Team Lava, you deserve a round of applause...

[thekaygirl]

Seriously everyone, cheers for Team Lava! I mean, I really didn't think any company could successfully ruin one of their apps quite so well!

It's incredible! It only took a few short weeks for me to partially lose interest after the first price hikes were installed on food and nests. But now they've gone above and beyond! The recent increases in the prices of expansions to over six times what they were before was simply genius! Not only did it infuriate me - it made me quit the game altogether!

Really, I am stunned! I don't think I have ever seen a company prove that it doesn't care at all about its consumers as effectively as Team Lava has. I am so proud! It's almost as if they screamed into my ear "Hey! We don't care about anything but our wallets!" Such a brilliant move on their part!

This clear money-making scheme, this total disregard for anything but the bottom line, this blatant overlooking of the players feedback - it's simply fantastic! Exactly what I look for in an app! I love to feel frustrated and unheard each day! It absolutely makes me want to give a five-star rating!! I mean, it's beautiful how Team Lava turned their latest game into a desperate attempt to get more money. Beautiful!

Such a shame that I've somehow found myself losing interest in the game. After all, it was so much fun to need to save for a week in order to expand one time. I'm going to miss that thrill of being stuck in the same spot for days on end with nothing new to do. Such a shame.

You really knocked it out of the park this time, Team Lava! Bravo!

[cubsrock1908]

Wow I really ( don't) like this thread! Not to be rude or anything

[yanochka]

It's a shame that TL doesn't listen to feedback!!!

[yanochka]

Seriously everyone, cheers for Team Lava! I mean, I really didn't think any company could successfully ruin one of their apps quite so well!

Unfortunately that has been their strategy lately for all games - for example take a look in Farm Story Feedback section of the forum...

[queentina3]

Unfortunately that has been their strategy lately for all games - for example take a look in Farm Story Feedback section of the forum...

I agree, and they are losing users by the droves. Oh well, eventually people are going to get fed up and leave completely and new users won't bother downloading their games, then they'll be out of business and out of jobs.

[bobbyrae]

I agree, and they are losing users by the droves. Oh well, eventually people are going to get fed up and leave completely and new users won't bother downloading their games, then they'll be out of business and out of jobs.

Not really. Seems they're doing pretty well. People are still buying those gems. A lot, it seems. So no wonder they don't respond here. They don't have to! Plus, for every glitch in the game the first go to solution is to delete and reinstall the game... 300,000,000 downloads? Lol.

[queentina3]

Like you said, uninstall/reinstall to fix problems that they have on their end, accounts for many of those downloads. Inflated and altered numbers. About or less than half are probably actual games being played. Storm8 games are popular, but to violent for my taste. TL games, well, people will get frustrated and leave, we've already seen long-term players that spent hundreds of dollars a month stop buying/playing, and new users are eventually going to get sick of these changes and leave within a month, or not download at all after reading comments in the app stores.

That listing in the article is also just stating basically the same thing over and over again. Reaching number one is categorized off of downloads, isn't it? Maybe it's off of star-rating, which is easily manipulated. Either case, inaccurate numbers as many just quit games without changing a rating and the multiple times people have to reinstall to fix an issue doesn't give it more users, just more downloads. Not very accurate.

[ankalagon]

Is Dragon Story even listed or mentioned in the storm8 or teamlava main pages? I couldn't find it in a quick check.

[Rachael98]

I like sarcasm.
You're good at it, Kay.

[ankalagon]

I thing queentina is right. Storm8/TL business model relies on having as little customer contact as possible, else they would be swamped by people hit by accidental in-app-purchases. Maximizing the bottom line is the main goal, to appear attractive for a bigger company (Zynga? Google?) to acquire them at a bloated price thinking they are getting good intellectual property... The games only need to work well-enough to attract people; it does not really matter how long they play or if they like the game. That's why every game is a copy of some better/higher ranked game, with some additional glitter thrown in for looks. :-(

This is a good business model, but bad for customer satisfaction or retention (which are not important) ... So, don't expect much from storm8/TL and play accordingly.

