Add me to the list of those missing long-time gem trading friends. My friend list is also down to 100 exactly, many of the ones left on the list have not played for years, & the missing ones are (of course) the active ones.. My iPad is iOS 9 , my iPhone 11.2, those friends are missing from both. I have not added anyone from Facebook & will not. It's making me very sad to feel as though we Facebook non-users are being forced out of our game. Sending another email to BFS, although it appears they have no plans to help us out.
Add me to the list of those missing long-time gem trading friends. My friend list is also down to 100 exactly, many of the ones left on the list have not played for years, & the missing ones are (of course) the active ones.. My iPad is iOS 9 , my iPhone 11.2, those friends are missing from both. I have not added anyone from Facebook & will not. It's making me very sad to feel as though we Facebook non-users are being forced out of our game. Sending another email to BFS, although it appears they have no plans to help us out.
I just checked, you are still in my friends list and did not disappear. Am I still in your list ? Vivipilou is y GC ID.
Post by ChemNerdTwin on Jan 17, 2018 7:01:16 GMT -6
The strange one for me is magpac. I have him in gc and Facebook. He gave me a gem that I’m working on paying off and now he’s grey. But when I go to my friends list he’s there. Hmmmm
Pa still have Vip and vivipoliu
Last Edit: Jan 17, 2018 7:02:24 GMT -6 by ChemNerdTwin
GCID chemnerd 99 (You need a space) TEAM Hidden Bolt
Looking for party hat friends. Pm me for Facebook Id.
The strange one for me is magpac. I have him in gc and Facebook. He gave me a gem that I’m working on paying off and now he’s grey. But when I go to my friends list he’s there. Hmmmm
Arkynos , just to further your Xfiles paranoia, do you think the buy out is faltering? Cos DVW is tanking, from the participation reports here and in my three DVW park friends time logs. Do game like this have a limited lifespan? It's my first, so I'm not very up on this type of thing; I guess I thought/hoped it would keep on going as it seems to have such a large following, but maybe it's all (most things seem to be) about the bottom line?
So I've played a couple of games that have reached an end. The short answer is that yes, they do. The longer answer is that it depends. Let me preface this by saying that I have serious anxiety issues and worry about very low chance outcomes of things, so my concerns should be taken with a pinch (or more) of salt.
So, game entropy is a well known thing. After a game launches, it has its initial player base, from which it grows to a maximum and then diminishes over time. People come back with major updates, and then drop off again. Over time there's diminishing returns, less people coming back for the updates and player base trends to decline. When that happens, there's less income, so devs are let go or reassigned to other projects. Updates get less frequent until they stop. The game can stabilise around a core player base at that point and go on for quite some time. Ultima Online is still active and getting updated 20 odd years after launch. But at the point where the server and database costs are higher than the income, they tend to close. Gizmonauts had this happen last year. It can be difficult to tell how long it will continue. One game I played had the slow tail effect, another seemed to stop rather abruptly.
It may be pessimistic, but I think we're probably somewhere over halfway on the cycle if BFS think an in game friending system is too big a task to develop. I may be wrong, it may be that it'd require a colossal code rewrite and they'd rather focus on other things seeing as Facebook still works as the system. I'm not worried about the buyout particularly, except in that it may be driving potential reassignment to work on other properties. I started worrying about game lifespan when DVW appeared, but its problems may be to the benefit of DV prime; it's less likely to be extensively cannibalising the DV prime playerbase. It won't help dev-wise though: I suspect that if the DVW devs are moved it will be elsewhere rather than to here.
Having said all that, Dragonvale does appear fairly vital considering its age. Mobile games in particular seem to lose their playerbase quickly. But DV still looks fairly active, and (if I pull myself out of the anxiety pit for a minute) while I am expecting more slowdown, I don't think the end is actually nigh. In any case, I'm resolved to enjoy the time left, whether it's 12 hours, 12 days, 12 months or 12 years.
Apologies for this and a few other downer posts I've made recently. I'm blaming winter.
Arkynos , just to further your Xfiles paranoia, do you think the buy out is faltering? Cos DVW is tanking, from the participation reports here and in my three DVW park friends time logs. Do game like this have a limited lifespan? It's my first, so I'm not very up on this type of thing; I guess I thought/hoped it would keep on going as it seems to have such a large following, but maybe it's all (most things seem to be) about the bottom line?
So I've played a couple of games that have reached an end. The short answer is that yes, they do. The longer answer is that it depends. Let me preface this by saying that I have serious anxiety issues and worry about very low chance outcomes of things, so my concerns should be taken with a pinch (or more) of salt.
So, game entropy is a well known thing. After a game launches, it has its initial player base, from which it grows to a maximum and then diminishes over time. People come back with major updates, and then drop off again. Over time there's diminishing returns, less people coming back for the updates and player base trends to decline. When that happens, there's less income, so devs are let go or reassigned to other projects. Updates get less frequent until they stop. The game can stabilise around a core player base at that point and go on for quite some time. Ultima Online is still active and getting updated 20 odd years after launch. But at the point where the server and database costs are higher than the income, they tend to close. Gizmonauts had this happen last year. It can be difficult to tell how long it will continue. One game I played had the slow tail effect, another seemed to stop rather abruptly.
