Game update: 18/02/15

It's Wednesday again, and that means another weekly update is upon us!

Notification for fast food update

This week it's all about fast food with a variety of additions, all of which unlock at level 10. The update has not yet arrived on Android, which means there's undoubtedly a new app in the pipeline, so Androiders should keep an eye out!

Update: 'Restaurant Story: Fast Food' is available now on Google Play!

Here's the traditional list of new content:

Tables:

• Fast Food Table - 20,000 coins

Chairs:

• Booth Chair - 5,000 coins

Wall decorations:

• Fast Food Logo - 15,000 coins

Floor decorations:

• Drive Thru Window - 45 gems
• Beargur Mascot - 4 gems
• Burger Station - 24 gems
• Manager Phoebe - 30,000 coins
• Trashcan - 5,000 coins

Wallpapers:

• Fast Food Wall - 1 gem

Counters:

• Fast Food Counter - 2 gems

There are two recipes have been introduced as well, which we'll get to in due course. For a glimpse of the new stuff, take a look at this screenshot on the TeamLava Blog:

Items from update as shown on TeamLava Blog

This is a really interesting update. I've said before that it's no coincidence that some of the best updates have been those which revolve around an actual restaurant theme, so that's a good sign for this one.

With five floor decorations added there's definitely the quantity to create a fast food diner, and for me the quality is there too. We start with the most expensive new item, the Drive Thru Window. This is a very unusual piece in that it kind of includes a wall decoration as well courtesy of the window. With countertops covered in an assortment of things and a mock appliance behind, this is a cool item. If I'm being critical I'd say that the overall size (3x3) is not enough for a 45 gem investment, but nevertheless it's still a good piece.

Next to the Drive Thru Window you can place the Burger Station. Coming at 24 gems, this is a 2x2 buy, but also manages to cram lots of detail in. If you've got any of the major prizes from the Classic Kitchen box then this might complement them nicely. And if you don't want to risk your luck in the box, this is an excellent alternative - it comes at the same price but guarantees the hefty decoration.

The remaining three floor decorations are more minor additions, but that doesn't mean they're duds. There's another Phoebe figure joining the ranks, with Manager Phoebe taking control of proceedings. I love her microphone, although the bright orange uniform means she's not really suitably dressed to stand over the host table in my sophisticated foyer section. I may well slot her into the kitchen zone though where she can boss Action Chef Lee around!

The Trashcan is obviously not too glamorous, but it does serve a purpose. It's surprising to think that this is the first bin we've actually had in the game, although I guess that's because restaurants don't generally have bins on show! The wooden texture of the Trashcan has been well-executed - my only issue is with the height. For the bots it's going to be like shooting a basketball!

Then there's the Beargur Mascot. What can I say? For 4 gems you get one of the most bizarre items yet! It seems to be a giant burger sculpture with the bun on top modelled into the head of a bear. I'm not keen on this one, and that's before I even scrutinise the dreadful pun in its name!

Moving swiftly on, I will return to positivity with the Fast Food Table and Booth Chair. For the first time in ages (outside of goals) we've got both the table and chair for coins, which is great news. These two have got a creamy yellow tone which borders on golden. On their own I actually don't really like their appearance, but put in the right setting they could look good.

That setting may well include the Fast Wood Wall. Sadly this wallpaper comes at 1 gem each, but is ideal for a fast food diner. Usually I'd deride the burger and fries patterns as well as the bright yellow background, but I think it's suitable for a fast food outlet, and will match the rest of the content really well.

The same goes for the Fast Food Logo. Like with the GranGran Logo added in the coffee themed update, Gran-Gran is looking to promote herself! Do we actually own our restaurants or are we really just working for Gran-Gran?! This sign looks nice with the orange colours passing for bronze and the yellow for gold.

The last new item is the Fast Food Counter, which has the Fast Food Logo stamped on the side. I'd have preferred for the logo not to have been included as that would have made this counter suitable for all sorts of surroundings. As it is it doesn't really do much for me, especially for 2 gems.

Overall I do think the items available in this update look uninspiring individually, but when taken together and blended into a well-designed layout could look terrific. And there's plenty of existing décor which can be utilised too.

Now beyond the new stuff in the market, we've also got two recipes to survey - one on the Basic Stove and another on the Drink Machine.

New recipes

I don't think I've ever tried Sweet Potato Fries, but I reckon they're really tasty! Served on a brown tray, I'm not too sure I'm keen on the way the're presented in a cup. The Mex Choco Milkshake also comes on a tray, and looks delicious. This particular shake supposedly contains almond extract and cinnamon, making it a certainty to be popular in your place!

To the ratings, where things go downhill rather quickly...

Sweet Potato Fries
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
3	3	3	8	9	3.8

Mex Choco Milkshake
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
3	1	10	1	9	3.9

Both dishes end up in the orange, but get there in very different ways. The fries are consistently dodgy, with all three of the main factors below par. On the other hand the milkshake performs excellently for XP but abysmally elsewhere.

A recurring theme of late has been an unorthodox number of coins per plate, and that quirk is in action again here. The fries offer 3 coins per plate, and is only the second food ever to do so after the Bagels (Basic Oven). This has an effect on the profit per plate, although it doesn't drop off too significantly since there are several 4 hour recipes which yield even fewer coins per plate.

Meanwhile the milkshake is in the red for profit per plate because it is the only 7 hour offering which provides less than 4 coins per plate. It actually gives only 2 coins per plate, making it a really bad choice to cook if you want to maximise your income.

There's not much more to be said about these recipes, but there is an important change which the milkshake has induced elsewhere. Because it broke the record for the worst profit per plate statistic in its duration, the ratings obtained by the other foods is affected. Essentially everything else gets an upgrade, and the result is significant. The Gumbo (Basic Stove) previously held a rating of seven for profit per plate, but that has now been increased to a ten. And that means the following...

Gumbo
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
10	10	10	10	10	10.0

The Gumbo has become the first recipe in the game to achieve a perfect ten for the overall rating! It's a milestone moment, and gives it extra clout in the Hall of Fame. What a coincidence that it's a recipe only added last week that has benefited from the poor return of the Mex Choco Milkshake!

In other news, the Classic Bundle added a fortnight ago has gone limited time.

Notification for removal of Classic Bundle

When the bundles were first introduced the lack of a time constraint on purchasing them was for me one of the big plus points. But with the New Orleans Bundle treated as an LTO and now the Classic Bundle being retired it seems that generally these bundles are going to be short-term additions. That's a shame but does make some sense from a money-making viewpoint - if bundles are listed as an LTO then players don't have as much time to get together the required gems and are more likely to cave in and spend real money.

I've been having an internal debate over the last couple of weeks regarding the Classic Bundle. I do love most of its contents and had planned to take a dip in the Classic Kitchen box eventually anyway, but it's obviously a big commitment at 80 gems. This deadline is going to force my hand, and I suspect I'm going to go all in and buy it. I'll just take a few more days to think about it...

In summary another decent update off the back of Valentine's. So often after the major themes we get a lull where updates can be sparse, but between this and the Mardi Gras update I believe the game's developers have done a good job of keeping up the standard. Let's hope this continues!