PS. Above is just my opinion, and I still like DS as a game.. even when there is a lot of wasted potential; we can only hope TL keeps developing this title in new and better directions. But I'm not holding my breath.

[atlantisonearth]

I like sarcasm.
You're good at it, Kay.

lol me too.

They should be recognized for this outstanding milestone.

[ultrafrog]

If people continue to buy gems and profits keep going up every month, TL has no reason to change. The forum users here tend to be jaded BECAUSE they looked for a place to vent their frustrations. Happy players don't care and are just playing the game.

[bobbyrae]

If people continue to buy gems and profits keep going up every month, TL has no reason to change. The forum users here tend to be jaded BECAUSE they looked for a place to vent their frustrations. Happy players don't care and are just playing the game.

My thoughts exactly ultrafrog. So i just keep on playing without buying gems. :) It may cost them something but it doesn't cost me a dime :p

[skystylestore]

I agree with all of this, when I contact customer support service with asking to fix couple issues and recover what did I lost by their technical issues, I get respond that they CAN NOT recover or fix anything. So real answer was just deal with this. Be careful before you will spend any money. I was stupid enough to do that , now I deeply regretted about it. So think before you spent anything, because all what they are able to help you with is to spending your money, not withany other issues.

[atlantisonearth]

If people continue to buy gems and profits keep going up every month, TL has no reason to change. The forum users here tend to be jaded BECAUSE they looked for a place to vent their frustrations. Happy players don't care and are just playing the game.

Welcome back, ultrafrog.

[ultrafrog]

Thanks atlantis. I still have RS uninstalled from my ipod but I drop in the forums from time to time to see if anything has changed.

[atlantisonearth]

Thanks atlantis. I still have RS uninstalled from my ipod but I drop in the forums from time to time to see if anything has changed.

Nothing has changed, except the decline of unsatisfied players on this forum and in the game.

[atlantisonearth]

Nothing has changed, except the decline of unsatisfied players on this forum and in the game.

**Sorry: DECLINE of SATISFIED players.

[pinkster73]

Thanks atlantis. I still have RS uninstalled from my ipod but I drop in the forums from time to time to see if anything has changed.

Well, its my birthday today :p. That's new.

[[S8] Elsa]

Good thing I'm wearing my Sarcasm Detection Hat today. Let's take the aggro down a notch. I am listening. Thank you for sharing your concerns. I will forward this to the appropriate folks (sans sarcasm, cause I'm not sharing my hat :D).

[dalula]

I like sarcasm.
You're good at it, Kay.
I agree... nice sarcasm!

[Rachael98]

Good thing I'm wearing my Sarcasm Detection Hat today. Let's take the aggro down a notch. I am listening. Thank you for sharing your concerns. I will forward this to the appropriate folks (sans sarcasm, cause I'm not sharing my hat :D).

You could use sarcasm HTML:p. GM likes those.
I mean, back in the old days of May 2011 - when there were no weekly updates, and Matt still logged on regularly. Well. It came up;).

[atlantisonearth]

Good thing I'm wearing my Sarcasm Detection Hat today. Let's take the aggro down a notch. I am listening. Thank you for sharing your concerns. I will forward this to the appropriate folks (sans sarcasm, cause I'm not sharing my hat :D).

Thanks, at least you are listening. You are my new favorite moderator.

[ultrafrog]

Well, its my birthday today :p. That's new.

Well Happy Birthday Pinkster!

[ButterPanda]

Seriously everyone, cheers for Team Lava! I mean, I really didn't think any company could successfully ruin one of their apps quite so well!

It's incredible! It only took a few short weeks for me to partially lose interest after the first price hikes were installed on food and nests. But now they've gone above and beyond! The recent increases in the prices of expansions to over six times what they were before was simply genius! Not only did it infuriate me - it made me quit the game altogether!

