Game update: 07/12/16

With just 18 more sleeps before the big man squeezes down the chimney, Christmas has arrived in Restaurant Story, and in style.

Notification for Christmas themed update

We're paying tribute to the elves who make it all possible with their hard work throughout the year, and there's a very special sale has gone live too. More on that in a bit, but first let's take a look at all the new content in a smart list, with it all available from level 30:

Tables:

• Workshop Table - 2 gems

Chairs:

• Workshop Stool - 11,000 coins

Wall decorations:

• Wall Calendar - 14,000 coins
• Snowman Door - 12 gems

Floor decorations:

• Wrapping Station - 25 gems
• Elves at Work - 60 gems
• Nutcracker Elf - 12,000 coins

Wallpapers:

• Workshop Wall - 5,000 coins

Floor tiles:

• Workshop Floor - 7,000 coins

Appliances:

• Workshop Stove - 30,000 coins

Counters:

• Workshop Counter - 12,000 coins

I can't help but get excited when Christmas rolls out in the game. It's the perfect excuse to redecorate, and I did exactly that this past weekend. Now I'm looking to add further festive goodies to my diner, and with 11 additions in this update there's no shortage of options.

The theme is a hit with me - you'd think we'd have exhausted every variant of the Christmas theme imaginable over the years, but a elves workshop is certainly not something that has featured in the past. There's no shortage of possibilities, and I think the gamemakers have done a good job of doing the theme justice.

As usual, the Storm8 Blog provided a teaser of the new decor in a post yesterday:

Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog

The standout item here is undoubtedly the Elves at Work. This is a 4x4 piece which contains five elves doing what they do best - making toys! Gathered around wooden workbenches, their focus is on teddy bears and colourful trains, and for me it's a classic Christmas decoration. With the sack of stuffing for the bears and tiny pots of paint, there's lots to look at in this really cheery scene.

It's just a shame that this is the 60 gem addition. Apart from this it's the perfect item. Having opted to go for a near total blowout on Black Friday weekend I'm on the long road to accumulating a stash of gems, and sadly the Elves at Work are not on that road.

In the same vein the Wrapping Station is too expensive for my capabilities. At 4x3 it's another large and impressive decoration, with a lot of time clearly having been invested into putting it together. The array of colours is eye-catching and the rolls of ribbon on the side are a great touch. But at 25 gems it's another frustrating pass from me.

Luckily the last of the floor decorations is for coins. The Nutcracker Elf has a chiselled face which makes him appear a little like Pinocchio. Given that he doesn't look obviously like a nutcracker I'd rather he'd just seen a typical bot - instead he looks weird. However credit where its due - his costume is lovely, with particular praise preserved for those cosy looking slippers.

We've seen two gem additions already, and here comes another. The Workshop Table is the fourth successive new table to be on sale for the premium currency. I'd much prefer if the game's developers varied this up, even if means making the corresponding chair being a gem buy every other week. It's what we got historically, and it makes for a more balanced experience.

Anyway, the Workshop Table has a well rendered wooden surface, with the nail heads appearing around the bottom giving the impression that the elves have built it themselves. I like that it's not too complicated, and the same can be said of the Workshop Stool and Workshop Counter. The stool is unique and definitely one I can see myself utilising at some point (even if not for Christmas), while the counter is actually quite elegant looking with the sleek black top.

 Christmas 2016

 30/11/16 Winter

The wooden theme continues with the Workshop Floor which features black and red ribbons lying on a set of floorboards. It was key with this tile that Storm8 executed the three dimensional effect with the ribbons correctly, and they most certainly have. The use of shadow on this flooring is absolutely fantastic, and gives the impression that the ribbons have depth. I don't think this tile looks very good when placed en masse, but that doesn't mean I can't marvel at the quality of the design.

There's yet more wood with the Workshop Wall. The horizontal wooden panels are pretty basic, but the bow of holly at the top brings this wallpaper to life. It's much less loud and in-your-face than so many of the festive wallpapers, and instead gives you a great canvas for being creative with the many Christmassy wall decorations.

Speaking of wall decor, the Wall Calendar is a clever addition. In theory this item is supposed to portray the excitable countdown to Christmas Day, but given that it is just a standard calendar, you could really use it to countdown to anything. It may even be worth placing in your kitchen area as some sort of indicating that your staff are an organised bunch!

