While Cafe World's Super Stoves are great and all, offering you one-click cooking that skips all of the ingredient preparation of past gameplay, they still take up the same amount of room as a normal stove, only saving you time, rather than space. In comes Siggy, Cafe World's inventor, to help alleviate that space issue with the introduction of the 4x Mega Stove to the game.
The 4x Mega Stove is as its name suggests - a single stove that allows you to cook four dishes at once. You'll receive one of these stoves for free the next time you login to the game. It will take up the space of one of your allowed stoves in your stove-count, so if you are already at your maximum, you'll have to drag another stove out of your cafe and replace it with this Mega Stove.
Of course, something this fantastic doesn't really come for free, as there's a bit of a (big) catch. While the 4x Mega Stove does have four burners (one each for four different dishes), you'll need to unlock each burner by completing a series of missions. Meet us behind the break to see what those missions are and how to complete them.
To unlock the first burner, you'll need to finish just a single quest, called "Grate Scott!" You'll be able to access this quest (and all over Mega Stove quests) by clicking on the stove to receive the menu at the top of this post. From there, simply click on the "Unlock" button for the burner you're working on, and you'll be able to see your current missions. Grate Scott! asks you to complete three tasks:
Serve BBQ Chicken 10 times
Serve Macaroni and Cheese 15 Times
Get 6 Grates
You'll be able to earn the Grates by clicking on the "Ask" button and then sending out individual gift requests to your friends to help you. While you're waiting, you can work on serving these 25 dishes - BBQ Chicken cooks in 5 hours, while Macaroni and Cheese takes just 2 hours.
From there, you'll be able to work on unlocking the second burner, which requires two quests to be completed.
Siggy's Chips:
Serve Tony's Classic Pizza (five-hour dish)
Serve Chashu Ramen 15 Times (six-hour dish)
Get 8 Computer Chips
Not Enough Metal:
Spice Neighbors' Stoves 4 Times
Serve Rackasaurus Ribs 15 Times (10 hour dish)
Get 10 Metal Plates
This unlocks the second burner on your 4X Mega Stove. To unlock the final two burners, you'll need to complete the following missions:
More Controls!:
Restock Salad Bar 5 Times
Spice Neighbors' Stoves 7 Times
Get 12 Control Knobs
Instant Ignition:
Earn 500,000 coins
Serve Cappuccino 20 Times
Get 14 Igniters
Science Never Sleeps:
Serve Orange Juice 30 Times
Serve Depth Charge 20 Times
Get 16 Drip Bowls
Powering Up!
Serve Chicken Pot Pie 20 Times (two-day dish)
Serve Lox Bagel 30 Times (three-hour dish)
Get 18 LED Displays
As you can see, while it may seem like you've been given a great blessing in having a single stove that cooks four dishes at once, you will definitely have to put forth a lot of effort on your own to actually make the most of this new item. Luckily, there doesn't seem to be any expiration date for when you can still complete your 4x Mega Stove without penalty, so you should be able to tackle these missions casually, as you also work on other things.
Is the 4x Mega Stove worth it? Will you complete it right away, or wait until you finish other (more pressing) missions first?
Earn Money from Home
Thursday, January 5, 2012
CityVille: Premium Goods double in production, maximum capacity raised
If you were unsatisfied with the amount of Premium Goods you could both produce and store in CityVille's relatively new Factory feature, you'll be happy to know that Zynga has changed both of these elements for the better, allowing you to earn more Premium Goods when you gather your friends' help on each job.
Now, Factories now pay out double the amount of Premium Goods per worker (that is, friend) that you have helping on your job. That is, if a job used to pay out a bonus of 55 Premium Goods for each worker you had helping, you'd now receive 110 Premium Goods on that same job, by collecting just a single friend.
To account for the excess Premium Goods you'll now have on hand, Zynga has also doubled the amount of storage you'll have by default for Premium Goods to a total of 2,000 Premium Goods. This is on top of your normal Goods storage, and is not affected by how large that storage bar happens to be - it is an entirely separate meter.
