Saturday 26 July 2014

Suggestions Box (Jul 2014)

Every month I list five things I'd like to see added, altered or abolished from the game. Because even though my long time of playing Restaurant Story clearly shows I love it, that doesn't mean it's perfect. Some of the ideas I'll air will be significant game changers while others will be low-key and irrelevant in the eyes of many of you readers.

In no particular order, here are this month's entries...


 #51: No more floor tiles attached to decor


I earmarked this suggestion a couple of weeks ago with the release of the Billiards Party, and the Ice Cream Parlor from the Ice Cream Crate released this past Wednesday makes it all the more topical. The game's developers need to stop including a flooring on large floor decorations.

Preview of Billiards Party

I'm not sure why this has crept into the design on occasion, but the inclusion of the floor tiles is really annoying. It first irked me with the Saloon Card Table which was an otherwise super goal prize some time ago. The reason for my annoyance is that the chequered floor tiles we typically get on these items aren't available in the floor tiles section of the market. So no matter what I put around the item, the flooring stands out - there's no continuity.

I can't for the life of me work out why TeamLava feel the need to give themselves the extra work of adding the floor tiles, and would much prefer if they just left them off. Here we have a case of over-engineering.


 #52: Save new recipes for box updates


Here's another thought I've spewed out in the past. When we get a box update, like last week, the box is typically the only new item. There are no other additions in the market, and no new recipes to engross ourselves with. As a result those players who don't have enough gems to open the box are unable to 'participate' in the update which is a shame.

 Previous Suggestion Box posts
 14/06/14 June 2014
 17/05/14 May 2014
 19/04/14 April 2014
 22/03/14 March 2014
 22/02/14 February 2014

Of course there is business sense behind this decision. By only having a box, the small group of players who spend real money on the game on a regular basis are left with only one addition they can splash on, and it's an expensive one. Box weeks are probably when the gamemakers make their dough, and so it might be a dodgy financial move to include other content in such weeks.

But a new recipe alongside the box wouldn't reduce sales substantially as you obviously don't have to spend gems on it. Of course that takes the focus off the box slightly, but at least all players would have something fresh to be satisfied about.


 #53: Change food gifts regularly


Anyone else bored with the foods available for gifting? We've had Stew, Bacon and Eggs, Valentine Cupcake, French Toast, Waffles and Roast Chicken as the giftable dishes for as long as I've played the game, and that's two years next week!

First page of gift list

Let's get some variation here. I'd like to see the foods available to gift rotated somewhat, with the variety of portion numbers and coins per plate remaining. I'm not even a food gifter, but it would just keep things ticking over to see something different for a change.


 #54: Enhanced daily bonus


The daily bonus is a nice feature to encourage players to return to the game regularly and make some extra coins for their loyalty. But the four day cycle is a little underwhelming.

Daily bonus

It would good to see the daily bonus following the structure of a similar feature that I've enjoyed in another app. Rather than having a four day cycle, this one offered a 25-day cycle with the coin rewards increasing throughout the cycle. And every fifth day the bonus was a small amount of the game's premium currency. Now it might be asking a little much for the game's developers to give away a gem every fifth day, but I'd at least like to see some more valuable rewards. This would really help encourage players to keep coming back daily.

Indeed we could go the whole hog and have a milestone every say 50th day, with a serious gem bonus or even a free item or dip in a box. I can dream!


 #55: More on Restaurant Story 2


Remember Restaurant Story 2? It was a sequel game which rocked the community when it was released in limited territories in March. But we've heard precious little about the next generation game since it first came on the go, and I feel some more communication is needed.

Title screen for Restaurant Story 2

Of course being a blogger myself, it goes without saying that I'd love to see TeamLava go all out and provide a blog which routinely gives insight into the development of the game, but that's asking a lot.

But I don't see why we can't get some sort of update on the situation more frequently. Even if it was only to give some kind of timescale on the release of the new game app to the major nations. Instead we're left completely in the dark, and as a result it leaves me apprehensive as we just never know when updates for RS1 are likely to be toned down and ceased. Please give us some news!

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