Game update: 18/01/17

History has been made as Restaurant Story yields a set of time limited goals in successive weeks for the first time ever. We're all catching goals fever, but also cabin fever...

Introduction to cabin goals

As was the case with last week's shortened quest there is a winter theme, although this time it is a little more subtle with the focus on the great indoors and keeping warm. Here is the traditional list of all the additions, including three floor decorations and two appliances which can only be accessed by progressing through the goals:

Tables:

• Cabin Table - 7,000 coins

Chairs:

• Cabin Chair - 11,000 coins

Wall decorations:

• Winter Wall Rack - 4 gems

Floor decorations:

• Indoor Fire Pit - locked by goal
• Cabin Couch - locked by goal
• Cozy Cabin Comfort - locked by goal

Wallpapers:

• Cabin Wall - 7,000 coins

Floor tiles:

• Cabin Floor - 5,000 coins

Appliances:

• Cabin Drink Maker - locked by goal
• Cabin Oven - locked by goal

Counters:

• Cabin Counter - 13,000 coins

I did suspect that we could be seeing another batch of challenges this week, although my suspicion was that it would be another short edition rather than this longer quest. However it should be noted that this goal set expires 15 days from the start time which is notably sooner than we typically experience with full-on goals. Whether the tasks will be any easier to reflect this difference remains to be seen.

As for the theme, I think it's a good idea. To an extent the wintry content to have appeared in the game has become a little tiresome, with the various snowy or icy tables and chairs of similar design the perfect example of a theme being overexposed. But on this occasion the gamemakers have provided something original by taking winter indoors.

Before we get any further an image is in order. I am of course referring to the teaser for this update which was posted on the Storm8 Blog yesterday evening:

Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog

The first thing that struck me with the additions is the shared colour scheme. They all showcase a wooden texture and make use of deep browns to convey the hearty and homely feel of a warm cabin. This is nice for two reasons - firstly the decor compliments each other well, and secondly there's no shortage of wooden stuff already in the market so there's real scope for creative decorating here.

As was also the case last week, I'm going to hold off on offering any thoughts on the goal prizes, including the appliances, until my goals content report (which is unlikely to arrive on Saturday this time!) but there's still plenty to get stuck into.

I'd like to start by drawing your attention to the Cabin Table. It's not the most eye-catching of pieces with the square patterned cloth not really doing it for me. However the wooden rendering is strong and a couple of little kinks in the side are clever touches. But it's the price which encouraged me to start with the Cabin Table - it is the first table introduced for coins in more than two months and the first in a goal week since the camping themed goals way back in July 2016.

This is great to see as it is something which has invoked plenty of criticism from the players lately. With respect to goal updates the start of the run of tables for gems coincided with the introduction of the new goals structure, and at a glance I tentatively suggest that the end has coincided with the return to the old style of quest (at least for full length goal sets).

The Cabin Counter offers a similar cloth which doesn't excite me, although at least this one drapes over the edges. The grooved sides are decent, although it is just another boxy type counter.

The Cabin Chair is the odd one out of the three in the sense that there is no cloth in sight. It is purely a wooden structure and looks rather primitive. I could certainly envisage it coming in handy at some point, although at 11,000 coins each it is one of the more expensive chairs in the game.

 Winter 2016/17

 14/01/17 Winter Goals content report
 11/01/17 Winter goals
 11/01/17 Winter goals update
 04/01/17 Box update
 30/11/16 Pre-Christmas update

That square pattern may be absent on the chair, but it isn't staying away for long! The Cabin Floor exhibits it which should leave me frustrated as it covers up a set of well executed polished wooden floorboards. But it doesn't, largely because we already have such floor tiles available to purchase with a number of wooden flooring designs. So why not have a version which has a mini rug on it, even if it doesn't appeal much to me?

On to the walls, and the Cabin Wall provides yet more wood with a mix of horizontal and vertical panels. It's not the most exhilarating sight in the world, but it's bland appearance makes it ripe for adding wall decorations. And again there's plenty agoing in the market which you could place on it.

And rather conveniently that brings us to the Winter Wall Rack. A wall item, this one ensures that we do still get a gem addition in this goals update, although at 4 gems it's not ridiculously priced. The rack consists of a set of hooks upon which a couple of jackets and a scarf are hanging, while the wooden box the hooks are attached to contains some books. I do like this piece although the books are very small and feel like a slightly unnecessary inclusion. Nevertheless I may add this rack to my kitchen's wall at some stage.

As I mentioned earlier, the goals content report when released will provide analysis of the floor decorations, appliances and recipes which are unearthed by completing each step of the goals. In the mean time head on over to my dedicated post for all the details of the numerous steps.

One last talking point in this update is the Slate Fireplace, which is available at 20% off for seven days.

Slate Fireplace limited time offer

At 40 gems, this is a floor decoration well worth considering. Of course I would say that having invested in it for my foyer section last year, and I was willing to play up the full price of 50 gems. It's such a rich piece with the brickwork fireplace itself the highlight.

But it's not all good news. This makes it three out of three updates in 2017 which have provided a deal on an existing item in the market. On the face of it this is nothing to complain about, but remember that for much of 2016 we alternated week on week between sales on current decor and half price boxes. Following the spectacular markdown on Black Friday it seems that the gamemakers have stepped back from crate deals which is a real shame.

So it's fair to say that I'm feeling largely positive about this update. The quality of wooden texture rendering by the game's developers has improved so much over the years, with this being something I've mentioned on countless occasions, so it's quite right that Storm8 have now essentially dedicated an update to the material.