Idol, why don't you use Timelines Talks to promote such an action? I only have written platforms to make statements on but you have something better. Why not use it if you're looking for WRG to change things?
I mean if you watched you would know that we do...all the time. Everytime there is something wrong with the game we call them out on it as much as we have them on for Q&A. We even had a public apology from WRG_Ben on stream about the Adira-gate stuff on stream. We do hold them accountable for this stuff.
But also it's a stream where we have a few drinks and have fun with the game and our community. Like running Charity Streams and competitions for our community, the 12 hour voyage leaderboards and shouting out top event performers every week.
We hold the mirror up with our spoof videos and ongoing commentary with Auto's rants about various things like Suspiria and Dreamwalker Chakotay. We praise where we should, we also criticize where we should but most of all we do what we can for people who want to have fun with this game and (hopefully) provide an entertaining show along the way.
Yeah, if Timelines Talks was just a WRG slam-fest of negativity I don’t think it would be any fun to watch or appear on. Thanks again for having me, Idol!
The only thing that has ever made a profit driven company take notice of deficiencies or an unhappy consumer base, is to lessen their profits.
No show of unity will work.
Berating or complaining on a stream may work better than the show of unity.
The only sure fire way to send a message is to stop spending.
Now yes, there will always be the anonymous LTO buyer, or ghost like fleet mate who wants his monthly dilly. However I see the names that post on these forums, I’ve seen the bridges at the top of the leaderboards. I am aware of many who spend a LOT on this game to get that all elusive 12 hour voyage, and those that spend to stockpile a dragon’s hoard of cites, to just wait for that next dope card coming down the pipe.
If those aforementioned people stopped spending on the game for a week, even upwards of a month, and if we’re really serious, not at all for the rest of the year, you don’t think they might just notice that?
And if we’re really concerned about the building being shuttered in that event, is it really a good idea to prop a company up with yer hard earned money, that has clearly built their castle in the sand?
Point being, show yer discontent with yer wallet. Organize it here. On discord. And you have the stomach for it, in UC.
Please do it in UC. It would elevate the chat.
If mixing it up a bit and having some fun is the goal, have a multi-fleet Gauntlet like a number of fleets do - the SunCoast/ACE/Vulcan Science Academy Gauntlet, "The Forge", comes to mind. (Shout out to t'Fil!!) Shared Discord for smack talking, results channel, a Fleet recognized for their accomplishments, occasionally a theme. Doesn't require people leaving their fleet to enjoy some friendly competition.
If protest or pushing a particular agenda is the goal and you think changing their names to show dissatisfaction is the ticket - go for it. Have a number of people change their name for an event. A lot less messy than switching fleets around.
For recruiting, there's a Fleet section of the Forum for those purposes.
With regards to quoting Gene Roddenberry, my favorite is, and completely appropriate in this forum,:
It isn't all over; everything has not been invented; the human adventure is just beginning. And Wide Brim is always right
Microhopper the Academy have long studied the phenomenon you are now checking , be assured we have concluded " Time travel is impossible but Wide Brim is always right"
T'fil Vice-Principal - Species Outreach and Xenoarchaeology Vulcan Science Academy
"There is nothing to gain from haste but error." Surak Second Analects
Microhopper the Academy have long studied the phenomenon you are now checking , be assured we have concluded " Time travel is impossible but Wide Brim is always right"
I knew Brim before he gained the Wide part of his name. Wide Brim is not always right.
At the risk of posting way too often, here are all of my thoughts:
1. If you want to have a superfleet for awhile because it will be fun, go for it. Just don’t expect it to lead to any changes and don’t expect the high to last for longer than a month.
2. If you want to make a change, it has to be done using money (or rather, by conspicuously not spending it on Timelines). Fleet tags and forum uproars may work when DB/TP screw up (e.g., the bannings), but take away the revenue and you have a chance at a lasting impact.
3. It’s not clear that everyone agrees on a specific set of issues that TP should work on.
This is the hard part: identifying issues to focus on and communicating changes to TP.
