Game update: 14/03/17

We're not finished yet people! In an unexpected move, the gamemakers have provided us with a Tuesday update, one of the very few ever in Restaurant Story. Technically speaking it's not your typical update since there's no completely new content, but given the current situation I'm more than happy to give it the full bells and whistles treatment!

Notification for St Patrick's Day 2017 sale

So with St Patrick's Day this coming Friday, Storm8 have provided a special sale of Irish themed content from yesteryear. Since there have only previously been three St Patrick's Day themed updates, the array of decor on offer is less mouthwatering than we've had in recent sales, but I know that I personally am not worrying about that.

Here is the complete selection of 17 deals (with discounts reaching as high as half price) lasting for six days:

St Patrick's Day 2017 sale items

The only category not represented is flooring, and that's because we've never had an Irish themed tile.

You can kind of make out two distinct themes that have featured in the past, those being rainbows and shamrocks. Both are well represented here, and I suspect the rainbow style will be particularly well received by the players as the Rainbow Table and Rainbow Chair have been clamoured for on plenty of occasions.

This sale has certainly come out of the blue (or maybe out of the green?!) Our last update of any description was the Mardi Gras goals effort which arrived 15 days ago. The complete silence since then had resulted in concerns for the game's future growing with every passing day, but now we have some confirmation of something at least - Storm8 are not finished with Restaurant Story, at least not yet.

If Restaurant Story had been chosen to receive the chop following Storm8's lay-offs, we certainly wouldn't be seeing a re-release. Of course it's possible that no decisions on the future of the various games in the Storm8 fleet have been taken yet, but I like to be optimistic, and this sale does bode well.

Despite all of this positivity, there is the caveat that this is a re-release rather than a full-on update with brand new stuff. If that's all we get from now on then there will be plenty of frustration in the medium and long term. However I'm just pleased to see anything at this rocky time!

Back to the content in this sale then, and the Shamrock Oven makes an appearance. This cooker is a constructible appliance requiring 6 Shamrocks and 6 Gears. At the time of writing the Shamrock isn't actually available in the gift list so can only be obtained by sending out requests. That's a slight source of annoyance, but not something to get too worked up about, not least because the game's developers will probably add it before long.

It's worth me pointing out that there are three recipes on the Shamrock Oven, and they are not particularly strong on the ratings front. Since they are not new dishes I won't get deep on the numbers, but you can find all the details in my recipe list.

In addition, the Egg Salad Sandwich has been added to the front of the Basic Stove. The implication here is that this dish (which was originally released in a St Patrick's Day themed update in 2012) has been put back into the game for a limited time. However I have my doubts - it was brought back in 2014 and according to my records was still available to cook right up to today. Could well be an administrative blunder on my part though!

Also among the deals is the Lucky Chest, available at 50% off. It was included in the titanic Black Friday sale in November, but nevertheless it's nice to see this crate which has not spent all that much time in the market overall getting some airtime. Just in case you're wondering what's inside, here's the image for the box that is published on the Storm8 Forum:

Items from Lucky Chest as shown on Storm8 Forum

And the distribution list is as follows:

First Prize

• Leprechaun House

Second Prize

• Irish Band
• Irish Dancers

Third Prize

• Hug Me, I'm Irish
• Irish Welcome

Fourth Prize

• Pot of Gold
• Irish Terrier
• Lucky Lamp
• Irish Treats

This is a pretty good box in my view. As ever it's the first and second prizes which pull you in, with the Irish Dancers especially attractive, perhaps because it can be utilised in lots of settings beyond a St Patrick's Day theme. The lower ranking decorations are not worth the asking price, but I guess that's where the 12 gem cost comes in - the likes of the Lucky Lamp may not scream of gem quality, but at least you can be sure that you've sacrificed half the number of gems in obtaining it.

So Tuesday has become the new update day. Well, at least until the next update! It seems that there is no rhyme or reason at present which given the turmoil currently ongoing at Storm8 Towers is somewhat expected. We're all on tenterhooks now waiting for what's next, but we've got the luck of the Irish on our side, so things are looking up!