Straight Dope Message Board

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by Labtrash

I was SO hoping that the triffids would at least start walking around, stinging my townsfolk.

What do they do? I just grew a crop and didn't notice anything after completion. What is a triffid? 201

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Mahaloth

What do they do? I just grew a crop and didn't notice anything after completion. What is a triffid?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triffid 202

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by Loach

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triffid

It looks like they earn you ~150 XP. 203

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

Originally Posted by Loach

You can move them around. I do it all the time.

You can move them after placing them? 204

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

Originally Posted by Intergalactic Gladiator

You can move them after placing them?

Nevermind, I figured it out. Thank you come again. 205

[Ravenman]

Originally Posted by Labtrash

Woohoo!

After several attempts to get back on it finally worked. I disabled auto lock, and waited the harp out. After a few tries my town appeared, and Better yet, when it finally did let me back on, it got into a loop with the bonus boxes, and a veritable flood o' donuts was enjoyed !!

Yeah, me too. I turned autolock off, plugged in my iPhone, loaded the game, waited for the harp to start, and then I just left the room. An hour later, I was in the game. Plus I got about 1,000 donuts by playing that game until the game crashed. After that, everything is working fine again.

That 1,000 donut harvest was awesome. 206

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Ravenman

Yeah, me too. I turned autolock off, plugged in my iPhone, loaded the game, waited for the harp to start, and then I just left the room. An hour later, I was in the game. Plus I got about 1,000 donuts by playing that game until the game crashed. After that, everything is working fine again.

That 1,000 donut harvest was awesome.

Damn now I want my game to crash. 207

[Labtrash]

Originally Posted by Loach

Damn now I want my game to crash.

For me it happened at the level-up for Level 26 - I picked a box for my level up donuts, then BOOM, harp city. 208

[pulykamell]

I just started, but if anyone wants to add me, it's the same as my SDMB username: pulykamell. 209

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Labtrash

For me it happened at the level-up for Level 26 - I picked a box for my level up donuts, then BOOM, harp city.

I just did that. There was a little hiccup but no crash. 210

[Labtrash]

Originally Posted by Loach

I just did that. There was a little hiccup but no crash.

Bummer. 211

[even sven]

I'm kejiaflowers, feel free to add me. Having fun so far. 212

[pulykamell]

Well that just sucks. Played it for about 36 hours and now the game is constantly crashing on me. I got a friend request, tried to log in, and then it kept crashing on the update. Reset the phone (iPhone 5). Same thing. Turned it on and off. Same thing. Deleted it and reinstalled it. Hangs at the same place, about 60-ish out of 75 MB into the update on the opening screen. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions? 213

[pulykamell]

Apparently, this is happening to a lot of people. I hope trashing it and reinstalling it didn't kill my city but, if it did, it was only 36 hours in anyway. (I'm hoping the details were saved to the Origin account.) 214

[pulykamell]

Well, back to working. Seems to have been just some sort of hiccup on EA's end that got sorted. 215

[pancakes3]

Yeah, my only gripe about the game is that it takes forever to load and it sometimes very glitchy. It's the biggest reason I don't go to friends' towns as frequently (sorry guys) 216

[Sterling Archer]

I am about to get to the level 26 "gift" -- I was hoping for the frozen harp and 1000 donuts, but it looks like they may have fixed that. Bummer. 217

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

The game has given me the task to collect money from the stores a couple times but it costs a donut to do it. What happens if I ignore this objective? It seems like a waste of a donut, but it also seems like I have to complete these tasks to advance. 218

[Antigen]

Originally Posted by Intergalactic Gladiator

The game has given me the task to collect money from the stores a couple times but it costs a donut to do it. What happens if I ignore this objective? It seems like a waste of a donut, but it also seems like I have to complete these tasks to advance.

I'm pretty sure it only costs a donut if you're trying to speed it up. Just collect money, then wait for it to appear again, collect again... etc. It shouldn't cost a donut. 219

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by even sven

I'm kejiaflowers, feel free to add me. Having fun so far.

I've added you. Did you accept? 220

[Sterling Archer]

I built something cool in my central park area last night. Check out my town (madillma) and let me know what you think. :-)

I can't take full credit, though, it was my son's idea.

I completed level 26, got 3 prize box choices, picked one and it said "Only 1 donut. Pick another one if you want to try for more." So I picked another one and got 3 donuts. Hit "complete" and that was it. No glitch. No 1000 donuts. Ah well. 221

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by Sterling Archer

I built something cool in my central park area last night. Check out my town (madillma) and let me know what you think. :-)

Added you. 222

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by Sterling Archer

I built something cool in my central park area last night. Check out my town (madillma) and let me know what you think. :-)

That is, indeed, pretty cool and not something I would have thought of myself, although now it seems so obvious. 223

[Raza]

Major Update
Downloading now. Adds Wiggum house + Ralph, among other things. 224

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

That is, indeed, pretty cool and not something I would have thought of myself, although now it seems so obvious.

Those of us on Android devices can't see it. Sterling, can you elaborate on what you did?

