//If your not one to read just understand that I am done with KA This is simply just a very long way to say goodbye. Also note... I am not very good with grammar and my thoughts tend to shoot all over the place. So bear with me.
Well my fellow KA goers, the time has come. I Dirt Road Joe or as others know me 'MoC' Dirty Joe, am officially retiring from KA and other Gree games. The reasons are many, but I will post only the ones that mean the most.
Most of you should know, but in case you don't, I am a member and Officer of MoC. This position didn't come easy as I was "on thin ice" with Big Weezy for quite some time. But eventually the old Bloke came around with the agreement of other officers of MoC. So there I was, not only a member of one of the well known Guilds in KA(I am not saying the best) but an Officer as well. This role as an Officer brought me closer to many of the members in MoC. These members have been an Incredible influence to me.
Many of you would never guess it but I am only a 21 year old guy. Yes this may shock many of you long timers. I have been gaming for the past 12 years of my life. I have played on many consoles and handheld devices as well as a wide range of genres. KA was one of the first games on my Ipad. When I first downloaded this game it wasn't quite my forte. It wasn't an extremely action pact game, but I gave it a chance. After about a week, yes a Week, I was hooked. I made my first purchase ingame only 8 days after I installed the game (this was a bag of gold.[To date I have spent almost $2300]). This purchase was very premature but I made it anyway.
After about a month of playing KA I was starting to "understand" the mechanics of the game and how it all worked. I was upgrading the necessary and putting my gold where needed. I was leveling relatively fast but I wanted to increase my alliance count to better make use of my units. I played this game with a large amount of strategy. Not the best, but it was the strategy I had in place and I saw myself going far. This style of gaming continued until about November of 2012. in about the middle of November I made a radical change in my gameplay in hopes to get the edge on my rivals. This change was camping.
Well, I was able to keep this up till about February of 2013. This is when I realized all the LTQs that had been popping up were not slowing down and that I should start taking advantage of them. At about this time Guilds were introduced which radically change KA. This change led me to join a Guild calle "The Brood" for my first war. After the first war was up I decided I wanted to go farther with guilds. So I applied to MoC and the rest is history.
Let me back up a bit on the timeline. I joined these forums in October of 2012. I had been a lurker long before that. My first few posts on this forum, like many other newbies, were out of place and in the wrong threads. But the community at that time was incredible. Although my questions were out of place they were answered quickly and people put thoughtful answers into their replies. This was just the beginning. I had laid low from the forums after that until about January. This is when I was transferred to a night shift position at my current employer. Naturally nights are a bit slower. So with this free time I was able to connect better in the forums and assist people the way I was months before. Although I may come off as a bit harsh in some of my posts, I have all the intention to help and assist, rather than bash someone down. This has been my attitude towards these forums ever since, make this a place of resource and knowledge so that others can find their answers and improve in their gaming experience.
Just like any other business. Funzio and Gree have had their times. Not every company can please people 100% of the time. I mean come on, how many times have you ordered a food at a restaurant only to receive it in an overcooked and burnt state. Not everything can be perfect every time. But everyone and every business has room to improve. Many of you may have read a post by another forum member recently stating all the improvement Gree has made to this game based on Customer requests. This is 100% true. This game is nothing like it was 12 months ago. Thus being one of the reasons I am leaving the game. Gree has done a great job of supplying new things for their customers to enjoy. But the major problem with the direction Gree is heading is that many of us just want to be players of the game... not just customers. The style of gameplay used to be pay $ to get a lead on your opponents. But the lead that you gained will not last forever. After a bit of time they would be even again. This is how it was 12 months ago. Today, if you didn't spend money yet, then you are far behind. I don't know actual numbers. these are just a guess. But 12 months ago a good rivalry was between 2 player with stats of about 50 to 70k this was about normal. if you were below that you had work to do and if you were above that then you were doing well. This was how close free and paid players were. Now the numbers have changed. The numbers are closer to 2.5 mil to 3 mil. Like before, the player below these numbers find it hard to compete, while the players above these numbers are doing very well. But here is the catch, the average free player only has about 1.5 - 2.0 mil stats. So EVERY free player is below this line(except for a very select and lucky players). The fact the average competitive numbers are far above the average free player is shocking. This is what has disrupted the old gameplay. Before as a free player you had a chance. Now, your better off hiding somehow...
