Update 2: EA Dismisses Dungeon Keeper Mobile Criticism

[Barbas]

P.S. This post was fueled by almost 4y long C&C4-induced insanity. Thank you EA.

Ermaghad, you played Command aNd Conquer 4? That must have been like hang-gliding over the entrance to hell itself! :/

 

[blackrave]

P.S. This post was fueled by almost 4y long C&C4-induced insanity. Thank you EA.

Ermaghad, you played Command aNd Conquer 4? That must have been like hang-gliding over the entrance to hell itself! :/

It wasn't the gameplay that did most damage
Or even always-online DRM
It was the story of single-player campaign :'(

 

[faefrost]

At this point the only rational explanation is that EA is actively lobbying for a threefer' to complete a perfect sweep of "most evil corporation evah!" What's the old saying? If you can't hide it, paint it red? The can't escape the taint of being the worst company, so they are now seeking to glorify in it in some hand wringing James Bond super villain type madness. "BWAHAHAHAHA! They thouhjt they knew evil before!"

The fact that they are letting their evil impulses run away with them using the game Dungeon Keeper is just total irony in so many ways.

 

[RA92]

Meanwhile, on GoG...

Hah! I just finished DL'ing Dungeon Keeper after seeing Nerd3's anger-filled video on this mobile POS and then seeing his LP of DK1.

This post was fueled by almost 4y long C&C4-induced insanity. Thank you EA.

You would be glad to have something like C&C4 nowadays. Remember the last C&C game we got? F2P Browser-Based Tiberium Fucking Alliances.

 

[Blitsie]

EA *destroyed* Bullfrog and years later has the gall to dredge up this wonderful series and release a free to play mobile piece of dreck?

I hate to say it, but somewhere in China there's also a Dungeon Keeper MMO lurking about that EA decided to throw at some backwater developer a few years ago, I feel this should also be brought up just to further add salt on the wounds actually.

Its absolutely terrible that EA's sitting on such a treasure trove of IPs though, to think they still have a stranglehold on Command and Conquer and Syndicate, among many others, is pretty saddening.

 

[blackrave]

This post was fueled by almost 4y long C&C4-induced insanity. Thank you EA.

You would be glad to have something like C&C4 nowadays. Remember the last C&C game we got? F2P Browser-Based Tiberium Fucking Alliances.

Getting punched in stomach is less painful then getting kicked in balls
Doesn't mean I would like to get punched in stomach

 

[Glaice]

This and Star Trek Trexels are some things that are wrong with gaming today. The morons who buy these games and even worse buying the stupid microtransactions for said games are just as bad if not worse.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Update: As confirmed by Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/210168/EA_downplays_Dungeon_Keeper_freetoplay_criticisms.php], EA has a rather sneaky way of getting all those 5-star reviews that Skalski values so much. When the game asks you to rate it on Android and you choose to give it less than 5 stars, it doesn't allow you to do so, and instead asks you to message the company with your feedback. Of course, if you pick 5-stars you can still alter your rating later, but nonetheless, it's a pretty underhanded tactic.

OK. Before, I just had a chuckle at how this new Dungeon Keeper was an obvious cash in bent on exploiting really stupid people with disposable income. It's typical "Freemium+Farmville" bullshit; a completely despicable game design model with shit value for the consumer, but it isn't exactly some new evil.

But this...THIS is what draws new ire.
EA's efforts to deliberately filter out user feedback to prop up its user rating on Android?
That's just plain fucking wrong. This is something that's actually worth getting angry about.

They can stand behind their product for whatever reason, but the moment they started to actively interfere with the user-feedback process IN ANY WAY, they lose all credibility. 4.5 out of 5? Oh yeah, that's sure honest, especially when the in-game feedback system DELIBERATELY FILTERS OUT ANYTHING LESS THAN A 5. (from what I'm reading and seeing, you have to rate the game outside of the software to provide less than a 5, but in game rating of 5 is forwarded to Google Store)

Hell, if that's how they want to play, it'd only be fair that they also should lose the right to defend their shitty ass game.

Last year, I heard EA suits claim that they want to change their company image as one that isn't as anti-consumer.
And well, I guess they're trying to do just that, because shit like this is designed to make them LOOK better than they actually are.

 

[leahy5]

Update 3

EA have responded to Euro Gamer about their shady ratings process.
Their response is not going to win anyone over.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-06-dungeon-keeper-androids-rating-system-filters-out-1-4-star-reviews

UPDATE 9.07pm: EA Mobile has responded to allegations that the publisher was up to something sneaky by filtering 1-4 star in-app reviews of Dungeon Keeper away from the Google Play Store so players could e-mail feeback instead. A spokesperson for the publisher offered the following statement:

We're always looking at new ways to gather player feedback so that we can continue to improve our games. The 'rate this app' feature in the Google Play version of Dungeon Keeper was designed to help us collect valuable feedback from players who don't feel the game is worth a top rating. We wanted to make it easier for more players to send us feedback directly from the game if they weren't having the best experience. Players can always continue to leave any rating they want on the Google Play Store.

 

[Zeraki]

Update 3

EA have responded to Euro Gamer about their shady ratings process.
Their response is not going to win anyone over.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-06-dungeon-keeper-androids-rating-system-filters-out-1-4-star-reviews

UPDATE 9.07pm: EA Mobile has responded to allegations that the publisher was up to something sneaky by filtering 1-4 star in-app reviews of Dungeon Keeper away from the Google Play Store so players could e-mail feeback instead. A spokesperson for the publisher offered the following statement:

We're always looking at new ways to gather player feedback so that we can continue to improve our games. The 'rate this app' feature in the Google Play version of Dungeon Keeper was designed to help us collect valuable feedback from players who don't feel the game is worth a top rating. We wanted to make it easier for more players to send us feedback directly from the game if they weren't having the best experience. Players can always continue to leave any rating they want on the Google Play Store.

