Just sayin'

[Moraine 5,877]

The thing is, you actually have no idea how the company works and what are their goals. None of us do. As I said in another topic months ago, none of us has ever made a game from the scratch and none of us was personally engaged in gaming project for 10 years. Yes, we all play games but most people don't have a clue how it all works from the inside. None of us knows all the details and information that company employees see on daily basis nor any of us is a business manager that actually runs a gaming company. And we're definitely not its owners and shareholders (which are the ones making decisions and not the people you sometimes see on V-log).

 

So how about relax and enjoy this game and its events, contests and tournaments that are constantly made for everyone to take part in? If you don't want to, that's ok as well. But posting the same topic over and over again, year after year, repeating the same phrase is pretty pointless since it doesn't decide literally anything. 

[Viking4s 10,791]

 

A graph over a longer period of years would be published on the Part 2 of Neo-Tanki Versus Tanki 2016 

(in a week or so).

[FogOfWar_XXX 793]

But posting the same topic over and over again, year after year, repeating the same phrase is pretty pointless since it doesn't decide literally anything. 

 

Well, if you listen to Cedric, the V Log, and others, IT DOES IMPACT their decision making process, on a macro scale perhaps, things we don't see or care for, but it does. if we are to believe the hype of the past.

 

We were told time after time, "we listen".  "Post your thoughts, trust us, someone is watching."  Might I REFRESH YOUR MEMORY:

 

http://en.tankiforum.com/index.php?showtopic=246957&hl=

 

Lets make no mistake, that was YEARS of content.  And they listened, but they used the information as metrics to their own purposes, and it was counter that of the posts.  When buyers complained that Shafts could snipe them, they put lasers on them.  Oh they listen, trust me, they do.  The question now becomes, WTH does one have to say to get their attention and perhaps get what WE WANT once in a while?  We got the fix for cheating buyer clubs and clan predators, but again, the cure was almost as bad as the illness, but, I'm not judging, like I said, they did what they must.  They wanted to add fresh things, so they made drones.  I think they're absolute poppycock in at least 50% of their iterations and insulting, as they live nearly exclusively for the use of drugs, but people wanted more, and they got it.

 

Novelty is like Chinese proverbs, careful what you wish for, because you may end up living in interesting times.  We, the ones that are so often dismissed by your likes, ask the pointed and thoughtful questions, not the complaints of whiners like "Oh, that big mean turret over there is making it hard for me to feel like I can win."  I tire immensely of that sort and I tire even more for the apologists who then say "just play the game," such as yourself.  You can't have it both ways.  Either everyone gets their two cents or no one should.

 

But no, EVERYTIME some of us start pointing at something more thoughtful, more involved, something about the essence and nature of the game, here comes the "glee club cavalry" to shut us up.

 

I had given up saying anything for a while, but you really pissed me off with that.  You know damn well we're right, and you keep just towing a party line like we lived in Communist Russia or China.  Dude, you can say the sky is green all day long because Kim Jong Une told you to, but it's still blue.

 

Point is, yes, people are posting hard fast numbers, and not because they want to somehow HURT THE GAME AND MAKE IT GO AWAY, no, we are the ones that actually really love and cherish the game and like the game, and want the game to go on, and exist, in it's greatest form.

 

Cease with all your tom foolery and nay saying of people's concerns as if it always someone crying wolf.  I said this would happen a long time ago, and it is, read all 374 (I had to edit this, I had posted 415 pages, not that it makes THAT MUCH difference, but, someone wioll say I "exaggerate" if I don't fix it) pages of that thread above.  They did much of what we said would happen, and now someone is posting the numbers to PROVE IT, and again, like ushers in the aisle, got people coming and leaning over the rows of seats and going "sshhhhhhhh".

Edited May 31, 2019 by FogOfWar_XXX

[wolverine848 13,097]

The thing is, you actually have no idea how the company works and what are their goals. None of us do. As I said in another topic months ago, none of us has ever made a game from the scratch and none of us was personally engaged in gaming project for 10 years. Yes, we all play games but most people don't have a clue how it all works from the inside. None of us knows all the details and information that company employees see on daily basis nor any of us is a business manager that actually runs a gaming company. And we're definitely not its owners and shareholders (which are the ones making decisions and not the people you sometimes see on V-log).

