Hey there all. Figured with all the flames spurting up everywhere, I would take a few moments to tackle a very serious subject. Yes, I know we try to keep it light hearted round here but I felt I do need to take a few moments to touch on this subject matter …and then move on. Put down the pitchforks and torches as there will be no rioting allowed here. Let’s dive in, shall we?
(Thanks PKE for the image)
Many players were alerted to something in their games they may not have expected to see. A violation pop up. Why is this happening and why now?
(If you legally bought ALL your Clams from your App Market via the proper route through your TinyCo game and still found yourself missing some, contact them via your game menu.)
Let’s first of all look at TinyCo’s Terms of Use. You can find it quite easily right within your game itself.
Main Menu…
Help & Support…
Terms of Use…
Then just select the Terms of Use info…
From here you can see the basics of their description. Still do not understand them? Have more questions? There is always that really cool contact feature in the top right of your Menu in your game. Just drop them a message. Or use the “Was this Helpful?” at the bottom. 
Now on with it…
WHY WAS MY GAME SENT THE ALERT?
This is something you will need to address personally to TinyCo. Personal situations and matters are always best left ONLY between the parties involved. If YOU feel you received the message in error, then reach out to them. I am sure they will be more than happy to discuss it more privately with you one on one. Please do not ask any of the Addicts to get involved in the matter. This is COMPLETELY out of our hands and it is not our place or right to get involved at all.
To others seeing this happen, be kind and respectful. It is not anyone else’s place to be the Judge, Jury, and Executioner of these situations. You do not know the circumstances and situations of the players involved. Allow ONLY those involved to handle it. Attacking any other reader goes against our site Guidelines and will not be allowed.
Now let’s take a lil deeper look into this. WARNING: THIS IS MY PERSONAL TAKE ON THIS! That means that the words are of my own, my personal thoughts, and from my perspective. You may not like it or agree with it, but it is here to offer you a broader view on the situation and help you see a much bigger picture going on.
WHAT IS A HACK/CHEAT?
To put this in simplistic terms, this is when a person who does NOT work for TinyCo creates an altered version of the game and provides it to other players.
WHY ARE THEY A BAD THING?
If you take an original item and make changes to it, it is no longer the original. Due to this, the NEWLY created item has not been properly tested to perform and work as the original was. There are no guidelines they followed or that they had to abide by. No regulations. It won’t have the most current and up to date changes and patches that the original would get. The information and details can be completely wrong and out of date. Who knows how it will react to your device. Who knows if there is a patch fix if it will even help as the patches are made for the original not an altered version.
Simply put, they can be full of glitches. Making your game harder to run a lot of the times and more prone to issues. This is something TinyCo did NOT approve of or make. Someone else did.
On a more serious note, think of it this way. Someone created a file of their own and you put it on your device. What else is in that file? You basically just installed malware/virus onto your device. Now step back and think of all the personal info you have on that device that you just gave a complete stranger access to. Bank accounts? Passwords? Personal Pics? Etc. Feeling oh so comfy still?
WHAT ABOUT 3rd PARTY PURCHASES?
A 3rd Party Purchase is anyone OTHER than TinyCo and your App Market (Google, Amazon, Apple) that you buy items for the game from. So that “friend” on Facebook that offered to hook you up, they are a 3rd party. That “deal” you found online or on eBay, that is a 3rd party.
HOW DO THEY KNOW WHAT CLAMS I BOUGHT?
TinyCo does have ways to track each and every Clam in a players game. It will show them what are bought and paid for through the App Markets and what ones were obtained through “Outside Sources” aka 3rd Party.
It is very easy for them to track if you bought 500 Clams then obtained 1500 more from elsewhere. So if you saw a huge drop in the count, it was them taking back the “Outside Source” obtained Clams.
If you did NOT go through any Outside Source or 3rd Party to obtain Clams, but still seem to be missing some…please report it to them via your in game menu and they will look into the matter.
WHY ARE 3rd PARTY PURCHASES BAD?
Here again you are giving personal information AND a payment to someone not authorized or held to any accountability. Where is that money going? Will they take more than you told them they could? Is it reliable?
Think of it as this, you work a long 60 hour week at your job. At the end of the week you go to pick up your paycheck and it is $0. So you just worked really hard for nothing. Feel good about it? Now think how those workers that made the game you’re playing feel when people take food off their table and money out of their paychecks for all the time, hard work, and effort they put in. Seem fair?
You want lowered prices for items? You help bring them down by paying into the game the right way. If more money is given to someone else and is lost and the costs to make the game goes up, so will prices of items in the game to cover that difference. If the Company continues to not make money on the game to pay its employees, to keep the lights on in the building, to get copyrights, to pay lawyer fees, etc… the game gets shuts down and everyone that put all that time and effort and money into it now have nothing to show for it. Sound like a good idea?
Now for an even “funner” side, you just gave payment information to a stranger. Do they now have access to a major credit card or bank account? Did you have to fill out any information with your address? What if it does not work, are they gonna refund you? (You didn’t buy it from TinyCo so they do not owe you the refund for a faulty purchase.) Do you really trust this unknown person?
Let me shine a lil more light on it for you. Last year another App Game we write about ran into a very sad and sticky situation. A handful of people tried to pass themselves off as reliable outside sources of “product and deals”. Many players tossed money at them only to find out not only were the items promised not delivered, they lost their games and all they worked for, their bank accounts were wiped out, identity theft, break ins at their homes (for those that provided addresses on those “fill out” forms), on and on and on. A lot of good people lost a lot and are still fighting to get it back…and I am not talking about just a silly game. Still sound like a good deal?
I will sum this all up by saying this, it is bad. Bad for the Company that makes the game, bad for all the honest players who are putting their money in the game to have someone else ruin it and drive prices up even more for them, and bad for you in so many ways.
Terms of Use are put into place to PROTECT. Protect YOU, the Game, the Company, and everyone involved.
WHAT DOES TINYCO HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT?
Because I really do like to allow many voices heard and a bigger picture seen… here is a great breakdown of it all from Matt @ TinyCo
Hi y’all,
Today we are rolling out enhanced anti-cheating measures in Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff, the most noticeable of which is that we are removing clams from players caught cheating. The goal of these measures is to curb a recent rise in players using unauthorized versions of the game to illicitly earn clams and in-game content.
This change affects less than 1% of the total daily user base. While the total number of users is small, it had grown enough in recent months to warrant decisive action and additional protections. Due to this growth, we saw three troubling trends:
- Increased posting of cheats and cheating accounts on social media
- A similar increase in phishing scams purporting to be cheats
- Bugs stemming only from players having used a cheat, taking TinyCo Support resources away from legitimate players
In the past, this behavior has been minimal enough to warrant case-by-case action by TinyCo. As it increases, however, it damages the overall experience for legitimate players and distorts the feedback we receive about the game.
