Undeniable truths and my thoughts about the game currently

In the short time since I've joined the forums and participated in a handful of seperate efforts towards change and support for the community and on occassion Kabam, I was able to "remove my blinders" and felt compelled to create this post to try and see if my observations are not mine alone.

Currently, the communities strongest interest seems to be targeted towards the new AW scoring snafu and pleas for a remedy to the obviously "broken" and unfair scoring method.
Along with a fairly large amount of past issues that have yet to be resolved and an even larger amount of "forum fodder". The forum is flooded with what I would confidently say is a majortity of negative views.
The issues being complained about are undeniable since many if not all of them have either been documented and or addressed by Kabam moderators as to be the case. Its undeniable that the time between a 1st report to now has been weeks, months with still no closure for many of them.
Unfortunately, the forum layout, moderator actions(closing, merging and deleting posts), and the tons of new and less serious topics make it difficult for the community to unite as a complete whole on what our group conscious may be.

Its undeniable truth that although there are forum rules and the TOS, there is no "transparency" with protocols when it comes to Admin. Actions, and process of fixing issues.
Its an undeniable truth that there are issues currently spanning several months that have yet to recieve closure.
Its an undeniable truth that update after update, there have been issues present and confirmed, whether they be something new or existing from previous updates.
Its an undeniable truth that this community loves the game and are being "heartbroken" over the constant barrage of problems they face when playing, and Kabams lackluster performance in not only communication and updates, but rolling out fixes as well.
Its an undeniable truth that we have been given conflicting information on a handful of topics from Kabam announcements.
Its an undeniable teuth that there are countless community members who have submitted fantastic suggestions on changes that could be implemented in the game to not only solve some issues, but also for the betterment of gameplay in general.

As an avid player of 2yr+ myself, I'm actually very surprised by what I've witnessed here and in the game. Surprised at the steadfastness of players trying hard to get this game back to where it once was. Once was meaning, a time when there were little to no issues in gameplay.
Surprised by the less than stellar response/solution time of Kabam regarding documented issues and also irreproachable actions taken by them both here and in the game.
Suprised that Kabam continues to roll out changes and updates that appear to have never been thoroughly tested and verified to ensure stable gameplay and prevent issues from happening live.
Surprised by the small number of players that seem to condone irresponsibility from the one who shoud be the most responsible with the argument that it is a "free to play" game(dependent on perspective).

Yes, Mcoc is an f2p in the simplest sense, but does that justify the constant bugs, changes not being thoroughly thought out and executed, and lack of "transparency" from the creators?

This hypothetical scenario should be considered.

If GM, Ford, Whirlpool, Samsung, John Deere all gave away their products "for free" to the consumer market, with the only option to spend money for Upgrades or Personalization. After some time, if mechanical issues, defects under warranty, performance contrary to what was previously advised, and repairs to some issues that took an extended period of time and or still remain unrepaired, how would/should the consumers respond???

Comments

klobberintyme

Not the best analogy for companies, as Kabam neither owns the IP nor reasonably expects this product to have a shelf life of greater than 5-7 years. They've already hit their goal anyway (being bought by Netmarble), so all the folks of import already have their payouts secured and it's Netmarble left to maximize the investment before turning to the next big acquisition. I'm sure it's an undeniable truth you would like more from this game than you're getting, so good luck with that.

WOK

@klobberintyme , thanks for the enlightening info. I'm about as savvy to the internet gaming genre as I am at flying the space shuttle LOL. My perspective comes from my knowledge and experience with a "standard" operating business and what I've learned of business liablity and ehtics. As an entity that is offering a product/service with "packages for purchase" specifically and soley for said product/service, I believe falls in the same category and whatever the perogative of the business is not a concern for me unless I was an investor and not a consumer. One of the reasons I never debate or offer "money grab" scenarios.
Personally, only thing I would like fron the game is that it run as smoothly as it did pre 12.0, and also difficulty has no bearing IMO. Preventing constant bugs and R&D post Live launch could be a start.

wookeh

The reason everything on the forums is negative is because not all players come to compliment their favorite aspects of the game. They were never given a reason to come here. Like you said, you played for over two years and are new to the forums.

If you ever look up reviews of your favorite restaurant, most of them will be reviews telling everyone how awful the place is, how bad the customer service is, and how much they hated the food.

This is the way internet warriors work.

I do not believe that just because a collection of people feel the need to go online to give their piece of mind that it necessarily constitutes the entire community.

I agree with most of your points though. I also understand why we still see so much new content instead of major overhauls to bugs. Not everyone is affected by all the bugs. The casual player will be more excited to have a reason to keep playing such as new quests and new champions, rather than get bored waiting on kabam to fix the bugs that affect some other player.

Am I happy with the game? My best answer would be "meh" but I'm still playing every day and trying to adapt to the new changes best as I can with interest.

WOK

@wookeh , I apologize that I didn't make it quite clear. I actually was trying to imply that the negativity is a result of the lack of satisfactory response from Kabam and not in any way meant that the community is to blame(for the most part). And I agree with your thoughts on reviews and feel/do the same as you, sans playing everyday now. Unfortunately for me, adapting became secondary to the point where there was no way to adapt to some of the problems and just made the game a frustrating labor for negative results. Personally, I would be more fullfilled and enjoy attempting to complete 5.3 with 2*'s and buying units for pots/revives rather than maxed 5*'s with bugs and glitches always popping.

unknown

This content has been removed.

