Angry Birds Space & Mighty Eagle: Are you KIDDING me? Page 2
  • 268 Comments
  • mvnla2mvnla2
    @craziemom - You paid for ABOS, so why not play it? It's really good, and yes, buy the Danger Zone. Your kids will learn something about space physics, especially gravity, if they play. We are all hoping (expecting?) that Rovio will reconsider the SE price issue.
  • ladycrumbladycrumb
    @craziemom - that's a shame. I'm still enjoying AB space (minus eagles) and just bought the space plushies, but I do understand how this could tarnish one's enjoyment of the game and indeed the whole franchise. I'm waiting to see what Rovio does with the next game and if there are more consumables then I too will be at the end of my enjoyment.
  • MommyB347MommyB347
    Here is the response I got from Rovio:
    Hi,

    and thanks for contacting us. We're sorry to hear that you feel this way. Our intention with the in-app purchases was to introduce extra content for our players and provide an even better gaming experience. Rest assured, we are also going to introduce a whole bunch of free-of-charge updates. These updates will contain loads of Squawktastic new features and start rolling to you soon!

    Umm, I guess that if I were to grade them on "to introduce extra content for our players and provide an even better gaming experience." I would say they need to go to summer school, because they failed.

    Anyone else receive a response as moronic as this one?
  • mvnla2mvnla2
    Who did you contact, or how? Haven't gotten such a non-positive response.
  • heathenheathen
    I just LOVE it when companies put some spin on an obvious BS answer to a complaint and try to turn it into something to cover up the stench that they created in the first place. Reminds me of a few years ago when Best Buy sent letters to their RewardZone members that they were decreasing the amount of rewards they would give you on purchases due to "customer feedback". Like they held a focus group and 98% of those surveyed said that was a good idea to the customer... PUH-LEZE. Paying $20 for Mighty Eagle (which is 20 times what the app itself costs) that can't even guarantee me to be able to use it to get feathers on all the current levels, much less ones added later, in the name of my "better gaming experience". Please don't insult our intelligence, talk down to us like we are children, or talk to us through some sort of marketing spin, which it obviously is. Own up to the mess you created...criticism and feedback regarding recent changes to the purchase/use of Mighty Eagle has caused us to re-evaluate it.
  • MommyB347MommyB347
    [email protected]
    The response came from, Antti
    Angry Birds Team

  • ChaosTsarChaosTsar
    Ok, I've thought about this, calmed down a bit, and my final two cents on this: I don't care and, if I were Rovio, this answer should perhaps disturb them more than anything else (not because it is from me, a single inconsequential player, but because of the sentiment behind it).

    Although not a big fan of this word (dunno why, I just am), I guess I am a "completionist" too, at least I was before AB Space hit. Going into AB Space, I had the same mentality -- I'm going to 3-star every level, find all golden eggs, get a feather in each level, and beat the average score from the leaderboards on every single level.

    However, Rovio was apparently clueless as to this mentality (a mentality that is apparently very, very common), and they have instituted not only an outrageous pricing structure for the Space Eagle, but they have also changed the mechanics of how the destruction works. I have wasted every single "free" eagle given to me and have obtained shockingly few feathers and, quite frankly, I'm done. So... for this completionist, I cannot obtain every achievement, nor can I feather every level. Leaves me wondering why I bothered 3-starring all of the levels, and it leaves me wondering why I would even bother with beating leaderboard averages. It all seems pretty trivial an pointless now.

    So... ok, AB Space is a disappointment for me (at least in terms of the Space Eagle). Big deal, right? I've paid $1.98, so really, no skin off my back. But, I will say that I will definitely think twice about purchasing another game from Rovio. If I can't finish what I consider to be the game at a fair price, then I'm simply going to move along to another game. If others think like me, then this sentiment really should make Rovio sit up and pay attention.

