Game update: 30/03/16

It's update day and we're going all retro this week with a trip down to the retro diner.

Notification for Sock Hop Crate

Just like last week we've got a new box. The Sock Hop Crate will cost you 24 gems, and in exchange you will receive one of the eight prizes hidden within at random. There's a varied selection of stuff on offer so cross your fingers that your luck is in!

When I first saw this update teased on the Storm8 Blog I was full of excitement - the retro diner content which was originally introduced over the course of four weeks in September 2012 remain among my favourites, so if anything I'm just disappointed it's taken this long to add more. That was all before I discovered this was a crate though, and that simple fact has changed my opinion significantly.

Don't get me wrong, the quality of the additions is excellent (more on that shortly) but the decision to release a second box in as many weeks is not one I can praise the gamemakers for. I've discussed this often enough, but crates are expensive considering the level of risk involved in opening them, and so they do only cater for a small fragment of the playing population. By doing back-to-back boxes like this Storm8 are only alienating certain demographics.

This is the second time we've witnessed consecutive crates, with the previous occurrence being last September when the Fall Harvest and truly dreadful Dino Crate sprung up in successive updates. There was plenty of unrest back then when this happened and I doubt the community reaction will be much better this time around.

Given that before last week's Sunflower Crate we'd had two standard updates in a row I'm flummoxed as to why the game's developers have put themselves in this position. Surely flip-flopping between regular and box updates over the last four weeks would have gave the impression of more variety, and wouldn't have resulted in any loss of new content.

Spending too much time pondering Storm8's perplexing planning process is all too easy so let's move on and discuss the goodies within the Sock Hop Crate. The aforementioned Storm8 Blog has an image depicting all eight of the prizes:

Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog

It's important to note that one of the items on the left is almost completely cut out of the snap, that being the Sock Hop Server. You can however get a better look at her in the update notification shown at the start of this post. Otherwise it's just a case of finding a slot for each prize in the distribution list - here goes!

First Prize

• Lovely Ladies

Second Prize

• 'Ice Cream Bar'
• 'Car Couple'

Third Prize

• Grease Boys
• Sock Hop Server

Fourth Prize

• Crooner
• Singing Sisters
• Ice Cream Dream

Thanks to nastmei for sharing his findings from the box on the Storm8 Forum. I'm still looking for the official titles of the two second prizes so do please leave a comment if you discover them and I'll be sure to make changes!

I'm not sure which I prefer more - the first prize Lovely Ladies or second prize 'Ice Cream Bar'? Both are strong inclusions and worthy of their high position in the box. The shimmering costumes those lovely ladies are showing off are fantastic, as are the showbiz sunglasses adorned by the lass at the back.

The Ice Cream Bar has a proper retro feel to it mostly thanks to the use of that nice red tone. But it's the guy sipping a cool banana milkshake with a straw that catches my eye - having him depicted midway through refreshment is a great choice, and his hat ain't too bad either! Ultimately I think this is my pick of the prizes, although this was largely decided by the arrival of the sparkle police at the scene of the Lovely Ladies - they've turned their noses up at my Suggestions Box entry on Saturday!

The other second prize appears to be the 'Car Couple'. At 2x2 it's not the most outstanding second prize you'll ever see, and is particularly puzzling given some of the more prominent items which are lower down the rankings. Nevertheless, featuring a manic looking couple squeezed into a gleaming car, this is still a good get, mostly thanks to the unique selling points of the drink he is clutching and the burger she is waving at passers by. Of course we here at the Restaurant Story Adventures blog do not condone wildly waving food out over your vehicle, but it does make for an interesting decoration!

Elsewhere the two third prizes are both decent. The Grease Boys look the part in their leather jackets, and I especially like how one of them has got his cheeks puffed out after taking a rather large bite of his snack! The Sock Hop Server is also impressive, although the given name is slightly misleading considering that she herself isn't actually in the teaser photo! Based off the update notification the waitress is holding steady a tray of chocolate milkshakes as she passes a seating area which includes a tabletop jukebox. Definitely a nice piece and a clear upgrade on the Car Hop Waitress already in the market.

The other notables in this crate are from the field of music. The 'Singing Sisters' look brilliant with their matching outfits and polished performance. And if I'm not mistaken their amp is of the Marshall brand - a subtle way of including some product placement! In all seriousness that's not something we tend to see in the game so it's kind of refreshing for a company to be represented. And all of this in a fourth prize. Could this be the best fourth prize ever?!

The singing continues with the Crooner who is leaving it all on the stage. Again there's an eye-catching outfit - this time a bright yellow suit - and a smart hairstyle to go with it. His pose with the microphone is really cool, and leaves me feeling that this is another pretty good fourth prize, even if it is just 1x1 in size.

Overall I think this is a really good box. Actually I'd go as far as to say it's one of the best. Other than the 'Ice Cream Dream' (which didn't merit any analysis!) there's something positive can be said about everything, and that makes this crate much more enticing. The risk element is dulled down, and instead you can open this box with the expectation of getting something good. Plus I'm impressed by the bots included in the décor - too often in the last year or two we've seen half-hearted efforts but this bunch are all unique and clearly lots of effort has gone into designing them.

The only downer is that we already have a retro diner box. The 50's Diner Box is a product of those September 2012 updates and is itself a sound investment (I've opened it twice in the past!) So it is a little cheeky of Storm8 to introduce a second retro crate, but at least its contents are decent.

As is fast becoming tradition I now have limited time sales to round up. Firstly there's a 50% off deal to be had on the Picnic Surprise.

Notification for Picnic Surprise sale

It should be pointed out that this box is special in that its contents can be obtained in the market under the floor decorations tab. Depending upon which of the 'surprises' you're after they may be cheaper from there, but clearly if you fancy your chances in the box this is the time. These 12 gem sales are really attractive and often overshadow the main content of the weekly update itself.

The other offer over the past week was a Value Pack available only for iOS users.

Value Pack including Spring Lunch

Featuring the Spring Lunch which was originally a limited time offer, this is one of the more craved decorations around. And no wonder! It's a thing of beauty and I gladly bought it when first released in March 2014. However if you're thinking of investing in this decoration do bear in mind the dicey advertising of the price drop that's given - check out one of the recent Suggestions Box entries for more on that.

It's good to see the limited time offers being a regular thing again, even if some of them require real money and are exclusive to one platform. Since they made a comeback in February we've had a pretty set pattern - every Friday there's a Value Pack on iOS, while the accompaniment on a Wednesday alternates between a 50% off sale on a box and a traditional LTO of a box item. I do like structure and this is most certainly that!

And as far as the structure of this post goes it's time to pen the conclusion. Once you get over the disappointment of receiving a second box in a row the truth is that this is a high quality crate. It's got strength in depth, is relevant to restaurants, and alongside the plethora of retro diner themed stuff already on the go, you can really go retro.