iPad Battle Camp - Massively Multiplayer - (by PennyPop)

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by Sanuku, Sep 2, 2013.

  1. Piscinarii

    Piscinarii Well-Known Member

    Mar 20, 2010
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    Sounds like you have been playing for awhile Lucarda. Have you seen or heard anything about balancing PvP? I have done it a few times and get trounced by players that are higher level with better pets, which isn't very fun at all.

    Hannum and I are on the same page in regards to their IAP integration and Facebook. They are annoying and take away from a well polished and fun game to play. I still hop on every couple of hours, get my battles in hoping for that final rare/super to drop a puzzle piece, and go do the troop raid when it's up.
     
  2. Lucarda

    Lucarda Member

    Aug 9, 2013
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    Yes, the algorithm is changing. At first was based purely on your ranking which was a mistake because this meant that veteran players that never PvP'd (or didn't do it often) were ranked the same as players new to the game. They are changing it to match based on Stats+Rating. Stats holding the bulk of the weight.

    Asking for a mobile game to not have Facebook is unreasonable. The fact is, all of the top downloaded games use Facebook heavily. Is the system flawless? No, but they are always tweaking things like that and it's easier to take stuff away than add it.

    I don't think the IAP are that big of a deal. The leaders of some of the top Troops in the game have never spent a dime. They have slowly worked their way up. Do I think more energy would be nice? Yeah, I just don't think it effects the game as much as people are making it seem.

    (Also, in the most recent event they greatly expanded the reward tiers so everybody wins something and it's something they'd probably want).
     
  3. Piscinarii

    Piscinarii Well-Known Member

    Mar 20, 2010
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    I don't mind Facebook being a part of a mobile game but when it determines my game being saved it's a little frustrating. 99% of my FB friends don't play games and being able to opt out of the integration isn't unheard of. I still play of course, ha.

    I am a big fan of IAP honestly, I just don't think the pricing structure is appropriate. $5 for a spin is not a fair cost if you are not guaranteed a Rare or better monster from the spins. I definitely can see that they have made some efforts to give players access to better monsters without paying and definitely agree there needs to be a curve between paying and not paying. I just like to see my money actually get me something I can use.

    Glad to hear they are changing up PvP. I am a big fan of PvP and looking forward to participating in the future.
     
  4. Piscinarii

    Piscinarii Well-Known Member

    Mar 20, 2010
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    Also, has anyone found a fansite or a forum where they have started compiling a location for all the monsters? I am assuming that monsters found in higher tiered zones are better and have been deleting puzzle pieces from lower zones but sometimes i can't remember which zone I got a piece to drop in. Thanks!
     
  5. Lucarda

    Lucarda Member

    Aug 9, 2013
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    Actually some of the players in the Alphas update this regularly. I look here for most things. I don't think they have the locations, but they have all the monsters listed (even some that haven't been seen in game yet).
    http://battlecampapp.tumblr.com/
    http://catsfor.us/bc/

    The FB thing I believe is more about making sure people don't have 100 accounts because they are introducing trading (It's been planned for several months and is expected next patch). The game actually saves still if you don't link it to your FB. I played for a good month on my device before I FB connected.

    I can see what you're saying with prices on stuff and respect that. Everybody has a different expectation of value. They have been talking about an update on how the Monster Grabs work and maybe that will be part of it.
     
  6. C.Hannum

    C.Hannum Well-Known Member

    Feb 13, 2011
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    #26 C.Hannum, Sep 24, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2013
    30 is definitely NOT comfortable (I have 29, 1 more would make no difference), doable, yes, but comfortable is a huge stretch, and the pricing structure is flat out disgusting: The second you buy any storage, your next storage purchase is double the cost. So if you decide to buy the 10 gold for 5 slots, your next 5 slots will cost you 20 gold - the same amount that would have bought you 10 off the bat, but now it's going to cost you 30. Of course, they don't tell you this.

    The game is good, the monetization is terrible. And it's a shame, because I'm not anti-IAP either, but this is the sort of game that motivates me to never pay on principle because at no point is any of it set up fairly.
     
  7. C.Hannum

    C.Hannum Well-Known Member

    Feb 13, 2011
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    This is such a crock.

    The grinding necessary to level and evolve the monsters is WAY beyond anything addressed by the low energy limit regarding balancing. Rather, this is a game that favors the no-life who can check in for 10 minutes out of every hour, 12+ hours a day OR the fool who will drop $30/week on spins. The casual player who can spend 15 minutes before work/school in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening will never get anywhere at anything other than a snail's pace and the low energy simply exacerbates that very deliberate favor of spins over gameplay.
     
