New reward for Rank 4 of Mastery!

[GroupMagma]

As many of you have noticed and posted about, all TeamLava games with Mastery now have a new reward for Rank 4!

Every time you level up a Crop to Rank 4 in Farm Story, or a recipe in Restaurant/Bakery, etc., you will now receive a free Gem!

Unfortunately, this doesn't work retroactively; users that have already reached this level do not get more Gems added to their account for their already-achieved Mastery ranks.

If you have any other questions or feedback, please let us know.

[pinkster73]

How about you guys read the feedback about this that has already been posted everywhere on the forum. Bring back the gnomes!

[GroupMagma]

How about you guys read the feedback about this that has already been posted everywhere on the forum. Bring back the gnomes!

I have read through the feedback, and I appreciate the input. However, there are other games affected by this as well.

[swiep07]

Unfortunately, this doesn't work retroactively; users that have already reached this level do not get more Gems added to their account for their already-achieved Mastery ranks.

This is even more painful....
Slapped in the face again :(

[hectorloch]

I have read through the feedback, and I appreciate the input. However, there are other games affected by this as well.

If you have indeed read through the feedback, then you most certainly have not "appreciated" the input. You have neither lent it any nor gained any appreciation of it at all.

No other games are "affected" bar FS and, I believe, CS - only FS has a Rank 4 Award of a 15 gem item, the Gnome, which Lava have removed and substituted it with an award of one gem. I'll let others comment re the rivers in CS.

So do tell me, what other games are "affected" by this award and reward removal ?

[GroupMagma]

All games with Mastery now have this award, and thus, are affected by the change. As for not "lending my appreciation" to other threads, well, there's multiple threads on the same subject. That's why I'm addressing it here.

[sissy8]

Dimpy, Wimpy, Wiskey, Sissy, Woopy, Duffy, Loony, Big Wayn, Snowy, Patty, Po, Little Johnny, Alexis, , Muck, Mick, Mack, Rita, Elvis, Ping, Pong, Tina, Lonesome George, Twiggy, Andy Pandy, Maggie, Sweetie, Moggie, Hector, Froggie, Fred, Kookie, Mia, Percy, Big Wilma, Annie, Amy, Ted, Beautifull Willy, Hank, Hunk, Fritzz, Lizzy, Reachel, Ophra she thinks, Benny, Softie, Betty, Lola and Sam think it s not fair because farm was the first story and now it s getting one of the games with all the same rewards, nothing special anymore.
Is it because you couldn t invent a special gift for the other stories, because this sounds verym easy to my gnomes:confused:

[MiniLaura]

As I understand it, this change from gnomes to gems is to make the mastery prize uniform across all games. However, the lack of uniformity before was TeamLava's failure. We should not have to be punished for your oversight. The gnomes and rivers should simply be grandfathered in for Farm Story and City Story.

Please restore the gnomes.

[casadolce]

I have mastered most of my items in RS and BS, but I agree that the gem awards cannot go retroactively. I just have to accept the fact the latecomers have better luck, and look forward to more new dishes (TL - please give us more new dishes, so many that we cannot handle!)

For those of you who disagree, try look up "Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard":

http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/pbl15.html

I don't play Farm Story, but I agree that the gnomes are the cutest thing ever. Hopefully TL will work something out.

[trenae]

While it may not be a favorite with everyone, it does address the requests for more ways to obtain gems in game - which has been requested multiple times.

I like the idea of a gem earned vs. an item as you can buy another item you may really want that's a gems only item (of course after saving some up) - or use the gems for something else you may really want over an item chosen for the players. This allows for more options to players.

[xokay]

It's just unfortunate that they couldn't have kept the gnomes/rivers and made the 3rd reward a gem.

[yanochka]

As many of you have noticed and posted about, all TeamLava games with Mastery now have a new reward for Rank 4!

Why did we have to notice the change and speculate about it for several days without any information from Team Lava? Why users were not notified in advance that gnome reward will be taken away? This is a major feature of the game and very important to a lot of farmers (see feedback throughout this forum). Very sad about your decision and they way you are handling this situation.

[pinkster73]

It's just unfortunate that they couldn't have kept the gnomes/rivers and made the 3rd reward a gem.

Exactly. When players were asking for more opportunities to earn gems they did not mean to be given an opportunity for a gem in sacrifice of a 15 gem "trophy" of their achievements.

[sissy8]

:(:(912:(:(

[CodfishJohnny]

I appreciate that TeamLava have reviewed the feedback, but I don't think you really thought this decision through. The issue isn't earning more gems -- a laudable goal. The issue is that you have cut out a whole category of users.

When I started Farm Story it was to humor my wife and daughter, but receiving my first gnome trophy opened my eyes to a goal driven way to play the game. It provided a way of 'keeping score' publically and a goal other than the largely unrewarded levelling up to pursue.

This seemingly innocuous change removes a real segment of players from Farm Story -- ones who promote the game to others and do, in fact, spend money on gems. Whatever money you save by achieving consistency across games will be lost because you alienated a group of players who are goal driven.

I honestly believe this is a very bad decision for the game's popularity in the long run.

Obviously, it's your game not mine but I hope a bit of thought will cause you to reconsider. Please pass this along at relevant staff meetings and feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss it further.

[LanokaHarbor]

City Story player here.

Thumbs down.

[hectorloch]

All games with Mastery now have this award, and thus, are affected by the change. As for not "lending my appreciation" to other threads, well, there's multiple threads on the same subject. That's why I'm addressing it here.

Sorry, distracted by the good news that Hippo is back in play.

Now where were we, GM. Ah yes, you were still running the line that because this new award of one gem is across the board of all the Games, that's the open and shut answer to everyone's protests and questions . But that wasn't my question. My question in relation to your continued view that nothing has happened here that hasn't happened to all the Games was - "what other games are "affected" by this award and reward removal ? "

We - just humble players, of course - all know the answer. None.

[HouseDV]

Do i understand it right? The new players get a free gem at mastery 3 and 4? Or only 4?
If the get it with 3 and 4 how will you guys award the `old` players?
i am a old player and dont like the story games anymore because there is nothing to do if you are high level.
You cant rebuild your restaurant ( in my case) anymore without gems. And i dont want to spend real money on a game ( most of us wont)
Only way for me is to earn gems but there are no options for that.
But if you are a new player you have plenty of options to get gems without buying them.
Also listen to the players when they said that they want more items to buy with coins! Not gems! COINS!!

[clint00781]

Am I the only one who feels like the kid in the commercial about banks being fair this is a perfect example best idea would have been to make a level five for gem mastery could of kept gnomes on four and all of us who mastered our recipes wouldn't be left in the bitter cold with no gems just because we started first or bake faster play the app more you name it I love my bakery and farm story but with the recent turn of events not only do I realize TL doesn't care about there customers but even more so the ones who have already been playing for awhile and spent a lot of cash on gems!! Anyway I guess I should if asked if they had a real pony right!!!!

[RawrItsvictor]

Really? SMH @ "Unfortunately, this doesn't work retroactively; users that have already reached this level do not get more Gems added to their account for their already-achieved Mastery ranks." That's ridiculous. I already mastered everything I could for my level...

[crystalrayn3]

As I understand it, this change from gnomes to gems is to make the mastery prize uniform across all games. However, the lack of uniformity before was TeamLava's failure. We should not have to be punished for your oversight. The gnomes and rivers should simply be grandfathered in for Farm Story and City Story.

Please restore the gnomes.

