Why is Global Trade HQ so awful? Suggest real auctions....

[ScottMemberg]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Here is an IDEA PUT IN SOME CODING THAT DOESNT HAVE MORE THAN 3 OF THE SAME ITEMS AFTER A GDAM REFRESH !!!!!!!!! for the love of god!!! FIX THIS@!

[snl678]

To make things worse, now we have to wait 30 seconds to refresh the global trade hq. Just to go through items we do not need. Why isnt there category or search opt. Make the prices high but make it searchable.

[04710471dsfdsfgd]

I've been chatting back and forth via email to the EA Buildit people.

They think they have made the right decision here and are NOT going to be taking the timer off. I'm done with this.

Anybody else remember the disastrous SimCity launch in 2013? EA seems to have a real knack for pissing its games away.

[SteelCurtainUSNA]

It's a freemium.

They want to make the Global Trade HQ as frustrating as possible---but just on the outer limits of functional---in order to influence you to just purchase what you need with SimCash rather than Simoleons. It's the only reason they thought the 30s refresh change is a good idea. People were buying things too "easily" when all you had to do was go out and then go back in to refresh and get a new list.

You'll get what you need---rarely---and that is the point. Pay $5 and get what you want right now without having to deal with that Global Trade HQ garbage!

[BasinCity]

I've been developing web apps longer than EA, and can state with 99% certainty that the 30 second timer was added to reduce server overloads (and reduce their bandwidth costs as well as drive up item sales...). The horrible exchange design forced players to repeatedly speed-search the exchange trying to find that last dozer blade or camera they needed to expand their city or storage. There were clear signs the system was overloading, including server time-outs. Instead of fixing the exchange, they made it worse.

[vekien]

Incompetent developers, can't make a simple trading post work.., it's so simple to fix too, even while keeping sever issues low.

[BasinCity]

I wouldn't say they are incompetent, as they have developed a compelling, fun app. They have, however, not done a good job of implementing a player-friendly exchange.

I thought of another reason they might have added the timer... to try to reduce the potential for repetitive stress injuries. The timer forces players to do something other than tap and swipe the inventory three time, close and repeat. I call it a carpal tunnel timer...

If their game team says they aren't going to improve the exchange, they will lose players as they become more and more frustrated every time they see the dreaded out of inventory message. My internet provider has the second highest speed available in the country, but there is still a relatively long lag between tapping the item and opening the selling city's inventory rack, even during late night hours when server loads would normally be light. That lag makes 80% or so of the items needed for expansion out of stock by the time the rack opens. If it is in the rack, it is no longer available more often than not.

I tracked over 200 visits to the exchange to get just one dozer blade...

Hopefully someone from EA is reading and will pass on how frustrated we all are.

[etamni103]

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@BasinCity wrote:
I wouldn't say they are incompetent, as they have developed a compelling, fun app. They have, however, not done a good job of implementing a player-friendly exchange.

...even during late night hours when server loads would normally be light.

I tracked over 200 visits to the exchange to get just one dozer blade...

Hopefully someone from EA is reading and will pass on how frustrated we all are.

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I didn't count visits, but had a similar experience yesterday trying to get one more storage lock.  The thing is, the 30-second timer just means I don't see a new batch of sales when I go back to the Global HQ, and instead see the list I just looked at.  It doesn't keep me from twitching city after city looking for the items I need. Ultimately, I found the lock listed as a side-item when I clicked on an unrelated item that looked like a good buy, when no locks were listed in the main listing.

Also, don't forget that the game has a significant global audience, so late night for you may be prime time for someone else.

[BasinCity]

@etamni103, A large majority of EA's gamers are most likely in one of seven time zones. If you spend enough hours in game, you can definitely get a feel for when EAs servers were struggling to keep up with the load. There is also a time each day when dozer blades are far more likely to drop from a thought bubble, but I'm not sharing that very valuable bit of info. I have to interrupt sleep to be able to pop those bubbles and get those blades... ;-)

[Keithustus]

Responding to some of the FAQ thread OP:

"Global Trade HQ has been a very popular feature"

Haha!  Do you know what is far more popular?  Toilet paper.  By your logic, toilet paper is possibly the most popular product in the world!  Probably only water is more popular.

"Certain items have a higher demand than others, and generally the high demand items will sell a lot quicker than the low demand ones.
If we added a feature that would enable players to search for a specific item type, it would make the high demand items sell incredibly fast...."

How about solving supply and demand the same way real markets do?  Don't have price ceilings.  If I could put my nails up for sale for 500 simoleons each instead of 20, it would NOT be a race to see who can tap it first, but a rational choice of whether something is actually worth the value requested.