New Release -- December 22nd, 2009 - UPDATE

[JAS0643]

I personally want the faster (queuing) of the work. I do not like the idea of only one worker but I could live with that if:

1. It means others will not lose xps and coins when they work.
2. It is just temporary until you find a fix for those that lose xps and coins.

Here are the reasons I don't want it permanently limited to one worker.

1. I have a farm that is all crops and usually hire 2 to 4 workers to harvest which I think is very fair.
2. There are groups that are friends that like to have harvest parties at each others farms and the limit will stop that from happening.
3. This one may seem petty but here it is. There are some that are greedy and do not the fact that others are hired to work with them, (I'm not talking about the cases of 10 people being hired for 200 fields) so to have a limit of 1 worker lets them get their way and I do not like the idea of them winning that debate.
4. If people would watch what others are doing and not try to run all over each other there wouldn't be a great need for a fix.
   

So given the choice of the way you put it tonight or limit of one worker I vote for one worker.

[theoxman]

Raul...

Thanks for uninstalling the latest release. My compliments on doing so. It is appreciated fer sure.

My feeling is that the old way was better. There just isn't a perfect solution. Even by slashkey admissions this new release only solved 70% of the lost xp problems anyway.

I don't think limiting the number of harvesters/plowers will work. That can be done but I always have the option of leaving a job if there are too many people.

Thanks again for backing out the new release. I appreciate that.

I sent you this in a private message earlier but I'm an application developer and would be happy to serve in a group that does user/acceptance testing. Just a thought.

[janisko]

Thank you! In addition to going back to the old way while you work on a better "fix," why not give us a fire tool to get rid of inappropriate employees. We've been asking for this tool for a VERY long time and need a way to get people off our farms when they are spoiling the experience.

If someone wants to hire too many people that is their business and their farm. There is nothing forcing us to stay and work when there are too many people working. We can always leave.

The more experienced players do understand that any more than one or two people working is too many. I don't even plant until everything is complete because I know it slows down my workers.

Let's all be courteous and think about our employees and not just ourselves.

[ribvalred]

Originally Posted by scarecrow moe™

Yes, 1 person harvesting/plowing is a good idea. Or the way it was before, but maybe add an option for the person hiring to either boot or warn by means of a strike anyone who gets out of line, like the people who just start clicking randomly where others are working in a straight line. 3 strikes, you're on the bench or reported or something, maybe even have it where it shows everyone else which people have gotten strikes so they can choose not to hire that person in the future. Or maybe set it up so wherever a person starts working, they can only work in a straght line till they collide with someone else, then they are finished. But this slow down that is happening now is just too slow. And for the people who just can't keep up or go as fast as others, well, they either need to upgrade their 10 year old pcs, or get a faster internet speed than dial up, or just simply practice to learn to click faster & more accurately than the more experienced people. Maybe there's a way to have different marketplaces for those with dial up, then they are all in their own room together and won't have conflicts with the vast majority of users on hi-speed connections.

Personally I like the idea of having only 1 person working at a time. Maybe you could share with us the reasons you think this would cause problems so we can put our heads together & come up with possible solutions or alternatives. Many heads are better than 1.

Good points! We're gonna give it till the new year and if not undone we're giving farmtown the boot, and back to club pogo!

[The Spicy Pickle]

I like some of the new changes...like the new graphics and functionality. Thanks for taking the time to update and make the positive changes you have been. Most appreciated! It's nice to know you guys are willing to improve!

I like the idea of only allowing one (or two) people per farm on a hire. I think that's great really and it gives a person a chance to get some real coin and xp. Perhaps then we wont have to keep going to the marketplace for new jobs if we get what we need at one or two farms.

But....please yes do go back to the old way of being able to que up the plots while harvesting and plowing. It really makes the game go by so much faster and less of a 'chore' to do the work. For some of us it's 'fun' to see how fast we can get a farm done....and it's great for the hiring farmer too!

Thanks again.....

Peace Out

[LunaDementia]

Yes, 1 person harvesting/plowing is a good idea. Or the way it was before, but maybe add an option for the person hiring to either boot or warn by means of a strike anyone who gets out of line, like the people who just start clicking randomly where others are working in a straight line. 3 strikes, you're on the bench or reported or something,

OK....reality check...now you want to tell people HOW to harvest?? Is everyone forgetting this is a game?

Look...If I want to hire only one person, I'll hire only one....if I want to hire 3 I'll hire 3. That should be my choice. I agree with the person who said if people get hired with more people than they want to work with, then they can leave. What happened to personal responsibility. As for those with slower connections/computers, well, that's life. With any game, some will have advantages. Should I be penalized because I may click faster or have a faster connection? Why not just give different colored jumpers to those who only want to work alone. Then they can decide and I know not to hire them. But as for a few people who want to work by themselves, I should not have to play the game just the way THEY want it played.

