Game update: 11/03/15

Are your cooking skills really up to scratch?

Notification for cooking class update

This week's update revolves around cooking classes, with a selection of new content now live in the market for players at level 13 and beyond. There's also another round of Christmas removals, but we'll get to them in due course. Here's the complete list of additions:

Tables:

• Decorative Table - 3 gems

Chairs:

• French Chair - 5,000 coins

Floor decorations:

• "Practice Perfect" - 25 gems
• Class Time - 38 gems
• Stuff a Chicken - 45,000 coins
• Lobster Mayhem - 20,000 coins

Wallpapers:

• Blue Ribbon - 8,000 coins

Floor tiles:

• French Wood - 750 coins

As well as the new stuff across the market there are FOUR new recipes waiting to be discovered on the Basic Stove. For a change let's start with this remarkable happening. I don't think we've ever had four new dishes on the Basic appliances in one update, so this is a unique case.

New Basic Stove recipes

I like how they are all realistic foods which are worthy of a high end restaurant. No love potions or Clueschetta to be seen here! And they all look the part too - the Garlic Mussels in particular will be right at home in The Garlic Tree!

As for the numbers, it is pleasing that there's a large spread of durations. From the 1 hour mussels to the 8 hour Salade Nicoise we can pick and choose which of these recipes to cook depending on our real life schedules at any particular time. Then there's the ratings...

Garlic Mussels
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
5	2	5	3	9	4.1

Boeuf Bourguignon
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
3	3	6	4	9	4.0

Duck in Pastry
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
3	2	5	4	9	3.5

Salade Nicoise
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
3	4	6	1	9	4.0

The main headline is the menace of 2 coins per plate once again rearing it's ugly head. Like with the goal foods last week and other recent dishes, this leads to a weak profit per plate rating. This seems to be Storm8's way of balancing out some better portion numbers, although the portions afforded by these four recipes aren't exactly eyebrow raising.

So although the addition of four dishes is exciting, this is quickly dissipated with some disappointing statistics. A shame, but we can always think of the eight mastery gems these foods will yield for some comfort.

Now that the recipes are behind us we can take a look at the fresh décor. For a glimpse of everything new feast your eyes on this image from the Storm8 Blog:

Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog

Overall I think this is a great idea for a theme. Any excuse for more kitchen items is welcomed, and there are certainly a few such pieces on show here.

It's nice to get four floor decorations, and fair that the coin-gem split is even - two for coins and two for gems. The Class Time is the more expensive gem buy, but is a 4x4 juggernaut. There's so much to look at in this piece, from the blonde bearded chef and eager apprentices to the range of ingredients and the pinboard at the back. Even at 38 gems this is an item worth taking a look at.

Then there's the "Practice, Perfect". The chef depicted here has her face screwed up and no wonder - she's dicing onions and that is a tearful business! Whether that's because her eyes are sensitive or because she's just sliced off a thumb we don't know, but it's a cool item either way. The bucket of onions on the floor is another fine detail which the gamemakers could quite easily have forgone, so credit there.

The coin options are the Stuff a Chicken and Lobster Mayhem. The former features seven chickens lined up on a counter ready for a good stuffing. In some ways its a funny looking item, but if it's included in a kitchen area along with a range of other culinary content then it should blend in well.

The Lobster Mayhem is perhaps a first in that it depicts an appliance with food simmering away. From the teaser alone you could quite understandably assume this was an actual appliance with recipes to cook, but instead it's just a decoration. The lobster clambering out of the pan looks threatening, although I guess that's to be expected when you've been tossed into a boiling inferno! Unfortunately the cooker is smaller than the standard appliances which means you can't really slot it in inconspicuously.

The Decorative Table is dainty with it's pink flower patterns and thin legs, but for 3 gems I doubt many will be investing. The French Chair matches it perfectly despite the very different name. And at least it is available for coins. I do wish that outside of the goal updates the game's developers would offer both the new table and chair for coins once in a while.

All that remains are the wallpaper and flooring. The Blue Ribbon is a funky wallpaper which has a random pattern of circles and triangles. For me it doesn't go with the kitchen stuff, and is kind of out of place in this update. Plus I've no idea what situation I would use it in. Hmm.

My thoughts on the French Wood floor tile are more positive. It's got an elegant swirling pattern and has a grand kind of feel to it. And at 750 coins it's really cheap too.

It's rather unusual for there to be no new wall decoration or counter, but today both oddities have occurred. I can just about accept without question the lack of a wall item, but the absence of a counter is puzzling. Surely it would have been easy to put together a box with metal surface that matches the kitchen equipment?

We close out with the Christmas content removal.

Notification for second Christmas content removal

Last week brought the first of three promised removals, so this is the second. This time there are 29 items set to be dropped. They line up as follows:

Item	Cost	Category
Winter Table	12,000 coins	Tables
North Pole Table	20,000 coins	Tables
Santa Table	4 gems	Tables
Santa Chair	4,000 coins	Chairs
Winter Chair	6,000 coins	Chairs
North Pole Chair	3,600 coins	Chairs
Sleigh Stool	8,000 coins	Chairs
Gingerbread Divider	3,600 coins	Floor decorations
Snowman Chef	4,000 coins	Floor decorations
Snowman Santa	4,000 coins	Floor decorations
North Pole HQ	4,000 coins	Floor decorations
Drummer Drumming	8,000 coins	Floor decorations
Carolers	20 gems	Floor decorations
Lyrics Sheet Stand	8 gems	Floor decorations
Holiday Choir	77 gems	Floor decorations
Mistletoe Kiss	12 gems	Floor decorations
Santa Wallpaper	6,000 coins	Wallpapers
Frozen Lake	3,200 coins	Wallpapers
Snowy Field	3,600 coins	Wallpapers
Snowflake	4,000 coins	Wallpapers
Gift Box Stove	32,000 coins	Appliances
Festive Counter	10,000 coins	Counters
Gift Wrapped	3 gems	Counters
Gingerbread Counter	3 gems	Counters
Twinkle Counter	3 gems	Counters
Crystal Counter	8 gems	Counters
Winter Counter	4,800 coins	Counters
Chimney Counter	16,000 coins	Counters
Santa Counter	8 gems	Counters

As is the way with these removals, there is a 20% deal to be had on these items with the discounts already applied to the above prices.

Once again the items labelled limited time are not all things which were already in the market. The likes of the Gingerbread Divider and Gift Box Stove are actually re-releases which is very kind of Storm8 even if it is some time since (or until!) Christmas. And in a new twist the goal prizes from 2012 are among those items being removed. The Carolers, Lyrics Sheet Stand and Holiday Choir were the quest rewards back then and are finally being dropped. At the time of writing they remain unavailable to players who didn't participate in those goals, but I get the feeling from the level of response on the Storm8 Forum that this will be amended so that everyone has an opportunity.

There goes another update then. A good theme with some quality floor decorations and a quartet of recipes to get our teeth stuck into. Our cooking skills will be seriously honed!