Alright so I've been playing this game for a few months now. I'd prefer to make this thread with more experience under my belt but with the recent update, there's no time to waste.
I created an account just to speak about this. I have little experience when it comes to forums and threads so please, if I am in the wrong place, feel free to move this to a more suitable area in the forums. I do not have a specific aim with this thread other than to address the recent issues and to give my input towards what I believe would be a better game for everyone.
I have read through multiple threads and seen perspectives of many players from new to the veterans of the game. I've seen the response from the BB community towards the recent changes and it seems to be a resounding disappointment. From my experience (this is based on opinion, not facts) you have more than half the community rejecting the change, a small number embracing it as a success and the remainder sucking it up and trying to make positive of the unfortunate circumstance they were put into. I'll add that these remaining players (like many in my guild) aren't happy with it and would prefer an update bringing an outcome with something in between the old and new.
I would like to reference another thread that has caught my attention:
https://forum.battlebay.net/threads/why-would-battle-bay-devs-change-the-game.21981/
The points made here are very interesting and I think YerJokinArnYer has hit the nail on the head when it comes to asking the right questions. First off we need to ask 'why would the devs make this update in the first place?'. To bring an outcome that would benefit us, the actual players of Battle Bay, we must first try and answer this as the devs and Rovio come first. Now I believe 'the customer always comes first' but in this case it was pretty obvious to everyone that Rovio and the dev team did what was in their best interests. As it has been mentioned here in the linked thread, Rovio's aim was to encourage new players to the game. As this is all really only speculation I'd like you, the reader, to decide whether you agree with this or not. Now assuming that this was the case, new players would not only secure the longevity of the game but also bring in more money. From a marketing stand point this does seem to me the most plausible motive for the recent update.
Okay, so Rovio wants their game to flourish and to compete with the other big mobile games out there and profiting as they go. This should be nothing new to any of us. This is why developers create games in the first place. But as it is also mentioned in this thread, the needs of the current players need to be heard and have their needs seen to. I think what has left such a sour taste in many peoples mouths is that we have a thriving community of players who speak actively about the state of the game and issues/improvements that could/should be addressed. But what's not really happening is the 'addressing' part. I can't find a single thread anywhere where Rovio's dev team asked us, the community, whether we would like a change like this to be made. It's one thing to remove somewhat obsolete items from the game. Its another to rework the entire mechanics of a game that many have spent hundreds and often thousands of hours playing. Many have perfected their play style and built ships specifically around the old game mechanics, only to have everything changed overnight without a chance to object.
My opinion on this is that we need to be heard. The community who have devoted their time and money to this game should have an opinion that carries more weight than it currently does. Again, as mentioned in this thread it would be an amazing thing to introduce a vote option ingame. This would would bring the right changes for everyone. You have a vote system fighting on behalf of us, the current players and the dev team who are able to fight on behalf of future players. My two cents on this would be a reasonable update such as 20-30% increase to turret agility and rudder effect scaled off ship stats prior to this update. The dev teams aim was to change the direction of the game towards faster gameplay to encourage new players. If you don't accommodate the old as well as the new then you have a failing system. As of September 11, we make the game what it is. Rovio, please don't take us for granted. As it stands, we pay your rent. I think most of us would have been thrilled to have a buff to ship and turret agility and possibly even a slight scaling increase to ship speed. But this has gone too far.
If any of the devs can respond to this, could you please tell me whether the changes in this update and the affect it would have on the current weapons ever crossed your mind? I for one love my big torpedo but since this update I am finding it a whole lot harder to land it. Prior to this update I was having a hard time landing my Big Berta but now its more than impossible. And to those who say 'learn how to lead your shots', I am very good at leading them. But I can't do much about the unfriends who now have boats similar to that of an Enforcer prior to the update on drugs. You've made it a lot harder for those running skillshot type weapons such as torps and mortars. A suitable compromise would be to buff them all or I may as well just scrap them and build a shooter covered in blast cannons and ex cannons.
Another question that is often asked and or talked about is the match making system and what is going to be done about higher MK ships/higher tier weapons dominating at lower infamies for easy reward acquisition. First we need to ask 'why are these players opting to tank infamy and dominate at lower levels?' and then 'how can we modify this to encourage players to play the game the way its meant to be played?'. Now I've come to this conclusion from my own personal experience and by using good old common sense. These players want lower infamy so they can have easier competition and therefore gain stars easier for better rewards. Well an easy fix would be to have star rewards which scale with infamy. It has always baffled me as to why we have scaling sugar and gold rewards with captain and infamy but not with star crates. Whether you're captain level 10 or 50, you have the same potential to receive stars and rewards from battle?.. This seems flawed from the get go. No wonder players are abusing this. There's nothing more I can say here other than to pass on a suggestion. If you were to implement a reward system based on infamy alone then that would change this overnight. For instance, sub 1k infamy can receive a maximum of 2 stars, 1k - 2k receives 3 stars, 2k - 3k receives 4 stars, so on and so on. This would encourage players to push forwards rather than backwards for rewards. Take away the incentive to reduce infamy and reward players for higher infamy/higher captain level. Of course this would come with a sacrifice for lower level players but its a sacrifice that would benefit the game as a whole. This would help to improve the new player experience by pairing them with other players with similar ability/gear and thus keeping them around for longer. Instead of playing a few games, getting salty as one rightfully should coming up against MK5s when you've been playing the game for less than an hour, and uninstalling. In the long run this would be a win-win for everyone.
Another alternative to star reward changes would be to have star crates that scale similarly to the seasonal infamy league rewards. Perhaps not to the extent of the rewards offered in the seasonal leagues but perhaps a suitable example of a change would be to switch out an uncommon item with rare parts or something similar. One could receive uncommon items at sub 1k. At 1000-1250 you receive one uncommon and 15 rare parts. At 1250-1500 you receive an uncommon item and a rare piece. From 1500 to 1750, a rare piece and 150 uncommon parts. I think by now you get the picture. Of course this is not a perfect system and it would need modifications but it is one that would scale according to your progress, rewarding players for being their best as opposed to being their worst.
As it stands there seems to be far less active players than prior to the update. This is my assumption as sometimes I am waiting for up to a minute in matchmaking which is simply 'bad' for everyone. Typically I'd wait no longer than 20 seconds. There needs to be more communication between us and the devs. Lets work together to make Battle Bay the best game on the Apple store. I write this because I care about the game and the community. I love this game. I loved the game significantly more prior to the update but I love this game nonetheless. That's why I'm willing to fight for this and for the community.
If anyone has any suggestions, please jot them down below. This is the only way we can bring a happy medium to the game which accommodates everyone.
Lets keep the communication lines open and battles in the bay going.
Thanks for listening.
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