Game update: 31/07/13

The final update of July is here, with no defined theme.

Notification for this week's update

The headline items are food displays, but here's a full list of all the new content:

Tables:

• Modern Table - 2 gems

Chairs:

• Modern Chair - 17,500 coins

Floor decorations:

• Buffet Display - 18 gems
• Glass Display - 22 gems

Wallpapers:

• Victorian Pattern - 27,500 coins

Floor tiles:

• Laminate Floor Tile - 1 gem

So not a particularly heavy update, with just two items for coins. And even then the Victorian Pattern is one of the most expensive wallpapers in the game.

The focus really is on the Buffet Display and Glass Display. These are a rare style of item - we don't get many displays in Restaurant Story which are realistic. So this may reel people in, but the high gem price tags may in turn scare them off.

Personally I'm quite tempted. With 32 gems outstanding, I can't afford both at the minute, but will be able to in the next few weeks. They'd both make nice additions to my kitchen section or could even be placed where my dividers currently are either side of the host:

Kitchen section next to host in The Garlic Tree

Then the customers would see them when they first enter the restaurant! For now I'm going to ponder the possibility, and in the meantime wait to see what the next major theme released is going to be.

To supplement this week's update there are another two new recipes. Yet again, they are available via the Basic appliances:

New recipe for Basic Stove

New recipe for Basic Grill

Again I'm impressed that TeamLava have simply boosted the Basic appliances rather than add another appliance with limited use. This is a good change of policy on the gamemakers' part.

As for the stats on these two recipes? Well, the Beef and Rice Patty is unusual in terms of its duration - 9 hour recipes are hard to come by, so I'm going to compare it with the closest relative. That's the 8 hour recipes which are plentiful. And it gets a favourable review, with only last week's release, the Escargot with Lamb on the Basic Grill producing a better XP gain. Meanwhile the profit is superior to all, even after taking into account the extra hour of cooking time. A top dish!

Meanwhile the Garlic Noodles is a 4 hour recipe. So lots of competition there. If you're after portions or profit there are several better options, with Quesadilla on the Basic Stove the best portion provider and Smores on the Basic Oven the top performing profit maker. But if XP is your priority then get the garlic crushed! Because this is a whopper. Across the Basic appliances the Garlic Noodles are the highest XP earner for 4 hour recipes. Also, the only way to improve on this dish's XP per hour rating of 23.5 XP is to go for a short term recipe of 2 hours or less, which is not always suitable for those with busy lives.

So two tip-top recipes well worth thinking about cooking if you're planning to deal with recipes of their duration.

Please note that these two dishes will eventually move to a different part of their respective recipe lists, just as the Chilli Dog and Breakfast Dog (which were released two weeks ago) have done - they are now situated towards the end of the recipe list in the Basic Grill.

Scrolling through the archives

As of today, I've added another new tab at the top of the blog.

You can now view a list of details regarding previous weekly updates in Restaurant Story. To see it now, either click the 'Update Archive' tab at the top of this page, or simply click here.

This is nothing more than an information source really, but it's useful for spotting patterns in TeamLava's strategy for updates.

For example, updates where a new theme is introduced are typically only around for the one week if there is no goal set in the initial update. It is for this reason that I'm predicting the French cafe theme is a one week only job.

As well as goals, there are details of other common content also included such as boxes, appliances and limited time offers (LTO).

At present only the updates which have occurred since the launch of this blog are listed, but I do plan to add more details going back further in the future.

Game update: 24/07/13

After three weeks of carnival fun, we're heading on holiday to France.