  8. Lucarda

    Lucarda Member

    Aug 9, 2013
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    The fact that you're saying I must have 'no life' because my job allows me to play a game for 10 minutes an hour is both rude and unwarranted. As it is to many of the top end players I know who do the same because they enjoy the game.
     
  9. C.Hannum

    C.Hannum Well-Known Member

    Feb 13, 2011
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    #29 C.Hannum, Sep 24, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2013
    Nice dodge attempt, but that still doesn't change that the low energy limit has nothing to do with balancing the game but is instead designed to favor spins over gameplay. I didn't say anything about you specifically and I would hold that anyone who can check into a game for 10 minutes 12 times a day has no life, and this is coming from a stay at home dad who *could* do this if he wanted (I don't because I have other things keeping me busy, but I was aiming the "no-life" as much at someone like myself as anyone) ;)

    Call it rude, call it unwarranted, but that's still just you changing the subject because someone is pointing out that your attempt at explaining away a heavy handed monetization element was off base.

    EDIT: I'm not trying to be particularly combative here, and I wasn't trying to offend, but the fact remains that this game has not been tuned in any way to try and balance the difference between upper level and low level players, and raising the energy cap as players go up in level wouldn't make an already unequal situation any worse and would probably make things a lot better. The game has been tuned just as I said: to favor those who spend lots and lots of gold, full stop. The only people who can go places at anything other than a snail's pace are those who play as constantly as the energy system and their schedule allows, and since the cap is so low, it really stacks the deck against people who's schedule isn't flexible enough to allow several play sessions each and every day.
     
  10. Piscinarii

    Piscinarii Well-Known Member

    Mar 20, 2010
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    Thanks for the links, I will check them out. I finally got monsters high enough level that I can actually do the Event bosses now and beat Mortimer and Gong within the minute timer. I was hoping the troop I joined would pop raids more often but alas they seem to have a lot of low level people so I guess once a day will work!
     
  11. Lucarda

    Lucarda Member

    Aug 9, 2013
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    As I said in a previous post. Do I like the idea of more energy? Yeah, do I think it's necessary? Not really. But I play a lot of games where I spend a LONG time building stuff up. I'm also used to games with much harsher pricing.

    I think you have a valid point on inventory pricing (although I still think 33 is fine) and I'll submit it as a suggestion. But 10 energy wouldn't really speed anything up, it would just ensure that my Troop members log on less often to play (for slightly longer periods though). I think it would also make raids easier.

    I know they are working on: Energy items so they can give them out in quests/dailies/events. Trading (been working on it for a while). And Daily Login Bonuses (including free Ultimate Grabs and possibly gold).

    I don't think they are heavy handed or imbalanced in the slightest, but then again I enjoy playing mosaic in my downtime.
     
  12. Lucarda

    Lucarda Member

    Aug 9, 2013
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    Fortunately in this event the rewards so good deep pretty much anybody even slightly active will at least get some Ultimate Spins. Good luck.
     
  13. Against_Demons

    Apr 26, 2013
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    There's a lot to like about Battle Camp, so it's a shame that they've monetized this so badly.

    These types of games require a careful balance between encouraging people to spend but still allowing people to feel like they can progress without having to drop $500 a month. People wont stick around if they feel that they're getting the shake down at every turn.

    The devs here seem to have been blinded by the dollar signs and seriously missed the mark.
     
  14. Lucarda

    Lucarda Member

    Aug 9, 2013
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    I know I've been playing for several months from BETA to now. I've never felt like I can't compete. Perfectly evolved SR that you can attain from raiding are stronger than Ultra Rares. If you are active in events you can earn monsters and R. Grabs just by hitting different trophy thresholds.

    I've managed to create a team where I've beaten top tiered players in PvP by simply playing the game without spending anything. I also know a lot of people in top Troops that also have never spent on the game.

    This in conjunction with the fact that they're adding daily logins and trading gives me more than what I need to have fun.
     
  15. starpause

    starpause Active Member

    Jun 24, 2011
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    Yikes, good to know on the price of storage going up as you buy more. Quite a buzz kill since that's where I was planning on spending if at all.

    I'm with you that the energy max is too low at 5, that's the other thing that's kept me from spending any money. Babysitting the game every hour is too much... even liberal California labor laws only provide breaks every 3 hours. Too bad it's not even possible to up your energy limit.

    Lucarda, good to hear that the devs are listening to players... but what's the best way to make our concerns heard?
     
  16. Drummerboycroy

    Drummerboycroy Well-Known Member

    Apr 2, 2012
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    I get the feeling that the devs are very much involved and listening... like, in this thread...

