Dark Patriarch
Approved user
- Joined
- May 6, 2015
- Messages
- 36
First, let me start by saying welcome to the Dominations community.
Second, let me preface the rest of this post by saying that none of the following cynicism is directed at any of you. My cynicism is a product of the current state of the Dominations game/community after many hours of personal investment (both for enjoyment and trying to better said game/community).
It wasn't but a couple months ago that a post like this would have had a much more dramatic rally of support from players on this forum. At this point; you're likely to get a few sporadic responses at best and probably from people who have joined the game fairly recently (not all but probably most).
The reason for this is the sad state of affair of the Dominations game/community.
Many of us have now gone through months of:
-trying to help/provide feedback for bugs/cheating/game mechanics issues
-witnessed and/or have been directly/indirectly impacted by severe cheating
-watched updates greatly degrade the enjoyment this game once provided
What we have gotten in return for this:
-no response at all (especially in the case of the game AI)
-statements that things have been improved; when in actuality they were made worse
-vague posts/announcements that things are being worked on without any real detail or even estimated timelines
-a weekly feedback thread (ironically dying due to a lack of "developer feedback")
You have an entire community of people that enjoy and believe in the idea of a game that blends Civilization/Clash of Clans. This was reflected when this game quickly became one of the top earning apps for both IOS and Android.
The problem is that all of the items listed above have left the community feeling like their time/monetary investment isn't being valued/properly handled. You can't expect a community to keep faith that things will improve without giving them proper feedback and doing your best to deliver on that feedback. These are essential basics when providing customer support in pretty much "any" business.
We understand that specifics can't be discussed in many cases but we as your customer/source of income need some info:
-what's being worked on (at least with the problems)
-estimated progress
-estimated time for implementation/next update
We know that nothing is set in stone/dates change but at least there would be a channel of communication to help give your customer/source of income some faith. However, the ability to eventually deliver would still be a ball in your court.
There are many problems/challenges with the Dominations game right now but I (and many others) see 2 main items negatively impacting this game:
1. The game AI
The game AI is replacing the fun of playing this game with frequent bouts of frustration! Your own rules for game mechanics are no longer valid. Players are not able to expect a predictable response from their actions. Players are losing their entire armies in situations that they should obviously win. People have resorted to a mind numbingly boring strategy of gaining resources using the animal blessing because attacking is less productive.
The last update is the point where the AI became significantly worse. We have many videos of:
-rally not working
-troops rallying to some random, distant point
-troops frequently targeting unnecessary walls
-troops not targeting the nearest target/preferred target (sometimes attacking a target that is 3rd or 4th in terms of distance)
-troops not targeting enemy troops unless attacked
-troops attacking through walls
-troops moving through walls
-calvary sometimes not moving between enemy structures
-calvary being blocked by already triggered traps
-units dancing around to attack other units at odd ranges (sometimes dancing all the way into the forest)
Even though players have put up countless posts regarding the issue, we have received "no feedback" or "acknowledgement" that the AI is a noted problem. We have no idea if it's even being worked on! This is the number 1 negative impact to game enjoyment and is bleeding your player base away!
2. Game Security/Cheating
There has been some feedback regarding this and we've even seen some progress. Unfortunately, we are still finding bases in the Industrial age.
Additionally, there is a lot of concern about just how many bases have max walls already. Knowing that it would take nearly a billion gold to max walls; it would require an unbelievable level of farming or extreme amount of cash to get your walls to this point (so early in the games existence). Seeing so many players with max walls is very questionable. Especially considering the rampant problem that existed with crown hacks.
Talking to many other players; the concern about cheating and progress validity is probably the biggest reason most players are avoiding spending money/more money on crowns. No one wants to feel like they're paying for something, someone else is getting for free. Just in my current alliance; there are a number of individuals who are choosing to spend money on other apps (rather than Dominations) for this very reason.
I don't want this post to be viewed as just another complaint. I'm sure there are thousands of players that really like the idea of this game and believe it has a lot of potential. Many of us very much want to see this game succeed but these problems need to be addressed for that to happen.
You also have a lot of talent and dedication within your player base. You could tap into this for QA or many other purposes. Anyway, I hope you actually made it this far and I hope you give my input serious consideration.
