Introduction: Joe “Muet” Grubb - Lead Designer

[MisterLaxx]

So speaking of AMA....
1) How much hidden information is acceptable when attacking a base?
2) Where will DomiNations be in two years?
3) How frequently should BHG update game balance?
4) How many Ages can DomiNations support? (remember that Tim Train said he would be open to extending the life of the game for another 8 yrs)
5) Could DomiNations start monthly dev livestreams? (oooh you want community interaction? this is one of the BEST ways for it)

 

[Cryos]

Are you saying that you think nothign is going to change? Or are oyu just mad that barracks troops are still nerfed.

I agree that the power of factory units and defenses needs to be rolled back, or that nations need some unique factory units to make things worthwhile but only time will tell if Joe is on the level or not. This is still more information that we've been given in a long time.

 

[Bootney Lee Fonsworth]

So does this mean phase 1 of this leaderboard rebalance is beginning this week in lieu of the phase 5 combat rebalance?

 

[Quagmire]

What he said!
I guess you can't all the credit, but you can bask in all the glory. Big thanks.

 

[Quagmire]

When the room is dark, it only takes one bright spark to brighten it up.

 

[Quagmire]

Welcome! You should be grateful they didn't think to nickname you Ita or Norah.

 

[GailWho]

OMG! What a breath of fresh air! I loved everything you said in op! Welcome to DomiNations Joe! *hangs lei around Joe’s neck* The fact that leaderboard and matchmaking will finally be on the agenda for change is awesome! Now if only something can be done about the cheaters... I’m hoping you will delve deeper into exactly what is being done about this plague on the game in a future post.

There’s been a mass exodus in this game. Our alliance alone has lost at least 10 heavily invested players in the past few months (3 in the last week) because they quit the game and deleted the app. It simply stopped being fun for them and they were sick of all the cheaters getting away with stuff and sucking the fun out of the game. The fact that you are interested in making it fun again is just what the doctor ordered. Please continue to keep us informed. Don’t let this be your last post.

Hugs and kisses, Gail

 

[Alanswiss]

Joe, you realise I hope that In those couple of posts , you have posted more than Tin Soldier has for some time.......It would be nice if you asked him to show some activity from time to time, other than just basic announcements , answering questions and addressing concerns from time to time might be an interesting for example .

I don’t plan to change anything I’m doing in the game currently , there is quite a bit of trust to be built up between players and your team if the feedback on these forums are to be taken as an example of where everyone is ( and you will have the data to know how the game has been impacted ), but I will stick around to see what comes of this ....it sounds as if it could be interesting and a positive evolution if at least some of it happens ....

I notice that you said ......One of your goals for the rebalance.......that implies that you were the driving force behind the rebalances , is that correct ?

 

[Presto]

I was one of the players that left after the museum update. I didn’t like the micromanagement and was so disappointed when you added a war hall. I played the game for 3 years and spent a considerable amount of $. So far it’s just talk but at least it’s not a standard phrase that we usually get after giving feed back. I suggest you simplify or remove the museum and handle cheaters. Especially the lack of actions on the thousands of proof of cheating gather by honest players would be a great place to start.

 

[LordStark263AC]

Based on that data and your feedback, we’re taking the following actions:

• We’re cancelling Stage 5.
• We’re going to schedule some events to reduce the cost of transitioning to the new army compositions and strategies.

• 
  
  At least some good news, atmosphere at the moment is pretty grim on this forum, and my alliance too.

 

[SirViper]

Your comment about being worried that attacking in MP shouldn’t be different than war, that already doesn’t apply due to the introduction of the museum.

In MP my base has a +55% increase to defender damage and a similar amount for defender hitpoints. And they’re only half leveled up. My defense in war vs MP are completely unrelated as a result.

I agree with Knifer that increasing the difficulty of getting 5 stars in war shouldn’t flow through MP like it has. I’m a lvl 282 CWA and I attack abandoned GBA bases because of this.

 

[K1ng_kriting]

welcome joe,I hope you can help us a lot.
please fix bugs and cheat on this game.

 

[Quagmire]

Also, Greeks & Romans empires have had their moment in the sunshine, as far as history goes. It really needs some Middle East Nations, maybe India/Pakistan and of course the good ol' USA - famous for turning up to wars once all the hard work has been done.

