Game update: 25/02/15

What have the Romans ever done for us? We're about to find out with a trip to the Italian capital.

It's an Italian themed update this week, and for the first time in 2015, we've got a box. That's not all though, because there's an Irish twist to this update too.

Note that some players are reporting that they haven't received the update - the reason for this is as of yet unknown but does seem to be independent of the platform you're playing the game on.

Here as ever is the full list of additions:

Tables:

• Shamrock Table - 2 gems (LTO)

Chairs:

• Shamrock - 3,200 coins (LTO)

Wall decorations:

• Four Leaf Clock - 12,000 coins (LTO)

Floor decorations:

• Lucky Westie - 16 gems (LTO)
• Lucky Rainbow - 14,000 coins (LTO)

Wallpapers:

• Shamrock - 1 gem (LTO)

Appliances:

• Shamrock Oven - 10,000 coins (LTO)

Counters:

• Shamrock - 4 gems (LTO)

Boxes:

• Italia Crate - 24 gems
• Lucky Chest - 20 gems (LTO)

So it's primarily a limited time sale, with the items all available at 20% off. But before we get to all of that, let's delve into the one completely new addition, the Italia Crate. A 24 gem investment, when opened this crate will give you an item at random which is available exclusively through the box.

So what sort of decorations can we expect to gain when prising open this box? Well, the TeamLava Blog has a partial solution, with a picture showing some of the prizes on offer.

Items from Italia Crate as shown on TeamLava Blog

Note that the Wooden Table, Wooden chair, Elegant floor tiles and Spring Squares wallpaper are all shown in this image and are readily available to buy in the market. As for the prizes, I suspect the Colosseum cut off on the right is the first prize considering that it is 4x4 in size. This means the Modern Roma where a customer is being served is almost certainly a second prize. The rest are less clear-cut, and with seemingly only six items shown, there are probably three more still to be uncovered.

Here is an estimated distribution of the prizes:

First Prize (1% chance)

• Colosseum

Second Prize (10% chance)

• Modern Roma
• ?

Third Prize (35% chance)

• Roma Pantry
• Heraculaneum

Fourth Prize (54% chance)

• Italia Sign
• Olive Tree
• Lattice
• ?

With several blanks spots as well as items whose official names are unknown and uncertainty over the distribution, do feel free to leave a comment if you have any additional information or corrections!

I've never been so relieved to see a box update! I finally decided to take a chance and spend the 80 gems for the Classic Bundle over the weekend ahead of its removal. That leaves me very light in the pocket, so a box which doesn't have me hysterical with excitement is just the ticket.

That doesn't mean the Italia Crate is a write-off. First and foremost it is the fourth Italian themed update over the last 12 months, which means a dip in this box could really top an existing Italian outlook. On the flipside you could argue that there's enough content already in the market to do a good job of decorating in an Italian theme without the need to open the box.

However there are some desirable items in the box. From those we've seen I'm particularly keen on the 'Roma Bar'. It's almost a more homely version of the Barista Counter from Bakery Story - a fans' favourite. Not only do you get the two bots, but also some nice high tables and stools along with a wide selection of bits and pieces on the shelves behind. I've asked for more alcohol in the past, so am pleased so see some vintage bottles of wine stacked in there!

The Roma Pantry has a similar style, essentially coming without the bar. There's even more goodies stored in it, including milk cartons, a basket of fruit (I think!) and more wine! I really like the detail in this piece - it's clear that a lot of time and effort has gone into its design.

Sadly I'm less enthused by everything else. The Colosseum should be gigantic and towering over everything in the vicinity, but instead even the punter eating at a table in the scene wouldn't be able to get inside! I understand that realism isn't the first law of Restaurant Story, but it's still annoying that the gamemakers didn't craft the most iconic item they could possibly produce for an Italian update more imposing.

 Italian themed updates

 22/10/14 Third update
 03/09/14 Goals
 19/03/14 First update

The Italia Sign is a reasonable item, but clearly not worth the 24 gems required to buy it. The same can be said about the Heraculaneum which also suffers with looking rubbish, at least in my opinion. I don't think I've ever liked any statue which TeamLava have come up with - they just can't seem to get the texture and tone right. And the Olive Tree is obviously the dud prize. It's a really insignificant item and is the type of fail which deters so many players from opening the boxes.

I had wondered if the introduction of the bundles might bring an end to boxes, not least because the bundles have been getting added to the boxes tab. It turns out that's not the case which will be a shame for many. I have personally never been that adverse to boxes - if I don't like anything I just don't buy. You don't have to make a purchase from very single update!

Now as we saw earlier there's a hint of green to this update. St. Patrick's Day is on 17th March, and the game's developers have returned a number of decorations to the game in the run-up to the Irish holiday. There are 21 days on the clock to purchase these LTOs, so expect them to depart on St. Patrick's Day itself. These goodies are scattered throughout the market so you'll need to do some exploring to find them all.

Like with the Valentine's sale, TeamLava have been a bit sneaky, because not all of the items labelled as limited time are actually returners - the Double Rainbow Painting, Lucky Green Couch, Leprechaun Waiter and Blarney Stone were all already in the market having been re-added last year in the build-up to St. Patrick's. However they are also now at 20% off, so I'm not whining!

It's difficult to say if this sale lays down a marker for next week's likely goal set. On one hand it does seem logical to believe that there are no plans for Irish themed goals since TeamLava have gone ahead and re-released old content now, but then again they did the same thing for Valentine's before the goals arrived. Despite several updates over the years, we've never actually had St. Patrick's Day goals, so it would be great to finally get them now.

As for the items included in the sale, it's the Shamrock Oven which probably brings the most cheer. It's recipes don't perform well ratings-wise, but for players who weren't around when this appliance was first released there's an excellent opportunity to bag six gems through mastery which were previously unattainable. The only issue is that one of the parts required to construct this cooker is the Shamrock, which is no longer available to gift! So you're stuck waiting for requests to come through! Hopefully that will be addressed sooner rather than later.

There are no new recipes this week, but I do have some comments to make on last week's new dishes, because they've been altered! The statistics of both the Sweet Potato Fries and Mex Choco Milkshake were changed within a day of each's release.

Changes to statistics of Sweet Potato Fries

Changes to statistics of Mex Choco Milkshake

Why on earth change them?! This is not the first time that the game's developers have done this so quickly after adding a recipe, and is just such a mess. Is it really that difficult to settle on a set of numbers prior to the release of a food? I think not. Nevertheless, I'm duty-bound to provide the recipe ratings for the new look fries and shake.

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	2	7	1	9	3.6

By pure luck the Sweet Potato Fries have the exact same ratings as previously, while the Mex Choco Milkshake has seen its overall rating drop slightly. Both remain of poor quality, so I won't repeat my grumbling again.

It's a cultured update. We've got a glimpse of Italy via a box and a taste of Ireland through some limited time offers. Once again I think this is a thoroughly satisfactory update in-between goals at a time when seasonal events are thin on the ground. But my expectations will be back to usual for next week's March opener which should bring goals!