Notification for French cafe update

This update revolves around French cafes, although there isn't a great deal of content to give us a strong flavour of France with our cappaccino:

Tables:

• Bistro Table - 2 gems

Chairs:

• Bistro Chair - 18,000 coins

Wall decorations:

• Colorful Clock - 31,000 coins

Floor decorations:

• Bedded Red Lillies - 9 gems
• French Cafe Bike - 25 gems (LTO)

Wallpapers:

• French Cafe - 8,000 coins

Floor tiles:

• Cafe - 1 gem

Counters:

• Glassed Counter - 50,000 coins

All of these items can be seen in an image on the TeamLava Blog:

Items from French cafe update as shown on TeamLava Blog

Other than the French Cafe Bike, these items don't feel very French to me, although not being French, I'm hardly an authority on the matter!

Speaking of the bike, it is a limited time offer only available for 5 days (starting from today, Wed).

French Cafe Bike limited time offer

I really like the bike and think it would fit nicely into an outdoor area (which is something I've got lined up) but the 25 gem price tag is just out of my reach at present after a recent gem splurge. Those who are teetering on the verge of making the purchase may be swayed by the fact that this is an exclusive item - after the 5 day window is up it won't be available again. You could be one of the few to house it!

The Bistro Table is a beautiful piece, but at 2 gems a go will attract few buyers I'd expect. And strangely it doesn't really go with the pink Bistro Chair. Both are nice on their own but clash when put together.

The Bedded Red Lillies are very smart and a good fit for my restaurant. I'm seriously tempted to purchase two of them (costing all 18 of my remaining gems) to flank each side of the end of the foyer area but will resist as I'm waiting to redeem my second Floral Bouquet in the Collectibles section - it will do the same job, if I ever get it!

Another pretty item is the Glassed Counter which has the added bonus of costing coins. Although at 50,000 coins each it's hardly a bargain. However I'm buying two to replace the Krona counters which are sitting in my new futuristic section as they blend in even better.

In addition to the new items on the market are another two new recipes:

New recipe for Basic Oven

New recipe for Basic Grill

It's good to see TeamLava release these recipes on a basic appliance again - you have to go back to May for the last time we had a new dish outside of a new goal set which required a new appliance.

The Smoked Salmon Potato is currently positioned third on the recipe list aboard the Basic Grill and comes in as a 4 hour dish. There are plenty of these on the go already, but this one ranks favourably. The 73 XP is decent as is the four-figure number of portions. It's knockout punch comes with its profit ability - the 2,860 net coins is surpassed on the basic appliances only by Smores (although considerably) while similar applies for its profit per hour ratio. This figure comes in at 715 coins profit per hour and is only bettered by short duration recipes which you are unlikely to be able to oversee throughout the day.

Now to the Escargot with Lamb. It is first on the Basic Oven's recipe list for now and is even better than the Smoked Salmon Potato. The 8 hour dishes are a competitive group, but this one is even ahead of last week's Breakfast Dog which itself came with a glowing reference. The 3,570 coins profit is slightly down on the Breakfast Dog, but the 137 XP is record-breaking! If it's XP you're after, this is the recipe for you when it comes to choosing what to cook overnight.

Remember that both these dishes will likely be transferred to the back end of their respective recipe lists when they are no longer deemed to be new to the game.

All in all, a reasonable update if not the pièce de résistance. Usually a new theme starts out with a set of goals if it's going to have a three or four week stay, so I'm predicting that this is a one week only job.

Investing gems in the future

It's been a while since my last expenditure of gems, and so I had 78 gems saved up for blowing in one go this week.

I'm the kind of person who does like saving their money, and thus would probably have continued to store them up, but with the ever-present risk of gem traps wiping all my gems just to finishing cooking a couple of Roast Chickens sooner, I opted to hedge my bets.

So what did I choose to spend the gems on? Well as anyone who has taken a tour of The Garlic Tree will know, I'm a big fan of having little themed sections in my restaurant, and have got all the ingredients for several such areas such as a Steampunk section and a retro diner section.

So naturally I was looking at adding a new theme, and considered a number of possibilities...

First up was a Winter theme. The advantage here was that I could combine the winter content with some crystal content from around Valentine's Day. However short of gambling solely on the Crystal Gift Box, there isn't really enough decorations to flesh an area out.

