 |
| Notification for sea themed update |
We've got a selection of sea based items to discover, with all the content unlocked at level 20. With visibility good and the sea calm, let's dive straight into the traditional list of additions:
Tables:
- Ship in a Bottle Table - 21,000 coins
- Orca Chair - 2 gems
- Baby Kraken - 3 gems
- Octoclock - 8,000 coins
- Sea Goat Statue - 15 gems
- Loch Ness Decor - 10 gems
- Pirate Treasure Chest - 34,000 coins
- Sea Paper - 1,100 coins
- Treasure Tile - 600 coins
- Marine Counter - 5 gems
So in all there are 10 decorations have been introduced, but no appliance is among them. After getting the Lemonade Fountain at the end of June I really thought we were witnessing the start of a resurgence for non-goal appliances. Those great hopes are sinking quickly now though, with this the fourth non-goals update since without a fresh cooker. Such a shame since the demand for new recipes is shared by every single player in the game.
Beyond the lack of an appliance, we have all the other standard bases covered, and you can see each and every new item via this snap from the Storm8 Blog:
 |
| Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog |
Of all the decor, the piece which immediately catches the eye is undoubtedly the Pirate Treasure Chest. With a bright pink octopus seizing a chestful of golden coins and jewels, this is certainly a striking effort, and it's for coins. The multiple shades of pink used for the octopus help give it some depth, and we have a rare case of the gamemakers' sparkles addiction actually being good news with the treasure showing off a proper glint.
The other two new floor decorations also feature creatures of the deep, although these come for gems. The Sea Goat seems a bizarre one, but it is actually paying homage to Capricornus, a half goat and half fish which has several mythological ties. It is a strange item, and even in a ocean surrounding will be difficult to make look homely.
In some ways the same can be said of the Loch Ness Decor, although this addition holds special significance to me. I am a Scotsman, and have previously suggested a Scottish themed update, with the very Scottish Loch Ness Monster among my ideas. But I kind of envisaged Nessie being a little larger than this tame 2x1 sized attempt if I'm honest (I say tame since this 'monster' has got rosy cheeks!) And seeing him feature in a non-Scottish update leaves me fearing that my country won't ever get covered in the game, despite so many easy and stereotyped concepts that could be utilised.
The mythical creatures continue on the wall, where the Baby Kraken can be purchased for 3 gems. This decoration depicts the Kraken taking a bath which is quite the image, and that's before considering the rubber duck balanced on the Kraken's head. Restaurant Story 2 players may draw a comparison with an item of the same in the sequel title which also involves the Kraken taking a wash in the tub, although in that case it's even animated! The version in the original game is a little more underwhelming.
And underwhelming is a good word to describe the Octoclock. The clocks in the game are not generally among the best wall decor in my view, and this is a particularly poor one. Why a wooden texture was chosen is beyond me, and positioning both hands of the clock at 12 means it just looks like this wooden octopus is wearing a nose clip!
Luckily you can jazz up your wall with the Sea Paper. This is not a realistic depiction of the ocean, but I'm okay with that. It doesn't try to be, instead using multiple blue tones along with a frothy white to convey a sense of the sea being a rocky place that is continually moving. I still prefer the Under The Sea wallpaper but this edition does offer a decent alternative.
You might expect the new flooring to show off the seabed or sea surface, but instead we have the Treasure Tile. This tile is only 600 coins each, possibly because it depicts 600 golden coins! I don't have any use for this flooring at present, but can say with some certainty that I'll find a use sometime. This is the kind of tile that is not only unique but really encourages the players to get their creative caps on. My only quibble is the dark border which prevents a smooth transition between neighbouring tiles.
We're almost there, but there's still the table, chair and counter to discuss. It's not often that all three are disconnected design wise, but that's the case here. The Ship in a Bottle Table is a shocking attempt at recreating a classic in my opinion. If you're going to describe it as a 'ship in a bottle' you best make the table shaped like a bottle! Nothing of the sort here, with the ship instead inside a big round bowl - I feel that Storm8 have missed the point by quite a margin.
The Orca Chair is marginally better at depicting what it's supposed to, although it took me two glances to actually realise what I was looking at. Flying in the face of my changing artistry post at the weekend, this chair is short of texture and colour changes, which makes it difficult to like. A more shiny surface would have been nice to reflect the sleek skin of a whale.
Last up is the Marine Counter, which consists of a glass box containing a variety of sea life. The glass box type counters don't usually do much for me, but in this instance I like it, even if it pricey at 5 gems. It's a proper aquarium, and I've quite enjoyed trying to pinpoint what the three creatures I can see are. There's obviously a blue eel in there, but is the red one maybe a pufferfish? And what about the yellow thing residing among the coral? I thought it might live in a pineapple under the sea...
We finish off with the latest special sale, and it's the turn of a box this week.
 |
| Notification for Bonfire Crate sale |
The Bonfire Crate is available for just 12 gems these next few days, so if you've ever been tempted to give it a go now is the time. Having looked at the various prizes this is another box I might have a go at, having opened the Island Chest twice when it was on a deal a fortnight ago. With three gems a day from promotional videos (after waiting an eternity for them to appear in my game!) I'm now firmly back in a good place when it comes to gem funds, and am definitely thinking of taking a chance here.
And with that, our voyage is at an end. I certainly wasn't reaching for the nearest bucket to combat seasickness, but at the same time this update didn't bring in the greatest haul in history either. The Pirate Treasure Chest and Marine Counter are my top picks, but there's plenty of items that are best to navigate around while you're en-route to port.
No comments:
Post a Comment