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| Notification for New Year themed update |
Yes, the final update of the year provides a collection of content to help get your place set for a raucous New Year party. There are 11 additions in all, and they are unlocked at level 31. Here is a complete list of all the glittering goodies:
Tables:
- Banquet Table - 2 gems
- Banquet Chair - 11,000 coins
- Countdown Clock - 11,000 coins
- Black Tie Affair - 60 gems
- Midnight Glasses - 22,000 coins
- Banquet Balloons - 18,000 coins
- Banquet Scene - 20,000 coins
- Gilded Tree - 24 gems (LTO)
- Gold Glitter Wall - 7,000 coins
- Gold Glitter Floor - 5,000 coins
- Jet Black Oven - 30,000 coins
- Banquet Counter - 13,000 coins
I'm always chuffed to see New Year get some coverage in the game. For my first two years of play there was no dedicated New Year update, so it's always that bit more special when Storm8 do offer something, especially when it's at an appropriate time. For both 2014 and 2016 the New Year update was the first in January, which is not ideal if you're looking for stuff to display on Hogmanay.
In fairness the 2016 New Year update was about resolutions so was perfectly acceptable to release in January, but I recall much frustration in 2014 when all the content fit for New Year's Eve was dropped on New Year's Day. Of course timing is an issue at this juncture of the year and it can really depend on when Christmas and New Year fall as to how things turn out. Heading into New Year 2015 is a fine example of this, when we got our sparkly New Year update on Christmas Eve. The alternative though was to wait until Hogmanay itself.
Anyway, on this occasion the game's developers have been able to release the selection of New Years stuff three days prior to the event which gives us an opportunity to redecorate if we so wish. The Storm8 Blog presents a photo of all the new decor in all its glory:
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| Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog |
The standout item is undoubtedly the Black Tie Affair. It is 4x4 in size and depicts not only two couples jigging the night away but also a quartet of musicians providing the sound for the night. The singer looks great behind the mic in her starry blue dress, the keyboard player is so attractive with his red bow tie and floppy fringe and the string musicians are suave with their white instruments. Plus they're all standing on a curved stage.
This really is an outstanding decoration which would look great not just at New Year but in any party setting. And therefore it is such a shame that it costs 60 gems. It's beyond my capability at the moment and I'm sure many others are in the same boat. These ridiculously expensive floor items really need to stop, but I guess as long as there are a few players out there pay up for such content they'll continue to be released. I just think that at half the price the game's developers would capture a much larger market.
The Banquet Scene is the other imposing piece in this update, and it comes for coins. Featuring five sophisticated guests enjoying a fine meal and engaging chat around a white clothed round table, there's real elegance pouring out of this decoration. Strangely one of my favourite things about this item is actually the back of the girl's head at the front! It sounds a bizarre thing to say, but I feel that Storm8 have done an excellent job of getting the colours right to make her hair feel head-shaped. So often they make a bit of a mess of doing the back of people's heads so it's nice to be able to praise!
I can see myself one day placing a number of these Banquet Scenes to create a large reception. I really like how all five diners are unique and ooze such class.
The remaining two floor decorations are devoid of characters, with the Midnight Glasses depicting rows of sparkly glasses on a glitzy table and the Banquet Balloons consisting of an arch of gold, silver and black balloons. I prefer the former, mostly because it's easier to have interacting content, particularly characters. The balloons are a little underwhelming - they could do with being much bigger so that they tower over the scene, and I'm unconvinced by the silver plinth upon which they stand.
The twinkly cloth from the Midnight Glasses matches the Gold Glitter Floor which has spots of gold scattered across a black tile. I really like the colour choice here - the black and gold work together a treat, and the randomness of the gold makes it more effective when placed in volume.
There's a superb accompaniment to the flooring too, with the Gold Glitter Wall placing lots of gold spots on a black background. The density of the spots fall as you make your way down the wallpaper which gives a greater impression of the gold spots falling. This wallpaper is actually very similar to the existing Sparkly Wallpaper, but this one is a little brighter. In fact they're so similar you could probably do something clever in combining them if you were that way inclined.
