Development of Rising Cities?

Last 6 mounts havent anything new happened on my game. The Cinema works bad and have done so the last 6 mounths. No new task to do shows up. Are there any development och the game going on, onestly?

 

There is some and very slight changes but not a great deal. But hope goes for ever

 

So, if I understand you right (reading between the lines), there are no interest from the team to develope the game further.
Im on level 38 and as I told, nothing has been happened the last 6 mounths.

 

Over the past 18 months we have 3 new playfields, many new buildings, new events and a lot of behind the scenes that are not visible.
The game will evolve in the future, the mods will keep all players updated when any information comes to hand so in the meantime please enjoy the game as after all it is a game of planning and patience

 

Hi Tobbe61, i am now on level 68.3 and am now in the process of redeveloping my main play field building higher density housing etc
i would envisage it will take me another year at least to get to level 75 and will still have opportunities for improvement.
@Tassiedevil thanks for the terrific job all the mods do, i agree with what you say, and i am sure we will see improvements in the near future. with the new people joining now it will be a few years before they face the same developmental problems we are now waiting for the devs to do something about and looking forward to something new

 

Skippy is correct it, we are just waiting for the next set of challenges to be created. There have been some very small improvements but a lot more needs to be done and quickly. Please, oh please great and powerful "Powers that be" hear our pleas and what form of offerings are we to use to appease you and have you hear our pleas.

 

The Cinema dont work well. I have reported fails many times and still I have trouble. For example, many times I dont get payed when Iv seen a film or I been told that there is not any film at the momen. But when I log in again a few seconds later there is a film. And if I get lucky I also get paid for it. I dont call this "improvement".

 

As rising cities is a free of charge game, it isn't really fair to complain. YES, there have been fewer changes/developments these past 6 months than the previous 12 months, but still some things have been done.
Whenever a suggestion is made, moderators comment, ask elaborating questions and take it (I'm sure) to those "great and powerful powers that be". As the game evolves however demands get more complex and specific and as I assume the majority of players are on lower levels, where the need for development is low, we must wait patiently for more players to advance in levels. Just as Skippy explains I have reached a place in my city where major redevelopment is needed. just as in a real life city growing older. This is why this game is so great - challenges can gome from the "outside world" i.e. the game development or from inside, where "I- the city planner" decide what to do.

 

Free or not, complaints are fair, especially when this is essentially a service that one can choose to pay for or not. Should those that do pay also not complain? Are the complaints of those that don't less valid (remembering that the cinema, ads, and cash for action do support the game, and that they can become paying customers)? I for one, am less concerned with new stuff than with fixing things, adding content that is inaccessible but supposedly there for a year (which should preclude new content anyway) and the fact that there is so much silence while I sincerely doubt it's unknown how upset at least a lot of players seem to be. It's not because something is free that it has to be subject to bad quality and neglect. I know of plenty of free things that are as good or better than anything you could pay for, comparable or not. RC has otherwise been a pretty good and mostly fair game, considering the business-model it has.

It's been longer than six months, really. A lot was announced in the last producer's letter that was slated to come over the coming months, yet none of that has materialized in almost a year apart from the rent collector improvements, and little explanation. Instead we get a new mystery season (4, which at least is hard to "loose" at), a few half-new houses and reduced MM at the cinema, all relatively swiftly, which only make it seem like a struggle to appease players and remain profitable. Yes, even season 4. While a nice surprise, yet another lottery (win-win as it is) still felt like desperation for profit at a time when it seemed there were more important things to address.

While it certainly appears dead, they did at least attempt to announce some internal issues and intention to fix/stabilize the game first, though it has taken way longer than seems reasonable to roll out with absolutely no word on progress. Though given their history with minor, seemingly simple changes not going well, perhaps they are just making really sure. I can say that bugs still get forwarded and I have noticed minor changes in the background over time, so there seems to be latent life (support) at least. I don't know how much the mods know in advance, but they hint things going on, anyway. BP just is unreasonably tight-lipped and then they like to spring surprises on us (most of which haven't been well-received lately). They can act quickly when they want to, as they have clearly shown.

There is assumingly nothing they think needs to be reported so I can understand that a progress update isn't necessary, especially since I imagine most don't care about technical advancements. However the silence has had an obvious negative impact on the forums at least, though perhaps not enough on their income. I can't imagine it not affecting at least some of the less-vocal players either. It certainly appears there are less players, anyway.

A little transparency/explanation/communication won't cost them. Unless the game actually is developmentally dead already and they are just milking it. It's lamentable, unprofessional behavior to be so unaccountable, considering there is supposed to be a community manager (that appears to be nameless to boot) that handles and relates such information and can't be unaware of the players' ire, nor can the higher-ups. Even the Facebook and Twitter pages have practically ceased official activity. And you know, seeds of doubt and all that, which they are doing nothing to manage the propagation of. It can't not look grim with that attitude. It has been a long, long period of silence, after all, which can only fuel speculation. Though that may be better than unfulfillable (or unexpectedly-delayed) promises on their part.

