[Bluedog]

Soooo – having lost all that in the update – all stars, locked out of all challenges, etc etc – I uninstalled/re-installed – and lost everything! According to Rovio, my device has never played AB2 before.

So all that investment, thousands of pearls, gems, stars, hats, spells etc – gone. Well done Rovio! Given that Rovio themselves place a monetary value on this stuff – ie, they sell it to us – you could argue there is a legal responsibility on them to look after it better.

But actually, it’s ok. We all know that AB2 has pretty much eaten itself anyway and has become a massive treadmill, one re-hashed level after another. The built-in manipulation capacity and increasingly ridiculous amounts of feathers needed to buy equally mental amounts of hats, slingshots etc have actually made it unplayable for an honest player.

So I was probably looking for a reason to stop, but having invested so much time it just became a habit – something that I did, rather grumpily. But now I’m a free man!

Cheers all and good luck.

[Bluedog]

Yep, same here. All stars gone, locked out of everything.

Pretty damn annoying.

Anyone know if there is a fix?

[Bluedog]

I’m just getting so bored of these levels that I can’t be arsed to play more than one or two lives at a time. It’s basically saying “you see that 15ft wall? We’d like you to keep trying to jump over it. You can either try 100 times or so and then we might supply you with a ladder. Or you can buy the ladder. Actually, yes, buying the ladder would be great.”

There’s not even the pretence that you can even reach the Boss without help; and I’ve never seen a luckier walkthrough.

[Bluedog]

I’m busy laughing at the ridiculous 1020. These levels are just set up to be impossible to complete without A – massive luck (which is basically Rovio cheating in the players favour for once – see walkthrough) or B – the pity round (basically Rovio openly cheating in the players favour). Starting to realise that actually EVERY round we play is entirely in Rovio’s hands. Even when you get some satisfaction from completing a tricky shot, or an impressive strike, it’s all pretty much pre-ordained. Which is a grim reality.

[Bluedog]

Working now – but wouldn’t allow me to draw back fully, and then sort of dribbled off the end.

[Bluedog]

@mighty-red-1 – I’m sure there was a commercial imperative behind this. It’s clearly reflected in the way the game is set up, which is my point; Rovio have gone all out to gain revenue, and consequently the game feels as if it’s trying to turn you upside-down and shake the last coins out of your trouser pockets. Which leads to all the frustrations clearly demonstrated on virtually every thread on this forum.

My point touches on this though, because I feel by chasing the money so obviously, Rovio are in danger of changing brand perception enormously. Part of the reason they have been so successful is the affection players had for the game and it’s characters. Do you think they would have sold so many soft toys, and had a movie green-lit without that? And would those things have happened on the strength of AB2 in isolation?

I’ve also said on here that the game itself is beautifully designed and still fantastic to play in many ways. But it clearly doesn’t have an end-point as such, and has become a constant re-hash – makes business sense, because they don’t have the cost of developing new levels – but from a player’s perspective it is becoming incredibly tedious.

Put simply – it’s Rovio’s absolute right to produce the game as they choose; if they decide, for whatever reason, that they need a product that generates more money and AB2 is the result, then that’s their decision. However, I feel that they are playing with fire by moving completely in the opposite direction from what underpinned their success in the first place.

[Bluedog]

Hi mate – I’m through now. As usual, suddenly received a ton of FC’s etc – finished with 7 birds to spare. In essence, you play dozens of attempts which are impossible; then have one attempt which is impossible to lose. Not much fun there.

[Bluedog]

I’ve had over 50 attempts now – only reached the last set twice, both times with one bird. With the exception of set 3 (tip – keep Terence back for this one, pretty much guaranteed strike) all the others require 2/3 birds. It’s a 6 set level; you do the maths – without free cards or sardines I feel we’ll be here for a while.

[Bluedog]

Thanks RizDub. Very informative, good of you to take the time.

My point (I think I need to make my sarcasm clearer) was actually that I do not believe that any of AB2 is random; quite the reverse. I have to say that I haven’t noticed any particular benefits on the 7th attempt having failed on the previous 6!

What I find odd though is that eventually the game will whisk me through this level with free cards strikes, red pigs etc. All at once. And although I guess I can play the game to have got this far without doing the arena it FB or indeed anything but play it with birds no higher than 4, I’m not in the league of the Big Guy who was also kind enough to reply. Which means that probably the waiting game is the only way to pass it. But God, it’s so soul-destroyingly annoying while you ARE waiting.

I feel AB2 is such an opportunity missed. There is a repetitive nature to all AB games, of course. But this is feeling more and more like a hamster wheel.

[Bluedog]

I’m with you mate; it’s actually worse than useless, as you have to use another bird for it to be of any use!

[Bluedog]

Dead simple; stop the naked manipulation and cheating. There are a ton of examples, teleporting pig, pigs in unreachable areas, virtually indestructible micros – but the biggest and most obvious fraud is when you’ve spent ages on a level without getting anywhere near finishing it, and then suddenly every set has a free card and every shot is a strike. As soon as I see that golden pig on the first set, I can almost guarantee that my first free card will be sardines, and that I will finish the level with as many cards as I started with. Zero sense of accomplishment.
Get rid of all free spells apart from sardines – the others are largely rubbish – particularly ice, which is actually worse than having no card at all. Seriously, how is that any kind of reward?
Make it clear how the “watch video for free card” works – I know Hank and I discussed this previously but I’m sorry mate, your explanation bears no relationship to reality; sometimes it’s available, sometimes not – nothing to do with how many times in a day etc.
Religious adherence to the party line of “manipulation? Of course not! The game is entirely random!” completely flies in the face of everyone who actually plays the game and sees cast iron evidence of it all the time.
Change the star system to – well, something that has some significance, as at the moment it counts for nothing as any complete level earns 3 stars so I don’t even know what it’s for.
In short, take the positives – not least, the beautiful and smart design – and cut out the really obvious manipulation – and re-build a game that players can love.