Moreover, we cannot guarantee the stability or safety of a game that has used a cheat. We have an obligation to protect our players as much as we can from phishing scams, so we are working to get both phishing scams and cheats removed. In the meantime, we must stress the oldest Internet safety rules:
- Do not give out your username and password to anyone on the Internet
- Do not download software from an untrusted source
Privacy and malware concerns aside, we cannot guarantee the stability of a game that has used a cheat, and TinyCo Support will be unable to provide assistance to any issues that do arise.
We would like to continue providing a fun experience for all of these players, which is why we are not banning players at this time. In the future, however, we will ban the account of any player found cheating a second time.
To read our Terms of Use, visit: http://www.tinyco.com/websitetermsofuse.htm
If you love the game, then we want to hear from you, and we want to give you the ability to continue playing. If you have any comments or questions about this, please do comment or send them my way. We’ll do our best to give answers when we can, and we will discuss every piece of feedback with the team.
-Matt
Here is a link to another great conversation and a way to really understand it all from Matt…
Once again always thinking of the players.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON KEEPING THOSE PLAYERS THAT VIOLATED AROUND?
As stated above, there may be more circumstance involved with some of these accounts we do not know about nor that are our business. I for one applaud TinyCo in the manner in which they did this. Why? Mainly due to there are still people who naively think everything online is trustworthy. As with the other app, many players can be blindly misled into believing something was OK.
I also find it a great show of the Company’s willingness to be open to their players when they offered many a “Second Chance”. I am sure that there is not one of us that can say we NEVER in our lives messed up. Not one. If given a Second Chance do we become a better person from it? With this, only time will tell.
The playing field was just leveled. The risk of any further violation has been halted and everyone is aware of the consequences. Further abuse by the same person will result in their game permanently terminated. Going forward I see this as a way of making the game and the community around it even stronger. I once again am amazed at just what TinyCo does for its players and community and the professionalism they showed on this matter just keeps moving them up in my book.
Now for something I am sure you will ask…
WHY ISN’T MY COMMENT ON THIS POST?
(Outside the usual Moderation wait period of course) To avoid this post from turning into a “troll” or “flame war” or “player bashing” post (I saw the other sites and what they turned into, NO THANKS!) … I will not be allowing any comments that go against Addicts Guidelines. Just in case you are curious, here are Our Site Guidelines. If you would like to ask any further questions on the matter or want to have a CALM and reasonable discussion, you are welcome to add to the comments. We however will NOT allow it to turn into a finger pointing or degrading comment war, so please keep the focus on a HELPFUL AND RESPECTFUL way of communicating. No pitchforks or torches allowed. Angry mobs can go find another castle to storm.
Comments on this matter will only be allowed on THIS post and no where else. So please don’t try to put them elsewhere.
Remember, there is always a bigger picture to things than that which only you can see. You may not completely understand something, that is OK. We will do all we can to try and help you understand and if we do not know, just ask TinyCo. They are happy to help out too. It is their game after all.
In the end just play the game, enjoy it, have fun, chat it up with other readers, make new friends, and see the world through eyes other than your own. You may learn a lot and end up finding you like things you never did before. Give respect and you will be amazed at what you get in return. Kindness goes a long way.
~Bunny
Family Guy Addicts 
Anyone have any info on refunds? I have spent over $50 with this star trek event and i am very dissatisfied with the game. I just want my money back at this point since obviously i can’t get my wasted time back. With so many glitches it doesn’t matter how much money you spend, you just can’t get everything.
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We aren’t TinyCo, so we’d have no knowledge of those policies. Sorry. A matter you’d have to take up with them. Feel free to reach out to them from your game menu.
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I just do not get WHY would anyone cheat on this game… 😦
As a freemium player, i can say IT IS NOT HARD to get free clams…
im a lvl 36 player… i have 2 workers, jake turker n church, consuela… have speed up some times..
maybe it seems like too little… but that has been enough for me (got everything on halloweens event).. BECAUSE I ENJOY playing…
it aint fun to get a reward i didnt work for.
on the other hand, yes… maybe they should add something for those who TRULLY didnt cheat (or at least not intencionally caused harm, like those buying/getting clams from 3rd party)
Have a nice playing! 🙂
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Really TinyCo what a load of ******, They make it almost impossible to get clams, That’s why people cheat big whoop right w/e. They should make the game more enjoyable to play by maybe exchanging some of your currency for clams but they wouldn’t do that because they’d lose **** load of money by doing that. The only thing I’m really pissed bout is that didn’t get to spend my clams fast enough. I guess it’s back to playing at a snail’s pace again
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I appreciate the moderaton. We really shouldn’t assume each other is cheating. Tiny Co knows, but I feel as though they should’ve outlined a complaint form, with receipt submission file sections, before issuing the statement and consequences.
Cheating was getting really bad! If you had max fright level on the first day of the event…there was not a way to buy that in the game on the first day of the release. It was very frustrating for me to keep up with everyone else, so I can only imagine how hard it was for people that pay for every single thing to keep up.
I do think players who knowingly cheated should be able to continue playing. The temptation to cheat was so high. Given the opportunity without visible risk, I may not have said no myself.
I think the stop on cheating will benefit us all positively. We’re already seeing freemium releases, so Tiny Co is trying to decrease their appearance of greed. Without cheaters, they can get a realistic view of what the majority are willing to pay, how much time we are truly spending in the game for challenges, and what we really like because we won’t be buying everything we see with cheat clams.
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My game reinstated. What had happened: Someone had attempted to put their code or whatever into a hack and instead put mine in, I received a bonus amount of clams and didnt say anything. Something like an in game miracle. However, when I got the message It made me seem like it was my fault. Either way at least now I can talk to tech support. However due to a glitch I dont think I’ll get my ecto car as they don’t seem to respond and have flagged me as the scum of their player base. Just my 2 cents.
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I just received an apology, presumably the same as the others are getting because it’s a form not a personal message. It states the flag has been removed which is most important to me because it means my game is no longer in jeopardy. It also states my clams have been restored. They have not been returned. I will continue to play but try to revert to being a free jim player. This was a shock that made me realize that the hundreds of dollars I have spent on this game could be gone in a heartbeat. I have no hard feelings against TinyCo. In fact if this saves me money in the long run, I will be thanking them. If you have an expensive addictive behavior that you are jolted out of it’s a good thing. Of course depending on how the American Dad event goes, I could be spending $50 on clams tomorrow. That’s how addiction works. You get thrown out of the bar on Friday night and you’re back again on Saturday begging them to take your money.