It may be pessimistic, but I think we're probably somewhere over halfway on the cycle if BFS think an in game friending system is too big a task to develop. I may be wrong, it may be that it'd require a colossal code rewrite and they'd rather focus on other things seeing as Facebook still works as the system. I'm not worried about the buyout particularly, except in that it may be driving potential reassignment to work on other properties. I started worrying about game lifespan when DVW appeared, but its problems may be to the benefit of DV prime; it's less likely to be extensively cannibalising the DV prime playerbase. It won't help dev-wise though: I suspect that if the DVW devs are moved it will be elsewhere rather than to here.
Having said all that, Dragonvale does appear fairly vital considering its age. Mobile games in particular seem to lose their playerbase quickly. But DV still looks fairly active, and (if I pull myself out of the anxiety pit for a minute) while I am expecting more slowdown, I don't think the end is actually nigh. In any case, I'm resolved to enjoy the time left, whether it's 12 hours, 12 days, 12 months or 12 years.
Apologies for this and a few other downer posts I've made recently. I'm blaming winter.
Don’t be sorry. Sad you struggle with anxiety but always glad when I see I am not alone in my struggles. Catastrophizing Hmmm such a big word for worrying but apparently I do this 😊.
Thank you for sharing that bit about yourself 😊🤗. Joining with you in blaming the winter and praying for an earlier sunnier Summer 😊 🌞
With the demise of game centre I just started in FB to be able to friend people from this forum and join in on the fun. Please message me if you want to send a friend request so I know to watch for you😊, I never check FB otherwise. I'm deleting random requests way too many of those 😮.
So I've played a couple of games that have reached an end. The short answer is that yes, they do. The longer answer is that it depends. Let me preface this by saying that I have serious anxiety issues and worry about very low chance outcomes of things, so my concerns should be taken with a pinch (or more) of salt.
So, game entropy is a well known thing. After a game launches, it has its initial player base, from which it grows to a maximum and then diminishes over time. People come back with major updates, and then drop off again. Over time there's diminishing returns, less people coming back for the updates and player base trends to decline. When that happens, there's less income, so devs are let go or reassigned to other projects. Updates get less frequent until they stop. The game can stabilise around a core player base at that point and go on for quite some time. Ultima Online is still active and getting updated 20 odd years after launch. But at the point where the server and database costs are higher than the income, they tend to close. Gizmonauts had this happen last year. It can be difficult to tell how long it will continue. One game I played had the slow tail effect, another seemed to stop rather abruptly.
It may be pessimistic, but I think we're probably somewhere over halfway on the cycle if BFS think an in game friending system is too big a task to develop. I may be wrong, it may be that it'd require a colossal code rewrite and they'd rather focus on other things seeing as Facebook still works as the system. I'm not worried about the buyout particularly, except in that it may be driving potential reassignment to work on other properties. I started worrying about game lifespan when DVW appeared, but its problems may be to the benefit of DV prime; it's less likely to be extensively cannibalising the DV prime playerbase. It won't help dev-wise though: I suspect that if the DVW devs are moved it will be elsewhere rather than to here.
Having said all that, Dragonvale does appear fairly vital considering its age. Mobile games in particular seem to lose their playerbase quickly. But DV still looks fairly active, and (if I pull myself out of the anxiety pit for a minute) while I am expecting more slowdown, I don't think the end is actually nigh. In any case, I'm resolved to enjoy the time left, whether it's 12 hours, 12 days, 12 months or 12 years.
Apologies for this and a few other downer posts I've made recently. I'm blaming winter.
Don’t be sorry. Sad you struggle with anxiety but always glad when I see I am not alone in my struggles. Catastrophizing Hmmm such a big word for worrying but apparently I do this 😊.
Thank you for sharing that bit about yourself 😊🤗. Joining with you in blaming the winter and praying for an earlier sunnier Summer 😊 🌞
I'm in the A club too 😊 traceable back to early childhood (common) and genetic inheritance; when I need to climb out of the pit I remind myself of all I have to be thankful for, compared to millions in the world. I've also developed a personal 'making sense of it'; I think of my time here as being in 'the schoolyard', here to learn and grow. One of my NYR this year is to try to be KIND. I find I am really liking that word, so I keep it flashing away (when I remember lol). Doesn't imply 'tolerance' which I am suspicious of, but moving from grumpy to kind as often as I can. Tai chi is helping too. 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞 to all feeling a bit ☄☄☄☄
Yay, proud owner of Island 21! And, still one wish saved. Of course I still need islands 16, 17, 19, 20 and the gargantuan, but the eternal optimist (however small that part is) is waiting for an expansion sale, lol.
Add me to the list of those missing long-time gem trading friends. My friend list is also down to 100 exactly, many of the ones left on the list have not played for years, & the missing ones are (of course) the active ones.. My iPad is iOS 9 , my iPhone 11.2, those friends are missing from both. I have not added anyone from Facebook & will not. It's making me very sad to feel as though we Facebook non-users are being forced out of our game. Sending another email to BFS, although it appears they have no plans to help us out.