So then I considered a sports theme. There's no shortage of content here, and most of it is available for coins. However on closer inspection you'll notice that the vast majority of the decorations on offer are wall decorations. Now my themed areas don't take up much wall space (usually six or seven sections of wall) so I'd be unable to purchase too much of these items. On the plus side, the Sports Bar is a very substantial floor decoration which you'd expect to see as at least a 2nd prize in a box. But at 42 gems I wasn't that keen! So the sports theme goes on the backburner.

How about a musical theme? Well there are three tables to choose from - the Cymbal, Classical and Cabasa - which all cost coins. The Cabasa in particular looks great but it is the one which doesn't have a corresponding chair! Like the sports theme, there isn't a great deal of floor decorations available outwith the Music Box, so I decided to pass on this one too.

The next consideration was a beach section. There is a lot of stuff available for this including a choice of two boxes (Beach Resort and Island Chest) so perhaps this would be the theme I'd settle on. However, a lot of players have been decking out with deck chairs and what not recently courtesy of the Cruise and Carnival themes, so I decided to turn down this opportunity - I like to be different!

And so I moved on to a futuristic theme. This was the one. Something distinctive from what I've already got, and plenty of items up for grabs for coins! So among other things I snapped up a Futuristic Display I, a Holographic Greeter, and Modern Plants. This allowed me to be less dependent on two dips into the Futuristic Box which contains an array of slick items. Here's what I got for 48 gems...

Award of Robot Chef from Futuristic Box

Award of Holographic Tree from Futuristic Box

Maybe not my ideal result, but both items fit in all the same. To finish the job off, I bought two Touch Screen Tables (4 gems each), four Futuristic Chairs (2 gems) and two Krona Counters (38,000 coins each). The latter of these blend into the theme surprising well considering they're from the Swedish updates of some time ago.

The table tennis area of my restaurant has been shelved for now to make room for this futuristic theme. Here's the finished product:

New Futuristic section in The Garlic Tree

So that's me washed out on gems. For now I'll concentrate on saving for my next expansion to 21x24 - I'm just over 2,000,000 coins short at the moment.

Game update: 17/07/13

The carnival theme continues into a third update this week, with a multitude of balloon related content.

Notification for latest Carnival themed update

The full list of items is as follows:

Tables:

• Balloon Table - 2 gems

Chairs:

• Balloon Stool - 20,000 coins

Wall decorations:

• Balloon Lamps - 8 gems

Floor decorations:

• Balloon Animals - 20 gems
• Balloon Divider - 8,000 coins

Wallpapers:

• Balloon - 1 gem

Floor tiles:

• Balloon - 7,500 coins

Counters:

• Balloon Counter - 45,000 coins

Also in this update were two new recipes, both for the Basic Grill:

First new recipe for
Basic Grill

Second new recipe for
Basic Grill

For now they are situated at the start of the recipe list, but expect them to be shifted towards the end once they are no longer considered as new. 

Chilli Dog and Breakfast Dog have now been moved towards the end of the recipe list.

I was surprised to see the carnival theme appearing for a third consecutive week. It looks like it is the main theme for this summer, and a good choice in my opinion.

Also, this theme has fitted in very nicely with the birthday theme of many weeks back. A Petting Zoo at the carnival by the seaside? Quite possibly.

But that's where my praise ends I'm afraid. Because although the items in this update look good, there is too much emphasis on gems. Pairing the Balloon Table and Balloon Stool together costs 2 gems for every table you buy, while the item which I would class as the best in the update - the Balloon Animals - is overpriced at 20 gems.

At least there is a new divider called the Balloon Divider - we haven't had one of those for a while, and they are good for splitting your restaurant up a bit. Especially if you like having themed sections like me!

On to the recipes, and kudos to TeamLava for not releasing these on a new appliance which requires a pile of coins and time to construct. The Chilli Dog is a top drawer 4 hour dish. Only the Giant Pretzel can outdo it on both the fronts of XP and profit.

