Reassessing my life. OMG, what have I done?

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  • The Dark Knight
    @elpapam

    Same feeling i was saying all the time and now that i am not playing the game i feel so nice! I feel like a burden an anxious that always been there with me. I am way more calm now and i like they way i am now!

    I will stick around the forum even if i have quite all rovio games!

    EF5OX
    @ef5ox

    @angrlee I have moved on also, thanks largely to your original post. I was good to see our frustrations written out. Enjoy your life! I too will stick around here, kind of curious to see the end game or is it the game end?

    datguygamer
    @datguygamer

    Let’s see when other people start quitting as well.

    Rutjan
    @rutjan

    @angrlee Gee, you speak true words of wisdom, here.

    I’ve been enjoying the game since the very beginning. I liked the side scrolling aspect and character upgrade.

    At some point in time (in the early days) I had to restart all over after resetting my device (that was before there was the facebook cloud save thing).

    Ever since, I’ve been doing my best to upgrade birds to level 15, collect the new characters with the challenges and managed to get a few ones (still missing 10 of those).
    Challenges were easy at first, though it took me some time to get to it, I would be in the top 5, playing 4 rounds and waiting for self recharge.
    But after a while, for some reason, challenges started getting harder.
    I’ve made a test, just accomplish one quest and leave it be for some time and guess what: I always end up around queue spot 19/20, no matter if I play like a mad man or not.
    I’m seriously starting to question the AI and wondering if the names of other players on the chart are not just bogus…

    I remembrer the times when you only needed coins to get new birds: now there’s tokens, sparks… gosh, this has become way to complex.
    Like some of you said, I can’t even imagine what it’s like for new players.
    I don’t really know when things started to go South with this game but I think it’s close to the time when energonicons and material things started to emerge.

    I managed to keep up (mainly farming, gathering coins and gems and sending birds to daily 4h missons in order to upgrade all my birds to level 15) but with the latest update and that overpower-level-16-thing, this gave me the hard blow.
    Not to mention the new Ultimate Weapon Trypticon bird that costs 10.000 tokens, which seem virtually impossible to gather if you have a job and a social life.

    So I made up my mind to write to Rovio publically, searching the internet to find an official thread and ended up here.

    I’ve hesitated to get rid of this game for some time and reading you guys just gave me the little push I needed to get my spare time back for other things.

    I’ll keep following the replies to this thread and would be curions to hear of whatever new nonsensical time-consuming manoeuvre Rovio will come up with!

    Optimus_Pig
    @optimuspig

    We’re pretty close to Maximum JARSU so I wouldn’t be surprised at seeing a mass exodus soon.

    Rutjan
    @rutjan

    @angrlee Gee, you speak true words of wisdom, here.

    I’ve been enjoying the game since the very beginning. I liked the side-scrolling aspect and character upgrade.

    At some point in time (in the early days) I had to restart all over after resetting my device (that was before there was the facebook cloud save thing).

    Ever since, I’ve been doing my best to upgrade birds to level 15, collect new characters with challenges.
    They were easy at first, though it took me some time to get to it, I would be in the top 5, playing 4 rounds and waiting for self recharge and so on. I managed to get a few special birds like piece of cake (still missing 10 of those darn birdies).
    But after a while, for some reason, challenges started getting harder.
    I’ve made a test, just accomplish one round in the morning and leave it be for some time and guess what: I always end up at the end of the day around queue spot 19/20, no matter if I play like a mad man or not.
    I’m seriously starting to question the AI and wondering if the names of other players on the chart are not just bogus…

    I remembrer the times when you only needed coins to get new birds: now there’s tokens, sparks… gosh, this has become way to complex.
    Like some of you said, I can’t even imagine what it’s like for new players.
    I don’t really know when things started to go South with this game but I think it’s close to the time when energonicons and material crap started to emerge.

    I managed to keep up (mainly farming, gathering coins and gems and sending birds to daily 4h missons in order to upgrade all my birds to level 15) but with the latest update and that overpower-level-16-thing, this gave me the hard blow.
    Not to mention the new Ultimate Weapon Trypticon bird that costs 10.000 tokens, which seem virtually impossible to gather if you have a job and a social life.