I made a 3/4 box of hedges around my Jebediah Obadiah Zachariah Jedediah Springfield statue with a bit of river running around that. I have another grassy patch near the river that has trees on it as well -- I started out with trees placed here and there, but I consolidated them so I can watch Skinner bird watching.

For us Android users, we can visit another (apparently generic) town where there is some bridges built for the river. Does anyone have the bridges? They look rather nice. 225

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by Intergalactic Gladiator

Those of us on Android devices can't see it. Sterling, can you elaborate on what you did?

SPOILER:

It's a hedge maze, with a gazebo as one of the centerpieces, as well as an entrance made with the Valentine's archway, as well as the "I-Choo-Choose You" train and some rabbit-shaped bush.

226

[Trion]

Originally Posted by Intergalactic Gladiator

For us Android users, we can visit another (apparently generic) town where there is some bridges built for the river. Does anyone have the bridges? They look rather nice.

If you build a road over a river, it becomes a bridge. 227

[Sterling Archer]

Here's a picture of my hedge maze

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h.../hedgemaze.jpg 228

[Just1Lurk]

Originally Posted by Sterling Archer

Here's a picture of my hedge maze

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h.../hedgemaze.jpg

That's great, Sterling Archer. (Damn, I'd wish I'd thought of that.) 229

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

Originally Posted by Sterling Archer

Here's a picture of my hedge maze

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h.../hedgemaze.jpg

That's tres cool (that means 3 cool). 230

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

Well, I coughed up some cash and bought some donuts. With the donuts, I bought Barney's Bowlorama, the Duff Brewery, the news van, the broken down car, and the Grampa Simpson sign. I got those last three items for the bonuses though I thought that maybe I should have gotten Otto or something else instead but I figure the bonuses are worth it.

I have mixed feelings about paying for bonuses in games like this. On one hand, I've paid to own games before and since I enjoy playing Simpsons, I feel it's worth it to pay for it. On the other hand, I really am not a fan of this model of paying for bonuses for these games. When I bought Madden football, Legend of Zelda, or other PC and console games, I don't buy bonuses for them. Sure there may be expansion packs like Brood War, but there's a finite amount paid for the game -- there's no lingering need to continue paying to get more. 231

[Loach]

So with some of the premium items you get bonus percentages on the money you earn. Some of them are for under 1%. Is it one bonus per item or get you get more if you get multiple copies of the same item? 232

[Sterling Archer]

The donuts seem insanely expensive to me. I mean, if I pay $10 I'd expect to get a nice variety of bonuses, right? $10 lets you buy 132 donuts, which is like ONE special building. Sorry, I'm not going to spend $10 so I can build freaking Lard Lad donuts.

But I won't deny I am slightly tempted by the Golden Scratch-R's. Anyone buying those? 233

[Mithras]

Originally Posted by Sterling Archer

But I won't deny I am slightly tempted by the Golden Scratch-R's. Anyone buying those?

I haven't been playing this game for too long and there are a lot of things about it that make me lean towards giving it up pretty soon. I've no intention of junking the thread up with those things. Except for my impression of the golden scratch-rs.

Until a few days ago there were only the normal scratch-rs and they seemed to pay out pretty decently. Only rarely would I get a one or two bomb ticket and I actually got a jackpot once. The payout seemed high enough that I figured it'd eventually be worthwhile to build the second Kwik-E-Mart. Then there was an update and the golden scratch-rs were added (It was via an update, right?). Every scratch-r now tells you how many donuts you'd have won if you bought a golden one. Additionally, it seems like the odds on the regular tickets were changed so that now it's pretty rare to get a prize that's not one or two bombs. I suspect that the odds between the two ticket types are the same.

My take is that they've altered existing gameplay to squeeze more money from users. I guess EA figures the new ones have 100 donuts and they're golden. They're not giving those up for nothing. 234

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by Sterling Archer

The donuts seem insanely expensive to me. I mean, if I pay $10 I'd expect to get a nice variety of bonuses, right? $10 lets you buy 132 donuts, which is like ONE special building. Sorry, I'm not going to spend $10 so I can build freaking Lard Lad donuts.?

100% agree. I can't believe how much the building cost and how few donuts have been distributed. I have 36 donuts, have spent none(except for the one required) and am on level 12. I mean, come on! 235

[Mithras]

Though doing a bit of research, it appears the odds between the games are actually different and likely the odds on the original scratch-r were not altered. I was either just lucky originally or wasn't paying attention. 236

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

Originally Posted by Loach

So with some of the premium items you get bonus percentages on the money you earn. Some of them are for under 1%. Is it one bonus per item or get you get more if you get multiple copies of the same item?

I'm not certain though I assume that all of the bonue items add up. For an example of the bonus that I get, when I tap the Simpsons house, I get 2 XP instead of 1 and $4 instead of 3. 237

[bauble]

Another Doper looking for friends (and none IRL playing):

Username: baublera

Please and Thank you! 238

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Intergalactic Gladiator

I'm not certain though I assume that all of the bonue items add up. For an example of the bonus that I get, when I tap the Simpsons house, I get 2 XP instead of 1 and $4 instead of 3.

