Two weeks of Elysian City - Considerations...
PREMISE
The following is not intended to be a mere personal interpretation in reference to the latest changes made by Plarium, as much as a collection of opinions of various users within the game itself. The hope is that it can reach the developers in order to provide them with information on the current situation of the game, and maybe suggestions that can play its future development.
THE ELYSIAN CITY
Exactly two weeks ago, the Elysian city, the latest addition to the Plarium development team, appeared on SWOE.
What should have been an incentive for the players, has immediately transformed, since the first hour, into a source of controversy and complaints from those for whom the novelty was designed. Both within the game and on the forum, a series of mostly negative opinions began, pointing out that this new city is nothing more than a find by the developers to induce Sparta users to spend more money. But not only; many players have highlighted the fact that the novelty itself does not bring anything concretely "new" to the game, since it is simply developing, from the beginning, a new city, different only in appearance from the original one. Here are therefore exposed the points that were mostly the subject of "unanimous" discussion by users, and that can also be found within this same forum (obviously ignoring those that are my previous interventions):
- AESTHETICS OF THE CITY: although the new city presents a breathtaking background, which confers precisely the idea that this city spaces within an "ethereal" dimension, the part concerning buildings, streets, etc ... presents a decidedly anonymous and repetitive scheme. Unlike the first city, on the contrary, it seems that several steps have been taken back. From the 3D vision of the first city, we have moved to a decidedly more "cardboard". There are no animations, and the layout of the buildings is mandatory, to the disadvantage of a much more pleasing personalization of the city. It follows that the Elysian city scheme is the same for each user, who would have liked even minimal freedom of choice.
- CITIZEN BUILDINGS: a new city provides for the new buildings. The problem, however, arises when the buildings in question perform virtually the same functions as the old ones: a new joinery, a new forge, a new farm ... all accompanied by their respective stores. The difference compared to the same buildings of the first city resides, in addition to aesthetics, mainly in the fact that now to develop these new buildings need immediately the famous "drafts", that currency that can only be purchased for a fee. So, even just to advance the very first levels, you will need to put your wallet right away. The same fate will touch those who want to raise the new walls, purchased only by spending drachmas, just like those of the city of origin. The only buildings that represent a real novelty are the quarries of production of the lunar stones (whose treatment is postponed in the next point), whose presence alone does not justify the building "in toto" of the new city.
- LUNAR STONES: with the new city a new currency has been introduced, necessary to allow the recruitment of new units, to sign new agreements and to expand new buildings. Many users, however, criticized this choice, contesting the "consistency" of this new currency: the moonstone. Some have contested the fact that this is a game set in ancient Greece (with digressions in the Roman and late imperial age) and not a fantasy game, in which the moonstones would undoubtedly prove useful to the elven people. One wonders why, for example, a currency like iron or marble has been ignored. Probably the choice of the lunar stones intends to justify the elysian "size" of the city, and the "surrealistic" bonuses of the new units. But at this point one would ask: why not exploit the boundless mythological section of Greek culture (of which we had a taste with the "minotaur" and the "manticore") and not introduce new units, precisely "mythological" ?
- NEW UNITS: the most loyal users have highlighted noteworthy historical inaccuracies regarding the new units and their "historical" role in the battles: the Petezeroi were light infantry units armed with spear and sword and wearing a Phrygian cap ( and not the winged helmet with which it is represented, the Hamippoi were also units of light infantry that accompanied the knights in battle, and were dressed in light clothes (they were not therefore phalanx) .Although the aesthetics of the new units are It was nevertheless appreciated, it was not possible to emphasize the lack of precision on the part of those who, until now, had become authors of aesthetically beautiful and historically correct models. what has been recognized as the "real problem" concerning these new units: their imbalance compared to the previous ones.The new troops present values of much higher aq of their terrestrial counterparts; many therefore fear that the next recruitment of the units will mainly concern that of the elysian troops, with the progressive abandonment of the traditional troops. Regarding the bonuses instead, it was considered practically useless that concerning the invisibility of troops (Petezeroi), considering that this will only last for a part of the journey made by the units: if what you are looking for is a "surprise" effect then you would get more using accelerators only).
