It's not fair and I think it's really mean 🎶

[Blytonrocks]

When you're waiting for a particular item: axe, can of paint, nails whatever, and no matter how quickly you fill trains, plane and
automobiles ahem I mean zoo orders 😜🤣 you get everything But the item in question! ... it's almost like Playrix is doing it on Purpose, so you end up Buying the item! (If you even can!) ... 💰😵

[Mayfield]

Yes. Nearly every game I play seems to be on a campaign to make games worse and worse.

I think all the people who code games have big posters in their cubicles asking if they are squeezing customers enough to drive us to spend more real or game currency.

[Blytonrocks]

It's so blatant! Like 3 trains will arrive with at least 3 carriages Each, and how many of the item I need do I get? NONE! I smell a 🐀 playrix! 😣

[cdosr]

I'm just going to throw this out there.....

A watched pot never boils

Whenever you are waiting for a particular item and it doesn't arrive, you get annoyed. The more you watch the more annoyed you get. The more annoyed you get the more you convince yourself that there's a conspiracy within the game to deny you the needed item so that you'll have to spend T-Cash to buy it.

Personally, I cannot believe any company has a deliberate program to p*ss off their customers, that's counter productive.

And please, no anecdotal stories about how long you waited for that one lousy hammer. You can flip "heads" a dozen times in a row but that doesn't change the odds for the next flip, it's still 50-50. Random is as Random does.

[gggillis]

The only thing I really spend T-cash for is my own impatience and some nifty highly over priced décor.

[Zealous]

Like mayfield, I have played several games with this problem. However (and this may be because I'm still lowish in level or some other factor) I find this particular game to be a bit more reasonable. I definitely have had the problems the op mentioned, and I've definitely complained about them. But I have actually found that I never ever have HAD to spend real money. I have some tcash that I've earned. I have used some. But the game provides opportunities to earn more, (in my opinion a substantial number).

I recall being really frustrated recently that the train was holding back on saws forever. I have since discovered that when I quit selling my surplus of other expansion items, my saws came. So it seems that, in that case, I was part of my problem. In other cases, I was holding on to all my supplies for community buildings, and this was a problem because it was messing up the game's algorithm or something, so in those cases, selling some things helped. In, still, other cases, I have found that the game messes with things when there's an update coming out (just before verne's experiments I was having all sorts of problems getting any useful expansion supplies).

So then, my point is that, I agree it's frustrating. But I don't think this game has as big a problem with trying to manipulate a player into spending rl money as other games.

[Blytonrocks]

[QUOTE=cdosr;1653104]
Personally, I cannot believe any company has a deliberate program to p*ss off their customers, that's counter productive.

Ah sweet naive cdosr..

[Blytonrocks]

Like mayfield, I have played several games with this problem. However (and this may be because I'm still lowish in level or some other factor) I find this particular game to be a bit more reasonable. I definitely have had the problems the op mentioned, and I've definitely complained about them. But I have actually found that I never ever have HAD to spend real money. I have some tcash that I've earned. I have used some. But the game provides opportunities to earn more, (in my opinion a substantial number).

I recall being really frustrated recently that the train was holding back on saws forever. I have since discovered that when I quit selling my surplus of other expansion items, my saws came. So it seems that, in that case, I was part of my problem. In other cases, I was holding on to all my supplies for community buildings, and this was a problem because it was messing up the game's algorithm or something, so in those cases, selling some things helped. In, still, other cases, I have found that the game messes with things when there's an update coming out (just before verne's experiments I was having all sorts of problems getting any useful expansion supplies).

So then, my point is that, I agree it's frustrating. But I don't think this game has as big a problem with trying to manipulate a player into spending rl money as other games.

You may have a point but I thought when you were waiting for building supplies, you had to sell unwanted items to set the algorithm to get the items you did want?!

[cdosr]

Ah sweet naive cdosr..

Well, I think we're close enough now for you to call me Charlie

You may have a point but I thought when you were waiting for building supplies, you had to sell unwanted items to set the algorithm to get the items you did want?!

Personally I think it's the belief in an "algorithm" that is the cause of the frustrations. People thinking there's some magic incantation or ritual to perform to get the game to give you the last Glass Panel. I see it expressed on this forum and on various FB game related groups. Each person passing on the "word", that they've somehow "messed up the algorithm" (i.e., angered the Playrix dungeon masters).

Look, selling the excess of building materials, barn expansion materials, land expansion tools, is good barn space management, having 24 extra bricks is just taking up space so it is sound advice to sell the excess. But it's not like dancing around a campfire in order to hasten the arrival of good weather.

I spent over 2 years obsessively recording every one of my barn expansions (46 of them), steadfastly refusing to sell any Red Paint, Nails, or Hammers, watching for imbalance in the distribution of these items. Yes there was an ebb and flow, sometimes I'd have 50 extra hammers, sometimes I'd need hammers, but after obtaining 11,400+ barn expansion tools the actual distribution was:

Hammers 32.9%
Nails 33.4%
Red Paint 33.7%

Nearly perfect 1/3 uniform distribution. That's one fine algorithm.

My point is that some of the information being spread around is just folklore, stories conjured from anecdotal evidence. Are they harmful, probably not. What I do find disturbing is that they become a reason to be angry at the game / game developers as "evil manipulators" (throw in the occasional "greedy").

Sorry, it's just one of my pet peeves. As I get older I find I have a lot of them these days.

[JayS]

Well, I think we're close enough now for you to call me Charlie



Personally I think it's the belief in an "algorithm" that is the cause of the frustrations. People thinking there's some magic incantation or ritual to perform to get the game to give you the last Glass Panel. I see it expressed on this forum and on various FB game related groups. Each person passing on the "word", that they've somehow "messed up the algorithm" (i.e., angered the Playrix dungeon masters).

Look, selling the excess of building materials, barn expansion materials, land expansion tools, is good barn space management, having 24 extra bricks is just taking up space so it is sound advice to sell the excess. But it's not like dancing around a campfire in order to hasten the arrival of good weather.

I spent over 2 years obsessively recording every one of my barn expansions (46 of them), steadfastly refusing to sell any Red Paint, Nails, or Hammers, watching for imbalance in the distribution of these items. Yes there was an ebb and flow, sometimes I'd have 50 extra hammers, sometimes I'd need hammers, but after obtaining 11,400+ barn expansion tools the actual distribution was:

Hammers 32.9%
Nails 33.4%
Red Paint 33.7%

Nearly perfect 1/3 uniform distribution. That's one fine algorithm.

My point is that some of the information being spread around is just folklore, stories conjured from anecdotal evidence. Are they harmful, probably not. What I do find disturbing is that they become a reason to be angry at the game / game developers as "evil manipulators" (throw in the occasional "greedy").

Sorry, it's just one of my pet peeves. As I get older I find I have a lot of them these days.

This post needs sticking somehow. Thank You Cdosr for concrete factual info.
The temporary imbalances that gently encourage us to spend a bit drive us all up the wall at times, but good to know for sure, thanks to you, that they even out over time.

(Are peeves expensive/difficult to care for. Do they need frequent visits to the vets? )