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| Notification for Australian update |
We're taking a trip to the land Down Under with an Australian themed update. There's a variety of new content, so let's waste no time in perusing a list of all the additions:
Tables:
- Dotted Wooden Table - 6,000 coins
- Patterned Wooden Chair - 2 gems
- Indigenous Animals - 3 gems
- Eucalyptus Koala - 15 gems
- Kangaroo Divider - 12,000 coins
- Bird Pole - 10,000 coins
- Wire Kangaroo - 7,000 coins
- Aboriginal Wallpaper - 2 gems
- Aboriginal Tile - 600 coins
- Aboriginal Counter - 8,000 coins
Time and again I have seen posters on the Storm8 Forum suggest an Australian theme. It has taken years for it to become a reality, but I'm really pleased for those who have craved this. Australia is one of the bigger markets for the game (going by the audience on this blog) and thus it's surprising that the gamemakers have only now got round to dedicating an update to this fine country.
But there's a downside to this update too. And that's the absence of goals. Going by the usual rota we were absolutely due a new quest today, and instead it looks like we're going to have at least a six week gap between goal sets. That's almost unprecedented, but only almost - last summer there were six weeks between the Independence Day and back to school themed quests.
Those obviously both revolved around a real world event, which leads me to wonder if that's the reason for the delay. Will goals arrive next week and be topical to something occurring next week? It's certainly a possibility, and with Bakery Story getting goals right now it does look as if the game's developers have held back on releasing a quest in Restaurant Story. That or they've had a technical hitch.
Whatever the case we've still got a collection of goodies to pore over, and you can get a good look at them all in this snap from the Storm8 Blog:
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| Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog |
Unusually the floor decorations are biased towards coin buys, with the Eucalyptus Koala being the only gem addition in this category. It is a disappointment given that it is only 2x2 in size. It's not the first example of an item which appears to have been scaled down from its original dimensions, and for no clear reason. Otherwise this is a lovely piece - the koala is cute and the tree has a nice ragged feel. It's just the size which is a real shame.
Luckily none of the coin purchases are poorly scaled, and indeed the Kangaroo Divider is actually taller than the average divider. I've crowed on about the lack of fresh dividers on a few occasions, so am always pleased to see a new one, especially when it's for coins. This is a well finished separator, with three vertical planks pressed together and a funky print applied. I'm no expert on the Aboriginals, but this is the kind of décor I'd expect to see for a theme based on Australia's early inhabitants. It's got a charm to it and has been really well finished.
And the style is continued with the Bird Pole which is a rather groovy sculpture. I'd like to think it has been carved out of wood and given a serious polish. That's how I explain the sparkles which have reared their ugly head once again, but apart from that this is a cool item. The narrow neck and long bending beak really give the impression of this being modelled on some long since extinct creature.
The last of the floor decorations introduced takes us away from the woody format, with the Wire Kangaroo being a modern day piece of art. It's decent enough, but I can't help but feel that Storm8 have just ducked out of designing an actual kangaroo. That I'd have preferred, with this model more resembling the skeleton of a kangaroo. Maybe a good choice for Halloween?
The wild pattern format is restored throughout the remainder of the new content, starting with the Dotted Wooden Table, Patterned Wooden Chair and Aboriginal Counter. These all have the distinct designs which put me in mind of old yet hugely creative cave paintings. There's something really attractive about them, which may be the lack of uniformity. It all just has a whimsical flow to it which is refreshing.
The Aboriginal Wallpaper and Aboriginal Tile only serve to continue this with each containing more of the swirls and bright colours that made the table, chair and counter so impressive in my opinion. The wallpaper is especially enticing with a pair of spotted lizards forming a large part of the design. It's something different and that's probably the root cause of my satisfaction.
Lastly there's the Indigenous Animals you can place on that wallpaper. This again has the same distinctive style, and depicts one of those lizards along with a marsupial and turtle-type creature. It's a little small, but that's not to say it's a bad buy. The three gem asking price is reasonable if a little unusual.
I've already discussed the goals dearth, but there's also a recipe famine in full swing. The racing themed update was the last to include new dishes, which means we've had four weeks in a row without any additional foods. Again I'm no expert on Australian culture, but surely there's some old traditional dish from the Outback we could have seen introduced?
Time to quit my moaning and instead cool off from that trek in the Bush with a look at the sale launched this evening on the Crystal Gift Box.
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| Notification for Crystal Gift Box sale |
The routine of offering a crate at half price one week and an old school limited time offer the next is well established now, and so this special deal doesn't come as much of a surprise.
But it's still appreciated, particularly since it's an attractive offer. I've been tempted to open the Crystal Gift Box before, and at 12 gems would probably have taken a dip if my gems weren't so wrapped up in the tale I'm currently telling. If only this sale had been last week I may have been able to procure something handy for the Ice Age stop on the Chemist and Cat's adventure!
The cool theme was started last Friday, when the game's developers released the latest Value Pack exclusive to iOS users.
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| Value Pack including Sapphire Fountain |
The Sapphire Fountain was the decoration at the centre of proceedings, and I believe may be the first case of an existing item freely available in the market being utilised in a Value Pack. Originally released for a colossal 82 gems last September, this is a huge discount, and perhaps the first occasion where the markdown is what I'd describe as fair. it's just a shame it was so expensive in the first place!
And so we've reached the end. After all this time an Australian themed update was not one I anticipated! I do tend to enjoy updates based on countries, and there are no shortages of countries out there to cover! There were quite a few such updates across last summer, and I'd love to see a good few more this year. If they were to be as good as this one then I'd be a very happy camper!
All we need now are some belated goals next week and a clutch of recipes to boot!
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