    Sorry for the long-winded response, but I really do mean that I do not care what Rovio does. There are other games out there that will suck up my time, and frankly I'm not inclined to send emails, tweets, angry letters, rants or whatever to Rovio. It is their product and they can live with the consequences of their pricing schemes. I'm a little sad to see the game go south like this, but I've seen better companies than Rovio sink their own ship, and I fear that, with poor decisions like this, it will only get worse from here.

  • SeasickSeasick
    @ Chaos Tsar; I fully agree!
    Apparently I'm also a "completionist"! And I agree that I don't see the point anymore in obtaining all stars, eggs, achievements, etc. With the free eagles (approx 30) I managed to obtain 4 (!) feathers for the first 4 levels... Even if I would buy 980 eagles, and I manage to get all feathers on the actual 90 levels, I probably would need to buy more eagles for the upcoming "free" updates!

    It looks like Rovio didn't learn from their past. They've added again a Smash Maniac Achievement. In less than 4 days I obtained Woodpecker & Icepicker (10K blocks). Assuming I didn't break any stones (ahum...) I should obtain 500K blocks in 200 days. I'm really curious to see if that works...

    10 million downloads in 3 days, 500 million downloads in total. Multiply that with 0,99 dollar on average. Why getting so greedy? Rovio is going to release 4 other Angry Birds games this year and 1 other game. Will they be for free???

    I will still complete all stars and eggs and achievements for Angry Birds Space. That's just my nature, but I will not pay more than 0,99 dollar for the unlimited use of eagles.

    PS. Anyone playing Time Geeks: Find all? I'm missing 1 achievement for Multiplayer master... Add me if you want: Zeeziek
  • heathenheathen
    @ChaosTsar & @Seasick - I agree with your sentiments whole-heartedly. That's one reason why I said above that simply "tweaking" the Mighty Eagle implementation or the available free ones will only lead to more frustration on the part of users. It's the system that is broken, and that's why people are infuriated by it, and apparently beginning to be turned off and lose interest. This is exactly what I predicted, and why I also said that Rovio will probably need to do some sort of make good to make up for lost sentiment amongst its users. However, based upon the "marketing response" above and the rumor that they are looking to tweak the current setup, I honestly don't think that they get it. It's a shame too, as I was a completionist too (although I will get the Danger Zone Score Addict - already bought it, might as well get it), and Rovio helped to kill off that mentality...that's the first step into Angry Birds/Rovio being reduced to an also ran amongst it's customers (as evidenced by ChaosTsar's change of heart/mentality). Sadly, I'm on the same path myself...although I admit it's taking a little longer, but I can already feel the change in enthusiasm.
  • ChaosTsarChaosTsar
    One other comment -- I really do think that users petitioning Rovio to change the pricing structure of the Mighty Eagle are going to be very, very disappointed. Companies in general loathe to give refunds, and I am quite sure that there have been purchases of the multi-pack space eagles. If they make the space eagle unlimited for $.99, they would either have to issue refunds for all users that purchased the space eagle, or they would need to tell those folks tough luck. I don't see either of those scenarios panning out.
  • BirdLeaderBirdLeader
    @ChaosTsar First off, please don't give up. You are very important to this comminity.

