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...
#171: Provide scarier Halloween content
It might seem like a long way away, but I thought I'd drop this suggestion now as Storm8 are probably putting in place their plans for the big seasonal occasions already. So, who recalls the general disappointment at last year's Halloween content? The feeling was that the stuff introduced was too timid, with the scary factor falling drastically compared to previous years' efforts.
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| Items from a Halloween update in 2015 as shown on Storm8 Blog |
I understand that this is a game graced by all ages, and therefore there may be some concern that content perceived as too frightening might not appeal to very young children. But I question how terrifying the classic Halloween items actually are - the Were Sushi Chef and Zombie Butcher out of the Spooky Chest are just about as horrific as it gets, and I don't think even these are extreme enough to cause nightmares. Therefore, I'm calling on Storm8 to be creative and make this Halloween a cracker!
#172: Add gift preference to profile
This is based on an excellent idea from Ms Beanz. It can be frustrating trying to keep track of which neighbours prefer to be gifted food and which prefer parts. Either you have to visit every neighbour and check their wall to find their preference (time consuming!) or you have to take notes of who wants what which can be referred to from then on (also time consuming!)
The second of these may be seem a good long term option, but even then what if someone's gaming style changes and they switch from team food to team parts, or vice-versa? Regularly updating your notes would be necessary, and that just seems too much like hard work.
The solution is a new inclusion on the neighbour list within the Social section of the menu. Along with a player's restaurant name, level, avatar and star rating, there could be a little icon to indicate their gifting preference. Even just a small image of a cake (for food) or a screw (for parts) would suffice, and would make the process of considered gifting much simpler.
#173: Give mastery stars for mastering recipes
The mastery stars for mastering recipes at each of the three levels is a significant feature in Restaurant Story 2. There's no such innovation in the original game, despite a similar set-up of mastery levels which are rewarded with bonus coins, XP and gems.
I'm calling on the gamemakers to introduce mastery stars to Restaurant Story. There need not be a star available for each of the four mastery levels, with one for complete mastery sufficient in my view. They would fit in snugly given that we already have the red star representing tipping rating, and would provide another layer to make each player unique.
And to add something extra to mastery stars, they could be used to unlock items. Whether a specific decoration or maybe even a free dip in a box, such a feature would provide a fantastic long term goal, and that can only be a good thing from the perspective of players and game developers alike.
#174: Fix message box on wall
Here's a problem that has existed for over a year. One of the many niggles borne out of last June's app update to version 1.7.6 was with regards to the text box used for composing messages on walls. For some reason the aforementioned update caused the text box to no longer stretch across the full width of the window on iPad devices.
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| Wall section of Messages window with smaller text box |
It was frustrating enough trying to write a post that exceeded the size of the text box when it was over the entire width, and thus the shrunken version is rather infuriating. So many times I make a typo when writing a post and have to go back to edit it, only to then not be able to get back to the end of the message. At least extending the box back to its previous width would lower the number of times I give out a low grumble of frustration.
#175: Introduce current status feature
This is another entry inspired by Ms Beanz. A lot of players require certain criteria to be fulfilled before taking in a new neighbour. One very common variable is the tipping star rating, with a high value for this stat generally indicating that a player is active and a regular tipper. But a period of inactivity will drag this rating down, and can lead to neighbours being deleted.
The problem is that a drop off in tipping star rating might not mean that someone has given up on the game (or at least stopped tipping consistently). Instead they may just have been away for the weekend, or been ill, or busy living their real life for a change. A new gizmo which shows a player's current status would eradicate this potential pitfall.
Previous Suggestion Box posts
A little like the gift preference suggestion from earlier, this feature could sit alongside a player's other credentials within the neighbour list, or alternatively, just be visible when visiting said player. Whatever the case it could be set to 'away' when a player expects to be away from the game for an extended period, hence notifying neighbours that their absence and consequent drop in tipping star rating is little more than a short term change. A lot of Restaurant Story grief could be solved with this!
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