This has to be the most bug ridden update ever for Tanki. Server reset after server reset. And when it is up and running all I've seen is more unbalanced games than before the update and more people bailing out of games than before the update. So this is your great update? Seems like another great failure to me. Like I have said before, people don't like their freedom of choice taken away. People don't like unpopular changes. All that's going to happen is more people are going to leave.

This update is turning into a farce.

I started in 2012, it was around the 110,000 range back then and stayed pretty consistent til 2014 (say 90,000 to 110,000 daily) if my memory serves me right. You really didn't see the precipitous fall in numbers till the separation of paints and protections. I think that was the turning point of the game. Then it's been one unpopular update after another til today where it can't break 30,000 and has a rough time getting to 27,000. I'm not saying everything the Dev's have done has been bad, but overall they have made one unpopular update after another that has caused a certain percentage of players to leave after each of those updates. Whether out of boredom, because they applied a bandage rather than a true solution, or because the individuals got pissed off. Either way Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's have been doing a terrible job at attracting new players and retaining old ones for any significant time. Even with this update, we see bling over substance. It's another overall unpopular update that will cause even more to leave. All those drones are going to do is add more clutter to the battle field. Also many are not happy with having their choice of maps taken away from them when playing in matchmaking mode. So I would expect the numbers to continue to fall til the mobile game starts. You'll have an uptick then in players. Then it will fall again, probably finally dying at that point..

Another quality product brought to you by Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's of Tankionline. :o

I know how you feel. That's why I left. Tanki is in it's death throws right now and Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's are flailing about trying to find anything that will stop the hemorrhaging. Sorry that you have to endure it, I know how much you loved this game.

LOL, thanks. B)

Thanks Viking4s for the lively discussion, so now I'll bring it to an end. We may have our differences but I really did enjoy talking to you.

Oh, I know no one pays attention to me. In fact your post explains exactly why the game is failing if your attitude is reflective of the owners and Dev's. In fact I'm glad I came across you here in the forums, because with this one post by you, you have proven every argument I have made over the years. Thank you very much! :D Yes the owners are doing a lot of hoping, because they've got nothing else to fall back on. They better do it soon though. Peak numbers are 25,000 and dropping. By the way when I started playing this game there was over 100,000 + during peak times. It just goes to show that the owners and Dev's aren't very good at retaining people. I really don't think that will change with 3.0 Thanks for the clarification. I was hoping I didn't imagine it. I really do try to be accurate in my posts.

And your point is? The screen shots in that post are exactly the same as I saw on the HTML5 server. So my question is - Is MM running on HTML5 or not? It had the same screens when I played it. If you say no I'll believe you, but if the screens are the same, don't you see why I might have been mistaken that MM was running on HTML5? Oh by the way, I knew you couldn't resist the temptation to my reference to the fact that I might not have done enough due diligence. Thanks, I won a personal bet with myself when you jumped all over it and nothing else. :D

And to quote you - "You make as many supposition and speculation as anybody else based on very little data". I've been around this game much longer than you (according to your profile) so I speak from experience that you don't have in the game. And if you would peruse my previous posts, I do in many instances provide hard data. Now as to being in a clan. I was in a clan, the HOT clan, til I quit playing as much as I use to. So I left to open a spot for someone else. I still play with my old clan mates and friends that I've acquired over the years. I still keep in touch with them through Discord, and I can speak with utmost certainty that those in that circle, those who left, left mainly due to being fed up with what the Dev's are doing. So that just goes to show your ignorance as to who I am and what I've done. You might want to do some look ups of my posts so at least in that area you can educate yourself about me. Now as to Tanki being governed by the owners of the game, I would hope that that was true. They dictate to the Dev's and then they're supposed to implement those decissions. However, I think it speaks volumes about the owners abilities and foresight if all they've been able to to develop in 10 years is 2 games, and that those 2 games are basically based on the same premise. I think you will find that most successful software companies have a few more projects than just 2. So if you want to absolve the Dev's of any responsibility of producing a steadily declining product, by all means aim higher, because you're right, the owners do have the final responsibility for the product their company produces. And as any good business person knows one of the most important things to a successful business is the need to listen to their customers. So maybe I've been wrong all these years and the real reason for the bad updates that came down the pike really originated with the owners. The main premise still remains, nobody is listening to the community. And before you counter that you can't listen to everyone please go back and read some of my previous posts on this topic. I hate repeating myself. The important thing is, yes, you can't make everyone happy, but when a lot of your customers point out that something isn't a good idea and give proofs there of, any good businessman knows to listen, and that has been the problem, they just don't listen. Even when the Dev's have admitted mistakes, they rarely if ever, pull them back. So if you want to make the game relevant, I think it might be a good idea to learn what makes your target audience happy. Oh, yeah, that's right Tanki doesn't listen to people so how are they to know?