Really, I am stunned! I don't think I have ever seen a company prove that it doesn't care at all about its consumers as effectively as Team Lava has. I am so proud! It's almost as if they screamed into my ear "Hey! We don't care about anything but our wallets!" Such a brilliant move on their part!

This clear money-making scheme, this total disregard for anything but the bottom line, this blatant overlooking of the players feedback - it's simply fantastic! Exactly what I look for in an app! I love to feel frustrated and unheard each day! It absolutely makes me want to give a five-star rating!! I mean, it's beautiful how Team Lava turned their latest game into a desperate attempt to get more money. Beautiful!

Such a shame that I've somehow found myself losing interest in the game. After all, it was so much fun to need to save for a week in order to expand one time. I'm going to miss that thrill of being stuck in the same spot for days on end with nothing new to do. Such a shame.

You really knocked it out of the park this time, Team Lava! Bravo!

I understand the frustration. Right now the game is going through changes that may or may not stay. But please remember that we do take all the suggestions and feedback seriously.

[mattyboo1]

Thanks bp

[badoodie]

Well, it's not just Dragon Story that has issues AKA "growing pains." Many of these complaints apply across the board for most, if not all, TL games.

[seanboals]

The thread is overdue.

I've played Fashion Story for almost two months now. After an update, the notifications for clothing ready stopped working. I deleted, re-installed, threw salt over my left shoulder, whistled "Dixie" in the key of F Major, while gargling. The notifications now either do not come up at all or when they do, if my device is sleeping, notify AFTER I've already racked or shelved them, as much as five or ten minutes afterwards.

If I am trying to order and don't go slowly enough for the app, the layers dissolve and I end up on the shop instead of the catalog. Only a full power down restores the correct function.

Then came the zombies. First the "Pet Story" zombies. I installed "Pet Story" mostly to end the ceaseless popups, nags and zombies. For a time, I had some relief. Then the "Slots" Zombies appeared and then after that the "Bakery Story" zombies put in a brief cameo. So, as much as I did NOT want to install Slots, as much as I am not INTERESTED in slots, I installed Slots, just to make the nagging, and the zombies, go away.

Now, it's iMobster zombies, push adverts and it would seem that Teamlava kicks out a reset or something five or six times a day to cycle the adverts up. Cute.

Then there are the gem traps. They are not accidental. They are purposeful. I appreciate, respect and understand that they have bills to pay. But there's an ethical issue here that no excuse can square up. If you ignore that, well the rest of this seems almost trivial by comparison.

I'm still playing FS for now, but with my screen getting cluttered with more and more icons, adverts and launches to install something I really and truly have no interest in, or ever will, it's days on my iPhone and iPad are numbered. I'd like a different outcome, but it's obvious that Teamlava is not listening to the users.

[seanboals]

Butterpanda,

The adverts have gone completely over the top. It is clear, absolutely clear, that the intent is to force users to download and install something that most of them have absolutely no interest in.

Many people respond very, very poorly to being nagged. That's what the advertising is at this point, a constant nag to do something that many of us just aren't interested in. Imagine for a moment trying to order a meal that you like, but each time you do the waiter or waitress asks you if you're interested in the crayfish ettoufe. They refill your wine, they ask if you want to just once try the ettoufe. Then serve your entree, they ask again. After a nice dessert and after being asked for an hour if you want it, they ask again.

Do you order the ettoufe or do you find a new place to eat?

The next time you decide to go out to eat, do you plan on going to the same restaurant or perhaps the experience was so repugnant that you decided that however good the restaurant was, it's not worth the hassle of putting up with the same waiter again?

That's what you're on right now. You've got games that MIGHT transition in interest to other ones. But I honestly think you need to leave it to the users to decide at some point to stop the push advertising for whichever new release you've got.

As I said earlier, I'm about ready to remove FS for good. I'm not the only one that feels that way. It was a good program. The bugs created with the last two releases need to be fixed and they should be fixed before you ask people to try any other product.