[Bluedog]

Yeah, I’ve written about this several times. Fact is, the game is marketed as random, when in fact it’s arbitrary. I’ve managed to complete pretty much every level, (currently on 723) and haven’t spent anything at all, or played the arena – consequently my birds are no higher than 4 which presents challenges. But I play it in a very off-hand way – no real love here. It’s difficult to buy in to a game that so obviously manipulates results; certain levels are actually impossible until Rovio decides you can win, and suddenly issues a flurry of free cards and strikes. So there’s zero sense of accomplishment. As you get into it further you’ll come across teleporting pigs that just move around as you aim at them, umbrella pigs that somehow float through carnage, earned cards which turn out to be ice (in my view, a complete waste of 2 cards – I mean seriously, has ANYONE ever chosen ice – and a whole raft of cheats to prolong or speed up the game, depending on Rovio’s will at the time.
It looks wonderful, it should be the best thing Rovio have ever done – but the naked manipulation (hilariously and ridiculously denied by Rovio) makes it a complete grind. I daresay most of us play AB to while away the time; but many of their other games are joyous things that you feel connected to and are happy to invest in. AB2 is just something I do now when there is literally nothing else.

[Bluedog]

All of the “speciality” pigs are just another means of Rovio controlling the game, but the most blatant if the Magician pig; it’s pretty ridiculous that you can play levels as well as they can be played, but lose lives by a pig just moving around when shot at. You also notice that he moves far more when you are doing well on a level; if you have say 3 sets left, with only a couple of birds left, he’ll stay put and allow himself to get shot. However, if you still have a fistful of lives left he’ll move up to 3 times.

I hate this element. It takes away any semblance or notion of skill. I know the whole thing is pretty much rigged – let’s be honest, if the game doesn’t want you to progress, it won’t let you, if the Rovio gods decide to take pity then you’ll win the level often with 6 or 7 lives to spare – but it’s the sheer obviousness of the Magician pig that really annoys me. The most compelling thing about AB for me from the start was that if you got your shot right, you’d succeed. AB2 has removed that entirely as there are so many ways it controls success and failure, not randomly (it’s never random), but arbitrarily. I feel like I’m part of someone else’s game, rather than the main protagonist in my own.

[Bluedog]

Thanks for the response Hank. Seems plausible – although on the very next pass, played straight after, it WAS available – but not at a crucial point.

There’s so much about AB2 to admire, but the manipulation aspects leave me cold. Even though it’s just a game, to feel engaged you have to have some belief that what you do, ie how you play – makes a difference. With so many levels it’s obvious this is not the case – you will get through when Rovio decides (cue a run of improbable strikes and free cards galore) and not before. It’s changed the way I play – I’ll pick up in an idle moment, play my 5 attempts and win or lose just shrug and say ‘meh’. Not much point in being engaged with a game where outcomes are clearly decided by the game itself, rather than any skill on behalf of the player.
I bang on about this because I can’t be the only one to feel this way and I would have thought this dangerous for Rovio – surely the model relies upon players engagement and having a stake in the play itself? What are your thoughts?

[Bluedog]

@partshade Bang on, mate. Couldn’t agree more. It’s nothing to do with “learning the game” – we all know to play. My creds are pretty strong – I’ve finished pretty much every AB game, and never move on til I get 3 stars – but AB 2 is devoid of skill. Hugely annoying to be stuck for days on a level, knowing it has nothing to do with skill – you’re just waiting for Rovio to decide you can move on in a flurry of free cards, strikes and sardines.
And while I’m at it – ice?! Tell me, had anyone ever received ice as a FC and been happy about it? It actually wastes 2 cards. And don’t get me started on the new peperami creature….

[Bluedog]

Have to agree. I’m on 460 – I’ve steadfastly refused to buy anything, nor do I do the FB stuff or play the arena, so my birds are levels 3/4. Try getting past theses levels with them! It’s just nuts. I’d happily buy the game as I have the others – but not dress something up as free when it’s not. It’s taking days now before Rovio suddenly takes off on a “strike and free card frenzy” which immediately shoots you through the level. As I’ve posted before – AB2 has so many ways to manipulate, and has become so obvious that it is manipulating, that the charm is broken and the joy is gone. Cynical, mean-spirited – and most dangerous for them I suspect – off-brand. Massive shame – beautiful graphics, awful model.

[Bluedog]

Well, I’m glad I’m not alone! Thanks for the responses. It’s a shame though, because one of the most compelling things about AB was that it was a joyful experience, and AB2 has ripped the soul out of it. Walkthroughs, so important to this site and it’s users, are rendered useless as the set-ups vary and nobody seems to have a clue what a 3 star score actually is because everyone’s scoring ability is different. I’ve lurked on this site without posting for some while, and it’s clear there was a real community with regular posters enjoying, helping, and joshing; I don’t see those posters anymore.
The whole feel is a game designed by brilliant creatives but conceived by accountants. I’ve spent enough time in meetings to be fairly confident the word “monetise” figured particularly strongly throughout it’s conception. Which is ok – we all know they have to make money – but this is a ham-fisted attempt to do so whilst pretending not to.
It’s dangerous to mess around with the goodwill a brand like AB has generated thus far; whereas before I always looked forward to new AB games and updates, now, not so much.