A retroactive plan for players who have already mastered crops before the new gem program was created should be arranged. At level 96, I've mastered over 95% of my crops and feel as though I am being pushed aside for newer players. This is the true cherry a top my Team Lava disappointment sundae. I was not offered the ability to "win" the tabby cat when buying gems and was passed over once again when the dragon was offered. Now my accomplishment & gnome trophies for mastering crops are being disregarded. I would appreciate it if Team Lava could address & offer a solution to this situation that appeases both new & veteran players.

[Mogwai4111]

If you have indeed read through the feedback, then you most certainly have not "appreciated" the input. You have neither lent it any nor gained any appreciation of it at all.

The only way I can make sense of all this is to believe that there is another, much larger forum of Farm Story players in an alternate universe which TL caters to, not the people on this forum. On GM's recent trip to that alternate universe he was met with requests for gems instead of gnomes, and so now it is. Our feedback is appreciated as a source of laughter for the alternate universe.

[talyon]

Get over it, Gems rule. Lol. Ty TL.

[hectorloch]

Get over it, Gems rule. Lol. Ty TL.

Spoiler :)

[hectorloch]

The only way I can make sense of all this is to believe that there is another, much larger forum of Farm Story players in an alternate universe which TL caters to, not the people on this forum. On GM's recent trip to that alternate universe he was met with requests for gems instead of gnomes, and so now it is. Our feedback is appreciated as a source of laughter for the alternate universe.

Of a sudden I understand everything and have a clear picture of this alternate universe. I now understand in particular why we got the gazing ball ..... and why when it reversed into something useful, it had to be quickly taken away.

(btw Mystery Players, Mog's above is most probably also a clue; and I can tell you for nothing it wasn't the butler - GM done it).

Did you see my note about Hippo ? BB been out all summer apparently.

[flowless]

i think a new rank (5) would be the best for all players
so the older ones wont feel left out

removing the gift from rank4 and adding it to rank5 will keep every one happy

anyway some gems better than no gems , but i can understand how it feels for someone who almost masterd all

but i like the update i just wish it was for all of us

[sissy8]

again the stupid strawberries??:confused::rolleyes:

[Mogwai4111]

Did you see my note about Hippo ? BB been out all summer apparently.

I saw that you said she's back, haven't spotted her yet myself though. Must be hiding in the tall grass.

[haykay]

Hey team lava thanks for absolutely nothing! I've been playing all your games since they came out. I have every thing mastered in city story, empire story, bakery story, and restaurant story! Ill get my one dollar of club cash tomorrow when I master the last item in nightclub. Just about all of my crops are mastered in farm story too. Again thanks for rewarding players who played from the beginning!

[hectorloch]

Do i understand it right? The new players get a free gem at mastery 3 and 4? Or only 4?
If the get it with 3 and 4 how will you guys award the `old` players?
.......


Sorry, HouseDV, overlooked your question in our trip into parallel universes.

The free gem continues I believe at Rank 2 of Mastery and now - pedalled as being new, munificent and the same for everyone - also at Rank 4. At each level, I'm sure you'll recall, there are also increasing rewards of coins and XP.

As to how they will reward the "old" players - a very good question !

Are you a House Divided - or is the DV for something else ?

[jaid666]

Yes!! you have finally provided us another way to earn gems.. oh wait... what's this... I didn't see the fine print, nothing will be added retroactively. So I guess that means anyone who's actually been playing this game for a bit is screwed then?

Seriously? Well done on another splendid change we weren't even warned about!

Did TL actually give any part of this new mastery reward any forethought? Did they actually take a moment to in any way consider the possibility of making it retroactive or of implementing a slightly different option that wouldn't alienate and punish veteran or "serious" players? This is just another mocking attempt by TL to encourage more gem sales and bring in new players to buy their precious gems. You give current players exactly what they ask for but with the same old catch of screwing them over in the process. With items you make them a gem package reward, part of a mystery box, or worth gems/cash.

Hey GM! It's great that TL's making all these new changes but at what cost to the players that already love the games? Why did the TL team decide to implement a new level 4 mastery reward for new players only, rather than just adding a 5th mastery level to make it fair across the board? Oh wait... that might mean that those of us who've already gotten most or all of our level 4 masteries wouldn't need to buy as many gems in the next few days wouldn't it? You guys can't even get your stuff together and quit dragging your heels with providing drink machines to android users, but you can offer this wonderful new mastery gift to fresh players... it's a bloody joke at the expense of the players who were already loyal to you.

How about for the next amazing round of updates you can offer a method of completely resetting the bakery? Something beyond telling us we'd need to buy a new phone/device to get a clean start. That would be fun, and it'd make things interesting for anyone who might want to start over, or those who are just bored with being maxed out already. To sweeten the deal you can even make it cost gems/cash!!! It's a win win for you guys, maybe the TL team would be willing to implement THAT idea for EVERYONE!!!

[rianto]

i think a new rank (5) would be the best for all players
so the older ones wont feel left out

removing the gift from rank4 and adding it to rank5 will keep every one happy

anyway some gems better than no gems , but i can understand how it feels for someone who almost masterd all

but i like the update i just wish it was for all of us

woawww.. this is the great idea !!!!! it's fair enough for the farmer from level 1 until 96 :D
how about switch back into male gnome :p

[luckygirl101]

Hey team lava thanks for absolutely nothing! I've been playing all your games since they came out. I have every thing mastered in city story, empire story, bakery story, and restaurant story! Ill get my one dollar of club cash tomorrow when I master the last item in nightclub. Just about all of my crops are mastered in farm story too. Again thanks for rewarding players who played from the beginning!

They cant please everyone. It would be great for a level 5 for me as well because I too have mastered a lot of my recipes but nothing has changed to make you angry. People get so angry because they didnt get a recipe in their update but at least you get something that you didnt have before. This update just wont affect you and you can go on playing the game like you normally did a couple of days ago. Like I said before, they cant please everyone.

[jaid666]

They cant please everyone. It would be great for a level 5 for me as well because I too have mastered a lot of my recipes but nothing has changed to make you angry. People get so angry because they didnt get a recipe in their update but at least you get something that you didnt have before. This update just wont affect you and you can go on playing the game like you normally did a couple of days ago. Like I said before, they cant please everyone.

It's one thing not to be able to please everyone, and the randomness of the weekly updates isn't really worth getting angry over, but can you honestly say that this update even managed to come close being fair? They're aiming for the new players and forgetting about those who've played loyally for more than a few days or a week or two. :/

[lalaakantares]

new player here...
While I appreciate that it's a new opportunity to earn gems, flexibility to choose your own "trophy", etc. etc. I was really counting on getting a mastery level 4 gnome!

Yes, I can go buy one myself with gems, but hey, buying one and being awarded one... there's a whole different meaning there. Lots of players may get bored with the same gnomes when you've played the game for ages, but it's still an award.

And back to the buying-the-gnome-myself point, a gnome costs 15 gems, which can be obtained when you master 1 crop... now you have to master 15 crops to get it. I don't think it was a good deal at all... wait, that isn't even a deal.

So, unless you give us the equal amount of gems what a gnome is worth, or you cut the cost of the gnome to 1 gem... or better still, restore the gnomes!

Well, I like the idea of level 5, too. More motivation to play.

[DoubleZ]

I have a couple of questions and apologize if they've already been answered...didn't have time to read through all the posts. First, if your plan was to make rank 4 reward even across the board, why didn't you increase the reward for those games receiving less, rather than take away from those that were happy with theirs? Also, based on the massive amount of unhappy FS and CS players affected by this change, does TL have any plans in the future to rectify the issue?