It seems as though Zynga is started to move in the right direction, adding things that help the game rather than hurt it (at least in the eyes of the majority of players). We'll make sure to let you know if this trend continues in the future.
What do you think of these alterations to the Factory system? Have you even built the Factory in your town, or did you think it was too large to care about?
Now, Factories now pay out double the amount of Premium Goods per worker (that is, friend) that you have helping on your job. That is, if a job used to pay out a bonus of 55 Premium Goods for each worker you had helping, you'd now receive 110 Premium Goods on that same job, by collecting just a single friend.
To account for the excess Premium Goods you'll now have on hand, Zynga has also doubled the amount of storage you'll have by default for Premium Goods to a total of 2,000 Premium Goods. This is on top of your normal Goods storage, and is not affected by how large that storage bar happens to be - it is an entirely separate meter.
It seems as though Zynga is started to move in the right direction, adding things that help the game rather than hurt it (at least in the eyes of the majority of players). We'll make sure to let you know if this trend continues in the future.
What do you think of these alterations to the Factory system? Have you even built the Factory in your town, or did you think it was too large to care about?
CityVille: New decorations accompany Dance Studio Goals
Yesterday, we brought you a complete guide to CityVille's new quest line surrounding the introduction of a Russian Dance Studio to your city. If you are interested in adding more items to your town in the same Russian theme, you'll be happy to know that a duo of new decorative items are now available in the game's store.
These items are inspired by Russian Stacking Dolls, and in fact, one of these items is one such doll. The Stacking Doll is a decorative item that can be placed near a business to add a 1% boost to its payout. You can purchase a single Stacking Doll from the store for 300 coins.
The other item is the Pigeon Popper, which looks incredibly similar to the Stacking Doll (in terms of the item's shape), but is of course themed after a Pigeon, rather than a Russian woman. It is also much more expensive, being a premium item costing 8 City Cash. The Pigeon Popper adds a 2% bonus to all surrounding buildings.
For a complete look at the other items released in this theme, which include the Dance Studio itself and the Fine Arts Theatre, make sure to check out our guide.
What do you think of these new decorations? Do you like cultural decorations in your game, or would you be happy with a never-ending supply of new flowers, trees, and the like?
These items are inspired by Russian Stacking Dolls, and in fact, one of these items is one such doll. The Stacking Doll is a decorative item that can be placed near a business to add a 1% boost to its payout. You can purchase a single Stacking Doll from the store for 300 coins.
The other item is the Pigeon Popper, which looks incredibly similar to the Stacking Doll (in terms of the item's shape), but is of course themed after a Pigeon, rather than a Russian woman. It is also much more expensive, being a premium item costing 8 City Cash. The Pigeon Popper adds a 2% bonus to all surrounding buildings.
For a complete look at the other items released in this theme, which include the Dance Studio itself and the Fine Arts Theatre, make sure to check out our guide.
What do you think of these new decorations? Do you like cultural decorations in your game, or would you be happy with a never-ending supply of new flowers, trees, and the like?
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Squirtle, Sonic and The Sims Social: Tile Art makes great alliteration
And you know how we writers just love our awesomely addictive alliteration ... we'll stop now. The Sims Social Fansite has found two new pieces of Tile Art in The Sims Social crafted by Pokaymon and TeodorusFN. As with most Tile Art in Playfish's hit Facebook game, these two pieces are loving tributes to two retro gaming characters. The fact that we just called Squirtle "retro" really ages us, doesn't it?
That said, let's start with the little blue turtle from the land of Pokémon. Pokaymon--how fitting--has created a spitting image of Squirtle as he appears in the ubiquitous Game Boy game. However, the artist's only downfall may have been his excessive use of black tiles to outline the turtle's body. But from a distance, we're right back in 1998, throwing Poké Balls to catch 'em all.
Sonic the Hedgehog Tile Art
TeodorusFN has hit our nostalgia bone so hard, that we went and booted up any Sonic game we could get our hands on. (Seriously, Sonic CD is out on the iPhone today, and it looks all sorts of rosy.) Again, these pieces work best with pixelated characters and even better from a distance. Regardless, it looks as if we never left Green Hill Zone.
