch because it helps them get back to fights, since they crash maybe every minute. That is probably caused from lack of care by the developers, or just lack of concern, both immensely disrespectful, and immeasurably rude.

Blast warping... could be considered a bug exploitation, but you say you only ban when it gives unfair advantage. Both blast warping and crash warping are used by both teams. There is nothing unfair about it.

A lot of the recently banned players... I do not know. I'll be honest about that, but I have heard of them, and have learned about their reputations a little. I am surprised that these well-respected mages have been banned.

That is one of the worse things about this. Sure I can understand an instant ban if it's something costly, such as mana hacking... but in this type of situation, I think the terms of banning should be more clear, and it shouldn't even be a ban, just a warning, to help show them that they need to stop. These people have given you a profit and all you do to repay them is let all the time and money they've poured into the game go to waste and be for naught? How is that any way to treat your still loyal customers.

I am only a mere level 13, even though I have played for about 10 months, give or take a few days. I have seen so many people leave, join, leave, try to come back, leave. It all leads to the same place. In the end they leave and don't come back. You have lost so many customers.... I can't believe you haven't done something about it yet, or are there just so many unaware new players spending money that it looks like this game is still popular?

Again, I am 13, yet, I have seen the problems these people talk about first hand. Responses are overly vague, clear definitions of bannable offense are not given. Community-GA interaction has all but come to a halt... Really I do not even know why I still log on every day. I was true to my word with my last later, and took a 1-2 month hiatus. I come back hoping to find something new... nothing. Zip. Zilch. No update in app store... no signs that there even is one coming...

I came back and posted an idea fresh from my brain right into the forum, and within minutes, first, (and only,) one to respond was Chadj. I thought, "hey! maybe interaction improved!" Well how wrong could I have been. I logged on and saw a mess. At that point I understood how people who tried to come back couldn't. The world I left, and the world I came back to, were so different, and not in a good way. I was practically sick to my stomach.

We as a community kind of feel like you are trying to shut down SC so your newer games in progress can get more people on it.

I think, the most fair and sensible thing for you to do as a company right now, is postpone the progress of those other two games, and try to stabilize SC a little more. Also, fix the glitches that are causing people to get banned, and while you're at it, eliminate the crashing that forces them to use the glitches! I also feel you should unban all these mages as a show of good faith, and use it as a symbol to try and gain back some lost respect. And in addition, clearly express what you will ban for.


(PERSONAL SEGMENT FOR CHADJ AND KHAMOS)

Look, I know you two are only doing your jobs, and I know their is not much you can to help us out, since you aren't the developers. You two are just moderators. I know you pass on everything we say to them, so you should know first hand that they don't seem to be listening, I think you should try and take a stand. You deserve to more permission and freedom in your job, and more...flexibility in what you can tell us. You do more for this game than the developers at this point.

Who responds to all the emails: You
Who deals with all the complaints: You
Who receives blame: You

Only a few mages I know of don't blame you, or at least openly blame you. I know it isn't your fault, but with the freedom you two currently have in your ability to response, it doesn't help you keep respect or lose any of that cast blame.



Well, I am sorrt for my rant, and I will now end my post,
Have a good day GA,
Depth.

Edited by Depth (May 30, 2012 06:48:51)

I got that Laz, but, they should make their first game stable before they think of new games.

Not having a good current product does not bode well for future ones.

Agreed 100% Depth

Is this game the only game GA has?

Lazarus
Not if it's only sucking money out of their pockets. SC has (or had) potential, but a year after the official release it's very hard to get it going anymore even with a huge update. And SC needs to be a huge success to be profitable. It needs constant upkeep, both technical and content, to keep it running. And the costs are probably too high for a mobile game. Especially with the trends in App Store's pricing. The games there are cheap. Most people are not used to paying much for mobile gaming (yet). And in-game purchases, well... I wouldn't say the mana pricing is close to an optimal level.

So, they need something really amazing for SC. Or a totally new game, preferably something with less upkeep. And it needs to be a hit so that they can keep on running SC too.

Or, what I'd really like to see, Shadow Cities 2 with massive improvements, fixes and a huge international launch with good marketing. And yes, better community management.

Sacrificing SC for SC2 wouldn't be too bad, right?





Edited by Lazarus (yesterday 22:13:29)

I won't argue with you there, Laz. In full agreement.

Aiai25
Is this game the only game GA has?

They had Vampires versus Werewolves, which was an abject failure. There are 2 apps in development at GA currently, according to the CEO.