Meanwhile the Breakfast Dog is even better. The 114 XP for cooking it tops the 104 XP Miso Soup offers, while a profit of 4,140 coins is exceptional for a dish of 8 hour duration. Again the Miso Soup is the only competitor, shading the Breakfast Dog by just 110 coins.

So two high performing recipes. And a whole pile of balloons.

New carnival recipes

Courtesy of two appliances which were unlocked via the Carnival goals, we have six new recipes to busy ourselves with.

First up, here are the three that came with the Popcorn Maker:

First recipe for
Popcorn Maker

Second recipe for
Popcorn Maker

Third recipe for
Popcorn Maker

All three of the durations here are well populated already, so some side-by-side comparisons...

The Kettle Corn is a competitive recipe with regards to existing 1 hour dishes. Not many can outdo it for XP, although there are a few - most notably the Gourmet Hot Dog.

The Caramel Corn is distinctly average. It matches the stats on a bunch of 4 hour recipes, but is outdone by a few at the back end of the Basic Oven. Jazz Cookies, Giant Pretzels and Smores are all much better recipes for coins, XP and portions.

Finally Hot'n'Spicy Corn is also mediocre. Especially for portions - the 675 servings is around half of what you get for Chicken Pot Pie on the Basic Oven, which is a low-level recipe. So if you are looking for recipes to keep your counters stocked, avoid this one!

Now the three new dishes on the Carnival Stove:

First recipe for
Carnival Stove

Second recipe for
Carnival Stove

Third recipe for
Carnival Stove

 
The Garlic Fries is a rare 3 hour recipe, and a good one at that. Only Cheeseburgers on the Basic Grill can beat it for XP although both Heart Pizza and Bruschetta on the Basic Oven offer higher profits.

The Turkey Leg is nice because of its duration. Six hours works out nicely whether you're away to school or work or off to bed. But it isn't close to being the best in the business in this category. Grilled Ham Musubi trumps it for profit and portions although not XP. That's where the recently added Escargot comes in - more profit, more portions and significantly more XP (around double!)

Lastly we've got the Funnel Cake. It's got solid stats when compared to low-level recipes of the same length. However next to some of the higher-level 12 hour dishes such as Olives & Cheese and Beef Chow Mein it does lack the punch.

Of course, something which is great all round is the gems up for grabs! Up to 12 are obtainable, and the first 6 are worked towards and in some cases obtained just by doing the goals.

Game update: 10/07/13

Supplementing last week's carnival update and set of goals we now have a box.

Notification for latest carnival themed update

The Carnival Box is a 24 gem investment which will give you one of several carnival themed items. As usual some are better than others.

Over on the TeamLava Blog there is an image containing most of the box's content:

Items from Carnival Box as shown on TeamLava Blog

Shown here are the Super Shot, Skill Shot Derby, Water Race Car, Lemonade Stand, Sledge Striker (partially hidden behind Super Shot), Fortune Telling Machine, Cotton Candy Machine and Clown Trash Can. I believe that only the Balloon Clown (whatever that is!) is not pictured above.

The distribution of the prizes is as follows:

First Prize (1% chance)

• Super Shot

Second Prize (10% chance)

• Skill Shot Derby
• Water Race Car

Third Prize (35% chance)

• Lemonade Stand
• Sledge Striker

Fourth Prize (54% chance)

• Fortune Telling Machine
• Cotton Candy Machine
• Clown Trash Can
• Balloon Clown

Source: TeamLava Forums

In my opinion, this is a pretty good box. Not least because the Ferris Wheel and Game Booth from the goals already provide some substantial carnival themed decorations - in fact the Ferris Wheel is the kind of item you'd expect as a first or second prize in a box. One or two dips into the Carnival Box and you've got all the ingredients for a neat carnival.