    So I made up my mind to write to Rovio publically, searching the internet to find an official thread and ended up here.

    I’ve hesitated to get rid of this game for some time and reading you guys just gave me the little push I needed to get my spare-time back for other things.

    I’ll keep following the replies to this thread and would be curions to hear of whatever new nonsensical time-consuming manoeuvre Rovio will come up with!

    Xenohart
    @pcguru

    So, I hear what everyone is saying and can’t agree more. I started ABT when it was in beta. I lost my data twice when Rovio “updated”. Considering where I am in the game right now, I would have everything maxed probably more than a half a year ago. I’ve seen all the terrible changes and how it’s become more like AB2 with all the add-ons and costs. I have already taken formal actions to expose some of it, but to no avail. However, we have options. I don’t want to take away from the seriousness and beneficial truth of just walking away, but I have posted elsewhere on the ABT forum, more than once, that the only way to force Rovio to listen is for everyone to stop playing. It’s the same for any consumer-based activity. If you don’t like the prices, then cut out the service. It may be inconvenient for a while … but the benefits could be dramatic. We don’t have to quit unless you really want to.

    Also, I don’t like being taken advantage of anymore than anyone else. It’s not “just” an addiction to keep pulling the handle and hoping the cherries will line up, it’s a hope that things will get better (definition of insanity – doing the same thing over again and hoping for change!). In a world of cruddy, high-speed releases (like Battlefront sucking out $120 from players for just over 2 years of game play and then expecting another $60 for a new release??), half-hearted programming (like ABT), and other cruddy declines in quality that we’re faced with, the real problem is that we keep buying into it. When we allow Rovio access to our private information and sit through the long commercials – WE are asking for it. We could blame Rovio … but they are just taking advantage of what WE are letting them do.

    So – for those who have escaped: good for you! YOU took control back and you deserve that piece of mind. For me, I haven’t played in a few days and I’m fine with that. Do I miss competition points? Yep. Do I miss a daily reward? Yep. Do I care? No. I don’t have to log in every day, obsessed to play the game, and there’s my control. I have shut down access to all of their private data hijacking, and I repeat it every time they update because I know they reset those parameters. It’s only when I feel like it, get bored, or want a quick break that playing again suffices. You can play the game that way, too, and gain control.

    The challenge is that unless we can convince 10 million players to stop simultaneously, it doesn’t matter how often we check back in – Rovio’s making money and so they’re not going to change. I’ve even taking to having fun with the “send feedback” after every crash option (and maybe someday I’ll post that … ’cause it’s super fun!). I just feel sad that people were ‘pushed’ out. I feel sad that people were ‘sucked’ in. I hope, that in reassessing one’s life, we take the opportunity to look at everything. ABT, other video games, electronics, etc. Living life by earning money to buy things (that makes “the man” wealthier) just so we can go back and earn more money (again, to ‘keep’ making “the man” wealthier), is a form of slavery. I’ve written in detail about this on my own blog site – and this “reassessing my life” post – is a perfect example.

    Whatever change you make – and whatever course you take – just remember – it’s yours. You own it. Rovio can’t “make” you do anything – no one can. The only real thing we have control of in this life is our selves and our own choices. Well… anyway … sorry – guess I went off on a tangent. Maybe the real question is – are “we” the angry birds? And, how do “we” [the angry birds], fight back?

    Hmmm…. play well, my friends!

    Soundwave
    @soundwave

    @angrlee Thank you for your post.

    I quit playing back around December. I mentally quit when they messed with the gems in the lab, then I physically quit because I couldn’t keep up with the whole spark thing.

    I jumped back on this board for the first time in months to see how things were going. Your post told me immediately. Thanks for ensuring I didn’t make the mistake of trying to jump back in, which honestly would feel hopeless at this point anyway.

    Congratulations on prioritizing and taking control of your life and choices.

    Optimus_Pig
    @optimuspig

    The weaning process has begun. I’m too far gone to just quit cold turkey.

    As of today, no more daily quests and no more sparkruns. The only reason I ever did them was for the sparks (and gems), but the meagre payouts aren’t worth my time and effort.

    I’ll continue with Challenge/Competition runs for now, but without the daily quest there’s really no reason for regular map runs.