    Everyone, including companies, make decisions that sometimes don't work out like expected. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Just think of how much enjoyment you received from these games over the past year or so. I am a completionist by nature too, but I still think there is amazing value and fun in AB Space. Does that mean I like this model? No, I don't. Do I think they will change it soon? Probably not, but maybe we can prevent it from happening again, or if we're lucky, maybe they can implement one of the alt suggestions above.
  • Angry BrockAngry Brock
    Keep liking this FB page. Maybe if we get enough support Rovio will change their ways:
  • Angry BrockAngry Brock
    Remember "New Coke"
  • heathenheathen
    I don't deny that I have had immense enjoyment (and a TON of frustration...LOL) playing these games, but part of that continued enjoyment stemmed from enthusiasm. Kill the enthusiasm, you lose your customers. Sadly, the new pricing structure for Angry Birds Space Mighty Eagle is slowly killing the enthusiasm. I agree with you that sometimes things don't work out as expected when you make such drastic changes (just ask the Coca-Cola company about that one...LOL), but if you don't listen to the customers that got you to where you are, you're not going to have much of a foundation for continued success, unless you are looking for an ENTIRELY new customer base (and personally, I don't see $20 being ponied up by a great enough number of customers to compensate for losing the truly enthused customers that are slowly losing that enthusiasm). I'll put it point blank - I firmly believe there is no way that any tweaking of a per-use-charged Eagle is going to satisfy their customers. That was just a bad idea from the get go, and if you told them that previously and they didn't listen, they have no one else to blame but themselves.
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
    Angry Brock, per BL, " I really don't want links out to Facebook though, so you may see some of those messages disappear. No offense, but I want to keep the discussion here. For one we're able to moderate. Two, there is a much greater chance of it actually having impact. Rovio does pay attention to what goes on here. I'm not saying we can change things -- or even that I agree -- but if we're adults about this (even those of us who might not yet be) we will be heard."
  • heathenheathen
    Well folks, it looks like we have our answer:

    http://www.rovio.com/en/news/blog/148/all-about-the-space-eagle-and-the-danger-zone/2012

    According to one response, they use the cop out that it's a "different mechanism" for charging out the whazoo for its use. Different mechanism or not, it's the per-use-charge that upsets people, not the mechanism, and those two are mutually exclusive of one another.

    Also, isn't is lovely that you can use multiple Eagles? That way your freebies are eaten up faster and you are charged more for their use...

    Once I pick up my Danger Zone score addict, I'm afraid my bird flinging days may be numbered, as I feel joining ChaosTsar in the No Longer Cares department heading my way. I'll be honest and I'll probably play any new levels that come with my purchases to date (all flavors of Angry Birds), but I don't see me getting excited about anything else they release.
  • lostgreybirdlostgreybird
    k
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
    @lostgreybird no posting hacks.
  • mvnla2mvnla2
    Just got 10 feathers (out of 15 attempted) in PB with the entire allotment of free SEs for completing all levels with 3*s. Not sure exactly how many it was ~39???, because I accidentally triggered some the other day. Some seem easy, got the feather with 1 SE; others I gave up on after using 5 or so SEs. Yes you can use more than 1 SE on a single try, but it still deducts from your total. You only get SEs restored if you pause and restart the level before the total starts. Using an SE turns one of the remaining birds into a sardine can. Not sure if there is any value on any level to shooting a bird before using SE???
  • AngryBirdsFanGuy438AngryBirdsFanGuy438
    This and charging for Avatars in ABF really made me lose my confidence that Rovio is a company that cares about their customers, now it just seems to me like Rovio is very greedy.
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
    @AngryBirdsFanGuy438 I don't think anyone has an issue with that. Creating an avatar is certainly not part of completing the game. In fact, charging for that obviously-optional service is very much understood.
  • craziemomcraziemom
    @mvnla2 & ladycrumb My youngest, 11, is still playing, but not as much as he did the other games, the eagle thing is irritating him too. As for myself, knowing I can't get everything in the game just ruined it for me. Yes, I am a completionist in every game that I play, it's part of the fun for me.. If the kids want Danger Zone, I'll buy it on the iPod, but that's it. Not getting it on the Kindle and my daughter doesn't even want it on her Nook. Considering we're all die hard AB players and very competitive this says alot.. I didn't think the no eagle thing would bug them as much as it bugged me, but it appears it has. Hubby hasn't even played space, he really liked getting the feathers..

    @Seasick. Rovio is going to release 4 other Angry Birds games this year and 1 other game.
    4 more AB games?? Seriously? And some other game. Is there a link to info on that?

