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| Notification for shopping themed update |
A shopping theme is certainly unorthodox, but at least you can't fault the originality of it. All of the content is unlocked at level 28, and can be found in the following neat list:
Tables:
- Barcode Table - 2 gems
- Shopping Chair - 10,000 coins
- Black Sales Tag - 10,000 coins
- Shopping Scene - 60 gems
- Shopping Cart - 16,000 coins
- Bargain Bin - 15,000 coins
- Clothing Rack - 18,000 coins
- Sale Tag Wall - 8,000 coins
- Red Tag Tile - 5,500 coins
- On-Sale Oven - 29,000 coins
- Checkout Counter - 15,000 coins
My eyebrows are almost disappearing around the back of my head they're raised so high. That's because I have never seen such a favourable split of coin to gem decor in a regular update. Of the 11 additions, just two cost gems, with the rest available for coins, and at reasonable prices too. It's a welcome fact, and with players likely to be hording their gems for Black Friday it's a wise move by the gamemakers to steer clear of many gem items.
As per usual, the Storm8 Blog published a teaser of the new stuff on Tuesday.
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| Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog |
I can't quite make my mind up with this theme. On one hand it's not really appropriate for a restaurant (as has been indicated by a number of comments on the Storm8 Forum suggesting the update would be better served in Fashion Story), but on the other there are plenty of shops which do have an in-store restaurant so there is a link. However given that in such cases the restaurant is more of an add-on to the store, it still raises questions about the relevance for a diner based game.
I'll start by getting the Shopping Scene out of the way. A 4x4 giant, this floor decoration contains four bots, three of whom are accompanied by trolleys loaded with shopping. The 4K TV is a particularly cool touch, although I do have issues with the cashier. Given that working on a checkout is a job I did in my student days, I can say with some certainty that happy expressions like the one he's wearing are few and far between on checkout operators on Black Friday! Otherwise this is a really good piece, but the price tag is obviously a major turn-off.
The other floor decor is up for coins, and includes the Clothing Rack. This is a circular stand filled with clothing on hangers, and I really like it, not just because the 18,000 coin cost is great value for a 3x3 item, but also because of the vast array of colour. The game's developers haven't tried to be coordinated in their stocking of the rack; instead they've just mixed and matched loads of colours and types of garment. I'm pretty sure I can see shirts, jackets and hoodies all represented on there - it's definitely the sales rack!
And in the same vein, the Bargain Bin features a 2x1 sized stand packed with music related products. I assume we're dealing with CDs here which, in the digital age, would explain why they're in a 'bargain bin'. Storm8 have done a good job of reflecting the low value of the CDs by having them arranged higgledy-piggledy in the stand.
Last in the floor decorations tab is the Shopping Cart, which is a simple metal trolley. Strategically placing a few of these is essential to any shopping design, and looking at the teaser they appear to stack reasonably well too so you could recreate a scene with a porter manoeuvring a snake of the carts around a car park.
Sticking with the cart theme, the Shopping Chair is a clever incorporation of the basic shape of a shopping trolley. It's reasonably subtle but does an effective job - the only concern for me is that you wouldn't really want to have customers sitting on a seat like this, and the Shopping Cart floor decoration means that there's no need for it for decorative purposes. I guess you could pass it off as an alternative type of trolley (as is seen in the Shopping Scene).
From the chair to the table, and the Barcode Table is the other gem buy in this update. Based off the name alone expectations for this table are low (is their any less stirring inspiration than barcodes?!) but in the end this is actually quite an elegant design. The sharp black and white lines make this a stylish table which I'm sure will match well with some of the more sophisticated decor already in the market.
There's also a high end feel about the Black Sales Tag. This wall decoration consists of a black tag with red dollar sign inscribed hanging by a silvery string. You get the sense that this tag is advertising the markdown of a really fancy product, and I suppose you yourself can decide what that product is by placing a decoration beneath it.
The tags are also present on the Sale Tag Wall, with a number of them depicted hanging from longer strings. Not sure I'm digging this wallpaper, perhaps because of the mundane white background which goes against the more elegant tone some of the other content in this update is emanating.