Stopping the award of gnomes in FS (and whatever was being awarded in CS) mid stream makes the gnomes (or whatever) already earned seem a bit moot and out of place. They were our trophies of accomishment. Now they're just sitting on our farms and mean nothing, if there is no hope of earning more.

[Mogwai4111]

Stopping the award of gnomes in FS (and whatever was being awarded in CS) mid stream makes the gnomes (or whatever) already earned seem a bit moot and out of place. They were our trophies of accomishment. Now they're just sitting on our farms and mean nothing, if there is no hope of earning more.

I thought the opposite. It makes our gnomes and river pieces that much more valuable now that they'll be rarer. I wish I'd taken the time to earn more before this took effect, I was planning on a long river through my city's downtown (to echo the San Antonio River, my hometown), but now that won't happen.

[HouseDV]

Sorry, HouseDV, overlooked your question in our trip into parallel universes.

The free gem continues I believe at Rank 2 of Mastery and now - pedalled as being new, munificent and the same for everyone - also at Rank 4. At each level, I'm sure you'll recall, there are also increasing rewards of coins and XP.

As to how they will reward the "old" players - a very good question !

Are you a House Divided - or is the DV for something else ?

Thats what i ment sorry :P and DV stands for my first and last name:P

[hectorloch]

I have a couple of questions ....... First, if your plan was to make rank 4 reward even across the board, why didn't you increase the reward for those games receiving less, rather than take away from those that were happy with theirs?

Precisely. The very point.

[hectorloch]

I thought the opposite. It makes our gnomes and river pieces that much more valuable now that they'll be rarer. I wish I'd taken the time to earn more before this took effect, I was planning on a long river through my city's downtown (to echo the San Antonio River, my hometown), but now that won't happen.

Yes, old campaign medals.

[hectorloch]

GM, you may be thinking that your uncompelling script about equality, same for everyone, etc has done the business here but there are questions you haven't answered and we're all waiting.

It's NOT the same for everyone. What is Lava going to do about it ?

[geniaaL2]

its so frustrating... ive also mastered almost ALL recipies on RS BS and NS since that was my main goal cause i thought: one day there will be a reward for mastering all. AND NOW THIS!?
i feel like giving up all the games... even after i started buying gems.
rs, bs, ns, cs, and mobster wars... 5 games might lose an active player.

[Hawaiianmomma]

since me and alot of my friends dumped some serious cash and serious time as elders of your story series could you please dump loads of gems into our accounts to compensate for our mastery levels, seems only fair. We should be rewarded as long suffering patrons. Compensation due our seniority;) fix what's broken babe and keep glittering our decor choices but the tried and true foundations should remain. You had and have chemistry with your basic platform.

[ChezKat14]

I like that we're getting more gems/city cash but the way TL has done this isn't right.
The best solution (in my opinion & I think it's been suggested by a few others too) would be to add a level 5 mastery to all items.
That way all players get a chance to earn the extra gems and the previous level 4 mastery items restored :)

[xcellent]

i think a new rank (5) would be the best for all players
so the older ones wont feel left out

removing the gift from rank4 and adding it to rank5 will keep every one happy

anyway some gems better than no gems , but i can understand how it feels for someone who almost masterd all

but i like the update i just wish it was for all of us


I agree! A rank 5 would be better for everyone! ;-)

[Hawaiianmomma]

since it's most likely you will read this soon, your new gem promo is ****ing RS with Green Screens and maintenance message, please fix new bug, though this may not be the thread to address this figured what the heck it falls in line with my earlier statement above.

[rooney111]

Is this forever?
Or do you only get the gem for a limited time?

[kooky panda]

Is this forever?
Or do you only get the gem for a limited time?
This 4th Level gem should be permanent . No time limit..

[ripdimebagd]

Cmon the gnomes are what keeps me working hard to master. I buy gems on 3 different farms all I want is my freakin gnomes everyone join the movement #freeFSgnomes

[rooney111]

Is this forever?

[greygull]

Is this forever?

Yes, it should be permanent, unless TL decides to change it in the future.

[hectorloch]

.... no answer

[tiloup2341]

sorry I'm a beginner ... where can I see my rank?

[tiloup2341]

where can I see my rank, am I at alreayd at 4, I don't know where to see it

[kooky panda]

sorry I'm a beginner ... where can I see my rank?
if you are talking about rank on mastering an item, you will need to be on at least level 8 before seeing the mastery bar.
When on level 8 you should see a bar below the item you are cooking, making, planting, etc(depends on game).

[tiloup2341]

sorry it's in the restaurant story that I don't know where to see my rank

[tiloup2341]

sorry it's in the restaurant story

[kooky panda]

should be a bar under the food then you are picking it to cook. ( must be on level 8 or higher)

[MiniLaura]

I think the only way to get TL's attention is to not buy gems until our gnomes are restored. However, the only way this type of ******* would be effective is if a large number of people stopped buying gems--particularly those people who spend a lot of money on gems.

I'm not buying gems. If anyone cares to join me, please do.

[pinkster73]

I think the only way to get TL's attention is to not buy gems until our gnomes are restored. However, the only way this type of ******* would be effective is if a large number of people stopped buying gems--particularly those people who spend a lot of money on gems.

I'm not buying gems. If anyone cares to join me, please do.

I'm in. Here's more letters too.

[ripdimebagd]

I'm in. Here's more letters too.

Count me in 100%.........

[GroupMagma]

.... no answer

Hey, I do sleep on occasion. :p
Sorry, but I wasn't able to do my normal "night-lurking" of the forums.

Here are the main questions:

- How will old players be compensated? With the gnomes/water tiles/etc. already received. This will not work retroactively, and will only affect mastery levels not yet reached.
- Does TL take feedback into account before making changes to the game? Yes, we do. And we continue to take it into account after changes have been implemented. I'll take feedback from this thread and pass it along, though remember that constructive criticism and feasible suggestions can be more effectively communicated than disgruntled name-calling.
- Would we consider adding a fifth mastery level? Absolutely! That's the kind of constructive feedback/suggestions I can take to the devs for consideration. :) I can't promise it will be, but I'll definitely pass that feedback along.

[JoJosBakersDelite]

Hey, I do sleep on occasion. :p
Sorry, but I wasn't able to do my normal "night-lurking" of the forums.

Here are the main questions:

- How will old players be compensated? With the gnomes/water tiles/etc. already received. This will not work retroactively, and will only affect mastery levels not yet reached.
- Does TL take feedback into account before making changes to the game? Yes, we do. And we continue to take it into account after changes have been implemented. I'll take feedback from this thread and pass it along, though remember that constructive criticism and feasible suggestions can be more effectively communicated than disgruntled name-calling.
- Would we consider adding a fifth mastery level? Absolutely! That's the kind of constructive feedback/suggestions I can take to the devs for consideration. :) I can't promise it will be, but I'll definitely pass that feedback along.

Well said GM!!!!
Instead of the name calling and complaining, lets come up with solutions that he can take back to the devs! I think the level 5 mastery is a great idea!! It will give everyone who has already mastered a chance to earn more gems but it will also give everyone that has mastered more to do, until new foods come out! :P

[greygull]

How about leaving the 4th mastery at a gem (or maybe bumping it up to 2?) and the 5th mastery a gem item? The gnomes back to Farn, the rivers back to City, and we could set up a discussion for the rest of the stories, picking one item for each. Since each level is about twice the doing (planting, cooking, etc) of the previous level, level 5 would be a lot of work to get to.

