The shadow cannot move the object that cast it

Another farewell thread. This will be my last post and thread on this forum, which makes it my own personal goodbye thread as many others before me have done. Been very sad to see other great folks leave that’ll be missed by many, to read their threads. Lots of guys I miss here, enjoyed very much to read their posts, insights, humour and that.

There might be some language barrier moments here. I sincerely don’t always know, have expressed myself in ways that became weird and not so good at times to my own disappointment. This isn’t my first language. Please try to not interpret anything in the wrong way due to it. Sorry in advance if it happens. Don’t read too much between the lines or something. I don’t want to put anyone down, believe me, but I ask kindly of you to not just think of yourself while reading this, your personal enjoyment, whether you spend or not, your gaming habits, how much you care or how much you’re getting out of this game in general. But to think of everyone else too. Everyone as in everyone.

This is about the whole player base too and not just me. From F2P to W2P and everything in between. I’ll do my very best to make everyone see what I’m trying to say before I leave this forum for good.

I’ve always been the once I’ve made up my mind, I have made up my mind kind of guy. This my friends know. Also considered a pessimist by some but I prefer realist. Eh, in some cases. I do have my professor Cuthbert Calculus days too. I’ll still be around for a while playing the game, but as a C2P and definitely F2P later depending on which route this game takes now very soon in 2021, to eventually quit there too and seek my enjoyment elsewhere. Oh well, it’s quite obvious already. Used to spend a lot, for my own entertainment. Perhaps too much some months. But I don’t consider myself a whale, I consider myself a dolphin. I’ll leave that one to your imagination, what it is.

A few things before this forum account will retire for good. SG hasn’t listened to us since 2017. Not to any of the most important constructive feedback, ideas, no nothing really. The “we are the good guys on your side” performances by the guys here on the forum are transparent. We are wallets to them and strangers not worth listening to, unless they get to hear what they want to hear. The things that will profit them. Business and customer service won’t get an A grade from me. SG and the rest can come up with all kinds of thoughts and explanations but

The paywall is a standing testament to that.

The paywall is higher than ever. And with all this new content it will get even more higher. It’s constantly been growing and it continues doing so. Some people are fully aware of this, where the game’s going (also because they’ve gone through the same in other mobile games), of all the changes while others are living in the past or simply ignoring it or perhaps not even able to grasp the situation. Too many are focused on themselves and their own personal interests instead of paying attention to others around them, why their enjoyment has died and what they’re trying to say before it’s too late. Not enough holistic minds. Too many attitudes making everything about themselves. The #no spend campaigns won’t suffice. Too many addicts, hence I never believed in them and I think most of us honestly didn’t, but kudos to all of you who tried and perhaps still are trying. Seen some of you doing it.

Positive feedback gets ignored, seen so many of these and brilliant ones and all written in vain, through the years.

Negative feedback and criticism, they won’t have any of it. I know no greater challenge than trying to communicate with people who only hear what they want to hear or who cannot stick to the topic.

They focus more on themselves instead of the pain the WHOLE player base is going through. Some try to get attention by being more straightforward about things that are making things worse, hero cards, actions considered wrong and so on, but end up getting ignored or silenced in one way or another.

So many voices that didn’t get to be heard which they should’ve payed attention to before it’s too late. All in vain.

There’s nothing the player base can do anymore and there was nothing the player base could do to begin with. Nothing’s changed. Paywall’s constantly growing.

The paywall is so high now that it’ll affect new players, already is. As soon as they find out that it’ll take years to catch up, the majority will lose interest for sure. Discussed this with several newer players. I’d be embarrassed to recommend this game to others, never done it. I’m yet to find a mobile game that hasn’t died sooner than it needed to once it’s reached that state. And spending like a whale won’t even suffice from now on. They’d have to spend like a Mosasaurus. I’m pretty sure the majority would rather buy a Lamborghini. And to join a game with too expensive offers and greedy portal chances should already serve as red flags. And by the time, if they get there, the game will be a desert compared to now. I wouldn’t stay if I tried this game today as a new player.

“Whales” or spenders in general will eventually have enough too. Many have already reached their limit, getting less and less enjoyment out of this entertainment and find it more stressful. There’ll hardly be a mass exodus, but more people than ever will walk away over time now in 2021. Too many toxic wastes in the water again. There are again defences you need at least 9 tiles of the colour you need from start or you’re doomed and these defences will increase in numbers. The top 100 alliances are always the first ones to notice where things are going, if paying attention. The new costumes will increase this even further hence we don’t want them, more important than ever to pay attention and to listen. Listening to others solves things, instead of only going on about oneself. Some people have been around long enough to know how the “spend nerf spend nerf” cycle goes. Very unattractive to invest in that kind of game. Doubtful anyone’s looking for that kind of entertainment. There will be more new GTV cases over time for sure and more than one and we cannot have one Telluria nerf thread for each case without severe consequences. They won’t all come in one day, at once but they will. A day might come when we’ll be dealing with so many of these, and in so many versions that it might lead to huge balance changes never seen before. Balance changes as in taking several fast heroes to average mana speed or something. Imagine that. If the game’s still relevant then, that is. Imagine what the atmosphere would be like.

I know hardly everyone takes these goodbye and farewell messages and “I’ll quit threats” serious either that we see from time to time on the forum. Some wave goodbye back, others laugh. Some come back, some start gloating, some leave for good. I’ve personally left games for good without issues that I’ve invested ridiculously much in when my time’s come. Can only speak for myself but this one will be no different. But people are constantly quitting nonetheless no matter what you personally feel for them and far from everyone shares their goodbyes here on the forum. Some carry the belief that new potential long term players will constantly replace the old long term ones.

