-
Wall of text ahead, beware.
I’ve posted comments like this in response to others several times, but I haven’t ever made a single post for my issues with this game. In fact, I’m not even sure how many of my comments have been read, since my posts often seem to be the last ones posted in a forum thread. So I finally decided to put my thoughts together in a single forum post. Here it is.
I’ve read a lot of issues people have with Angry Birds 2. Lives, cheaters, bird strengths, pig strengths, micro-transactions, spells, etc. For me, only the lives were an issue. I enjoyed the choose-your-own-lineup mechanic, and the semi-randomness of the levels was something I could ultimately live with (as there are some constraints on the tower slots so that they will retain certain characteristics between playthroughs). I don’t use the “last chance”-type “add another bird” option at the end of levels, and I hardly use spells (unless they’re pre-provided), so lives were the only thing I ever spent gems on. I never noticed any major differences in bird and pig strengths, and anything I did notice I attributed to the different game engines used between the games. Somehow I never encountered any cheaters in the arena, but I have to say – regardless of the preventative mechanisms Rovio puts into place, cheaters will ALWAYS find some weakness in the game to exploit. It’s upsetting, but true. I will admit, though, the large number of levels released in such short time periods can be a deterrent, but it’s not too much of one (AB Pop has the same issue, but it remains one of my favorite AB games).
My biggest problem with AB2 right now is the single-player scoring system. Before the 2.4.0 update, the scoring system was clear and concise. I was able to look at my Facebook friends’ scores and guess “Hmm, the 3-star threshold for this level is probably around 350K.” After mentioning this here, though, @dang82 told me that the threshold was just 75,000 times the number of rooms in a level.
This is no longer the case. Now when your birds level up, they give higher scores. The levels’ 3-star thresholds were also changed to accommodate your assumed bird levels. Unfortunately, “assumed” bird levels only take into account the chests given on the map, and ignore friend gifts, arena rewards, and chests obtained within levels. These additional reward systems add up and your birds end up leveling up much faster than the game assumes they will. From Pigsyland onward, rewards given from map chests become extremely small, and so at that point your assumed bird level will remain static. The other reward systems don’t change, though, and so your actual bird levels continue to rise. The data files for everything after Pigsyland (chapter 10) shows an assumed bird level of 3; my birds are at level 4 and I’ve only finished six chapters!
For me, the change completely destroyed any challenges this game used to have. The discrepancy between assumed and actual bird levels makes it practically impossible NOT to get 3 stars on any given level – beating it is now the only challenge (and as others have said, this is sometimes based more on luck than skill). Leveling up just one bird will make previously-obtained highscores meaningless and obsolete. Not only that, but Facebook leaderboards are also pointless now. Before, I enjoyed beating levels and seeing where I stood amongst my Facebook friends. Now I have no basis for comparison, as it’s certain that at least some of my friends will have different bird levels.
I think that the new scoring system is great in the PvP arena, but it doesn’t fit in the single-player map levels. Simply finishing the level will basically guarantee you 3 stars now. I’ve watched several of @mighty-red-1’s walkthrough videos, and the assumed 3-star threshold will be passed in, say, the second of five rooms. In fact, if actual bird levels were taken into account, many of his videos wouldn’t actually finish with 3 stars!
I think the idea of leveled-up birds giving higher scores was decent, and I understand how this mechanic can feel more rewarding to the player, but it was executed badly. I would heavily suggest changing the new scoring system; 3-star thresholds should dynamically adjust themselves based on your ACTUAL bird levels. This would at least reinstate some of the challenge that was lost. Until something like this happens, however, I have decided to boycott Angry Birds 2.
Thanks for reading.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