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*freemium
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Just received my apology from TinyCo. Unflagged and all is ok. Yeah! Did not however return my clams. Sent another message. I hope they will return them soon before new event starts.
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lol look at the comments****
also the simpsons tapped out is now better because they are ok with it lol
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So I was one of the few legit users who was flagged. I finally received an email from Tinyco and they did inform me that they flagged my account by mistake and restored my account to good standing. However they informed me that my currency wasn’t affected, which isn’t completely correct. While yes my coins weren’t affected my clams were. I lost 401 and the opportunity to purchase Consuela at 40% off because I decided to wait to spend any clams until this issue was resolved.
I completely support Tinyco in going after cheaters / hackers, but I think their first priority should be to fix all the bugs in their game first…
Just my $.02…
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I guess I am a bit confused. This just happened, but took place AFTER the Consuela option of 40% was removed.
If you are still missing Clams from something else, readdress it with them.
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No, I initially received the notice on 11/4 but decided to wait to use any clams and only continued to play sparingly because I was a bit upset. It was my choice to not spend clams because I wasn’t really sure how they would check my game so wanted it to show the 250 that it was reduced too. I have sent them another in-game email so hopefully they will return them soon…
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I personally love this. I love knowing that the company is keeping people honest. Although I never had any doubts before, it definitely makes me feel safer and more secure in spending my money in this game. And I think I am happier to spend my money knowing that it’s going to good people who love their job and take the time to deal with us, whether it be as a group or on an individual basis. And THANK YOU to you guys on here for putting up with us and being there for us several times each day with new information and new insights. The whole thing feels like a well oiled machine and I am grateful for the people who make it happen. 👍❤️
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🙂
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Well first off love this site. Have been using it to keep in the know since right before the full moon event. Yall that run this do a great job.
Now for my comment on this issue.
I got caught. Ill admit it I used a hack. But before I did I spent 200$ in clams during the full moon event and before it was during the Comic-Con event that I figured out how to do it. There was no virus my pc is still clean. I did my own didn’t trust anyone with my log in stuff. I knew it wasn’t right and I knew it wasn’t gonna last forever. Kinda like the mobsters in goodfellas lol. It was nice while itlasted. Im still gonna play I’m just gonna have to go back to buying clams. Fortantally ive had two raises at work since the last time Ihad to lol. All in all I am thankful for the second chance. Like I said in the group I was part of. We knew it was wrong and we got caught. Time to start saving up for the american dad event.
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Well, as we speak of this hasty topic… I do admit I have gotten help and there is no use hiding the source, but I had used a source from that ****** (You know the one!) And, well, I do admit my actions are morally wrong and thus, I really don’t deserve to play the game in all of its greatness anymore. I will continue playing the game… Of course, now I will not lie I have used cheats no longer! I will have all of the beta items out in the open in my town, so everyone knows that I cheated. I will no longer hide that fact and let people think I am some sort of super rich addict to the game. All of this travel…. For 3 more batteries…
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A good rule of thumb: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
I had no idea that the hack/cheating community was so prevalent for this game. I’ve been playing another app game for a few years now – different story elements, but the same idea of earning different types of currency, one commonly earned in-game and a more exclusive currency that you usually have to pay real money for. About a year ago, the other game increased the rate at which it released new items and started running limited timed events as well as items that were extremely expensive. For someone who prided themself on collecting all of the items, it was incredibly frustrating to fall behind the curve.
When I searched for ways to improve my game play, I remember stumbling across those “survey” sites that promised to give you rare currency and/or special items as long as you provided various forms of information to them. More than anything else, seeing those suspicious sites helped me come to terms with not collecting everything and being content as a freemium player in that game, as well as all similar games I’ve started playing since then. I’m kind of shocked that enough people fell prey to those scam sites to pop up on the radar of a game’s developers, but I probably shouldn’t be.
Anyway, I guess the point I’m trying to make is – I’m glad TinyCo has taken steps to ensure the game is safe and fair for everyone.
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I don’t have an altered game and can’t buy as many clams as I would like to but I still think it’s cool of TinyCo to handle the situation this way. I worked in an environment where I discovered people were cheating so instead of coming down hard on them I offered an amnesty giving them an opportunity to stop the activity. Most got the message and didn’t try again which made things easier for me and more pleasant for all of us. I also think the 250 clams they are allowing people keep is generous, good for those who love the game and want to keep playing.
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Hello, addicts everywhere,
This is my favourite topic on familguyaddicts so far, as it seems the strongest, bringing the community together one.
Thanks and congrats to the site admins (Bunny and Alissa)!!
I’ve read about the event only after it happened, while regularly checking this site. I was happy to use original OS firmware that I think does not allow me to even consider using unofficial variations of the game.
To the guys who were accused falsely, It is obvious that TinyCo put a whole lot more effort in investigating these mishappenings than in trading ghost traps for vials (counter bug). 😛
Would only suggest to bare with it and wish your issues are resolved after friendly contacting them.
Making mistakes is human, forgiving is divine!
Best wishes and good luck,
Matt (not that one 😉
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I think I’ll feel better knowing that people who are WAY ahead of me during events, etc., are truly spending their money to do so. I log on a gazillion times a day during events to maximize my payouts and am very successful on getting everything offered that doesn’t cost clams. I splurge on things I really want by patiently saving my free clams. If people want to pay for more…go right ahead! But, although I def have considered it, I wouldn’t see the point in blowing any “challenge” in the game to cheat. I’m glad to see the playing field leveled for all the free users!
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I totally agree. It is a little weird/disturbing (you name it) to see screencaps of people having like 2568523412563128653 Clams
And you are like “What?” What is the ponit of playing like that ?
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Hmm… I have a mix feeling about freemium games in general. As I do not really classify this as a “game” I do not have an opinion on cheaters on it. I have bought clams a few times as I have wanted some content. I am sure (hopefully) that tinyco is paying a few fees to gain the rights to character usage so some fees are understandable. I am and will continue to be disappointed that the fees that people pay do not translate into more content. The excuse that people who didn’t buy the content will feel left out is weak. If your not going to stand by the content you charge for by adding engaging actions for the premium content then I can not understand the real concern with hacks. I bought the halloween characters. I bought the premium characters. Let the freemium players play there game but do not undermine the people paying you. This is the whole reason these games exist. Hook people then get then to buy add ons. Don’t forget that.
My rant.
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Tinyco have finally got back to me, after looking at my account they have said that I got the ‘violation of terms of use’ warning in error and they have removed the flag from my account and have said I have nothing to worry about.
So if your are truly innocent in getting this warning too. Just message them so they can look into your account and get it cleared.
It’s such a relief to have this resolved so now I’m going to get back to playing the game again in the same way I always have 🙂
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Thank you for updating us. 🙂
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No problem.
