How to make this game go from 6/10 on Steam to 9/10

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  • How to make this game go from 6/10 on Steam to 9/10

    Introduction
    I have been playing this game on browser for a couple of games and I enjoy it. Though the small player base is annoying and constant non active players.

    The Problem
    Recently I have noticed this game has only gotten 6/10 on Steam. Most people are complaining about the pace, which is fixed by the recently created 4x Server. But that is not what I am talking about in this forum. I am talking about an even bigger contributor to the low 6/10 grade. Pay to win. I have encounters this, all the players playing this game have, it is extremely annoying, this game has a lot of potential because its free to play and unique its the only free to play game of this kind out there. When you spend 5+ hours building your army and you have a person with no knowledge about strategy or tactics come along and spends money on the game, spams a ton of troops, destroys the morale of your country within a small period of time, its is very annoying.

    The Solution
    High command chat is fine etc. Gold is fine but it must not be used in game. It can be used however to for example purchase different skins on interceptors, tanks, infantry. If the developers actually want this game to succeed then they should put in the hours and work into different skins to fix there game up. Another suggestion is to have skins on buildings too that other players can see or decorations meaning they can place an amount of palm trees around their country or flags, limited so they don't spam.

    In Conclusion
    I'm not trying to offend anyone, I'm trying to make this game a hit, an actual good game to play that will have a much bigger player base. I really don't want to get banned or have this post removed because that is not my intention, I thoroughly enjoy the game but this little fix could literally make this game extremely popular. Please vote up or forward this so the developers can know how much us players are annoyed by this problem

    Thank you,
    Imtiyaz

  • A very small percentage of CoWs player base would pay real money to just get decorations, not nearly as many as pay to get in game benefits anyway, so Bytro would quickly go out of buisness and then we wouldn't have a game at all. The devs know that most people don't like pay to win very much, but what are they going to do? Make the game pay to play? They need to eat somehow.

  • I don't think the moderators get paid. Plus when you take the feedback into account, the fanbase will be larger meaning a higher percentage of people willing to buy decorations. I have seen it in other games and surprisingly people actually do buy them. It does not take a large sum of money to run a website if your wondering and if the developers want this game to succeed then they should make the changes so their potential audience is much bigger (More Income).The skins is just an example by the way.

  • I have expressed my annoyance to goldspenders (aka pay-to-win as you guys said), but because of spam, it was closed. I do vote a thumbs up because pay-to-win has created annoyance to players who don't spend gold a lot and only from ones we earned. I disagree about simply decorations, but maybe skins for power-ups, such as decreasing cost or better morale.

    P.S: This post does have some potential. Remind me if I'm right.
    "As long as there are sovereign nations possessing great power, war is inevitable." Albert Einstein

    "Giving up is not an option in war, for it proves one's incapability and incompetence as a leader." - Me (Little Racoon)

  • eruth wrote:

    A very small percentage of CoWs player base would pay real money to just get decorations, not nearly as many as pay to get in game benefits anyway, so Bytro would quickly go out of buisness and then we wouldn't have a game at all. The devs know that most people don't like pay to win very much, but what are they going to do? Make the game pay to play? They need to eat somehow.
    Solutions are really simple= create a gold cap for each match (which varies by each map mode). A gold cap would reduce the pay to win (and make thousands of players happier) but it would ALSO add a strategic layer to the game. Do I spend most of my gold early or save it for later wars? Another Idea would be to have Bytro created games that required a gold fee (10K+?) to enter but disabled gold from being used during the match. I would play those all day long!

  • It's defenetly annoying that the game is pay to win, I 100% support the idea of limiting gold usage, while adding skins. The skins shouldn't add bonuses other than like "plus 1%" attack or defense or so, maybe buildings would have a precent faster building time or more health but nothing crazy, otherwise it will totally ruin the game and this will be worse than before. But everything said here is right in its own way, I think the way I imagine it developers would still get their bread and water while having a bigger and happier fanbase.
    Like the post if you agree and devs would see it :thumbsup:
    "In the Soviet army it takes more courage to retreat than advance." Joseph Stalin

  • Howdy folks.

    My name is Czar. I've been around since 2007 on and off with playing Bytro Labs games, and I am a former member of the original support staff for this game. To go over some of the issues you have based upon my personal experience,

    - The original game wasn't exactly P2W. Bytro introduced such things over time, shut down official Bytro ran Non-GM competitive matches, etc etc. Quite a few people have already suggested alternatives in the past eight years plus. Directly to the Developers and Bytro employees on Skype, discussed it otherwise with them. They really don't care. Back when they introduced extensive P2W features in SP1914 and a majority of the community left - Well, they didn't care.

