Additional update and new observations:
5. Billboard Timeline & Asset Misrouting Hypothesis:
To be absolutely precise regarding the timeline: The unclosable full-screen ads actually started appearing while the second billboards were still active. Later on, these billboards went completely dark/inactive. However, when I reinstalled the game due to the recent Railroad update, the billboards suddenly became active again for exactly one day before going dark again.
My strong suspicion is that these two issues are directly connected: The unclosable ads appear to be campaigns originally intended and optimized for the 3D billboards. Because there aren't enough standard video ads available, the game seems to forcefully pull these billboard assets into the full-screen reward video-player. Since they lack the proper close-button ('X') code for a full-screen player, they freeze at the end. The reinstallation clue suggests that a fresh local cache temporarily handles this layout, but server-syncing quickly breaks both systems again, heavily disrupting Contest of Mayors (CoM) milestones and season currency progression.
6. Situation Worsened (Workaround no longer effective):
Unfortunately, the situation has worsened over the last few hours. Now, even the very first ad after a fresh 'Force Stop' is mostly unclosable. Whatever server-side adjustments or cached data conflicts are causing this, the previous workaround of turning off targeted ads is unfortunately no longer reliable, and the ad system remains mostly broken at this point.
EDIT / Additional crucial detail:
I realized an important fact regarding the timeline: Most of the video ads that are now unclosable used to work perfectly fine before the second billboards were introduced to the game. The other broken ads were added as brand-new campaigns after that change. This proves that the ad files themselves aren't inherently broken, but rather that the server-side restructuring of the billboard system completely corrupted the delivery and layout of these existing campaigns.
EDIT 2 / Frustrating Impact on Playtime & Premium Boosters:
Just to emphasize how incredibly annoying this broken ad system is right now: The 85 available ads offer a base total of about 28,900 seasonal currency (85 x 340). It is important to note that this is without purchasing a premium booster! For players who bought a booster, this amount increases by 50% or even 100%.
Dealing with these unclosable ads—constantly force-stopping the app, reloading, and wasting time on frozen screens—is extremely frustrating. The effort required to navigate this broken system stands in no relation to our limited playtime. It turns gathering this currency into a massive, time-consuming headache, which is especially unacceptable for paying players who bought a booster to progress faster.
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