We're definitely feeling the effects of a dry spell.  Work however is ongoing as always and we are coming closer and closer to being at a point where larger promotional efforts (let alone the mobile app) actually make sense. 

It's worth remembering what the larger plan is right now: since last August IC has been in a state of "re-development", meaning its guts are being ripped out and it's being experimented on.  The point of this is to understand the game's shortcomings and failures so we can rebuild it properly.

You're not the first and won't be the last to dislike this approach but I stand by my statement: I didn't take over to keep things running exactly the same.  I've made some mistakes along the way but as far as I'm concerned IC is experiencing a second era of betas, and that means we will absolutely have growing pains.

You mentioned that you "dunno whats really been going on in the development", so here's a summary:

Improved Map

Nearly everything about the map needs to be improved.  Not just the redesigned version, but the old version as well.  Neither of them really get it quite right.

We just got a fairly significant change to the planet/system views in the game, including the long-requested ability to explore multiple planets at once.

On the way are sending multiple attack/station fleets at once, along with a rewrite of the actual galactic map itself that will solve a lot of the current problems.

Improved Registration

As you may have noticed, MW didn't fill up this time.  On the surface that may look like "we're running too many galaxies" but really the problem there is that we have to guess how many people might want to play every time we start a round.  For years we've had problems with galaxies not filling up, or not enough active players; this isn't new.

The real problem isn't that we have too many galaxies, it's that each galaxy is always a shot in the dark as to whether or not it will be a balanced round.  This is incredibly frustrating and something I've been looking forward to fixing for awhile now.

So instead, what we will have in the future is a system where people do a "blind" registration, meaning everybody has 1 or 2 days to join a galaxy, but the galaxy itself isn't actually generated until after all joins are complete.

This will help galaxies feel less empty from the start, as the galaxy will only ever be large enough to support the players who are interested in playing.  It sucks to have a 60 player galaxy where 1 active family dominates because there's only actually 30 active players.  However, the same 30 people playing a galaxy that's specifically built for 30 players can actually be an interesting and balanced round.

Updated Guide

This one's an obvious one: our new guide sucks and our old one isn't relevant anymore.  Either of those are probably doing more to scare away new players than to help them.

Promoting the game is a waste of time and effort until these 3 things happen, and until we put more promotion into the game, this dry spell will continue and perhaps even worsen.

In the meantime, there is a path forward and I (and the staff, and now the testing crew as well) continue to actively work on improving the game.

Don't sell yourself short.  Even "only 1 guy" is still a player, and every player's experience is important.  For now though, the best I can tell you is that we really are in more of a beta stage again.  We're not experiencing the death of the game, we're experiencing a rebirth.

Hang in there; things might get worse before they get better but they will definitely get better eventually.

Unannounced Roll back on andro=> at least 5 deleted

Currently I am avoiding ua rounds. I know 3 players that are doing the same.

Haven't seen fresh blood in a while.

Yea, one main galaxy would probably be better.  I still fully believe this game can be saved with an App and Facebook advertising..

Could it also be saved with incessant whining?...  Probably not

yeah 1 gal is all we can handle.... if that

I've wanted one galaxy for a long time, I just assumed no one else wanted it.

I don't know how other's play, but for myself, sometimes I need a break from the game.  So if there's a round I don't like, I can sit that out.  And if there's not a new round starting, I don't mind joining in the middle of a round.

I don't believe anyone can play two rounds at the same time.  I mean, you have to play other computer games as well, right.

I was gonna write up a long reply to all of this but I'm trying to limit myself to one novel per thread. =P

I'll just say this: our plan right now isn't to focus on player count; it's to focus on rebuilding the game.  All of you guys have valid points, and many if not most of them will be addressed in the near future.

I can only hope that everybody sticks around to see the eventual results but the reality is that nobody is obligated to.  Work is happening as fast as it can, but it will never be fast enough.  As always, your patience is very much appreciated as is your feedback.

Back to work I go!

i agree with the topic and pie...but in the long run one solo and one fam may be the way to go so you still have testers...

Hey now dont give them that much credit i never said they were competition hahaha

Wild none of the really decent players are playing ur pretty much playing half efforts and people with ego issues lol.. put it back to wat it was and u will see ur self change.. me and pitbull aint playing so ur safe i wonder if devilz is playing or colo.. u have no comp cause of IC's actions well pie's choices and stuff at a overhaul but he could of left everything the way it was and did these changes or just let 1 open gal

lol

I hope all this boasting is about SN or so, cause I don't see anyone performing in MW.