Board Thread:Game Discussion/@comment-26829117-20160522124555/@comment-26249703-20160523093055

1.136.97.38 wrote:

Sirebel wrote:

I'm unclear why you are hacked off if you are still receiving 20 ads per day. However, let me put it to you in a more straightforward way:

If I purchase 1000GC (at the eye watering cost of £79.99) then after 66 days of playing the game we both have exactly the same amount of new gold ((20 * d) = 1000 + (5 * d) where d is the number of days, solve for d). So after 66 days, what have I received for my £79.99?

Now if time was of the essence then I would agree with you that I did receive something, I received my gold earlier, but it isn't and that isn't how the gold was sold to me. If the gold was sold with an expiry date of 66 days then again you might have a point. However, none of these conditions were stipulated on my purchase and if they were I would never have spent any money with the firemonkeys.

Basically, purchasing of gold is a deception as you don't actually end up with more gold than anyone else. This, in most legal systems, is termed fraud.

Free gold isn't free gold, you are being paid to watch adverts for which EA receive revenue from advertisers. The reason adverts are limited is because EA only receive so much per advert from the advertisers and want to maintain their value. If they had more advertising revenue then we would see more adverts, it's not a difficult butisness model to understand and one I've implemented for different companies at different times.

I shall be seeking legal advice but I do need to find more examples of people who have bought gold and still receive 20 ads or have not bought gold and only get 5 ads (primarily in the UK) The exceptions are what will prove the rule.

One thing that really annoys me about this game is the inherent unfairness that two people playing the game in exactly the same way, but at different times, don't get the same experience. I don't understand why anyone would start playing this game today as the gold required to get to 100% completion is now totally unrealistic. Do the maths, it's just weird. Hi Sirebel,

Why am I hacked off? 2 reasons, from a selfish perspective, I was about 3-6months from 100% completion. With the GC requirement for new cars added this is going to push out a long way, it's annonying. 2nd, more holistically and to your last point, I feel the frustration of new players who are not entering the game on the same level playing field and probably cannot get to the 100% completion without IAP.

On the other points, I still respectfully disagree with you. Your point about saving time is a subjective personal view and feeling. You feel that you have not saved time but another individual may view this differently and that they benefit from paying for the speed up. The fact that is that if you make IAP you receive the GC now. If you get it through ads you will have to wait the 66 days to receive the full amount. There is a time benefit.

Additionally, either is still a choice. No-one forces you to watch the ad or click the button. You have to make a decision to take this action. If you dont you wont receive the offer and you wouldnt receive the GC in 66 days or whatever time period. With IAP you get a defined benefit at the Point of Sale for a fixed cost.

The argument can also be made that the game can be played and completed without either. As GC is gained from level ups as a fundamental part of the game that can't be avoided you are being provided what you need to play. Yes, it would take a very long time but then you are back to the time argument again. If you want it more quickly you pay for it (or someone else does, ie advertisers).

The freemimum model is widely accepted as well as the pros and cons of it. As the other comment stated above, this is a business, people need to get paid to develop the game and sales targets met. I was happy in the old days to pay for a game up front and get everything. As with IanB1973, I wont pay for IAP for the same reasons. It is what it is and I have accepted that. When the day comes I cant do the grind anymore then I will just move on to something else. If you make an IAP, you do get the Gold in one lump sum, so I guess you get it "quicker" as you would otherwise spend just over two months (in the case of the £80 pack) collecting it through ads. And yes, there is a choice involved in watching those ads. But past those 68 days, you start to lose (or not gain) 15 Gold per day, meaning the purchase that was meant to support the devs and help the players is in fact hindering the latter. Roughly 4 months on from the purchase (let me reiterate £80), not only is the user no richer in Gold, but they're actually down 1,000 Gold on where they would be if they just watched ads like other non-paying customers. So over time, their purchase actually puts them in the hole £80 and 1,000 Gold. There is no actual benefit for long-term players, buying for the first time. If we're talking a more reasonable pack like the 479 pack (still worth £40, I believe), that overall time scale is halved, meaning two months after buying it, they're actually down on Gold from the point of purchase, with no long term benefit.

In the case of the cheapest pack (16 Gold - £1.79), that time scale is even worse: two days after purchase, they're actually down 14 Gold than where they would be otherwise. Then at a rate of 430 Gold per month.