Glow party goals content report

Another set of goals have concluded, and from my perspective they have produced a historic moment. More on that later...

So what did I think of this quest? Well, I guess I could simply say see one of my Suggestions Box entries from last weekend! After all these goals followed the same old structure yet again. I can't deny that the format has become tiresome and monotonous, and consequently I don't feel that surge of excitement when an update is released anymore.

This particular update focused on a glow party theme - at least it's something a bit different! The content which was available right from the outset really impressed me, with some stuff which is very much unique (at least within the confines of Restaurant Story). The Illuminated Tiles caught my attention the most, but the Luminescent Chair and Glowing Jar Display were not far behind.

So high expectations were in place for the decor available exclusively via the goals. First to lose its padlock was the Party Hipster, a 1x1 sized figure wearing some glow sticks round her neck. She's a refreshing inclusion considering how many clones of Phoebe we have, although it must be said she does bare a striking resemblance to the Hip Techie. The change in hair colour isn't fooling me!

 Glow party goals

 18/01/18 Goals
 18/01/18 Update

Next up we have the Underglow Fountain which stretches over a 3x3 sized space. At first this decoration had me shrugging and moving on, but a second look has me thinking differently. There's something stylish about this fountain which may be down to some really well produced rendering of the water. The way it streams down from each tier is really good and even the water shooting out of the top is impressively designed. There are a few fountains kicking about in the game, but this one may just be my favourite.

The final prize is the Glow Party, a 4x4 whopper which depicts no less than seven bots getting their glow on. It's a glittery dance scene which is most notable for the range of costumes in use. Every character has been given their own unique outfit, and that really helps give this piece that little bit more depth. I suppose the only issue is the disco ball seemingly suspended from nothing at all!

So it's a clear thumbs up on the items which were unearthed in the main goals chain, but what of the recipes? The first three came on the Glowing Oven, which was a massive 41,000 coin purchase. The update was an expensive one on the whole, but this really was a shocking price for the first appliance. The goals are just becoming less and less accessible to lower level players.

Anyway we needed 6 Wiring, 6 Rainbolts and 10 Glow Plates to build the Glowing Oven, with the latter a new addition to the ever growing parts list. Notice the inclusion of the Wiring - that fits the pattern I observed in my recent parts analysis.

Here are the three dishes on this cooker:

Glowing Oven recipes

It's fair to say that these are 'out there' dishes! Usually this would irritate me but given the slightly wacky nature of the theme I don't really mind. However I may have to retract that statement when it comes to the Iridescent Jelly which looks like a mini fountain. That's just wrong folks.

Anyhow, the ratings are in:

Glow Noodles
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	6	1	5	5	3.5

Blacklight Sushi
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	5	1	5	5	3.2

Iridescent Jelly
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	5	2	5	5	3.4

Orange and yellow are the order of the day along with a dash of red which isn't usually good news. And repetition is a recurring theme - the Glow Noodles and Iridescent Jelly each have eight fellow recipes of the same length with the same statistical make-up, while the Blacklight Sushi has a mind-boggling 15! And in most cases the doppelgangers are dishes from recent times.

Given the duplication I'm not going to waste my breath providing any further breakdown - rest assured none of these entries is worthy of cooking in batch post mastery.

Maybe the second appliance will be more fruitful? The Glowing Drink Maker weighs in at 44,000 coins which only adds to the financial woe inflicted by the Glowing Oven before it. Its construction calls for 8 Star Dust, 12 Glow Tubes and 8 Plum Nozzles, with the middle one introduced with the update. It's nice to see the Star Dust make a return for a goal set where it is relevant - this is the first time it's been utilised since being added for the Starry Oven in April 2017. And you have to go even further back for the Plum Nozzle's last appearance for Halloween in 2016.

Here are the three dishes lying in wait:

Glowing Drink Maker recipes

Again we have some wacky efforts here - the Neon Soda is the one which is most eye-catching thanks to the very groovy cup it's in. Not only is part of the side see-through, but the handle lights up. It's good to see some proper detail put into the design of a recipe.

On we go to the ratings:

Neon Soda
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	5	1	5	5	3.2

Candy Floss Lemon Glow
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	8	1	4	5	3.6

Galaxy Punch
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	10	1	10	5	4.8

Oh dear. This time red and yellow are predominant which is never good news. And repeating numbers is again prevalent - the soda is identical to eight other recipes of 3 hour duration (including... you guessed it, the Blacklight Sushi!) and the Candy Floss Lemon Glow and Galaxy Punch each match three others in their length bracket.

Of course that means that the punch enters a four-way tie for the highest XP gain among 9 hour dishes and a four-way tie for the lowest profit and portions. We've heard it all before with the Ocean Tart (Marine Oven), Kalua Pig (Sunset Grill) and NoEnd Hash (Creepy Oven). Likewise the candy floss is the joint worst profit and portions maker among 7 hour foods.

So as usual the recipes have let us down. But fear not my friends, there's still the ATM! A 1x1 sized item which was the prize for completing the bonus goals, the key question here is, quite simply, why? Unless there's something that's going straight over my head I don't get what this has to do with a glow party theme, apart from the blue hue that has been applied around it. But that's a forced connection by Storm8.

I could have a moan about the inclusion of a decoration not associated with restaurants, but to be honest I don't mind it. With the appropriate outdoor section in your place the ATM could prove to be a useful inclusion to help add to the realism. However there's no getting away from the fact that it is an underwhelming reward for battling through the bonus goals.

And that leads me on to my final point, which is news of a slice of a history. I failed to complete the main goal chain. Oh the shame! The Glow Party will always be padlocked at the end of my floor decorations tab!

Glow Party locked in the market

In five-and-a-half years this is the first time I have ever failed to complete the main strand of a full length goal set. It's fair to say I've had a good run, but a combination of sloppiness and lack of motivation has ended my streak. I always thought I'd be really disappointed if this ever happened, but in reality I'm not that bothered. If the Glow Party were a magnificent enough decoration I may have taken a different view, but then again I'd probably have fought harder to earn it.

So a downbeat conclusion to this quest for me, but looking at the greater picture I think it was a pretty good one. Certainly the theme was original and interesting, and although the recipes failed to hit the spot statistically they did draw the eye aesthetically. All in all a decent goal set I think.