I have been struggling with this for the last couple of months.
WIS has been a great joy of mine for several years now. When I returned to the game 5 years ago, I enjoyed the competitive nature and the gameplanning but wanted something more. So, I started writing a blog about Wilkinson 1AA. After six months or so, that bloomed into a website, then a podcast, then others started contributing and it just kind of exploded. This experience has been some of the most fun I've had in a long time. I've thoroughly enjoyed all of the friendships and rivalries I've made over the years.
With that said, I'm going to step away from the game at the conclusion of *next* season in Wilkinson.
I want to list my reasons for leaving, if for nothing else, to just vent through my computer. But hopefully some of you will hear me out and understand.
1. Whether or not you believe Yatzr's tool to be within the rules of the game, it delivered entertainment from me. I was able to check on my conference mates, rivals, upcoming opponents and get an overall feel for how everyone was recruiting. This tool was incredibly useful in contributing media content.
2. Without Yatzr, I simply do not have the time to play this game effectively. Some of you seem to have no issue forking over 5-6 hours during the weekdays, but I can't. My work schedule is just too much and there's no way I can get more than 30 minutes between 7:30am and 5:30 pm on business days.
3. Each world's schedule was changed and there's no plan to fix it. Honestly, this is the biggest screw up from customer service. Each world I picked was based on their schedule. They've no both changed and either I deal with it or pick up another world. Yet, if I move somewhere else, I have to start over from scratch? No thanks.
4. I mean this in the most respectful way possible because I know deep down Seble wants to change things, but as a paying customer, service just down right sucks. Regardless of if this was intentionally done or not, the engine has simply changed at some point in the past several months. I fought this for a while but I can't ignore it any longer. I have no issues with the game changing, but there was absolutely no communication given to us and there's been zero effort to even investigate if anything was changed accidentally. Why am I going to pay continuously for a service that ignores me?
5. There seems to be no plan. When I first started playing GD about a decade ago, there was always a plan. "The next engine will include this fix, or this new feature...etc". We have been waiting for over 5 years for SOMETHING and still don't even have a hint at anything. If there are any planned updates, they need to be communicated. Otherwise, I'm getting the message that WIS/Sportshub are just letting this game go and intend to shut everything down eventually.
I'm writing this because I believe I've been around long enough and contributed enough to this community that Seble and his partners need to pay attention. This game is dying...but it doesn't have to. It could be a very profitable product. Each world has roughly 600 teams. Fill half of them and average $8 a season = $26,400 / mo. I don't know how much your other products bring in, but that seems profitable to be. At least, it seems like something worth saving.
IMO, and other respected members...feel free to chime in with your thoughts. Here's some fixes to stop the bleeding and soon get the worlds to 50% capacity.
1. Fix Yatzr. Pay him what he needs, or hire someone else, or add a replica of the tool to the game. Doesn't matter how...these are just features that close to 70% of the users have enjoyed for years now. While I'm sure it would require some work, I don't think this would take very long. You could stop a majority of your bleeding in a month.
2. Investigate which aspects of the gameplay engine have changed. It's obvious things are different. Either fix this back to the way it used to be, or give us an idea of what exactly has changed.
3. Reach out to respected members of the community. Don't try this alone. We are still well connected with previous members and can bring in new coaches. We have a good grasp of what people want in a game and enough experience to know how to help. Don't leave us in the dark.
4. At the very least, facilitate a discussion on future updates. Maybe these ideas stay on the backburner. Honestly, that's not really important. Just show me and everyone else that you care and aren't just letting the game rot.
Lots of us were excited about the move to Sportshub and while I believe there's definitely some good in it for the site as a whole, the GD community has taken a blow. If these issues are addressed, I will be back. Until I see at least some action, something suggesting that the staff isn't merely keeping the game on life support, I'm out.
It's been a great honor playing with you all. Feel free to sitemail. I'll continue to check in from time to time.