Who knew Growtopia (2013) could suffer a similar fate to AQW (2008)? Most MMOs do. They thrive at first, withering in the future from others who want a leg up.
I believe that’s simply the nature of MMOs. Since they are Massively Multiplayer, it attracts people who don't think twice about the consequences as long as it gets them to the end. Most are competitive and opportunistic, that's normal.
Still, we believe that games are capable of becoming its best self and the players still care. Without further ado, why is Growtopia bad (right now) and how can the developers make work of what’s there? Let me give a hand and offer a few solu-ggestions!
10. Macro users inflate the economy
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Not the only macro.
Macro users destabilize the economy by using auto clickers to increase their farming time. This automation translates into more gems used to buy packs or World Locks. This isn’t sustainable because it’s not only synthetic but illegal! Like right now, you wouldn’t believe how easy it is to get Diamond Locks.
Solution:
Solving auto farming involves overlapping the solution with a better WL sink, better moderation, and a better bot detector. Proton SDK is simply limited, and migrating might involve developing a spin-off under Growtopia’s name. Explaining an explicit difference in branding might help because many veterans moved to Pixel Worlds because of the change.
9. Lack of an effective World Lock sinkhole
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Five diamond locks? Is that child’s play? Wait.
Crazy Jim, The Legendary Wizard, and Locke The Salesman work overtime to suck your wallet dry. Unfortunately, they need more employees like you. Growtopia lacks better currency sinkholes, that’s for sure. Megaphones still cost the same 40 WLs it did back then. Quality-of-life items made earning efficient, such as the Rayman’s Fist, Growscan 9000, MAGPLANT 5000, and Items of the Month.
Solution:
Although the game developers might be afraid of interfering too much with the community, I still think adding more NPCs might help. Growtopia having a mini-RPG similar to Startopia is one way.
8. Bot spammers are everywhere
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The game became a slideshow of sorts walking through START. Cool!
Like macro users, there’s an abundance of spammers seen everywhere. You meet them on trade worlds, casinos, and sometimes you get an army of trolls. This effectively degrades communication in-game, blocking valuable texts and broadcasts that might be important to read. These spammers also use various commands like /msg and special interactions to stand out.
Solution:
The developers have revamped their chat system many times. They added multiple message limits. If Growtopia wasn’t developed under Proton SDK, it might be possible to integrate a quality checker. If the bot breaks too many rules, they are auto-banned until Support investigates.
7. … So are the Growtopians on Creative Mode, punching far and flying unsupervised.
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Retrieved from SUPREMO GT. Growtopian floating midair, because who needs mod powers?
Multiple third-party tools allow you to bypass Growtopia’s rules. Imagine being able to unban yourself, read encryption, and fly.
Solution:
Restricting the punch/dropping/taking range of each item might help, so even if they’re flying or punching far, they’re hard-locked through code.
6. Unstable servers
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I still hear dubstep sounds every night.
The exact reasons are unknown why the servers crash, but several that we know of are because of the disks failing, the chat logs taking up memory, and bots overloading the game. When there are many commands thrown your way, there goes the toaster.
Solution:
Ubisoft Abu Dhabi is a newer branch of Ubisoft. Managing only a few games, it’s understandable for the team to fumble around. Unfortunately, until the company decides it’s ready, we might not afford extra disks till then.
5. Illiteracy plagues the community
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The world LOVE, a place where many English speakers hang out. Some people actually speak decently; so consider this the majority side of the picture.
Slang terminologies are common in MMOs. Some item descriptions are hastily written.
Solution:
This is a more cultural problem than a technical one. The developers may add more flavor by requesting the writers to include hidden lore. Although this isn’t on-brand with Growtopia right now, it is back then. Look at Growch!
4. Lower quality video content
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Retrieved from GrowTube Productions. Videos don’t have to look commercialized to be good. (Great work to JimpNotSimp / GrowTube, but he isn't the only one.)
Many Growtopia content creators no longer strive to create original content. Ripping a page from the creative writing textbook, nothing is original. Still, most innovations use pre-existing tools to create new things.
Solution:
Once again, this is a cultural habit. When content creators see others succeed with the same, monotonous clickbait content, they’re pressured to copy what works. The curated Content Creator program might need a bigger boost so that those who try harder are rewarded with proper publicity.
3. Some mods don’t understand what the game needs
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An example of a private server. Moderators these days are learning, but some should have learned from the beginning.
Moderators for the game are plucked both from the community and Ubisoft’s in-house team. Recently, they integrated the Guardians, meant to serve as mods-in-training. Still, the hiring process might be questionable because inexperienced players might join the team, unaware that there are unwritten rules to uphold.
Solution:
Newer moderators are better suited with a crash course from the @Veterans on how the game should be played and moderated.
2. Growtopia Support
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The Growtopian Code of Conduct. Growtopia Support has gotten better over recent years, but there’s still more ground to cover.
Because of the prevalence of illegal activities, Growtopia Support is often met with enormous obstacles, testing their patience with its players. Some reports don’t get dealt with fairly. Although the chat logs are readable, customer service cannot always extend to third-party communication.
One of the most common causes of Support miscommunication is ban evading. Legitimacy is often difficult to prove due to how the ban works. There’s an auto ban system put in place to protect the game from bots.
Solution:
“We invested in moderation and customer support and communication to the players to make sure we can have a non-toxic place," Theler says. Gamesindustry
Support might handle these messages better if they assign the Guardians to take over some reports. This might be unorthodox, but I believe Guardians have the potential to become more patient because of the lack of heavy workload typical moderators usually deal with.
1. Casino leniency
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This world presented itself to me in plain sight.
Ironically enough, this watered-down iGaming business situated in a kids’ game helps people make a living. I only have quips to say on this because gambling risks a child’s brain towards harmful, adult addictions. You might have heard something similar from STYX, an ex-moderator from the game.
Plus, Growtopia presents a point that scams happen more in places like these. Although there are reputable casinos, with money dangling and legal liability nonexistent, insurmountable risks are unavoidable.
Solution:
Instead of suggesting the removal of casinos (a beaten dead horse), I instead propose that awareness of health be again brought up to the youth. Build Growtopia to become a dumb game for smart children. Mature themes are fine, but it’s better in moderation! How about a spoof event on April 1, that actually ends on a high note on edumacation?
There’s only so much I could write, but I hope this inspires change. It’s an incomplete set of ideas begging for more players to protest peacefully against those in charge. Look at TF2’s community! Standing strong all these years, and protesting against the mishandling of the game.
I'm L.D., a new face on Gamers Decide. Don't misunderstand! I'm from the planet Kepler-22b. My Editor finally got back to me after their first hiring session in 2012. Quick catch! I'll be there, 2022!
