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| Introduction to second New Year 2018 goals |
This was of course the second New Year based update for 2018, although unlike the first this one was a full 15 day effort and focused a little more on the aftermath, with everyone setting resolutions for the upcoming year.
I was really impressed by the quality of the content that was freely available in the market, which meant I embarked upon the quest with high expectations. Unfortunately the other thing that was high were the costs of the added stuff, something which was prevalent throughout the goals. This was perhaps best illustrated by the second appliance, the Resolution Oven, which came with a 47,000 coin asking price. That's bordering on ridiculous and really hurts lower level players still finding a foothold in the game.
Beyond the financial concerns, the main talking point from this goal set was probably a glitch not seen previously in Restaurant Story. Initially the sidestep which calls for community visits and the leaving of tips would produce a sync error whenever the tipping task was completed. Consequently players were unable to move beyond this goal for more than 24 hours, after which the bug was addressed. I've not seen something like this before (except in Bakery Story last week) so hopefully it's a one-off.
On to the content then, starting with the Resolution Stove which calls for 10 Healthy Knobs, 6 Broiler Pans and 6 Wiring to build. The former is a new part and a rather confusing one at that. This is because there is already a Carrot Knob in the game which looks remarkably similar to the Healthy Knob.
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| Healthy Knob and Carrot Knob |
And to make things all the more confusing, the Carrot Knob's only previous appearance was with the Resolute Stove, another New Year themed cooker from yesteryear. Meanwhile we have the fifth use of the Broiler Pan and yet another airing for the Wiring. This part is proving a regular - I'm planning to provide some long overdue parts analysis this weekend so more on that then!
The recipes on the Resolution Stove are, well, underwhelming:
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| Resolution Stove recipes |
With thanks to MamaFoodie over on the Storm8 Forum, the Detox Soup is a copy of the Zucchini Soup (Spring Stove) and the Book Worm Salad is a near clone of the Seaweed Salad (Sunken Stove). The only small difference in each case is a slight recolouring. No doppelganger has been identified for the Resolute Smoothie, but I daresay given it's plain appearance that it has one somewhere.
Looking past the self-plagiarism, the gamemakers have opted to make these three dishes look incredibly unappetising. I suppose it sums up food in real life really - if it's tasty it must be bad for you and it it's disgusting it's probably the best thing for you!
Here are the recipe ratings:
| Detox Soup | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3.5 |
| Book Worm Salad | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3.2 |
| Resolute Smoothie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3.4 |
I won't dwell too long on these numbers since we've seen them all before. Lots. Both the soup and the smoothie have seven compatriots in their respective durations which have identical statistics, while the salad has a whopping 12 fellow 3 hour foods with matching figures. The long and short of it is that this trio is joining a long line of substandard recipes from a statistical perspective.
So let's turn our attention to the Resolution Oven, the second appliance to lose its padlock in the quest. Construction requires 12 Cooking Gloves, 8 Fuses and 8 Golden Knobs, with those gloves a new part. I get the funny feeling that being a generic part it could well be utilised a fair bit in the future. And much like the Wiring earlier, the Fuse is proving a popular choice at Storm8 Towers. Hopefully my promised parts analysis will highlight that.
Here come the recipes:
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| Resolution Oven recipes |
We do have two original designs this time, but I'm still feeling gloomy. The Travel Cookies takes us up to 20 cookie dishes, and the Budget Salmon is a depressing sight, especially when it's slapped on the industrial silver tray when on your counters.
And it only gets worse when we investigate the Skilled Gumbo. We already have Gumbo on the Basic Stove, and this edition has the same appearance, with the exception of a green rim around the serving plate rather than blue. Not exactly revolutionary, eh?!
And what adds further insult to injury is that the Gumbo (the original one that is!) has outstanding numbers, whereas the Skilled Gumbo does not...
| Travel Cookies | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 2 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 3.6 |
| Skilled Gumbo | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit | XP gain | Portions | Profit per plate | Availability | Rating |
| 2 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 4.3 |
The new gumbo ties for the eighth leading XP return, but is a stinker on the profit and portions front. And there are two dishes with identical stats. At least the cookies only have one clone, that being the Apple Cider Float on the Frozen Lake Fountain. But the scores are mediocre at best.
The headline from the Resolution Oven's offerings is provided by the Budget Salmon. You'll have noticed that I've not included any ratings for it, and that's because there's nothing to compare it to! The salmon is the first 11 hour recipe ever released in Restaurant Story! That took me by surprise, and now means that every hour up to 14 is accounted for in the game. Next stop - a 15 hour dish!
Of course we can compare the salmon using it's per hour numbers, and so I threw it in with the 10 and 12 hour candidates to see how it fared. For profit and portions it came out near the bottom of the pile, but it's XP per hour is actually the fourth best in this pool of dishes at 14.2 XP per hour of cooking.
Now to the goal prizes, starting with the Rainy Day Jar. A small but effective piece, this 1x1 floor decoration comes complete with a slot in the lid, is filled with gold coins and is wrapped in a pretty bow. It's not a scene stealer but could be very useful moving forward for enhancing some diner designs.
New Year 2018
Next to be unlocked was the Travel Couple. He's pulling around the suitcase and she is in charge of the map. This is a very cute 2x1 sized pair, and as with the jar could prove a handy item to have in certain situations. Moreover, I suspect it will be a frequently spotted decoration around the community in the coming weeks as we close in on Valentine's Day.
The final goal prize was the Skill Up! This is a 4x4 sized kitchen scene with three bots, one of which is of mixed race (always appreciated given the many complaints at the lack of ethnic diversity in the past). The idea with this item is that everyone in the family is learning to cook including the kid using their tablet (still wired for sound though!) I'm not all that convinced by the mix of metal and wood but there's plenty of fine detail to be impressed by, ranging from the hobs and chopping boards to the sink and full cupboard. Overall it is a very good prize, especially for those players who haven't been able to get hold of a big kitchen unit such as the Chef Station previously.
All that remains are the bonus goals, entitled 'Full of Resolve', which as usual consisted of three steps to unearth the Dinner Party. This was the final prize in the mystery crime themed goals way back in March 2015 and I don't believe there's been another opportunity to get hold of it since.
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| Introduction to 'Full of Resolve' bonus goals |
Nevertheless, I did bank it almost three years ago, and had no desire to net another. Therefore without much need for internal debate, I skipped the bonus goals. It's not the first time, but this is an element of this feature that I really like - you can opt out of participating and not feel like you're missing out on something.
Despite not getting involved, I couldn't help but be a little deflated by the return of the likes of the Cheeseburgers and Grilled Salmon to the fold. Recent editions of the bonus goals included some seasonal dishes which had given the tasks a little more character.
The problem for the gamemakers here is that they are restricted in what they can include because of the level of unlock for most recipes. I'm not certain about now, but in the past goals would be accessible from level 12, and so in theory you couldn't include any dish unlocked beyond level 12 without denying a low leveller the opportunity to complete the challenge. Maybe there needs to be a slight variation in the make-up of the bonus goals depending upon your level. A Suggestions Box entry in the making me thinks!
That does it for the first quest of 2018. It's been a good one in the main, with the decor up for grabs really doing justice to the final fling of the festive period. It's just a shame that yet again the accompanying recipes have been lazily designed and numbered. And here was me thinking that the New Year would bring about a new start for the food!
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