    - The reason meaningful updates don't happen is that the game code is a mess and it's easier to just sorta remake the same game and build on the existing frameworks - Then swap artwork and names around. It's far easier to make a slow game that encourages people to buy GM.

    - Staff do get paid in GM and High Command.

    - Gold cap solutions have been suggested before. And turned down.

    - Skins/Cosmetics have been turned down.

    - The idea of Gold being used to access higher tier content without or with buying High Command (Gold only games that have advanced features, unique map modes, unique units, etc), originally existed in other Bytro Labs games to a very extensive part. A lot of this was toned down or made "Free" over the years, and the overall games tweaked to randomize things more (Decrease skill) and encourage players to spend more Gold.


    Now, is the business model Bytro follows a sound one? Well, every single game that I see that has adopted extensive P2W western wise usually dies a slow, long death. I don't see many popular games with a business model like this. Save some of those horrid Asian P2W games, but they come and go like the wind. So no, it's not. But short term vs long term profits. And Bytro cares about the short term.


    I don't mean to rain on any of your parades. But discussions like these have been going on for the past decade. Back when the original games were popular and I could wake up one morning with over 30K messages in just one Skype chatroom (Not counting the thirty others) and a forum thread going from one post overnight to 50-60+ at minimum. But things really don't change. You aren't Bytros target demographic. Competitive playing ceased to be a target demographic ages ago. Role-Players, casuals, the like? Ceased to be a target as well. The target demographic is mostly the very small amount of players who spend insane amounts of Gold. And believe me, some people do max out their credit cards.

  • Damn, sad seeing a company with a game that has so much potenital just leave it.
    Well if they don't change it will die, and as u said they're not gonna.
    I assume they're alredy working on another P2W game as if CoW dies, they'll have another game to ruin.
    Sad to see it go but thanks alot to Czar for explaining the situation.

    It's greed that could bring down an empire, doesn't matter if a real empire or an virtual one..
    || ||
    "In the Soviet army it takes more courage to retreat than advance." Joseph Stalin

    The post was edited 1 time, last by CopyPasted ().

  • BeerBelly wrote:

    eruth wrote:

    A very small percentage of CoWs player base would pay real money to just get decorations, not nearly as many as pay to get in game benefits anyway, so Bytro would quickly go out of buisness and then we wouldn't have a game at all. The devs know that most people don't like pay to win very much, but what are they going to do? Make the game pay to play? They need to eat somehow.
    Solutions are really simple= create a gold cap for each match (which varies by each map mode). A gold cap would reduce the pay to win (and make thousands of players happier) but it would ALSO add a strategic layer to the game. Do I spend most of my gold early or save it for later wars? Another Idea would be to have Bytro created games that required a gold fee (10K+?) to enter but disabled gold from being used during the match. I would play those all day long!
    Hey beerbelly, I mentioned that before, and even though it is a good idea, as czarhellios said, devs don't care. That was in the thread that got closed.

    Anyways, I really wish the devs could see this because it's not about the short term. I would like to spend money on gold, but I simply have no income right now. If bytro with their developments can keep me for another decade or so, I could pay the money when I have it. This is the importance of keeping players. You never know which player is gonna spend gold a lot and when.
    "As long as there are sovereign nations possessing great power, war is inevitable." Albert Einstein

    "Giving up is not an option in war, for it proves one's incapability and incompetence as a leader." - Me (Little Racoon)

  • If there was ever going to be a cap on gold (which I very much doubt) ,then a fairer way would be for an amount
    eg.1000 per day to be made available from their gold reserves.
    So if not spent, by day2 you would have 2k, day10 =10k and so on.
    This way players still get to use their gold and less likely to be instance stacks appearing right infront of you.

  • There will always have to be revenue to keep the light on, the servers spinning, and the internet connection paid.


    So the current mechanism allows purchase of time with gold. Gold is not necessary, but it can reduce the time it takes to play, gain armies or resources, or spy on your enemies.


    One popular alternative that is frequently suggested is making rounds that cost gold to enter instead, but one of the downsides of that is that some players won't participate, such as:

    Little Racoon wrote:

    I would like to spend money on gold, but I simply have no income right now.

    So the developers have chosen not to make any changes, as changes to the business model could exclude some players such as Little Racoon. Without as many players the game becomes less fun.


    I have always maintained that even if gold can buy speed, it can't buy skill, so that rarely does gold by itself cause me to lose a game. Every strategy has an equal and opposite counter strategy. The key to winning is to adapt your approach to the weakness of your enemy. In some cases patience and countering their moves is more productive than advancement for example.
    War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can't smile, grin. If you can't grin keep out of the way til you can. - Winston Churchill



    VorlonFCW
    Retired from Bytro staff as of November 30, 2020.

