An open question to league organziers

[SImpleGeorge]

An open question to League organizers

It is evident that the rules of the leage games are not applied equally to everyone who participates. For example, I picked the highest points for every assignment and yet the first place winner is a cool 6000 points ahead of me. The only conclusion one can draw is that each player is not given the same assignment or the same number of points. Several people have observed this and are fairly angry about it. 

I choose to make my argument calmly but logically. I think this is bad for your business. Why? 

The primary motivation to participate in any league is to win. The prize is not the key to outcome. And if someone is going to spend several hours a day and several days a week to participate in a competition, all he or she wants, is that the rules are applied fairly and squarely to each participant. The moment he or she notices that it isn't and finds that several others have also observed the same issue, ie there is a systematic bias, regardless of the economic or social or technical reasons, large number of individuals who are in this game or league participation will be turned off. And it is very hard to woo them back. The economic and business impact of such negative sentiment is larger than any other motive you may have to reward some individuals over others.

[GInnieSue52]

I think the answer is far less a conspiracy and more the result of programming. I have participated in every ccontest since the inception, and some weeks I get lots of high value assignments. Other weeks I seem to get lots of lower value tasks. I've had contests that included 3 different tasks to produce and collect the same item. It would require a n inordinate amount of computing power to analyze all the factors you mentioned.

The advantages I see for the developers is that cities are growing, levels advancing, and many new opportunities to purchase SIM dollars now exist. 

To be honest, I'm glad the task assignments are so random. It keeps those who buy their way through from always winning.

[bettysadog]

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@GInnieSue52 wrote:

I think the answer is far less a conspiracy and more the result of programming. I have participated in every ccontest since the inception, and some weeks I get lots of high value assignments. Other weeks I seem to get lots of lower value tasks. I've had contests that included 3 different tasks to produce and collect the same item. It would require a n inordinate amount of computing power to analyze all the factors you mentioned.

The advantages I see for the developers is that cities are growing, levels advancing, and many new opportunities to purchase SIM dollars now exist. 

To be honest, I'm glad the task assignments are so random. It keeps those who buy their way through from always winning.

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I too have participated in every COM since they started. Up until last week, I had managed to finish "in the money" in every one, having earned at least the small prize. Last week I finished 51st, admittedly not accepting every one of the highest point assignments available at that particular time but completing quite a few difficult and time-consuming tasks. I do not think it is feasible nor practical to accept every single highest point assignments, such as 18 firepits. 

I do think that collectively, as mayors, we have figured out for the most part how to compete in the COM and epic challenges without spending real money. I only use simcash for airport deliveries, as I am not about to wait 18 hours between takeoffs, unable to complete other tasks. Be that as it may, it finally dawned on me that because of this, if in fact EA's goal was to have us spend money, then the Omega update has quite nicely satisfied this goal. There is no way that one can participate in Omegaville without being separated from good old real cash money. I have 4 omega buildings, one completed and the other 3 at the 2550 upgrade, along with all the ancillary equipment required. I have been able to upgrade my storage to 20 and have had to purchase 2 or 3 items at 100 simcash per to accomplish this. In addition, at 7000 simoleans per processing, I have gone through several hundred thousand simoleans and several hundred simcash's. Mostly driven by curiosity and a victim of impetuousness, this section of the game is way too expensive to continue with. I also learned that each Omega building will earn 200 neosims per day and with all the neoservices running 10,000 each and maglev upgrades at 40,000+, the investment in Omega buildings to drive that kind of earning would require a second mortgage on my home

Tip of the cap to EA for finally figuring out a way to beat us. How much profit will they make when current users figure this out to stop playing? Oh well, nothing lasts forever, right?

[bettysadog]

Update to my previous post, 6 months previous. I had forgotten about this post as it is obvious I have not followed my advice of 7 months ago. As of today, I am proud to report that I now have 92 fully upgraded Omega buildings, my NeoBank capacity is at 70,000, and my NeoStorage is at 55. My drone capacity is 116 and I have 6 of each of the omega services; power, water, sewer & waste. I receive over 18,000 NeoSims daily & also have the omega casino & transportation piece. In reading the previous post, It shocks me now to think I was giving up at 4 omega buildings. The point of this is not meant to brag, but an example of not giving up, not giving in to what we perceive as too hard or unfair or even taking it personal. Stick to your guns, put blinders on, resist negative opinions of others and focus on your goals. Anyone can achieve anything if they put their mind to it. I guess I really just wanted to make Onega work!!

I hope this helps...

[Stykex]

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@bettysadog wrote:
Update to my previous post, 6 months previous. I had forgotten about this post as it is obvious I have not followed my advice of 7 months ago. As of today, I am proud to report that I now have 92 fully upgraded Omega buildings, my NeoBank capacity is at 70,000, and my NeoStorage is at 55. My drone capacity is 116 and I have 6 of each of the omega services; power, water, sewer & waste. I receive over 18,000 NeoSims daily & also have the omega casino & transportation piece. In reading the previous post, It shocks me now to think I was giving up at 4 omega buildings. The point of this is not meant to brag, but an example of not giving up, not giving in to what we perceive as too hard or unfair or even taking it personal. Stick to your guns, put blinders on, resist negative opinions of others and focus on your goals. Anyone can achieve anything if they put their mind to it. I guess I really just wanted to make Onega work!!

I hope this helps...

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I'm just gonna throw in there that spending simcash to build Omega stuff isn't needed. I've so far only spent my simcash on upgrading my factories, and when needed for CoM speed up the airplane delivery or some other part of the CoM. I've spent some real money on this game, but considering the amount of simcash I've spent on factory upgrades, I'd call it quality of life money well spent.

[margiebirds]

Thanks for the encouragement!  

Just curious - how much real cash have you spent?

[bettysadog]

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@margiebirds wrote:

Thanks for the encouragement!  

Just curious - how much real cash have you spent?

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I would say, that over the last 2 years, I average $10 per week, depending on if EA is offering any deals on simcash. About the same as going to the movies once a week, however I spend way more than 2 hours a week playing.

Also stopped spending to upgrade Omega properties, now only spend air and cargo deliveries wait time during COM.

It can be done!