When I left off last the Mardi Gras Cruise Catering Event was entering its final weekend for most players, and I was among them. My progress was lacking in drama for a change, which was something of a relief. Serenely finishing the final day with lots of time to spare, I was able to enjoy a few days of relaxation ahead of the next timed event.
That came as usual on the Thursday with a Japanese themed quest, entitled It's Sakura Season!
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| Notification for It's Sakura Season! goals |
This is not the first time we've had a Far Eastern based goals batch, nor is it the first time Kyoko has popped up as the special customer. She also appeared back in August 2015 in an event celebrating the Obon Festival - I believe she's the first special character to make a second appearance, and I hope we'll see plenty more make a comeback. This time the overall theme was much looser than last Summer, with cherry blossoms (sakura) being the seasonal connection.
This quest included the first goal appliance for three months with the Japanese Food Cart at the centre of proceedings. Five recipes could be found on here, with two of them being the goal prizes. In addition Teriyaki Beef could be found on the Commercial Range and two feeder dishes were located elsewhere.
As if this wasn't enough there was also a further pair of ingredients which could only be obtained by interacting with customers. Helpful Kyoko yielded Udon Noodles and Sesame Seeds when tapped while Soy Sauce was dropped by thirsty bots. It was this sauce which was the great hold-up for most of us, simply because of the volume needed. Constant attention to the game was the only way to build it up, so inevitably I spent a couple of evenings with the app open in the background while watching TV. By ensuring I devoted myself over the weekend I was able to slack off considerably by the start of the new week.
Consequently I actually finished the goals with ease, but I suspect I was among the precious few in that boat. With so many struggling Storm8 increased the rate of the Soy Sauce drops to allow the occasional customer to leave behind two sauces instead of one. I think it's fair to say this made a real difference for a lot of users.
From Japan we soared over the Pacific to land in Las Vegas for the next cruise special. The Las Vegas Cruise Catering Event was significant in that it ushered in a new prize cooker. The Jubilee Oven is of a similar design to the existing Celebration Stove and appears to have the same function - it is going to become the home of recipes which are prizes in upcoming events, starting with the Clams Casino. This is very good news.
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| Clams Casino prize in Las Vegas Cruise Catering Event |
A while back I crossed a threshold at which I'm bringing in more special parts than I'm able to use to cook. As a result the ingredients are mounting up, and that means I'm not maximising my gem production. And that's before we get to the number of non-gem making dishes on the Celebration Stove which have never been touched. By spreading the special foods over more than one appliance we'll be able to increase the influx of gems.
For me the Las Vegas theme was a winner, and not just because I strolled through the event as smoothly as you could ever hope. I also really like the content which was available to win. The Velvet Rope Divider and Lady Luck were particular highlights, and of course having Elvis enter the building upon completing the whole thing was quite the thrill!
And things are only going to get easier for me with the cruises. This is because just after polishing off the event I accumulated enough Hammers to upgrade the Veggie Market to six on the reload. It joins the General Store at the maximum level, and will hopeful stand me in good stead for the future. I'm actually going through a strong spell right now when it comes to Hammer drops, and am preparing to execute another upgrade soon - I might bump Bob's Butcher up next!
After the familiarity of the cruises we encountered something totally new. On the Monday of the Game of Thrones season premiere (at least in the UK, you lucky US residents get it a day earlier!) came a re-release of a previous quest.
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| Notification for Game of Scones goals |
The Game of Scones goals were originally pushed out last June, and for those who weren't around or were unable to complete them this was a second chance.
I have to say I think this is an excellent idea. Newer players of Restaurant Story are always asking whether they'll ever get an opportunity to do old goal sets, so this will undoubtedly please a lot of folks. Plus this was a bonus release in-between brand new events, so older players weren't being starved of new content. A win-win and definitely something I'm keen to see more of, even if I have been fortunate enough to finish most events.
I say most because I failed to complete the quest which followed the Game of Scones return. The It's Fiesta Time! goals were put together to commemorate Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday.
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| Message in the Fiesta Time! goals |
For once the goals were actually timed perfectly, with the seven day event finishing on May 5th, the day of the celebrations. Unfortunately I'd have happily seen the goals go on much longer than that - I was away on holiday last weekend, and therefore was always going to be playing catch up.
And there was plenty to catch up on. There were three separate strands to complete, each unlocked at a different level. The new Taco Station appliance contained the end prize recipe of each strand, as well as three dishes at the hub of the cooking frenzy. But as is often the case there's much more to this quest. Firstly there was Marco the Mariachi whose visits every 90 minutes brought Red Chili Peppers, Cilantro, Tomatillos and Cayenne Peppers. Some of these ingredients could also be purchased in the market, but the drops from Marco were still important to have.
Then there were Torillas, Spicy Beef Filling and Battered Fish to make as feeder recipes for the main attractions on the Taco Station, and a Taco Seasoning found at the Spice Station. This final fact was what really upped the ante in terms of difficulty. The Taco Seasoning needed to be applied to certain foods at certain points to allow progress in the goals, but the game only allows one spice to be applied per dish.
RS2 News
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05/03/16 March 2016
06/02/16 February 2016
09/01/16 January 2016
05/12/15 December 2015
This meant that all those Mastery Spices and Expert Spices I'd been saving up weren't possible to implement a lot of the time! An ingenious way of slowing us down, and painful. I utilised the two bonus star spices as much as I could right from the start, knowing that I'd inevitably need to if I was to have any chance of success.
In the end I was only able to complete the Americano Tacos strand fully. I did skip the final step of another strand for 50 gems in order to unlock another of the rewards, but sadly missed out on the third. Although that was only because of some mild incompetence! Having spent 8 quick serves to ensure I'd be able to make the deadline on the Treehugger Tacos strand, I then proceeded to misjudge the timing of my final batch and miss out by mere minutes. Very frustrating, but I deserve it for getting too close to the edge yet again!
It does seem that this may have been the toughest goal set thus far. Over the week the challenge ran there was a lot of frustration spilling over on the Storm8 Forum, and I can understand why. In my view the events which only last one week need to be kept simple. Stick to one strand, don't include feeder recipes and implement lower mastery values. I don't mind the more complex goals, but they really need to last for a fortnight to allow us a chance just to acclimatise with everything that's to be done!
Luckily the Mother Knows Best! event which popped up this past Thursday is a 14 day one, with Mother's Day the theme.
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| Notification for Mother Knows Best! goals |
I always find updates in the Storm8 games relating to Mother's Day disorientating, since this celebration of the most amazing people in the world is in March here in the UK! It's a strange one since Father's Day is aligned on both sides of the pond.
Anyway, this looks to be a slightly different goal set, with the layout being familiar to those who have partaken in the sister title, Bakery Story 2. A large element of the experience involves gathering Wild Flowers from cooking, with these being offered from serving most recipes across the game. This is a little concerning given that I'm not all that enamoured by the BS2 goals, but at least this quest looks like it will allow us to continue freestyle cooking to some extent.
We're up-to-date, although before I go I'd like to blow my own trumpet by revealing that I've reached level 60!
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| Reaching level 60 window |
This is currently the top level, and is the first time I've managed to reach the summit. Until now I've always been chasing the top, so to be among the ranks of those at the maximum level is really satisfying. With there being a few really high XP recipes unlocked in the last few levels, I'm still building up the XP in hope that there will be more levels soon. It was way back in November that the cap was last raised so we're certainly due a rise - come on Storm8!
So it's another packed out summary of the last month's goings on in Restaurant Story 2. The game does roll along at a frantic pace and requires close attention if you wish to complete everything on offer. It also means these news posts are getting longer and longer - sorry about that!
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