    >>> Click Here to submit a bug report or support ticket <<<

  • - Gold rounds with special Gold round only units, super Elite AI, special maps that were Gold Round only - Rounds that required Gold to enter used to be a pretty big thing in SP1914. It was mostly dismantled over the years. That won't happen here. It has been denied.

    - Gold Caps will not be implemented by the Developers. When one player can spend a grande plus at minimum in one game, they would be limiting their revenue source. I used to see the reports, this is a actual thing. Gold Caps were denied. And any suggestions regarding this are on the "Ignore List". It's a pretty big list actually.

    - Extensive Gold usage beats "Skill" in a game that is being made more random. Period. If a person with a good wallet has essentially infinite resources, infinite spies, and the ability to instantly spawn as many units as she or he likes - Strategy or tactics becomes pointless.

    That's all ^^.

  • CzarHellios wrote:

    - Extensive Gold usage beats "Skill" in a game that is being made more random. Period. If a person with a good wallet has essentially infinite resources, infinite spies, and the ability to instantly spawn as many units as she or he likes - Strategy or tactics becomes pointless.
    Yes, but you must remember no one has a wallet with INFINITE money...

    Also, repeating my earlier suggestions, we could use skins that boosts the building/troop efficiency. You all should know the extra level gained from supply drops/gold, right? If we implement that onto buildings, like adding a level for infras or IC (most practical way), or using gold to buy skins to add production boost, health, damage (for troops), etc it could reduce the amount of complaints when facing pay-to-win people, and add revenue for Bytro. Many games have that, but it's direct pay. Bytro using gold as a medium helps because we can earn it in games, but the way gold is used affects the gameplay too much. I hope someone can use my suggestion to tell the developers, because we're just trying to make the game better while also thinking about Bytro's income.
    "As long as there are sovereign nations possessing great power, war is inevitable." Albert Einstein

    "Giving up is not an option in war, for it proves one's incapability and incompetence as a leader." - Me (Little Racoon)

  • Little Racoon wrote:

    CzarHellios wrote:

    - Extensive Gold usage beats "Skill" in a game that is being made more random. Period. If a person with a good wallet has essentially infinite resources, infinite spies, and the ability to instantly spawn as many units as she or he likes - Strategy or tactics becomes pointless.
    Yes, but you must remember no one has a wallet with INFINITE money...
    Also, repeating my earlier suggestions, we could use skins that boosts the building/troop efficiency. You all should know the extra level gained from supply drops/gold, right? If we implement that onto buildings, like adding a level for infras or IC (most practical way), or using gold to buy skins to add production boost, health, damage (for troops), etc it could reduce the amount of complaints when facing pay-to-win people, and add revenue for Bytro. Many games have that, but it's direct pay. Bytro using gold as a medium helps because we can earn it in games, but the way gold is used affects the gameplay too much. I hope someone can use my suggestion to tell the developers, because we're just trying to make the game better while also thinking about Bytro's income.

    - Correct. But I have seen players spend over a grande to more in single games. And those said players play multiple games at the same time. It's quite a bit of money.

    - The idea of cosmetic skins has been suggested. Multiple times. I have been in the actual chatrooms where these discussions take place and are considered directly by the "Powers that be". They have been rejected. Cosmetics with "Bonuses", or minor P2W has also been suggested in the past. And turned down.

    - Bytro makes a bit more than you think. They could easily afford to have a decent game and scale back on the Micro. They are instead trying to maximize it / Get as much as they can in the short run as possible.

  • JCS Darragh wrote:

    So, just quick question, does Bytro have a discord? If not, then they should make one tbh. (That's all I have to ask, I have nothing to add to this thread, lol sorry)
    Discord's fine, but it may get a bit too busy since there's no "no spam" thing, I think.
    "As long as there are sovereign nations possessing great power, war is inevitable." Albert Einstein

    "Giving up is not an option in war, for it proves one's incapability and incompetence as a leader." - Me (Little Racoon)

  • Hey, in this thread alot of misinformation and outdated info is floating around.

    We do very much care about your suggestions, no matter what certain people say here. Not all of them can be done though, as our suggestions list is already very large and potential new features have to compete with eachother.
    At one point we even had skins in the planning, but other topics came up that had higher priority. But priorities do always shift around, that's why I also can't tell you what we will definitely do and what we will definitely not do.

    Also we are in no way abandoning Call of War and want to support it for years to come :) And why shouldn't we, as it's a successful game, and it's growth is still continuing. Btw. we are even still supporting our first game S1914, and are currently preparing a large Revamp for it, that will be released soon.