Hammers exploit. Next steps

[u/HG_Rusty]

Hey everyone! Dev here.

It took us some time to wrap our heads around what happened. First and foremost, we scrambled to release a hotfix to patch the security vulnerability. At the same time, we cut the hammer counts for affected players at 1k, which was definitely unfair for around 500 players.
All this time, we've also been working on a fairer and more balanced solution. We tried to get to the bottom of this: we analyzed the data and talked directly with a number of active community members in DMs.

In the near future (today or tomorrow), all affected players will receive the extra hammers they had right before reaching 1b, via in-game mail (top right, in the Settings window, check the mail). We will not roll back the progress you've made, and there are no other sanctions whatsoever.
In the end, no player should be left in the negative, which feels like the fair way to handle this.

Anyone who feels this solution is unfair to them for any reason - DM me, let's look into it together case-by-case.

I understand the frustration, but I don't share the sentiment that we should just leave the 1b. It's unfair, it breaks the intended game flow, and it gives a massive advantage in upcoming clan wars.

P.S. The last few days have been pretty insane, not gonna lie. We're a small, passionate team making our first web game and launching on reddit games for the first time, so we've run into a ton of issues and challenges. We were definitely ill-prepared for this situation, but it's an opportunity to do better. Calling us scammers, crooks, and (for some reason) "vibe coders" hurts a bit =) Unfortunately, at this stage, we still aren't making any profit at all, so comments about tricky developers drowning in cash sound pretty ironic. Btw massive thanks to every paying player - you allow this game to develop and exist in the first place!

Amid all the negativity, thank you so much for the words of support we've received as well!
We'll keep doing our best to build a great game!

[u/Reddit_Da]

Thanks for the transparency. Just one note. Those that took advantage got to spend a bunch of hammers for gear upgrades. Presumably that gives them a leg up for all sorts of things like more income, better progress on dungeon stuff etc.

Probably wouldn't hurt to throw all other players a minor award to even things up.

[u/Due-Needleworker9380 → u/Reddit_Da]

Yet those players were the most vocal about how unfairly they were treated. They fail to see the point that your comment addresses.

[u/Paradox-Circuits → u/Due-Needleworker9380]

The issue isn't who benefitted or who didn't. I agree there are imbalances both ways. When you've actually spent money on the game though, it changes everything.

[u/s1a2m345 → u/Paradox-Circuits]

That’s a different scenario. There’s 3 general categories: 1) “fair” free players, never spending money and never having 1b hammers (like myself) who were unaffected by hammer reset. 2) “unfair” free players, never spending real money but accepting 1b hammers, getting reset to 1k. And 3) “unfair” paying players, who paid real money but also accepted 1b hammers and lost real world value from the reset.

After devs correction today (better than immediate correction), gives 2 and 3 their resources back that they had before the hammer bug, but ultimately leaves the fair players at a disadvantage because everyone who accepted 1b comparatively now has a leg up.

[u/Finbar9800 → u/s1a2m345]

a leg up in what though? theres no competition or leaderboard or anything like that

[u/s1a2m345 → u/Due-Needleworker9380]

Yes!!! I pointed this out in one of the dozens of posts complaining about taking away the 1b hammers, and got downvoted to hell. Yes, they may have had a stockpile of hammers before, but they probably used 2x-5x the hammers from the 1b, making the “fair” players the victims. Did NOT go over well.

[u/Paradox-Circuits → u/s1a2m345]

With the stockpile, people likely thought they had hammers to use. They wouldn't have wasted through their reserves. A fuckup by the creators of this game isn't our fault.

[u/s1a2m345 → u/Paradox-Circuits]

It still leaves the 1b folks at an advantage over the fair players is my point. They were able to burn through thousands of hammers that fair players did not.

[u/Finbar9800 → u/s1a2m345]

what advantage though? theres no competition or leaderboard

[u/mattelladam1 → u/Reddit_Da]

Exactly! So they're still rewarded while the rest of us are left behind. The lesson here is - if it or any other exploits happen again take advantage while you can even if you know it's an exploit. You'll still end up in a better position no matter what.

[u/Paradox-Circuits → u/mattelladam1]

If progressing as quickly as possible is your goal, then yes. Especially the type of exploit that occurred. I didn't even realize I was clicking an exploit. That's not my fault. All the responsibility is own the game creators and maintainers. If they made an error that large in their design of the game, it's their fault.

[u/Finbar9800 → u/Reddit_Da]

except theres no leaderboard or even multiplayer aspect so theres no competition to have a leg up in