And although the same could be said about the Red Tag Tile, I refuse to be negative. Red flooring is a rare beast in Restaurant Story, and has led to me spending 37 gems on the Red Carpet tile (gems well spent given how often I've used them!) This tile offers up the first decent opportunity to paint your floor red for coins, and that can only be a good thing, even if the red cobbled pattern isn't all that appealing.
There's also a hint of red about the Checkout Counter. Even with my retail experience I'm struggling to make sense of it. There's a red asterisk shape on top and glass panels on the sides, but what do these mean?! Maybe I'm overthinking this counter, but I just can't fathom what I'm looking at and how it relates to checkouts. Please help shine a light!
The last new addition is the On-Sale Oven, which at 29,000 coins is comfortably the most expensive coin purchase in this update. You'll need 6 Steel, 6 Stainless Steel Screws and 4 Sale Tags to construct it, with the last of these a new part.
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| Sale Tag |
Unlike a number of recent new parts, the Sale Tag doesn't strike me as one we can expect to see utilised in future appliances since it lacks a generic quality.
Once you've gathered those required parts there are three recipes to find on the On-Sale Oven.
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| On-Sale Oven Recipes |
This is an unusual cooker in that the theme allows Storm8 to choose just about any dishes they like. In the end the choice of a doughnut based recipe alongside two seafood offerings is a little disconcerting, but we'll run with it! They all look fine enough, and the Doorbuster Donuts come on a nice doily when placed on a counter.
And on the statistical front, the donuts are a surprise in that they are only the eighth 30 minute dish we've ever seen - you have to go back two years to the Sweet Potato Pie (Thankful Oven) for the last new half-hour recipe. It's really refreshing to see a slightly different recipe duration included for a change.
Now let us delve into the ratings:
| Doorbuster Donuts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 10 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 6.2 |
| Limited-Time Lobster | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 3 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 4.6 |
| Super-Sale Salmon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 6 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 6.2 |
Both the Doorbuster Donuts and Super-Sale Salmon score well overall, managing to make it into the green, which is rather unusual. The donuts achieve the second highest overall score in the 30 minute duration behind the Chicken Salad (Basic Stove) despite floundering on the XP front, while the salmon is consistent across the factors. However despite the pool of 7 hour candidates also being relatively small (there are 20 in all) the salmon only ranks at 7th overall - that's because there are some seriously strong statistical entries in this duration.
The Limited-Time Lobster may not look all that impressive, but a build-up of weak goal recipes over the past two or three years mean that it still charts at 10th out of 62 in the 3 hour bracket. Nevertheless, regarding 3 hour dishes, stick to the Biscuits and Gravy (Basic Stove) for profit and the Cloud Cakes (Basic Oven) for XP if you've unlocked them.
That was a thoroughly pleasant recipe breakdown, which is such a rarity these days. Credit must be given to Storm8 for including three recipes which are competitive, but we need to see this become the norm, not the exception!
To close out this round-up we have a limited time offer to peruse.
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| Notification for sale on Cookin' Mama |
The Cookin' Mama normally costs 30 gems but can be bought for 24 gems for a few days only. That's a 20% discount, and does make her a more attractive proposition. I've always been a fan of this item, mostly because Mama is a unique character not seen anywhere else in the market. Perhaps at a different time of year I may have bitten the bullet and opened by gem wallet, but given the proximity to Black Friday I'll have to politely decline this LTO.
Interestingly, we were technically due to get a a box sale today. The 50% off deals have typically been a fortnightly occurrence, and so with the last such sale coming two weeks ago, Cookin' Mama has broken that sequence. Could this be an indicator that the game's developers are saving their box sales for Friday? It's pure speculation on my part, but is certainly worth pondering.
And so we are done for tonight. It is standard procedure for the weekly update that immediately precedes Black Friday to be something of a letdown, with all anticipation being directed towards the big sale that is hoped for. Maybe the fact that the last two years saw a box update on the Wednesday prior should be taken into account, but regardless I feel that this was a pretty fulfilling update. The shopping theme still has me a little unsure, but the decor is well put together and is mostly priced really attractively.
May Black Friday follow suit!
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