Have to agree, the recent update is a head-scratcher. They made user stories considerably more confusing to use, and these same user stories are what made Snapchat successful and exciting to begin with.

I really think they should work to bring back the daily city/event stories too. For those that don't remember, they used to aggregate the biggest events and city stories on a daily basis and provide those front and center. Was a really unique way to experience a city across the world from where you are! They've since gotten rid of this, and moved it into a hidden "SnapMap" feature which is easily missed by many users.