Just want to help people in the same situation I was in.
Looking forward to this American Dad event now 🙂
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Happy to hear. How long did it take to get a reply?
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About 2 days.
It’s a horrible feeling playing waiting game 😦
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So funny that this news comes out the same day that the south park episode describes the dirty side of this type of business…Hard to sympathise with the big winner.
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I spent 100 dollars on 3,500 clams and had spent about 1,300 so I had 2,200 or so left. I got the TOS warning and they took all but 250 clams. I have contacted Apple and am disputing the initial charge. Hopefully I end up getting my money back since Tiny Co has never answered any of my emails with anything other than a form letter.
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If you contact TinyCo for an error of Clams purchased directly through your app market, they are correcting the very minimal few that were pulled into the clearing out accidentally. Just ask Bob, one of the readers here. 😉
Of course if you’d prefer the other method, that is your option. Myself…I’d rather go through TinyCo to have the issue corrected and my account not flagged. Just my opinion.
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I have heard that will work but i don’t want to take the chance, the next time I could be wrongly banned and lose out on one hundred dollars.
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If you do NOT contact them now…then that flag will be on your account from now on. If you do NOT want it there and the issue was in error, I would contact them to resolve it. My thoughts on it.
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Thanks for the advice, but i am done with this game and Apple has said they will refund my money due to what they said was a “flood” of complaints from people who paid for clams and had them stolen.
What tinyco did was the equivalent If i bought a 60 inch TV from Best Buy and then Sony came in an took the tv, replaced it 32 inch and said i needed to prove I bought it before they would return it.
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Sorry to here that.
I do not view it that way, but that is my opinion.
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I applaud Tinyco for giving players a second chance. Some people may not understand the downside to hacking or think it’s harmless. I started my first freemium game back in January (TSTO) and I didn’t know about sites like this one. Being new to this world I looked online for tips and found a bunch of links for hacks. I was just looking for ways to maximize my gameplay because I thought my earning rate was too low. Instead I find sites that offered previously released items no longer available. For someone like me, seeing a lot of positive reviews worded in a way that makes hacking seem benign is something that is hard to turn down. Luckily, I couldn’t get past all those stupid surveys, so I never hacked my game. If I had, I would have downloaded a hacking program thinking it wasn’t harming anyone and I could get a small boost in my game. So thank you Bunny for posting this information and thank you Tinyco for giving players a second chance. (Now I understand some of what goes into creating and maintaining a game). Not everyone who hacks their game is just trying to buck the system. Some are like me, naive newbie players who don’t know any better.
I also would like to request that fellow addicts who use Facebook or other social media sites to please repost Bunny’s article (with your permission Bunny?). We need to get the word out to prevent people from falling victim to game hacks. There are people who don’t know about this site (I didn’t find this Addicts site until two months after I started FG:TQFS and I realized there was a sister site for TSTO about a month after that. It took me awhile to find you all but I’m so glad I did!) 🙂
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You are always welcome to share our stories. Happy to help anyone we can at all time. 🙂
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I have played almost daily, since the first day of launching the game and have accumulated 930 clams, for free. I am a freemium player and just play regularly, so eventually, the clams, jello shots, bombs, traps, vials, etc. just add up. I’ve been down to $0 and am now back at half a million and that’s with purchasing all the land and most of the free buildings and decos. I get a lot of enjoyment from this game and simply spend a lot (A LOT!) of time playing. I feel TinyCo is generous with payouts and with your help, has modified drop rates, time constraints, etc. Keep it up, y’all!
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I will never spend a penny on a fremium game. I was sort of enjoying this game after some anonymous person added about 50,000 clams and other stuff to my game. After having this taken away, I will uninstall the game, and I will have to decide whether or not to continue watching the show on television.
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what TinyCo is doing has nothing to do with the show….
Family Guy is still an awesome n funny show, the creators/producers of the show don’t have anything to do with the game.
TSTO made by EA don’t care about players having like a million donuts, TinyCo is trippin
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This is going to sound like I work for TinyCo, but I absolutely do not.
I really can’t imagine why anyone would feel the need to cheat on this game. I am a 100% “freemium” player and I’ve been playing since around the circus event. I have nearly every single character (that I have wanted) between now and then; including Buzz Killington, Consuela, Jake Tucker, and Jason Voorhees. ALL bought with clams I’ve earned in the game.
Unlike TSTO, when they put up a prize to earn through tasks, you CAN earn it without having to spend premium currency. It may take a willingness to really grind, but it can be done. And, (again, unlike TSTO) I love TinyCo’s honesty about premium items. “Here’s Bryan Cranston or the Predator. Want ’em? This is what they cost.” They don’t give you a false impression that you can earn them through gameplay, knowing darn well that you *can’t* without spending premium currency.
I’m a “freemium” player, but I’ve made up my mind that I would/will slap down a little cash if a premium character comes along that I *really* want. That is 100% because of the way TinyCo operates, listens to its players, etc. I hope they never start to go the way of those other guys.
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I think it’s really nice of TinyCo to offer a 2nd chance. I must say I had considered getting involved with 3rd party clam buying…but I am not comfortable in buying from random people & it’s just not safe,,I also thought how much fun would the game really be if I was able to just buy everything? The game would get boring pretty quickly!! I read where people complain about constant crashing & problems-my game runs fine with a very occasional crash. Anyways,,love the game. Thank you for all your time & effort that you put in to help all of us out here!!
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Just curious how you view this “trick/cheat”. The putting phone on airplane mode and resetting/taking out battery/etc. In order to try the percentage chance again for items. This used to work for items (like eyeballs) to reset your odds (opposite of getting the item then game crashing and next time you didn’t get it). They recently put a patch in for this so you will always get or not get an item. Not sure on mystery boxes if it still works or not.
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Glitches in the game are something completely different. Yes, people will use them to their advantage. That is something completely out of the realm of this topic though.
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Those of you wrongly affected, if it hasn’t already been fixed, it will be. I was in the same boat, and after talking to TinyCo they refunded the clams they took away. I was a very angry, insulted Bob when accused, but I went through the process and it all worked out. I was ready to give up on the game, but TinyCo proved (at least to me) that they really do care about the customer. If you don’t believe me, I’m sure you can find my posts on another article saying I was giving up. TL;DR If you honestly did not cheat but were affected, TinyCo will definitely make it right for you.
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I don’t hack I pay ( quite a lot!) I’m probably one of the nieve one’s cos I thought that’s how it was done. I also guess TC will read this excellent post as they usually do so can you please stop my game crashing every 30 seconds ( xperia z) ******. J
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If you would like technical help…we have a lot of great posts about it.