    I don't know if I'd buy another AB game. Irritated enough with the eagles in Space, don't want another game ticking me off. I'd rather wait and see if they're going to nickle and dime the players in their new games before buying anything. We have so many other games on our devices I doubt we'll miss new AB games..
  • mvnla2mvnla2
    @craziemom DZ is well-worth the extra $ (not much).
    @Slim and BL -- Do you think there is now no chance of getting unlimited-use SEs, as some have said on this site?
  • heathenheathen
    @mvnla2 - According to Rovio's own blog posted today [link above], they will not be doing unlimited SE's for space, but tweaking the availability of earning them. That and their marketing spin on the issue (calling it "improving gaming experience") has done it for me...I'm not anti-Angry Birds, but I am officially no longer a Zealot/Crusader (and it appears that several of you are following that same path - Not a good thing Rovio - to loose your favorite contingencies like that).
  • mvnla2mvnla2
    @slim,BL, and Heathen - Maybe I'm grasping at straws. I'm hoping Slim and BL have some inside info, and the reply on the blog (admit it by a Rovio rep) is incorrect.
  • sal9sal9
    Angry Birds Fans are a very, very tough crowd ;-) ... I can live without eagles and continue enjoying every minute of this 99 cents game and it's many freebies ( updates ) that has given me countless hours of entertainment.
    It will take more than that to shake my "loyalty".
  • craziemomcraziemom
    It's not a matter of disloyalty.. I used to play games on Facebook, loved the Zynga games. When they started that is.. Spent a small fortune on them until virtually everything was for cash and you had to buy them or you couldn't master things and enjoy the games. It was so frustrating I had to quit them. I saw how AB worked on Facebook and had no desire to play it, then when I saw the pricing of the space eagles all I could think of was Zynga. I see Rovio going down the same path to ruination and I'd rather cut my losses now and save myself the future aggravation..
  • heathenheathen
    @mvnla2 - I wished it were incorrect as well...don't get me wrong...usually though those are put out by official sources. Although they can still be retracted and replaced by another company response, the likelihood is not great given the size of the company and the closeness of the group.

    @sal9 - Don't get me wrong, I am still going to play any update for any flavor of flavor Angry Birds that I have already gotten (all four this far), but I am definitely falling out of the zealot/crusader/fanatic category and will not be so excited when I hear the next game come down the pipeline. To its core, this is a simple business transaction, and as the customer, my "loyalty" is bought by providing value for my discretionary income. However, I do not see any value to me in their new strategy, so to me, along with their hardened stance to not change, my value to them has diminished. Since my value to them as a customer has been diminished, so has my passion for the game as a direct result of that diminished value, which I can absolutely feel. They took the first step at severing my loyalty. In a business transaction, absolute loyalty only go so far. If they valued my loyalty, they would correct this slight as a customer that I feel coming from them.
  • lostgreybirdlostgreybird
    So I got 1,000 Space Eagles. I had 8 levels feathered from the "free" SE I got after 3 Star both Pig Bang & Cold Cuts. I feathered the remaining 22 levels in Pig Bang and have 840 left. It took 160 SE to complete 22 levels so I figure if you buy the $20 pack it would last you through roughly 6, 30 level chapters.

