Reassessing my life. OMG, what have I done?

[kwc]

I haven’t played for 2 weeks now, the nerfing of UM really pissed me off. Might try again if RE finally does something with the coins but don’t really miss playing the game. It’s old and stale and this hamster has gotten off the wheel.

[AngrLee]

funny thing. Checked in here. This thread still on main page. that is all I needed to know. Good decision to get out.

[Optimus_Pig]

I just had my “OMG, what have I done?” moment.

Did the Spire today, and took it up to Level 45.

Overall, I went:

• + 18K Sparks,
• + 1K tokens,
• – 4,800 gems

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH

[Optimus_Pig]

[Optimus_Pig]

I think I’m going to do this again tomorrow, and go for broke.

If I zero out my gems, it’ll be as good a time as any to quit this g0dd@m game for good.

[datguygamer]

@optimuspig -4800 gems? Why did you do that?

[Optimus_Pig]

@datguygamer

Because it’s like being at the casino and you’re going down but you’re hoping that you’ll score big on the next play and make it all back.

The Shockwave’s Spire is nothing more than casino gambling.

[datguygamer]

@optimuspig You realised that now? Come on man, you’re better than this. The whole game is gambling in one form or another. How could you let yourself waste 4800 gems in one sweep?

[Optimus_Pig]

It’s easy to get caught up in things.  It doesn’t help when people show up posting about the huge scores they got from stuff like opening crates or doing the spires.

Makes you think that you might actually have a chance as well.

Of course, Rovio plants all of these success stories.

[Optimus_Pig]

It may also be me subconsciously trying to quit the game.

If I use up all my gems, I may as well pack it in.

[The Dark Knight]

cut my ties with this game for over 5 months and i came back :S

[The Dark Knight]

I did tried and cut my ties with this game for 5 months and now i am back again.

Also i wouldn’t spend any gems on those roulette games i learned the hard way and spend back then the 2×1900 gems in mind that i might unlock the Sideswipe…

Now never again!

[datguygamer]

@optimuspig

It doesn’t help when people show up posting about the huge scores they got from stuff like opening crates or doing the spires.

So I am to blame for it too. Sorry.

[Xenohart]

So, the science behind pay to play mobile games is that they operate on the gambling principal in their entirety [and you can research this for yourself if you want]. The flashing bright lights, intermittent rewards, and so on. I foolishly tried ABBlast and saw just how far they’ve taken this concept. The FTC will not treat it like gambling even though real money is being spent and lost … go figure. And, just like anyone at a casino, when you’ve burned through enough time and money … you get burned out. Yes, it is difficult to see some people win big and want to believe that the system is not rigged … so we keep pulling the proverbial slot machine handle.

Thing is – (trying not to beat a dead horse here) Rovio is just taking advantage of this “bigger, better, newer” attitude in America (gotta be first, gotta win, spend more, $900 IPhone that is the same as the last $900 IPhone, etc.), mixing it with gambling, and the result is that they are profiting. Add in how much they bank on selling account info – and it’s a winning combination. For the players, it’s like being in a bad relationship. Why do people stay in bad relationships? Because, admitting that you stayed for a long time with someone who treats you like garbage is insulting, humiliating, and embarrassing. It feels like a sign of weakness and helplessness (when we strive for some small amount of control in life … drama triangle 101). Not easy to deal with.

I just play the game when I’m seriously bored. Coming back, map coins are maxed and I “lost” time, that stupid spire and the daily totals went by without completion and I “lost” out, and I’ve missed out on several contests. So be it. There will be more. As long as the cash cow trudges on … lol. It gets easier to do that with time and “pull” away from the game slowly. For instance, like a lot of people, I am not wasting my time on the new Hound character (aka re-hashed Heatwave), for 10,000 coins – because Rovio is, like any retailer does, putting out an expensive product up front, banking on those who spend $$, and then they’ll troll it out to everyone else later. Once you recognize that you’re playing a rigged game with a really nasty casino owner – it loses its fun.

