Here is the email with suggestions I sent to LDW.

Hello,

I really like the game Plant Tycoon although it has some very major issues which I hope will be fixed in a new version (the game is definitely worth coming out with a deluxe version if the fixes are made to it - and I would definitely buy it and recommend it- something I can't do as it is now)

The review I made on gamehouse addresses most of the issues I have with the game. As it is now, I am very impressed with the concept and many of the features - although some major features that are needed were left out. Pruning, the bugs / bug gallery are very cool features - although a plant gallery showing the plants discovered as well as the parents (like the crossbred seed shows) should be shown so you can know which species you bred to obtain the plant - a list of the plants discovered (and bugs swatted) would be nice too. When the seed matures, the name should indicate (in red ?) if it was a new species discovered. Having only a number of species discovered as a sub screen in the bug gallery is very amateurish. A 'Sold Out' indicator in the status bar on the nursery screen (or sign at the nursery entrance?) should indicate when all of the plants being sold have been sold. Needing to count sold signs to find out shows a flaw in the game development process. It would also be nice - although not mandatory - to be able to reduce prices of individual plants on the nursery screen in case you accidentally lopped off half the plant when pruning and want to reduce the price of that one plant while maintaining regular prices of the rest of the plants of that species. One should also have the opportunity to see how much they will be paid for the seeds before selling the extra seeds. There is also a serious issue with space for seed storage. I have found 209 species and all six of the magical plants when I stopped playing because I did not have enough space to store all of the seeds I want to store for my cross breeding experiments (I've also gotten 46 of the bugs and have over $50,000.). You could solve this problem by allowing the same seeds to be stored in the same slot (only 1 of the unidentified purchased seeds) - this absolutely needs to be done because people want to store extra seeds for cross breeding and keep at least one seed to keep the plant in case more "pure" seeds are needed of that plant - and you could also have a seed storage "store' which charges $1.00 per seed for storage.

The entire concept of the game and the details of the graphics is wonderful - especially impressive is the bug gallery and the pruning of the plants (bug gallery could be improved if the bug jar containing he bug pops out when clicked on - and the description of the bug [if the bugs exist in real life] would make it a wonderful educational program)

If / when the game is being redone, I would love to be one of your (unpaid) beta testers for it. (I am a network administrator by training although in a survival job right now until the economy improves)

I hope very much the game is going to be redone. Of all the games I have played, this one has some very serious potential if the flaws are fixed in it.

Thank you,

Nancy


"I really like this game - but ..."
By: ScreenName
(read my reviews)(read my reviews)
on 01/01/10

This game is: Addictive, Good Value, Original, Kid Friendly, Involved
"Very slow although there are some cheats around it. The biggest disappointment is not having a plant gallery for the plants you have discovered (as well as the plant parents you used to get the plant) so it is very annoying and time consuming to keep a table of the plants discovered and what parents were bred to get them. Taking a massive amount of notes shows a lack of quality control / game testing during game development.
There also needs to be a seed gallery and also a seed storage where you can store more seeds. The same seeds should be allowed to be stored in the same slot. There is definitely not enough seed storage.

The nursery also needs to have a 'Sold Out' in the status bar so you know when all of the plants are sold without having to count the number of sold signs.

The bugs are a great feature - as well as the bug gallery - although there needs to be a list of bugs captured. pop out showing the enlarged bug would be a good feature as would a description if the bugs are real (which would make this a wonderful educational program) Lumping the number of plants found in the sub screen of the bug gallery seems a bit amateurish - especially since the goal of the game is to find the six magical plants.

There REALLY needs to be a deluxe version with the plant gallery (which shows the parents bred to get the plant) as well as more seed storage - even a seed store screen where it costs $1.00 to store the seed.

Not having a 'Sold Out' message in the nursery screen is inexcusable as is not having the name of the plant indicating it's a new species found in the greenhouse screen.
This game is very good - although it would be much better / great with the features that SHOULD HAVE been included in it in the first place. Hopefully a deluxe version is in the works and will include these features."

Oh yes - a magnifying glass so you can check the plants for dead leaves would be great too