At the very beginning of TSTO Blogging, (which for the most part, started in January 2012 with TSTOTips), it was a Woolly Wild West of heroes and bad guys that were infamous in the TSTO world. There are lots of posts from the past that talk about the details, and the who, and the what. But, there was an actual minor update in the game itself that made reference to some of the best-known.
I wrote a post in one of my earliest contributions to the Addicts world, that made reference to this, and the rest of the post is a hilarious reminder of how far we have come in the game.
Such simple times…
TSTOAddicts- HumpDay Post – 09-23-13
Hey there kids!
The letter on my pill box says “W” so that must mean that it’s time for another… Uhm…wait a minute…it’s coming to me. Ah…right… HUMP DAY POST!
SO much to talk about this week…so little time. Why? Because I am spending more and more time trying to figure out what in the name of Jeebus EA is up to! For month(s) on end, they have been doing updates every other Thursday. Then, the next thing ya know, they do a surprise update that isn’t really an update at all…but it WAS a HUGE update…that was just talking about an update that is going to come on Thursday. AHA!!!! So the Thursday thing is still the New Normal! (which deserved to be cancelled by the way….awful TV show…but I digress).
In short…what they did was release an update that was really just a teaser, telling us that there will be an update on Thursday (tomorrow) that will be a fun way to remind us to watch the actual Simpson’s Season Opener on Sunday.
So…to encapsulate…they did a fake update, to preview a new updated for the “pretend” Springfield (and Squidport) to promote their REAL TV Show, which is about the original Springfield…which they blew up for the game. And you wonder why I need medication so I don’t get head palpitations????
You can read about the upcoming Preview Update Here… which is about Homer going to a convention in Squidport.
http://tstoaddicts.com/2013/09/23/new-info-season-25-premiere-update/
I won’t go into any more detail…except to tell you that I am stoked for the new show…AND the new HALLOWEEN UPDATE that will come on October 1st (if we are to believe Lisa…and who doesn’t believe Lisa??). Which by the way…is NOT a THURSDAY!
If you need further proof that EA is starting to get its act together, and is going to keep us all on our toes (I assume we have 4 cartoon toes as well) all you have to do is look at the dialogue panel from the “update preview pretend update” that came out on Monday (again…not a Thursday).
It would seem that EA is completely into reading the forums…and is not above (below…not sure where a slap comes from) slapping a couple of the more notorious posters.
The player receives “Feeding the Trolls” which is to “Make Lisa Read the Tapped Out Forum”. It takes 4 hour and the player receives total  275 and  55 in reward. |
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Let’s see — friend request, friend request, get donuts for cash… |
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Isn’t that what donut shops are for? |
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Ah, here we go! “Predictions for this year’s Treehouse of Horror update”… |
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JoshJeerer says it’s going to suck — helpful as always, Josh. |
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Lamezino hopes it’ll be about time travel — it’s always about going back in time with them. |
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And SpAndex had no luck this year with datamining OR datafracking. |
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I don’t get any of those jokes. |
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The point is, no one knows what’s coming. We just know that it’s coming soon. |
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H-h-h-how soon? |
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Well, we have a season premiere update to do first, but it’s small so I’d guess soon after. |
For those of you who don’t know… JoshJeerer is a play on words for JoshSheerer, a notoriously crabby (I’d call him cranky…but then I’d have to pay myself a nickel for copyright infringement), poster who complains about every update. And I mean every update.
Lamezino is a reference to the infamous Gamezino, which used cracked codes and date resets on iOS devices to offer old items and cheap donuts, before their popularity (and exploit fixes by EA) imploded the “company.”
And Spandex…is of course in reference to spAnser, the equally infamous code cracker who has figured out (perhaps up until now) how to look into the EA database for hints, clues, images, etc. about upcoming levels, characters and buildings. He has also admitted to hacking several exploits of the EA code “to help others” and runs his own blog now, which many of us admittedly use, as a way to try our best to see into the future. Which apparently we can’t, BECAUSE NOBODY SAW MONDAY’S UPDATES COMING…
So…gosh…what does it all mean to the average TSTO player? Not a nickel and a hill of beans… (that is the best old-timey term I could come up with…other than Diddly-squirt…which always sounds gross to me).
