Suggestions Box (Dec 2015)

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.

You can share your own suggestions too via the comments. If I like them, I may even include them in the next instalment!

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

 #136: Add matching tables and chairs

Recently many of the tables and chairs which have been added to the game have not been of the same theme, and thus combining them has almost been a non-starter. The most recent table and chair are a prime example - the Icicle Table and Snowy Chair just don't work as a pair, and that's frustrating.

Icicle Table and Snowy Chair

It's particularly annoying when you consider the scores of matching combinations we have had in the past. It used to be very rare to have a table and chair introduced which didn't come hand-in-hand, and I think the majority of the most well received ones have been those which come as a pair.

So I'd like to see the game's developers return to the old format of tables and chairs which marry up. I'd have thought the use of similar designs and colours would actually make this easier to do than coming up with completely unrelated concepts. So there's really no reason why it can't be done!

 #137: Introduce small and cheap gem pack

I've recently noticed that the cost and content of the real money gem packages in Restaurant Story differ from those in some of the newer Storm8 titles. Taking in Restaurant Story 2 as an example, you can purchase a small pack of 20 gems for just 79p (in the UK version).

20 gem pack in Restaurant Story 2

Now I understand the value of a gem differs between the two games and 20 gems in RS2 doesn't correspond one-to-one with 20 gems in the original. But there certainly isn't any package remotely comparable in the original, with the cheapest being a £3.99 buy.

I'm asking the gamemakers to consider a cheaper bundle in the original game. Something like 12 gems for 99p would be really enticing and could make all the difference in converting non-buying players. Such packages are so attractive since they don't require a major investment but can come in very handy if you're just short of funds to purchase a coveted item. Definitely worth considering.

 #138: Add table decorations

When you enter a restaurant are the tables usually bare? Of course not, there tend to be cutlery, plates, wine glasses, napkins, menus, condiments and candles.

It would be great to have the opportunity to choose a collections of bit and bobs to place on the tables when not in use. A new tab could be added to the market specifically for tabletop decorations, thus opening up a whole new potential stream of revenue for Storm8. You could choose cheap white paper napkins or posh royal red napkins; grubby tumblers or elegant wine glasses; a candle on a stick or a fancy candle holder that yields a lovely warm glow.

You get the picture. This is a whole area of restaurant design which up until now the game's developers have completely neglected, yet covering it would give us a chance to really add some character to our diners, as well as make them unique.

 #139: Allow requesting of excessive parts

At present you can only send part requests via the appliance construction window, and only if you are short on the part in question. I can understand why this is the case, but it would be nice to be able to stock up on parts in between new releases.

 Previous Suggestion Box posts

 21/11/15 November 2015
 31/10/15 October 2015
 26/09/15 September 2015
 29/08/15 August 2015
 25/07/15 July 2015

I'm advocating a new function within the gift list, where below each part is a button which offers the opportunity to send requests. This would allow us to get ahead on quests and amass a larger collection of spare parts for a rainy day.

Admittedly this one doesn't do much for Storm8's business, but then again I doubt much revenue is generated directly from players purchasing gems to gain missing parts. This suggestion is more about making things easier for the players, and I feel it really would.

 #140: Add more constructible decorations

This one is based on a post a while back by regular contributor Whipped Cream over on the Storm8 Forum. Right now there are only two constructible decorations in the game, namely the Steampunk Arcade and Steampunk Globe.

Constructible decorations

Update: The Robo Dog is of course another constructible decoration! Thanks to Monkey House for the correction!

These were both added a good few years ago, and it seems that constructible items are very much a thing of the past (excluding appliances of course). Why is this? There's something quite exciting about getting the parts together to build a decoration, especially when there aren't the time constraints that come with goal appliances.

So let's see some more constructible buys. Such a move would allow us to get rid of some excess parts, something which is all the more notable these days given how the old regular parts have fallen by the wayside in favour of new additions. Plus I think it unlikely that the gamemakers would release a constructible part for gems, so we could be looking at a guarantee of coin additions.