Board setup question?

[doug49r]

Dear USM dev team,

I have been playing Catan Universe for a few weeks and there is something that I don't understand. In the Auto Match and Free Match games the tile types (Trees, Brick, etc) are randomized whch is OK and follows the rules in the board game version. The problem is that the dice tokens are also randomized which does NOT follow board game rules. I have played several games now where a third of the board is unplayable. There might be two 3's, a 2 and two 11's grouped together next to the desert. This 1/3 of the board has no chance of being useful during the game. If you're in a 4 player game one or two players have virtually no chance of winning. If the dice tokens were set up according to the board game rules there would be at least one decent hex every player could get to.

My recommendation: Could you please use the standard dice token setup for all games to make the board more playable? Make randomized dice tokens an option under the Custom match game.

Thanks for your consideration.

[Stroom]

This has been asked hundreds of times and the answer has always been "We talked with Catan GmbH and decided to do it this way." And they have turned a blind eye at this issue ever since. The whole game development team is ignorant like that and there is really nothing you can do. Only constant massive negative criticism on all public social networks might cause something to change.

[Narkulus]

Originally posted by Stroom:

Only constant massive negative criticism on all public social networks might cause something to change.

Actually only a massive loss of income might cause something to change. The problem with that is, it's Catan, and players are going to keep buying into it regardless of its shortcomings and negative reviews due to the overall easy access and simplicity of the game. If you look at other more complicated and more strategic titles such as Through the Ages and Race for the Galaxy, those had to be top notch implementations to sell in order to attract the smaller pool of more hardcore players that are available, and they were in fact top notch implementations. Only a change of heart at the core of the company might change things, but I'm afraid bean counters are probably running the show.

[Stroom]

Catan Universe is a pay-once-play-forever service. After you have payed for the base game and expansions, there is no real incentive for the developers to create anything new or to fix bugs. You are not going to pay anymore money for it. Eventually, the amount of new players will be small enough that it is not worth it anymore. I'd say it is already like that because development times have become even slower than they were a year ago.

Oh and the public number advertised in Catan Universe Facebook base was that each day, 28000 hours of Catan are played. Which is actually quite a small number IMO.

[doug49r]

I'm going to keep hoping they do something to improve the game play. They also said in an earlier reply that Explorers and Pirates would be forthcoming. When PlayCatan ends on May 31st there will be a whole new group of players looking to keep playing under Catan Universe like I am. I have been the test person for my family and friends that use PlayCatan online. They are waiting for my evaluation before they take the leap into loading Steam and buying CU. We have other online games we play and this version of Catan may have to wait or fall out of favor. : (

I am going to keep posting issues as they come up and hope USM dev can address them in the future. I never want to just complain without providing a solution. Thanks for your comments.

[Narkulus]

Originally posted by Stroom:

Catan Universe is a pay-once-play-forever service. After you have payed for the base game and expansions, there is no real incentive for the developers to create anything new or to fix bugs. You are not going to pay anymore money for it. Eventually, the amount of new players will be small enough that it is not worth it anymore. I'd say it is already like that because development times have become even slower than they were a year ago.

Oh and the public number advertised in Catan Universe Facebook base was that each day, 28000 hours of Catan are played. Which is actually quite a small number IMO.

Are you suggesting that they should have went a subscription plan route. I'd probably be out if that were the case as I have more than enough monthly bills. Maybe if they had a free banner ad version I might still play.

[Stroom]

I am suggesting that this game is not profitable in the long run. They can promise to create more expansions etc but I am pretty sure they will not be able to do it due to their monetization tactic.

[Narkulus]

Originally posted by Stroom:

I am suggesting that this game is not profitable in the long run. They can promise to create more expansions etc but I am pretty sure they will not be able to do it due to their monetization tactic.

But as lackluster as the update efforts and this port is, I'll still probably buy whatever Pirates or Mermaids expansion they come out with. As a game, Catan shouldn't work as well as it does with the high amount of luck required to win on level ground, but the mechanics of the game scratch a certain itch that it's hard to put my finger on and I want to keep coming back. That's why they can get away with being mediocre on the digital front, a lot of people want the ability to play when friends aren't around and they're willing to look over the glaring shortcomings.

[Stroom]

But PlayCatan was so much better! At everything. There were hardly any complaints back then. Now there are constant bug fixes and game freezes every week.

You should not be happy with a bad service. You should not be trying to apologize for the mistakes of the developers when they would need criticism.

[Narkulus]

Originally posted by Stroom:

But PlayCatan was so much better! At everything. There were hardly any complaints back then. Now there are constant bug fixes and game freezes every week.

You should not be happy with a bad service. You should not be trying to apologize for the mistakes of the developers when they would need criticism.

Sadly I never got to try PlayCatan, something about it turned me away a long time ago and I'm not sure, but I think it was maybe a paywall or subscription of some sort.

I wouldn't categorize myself as someone aplogizing for them, but trying to rationalize why the digital side of the business is so poorly executed. I have critisized, but also defended them on statements that I felt were a little over the top.

One of the most successful board games ever created deserves a better digital port no doubt, but I'm afraid they probably don't feel like it's an important side of their business when the card board version sells so well.