The fact is…MOST people don’t want to know what’s going to happen…beyond knowing that SOMETHING is going to happen soon! I admit that I use the information gleaned from Google searches to find as many quick-reference walk-throughs as I can, just so I can keep the right characters free, as I play in REAL time. I don’t cheat. I don’t want to cheat. AND I don’t cotton to cheating by my “friends.” If someone displays an inordinate amount of donuts, or is able to rush the game in ways that are simply outside of the STSC (Simpsons Time Space Continuum) range of Cartoon Physics… I delete them from my neighbors list.
It’s the way this old man rolls….baybeeeee!
What I WILL do…and what I am HAPPY to do…is try to use a little common sense in figuring out what COULD be coming… I love Christmas morning…and NOT knowing everything in the box (although this year I’d like iTunes gift cards…and no socks or Old Spice aftershave please).
So…if I WAS to use my brain pan…and turn the heat up to high… I would speculate that some of the NEW stuff is going to revolve around the upcoming TreeHouse of Horrors episode.
“The Simpsons” is now in its 24th season and is planning to air its most popular episode of each year on October 6th. That episode is “Treehouse of Horror,” which will have the opening sequence directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Pacific Rim). The episode will feature monsters and classic characters from horror films, and contain three segments. In “Oh The Places You’ll D’oh,” Homer rides around Springfield wreaking havoc as “The Fat in The Hat” in a rhyming Dr. Seuss-style tale. In “Dead and Shoulders,” Bart is beheaded during a kite accident, his head is attached to Lisa’s body and they must live together as one. And “Freaks no Geeks,” features Mr. Burns’ traveling circus, The Burnsum and Bailey Circus, which has stopped in Springfieldland in the 1930s. Trapeze artist Marge and Strong Man Homer are performers and things go awry when circus freak Moe starts to make advances towards Marge
So… count on something cool from each section…that is my guess…
Perhaps A HOMER Cat in the Hat outfit?
Some Sort of Lisa/Bart Character?
And FINALLY…another Marge character…as a Trapeze Artist…and if they are REALLY clever… it would allow her to perform in KrustyLand!
OK…I am clearly in need of a nap…
By NEXT week…ALL OF THE QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED…and I will be posting about all of the cool stuff that we uncovered…as well as all of the donuts required to get the cool stuff…which will make me realize why “spandex” and “Lamezino” tried to make getting donuts easier in the first place! But…once again I digress…
In less than 24 hours…the answers will begin to unfold…
Keep on Tappin’!!
CrankyOldGuy
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Ok…so this one cracks me up.
First of all, it is hilarious that the writers/animators actually made reference to some of the best-known “TSTO Underworld Figures” of the time.
spAnser, was a well-known, if innocuous hacker, who mostly published teasers way before an update hit. This was pretty common, until EA started hiding the files until an update actually goes live. We don’t know, until you know…although some of the same techniques are still used to get the details. What is amazing to me, is that after almost 6 years of the game’s life, EA has really made very little effort to fix the original exploits.
GameZino…ah…truly one of the lowest, creepiest chapters of TSTO History. A guy (who shall remain un-named here, the same way as you would choose not to mention a serial killer for fear he will rise up from the ashes), who made stolen/hacked donuts an actual “business.” Thankfully, EA made changes to shut him down. However, there are STILL those who use similar hacks to provide “Free Donuts” that require all sorts of game hacks to pull off. I suspect that EA views Donut Farming as the lesser of two evils, and lets those willing to dedicate hours of grinding to the reward for their efforts.
