#UNITED CHRIS
- Sep 1, 2019
- 5 min read

The Art of War

Following our lively exchanges of the week around the many topics that have arisen, time has come to wrap-up a bit and strengthen the ranks.

“ The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting ”

Let us take a minute to rewind on this week's post about the Player Council. First and foremost, it cannot be stressed enough that every participant must be respected. There is no doubt everyone there is doing its uttermost to push for a better game, yet under a lot of constraints. Much has been said and discussed on the forum and - so very sadly - we have noted PC on the verge of becoming a matter of discord and confusion amongst the players.

It cannot be. It will not be.

Scopely chose this way on their own volition. If it works, perfect. If it does not, the game publisher will have to figure out something else, maybe by eventually taking on the full #PU letter? In the meantime, one must bear in mind that all council members belong to our community before everything else. They need our support and they shall have it. Likewise we plead for our fellow participants to refrain as much as possible from shutting down when facing some unfair discontentment: they sadly inherit a chaotic situation that is not up to any player to fix. Indeed, we will not be mistaken - or blind - with regard to the constant insufficient progress and alleged technical difficulties... it shall never fall on the members' shoulders, but it will fall on Scopely's.

If there may have been a Scopely's temptation to seed turmoil, #PU is there to ensure and to strengthen the players' unity - in addition to always keep pushing for further improvements irrespective to the vicissitudes of game development.

“ Opportunities multiply as they are seized ”

Over the past months, players have increasingly been subject to offers that can significantly differ depending on spending habits or regions. It is now public knowledge that in-game users data is compiled and processed daily in order to foster purchasing: based on your customer profile, the time, the price and the content of the offers will vary.

Some of us have likewise noticed that newer accounts (often secondary ones) tend to be luckier. It can also happen when someone temporarily retires and comes back a few months later; the Premier Wheel, for example, may suddenly become quite friendlier. This naturally contributes to the player's engagement: you get hooked (back).

With relation to the locked regions only available to RTS newcomers, one can thus expect an environment propitious to trigger spending. However, from welcoming to coercive, there can be just a fine line that the game publisher seems eager to cross. For instance, the players from a common server should have their current weekly missions along the following lines:

Killing zombies, raiding and so on... pretty standard activity-based tasks for somewhat very basic rewards. However, for someone new to the world of Keep Surviving, the same weekly missions can hold some surprises such as requiring to tap on the wallet for 400 gear markers. Indeed, although Robertson region's assignments offer lower rewards, it nonetheless requests the opening of the S-Class recruits wheel 100 times (the equivalent of roughly 250 USD without special offers for in-game currency).

From a game publisher's point of view this meets at least two major objectives: setting a high-value for low-grade items in order to condition the users's readiness to pay an important amount for basic consumables as well as triggering the first expenditures, which generally acts as a wall in the consumer's mind that once broken leaves the road opened to strengthen the engagement (i.e. $$$ - for more info: link). Last but not least, it delivers immeasurable data on customer behaviours that can further improve the daily tweaks and tricks to anchor spending habits whilst assessing the game's profitability against the years passing by.

“ So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak ”

S-Class Tough Priya promotional tour was barely coming to an end that S-Class Laopo was introduced. Scopely, in a bizarre way, admitted it kind of crossed their minds at the very last minute that releasing more over-powerful premium recruits could be ill-timed... However technical limitations made delaying the arrival of the new defensive monster impossible. Yet there can be a different tech when there is a need for a wide servers rollbacks in a matter of a just a few hours (Survivors Club's Shield Andrea), or in order to implement a swift response to address the Skull Tokens opportunistic play... or during the former delay of S-Class Priya release... such a whimsical technology!

Of course, S-Class recruits are there to stay. The Players Council is thus promoting the idea of making them more accessible in addition to slowing down their cadencing. One can however wonder how difficult it can be to implement a sound - yet still heavily profitable - game economy in a reasonable timeframe. It has also become quite impossible to avoid reconsidering pejoratively the latest updates in light of the recent development: the new Arenas gameplay, the additional veteran tiers or the current (and forthcoming) S-Class recruits and their out-of-touch stats. Even by stretching the bounds of comprehension, it remains hard to fathom how a company that generates hundreds of millions USD annually could be genuinely taken aback by the concerns the introduction of an additional ultra-premium economy layer have raised, especially when it happens for the second time.

Some might say Walter Drivers - co-CEO of Scopely - strongly believes it is not about gaming anymore but about experience, one he likes to compare to get field-level seats for the Super Bowl. It then can be questioned whether such super-fan could accept the game to start at random times despite the published schedule, the requirements to buy additional consumables at the beginning of every quarter in order to be able to actually watch the game, the referee to ignore the rules ending up with random RNG scoring or a customer service that fails every step of the way.

Preying strategy can always catch fish in the ocean, but #PU remains vigilant that the original voice or the players is heard and will not stop pushing for the deemed urgent changes.

“ When you surround an army, leave an outlet free

Do not press a desperate foe too hard ”

Thanks to the Player Council, the next league season will feature Camila. No one can deny this is an actual improvement with an honest recruit useful to every roster.

No one can deny either that this is not enough. There is no doubt the Council members have strongly pushed for more (and will continue to) but one must therefore measure the way left to be walked between what the players needs and what Scopely is ready to give back. With S-Class ramping up and Veteran tiers maxed already amongst the top factions, there could have been an exclusive character, if not an S-Class itself, at least powerful enough to slightly bridge the gap between legendary recruits and the new 7-stars, or maybe some bags with substantial veteran rings and arenas tickets?

“ Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons

And they will follow you into the deepest valley ”

To echo our introductory message, every little helps in our journey to raise awareness and work for a better and fairer game environment. From the members of the Council to active supporters of PU, there is no exclusive avenue to support this wide initiative. We would like to extend our invitation to come aboard: be vocal, tag, spread knowledge, suspend your spending... whatever is your preferred way to make your voice heard, just make it heard. Dear players, let us keep united!