We have just one, small complaint: Sonic the Hedgehog is a bit of a deeper blue, no? At any rate, both of these pieces of Tile Art hit the inner child hard. Like, run to the nearest game store and pick up a copy--any copy--of Pokémon hard.
What do you think of these two pieces of Tile Art? What's the most impressive creation you've seen in The Sims Social thus far?
That said, let's start with the little blue turtle from the land of Pokémon. Pokaymon--how fitting--has created a spitting image of Squirtle as he appears in the ubiquitous Game Boy game. However, the artist's only downfall may have been his excessive use of black tiles to outline the turtle's body. But from a distance, we're right back in 1998, throwing Poké Balls to catch 'em all.
Sonic the Hedgehog Tile Art
TeodorusFN has hit our nostalgia bone so hard, that we went and booted up any Sonic game we could get our hands on. (Seriously, Sonic CD is out on the iPhone today, and it looks all sorts of rosy.) Again, these pieces work best with pixelated characters and even better from a distance. Regardless, it looks as if we never left Green Hill Zone.
We have just one, small complaint: Sonic the Hedgehog is a bit of a deeper blue, no? At any rate, both of these pieces of Tile Art hit the inner child hard. Like, run to the nearest game store and pick up a copy--any copy--of Pokémon hard.
What do you think of these two pieces of Tile Art? What's the most impressive creation you've seen in The Sims Social thus far?
The Sims Social gets fancy, classes it up in Victorian Elegance Week
Mmm, yes. I do believe that The Sims Sooocial has finally become ... acceptable enough to be associated with "Victorian Elegance." Playfish's hit social game just got a wee bit pretentious, but don't worry: It'll only last a week, and at least you can get some sweet items out of it. It's Victorian Elegance Week in the game, and that means a slew of fancy decorations and attire have arrived.
Players can deck their Sims' houses out to look like something from the 1800s, complete with fine hardwood floors, canopy beds and phonograph record players. Based on the two screen shots provided by Playfish, players will get to transform their bathrooms into far classier restrooms, complete with gold-legged bathtubs surrounded by curtains and ornate tile. In short, you'll be the classiest dude or dudette in Little Haven with these items. We're getting the sense this was all to channel Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol."
The Sims Social Victorian Elegance 2
Playfish is also giving Hanukkah some love this week with four brand new decorations. Soon, players will be able to honor the eight day-long Festival of Lights with a golden menorah, blue and white ornaments, dreidels and a blue and green Hanukkah wreath. We're not really sure how Hanukkah fits in with Victorian design and architecture, but we'll take what we can get. Look out for these items (and likely a brand new quest) sometime this week.
Are you digging where The Sims Social is going with this theme? What other themes would you like to see the game take on?
Players can deck their Sims' houses out to look like something from the 1800s, complete with fine hardwood floors, canopy beds and phonograph record players. Based on the two screen shots provided by Playfish, players will get to transform their bathrooms into far classier restrooms, complete with gold-legged bathtubs surrounded by curtains and ornate tile. In short, you'll be the classiest dude or dudette in Little Haven with these items. We're getting the sense this was all to channel Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol."
The Sims Social Victorian Elegance 2
Playfish is also giving Hanukkah some love this week with four brand new decorations. Soon, players will be able to honor the eight day-long Festival of Lights with a golden menorah, blue and white ornaments, dreidels and a blue and green Hanukkah wreath. We're not really sure how Hanukkah fits in with Victorian design and architecture, but we'll take what we can get. Look out for these items (and likely a brand new quest) sometime this week.
Are you digging where The Sims Social is going with this theme? What other themes would you like to see the game take on?
The Sims Social Ebenezer Smooge Walkthrough: How to finish it fast
This week in The Sims Social, we celebrate how the holidays used to be in the good old days. Playfish has pushed the Victorian Elegance update to its hit Facebook game, and along with a number of of new decorations and outfits, a new quest has arrived. In "Ebenezer Smooge," you must help your Sim help a ghost warm the heart of Ebenezer Smooge, one curmudgeon of a Sim.
