FP Overload, Great Buildings, and the Power Curve

[L84Dnr]

Great Buildings, once the crown jewel of most cities, aren't nearly so great anymore. This is largely because they haven't kept up with the power curve. For example, the Eco Sanctum released this past summer provides more FP than all but the most impressively leveled Capes, more goods than most goods GBs and at higher age, units and happiness comparable to a mid-level Traz, again at higher age, medals (why more thrice-damned medals?), and an FP collection boost unseen in any GB. All in a tidy package that you could get with a couple of weeks of event participation. No diamond required. And when we build these formerly Great Buildings we level them up to 80 or so and then we just stop... So much wasted potential.

At the same time the very same power curve has brought us a flood of FP. I have a pretty modest city that's pulling down 2400 FP a collection and I'm certain that many of you net a lot more. I'm currently leveling 6 GBs a day just to use up my daily collection, ending up blueprint-locked, and would likely run out of levels to up if I had the BPs. So unless Inno is deliberately trying to devalue the game currency, something needs to be done to give it a use.

Here's my suggestion to help with both issues, and open avenues for dealing with a variety of others.

Tiered Great Buildings

Right now we level GBs from 0 to 80 or so and done. Very linear, very predictable, and very limited in terms of both variety and strategy.

I'm going to suggest adding an extra dimension of Tiers to each GB. That way when your CdM hits level 11 you can keep going up same as ever, or you can hop sideways and open level 1 of Tier 2. Opening Tier 2 would give added functions but would require FP, 10 levels of Tier 1, and possibly goods and BPs. Eventually, and only after significant work, you could have a CdM that was level 100 Teir 1, level 90 Tier 2, level 80 Tier3, etc... The number of Tiers that could be added by Inno is effectively limitless, but should probably be kept modest until properly worked out. There are a variety of different handy effects this could have:

• Give FP something to do. Unless we all want to be swimming in useless game currency.
• Allow GBs to be upgraded to keep pace with the power curve. We're already getting this as next gen upgrades for yesteryear's event buildings, so a GB fix is past due.
• Improve existing GBs without removing existing features, which is problematic.
• Shake things up with a building spree that would open up new challenges and new strategies.
• Provide a mechanism for introducing support for other game features like GE5 and QI, for which support has been sadly lacking at launch.
• Give new life to currently B-rank GBs. You all know the ones.
• Generate boundless hilarity as e.g.: players rush to build level 120 Lotus Temples because their Tier 3 abilities are unexpectedly awesome.
• More opportunity for players to spend diamond and $RL.

Now clearly this is going to require significant work to balance, but probably not much worse than adding a new event building. And that balancing act is why the devs get paid the big bucks while I just prattle on.

 

[Paladiac the Pure]

Hmm, I can see a number of problems with your suggestion here
1) "until properly worked out" - since this is not something Inno does - i.e. ignoring issues discovered by Beta server users, using Live server as Beta server, ignoring player feedback on both real Beta and Live not-real Beta ...
2) "significant work to balance" - well, hate to break it to you, but this game used to be fairly well balanced, and then about 2 years ago, Inno decided to throw balance into the crapper and give excessive stats, well, just say Inno chose to unbalance the game, and are doing nothing to balance it
3) "devs get paid the big bucks" - sorry to break it to you again, but Devs do not get the big bucks. The person(s) that originally came up with the concept and then sold it, got the big bucks, the Devs that work on it now are just working stiffs that do what they are told, and are only paid a working wage, sometimes less than that

It is Inno themselves that have seriously damaged the game, and continue to find new ways to break and further damage it - i.e. introduce QI, which was so-so interesting, and then change it so players get to liv "Groundhog Day" day after day - in this particular case, they want Groundhog Day to continue until Jan 3 2025.

 

[Droppy]

Maybe you level GB's to level 80. Most players don't. Giving GB's tiers is just more of the same with better rewards. You might as well up the rewards. It will not change a thing.

 

[L84Dnr]

Hmm, I can see a number of problems with your suggestion here
1) "until properly worked out" - since this is not something Inno does - i.e. ignoring issues discovered by Beta server users, using Live server as Beta server, ignoring player feedback on both real Beta and Live not-real Beta ...
2) "significant work to balance" - well, hate to break it to you, but this game used to be fairly well balanced, and then about 2 years ago, Inno decided to throw balance into the crapper and give excessive stats, well, just say Inno chose to unbalance the game, and are doing nothing to balance it
3) "devs get paid the big bucks" - sorry to break it to you again, but Devs do not get the big bucks. The person(s) that originally came up with the concept and then sold it, got the big bucks, the Devs that work on it now are just working stiffs that do what they are told, and are only paid a working wage, sometimes less than that

It is Inno themselves that have seriously damaged the game, and continue to find new ways to break and further damage it - i.e. introduce QI, which was so-so interesting, and then change it so players get to liv "Groundhog Day" day after day - in this particular case, they want Groundhog Day to continue until Jan 3 2025.

You're right that the game clearly has some issues. If anything you're being overgenerous to QI as it currently stands. It's less Groundhog Day and more of an old VHS tape of the Parliamentary Network on eternal repeat.

That said, I don't think that there's much to be gained by not suggesting suggestions.

 

[Droppy]

That said, I don't think that there's much to be gained by not suggesting suggestions.

That would apply if it were not that Inno has made it very clear they are not looking for any suggestions when it comes to GB's.