    Another good piece of information is that you're better off using them as if they are unlimited and not sparingly. By this I mean, there are some levels that I tried completing in 1 SE shot and tried 4 times (wasting 4 SE & still not getting 100%), then I shot 3 SE in one try and got 100%, completing the level with ease.
  • craziemomcraziemom
    Speaking for myself, I don't want to beat level with ease using multiple eagles, I like the challenge of doing it with a single eagle.
  • heathenheathen
    Actually, from my understanding, just hap-haphazardly throwing sardines cans around to clear the area is actually bad for you on most levels, as apparently, the remaining birds you have left play some role in the percentage of destruction and if you earn a feather or not...so it's not actually Total Destruction, it's a combo Total Destruction + Salvage.
  • craziemomcraziemom
    So, just getting rid of all the pigs and bits doesn't get total destruction. Ugh.. Sounds like I'd waste a ton of eagles before figuring out what's needed in every level to get that feather..
  • lostgreybirdlostgreybird
    It is Total Destruction + Salvage but I was more successful per level, placing the sardine cans strategically than using the birds in particular levels since the SE causes more overall destruction.
    It is still challenging if you use one or multiple per level, I just read most of the posts on here and they seem to be angry about the $ for SE aspect so I posted to help people pay less & complete more.
  • craziemomcraziemom
    My kids would burn through those eagles in no time and I'd end up buying more and more of them.. And I can't justify paying that kind of money for a limited amount of eagles in a game that cost .99. That and buying them would encourage more price gouging in the future. If players want to buy them that's great, but I won't be buying them.
  • heathenheathen
    Yeah, my kid would burn through them as well, and since we have multiple devices, I'd have to purchase them on multiple devices which is simply NOT happening in any way, shape or form....NO WAY!
  • craziemomcraziemom
    Multiple devices here too. And on some you can only buy the HD versions which cost more. I've spent plenty buying them for all the devices. If I'm not buying eagles on my own, I'm not buying them on the others.
  • ChuckyChucky
    @MommyB347 , I got basically the same lame reply from Rovio earlier. I replied, But as with anything Rovio lately, I doubt they will listen or even care.

    We made them too rich, now they don't care what we want!
  • bigbrotherbird97bigbrotherbird97
    I think I would rather have the unlimited use of the eagle, just like in the last three games. Im not going to spend 20+ dollars on the eagle
  • ChuckyChucky
    I couldn't agree more @bigbrotherbird97 !!!

    I have replied as much, but honestly we need more people to send emails to Rovio (and if you figure it out the Management team emails as well).

    This is nothing short of a bad joke, and they seem to be sticking with it based on the reply emails a couple of us have had, and the crap they posted on the rovio site/fb page today (linked above by @heathen ).
  • HabaneroHabanero
    Interesting post from Chaos Tsar which 100% reflects my own feelings towards everything.
    I think my peak of enthusiasm for AB was around Mooncake Festival in Seasons when I briefly
    sneaked to just behind moonsabre in the iPhone rankings for Mooncake, and was ranked in
    the teens somewhere for ABS overall.

    Then, as the luck factor increased with so many 1-bird levels that could give you 80K to 140K for
    the same shot (depending on how many hours you spent on the level) my enthusiasm decreased
    to a low point with Year of the Dragon. Subsequent releases in Seasons and Rio have restored
    my enthusiasm a little but I have definitely moved to just "completing" and spending less time
    trying to elevate scores, and am not too bothered about seeing my ranking gradually slip.

    Ref AB Space. Totally agree with Chaos Tsar really. I now won't even "complete" as don't want
    to have to permanently feed money into the game indefinitely for a set of space eagle feathers.
    Imagine what SG-16 would have earned for Rovio with people trying to get that feather!!
    So will basically just try to 3 star AB Space and play it far more casually than ever before. Won't
    even add my scores in here for Space as I am happy to scrape a 3 star and move on now.
    Will still add scores in here for the original three versions though :o)
  • heathenheathen
    Sadly, this is the case for me...and I am a passionate person by design, so when I start to lose enthusiasm for something, it's almost like a loss for me somehow...hard to explain unless you're the same way. I think SG-16 alone is a prime example of how a per-use-charged Eagle could quickly deplete a reserve, and while I have no doubt that many of these levels can be easily obtained, there is the learning curve factor for each for placement, and I am sure that there are are least a few that will be like SG-16 and require many attempts. I mean it took 6 just to pass the first level for a quality player, and the first levels are always the easiest in terms of game play, so by that measuring stick, a hard level would take many more than that. Sorry, just can't make that investment of money knowing that I am going to get dinged for a learning curve and/or an errant toss of the sardine can.
  • Angry BrockAngry Brock
    @AMslimfordy sorry for posting links to Facebook. Just trying to help out.
  • BillBill
    Paying for power-ups and mighty eagles all started with facebook. It was the same thing. It appears it may be possible that Rovio may plan to do this for ALL future versions/apps.
  • ChuckyChucky
    I did get another response from Rovio last night, and whilst it does have alot more promise than the original email I received, I still get the feeling that nothing will change :(

    "Thanks for the further feedback and my apologies if you felt that our response was not sufficient. As a company we are *always* listening to you guys. It's difficult for me to confirm anything further around the future of Angry Birds Space on behalf of my company, but I would just like to reassure you that we are listening.