I won’t give up on Battlefront 1 though … I may be the WORST Stormtrooper that ever “pewed” a laser gun … but I die well defending the empire! HAHAHAHA. (Sorry – side tracked) :P Now, if I could just come up with some stupid game that flashed bright lights, gave limited chances, and sold game money for real money that emotionally took advantage of people and locked them in … I’d be rich, too … oh … no … nevermind … that would really be hitting rock bottom (<= hint hint wink wink … Rovio).

[AngrLee]

So it took another 8 months since I started this thread for me to truly get out. I came back quietly after a couple of months. Checked the forums to see what was happening.  Then it started again. Waking up early to make sure I had time to play before my family got up and caught me. Playing in the bathroom. Getting made fun of. Planning around it. All kinds of justifications. All sorts of shit a grown man should be embarrassed about. Wow. Never again.

Slowly I got sucked back in. Thanks to @optimuspig to revive my own words. Thanks to @pcguru for the real “business strategy” of rovio and exient. And thanks to two real game hackers (@lemongrab and @datguygamer). The evidence of cheating SO evident. Never answering questions that are unanswerable. Screenshots carefully cropped but still somehow with levels like 1364 amd accessories with levels over 300. Or new characters at level 25 within hours after release. Whatever. We know that the game, no matter how many gems you have, even if you were the benefactor of the gem glitch years ago, could explain. Some things are time locked or connected to competition token exchanges or just simply not possible, Sure, its frustrating. Seeing impossible things… Actually, i will say to the true game hacks, good work. You helped push me out. I will never compete. Truly. On any of the three levels i intend in that statement.

It doesnt matter. It is unregulated gambling. With my TIME. The most valuable thing i have. So fist time shame on you and second time shame on me. This is shame on me.

This time I burned it all out. No gems left. That was the “condition of my reentry” last time. When my gems were gone so would I be. Then i changed strategies. Preserving my precious winnings. Built up over 3.5 years.

Burned them all tonight. Tonight was the last and final straw. I will look back and call these the Angry Birds years. My kids will too. And that folks makes me happy. It will be a look back. Not a current source of making fun of me.

It was fun from time to time. Now its time to do something with those 2 hours a day.

My best to all. Be wary. Watch for addiction behavior. If you are wondering, then yeah, that qualifies. @angrlee out. Peace So it took another 8 months since I started this thread for me to truly get out. I came back quietly after a couple of months. Checked the forums to see what was happening.  Then it started again. Waking up early to make sure I had time to play before my family got up and caught me. Playing in the bathroom. Getting made fun of. Planning around it. All kinds of justifications. All sorts of shit a grown man should be embarrassed about. Wow. Never again.

Slowly I got sucked back in. Thanks to @optimuspig to revive my own words. Thanks to @pcguru for the real “business strategy” of rovio and exient. And thanks to two real game hackers (@lemongrab and @datguygamer). The evidence of cheating SO evident. Never answering questions that are unanswerable. Screenshots carefully cropped but still somehow with levels like 1364 amd accessories with levels over 300. Or new characters at level 25 within hours after release. Whatever. We know that the game, no matter how many gems you have, even if you were the benefactor of the gem glitch years ago, could explain. Some things are time locked or connected to competition token exchanges or just simply not possible, Sure, its frustrating. Seeing impossible things… Actually, i will say to the true game hacks, good work. You helped push me out. I will never compete. Truly. On any of the three levels i intend in that statement.

It doesnt matter. It is unregulated gambling. With my TIME. The most valuable thing i have. So fist time shame on you and second time shame on me. This is shame on me.

This time I burned it all out. No gems left. That was the “condition of my reentry” last time. When my gems were gone so would I be. Then i changed strategies. Preserving my precious winnings. Built up over 3.5 years.

Burned them all tonight. Tonight was the last and final straw. I will look back and call these the Angry Birds years. My kids will too. And that folks makes me happy. It will be a look back. Not a current source of making fun of me.

It was fun from time to time. Now its time to do something with those 2 hours a day.

