Thanks so much for taking the time to write your feedback! I do understand your feelings and your decision - as long as you are enjoying the game for yourself, that's what matters most!
There's two things I would like to rectify, as they did in fact happen:
1. "It would have been better if we had said something.... etc."
The team have, since announcement, been incredibly active and open about the game's development as well as the state of the game. Since Beta and launch, we have been helping players in threads (whether support or suggestions or Issue Tracker) and we have stated over and over again that we are working on fixes, improvements, and more updates are coming. There's really nothing more we can do in that regard, as fixes and improvements take time and team power to implement, get tested, and roll out. It's not something simple that just happens overnight, and we have constantly been open about that and asked for your patience. If you scroll through many forum threads or social posts you will find plenty of examples of us doing so.
Also, while of course we sympathise that players have experienced issues (hence the continuous updates), there have also been many players who have not experienced anything - for them the game works and they are perhaps/probably not as vocal on here - after all, the forums, Steam, and social media are often use to contact developers when you're experiencing issues. However I don't want to detract from the team's incredible hard work and ignore that this part of the playerbase exists too. So we do what we can for the ones experiencing problems, whilst also making sure everyone else can continue to have fun. I hope this makes sense
2. We've always been careful not to over-promise any features. I think there's a difference between expectations here: because a lot of us are excited about Planet Zoo, expectations were high - it also means that sometimes when we tried to hone in the conversation and explain why certain things aren't in the game or aren't possible, it'll fall on deaf ears
speculation is something that is great for everyone to partake in, but sometimes people read forums or threads and take the speculation for truth - creating false expectations of features or announcements that we cannot always rectify (simply because we can't be on all communication platforms at all times); this in turn could lead to disappointment, which would then be understandable, right? Of course! So we've always stated to only follow the official accounts, or the words of the Community Team, or other developer interviews. That way you will have the most accurate picture ahead of a game launch
Either way, I really appreciate your feedback and I do hope the free update will tackle some issues you've been experiencing! I can guarantee that the team have worked very hard to make those improvements, and I hope you can continue to enjoy your game and your animals. Please do continue talking to us and giving us feedback - it's very helpful.
❤