RS2 News (Jul 2015)

Once again it's time to summarise the latest goings-on in the sequel game to Restaurant Story. When we last met the Father's Day goals had recently come on the go, and they already feel like a distant memory!

Step from Father's Day goals

The key ingredient to that quest was Sarsaparilla, which in an unusual twist was dropped by cooking certain recipes. The likes of the French Dip and Chicken Alfredo were yielders of the root, and so preparing these dishes continually was critical to giving yourself a chance at completing the goals.

There was a second collectible ingredient involved too - scoops of Ice Cream were obtained from serving water to thirsty customers. So lots to work on and keep us busy, as ever!

Ultimately I was able to finish the goals with plenty of time to spare, mainly thanks to good time management. The prize for completion was the Cozy Fireplace which looks fantastic. The brickwork and wooden mantelpiece give a really traditional feel, and that fire is superb! It's animated so the flames bob up and down - it's with items like this that I really wish there were animations in the original game.

Following the Father's Day goals, we had the BBQ goals, which required an app update. The fact that some events apparently require an app update to access means I have to check-in to the App store regularly, more so when I expect a cruise event is on the horizon! I realise that you can set updates to download automatically, but I tend to prefer installing manually as I can make sure an update isn't full of bugs beforehand - see RS1's most recent update on iOS for evidence of that!

The BBQ goals were tied in with Independence Day celebrations, with the main headline being a new appliance. The BBQ Grill is the first new cooker we've had since the Pizza Oven and Mixer were added in March, and only the second goal appliance after the Valentine Oven. It contains four recipes, all of which required oodles of BBQ Sauce to unlock.

Notification for BBQ goals

And so begun the grind of the goals! The BBQ Sauce was at the hub of things, but it wasn't as simple as collecting it from passing bots. Instead it was Mustard which was the droppable, with Uncle Sam the special guest who shared it. This Mustard was then used on the Diner Stove to produce the BBQ Sauce, and only then could the new recipes be unlocked.

At first the opening three BBQ Grill foods needed 20 BBQ Sauce to unlock, and the fourth called for 25. That was a huge ask since Uncle Sam's visits were infrequent and gave anything between one and four Mustards per drop. There was much displeasure voiced on the Storm8 Forum, and consequently the gamemakers gave in and cut down the amount of BBQ Sauce needed significantly. This is far from the first time that requirements have had to be revised downward, and leaves me wondering why the game's developers don't take more time to consider the numbers they're implementing before pushing the goals out.

At least Uncle Sam was less infrequent than some of the VIPs we've had. I found that he stopped by every 25-30 minutes, meaning that accumulating Mustard wasn't as difficult as it may have first appeared. From what I've read I can also count myself fortunate when it comes to the number of Mustards he dropped each time - he often gave me three or four which was a blessing!

A major stumbling block in this goal set was the high reliance on Sugar. Having at least level four on restocking was quite important for this 2 hour refresher. Sugar seems to be one of the main ingredients involved in goals, perhaps because it's unlocked at a relatively low level so is accessible for more players. But I am getting a little tired of stalking the Street Market for spare Sugar!

So it was with a relief that a side goal in this BBQ event called for other ingredients. The Potato Salad was found aboard the Commercial Range and was heavily reliant on Potatoes and Mayonnaise. Both have a long wait to restock, so at first the aim of mastering the Potato Salad before the clock ran out looked to be far-fetched.

3 Star Mastery of Potato Salad

But I ended up getting done with lots of time to spare which was a relief, since I like to master everything and the salad was one of those dishes which is removed when the goals end. Mastery Spice is so helpful!

Indeed I actually coasted through the BBQ goals as a whole, finishing the main strand with eight days still remaining. Perhaps the original BBQ Sauce requirements were doable after all! And to add the cherry on the icing, I also did the other side goal, which required the purchase of the Grassy Field Style flooring and Night Sky wallpaper, both for gems. Some really good yields from Luana and the Chocolate Pyramid Cake of late mean I was perfectly happy to pay up, especially since both items could be useful for future decorating and you were getting some Rocket Burst décor thrown in for free as a reward.

Hot on the heels of the BBQ goals were the Berry Bake Off goals. As a poster on the Storm8 Forum summed up perfectly, playing Restaurant Story 2 is 'like having a part time job'. It really does require a lot of your spare time if you want to complete every single event going! Contrast this with the easygoing format in RS1 where the solitary goal set each month is not all that taxing and you can understand why a lot of players of the original game are quickly disillusioned by RS2.

The Berry Bake Off goals revolved around Festive Berries, which were dropped by customers in exchange for a glass of water. Compared with the complexity of the Mustard-BBQ Sauce-BBQ Grill process in the previous quest, these goals were much more simple, with only the Festive Berry Pie being a new recipe to work on. Mastering it was at the crux of the matter, and so yet again an accumulation of Mastery Spice was very helpful.

Step from Berry Bake-Off goals

However having seen what was ahead thanks to the excellent work of others (including regular contributor Fat Bear) over on the Storm8 Forum, I felt I may be able to get through the goals without resorting to my precious Mastery Spice. This proved a good idea, until I reached the final step. Having mastered the pie in the previous step, I mistakenly assumed that the climactic goal would be a walk in the park and almost paid the price...

The cooking of a further five Festive Berry Pies was necessary, which I was able to do with a couple of hours to spare. Before I go on in my tale of drama, a word on this - why more pies after mastery?! It feels like a waste of resources to be cooking a dish which is already mastered and I'd much prefer Storm8 to leave it alone after mastery.

 RS2 News

 20/06/15 June 2015
 02/05/15 May 2015
 11/04/15 April 2015

Anyway, back to my traumatic experience, and the Steak and Eggs which was almost my downfall. There were 12 needed in the last step, meaning that with two Commercial Ranges it would take at least six hours to get them all done. I didn't have the time for that, but wasn't too alarmed. After all I had a huge stash of Quick Serves saved up which I only use in such situations. So I decided to set an alarm and make sure to check in a few minutes before the deadline to Quick Serve my last batches.

Except that I messed my timings up. When the alarm went off and I opened up the game, I glanced over to find that only 33 seconds were remaining in the goals. With a gasp of horror I proceeded to Quick Serve the two steaks on the go, and then prepare a third which would get me over the finish line. That was also immediately quick served, only for a last (and pointless) goal to pop up. At this stage there were only seven seconds to go! Three quick taps saw the goals out, and I was the proud recipient of the Pie Contest Trophy. Never before have I been so close to the edge, and hopefully never again!

However there's always a chance of running it close with catering events, and with the Wedding Cruise Catering Event just appearing in the last few days, the stress levels will be rising around the community. It's a full-on 10 day event, with the prize being visits from Alejandro the Groom and a recipe which rewards gems. I presume he'll take on a similar role to Nefertiti by dropping an exclusive ingredient required for this special dish. I've yet to hit Start, but am looking forward to tackling my first cruise event since upgrading my General Store and Veggie Market to level five for refreshes. I'm feeling worryingly confident about this latest mission!

That's not all I've been doing in the last month - I've also made it to level 49!

Notification for reaching level 99

At present this is the highest level in the game, so that's quite the milestone. It took exactly six months for me to reach level 49, and I'm really hoping that the game's developers will add further levels in the coming months. Although even if they don't, there's plenty of other bits and bobs to be getting on with!