We start with the Pride Cruise Catering Event which debuted in the middle of last month. Celebrating LGBT Pride Month which is in June every year, this cruise provided a nod to all persuasions.
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| Main page of Pride Cruise Catering Event |
With the rainbow being the universal LGBT symbol it was no surprise to see lots of rainbow themed content. However, how much of the stuff really captured the Pride movement? Among the items were a Unicorn and Rainbow Bear, which are more like decorations belonging to a fantastical fairytale than a Pride themed update, even if they do carry the rainbow. Having said that, I am appreciating Storm8's slow addition of the same bear with different styles - we now have three with the Wooden Bear and Wooden Polar Bear making up the trio.
As least the Judy Garlic figure is related to LGBT. A play on the actress Judy Garland who was seen as a gay icon, this piece portrays Garland in the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. I always like bots being included as prizes, and this one is especially cute.
The other character involved in this cruise event was David Bowietie. He was the special visitor gained as a reward for completing the cruise and is a great tribute to one of music's most influential artists. This isn't the first time a famous figure has been sneakily included in the game, and it is something I'd love to see continue, It's especially pleasing in this case given David Bowie's passing which is still fresh in the mind.
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As far as the cruise itself goes, my progress was very easy. I've reached a point now where I can not even pay much attention until the last couple of days and still come out with the prize comfortably. And this time it was even easier given the fantastic stroke of luck I had in the final few days, when I had a high number of four coin dishes pop up, even going on a run of four in a row which were all ingredient based orders that I had stocked in my Pantry. One by one they were sent off, allowing me to earn 240 cruise coins in the space of seconds. A potentially huge workload ticked off in moments!
The recipe at the end of the rainbow was the Pride Pizza, located on the Jubilee Oven. This is a nice gem making dish to have given that alongside the special ingredient delivered by David Bowietie (Rainbows) the other ingredients needed are Tomatoes and Cheese, both basics. Considering that the likes of Sugar and Cream (which are typical ingredients for gem producing dishes) are always in high demand elsewhere, this is a good recipe to be able to prepare without utilising resources which could be put into action in other places.
In line with the cruise there was a significant release of new content which has added a new dimension to the game. A new permanent goal set was added, with a total of 12 fresh and permanent recipes introduced, all requiring Recipe Cards to learn and a special ingredient to make. The Farm Fresh Stand is the source of these, with this new appliance producing Duck Egg, Turbinado Sugar and European Butter, as well as Recipe Cards with each.
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| Step from Farm Fresh Stand goals |
In order to make these feeder ingredients some stamps are needed. Coming in gold, silver and bronze, there are two ways of earning them. The first is in cruises, with three of the prizes being stamps in the Pride cruise. The second is via goals, be it the usual events or daily challenges.
That's right, the daily goals are back! For top level players these mysteriously disappeared a good while ago, so their return is very much welcomed. And unlike previously they're now reasonably easy to complete with silver and bronze stamps up for grabs. Sadly gold stamps are harder to come by, but since there's no time limit on learning the premier recipes there's no great rush anyway. We've got no shortage of other dishes to cook in the meantime!
The big positive about these stamp recipes is not only the fact that they are seriously fancy ('good sir, I shall be having the Currant Crusted Chicken') but also excellent value. Most of them offer 10 coins per plate which is way above what most standard dishes yield, with the Grilled Gold on the Commercial Range especially impressive with an enormous 4,000 coins from just 80 plates - that's 50 coins per plate! These recipes are perfect for those who suffer with full counters as they can help maximise income.
It's great to see new innovations for the game like this stamp system, and especially so when it's a more leisurely challenge away from the daunting tasks involved in the tight time-frames of regular goals. Some have compared it with the Secret Baker's Club in Bakery Story 2, and although I can understand the comparison it's not one I'd make - this is a much less stressful experience! So there you go Storm8 - don't make all events tough to complete and you'll get the players on side.
Now to the quest which followed the Pride cruise, and which is still ongoing at present. The Wild West goals were released on the last day of June and match the Mother's Day goals with regards to basing themselves around an item being dropped from every recipe cooked.
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| Notification for Wild West goals |
Ten Gallon Hats are at the centre of it all, and with 22,000 needed to complete the goals in their entirety, this is a high demand challenge.
The Cowboy Stove with two recipes on board is a new cooker with this quest, while the Commercial Range and Diner Oven also have two dishes apiece. The first four make use of special ingredients dropped by temporary customers. Notice the plural there? For the first time the special guests are a pair, with Sheriff Sanyer stopping by with Pinto Beans and Betty the Bandit dropping Black Beans.
I can't say I've enjoyed these goals very much. The Diner Oven and Cowboy Stove recipes appear in side goals that are designed to provide a hat boost, but with these just requiring said recipes to be cooked a certain number of times over a set period, it's not exactly imaginative. Indeed it's dull work, and the last of them (involving the Cowboy Coffee) is proving very difficult. It takes 3 Sugar for each batch, and that's really slowing me up. I'm about halfway through the 35 coffees required, but with only 21 hours left on the clock my chances are rather slim.
But will this ruin my chances of completing the headlining hats goal? I've already secured the two sheriff and bandit decorations which is what I'm most interested in, but would like to polish off the quest for my own satisfaction and the Ultimate Cowboy Chili recipe. At the time of writing I have notched 83% of the hats needed, amounting to a little over 18,000. It sounds like I'm in good shape, but with the prospect of no more boosts courtesy of those side goals I may have to keep my appliances hot over the next few days.
Overall I do love the Wild West theme. We've seen it done really well in the original game more than once, and that's largely due to it being a perfect theme for a restaurant. Yet I do feel the execution on this occasion is a little ropey. There's not nearly enough floor decor to put together anything significant - where's the bar and the bucking bronco? Maybe the game's developers have a further Wild West update in the works. I certainly hope so as this is a theme with legs and it would be a shame if Storm8 don't let it run.
Almost time to wrap up, but before doing so I should offer a glimpse of the latest evolution of my own diner, The Onion Bush. Only last month I had redecorated to a zoo theme, but with the layout cluttered and highly inefficient when it comes to customer turnover, it was only a week before I churned out another makeover. Now we've got a high end establishment!
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| High end dining theme at The Onion Bush |
I'm much happier with this design which is clean and has enough tables and chairs to accommodate the increasing number of special visitors. Prizes from all manner of goal sets and events are in use, with the highlight perhaps being the Best Dog about to take a seat at the Grand Piano!
The wide range of rewards now at my disposal means that my gem spend was relatively low for this revamp. I've now got approaching 2,000 gems in the bank, and am struggling to find content to spend them on! Never did I think I'd be longing for boxes to be added to Restaurant Story 2!
That does it for this recap - we shall reconvene in a month when the first half dozen crates have been thrown into the sequel game!
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