Game update: 21/10/15

The Halloween shenanigans are continuing in Restaurant Story for a third week, with a box update.

Notification for Monster Crate

The Monster Crate is the solitary addition this week. For 24 gems you get a lucky dip into the box, with one of nine floor decorations added to your inventory. There are lots of different sizes and qualities of items in there - your chances are slimmer for the top drawer stuff, but if you don't buy the ticket, you don't win the lottery!

With it being four weeks since the last one, it comes as no surprise that this week has brought with it a box. What was less envisaged is that the box is Halloween themed. Remember that last year the goal set was the only collection of new Halloween content added, and the general trend these days is for a theme only to last for one week, even if it is one of the major ones.

So in theory we should be grateful for any sort of Halloween additions. However in practice I don't see the players being particularly happy with this crate, not least because does it burn a hole in your gem bag.

So what of the décor hidden within? Well, like three weeks ago, there was no teaser posted on the Storm8 Blog yesterday, so we're very much on our own when it comes to deducing what the prizes are and their rarity. All we have to work with is the notification window that does it's damnedest to nick your gems.

That window gives a glimpse of four prizes, including the first prize Monster Mash. The others are a Monster DJ, Zombie Lovers and Pumpkin Punch. Thanks to the gambles of other players, I think we've got enough data to put together a distribution list, so here goes:

First Prize (1% chance)

• Monster Mash

Second Prize (10% chance)

• Monster DJ
• Zombie Lovers

Third Prize (35% chance)

• Treats Table
• Monster Treats

Fourth Prize (54% chance)

• Mummy
• Frankie
• Werewolf
• Haunted Tree

Thanks to Ali Cat Cafe for offering up a couple of the official names in this list! Plus courtesy of the detective work of purple rest and the excellent exploits of Maxblue, here is a screenshot from Maxblue's place which shows off some of the stuff:

Items from Monster Crate as shown at Maxblue

The two third prizes are very similar - the Pumpkin Punch is the one pictured in the notification with a purple cloth, while the Monster Treats has an orange cloth and can be seen above. Both are 2x1 in size. The three one word fourth prizes are all 1x1 characters which look exactly as you might expect, while the Haunted Tree is anything but - it looks strikingly like a Christmas tree for Halloween! As for the Monster DJ, it is 3x3 and probably my pick of the prizes.

It appears that we've gone back to the old format of nine prizes, whereas many of the recent boxes have only had eight. Whether that changes the odds for each level is impossible to say, but there are certainly nine decorations in the mix.

 Halloween 2015

 20/10/15 Goals content report
 14/10/14 Goals
 14/10/15 Goals update
 07/10/15 Laboratory update

In all honesty, I'm again feeling a little let down. Like the previous Halloween additions this October, this box is missing some of the frightful stuff which has come to represent Storm8 at this time of year. There's just not enough of the terror inducing features that have been characteristic of Halloween in Restaurant Story.

Take the Spooky Chest from yesteryear for example.

Items from Spooky Chest as shown on Storm8 Forum

It has some really cool items which have made it perhaps the most coveted box of all. Every year around this time there are scores of players desperately hoping for it to be re-released, and you can see why. The Zombie Butcher (on the left) and Were Sushi Chef (on the right) are seriously sinister!

It seems that the gamemakers just don't want to include content of this nature now. Instead they're trying to focus on the 'celebratory side' of Halloween, with the focus often on the party aspect and candy.

The lacklustre stuff in this update leaves us all craving a major re-release even more. It did happen last year, although it came in the final update before Halloween, which was really too late for a lot of players to feel compelled to invest. The same complaints will be lodged if Storm8 leave it until next Wednesday this time, so I strongly urge the game's developers to aim for a Friday release if they are planning to offer up some LTOs.

And if there are no plans in the pipeline, then I'm going to send the Were Sushi Chef into Storm8 Studios!