Now, every piece of software has bugs. This is simply the unavoidable nature of code. Just like written language code can have the same errors. Just look back at everything I have written. I have no doubt there are a thousand grammatical errors within this little farewell address. But it is still legible and you can still understand what I am saying. Coding is different. If you have one error, one bit of punctuation in the wrong spot it can cause the program to fail. This seems to be a very common occurrence with this game. Out of the numerous LTQs and Events that run, there always seems to be some kind of bug. QA is supposed to pick these things up before they are live. To have a well established and bug free game, you must first run it through tests. This is what Grees QA and all the brave Beta testers are supposed to accomplish. They are supposed to find and address the bugs. The developers should then be able to find any errors and correct them before they are live. I actually requested to be part of Beta back in June. After a few emails back and forth and after empty promises, still here I am no Beta and nothing but ignored when the time came for Gree to make a move. This is another reason why I am cashing in now...
Here is the shocker for everyone. Gree is completely against Hackers and Cheaters. This has been a sensitive subject for a while now. But the truth is, there is a huge, I repeat HUGE number of players that are exploiting different aspects of this game daily. These players are people you see daily. These people are the players that are against cheater and hackers. But these are simply bugs within the game. They are not a manipulation of code or anything against the TOS. So although the exploits are wrong, they are simply not illegal. With that said. These exploits have been around for a long time. I found a few back in October of last year and a few more in January. Now, before everyone gets emotional. EVERY exploit or potential exploit I find is always reported to Gree immediately. I have only wanted to help Gree construct the best game possible, so anytime there was a game threatening bug I would report it... even reported the wyverns that never show up on maps.. and still don't... Yes, I used the exploits that I found for a while. But the frequency has decreased to almost never in the last 4 months. Now, with this said, if anyone has any questions. Be sure to address me directly. I will answer any questions regarding the nature of the exploits. But I will not give instructions on how to perform any of them. PM me only. These exploits have been around for over a year... Yet another reason...
Now to get everything wrapped up and get a little mushy, mushy. The relationships I have built within MoC have been incredible. Like I said before I have played many games throughout the years, but this one has by far taken the experience to a much more personal level. I have played xbox live for over 8 years now. I have been in the social part of gaming for some time. But the player I play and communicate with on there are at about the same age group as I am. In KA, the average age of a player is much older than me... with age comes wisdom and there is a lot of that in MoC.
Now, throughout highschool and the first few years of my adult life I have not been the most proactive person in the world. In school I was lazy. I never did my work and I never had good grades... actually failing a math course due to laziness... and boy do I regret that now. One of my issues throughout the last few years has been finding what I want to do with my life. I currently have a good well paying job. But it is not the dream job I had in mind. Well, over the last few months while being a part of MoC I have been nothing but encouraged. There are a variety of people in MoC. There are Developers, Musicians, Architects and Medical Personnel. With this large variety of knowledge came I wide variety of encouragement. The influence and encouragement I have received has pushed me to make changes in my life. I have finally figured out what it is I would like to do with my life. Over the last few months with the help of MoC I have finally began to pursue a career for the future. Even though the steps are small right at the moment. A small step in the right direction is a step that can change the future. So I have no one else to thank other than the incredible friends I have in MoC.
Finally, with stats about to hit the 4 mil. mark, I am throwing in the towel. The journey this far has been incredible. The game has been an experience unlike any other. For me, KA isn't as much a Game as much as it has been a life changer. With the assistance of Gree and their frequent Bugs and the encouragement of MoC, I see nothing but the experiences and influences ultimately getting me to my goals and improving my life. So as cheesy as this entire rant/Farewell has been I have meant every word. With my departure I ask that someone take my position in MoC and see how incredible those people really are. Now, I don't plan on leaving for good. I will still click on KA every now and again as well as read these forums. This place will always hold a place in my heart and I will always strive to help any member I can. So even though I may not be a part of the action all the time. I will still be lingering. So seriously, to any member that is afraid to ask questions publically, feel free to PM me. I will do my best to assist you in any way possible.
Farewell my friends and family its been a pleasure. I'm leaving this game only to make the time for the more important things in life and pursue my career goals. But I will say, it has been one hell of a ride.
Dirt Road Joe - 'MoC' Dirty Joe
Originally Posted by Alleran
