Re: Friends..??? Not available...???

Just found the forums, and day tripping through it, came across this thread post:

https://board-en.risingcities.com/threads/friends.41006/

which then led to the following post:

https://board-en.risingcities.com/threads/friends-list-issues-20-03-2016.40988/

*sighs*

Have to say, this really bites... was looking forward to having my girlfriend, join me up in the game, as a neighbor, only to find out, that this will NEVER happen...

If game developers, truly bother to read the forums... Please... PLEASE, find some way to bring back friends as neighbors... am sure that I am NOT the only 1 unhappy about this...

Outside of that, do find the game to be nicely done...

 

We will pass along your comments to the "Powers that Be"

 

@Mad-Mardigan

Very commendable of you but don't hold your breath...

This game has not seen any kind of improvement in terms of playability for ages. There have been no special events (xmas, easter or whatever else) other than the usual and regular ones, week in, week out.
The game is not quite dead but with such little involvement of late from the developers, it feels more as if someone could pull the plug than actually bringing anything new to it...

By the reading of old threads, it seems some features from the past have been removed and not reintroduced, and the one about having friends/neighbours (What for exactly in the first place? It's not Farmville where you can water someone's fields, is it?) was removed when the game program went from http to https. Pretty sure that if it could have been feasible at the time, that feature would have remained so I don't see why the developers would be tempted/baited to work on this now.

But don't worry, your comments have been passed to "the power that be", who by the way don't seem to have much power or at least very scarcely use it, while this thread will be closed soon for lack of activity or any other reason that will please a mod.
Mods here are very eager to closing threads although you did write yours in English, which is not always the case of others who do not speak a word of it.
It is "funny" when mods strongly insist on players to write in English when themselves have issues writing it properly ("your" is not the same as "you're" for example)...
BigPoint makes the game available in several languages but cut down on the forums in most languages, leaving some players with no other choice than reaching out in their native language in whichever forum is left open. Then they are told to learn English in order to explain adequately what is their problem in the first place, otherwise their threads will be closed and them being threatened with retaliation if they keep doing it.
Lack of empathy + barely any long-lasting solution to anything + appalling service = your simple request is up against a formidable machine of negativity!

Now awaiting for those players to stick their tong up the mods' somewhere and have a proper go at me for my attitude and words (how dare I etc.?), but where are they when others ask assistance and guidance?

In conclusion, I would sincerely love to be proven wrong on all the points aforementioned but I am sadly not holding my breath...

 

Thank you for your comments. I do wish to correct one issue that you are correct that your is not the same as you're - Your is possive pronoun and You're is a contraction for you are. Therefore the use of your is correct in my posting above.

As for us not having no empathy, appalling service, etc. We spend our own time, we are all volunteers after all. We are forced to work within the framework provided. You seem to think we have magical powers and more access than we do. Generally speaking we are working hard to provide the best results we can with in that frame work.

We do not deserve to be berated for being unable to change situations beyond our control.

 

Hi s.c.lynx,

The "your" / "you're" (as an example) mistake did not apply to you in that instance, but I've seen it from other mods who, just as yourself, insist for this sole forum to be only in English and for whom English is their native language, but cannot seem to be able to write it flawlessly (which in turn renders the examplarity of a mod a tad hypocretical). If a player was to use Google Translate for example, as that player was to try to communicate and understand messages, that player wouldn't be able to make sense of the answer given by some moderators in the English language!
If BigPoint is removing some other forums, although keep them to play the game, then it is to be expected that some players will be left on their own and seek advice/report issues here but in their own language, as they might not be able to use English at all.
Closing their unanswered threads and threatening to ban them, is NOT answering their call in the first place! Either BigPoint keep their forums open and moderated accordingly, or leniency is shown.
Can you imagine how it feels for a player who doesnt speak/write English, to reach out to this forum and basically being told "you adjust or else..."? That player (and all others) could well feel targeted for no good reason and leave the game altogether because of such bad experience.
Why can't they use Google Translate (or any other software for that matter)? Well, why can't the mods here do that too?
Yes, you are all volunteers and unpaid to do what you do, but is it the job of a moderator to reject some players simply because BigPoint is removing their original forums and those players are not familiar enough with English to write it?
Isn't it the job of a moderator to accompany ALL players to make them feel part of the "family" (whatever that it in a virtual world where people don't ever meet and use nicknames and avatars)?
Too often do I see in this forum a sense of exasperation from the answers emaning from the mods and this I find to be extremely poor and appalling.
Part of moderating is policing a forum, but policing doesn't mean having a go at some players who are different for no wrong reasons.
If one stops enjoying moderating and have the feeling of having "seen it all before", one can step down. Or rediscover that moderating is providing a service and every service is better perceived when provided with a smile, than with a whip.
My rant had nothing to do with mods having to work within a timeframe at all. Working under pressure doesn't (and never does) excuse being rude to others.
I am ending this with the same hope as my previous post, to be proven wrong on all point, but the simple fact that your own reply (and it being liked by another culprit in that instance) focussed on a tiny point which was not aimed at you in the first place and not the entire picture, make me believe that it will be chosen to "let me boil down and look elsewhere in the meantime" rather than reviewing how customers of BigPoint are handled by the moderating team in the English forum...

 

Elco ,
The mod team are doing their beast to accommodate all the players from the closed forums, also as per my announcement in the official thread https://board-en.risingcities.com/threads/foriegn-language-use-in-this-forum.44892/
we are trying to set up threads for the people coming from these forums that have been closed, however this will take time. We also hve to have personel to
moderate these threads for the appropriate language threads as they are set up
The players can use a translate service to post their concerns as they only have to do this once, where the mods will end up doing this dozens of times and guess which language they need to translate from.
In the meantime your mod team is doing their best to help everyone, it is also the players who can help each other also
Please stay on the topic for this thread thankyou.

 

Google Translate automatically detects a language when you copy/paste it into whichever other language you want, so that it just a small step for all (players and mods) according to the circumstances and I believe I was on point when I first reacted that although Mad-Mardigan's wish is very legit, there was and still is almost no chance at all to see the friends feat being (re)implemented, as those seem to be reduced more and more, including the lack of willingness of some mods to accommodate players from now defunct forums (although very keen on slapping them on the wrist if they don't comply and that is no proper conduct for any mod, even if unpaid and only volunteering).
The game in itself is nice enough, but almost everything around it, leaves a bitter taste in terms of customer satisfaction. With such little interaction with others in the game, the quality of behaviours in the forums is paramount in order to have fun and feel good. I am sorry to say this clearly isn't my case and regretfully nothing seems to improve over time. But you want me to keep quiet...

Now let's see if that friends feat can be reintroduced or not...

 

No we do not want you to keep quiet.
Your mod team has asked about the reinstatement of the friends and so far we have not had a reply, when we do you will be the first to know.

 

I have been playing the game on/off for several years. i.e I joined for the first time five years ago and our family of six hold the mayor-title of as many cities. It would be great to be able to help each other out in times of need. -however, providing materials for a friend in need would probably be almost like cheating, black-market trading and what have you. I guess that is a dilemma that couldn't be solved and hence the feature not made available. However I do share the concern that it is more likely that someone would "pull the plug" on the game rather that develop any new features. At least I have not seen any news for a minimum of two years, and there is a limit as to how far you can get. On one hand I do get the point, that there are limits as to how much more you can develop the game, but oh would it be nice to be surprised one in a while after a month og three of not playing - to log in and get just a little bit lost over all the changes. It doesn't seem to be likely though, and I do fear that one day there will be no where to log in at all. What would I do with my quarterly game addiction then?

 

Many of us agree and would love to see some improvements.