Hey hey hey. Welcome to another meeting of TSTO Anon. So… a lot of TSTO has happened to most of us in the last few months, right? Stonecutters, Level 42, 4th of July, a Yard Sale and Level 43. Lots of new stuff, both premium and freemium, with a lot of different designs, quests, buying decisions, etc. Our last TSTO Anon meeting was way back in May 9th as the Easter Event frustration was nearing its zenith. Seems like years since then, eh?
Of course, Stonecutters came and despite a few glitches, tappers were happier than I’ve seen them in a long time. Despite this, all the required tapping would have been the perfect time for another meeting but who had time for that? Admittedly that meeting would’ve been “Hey guys! Having a blast! You too? Great! Back to spying…”
Stonecutters ended and I had every intention of throwing a group gathering to discuss TSTO and addiction (even saw some comments in that vein) but life and tapping and blogging have a way of just keeping you busy as time and events pass on by. Before you know it, it’s the beginning of August and it truly is time for a meeting of the Addicts. Apologies for the delay but without further words, let’s get started with this one.
So for today’s topic, Reader stevecttw recommended a while back that we branch out and start Completionist Anonymous. Here’s what he had to say:
“There should totally be a completionist anonymous section here on this great blog. I know there’s an addicts anonymous thing going, but I would love to read articles about the minds of a completionist. ‘Or completist… Whatever floats the proverbial boat’. Hi. My name is Steve and I’m an addicted completionist.”
Wow… a whole different meeting like NA incorporated with AA. I don’t know about you, but ain’t no Wookiee got time for that lol. Totally kidding but I thought we could discuss it. Here’s where I stand.
Hi… I’m Joe the Wookiee and I am a completionist and an Addict.
Way back in October 2012, I found myself with a lot of free time after work and wanted to find a game to fill some time. I tinkered with Where’s My Water and Angry Birds but neither was holding my interest (although both are still on my phone and are hits with the little ones).
On an excursion into the app store, I decided to check the top rated games and what should my wandering eyes see but a free game based on The Simpsons. Something about building my own Springfield. This should be fun. Jebus knows I love The Simpsons. This should be easy and free is my favorite number.
The rest really is craziness. I play the game, want more donuts but am unwilling to spend real money on a silly game. I’ll start with $20 because I really want that Halloween stuff. That’s it for my expenditures. Hey that Christmas stuff looks cool, I’ll do $50 this time because it’s better deal and I should have plenty if I want a few more things but that’s all. Geez, what do I do with this itunes gift card? If I add that with my money and spend $100, I’ll have more sprinklies than any one person could need, right?
Of course, once you have donuts, there’s tons of premium items to spend them on and I’m sure a bunch of us know how fast those little cholesterol circles can disappear. Thank Jebus, my journey into premium spending followed the same path as joining TSTO communities and eventually blogging about them to legitimize my spending. I really have no clue what the total amount spent on the game is up to this point but I’m sure if I didn’t have this gig, I might have enough for a really cool TV to watch The Simpsons on. Like Steve, I am a completionist. I tell myself it’s just because I’m an uber Simpsons nerd and blogger and need all the goodies, but the truth is, I just like having it all.
Seriously, there are several items in some of my friend’s towns that mock me every time I see them. The 2013 Yard Sale was the one time I found myself donut/cash poor when premium items appeared. My paycheck arrived on the day it ended… bummer. To this day, I wish I had Frink’s Robot Dog and the Barney Blimp. Thankfully two of the items were freemium and I have one of each. Back then I was in-game cash poor also.
Why must I have it all? Well, I do write for a site called TSTO Addicts. Maybe I’m a little addicted to having everything? Maybe I also just want as much Simpsons as possible in my town? Maybe I can afford it and what entertainment I spend my money on is my business? Maybe I’m cuckoo? Maybe just because I said so? That last one always seems to work with my kids.
It’s like the giant pyramid the citizens of Springfield made in “Sweets and Sour Marge” (S13:E8). If Homer hadn’t joined everyone at the very top, it would have just been a frustum. I guess I just don’t want a strange unknown word describing Wookieetown.
Really and truly though, I get that having everything is expensive. Any addict has to ensure that they balance their lives and do what’s best for themselves. If you don’t pay your electricity bill, how will you charge your phone to play your game? If you don’t buy groceries, it really is no fun to do anything hungry. We use the word Addict jokingly on this site but would never want our friends here to let a silly game ruin other areas of their lives.