I just checked, you are still in my friends list and did not disappear. Am I still in your list ? Vivipilou is y GC ID.
Post by ChemNerdTwin on Jan 17, 2018 21:21:54 GMT -6
Ok. These are the forumites that I can’t return gems to. Maybe those who haven’t upgraded are getting dropped. Let’s see if we can figure it out. I’m fully compliant with latest iOS.
Onejoeblogg Vin0phile Shandalee nogard Skeeter622 Kiwichris01 Bluegoofybird. But I do have redgoofybird
What do these guys have in common
GCID chemnerd 99 (You need a space) TEAM Hidden Bolt
Looking for party hat friends. Pm me for Facebook Id.
Ok. These are the forumites that I can’t return gems to. Maybe those who haven’t upgraded are getting dropped. Let’s see if we can figure it out. I’m fully compliant with latest iOS.
Onejoeblogg Vin0phile Shandalee nogard Skeeter622 Kiwichris01 Bluegoofybird. But I do have redgoofybird
What do these guys have in common
I can still gift you, you're in both my gift and friend lists via GC, I'm on ios9 series ie not latest iOS, am on latest FB iteration ( we could try a FB link, which, if it's not possible, as w me and fridaytheparrot would prove my techy' thesis)
Last Edit: Jan 17, 2018 23:24:28 GMT -6 by Kiwichris
Post by ChemNerdTwin on Jan 17, 2018 23:38:13 GMT -6
Kiwi. Your Not on my list anymore. But I’m on yours?? It gotta be a iOS thing.
Shandlee nogard actually is. Also missing justjenn but I have junk4jenn. Missing bluegoofybird but have shadowylilbird, redgoofybird and Black goofy bird. Missing (olds1, Hyders outrage and grannydebs.
GCID chemnerd 99 (You need a space) TEAM Hidden Bolt
Looking for party hat friends. Pm me for Facebook Id.
Kiwi. Your Not on my list anymore. But I’m on yours?? It gotta be a iOS thing.
Shandlee nogard actually is. Also missing justjenn but I have junk4jenn. Missing bluegoofybird but have shadowylilbird, redgoofybird and Black goofy bird. Missing (olds1, Hyders outrage and grannydebs.
Weird; I think it's a combo of old iOS and new FB, and the connections becoming difficult
After reset, when I opened the game, ALL of my GC friends were gone! 😱 I have less than 30, only 5 actively play. I glanced down to the bottom of the social menu to make sure I was still logged into GC, and I was, and was also logged into FB. I decided I would log out of both, then back in, but I only got as far as FB and all my friends came back.
I have had this problem with DVW for months now. It was fixed briefly after one update, but broke again after the next. When I open DVW I have to restart it immediately to see both GC and FB friends. If I do not do that, I only see FB friends.
So, if so many other people were not also having this issue, I would think it was bad karma for saying that I wasn't having it, lol.
Post by ChemNerdTwin on Jan 19, 2018 1:52:25 GMT -6
Ok solved it. But it’s really painful. Really really REALLY painful. You need a device running ios9 or earlier that can still get to Game Center and see your friends. Newest update limits you to 100 friends that count. They are ranked by points in Game Center. You have to delete friends (cry) to get those who are ranked over 100. I had cross listing of my known friends and how active they are in dragonvale vs not playing at all and it was horrible but I deleted enough that my regular gem partners showed up. Note you need an old phone/device to do this. Apple is a(insert bad Word) Cry. If I’m gone from your friend list I’m soooo sorry. Pm me for Facebook ID. I’m going to go ugly cry now.
Last Edit: Jan 19, 2018 1:55:06 GMT -6 by ChemNerdTwin
GCID chemnerd 99 (You need a space) TEAM Hidden Bolt
Looking for party hat friends. Pm me for Facebook Id.
Oh well done you sleuth! But so sad for those with loooong friends lists who will lose so many. Between Apple and new style BFS it's enough to turn one off tech entirely 😔
Maybe it's only painful for us older folk who are from the loyalty generation, I think younger folk grew up without that ethos and therefore without those expectations and attachments... Probably more realistic... Nothing altruistic about those driven to make mega bucks
Last Edit: Jan 19, 2018 3:48:19 GMT -6 by Kiwichris
just a note that an OS update bricked my server, so i've had to pave the disk and am reinstalling everything. the dragonvale sandbox website will be down for a little while, sorry.
Posts: 269
Platform: Android Accepting New Gifts: No new Gem-Friends at the moment, but new friends (nessa.vivien) for coop via fb are always appreciated. :-)
just a note that an OS update bricked my server, so i've had to pave the disk and am reinstalling everything. the dragonvale sandbox website will be down for a little while, sorry.
Thanks for the information, was wondering already. Good look reinstalling. Sorry you have to do this.
Edit: Waiiiiit a second, I was waiting for another 1/2 price islands sale. How dare you distract me with shiny blue orbs and blue fire.
Last Edit: Jan 19, 2018 8:53:54 GMT -6 by Deleted
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