Abuse at Forge of Empires

The well-known Forge of Empires battle and strategy game is not what it once was. Beginning excellent a few years ago, Forge of Empires has attracted millions of players from all over the world. But lately, problems began to appear, and players complain that they are stressed, harassed and abused.

Under the stress of the chat

The inclusion of the socialization within the game, followed by its expansion, was a bad idea from the founders. Although the game is largely an individual one, players can also talk to each other. It would not be a problem if players would use the personal message button. Problems arise when players do not use that button, but carry the talks in everyone’s eyes on guild chat. As with social networks, guilds are some groups, some brotherhoods that are needed because they bring many benefits to their members, but which have unfortunately become the source of stress and abuse. The guild chat should only be used for very important messages, but many players and many guild leaders did not understand that they should not disturb the rest of others’ silence and start unnecessary and endless discussion on the guild chat. Every time someone writes a message to the main chat, at each of the 80 guild members starts blinking a button, the message button (see the picture below). Even one word if you write there, for example „Hello”, 80 people will be interrupted. When the chat button starts blinking, you have to click and open the messenger, first of all because it could be an important message, and secondly, because you can not let that button flash, because it stresses you. „It’s like somebody push you all the time”, say unhappy players. If everyone responds to that simple „Hello”, then the chat button blinks 80 times and you are interrupted 80 times. That’s from a simple „Hello”! But the conversations are much more numerous and the number of interruptions is huge. When the message button blinks, you must see what it is, maybe it’s important, but when you see it is unnecessary, such as „Hi, hi, hi” and „Ha, ha, ha”, you will let the fucking game, say the stressed chat conversations. The purpose of the game was to relax, but instead of relaxing, you have stress.

Stress and abuse

More serious is that unnecessary and stressful conversations also involve many guild leaders, and even they initiate them. Excitable to this chapter is the Romanian guild „Evolution”, which is also called the „Ciprian’s Guild”, where leaders engage in chatting and stress the other players. As a positive example is “The Free Market” guild, with silent players who understand that Forge of Empires (FoE) is a game for … played, not for talk. The players say they can not even take a stand against chatting, because guild leaders, who have become a kind of state in the state, can quickly rule out your discontent. A player was excluded from the „Evolution” guild because he reacted to chatting: he said there are too many guruals there and too many sterile discussions, which is why he was kicked out. Moreover, he was reported to the FoE Romania team, who blocked his account, banning him permanently. Reporting was made by the so-called „Nokki”, suspected of being in a cardassy with one from FoE Romania. Forge of Empires team in Romania considered that the words used by the player denotes „extremely offensive” behavior, as shown in the motivation of the permanent banning of the account.

Stupid directives

Stress and interruptions are not only caused by the useless talks, but also by the many requests for the exchange of goods. In principle, the purpose of the game is to develop a city through all the ages, from the simple Stone Age, Bronze Age or Iron Age to the metropolis of the Contemporary Era, and even in the coming ages. For the buildings in the city that you build, you need a variety of goods, and for those that you have not, has been set up the so-called Market, where players can change their goods. There is a special button you can reach the Market (visible in the picture below), but many players did not understand the usefulness of that button and post their offers on the guild chat, thus increasing the stress on other members. „It’s like you’re starting to call your friends and tell them, for example, that you have some potatoes and you want some carrots; It would not be surprising if you wake up with some jokes from friends, who would certainly say you would go to the market”, say the unhappy. Not the same thing happens to FoE, where you are not just stressed by the demands and offers of goods, that make your message button blink, but you are also forced to read such messages, or even to keep them, to not delete them, otherwise you can be kicked out. Some guild leaders, who are believed to be the gods of the game, have begun to make rules and over rules, abusive and ridiculous rules, forcing you, among other things, to read and keep all sorts of unnecessary messages. Romanians from the „Evolution” guild call them „circulars” and those from abroad say „DNL” („Do Not Live”). One of the idiotic “circular” of the romanians is called the „Market” and contains exactly the same things as the actual market of the game, the demands and offers of goods. It’s virtually a parallel market that does not make any use of you, since the game already has a market, where you can find all the information you need and where you can also find an effective search opportunity for a number of criteria. You can find, for example, all players who sell coffee (as in the picture below) or those who buy porcelain.