And JoshSheerer? I think it is best if you search the forums for his name… like most trolls, it seems he just vanished into the darkness.
https://forums.ea.com/en/the-simpsons-tapped-out/search?Search=JoshSheerer
But what REALLY made me laugh, was the fact that we were all thrown by EA’s messing with the launch date of a major event…in this case, Halloween 2013, which gave us a host of classic Halloween Content, including “Marge the Witch” and “Booberella.” I hate to admit it…but Booberella was one of my FIRST premium purchases, as I had prided myself in playing “Freemium” up until then. But, who was going to pass up Booberlla? She has Boooooooooooobs! She was one of the first characters to hit the “1oo Donut” mark. Don’t tell me that EA doesn’t know their audience!
The excitement was palpable. After all, it was only the 2nd Halloween update ever. Now, we are old(er) and jaded, and expect a pattern of major, grind-tastic updates at least 6 times a year.
The game has changed…a lot! I admit that I miss the shorter, fast-paced, “get this now or lose the chance” excitement of those earlier days. But, I do not miss the nefarious types who made donut theft a business…or knowing too much, way before the updates happened.
We have settled into an acceptable level of consistency that could use some shaking up. But, compared to rampant server outages, and updates that truly required multiple log ins and neighbor transactions to complete, I like the “New Normal.” Which by the way, really was an AWFUL show that deserved to be cancelled.
Here we are…in another “lull” before another “major update,” and as long as the game is around, I will blog, and “Keep On Tappin’.”
What do YOU Remember about the Early Days. Were you one of those who got burned by Gamezino and had your game locked up by EA? Do you remember spAanser? Post your memories below…
Maybe we could “look into the future” and see when EA is going to fix The Big Glitch plaguing dedicated players for such a long time. They dont seem to be doing a dang thing about it
Rollback? I don’t think they can fix it, which is why they’ve offered to just roll games back or give people a new game
How do they give players a new game?
and do new players experience the glitch?
🤷♀️ I don’t see nearly as many complaints about it or people looking to see what happened to their game these days
http://tstoaddicts.com/2018/05/24/rollback-bug-solution/
Read this plus the comments
Absolutely unacceptable. And the fact that you need “receipts” to get your money back is disgraceful. This isnt a solution, it is criminal. If the motor in your car fails because of manufacturer defect, they dont DOWN GRADE your motor and call it a “fix”. Or “roll you back” to a later model. Im sure there is some litigation happening here. EA has screwed way too many people, and I’m not just talking about mobile games. Thank you so much for the info, Alissa. I have to catch up on your posts in TSTO. Too much good info missed
Receipts make total sense. If something happens to your engine you still need proof of purchase…
Since donuts are bought through Google play, they all the proof is right there. The wall between Google play and the TSTO game isnt as big EA would lead one to believe. Totally verifiable. Totally. At the very least, EA knows EXACTLY how many donuts have been used by each player. A roll back or new game should reflect how many donuts you get back, AND they know exactly what we have in our Springfield’s, so they CAN give us exactly what we lost, if they actually wanted to. And no, I can go to my mechanic and tell them the job wasnt done right and I dont have to show any receipts, because the COMPUTER knows who I am with a simple ID check. (not arguing with YOU, just amazed at the lack of business acumen show by EA, once again)
Yup, but they also email you receipts. So it shouldnt be hard to produce them
Yes, but who saves emails from 5 years ago? THAT is what I mean. They are counting on us deleting them because they take up room. Sad all around. So disappointed. Everything I have worked for is shot to pieces or I accept the glitch and live with it.
🙋♀️ lol I save everything. It’s all digital so why not lol
If you don’t save emails, you might consider getting a GMAIL account. They have enough storage that most people will never have delete anything. Also good for storing pictures (Google Drive – is better than saving them in email – you can share them without filling up someone else’s mailbox.)
Thank you. But I know this. Its not about owning a gmail account. That is neither here nor there
^^
Since EA announced that the event starts tomorrow, I say they should start it today and really get us all up on our toes! 🙂
Lol would make sense on a day I have a million things going on
Wow this post takes me back. I was an avid reader of TSTOTips and remember watching the daily soap opera unfold when it was revealed his site was hijacked. If Mr. T is still out there, or perhaps reading this, thanks for the great blog!