Sincerely,
Dark Patriarch
Second, let me preface the rest of this post by saying that none of the following cynicism is directed at any of you. My cynicism is a product of the current state of the Dominations game/community after many hours of personal investment (both for enjoyment and trying to better said game/community).
It wasn't but a couple months ago that a post like this would have had a much more dramatic rally of support from players on this forum. At this point; you're likely to get a few sporadic responses at best and probably from people who have joined the game fairly recently (not all but probably most).
The reason for this is the sad state of affair of the Dominations game/community.
Many of us have now gone through months of:
-trying to help/provide feedback for bugs/cheating/game mechanics issues
-witnessed and/or have been directly/indirectly impacted by severe cheating
-watched updates greatly degrade the enjoyment this game once provided
What we have gotten in return for this:
-no response at all (especially in the case of the game AI)
-statements that things have been improved; when in actuality they were made worse
-vague posts/announcements that things are being worked on without any real detail or even estimated timelines
-a weekly feedback thread (ironically dying due to a lack of "developer feedback")
You have an entire community of people that enjoy and believe in the idea of a game that blends Civilization/Clash of Clans. This was reflected when this game quickly became one of the top earning apps for both IOS and Android.
The problem is that all of the items listed above have left the community feeling like their time/monetary investment isn't being valued/properly handled. You can't expect a community to keep faith that things will improve without giving them proper feedback and doing your best to deliver on that feedback. These are essential basics when providing customer support in pretty much "any" business.
We understand that specifics can't be discussed in many cases but we as your customer/source of income need some info:
-what's being worked on (at least with the problems)
-estimated progress
-estimated time for implementation/next update
We know that nothing is set in stone/dates change but at least there would be a channel of communication to help give your customer/source of income some faith. However, the ability to eventually deliver would still be a ball in your court.
There are many problems/challenges with the Dominations game right now but I (and many others) see 2 main items negatively impacting this game:
1. The game AI
The game AI is replacing the fun of playing this game with frequent bouts of frustration! Your own rules for game mechanics are no longer valid. Players are not able to expect a predictable response from their actions. Players are losing their entire armies in situations that they should obviously win. People have resorted to a mind numbingly boring strategy of gaining resources using the animal blessing because attacking is less productive.
The last update is the point where the AI became significantly worse. We have many videos of:
-rally not working
-troops rallying to some random, distant point
-troops frequently targeting unnecessary walls
-troops not targeting the nearest target/preferred target (sometimes attacking a target that is 3rd or 4th in terms of distance)
-troops not targeting enemy troops unless attacked
-troops attacking through walls
-troops moving through walls
-calvary sometimes not moving between enemy structures
-calvary being blocked by already triggered traps
-units dancing around to attack other units at odd ranges (sometimes dancing all the way into the forest)
Even though players have put up countless posts regarding the issue, we have received "no feedback" or "acknowledgement" that the AI is a noted problem. We have no idea if it's even being worked on! This is the number 1 negative impact to game enjoyment and is bleeding your player base away!
2. Game Security/Cheating
There has been some feedback regarding this and we've even seen some progress. Unfortunately, we are still finding bases in the Industrial age.
Additionally, there is a lot of concern about just how many bases have max walls already. Knowing that it would take nearly a billion gold to max walls; it would require an unbelievable level of farming or extreme amount of cash to get your walls to this point (so early in the games existence). Seeing so many players with max walls is very questionable. Especially considering the rampant problem that existed with crown hacks.
Talking to many other players; the concern about cheating and progress validity is probably the biggest reason most players are avoiding spending money/more money on crowns. No one wants to feel like they're paying for something, someone else is getting for free. Just in my current alliance; there are a number of individuals who are choosing to spend money on other apps (rather than Dominations) for this very reason.
I don't want this post to be viewed as just another complaint. I'm sure there are thousands of players that really like the idea of this game and believe it has a lot of potential. Many of us very much want to see this game succeed but these problems need to be addressed for that to happen.
You also have a lot of talent and dedication within your player base. You could tap into this for QA or many other purposes. Anyway, I hope you actually made it this far and I hope you give my input serious consideration.
Sincerely,
Dark Patriarch
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