Harassed players

Romanians from the “Evolution” guild, who had the „brilliant” idea of ​​creating a parallel market through the „circular”, not only stressed you with the demands and offers of goods, but forbid you to keep them, to not delete the messages. If you left those conversations, threats and harassment begin. In the „Evolution” guild, the boss of  harassments is called Nokki, whom we have mentioned earlier, which frequently sends threatening messages to members who leave unnecessary conversations about the exchange of goods, from the circular useless called „Market”. One of the players was kicked out of the guild exactly for this reason, because he deleted the messages in the circular called „Market”. The same threats and harassment were also reported in guilds from other countries, who also use the same „Do Not Live” buffs (DNL), meaning do not leave the conversation. „It’s like in stupid movies – tells a player about these rules. How is it possible for someone to force you to read a message you do not want and to force you to keep it? ” A positive example in this chapter is “The Free Market” guild, where there are neither circulars nor DNLs. Another idiosyncrasy is the duty to „help” those who have legendary buildings at the construction stage, although the help you are obliged to give can not be called „help”, but „obligation”, and the spirit of the game is different . You have many possibilities to help other players, but you also have the opportunity to get rewards for your help. For example, if you help someone build a legendary building, you can get both points and medals as well as plans for your own legendary buildings, plans without which you can not build. But only those in the top 4 or 5 places in the donors’ rankings can get those rewards, so the player has to appreciate whether or not it is appropriate to give help. But guilds force you, through so-called circulars or DNLs, to give help against your will, even if you can not get that reward, well thought by the founders of the game.

Abuses from leadership of the game

Harassment and abuse of guilds are also complemented by abuses by game administrators or so-called FoE support teams. If an idiot from a guild throws you away and reports you, there comes another FoE idiot and blocks your account directly, permanent ban on the first. „Did not these imbeclians ever hear that sanctions apply gradually? – asked a baned player. Civilized is to first give a warning, then apply a temporary suspension of your account and only exceptionally end up permanently blocking your account. It’s not a game to finish in an hour or two, not in a day or two, and not even in a month or two; You need years to develop your city and pass through all the ages. And after years of effort, comes an imbecile and blocking your account permanently, for some words of dissatisfaction that you have rightly said. There’s no way you can take it from the beginning , you will let this fucking game and find another one, that there are just so many fighting and strategy games”. Those unhappy have expressed their conviction that no action will be taken to remedy the problems raised by the players, but will be followed by the identification of those who dared to criticize, to be punished and kicked out. This is why the article did not reveal the identity of those who made statements. We also asked for a point of view from the so-called FoE Support Team, from which we received a written answer, but it only gives thanks for expressing the intention to write this article (see the picture below). The conclusion of the players was that Forge of Empires turned into something unpleasant, and if no action is taken to resolve the problems (and not against those who reported those problems), then people will begin to leave and will look for other better games. The problems noted are much more, but, due to lack of space, could not be fully covered in this article.

 

Florin TANASE

Abuzuri la Forge of Empires

Cunoscutul joc de lupta si strategie Forge of Empires nu mai e ce-a fost odata. Pornit excelent in urma cu cativa ani, Forge of Empires a atras milioane de jucatori, din toata lumea. Insa, in ultimul timp, au inceput sa apara probleme, iar jucatorii se plang ca sunt stresati, hartuiti si abuzati.

Sub stresul chat-ului

Includerea partii de socializare in cadrul jocului, urmata de extinderea acesteia, a fost o idee proasta din partea fondatorilor. Desi jocul este, in mare parte, unul individual, jucatorii pot sa si discute intre ei. N-ar fi o problema, daca jucatorii ar folosi butonul pentru mesaje personale. Problemele apar atunci cand jucatorii nu folosesc acel buton, ci poarta discutiile in vazul tuturor, pe chat-ul ghildelor. La fel ca si in cazul unor retele de socializare, ghildele sunt niste grupuri, niste fratii care sunt necesare, pentru ca aduc multe beneficii membrilor sai, dar care, din pacate, au devenit si sursa de stres si de abuzuri. Chat-ul ghildei ar trebui folosit numai pentru mesaje foarte importante, insa multi jucatori si multi lideri de ghilda n-au inteles ca nu trebuie sa tulbure linistea celorlalti si se pornesc la discutii inutile si interminabile pe chat-urile ghildelor. De fiecare data cand cineva scrie un mesaj pe chat-ul principal, la fiecare dintre cei 80 de membri ai ghildei incepe sa clipeasca un buton, butonul pentru mesaje (vezi imaginea de mai jos). Si un singur cuvant daca scrii acolo, de exemplu “Salut”, 80 de oameni vor fi intrerupti din joc. Cand incepe sa clipeasca butonul chat-ului, trebuie sa dai click si sa deschizi mesageria, in primul rand pentru ca ar putea fi un mesaj important si, in al doilea rand, pentru ca nu poti lasa sa clipeasca intr-una acel buton, pentru ca te streseaza. “E ca si cum te-ar inghionti cineva intr-una”, spun jucatorii nemultumiti. Daca fiecare raspunde la acel simplu “Salut”, atunci butonul de chat iti clipeste de 80 de ori, adica esti intrerupt din joc de 80 de ori. Asta de la un simplu “Salut”! Insa conversatiile sunt cu mult mai numeroase, iar numarul intreruperilor este urias. Cand clipeste butonul pentru mesaje, dai click sa vezi ce e, ca poate e ceva important, dar cand vezi ca sunt discutii inutile, de genul “Hi, hi, hi” si “Ha, ha, ha”, iti vine sa-l lasi dracului de joc, mai spun cei stresati de conversatiile pe chat. Scopul jocului a fost acela de a te putea relaxa, dar in loc de relaxare, te alegi cu stres.