What’s interesting about that whole thing…is he literally only did the blog for a little under 6 months. 6 months. Period.
We used to swap emails…and he is a very nice guy with a pretty interesting story. He is still one of my “neighbors.”
I was a regular reader of Tony’s blog. And then he.. disappeared. *Poof!* gone, without even a goodbye. I kept coming back to his page, hoping he was on a long business trip and would return. And then it got weird. I knew that wasn’t the old Tony posting. It was a strange time. Fortunately, I found TSTO Addicts and TSTO Friends. Tony’s blog was the place I originally went for tips and strategy, but Addicts and Friends provided that, and more.. they were a community with a family feel. That’s what I love so much about Addicts today.. it’s a warm and friendly place where you meet other tappers of all ages from all parts of the world. On another note, I have to laugh when people complain of no down time between events. I remember getting super bored with TSTO because there was TOO MUCH down time. During those long weeks of down time, I mostly played Mystery Manor. TSTO has become so much more fun in recent years that I gave up MM altogether. I think those of us who have been playing since the beginning complain less because we remember “the old days” with all the glitches and server outages.
Bingo! TSTO has morphed so slowly, but surely…that many feel entitled to a better experience. Well…Even with the flaws…it is still a WAY better experience today.
I guess I do feel peer pressure, last week got the damn dam (the animation cracks me up, pun intended) and just the other day started KEM farming (do I look cool?) Have a question, how come so many players have their %s in the hundreds while mine stays at 110.10%?
get the Beach Hideaway’s and place all the upgrades
Because you have to build it up my friend… it takes time and donuts to increase your %. Gotta do the Mystery Box shuffle a lot!
I am over 3000% on one of my game. Took me less than year (from start) to get enough to stop KEM farming. The game is so much easier when you get above 2000%.
Here’s a question for the live anniversary podcast, which I think is interesting imo. You have the unique ability to review the past. The gift of Hindsight in digital print. 5ish years of reviewable posts. Would anyone change a past post based on what you know today. And why?
I remember I was a true premium player. I would spend anywhere from $70-120 per event to get almost everything. But after 2 years in it went down to $50 per month. Up until Nov 2017 when I started farming. Farming becomes a chore but I’ve spent thousands of dollars on this game already over 6 years so I think I deserve a break lol.
EEEEEEEk! As much as I don’t mind supporting EA a bit…what you wrote kinda breaks my heart to read. Please. Please KEM farm. Your bonus % must be huge.
I remember it all too well. I fell for Gamezino because I had to have an item everyone hated, the giant grasshopper. I have always felt sorry for Tony as it seems like he was a great guy and truly liked helping people. It’s sad how players thought he was EA and turned on him quicker than a NY minute. Hope he is happy and well and if it weren’t for him I wonder if Addicts,as we know it, would be like.
If he was still around…there woouldnn’t have been any of the other blogs. We would all be writing for him.
Hey Patric instead of old spice how about a 5 gallon drum of aqua velva for Christmas.
I never was an AV guy…Old spice, yes… AV? Blue. Just didn’t seem right.
Just curious…I once saw a video were some claimed you could get unlimited donuts/cash with a hack…I wasn’t tempted (what’s the point in playing the game if you just everything at once?)…but I was thinking if I were tempted I would just a new game to hand over (not the one I was currently playing)…would EA do something to your game or your device (or I.P., etc.) to stop you from playing or just freeze/eliminate that particular town.
Device no.
Yep. Loads of people had their games locked up. Gamezino wasn’t as smart as they thought they were.
I remember tstotips and the aftermath after the fallout. I stopped playing for a few years after that. Started back a few years ago. I was so bummed when it all happened. If I remember correctly. There was two major camps, afterwards; TSTO Addicts and TSTTOPIX. So glad you’ve taken the tsto ball and moved it foreword. Great work for the past 5 years guys.
