⚠️You’re Not Losing Players Because of Bugs — It’s Because They Feel Lost

I'm really sorry to read this, and I hope you're feeling more at peace with yourself now.  Nothing should make you feel that bad.  I've had team members who , like you, have gone "all in" on the game.  It's not healthy.  Life,  family, friends, nature are the important things.  I hope you're doing ok now.  

Hi friend Paroxium,

Well, I'm not going to be the one to convince you to come back if this was an addiction for you. People need to understand how the game is (or what it has become) to understand the dynamics a little, adapt to it, but not be a slave to it.

Because if you're the kind of person who collects all the buildings, the game will overwhelm you and, sooner or later, you'll give up, because EA doesn't understand (or doesn't want to understand) what gamers' priorities are (which is obviously their real life).

Luckily, I've learned that the game is secondary, and that my community is very large in terms of people and support, and I've had friends within the game for a long time. And I'm actually really excited when someone like you tells me they've seen my videos, because my idea has never been to create addicts, but rather people who have fun with the game and enjoy it.

Let's not kid ourselves, the game can help people in many ways, but it can also be their downfall in others (as in your case).

This Saturday, I'm recording my first podcast about the game. I'm telling you because you're Spanish-speaking and you know me, and you've probably seen my analysis of the updates, which I don't do anymore because they take up too much of my time.

In the podcast, I'll be analyzing what's happening in the game with two exceptional guests, the direction it's taking, and how to approach the new contest, since it has a very different dynamic that people aren't understanding. The playability has changed thanks to the expansion of the storage (a great move), but this has caused chaos among the players, which we'll try to resolve, precisely because of the lack of information from the developers. And this is causing people to give up, not like in your case (which is well done), but simply because they are bored with unexplained changes.

I immerse myself in numerous chats and forums in English and Spanish, and there is a feeling that I see that the developers don't seem to realize.

That's why I dared to start this thread on the official forum, to see if the developers are capable of interacting with people who can offer them real gaming experiences so that they can act accordingly and so that both gamers and developers can move forward together towards a pleasant future.

I'm sorry to hear what happened to you. As you can understand, I'm not going to encourage you to come back, but if you ever want to, look for the Isla Atlas Discord link, because there's nothing better than playing with a community that understands the game and helps you at any time outside of it, understanding that the game is secondary in life.

Enjoy your freedom, if you choose to take it. Thank you for watching my videos. It's an honor to know that there are strangers who write to me every day because they've seen my videos and because they helped them at some point.

Best regards

Atlantis
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Hola amigo,

Bueno, no seré yo quién te convenza de regresar si esto era una adicción para ti. La gente debe entender cómo es el juego (o en qué se ha convertido) para entender un poco la dinámica, adaptarse a él, pero no ser un esclavo de él.

Porque si eres una persona que colecciona todos los edificios, el juego te va a colapsar y, tarde o temprano, lo abandonarás, porque EA no entiende (o no quiere entender) cuáles son las prioridades de los jugadores (que evidentemente es su vida real).

Yo, por suerte, he aprendido que el juego es secundario, y que mi comunidad es muy grande en personas, en apoyo, y ya he creado amigos dentro del juego desde hace mucho tiempo. Y en realidad me hace mucha ilusión cuando alguien como tú me dice que ha visto mis vídeos, porque mi idea nunca ha sido crear adictos, sino personas que se diviertan con el juego y que disfruten de él.

No nos equivoquemos, el juego puede ayudar en muchas cosas a personas, pero puede ser la perdición en otras (como en tu caso).

Fíjate que este sábado grabo mi primer podcast sobre el juego. Te lo digo porque eres de habla hispana y me conoces, y seguramente has visto mis análisis de las actualizaciones, que ya no hago porque me quitan demasiado tiempo.

Y en el podcast voy a analizar junto a dos invitados excepcionales qué está pasando en el juego, qué dirección toma y cómo hay que afrontar el nuevo concurso, ya que tiene una dinámica muy distinta que no se está entendiendo. La jugabilidad ha cambiado gracias a la ampliación del almacén (todo un acierto), pero se ha producido un caos en la gente que intentaremos resolver, precisamente por la falta de información de los desarrolladores. Y esto está haciendo que la gente abandone, no como en tu caso (que está bien hecho), sino simplemente porque ya se aburren de cambios no explicados.

Yo me sumerjo en numerosos chats y foros en inglés y español y hay un sentimiento que veo, que parece que los desarrolladores no se dan cuenta.

Es por lo que me atreví a hacer este hilo en el foro oficial, para ver si los desarrolladores son capaces de interactuar con personas que podemos ofrecerles experiencias de juego reales para que puedan actuar en consecuencia y que, ambos, jugadores y desarrolladores, vayan de la mano hacia un futuro agradable.

Siento lo que te ha pasado. Como comprenderás, no voy a incitarte a volver, pero si en algún momento quieres, busca el enlace de Discord de Isla Atlas, porque no hay nada mejor que jugar con una comunidad que entiende el juego y que te ayuda en cualquier momento fuera de él, entendiendo que el juego es secundario en la vida.

Disfruta de tu libertad, si así la asumes. Gracias por ver mis vídeos, es un honor saber que hay gente desconocida que me escribe a diario porque ha visto mis vídeos y porque le ayudaron en algún momento.

