version 2.0.3.0.

[BarbieB]

After playing for a few days, I’m not completely hating on the update. There’s definitely a few bugs left (Challenge Run runs close out at the end of some of my runs and I lose everything that I earned on that run), but overall they seem to have ‘fixed’ the other issues.

The lack of ways to earn gems is a clear money grab for Rovio, but in good news it also means that I haven’t spent as much time playing the game over the last few days. Less gems = less continuations = less time playing. Also, I made gold level in the Challenge Run and was sorely disappointed in the rewards (nobody wants 3 crates full of pigs!!)

I do like the new fresh look of the crystals. Another thing I really like is having control over the upgrades of EI and accessories. Prior to the upgrade I had some Transformers with highly upgraded accessories, but they weren’t necessarily the accessories or the Transformer that I wanted upgraded.  And I only use 4 of EI on a regular basis, so I’m only planning to upgrade those 4… although it still sucks that they have to be upgraded again.

Having said that, I’ve not been playing ABT for as long as some people on this thread so I didn’t lose as much.. and I’m therefore not as upset. BUT I’ve also always had the mindset that the game could reset or disappear at any point and I could lose everything, so having that mentality has definitely helped now that so much has been lost. And yes, I have occasionally paid to play when I’m just on the edge getting something I really wanted and only needed a few more gems to it (Jungle, Continuing a run, etc), so it’s not just time that I have invested.

[Optimus_Pig]

@barbieb

This negatively impacts honest players a lot more than it does “hackers”.

Farming by collecting materials and doing labs spins was a totally legit way of earnings gems.

[Optimus_Pig]

I’m super glad that I quit this game when I did.  Just reading through this thread.  It’s amazing what a s**tshow this game has become.

[VaBeachGuy]

Looks like they’ve ruined the Spire too. The head blew off, smoke spewing out and they make you choose a side. At that point, before picking, it crashed. When it loaded back up, I just stopped for now.

This is no longer the game that I wanted to play for all these (couple of) years.

[Pako]

@moifirst, I did notice the two 26% upgrades, some code left behind? Getting the 380 gems made me content enough to overlook at the “upgrades.”

 

And yes, @vabeachguy, they did away with the spire. Now it is a 53 day challenge

[moi]

This new spire really is the final nail in the coffin of this game for me. I’m too old for this kind of sh$t.
It’s not only affecting the spire, but the whole map and all runs have been changed into a warzone. Everything has now a more murky color with a preference for red, with lot of distracting effects (shooting, explosions and so on).
No fun to play anymore.
So most probably it will be “Adios to all of you!”
And thanks for all your support.

[deindiaan]

At least some new stuff today to play, haven’t got time to get a good look at it. Saw you can buy a pass for 20 euro. Will decide later today if I’m gonna buy that.

[moi]

Latest version is now 2.0.6.0 (Android)
Don”t see any differences with the previous $hitty version.

EDIT: About 4 hours later I noticed that all the colors (map/runs) were back to normal.
EDIT2 (next day)  Aaargh! Those dark murky colors are back again.

[Soundwave]

I haven’t updated yet.  Is this pay to play only?  Does the 50 day challenge start at the same time for everyone, or when the pass is purchased?  Is this paid pass the only way to get the new prime and Megatron?

Honestly, I don’t mind to pay money for this game.  But I will never pay for this game unless they change their pricing model.  Their model seems to be charging people different amounts based on purchase history.  My fear is buying a pass for $20 will lead to my next pass being priced at $40, and the next at $100.  That’s a horrible way to encourage people to spend money.

In the past, I bought a very expensive bot for my son when he played.  I think it was dead end for something insane like $50.  He was too young to play the challenges, but really wanted that character.  So I caved for his birthday.

After making that purchase, the price of his Jenga game increased from $5 to $50.  That was a huge red flag and the last dime I ever spent.  Not sure if they still do this but it’s concerning.

[Poncho]

I don’t know what to say about the pricing model.  I’ve been playing for about 6 years, and have spent $9.98 in all that time.  The last two bots under the old system were offered to me for 5000 gems, whereas others got offers of 1000 or 750 gems.  Maybe it’s random.  Maybe it’s based on how many gems you have.

Anyway, I’m tempted to buy the Prime Pass, but this probably isn’t a good time to waste money on frivolous things.

[Soundwave]

@moifirst  thank you for the great info!

I was afraid you could only play like one level a day.  But it looks like you can knock out multiple levels per day if you kill enough pigs.