I'm trying to bite my tongue on the no retroactive, so this something I could see as somewhat fair to those of us that have mastered items already. And it would draw more people to continue working at what they started. But maybe, possibly, just as a thought, the gem item received could be sold back for 1 or more gems? If the gem item was just slightly different then the same item sold in the store/market (different coloring, shape, etc), then the servers could tell which one was earned and could sell back. The gnomes/rivers already received would not change, hence could still only be sold for coins. I know this would be more work on the team (sorry!), but then people could have slightly unique items that can't be bought, and if they didn't care for them too much, they could be compensated slightly to be able to buy an item of their choosing.

[di1975]

If you truly want to reward those at higher levels.....have the 5th level of mastery show up after, say level 40 maybe. That way u motivate people to keep playing and there is a reason to go back and cook all the different items again. If would help make the game "new" again for those more loyal players. At this 5th level of mastery, have an option, choose your reward! Item or comparable gems! Don't give 1gem in place of a unique item that would cost 20.

[pinkster73]

I agree the fifth level mastery is a good idea. That way the loyal veteran players aren't getting the short end of the stick. So at the fifth level there could a mastery prize, for example A GNOME.

[daniel7272]

In my opinion the best solution so far is add a 5th rank to keep the veterans wanting to keep playing.Between me and my wife we've spent $1000 dollars easy on the story games hoping that they would get better in the future for the long time players that have supported the game for awhile now. Instead it feels like to us a slap in the face and ever getting a chance to even earn some of the gems back is going to be impossible unless you start over. I'm not all the way positive but I see a trend like my neighbors over the year quit playing after mastering all the items just for the fact they can't change their stuff. Another thing is I bet most of the new community is because some one recommended the game and the gaming experience. "To get a little you must give a little" Or you might just see a lot more people stop playing or stop buying gems. Other than that the games are great and appreciate all the new updates and including all the carriers on the updates and not favoring.

[joyirene]

I agree that a level 5 added would keep everyone interested! I've also heard of resetting rank 4 or adding more exp to it so players who already mastered it can get the gem... I understand we already got gifts for reaching rank 4. I think restaurant and bakery are both 10,000 or 20,000 coins, and a gem is much more valuable than that. All I can say is I'm staying optimistic and I hope something will be done to make the players that have been spending so much time playing and mastering items can enjoy the new update as well!

[Hawaiianmomma]

The article in the Washington Post about Storm8 was wonderful and illuminates the transparency of your company. Essentially across the board reconditioning your basic format to fit the needs of your new consumers at the expense of the older ones shouldn't be allowed to skate the present gnome/river debate. I hope amendments will be speedily addressed so that we can continue to rally for all TL games instead of shuffling our feet. Within uncharted depth I believe a fifth level will respectfully appease the seniority and alleviate a progressive movement dissatisfaction. In other apps there are implements of effective sales promos without affecting current game play. Your Store or Expansion Tab could be utilized as a basis for your promotions and cure massive protests on this subject in TL Forums. I think it would make for a more happier and contented Community which I believe is the main goal your trying to achieve. Again fix what's broken,keep what's working,and clean what's messy. Aloha Nui Loa;)

[hectorloch]

Hey, I do sleep on occasion. :p
Sorry, but I wasn't able to do my normal "night-lurking" of the forums.

Here are the main questions:

- How will old players be compensated? With the gnomes/water tiles/etc. already received. This will not work retroactively, and will only affect mastery levels not yet reached.
- Does TL take feedback into account before making changes to the game? Yes, we do. And we continue to take it into account after changes have been implemented. I'll take feedback from this thread and pass it along, though remember that constructive criticism and feasible suggestions can be more effectively communicated than disgruntled name-calling.
- Would we consider adding a fifth mastery level? Absolutely! That's the kind of constructive feedback/suggestions I can take to the devs for consideration. :) I can't promise it will be, but I'll definitely pass that feedback along.

Who's been calling you names, GM ?

None of these was my question.

Interesting though - what you're saying is that the "compensation" for losing the previous Mastery reward, the gnome, is that it is not retroactive and - gulp - we'll be allowed to keep the gnomes we've already earned. That's really generous.

[GroupMagma]

Interesting though - what you're saying is that the "compensation" for losing the previous Mastery reward, the gnome, is that it is not retroactive and - gulp - we'll be allowed to keep the gnomes we've already earned. That's really generous.

Which question in particular did you have?

Compensation is not being awarded since they have already received compensation for these levels of mastery. If older users also got a Gem for each level they'd received, should we then take away the pre-existing gnomes? I doubt that'd go over well. If we give those users Gems as well, then wouldn't the fair thing be then to award Gems and gnomes to all those in the future who reach Rank 4 mastery?

I'm sorry that you are unhappy with this change in Mastery rank, but this is a designed change by the development team. That isn't to say it won't be altered in the future, particularly if we continue receiving (constructive) feedback.

Edit: As for the name-calling, I don't mean anyone in particular. I just mean that as a general rule of thumb -- feasible suggestions are easier to communicate to the dev team than remarks about how much we suck. :p

[hectorloch]

..... should we then take away the pre-existing gnomes? I doubt that'd go over well.



You got that one right.

[CaptainMike]

If you had replaced a gnome/river in Fs and Cs with the equivalent value, ie 15 gems this unhappiness would not have happened. If you don't revert soon you are in danger of losing your players. Your short term gain will result in long term loss. Think carefully and quickly, players patience is wearing thin.

PenguinFarmer

[roxyluv00]

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i284/roxy_luv_00/c27ca83e.jpg


i didnt get my gem for completing the fourth level... my id is roxyluv00

[sterlingempire]

I havent gotten any gnomes yet. I want a chance to get one !!

[Hawaiianmomma]

:p oh my even a reference of any sort of removal of said pre existing gnomes is kinda injurious :p whether or not it is meant to simplify the explanation of the new change, other means of company justification can be found in the English language. I think the new process sucks but don't think anyone said TL sucks in this thread, I can find that in others on the forum though. So in easy words, no throw salt on open wounds, Storm8 banks $$million$$ on somedays with all the gems we buy up. No need *** tat answers but general customer service. I hope you no take that personally, it's just kinda sickening looking at who I gave my money too if this is the kinda general reply I gotta put up with.We just like TL fix what's broken first. I get plenty friends with overcharges on their credit cards, gems missing from the accounts, being bullied by obnoxious immature players, you guys gotta fix all that before stepping up your game in other areas. In Hawaii this kinda style of business no float, extintion becomes inevitable. I like the games general idea of play and networking but come on the company can give better answers than that

[pinkster73]

What about all the suggestions of making the mastery award comparable to what it used to be. A gnome is 15 gems. Now the reward is one.

[Hawaiianmomma]

You will turn over many a futile new leaf till you learn we must all write on scratched-out pages. *~Mignon McLaughlin

[singinhobo]

I'm clearly out of the loop with the whole gnome thing... I play City Story.

It would be nice if this could ever be made retro-active, I'm already 4 stars on everything :(

[elliejean]

I like the idea of a level 5 mastery to earn the gem...that way everyone has a chance to win extra gems. Just my 2 cents worth :)

[cashler87]

Why was Farm Story and City Story the only games to receive a bonus for completing a level 4 mastery in the first place? I do not play these games but I do however I play Bakery, Restaurant, and Fashion and I do not recall getting a bonus for level 4 mastery outside of coins and experience. Did the gnomes and rivers replace the coins/experience reward or did they get them in addition?

[jtm101]

The lack of reward for lvl 4 mastery in BS/RS was the main reason i quit playing those games, seemed like little point in amassing millions of coins doing the same thing every day.