No.

The paywall will see to that it won’t happen. It appears the average life span of a mobile game is around 6 years before it starts going down for good, when you start comparing between many of these. SG launched this game in March 2017. SG focused only on which methods will increase their income. They never took the “what to not do” notes from other games. And most certainly not from us.

The marketing won’t lead anywhere in the long run either. Why would anyone in South Korea be more interested in playing in a greedy game with a ridiculously high paywall and a constantly growing one, more so than someone in Canada? I’m confident all the other non-English speaking people are discussing the exact same things elsewhere like people here on this forum are now. Even more people who won’t have a voice in this either unfortunately. Perhaps all their voices added to ours here on the forum could have accomplished something. We’ll never know.

I estimate the player base will start to shrink visibly at the end of this year. Oh yes, some of you might laugh at this estimation. But please, get down to earth.

Everything comes to an end. Everything. What we have here is no exception. This mobile game will too end like everything else in this reality. And the way they have been and still are going here, it’s coming sooner than it has to. Which was the point with all the feedback all this time. To delay the date the game expires, so we could stay longer and collect more good memories together with the friends we have here. There was a time when I had fun here on the forum, shared art, enjoyed memes, humour. Now I’m more in the “toxic” category. Not sentimental over anything here anymore due how things are being handled by SG. No enjoyment anymore due to all these negative changes. Those days are over.

There are many better games of the same kind to download and try, games that have been taking the “what to not do” notes from others. I’ve found another one I enjoy more. I know it is difficult to move on thanks to friends or because of how much you have invested, but think twice now before you invest further. Think twice and think for yourselves. Don’t just look at what your alliance members are doing. Do you want to sit there feeling physically ill the day the game’s over or when you personally have had enough? Over pixels, an account owned by Zynga? In case some of you still haven’t read the TOS, it literally says you don’t own your account. Go and read for yourselves. That’s the kind of entertainment we’re dealing with. Not the type where you buy a game and then you own it and play it. Which means they’ll close this for good one day no matter your investments and no matter how it’ll make you feel if you’re still playing this game when it happens. Your thoughts, feelings and potential campaigns when it comes to that will be irrelevant then. Remember that.

And try new games together with your friends and contacts, not just by yourself. If you’re still interested in these kind of games, that is.

All the polite and cute words in all the feedback were all in vain. The more negative feedback ones didn’t accomplish anything either. All the words in my farewell thread are in vain. Game’s still dying sooner than it has to.

The community is the shadow that SG cast. How the game is shaped by SG, is the form the shadow will take. The shadow cannot move the object that cast it. The community cannot make changes happen. It hasn’t worked for years. It never did. They have to come from within. From SG. It won’t.

I took the time to write this in my farewell thread because I’ve always cared about the player base and the friends I play this game together with. They deserved more from you SG. Loyalty taken for granted as in many other places. Otherwise I would’ve hardly even created one. I prefer to leave in silence, what I’ve always done in the past in other games and communities. This is an exception.

It is what it is. Many good memories that came to my mind, not all of them were bad. I regret nothing. Oh! Actually I do regret one single little thing. That I joined and tried beta. But changes nothing.

It’s game over.

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That was a very eloquent farewell post. And a good read too.
I am so very sorry to see you opt out of the forum and probably the game later this year (2021).
Your friends and colleagues will miss you greatly but we all respect your decision- because now is the right time for you.
And I 100% agree with what you put here:

A large portion of a previous alliance I was in gave up, purely because of this. They couldn’t catch up quick enough and the goal posts kept moving - so they gave up and moved to a completely different game.

My daughter and grandson also began to play about 12 months ago. My grandson soon lost interest because he didn’t have any funds for all the pulls needed to get decent heroes. And the S1 5 star he did have quickly became more or less redundant.
And my daughter very quickly dropped to F2P and just pops onto the game one or twice a week for war.

I wish you all the very best in your future endeavours. Stay safe, happy and healthy. Good luck

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Nice post, I’m almost aligned with it.
I’ve tried few other games in the last year to find a door for leaving. But after seeing ads at beginning of most of them or portals, I give up in less than a month.
My vision is clear now: Never again I will play a game with summon portals.

Good luck

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I hope you don’t mind that, amongst this rather bleak assessment, I really enjoyed this phrase and I award you a forum-posthumous Bardic Post of the Day :medal_military:

That is a rather chilling analogy, to describe the spending required for success no longer in terms of a massive, and somewhat passive, filter feeder, but now in terms of a collosal, aggressive hyper-carnivore.

Thank you for your unique contribution @Darth_Vitiate .

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very well-written and thoughtful post @Darth_Vitiate . I will miss you and your forum contributions, but I salute you for going out with a care and thought for the player base… if only your words would not fall on deaf ears.

your words on the paywall ring true. as FTP I know I cannot compete at the top levels of the game… but it seems to be getting harder and harder to compete even at middle levels now, and I worry that the OP new heroes and costumes will make it even harder…

all the best with your enjoyment in the new game you are playing.

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Ha! No I do not mind.

Damn it Jonah, you’re one of the reasons one comes back to this forum. You have a way with words.

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Anyway. I came only back to add one more thing. I know this is not a pleasant read to anyone. It isn’t meant to be.

Its purpose is to get as many views as possible. To remind others what we are dealing with.

And last but not least and most importantly, it’ll be interesting from now on to see who you really are and what your interests are,

@Staff_SGG

all of you who are pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Your move now.

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