Doesn't anyone do any research around here. Where you were quoting me I was mentioning the HTML5 version in passing. I had been playing it earlier that day and thought that matchmaking had been implemented there due to the experience that I had. Now back to the point, I was trying to point out, where you quoted me, the fact that there have been live tests of the matchmaking system. And was pointing out that in the person's own comments he was proving that tests were taking place. To help you out further take for example this one instance that you, with a little effort, can find on tanki's own website. And I quote - 07.08.2017 Testing of Matchmaking System on EU servers Tankers! With tomorrow’s server restart, we’ll be implementing a test version of the Matchmaking System on all EU servers. The test is intended to run for 48 hours, till 02:00 UTC on Thursday 10th. However, developers might decide to end the test earlier if it causes any kind of undesirable effect on the game. - end quote And that was the first of a number of them that comes up with a simple Google search. Please do your research before attacking. If you don't it really weakens your argument. As you can see when I didn't do my own due diligence. I also consider the battle button a simplified version of matchmaking that doesn't have the so called balancing algorithms installed. In an earlier post I pointed out that this is giving everyone a taste of what the matchmaking system would be like. A lack of choice in how the game will be played. My experience has been when you take away freedom to choose in a game, people don't like it and have a tendency not to play it. Hence my contention that matchmaking will be a hinderence to attracting new players. Now as to matchmaking currently running on HTML5, once again, I myself may be guilty of not doing my due diligence. I may be wrong. All I can say is that when I played the HTML5 version it gave me no choice as to what I wanted to play except for the mode. Also it was very similar to the experience I had when playing the test version. So I assumed matchmaking had been implemented on it. If I was wrong then I admit I spoke wrongly. However it doesn't take away from the fact that if the matchmaking system is even more restrictive than what I experienced on the HTML5 server then tanki is definitely dead.

Once again another who hasn't done his due diligence and shoots from the hip. If you had bothered to do just a little research you would have seen that I've been commenting on what the Dev's have been doing for years. Both the good and the bad. So I'm sure it's due to the bad updates that has motivated my comments not boredom. It's interesting that you should mention about the reasons why your friends left the game. I've also had many leave the game and most of my friends left due to frustration with what the Dev's were doing which caused the game to not be fun, and yes, even boring to play. But they admitted it was due to the changes made by the Dev's not that the game had become boring on it's own. I guess we just run in different circles. So in closing I would have to say you're right that a game needs to change and adapt to stay interesting and fun. All I'm pointing out is that Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's haven't been very good at figuring out how to accomplish that.

And yet the number of players keeps dwindling. Who am I to know what is best for the game? I'm nobody, I've just my opinion as to what needs to be done just like the Dev's have their opinions. It's also an opinion that I have echoed and has been echoed by many other long time players. The Dev's have also had an opinion as to what should be done and they've implemented it and all we've seen from that is a decline in players. Maybe just maybe it might be the time to listen to the opinions of the nobodies to save the game. Yes the game needs to change over time to stay relevant and fun. But Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's continue to implement unpopular change after unpopular change in the game instead of fixing the actual problems. It's been bling over substance. I see now that the game is starting to have problems even peaking out at 25,000 players on any given day. How low does it have to go before you realize that maybe a change in direction needs to take place? But like I said, I'm just a nobody, what do I know.

I see your confusion. You see I'm not a Tanki is dead crusader. I'm a unite against what the Dev's are doing crusader, because I truly loved playing this game and have seen it go from a once great game to a shadow of it's former glory due to bad decisions and mismanagement of the game. Perhaps if enough would show their disgruntlement with the bad decisions Pony tail Boy and the Dev's have made then they will finally listen and save this once great game. The truly frustrating thing is the apologists, like yourself who do the dirty work for Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's, by trying to silence, with meaningless drivel and excuses for the Dev's, those that are trying to save something they care about.

Need I say more. If I'm not mistaken that is by definition a test. I also said it gave a taste of what could happen. I never said those tests were a finished product. Also if you play the HTML5 version, it is running MM.

Yet you give no proof other than that you trust what the Dev's are claiming. While many who have been critical of the Dev's will give hard numbers to prove their positions, you give none to back up your position. Of course the Dev's are going to say that people are leaving for reasons other than because of what they've done to the game. That way they are let off the hook. I will make the same point that I've made in other places in this forum. If Tanki is so boring why are they trying to shore it up? If it is past it's prime why save it? Why are they bringing out a mobile version? Is it just out of loyalty to a dying game that is headed for the dust heap of tired old games? I suggest ThirdOnion that you do a little research as to what was said during each of the adjustments that Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's made and you will see that in each case long time players warned of the consequences many of those changes would have on the game. Now while not every change has been bad, most have been, and you can document that accurately with the sudden drops in players that took place after those bad updates took effect. That seems to be a good indicator to me that there is a good correlation between what Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's have done and that it is not just out of boredom that players have left. If the game is so boring why are you still here?

Hmmmm, I seem to remember back in the "bad old days" of the Drug Wars that peak player numbers were well over 100,000 and you couldn't get on some servers (that's back when you could choose the server you wanted to play on) due to the heavy number of players on them. Now granted, I do recognize the fact that there is a percentage of players who dislike the use of drugs, those are the simple facts. Also, I've always been an advocate, along with many others, that players should have a choice between drug and non-drug games, but unfortunately Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's never listen to that idea. Their answer was to charge players for that privilege. That could also be another good idea that the Dev's ignored and a reason for some to leave the game. Like the old saying goes "If it ain't fun, I'm not going to play".

