The Garlic Tree opens its doors to the world

I've always tried to be very secretive when it comes to my Storm8 ID. The reason for this is quite simple - I try not to have too many neighbours, and publishing my Storm8 ID could possibly result in a barrage of neighbour requests that I could really be doing without.

But I've found a workaround! I have a secondary account which I only use for 'emergency gifting' and checking the level at which new content is unlocked. This account has been on-the-go for a long time, but for some reason I'd never thought to use it as a gateway to my primary account.

So here's how it works. If you fancy stopping by my restaurant, The Garlic Tree, you need only invite lorettasapron to be a new neighbour. This is my secondary account's Storm8 ID. After doing this you'll be able to visit Lilac Hill which is a hovel of a place. But that's really not the point! The magic happens when you visit the wall - there you'll find a message posted by yours truly, and thus a link to The Garlic Tree!

Suggestions Box (Aug 2015)

Every month I list five things I'd like to see added, altered or abolished from the game. Because even though my long time of playing Restaurant Story clearly shows I love it, that doesn't mean it's perfect. Some of the ideas I'll air will be significant game changers while others will be low-key and irrelevant in the eyes of many of you readers.

In no particular order, here are this month's entries...

The past, the poppies and the gem dispenser

I'm back from my break, and so am duty-bound to round up the activity over the last week, which includes two traditional updates and a very special offer for iOS players.

We'll get those two updates out of the way first. On Wednesday 19th August there was a medieval themed release which included a range of new content, unlocked at level 10. You can see all the stuff via the following image taken from the Storm8 Blog:

Items from Medieval update as shown on Storm8 Blog

RS2 News (Aug 2015)

As ever it has been a busy month in Restaurant Story 2, with a number of events and goal sets keeping everyone well engaged. So let's have a review of the latest act.

We start with the Wedding Cruise Catering Event, which was released shortly before my last update. This was the fourth cruise event, and with my resources stronger than ever I felt confident of a slightly less bumpy ride this time.

Notification for Wedding Cruise Catering Event

And it looked to be running quite smoothly early doors, as I made it through the first half of the event relatively unscathed. I was even able hold back several four cruise coin dishes such as Stew and Ginger Tea for convenient moments, thus working with just two slots at a time.

Back to school goals content report

Over the course of the last week everyone has been very busy with the back to school goals, and having now finished them I'd like to share some thoughts on the content which is available exclusively through the quest.

We'll start with the new appliances, which inevitably provided the main challenge of the goals. Both needed a new part in order to build.

New parts 

The Apple Knob and Drip Pan continue the trend of two fresh parts per goal set, as was pointed out in my part analysis last weekend. And with the ever-popular Mallet also making an appearance, it continues to rule the roost as the most commonly called for part of late.

Back to school goals (in full)

Please note that this set of goals expired on Tuesday 15th September 2015.

Got your uniform? Got your pencil case? Then time to head back to school! The latest update is all about the return to the playground at the end of the Summer, and there's a new set of goals included.

There are 35 days available to unlock five items including two appliances and three floor decorations. That means it's likely to be Tuesday 15th September when the goals expire for good, so make sure to finish before then!

Here's the complete list of steps:

• Step 1: Back to School
• Step 2: Peanut Butter Jelly Time
• Step 3: Lunch Line Dining
• Step 4: Say Cheese
• Step 5: Don't Be Late!
• Step 6: Not-So-Mysterious Meat
• Step 7: A For Effort!
• Step 8: Learning Is Power!
• Sidestep A: Teacher's Pet

Game update: 12/08/15

It's that time of year once again where there's that manic morning in every household as the kids get set to return to school.

This week it's all about school, with a range of new content including a fresh goal set for your enjoyment. Here is the complete list, with it all becoming available at level 12...

Tables:

• Apple Table - 7,200 coins

Chairs:

• School Chair - 3,200 coins

Picking apart the parts

I had anticipated that this weekend would be all about polishing off the latest set of goals and drawing up a content report. But with the August quest still pending I thought it would be nice to review the current situation with regards to parts.

The last audit was back in January, when the Metal Sheet and Screw were endorsed as the most common parts needed to put together constructible appliances. But even then there was a clear indication that the so-called 'basic' parts were becoming less prevalent, with newer generic parts such as the Sturdy Wood and Purple Knob being commonplace.

I'm sure long time players won't have have missed the fact that not only have the basic parts continued to be less frequently occurring, but brand new parts are on the rise. They seem to come every month, sometimes being used only for a single goal set and rarely again.

Game update: 05/08/15

The opening update of August is all about the tasty sandwich that is the panini.

You can access all of the new stuff from level 23. Here's the comprehensive list:

Tables:

• Panini Cafe Table - 9,000 coins

Chairs:

• Panini Cafe Chair - 4 gems

Wall decorations:

• Panini Sign - 7,200 coins

Path to XP

All information accurate at time of publishing.

It's time to travel along another long and winding path, this time to XP! Following on from my post on boosting your profits, I'm going to delve into the less murky area of maximising your XP gains.

XP can be obtained in the game by three main methods: cooking recipes, buying content and completing collectibles. The first of these is the most significant and sustainable of them, and so it is with respect to the preparing of food that we will focus our attention.

The leading XP maker across all the appliances can be found on the Basic Oven. The Peking Duck was also the top dog for profit, and its 340 XP is the best in the business. But, like with the profit discussion, we have to consider just how long it takes to realise that XP haul. The duck takes two days to cook, meaning that it's not all that efficient.