Players are leaving the game!

Players are leaving the game because there are too many challenges! I have a lvl 218 friend that is quitting the game because of all of these quests and challenges and the sheer COST of playing and in my opinion, it's too much. I'm so upset about it because I have had desaray as a good friend since I started playing! She was my mentor as well until THAT was stopped! And can I just say .. it sucks that they canceled the mentor program!

 

I too have a couple in the red, 218, 220,and 189. Im hoping they just have busy Holiday schedules, and nothing as health issues or something along those lines...

 

My friend is not in the red yet. She is participating in the game to a limited extent to be of help to myself and her other friends until January 1st 2020 then she will not be back again. I hope your neighbors come back and you don't lose them over the time limit thing. Good luck in your game.

 

1Kay58 what is this 1-2020 that may interfere our game?

 

Sorry, It means January first, 2020. = January 1st, 2020

 

Not to be rude, no one has to participate. I'm a free player and I only participate in about 50% of the events. I still help the people on my friends list as I farm and use the market. I feel bad that anyone would feel any pressure to participate in the events. This is a video game, it's meant to only be fun or entertaining. Hopefully after a bit of time away your friend will return.

 

This is true. I think the main issue is, many of us are long-time players. This game has been around since 2010 and many of us have been here since then. Farmerama wasn't always like this - big events came every few months, people had the freedom to farm and do quests and build up their inventories between events. It meant that they were able to fully participate in each event and feel like they were a part of the community. Events were special and they brought players together. There was a sense of achievement for finishing, and importantly, you weren't disadvantaged by not finishing. Nowadays, events are both harder to finish and more critical to finish - if you don't, you won't get the new tree or pen or workshop, and it may be months before you can get your hands on it. This wasn't always the case.

No one has to participate, that is true, but we were always free to participate if we chose to (in the past). That is, if you wanted to join in, you could. These days, there are so many events and so little time in between (usually only a few days at the most), that if you hope to participate in the events to completion, you must pay your way through. Events are no longer as welcoming, because you basically need to spend real money to finish them (even just one), let alone the amount of money needed to finish all of them. In 2010, you didn't have to participate in every event, but if you wanted to, it was totally possible. It simply isn't possible now. And of course, whilst you are always free to choose not to participate, you lose a great deal by not getting involved. I would have many more BBs, CCs, EP, trees, stables, workshops, stars, etc etc etc. if I had taken part in every event instead of choosing to build up my inventory or complete quests. Then again, I may not have been able to get very far without the resources I took time to build up when I could have been doing events. Essentially, you used to be able to do everything - events AND quests AND inventory building. Now you have to choose because you simply cannot do it all.

EDIT: When I say you "have to" pay your way through to finish events, I don't mean once off - as a free player who does almost no events to completion throughout the year, I have been able to finish all the Christmas events without paying a dime of my own money. However, that is because I have a mountain of resources set aside that I haven't been using on other events, which many players will have done and therefore will not, or cannot, have in the same amounts without paying RL money to do so. IMO you can get through any individual event totally for free, but if you want to get through every event, it is simply not feasible without at least some RL money input.

Players are starting to feel pushed aside, unwelcome. They no longer feel free to participate in events. Farmerama is still fundamentally marketed as a free game. Given that, we should be able to participate in all that it offers, for free. Of course extras should be paid for - more BBs, harvester functions etc., but when you market a game as free, it's key components should be just that. The reality is that full participation in every Farmerama event is no longer a free venture, and that is rubbing many the wrong way - especially those who have been here from the start and know what this game used to be.

 

Thank you! That was very well said. You hit all the key points on the nail head! The powers that be in Farmerama should really pay attention to this post! (not that I think they care anymore)

I was wondering what level you are?

 

And thank you, squigglegiggle, for saying it all just the way you did
And I will add, I don't mind spending real money - problem is that BP wants MUCH of the players real $$$$ and offers LITTLE Value in return. This IS a virtual game after-all. It isn't like BP are losing anything by providing us with awesome value for the virtual rewards and game items!
BP should be able to better balance out the events and still rake in oodles of income.

Another thing is, that many players started playing this game as a stress relief...me for one. And I remember when Farmerama was just that. In my time playing, I have watched it change from a stress relief to being a big stressProblem is that this game is time reality controlled. Meaning, it is not a game where you can play all things at your leisure. BP creates all these new shiny things for immediate cash flow. If they didn't, the non focused players would get bored and leave the game. BP is NOT looking for long term players per se, they are hooking thrill seekers (so to speak) that must have all the new and shiny things....Fear of missing out mob!! I was one of those until I woke up to it. I had never played an online games before, Farmerama was my first stick to it....and now - I participate far less in events due to low value for my $$$$ AND my time.

You are right morris111, we all do have a choice to play or not - and how to play. Long time players have invested much time and real $$$$ into this game. We desire to protect our investment, thus we speak out....
Famerama is equal to death....we can't take any of it upon our departure.

morris111 I was wondering what level you are? Me too!

 

Yes, yes and yes again, and you are so right. this game HAS become more stressful.

I found out a few minutes ago that another friend is quitting too. He is lvl 98! This is really sad!

 

The bottom line is farming is more fun if you don't do too many quests. What many farmers want is for BP to put their financial interest aside and force fewer quests on players. That just is not the way the real world works.

You make more CC if you don't do too many quests.

Only quests will get you out of bed in the middle of the night. Crazy but true.

Although quests may be like alcohol to an alcoholic. If you start doing them they are hard to resist. Often I know they add to my stress in life but I do them anyway.

I've left the farm twice since starting in 2010 each time for over a year. If you spent real money, BP doesn't delete the farm out just because you stop farming. You only loose your neighbors and forum posts, and BP lists your starting year as the year you came back to farming.

 

The whole purpose of a game like this is to appeal to people with low impulse control. How do I know? Because I am a person with terrible impulse control and the way they have seperated me from increasing amounts of cash over time has been to play on my fear of falling further behind.

When I started I ignored the quests because they offered such terrible returns for such effort and then, through a neighbour, I got involved and once I was on that train it was hard (and expensive) to get off. I had two revelations in a short period of time, the first was that I wasn't enjoying the game anymore, logging in to avoid losing the consecutive days and keeping my farm ticking over. Probably this was because I wanted to create a farm that I didn't need to keep tearing up and placing down, I bred up to pink workshops for 13 different animal types and resented having to store them away for events.

The second moment was just after a gift and trade, when all the items players were trading hard earned, good stuff (like stables and workshops) for was offered in kind of lottery. Wonder trees, pick a stall sale, all those things. It hit me then, that I was being preyed upon. There are way too many animals, stall varieties, workshops, products, trees and after every gift and trade (which are becoming more and more frequent) to justify.

I have terrible impulse control, but I saw the light, if I buy these trees I am just going to have to move out other things I paid for to place them, what am I doing here?

I miss elements of the game, I miss my neighbours, but I don't miss the pressure of having to keep up