[CaptainMike]

I'm clearly out of the loop with the whole gnome thing... I play City Story.

It would be nice if this could ever be made retro-active, I'm already 4 stars on everything :(

CS had the same for lvl 4 - a piece of river, gone now........

Looks like GroupMagma has got fed up with listening to people and put his head in the same sandpit as the rest of Teamlava.

When are they going to learn about Customer Sevice, or is that a futile question?

[singinhobo]

A lot of you are taking this pretty seriously, how about a "hey, how about letting us trade gnomes and rivers for gems or dollars or bucks or whatever it is, that way everything evens out?"

Stop being so dramatic about it, this isn't an outrage or an injustice or the greatest crime against humanity. It's a little reward in games about building restaurants. I'd like to have it, I've been playing for 9 months, but if you're so invested in the thing that it's making you so ridiculously passionate you should probably go outside for a bit.

[ripdimebagd]

A lot of you are taking this pretty seriously, how about a "hey, how about letting us trade gnomes and rivers for gems or dollars or bucks or whatever it is, that way everything evens out?"

Stop being so dramatic about it, this isn't an outrage or an injustice or the greatest crime against humanity. It's a little reward in games about building restaurants. I'd like to have it, I've been playing for 9 months, but if you're so invested in the thing that it's making you so ridiculously passionate you should probably go outside for a bit.

If this isn't your issue and you don't care about the mastery reward being taken away why take the time to reply? it really wasn't needed obviously this isn't your issue

[CaptainMike]

A lot of you are taking this pretty seriously, how about a "hey, how about letting us trade gnomes and rivers for gems or dollars or bucks or whatever it is, that way everything evens out?"

Stop being so dramatic about it, this isn't an outrage or an injustice or the greatest crime against humanity. It's a little reward in games about building restaurants. I'd like to have it, I've been playing for 9 months, but if you're so invested in the thing that it's making you so ridiculously passionate you should probably go outside for a bit.

Why waster everyones time in commenting about somehting you obviously care nothing about|?

[NewfyFarm]

As someone who is 96 in CS and FS, mastering a contract is *nothing* compared to mastering a crop. maybe the counters can chime in with the numbers but there is a heck of a lot of double taps to master a crop, which is why a trophy, our gnome, means so much. The river was a nice way to decorate and does give incentive on CS, but it does not mean nearly as much as the gnome on FS.
I have been playing FS only to collect gnomes, but I have been very active with many nbrs, and I will not be playing until the gnomes are returned. At level 96 there is nothing else to play for. I cannot expand, cannot level up, already have the mansion and the vineyard and the meeting house. That is all you can do with the coins you earn.
level 96ers give a lot of incentive to lower levels ( ie keeps them interested and playing so they will spend $$$$) at least the 75ers kept me motivated. It helps your game to keep us around.

[CaptainMike]

Well said NewfyFarm, could not have put it better myself!!


CaptainMike (aka Penguin Farmer)

[crystalrayn3]

As someone who is 96 in CS and FS, mastering a contract is *nothing* compared to mastering a crop. maybe the counters can chime in with the numbers but there is a heck of a lot of double taps to master a crop, which is why a trophy, our gnome, means so much. The river was a nice way to decorate and does give incentive on CS, but it does not mean nearly as much as the gnome on FS.
I have been playing FS only to collect gnomes, but I have been very active with many nbrs, and I will not be playing until the gnomes are returned. At level 96 there is nothing else to play for. I cannot expand, cannot level up, already have the mansion and the vineyard and the meeting house. That is all you can do with the coins you earn.
level 96ers give a lot of incentive to lower levels ( ie keeps them interested and playing so they will spend $$$$) at least the 75ers kept me motivated. It helps your game to keep us around.

Perfectly said. Polite & concise. I hope TL listens.

[sissy8]

:rolleyes::rolleyes:927:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[pinkster73]

The gnomes were a status symbol of all the hard farming done :(

[singinhobo]

If this isn't your issue and you don't care about the mastery reward being taken away why take the time to reply? it really wasn't needed obviously this isn't your issue

I said "I'd like to have it" didn't I? I think it would be great... I also think you're more likely to get a response if everyone tries to be more polite about it. This has been in effect for, what? 2 days? Give input, but give it a chance to right itself.

[NewfyFarm]

I forgot to mention to the whole girl/boy gnome debate, from a programming point of view I think the easiest solution is for them in different categories. like girls for flowers and fruits and boys for vegetables and trees. problem solved!

[sissy8]

I was just thinking instead of a river a piece off the chinese wall, so you can buils your own wall:rolleyes:

[sourlicorice2]

I'm loving the new update as I haven't mastered many of the items in the story games yet. But I do agree it's not fair to the ones who have been playing for a long time and have mastered most if not all the items. I also agree with making a level 5 mastery and giving the gems/cash etc for that level. Other than that keep up the great work. Love all the story games except for zoo story (only cause I had gotten to level 40 and there were still no new animals, buildings etc. I ended up deleting that one.)

[nibbles37]

I'm loving the new update as I haven't mastered many of the items in the story games yet. But I do agree it's not fair to the ones who have been playing for a long time and have mastered most if not all the items. I also agree with making a level 5 mastery and giving the gems/cash etc for that level. Other than that keep up the great work. Love all the story games except for zoo story (only cause I had gotten to level 40 and there were still no new animals, buildings etc. I ended up deleting that one.) thats like me I have been playing all the games for months and completed more than half of 4th mastery.

[TELME2]

The replacement of a gnome for a single gem is horribly insulting to those of us who have been collecting gnomrs! You can't even buiy a gnome for a single gem! what were you THINKING!!! That we would applaud and say "way to go" It might be great for newbies and lure them into buying gem packages, but I'm a level 81 in both FS and RS, I've bought gems for both my farm and my restaurant, but no more! Make the gems the equal of a gnome, or restore the gnomes as a choice of reward, gems or gnomes. Otherwise, I for one, won't be buying anymore gems to enhance my places, I'll manage with things I can buy with my banks!!!

[TELME2]

I have now read all the prior posts and your replieas GM and I agree adding a level five is a better solution, that way the gem issue is resolved and we can keep getting our gnomes, afterall once you reach level 75 or so what incentive do you have after you get your big house? just your neighbors and your gnomes is what!!!

[swiep07]

As someone who is 96 in CS and FS, mastering a contract is *nothing* compared to mastering a crop. maybe the counters can chime in with the numbers but there is a heck of a lot of double taps to master a crop, which is why a trophy, our gnome, means so much. The river was a nice way to decorate and does give incentive on CS, but it does not mean nearly as much as the gnome on FS.
I have been playing FS only to collect gnomes, but I have been very active with many nbrs, and I will not be playing until the gnomes are returned. At level 96 there is nothing else to play for. I cannot expand, cannot level up, already have the mansion and the vineyard and the meeting house. That is all you can do with the coins you earn.
level 96ers give a lot of incentive to lower levels ( ie keeps them interested and playing so they will spend $$$$) at least the 75ers kept me motivated. It helps your game to keep us around.

Agreed!!!!

[bawpotter]

Like many said, WE WANT OUR GNOMEYS BACK!

But please keep the gem on RS and BS... Just put FS back...