My best to all. Be wary. Watch for addiction behavior. If you are wondering, then yeah, that qualifies. @angrlee out. Peace So it took another 8 months since I started this thread for me to truly get out. I came back quietly after a couple of months. Checked the forums to see what was happening.  Then it started again. Waking up early to make sure I had time to play before my family got up and caught me. Playing in the bathroom. Getting made fun of. Planning around it. All kinds of justifications. All sorts of shit a grown man should be embarrassed about. Wow. Never again.

Slowly I got sucked back in. Thanks to @optimuspig to revive my own words. Thanks to @pcguru for the real “business strategy” of rovio and exient. And thanks to two real game hackers (@lemongrab and @datguygamer). The evidence of cheating SO evident. Never answering questions that are unanswerable. Screenshots carefully cropped but still somehow with levels like 1364 amd accessories with levels over 300. Or new characters at level 25 within hours after release. Whatever. We know that the game, no matter how many gems you have, even if you were the benefactor of the gem glitch years ago, could explain. Some things are time locked or connected to competition token exchanges or just simply not possible, Sure, its frustrating. Seeing impossible things… Actually, i will say to the true game hacks, good work. You helped push me out. I will never compete. Truly. On any of the three levels i intend in that statement.

It doesnt matter. It is unregulated gambling. With my TIME. The most valuable thing i have. So fist time shame on you and second time shame on me. This is shame on me.

This time I burned it all out. No gems left. That was the “condition of my reentry” last time. When my gems were gone so would I be. Then i changed strategies. Preserving my precious winnings. Built up over 3.5 years.

Burned them all tonight. Tonight was the last and final straw. I will look back and call these the Angry Birds years. My kids will too. And that folks makes me happy. It will be a look back. Not a current source of making fun of me.

It was fun from time to time. Now its time to do something with those 2 hours a day.

My best to all. Be wary. Watch for addiction behavior. If you are wondering, then yeah, that qualifies. @angrlee out. Peace

[datguygamer]

@angrlee I have admitted long before and everyone here who knows me knows that I have gems from the gem glitch I got way back in v1.0.12 and I have always stated that. I have never kept anything secret from anyone else. Ask me anything you want and I can answer any of those “unanswered questions”. So thanks for jumping the shark and instantly assuming that I am a hacker.

But eh, I am not in the mood to argue with something that assumes another player being a hacker instantly and then ends it with “Peace”. If you think my “hacking” the game pushed you out, then I guess I should pat myself on my back as my work and my intent is complete. Peace.

[Xenohart]

@angrlee Dude … I understood what you are saying and I think that a lot of unfortunate things happened. But, we shouldn’t bite at each other here. Over ten million downloads … the odds of being grouped together is very minimal. If it wasn’t @datguygamer taking advantage of a glitch (or whatever it was … I don’t know – I wasn’t there), it’d just be someone else. Personally, I don’t believe that the so-called players scoring 185,000 points in the first 8 hours of a competition is real (especially when it gives out 230 tokens per run). So, to @datguygamer, you shouldn’t be so upset – no reason for it – I’ve read your posts and they’re fine. And, @angrlee – your story is a good one and I’m glad you shared it – and yes, you were pushed out, it was wrong – and your strength will help others who feel pushed out, too. This is what happens when the decks are stacked and odds are against one another … people get hurt. And, while Rovio gets wealthier, we’re left to deal with the fallout. Just remember the words of Rovio CMO Peter Vesterbacka, when asked by Matt Lynly of Business Insider why his mom couldn’t stop playing … “That’s the way we built it”. Creepy. (On wordpress … thinkingerrorfree blog). Anyway – the pigs are the enemy – never forget!!

[datguygamer]

@pcguru Thanks for the reply. Yes, I took advantage of the glitch. But it is n’t my fault for Rovio releasing such a glitch ridden game in the first place. Taking advantage of a glitch (aka exploiting) isn’t the same as hacking where you purposefully screw around with the game to manipulate items (like players still do for scores). This is what @angrlee supposedly doesn’t understand or doesn’t want to understand. Who knows. Being pushed out of frustration is one thing but suddenly attacking two players who provide information by calling them hackers? And right out of the blue mind you. No to mention, I don’t ever think we have ever conversed and I don’t even remember if he has ever asked me any question (which he says we never answer). How are we or I supposed to answer a question that was never asked to us or to me?