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Adding my 2 cents here. I got busted for a terms of service violation although I’ve never used a third party app. However, I stupidly forgot to update my google wallet and was using a expired credit card once to buy clams. While absolutly stupid of me, it was never my intention to defraud tiny Co. Being told I was using a third party app was was wrong tho so I’m wondering is using expired credit cards to buy stuff is a issue with now just tiny Co but google play as a whole
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My suggestion is contact them on the error if you feel there is one.
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Aready did 2 days ago when it happened, Bunny. My guess is they are being swamped right now so it may take a few more days for them to reply. I was livid when it happened, thinking it was a huge error on their part and wrote to that effect. Once I realised it was me, I ate a lot of crow and messaged them back basically saying I’m a dummy. Always make sure your credit card info is up to day on ALL sites, Chambers. Especially if you use PayPal, steam, Google wallet and all that stuff
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It may be the case. Many are writing in right now.
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When I originally checked out the family guy page about five months ago or so It didnt offer me any help just people who wanted you to add them (like I would allow a stranger to be a fb friend). So I looked online and found this friendly place…oddly enough it had info that was useful and everyone seemed cordial to each other…but before I found addicts just about every site was for hacks.
So a few months ago after reading about how bad it was in there now I checked it out….way worse than people described it..F you Tinyco was a third of it. People complaining about anything and everything was the next biggest group…and then on every post there were dozens of links to game hacks…which blew my mind..This page is ran by Tinyco!! ..and you are posting pics of having over 40K clams? …crazy.
So when Tinyco busted this large group of cheaters I was happy…seriously I feel bad about the few innocent people that got the message but I know if I had to prove myself google play keeps records of all purchases. .
Seriously the game is freemium. .you can get all of the free characters pkaying freemium (I proved this during the comicon event..after droids were made to wait a week I didn’t want to reward them by purchasing anything..and I got Takei….easily)
All the above being said I also find Tinyco somewhat at fault here…for the past few months and probably longer The Tinyco fb page has allowed people to post links to third party sites…they did not delete them or ban people from their page..by saying and doing nothing on their OWN page might as well said it was cool.
Either way its about personal integrity. .about doing what is right regardless if someone is there to see it or not. For those that say all it was was cheating…even in a virtual world if you take something that costs real money..you are no longer cheating…you are stealing…you are a common thief. .
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Although I am not livid or anything like that I can completely see why honest gamers are upset with hackers veing rewarded 250 clams. You have group A that has been spending a little to a lot to get every item they want ..it could be 5 bucks or it can be hundreds…then you have group B over here never spending real cash but they have every item that has ever come out and thousands of clams…their punishment is they get to keep every item AND have 250 clams for their next purchase….not saying you should reward people with integrity anything but wow Imagine police busting people who robbed a jewelry store..not arresting them..allowing them to keep anything the stole..and given some free vouchers for s steak dinner as they are sternly told..do it again and we will arrest you…enjoy your free steaks lol
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As I stated above, more to it than simple wrong and right. Honest and/or naive people were pulled in too. So it is difficult to customize for each and everyone, so in my mind they found the most justified option they could across the board.
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I had no idea this was a problem. I did wonder at times how some people were so far ahead in events so soon, 100,000+ Spirit Vials in week two of the event, really?? But I am a freemium (plus a few purchased clams) player and figured they were legitimately buying premium items to progress faster in the game. What is the point of getting cheated/hacked clams and buying up everything, where is the challenge in that? My strategy is to earn enough clams the right way to buy all the Facespace Characters, like Consuela, etal. When Consuela went “on sale” I was elated, because I was able to use some of my hard earned clams, plus a few clams bought during comic-con as well. I was able to get her much earlier than I thought I would, as clams take so long to earn the freemium way. I was figuring I would be able to get her about 6 months from now, but am now ahead of the original pace I was on. Much more rewarding than just cheating and buying up everything in sight.
Hopefully the price structure of the game will change as a result of this news. Maybe the change in how many clams people legitimately have will help reduce the overall prices of the premium items. The theory of supply and demand would create a lower demand for premium items because less people (cheaters) have unlimited clams to spend on them. The less premium items bought, the more likely TinyCo will have to lower the prices and offer more sales, etc.
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I do agree with that last part, I have noticed TinyCo is making more new characters available without the use of clams, like mr. weed and Diane Simmons had to be “bought” with vials and character tasks so I am glad about that.
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I personally have had a few bad experiences with cheating that didn’t end that badly but still, enough to make me learn a lesson. I once played a same type game on facebook ( it didn’t have unlockable charagters , but still basically a freemium build you own type of game). Then one day a friend of mine found a hack for the game. I had started playing way before him and had got way further than him with hard work, and then suddenly he was way ahead of me. He had tons of stuff, premium and free. He offered me a chance to use the hack, but I told myself I’m better than this. That I get what I get through hard work. But one day, I cracked. I couldn’t take it anymore. Working hard, wasting tons of time and still being way behind on him, when he barely even played the game. I used the cheat. It felt good for a while, seeing how great my design looked like. But it wasn’t the same anymore. I found myself not even finding any reason to go to the game. I had it all, and there was nothing to do anymore than to look at my great design, but how long can you look at just the same one design. I soon quitted the game and told never more shall I use a cheat to get things easily in a game. It takes away the fun of achievement.
By the way, that friend of mine is highly unstable, when it comes to gaming. He starts playing a game and in a few weeks he finishes. And when he is playing a freemium game, he almost always tries to find a hack to get everything. I even invited him to play quest for stuff during comic con event. He playd and finished within a few weeks.
It was really dissapointing to see, as this is truly my favourite freemium game. It Requires collecting things, hard work and good stragedy to achieve what you want and I like that. Tinyco always keeps the game fresh and interesting.
I also have a second story about hacks and cheats. This story is about how luck saved me. I too fell for the known tapped out scam. It all just seemed so perfect. I’m not actually a person who trusts these kind of things, but seeing hundreds of positive comments of how everybody got what they wanted and not finding anything negative against it online yet, I got blinded. I started reasoning with myself. I asked myself if it would be a scam would truly these people who had always been so trustworthy lie to my face. Would somebody truly make hundreds of different positive comments under hundreds of different names just to make a little scam. And probably the biggest reason why I did it was thinking of how cheap I can get all these donuts and limited time buildings, what might never return again (taling about the waterfall and mapple store). So I actually placed an order for 60$. But somewhy it didn’t let me through. I started thinking of how unlucky I am that such a great offer and I can’t just use it. After a few days the site was under a password protection, cause of to many orders. I went to google the password to try to place the order again and then I found the true face of this entire thing. I found all that was written about how they placed the order and never got anything in return. I realised how lucky I was. Soon I read about how EA caught the guy behind it and had brought him to justice.