They add up but I was wondering if you can do more than one of each item. The apple tree gives you .5%. If you get two is it 1%?

One of the towns I visit is very creative. One of the things he does is a pacman theme done washing machines and shrubs. 239

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

Originally Posted by Loach

They add up but I was wondering if you can do more than one of each item. The apple tree gives you .5%. If you get two is it 1%?

One of the towns I visit is very creative. One of the things he does is a pacman theme done washing machines and shrubs.

I don't know about that but it's a good question. So far I haven't found a FAQ or anything yet, but I haven't been looking to hard either. 240

[Sterling Archer]

Originally Posted by Mithras

Until a few days ago there were only the normal scratch-rs and they seemed to pay out pretty decently. Only rarely would I get a one or two bomb ticket and I actually got a jackpot once. The payout seemed high enough that I figured it'd eventually be worthwhile to build the second Kwik-E-Mart. Then there was an update and the golden scratch-rs were added (It was via an update, right?). Every scratch-r now tells you how many donuts you'd have won if you bought a golden one. Additionally, it seems like the odds on the regular tickets were changed so that now it's pretty rare to get a prize that's not one or two bombs. I suspect that the odds between the two ticket types are the same.

My take is that they've altered existing gameplay to squeeze more money from users. I guess EA figures the new ones have 100 donuts and they're golden. They're not giving those up for nothing.

Don't make the mistake of building multiple Kwik-E-Marts. I also thought I could get more Scratch-R's with lots of Kwik-E-Marts so I built 4 of them. You still only get 1 Scratch-R every 4 hours. Once you click on 1 Kwik-E-Mart, the other Scratch-R icons will all disappear.

I think the odds are still the same. I still win often on the regular scratch-r's. I don't know if I trust that the odds will still be the same on golden ones though. 241

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by Sterling Archer

Don't make the mistake of building multiple Kwik-E-Marts. I also thought I could get more Scratch-R's with lots of Kwik-E-Marts so I built 4 of them. You still only get 1 Scratch-R every 4 hours. Once you click on 1 Kwik-E-Mart, the other Scratch-R icons will all disappear.

I think the odds are still the same. I still win often on the regular scratch-r's. I don't know if I trust that the odds will still be the same on golden ones though.

Does anyone have an idea of what the odds might be? I have yet to win the jackpot on the regular scratch-offs, and I think I only hit the second prize once out of maybe 30 tries or so.

Also, is it just me or does this game have terrible touch location accuracy? Whenever I'm moving things around, even when I'm totally zoomed in, it feels like half the time it doesn't select the object that I want, even though the objects are not in any way overlapping or anything. 242

[Sterling Archer]

I think some of that is purposeful. If you move an object, you'll notice when you first pick it up it is accurate. But if after putting it down you try to grab it again and adjust it, the game will assume you meant to grab another object nearby. So it cycles through all the possible nearby objects until it finally decides "Oh I guess he really does want that one he's pointing to." It probably does this so you can grab items obscured by other items, but it is a clumsy implementation. 243

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Sterling Archer

I think some of that is purposeful. If you move an object, you'll notice when you first pick it up it is accurate. But if after putting it down you try to grab it again and adjust it, the game will assume you meant to grab another object nearby. So it cycles through all the possible nearby objects until it finally decides "Oh I guess he really does want that one he's pointing to." It probably does this so you can grab items obscured by other items, but it is a clumsy implementation.

You can hide categories of items which makes it easier to move stuff. I have never tried to do it on a phone, just my iPad. Its not that hard on a big screen. 244

[Loach]

Originally Posted by Intergalactic Gladiator

I don't know about that but it's a good question. So far I haven't found a FAQ or anything yet, but I haven't been looking to hard either.

When I get around to it I'll post it on the game's message board. 245

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

Does anyone have an idea of what the odds might be? I have yet to win the jackpot on the regular scratch-offs, and I think I only hit the second prize once out of maybe 30 tries or so.

I don't know the odds, but I won 10,000 yesterday in the regular jackpot. It took about 30-40 attempts. 246

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by Loach

You can hide categories of items which makes it easier to move stuff. I have never tried to do it on a phone, just my iPad. Its not that hard on a big screen.

Yeah, I've used that, but sometimes it still is a bitch to me when I want to pick up a bush and move it around. 247

[Loach]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

Yeah, I've used that, but sometimes it still is a bitch to me when I want to pick up a bush and move it around.

You on the phone or iPad? With my aging eyes I don't know if I could handle it on the phone. 248

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by Loach

You on the phone or iPad? With my aging eyes I don't know if I could handle it on the phone.

iPhone. I pinch and zoom in, and it sometimes takes me three times before it selects what I meant it to select. I don't have fat fingers or anything like that. I've never noticed this level of irritation at the accuracy of where I'm touching on the screen with other iPhone apps. 249

[Mahaloth]

I play on an Ipod touch and don't have a problem. 250