Text Messages on your Cell Phone

[Wrestlemania]

Hello everyone.

I am a new player, and I also play Hattrick.

I noticed that Hattrick can send text messages.
So there is a great posibility for the same service on Planetarion.

Just imagine, when a reaserch is over, you recieve a text message on your cell phone.
When a Construction or a certain number of spaceships you recieve a text message on your cell phone.
When your planet or your galaxy are under attack, you recieve a text message on your cell phone.

And later, the game could registrate your number and let you send orders via text message.

How about that?

Tell me what do you think.

[noah02]

Already been suggested a lot and think even trailed once (think it was trailed while i was away for 2 rounds) but was thought to be to expensive.

[gzambo]

tbh it could work
you could go to preferances and click the boxes if you want an sms when a res/con is finished , or you have incoming (default setting for everyone would have to be off)
might be a nice little earner for pa but it would have to be cheapish or ppl just wont bother

[GReaper]

It's been suggested before, the main reasons against it from Kal were financial (I think). I believe that Spinner was considering doing this before in the early rounds, however there was a huge player backlash shortly before it was about to be implemented.

I'd like to see it implemented, it doesn't have to be a huge money making profit scheme, it should be used as something to help enhance the game. 1 game credit could buy 25 to 100 SMS credits for a game account. Certain mobile networks cost more to send to than others, you could either charge a variable amount according to how much it costs to send to the network, or offer a set fee of 10p per message.

Just 100 people using an SMS alert service could use up to £500 worth of game credits. It shouldn't be seen as something to try and make a profit from, the main benefit is allowing players to sleep - this might increase player retention. I'd be able to sleep during the night and rely on a text message, instead of getting up early incase someone didn't report my incomings.

[Snurx]

It would influence the game by the amount of money each player had. The base cost is enough, if something like this was to be implemented it would have to be free (or else it would be buying a better rank) and therefore it will never happen.

Besides, its abusabale. DC's getting sms when alliance is under attack etc

[wakey]

The way Spinner had planned it back in r3 was for it to work as follows.

On preferences you would have 3 options to fill in. Your phone number, the eta trigger limit and the amount trigger limit.

For a message to be sent both trigger had to be activated which made getting the balance right a key skill. After all you would have the following issues to consider

1) Set the eta too high and you would be told about every attack no mattter how pointless it is thus quickly using your credits
2) Set the eta too low and you wouldnt get informed until it was too late to really do that much about it
3) Set the amount too low and pointless attacks get reported thus wasting your credits
4) Set it too high and you may not get informed of the incoming

The great thing about the system which people ignored at the time is it required skill, it didnt totally do away with needing to be active and you could still catch people offline but you would now have to outsmart them at the same time. It certainly wouldnt be a system that would guarentee you always knew about incoming and that you were always defended.

ofc this was before races, races would probally require different trigger levels per incoming race. Also you would need to restrict it to 1 user per a phone and maybe require some kind of authentication via an automated txt confirming your phone was linked and requiring a reply with your login details otherwise people would just link a DC to all members and always have incoming reported which I dont think is a good idea

[Snurx]

Buying a cellphone number is dirt cheap. Most people probably have one or two cellphones that they dont use anymore, I know I have four lying around.
You buy a number, put it in a old phone, give it to your DC, all calls reported automatically. People make bigger sacrifices to be number one.

[wakey]

Originally Posted by Snurx

Buying a cellphone number is dirt cheap. Most people probably have one or two cellphones that they dont use anymore, I know I have four lying around.
You buy a number, put it in a old phone, give it to your DC, all calls reported automatically. People make bigger sacrifices to be number one.

As ive said though you would have to verify the phone, verifying the phone required your login info. Sharing of login info is a breach of the rules

[Snurx]

But how could that be enforced? How can you verify that the phone is actually with me and not with my DC?

And I still think that the biggest downsize is that you can buy yourself activity.

[Raging.Retard]

SS uses a similar SMS system for attacks. You pay an upgrade fee which entitles you to unlimited "attack alerts". The system only sends alerts at ~eta 4, just enabling you to run and save your fleet, rather than allowing you to mount a defence.

[Ace]

As far as i remember it was shot down because a lot of ppl in those easlier days didn't have a cellphone and it would unbalance the game to much in favour of the once with a cellphone.

I could understand the reasons then, but times changed.

[wakey]

Originally Posted by Ace

As far as i remember it was shot down because a lot of ppl in those easlier days didn't have a cellphone and it would unbalance the game to much in favour of the once with a cellphone.

I could understand the reasons then, but times changed.

That wasnt really the issue, after all the comprise was to add WAP something which at the time even most people with mobile phones didnt have.

The issue some people complained about was that as often happens in PA is one person doesnt read something properly and then a rumour takes off. In this case it was that this feature was there to allow the rich to buy the round by always knowing their incoming and be able to defend against it which obviously wasnt ever going to be the case due to the the triggers you had to set plus the fact that even with an alert you you need to get to a pc to do anything about it personally (although you could txt someone else to sort I guess)

[furball]

Although I was a newbie back then, I don't remember any of these triggers that Wakey describes. Bad PR for what was probably quite a good idea

[wakey]

Originally Posted by furball

Although I was a newbie back then, I don't remember any of these triggers that Wakey describes. Bad PR for what was probably quite a good idea

Back in those days things just got our of controll really esierly. Just look at when p2p was announced. Half the players truely believed that it was going into Spinner pocket and he was about to run off to the carriabean with loads of money.

[furball]

Originally Posted by wakey

Back in those days things just got our of controll really esierly. Just look at when p2p was announced. Half the players truely believed that it was going into Spinner pocket and he was about to run off to the carriabean with loads of money.

WOAH WOAH SPELLCHECK FOR THE DEAR LOVE OF GOD SPELLCHECK!!!!!!11


But yeah, I agree. Poor Spinner

[DaffyDuck]

it is an idea that has being discussed in the past however i just still cannot see it being cheap, thus hoisting up the cost to play etc, plus what happens if it gets laggy? we get loads of people complaining about how they wern't told there research had finished etc, and would you have it for incoming alerts etc? cos then it might aswell just be a bot game?? at the moment if u work out your research times u know when to come back, so unless u referring to alerting of incomings then i dont fully see the point? (persuade me :P )


UPSIDES : extremely useful and could be beneficial if used in the right manor,

anybody know any places that let you send out unlimited free texts etc??

how about an up's and downs list?? pro's and con's. open up the discussion of the idea a bit more

Thanks

DaffyDuck

[Chef!]

Originally Posted by furball

WOAH WOAH SPELLCHECK FOR THE DEAR LOVE OF GOD SPELLCHECK!!!!!!11

wakey doesnt know how to spell! or how to use a spellchecker lol

he spent too much time with zeus and contracted the feared typo disease.

"dnot yuo knwo i cnat speel?"

but yes definatly got pros and cons... i personally wouldnt fork out cash for an sms service and i dont believe many players would, but if it was free it might get used. Like others have said though, in the past the whingers got the better, im sure those whingers are still about.