I’m fortunate to find myself in a position to get what I please but trust me when I say I know there are more important things than a pixellated dog that looks like a robot and mocks you whenever you tap it’s shiny metal butt. My current donut tally is about 186 and I’ve got some completionist jitters ahead of me I’m sure. Come on Gil! Us Addicts need our fix!
Anywho… what are your thoughts on all this? Have you been playing for TSTO eons and have almost everything? Do you need/want it all? Is there something you missed you wished you hadn’t? New to the game and think I’m crazy? Strictly freemium? King of the premiums? Are Steve and I the only ones? Don’t care and wish this meeting had been about something else? (In that regard, I’m always open to suggestions… you can blame Steve for this one lol.)
I guess I don’t really have anything else to say for this meeting. Please let the group know your feelings and always know that here at Addicts, we find this a supportive community where we can all just be us and share our love for TSTO and The Simpsons in an open, friendly atmosphere. We love the opportunity to run this site but even more know none of it could be possible without all of you who make this the Giant Human Pyramid possible. We even occasionally form a wrecking ball that changes the designs of our Springfields, right?
Much love from the fuzzball and y’all stay classy like always. Let’s end with the affirmation.
“EA, grant me the serenity to accept the updates I cannot change, the courage to recommend the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
TTFN… Wookiee out!
Looking for more of the silly topics from TSTO Anonymous? Other meetings can be found here.
You can call me a Completionist, but I certainly don’t have everything. Drives me crazy lol. I don’t have any money to put into the wonderful sprinklies, so that bothers me. I do try to dave my donuts for completing tasks, though sometimes I buy premium here and there. I’m waiting until I have a job to buy 300 a week to begin indulging in the premium stuff. But the college student life may hinder that lol.
I’m with The Wookie! I’ve maxed out my FP I think ( even though I get a few doughnuts here and there, that we should earn at lest a dozen for so may actions! Come on EA, WE ARE ADDICTS!!
Being a broke teenager about to enter college, I don’t want to spend my hard earned job money on virtual items, so I have been playing freemium since I got the game in February hoarding the free donuts from leveling up, ea apologies, tapping homer, et cetera. Finally today, I spent some on the squeaky voice teen, although now I’m worried I wasted my donuts and should have waited until something really cool showed up.
Absolutely nothing wrong with the freemium rout. SVT isn’t a bad pick. Hopefully EA throws more free sprinklies your/our way in the future.
Holy craptaculicious! I inspired an article!!!
Great piece, Wook! Very well done.
Btw, I’m Steve, and I’m still an addicted completionist. I just recently went to a tsto yard sale and BOUGHT EVERYTHING!! If there’s a 12 step program for this addiction let me know. Nevermind I’ll just take 12 steps back into my beloved springfield.
http://youtu.be/qOp3bZxCdKA
You totally did. Hopefully it lived up to your expectations.
Hi, my name is Insert Name Here and I’m an addict. At least I was an addict till this morning when my android tablet crashed one too many times. I went online and found out this was a common problem with android devices… Then uninstalled it. 🙁
Well, thank goodness I only spent $50 on the game! lol Not too much of a loss.
Nice to meet you all and I guess… uh, this is the last time I post here!
Awwww, well I hope we at least humored you while you were here. It is a bummer when a device won’t play nice with an app. Feel free to come back at anytime. You’ll always be welcome. 😉
I try to be philosophical about this. I’ll buy items I really like, but I know I can’t buy everything. I also just started playing during the Easter 2014 event, so I’ve missed even a lot of free stuff. I know too that there are some events which leave prizes up to chance. I feel like, at this point, I’ll never have a 100% fully complete Springfield.
This might sound lame, but I kind of think that each Springfield has its own story. They’re all different based on when you started playing, how you do during events, which premium items appeal to you enough to buy, where you place things in your town, etc. I think that helps me feel like my town is complete in its own way.
I am not a general completionist, but rather a subset one. In other words, I don’t have to every premium offered, but if it is something that appeals to me and there is a set of them, I like to get the entire set. For example, the Stonecutters. I have all the Stonecutter’s skins (even for a couple characters I don’t have yet). Now that the event is over, the payout is the same for those characters with or without the skin (except for Number 2/Hibbert of course which pays premium with the skin on, which is great, but I’m disappointed he doesn’t have any outdoor tasks with the skin). The other benefit of having all the skins post-event is it gives all those that have the skin a 2-hour task which they may not had before if you also have the Stonecutter’s Daycare Center (BTW, the daycare center was another completionist purchase for me).