Staying on the wall, you can keep track of how long there is to go until the confetti and streamers come down with the Countdown Clock. In reality this is just a standard clock, albeit with Roman numerals used for the numbers. Gold and black are again the predominant colours, which result in this clock looking very lavish.
There's a slight change of tone with the Banquet Table which uses black and silver. The sprinkling of silver dots is quite subtle, and there's also a white section around the bottom of the tablecloth. It makes for an impressive alternative to the New Year Table already on the market which is purely silver. However like the New Year Table this edition is also a gem buy (just not as much as 7 gems like the old one!)
The Banquet Chair and Banquet Counter don't really match the table as they are white with black trim. They don't really scream of New Year, instead feeling like more generic items. They're a little underwhelming compared to the rest of the update, with the counter especially disappointing given that it's cloth doesn't even reach all the way down the sides, thus leaving some naked mahogany at the bottom.
Lastly there's the Jet Black Oven which is a 30,000 coin appliance requiring 5 Gold Springs, 5 Steel and 5 Dark Bolts to build. I stand to be corrected here, but I think this is the first constructible cooker to be introduced without a new part since new parts with every appliance became a thing. That was two years ago when the Holly Screwdriver and Snowflake was added alongside the two goal cookers, so this is a significant moment. Could it be the first of a run of appliances which doesn't come with a new part? It could be, although I reckon we can only hope this for regular updates.
There are three recipes on the Jet Black Oven for your cooking pleasure.
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| Jet Black Oven recipes |
As you'd expect from an update glowing with grandeur, these are three aesthetically pleasing efforts. There are marks off for the New Year Noodles being presented in an unruly silver cooking pot once on a counter, but this is more than cancelled out by the Good Luck Grapes which appear in a beautiful woven basket and look so juicy.
Here come the recipe ratings, with the 14 hour noodles excluded here since we don't have enough data for the duration.
| Good Luck Grapes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5.9 |
| Countdown Cornbread | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 5 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 4.8 |
The New Year Noodles are the third 14 hour dish in the game, and the second in a month after Rudolph's Ravioli (Workshop Stove). So it's pretty clear now that the gamemakers are working on bringing some of the less common recipe durations to the fore, and that for me is definitely good news.
Looking at the scoring above, the grapes are unlucky not to get into the green overall, with the influential XP gain factor just dragging it down. However it still performs well, with the same overall score as the Persimmon Pudding (Homemade Mixer) that came with this year's Christmas goals.
The Countdown Cornbread doesn't appear all that exciting statistically, but it does land a share of 11th spot in the 6 hour duration in the overall stakes. Indeed it's just short of two years since we had a more profitable 6 hour contender, with that being the Rocket Fuel Punch (Drink Machine).
Before we go and get ourselves sozzled for New Year, some backtracking needs to be done as we investigate a limited time offer.
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| Notification for Gilded Tree limited time offer |
The Gilded Tree has returned for five days only at a fee of 24 gems. This represents a 20% discount on the original cost when first released in 2014. I paid the full price for it back then and have no regrets. It is a truly wonderful showstopper despite being only 2x2 and has been the centrepiece of my main area for three straight Christmases.
The only drawback is that Christmas is past! I'm not sure take-up of this floor decoration is going to be all that high for this reason - you're essentially going to have to wait 11 months to bring the Gilded Tree out of storage and that makes a 24 gem investment questionable.
So we close out 2016 in style. I'm really impressed with this update. There's a grace to most of the content, and long-time readers will be well aware that that sort of decor appeals to me big time. In fact, I've already installed some of the new decor in my existing New Year party section:
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| New Year party section at The Garlic Tree |
I'm not sure the slightly less sophisticated New Year Party decoration fits that well with the up-market surroundings, but I'm going with it for now!
The pricing in this update is fair too, with only two gem additions (even if one of them is colossal) and as an extra bonus everything is perfect for any party theme - not just New Year. That means we could be seeing a lot of the stuff in restaurants throughout the year. All in all we've gone out with a bang - let's raise a glass to a fine 2017 in Restaurant Story!
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