Yes, I have gems and yes, I upgrade/overpower characters by gold crates but that constitutes as “hacking” just because I can do it within a couple of hours? What a ridiculous claim. I play events normally to get sparks, play spark run and get accessories and whatever. If I really hacked then I would have never needed to participate in any event. I have openly admitted that I have taken advantage of the glitch to get gems in the past. What kind of “hacker” would admit that? And even then, lemongrab, the other guy @angrlee is accusing openly admitted when he joined here to post screenshots obtained “illegitimately”. When others said, it doesn’t matter to them, he posted screenshots for his accessories. Tht’s honestly for me to not accuse him but for some people, I guess, you have to pass the “Test of Judgement” to gain their trust.

[Drover’s Dog]

Found this thread buried away.

Its been 12 days now since I have played ABT. The fun hasn’t been there for a while now and I’ve just been playing out of habit but after a while the same old thing day in and day out has taken its toll.

Maybe I’ll be back like some others who have taken a break from the game previously…. who knows?

Signing off for now

Drover’s Dog

[moi]

@droversdog
Sad to hear that you decided to leave, but on the other hand I can understand your motives. This game has become very repetitive without having really new developments in it. (I don’t call a new paintjob of a bot a new development.)

I think that there are a lot of players like you, who just keep playing this game out of habit, but will sooner or later decide to quit.

I’m also one of them, but luckily I found a way to get the possibility to achieve one of my personal goals. This will require 4-6 months of playing for approximately 3 hours/day, so I’ll be playing it for some time.
After that I don’t know what to do (leave or continue). This will also depend on whether there are any really new developments in the game at that time. (My expectations aren’t very high.)

I wish you the best and thanks for your helpful contributions on this forum. Maybe till later.

[The Dark Knight]

@moifirst Same story here, i have also stopped playing the game. That’s why i didn’t even bother to make a new thread for the current event that is running i don’t know what is the new event i didn’t cared to make a thread for the new update and today while i was at the itunes i saw accidentally the update mark on some apps at also ABT’s too

So yeah i am also taking some time off from the game.

[moi]

@elpapam
I’ve noticed that the thread for the current event has not been started by you lately, but I assumed, that this was because of other reasons.
Enjoy your break (temporary or permanent) and also my thanks for all your contributions on this forum.

[The Dark Knight]

@moifirst Thank you! Honestly i have also again stopped the game in the past for a 4 months period and i felt great. It’s like a drug this game… But seriously nothing changed after so many years and i started really tired to see the same motif again and again and again! I feel that i might loose my sanity! Not to mention that with every new hard update they always nerfing a small percent each time some nice and strong characters. And yeah i was one of the users that i paid i bought bundles i support the game but i can’t stand that of the characters in the bundle that i have paid are slowly getting nerfed! Also i can’t compete against cheaters i tired even with after so many years i achieved to have a high ranked tfs and again i can’t seems to much them.

That’s it of what is in my mind.

[moi]

@elpapam
Thanks for your comprehensive elucidation of the reasons why you’ve decided to quit.
As you may know these things are also playing in my mind. The major reason for me to continue this game for probably (maximally) 6 months is to reach a personal goal.
To tell the truth, I don’t know if I can keep doing this for 6 months, since it’s just a form of grinding. (In fact the whole game is a form of grinding, but this time it will be even more monotonous.)
So maybe I’ll leave this game earlier, but you know that this might be a difficult thing to do because of the highly addictive nature of the game, which we have been playing several years (, I guess over 4 years).

But I’ll try!

I wish you the best and maybe we’ll meet each other in another (decent) game.

[The Dark Knight]

@moifirst Thanks! I will stop by from time to time at the forum.