I want the new bots but I’ll most likely pass until I learn more on how buying a pass will impact future prices within the app.

[FortressMaximus]

I wonder what the numbers at the bottom of @moifirst’s second picture mean.  Is that suggesting that nearly 100 million people are playing this game?  Or 100 million pigs popped between the two teams?  Either one seems like complete fantasy.  Also it looks like the free rewards here are not really worth playing for or worrying about,  whe to get the good rewards you not only have to pay, but also play constantly for 2 months to pop (tens? hundreds? of) thousands of pigs.

[FortressMaximus]

Anyway @Soundwave points out how these guys’ past bad behavior should cost them revenue going forward.   Why would I spend money on a game to get stuff that may be taken away altogether or nerfed into uselessness, or when it may mean that future pricing gets outrageous?

[moi]

@fortressmaximus These numbers at the bottom are also a complete mystery to me, except that they show some sort of difference between birds and pigs. But in which context I don’t know.
Btw, if my theory of number of pigs, needed to complete a level, is correct, then you’ll need 27,250 pigs to reach level 50.

[moi]

Sorry, I tried to edit my response to @soundwave from over an hour ago a little bit (another 1st picture), and yes, you guessed it, it disappeared completely.So here it is again, probably in a little bit different version.

@soundwave There are two ways to play this successor of Shockwaves Spire.
One is using the War Pass, which is free to use. The other way is using the paid Prime Pass. For both there are 50 levels to play. Each level will be completed by shooting/getting a certain number of pigs.
I think for level 1 you need 300 pigs, for level 2 310 pigs, for level 3 320 pigs and so on. (Every level starts with 0 pigs again.)
Of course there is a difference between the two passes. With the free War Pass you can only acquire a limited amount of rewards, whilst with the Prime Pass you’ll get more rewards including two new bots.

But these bots can only be released at level 10 and level 40 (Note: In the picture above I’m at level 9) But that won’t be a problem to reach as you have almost 2 months time to do this.

To see a clearer difference between the rewards for both passes, see below.

The upper black serie shows the rewards with the free War Pass, whilst the lower yellow serie does show them for the paid Prime Pass (note the new bot at level 40).

I don’t know if you should buy the Prime Pass to get these two bots (well I certainly won’t) but of course it’s up to you.
Also I don’t know if the price for a Prime Pass in season 2 will be the same or that it will be much higher. (Wouldn’t surprise me.)

Another thing is that a few years ago there was also a bot that could only be acquired by paying real money. However later on (months/years?) it became available either in the token exchange or as an offer which could be bought using gems. (Don’t remember the exact details)

[Soundwave]

@moifirst Years ago, Nemesis Prime followed by Hot Rod were cash only and available for only a short time.  This was before the challenge/token model.

They were of course later introduced in the token exchange.  Nemesis prime took a year or two.

[deindiaan]

I’ve bought the prime pass, and must say it ain’t to hard to get the rewards. All pigs you pop in the game count. In the beginning you had to choose I which team you wanted to join for an extra reward, I’ve chosen autobird and that seems a wise choice so far.

I’ve you are having doubts about buying the pass, I’m not sure if you get the rewards from the levels you passed later on. Level 2 or 3 was 150 gems so I didn’t wait.

[moi]

Another difference in v.2.0.6.0 is that the EMP power has returned, at least for Kremzeek/Devastator, but probably for more combinations (like Eject/Superion).

EDIT (1h30 later) Yep, also Eject/Superion is now able again to stop falling monoliths

[moi]

@soundwave Thanks for refreshing my memory.

[GrimLockdown]

@fortressmaximus @moifirst My 2 eurocents…

When you started the new Spire you were asked to take side: Autobirds or Deceptihogs. Those who chose Autobirds have popped 78% of all pigs since the start of the new Spire (season).

There are two related achievements: Win a Season with Autobirds and Win a Season with Deceptihogs.

[GrimLockdown]

@deindiaan What was your offer for the Prime Pass Bundle? Mine is 21,99€ but @moifirst seems to have 19,99€!?!

[GrimLockdown]

I have opened today 20 steel crates and got at least 1,500 pigs and those were also counted in the new Spire level pigs.

[GrimLockdown]

ICYMI The status indicator at the top left corner shows your team (Autobirds or Deceptihogs) as a color (red or purple) but also your current level (the lower number) and how close are you in advancing to the next level (grey border).

[deindiaan]

@grimlockdown

Mine was 19.99 as well this afternoon.

[moi]

@grimlockdown Thanks for solving the Autobirds/Deceptihogs mystery.