That is one of the biggest piles of bullshit I have seen in my life.

EA must be destroyed, for the love of everything good and decent.

And Google needs to be held accountable for this as well. They're just as responsible as EA for this travesty of a rating system.

 

[Baresark]

LoL.... A five star rating helps us provide free udpates.... that is the most ridiculous shit I have ever seen. I mean, it's clear to see why they got so many 5 star votes... but they have over 3500 1 star votes. I'm tempted to install it, just to give it a single star rating. Also... the game is Free to Play... meaning that the updates are going to be free as well. Unless they are going to sell more than gems on the store.

 

[archabaddon]

If I wanted to get shilled on a F2P game with incredulous timers that take money to bypass, I'd play Tiny towers (or Tiny Death Star).

Lamentably, you can't leave a rating unless you install the app.

Fortunately, I installed it on an old phone I no longer use from the Play web site. And then I rated it one star. Because why not? If EA can game the ratings system, why can't I?

 

[Atmos Duality]

We're always looking at new ways to gather player feedback so that we can continue to improve our games. The 'rate this app' feature in the Google Play version of Dungeon Keeper was designed to help us collect valuable feedback from players who don't feel the game is worth a top rating. We wanted to make it easier for more players to send us feedback directly from the game if they weren't having the best experience. Players can always continue to leave any rating they want on the Google Play Store.?

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!

EA, the issue doesn't lie in the player's ability to leave feedback, it's that the in-game feedback system DELIBERATELY DISCARDS ANY RATING LESS THAN A 5, WHILE FORWARDING 5s TO THE GOOGLE STORE RATING. (or rather, you have to click 5 Stars, and then actually rate it lower, which is completely counter-intuitive to say the fucking least)

The only way to actually leave a rating of less than 5 is to go to the store rating system manually, but since the in-game feedback is guaranteed to pop up, while the Google store is optional. Extrapolated across the bulk of users who would NOT NORMALLY LEAVE FEEDBACK on the Google store, it's very very easy to see how this would artificially inflate the overall game score.

Fucking hell this is dirty.
This is shit that should at least get people to question who exactly they are doing business with.

 

[OuendanCyrus]

So if they say that "Dungeon Keeper is meant to be played on the go multiple times a day with a few minutes here or there."

Doesn't that contradict the fact that it takes 4 to 24 hours to get rid of a single block? I haven't played the game myself so I wouldn't know what they're actually talking about.

 

[Sight Unseen]

So I've been hearing all this bad press about Dungeon Keeper recently and I decided just now to try it out for myself to see how bad it is... And... It's NOT as bad as all this bad press is giving it. That whole debacle over taking 4-24 hours to mine a tile only applies to the outer tiles of the map, which are tiles which when mined GIVE gems. I'm not exactly sure how many they give, but unless you want to fast track your way to a mine spot way out on the edge, there's not really much point to clearing them other than to mine for gems (which, as a premium currency, probably should take a while to mine manually)

All of the inner tiles of the map only take 3-4 seconds to clear so they shouldn't be much of an issue.

I mean yeah, the game is trying to nickel and dime you every step of the way and constantly tempting you to pay gems for everything. But overall, I think that it is actually feasible to play this game for free and get some amount of enjoyment behind it if you play it in shortish bursts, which is how F2P games are typically designed.

Granted this is probably still a giant kick in the balls to any hardcore Dungeon Keeper fans (I haven't played it myself yet so I dont have the nostalgia affecting my opinion) but as a F2P game, this isn't nearly as cash-grabby as I originally thought. Although it definitely still is cash-grabby without a doubt.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Granted this is probably still a giant kick in the balls to any hardcore Dungeon Keeper fans (I haven't played it myself yet so I dont have the nostalgia affecting my opinion) but as a F2P game, this isn't nearly as cash-grabby as I originally thought. Although it definitely still is cash-grabby without a doubt.

It absolutely is a kick in the balls.

Take chess, for instance. You buy the game, take it home, find a partner and play. That's it. Now, apply the free-to-play model to it...

Company X thrusts the game into your lap, telling you it's free. The first three to four moves go off without a hitch, but then the Chess Grand Master leaves you with a little cache of coins. You can move your pawns forward two spaces as their first move, or go for three if you shell out a few coins! Some pieces, like the Tower, now move in daily increments. You have to wait a week for a single Tower to complete its move - but that's okay, the Grand Chess Master says! You can just use more coins do carry your entire move through in one go!

One hour in, you're out of coins. Again, no problemo! Just hand over your deets and you can get ten thousand coins (enough for twenty non-interrupted moves) for over a hundred dollars! Again, that's fine! The best value for you is at five hundred coins for fifteen dollars!

The competitive chess players rage, the casuals feel the sting but pay up anyway - and the non-gamer who's descended from the Zynga church is mislead into thinking it's okay to pay hundreds - all for virtual shit.

But that's okay! This is what games are nowadays! Right! Social engineering and nickel-and-diming! It's gotta be okay, everyone else is doing it in the App Store!

This is shit that should at least get people to question who exactly they are doing business with.

I'm probably pushing it, but couldn't this be worth some pressure at the Better Business Bureau?