April 2017 showcase

It's showtime! I'm pleased to present another showcase as four loyal blog readers get their time to shine.

Before the curtain is raised, I have to give a special shout out to Creme who recommended two of the players featured in this edition of the showcase - both are making their debut so let's give them a heartfelt welcome!

Right, let's get this show on the road, starting with a beautiful Easter theme at cafe lula.

cafe lula

Space goals (in full)

Please note that this set of goals expired on Tuesday 2nd May 2017.

We're off to the final frontier with the latest update, and at the edge of the universe is none other than a new set of goals!

There are only eight days available to complete this quest - the promise of two floor decorations, one counter, one appliance and three recipes should have you strapping in for take-off. Expect to be grounded after Tuesday 2nd May.

Here is the complete list of steps:

• Step 1: I'm So Star Struck
• Step 2: Deep Space Storm8
• Step 3: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Cookies
• Step 4: Dancing With The Stars
• Step 5: The Moon Is Made Of Cheese
• Step 6: Space Suit Up

Game update: 24/04/17

It appears we have exhausted all aspects of life on Earth in Restaurant Story, so we're moving into deep space, and there are goals to find there!

Introduction to space themed goals

Following this surprise Monday release, I reckon the days of updates since we broke away from the old schedule has been Monday-Tuesday-Friday-Tuesday-Tuesday-Monday. See a pattern there? I don't! The only notable thing I can gather from that is that there's not been a single update in the traditional Wednesday slot, and for purely nostalgic reasons that brings a tear to my eye.

Suggestions Box (Apr 2017)

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...

Box odds investigation

There's no doubt about it, the crates are a gamble. Generally 24 gems are handed over, and in return you receive one of a number of possible floor decorations at random. But of course it's not completely random - there are four prize tiers and naturally your odds of receiving a higher placed prize are not so good.

Over on the Storm8 Forum, the Master Box List reports the following probability breakdown for the prize tiers:

Prize Tier	Probability
1st	1%
2nd	10%
3rd	35%
4th	54%

I decided to put this to the test, and fortunately I was in an advantageous position to do so. First of all, I have always kept a record of my box openings, right from the very start. Having played Restaurant Story since summer 2012, I've tapped my fair share of crates.

Fresh produce goals content report

It's now nine days since our last standard update, but it did bring with it a new set of goals which offered the opportunity to unlock a selection of content not available by any other means. Now that most players have likely completed the quest, it seems a good time for us to sit down and dissect it.

So allow me to kick things off with a dollop of befuddlement with regards to the theme of this update. After much deliberation I opted to label the goals as 'fresh produce goals' but that was really a stretch when we look at some of the items added. Between the fruity stuff, stone themed additions and driftwood decor, we were not being led down any clear path.

Could this be an impact of the recent upheaval at Storm8? Just to remind anyone who has been out of the loop of late (Jantiene Witzen I'm speaking to you!) a little while back it was revealed that Storm8 had laid off around half of its workforce due to the tough business climate. For a period this left us deeply concerned for the future of our beloved game, but in the long-term we can surely expect some changes.

Game update: 11/04/17

Egg-cellent! Now that I've got that overeggs-posed pun out of the way, let's delve into an uneggs-pected Easter sale which was released earlier today in Restaurant Story!

Notification for Easter 2017 sale

Much like with the St Patrick's Day sale of eggs-actly four weeks ago, this update consists entirely of re-released content. With only nine items included, the lack of Easter coverage down the years is made fairly stark. Indeed I reckon that we've only ever had two Easter themed updates - one of those was in 2012 and the other consisted of only the Easter Chest. Nevertheless, here is a pretty picture of those orange framed goodies:

Fresh produce goals (in full)

Please note that this set of goals expired on Wednesday 19th April 2017.

On Tuesday a new update was released into the game, and included a fresh set goals pertaining to a fresh produce theme.

There are two floor decorations, two appliances and six recipes which can only be accessed by working through the numerous steps, and with 15 days available, you best get cracking quickly!

Here is the complete list of goal steps:

• Step 1: Farmed Fresh To Us
• Step 2: Repurposed Goods
• Step 3: Freshly Refreshing
• Step 4 : Fresh And Not So-Fresh
• Step 5: Show Them What We've Got
• Step 6: Refresh The Menu
• Step 7: Berry Refreshing
• Step 8: All My Hipster Friends
• Sidestep A: Getting The Word Out

Game update: 04/04/17

Out of nowhere, a new set of goals landed in Restaurant Story yesterday evening, with a fresh produce theme as some much needed life was breathed into the game.

Introduction to fresh produce themed goals

The previous update introduced the Citrus Crate a week past Monday, meaning that we only had to wait eight days for another release. By current standards that's pretty good going, and with this update featuring a quest it is a more inclusive one too.

RS2 News (Apr 2017)

This is your monthly digest of news from the sequel title, Restaurant Story 2. Or at least it should be.

When I provided my last round-up we were twiddling our thumbs having gone a fortnight without any new updates. Sadly our thumbs are worn out now as there has been absolutely nothing since then. That means that the Mardi Gras themed cruise initially released on 23rd February remains the last addition of any description to the game.

Now before I go any further a quick caveat - I actually wrote this post on Thursday as I'm away this weekend. So if there was in fact an update provided on Friday then this is all moot! (And a similar rule applies to the original game - any update between yesterday and this coming Tuesday won't be given the treatment until I'm home on Wednesday!)