New Update 7/20/2014: Lots of Big & Little Changes!
Greetings Pit Masters!
You'll want to pay close attention to the following post as some significant changes have taken place regarding the game.
ECONOMY CHANGE
The in-game value of a trophy has been decreased by a factor of X and in response all trophy account balances (and the costs of goods) have been increased by a factor of X thus nullifying the decrease. For example:
Let X = 40.
If the cost for an apple was 1 it would now be 40, and likewise if your account balance was 10 it is now 400. Before the change you could have bought 10 apples (10 x 1 = 10), and after the update you can still buy 10 apples (10 x 40 = 400).
A real in-game example: The old price to cycle items at the Blacksmith was 1 trophy. It is now 15 trophies instead of 40 which means it now costs 62.5% less than before.
EDIT: I changed the values in the above example and added more info to prevent further confusion.
Why was this done? Before this change the lowest amount of trophies something could cost or be rewarded was 1 when in fact sometimes I would have liked it to be 1/2 of 1 or 1/10 of 1 or 1/5 of 1, etc. This change now allows me to do that. It offers greater flexibility in the ability to price things and rewards.
PRICE CHANGES
In addition to the above change, prices have also changed on some things. Some have been increased and some have been drastically decreased. Why was this done? This was done for numerous reasons. One being with the above change it offered more flexibility at the low end allowing for price points below what used to be 1 trophy. Another reason is in the past three years my operational costs have increased significantly mainly due to an increase in marketing costs. Depending on what ad network is used it is now 300%-1000% more expensive to get someone to try out the game, and that of course doesn't mean they will end up supporting it. Up until now I attempted to subsidize this increase in costs myself without changing anything in the game, but unfortunately I am no longer able to do that. A classic David vs Goliath scenario is playing out for many indie devs on the game ad networks right now but this time around David isn't winning. For the majority of players there will be little to no noticeable change and with the increase in trophy rewards which I'll discuss in more detail below I suspect many players will actually be better off than before.
GAME CHANGES
There have been lots of little changes here and there in Conquests, the Gauntlet, the Blacksmith etc. They mainly have to do with energy costs, timers, the ability to have the auto-repair use trophies, etc to go along with the new pricing structure.
IN-GAME ADS
You've all been asking for this for a long time and I truly apologize for taking so long to implement this highly sought after feature. ;) In various locations throughout the game, ads are now being displayed to help monetize the game as I search for new revenue streams to help offset the increase in marketing costs. Anyone who has the Accountant upgrade (basically anyone who has helped support the game by purchasing trophies) will not see ads. If you don't like ads and don't want to see them please consider grabbing the Accountant upgrade and you'll remove ads and support the game in one fell swoop! If you don't want to purchase trophies and you like to use an ad blocker, I ask that you whitelist Pit of War so the ads will show. You just might see a game you like and we'll both come out winners.
TROPHY REWARDS
Gladiators are now rewarded trophies for numerous achievements in the Great Realm. Any time a gladiator kills in the arena or pit fights they are awarded with a trophy. Gladiators competing in the Blood Games are also awarded a trophy each fight. The chance to find a trophy during tavern contracts and conquests has been greatly increased as well. In addition the trophy login bonus has been increased. Some of you remember when you could exchange gold for a trophy once per day. The new reward system actually offers more than that.
REFER A FRIEND BONUS
Of course none of you need an incentive to use the RaF program and everyone has already posted messages on Facebook and emailed their friends about what an awesome game Pit of War is, so I mention this purely for posterity. :) The trophy rewards for recruiting friends to play the game have been increased significantly, it is my hope this will encourage many of you to try and get your friends to play if you haven't already and maybe even try again. Studies show most people need to see something three times before they act on it. Help me get new players for free and I'll help you by giving you trophies for free.
As always if you are unhappy with the new changes I do apologize and if you would like to give me feedback you are welcome to send me a PM and I'll be happy to discuss it with you.
Good luck in the Pit!
-Nate-