- NEW ACCELERATIONS: new city - new buildings - new agreements = new accelerations. But are we really sure it is this way? Once again Plarium seems to have ignored the fact that the old accelerations, although easy to obtain, are paid features, just like the new ones. Therefore it is not understandable the choice to make obsolete old accelerations to speed up the construction of buildings, or the recruitment of new armies. Although some CMs have already answered that the old accelerations are still usable to speed up the progress of the old city, it should be remembered that the latter was mostly completed by most users, and therefore the need to use accelerators is less and less (they are used to speed up the recruitment of troops, which, however, as previously mentioned, are likely to become little useful compared to new ones). Some have suggested to introduce at least the possibility of converting the old ones, in new acceleration, taking as an example the resource - money conversion operated within the Argentarium.
- EMISSARY: some of the most ferocious criticisms of the new city came from the idea of introducing dozens of new agreements, without taking into consideration the idea of inserting a new emissary. One wonders why a commissioner for the elysian pacts is not included, and one for the "terrestrial" pacts, and to reserve the paid function for a third emissary, which can be used indistinctly both for the first and for the second type of pacts. It is indeed necessary to remember that many users have not yet completed the subscription of all the "terrestrial" pacts, some of which have very long subscription times (eg Elis, 16 days).
- ARTISAN: the new buildings need new craftsmen to be built. Or at least ... this is the logic of the developers. The new city in fact brought with it the figure of the master craftsman, currently activated in only two slots. Although the first was provided free, we wondered what other purpose this new gimmick would have but to oblige users to spend money to win a new one at the modest price of 15,000 drachmas. The new artisans have nothing special compared to the old ones, which, as many know, were also paid. Their function is unchanged: building buildings. Nothing else. Considering that in the old city the buildings are mostly almost all of them, what sense did it get to buy up to 4 craftsmen if now they are no longer useful?
- ELIMINATE RETURNS FREE UNIT: as many know, up to more than two weeks ago it was possible to recall for free the units sent, in attack or support, within a maximum of 50 seconds. With the introduction of the elysian city, this is no longer possible due to the anger of all its users. The company, through its moderators, had to explain how this was essential following the introduction of the bonuses of the new units, whose activation is linked to a percentage probability. Users - they say - could send and withdraw attacks, until the bonus turns out to be active. This can be corrected. But at this point one wonders: why not apply this restriction only to the case in which the new units are used, rather than to the attacks sent by the old units. Please note that this restriction is applied even if an explorer is sent to spy on a city; in case you want to recall it, you will need to use the paid function "Instant recall".
This is what emerged from reading the forums and discussing with other users about the latest news. To the disappointment for the latter is also added a sort of distrust of Plarium and its work, whose aims seem more to concern the continuous disbursement of money from their users. The elysian city is a typical P2W (pay-to-win) found by the company, which is not compatible with the choices made before and the tournaments and events awards system (1,000 tournament points for only 30 drachmas) . The same offers are not commensurate with the purchase of the necessary means for the development of the new city (10,000 drachmas for only 1,000 drafts ... the new levels of the acropolis require, for the only level 27/30 as much as 4,000 drafts, equivalent of 40,000 drachmas). Many users have tolerated the introduction of the relics, another one found to be paid (10,000 drachmas for 10 relics). But the impression is that now it is going really further. The reactions of the most instinctive were not long in coming: many left the game, others gave up their account, others still connect much less frequently. The most "irreducible" (including myself) have remained, but greatly downsizing their way of playing and, above all, spending. Within my league, I received reward caskets almost every day; in recent weeks I will have received 4-5, an unequivocal sign that users are no longer willing to spend. The same big leagues have recognized the exclusive "moneyed" purpose of the latter found, coming to understand that without the medium-small leagues, their dominance is less. The numbers of the last tournament, "Clash between leagues", are below average and under the eyes of all. Several leagues, including mine, have decided not to participate, in order not to spend money to recover from war losses. The situation is slowly declining, and this is undeniable. I hope this series of witnesses "open their eyes" to those in duty.