WOK

@Moises_H I agree, and can relate to the "kicks to the gut" feeling, both personally amd in the game. LOL

wookeh

WOK wrote: »

@wookeh , I apologize that I didn't make it quite clear. I actually was trying to imply that the negativity is a result of the lack of satisfactory response from Kabam and not in any way meant that the community is to blame(for the most part). And I agree with your thoughts on reviews and feel/do the same as you, sans playing everyday now. Unfortunately for me, adapting became secondary to the point where there was no way to adapt to some of the problems and just made the game a frustrating labor for negative results. Personally, I would be more fullfilled and enjoy attempting to complete 5.3 with 2*'s and buying units for pots/revives rather than maxed 5*'s with bugs and glitches always popping.

Thanks. At least we are the complainers who respect each other Lol. Perhaps kabam looks at all of us like yelp reviews and thinks "that's just one of the millions"

I'm one of the fortunate who don't suffer many problems in the game. But the month parry quit working for me really improved my intercepting skills, which was great for 5.2.4 but I definitely know a lot of people unhappy with the game.

Yet at the same time no one in my alliance hates the changes. I find that to be crazy. But I look at it in a whole. If I'm one of thirty, kabam sees us as one of millions. It's unfortunate for long term players for sure. Like I said you called out a ton of good points. They just aren't listening to the small crowd here.

I'm sure they are working on things. They probably have a team here working on development, a team there on bugs, a team trying to replicate bugs too. But there's so many platforms to cover. They even admitted their priority for working with Apple on their new OS but neglected to mention if they're working with Android at all. Which was obvious with the Oreo failure for many.

Which again goes to "who's our top market?" Obviously the top players. The groups who are all legends. A title unachievable by Android users because too many platforms so we get long loading times and this universal group of users who are all affected differently. They'll always cater to top market before everyone else. As will any business. I've even considered buying an iPad just for this game. But then I'll just have been kabamed in a new way lol.

DrZola

This is a pleasant thread. I honestly wish there were more like this one.

The bottom line seems to be that the game isn't what some of us want it to be right now. Whether that is a vocal minority or something more is something I don't know--nor is whether or not the game team can turn it around or even thinks it needs to do so. I've tried to adjust my expectations and scale my play to the areas I still find enjoyable. So far it's worked. Here's to hoping you can find a way to enjoy the game again too.

Dr. Zola

WOK

@wookeh thank to you also! I unfortunately ran into quite a few of the reported issues on a consistent basis, and had a stretch where I couldnt get past one fight without a couple of them occurring. For the most part, my alliance is a little more affected(evidenced by vocal complaints and drop in participation)than yours in regards to the problems, but everyone has been resilient and pressed on. I needed a break also, which coupled with the bugs led me in deciding to stop playing. Also agree on "Kabams market". I wish you well and fun continuing to advance in the game. Hopefully I'll be back at it sooner than later. :-)

WOK

@DrZola I appreciate the kind words, I've also lowered my expectations and scale my play to continue and enjoy the game as it is, but the problem that arose was that it led to my participation and dedication to post numbers for my alliance to also be lowered, and I didnt want to let my teammates down by becoming a "casual player". They are my #1 reason to have continued playing for as long as I have, as I would venture to guess that it is also the same for many other players. Hopefully I'll become motivated again soon and come back "full steam" just as before. Best wishes to you and your continued enjoyment and progression in the game also!

DrZola

Thank you. Alliances are a powerful magnet holding the game together. Which, in my opinion, is why there are so many good rewards for being in an alliance. You are absolutely correct that most players would have dropped the game a long time ago were it not for real friends they have made in game and the sense of camaraderie.

Good luck!

Dr. Zola

Dark_King888

WOK wrote: »

If GM, Ford, Whirlpool, Samsung, John Deere all gave away their products "for free" to the consumer market, with the only option to spend money for Upgrades or Personalization. After some time, if mechanical issues, defects under warranty, performance contrary to what was previously advised, and repairs to some issues that took an extended period of time and or still remain unrepaired, how would/should the consumers respond???

Its even more complicated than that. You dont spend TIME on a free Samsung phone or a Whirlpool washing machine. You take it for free, it doesnt work, you throw it away and take another free from another brand or maybe the same brand, it doesnt matter.

Issue is, providing a game is a SERVICE and not be treated as a product. It is constant, there arent (any true) replacements and there isnt an option to pay and fix it.

Only thing that can happen is NOT spend time on what you dont like and that basically kills the game. Hope Kabam wakes up.

WOK

@DrZolo without a doubt alliances and the friends we've made play a HUGE role in why many of us play this game to the point of daily routine.
It's hard to imagine myself playing MCOC and chatting on Line everyday for the past 2+yrs if it weren't for my friends in our alliance. TBH, I can short of guarantee that I would have played and deleted the app within 3mos from starting otherwise.

@Dark_King888 you make a very good point about the investment of time and the fact that MCOC is a service, which I failed to clarify in my post.

Both of you have made comments that elaborates more or adds missing details to my post, which I would have never mentioned even if the same thoughts occurred to me later. Another example of how the community can add insights and shed new light on any given subject on MCOC.

This is another example of why I found it difficult to accept that some perfectly fine threads get deleted or closed without warning when they could have been a catalyst for new discussion on the betterment of the game. Thanks again gents!

Dark_King888

The most important aspect of the game keeping it together is alliances. The day alliances selection criteria goes from Prestige, Skill, what champs you have to what you can pay, its game over. Good old alliances are either dormant or breaking over this AW **** show.

WOK

@Dark_King888 , "AW **** show. Not my first choice of words to describe it, but I like it! LOL

Here's my Cliff Notes version of what I've experienced.

1. Past: Fantastic game that operated consistently with minimal errors and generous response from administration when errors did occur which demanded love from its players.
2. Present: an inconsistent "**** show" of changes and errors compared to the past, which demands discontent and resentment from its players
3. Future: entirely up to Kabam to make right the wrongs. Outlook is bleak considering the current state of things but still a glimmer of hope, which demands its players to collectively hold their breaths much longer than should be necessary.