RS2 News (Dec 2015)

Time for another review of the crazy cooking going on in Restaurant Story 2, and in the last month there's been plenty happening to keep us players hooked.

At the time of my last check-in The Tummy Rumble goals were just getting underway, and little did we know how much anguish they would cause. The quest was very complex in nature, with many different components and requirements for the goals which were deeply interwoven. There were six recipes to consider, with two of these being feeders for other dishes. The Autumn Seeds and Roasted Squash were the two products that fed into the main recipes, but even making them was tricky as both required Nutmeg, an ingredient exclusively dropped by Katryn Evergreen on her visits, and the squash also needed a brand new ingredient in the market.

So we were already on the back foot in the race to complete these goals! And Katryn didn't exactly help with her drops of just two Nutmeg which was the norm. Occasionally she did relent and provide a batch of 10 but these were few and far between. In fact Katyrn's miserly behaviour was eventually eradicated by Storm8 as they realised the difficulty they had created for their players, and Katyrn's drops became larger.

     Notification for increased Nutmeg drops

With seeds and squash in hand, we then approached the obstacle of the main dishes. All three involved in the main strand required Roast Squash to some extent, while there was were also heavy requirements of Cream and Beef. Plus one of them - the Squash Flatbread - needed Autumn Seeds.

And to just add to the problems, the Autumn Seeds not only needed Nutmeg to produce, but also Seeds (just plain ones!) which were obtainable by cooking two of the main recipes! If that hasn't got you tied up in knots I don't think anything will!

What is probably most frustrating about the quest is not so much the complicated format, but more the lack of quality in the prizes.

Brown Butter Pie goal prize in The Tummy Rumble goals

The cruise events are always easy to motivate yourself for when there's a promise of gem production at the end, but not for the first time we have average recipes to play for in a traditional goal set. And to add insult to injury this time they were placed on the Celebration Stove, which is of course the home of those gem makers, which are clearly the priority.

In addition to all the agony caused by that main strand, there was a separate strand suited to higher level players that involved a Drink Maker recipe - the Pumpkin Spice Latte. So with lots to think about, an element of planning was probably a good idea going into this.

In the end my main quest was complete with several days to spare, and the latte strand was polished off 36 hours before the close of play. I was surprised at how comfortably I got over the line, but I guess that's what happens when you dedicate loads of time and effort to the cause!

All this success came despite part of my plan involving not worrying about using Sugar elsewhere. As is becoming standard with these quests, Sugar was a valuable commodity, but with Black Friday fast approaching and lots of the special ingredients needed to make the gem producing dishes in my inventory, I made a business decision! It was Pistachio Pyramid Cakes, Wedding Cakes, Baked Alaska and Beef Wellingtons which I was churning out at a great rate, all the time adding to my burgeoning gem tally.

When Black Friday eventually arrived I was staring at almost 1,100 gems, and felt in a real position of power. Whatever the big day brought I was ready for it! In the end, Black Friday was something of a let-down, although not on the same scale as in the original game.

     Notification for limited time items on Black Friday

As far as limited content was concerned, the only specials were on cruise event prizes, which were brought back to the market for purchase. Having completed every cruise to date this didn't really appeal to me as I already had all of the stuff for free.

However one sale I had desperately hoped for did come to fruition, and that was a discount on second appliances. We're only given one Chateau Stove and Chateau Oven for coins, and usually a second requires a 250 gem investment. But for Thanksgiving weekend there was a 30% off deal to be had, with each cooker up for 175 gems.

It wasn't as spectacular a sale as I was hoping for, and the lack of promotion for it (there were no banners on the items in the market) was unnerving, but I wasn't about to miss the chance, especially with so many gems in my balance. And so it was that I parted with 350 gems in order to add to my appliance collection. I could have opted for a second Celebration Stove too, but with its recipes not called for in cruises felt this wasn't such a worthy purchase.

I didn't have to wait long for my first use of these appliances, with the Thanksgiving Cruise Catering Event.

Introduction to Thanksgiving Cruise Catering Event

As usual this was a 10 day challenge with the opportunity to bag a number of premium decorations as well as a new gem producing recipe - the Mini Pumpkin Pies - and a character to deliver a crucial component in its making - Timmy the Turkey.

My progress was brisk in the early days, and this is not the first time I've been able to say this. Indeed the first few days of these events are now comfortable enough that I've started allowing my general cooking to continue! In the past when commencing a cruise I've devoted all my attention to it and not worked on any other foods. But that's beginning to change now.

However by day seven or eight I was focusing solely on the cruise orders. As was the case in the Halloween themed cruise in October, the Deep Fryer was causing me all manner of problems. It's recipes have pretty steep ingredient requirements, making it difficult to be set for cooking. And unfortunately for me Deep Fryer dishes seemed to pop up more often than the odds would suggest is plausible. Whether there's anything dodgy going on is impossible to say, but I'm certainly suspicious!

 RS2 News

 07/11/15 November 2015
 24/10/15 October 2015

 19/09/15 September 2015

 22/08/15 August 2015

 18/07/15 July 2015

Despite the Deep Fryer issues, I did complete the cruise with a good few hours to spare, thus earning a fifth gem producing recipe. They're really building up now, to the point where I'll be able to recoup those gems spent on the extra appliances soon enough.

And on that note the second Chateau Stove and Chateau Oven are a great tool for when the cruise events roll around. There were several occasions where I pulled them out to halve the overall cooking time and give myself more room to manoeuvre. Unfortunately I don't have the floor space to house them permanently right now, but I'm not too worried about that. I'll just wheel them out when needed!

Following on from the Thanksgiving cruise was a good old level cap increase. Previously at 55, the maximum level is now 60, and the difference is significant. This is because of a collection of goals which only unlock at level 56.

Notification for new wine related content

They feature two new appliances in the Grape Press and Wooden Aging Barrel, as well as three new ingredients in the Fruit Market. Sadly I'm still sweating it out on level 55 (that's what I get for closing down during cruises!) so have yet to gain access to these new features.

However I am delighted to see some really grown up stuff added. I've previously asked for more alcohol based content in the original game, but have always accepted that the app is designed for all ages and thus booze is not really suitable. Yet Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet wines all feature on these new appliances. I'm looking forward to bringing some classiness to The Onion Bush!

We're almost done, but first a quick word on the latest quest to arrive in the game. The Snack Wars! goals is another parody of an upcoming film.

Step from Snack Wars! goals

This time it's the latest addition to the Star Wars franchise which is being featured, with such pun-tastic items as the Use the Forks decorations. There's also three alien musicians which is rather bizarre. I'm one of those queer beings who hasn't seen Star Wars, and somehow doubt these suited extra terrestrials have appeared in the films!