 

[Radzeer]

Is Christmas coming a few weeks earlier this year?
Thanks a lot BHG_Muet for your time and sharing your thoughts.
I hope some advanced players already turning their backs to the game might reconsider it, if your team comes up with one more step in the re-balance patches, but this time favoring the offense.
The new general now on sale is opening up a nice feature which was many times in the past requested by the community - bring some diversity in the ability of the generals by adding various extras to the nearby troops, when the generals are deployed.
However, I believe the biggest concern of the player base are currently the cheaters. Without making sure the CS reacts in short time and would be able to ban/nulify their impact in WW (even when the new Leader-board comes, this is a must have!), I don't think any of those bright ideas, you have mentioned would be praised. It seems - from the fact that cheaters are still not banned, although the whole community can easily identify them - that there is no intent from your team to take this issue seriously, which fuels the hopeless and/or angry reactions resulting in massive exodus from the teams on top of the current Leader-board.
I hope with the fresh air you brought into this forum (much more posts in two hours in this thread, then in a normal day in the whole site!), will propel also the CS team, and they will finally clean the house from those, who are here to spoil our game experience.

 

[Xabar]

BHG_Muet

I won’t say it will never happen. But, we’re currently pretty happy with where Barracks troops ended up. Your point about a viable Barracks composition while transitioning is ideal and is what new players entering Enlightenment + should experience. Part of the pain of the rebalance is that this transition is also hitting higher Age players who never transitioned. “Pivot pain” is something we’ve talked about a lot internally. Pivoting as a CWA player to Factory compositions is painful and slow and it can feel like you’re stuck. As mentioned in my initial post, we’re exploring ways in which we can alleviate this pain. Keep an eye on upcoming Events.

Nation imbalance has been a topic of discussion recently. Certainly on my list to explore but I wouldn’t expect immediate solutions here. The NTG variety issue is something we’re keeping an eye on in the meantime.

Taking your two comments together, and taking into account that Germany is the only nation with advantages in the factory troops, if the imbalance between Nations is not solved, we should expect that in a short time most of the players will migrate to Germany.

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Nice to see they've thrown you to the hounds "Joe" & dangled a carrot by cancelling stage 5 of rebalance to try & lure players back. Obviously a lot of these issues have been raised for a long time & you guys have ignored all the players concerns but it seems like the exodus of players Inc many longtime players has prompted some action from yourselves. The game needs to go back to being about strategy, even troop tactics being used aren't a concern. But the inclusion of the museum in war & the ability to roll a dice to improve museum artefacts makes the game feel like a cheap online gambling game. Let's make the game abt strategy again & not some cheap online gambling game. Dominations was a great game, interested to see how you intend to make it great again.

 

[Tsamu]

Welcome Joe! I am very optimistic about the future of the game with you on the team I'm all for fixing matchmaking and the leaderboards, and doing a little nation rebalancing.

Next on your priority list should be improving the rewards in higher leagues, especially NTGs. A Dynasty player should earn as much in one attack as a medal dropper does in ten. And it needs to be a variety (until the nation rebalance creates more variety in targets). The simplest way to do that is to offer 10 NTG shipments as a victory chest reward. And 3 shipments in Kingdom league, 5 in Empire.

Regarding the museum; it is too late to remove the main hall, because many players have spent money on improving artifacts, but please abandon the war hall. Or make it another avenue of research where players have significant control over the artifacts generated.

Are you planning to create more single-player campaigns? It takes up so much space on the first battle screen, it seems a shame not to. I posted an idea in the ideas forum for a weekly campaign based on player bases.

 

[Dvicious]

Not exactly sure what this response means Quagmire. Ive taken a 'wait and see' approach as these updates have been going on. Not many forum posts but ive been reading daily. I think most of the frequent commenters have summed up my feelings that the rebalence steps went too far and too fast for the average player to keep up and stay engaged in the game. I got lucky in that i was already atomic level german transitioning to a full HT army so I personally fared pretty well. I still care for the general health of the game though because i like playing and think they have a neat/unique format for a game. best, DV

 

[Corne]

Hello Joe,

To bring back the fun in the game you need to give the offense a lot of power back. Its fun to be able to 5 star a base 20 levels above yourself. Its also fun to be able to 5star 3 bases in a row in multiplayer.

what is more important is to bring back the game in its pre rebalance state. I lost my faith in you guys. I spent money on a game which i expected to stay the same and not turnaroud 250 percent. It makes the game very uncertain for the future, it makes it a no go to spend money on.

I had some belief in your message but after i read that you guys are happy with were the barrack troops are now then for me it is still a game which i will not play anymore.

 

[No Angel]

Your post is getting a lot bar raise less than a day
Good thing to come out before it's far too late!