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| Introduction to Christmas 2017 goals |
It's been a while in coming, but you can now break out the mince pies and mistletoe. As always this update comes with goals - for more on them check out my dedicated post here. For now, here is the complete list of additions:
Tables:
- Sleigh Table - 10,000 coins
- Santa Stool - 8,000 coins
- Father Christmas - 20,000 coins
- Grandfather Frost - locked by goal
- Sinterklaas Shoes - locked by goal
- Ole Christmas Feast - locked by goal
- Snowy Night - 7,000 coins
- Snow Field - 6,000 coins
- North Pole Fountain - locked by goal
- North Pole Oven - locked by goal
- North Pole Counter - 9,000 coins
My first thought when perusing the new stuff was with regards to the pricing. Recently the costs of tables, chairs and counters in particular have been rocketing, but those introduced in this update are significantly cheaper. Here's a comparison of the respective costs of these furnishings over the past few updates:
| Goal Set | Table | Chair | Counter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas | 10,000 coins | 8,000 coins | 9,000 coins |
| Game of Thrones | 19,000 coins | 22,000 coins | 15,000 coins |
| Thanksgiving | 23,500 coins | 25,500 coins | 22,500 coins |
| Halloween (2) | 25,000 coins | 27,000 coins | 25,000 coins |
| Halloween (1) | 18,000 coins | 15,000 coins | 19,000 coins |
The peak was the second Halloween quest, when we were asked to stump up an eye-watering 27,000 coins for a single chair. Since then there has been a downward trend, but there's been a serious drop-off with this latest update.
I'd like to think that this cut down in price was the result of Storm8 hearing player feedback about things being too expensive, but my gut tells me that the more likely motivation is a need to be inclusive at this special time of the year. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that! It would be nice if lower level players had a fighting chance of completing these goals, and by pulling down the costs of these decorations the gamemakers are certainly aiding the cause.
As for the cosmetics, the North Pole Counter is the pick of the three for me. The title doesn't give this away, but there's a gingerbread theme to this counter - it has a couple of shades of ginger and striped canes on the corners. It's not the most festive looking counter I've ever seen but it's still a decent design. And if you've invested serious gems in the past on the Gingerbread Gift Box then this counter may be the perfect one for you.
The Sleigh Table and Santa Stool go in very different directions. The table has got a regal look about it thanks to the combination of burgundy with gold. Add in the gallant curves of the runners and you're got a smart looking table, if a little boxy. On the other hand the stool is... rather childish. Let's all park our bahookies on Santa's face! No surprise that it's a crude finish, with poor Santa looking both traumatised and squished on the chair.
Over on the walls we have no wall decoration. This has become the norm recently, with no brand new wall decor added now since the Towel Rack at the end of August. Definitely one for the Suggestions Box!
Fortunately we do have a wallpaper to discuss. The Snowy Night depicts some snow-dusted fir trees on a dark backdrop. I'm giving a thumbs up to the colours used on this wallpaper, with particular praise for the silvery choice utilised on the trees to reflect the stars. However I'm also giving a thumbs down to the size of the trees. Perspective gives you the sense that they are way off in the distance since they take up only a small portion of the wall panel at the bottom. It's not really possible to convey a sense of depth on our restaurant walls so I'll be sticking to those wintry themed wallpapers which give the trees greater prominence.
But there's only good things to be said about the Snow Field. Since the Reindeer Tracks were released with the 2014 Christmas goal set I (and many others) have been hugely reliant on it since it was really the only snowy floor tile in the game. The Snow Field changes that and allows us to avoid giving the impression that a herd of reindeer have passed through. Sadly it's not quite that perfect untouched snowy tile - there are footprints all over it - but it's still an upgrade in my view.
Lastly for now we have Father Christmas, but not as we know him! This version of the bearded one is kitted out in green rather than the traditional red. But it turns out that green is the traditional colour for Santa's suit - the best part of 100 years ago a soft drinks company called Coca-Cola (ever heard of them!) decided to swap the green for red, and the world followed.
I can't warm to Father Christmas in a green outfit. It just looks odd, and so I suppose it's a win for Coca-Cola. Not aiding his cause is that he is a re-coloured clone of the Gourmet Chef Santa who was introduced to the game for Christmas in 2012. He's even clutching the same tray of turkey! I've said before that recycling content from other games doesn't bother me, but recycling within Restaurant Story is a big problem. I'm sticking with my gourmet Saint Nicholas!
That almost does it for the initial analysis of this Christmas update, but there is one more treat. There's no sign yet of a Christmas sale, but there are six festive recipes have returned for a limited time.
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| Re-released Christmas themed recipes |
The Morning Cheer is located on the Basic Stove, while the other five dishes are housed on the Basic Oven. There isn't a timer attached to these recipes in the list, but there was a notification which indicated that they'll be around until 28th December (the same day the goals expire). That's two weeks from today (day of release) so should be plenty of time to grab some bonus mastery gems, even with the goals in progress.
For me personally this is a lovely added extra in this update. As you can see from the mastery meters above, I've mastered four of the six, but still have three gems to gain between the Morning Cheer and Gingerbread House. Having mastered just about everything in the game opportunities like this are really appreciated.
As far as the history of these dishes is concerned, the Morning Cheer was originally added in 2011. It did get a short re-release in 2012 (that's when I mastered it to level 1) but I don't believe it has seen the light of day in the five years since. Meanwhile the remainder were either added in 2012 or 2013, and again I don't think they've been brought back since... until now.
So plenty to be getting on with between those re-released recipes, the goals themselves and the fact that real-life Christmas is just 11 sleeps away! Yikes, I better get my skates on with the Christmas shopping!
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