Gazing into the future

It's now been well over five years since Restaurant Story was initially released, and nearly three years since I published my first post on this blog. In a sector where technology and trends move at lightning speed the game has done well to make it this far, but how much longer can it last?

This is a question the players have been pondering in the background for a fair time now, and recent activities have led to it clambering into the foreground. Here I am going to examine the evidence in a bid to thin the fog in my crystal ball.

The most obvious sign that the end may be approaching is obviously Restaurant Story 2.

Title screen for Restaurant Story 2

Game update: 27/01/16

Restaurant Story is alive and kicking hard. There's a Greek themed update this week, but it's a limited time sale for Valentine's Day which hogs the headlines.

Notification for Valentine's Day sale

It's been a long time since there was a sale with a weekly update, so I need to find my bearings! We'll start by taking in the brand new stuff introduced pertaining to the Greek theme. Here's the list, with everything available from level 26:

The Garlic Tree celebrates Winter

Here's a nice post for you, as I give a guided tour of the newest sections added to my restaurant, The Garlic Tree.

With us in the middle of Winter there's a cold theme to proceedings, even if my first themed area is based indoors.

Ice skate hire section of The Garlic Tree

This is an ice skate hire, with Hanbok Phoebe overseeing the Cash Register. She's in charge of making sure everyone has the right footwear for their excursions, whether that means Red Mounted Skis, Green Mounted Skis or Hanging Ice Skates. I bought all three of these prior to their removal in the early months of 2015, even though I had no use for them at the time. This is something I always tend to do with coin content which is pulled as you just never know when it could come in handy.

Suggestions Box (Jan 2016)

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...

Game update: 20/01/16

We've reached Wednesday, and that means opening the game with baited breath in anticipation of the latest update. And this week we're celebrating Chinese New Year.

Notification for Chinese Celebration

This is a box update with the Chinese Celebration being the solitary addition. For 24 gems a pop you will get one of nine prizes at random from this crate, with your luck dictating the rarity (and quality) of the item you procure.

Winter 2016 goals content report

I've made light work of the latest set of goals which came with this week's update, meaning that for a change I'm actually able to compile the goals content report at the weekend! This time around we were wrapping up warm for a Winter quest, which included the opportunity to unlock three floor decorations, two appliances and six recipes.

Progress through the goals was a little different on this occasion compared to recent challenges, with sidesteps involved for the first time since the back to school goals in August. There were two in this case, with the second of them perhaps causing a little confusion among players.

This is because the prize upon completion of the sidestep goal 'Say, "I Do!"' was the last of the new recipes, the Winter Cake.

Unlocking of Winter Cake in goals

Winter 2016 goals (in full)

Please note that this set of goals expired on Sunday 14th February 2016.

With the most recent update we've all been invited to a winter wedding, and that means there's a lot to be done to get our restaurants ready for the loving couple. A new set of goals will certainly help us make the place pretty for the occasion.

Within this quest there are three floor decorations, two appliances and six recipes to unlock, and there are 33 days available to do so. That means the expected end date for this goal set is Sunday 14th February. How apt that the newly weds will be heading off on their honeymoon on Valentine's Day!

Before I start a best man speech, let's take a look at the complete list of goal steps:

Game update: 13/01/16

The Christmas bells have only just stopped chiming, and now the wedding bells are ringing!

Introduction to Winter 2016 goals

It's the first goals update of 2016, and the theme is a winter wedding. As usual I've got a separate post on the go for the goals, but here we shall discuss the stuff which can be purchased without progression through the quest. Here's the list of all the additions, including the locked content, all of which becomes accessible at level 12:

RS2 News (Jan 2016)

It's that time of the month again, where I round-up all the exciting stuff that's been going on in the sequel game, Restaurant Story 2.

When I last posted this enrapturing news segment the Snack Wars! quest was in full swing. Following the Tummy Rumble goals which were very complicated in nature, this goal set was a welcome relief to most players. The main reason for the much simpler format was the inclusion of many existing recipes, which played their part in progressing through the various steps.

It goes without saying that there were some additions though. In this case these came in a three pronged style: Dark Chocolate could be collected from serving water to parched customers, which was then used to make Dark Mole Sauce, which was in turn an ingredient involved in the Seven Leia Dip. This dip held the key to the goals as it featured in nearly every step and ultimately had to be mastered.

Unlocking of Seven Leia Dip in Snack Wars! goals

Game update: 06/01/16

And so it begins! The opening update of 2016 is here, and it's all about quenching your thirst!

Healthy fruit juice is the main subject of this update, with seven new items up for grabs. Here's the full list, with everything unlocked below level 10:

Wall decorations:

• Juice Sign - 8,200 coins

Floor decorations:

• Life Coach - 4 gems
• Juice Bar - 10 gems
• Produce Stand - 14,200 coins

Wallpapers:

• Carrots n Apples - 1,000 coins

Year in review 2015

Happy New Year everyone! It's been another year of ups and downs in Restaurant Story, with a wide variety of updates and new features. And as I will look to demonstrate in this review, it's been a 12 months which can really be looked at as a tale of two halves.

We'll start this nostalgic look back at 2015 at the very beginning. Being the 30th anniversary year of the theatrical release of Back to the Future, Storm8 decided to provide a commemoration of sorts, with the Time Machine and Mad Scientist released into the market for a limited time. It was a pretty cool way to begin the New Year, and would be a sign of things to come in the following months.

The first update itself was goals orientated and focused on Winter. It was here that the Ice Rink was added as the final prize, and it has gone on to be a very useful item.

Winter section of The Garlic Tree in January