Furthermore on the topic of being a completionist, for me is getting all the major secondary characters in the game. I don’t object that EA requires donuts for some, but I do find it annoying how expensive some of them are priced. Assuming one has no donuts at all and they want to have Barney (which I consider a major secondary character in the series), in order to get him barring taking chances with golden scratch-off tickets is to spend $20 (US) for 300 donuts, in order to buy Barney and Bowlarama for 250 donuts. That’s a bit much to get what one may consider an essential character for a fan of The Simpsons. That’s just one character. Then there’s Otto, Jimbo (Jimbo alone is 120 donuts I believe, I still need him), and the others.
I’m an old school gamer, going back to the Atari 2600, Intellivision, Collecovision, etc. I’m used to paying one-price up front for a game which is free of ads or additional purchases. I would had rather paid $60 upfront for TSTO and let me do in-game tasks or missions to unlock new characters/decorations. Maybe EA could also had offered game expansion packs for let’s say $20 each that would give you Krustyland or Squidport or the Monorail, etc. The way it is set up now, you can easily spend a great deal of real dollars to get what you want (and that is not even getting everything that is offered).
Again, I believe the developers should be compensated for the work that goes into the game and I would like to see it continue to grow and offer new events, but I just wish it wasn’t so costly to do so. Granted, no one is holding a gun to my head to buy donuts. I could play solely as a freemium player and there’s nothing wrong with that, but that is how I started and it’s a quite different experience.
This is interesting debate around paying real money for virtual items…..my sister in law has sold all her CD and now only downloads music. I have a biggish number of CD but rarely listen to them prefer the radio or some website radio stations which play the music I like.
They are dust gatherers or in the loft.
I bought the wolverine DVD and watched the download on my tablet.
My rambling point is I have bought loads of stuff never used them are these anymore real than downloads? (Don’t get me started on her indoors shoe collection)
I’ve also made contact with a lot of good people who I will probably never meet in real life……are these contacts any less real than pen pals or work colleagues or family who live the other side of the planet.
There is a wider heavier debate to be had on another place.
Oh my word. I want a task in the game that uses everyone to make a human pyramid please.
Yes good shout aniberian update with tapas restaurant, flamenco skin for Marge human pyramids and sangria fountain……mmm this may be on the wrong thread hope Bunny doesn’t notice
I just love you referenced Spain and Portugal as Iberian. Gotta love the intellects of the folks on this site. No worries on posting here. It’s an Addicts meeting so other topics are always welcome as long as the coffee pot is full.
Completionist from Day One with no regrets. Spending money on something you truly enjoy is never a waste – regardless of the outlet. That’s what I tell my better half anyway. (Ha.) Always looking for neighbors who feel the same, so hook a brother up with an invite, Wook!
I am an addict. I jump at most new premium items, but not all of them. I buy iTunes cards when I find them on sale (recently for 20% off!). I remember “Pong”, Atari 2600 and on and on… The graphics and interaction on TSTO is amazing!!! What a long way we’ve come. That being said, I love the game and think EA does an amazing job. I also understand that to keep our little game going, paychecks must be cut. I do not mind helping to pay for this awesomeness. It brings me joy, too (even though I think EA has recently cut our sugar intake). To predict how my day will go, I buy a golden scratcher each morning. The more donuts I win, the better my day will be.
I have stock piled 789 so far, and will save them up for the next thing I can’t live without in my Springfield. Maybe Halloween???
I think of it this way: I spent hundreds of dollars on Nintendo, Sega, and PlayStation consoles and games growing up that are now collecting dust, so what’s wrong with spending money on a game that is not locked down to a specific platform/console? I’m on my third phone, and my game still works. Going to keep needing new phones anyway, so it’s not like I’m throwing away money on a soon to be obsolete game console. I hope that if EA ever decides to stop updating the game, they will at least let it still works in a non server world. I realize the friend aspect probably wouldn’t work outside of the servers, but at least us die hards could still play.
Even without updates, I think I’d still be designing and redesigning.
I think I’d finally have time to redesign if that were the case! 😜
Right? My hope is there would still be sites like this for the die-hards to communicate. I’m so close to finally nuking my town for another big re-design. Only hangup is not wanting to take the time to stitch a pic of my old town lol.
Now if only we we had a doughnut tree we could grow an it gets bigger by friends visiting an tapping it an after it matures taking 300 taps Wed get 5 doughnets from it. It would be unlocked by doughnets. An we could have a more then 1 a total Max number of 5 all togather. It’d be a doughnut tree farm. Anyone got a bucket for catching falling doughnuts?