I used to be a heavy player but no more due to how the game has been slowly ruined over the years by Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's. I monitor the game and when changes take place I poke my nose back in to see if Pony Tail Boy and his minions have wised up any. So far the answer is a big fat resounding NO! While it is true MM hasn't been fully released yet you get a taste of it with the battle button and in the tests. The one big negative is No choice. Granted it may help with the mult problem but I think the negatives outweigh possible benefits that could still be achieved by other methods that have been espoused over and over again in the forums. But back to the point, I like playing certain maps and certain modes.Take that away and you take away the reason for playing. Believe me that in it's current state tanki is no joy to play when those things are thrown at you randomly. Though with MM I think they will at least give you choice as to mode. Still I want to play the maps I want with people I want. I don't want to jump through a lot of hoops to do that. Just look at the stats. Since MM was announced and testing was started, player numbers have nose dived. So yes MM may be the straw that finally breaks the camel's back. Either way, if the trends continue there will simply not be enough players to support the game and it will end. I will give you one point. The unbreakable chain is a good idea, but not good enough to pull the game back from the brink. As to ignoring things, that's the one thing that Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's are very good at. They have never ever pulled back a single bad idea even when their noses have been rubbed in it.

My apologies then, I misunderstood your post.

I will agree that Maf is an apologist for Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's, but he has always been a good sport and civil with all his posts. I may not always agree with his posts (make that most of them) but overall he's a good guy and should be treated with respect.

I find myself in almost total agreement with you on this point. Though I think the main reason for the longevity of the game was because it was such a good game and that it was because of that fact that it has taken this long for the Dev's and Pony Tail Boy to ruin it. You did, however, put your finger on the failure point of the Dev's and Pony Tail Boy's thinking. And I quote : "I myself saw plenty of great ideas over the years, some of them being pretty simple and straightforward, yet offering a solution to some significant issues that a lot of people complained about. Devs' excuse for this is that they have a schedule and a set of plans to follow and they can't get distracted by requests for small improvements," It's one thing to have a grand roadmap as to where you want to go with a project. It's quite another thing to ignore good ideas when they come along that would fix intermediate problems that would make your customer base happy as you travel that path. This is where the Dev's and Pony Tail Boy have failed. I think everyone agrees that a game needs to evolve over time to stay relevant and fun to play, but to ignore good ideas and solutions just to doggedly stay on that road map leads to ultimate failure. The way you stay relevant and popular is to listen to your customer base and fill a need. I know of no business that has stayed successful and not followed that most simple principle. Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's have failed to do that and thus you have seen the constant decline of the game. It's simple hubris on their part. They simply can't recognize any good ideas that don't come from them. This is what will also be the cause of failure for the mobile version. As a last side note, yes I'm familiar with @Serene. I just checked her profile to make sure it was the same person you were mentioning. I find it interesting to note that she hasn't been active since February 9, 2018. Hopefully she's not another casualty of Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's decisions.

And that is the crux of the matter. Hopefully it will be fixed. That takes me to another point I made. Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's have made claim after claim they're making the game better with the changes they've made. The point is that they've done just the opposite. Now while no one is going to make the right call every-time, you would hope that they would make the right calls MOST of the time. Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's have done the exact opposite, and with that track record I would have to think that they are not going to do any better on a new platform. I say fix the problems first. Put out a quality product on your existing platform before moving on to another. HTML5 isn't a golden bullet that is going to magically fix all the problems. It may be more stable, it may fix some of the hacking problems, and it may even allow cross platform compatibility, but the main problem lies in content and game play. The Dev's and Pony Tail Boy have been notoriously arrogant in not listening to the players. Granted you can't do everything everyone wants, but even when it has been proven that a certain course was wrong they refuse to back track and try something different. So that is why we have the situation we have today. Bad decision piled on bad decision and a dwindling player base. That will not change with the mobile version.

You just restate one of my opening points. If that is the case, how is the mobile going to accomplish that? The mobile version is just a copy of the PC version. The only difference is it provides another means of access to the same old tired worn out game (according to you). I would agree that some leave out of boredom, but I would also contend that a very large number left because of the bad decisions that you ignore and try to apologize for. Do you even read the forums. I know you do because I constantly see your responses to every negative post, where you try for the most part to put the Dev's in the best light. But that is my opinion. Either way the Dev's have done a very poor job keeping players and attracting new players. My contention is with those same people running things will things really change?

It's just one possible theory to try and explain and make sense of the chain of bad decisions that the Dev's have made that have driven so many players away from the game. Also it gives a starting point for the discussion.

I agree totally , so that being the case there are at best 30,000 (and that is starting to stretch it) playing during peak times and that is from a base of let's say a couple 100000 active players, like you said. Then when there was over 100,000 players playing during peak times in the past there must have been nearly a 1,000,000 active players. Seems to show bad decision making, by my way of thinking, for the Dev's to loose that many players. So if that is their track record, how is it going to be any better on a mobile device. Yes you may get a jump in players, but that will also fade away because the same people who are ruining the game today will be running the mobile game.