Un gran saludo

Hi! Atlantis, I've seen your videos sometimes. I'm a spanish speaker too. I agree that the game has turned overwhelming and impossible to play. But I can't see a solution for that. 

I'm level 99 and I've been intensively playing the last six years, but I've quitted the game two or three weeks ago (when I saw egyptian hospital was unable to reach), and I see no chance to be back. 

It's not only that the game has become hard to understand. It is, of course, I've seen the last update when my club told me it was the end. It's also that EA keeps adding more and more tasks to the game, continously increasing the number of hours you must be playing to reach goals.

I was already wanting to quit it the last two years. When they starting adding shops and items with the same boring market when you only find mountain items (obvious: they give dozens of mountain items in each event. Statistically gamers don't need them, so they end in the market for three days until Daniel buy them). That's the way they ruin the chance to find anything needed. So market is useless. You must make any item needed. And it takes hours. Then they introduced new coins, then the preference for absurd tasks (producing 16 carved woods, that means 60 or 70 planks, 14 malmalade pots, etc....). Then the excess of events per week with different time to begin and end: dessigns, showcases, offers, events, monster, wars....  

The game has become nonsense. I liked it when it relaxed me and I could create a beautiful city. My priority are buildings. A few years ago you could buy a building you liked for less than 10 €. Now most offers are between 19,99 and 24,99 euros.  It's a digital building in an online game and soon or later it will disappear. Compared to the books, things or experiences I can buy with 25 €.

The thing is it's not pleasant anymore, because they have increased the number of daily hours you should play to complete all events and get the prizes. It's like a non paid full time job. You can't simply invert 10-14 hours per day on it. Life is not that. It's a risk for physical and mental health. I have now sight and mobility issues. Even if a person is so addicted to it as I was you realize you are making the way to die soon in this game, while EA only aims to win money. They think that if they increase the number of hours you should play to get the prize buildings, and you don't have that time, then you automatically will buy offers to win the egyptian hospital, the Chicago pride house and so....

I suppose EA chiefs are very very rich and they don't know most people simply can't spend 200 euros/week to complete the absurd number of events they're starting weekly. But the thing is most people can't. In Spain 1000 €/month is a very usual wage, not the amount a player inverts in a game.

And once you see all your effort along the years and all your dedication is good for nothing because you can't complete the weekly event unless you stop sleeping, eating, working, going out....or paying a lot, then the harm is done.

In those six years I had managed to complete all events and get all the buildings in the end. I remember many nights without sleeping, leaving all aside to upgrade 60 houses (in level 99 it's very hard) to complete the event track.

Not being able to get the egyptian hospital did it. It broke the wall. To be able to feel OK I must understand that that building was not so important. And once you assume it, then the Chicago pride house is not important, the madness of popsicles, ice coins, tickets, events, contests and all this rubbish game is not important. It won't be important anymore.

And when you start feeling that opening the game makes you feel frustrated, worried and sick there's no way back. Once I'm free why should I make an effort to be slave again? I think it's not only me. I've noticed there are many players who feel fed up and have quitted the game. It's not relaxing,funny or pleasant anymore. It's impossible to be back.

Their abuse will take EA to ruin. They've ruined the game. They've ruined many people's life. It's justice that they will get ruined some day.

It's not the understanding of the game. People are not stupid. The question is no one can invert all their lifetime in a game.

Thanks four videos, Atlantis. But believe me, the best part of your life is out of Simcity, not in that hell game.

I've been trying to leave a review but it won't let me, presumably because I'm leaving 3 stars

Haha look at the reviews on the App Store (iOS) it’s an endless stream of 1 star reviews in the past week that all say they hate this update and are quitting. I wonder if the devs read them

Well, it started 22 october 2014 and i am with it since august 2015, there were huge bugs, we survived, since the last 2 years, this game became more commercial, now you cant even complete tasks without spending real money. I have 11 cities, now 6 of them are sleeping until i need them, but the bugs keep piling up, i am playing trains right now, need 2 more to complete, you dont need teammembers for it.  We dont do more than 2 wars a week, and for me, skip the speed wars. On my new ipad, if i dont do anything for 5 minutes, even the chat is nor refreshed and i have to reboot the game, and the world shop, mainly contains factory items, even after they “ fixed” it

Yep. I’ve been playing since they launched it, and I stopped playing. It just becomes an enormous chore now. You have to play the game like 5 hours a day to get anywhere now. Super annoying. They nuked the game with this updated for sure. And all 25 people in my club feel the same 

You're right.  I hope they listen as I suspect this is (was) one of EA's  money making games. 

I fear the latest "update" has caused a mass exodus.  I've lost team members of several years.  The chat is silent.  War participation has been reducing anyway because of the too frequent lightning wars.  There's no incentive to complete assignments or even work as a team when the rewards are out of reach without spending real money.  

I'll see what happens at the end of this season but I'm disheartened with the changes which only appear designed to make money, not enhance gameplay.  After 10+ years I feel sad to leave but if it's not fun, there's no point continuing.  

I'll check out your channel later.  

I am president of 3 groups, but my players are running away now, and its not the complexity of the game, i play since the start, but for bugs. There are getting more every day, and wont be solved. Please stop telling its a good thing players run away from the game?

Link to Discord (Spanish/English): https://discord.gg/spuqC9SgG4