Despite my language, I'm more on the 'it-ain't-dead-yet-BP-just-makes-inexplicably-bad-decisions' side while trying to consider their vague situation as a business, which admittedly may be self-delusion, because it really is incomprehensible given BP's apparent status. I mean, there can't possibly be more people that want to simulate farms than cities… But really now, I think the players have been around long enough for this to even be an issue to them have been beyond reasonably patient on these matters. BP could learn a few things about PR. They can't be so pressed that they don't have five minutes. Everything seems like a conscious decision on their part to keep quiet.

To add to all that, the time the birthday event normally starts is past, even though they supposedly just upgraded the servers. Maybe it's still too early to tell, but usually when we stop celebrating birthdays, it's because of death. No development is one thing, but not even offering a word of explanation or a semblance of concern after so long is another. It's that, I think, that is the real concern.

I actually find it's quite the opposite. You must develop more to be able to survive at all in lower levels and you slow down in later levels, where things tend to take longer. We wait for other players to get advanced too, and then what? They leave too, like at least a few seem to have. And for how long? It's a slow game. The lower-levels are likely the biggest source of income, and as long as they keep turning, there isn't a huge problem for BP. But the longer they neglect, the more it will be apparent to the players whether they advance or not. They are just making themselves look bad. Personally, I think they got the game to the point it doesn't break entirely, and left it at low-priority (perhaps maintenance-only [which is quite questionable] or to be miked) for reasons they can't or won't disclose in more detail. RC doesn't seem to be the only game in this state, going by the forums of BP's other games, but some are much livelier than others.

Edit: Forgot a word somewhere.

 

So much right in what Arsuru says.

I can't help but feel that the farm game is more accessible (despite never even looking at it) merely from the viewpoint of being able to gift things to other players, that makes it inclusive. We cannot even observe friends' efforts (as is possible in the zoo game) so it remains generally a solitary endeavour, lack of new material causes discussion to dwindle and interest wanes. And I'm sure farm game revenue dictates that more BP dev/support time is spent on it than on RC. But do we merit so little?

The mystery building issue is quite astonishing - this should be a standard feature that makes BP money, it's absence guarantees that won't be the case. The silence surrounding the belated birthday is deafening, and baffling (although extrapolating from the previous 2 years' events might infer a cancellation this time around).

The problem is ... sooner or later everyone realizes that they are just wasting time. If there is no variety then it will inevitably be sooner.

 

Seeing as all the Rama games are similar, I figured they may have a lot of similar code too and maybe even share some staff, which if so, just makes this even more strange. I don't have much interest in the other Rama games personally, but as long as any social features don't become intrusive and/or compulsory for certain things like some of the other games I've seen I don't mind. At that point, it gets pretty much ruined for me. The lack of such things and FB are some reasons that I like RC.

And yes, that even the mystery buildings seems neglected as well is amazing. If they could just swap even the non-exclusive event rewards (RIs, regular permits and such) each time there would be some simple variety/incentive. The game itself isn't terribly lacking in content otherwise and I can still do plenty, especially as it's a sandbox. Of course I would like more, but there are simpler things that can be done in the meantime.

 

You are so right Arsuru and nervo82. My opinion is that complains are an incitament to developement and improvement, but in stead the management choos to tell me it is not fair to complain. I have been playing the game for more than one year. The cinema has been working bad all the time but the last 6 mounths it doesent work at all (allmost every time). The communication to the game breakes from time to time. I feel sad for thoose who pay money to play the game and finaly explore that the game dont work well and descover there are a low level of development. There are competitors as for example Cities Skylines. The nice thing about Rising Cities are there simplicity but it has to work well. Im sorry to complain and I would not do so if I had been satisfied. The game is free but I have spend a lot of time by playing RC.

 

Tobbe61 I agree with your sentiment, but I do have disagree with you that the game management ". . . tell me it is not fair to complain." I can not think of a single time anyone from Big Point / Rising Cities has ever said to anyone not to complain. They may not respond directly to a complaint but they have not said do not complain. Complaining is how a businesses actually learns about problems. So keep on complaining they may not like it but it does get their attention.

Yes the game should deffinetely work as it should. The game needs to get better and needs to do so faster than it has been lately.

 

billyjim. Sorry, but I thought that Estrid above was a member of management or developement team.

 

Hi Tobbe, please be assured that we do listen to your complaints and pass them on to the powers above and they are taken aboard, any post like Estrid has done, if it was from a Rc representative would only posted in the Official announcements thread only and their position in the company would be included in the post.
Please Keep complaining we are always happy to see valid ones.
In the meantime Happy gaming

 

was going to write a comment but seriously lost the will to play anymore.
wrighty8 id lost in this game like its creators

 

Hi billyjim, Ok. Seriously I realy wish that the Cinema with films work well. In average I only get 1 to 2 films payed. It has always been a problem wiyh the cinema, but last 6 mounths it has been realy bad.

 

Tobbe61 I agree about the Cineplex. It should work better. Check out the new thread I am about to start called "What we dislike about Cineplex" Have a good day, and have some fun.

 

billyjim, ok I will.

 

In an other thread "cineplex" there has been complains the last 18 mounths and the Cineplex still dont work as it should. Please put this issue on top level to be solved.