[Hawaiianmomma]

Why was Farm Story and City Story the only games to receive a bonus for completing a level 4 mastery in the first place? I do not play these games but I do however I play Bakery, Restaurant, and Fashion and I do not recall getting a bonus for level 4 mastery outside of coins and experience. Did the gnomes and rivers replace the coins/experience reward or did they get them in addition?
farm story was the first of the series and by the latter stories came out, such restaurant & bakery TL did not implement an achievement item such as the gnome from farm or river from city, instead they awarded xp and coins. It is why the long time customers like myself are not pleased.Another level such as 5th mastery with a gem would have been a better idea. The gnome is worth 15 gems in the farm store. So it's like exchanging the Stanley Cup with a Cheap Gold Finished Plastic Trophy. 15gems(previous value of trophy)vs. 1 gem(present value available at level 4 mastery)

[jtm101]

Please return Gnomes to FS this week instead of new crops, so we can go back to playing the game normally.

Dont bother giving us any new crops this week, as without the prospect of a valuable mastery award we may as well stick to planting old mastered crops that have high returns like.. blueberry, artichoke, eggplant, chili pepper etc

[gitten]

I started playing a few months ago and didn't know anything about the gnomes being a reward. I have read many posts that state players seem to want gems. And, can't you buy gnomes in the catalog? If you join today, you can't (as far as I know) get the free gifts that we have been offered, so change happens. I love all the new stuff that TL is doing. It seems like since I started playing - lots of change. I also read that if too much comes out at once it can overload their servers and then we go back to what drove me nuts when I started - OH DARN - which hasn't been a problem for some time. Of course, there will always be things each of us doesn't like - but we are all different with different ideas. I'm just going to go with the flow - but of course I will still offer my opinion. And, yes, I have had problems with getting purchases.

[cakesJordanEz]

I started playing a few months ago and didn't know anything about the gnomes being a reward. I have read many posts that state players seem to want gems. And, can't you buy gnomes in the catalog? If you join today, you can't (as far as I know) get the free gifts that we have been offered, so change happens. I love all the new stuff that TL is doing. It seems like since I started playing - lots of change. I also read that if too much comes out at once it can overload their servers and then we go back to what drove me nuts when I started - OH DARN - which hasn't been a problem for some time. Of course, there will always be things each of us doesn't like - but we are all different with
different ideas. I'm just going to go with the flow - but of course I will still offer my opinion. And, yes, I have had problems with getting purchases.

Good! I like positive thinking people! And so does GM!

[CaptainMike]

Good! I like positive thinking people! And so does GM!

The only positive thing will be for the gnomes to come back today!

[ripdimebagd]

The only positive thing will be for the gnomes to come back today!

I like the way this guy thinks =P

[NewfyFarm]

I started playing a few months ago and didn't know anything about the gnomes being a reward. I have read many posts that state players seem to want gems. And, can't you buy gnomes in the catalog? purchases.

So you have been at the game for a few months and you haven't even gotten to level 4 on strawberries? Something that I did in a few weeks? And since you have been completely oblivious to the joys and work involved with mastery and why we are happy to get a gnome for it, what do have to say on the subject except we should just obliviously enjoy the game and spend lots of $$$$$$ and say nothing but good things about whatever changes have been done to the game?
at least you know now that people are not spending 13 diamonds each on gnomes and when you water people with a lot of gnomes, you can count them up and see how many crops they have mastered. but maybe you should master strawberries first, to see how many taps that takes, and a whole lot longer for other crops depending on how many hours they take.

[CaptainMike]

So you have been at the game for a few months and you haven't even gotten to level 4 on strawberries? Something that I did in a few weeks? And since you have been completely oblivious to the joys and work involved with mastery and why we are happy to get a gnome for it, what do have to say on the subject except we should just obliviously enjoy the game and spend lots of $$$$$$ and say nothing but good things about whatever changes have been done to the game?
at least you know now that people are not spending 13 diamonds each on gnomes and when you water people with a lot of gnomes, you can count them up and see how many crops they have mastered. but maybe you should master strawberries first, to see how many taps that takes, and a whole lot longer for other crops depending on how many hours they take.

Well said sir!!

[kooky panda]

So you have been at the game for a few months and you haven't even gotten to level 4 on strawberries? Something that I did in a few weeks? And since you have been completely oblivious to the joys and work involved with mastery and why we are happy to get a gnome for it, what do have to say on the subject except we should just obliviously enjoy the game and spend lots of $$$$$$ and say nothing but good things about whatever changes have been done to the game?
at least you know now that people are not spending 13 diamonds each on gnomes and when you water people with a lot of gnomes, you can count them up and see how many crops they have mastered. but maybe you should master strawberries first, to see how many taps that takes, and a whole lot longer for other crops depending on how many hours they take.
It is fine to express your thoughts, but please no personal attacks against another member.

[zafaraa]

well i'm happy about getting a gem for hitting level 4, gnomes just got in the way, would be something else if you sold the gnome and got 5 gems outta of it. however, it would be nice if somewhere on our walls it shows how many level 4s we have completed with the crops name like "mastery of Corn" or something :P

[sissy8]

952:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[crystalrayn3]

How can you deny a face like that??!!!

[Hawaiianmomma]

 
There Should Be Something That Can Be Seen As A Longtime Loyalty To The Game
Other Than Your Level,Something Significant As In The Game Call Of Duty.You Can  Only Purchase the Golden ***s When You've Reached The Final Prestige. 
Purchased with In Game Coins it's still a Wow Factor To The Achievement of Gamer 
For All Others To See And Aspire To. Please Reconsider Returning The Gnome. 
 

[prestoec123]

i just got to rank 4 in restaurant story w the French toast and i got 4000 coins instead of a free gem!

[MalFarm]

The removal of gnomes as a mastery award seems a strange business move to me......

As I see it, once I realised I could earn a gnome for mastering a crop, I then wanted to earn more and more gnomes, and to do so, continue with growing crops meticulously. I.e. I was quite enjoying playing the game striving for a "material" goal other than a numeric level! That was the hook to keep me playing.

I now cannot see the incentive in planting crops to mastery level 4 if all you will receive is a few coins and another single gem, the same as for level 2 - I have actually spent far more money than I thought I ever would on gems, so receiving a single gem after all that hard work is a bit of a downer and to be honest meaningless, and I won't be maxing out any crops for the foreseeable future if that is the only reward I receive - I doubt I will go beyond level 2 mastery!

I also cannot see the point in me buying gems in future if I am not interested in achieving any material goals with the actual farming (i.e. obtaining more gnomes) - I think I bought gems in the past to obtain nice stuff that would then make people like my farm, and so water it/want to be neighbours, and so I would progress through crops with the result of achieving gnomes quicker.

My outlook on the game is a bit uncertain now, if there is no incentive to play then my interest will wain and I might even give up - I imagine many players will feel the same.

I think a fair resolution, having read lots of other posts/suggestions, would be to introduce a level 5 of mastery, for which you can get a new colour of gnome, only receivable as a reward - say a yellow one for example - that will then give people back the incentive to play as the yellow gnome would be a status symbol (the old gnomes would still show established players) and you would still have the 2 levels at which you receive gems, solving the issue where people wanted more ways to earn gems (I do think there should be more than 1 gem at level 4 though as it takes so much longer to get there - say 10 gems?? if a gnome is introduced at level 5 that is).

In summary a new level 5 with special level 5 only gnome reward would reintroduce the incentive to play for a lot of players, even very very established ones way above my level, this would keep people playing the game, increasing chances of purchasing gems - at the end of the day it is a business that needs an attractive game to entice people in and then keep them playing - this will obviously in turn give rise to the gem income stream.

I really hope gnomes are brought back, in some way, soon - just hope it doesn't happen too late!!

[Rockinkitten]

This is even more painful....
Slapped in the face again :(

Indeed. It would have been a lot fairer to add a level 5 mastery and make that a gem-earner.
Faithful long-time players are missing out over new players, which seems ridiculous!
Maybe give us a one-time option to wipe all our mastery and start again?