Stres si abuzuri

Mai grav este ca la conversatiile inutile si stresante participa si multi lideri de ghilda, ba chiar ei le initiaza. Execrabil la acest capitol sta ghilda romaneasca “Evolutie”, care mai e numita si “Ghilda lui Ciprian”, unde liderii palavragesc intr-una pe chat si-i streseaza pe ceilalti jucatori. Ca exemplu pozitiv poate fi data ghilda “The Free Market”, cu jucatori silentiosi, care au inteles ca Forge of Empires (FoE) este un joc pentru…jucat, nu pentru vorbit. Jucatorii spun ca nici nu pot lua atitudine fata de sporvaiala de pe chat, pentru ca liderii de ghilde, devenite un fel de stat in stat, te pot exclude rapid, daca iti exprimi nemultumirea. Un jucator a fost exclus din ghilda “Evolutie” pentru ca a reactionat fata de palavrageala de pe chat: el a spus ca sunt prea multi guralivi acolo si prea multe discutii sterile, motiv pentru care a fost dat afara. Ba, mai mult, a fost raportat la echipa FoE Romania, care i-a blocat contul, l-a banat permanent. Raportarea a fost facuta de numita “Nokki”, suspectata ca ar fi in cardasie cu una de la FoE Romania. Echipa din Romania de la Forge of Empires a considerat ca vorbele folosite de jucator, “guralivi” si “sterile”, denota un comportament “extrem de ofensator”, dupa cum se arata in motivarea banarii permanente a contului.

“Circulare” idioate

Stresul si intreruperile nu sunt provocate doar de discutiile nefolositoare, ci si de numeroasele solicitari privind schimburile de bunuri. In principiu, scopul jocului este de a dezvolta un oras trecand prin toate epocile, de la simpla asezare din Epoca de Piatra, Epoca de Bronz sau Epoca de Fier, pana la metropola din Era Contemporana, ba chiar si din erele viitoare. Pentru cladirile din orasul pe care-l construiesti, ai nevoie de bunuri diverse, iar pentru cele care iti lipsesc, a fost infiintata asa-numita Piata, unde jucatorii isi pot schimba bunurile. Exista un buton special prin care poti ajunge la Piata (vizibil in imaginea de mai jos), insa multi jucatori n-au inteles utilitatea acelui buton si isi posteaza ofertele tot pe chat-ul ghildei, sporind astfel stresul la care sunt supusi ceilalti membri. “E ca si cum ai incepe sa-ti suni prietenii si sa le spui, de exemplu, ca ai niste cartofi si vrei la schimb niste morcovi; n-ar fi de mirare daca te trezesti cu niste injuraturi de la prieteni, care, cu siguranta, ti-ar zice sa mergi la piata”, spun cei nemultumiti. Nu acelasi lucru se intampla la FoE, unde nu doar ca esti stresat de cererile si ofertele de bunuri, care fac sa-ti clipeasca butonul de mesaje, dar mai esti si fortat sa citesti astfel de mesaje, ba chiar sa le si pastrezi, sa nu le stergi, ca altfel poti fi dat afara. Unii lideri de ghilda, care se cred un fel de zei sau dumnezei ai jocului, au inceput sa faca regulamente si reguli peste reguli, abuzive si ridicole, prin care te obliga, printre altele, sa citesti si sa pastrezi tot felul de mesaje inutile. Romanii din ghilda “Evolutie” le numesc “circulare”, iar cei din strainatate le spun “DNL”-uri (“Do Not Live”). Una dintre circularele idioate ale romanilor se numeste “Piata” si contine exact aceleasi lucruri ca si piata propriu-zisa a jocului, adica cereri si oferte de bunuri. Este, practic, o piata paralela, care nu-ti foloseste la nimic, din moment ce jocul are deja o piata, unde gasesti toate informatiile necesare si unde ai si posibilitatea de cautare eficienta, dupa mai multe criterii. Poti afla, de exemplu, toti jucatorii care vand cafea (ca in imaginea de mai jos) sau pe cei care cumpara portelan.