 

So how about relax and enjoy this game and its events, contests and tournaments that are constantly made for everyone to take part in? If you don't want to, that's ok as well. But posting the same topic over and over again, year after year, repeating the same phrase is pretty pointless since it doesn't decide literally anything. 

The game is much less enjoyable than it was 1 or 2 or 3 years ago.  I play less and a great many others as well.

And it's not because I grew tired of the game I started with. it's because of the changes introduced over past few years.

They all add up to "death by a thousand cuts".

 

The mobile players TO is courting will not stick around half as long as many of the "veteran" players have.

The current model will not be sustainable as the "new generation" will lose interest pretty quickly.

[ByeByeBye 1,747]

The game is much less enjoyable than it was 1 or 2 or 3 years ago.  I play less and a great many others as well.

And it's not because I grew tired of the game I started with. it's because of the changes introduced over past few years.

They all add up to "death by a thousand cuts".

 

The mobile players TO is courting will not stick around half as long as many of the "veteran" players have.

The current model will not be sustainable as the "new generation" will lose interest pretty quickly.

I think this is the crux of the matter...you said it in a nutshell; "The game is much less enjoyable than it was 1 or 2 or 3 years ago"

 

Even so, and even with player count still dropping, I don't think Tanki is dying.  Many people think and say it is dying because they see the numbers and they, like most of us, aren't having as much fun with the game as they once did.  There is also almost no organic growth...low ranks are mostly seasoned vets making alt accounts primarily because higher rank battles have become almost unplayable.

 

I've said it many times already but I am convinced that Tanki is making WAY more money now than ever before....even when there were 120,000+ players on at one time.  Pony Tail Boy may not have a clue as to how to make a game fun, but he knows how to squeeze a player base for every shilling.  Tanki used to give the farm away for free, now the ONLY objective is to engorge their bottom line.  And if that means impacting the quality of game-play negatively to increase income...who cares?...make more money. 

 

MM is the centerpiece of Pony Tail Boy's push for higher profits.  It is how to control the player base more effectively.  All the toxic updates that compromised the fun of the game have been implemented to support MM.   MM was implemented to generate more cash.  Previously players had a wide range of ways to play and enjoy Tanki.  Now there is only one way to play...the devs way.  And since we are a captive audience they are now applying pressure to buy buy buy buy buy buy buy.  Today we got a new drone for only 1000 crystal availble for the 1st time at very low ranks....why?  To improve the game...please...To sell more batteries. 

 

EVERTHING Tanki has done in terms of updates is geared towards the specific purpose of selling more stuff, not improving the quality of the game.  And they are selling tons more stuff than they used to...tons.  Even though their player count has dropped, there is a much much higher percentage of buyers now.   There are a dozen bits of empirical evidence that point to this fact, but that would make this even longer and I've said it all before.  The player count means NOTHING to Tanki as long as the buyer count, or the volume of buys are high.  Pony Tail Boy may have trashed the game but he probably tripled or even quadrupled Tanki's sales...he is a hero to the owner/owners of AP (and pretty much a villain to us Tanki players).

 

Tanki is not dying...it is thriving...at our expense.

Edited May 31, 2019 by ByeByeBye

[wolverine848 13,097]

I think this is the crux of the matter...you said it in a nutshell; "The game is much less enjoyable than it was 1 or 2 or 3 years ago"

 

 

 

Even so, and even with player count still dropping, I don't think Tanki is dying.  Many people think and say it is dying because they see the numbers and they, like most of us, aren't having as much fun with the game as they once did.  There is also almost no organic growth...low ranks are mostly seasoned vets making alt accounts primarily because higher rank battles have become almost unplayable.

 

I've said it many times already but I am convinced that Tanki is making WAY more money now than ever before....even when there were 120,000+ players on at one time.  Pony Tail Boy may not have a clue as to how to make a game fun, but he knows how to squeeze a player base for every shilling.  Tanki used to give the farm away for free, now the ONLY objective is to engorge their bottom line.  And if that means impacting the quality of game-play negatively to increase income...who cares?...make more money. 

