Game update: 04/05/16

Last week we went all high end dining, and no top class restaurant is complete without a fancy patio. Now you can have one of those too!

Notification for latest Spring update

The gamemakers are labelling this as a Spring themed update, although I feel it's a little more general, despite the names of most of the content. There's a wide spectrum of stuff, it's all unlocked at level 33, and it's all contained within one very neat list, right here!

Tables:

• Spring Patio Table - 8,000 coins

Chairs:

• Spring Patio Chair - 3 gems

Wall decorations:

• Spring Wind Chime - 1 gem

Floor decorations:

• Spring Lounger - 10 gems
• Patio Drink Cart - 10,000 coins
• Garden Globe - 11,000 coins
• Spring Pots - 9,000 coins
• Pearl Fountain - 77 gems (LTO)

Wallpapers:

• Spring Fence - 2 gems

Floor tiles:

• Spring Glass - 700 coins

Counters:

• Spring Patio Counter - 6,000 coins

That's now six straight non-goal updates without a new appliance. It's dangerous territory and I fear we're in the midst of another recipe famine. Without new dishes the capacity for earning free gems is greatly reduced and for many so is the capacity for going on. It's sad to say but ultimately cooking is the primary function of the game and not introducing fresh foods can only be to its detriment. It's not something which is bothering me too much right now because of the ongoing story I'm currently telling, but once it wraps up there will be a vacuum needing filled.

Enough of what we don't have though! Let's head out to the patio where there is a great view of all the additions courtesy of the Storm8 Blog:

Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog

It's nice to see only one of the new floor decorations being for gems. That's the Spring Lounger which despite being 2x1 in size is rather diminutive. Perhaps the pale blue colour is contributing to that, but I just don't feel it is substantial enough to justify the price. Plus there are cheaper alternatives to be had in the market anyway, such as the Cruise Deck Chair.

Luckily I'm a little more enthusiastic when it comes too the other floor décor. The Patio Drink Cart is especially enticing, with its wiry frame and bright bottles and glasses. Admittedly it does follow last week's Fancy Waitress and Fancy Waiter in being too large relative to everything else, but as long as you keep it away from the bots it looks the part.

The Garden Globe is one of those items which screams of filler. It's not got anything to do with Spring nor patios (why a Garden Globe?!) so is kind of out of place in this update. But I'm not complaining - it's a cool piece which hasn't been overworked. One or two players have mentioned its lack of geographical accuracy (you shouldn't be able to see almost all land masses simultaneously!) but I'm relaxed about this and willing to let it go quietly.

Last as far as the floor decorations are concerned is the Spring Pots. Here we have three blue pots filled with flowers of varying colours. It's a nicely put together item, but is spoilt by the needless sparkles. I feel like I whinge about this every week now, but those sparkle have to stop - they add nothing except the impression that the plants are metallic. And it's particularly noticeable on a small decoration like this. Close down the sparkles department Storm8!

 Spring 2016

 06/04/16 April showers
 23/03/16 Sunflowers Crate
 15/03/16 Bee goals content report
 09/03/16 Bee goals
 09/03/16 Bee update

Back to the patio, and the floor tile introduced with this update is the Spring Glass. I can't quite make my mind up as to whether this is a positive or negative tile. On one hand the marbled pattern is nicely finished and helps give this flooring some character. But on the other hand the blue triangle in each corner does nothing for me. They don't match up that impressively when adjacent tiles are brought together, and the blueness doesn't go very well with the darker tone of the rest of it, at least in my opinion.

So what furniture are you going to place on your patio? Aside from the aforementioned lounger, the Spring Patio Table, Spring Patio Chair and Spring Patio Counter are all good bets. They each have the same style, with an aqua surface and woven basket sides. The surface colour doesn't really appeal, but just look at the quality of the basket pattern. The use of light and shade to convey the texture is excellent and the final rendering leads to a really realistic appearance. I'm seriously impressed by this.

There's similar depth to be found with the Spring Wind Chime, which is a wall decoration. You can just about make out the patterns on the chimes, and the fixture they're dangling from is detailed as well. The only downside is that the whole thing is needing scaled up. It's too small and as a result we're not able to appreciate the intricate design as much as we should be. The game's developers really need to pay greater attention to the sizing of content!

Staying on the wall, we finish with the Spring Fence. This wallpaper is 2 gems each, but I reckon this is one of the few premium wallpapers which many players will partake in. You've got some cheery flowers in the foreground with a white picket fence behind. Then there's a greenery background under a blue sky to complete what is a very upbeat wallpaper. It looks fantastic, but I feel there are suitable alternatives already available. I've previously paid out gems for the Floral Meadow, and with the Butterfly Fields and Summer Field also of a similar nature, this is a format of wallpaper which is already well covered.

There's also déjà vu to be had with this week's special sale. The Pearl Fountain is a limited time offer available for five days only.

Pearl Fountain limited time offer

At 77 gems, this is a very expensive LTO. The Pearl Fountain is the top prize in the Magic Shell Box, and has been offered up before in a short term deal. Back in April 2015 it was a shocking 96 gems, although there was a 35 gem refund provided via a goal, meaning the net spend was only 61 gems. This is a step up from that, and I sincerely hope we don't see too many LTOs priced as high as this.

And for iOS users there was a Value Pack available over the weekend, making it 13 weeks in a row that there has been such a feature.

Value Pack including Lazy Sunday

The Lazy Sunday decoration was the item included this time. This exclusive piece has only ever had two airings - one was in the very first Value Pack last July, and the other was this past Black Friday. So this is the first time an item has been given a second go in a Value Pack, and although this is something I'd usually be against, I make an exception in this particular case.

The Lazy Sunday is a quality item and yet has only ever spent a few days available to players, so any window of opportunity is positive. Of course the lack of Android access is a continuing shame, but given how long it's been since that initial Value Pack I think it is now unlikely that Storm8 are going to be pushing them out to the other main platform.

So that brings a close to another update post. Apologies for the delay in releasing this week - I had another engagement last night (I always try my best to keep Wednesdays free!) but rest assured you can continue to expect update analysis to be published as soon as possible!

Now I'm off to stretch out on a lounger with a drink and choose my next holiday destination by spinning the globe!