[Shamrock1963]

I lost gems in Bakery Story, Fashion Story, and Farm Story to the single-click traps that TeamLava has placed in various spots throughout their story games, traps that ***** people out of gems and city cash, and TeamLava's technical support refuses to do anything to help anyone caught by one of these traps, and there is STILL no promise to remove these single-click traps despite numerous complaints. Then there was the continuing server issues that made it necessary for me to keep rechecking the games and redoing work because the server was out of sync. And on top of those annoyances, I started to get advertising pop-up windows constantly during gameplay. At this point, I stopped playing all five of the story games that I had installed on my phone.

Then I decided to give them another chance and see if by some miracle, there was some improvement in some areas.

Now that I have read about the latest updates, I understand why so many of my Farm Story neighbors have disappeared.

I don't care if I do have mastery level 4 in just a few items in each of the games, I want my retroactive gems too, especially considering that TeamLava refuses to restore the gems I lost to their single-click traps. TeamLava could have implemented retroactive gems easily enough. They keep the user's data on their servers. They chose not to do so, and that choice shows a flagrant disregard for the feelings of their users. Not that that's a surprise.

And TeamLava never should have removed the gnomes and rivers as mastery reward items. I too had a river planned for my city. I had its course marked out already. They have just ruined my plan for my city's design. The removal of the gnomes and rivers as mastery rewards also shows a flagrant disregard for the feelings of their users.

TeamLava's story games have become an exercise in frustration, and TeamLava itself is becoming a joke. And if that sounds like name-calling to you, GroupMagma, then all I can say is that your company's business practices warrant much worse names than that. And you'll have a better right to ask for criticism that's more constructive when TeamLava shows that actually cares about constructive criticism by implementing some of the many needed fixes that would be so easy to implement and that have been repeatedly called for in this forum and that have been repeatedly ignored or passed over. You can't continually frustrate people and then chide them for losing politeness.

I reiterate: I will NEVER purchase gems or city cash until TeamLava removes the many 1-click traps from their games.

And I am done with City Story until TeamLava restores the river as a mastery award item.

[shakiba]

Yay, i'm so happy, but this will take some time since it is the forth rank. :/

[shakiba]

I lost gems in Bakery Story, Fashion Story, and Farm Story to the single-click traps that TeamLava has placed in various spots throughout their story games, traps that ***** people out of gems and city cash, and TeamLava's technical support refuses to do anything to help anyone caught by one of these traps, and there is STILL no promise to remove these single-click traps despite numerous complaints. Then there was the continuing server issues that made it necessary for me to keep rechecking the games and redoing work because the server was out of sync. And on top of those annoyances, I started to get advertising pop-up windows constantly during gameplay. At this point, I stopped playing all five of the story games that I had installed on my phone.

Then I decided to give them another chance and see if by some miracle, there was some improvement in some areas.

Now that I have read about the latest updates, I understand why so many of my Farm Story neighbors have disappeared.

I don't care if I do have mastery level 4 in just a few items in each of the games, I want my retroactive gems too, especially considering that TeamLava refuses to restore the gems I lost to their single-click traps. TeamLava could have implemented retroactive gems easily enough. They keep the user's data on their servers. They chose not to do so, and that choice shows a flagrant disregard for the feelings of their users. Not that that's a surprise.

And TeamLava never should have removed the gnomes and rivers as mastery reward items. I too had a river planned for my city. I had its course marked out already. They have just ruined my plan for my city's design. The removal of the gnomes and rivers as mastery rewards also shows a flagrant disregard for the feelings of their users.

TeamLava's story games have become an exercise in frustration, and TeamLava itself is becoming a joke. And if that sounds like name-calling to you, GroupMagma, then all I can say is that your company's business practices warrant much worse names than that. And you'll have a better right to ask for criticism that's more constructive when TeamLava shows that actually cares about constructive criticism by implementing some of the many needed fixes that would be so easy to implement and that have been repeatedly called for in this forum and that have been repeatedly ignored or passed over. You can't continually frustrate people and then chide them for losing politeness.

I reiterate: I will NEVER purchase gems or city cash until TeamLava removes the many 1-click traps from their games.

And I am done with City Story until TeamLava restores the river as a mastery award item.

I do agree with you. Man you wrote alot O. o . More and more each day i see lots of posts and threads about how people got *****ed or lost heir ges. I feel really bad for thses people wo are dealing with those problems :(

[shakiba]

Lots of typos, sorry :P

[biglemms]

I understand the community's request for more gems. It's difficult to come up with a truly individual game without them. But, replacing the final mastery level trophy with one single gem IS LAME! Speaking from the Farm Story world only...the mastery gnome was something special. In some cases it takes ALOT of time and effort to get that little gnome. In fact, I think it's wrong that you can buy them in the game. Same for the other games...some of these things should be earned in the game only.

After reading alot of these replies, the level five mastery sounds about the fairest change to make. Bring back the gnomes (and some male gnomes) for level five and the former mastery prizes from the other games and I think teamlava might settle this problem.

If nothing else, this has brought alot of people, including me, to bring their opinions out to the forum.

Now...get this fixed, because my gnomettes are out on strike ravaging my farm. I for one wont be investing in teamlava until it is!

[biglemms]

A 5th level of mastery is the answer. Replace our gnomes for the reward of level 5of or whatever the other games used to receive for level 4. Then all the whiners that cant spend $5.99 for a bunch of gems can get 1that for all of their time and effort.

[swiep07]

I agree that mastering a gnome on level 5 is the best solution!
It's also a new goal for the people already on level 96! So they can keep on farming!

[NewfyFarm]

Have to disagree with the gnome being level 5. Keep it on level four and make the gem on 5. I have 53 crops I have mastered and don't need 53 more gnomes, just one gnome per crop, thank-you. Put the gem on level 5, and since it is a little more work, make it 2 gems, after the one for level 2. Then all the people who have been playing longer can earn those gems as well.

[Rachael98]

Have to disagree with the gnome being level 5. Keep it on level four and make the gem on 5. I have 53 crops I have mastered and don't need 53 more gnomes, just one gnome per crop, thank-you. Put the gem on level 5, and since it is a little more work, make it 2 gems, after the one for level 2. Then all the people who have been playing longer can earn those gems as well.

That would probably be the best solution for FmS...but what about the other games?

[hectorloch]

That would probably be the best solution for FmS...but what about the other games?

It's not easy. A level 5 should be seen as something new altogether and not a fix for this. As I have already posted in another thread, the solution lies with the origin of the problem i.e. TL's incorrect removal of the Gnome. No one could have done this on purpose - however they argue it. It was most probably a mistake but as we know the unreachable Dev Team can never be wrong and in any event GM is unable to approach them unless it's "constructive". What he ought to do on our, the customers' behalf, is batter down the door, grab the likeliest suspect by the throat and shout "Look here, old boy, you've made a pancake out of this one" but we know and have to accept that's not going to happen. I do not believe it falls to us to fix this. As hawaimomma succinctly put it earlier - "First, TL should fix what it broke". However, there will be a technical challenge in offering a gnome AND a gem (they're stuck with the gem). It may be that the technical blind alley they've driven up is to drop the gem in FS and CS, go back to the gnome and the river but then make the simple change (which is also an option) of selling the gnome not for 600 coins (ridiculous anyway) but for .... yes .... ONE GEM. Same for the river although I've no idea what it sells for.

But then, farmers will have mastered meantime and missed gnomes. It's a real mess.