 

MM is the centerpiece of Pony Tail Boy's push for higher profits.  It is how to control the player base more effectively.  All the toxic updates that compromised the fun of the game have been implemented to support MM.   MM was implemented to generate more cash.  Previously players had a wide range of ways to play and enjoy Tanki.  Now there is only one way to play...the devs way.  And since we are a captive audience they are now applying pressure to buy buy buy buy buy buy buy.  Today we got a new drone for only 1000 crystal availble for the 1st time at very low ranks....why?  To improve the game...please...To sell more batteries. 

 

 

 

EVERTHING Tanki has done in terms of updates is geared towards the specific purpose of selling more stuff, not improving the quality of the game.  And they are selling tons more stuff than they used to...tons.  Even though their player count has dropped, there is a much much higher percentage of buyers now.   There are a dozen bits of empirical evidence that point to this fact, but that would make this even longer and I've said it all before.  The player count means NOTHING to Tanki as long as the buyer count, or the volume of buys are high.  Pony Tail Boy may have trashed the game but he probably tripled or even quadrupled Tanki's sales...he is a hero to the owner/owners of AP (and pretty much a villain to us Tanki players).

 

Tanki is not dying...it is thriving...at our expense.

I agree - the changes made are to generate profit.

And this can work - for a time.

 

Older players who stayed a long time are leaving.  being replaced by younger "mobile" players.

This is just My Opinion - but - I don't think the new players will stay around as long.

Which means they need to recruit more and more all the time to make up for the loss of the mainstays.

 

And the other half of that coin - "not improving the quality" - will eventually be the downfall.

 

With quality NOT improving, I see more and more players jumping ship - even the new recruits.  It will then be self-perpetuating as less players = longer waiting time = more players leaving.  If buyers have fewer F2Ps to beat on, and have to wait longer for battles, they will stop buying.

 

It's a negative feedback loop.  Think ODs on a winning team - only opposite.

[ByeByeBye 1,747]

I agree - the changes made are to generate profit.

And this can work - for a time.

 

Older players who stayed a long time are leaving.  being replaced by younger "mobile" players.

This is just My Opinion - but - I don't think the new players will stay around as long.

Which means they need to recruit more and more all the time to make up for the loss of the mainstays.

 

And the other half of that coin - "not improving the quality" - will eventually be the downfall.

 

With quality NOT improving, I see more and more players jumping ship - even the new recruits.  It will then be self-perpetuating as less players = longer waiting time = more players leaving.  If buyers have fewer F2Ps to beat on, and have to wait longer for battles, they will stop buying.

 

It's a negative feedback loop.  Think ODs on a winning team - only opposite.

i agree that if your product deteriorates, eventually you will suffer for it, but, like many businesses, I think Tanki is in it for the short term profit and let the long term be damned.  I base this on how they used to harp on how obsolete flash games are.  They also talk a lot about keeping in step with other online games.  I think Tanki's mindset is "We best get what we can while the gettin's good, because our game is going to become obsolete very soon".  Personaly I think this is a fallacy.

 

What Tanki had was a classic kind of game that would NEVER go out of style.  Pac-Man is still fun and still played even though it is ages old.  This game still had another ten years if not longer...unless some snazzy new game technology becomes widespread like VR or something similar.

 

And I also agree that eventually there will come a point where so many players have left that there are not enough to sustain MM.  They could just do away with MM at that point or lower the entry requirements to 8 players in queue makes a battle (they sometimes do that now on the Latin servers because there are so few players)...the point is they can keep adjusting as the player count dwindles...as player numbers decrease, they get rid of servers and staff.  Basically I think they can ride the landslide really close to the bottom.   It's foolish and sad, since with the right approach, I think they could create a timeless game with a fairly constant cash flow.