    We are indeed paying attention to the discussions happening on forums like Angry Birds Nest. There is some great feedback there, and at the very least we are making sure that it is passed along to other members of the team.

    However I would like to emphasise that at this point in time we believe in the current setup. It's still very early and we will be bringing more ways for you to earn free space eagles in the future, along with the free content that we will be regularly putting out.

    Our fans are important to us and although we may stand behind our decisions, we do listen, and we do consider your feedback with everything that we do."
  • craziemomcraziemom
    Sadly the dollar/Euro speaks the loudest.. I was out shopping today and at one store I went to there were AB Space items set up all over.. I looked, but unlike past shopping trips, I wasn't tempted in the slightest to buy any of it because seeing it irritated me. I played a level today because my son was stuck on a level and I didn't enjoy it. So, yes, the enthusiasm is gone. If they changed back making the eagles a one time purchase like the older games I don't know if I'd bother. Can enthusiasm return??
  • heathenheathen
    @Bill - That's why I don't play games on Facebook, INCLUDING yours truly - Rovio's own Angry Birds...I refuse to have a continuous lifeline to my wallet. NOT. GOING. TO. HAPPEN.
  • heathenheathen
    Regarding @Chucky 's response he got from Rovio - Way to go Rovio. You say that you view these forums, but yet you still persist. Apparently you just don't get it. Don't tick off your most ardent and passionate customers....and then stand by that decision that ticked them off in the first place. Not a good business plan.
  • heathenheathen
    @craziemom - Wal-mart started selling Angry Birds Space merchandise this past Sunday. I was initially going to see if anything interested me, but like you, this whole Space Eagle thing has left a sour taste in my mouth, so when I did go, I simply didn't even bother stopping by and checking it out...Saw it from a distance, but like you, my enthusiasm, while not 100% gone, has lowered to a threshold that I simply do not care to extend or show my enthusiasm/passion for Angry Birds through merchandise. I have bought before t-shirts, a dog chew toy, and a few other items. While I am not anti-Rovio (hence I'm not throwing the items out in protest), I just don't see me purchasing any further merchandise in the foreseeable future.
  • craziemomcraziemom
    Yes, it was Wal Mart. I didn't know if you were allowed to name stores... I have no interest in Space or any future games Rovio puts out, but I do sill like original AB, Rio and Seasons. I have 3 stars and feathers in everything in those including the updates they put out in Rio and the surf and turf in original AB.. I am looking forward to updates in those, but not as much as I used to. I think I still have 1 score addict to earn in one of them so that gives me something to work on. I don't play the Facebook AB.
  • ANGRYdrummerANGRYdrummer
    Agreeing with all of this right now, I will not spend a penny on my eagles either. I have no problem buying danger zones (yes, more are suspected to come, just read the iOS achievements for danger zone where they have a 1 listed after it), although I would like to not spend a ton on every episode coming out.

    In addition, agreeing with all, Facebook still has the biggest rip off stealing schemes of all, having to pay up to 2.99 for an AVATAR??? It's an avatar!!!! Just buying a picture for 2.99??!!! It's outrageous!!!

    Very very very disappointed in rovios recent decisions.


    Also, spreading the word around to help all, MEs don't count if you do not fire them and you restart the level.

    Good luck all, let's pray Rovio decides to make some updates to help us return to a more agreeable mighty eagle rate
This discussion has been closed. Please check the new forum.
← All Discussions
Post in the New Forum!