[scotslassuk]

There is no incentive now to complete the growing off crops FARM STORY!!
I HAVE WORKED HARD ON MY FARM TO GET MY GNOMES.
ALSO YOU WILL FIND THAT I HAVE WRITTEN ENOUGH STORIES
ABOUT THE GNOMES AND MY NBRS THAT WILL AMOUNT TO
MORE THAN ONE BOOK!! SUCH HAS BEEN THE SUCCESS OFF MY
STORIES I AM CONCIDERING GETTING THEM REPRINTED
AND LOOKING INTO GETTING THEM PUBLISHED!!
YOU ONLY HAVE TO AS ANY OFF MY NBR ABOUT THESE
STORIES AND I CAN ASSURE YOU IT'S ALL POSITIVE
FEEDBACK!! NOW IF I APPRECIATE YOU GIVE US A GEM ON THE
SECOND PHASE OFF GROWING BUT TO CONTINUE WITH
ALL THAT TIME AND MANY HOURS ON LAVA GAMES
FOR A MISERLY GEM IS TOTALLY SOUL DESTROYING!!
AT LEAST WITH A GNOME YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY WHAT YOUR
REWARD WAS FOR ALL THE HARD WORK!! I THINK YOU WILL
FIND THE VAST MAJORITY OFF USERS WOULD RATHER BUY
THERE GEMS (VAST AMOUNT OFF MONEY FOR LAVA GAMES)
AND RECEIVE THEIR GNOME AT THE END OFF THE CROP
MASTERY INSTEAD OFF A MISERLY 1GEM!! TIME TO LISTEN
TO THE USERS OR YOU MAY FIND THAT THE USERS WON'T
PLAY ON THE GAME FOR HOURS ON END AND A MAJOR LOSS
COULD HAPPEN! :-( BRING BACK OUR GNOMES!!!

[hectorloch]

Well, Scotslass, you know I agree with you ... but how marvellous about the stories ! I do wish you every success.

You could start a new thread, maybe called Once Upon a Time, and cheer us all up with a few teaser extracts - don't go long as it'll spoil it for us when we all buy the book :)

[Rachael98]

What can I say? We want gnomes...and teasers:).

[epiphany]

What can I say? We want gnomes...and teasers:).

gnomes & http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m551/gazeboo/images.jpg please.....:cool:

[Rachael98]

gnomes & http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m551/gazeboo/images.jpg please.....:cool:

Not that sort of Teaser:cool:...

[geniaaL2]

i didnt get a gem on the last mastery for a few times.. has this been disabled?

[kooky panda]

i didnt get a gem on the last mastery for a few times.. has this been disabled?

On farm story? Did you keep a screenshot? If farm what crops did you master and not get the gem?
What device do you play on? What version do you have on your device?

[crystalrayn3]

It's not easy. A level 5 should be seen as something new altogether and not a fix for this. As I have already posted in another thread, the solution lies with the origin of the problem i.e. TL's incorrect removal of the Gnome. No one could have done this on purpose - however they argue it. It was most probably a mistake but as we know the unreachable Dev Team can never be wrong and in any event GM is unable to approach them unless it's "constructive". What he ought to do on our, the customers' behalf, is batter down the door, grab the likeliest suspect by the throat and shout "Look here, old boy, you've made a pancake out of this one" but we know and have to accept that's not going to happen. I do not believe it falls to us to fix this. As hawaimomma succinctly put it earlier - "First, TL should fix what it broke". However, there will be a technical challenge in offering a gnome AND a gem (they're stuck with the gem). It may be that the technical blind alley they've driven up is to drop the gem in FS and CS, go back to the gnome and the river but then make the simple change (which is also an option) of selling the gnome not for 600 coins (ridiculous anyway) but for .... yes .... ONE GEM. Same for the river although I've no idea what it sells for.

But then, farmers will have mastered meantime and missed gnomes. It's a real mess.


I'd pay to watch GM storm the Dev Room & grab up the Dev Team

[CodfishJohnny]

If you are serious about getting our gnomes back, email Storm8 and go over TeamLava's heads. Leave an email at http://www.storm8.com/contact/

Here is what I wrote earlier today:
Dear Storm8 Team,

I thought I would let you know, if you haven't heard already, that there is a mini rebellion taking place among us little cash cows on FarmStory. The developers at TeamLava have taken away the gnomes previously given for crop mastery, provoking a forestorm of controversy.

While I appreciate that you may not exercise creative control over TeamLava at the Storm8 level, you should check out the forums and see how this misstep may end up costing you on the bottom line.

Please make them give back our gnomes!

Best Regards,

A Mostly Sane But Very Disappointed Farmer

[MFAcct]

I started off playing fashion story, then downloaded restaurant story. The two newest games I play are farm story and bakery story. I realize why people are upset about rivers/gnomes, but if TL were to put them back as a reward then the other stories should get something of comparable value. Quests are not available in fashion story as they are in the other 3 I know about, and I think that should be implemented as well to make things more fair and equal.

[Mogwai4111]

How about this... change the price of river pieces and gnomes to 1 gem. Then the people who prefer the gems for 4th mastery are kept happy, and those that want the river/gnomes back are happy too as they have the option to trade that gem in for one. If you made both the female and male gnomes in farm 1 gem then it'd be a triple win as you'd also be pleasing the people who have been asking for male instead of female gnome trophies.

Isn't decreasing the cost of 3 gem items worth a triple win?!

[kooky panda]

How about this... change the price of river pieces and gnomes to 1 gem. Then the people who prefer the gems for 4th mastery are kept happy, and those that want the river/gnomes back are happy too as they have the option to trade that gem in for one. If you made both the female and male gnomes in farm 1 gem then it'd be a triple win as you'd also be pleasing the people who have been asking for male instead of female gnome trophies.

Isn't decreasing the cost of 3 gem items worth a triple win?!

Mog to the rescue!!!

[DoubleZ]

A neighbor of mine just got male gnome for mastering a crop. Have things changed??

[clint00781]

A neighbor of mine has just reported same thing a male gnome and a gem and 5% more earnings for that crop could it be our voices were heard in some way atleast it's a gnome right!!!!!

[GroupMagma]

A neighbor of mine just got male gnome for mastering a crop. Have things changed??

Yep: http://forums.teamlava.com/showthread.php?16114-If-you-grow-them-they-will-come...

[orchidchick]

I mastered white peach tea yeaterday in Bakery Story and didn't receive the gem, just cash and exp, I did not take a screen shot as this feature is new and I'm not used to it, I also didn't receive the one plate gift. I emailed Team Lava and got the same stock response I always get. Can I be compensated? I'll gladly return the $$ and exp for a gem!

[orchidchick]

Sorry, didn't include my info: Lyda's Cafe, Orchidchick, Android platform

[cakeandpie]

I also mastered white peach tea and got coins, not a gem.

[LanokaHarbor]

We don't like the new reward!

http://forums.teamlava.com/showthread.php?16296-If-you-want-the-RIVER-MASTERIES-back-please-read-and-POST

Click the link above to help us get our rank 4 mastery items back!!

[badger8]

How about a way to have the option to choose either gem or gnome/river, etc. I know the most noise is being made by the ones who want it the old way, but I'm sure there are people who like the gems.

[LanokaHarbor]

No need for a choice..... gnomes were returned AND they ALSO get the gem, too.

---------------------

City Story players want our rivers back! Please help! Click here!
http://forums.teamlava.com/showthread.php?16296-If-you-want-the-RIVER-MASTERIES-back-please-read-and-POST