My main objections are that TP doesn’t seem to have a vision for the game (it feels like development has stalled for players who have been here for awhile) and doesn’t put in the effort needed to ensure they put forward a quality product (so many errors). Secondary objections: there is not a good way for TP to communicate with us (and vice versa), many game features (including pack purchases) feel like they’re tied to RNG, and new players have little information on how to play except for resources made by members of this community.
What does making a super fleet have to do with sending a message to WRG? It doesn't. Why don't you call it what it is...making a super fleet to dominate the leaderboard. Plain and simple. The only thing about it that is United is that no one has any true suggestions on how to actually make the game better for everyone. Should be a fun chatty fleet and very clever way to fast build a fleet even though the end result is poaching from other fleets when people like this fleet better. Nothing about this helps the game or sends a message.
At the risk of posting way too often, here are all of my thoughts:
My main objections are that TP doesn’t seem to have a vision for the game (it feels like development has stalled for players who have been here for awhile) and doesn’t put in the effort needed to ensure they put forward a quality product (so many errors). Secondary objections: there is not a good way for TP to communicate with us (and vice versa), many game features (including pack purchases) feel like they’re tied to RNG, and new players have little information on how to play except for resources made by members of this community.
This sums up a lot of my thoughts pretty closely. I might expand on it if I have time. Thank you for posting it.
60 Days from right now pops the cork on the *6 year* anniversary of this game in public release.
6 years.
No, objective events aren't 'new content' or new event types. Yes, the only 'new' content released is 3 new cards each week and a new event. But this isn't exactly new, either.
This has been the case, roughly, since 2018. The game has changed ownership/development hands twice since then. Studios had downsizings. Work from home became the need from covid.
And yet, here we all are - some of us the same faces from 6 years ago complaining on the original forums. Lord knows I've been one of them. The complaints largely don't change. And, for the most part, the game doesn't either. And slowly, although you see some names pass like ships in the night, the leaderboards each week show a still strong player base for a niche mobile game, and they are still very willing to part ways with their money.
I think at this point, it's much more logical to realize that a mobile game 6 years in market with weekly updates and getting new licenses from new shows is probably as good as its going to get. Nothing is going to change that. The code the game was built upon by the original team 7ish years ago isn't what we would akin to being a stable house that you build a new story on top of. At this point, it's more of a 'take it or leave it' with the state and direction of the game. After 6 years, if you're still here, you probably aren't leaving.
And the Game of Thrones game, which ended a few years ago due to licensing, had much worse issues than this. They just repeated the same events over and over. And the player base was very vocal, but hands were tied because of the global license issue. And yet, people still spent all the way up until the end. Trek has been in popular culture for 55 years, GoT books hit 20 years ago, the TV show 10 years ago. One could argue globally it was more popular than Trek. Still what we would call a niche audience for a mobile game.
Not trying to discourage and poopoo anyone's ideas or attempts to gain traction. Just giving a perspective of someone who's done that, many many times, to the extreme lengths of going to Boston and meeting with the head of DB to voice concerns. It's just a game, no matter how much time or money you've put into it. Nothing will change that. One day the servers will turn off and you will never see these pixels on your phone screen again. Enjoy it for what it is while you still can.
I think @Frank? makes a pretty good point. The game has not changed much and the developers seem to be perfectly content with just leaving it as is, and hoping that the newly recruited players get enticed to spend real money in order to keep up with the people who have established rosters. Everything that we have seen added to the game in the past 2 years has been geared toward this end.
But the above mentioned model is ENTIRELY dependent upon having veteran players, for the purposes of enticing new people to spend money, and the added bonus of providing in game encouragement to spend more money and time playing events and buying offers. We are our own achilles heal. We are simultaneously the reason that WRG is driving the "buy this new offer" bus and seemingly perfectly content with changing nothing. We are recruiting everyone for free. We are developing game tools for free. We are providing player resources for free.
And WRG rewards us by:
1. Not fixing the voyage bug.
2. Refusing to provide any new ways to utilize crew with new game modes/features that are different from what already exists.