Jucatori hartuiti

Romanii din ghilda “Evolutie”, care au avut “stralucita” idee de a infiinta prin “circulara” o piata paralela, nu doar ca te streseaza cu cererile si ofertele de bunuri, dar te obliga sa le si pastrezi, sa nu stergi mesajele. Daca ai parasit acele conversatii, incep amenintarile si hartuirile. In ghilda “Evolutie”, hartuitoarea-sefa este numita Nokki, de care am mai pomenit, care trimite frecvent mesaje de amenintare la adresa membrilor care parasesc inutilele conversatii despre schimburile de bunuri, de pe inutila circulara numita “Piata”. Unul dintre jucatori a fost dat afara din ghilda exact pentru acest motiv, pentru ca a sters mesajele din circulara numita “Piata”. Aceleasi amenintari si hartuiri au fost semnalate si in ghildele din alte tari, care folosesc si ele aceleasi tampenii numite “Do Not Live” (DNL), adica nu parasi conversatia. “Parca ar fi in filmele cu prosti – spune un jucator despre aceste reguli. Cum e posibil sa te forteze cineva sa citesti un mesaj pe care nu-l doresti si sa te oblige sa-l mai si pastrezi?”. Exemplu pozitiv la acest capitol este tot ghilda “The Free Market”, unde nu sunt nici circulare, nici DNL-uri. O alta idiotenie este obligatia de “a ajuta” pe cei care au in stadiul de constructie cladiri legendare, desi ajutorul pe care esti obligat sa-l dai nu se mai poate chema “ajutor”, ci “obligatie”, iar spiritul jocului este altul. Ai multe posibilitati sa oferi ajutor celorlalti jucatori, dar ai si ocazia de a obtine recompense pentru ajutorul acordat. De exemplu, daca ajuti pe cineva la construirea unei cladiri legendare, ai posibilitatea sa obtii, ca recompensa, atat puncte si medalii, cat si planuri pentru propriile tale cladiri legendare, planuri fara de care nu le poti construi. Dar numai cei aflati pe primele 4 sau 5 locuri din clasamentul donatorilor pot obtine acele recompense, deci jucatorul trebuie sa aprecieze daca este sau nu oportun sa acorde un ajutor. Insa ghildele te obliga, prin asa-numitele circulare sau DNL-uri, sa acorzi ajutor impotriva vointei tale, chiar si daca nu mai ai posibilitatea sa obtii acea recompensa, bine gandita de fondatorii jocului.

Abuzuri si de la conducerea jocului

Hartuirile si abuzurile din cadrul ghildelor sunt completate si de abuzurile facute de administratorii de joc sau de asa-zisele echipe de sustinere FoE. Daca un idiot dintr-o ghilda te da afara si te mai si raporteaza, vine un alt idiot de la FoE si iti blocheaza direct contul, adica banare permanenta din prima. “Imbecilii astia n-au auzit pe nicaieri ca sanctiunile se aplica in mod gradat? – se intreaba un jucator banat. Civilizat este sa dai mai intai un avertisment, apoi sa aplici o suspendare temporara a contului si doar in mod exceptional sa ajungi la blocarea permanenta a contului. Nu e un joc pe care sa-l termini intr-o ora sau doua, nici intr-o zi sau doua si nici macar intr-o luna sau doua; iti trebuie ani de zile sa-ti dezvolti orasul si sa treci prin toate epocile. Iar dupa ani de eforturi, te trezesti ca vine un cretin din asta de administrator si iti blocheaza permanent contul, pentru niste vorbe de nemultumire, pe care le-ai spus pe buna dreptate. N-ai cum s-o mai iei iar de la capat, de la zero, te apuca sila si nu-ti mai vine decat sa-l dai dracului de joc si sa-ti cauti altul, ca doar sunt atatea jocuri de lupta si strategie”. Cei nemultumiti si-au exprimat convingerea ca nu se vor face demersuri pentru remedierea problemelor ridicate de jucatori, ci se va urmari identificarea celor care au indraznit sa critice, pentru ca tot ei sa fie pedepsiti si dati afara. Acesta este si motivul pentru care, in acest articol, nu a fost dezvaluita identitatea celor care au facut declaratii. Am solicitat si un punct de vedere de la asa-numita Echipa de Suport FoE, de la care am primit un raspuns scris, insa acesta nu contine decat multumiri pentru exprimarea intentiei de a scrie acest articol (vezi imaginea de mai jos). Concluzia jucatorilor a fost ca Forge of Empires s-a transformat intr-o cloaca de palavragii si hartuitori, iar daca nu se vor lua masuri pentru remedierea problemelor (si nu impotriva celor care au semnalat acele probleme), atunci oamenii vor incepe sa plece, rand pe rand, si vor cauta alte jocuri, mai bune. Problemele sesizate sunt cu mult mai multe, insa, din lipsa de spatiu, nu au putut fi cuprinse in intregime in acest articol.

Florin TANASE