    DBC
     
  17. Lucarda

    Lucarda Member

    Aug 9, 2013
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    In my experience I get responses through support and FB messages. The posts to their FB page sometimes get responses and other times don't but the direct FB messages always do. (This has to do with how FB lets people know what's been updated).

    The key with any email is to actually have a suggestion on how to improve. For example, increase the energy cap vs If you increased the energy cap by 1 every 5 levels players would feel like leveling is more of an accomplishment. Not only that, but it will allow players who are enjoying the game wiggle room in how often they play. Finally, since the energy recharge rate wouldn't be changing, there would be no balancing needed, but it would help those who have to work and want to keep progressing on their characters. I feel it would help your retention a lot and not cause any problems.

    Or if you know any of the Alpha testers they normally have the dev's ears directly.
     
  18. C.Hannum

    C.Hannum Well-Known Member

    Feb 13, 2011
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    #38 C.Hannum, Sep 25, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2013
    The "good" news is the Tap Joy rewards in this game are often quite large. Just by downloading a total of 9 free apps and signing up for a survey service with the same spam magnet email address I use for Tap Joy, I was able to max out the number of slots you're allowed to buy, purchased a storage box (another 10 slots), was able to afford the only thing that interested me from the Avatar shop, a purple plaid shirt, and still had 7 gold left over. I did try their video watching system, but you have to watch 10 vids for 1 gold, a very tedious system that I gave up on after earning 2 gold. The downside is that this shows just how messed up the monetization is in this game. In about 1 hour spread over 2 evenings while watching The Daily Show, I got all the "necessary" upgrades for juggling the evolutionary needs for my stable of rare monsters, PennyPop probably got way less than a dollar, but to do this straight up would have cost a minimum of $13 with the pricing structure they have for gold.

    Now, I'm all about developers making a living, and I wouldn't have blinked at dropping $5 for a one time, non-consumable, restorable "oodles of storage" IAP for this game, it is that good, but I'm not dropping close to what X-Com cost on sale just to alleviate the pressure from a deliberately too small inventory. There's nudging you toward spending money in free games, and then there's shoving you, and BC is definitely in the shoving class.

    Unfortunately, storage boxes follow the same cost doubling pattern, first box was 50 gold and they want 100 gold for a second box.

    This is a genuinely addictive game with a great "slot machine" mechanic of chasing the particular drops you need for any given monster evolution. The team aspects are also very cool, and the 3rd person avatar roaming around the virtual world and seeing what other people are wearing and which monsters they have is very MMO like. BUT, as has been said by me and others, it is tripping over its own feet with the social and monetization aspects. Fortunately for me as a player, the Tap Joy stuff is generous enough that it was easy to climb out from under the heavy handed constraints shoving the new player toward spending a lot of money just to reach a place they can begin really playing the game. Unfortunately for the developers, that means, at least in my case, they left a lot of money on the table by being so over the top.
     
  19. starpause

    starpause Active Member

    Jun 24, 2011
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    #39 starpause, Sep 25, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2013
    Lucarda, you make a fine argument ;) I don't know any alpha testers.

    DBC, hope you're right!

    Anyone know where the price hike on slots is outlined? Want to figure out how many slots I'll wind up with if I spend 5/10/20 dollars. Also what's the difference between slots, storage and deposit?

    Edit: sounds like I'm reading the max slots total is 30 regardless of how you go about it? What's the storage limit? Seems a funny thing to limit in a monster collecting game.

    Stuck right now... 2 glohawks and 2 smokeybear, also 2 brainfreeze and 2 tortoice... but zero slots free. I know as soon as I delete the extra blue or red guys I'll get two more of whatever I needed to complete that evolution. All for Penny's quest... ironic he's also the one nagging me to "Clear up space or buy more room" :p

    Where's the best place to farm evolution materials aka specials? I see from guides that they drop just about everywhere, but no info on if they drop more one place than another.
     
  20. C.Hannum

    C.Hannum Well-Known Member

    Feb 13, 2011
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    I'm not 100% positive on this, since if I'm remembering right, the game ripped me off some, but here's what happened with me:

    First time I was at 24 slots, purchased the +5 for 10 gold and was at 29. Then I decided to get some more gold from Tap Joy and purchased whatever was the largest, which I'm pretty sure was another +16 package but for 44 gold this time instead of 32 like it was the first time I bought slots. I only got +11 though, finishing out at 40 slots total at the time.

    So, if I'm remembering right, the game will only let you buy +16 slots in all, and you can do that off the bat for 32 gold.

    As best I can tell, their appearance is purely random, and their drop rate is fairly low, so it seems your best bet is just to keep fighting wherever you need to for other quests/drops.
     

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