Rovio cheating customers

[CaptSternn]

I just realized something, another way Rovio cheats customers. If they ban an account that has been playing for years, and that person does create a new account and starts over, we can beat the new players like a drum through experience. These new members to the game never have a chance. They haven’t spent years learning the mechanics or the different types of levels. They will have to spend money to advance.

I mean I am still playing because I enjoy playing the game with friends I have made. I will never regain my assets, but I almost feel sorry for people that are just starting out and have no chance against beating my scores.

Topic

[RIP Piggies]

I know you’re feeling pretty dark… but that is not Rovio cheating customers…

[milepost1]

New players to the game do not have a chance to compete at higher levels.  The game design is flawed unless taking into account Rovio’s business model which is get more $$$.  Take MEBC as an example.  The same players getting 200-300 mil points per day.  It is impossible for the newer player to increase bird power in a visible, timely fashion without spending huge amounts of cash to get to where they can compete.  The visible progress a player can make is so slow as to warrant the loss of interest.  I can only deduce that Rovio has all the players it wants at the higher levels and isn’t really looking to generate new interest.  My grandson who is 4 loves this game, but has no cash to spend.  Serious gamers, new to the game, will find nothing but frustration unless spending huge amounts of cash.  We’re talking thousands of dollars.  Rovio’s comment about this aspect is “we have a number dedicated players who have been playing the game a long time”.  Well I have been playing daily for years also and have acquired some skill but there is no way I will ever catch up.  The design of the game is inherently flawed in this respect.

Another example is the TOF or the daily chests.  I have documented proof that they will give pigs or lowest possible rewards not based upon random choice but rather whatever card you select will be the pig/lowest reward.  They can do this by setting the cards after your choice is made, a very simple programming exercise, as if to say here’s a pig but look what you could have won.  In my book, that’s cheating.  Rovio’s comment to me about this “behavior” of the cards was that I must be incredibly unlucky.  Great support that.

Other games by other company’s (SuperCell being a notable example) give the players a way to catch up to the big boys in game.  Sure you can spend $$$ to speed up this effort but this feature is inherent in the design of the game.  Nothing about AB2 as it is designed today will allow players to progress quickly enough before interest is lost.

If Rovio were smart instead of just being in it for the cash (which is cheating me out of hard earned $$$) they would recognize this and change the game so that players remain interested.

[Kochschwein]

@CaptSternn

If Rovio bans an account forever, one can assume that there has been a serious violation.  Where is the point if Rovio would give this player all his assets back in a new account?  The legitimate punishment for a player who is cheating  is to start at zero.  In my opinion he should not participate in the game anymore at all.

@milepost1

The design of the game is the infinity. Of course a new player cannot match up with first places in MEBC. He has to be content with his peers in the league.  The purpose of the game is to move forward, not to arrive.  Everyone has to decide for themselves if they invest real money in their progress.  Rovio is very skilled in showing what would be possible in MEBC, TOF or bonus program.

I play AB2 since the beginning.  For me it remains interesting because of new features that are constantly added.

[milepost1]

@jaspertm-l

Thanks for the reply.  Someone actually reads these! Lol

So you’ve been playing since the beginning…  where do you stand in MEBC?  MEBC does not have leagues like the arena.  It shows how you stack up against the big guns – all players who play the aspect.  I can only assume you are one of those we all see on the MEBC leader board.  Congrats! For you this game remains interesting but not for the rest of us.  Would that MEBC did have a league structure…  that might help.

The Arena has leagues…  but there the matching algorithm consistently pits my account against higher flock power accounts even at level 1.  The difference can be anywhere from 30 to 100 higher at level 1!  So you are forced to use cards which you eventually run out of, needing to buy more because you are so close to winning.  Then we get back to the chests and rewards algorithms which are obviously weighted in favor of the house so to speak.

I do get the purpose of the game in the way you put it but I disagree.  It is to make Rovio more and more money because people get tired of the inexorably slow progress when trying to move forward so they spend money.  I have spent some on it myself but the return on that investment was negligible.  When the game becomes a less than pleasurable experience for the player, and Rovio begins to lose daily players, as they are about to do with me and I am sure others in my clan, perhaps they may wake up and actually listen.  But not while they continue to meet earnings expectations by tweaking the internal game play to favor a cash inflow over player enjoyment.

[Kochschwein]

@milepost1

Don’t be impressed by the super players in MEBC!  It’s only 100 out of 500 millions. You’re wrong if you think I’m one of them.  I also have no idea how to gain such power.  I’m a normal player, have 10 years of practice, including 4 years AB2.  My star rank is 131, my flock power is 675 without extra birds, I currently have 7 hat sets to complete, including 4 legendary ones.  I don’t know my position in MEBC, but last season I earned a green frame for the first time! I used to play sporadically. Since there are clans, I play daily.  I’m not a hardcore player and the best part is that I have never invested a penny of real money.  So Rovio can’t earn anything from me.  Nevertheless, I love this game!

[foulmouthedleon]

New players to the game do not have a chance to compete at higher levels.  The game design is flawed unless taking into account Rovio’s business model which is get more $$$.  Take MEBC as an example.  The same players getting 200-300 mil points per day.  It is impossible for the newer player to increase bird power in a visible, timely fashion without spending huge amounts of cash to get to where they can compete.  The visible progress a player can make is so slow as to warrant the loss of interest.  I can only deduce that Rovio has all the players it wants at the higher levels and isn’t really looking to generate new interest.  My grandson who is 4 loves this game, but has no cash to spend.  Serious gamers, new to the game, will find nothing but frustration unless spending huge amounts of cash.  We’re talking thousands of dollars.  Rovio’s comment about this aspect is “we have a number dedicated players who have been playing the game a long time”.  Well I have been playing daily for years also and have acquired some skill but there is no way I will ever catch up.  The design of the game is inherently flawed in this respect.

