The Hard Truth About the Recent Changes

[DomiNationsTV]

The Hard Truth I referenced in the title can be found in the last couple paragraphs and shortly put is simply their tired and toxic business model. If that’s what you clicked on this post to read, then I defer you to those paragraphs below.

I can’t believe this is DomiNations, RNG shouldn’t even be in the discussion. This game has strayed so far away from it’s roots. I remember when museum came out, so many people demanded how they would quit the game if it ever came to war - and now it’s happening. This is not in the slightest the same game I fell in love with. At this moment I don’t have intentions to quit, but I never in a million years imagined this game stooping down to this level. I never imagined that it could possibly get this bad, and in 2.5 years I’ve never seen it this debilitated. This isn’t fun, this isn’t even fair, rng = pure chance to deliver success, not skill. This game was entirely skill based. 100%. They’ve put this game into a chokehold and I really don’t know how much air it has left.

The new fragment system is beyond abhorrent. It’s the same as loot boxes, or opening packs in other games. There are countries that have by law deemed these RNG based microtransaction pay to win formulas as illegal - because it’s synonymous to gambling, but it’s a loophole in the system that BHG is now fully taking advantage of. Shame on you, truly BHG - shame on you.

I’m beyond disappointed in what they’ve done. I commend the Alliance Leaders who are rolling with the punches and adapting; providing great leadership and setting an example for how we should be playing the game now, and what our priorities should be if we want to find success. So kudos to you guys who are still holding onto that final breath of life that this game has left.

I think they’re business model is absolute trash, I think they know this game has a limited lifespan (they’ve stated this in the past), and most importantly that it’s already hit its player base peak. As the years creep by they will continue to care less about maintaining player satisfaction (which they’ve so clearly proven already), while diverting their energy into milking as much cash out of their one of a kind game as they possibly can, and for that reason, I expect things to only get worse and worse. My alliance is my home, and I will continue to war with my DomiNations family, but if I didn’t have roots so deep with those guys, I’d get the hell out of dodge. The connection I have with all of them is the single fragment of this game remaining that will keep me going.

TinSoldier DomiNations will legitimately never recover from these past few months of changes. You’ve lost your most loyal fans. In the corporate world that I spend 40 hours a week in, I’m often reminded that we learn much more from our losses than we do from our wins. All I can hope for is that you guys recognize the catastrophic losses that you are now accumulating, and that you have a contingency plan in place to rise from the ashes with. I fear that if this is not the case, you and your friends will be looking for jobs in one years time. Rest In Peace to the game that should’ve, could’ve, and was meant to be a tipping point in the mobile franchise. You’ve successfully implemented your own self-destruction.

 

[SirViper]

Very well said. Our family of alliances is held together by the bonds of each other, inspite of these horrible updates. But every day we’re losing some.

 

[shukra]

i'm against hyperbolic attacks for rhetorical amusement or trolling, but this offense feels legitimate.
dominations did an excellent job of holding my attention in the way i like; it still has my attention enough to participate here.
i'm not as hard on them as you; domi's product class is still experimental.
but yeah, the buildup of mistakes is losing me -- and if they handwave an ethical objection that's bad news.

 

[Cannibals]

There’s more activity at lower ages than I have seen in a long time. Perhaps new players who otherwise quit because the game was too easy are now hanging in for the new challenge. Without visibility into player data, it’s impossible to predict what the long term impact will be.

 

[KniferX]

No offense, but this is a load of nonsense.
Are you implying that the average new player is going to keep following the game after apparently quitting it because it was too easy, dig into all the data of the rebalance, all the things that changed and conclude that now he wants to play the game? I'd be very surprised if 5% of new players did that. Even 3%.

Next, we have changes that very negatively impact the average free player, with average skills in the game and average time to put into it. Those make the majority of the playerbase. Then you have the aggresive push of sales of in-game p2w items that make the game immensely advantegous for the very small minority of ''whales'' i.e. people who spend enormous sums of money on the game.
So now you're saying it's impossible to predict the inevitable shrinking of the playerbase in the long term? Are you joking?

 

[skychan]

They're going to make a lot of money in the short term from those few who want to max out their shiney new war toys. A lot. But in the process the game is going to become so unballanced that most others are going to quit now, or in a few months as the pool of people to play against becomes those who have paid to win and those who have not.

Then when the pay to win's meet up with other pay to win's they will realize that what they thought was cool was actually the end.

 

[pckrn]

or, higher age players who still like domi but cant play it a lot anymore after the rebalance are creating alt accounts

 

[Alexey]

My GPA alt account (800 medals) hasn’t been attacked for more that 20 days, it’s defense log is completely empty. It doesn’t have any rational base design, I just put every new building on a free spot on the ground, and it always has a big loot available - I’ve maxed farms and caravans so that I don’t need to attack and just collect resources once per day. This situation strongly contradicts with “increased low level activity” statement.

 

[Cannibals]

I had to go back 9 months to find any iron/classical/medieval bases above 700 medals that weren’t long abandoned or just bugged. In the past three weeks dozens of active bases have appeared. Make up your own story why in the absence of game data.

 

[Alexey]

But what about Enlightenment Age? It still can attack GPA, right?

 

[KniferX]

Would it ever occur to you that it is not a 100% sign of increased activity but:
a) This could be a one-off case of anecdotal evidence, as you are searching in high medals, the same area where active players will likely be found and less of the abandoned ones.
or
b) BHG changed the MP matchmaking algorithm to favour active bases over abandoned ones.

Even if this IS true, you have a non-sensical implication that it's because new players are coming in droves as they mass informed themselves about the rebalance.
While the more logical implication is that the app is back in the front pages of app stores as an 'updated' game, back in players' update queues or that the ads for the game have increased.

We don't need to have exact player counts to predict trends.

 

[Alanswiss]

Strangely enough I can’t wait to see what the next phase of the changes brings ....is it the last ?

 

[True God]

Pay to whinge anyone?

 

[Alanswiss]

Why not ..if people have spent real money on the game , or even if they are just customers , they have a right to comment as they wish , especially since BHG have a website with a forum labelled ...General discussion ...complaining about things a customer doesn’t like ( or even commenting on what they do like ) would seem to be a valid part of discussion......are you getting paid to defend BHG , or are you doing it because you want to ?.....I guess you are not being paid , and so if you are defending them just because you want to , what exactly is wrong with people doing the opposite if they feel they want to ?.
If you are getting paid by BHG, do you expect that post to change anyone’s mind on how they feel about the game they are playing ?
Nothing wrong with your commenting at all of course whether paid or not , however , No-one has to read threads ( except if they are being paid to do so ) that they think might not agree with their views...it’s your choice ( or maybe not ?! ).
I’m guessing BHG are big enough to answer if they think criticism isn’t valid ...or to explain their reasoning better if they feel the need .

 

[Bootney Lee Fonsworth]

Ehh, you're wasting your words on a garden variety internet troll. If its pseudonym doesn't give it away its comment history does.

 

[True God]

Much like yourself then ....

 

[Alanswiss]

I really can’t take people like you seriously , it’s a shame you can’t actually take part in discussions sensibly, but it’s on a par with so many online these days .
I know you mainly only like to whinge about people complaining without any actual ideas of your own , so help yourself ..I fed the troll once , that’s enough

 

[True God]

Yes that just about says it all about you. Yet another (yawn) obnoxious troll on a gaming forum.