I appreciate the work of the devs and the moderators and everything they do to make this game better, but I do think sometimes they give a little too much weight to the opinions of those who just want to control how everyone else plays. We don't need a fire button....just block that person and don't hire them again. We don't need to be told how many people to hire...people can work for us or not as they choose. We don't need someone dictating which pattern we click in when we harvest. I think a lot of these players are new to online games and even chat, and they take this stuff waaay too seriously. You will NEVER be able to control strangers in a game. It doesn't work like that.

Ok...rant over....I'm very happy the game is going back to the old format. Thanks Farmtown....love you guys )

[ElkRiverRancher]

Originally Posted by Raul

Hi There,

We have been monitoring you feedback and most likely we will be reverting to the old version early tomorrow and try to find a better compromise.

One of the alternatives that we considered was to only allow one worker harvesting and one worker plowing on your farm at the same time. This was also suggested by several other users on the other thread, however we thought that was going to be even more problematic.

Please provide some feedback about this other alternative on this thread, or if you rather prefer the way it was before, unlimited hiring, faster work but more potential for collisions and lost coins/XP.

thanks

--Raul

Well, all I can say is, Thank Heavens! The 22nd was my birthday ... and I was thinking, 'What a terrible BD surprise, the 'new' version of FT is!'

Frankly, I thought the version working on Dec 21, where coins and xp were added to the player's totals as they clicked, instead of as the plot cleared, was fabulous! I never saw any loss of coins or xp in any of my playing, no matter how many hired hands were working with me. I heard others complain about 'not getting' their coins/xp; but when I pointed out they should watch their totals, and notice that the totals were indeed increasing as they clicked, they did so watch, and did so observe that they were not 'losing' coins, or xp, at all!

I personally thought that farmers who hired 10 workers to harvest a farm, whether it was a 14 x 14 or a 24 x 24, and then also hired another 10 to plow the same farm at the same time, were doing so to be entertained by the 'commotion' - but I always felt empowered, and intelligent enough, to just leave any such employment scene! I also felt e & i enough to just leave, if a farmer hired one player to harvest and another to plow, instead of hiring two (or more) to harvest, and waiting until all the crops that were ready were harvested before hiring the same players to plow, thus allowing both to share in the coins and xp. But, I considered it the farmer's perogative to hire as they pleased .... and my perogative to leave the employment if the farmer's style didn't suit my delicate sense of fair play! lol

Sometimes, trying to please all the players all the time just results in everyone being dissatisfied! I personally think the only 'new' version needed is to include a 'you're fired!' menu offering! And, trust me, such a button might indeed be used without justification by some farmers ... but hey, I'm smart enough to not accept employment a second time by the farmers who 'get a kick' out of a confused mess of hired hands, so I believe I'd be smart enough to refuse employment from a farmer who hired and fired 'for fun'. And I'm sure other players are equally smart!

[shiylo]

Hello developers I am in agreement with the people who hate the changes at level 60+ and millions of dollars it has taken the challenge out of the game made it more for the younger or people who don’t like a challenge seems these changes are to keep people in their place instead of having fun as for myself I have never lost a dollar or an xp the game was a blast now it take forever to do a harvest or plow and everything is on top of everything to me this game is now a dud.. hard to see with the huge tools and words flying all over the avatar right on top of everything not to mention it feels like your under someone’s thumb not this girl I will be finding another game seems the game has had a lot of creativity taken out of it along with the challenge of it humm could be a meany phoo but why you all know why the changes. I know what your saying the changes are for but those of us who play the game hard know better. People make things up so it looks better well it looks worse and the play has gone out of it thanks for what was a grand game it really is to bad it was the best game out their till now…The game has now become so pathetic!Also the data on your top right corner is totaly incorrect just so you know also the data on the left side...

[beviam]

Old Program vs the New Program.

I like certain aspects of both versions.

I think the bigger Issue is the Server Timed Out.

I have lost coins and XP points on both versions.

But, I must say, the times I have lost these , is because I have had the Server Time Out on me.
There is nothing more frustrating than harvest or plowing a complete field ,
then have the server time out on you.
Then you get nothing for all your time.

[meinhardt76]

I wanted to reply about old version vs new. I like the idea of one person harvest and one person plow. I dont know why so many people are in such a hury that they have to hire so many others which causes so many problems. I hire one person to do both and i get really good feedback. There is anouther problem i need to bring up. I was booted out of almost every harvest/plow job tonight. During the process of working, the system reset and sent me to the farmtown load page i lost the work and could'nt appologize to the person who hired me which was also frustrating. My husband who also is on ft as jammer, couldnt even get his aviator to function correctly and lost coins+exp because as he was workin he wasnt gettin any of either. Thank you for trying to make this game more enjoyable and also for listening to us, the people.