Of course the upper prizes are the most desirable, but as per usual, you should hope for the best but prepare for the worst. If you can live with gambling 24 gems to end up with a bin (or a trash can if you're in the US!) then that's your call!

The bright colours used across the items is characteristic of carnivals and thus I'm looking forward to seeing how players incorporate a carnival into their restaurant.

In other news the Birthday goals expired on Monday, while the two new recipes on the Basic Stove from the cruise theme (namely Escargot and Flower Salad) have been shifted towards the very end of the recipe list. However the Beach Burger on the Basic Grill remains at the start of the recipe list.

FAQs go live

I have today added a new page to the blog, answering some frequently asked questions about Restaurant Story.

You can access it by either clicking the 'FAQs' tab above this post or by clicking here.

I've deliberately avoided answering questions posed on the Help/FAQ section off the main menu within the game.

Otherwise I've covered a wide range of stuff, and plan to add further ramblings as time progresses...

Carnival goals (in full)

Please note that this set of goals expired on Monday 5th August 2013.

With the latest update came a new set of goals, with the theme being the carnival. These goals are of medium difficulty - in other words, they are tougher than the Gran-Gran goals, but most definitely easier (and cheaper) than the Cruise goals.

Players have up to 33 days to complete them. Let's get straight into it then...

 Step 1: All Aboard!

• Buy 10 Carnival Wallpaper ... any wallpaper is acceptable.
• Buy 16 Floor Tiles .... any floor tiles are acceptable.

Carnival goals: step 1

For completing this opening goal, the Popcorn Maker is unlocked, and is required for Strand A, step 1.

Unlocking of Popcorn Maker in Carnival goals

As I hinted above, there are now two strands. To complete the goals in full from now on in, you need to work through both sets of goals simultaneously, to unlock content in each of them.

 Strand A, step 1: Lee To The Rescue!

• Buy 1 Popcorn Maker ... these cost 15,000 coins each and require 1 Spring and 1 Red Gear to build. Find it at the end of the Appliances tab.
• Serve 10 Kettle Corn ... these are found on the Popcorn Maker and take 1 hour to cook.
• Buy 4 Carnival Counters ... these cost 10,000 coins each.

Carnival goals: strand A, step 1

At this point the Watermelon Table is unlocked. It is necessary for completing Strand B, step 1.

Unlocking of Watermelon Table in Carnival goals

Now another goal is released. I'm labelling it as Strand C - find it further down this page.

 Strand A, step 2: Sweet & Salty

• Serve 14 Caramel Corn ... these are found on the Popcorn Maker and take 4 hours to cook.
• Ask Neighbours for 4 Candy Apples ... tap 'Ask' and send requests for these to neighbours.

Carnival goals: strand A, step 2

For serving those corns there's a floor decoration unlocked, the Game Booth. It is needed for strand C, step 1.

Unlocking of Game Booth in Carnival goals

 Strand A, step 3: Hot'n'Spicy!

• Serve 18 Hot'n'Spicy Corn ... these are found on the Popcorn Maker and take 8 hours to cook.

Carnival goals: strand A, step 3

More to follow on Strand A.

 Strand B, step 1: Light Up The Night

• Have 6 Hay Bale Stools ... these cost 4,500 coins each.
• Have 6 Watermelon Tables ... these are locked until you complete Strand A, step 1 and cost 5,000 coins each. Find it at the end of the Tables tab.
• Buy 10 Carnival Lights ... these cost 6,500 coins each.

Carnival goals: strand B, step 1

 Strand B, step 2: Got Garlic?

• Have 2 Carnival Stoves ... these are locked until you complete Strand C, step 1 and cost 20,000 coins each. They each require 5 Green Nozzles and 5 Orange Steel to build. Find it at the end of the Appliances tab.
• Prepare 25 Garlic Fries ... these are found on the Carnival Stove and take 3 hours to cook.
• Serve 25 Garlic Fries

Carnival goals: strand B, step 2

Completing this goal results in the unlocking of the second recipe on the Carnival Stove, the Turkey Leg.

