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| Notification for nature themed update |
This update is all about the natural world and the beauty it can conjure up. To avoid a situation where we can't see the wood for the trees here's a comprehensive list of the additions:
Tables:
- Nature's Dream Table - 4 gems
- Nature's Dream Chair - 7,000 coins
- Dream Catcher - 1,000 coins
- Nature's Dream - 15 gems
- Wooden Bear - 8,000 coins
- Wooden Wolf - 8,000 coins
- Nature's Dream Bench - 12,000 coins
- Nature's Dream - 2 gems
- Nature's Dream Tile - 500 coins
- Nature's Dream Counter - 7,000 coins
That's 10 new items in all, with a 7-3 split in favour of coin content. That's always a good start, and the fact that the most expensive premium piece is just 15 gems only serves to heighten the intrigue.
It's almost time to get into the décor one-by-one, but first we need a preview and we all know where that comes from. Yesterday the Storm8 Blog provided a sneak peek of what to expect in this update:
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| Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog |
There's certainly a distinct colour scheme going on here, with the gamemakers focusing on deep brown and orange tones. In some ways it makes sense, but I actually think it detracts from the general idea of the theme - anything involving nature you'd expect to have a dash of green, and yet here the colour that symbolises nature most is largely absent. It's more of a woody update, although in fairness that still falls under the nature banner.
Two of the floor decorations are particularly woody, and that's because they're made of the stuff! The Wooden Bear and Wooden Wolf are both available for 8,000 coins, and I think that's excellent value for a pair of well designed items. The bears are 2x2 and resemble three furry customers waiting to be served. Most appropriate for a restaurant! The wolf is just howling from a lack of service, but in both cases I think Storm8 have done a good job of producing a believable wooden texture.
Contrast this with the Nature's Dream which is a very poorly executed decoration. Here the wood of the tree is not shaded in any detail, with the game's developers choosing to just use a few varying tints of brown. The decorations on the branches don't do anything for me either - I get the concept of bedecking a tree with ornaments, but see the Wishing Tree for how this should be done. Plus there's the sparkles rearing their ugly glint again - on the ornaments they can perhaps be excused but not on the tree trunk!
Luckily my mood improves substantially when I take a seat on the Nature's Dream Bench. Featuring some tightly woven ropes, this is an item which has clearly had plenty of work put into its design. The way the coils of rope have been wrapped around the frame give a sense of sturdiness which is obviously rather important for a bench. Like with the wooden sculptures there's good value here too - 12,000 coins is a nice price, especially considering the extortionate cost of some of the existing couches in the game.
If you think you'll take a snooze on the bench then a Dream Catcher might be very useful. This is a wall decoration which consists of two hanging rings with a flowery pattern within and feathery accessories dangling. It's not all that eye-catching, but sometimes that's fine with wall décor. Given an appropriate surrounding this one will definitely work, and placing it above the Nature's Dream Bench which shares the same style would be a good start.
A flowery pattern is something which is replicated on the table, chair and counter too. The Nature's Dream Table and Nature's Dream Counter both have a glass top with the flowery arrangement underneath this. Neither really lights my fire, but at the same time they're not total shockers either. The 4 gem asking price for the table is a turn off, but we shouldn't complain too much given how lacking this update is in expensive stuff for gems.
The Nature's Dream Chair is decent, and again ties in with the earlier bench. I do prefer updates where the content is clearly interlinked rather than a jumble sale of bits and pieces, and this chair scores well on this front. It is inviting, although I do feel as if there are a few chairs already in the market which look similar.
However you can be certain that there is no replica already on the go for the Nature's Dream wallpaper. This one has three large flowery forms (that same swirling pattern puts in another trio of appearances!) while there are also jewels floating around. What those jewels are all about is beyond me - it doesn't really promote the soft and woody feel emanating from everything else and instead makes this an awkward wallpaper.
The accompanying Nature's Dream Tile is more successfully, with the focus fully on that recurring flowery pattern. The blues in the corners will also form flowers when tiles are joined up, giving a smart flooring. And at 500 coins each this is an affordable floor tile too which is pleasing to see given the ticking off I gave Storm8 in the April edition of the Suggestions Box for overpriced flooring.
And with that we have to wake up from this dream of nature. You can keep your eyes shut for a few more seconds though as I've still got two special sales to cover. The first is a 50% off box sale, with the Sock Hop Crate the subject of the deal.
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| Notification for Sock Hop Crate sale |
For a limited time this box is available for just 12 gems. This is the first instance of a relatively new box being cut down in price, with this crate only released six weeks ago. I quite like this in that it gives me hope that future boxes released will get a similar deal sooner rather than later. The 50% off sale is very generous and is something I've made great use of over in Bakery Story where housing four Gem Dispensers and getting lots of free gem videos gives me a continuous stream of excess gems to burn.
To the other sale in the past week, and it's predictably a Value Pack, released only on the iOS platform over the past weekend.
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| Value Pack including Chef's Station |
The Chef Station was once the item I craved more than anything else, but these days I'm pretty much over it. I turned down the chance to pick one up when it was offered as an LTO last Summer and have no regrets. I've got enough kitchen themed content without it, and consequently just don't think it's worth the heavy investment. Others may see differently though, and I suspect this will have been one of the more popular Value Packs.
So there goes another update. This is the second Wednesday of the month which in a previous life meant goals week, but alas it appears that the gamemakers have changed the schedule. The third Wednesday now seems to have become the norm for new quests, although I should maybe be careful not to speak too soon!
Overall I'm reasonably happy with this particular batch of decorations. The pricing is very favourable to the players and the general standard of the designs is high. At the start I bemoaned the lack of greenery, but on reflection am actually okay with this - there have been countless updates down the years with lush green content so this selection is something a little different.
Just don't be different next week Storm8 - give us goals!
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