[ankalagon]

Of course they do nags and incentives, thats the way to boost the number of downloads. Apple stil seems to allow this tactic, I think it beame forbidden in facebook games since it makethe toplists inflated with incentisized offer downloads (pay you to download this, in order to boost the rankings)...

[newlife02]

The thread is overdue.

I've played Fashion Story for almost two months now. After an update, the notifications for clothing ready stopped working. I deleted, re-installed, threw salt over my left shoulder, whistled "Dixie" in the key of F Major, while gargling. The notifications now either do not come up at all or when they do, if my device is sleeping, notify AFTER I've already racked or shelved them, as much as five or ten minutes afterwards.

If I am trying to order and don't go slowly enough for the app, the layers dissolve and I end up on the shop instead of the catalog. Only a full power down restores the correct function.

Then came the zombies. First the "Pet Story" zombies. I installed "Pet Story" mostly to end the ceaseless popups, nags and zombies. For a time, I had some relief. Then the "Slots" Zombies appeared and then after that the "Bakery Story" zombies put in a brief cameo. So, as much as I did NOT want to install Slots, as much as I am not INTERESTED in slots, I installed Slots, just to make the nagging, and the zombies, go away.

Now, it's iMobster zombies, push adverts and it would seem that Teamlava kicks out a reset or something five or six times a day to cycle the adverts up. Cute.

Then there are the gem traps. They are not accidental. They are purposeful. I appreciate, respect and understand that they have bills to pay. But there's an ethical issue here that no excuse can square up. If you ignore that, well the rest of this seems almost trivial by comparison.

I'm still playing FS for now, but with my screen getting cluttered with more and more icons, adverts and launches to install something I really and truly have no interest in, or ever will, it's days on my iPhone and iPad are numbered. I'd like a different outcome, but it's obvious that Teamlava is not listening to the users.

Very well written! I have been, at least it is getting me to the point of freeing up a lot of time I uselessly spend playing these. Bad thing is I have tried a different developer the last few days and am enjoying games once again!!! So much for freeing up my time. I do believe tomorrow I may shut down some "Story's"

[Lunaru_F]

He might be listening, but that paragraph means:
Read this, be happy, and watch as the changes DON'T roll in, because we like our wallets filled and customers unhappy.

[[S8] Elsa]

He might be listening, but that paragraph means:
Read this, be happy, and watch as the changes DON'T roll in, because we like our wallets filled and customers unhappy.

The isn't the correct interpretation of what we've communicated. We are listening and noting the feedback, passing that on to the proper folks

We can't always give everyone what they want, but we can do our best to listen and pass on thoughts to be heard. Which is what we're doing for you, because we care and it benefits everyone. I know that can be difficult to see over text (grand gestures like smoke signals and writing it in fairy dust didn't work out. Apparently they don't like to share their glitter...), because you can interpret the tone of things in different ways, but it's true.

[DAmanding]

He might be listening, but that paragraph means:
Read this, be happy, and watch as the changes DON'T roll in, because we like our wallets filled and customers unhappy.


The isn't the correct interpretation of what we've communicated. We are listening and noting the feedback, passing that on to the proper folks

We can't always give everyone what they want, but we can do our best to listen and pass on thoughts to be heard. Which is what we're doing for you, because we care and it benefits everyone. I know that can be difficult to see over text (grand gestures like smoke signals and writing it in fairy dust didn't work out. Apparently they don't like to share their glitter...), because you can interpret the tone of things in different ways, but it's true.

We might believe the "we'll pass that on to the right people" line if we hadn't heard it repeatedly on countless issues for over a year and seen nothing improve. Haven't you heard the fable about the boy who cried wolf?

[Denel31]

I'm real sorry, but the truth of the matter is that TL rather keep developing new games than fix or upgrade the current ones. How many new games released? Since we are begging tor expansion at PSS and for what I read at forum so many other games. Maybe is true all they said.