That’d be great. Basically a Springfield version of Sideshow You… great idea!
You pay real life money…hundreds of dollars for digital images that you can’t physically hold, just to look at???
Pretty sure that even Homer would mock ones own stupidity. I think he actually may have in dialogue before, could be wrong tho.
If anyone is spending real life money, all I can say is D’OH!
True geeks and nerds understand this to the fullest. Well the smart ones anyway lmao
Really, really hope a lot of Darwin awards are awarded very very soon.
Yes I readily admit I have spent money on a game that has brought me happiness. While I know there are folks who get things for free, I’m more than happy to pay EA to keep this game going. Considering TSTO has no annoying ads, the costs have to be paid somehow. My apologies that I could not keep your link for freebies, but it’s against the terms of the game and our policy here on the site. Homer can mock my “stupidity” all he wants. I mock his so it’s only fair. Every individual is entitled to play this game how they choose. As far as true geeks and nerds, we probably would need to define that further. This really is more just premium vs freemium vs. “freemium”. I won’t knock your life choices, if you don’t knock mine. If I do end up with a Darwin, I dedicate it to TSTO Addicts and the awesome community here.
I agree it’s worth the money. I don’t mind paying taxes especially living in NY since I take so much advantage of the amenities it provides. Same with voluntarily buying doughnuts. Keeps the game going. I just dislike the limited time. I’ll give them doughnut money but sometimes it would be nice to get just one more paycheck before buying a gold mansion
I feel ya. If that yard sale had only lasted one day longer lol.
I’m sorry if I came off rude, as that was not my intention. It’s hard for me to weigh in on spending real money on a mobile game compared to a console game. I offer my apologies.
It’s all good. Appreciate you writing back. Completely understand not wanting to drop a lot of d’oh on a mobile game… to each their own.
The beauty of “play free” games that have premium content is that everyone with a compatible device and internet access can play, and those who are financially able to afford to do so voluntarily subsidize the experience for everyone.
As for me, I’ve been a freemium player so far but this will change when the right content becomes available at a time when I have some extra funds sitting around. Or when my vehicle is paid off (two more payments). Either way, EA will get paid for my use of their game and resources!
Yes, my son (a former World of Warcraft addict) has a motto: Never spend real money on imaginary gold. However… my husband buys lots of fishing flies and goodies he will never use. So I decided that since I have no other vices (well, almost none) I would treat myself to a 99-cent donut scratcher every day. In my opinion, I get more pleasure from my little dollar-a-day addiction than nearly anything else. To each his own, right?
Completist here. I have gone without other things in life thanks to doughnut spending. I don’t think it’s love of the game as much as my OCD. I’ve done this with music, movies, books, etc. What I don’t like is inevitably people will quit playing and when it becomes unprofitable EA will stop it and I’m pretty darn sure they won’t be offering refunds. So it’s not just a pixellated dig but a temporary pixellated dog
I see it as all good things eventually coming to an end. I’ll never get back my money for lots of things and TSTO brings me joy. My happiness is worth some of my hard-earned cash.
Good point guess I am drinking a beer right now. Not a lasting pleasure
Now that just might be better than pixels.
I am so addicted to this game, it’s Crazzzzzzy! In Feb., I was asked to make and decorate 200 cupcakes for a June Wedding! Handmade Roses on ea one! When I got pd, it went for Donuts! I was one “Happy Tapperenoooooo”! Bot lots of donuts!!! Anybody need cupcakes made for a wedding?? LOL !! Got a lot of neat items for my Springfield!! You Go TSTO Tapperenos!!
Forget the donuts… I want one of them cupcakes.
Can you link to Springfields and share $$, donuts, etc.?
Unfortunately no. But that would be awesome! 🙂
No, but visiting friends and having them visit you is like sharing $ and xp!!!!
New land costing doughnuts. Able to unlock nighttime mode using doughnuts.
Netting fish in squidport in a space as big as as a squidport tile unlocking the ability using doughnuts and the 90d task being net doughnuts wed get 5 from it. So many good ideas I have for doughnuts. And that giant Springfield ball of ppl we could unlock that to roll around town to smash buildings to find doughnuts. We better stock up in case ea spys decide to poke around in here for ideas 0_0 t2uL happy tapping
I love that fishing task with a 90d donut reward. Gotta hope new land stays freemium but nighttime is genius. I’d love to see Springfield all lit up. The giant ball rolling around would seriously be epic. Some days we think EA snoops around for ideas. Hopefully they like your mojo.