To succeed in this quest of six steps, you'll need at least six neighbors, 850 Simoleons, five Fury and eight Goodwill. Not too shabby for a six-part quest. However, you only have one week to complete it, so let's get right into how you can complete "Ebenezer Smooge" as quickly as possible:
Ebenezer Smooge 1
Ebenezer Smooge 1
Have an item from the Victorian Elegance Theme
Yell 'Bah Humbug at 2 Sims
Have 5 Fury
To pick up an item from the Victorian Elegance theme, hit the Shop button and buy anything with the "New" label. Visit two of your friends' houses, click on them and select the "Bah Humbug" option. Fury is most easily found by being mean to friends or playing guitar.
Ebenezer Smooge 2
Ebenezer Smooge 2
Write 3 Love Letters
Try to kiss 3 Sims
Read 3 Rejection Letters
To write three love letters, just choose the option on your Sim's home computer. Then, try and kiss three of your neighbors by visiting them, clicking on their Sims and choosing the option "Try to Kiss." (Protip: The attempts don't have to be successful.) Once you're done trying to kiss friends, check your mailbox for those rejection letters.
Ebenezer Smooge 3
Ebenezer Smooge 3
Ask friends if they're going to be holding any parties over the holiday period
Check Email for new invitations
Go to bed alone
Asking friends if they're going to parties is as simple is clicking the option in the quest window. However, you will have to wait for responses from your friends through the Facebook Wall. To check for new email invitations, just choose the option on your Sim's computer. Going to be alone should be simple enough: Click the bed and choose "Sleep".
Bernard the DogEbenezer Smooge 4
Check Voice Mail and find if you had no calls
Repair or Clean 3 items in your home
Read the Obituaries
To check voice mail, just choose the option on your Sim's phone three times. If you have no broken or dirty appliances in your house, you'll have to keep using them in order to fix them. Finally, to read the obituaries, you must use your Sim's computer and the special option.
Ebenezer Smooge 5
Become Inspired
Have one clothe from this week new rang
Give 5 Sims a festive hug
To become Inspired, your Sim must have the max level in all of its basic needs, including Social. The cheapest clothing item from the new Victorian Elegance theme is the Jinx Turkey Hat for 300 Social Points. In order to give your friends a Festive Hug, you must be wearing the special new piece of clothing.
Ebenezer Smooge 6
Have 6 Goodwill
Give 6 Sims a Holiday Gift
Play holiday songs on instruments 5 times
Goodwill is most easily found by doing helpful or nice things for friends while visiting or by making beds, both yours and friends. The gift giving will become a new option when interacting with friends. To play holiday songs, you must do it on your own instruments at home. With that, you've successfully discovered why Smooge is so grouchy, and turned him around. Your reward for all of this is Bernard the Dog, a toy.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2011 coverage right here.
[Source: Aude06]
Have you started the Ebenezer Smooge quest yet? What tips do you have for completing it any faster?
To succeed in this quest of six steps, you'll need at least six neighbors, 850 Simoleons, five Fury and eight Goodwill. Not too shabby for a six-part quest. However, you only have one week to complete it, so let's get right into how you can complete "Ebenezer Smooge" as quickly as possible:
Ebenezer Smooge 1
Ebenezer Smooge 1
Have an item from the Victorian Elegance Theme
Yell 'Bah Humbug at 2 Sims
Have 5 Fury
To pick up an item from the Victorian Elegance theme, hit the Shop button and buy anything with the "New" label. Visit two of your friends' houses, click on them and select the "Bah Humbug" option. Fury is most easily found by being mean to friends or playing guitar.
Ebenezer Smooge 2
Ebenezer Smooge 2
Write 3 Love Letters
Try to kiss 3 Sims
Read 3 Rejection Letters
To write three love letters, just choose the option on your Sim's home computer. Then, try and kiss three of your neighbors by visiting them, clicking on their Sims and choosing the option "Try to Kiss." (Protip: The attempts don't have to be successful.) Once you're done trying to kiss friends, check your mailbox for those rejection letters.
