Saturday, 31 October 2015

Suggestions Box (Oct 2015)

Every month I list five things I'd like to see added, altered or abolished from the game. Because even though my long time of playing Restaurant Story clearly shows I love it, that doesn't mean it's perfect. Some of the ideas I'll air will be significant game changers while others will be low-key and irrelevant in the eyes of many of you readers.

You can share your own suggestions too via the comments. If I like them, I may even include them in the next instalment!

In no particular order, here are this month's entries...

Wednesday, 28 October 2015

Game update: 28/10/15

With Halloween now three days away, there's one last update to get you set for the occasion.

It's a standard update, with all the new items unveiled at level 22. However there are only five additions to pour over, but that won't stop me drawing up the usual list:

Chairs:
  • Vamp Throne - 1,800 coins
Wall decorations:
  • Haunted Mirror - 4,300 coins
Floor decorations:
  • Vampire Party - 56 gems
  • Coffin Couple - 27,000 coins
Appliances:
  • Vamp Fountain - 34,000 coins

Saturday, 24 October 2015

RS2 News (Oct 2015)

We're deep into October and the last month has been stuffed full of things to do in Restaurant Story 2.

We'll get to some of the Halloween treats shortly, but the first development since my last review was the addition of the Deep Fryer. Following the increase of the level cap to 55, the Deep Fryer is unlocked at level 50, making it the last appliance unearthed. On board are six recipes which stand out from the crowd for two reasons.

Deep Fryer with recipe list

Firstly, the ingredient requirements are tough. The quantities needed are excessively high, including a shocking 10 Cream for the Fried Ice Cream. Plus there's a new ingredient has been added to the Fish Seafood Shop - the Fresh Cod cost 200 coins each and has a three hour refresh time. Ouch. But it's the pair of new recipes on the Mixer which feed into the Deep Fryer that really make things tricky. The Breading and Batter will eat into your stores of Flour very quickly and slow down the process of mastering the Deep Fryer offerings.

Thursday, 22 October 2015

Game update: 21/10/15

The Halloween shenanigans are continuing in Restaurant Story for a third week, with a box update.

Notification for Monster Crate

The Monster Crate is the solitary addition this week. For 24 gems you get a lucky dip into the box, with one of nine floor decorations added to your inventory. There are lots of different sizes and qualities of items in there - your chances are slimmer for the top drawer stuff, but if you don't buy the ticket, you don't win the lottery!

Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Halloween 2015 goals content report

With six days having now elapsed since this year's second Halloween update brought with it a new set of goals specially for the occasion, let's have a review of the quest and the content unlocked within it.

I'm going to start with some overall thoughts on the goals. The big talking point heading into the event was very much surrounding the Witch's Cat and its gem price tag. There was plenty of concern (myself included!) that purchasing this cat would be a requirement in one of the goals, a scenario which would have been damaging to the game's freemium status. But our fears were misplaced as it turned out the cat was not necessary for progression through the steps.

That leads me to wonder why Storm8 even decided to release the Witch's Cat last week. All it did was cause increasing panic, and with everything else introduced being for coins, I suspect many players were happy enough with their gains from the goals. So even economically the addition of the Witch's Cat is questionable. Adding it with the previous update may have been a wiser move, although I realise that its witchy theme clearly fits in better with the goal stuff.

Wednesday, 14 October 2015

Halloween 2015 goals (in full)

Please note that this set of goals expired on Wednesday 11th November 2015.

Got your cauldron? Got your ingredients? Then let's get brewing! The latest update brings with it a new set of goals to celebrate Halloween.

There is a chair, counter and floor decoration to unlock in this quest, along with two appliances which yield six new recipes. So get busy! You've got 29 days to get finished before the goals head to the land of the dead forever, so that means the deadline should be Wednesday 11th November 2015.

Here's the complete list of steps:

Game update: 14/10/15

The witches are brewing something up! Halloween goals have landed in Restaurant Story!

Introduction to Halloween 2015 goals

Any concerns that the October goal set wouldn't be Halloween based have very much been placed on the back burner. Let's get straight to the new content which can all be accessed (including the goals) at level 12:

Saturday, 10 October 2015

The gem count

Recently there was a rather intriguing question came to my mind: how many gems have I spent in Restaurant Story?

It's a compelling question, and one which is pretty much impossible to give an answer to immediately with any degree of certainty. I've been playing the game since August 2012, so there's over three years of investments have collected in my armoury, enough to make even a prediction futile.

The only way to get any sort of insight into just how many gems have exchanged hands over the years was by counting up those gem items in my arsenal. I'm fortunate that - unlike in Bakery Story - I've never fallen into any major gem traps (such as gem expansions and extra appliance slots) so the number of accidental buys isn't enough to really impact the results.

So, after totalling up all that premium décor in my inventory, I can declare that I have spent 1,761 gems in the game! That's the equivalent of 139 gems per month, or a little over 1.5 gems per day. I didn't realise I was quite so gem hungry!

Wednesday, 7 October 2015

Game update: 07/10/15

It's off to the lab this week, as we get into the Halloween groove with a sinister science update.

There's a range of new content has been added, including a fresh appliance. Here's a full list of the additions, all of which lose their padlock at level 25:

Floor decorations:
  • Lab Pup - 30 gems
  • Science Lab - 55 gems
  • Mad Chemist - 16,000 coins
Wallpapers:
  • Mad Lab - 5,100 coins

Monday, 5 October 2015

The Garlic Tree celebrates Autumn

In this bonus post, I'd like to offer a tour of the latest incarnation of The Garlic Tree, with the nippy winds of Autumn very much in the air.

It's in my outdoor section that the changing season is really felt, with a forested layout taking precedence:

Forest section of The Garlic Tree

It's actually very unusual for me to go for a wild setting as I have here, since I'm generally too regimental and preoccupied with precision to pull it off. But I was determined to give it a go for Autumn, and am really happy with the result.

Saturday, 3 October 2015

Black Friday beckons

We're now 56 days out from Black Friday, which means the countdown is on!

For those who are not familiar with the event, Black Friday falls on the day after Thanksgiving in the US, which this year is Friday 27th November. That day will see many retailers putting on some very special sales to kick off the Christmas shopping season. The aim is to encourage people to start their spending spree, and it is certainly a strategy which has worked. Black Friday is very much of US origin, but it is becoming a larger and larger concept overseas, particularly in the UK where is has exploded into the spotlight in recent years. And the fun and games go on all weekend, running into Cyber Monday when online shopping takes centre stage.

But what does this mean for Restaurant Story? Well, if you haven't been around at Thanksgiving time previously, you're in for a treat! Every year Storm8 gets involved in the Black Friday shenanigans by offering up some very enticing deals, and you can fully expect that to happen again in 2015.