So, my proposal:
We work across our fleets, across UC, across all discord channels, we attempt to gain support from the folks who run the fan streams and we stage a spending/login strike for the time period of precisely 1 in game event, Thursday through Monday, at a TBD date. This will take time to organize, but as it has been mentioned above, the only way to get these peoples attention is to organize something of this magnitude.
To make this more effective, I believe that all discord bots, all online player resources/websites should be disabled for this time period as well. I think that it is about time the folks at WRG understand precisely how dependent they are upon the players contributions to not only their profit margins, but to the actual viability of the game itself.
Please PM me if you are interested in trying to help me campaign for support in this initiative.
I mean, this is pretty much untrue. They literally just fixed the GET menu bug in the latest release and there have been numerous other issues which have been addressed. To say they've never fixed anything that was broken (voyages aside, but that appears to be a larger issue) is a bit of a misnomer.
I mean, this is pretty much untrue. They literally just fixed the GET menu bug in the latest release and there have been numerous other issues which have been addressed. To say they've never fixed anything that was broken (voyages aside, but that appears to be a larger issue) is a bit of a misnomer.
Fixed it just for you. In the spirit of trying to find consensus and common ground and avoiding confrontation with fellow players as my beef is with the developer.
At this point I pretty much think Shan and Ben are the sole employees of this company.
I think Shan and Ben are the only employees that are completely dedicated to STT. I think other people from WRG/TP chip in, with various amounts of their work weeks dedicated to the game.
Comments
We did consider this for a moment as I know Auto is a fan! We did a watchalong, should really organise another at somepoint.
No show of unity will work.
Berating or complaining on a stream may work better than the show of unity.
The only sure fire way to send a message is to stop spending.
Now yes, there will always be the anonymous LTO buyer, or ghost like fleet mate who wants his monthly dilly. However I see the names that post on these forums, I’ve seen the bridges at the top of the leaderboards. I am aware of many who spend a LOT on this game to get that all elusive 12 hour voyage, and those that spend to stockpile a dragon’s hoard of cites, to just wait for that next dope card coming down the pipe.
If those aforementioned people stopped spending on the game for a week, even upwards of a month, and if we’re really serious, not at all for the rest of the year, you don’t think they might just notice that?
And if we’re really concerned about the building being shuttered in that event, is it really a good idea to prop a company up with yer hard earned money, that has clearly built their castle in the sand?
Point being, show yer discontent with yer wallet. Organize it here. On discord. And you have the stomach for it, in UC.
Please do it in UC. It would elevate the chat.
If protest or pushing a particular agenda is the goal and you think changing their names to show dissatisfaction is the ticket - go for it. Have a number of people change their name for an event. A lot less messy than switching fleets around.
For recruiting, there's a Fleet section of the Forum for those purposes.
With regards to quoting Gene Roddenberry, my favorite is, and completely appropriate in this forum,:
It isn't all over; everything has not been invented; the human adventure is just beginning. And Wide Brim is always right
.
"There is nothing to gain from haste but error." Surak Second Analects
At first I thought that was a misquote. But upon checking it further...
"There is nothing to gain from haste but error." Surak Second Analects
Proud member of Patterns of Force
Captain Level 99
Played since January 2017
TP: Do better!!!
I knew Brim before he gained the Wide part of his name. Wide Brim is not always right.
1. If you want to have a superfleet for awhile because it will be fun, go for it. Just don’t expect it to lead to any changes and don’t expect the high to last for longer than a month.
2. If you want to make a change, it has to be done using money (or rather, by conspicuously not spending it on Timelines). Fleet tags and forum uproars may work when DB/TP screw up (e.g., the bannings), but take away the revenue and you have a chance at a lasting impact.
3. It’s not clear that everyone agrees on a specific set of issues that TP should work on.
This is the hard part: identifying issues to focus on and communicating changes to TP.
