I believe my prediction for this major event was, “it’s gonna be a game-changer.” Like calling something “interesting,” the term “game-changer” can mean almost anything…good or bad. And in my opinion, that pretty much covers it. This is some good, with a handful of bad thrown in.
Let’s start with the fact that most people don’t like change. Moving, a death in the family, changing jobs…these all sit at the top of the “stress meter” when it comes to adjusting in life. And in many ways, nuking Krustyland, along with the myriad little changes that came with it, were a combination of all of these. There is was certainly death. There was the stress of packing up and moving. And, there are myriad new jobs, and ways of dealing with old jobs, that have been forced upon us.
All of this requires adjustments…even if some of the new changes are ultimately for the better. And, there are a couple of them that are clear improvements over the “old way.”
Let’s break down some tips that will help you maneuver the changes, without losing your collective minds.
Addicts are by nature compulsive. Some, not all, are more than a tad OCD…which means they fight change, because they like “everything in its place.” Fair enough. This event is really going to test that. Sorry about that…
The Death of Krustyland as we Knew It
OK. This is really kinda overstated. The fact is, unless you had thousands of items in your Krustyland, and it was expanded over every single available square, EA has not only awarded us more than enough space in the form of Free Land Tiles, but also allowed us (or automatically stored), all of the items we had. Yes. It is a Pain In The A** (PITA), to find them all and replace them. But, people keep complaining how “boring” the game has become. Now you have plenty to do… Kind of like when your little sister upsets the 1,000 jigsaw puzzle you had laid out on the card table. You get the pleasure of doing it again. Right?
But, as I will share in my “Friday Filler,” (on Friday) there are huge advantages for those of us who truly play the game primarily so we can design creatively. The primary advantage being, that you aren’t limited by using JUST Krustyland items. You can mix and match…you can place food stands on the beach…you can add water, fountains, and any number of other decorations to make your design all that much better and more interesting. So DO IT. Make your “resurrected from the dead” Krustyland even better!
Water…Gondolas…adding to the design fun…
Turning your Shuttles Into Transporters
Again, as I have said in other posts, I love my transporters. I use them to “BLIP” around my town, when I am doing multiple tasks (clearing characters, while I clear actions in KL/ISLand, RailYard etc.). And now…the Krustyland Bus/Terminals behave the same way, but just within your own town. So…place them both!
Combined Parks or Side by Side?
I am starting to see my neighbors getting creative with how they are designing their amusement areas…and combining both Krustyland and Itchy and Scratchy Land items. I am choosing to do a side-by-side design…much the way that Disneyland and California Adventure Co-Exist. Once there is more to ISL (a racetrack and a studio do not an amusement park make), I will work a way to use a common walkway between the two parks.
Placing your Krustyland Monorail Station Where it Belongs!
I’ve had a Krustyland Station since it came out. But, now…it finally makes more sense. I had it in my main Springfield, near Krustylou studios. But now, it will be integrated into my park. However…One HUGE shortfall for placing monorail track. You currently can’t place it over Krustyland pathways or fences. Weird…but true.
Added Bonus…Krustyland Mystery Boxes
As you can tell by this screen shot, I hardly bought any of the Premium Items when I played/designed the first time through. Tooooooo expensive for someone who was playing “Cheapium,” But, low and behold…now that I am doing casual donut farming, I grabbed up ALL of these premium items, at just 65 donuts each. That is a HUGE savings from the original price. Sometimes, it DOES pay to wait!
YOU Control the Traffic Flow in the Parking Lot
I’m sure there are some of you who are going to say, “Duh!!” But, I saw enough comments about this to do a reminder. The New Parking Lots that we got for Krustyland allow you to add/delete/clear the cars, by simply tapping them. Each Parking Lot tile has three different options.
The DOWNSIDES OF PERMANENT CHANGES TO THE GAME
MOVING…Not as EAsy as they make it out to be…
One of the biggest issues people are facing in redesigning, is actually related to something EA did BEFORE they nuked Krustyland. I’m not really sure what advantage they thought was being added by allowing you to select, and move/store/sell huge areas of items, but then automatically selecting rivers, roads, etc. associated with that selected area…but, IT DOESN’T WORK WELL…at all.
Ever since they added this feature (which has been exacerbated by this event), when I go to select and sell my KEM cluster, everything freezes…for up to 45 seconds…with almost every action. What used to take me less than a minute, can now take as long as 7 minutes (depending on the length of each freeze between clicks). NOT GOOD. I have actually gone back to selecting, moving, selling, clearing each KEM individually. This ALSO happens when I try to move more than ONE of anything. As in more than one flower…more than one piece of track…more than one anything. So…for whatever reason, it is just faster to move one item at a time.
The Following Videos are placed here, just in case EA is actually following our posts more closely now that we are “friends.” FIX THIS PLEASE EA!!! I’ll Gladly give up my option to grab loads of water and roads…which I never wanted/needed in the first place!
Connecting the Dots…literally…with the Race Track
Finally, there are still loads of people reporting that they are having problems with the race track connections. It really is easy…and far easier than some of the brain damage we went through with the monorail. It’s as simple as connecting the dots. If the dots aren’t connected, it doesn’t turn green.
ITEM LIMITS!!!
Dammitall…I want a legitimate answer to why we still have Item limits. Yes…I get it. Your legacy code can only handle so much. And yet, you keep increasing them. Let US decide when the lagginess, or weird ghost figures are too much to deal with. If you want us to enjoy the design aspect of the game (which by the way, keeps us interested during the repetitive 4-grind-fests that these updates have become…KILL THE ITEM LIMITS!!!! From what I gather, there’s aren’t that many people who get the warnings. So…give us “super designers” a break! Raising them to the current 11,500 is a start. How about another few thousand??? Come on. Just do it…and I’ll stop talking about it!
SPOILER*****FINAL HEADS UP ON A BUNDLE DEAL COMING…Why You Should WAIT to buy Scractchy if you are spending real money…
If you are a donut farmer…ignore this. It doesn’t apply to you at all.
However, if you spend real money for your donuts- and are on the fence about spending 300 donuts to get Scratchy (which is waaaaay high for a single character and a half a building), There is a bit of a “Bonus” if you wait.
According to the files…on or around the 12th of June, There will be a REBATE BUNDLE offered on a truckload of donuts…that’s 300 donuts for $19.99. OUCH! However…on the 12th, you will get a Bonus Bundled Character (rumored to be Mawdy Spuckler). So…you will spend your money on 300 donuts, which will allow you to buy Scratchy and the Studio, and you will be given another full character. So…that’s 2 characters and a building for $19.99.
That is still price gouging to the max...but at least softens the blow. It also makes it clear why so many people (including myself) now donut farm . But…if I hear a single one of you donut farmers whining because you can’t get Mawdy Spuckler for your farmed donuts…please stop. Those who pay for the game with real money keep it going. Right?
OK…back to the 4-hour grinding (some things NEVER change)
Have fun. Designing is most of the fun… waiting for lag time? Not so much.