 

For one thing they do NOTHING to generate organic growth.  For pity sake, all businesses try to generate new customers...Tanki does squat to get new players.  If they put 1/10 the effort into getting new customers as they do bleeding the current customers, their bottom line would have to get better.  We current players just can't be the only people that like playing Tanki..or "liked" is probably better.  Tanki has a Chinese affiliate but their servers are a complete and utter joke.  It is almost impossible to log in or get into a battle, plus they do no push for organic growth there either so the game just stagnates.  There is INDIA with billions of potential players and Tanki does nothing.  The point here is they could triple the amount of players with very little cash outlay...hell, they aren't even trying to tap Europe or the US efficiently.

 

Another way to generate lot of revenue would be to introduce advertising instead of compromising the game to generate sales.  Ads don't have to be horrible for players either.  Agar.io had a great and mondo effective way to set ads...you watch a video you got in-game currency...the players loved it but didn't have to bother if they didn't want to.  The trouble is Tanki would have to get off it's ass and develop a sales department to pitch companies on advertising with them...and I think they are too lazy to bother...just ride the game down and get what we can get.   

 

I honestly think that a Tanki with 90% of the last two to three years worth of updates removed (MM and the updates to accommodate MM) would make a very marketable online golden goose...all that would be needed would be someone with marketing skills and a percentage of profit re-invested into generating new players.  

 

As it stands now, Tanki is in a downward spiral.  The question is how long can they (and us, their customers) ride it down before the end.  

Edited June 1, 2019 by ByeByeBye

[TWICE 798]

Another way to generate lot of revenue would be to introduce advertising instead of compromising the game to generate sales.  Ads don't have to be horrible for players either.  Agar.io had a great and mondo effective way to set ads...you watch a video you got in-game currency...the players loved it but didn't have to bother if they didn't want to.  The trouble is Tanki would have to get off it's ass and develop a sales department to pitch companies on advertising with them...and I think they are too lazy to bother...just ride the game down and get what we can get.   

 

They are doing this in mobile version. I believe PC players can also get extra rewards when Tanki gets rid of flash and moves into the new html5 version because a mod here once said the new interface will be very similar/ the same as the mobile one.

[Viking4s 10,791]

if the numbers continue to drop they will have to reduce team size and/or the type of battle mode available (especially at US time).

[u812ic 1,629]

if the numbers continue to drop they will have to reduce team size and/or the type of battle mode available (especially at US time).

IMO, I think first they will take the less used maps out of the game "for lack of interest." That's been done before. This will force more players on lesser maps. Players will start complaining and the answer they will get is "No one used those maps so they were taken out of the game. We kept the more popular ones." I don't think this will affect MM much. Even late at night when there's a little over 1000 players, MM still fills a battle. 

Edited June 1, 2019 by u812ic

[Dliver 436]

What Tanki had was a classic kind of game that would NEVER go out of style.  Pac-Man is still fun and still played even though it is ages old.  This game still had another ten years if not longer...unless some snazzy new game technology becomes widespread like VR or something similar.

 

Well said ByeByeBye, and that is the main point, it WAS a classic kind of game. That's what originally attracted so many players. They were looking for that classic simple fast action tank game that was fun to play daily or even just occasionally to blow off some steam and relax. Pony Tail Boy and the Devs have turn it into a complicated muddled mess that has become a chore to play. Not too many players that I know of want to play a game that becomes a second job.

Edited June 3, 2019 by Dliver

[Dliver 436]

The thing is, you actually have no idea how the company works and what are their goals. None of us do. As I said in another topic months ago, none of us has ever made a game from the scratch and none of us was personally engaged in gaming project for 10 years. Yes, we all play games but most people don't have a clue how it all works from the inside. None of us knows all the details and information that company employees see on daily basis nor any of us is a business manager that actually runs a gaming company. And we're definitely not its owners and shareholders (which are the ones making decisions and not the people you sometimes see on V-log).

You are totally right as to what you say, and it is truly refreshing that you are also willing to admit the you are ignorant too.

 

Yes we don't know all the ins and outs of the daily operation of the company, but we are very well informed as to the results of all the ins and outs of that operation. The results have been a steady and continued decline in the player base and a game, that we would very much like to enjoy, is no longer enjoyable at all to play anymore. 