Unlocking of Turkey Leg in Carnival goals

 Strand B, step 3: Turkey Time

• Prepare 35 Turkey Legs ... these are found on the Carnival Stove and take 6 hours to cook.
• Serve 35 Turkey Legs

Carnival goals: strand B, step 3

Now the final recipe on the Carnival Stove is unlocked - the Funnel Cakes.

Unlocking of Funnel Cakes in Carnival goals

This is the climax of these goals, and thus you can bask in the glory of the Ferris Wheel, which is unlocked.

 Strand B, step 4: Pour Some Sugar On Me

• Prepare 35 Funnel Cakes ... these are found on the Carnival Stove and take 12 hours to cook.
• Serve 35 Funnel Cakes

Carnival goals: strand B, step 4

This finishes Strand B, with the end goal prize, the Ferris Wheel now unlocked. You are given one free, and can access it towards the end of the Floor decorations tab.

Unlocking of Ferris Wheel in Carnival goals

It is a 3x3 item to make plenty of space to place it.

 Strand C, step 1: Get Your Game On
 Available after completing Strand A, step 1

• Have 2 Game Booths ... these are locked until you complete Strand A, step 2 and cost 15,000 coins each. Find it towards the end of the Floor decorations tab. Note they are 3x3 in size so you may need to make room.
• Visit 10 Community Members

Carnival goals: strand C, step 1

For finishing this off you are rewarded with the unlocking of the Carnival Stove, and one is gifted to you.

Unlocking of Carnival Stove in Carnival goals

And that's it for Strand C.

Game update: 03/07/13

The summer fun continues with a carnival themed update this week.

Notification for carnival themed update

At the centre of the update is yet another set of goals. As for the new content, here's the comprehensive list:

Tables:

• Watermelon Table - locked by goal

Chairs:

• Hay Bale Stool - 4,500 coins

Wall decorations:

• Carnival Lights - 6,500 coins

Floor decorations:

• Game Booth - locked by goal
• Ferris Wheel - locked by goal

Wallpapers:

• Carnival - 3,000 coins

Appliances:

• Popcorn Maker - locked by goal
• Carnival Stove - locked by goal

Counters:

• Carnival Counter - 10,000 coins

So mainly items which are unlocked by completing the goals, and it is all reasonably priced.

The Carnival Lights are a particularly nice addition - with the right interior these could create a very stylish environment. Meanwhile the two floor decoration goal prizes are substantial. I'll be interested to see how large the Ferris Wheel is. Presumably it is the end prize in the goals so hopefully will be substantial.

Note that the Popcorn Maker has been craved by users of the Storm8 Forum for some time, so the game's makers have finally given in and added it. I'm split on it because I've already got a Popcorn Cart from the 50's Diner Box!

So a good update in my book, and a third set of goals in the space of a month. That's a lot of work if you haven't been working through either the Birthday Party goals or Cruise goals up to this point. However at a glance it appears that these latest goals are quite simple, much like the Gran-Gran goals a while back.

Introduction to Carnival goals

Blast from the bakery

Here's a little easter egg for those of you who play both Restaurant Story and Bakery Story...

If you've been playing Restaurant Story recently you'll be well aware of the Cruise Ship Bar.

Now if you zoom in and look at it closely, you may spot something familiar from Bakery Story. On one corner of the bar is the Ocean Blast recipe from Bakery Story!

Ocean Blast on Cruise Ship Bar in Restaurant Story

Ocean Blast from Frozen Drink Machine in Bakery Story

Ocean Blast is a drink on the Frozen Drink Machine in Bakery Story, although has been scaled down considerably for this decoration in Restaurant Story. However clearly not enough to prevent me spotting it!

It's interesting to see TeamLava recycling designs between games. I've got nothing against it, it makes sense for them to do this as it does save on time and money in producing new concepts, especially when said concepts are only going to be used for tiny details on a goal prize.