Game update: 08/04/15

Has the weather not turned yet where you are? Then consider a trip to the Florida Keys!

Notification for Florida Keys update

There's quite the variety of stuff in this update, with all of it unlocked at level 10. Here is the comprehensive list...

Tables:

• Conch Table - 5 gems

Chairs:

• White Adirondack - 5,000 coins

Wall decorations:

• Flotsam and Jetsam - 15,000 coins

Floor decorations:

• Mangrove Cluster - 30 gems
• Key West Gran-Gran - 20 gems
• Cat Show - 40,000 coins
• Duval St Chickens - 35,000 coins

In addition to these goods there are two recipes have been added as well.

But first some thoughts on this theme. It's nice to get some bright and cheerful content after the relative gloom that was the rainy days update last week. I have to admit that I didn't really know much about the Florida Keys before this update, but am now fancying a real life trip there!

For a glimpse of all the items released in this update, take a look at this picture from the Storm8 Blog:

Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog

Like with the last non-goals update, I'm feeling somewhat short-changed. There is no new wallpaper, floor tile or counter, which leaves this wave of new content feeling a touch sparse.

Despite this I'm ploughing on, and absolutely have to start with Key West Gran-Gran. I have begged for a Gran-Gran decoration for some time, so it's great to finally see the wise one make an appearance. The fact that she is wearing a Hawaiian shirt and holding a refreshing cocktail only serves to heighten my excitement! But there's a downside - Gran-Gran doesn't come cheap. For a 1x1 item (even Gran-Gran!) 20 gems is very steep and will put off a lot of players. I won't rule out purchasing her for my beach theme when it gets brought out in the Summer, but until then will unfortunately have to relent.

The Mangrove Cluster is also severely overpriced at 30 gems. Like Key West Gran-Gran, this piece looks really good but is just not good enough to merit the price tag. It's 2x2 in size so isn't exactly a scene stealer and yet costs an amount which suggests it is. I actually wonder if the mangrove has been scaled down - generally they are massive and so the way this one has been condensed into a small item does raise questions.

Sadly my negative outlook doesn't improve with the Cat Show or Duval St Chickens. They may both be coin additions, but neither will be finding a home in The Garlic Tree any time soon. I suppose the Cat Show may appeal to the cat lovers out there but not being among them I'm lost for words when it comes to describing it! The one plus point is that it could be useful for a carnival theme...

Now for those chickens! What is going on there?! Some brief research yields the delightful fact that chickens are plentiful on Duval Street in Key West! What on earth you're supposed to do with two chickens around a lamppost in your restaurant I have no idea, but it does make for a unique item. I guess anyone with a street running through their place may be keen on this one, but even then it's difficult to take it seriously!

The wall decoration on offer is the Flotsam and Jetsam. Another hole in my pitiful knowledge was filled here as I discovered that flotsam and jetsam are two types of nautical wreckage. That makes the happy and varied colours on show in this item all the more puzzling. However it does have a quirky feel that I like so may find a slot in my restaurant one day.

Lastly there are the new table and chair. For 5 gems, the Conch Table is obviously too costly. It's a shame because I quite like the shell design (enough to overlook the glass top!) but at that price it's a definite no-no. In contrast the White Adirondack is a fine chair. Not for the first time I'm digging a simple design which doesn't go over the top. I can envisage plenty of players utilising this chair in their outdoor landscapes, myself included.

So being honest, I'm not overly impressed by most of the offerings in this update. But with two new recipes to master, there's an opportunity to turn that frown upside down.

New recipes

The Conch Chowder is a 1 hour dish found on the Basic Stove, while the Key Lime Pie takes 3 hours to prepare aboard the Basic Oven. The chowder is rather nondescript in appearance, but I do like the pie. I can just imagine having a large slab of it mid-afternoon on a hot and humid day in the Florida Keys!

Here are the recipe ratings for these two foods:

Conch Chowder
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
4	10	5	3	9	6.2

Key Lime Pie
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	6	4	3	9	3.7

There's lots of variety to sift through there, with the Key Lime Pie in particular being very diverse - ratings wise it's a rainbow recipe!

The pie may score a one for profit but it is by no means the worst dish of 3 hour length on that front. The huge supremacy of the Biscuits and Gravy (Basic Stove) is what causes the unexpectedly low score. It's XP where the pie makes up ground as it places eighth best in the duration.

The Conch Chowder offers exactly the same XP gain, but being a third of the length means that it flourishes alongside its fellow 1 hour foods. Like the Lox Bagel added a fortnight ago, the chowder slips in only just behind the White Chocolate Berries (Romantic Stove) which tops the XP charts. Otherwise the chowder is pretty poor, but that purple XP score does ensure a respectable overall rating.

It's with a grimace that I have to break the news that the sub-par profit per plate stats these two recipes provide is down to each giving only 2 coins per plate. After the return to parity with the goal dishes last week I really thought Storm8 may have sorted things out. But my optimism was ill-conceived. The trend I'm watching out for now is thus - goal recipes set at 4 coins per plate; non-goal recipes set at 2 coins per plate. This would reflect the fact that goal foods require some effort to access, but would clearly still be a sad situation.

Finishing with a flourish, there was a limited time promotion over Easter weekend which has yet to be covered on this blog.

Notification for Spring Basket

The Spring Basket was a box from the very early days of the game which hadn't ever been re-released until Good Friday. Available throughout the long weekend, it was on sale at 25% off.

Since this offer is past I won't get too deep on the prizes, but generally feel this is one of the weaker boxes around. The Confection Garden is only 2x2 which is exceptionally small for a first prize. The other items up for grabs are also generally quite diminutive, although the Salad Bar is a nice decoration, even if it is rather out of place in a Spring themed box.

So a brighter update after all that rain, but at least for me there's still an overcast outlook. I'm hoping that there are greater warm weather updates to come as I search for some inspiration for my outdoor section!