If EA is snooping, I really want a Clamphitheatre for Squidport!!!
That would be great. I wanted that way back when I hoped Halloween would bring Killer Dolphins.
I can handle this tapping i dont need everything i havent got one funzo or the whale or a squidport street entertainer…….honest i can cope
.
i can
mmmmmmfunzo so cute do useless so expensive……..where did i bury my deblt card?
LOL…quick someone take Al’s debit card from him! 😉
I am not quite a full-out completionist, but during events my donut supply seems to always drain. The yard sale brought the Mayan stuff back which was the one thing I promised myself I would buy if it returned. I can’t seem to spend much donuts unless there is an event with a limited time symbol. Apu’s Apartment is the only thing I bought outside of an event. But it is worth a little bit of cash for the joy of buying something new for my springfield.
Well said. Weird how pixels on a tapped out device can bring joy.
Hi my name is Poloman, and and uh I’m an uhhh I’m an addict. My weakness is this thing on my Tapped-out device (scratches head and whispers) ” I see donuts”
Yeah… apparently this device does more than tapped-out but I just can’t figure out why.
Hi, my name is David and I’m a completionist and addict. I thank my girlfriend for bestowing this addiction upon me. She had been trying to get me to install TSTO for a month back in April 2013. The preasure never stopped. I gave in and started tapping. I thought it was kinda cool, I like this. I was strictly freemium…until Halloween 2013. I had just won Kang and realized I can get Kodos too, but only if I buy the Ray Gun. I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me. I bought donuts and bought the Ray Gun. Halloween is over and I’m back to freemium. Christmas passed. THERE’S SO MANY STUFF I MISSED!!! I want Boobarella, Indian Cheif and his Pow Wow Casino, The Grumble. Those are the only 3 playable characters I don’t have. I want Witch Marge, Devil Flanders, and Santa Homer. After Christmas I promised I would not miss another cool character or item. I became full premium.
HI DAVID! Thanks for sharing. One of us google goo one of us…
In some ways I am rather glad I joined the game pretty late, as it is impossible for me to have everything. So I don’t bother. I am strictly freemium right now. There are several things from before I started that I am jealous about, mostly characters and KL rides.
I most say that I really like the way the premium currency is implemented in this game. Here it is an option and most if not all of the events can be completed without spending donuts. There are some other games based on animated tv shows I can mention that go the complete opposite direction and are not fun as a result.
Hey Wookeeareeno and thanks for your update. I too suffer from this completionist ( or whatever we ended up calling it! ) syndrome. Fun but annoying and sometimes expensive.
Did think of an idea though that might balance the donut count and wonder what you and the community think of it? What if tapping Sideshow Bob resulted in donuts rather than dollar? That would give us a little incentive and reward within the game and, for me anyway, make it less painful to spend money when I want more.
Thoughts?
Thanks to you and the TSTO staff for helping make this game even more fun. Cheers, Zoron & ZoronToo
I think that would be cool. EA had the right idea with the chance for donuts after getting all the FP Prizes. I just wish it paid out more for everyone. Any free donuts are always welcome lol.
Hahahah this one cut me deep!! Man do I know the feels. As does my credit card. Long time lurker first time poster on TSTO Addicts.
But yes. I need everything. Every item. I dont care if its not animated. I dont care if its too many donuts. I must have all!
My biggest regret about going on tour was missing 3 items that still haunt me to this day.
Thee Eyed Sushi
Hi-Glo-Waste Barrels
Duff Blimp
When will EA allow us option to trade extra items with our friends?!?!! That could be a fair solution to this madness!!
Thanks for joining the comments! You’re certainly not alone. Plenty of completionists to commiserate with here. Now we need to think of a much cooler word for our status.
Completitis?
Someone who buys everything in Tapped Out…they want to have complete sets for everything 🙂
Hmmmm… that makes it sound like we have a disease or an itch we have to scratch so it’s both scary and hilarious. Maybe whole-hog tappers or pretend we’re a super hero group called The Assemblagers… so far completionist sounds the best.
Well, the suffix -itis means inflammation. So it would literally mean inflammation of the complete or completion. Like your need to complete is inflamed and causing distress. Take two donuts by mouth every 6 hours for 14 days. 😉
lmbo
No I meant that was my suggestion for Wookie as the much cooler word for this affliction 😉
Ohhhh sorry 😉