Game update: 20/05/15

Wednesday has rolled around again, and there's a train coming!

Notification for railway update

This is a train inspired update, with a large selection of new content for all those rail enthusiasts out there. As is tradition, here is the complete list of additions, all of which unlock at level 18:

Tables:

• Dining Car Table - 2 gems

Chairs:

• Dining Car Chair - 15,000 coins

Wall decorations:

• Floral Panel - 5,000 coins

Floor decorations:

• Caboose Stand - 20 gems
• Dinner Quartet - 45 gems
• Window Seat - 15 gems
• Golden Spike - 75,000 coins
• Treat Trolley - 35,000 coins
• Spring Garden - 70 gems (LTO)

Appliances:

• Dining Car Stove - 20,000 coins

Let's start with the Dining Car Stove. It is a very rare new appliance outside of goal weeks. In fact it's only the second time in more than two years that a new cooker has been introduced in an ordinary update, after the Kids Kitchen Set in January.

Building the Dining Car Stove won't be a walkover as it requires two new parts.

New parts required for Dining Car Stove

The Mallet and Golden Stake are giftable, so you shouldn't have to wait too long to accrue the necessary parts to get this stove up and running. Specifically you need 6 Mallets, 4 Screws, 4 Brass Diverters and 6 Golden Stakes to construct it. Remember that the Brass Diverters was another new part only last week!

Like with the Kids Kitchen Set, it's exciting to get a new appliance outside of goals for a change. I think the primary reason for my positivity is the lack of urgency to put together an army of them, unlike when we have goals.

Once you do get a Dining Car Stove built, you'll find four recipes coming your way.

Dining Car Stove recipes

I don't think there have ever been four recipes at the outset on a new appliance so this is ground-breaking stuff! I like the range of colour on show with these dishes - I'd quite happily tuck into any of them in the first class carriage!

As for the recipe ratings...

Figgy Pudding
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
4	5	2	8	9	4.6

Filet Bordelaise
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	7	1	10	9	4.1

Pickled Veggies
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
4	5	2	8	9	4.6

Potato Lyonnaise
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	8	1	8	9	4.2

The first thing to observe is that the two 1 hour efforts - the Figgy Pudding and Pickled Veggies - both have identical ratings. Yet they don't have identical statistics! The Figgy Pudding will get you 10 coins more in profit and 3 XP more, but that's a small enough margin that it is regarded as negligible by the ratings.

Generally these recipes are rather average, although that makes them exceptional compared to some of the recent releases, including last week's goal foods. The only one which really excels to any extent is the Potato Lyonnaise. It ties for seventh best overall out of all 39 dishes of 3 hour length, and that's despite being one of the worst profit and portion recipes in its duration. The XP gain is what rescues it - only four foods yield more, and that ensures that this dish does come out looking decent.

The Filet Bordelaise appears at a glance to follow a similar pattern to the Potato Lyonnaise, but yet is very much a middling 5 hour recipe. On this occasion there are many more consistent dishes, and thus the Filet topples down the overall chart.

Now to the rest of the fresh items, and you can get a good look at everything on offer via this image from the Storm8 Blog:

Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog

With five floor decorations available and three of them being 4x4 in size, there's plenty to get our teeth into, starting with the Caboose Stand. Here we have a stall selling greasy burgers to the unhealthy public. The stand has been moulded in the shape of the front of a train, but it has been done in a subtle way so that you don't have to put it in a train based setting.

Overall I do quite like it - the gamemakers haven't been sparing when it comes to modelling a number of objects on the shelf, and the two customers look like they're deep in conversation about just how greasy their lunch is! Plus the red baseball cap the girl is adorning is a cool touch. My only issue is the bot in braces at the side. He's got a mini host stand there and looks a bit lost. Why is he needed? Surely the bloke in the stand itself can handle the orders?! But for 20 gems I reckon this is a solid buy.

Moving down the train the Dinner Quartet will provide some entertainment to pass the journey. In all honesty I don't really get the concept. I've never seen or heard of high rolling musicians performing in a train car, but let's roll with it! Maybe they're rehearsing! The four bots all look highly polished as does their cart. Particular praise goes to whoever designed the lady's intricate outfit. Unlike the Caboose Stand the price tag is hefty, so you'll have to really love this piece to part with all those gems.

If you'd rather have some peace and quiet then move on down to the Window Car. It's reasonably priced and features a couple enjoying some afternoon tea in a window seat. I love the formal tone to this decoration. The guy is looking very smart in his blue suit with spotted tie, and although we can't see his partner's face, her headband complete with flower is very nice. It's definitely a thumbs up to this item, and I suspect you could work it into your restaurant without a train layout.

 Railway theme

 05/11/15 First Update

In contrast you're not going to be able to disguise the Golden Spike as anything other than a train track! Some brief research yields that the Golden Spike was the ceremonial final spike hammered in to complete the Transcontinental Railroad in the US back in the mid 19th century. This recreation of a significant moment in history looks pretty good, with the exception of the photographer's camera - I daresay cameras weren't so nifty back in the 1860s!

Having stopped off for that exhibit, it's back on to the train with a snack from the Treat Trolley. Again the bot is dressed very neatly, and his offerings look enticing. I can only make out the baguettes, but that doesn't mean that Storm8 haven't put lots of work into including plenty of detail. For 15,000 coins it's definitely a fair deal.

You need somewhere to sit down and eat your snacks from the Treat Trolley, and that's where the Dining Car Table and Dining Car Chair come in. Both exude grandeur with their elegant patterns, and once again can easily be implemented in your diner with or without a train scene.

The last new piece of décor is the Floral Panel. Once more there's a swankiness, with the rounded panel painted with a vase of colourful flowers. Any high-end eateries out there could definitely benefit from having this chic item attached to the wall.

I've discussed a lot throughout this post the flexibility of the content. Yet there is definitely scope to actually use all the stuff to put together a train. If you remember the railway update back in November, there were several similar decorations including the Locomotive itself, meaning that it's certainly plausible to design a train, perhaps arriving at the station. If I wasn't so stubborn with my little themed sections I'd be really tempted to invest some gems to do this.

Our last stop is the Spring Garden, which is available as a limited time offer. It is the first prize in the Gardener's Chest, and is up for grabs for a mighty 70 gems. But there is a small consolation if you do empty your gem bag for this floor decoration, in the form of a goal.

Goal for purchasing Spring Garden

Purchasing the Spring Garden will allow you to recoup 15 gems, meaning the net spend is only 55 gems. Of course you need 70 gems to make the buy in the first place, so this goal doesn't exactly soften the blow for those who are out of pocket.

I could afford this item if I cooked the last batch of many outstanding recipes to mastery (they're stacking up under my foolproof strategy!) but am not going to. For one thing it is very expensive - I will only spend 70 gems on something which I've really craved for a long time, and this just isn't such a piece. Plus there are a few somewhat similar items already in my armour - the Spring Lunch and Blossom Grove to name but two. So I can't really justify such a massive expenditure.

However I reckon there will be a number of players who do take the plunge on this one. The Spring Garden is undoubtedly a beautiful piece and one which will lighten up any outdoor area, so kudos goes to the game's developers for offering such a quality item out of the box.

Well that was quite a train journey! We visited several different compartments - each with their own interesting interior - spotted some lovely sights along the way, and had a good bite to eat!