[To GIANTS Software] Three questions/suggestions. Price, development and back-up.
Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2016 1:34 pm
I've been playing FS14 and think I've gained some insights. Question is whether they are shared by Giants Software. The game is getting older (FS16/17). What happens now?
1. The in-game purchases.
I've counted eleven of them. At €0,89 it would cost almost 10 euro to buy the 'full' game. FS16 costs half that and you get even more machinery including for forestry as I understand. No sane person would pay twice the price for an older, more limited version. With FS17 around the corner it's even more rational to lower the in-game price considerably, to €0,10 or maybe €0,20 to allow buying the full game for a reasonable price. If you lower it to the 'no-brainer' level where people don't really have to make a conscious decision to make a purchase or not you get a whole lot more sales, provided you know how to inform the public about it. I don't know how much Google shaves off for themselves with each purchase, whether it is a constant percentage or also a fixed sum per purchase, so it might be useful to first release an update in which all machines can be unlocked at once with a single purchase. Then you might choose €0,99 or €1,99 and you will lose the €0,10 'magic' effect though. Do you actually ever have 'Sales' for in-game purchases btw?
2. Still actively maintained?
Please let me know whether there is any chance that suggestions I might provide for improvements would ever get implemented in FS14. I expect most work is being done on developing FS17 and also on maintaining FS16. Is FS14 still being maintained or are you basically 'done' with it? Some improvements I could suggest could be used in the later games too but I'd like to know whether I could see them turn up in FS14 too or whether I'd have to 'upgrade' to a later version for that.
3. Back-ups, back-ups, back-ups!
Because I've invested many hours in reaching the level I am at I want to safeguard that. I'm playing on an unrooted device which limits my ability to find and back-up the relevant files. I have tried Helium/Carbon but it informs me FS14 is one of a few apps that are "disallowed" or something. HUH!?! What's up here? I want control over the effects of MY game efforts! The time I spent! I can't merely rely on the in-game Save option because I don't seem to get access to the files that progress is saved in. One bad crash and the data is irretrievably corrupted. I don't want to use Google Sync even if that might provide additional back-up because it is WAY!!! too vague and gives me FAR!!! too little control too. I also don't use Google Play Game/Drive and don't want to use it. I prefer to be in control of MY data and nobody else, certainly not Google. So any means for back-up using those would be useless too.
Please save the game state/progress in files in a location people on an unrooted device have access to and/or allow Helium to make back-ups.
1. The in-game purchases.
I've counted eleven of them. At €0,89 it would cost almost 10 euro to buy the 'full' game. FS16 costs half that and you get even more machinery including for forestry as I understand. No sane person would pay twice the price for an older, more limited version. With FS17 around the corner it's even more rational to lower the in-game price considerably, to €0,10 or maybe €0,20 to allow buying the full game for a reasonable price. If you lower it to the 'no-brainer' level where people don't really have to make a conscious decision to make a purchase or not you get a whole lot more sales, provided you know how to inform the public about it. I don't know how much Google shaves off for themselves with each purchase, whether it is a constant percentage or also a fixed sum per purchase, so it might be useful to first release an update in which all machines can be unlocked at once with a single purchase. Then you might choose €0,99 or €1,99 and you will lose the €0,10 'magic' effect though. Do you actually ever have 'Sales' for in-game purchases btw?
2. Still actively maintained?
Please let me know whether there is any chance that suggestions I might provide for improvements would ever get implemented in FS14. I expect most work is being done on developing FS17 and also on maintaining FS16. Is FS14 still being maintained or are you basically 'done' with it? Some improvements I could suggest could be used in the later games too but I'd like to know whether I could see them turn up in FS14 too or whether I'd have to 'upgrade' to a later version for that.
3. Back-ups, back-ups, back-ups!
Because I've invested many hours in reaching the level I am at I want to safeguard that. I'm playing on an unrooted device which limits my ability to find and back-up the relevant files. I have tried Helium/Carbon but it informs me FS14 is one of a few apps that are "disallowed" or something. HUH!?! What's up here? I want control over the effects of MY game efforts! The time I spent! I can't merely rely on the in-game Save option because I don't seem to get access to the files that progress is saved in. One bad crash and the data is irretrievably corrupted. I don't want to use Google Sync even if that might provide additional back-up because it is WAY!!! too vague and gives me FAR!!! too little control too. I also don't use Google Play Game/Drive and don't want to use it. I prefer to be in control of MY data and nobody else, certainly not Google. So any means for back-up using those would be useless too.
Please save the game state/progress in files in a location people on an unrooted device have access to and/or allow Helium to make back-ups.