Ebenezer Smooge 3
Ebenezer Smooge 3
Ask friends if they're going to be holding any parties over the holiday period
Check Email for new invitations
Go to bed alone
Asking friends if they're going to parties is as simple is clicking the option in the quest window. However, you will have to wait for responses from your friends through the Facebook Wall. To check for new email invitations, just choose the option on your Sim's computer. Going to be alone should be simple enough: Click the bed and choose "Sleep".
Bernard the DogEbenezer Smooge 4
Check Voice Mail and find if you had no calls
Repair or Clean 3 items in your home
Read the Obituaries
To check voice mail, just choose the option on your Sim's phone three times. If you have no broken or dirty appliances in your house, you'll have to keep using them in order to fix them. Finally, to read the obituaries, you must use your Sim's computer and the special option.
Ebenezer Smooge 5
Become Inspired
Have one clothe from this week new rang
Give 5 Sims a festive hug
To become Inspired, your Sim must have the max level in all of its basic needs, including Social. The cheapest clothing item from the new Victorian Elegance theme is the Jinx Turkey Hat for 300 Social Points. In order to give your friends a Festive Hug, you must be wearing the special new piece of clothing.
Ebenezer Smooge 6
Have 6 Goodwill
Give 6 Sims a Holiday Gift
Play holiday songs on instruments 5 times
Goodwill is most easily found by doing helpful or nice things for friends while visiting or by making beds, both yours and friends. The gift giving will become a new option when interacting with friends. To play holiday songs, you must do it on your own instruments at home. With that, you've successfully discovered why Smooge is so grouchy, and turned him around. Your reward for all of this is Bernard the Dog, a toy.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2011 coverage right here.
[Source: Aude06]
Have you started the Ebenezer Smooge quest yet? What tips do you have for completing it any faster?
The Sims Social Tile Art: Just in case you didn't know that was R2D2
We'd say that looks like the beepin' boopin' droid if it were ever in an 8-bit game, wouldn't you? Well, it's not: It's in The Sims Social, and player SamRi has created R2D2 from the classic film we shouldn't even have to name Star Wars. In case you haven't been following, it's called Tile Art, and all the rage in EA and Playfish's hit Facebook game. Rather than craft a retro video game character from the social simulator's myriad tiles, as so many are wont to do, SamRi opted to pay homage to a retro film character.
In fact, perhaps one of the most cherished retro movie characters of all time. And just in case you might not recognize it, the creator went ahead and labeled his or her creation for you. (Do people that haven't seen Star Wars exist?) What's most amazing about SamRi's creation is that it's both terribly accurate and interpretive at the same time.
Sims Social Tile Art Link
Next up is Link from the Legend of Zelda series, and tile for tile (or pixel for pixel), player Yngven93's rendition is picture perfect. This version of Link looks like it comes from one of the Zelda games released on the original Game Boy, but with some holiday chic. While this piece is brilliantly accurate to the original, it could probably do without the outline of black tiles. Regardless, we're suddenly wishing we had never traded in that old Game Boy to Funcoland. There we go aging ourselves again.
[Via The Sims Social Fansite]
[Image Credits: SamRi, Yngven93]
Are you impressed by these pieces of The Sims Social Tile Art? What's the most incredible piece of player-made artwork you've seen in a Facebook game?
In fact, perhaps one of the most cherished retro movie characters of all time. And just in case you might not recognize it, the creator went ahead and labeled his or her creation for you. (Do people that haven't seen Star Wars exist?) What's most amazing about SamRi's creation is that it's both terribly accurate and interpretive at the same time.
Sims Social Tile Art Link
Next up is Link from the Legend of Zelda series, and tile for tile (or pixel for pixel), player Yngven93's rendition is picture perfect. This version of Link looks like it comes from one of the Zelda games released on the original Game Boy, but with some holiday chic. While this piece is brilliantly accurate to the original, it could probably do without the outline of black tiles. Regardless, we're suddenly wishing we had never traded in that old Game Boy to Funcoland. There we go aging ourselves again.
[Via The Sims Social Fansite]
[Image Credits: SamRi, Yngven93]
Are you impressed by these pieces of The Sims Social Tile Art? What's the most incredible piece of player-made artwork you've seen in a Facebook game?
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