Another example is the TOF or the daily chests.  I have documented proof that they will give pigs or lowest possible rewards not based upon random choice but rather whatever card you select will be the pig/lowest reward.  They can do this by setting the cards after your choice is made, a very simple programming exercise, as if to say here’s a pig but look what you could have won.  In my book, that’s cheating.  Rovio’s comment to me about this “behavior” of the cards was that I must be incredibly unlucky.  Great support that.

Other games by other company’s (SuperCell being a notable example) give the players a way to catch up to the big boys in game.  Sure you can spend $$$ to speed up this effort but this feature is inherent in the design of the game.  Nothing about AB2 as it is designed today will allow players to progress quickly enough before interest is lost.

If Rovio were smart instead of just being in it for the cash (which is cheating me out of hard earned $$$) they would recognize this and change the game so that players remain interested.

Don’t really think I could have said it better myself. I’ve been playing AB2 since it started, but in the last 6 months have really “ramped up” my playing (read: spending more $$). I’ve got a FP of ~700 w/out Stella/Hal/Bubbles, which is respectable, but it’s the “rich get richer” mentality. Even when/if I do get a FP of 1000, the “Solo”, “Dark Phoenix”, “Beast” of the game will be even higher still.

Regarding the “cheating” aspect of it. Yep. I can’t tell how many times I’ve been in the TOF at level 20 with 200 gems left and my next pig will show up meaning I’ve got to buy more. I’ve had it happen way too many times to chalk it up to “bad luck.” I mean, hey, they’re a business and the point of a business is to make money. And they’re not forcing us to play the game, but still…

Still, even after four years, I do enjoy the game and it’s my mid-day zen to chill me out. I’ve just come to the conclusion that I’ll never be #1 in the world (i.e. MEBC). Then again, I guess I never wanted to be.

[maverick]

If you said that rovio cheats players by picking and choosing who receives an extra video bird in the dc/kpp challenge and extra video spins in the tof, then I would agree with that statement.  That statement is 100% factual.  Rovio is without question cheating players in this manner and giving those players they pick huge advantages over others.  It’s absurd and completely ridiculous.  The spineless nerds at rovio will tell you they are trying to improve the game by screwing you over.

[Buster]

I think we had the same tof today. The second pig came at 6. I had seen enough by then.

[maverick]

That’s actually the 2nd floor.  Why in the hell should I piss away gems on tof, when I’m already getting screwed over and playing at a massive disadvantage?  It’ll cost me what? 170 gems for a couple features, ducks and 20 pearls?  Lol get of my face with that garbage.  If I had the extra spin I’d probably gamble and spend the gems, knowing I had the safety blanket of that extra video spin.  But I don’t so I could care less about tof, and won’t spend a penny on it.

[maverick]

I sent rovio an in game message recently about not getting extra spins in tof, and here is there response.

[Kochschwein]

I know, Maverick, Rovio is trying how it works with or without video option. I’ve had this option for a long time. Since the last update it’s gone. I used to pay 20 gems for the first piggy, saw video for the second piggy and then leave the TOF. This strategy brought me up to 10th floor or more sometimes. Now I’m getting the first piggy permanently on 2nd floor! Of course I would never think of playing further. It’s a robbery!

[Buster]

They seem to be trying this out on players with specific behaviors, but it’s hard to figure out the criteria. I don’t believe it’s random. They have never removed my video option on tof or anywhere else.

For comparison’s sake, I have accumulated quite a few gems so I don’t hesitate to pay for the 20 & 50 pigs in tof. Sometimes I’ll go for the 100 if I’ve reached a floor near 20. I’ve found that sometimes the pigs are closer together on the lower floors, so if I get a good run going, I’ll keep rolling the dice. Once in a while they let me go all the way and I earn more gems than I spent getting there.

If I lost the video option, I would play tof much more conservatively.

I’ve noticed just from following this forum that players who spend real money buying gems or whatever seem to be more likely to lose the video option for at least some parts of the game. Maybe Rovio is trying to get them to spend more $$$ to “get even,” like the casinos. I have never paid Rovio a dime, though I would have paid for an ad-free version if there was one.

 

[AngryBoston]

I wrote them with same concern and got identical response from Rovio. I replied them back after that that I will never spend money anymore in their game and will encourage others to do so.

[cognitive]

There is a larger philosophical issue here. The disparity between FP and scores. It seems that the better you are, and I mean the guys perpetually at the top of the MEBC, the more points you score – but A LOT more. I’m at 50% of the FP of those players and would not expect to score half their points, but they’re scoring 5x what I do in MEBC and likely 4x more in Arena and CVC judging on what I see.

That may be good for business, but overall a new player starting now has absolutely zero chance of ever seeing the light of day because it’s stacked against entry level players.

[Kochschwein]

It seems that only people who once have been banned are complaining. It doesn’t go fast enough back to the top for them.

[maverick]

Anyone else notice how 10th through 24th place in the hatchling  jet pack run got 1000 feathers yesterday, now today all of the sudden it’s only 500 when the event ends?

[AggieGuy]

@maverick78, that’s because the feather frenzy ended at the same time so the rewards dropped by half.

I was in second and third place for a long time (had just an amazingly lucky run I’ll likely never duplicate), but ended up in sixth in the last hour or so.

But I got 6,000 feathers for Red from the chest so I can’t complain.

[maverick]

Thank you Aggie, I’m just squinting real hard looking for a reason to go.  It’s that frustrating sometimes lol.   they have changed the rewards and time limits for the jet pack gimmick so often it’s hard to keep track