    I’ll continue with missions, as those are low effort, and since I only do the 12/24h missions the amount of time I spend on them is low.

    Pig Labs spins are a huge time waster, especially with the drastically reduced gem payouts since early this year. Unfortunately like anyone with a gambling problem, I’m addicted to the spins just to see what I’ll get. However with only collecting missions twice a day and no daily quests, I’ll have significantly fewer materials to spin with, so that will help kick the habit.

    I’ll probably play until my hard-earned gem hoard is used up. If I can quit for good before then, all the better. But once the gems are gone, then there’s no practical way to continue given the way the special events are now designed, so that’s a hard cap.

    Wish me luck, and good luck to everyone else trying to get out.

    AngrLee
    @angrlee

    @optimuspig

    I think your approach is a good one.

    I will share here that getting out of this has been a total life changer. I realized that I had reworked my whole life schedule around this stupid game. I purposely set my alarm an hour earlier than I needed to EVERY day to make sure I had time to do all the daily quests, the spark run, collect my mission materials, spend 25 minutes in the lab for a few paltry gems, do the Jenga runs – 4 of them – if the day’s reward was gems, and do the 5 challenge runs during a challenge. Every night, I would stay up an extra 45 minutes getting everything I could done. So every day, it was the last thing I did, and then when I woke up, the very first thing I would do. Sick man.

    This morning, I literally found myself with like nothing to do since I have been getting up just to do this for 2.5 years. So I did some work, texted my kids, read, took a leisurely shower then changed my alarm clock.

    Similarly, I used to carve out an hour between work and dinner. I would sit in my car in a freaking parking lot like some stalker and do all the things I could again. GAH, what a sickness.

    What is weird is that I felt kind of off balance without this thing in my life at first. The release of stress is amazing. I had no idea how much I had modified my life around this game and I didn’t realize how often it was dominating my mind. If someone asked for a meeting, I would evaluate whether it would impact the 30 minutes I blocked on my calendar midday to play. And now I realize how many times during the day I used to think about how badly I needed to check in to see where I stood in challenges and try to sneak a run in without spending stupid gems.

    So good luck. I know you will find a similar release as you climb out of the ABT hole.

    Optimus_Pig
    @optimuspig

    @angrlee @20qmindreader

    I respect both of your opinions, and I’m glad that you concur with my overall approach to this.

    AngrLee – what you describe is exactly what I’ve been doing. I would get up far too early, stay up much too late, and wake up in the middle of the night. I’ve played this game in parking lots and when I’m out having dinner with friends and family. Definitely not healthy, either mentally or physically.

    Mindreader – I’m sure that even after I’m finally done with this game (hopefully sooner rather than later), that I’ll still pop by ABN from time-to-time for a visit and a chat and to see what’s up.

    And I’m sure what I see will validate my decision to move on.

    Cheers

    datguygamer
    @datguygamer

    It’s sad when a company that has so many beloved fans can’t take care of their games properly and thus lose players. This is not just in this game forum the same is happening with other forums I visit as well. Players are quitting but not by much. So in the end, Rovio cares little.

    I quit once but since I had gems, I decided to come back. If I never had that gem glitch in the past, I would have been the first to quit this game permanently. I am also playing but very casually. I am in no hurry to quit but at the same, in absolutely no hurry to play seriously.

    Nightcrawler
    @sam-spargo

    I’ve uninstalled abt possibly for good this time

    Optimus_Pig
    @optimuspig

    I’m finding it really hard to get myself psych’d up for this new Headmaster event. Not playing has actually been a lot easier than I thought it would be.

    The Dark Knight
    @elpapam

    @sam-spargo welcome to the salvation side!

    Pampeans
    @pampeans

    Hi all!

    I’m just checking in to say hello. I stopped playing ABT over 7 months ago now, but occasionally lurk on the forums to see what’s going on. Initially, I stopped playing cold turkey, but didn’t delete the game. At the time, I was in the middle of a heated exchange with Rovio support when for the 1st time, after playing from day one, I had two “666’s” — one in pigs and one in gems. A clear sign that (among other things) this game and the urge to play it was controlling me and ruining my life. The game just sat idle on my iPad for months until I checked in here and read up on things like “spark runs”, “JARSU”, “pay-to-play” and the whole “over-power” situation. That gave me the nerve to delete the game, along with AB2, ABF, ABA, etc. You get the picture. Free! But, no hate towards those who continue to play. I do miss the camaraderie and conversation on the forums, but freedom always come with a price. You guys definitely made the game more enjoyable for me and I am grateful for all of the tips and advice. Cheers!