Well…yes…and TSTOFriends. But, again…all water under the bridge. And in the end…I am “home.”
Oh ya, your blog!!! That was such a confusing time and the game was getting stale. I I just got married and had a kid. Crazy how much has changed for everyone in the past 5 years.
I admit, I was lured into the Gamezino trap. Mostly because I followed TSTOTips and fell for it when the site was hijacked and promoted Gamezino. I had mixed results from the endeavor – I did get my donuts and did not get locked out of my game, so that was fine. I also got my identity/credit card number stolen and fraudulent charges appeared on my account. Thankfully my credit card company caught them all and issued me a new card. So there was some extra hassle and heartburn over the issue, but it turned out OK in the end. I probably should have trusted my gut, since it seemed too good to be true.
Wow that’s the first instance I’ve heard of someone having their CC # stolen. Do they know if it was in fact stolen from Gamezino?
I know a lot of players who fell for the original Lamezino/TSTO Tips trick. A lot of people trusted Mr. T and thought he was the one telling them it was ok. I remember the massive amount of panic that set in that day when people realized it wasn’t him.
It was a very interesting time…to say the least. He who shall not be named, was really sleazy…and Tony got taken for a ride. But, soooooo happy those days are long gone.
I wondered if it was Gamezino doing the stealing for quite some time. I think your comment about never hearing about that before confirms it wasn’t. I had a weird error when I clicked the ‘pay’ button, everything cleared and I had to enter my CC info again. That should have been a big red flag (and was), but I wanted my donuts! I think another hacker got in there to take my info. Maybe their secure site wasn’t so secure.
Curiously, I could have claimed the Gamezino charges as fraud along with the others and gotten my donuts free, but since I actually got my sprinklies I let them keep my money.
I know of one hacker who’s insanely jealous he didn’t get a mention… 😏
Probably because he still hacks? Sorry…not gonna go there…LOL.
Lol 🤣😉
😅 I remember how difficult it was joining and signing into the official EA Forum on the smartphone back in 2012 (and having to do it on the laptop) 😂 ….. then, like in any public forum, the snark courtesy of the trolls (some were funny 😆 , others were just so bad they needed to be removed 😰 ).
Eventually, I found it easier to communicate with fellow Toppers here on tsto addicts (crikey, I haven’t been near the official EA forum in over 4 years!) But could you imagine how this game app would be without a tsto addicts? Having to utilize an EA forum is worse then waiting for a Facebook post and trying to gleam for significant info within a thread (filled with others posting away). So, I look back at the snark from EA directed at the trolls (playfully), lol, then remain grateful we have our group blog here. 👏
I never paid attention to those hackers exploiting the game app, but you better believe I took advantage of those suggestions and tips to maximize my potential to earn everything reasonably (that’s why I still Kem Farm). I DO miss having a reason to visit my Neighboreenos – Events do not reward like they used to and there hasn’t been a new Neighbor Prize learned by visiting neighbors and collecting points in over 2 years.
We have had some good updates, and some bad updates, but overall this game app is more satisfying than the 2007 PC game (to be fair, EA should take the time to update that game with better graphics and controls)😂
Ah, so this Gamezino “guy” is basically our Voldemort? 😂
lol that was the running joke 5 years ago..
Pretty much. Except Voldemort didn’t get caught admitting what he was doing on tape. LOL…now THAT was something I enjoyed.
Hahahaha wow
Note to self: Patric wants Old Spice aftershave for Christmas…
Now THAT made me laugh!! For years and years and years my kids gave me Old Spice for Christmas. Long after I stopped wearing after shave. I’m sure I still have a bottle or two or three in a box somewhere. I do use their deodorant though!
Not on topic but hope you can answer this for me. In visiting neighbour towns, I have seen a balloon flying with a dollar sign on it.what character has that “job”? Thanks. I love seeing it floating
around.
Arthur Fortune