Suggestions Box (Nov 2016)

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...

 #191: Revise the new expansion prices

Around a month ago there were five new expansions introduced to the game, taking the maximum restaurant size up to 31x34. First and foremost, it has to be said that I am very grateful that Storm8 have taken the time to add more expansions. We had three new ones pop up well over a year ago, but without any since, it's fair to say that this development really came out of the blue, especially since it lacked any promotion.

New expansions in the market

But I have a quibble. The prices of these expansions are very extortionate. The gem costs are steep at 100 gems each, and the coin costs are astronomical. In truth these fees are just a continuation of those three expansions added in 2015, which were 17.5m, 20m and 22.5m coins respectively. However we've now moved beyond what I believe to be a reasonable challenge and are in the domain of the ridiculous.

I play the game every day and yet only accumulate enough coins to pull off one of these expansions per year on average. I understand that expanding is a long-term job and one which is designed to keep players coming back even after they've mastered all the recipes, but in this case the game's developers have gone too far, with the eye-boggling prices potentially causing some players to become disillusioned. Let's have the prices revised and reduced to make the goal of being fully expanded touchable again.

 #192: Display teaser content in natural habitat

This is the first of two entries relating to the teasers which are posted on the Storm8 Blog every Tuesday, around 24 hours before the weekly update. I've noticed of late that the teasers tend to avoid using a floor with any colour, and it doesn't reflect well on the content being showcased.

Teaser from Harvest Crate update

A White floor is the most common problem, with the plain flooring often conflicting with the theme being portrayed. The Harvest Crate's teaser this past week (shown above) is a prime example - the bright and blank floor do not go at all well with the greenery and organic style of the items advertised. Therefore these pieces end up looking less appealing than they really are. For a snapshot that is supposed to be designed to pull the players in this is an issue.

I suggest that the gamemakers start taking a little more time to coordinate the teasers. Drop a grass based floor tile on the above teaser and I guarantee you'll get a totally different perspective on the content!

 #193: Recreate teasers in Stormie's Store

Taking that last one a little further, how about recreating the teasers in Stormie's Store? The more I ponder this possibility the more sensible it becomes. First of all, somebody at Storm8 is obviously taking the time to design a restaurant weekly for the teaser photos. So this additional work for Stormie's Store need not call for more time to be spent by the game's developers.

Current layout at Stormie's Store

Then there's the fact that many many more players visit Stormie's Store than the Storm8 Blog. Being the number one neighbour in your list, Stormie's Store is truly at the forefront of the game, and yet is very much underutilised. The lack of regular redecoration is something I've flagged up before, but this teaser talk would solve this.

It's fine enough for players to hop over to the teaser for a closer inspection on a Tuesday, but I feel that renovating Stormie's Store would have very positive results. Being able to get up close and personal with new decor is invaluable, and leaves me wondering why the gamemakers haven't addressed this previously!

 #194: Stop placing sale tag on boxes

This is a slightly smaller scale concern involving the regular sales on boxes. As I've said time and again throughout 2016, these discounts are a dream. They're terrific value and appear to have been very popular around the community. But knowing the timescale for when the boxes are set to return to their full price is a problem.

Autumn Gift Box sale

When a discount is in force, a sale tag is positioned on the box in the market. Advertising that the crate is on sale is perfectly reasonable, but not when it means losing the detail of how many days remain before the sale leaves town. Sometimes it can be obvious if other items are included on sale from the same update, but at other times it really is a case of hedging your bets. And with the orange frame already in place, it's pretty clear to anyone reading that this is a box on sale - the tag is largely redundant.

 #195: Give host stands their own market tab

A very common question that is asked regularly with regards to host stands is, quite simply, where are they?

Host stands are a unique type of item in that they are not decorative, but at the same time also fail to fulfil the respective functions of the tables, chairs and counters. They are the link between the customers' entrance to the diner and their bottoms being plonked down on a seat, and because of this it can be disorientating to find them in the tables tab.

 Previous Suggestions Box posts

 15/10/16 October 2016
 10/09/16 September 2016
 13/08/16 August 2016
 16/07/16 July 2016
 26/06/16 June 2016

Perhaps there just aren't enough host stands to justify a separate tab, but given the frequency of the confused queries on this matter, I think there may be some scope at least. Perhaps this could be an incentive for more host stands to be added - that would fit nicely with a previous suggestion!