My main objections are that TP doesn’t seem to have a vision for the game (it feels like development has stalled for players who have been here for awhile) and doesn’t put in the effort needed to ensure they put forward a quality product (so many errors). Secondary objections: there is not a good way for TP to communicate with us (and vice versa), many game features (including pack purchases) feel like they’re tied to RNG, and new players have little information on how to play except for resources made by members of this community.
"There is nothing to gain from haste but error." Surak Second Analects
I am Wide Brim (most of the time) and I approve of this message
.
6 years.
No, objective events aren't 'new content' or new event types. Yes, the only 'new' content released is 3 new cards each week and a new event. But this isn't exactly new, either.
This has been the case, roughly, since 2018. The game has changed ownership/development hands twice since then. Studios had downsizings. Work from home became the need from covid.
And yet, here we all are - some of us the same faces from 6 years ago complaining on the original forums. Lord knows I've been one of them. The complaints largely don't change. And, for the most part, the game doesn't either. And slowly, although you see some names pass like ships in the night, the leaderboards each week show a still strong player base for a niche mobile game, and they are still very willing to part ways with their money.
I think at this point, it's much more logical to realize that a mobile game 6 years in market with weekly updates and getting new licenses from new shows is probably as good as its going to get. Nothing is going to change that. The code the game was built upon by the original team 7ish years ago isn't what we would akin to being a stable house that you build a new story on top of. At this point, it's more of a 'take it or leave it' with the state and direction of the game. After 6 years, if you're still here, you probably aren't leaving.
And the Game of Thrones game, which ended a few years ago due to licensing, had much worse issues than this. They just repeated the same events over and over. And the player base was very vocal, but hands were tied because of the global license issue. And yet, people still spent all the way up until the end. Trek has been in popular culture for 55 years, GoT books hit 20 years ago, the TV show 10 years ago. One could argue globally it was more popular than Trek. Still what we would call a niche audience for a mobile game.
Not trying to discourage and poopoo anyone's ideas or attempts to gain traction. Just giving a perspective of someone who's done that, many many times, to the extreme lengths of going to Boston and meeting with the head of DB to voice concerns. It's just a game, no matter how much time or money you've put into it. Nothing will change that. One day the servers will turn off and you will never see these pixels on your phone screen again. Enjoy it for what it is while you still can.
But the above mentioned model is ENTIRELY dependent upon having veteran players, for the purposes of enticing new people to spend money, and the added bonus of providing in game encouragement to spend more money and time playing events and buying offers. We are our own achilles heal. We are simultaneously the reason that WRG is driving the "buy this new offer" bus and seemingly perfectly content with changing nothing. We are recruiting everyone for free. We are developing game tools for free. We are providing player resources for free.
And WRG rewards us by:
1. Not fixing the voyage bug.
2. Refusing to provide any new ways to utilize crew with new game modes/features that are different from what already exists.
So, my proposal:
We work across our fleets, across UC, across all discord channels, we attempt to gain support from the folks who run the fan streams and we stage a spending/login strike for the time period of precisely 1 in game event, Thursday through Monday, at a TBD date. This will take time to organize, but as it has been mentioned above, the only way to get these peoples attention is to organize something of this magnitude.
To make this more effective, I believe that all discord bots, all online player resources/websites should be disabled for this time period as well. I think that it is about time the folks at WRG understand precisely how dependent they are upon the players contributions to not only their profit margins, but to the actual viability of the game itself.
Please PM me if you are interested in trying to help me campaign for support in this initiative.
I mean, this is pretty much untrue. They literally just fixed the GET menu bug in the latest release and there have been numerous other issues which have been addressed. To say they've never fixed anything that was broken (voyages aside, but that appears to be a larger issue) is a bit of a misnomer.
Fixed it just for you. In the spirit of trying to find consensus and common ground and avoiding confrontation with fellow players as my beef is with the developer.
Has anyone ever seen them in a room at the same time?
I think Shan and Ben are the only employees that are completely dedicated to STT. I think other people from WRG/TP chip in, with various amounts of their work weeks dedicated to the game.