After these 2 happenings I don’t think I will ever try hacking/cheating or trust a third party site ever again.
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I will admit I used a cheat service (since I’m anonymous here) like many others I used a service that doesn’t charge a dime or collect any personal information. They also provide this service for tapped out (for legal reasons I will not mention the name but those who have used them know who I mean) as far as cheating sources they are legitimate and safe. They only offer past event items that you were unable to acquire (due to time limits) and clams/donuts (never give event currency)
As to why I used them first, I do not wish to spend large amounts of money for tiny bits of virtual data. Second I am working overseas and do not have a reasonable way to pay for virtual data.
If the number of cheaters is less than 1% is it really necessary to crack down and take the clams? I believe the warning would have been sufficient as the site that I have used has officially suspended all help for family guy
Prior to this warning and removal of clams I had used 20, 000+ clams acquiring premium content which would have cost $600 which seems outrageous for virtual data
Anyway that’s my 2 cents, feel free to condemn me as your virtual threats are meaningless
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I appreciate your honesty and response. I also appreciate you following our guidelines and keeping names out of it. Thank you.
It is always interesting to see other sides, regardless what they are.
As to the why of it all…Matt described it best (we saw it too). Many glitches caused lock outs on games. Many delays in response times from tech support while they tried to fix them. Majority boiled down to be created by unauthorized games. I hate seeing players helpless and I can’t do more for them. I also don’t like them having to wait for help. It made a domino effect of people needing legit help but having to wait too long for it for a game that wasn’t made by TinyCo. Wasted time and resources.
If there is a line out the door of people…it sucks to be in that line vs another with just 2 or 3 people. 🙂
The rest…well I won’t get into. I said it all above. 😉
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Richard, you state it was a bad move for TinyCo to remove players Clams. Well, somebody on the message board posted a pic of their Quahog about a bug involving the character status icon missing and it shows his Clams, Coins and Vials were all in the 10 millions!!!
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Joe if this hadn’t happened to me I would probably be nodding my head in agreement right now, but it did happen to me . I have never cheated and have bought hundreds of dollars worth of clams. The only reason I am responding to you is to make sure that the voice of people who have been wrongfully accused is heard. You say if this happened to you you would stop playing. Does that mean you would be willing to throw hundreds of your hard earned dollars away? My reaction was to give TinyCo a chance to make it right which I am sure they will. If they don’t I might continue to play any way because I believe every one makes mistakes and I love the game. They are kindly giving me another chance, even though I didn’t do anything wrong in the first place, so I can certainly do the same for them. By the way I only purchase clams for a reason but I like to get $50 worth at a time, so I had 600 clams and they took 350 of them which is about $10 worth. Not very much money but there is a principle involved and that cuts both ways.
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So people who got caught cheating are rewarded with 250 clams? Is that the case for everyone caught?
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Not rewarded…cut off and given a second chance.
I look at it as this…just playing the game naturally, anyone could have earned that amount free play. So…it’s like a 2nd start. My thoughts anyway. I don’t know if amounts varied and it’s not my place to know. I’m just grateful that once again they’re watching out for the game and their players.
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Bunny is already familiar with my situation so I’ll just add this. Since I only purchase clams as needed for an event I only had 600 clams when they took mine, so I only lost about $10 worth. If I had been cheating I probably would have had a lot more. If this is based on inventory, as another person suggested might be the case, I can see where my game might cause suspicion. I play several times a day so I accumulated thousands of extra spirit vials which I used on the Frankenstein game to acquire every available prize and several of the statue prize that was left after you got everything else.
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I’ve never purchased any, but I’ve accumulated plenty. I guess they just don’t want to lose their customers, so giving them a 2nd chance keeps them holding on.
I don’t understand why anyone not cheating gets punished. My impression after reading this article was that they were able to properly monitor clam spending.
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They weren’t punished. Just a very slim error. Do not know details or why that handful got pulled in too, but TinyCo did correct it.
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In my case, being given a second chance certainly was in their best interest because I spend a fair amount of money on the game. Perhaps they anticipated casting a net so wide that some innocents got caught. I’ve been lucky so far in that I’ve experienced very few glitches in my game. I guess my luck just ran out on this one. 🙂
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When I read your post, I realized that sometimes I’m a little naive. I had no idea that this was such a problem with this game. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. For what it’s worth, I think your post is excellent.
Personally, I don’t really understand why anyone cheats the system. If you have to cut corners to do well, why bother? Is the game really fun if you need to cheat?
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As Matt said, it’s about 1% but was gaining quickly. So they’re smart to stop it from spreading while it’s still a smaller and more controllable entity. My thoughts anyway.
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As a software developer myself, i agree they have quality issues of there own making. In SW development, you basically have three project variables you can negotiate; scope, schedule & quality. Too often I feel they focus on schedule first, scope second, all at the expense of quality. To their credit, they do respond quickly to quality issues, but that takes away resources from the main path. It’s all a vicious circle. It also takes money to have those resources or hire more.
I do purchase clams, but not many. I average about $5/month and usually make my purchases during event deals to get the most out of it. I certainly don’t get all the clam items, but i do get the ones I want. I understand there are those that are not in a position to pay anything.
Bottom line, if you feel you have to cheat to enjoy the game, then maybe you should be spending your time elsewhere. If you do anyway, you get what you deserve.
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I honestly believe that tinyco would not go around and take ur clams away if its over a certain suspicious amount….that’s like accusing people with no evident to back ur self…..they might as well tell everyone to stop playing their game. if u pay for clams the honest way they would have records of it like u say…..so I believe one way or another tinyco have a good reason to do that to whoever they did it to….nothing happen to me…i got over 800 clams and nothing was touch. People just got mad cuz they got caught cheating. If I didn’t cheat and that happens to me I woulda stop playing the game. So yeah, u know u did something that’s y u r still playing the game even after they took ur clams away. Just play the game honestly and pay for it the right way. I hated tinyco when I first play this game but the more I know about them and how things are run the more I respect them. These are hard honest working people that make this game so u can be entertain so stop cheating and pay for ur game the right way, for crying out loud its it free game and no one is forcing u to spend money either. If u cheat with such a small thing like this game u probably cheat ur way through life and if u have kids then shame on u for being that kinda role model, and if u r a kid then u need to stop cuz nothing good will come outta cheating. U will get caught eventually.
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Enjoyed the South Park episode as well. While I have spent money to support the game, I am by no means a completist and never felt the need to buy EVERY premium item released in both this game and Tapped Out. I set an entertainment allowance for games, movies, Blu-Rays, etc. and don’t regret spending money on things I enjoy. Happy Tapping! 🙂
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Wow. It is sad that it had to come to this. When I saw your post. I immediately checked my game as all my clam purchases have always been through my iOS App Store. My game looks fine.
