Thank you, EA, for breaking the spell this game had over me. I was a fervent fan until this morning.
I saw the university items, and a particular University Observatory has significant personal value for me, so I aspired to get its look-alike in my city. So great was my commitment to this endeavor that I bought $10 in SimCash when I was almost eliminated from getting to Metropolis league... sped along a few tasks to get the Aquarium.
Then Metropolis. First of all... it jumps from Top 20 to Top 10? I wasn't expecting that. No matter... I was confident I could compete. Spent a lot of time building and begging my Club for help. Bought another $5 in SimCash to complete some high-point tasks... literally required to expedite arrivals for some of the 3 deliveries in X hours tasks. Nice work with that math by the way. In any case, I was generally prioritizing high value tasks and completing every single one. Completed five tickets too. Literally nothing else that could have been done.
Went to bed mathematically in third place (one task to turn in before contest ended) with literally nothing more I could have done. Wake up in 14th place. No observatory. Got some pity Platinum Keys for all my work.
Top score in my league is 13,000 points higher than me. Thirteen. Thousand. I understand that I traded down to 1,200 point assignments when there was a 1,500 point assignment once or twice... but not enough to make up 13,000 points. If this is a "competition," this is like playing football on a field sloped towards one goal.
Now, we've been assured that the field will be made flat in the future, but this nonsense cost me the one item I was willing to compete for. The one that had sentimental symbolism. I feel tricked: I never had a chance at it. Or, perhaps more appropriately, I had a chance at it, but that chance was only remotely correlated to my efforts.
This whole ordeal has embittered me against this game as few things could. I'd take my $15 back -- even in the form of SimCash -- but I'd much rather have the Observatory. I don't suspect I will get either though, and that this will be the beginning of the end for SimCity BuildIt for me.
Not that any of this matters. I'm sure EA is happy they got my $15 and doesn't care what I think, nor does anyone else here. I just needed to rant and to possibly warn the next poor soul who endeavors to spend their hard-earned money to compete that it's not worth it.
