Is Upland Getting Any Better?

I disappeared during Genesis Week and afterwards.

Not because I was busy collecting Troves or because I was planting seeds.

Because I couldn’t fake the excitement.

Everywhere I looked, people were acting like Upland had finally turned a corner. X was full of screenshots. Discord was full of players talking about crafting routes, Troves, and how this was the beginning of something bigger. If you only looked at the posts, you’d think Upland had just released the greatest update in years.

I wanted to feel the same way.

I really did.

Then Genesis Week ended.

Plants stopped producing Troves.

Crafting ended.

Everyone went back to waiting for Uppies, waiting for fishing, waiting for farming, waiting for animals, waiting for a 3d moving map — back to the same old waiting.

And I found myself asking the same question I asked before the event started.

What actually changed?

Not what was announced. Not what might happen later. Not what connects to another feature that’s still being built. What changed about the game I logged into on Monday?

Honestly…nothing.

We’ve Accepted Only Celebrating Potential and Not What Is

Genesis Week Live was the height of Upland’s successful events.

Now, Genesis Weeks are for beta testing and valueless badges and passes.

Genesis Week gave players something to chase and created excitement for a few days.

But, a lot of players did not opt into the trove hype. That’s telling.

Genesis week gave players a peak into the potential of troves, and players are supposed to celebrate how great Upland could be instead of focusing on what Upland currently is.

What Upland is now is a relic running on the last pennies of the players reluctant to give up on the dream of what Upland could become.

Uptards are spending thousands of dollars on Block Explorer rings that still do not do anything. We didn’t beta test stamina this Genesis Week, which means Block Explorer utility could be years away.

All of the joy in Upland is based on future hopes and promises that have yet to come to fruition.

Upland Continues To Plant Seeds Of Doubt About Its Credibility

Players have stopped playing Upland because they figured out that Upland falls through on many of its promises. Unfortunately, Upland continues to show that its word is not worth much.

Upland told players that they would not have to pet their plants to keep them alive. This was FALSE.

When Upland explained how plant care worked, they told players this:

“If your goal is simply to keep your plants alive and looking good, you do not need to travel around the map petting every plant you own. Feeding is enough to maintain them, while petting is for players who want to engage more deeply with wellbeing and future trove optimization.”

That sounds pretty clear. Feed your plants. Petting is optional if you want extra benefits.

Simple.

Except that’s not what players are saying is happening.

Over the last several weeks, Reddit, X, and Discord have filled with players posting dead plants after doing exactly what Upland told them to do.

They fed them.

They didn’t pet them.

Their plants died anyway.

That’s a communication problem. That’s a credibility issue.

Players who trusted Upland ended up with dead plants and wasted assets.

We’re Grinding Mechanics That Upland Already Plans to Remove

Here’s the part I can’t stop thinking about.

Uppies are supposed to automate plant care.

That’s been the plan from the beginning.

Eventually, they’ll feed plants.

Eventually, they’ll handle maintenance.

Eventually, they’ll take over all the repetitive work so players can spend their time doing more interesting things.

Great.

Seriously.

I think that’s exactly where the game should go.

But if that’s the destination…

Why are we spending so much time manually doing work that everyone — including Upland — already agrees shouldn’t need to be manual forever?

One of the biggest quality-of-life improvements was reducing petting from five times to three.

Players celebrated it. But, why are players required to pet at all? If the mechanics are not fully operational, no petting should be required at all.

And, if players are celebrating petting less, doesn’t that show that petting is not that fun?

If not petting is a relief, maybe that is a sign.

Upland certainly has some cleaning up to do.

If feeding is supposed to keep plants alive, then feeding should keep plants alive. Players should be compensated with seeds for their dead plants.

Property Used to Be Enough

I miss when buying property was the game.

Finding neighborhoods before everyone else.

Trading collections.

Watching a city develop.

Trying to figure out where the next opportunity would be.

There wasn’t always something to do.

But owning property itself felt meaningful.

Today, property feels like a platform for systems that are still arriving.

Soon your properties will do this.

Soon they’ll support that.

Soon they’ll connect to something else.

It’s always soon.

For years, people outside Upland asked:

“Why would anyone spend real money on digital property?”

Now, those of us playing Upland are asking the same question. Many players have vowed to never put money into Upland again.

Signs of life in Upland are actually a greater illusion than players think.

A few hundred players are committed to paying thousands into Upland no matter what Upland sells them. But, the rest of the player base, what are they doing?

Who else has these questions:

Why should I log into Upland today?

Why should I have to feed plants?

Why should I care if my plants die?

Why do I care if I stop earning yield?

Why do I play this game anymore?

I don’t think anyone got what they signed up for.

So…Is Upland Getting Better?

Tell me what is better about it now?

Upland brought Discord chat into the game because the game chat never became active. No one cared.

Can Upland be saved?

Not as the game it was marketed as at the beginning — but, it can be a game people play on the toilet.