I applaud tiny co for cracking down on this and applaud the approach the addicts team are taking on this matter.
I work in IT myself ( network admin ) and I really cannot beleive the passwords some people use and how freely they give them out to others.
A few weeks ago, I had to contact my phone provider due to an issue and they wanted my logon for my account so they can see what I see off the web. Their computer system was showing something diffferent from when I log in. I actually logged in changed my password for them to something dumb and when we were finished working out the issues ( which I ended up getting that price ) due to an issue on their side : – ). I logged back in immediately and put my password back to what it used to be.
I have a couple friends that work for game companies and I know the hard work and effort put into every detail of a game.
I won’t give my opinion … But I am glad tiny co is cracking down on this.
EA should do the same on TSTO.
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I use iTunes or Google Play for mine. Easier to load the gift cards that way. 🙂 (That and my local Costco has them at great prices)
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Ya my iTunes account doesn’t even have my CC number. Well it initially did to setup my iTunes account, but I removed my CC immediately after. I only use store bought iTunes gift cards which i redeem through my phone. I usually get mine at Walmart or target as they have recently had 5$ and 10% off offers : – ) .
Also it has been awhile but I was getting free iTunes gift cards from airmiles.ca (Canada) using my airmiles points. Like I said it’s been awhile as I ean out of air miles so I’m not sure if they still have them or not.
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I feel that it was very nice and respectful of tiny co. To give players a second chance and not just lose their account. I understand mistakes happen and some people wrongly had clams taken away but if they were legally purchased than they can track it and they will solve the issue thank you for posting it as I have seen on tiny co. Facebook page a steep increase in people trying to show hacks and the responce by other posters is pleasing when they say “fake” or “don’t do” to try to help other players from making a mistake. As a community we help make the game better and I love seeing this contuine.
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I think tinyco is being VERY nice to those people. Leaving them with 250 and they get to keep all the stuff they didnt pay for and allow them to continue to play.
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I feel like adding my take, as a software engineer. I won’t address the ethical implications, but I found these statements poignant:
• “Bugs stemming only from players having used a cheat…”
• “…we cannot guarantee the stability or safety of a game that has used a cheat.”
These are completely reasonable. More than reasonable, in fact; writers of hacks don’t give a flying giggity about software stability (preventing crashes, data corruption, etc.), and the original developers could very easily end up spending 90% or more of their time trying to address bugs that they never even wrote and have no way to reproduce, much less fix.
It would be like being ordered to replace one brick in a wall of a mansion, without knowing which wall, or whether the wall is inside or outside, and oh yeah, you aren’t able to enter the mansion at all.
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Thank you for your point of view. Much appreciated. 😉
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I am new to the world of on line games, this year as I am sick and now on disability leave. I don’t know a lot about game design or in game economies or how to design a game to make people want to pay for some things. (Freemium games)
When I began, I searched on line for “cheats”, you know, like the tap homer 10 times while he’s using his iPad type cheats. That is the kind of thing I don’t want to miss out on. I was surprised the number of download links were available for cheats. Knowing a bit about internet safety, I would never download something like this for the reasons in the post above.
But, what I don’t understand is why cheating is attractive? I like the towns I built and feel a sense of accomplishment working for it.
After each event, however, I look at the random amassment of things and wonder, why do I do this, I don’t even want half this stuff. And, it’s stuff I earned.
How would I feel if I just got it all free? I see no reason to spend time collecting free virtual stuff into a game. There is no challenge in that. That of course is just my opinion.
One thing I find interesting is that many free players on the boards complain that they can’t get “everything”. Would I like to have some things I couldn’t get through my style of play, yes, but do I expect everything for free, no.
So this event, they introduced CHOICE -by choosing what we brewed, we had a choice other than grind to point x and receive y.
I spent most of the event thinking this was a brilliant way to show players that you can choose what you want with the things you have earned. You do t have to have it all. I would think this would back down those who feel they have to have everything (for free). Choose what you like and earn it.
I have no issue with those fortunate enough who decided to buy some or all things to complete their game, that is their style and what makes them happy.
Yes, the games can be frustrating, and yes, it’s sad to not get everything, but I get fulfillment out of appreciating what I’ve earned that I would not get by cheating.
Also, I am not bothered by cheats, when they don’t impact me. I would not enjoy playing with a cheat, but some people do. Someone else has duplicates of unique things in their town.? I don’t care. Things that don’t yet exist? No bother. However, if it interferes with game performance, security, and costs the company providing the game unnecessarily, then I think it should be addressed. Also, some people may be unsuspecting and not understand downloads outside of the app markets can be dangerous. If it is widespread, they may be lured into a false sense of security. The company has no obligation to protect them from this, but by taking actions to stop cheats, they are, in a way, protecting those who may not see the danger.
So, I guess this is just a question to try and understand. Not to judge or try to be be superior. I am really curious, from the eyes of all – freemuim, premium, and cheats. (No need to identify which you are), Other than the thrill of “beating the system”, why is it enjoyable to play an achievement based game with an unlimited amount of premium currency?
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My point of view, I play through games on both the sites I write for…TWICE. One in the test games that I fly through, take screenshots, test things, take notes, etc. To be honest I get to the end sometimes and feel…disappointed. I do not like that rush. I do not like having it all that second. Not to mention as I go back and read all the dialog again, so many funny moments that pass by.
The second games I play are my own. I try to play them as close to Freemium as I possibly can. When I do spend, it factors a lot into what I have earned via the Free Play and what more it would cost to complete it. I LOVE those towns. They are a pride and joy to me. They in no way have everything, nor will they ever. Many times I see items that just do not appeal to me. I like to be able to pick and choose. Get more of this and less of that. It makes it feel my own.
My mentality is I love a challenge and love seeing the reward at the end of the challenge and proud of myself for doing it. Feeling of accomplishment. 🙂
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In another game you write about I have a freemium game, which pedestrian access only, with small shops and pine trees all over the beach area, with the “center” being the church, the farm, and the old folks home. Things I think we devalue in today’s world sometimes. then I have a big river with bridges across (served by the shuttle bus), with roads and the big commercial district and monochrome neighborhoods (all now “gated” since clash of clones). It’s a commentary on how we can live with less, and the homogeneity of modern suburbs.
I love this one more than the one I’ve spent $ on (2 boatloads). I do love the purchased content, which I buy because it makes me smile, but the free game makes me proud of accomplishing what I have in it.
Also, with the 2 towns, I don’t feel like I have to “get” everything, which actually makes the game MORE enjoyable to me.
Anyway, if I was busy chasing new content I would not have had time or thought of doing the town that way.
