The 21th FarmVille Achievement (if we do not count the discontinued shutterbug) is called "They of Mystery" and is a little bit controversial though I like it extremely much.
What do you need to do?
To achieve the ribbons for this Achievement you need to open mystery boxes, and, as you know, they cost 16 FV per mystery box so achieving this one completely will cost you at least 30*16FV = 480 FV, which roughly translates into $80 you need to spend on mystery boxes in FarmVille (!)
The complete table on ribbons and amount of mystery boxes you need to buy (one of these days I'm going to make these tables dynamically):
What do I think of it?
I like it. I like it very much. I like it because it give a little giveback to players who are actually supporting Farmville by spending some dollars on it. And… I was actually waiting for this achievement as you can see below:
So… this Achievement LOOKs like it was made especially for me :)
But I'm afraid that FarmVille just might take away this achievement because of the amount of critics on this achievement. So I will just wait for some time before opening my mystery boxes, just to be sure that nothing goes wrong here. I just wait for some confirmation in the forums that this achievement is here to stay (and I really hope it stays).
The complainers
As always whenever there is something to pay in FarmVille a huge crowd assembles to complain about the fact that they can not buy it / achieve it. And this time it is the same. The FarmVille Crews is somehow caught between running a business model based on in-game content sales versus keeping the community happy. This thread on the FarmVille Forums is probably the main discussion thread. And this is current result of the poll inside it:
So what are the complaints?
1. some people complain that they can not afford to buy FV (unemployed, kid, no money) and that basically "an essential part of the game", the achievements, now are out of their reach because this one is a "pay only" achievement. I had to laugh about this one "I'm unemployed since April... I can't afford to pay for them, the way it is I'm technically stealing internet.... I'm using a neighbors wireless since it's not pass worded.."
2. some people complain that they have spend already a lot of money on mystery boxes e.g. to get the Alpaca and only after that this achievement turns up. So they are disappointed that it did not appear earlier.
my verdict
I think that users who actually spend money on mystery boxes should now and then get a little reward for doing so and this achievement is exactly that little nice thing. Zynga / FarmVille could possibly in the future hold some more actions to hand out some free mystery boxes like they were available in the Christmas presents feeds to come somewhat nearer to people who complain that it costs money to get this achievement.
That mystery boxes were already handed out does not matter, that is the same as with all achievements. And… we have YEARS to complete these achievements. They are not ment to be achieved "within a day" but more or less indications of achievements in the game. This particular one could take the longest time for many players to achieve but it makes it more desirable to get this achievement in the end and since there are many more achievements and more coming, I think there is enough todo in the game without actually focusing 100% on this achievement.
Overall reports
96 Seed
194 Buildings
33 Achievements
35 Mystery Boxes
234 Animals
40 Trees
864 Decorations
12 Vehicles
7 Collections
100 Levels
I've never seen so many people with so little concept of what "fairness" means.This is like an ice cream store that, day after day, gives out free ice cream cones. One day they say, you can still get the same ice cream cone for free, but if you want a chocolate-dipped cone, it'll cost you 50 cents. and 80% of the customers become outraged and say, "I DEMAND that you give me a chocolate-dipped cone for free!" or "This isn't fair!" or "I'm taking my business elsewhere!" (their free, non-paying business. indeed.)Of these people who claim they "can't afford" to buy Farmcash-- I wonder how many of them go out to eat? Stop at McDonalds once in a while? Go out to the movies? Buy a computer game? Bought some Christmas presents this season? If they had money for these things, then they have money to buy some Farmcash, IF obtaining this ribbon and all those Farmcash-only items is SO important to them. If it isn't important to them, then they can keep playing for free.
Well this is how I see it:A McDonald's Happy Meal always gives out free toys to the children, the children want to collect all the toys. Because it makes you happy when you collect all the toys. Now all of a sudden McDonald's comes out and says if you want to finish this collection you are going to have to pay $80 dollars. So all of a sudden what used to be something fun and free that you just liked becomes something that makes you angry! You want to finish your collection but you can't because you know that you need to use your money for better things. And also, I like the achievements and masteries BECAUSE they are free. So much already isn't free and Zynga could have left this one aspect free. I understand it's a business but they already have so many other ways to get money off people. They don't need to go and ruin this for the people who play for free.
I hate this, I already opened 10 of them & it's not counting.
glad that your report this, then I'll wait until they fix the counting :)
Im total ok with spending a little money for farmville, its fun. But i dont like the decostuff in these boxes. so if its just for the money, they could make a "spend FV dollars"- Ribbon, so that i can buy things i like, like trees and animals.
The problem here is that achievements are considered "part of the game", unlike decorations which are cosmetic. As such, achievements are subject to facebook's ToS which prohibit the necessary use of real cash in an application. THAT's the problem, THAT is what is wrong about the achievement. Zynga already rewards users who pay for FC which XP and coins at PURCHASE of those items.
[...] My first steps to the theye of mystery achievement, despite the controversy: http://farmville.aweblog.net/farmville-achievement-21-they-of-mystery-controversy-20091230.html [...]
Good analogy. I was annoyed at first when I saw this achievement, that was the "hundred percenter" in me. The part of me that needs to achieve everything in the games I play. I got over it real soon. The game is free to play, and there is plenty of other things to accomplish. Besides, these mystery boxes appear once in a while anyways. I think for most people it's not about being able to afford paying real money for Farmville Cash, it's the guilt they will feel on how they wasted money just to buy something in a game they really don't need. All I know is that I will never use real money to buy cash in any game. I don't mind paying a one time fee to buy a game, but it seems ridiculous to me to keep paying money for a game just to play. However, thank you to all those who buy things on Farmville so I can play for free.;)
The interest of farmville is that you can have fun without paying anything.If people want to get involved more and spend their money in a virtual life, good for them.As far as I'm concerned, I do think 'having special items and decorations' is enough so reward people who pay.I spend many many time on FV, but I simply don't want to spend money on it. That's my choice. And I choose that application because at the very begining, we have that choice.Getting achievements is a funny task. Making such an achievement means 'now you don't have the choice : you pay or you don't play'.It's pretty sad.
See, I dislike it only because its impossible to do this without paying money. There are many aspects of the game that are much easier if you use real money, but they CAN be achieved over a longer period of time for free. There is absolutely no way you can do this if you don't want to pay, which i see as
We pay for playing this game EVERY time we bump into those stupid advertisements located on the right hand side! Enough already...