 

You confuse our observations about the decline of this game as statements of dislike for the game. That is so untrue! Rather they are statements of dismay and lamentations over how a once fun and great game that we love, has been slowly destroyed by people who stubbornly refuse to recognize that decline and continue to implement one bad idea after another that further that decline along.

 

I am very happy over the fact that Tanki has made it 10 years, but it is overshadowed by the realization that unless Pony Tail Boy and the Dev's pull their heads out, that this could very well be the last anniversary.

 

So Ostrica, you just continue to be an apologist for the mismanagement of this game. Keep your head buried in the sand like your namesake. I truly hope that people will still find some enjoyment in the game, but sadly that number continues to dwindle on a daily basis.

 

Oh yeah, speaking of which, before I close.... Peak numbers didn't even break 20,000 today. Unlike previous anniversary celebrations, not so long ago, where you had a hard time finding a server that you could get onto. Yes I am ignorant of the daily running of the business, but I am very well informed as to how the game has been ruined.

Edited June 2, 2019 by Dliver

[Dliver 436]

The Wild Weekend will bring out more players for sure, especially with the Star promotion.  I wouldn't doubt it will spike back up to 25K, maybe even a tad more, but then, I think the downward trend will continue.

I think you're being a bit over optimistic. Peak numbers didn't even break 21,000 over the first weekend of Tanki's 10th anniversary. Of course you still have the rest of the celebrations, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Even with 50% deals, competitions and more bling than you can swing a cat at, not too many people are being drawn back in.

Edited June 3, 2019 by Dliver

[Team_Sniper 7]

Like many others have said, May-June is testing season. Once exams are over I would imagine the daily player base to increase as Tanki heads into the prime Summer season. I would assume that this probably their busiest time of all.

 

If they can't pull back in players during the Summer, then they may have a problem. 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2019 by Team_Sniper

[wolverine848 13,097]

Like many others have said, May-June is testing season. Once exams are over I would imagine the daily player base to increase as Tanki heads into the prime Summer season. I would assume that this probably their busiest time of all.

 

If they can't pull back in players during the Summer, then they may have a problem. 

College exams finished end of April.  High school exams have not started yet.  Does not explain low numbers for May...

[Team_Sniper 7]

College exams finished end of April.  High school exams have not started yet.  Does not explain low numbers for May...

Not sure where you are but every High School exam here in the South of US is having their tests at the moment.  Summer break in Russia isn't until June 21st. So it's still too early to speculate anything like that. We will have to wait and see.

 

Слава.

[FrozenRailgun 1,771]

Слава.

Slava??? What that mean??

[FogOfWar_XXX 793]

Slava??? What that mean??

I think it's an insult, like when ethnically proper Russians used to poke fun at Slavs, Croats, and Tartars, etc.

[Maf 32,300]

I think it's an insult, like when ethnically proper Russians used to poke fun at Slavs, Croats, and Tartars, etc.

You missed the part where that word literally translates to "glory".

[FogOfWar_XXX 793]

You missed the part where that word literally translates to "glory".

but, but, Frozen got Slava out of it, I was following his lead.  Frozen, your translator doesn't work.

[FrozenRailgun 1,771]

but, but, Frozen got Slava out of it, I was following his lead.  Frozen, your translator doesn't work.

I transliterated that Russian Cyrillic to Latin alphabet. Not translation.

 

You missed the part where that word literally translates to "glory".

Oh ok.... #MafDaRU-ENTranslator  :ph34r:

[FogOfWar_XXX 793]

I transliterated that Russian Cyrillic to Latin alphabet. Not translation.

 

Oh ok.... #MafDaRU-ENTranslator  :ph34r:

Hmmphhh, I guess.

[Guest]

bump, the numbers have dropped even more lol. Way to go Hazel!

[FrozenRailgun 1,771]

bump, the numbers have dropped even more lol. Way to go Hazel!

*slap* *slap*

[Thomas11239 366]

Feels bad to see this game dying. Ive been playing tanki since like 2013 and I still (mostly) enjoy it. I just really hope that the P2W updates stop, hope the devs dont just look at making as much money from russian kids as possible...