Autumn 2014 goals content report

Last Wednesday was a big day. It was the day we got a new set of goals revolving around the many rich colours of Autumn. A number of the new items available could only be unlocked through the goals, so didn't get the full treatment from me at the time of release, but that's about to change with this report.

I'm going to start with the two fresh appliances. The first thing I really want to rave about is the fact that both of the cookers offer the option to be rotated in four ways. The Basic appliances have this same property but otherwise it's a trait which is a rarity. Many like myself have their ovens set up in a kitchen section and appreciate being able to rotate them. After all Action Chef Lee's got no business working on the rear of a stove! So thank you TeamLava for that - it obviously requires more work from the design team and doesn't go unnoticed by the players!

Focusing on the Thankful Oven, the first of the two appliances to unlock, it looks nice. The colouring doesn't really put me in mind of Autumn what with the slate grey interior. But that needn't be a bad thing - it gives this oven a realistic touch much like some of the other recent appliances, such as the Fish Stand and Wood Burning Stove. Plus the tea towel with maple leaf is a clever inclusion which makes sure the Thankful Oven has its own unique identity.

Beyond the aesthetics, we have to take a look at the recipes the Thankful Oven has to offer.

Thankful Oven recipes

The choice of pies is a good one in my opinion. They tie into Thanksgiving and don't stretch the boundaries of what's realistic for a food (no Panpipe Asparagus here!) As for the short lengths, it's a very unusual move. I suspect that the goals being a week later than anticipated (usually they are the first Wednesday of the month) may not have been in the original plan, and so the recipes were lowered in length to balance out the shorter period of time available to complete the goals.

Here are the associated recipe ratings:

Sweet Potato Pie
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	10	1	10	5	5.2

Pecan Pie
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
3	10	2	9	5	5.6

Now clearly the first point that needs to be addressed is the lack of any ratings for the Cranberry Pie. That's because it is the first ever 45 minute dish in the game, and thus there are no rival foods to compare it with! I reckon it is the first time since the 9 hour Roasted Parsnips (Vegan Stove) in May 2013 that a new recipe duration has been introduced - a real surprise!

As for the other two offerings, it's worth noting that both (along with the Cranberry Pie) yield 60 XP. This is so lazy on the gamemakers' part not to produce some variety, and it's not the first time we've seen this. Fortunately in this case it's to the advantage of all the pies, with the Sweet Potato Pie topping the XP charts for 30 minute recipes. Among 1 hour dishes, only the Thick Cut Bacon (Old West Oven) can better the Pecan Pie, and even then only by 1 XP, hence why it still gets a ten rating.

Sadly neither of these recipes do themselves any favours when it comes to profit and portions, which drags the overall score down hugely. But at least they've got some clout in one of the major factors.

The other appliance landing in your restaurant this week is the Turkey Cooker. Again I'm impressed with the appearance, and particularly take pleasure from the originality of its design. I'm no expert in cooking (the real type!) so can't really comment on the large pan and its tap, but I do like how it's something new. And the steam which is spouting when something is simmering away is a really cool touch - kudos to whoever over at TeamLava Towers came up with that concept!

Homing in on the trio of dishes, these are the recipe ratings:

Turkey Meatloaf
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	6	1	8	5	3.4

Turkey Casserole
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	5	1	10	5	3.7

Rosemary Turkey
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	1	2	10	5	2.7

These three recipes (and indeed the three prior too) look fabulous once served up. The blue tray the Turkey Casserole comes in is delightful as is the Rosemary Turkey which includes the minute details of the rosemary sprinkled on top and vegetables scattered around the sides. And to top it all off the plates with little stars around the edges which feature for all six foods are really nice.

I said after we'd looked at the Thankful Oven recipes that the constant 60 XP was lazy. So to see it replicated on the Turkey Cooker is inexcusable, especially because the foods are all much longer in duration. The effect is clear - the Turkey Meatloaf still performs decently on XP and the casserole fairs only slightly worse, but the Rosemary Turkey falls into the red.

There's little more to say, with the other stats (excluding the profit per plate) all failing badly. The Rosemary Turkey in particular is really rubbish - it's got the third worst overall rating among 8 hour contenders of all time, and is the worst to be released in that duration for more than two years.

Having carried out my monthly moping of the poor recipe ratings for the goal dishes, let's now move on to brighter prospects. There are three floor decorations which can be unlocked via the goals, the first of which is the Pilgrim Planter. Not being from the US, I'm not too knowledgeable about Thanksgiving, so was fascinated to find out via a quick Google that such an item does actually exist! The one in the game isn't that exciting if I'm honest, but it's sufficient for a first goal prize. I've got one placed in my foyer area for now as it's grey colour fits the surroundings well.

 Autumn 2014

 13/11/14 Goals

 13/11/14 Goals update

Next up is the Fall Divider. New dividers always go down well with me considering the style of my restaurant, but this one looks the part too. The flowers lining the top have a wild sort of feel about them which I like, and it fits in with a lot of the old Autumn content perfectly. I though the Autumn Divider (which I love) would always be a presence in my place in the Autumn months, but this divider along with the recently added hedges has forced them into storage!

The final goal prize is the Thanksgiving Feast. It is another fantastic climactic goal reward - I make that a hat-trick of triumphs following on from the Trick or Treaters and Pizza Toss in each of the last two goal sets. This is another 4x4 whopper, and features a family of five about to tuck into a heavy dinner. I think the Manguro Mango Salad from the Basic Oven is among the foods included in the feast which seems an unusual choice, but I'm not caring!

The entire piece is a beauty, with the wreaths on the backs of the chairs and pumpkins on the ground helping integrate it into the rest of the Autumn stuff. This is the kind of decoration which so often comes with a floor attached, so I'm kind of relieved this one doesn't - I can choose my own flooring to make sure the Thanksgiving Feast looks as great as possible. The fact that this item probably trumps the Autumn Party which is a second prize in the Autumn Gift Box says it all about the great job the game's developers have done here.

So after finishing the goals less than 48 hours after their release (that must be a record!) I set to work modifying my outdoor zone to accommodate the Thanksgiving Feast:

Thanksgiving section of The Garlic Tree

I'm really happy with the result. Finding a way of including both the Thanksgiving Feast and the Cider Bar was very important to me as they make a fine combination. To do this without losing the parade stuff I have further along required the entrance point to the outdoor section to be shifted down, but that's not a problem. I'm fortunate to have several old goal prizes which add to the scene, including the Thanksgiving Display, Pumpkin Topiary, Cornucopia and Thanksgiving Dessert. These are all really great pieces, and serve to demonstrate my view that Autumn is a season which TeamLava typically do a superb job with.

So that's another goal set out of the way! The next one will surely be of the festive variety, and the shorter time period for this batch of goals makes it seem apparent that those will come in in just over a fortnight on Wednesday 3rd December. It's a shame that I'll probably be packing up my Autumn decor so soon, but at least it's the greatest theme of them all which will take its place!