There's a second wall decoration too, with the Snowman Door up for 12 gems. It's been a while since we last had a new door design, so that in itself is pleasing. But add in that this door has such a cute appearance, and I think it's probably worth the cost. To my knowledge we've not had a festive door previously, so it's nice that this particular gap in the market has been filled.

There's just one more new arrival to cover, and that is the Workshop Stove. As ever construction is required, with 6 Colored Plastic, 6 Red Gears and 4 Toy Nut and Bolts required. The last of these is a new part.

Toy Nut and Bolt

To be honest I'm a little disappointed that the gamemakers haven't made use of the various Christmas based parts of yesteryear. I've got more Holly Screwdrivers, Santa Hats and Holly than I'd care to say, and it would have been nice to make use of at least some of those here. I can hope that that will be the case when the goals arrive.

Anyway, let's take a look at the three recipes inhabiting the Workshop Stove:

Workshop Stove recipes

The Soup Sleigh is quite a smart concept, with soup served up in a sleigh shaped bowl, while I am relieved that Storm8 included the 's' on the end of Rudolph for Rudolph's Ravioli. Otherwise we'd be getting our restaurants shut down this Christmas and put on Santa's naughty list!

It's quite remarkable to see a 14 hour dish introduced. We now have 671 recipes in total have appeared in the game, and this is only the second of 14 hour length, after the Corned Beef Hash (Basic Stove). And given how many 30 minute Doorbuster Donuts I've spoilt over the past week, I'll enjoy the less strenuous task of serving the ravioli.

Time for some more stats with the recipe ratings:

Gingerbread Cookies
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
5	5	5	7	7	5.3

Soup Sleigh
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
4	2	4	10	7	4.2

First and foremost, you'll notice that Rudolph's Ravioli has not been scored. Since there are only two foods of 14 hour duration there isn't sufficient data for me to provide any ratings. But I will say that the ravioli compares very favourably with the Corned Beef Hash - it earns around double the profit and portions, and a similar amount of XP. If you specifically want to cook a 14 hour recipe, then go for the ravioli.

As for the other two candidates, the Gingerbread Cookies stand out for their consistency. It's not often that a dish rates evenly across the three main factors, and doing so gives the cookies a solid overall number that puts it up at 14th in the 2 hour bracket out of 79. The Soup Sleigh is comparable, except that it slumps with respect to XP gain. This is the result of the Technicolor Cake's vast superiority in this duration - without the cake the soup would actually net a five for XP.

That covers the new content this week, but of course there's so much more. Firstly there's a limited time offer on the Holiday Tree.

Notification for sale on Holiday Tree

Strangely this item is in the market permanently, and normally costs 40 gems. For the next few days it is reduced by 20% which means that you can bag it for 32 gems. In truth this isn't the greatest Christmas tree you'll ever see, with the Gilded Tree and White Christmas Tree most certainly better choices if you have access to them (both are removed). Nevertheless, it's good to see this sale at all given that there's something much bigger...

Yes, for the next 27 days, a vast collection of Christmas stuff from past years is back in the market.

Notification for Christmas sale

We've seen some truly superb sales in recent months, and yet this one may just be the best yet. With a mind-boggling 148 items returning including three seasonal appliances and four half price boxes, there's something for everyone. This is my fifth Christmas playing Restaurant Story, which means I'm supposed to have seen it all before, but even I have spied some really old decor I have no recollection of in this humongous sale.

The perfect example are the Color Lights. I greedily purchased a large number of the Holiday Lights when they were re-released in a sale in a previous year, and had no idea the Color Lights even existed! I do now, and it's fair to say I've been greedy with them too, having alternated between the two along my walls. I suspect at 10,000 coins each these two wall items are going to be going like hotcakes over the next few weeks.

And special mention should be made of the North Pole which is available for 45 gems. I really love this decoration, largely because it's a rare chance to have Santa himself present. Sadly I'm nowhere near being able to afford it which is really frustrating, but I guess that's the chance you take when you go for broke with the Black Friday sales. I certainly hope to see this towering piece appear in some restaurants this Christmas.

So overall a seriously impressive update. I think the game's developers chose a really good theme in the form of an elves' workshop, and although the very best content is not competitively priced, most of the coin additions are solid buys. And then there's the sale - Storm8 have not eased off after Black Friday, instead choosing to keep the titanic deals coming. I for one think this is excellent news, and it makes me excited to see what could be coming for winter and Valentine's Day over the next couple of months.

But enough looking ahead into 2017! Let's get them halls decked and enjoy the seasonal festivities. We haven't even got goals yet and I'm singing carols to the customers!