That is why I honestly wonder what is the allure of cheating at this type game. It’s kind of fascinating to me.
(I had 2 towns because of the log out glitch then I leveled up so fast before logging back I to my main game, I decided to continue).
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I am going to be honest, reading this whole thing there is one part that… well, it didn’t really sit well with me.
I mean, I appreciate that TinyCo responds quickly to issues in the game, but most of those are in reaction to messes they created themselves in the first place.
When Matty says that “we cannot guarantee the stability of a game that has used a cheat” … in truth they cannot guarantee almost any stability, at all, cheating or no cheating. Almost every update and event has been bugged, going back at least to the Circus one.
TinyCo actually releases not only free, but PREMIUM content half finished, “to be completed later”. Missing animations, unfinished quest chains, missing dialogue in quests, unfinished Facespace profiles , missing sound bits, displaced animations, etc, etc, etc.
While that could (a big could) be acceptable for free stuff… to actually charge for content they haven’t finished, while they keep adding more and more content, it is truly insane, and it is a sentiment I have expressed before.
And on a personal note, the more they say it affects just 1%, the more I think the % is bigger.
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I agree that it is probably affecting more of us than they are willing to admit right now. As soon as I saw the false accusation in my game I knew I wouldn’t be the only one and if I was patient I would see the volume of response and hopefully a legitimate response from Tinyco.
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Terrance and Phillip are at it…
[Imgur](http://i.imgur.com/HRKwKlV.jpg?1)
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Lol. You do realize the guys that write South Park actually play/played both games? 😉
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Yep, South Park hit a little close to hone. My favorite part: “Freemium. Where ‘mium’ is Latin for ‘not really.'”
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I legitimately have never used any ‘Alternate means’ of acquiring clams, all of them have been gained from completing in game challenges etc or bought either from the play store or app store. I’ve spent well over £600 since the game started back in the summer.
The only thing that could be considered ‘Cheating’ is when i’ve played in bad signal areas. I’ve used clams to play mystery boxes and the games crashed and once the games opened again my original clam amount is still there but i’ve also lost the prizes i gained too. But this happened out of my control and should be evident.
I am deeply upset by being wrongly branded a cheater and want this tag removed from account, i feel like i cant enjoy the game the same way with this hanging over me at the moment 😥
I’ve messaged them in game a few times since yesterday but have heard nothing back so far.
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Keep in mind the time constraints. At least 3 business days for them to get to you. Especially in high volume time. 🙂
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I am in exactly the same boat Mike. I don’t really care that much about the 10$ worth iof clams they took. In fact in my response to their baseless accusation I said they could keep the 10$ if they really needed it that badly(yes sarcasm was intended). I’m more concerned about future investment in the game. I’m afraid to spend more money under their threat that they might take it away from me for no reason other than their faulty method of detecting cheaters.
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I understand you felt wronged, it does not mean the method was faulty. I get that you are upset it happened and may be speaking out of that.
From my personal perspective…Seeing those impacted that are known hackers and brag about it on every site possible, they all got shut down and I am grateful for that. I see just how great it really did work.
Did a few innocent get sucked in accidentally, yes…and they corrected them/are correcting them. Just message them if you feel yours was flagged wrong.
As for future, I actually have MORE trust in them now to track it so in depth like they do.
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I was leaving a reply to your other comment before I saw this Bunny. I’ll just sum up with this, If you trust TinyCo then I trust TinyCo because I trust you.
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Btw, this is a very good post… nicely worded and balanced. I was fairly certain you would have to address this today given the swarm of controversy, I just wasn’t sure exactly which way you go based on previous posts… well done.
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Thanks. 🙂
Not shockingly (probably to our stance on it) we’ve not seen the likes here that others have as far as comments go. Figured better put something up just so people know we are aware what’s going on and I wanted to put in my thoughts so others understand me better. 😉
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I guess the one thing I really don’t understand is people giving out their logins and passwords. Don’t they realize they are inviting all sorts of nefarious activity? Even if they DON’T have their banking information on their mobile devices, the login information they provide usually provides clues into the passwords they use… “password73”, hmmm, let me guess, your regular password is some variation of that in most cases. People who give out their passwords are usually the same people who don’t have very complicated password protection schemes.
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It’s just very unwise to share anything of that caliber online nowadays. So risky. I’ve seen so many people impacted from falling for it. Not just in games either.
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I hope you will allow this to be posted and I’ll keep it as respectful as I can. I saw this message and they took about 350 clams from me. I have never bought clams from any source other than the game itself. Ironically I have seen abusers in TSTO and always wished EA could do something about them, so while I applaud TinyCo’s efforts to weed out cheaters I am upset at being falsely accused and fear being expelled from a game I have spent hundreds of dollars on. I contacted them and hope they can clear this up so I can be assured I won’t lose any more cash. If there’s a glitch in the system they use to detect cheaters it’s in their best interest to fix it, otherwise they’ll lose more money than they gain.
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Thanks so much for contacting them if you got it in error. In any fight to catch those doing wrong, sometimes innocent get impacted too. Reports will help ensure the method is finer tuned for next time it’s used. 🙂
So far others have reported that if there was a mistake, it was resolved after contacting them.
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Matt said on Reddit that fewer than 50 people falsely had their accounts reduced and that they had all been fixed as of last night. I’m not sure if he is incorrect or if some people may not even realize they are playing with a non-compliant version.
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Thanks Bunny. When I first saw what happened I freaked out but then I thought Family Guy Addicts will address this issue, so I decide to climb down from the top of the bridge and wait for your usual thoughtful explanatory post.
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It is OK. I imagine anyone seeing that would have felt a “WHAT THE F” moment for sure. I just see how they treat their customers (yes, even the naughty ones) and so I also had faith in them to make any wrongs right. They have not disappointed me yet.
And of course…always here to help all we can. 🙂
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I will leave a comment when they make it right. One of my pet peeves is people who complain but never compliment when something is done right. I am retired so I can play this game and TSTO several times a day. That alone might give me a bit of an edge but I wouldn’t be doing it If I didn’t get a lot of enjoyment out of both games and believe me if this hadn’t happened I would be in the forefront of the mob going after cheaters. Nothing bugs me more than seeing hundred of an item that cost 100 donuts in one of my TSTO friends’ towns.
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Speaking of claaaams… Did anyone see south Park last night… It made me feel kind of bad even though I haven’t even wasted a dollar on this game, (but am level 50 and have lots of “stuff”)… What did you think of it?
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I saw that episode last night, hilarious. TinyCo must be targeting hoarders in this game. With no place to put ‘stuff’ I just have an giant useless inventory. I hate to say it I’m losing my ‘addiction’ to the game.
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