    Optimus_Pig
    @optimuspig

    @pampeans

    Glad to see you’re doing well.

    You definitely made the right choice.

    AngrLee
    @angrlee

    Likewise @pampeans and @optimuspig

    Just checked in to the forums. Been a couple months now. Nothing new at aall. Same sh!t So glad I got out.

    ramonpontes
    @ramonpontes

    Looking back on this tread makes me feel guilty on how I still change my routine around this game. I must admit that I cannot simply stop playing, because I’m still addicted, but also, I’m having some fun playing the game.

    I’m trying to convince myself that I don’t need any more sparks, as I already have three bots fully promoted. If I can get rid of this single feature, I can totally skip the daily challenges and Spark runs at all, and also, on events, I can play only until I get all accessories, skipping the spark canisters. This will reduce significantly the amount of time I spend on this game.

    I think I will be collecting sparks until they release the new bot. After that, I hope I can have the willpower to skip them.

    AngrLee
    @angrlee

    @ramonpontes

    I know exactly how you feel. If I can JUST get this or JUST get that… remember these are literally a few megabytes of data that represent your user profile. You can’t share it with people, there is nothing material. If Rovio decided tomorrow to shut ABT off, then so be it. They did this with Croods. Or they could nerf TFs or weapons or change the fundamental economics of the game or or or. All of which they have done multiple times. You are chasing an imaginary “best” that lives in the cloud somewhere.

    Anyway, I wish you luck. It was really hard for like three days as my routines were turned upsidedown. I ended up with about 2.5 hours back in my day, and got a lot more sleep, and stopped sneaking around to get a half hour in. I had played for 2.5 years. was not easy to remember what I did with that time.

    So glad I climbed out.

    Tobyjug
    @tobyjug

    Like most games I’ve downloaded and played, there comes a point where every achievement has been made, every aspect of the game has been covered, everything has been upgraded – then that’s it – end of game. That ABT has been played for so long is credit to the way the game was originally conceived.  Some games I’ve finished in one afternoon.  And like an old pair of well worn jeans that need to be binned, I feel sad for a bit, but then get a nice new pair.   Perhaps if Rovio came out with the last hard update that included the missing parts of the map under the clouds and with some end game content, followed by a few soft updates to eke it out, they would give the game back its appeal.

     

    Deadeye
    @bproue

    It is time for me to say goodbye to ABT. I was out for awhile back when the Hard 24 update wouldn’t let Android systems work. Unfortunately a month latter they fixed it and I started again. I was so far behind the rest of the players that I could not compete for first second or third place. Now I am lucky to get tenth. The strong get stronger and the rest either pay for Sparks and Gems or take what scraps are left. Now Gems have dried up from the Lab and Missions. I see scores well over 140,000 while I sit at 30,000. Like someone already said, the game needs an ending. A final Goal.

    Deadeye signing off.

    moi
    @moifirst

    @tobyjug @bproue
    Do you really think that Rovio/Exient would slaughter one of its cash cows?

    Deadeye
    @bproue

    They may not slaughter it but they sure are milking it dry.

    Xenohart
    @pcguru

    There’s no way they’ll stop. With the new tf movie coming – they’re banking on the increased traffic. Plus, tf is already scheduled for a No. 8 movie by at least 2019. So …. the question is will they dump this game for a abt #2, like they did with their star wars version, or will they actually expand the current game. All things considered … like most game companies, I would hedge my bets on no. 2 game … but who knows? I agree about the competitions … too hard to compete anymore. Therefore, no new transformers and therefore, no reason to keep playing. Meanwhile, what Rovio calls entertainment (which is just a glorified way of saying “enhanced advertising” these days), will continue to plague the masses!! My only shock is that this comes out of Finland and not America … I expect it from America … *sigh*

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