Last week, we gave you a look at the second portion of the Cafe World two-year anniversary event, which takes us to the Philippines to help Manny on a Journey. While that may have been an already complex series of goals (and even a building project), Manny's story becomes even more in-depth today, as the accompanying catering order has finally launched. This order asks you to cook up a storm for a Filipino feast, and comes with the usual free recipe for completing this order with a three star rating.
Unfortunately, this is another order that will likely be impossible for some chefs to complete, unless they've already completed Manny's goals enough times to unlock all of the new Filipino recipes launched in this particular event. To be specific, you'll need to serve Lechon 475 times, Sisig 45 times and Filipino Paella 140 times. I suppose you could get lucky and have some really, really helpful friends do the cooking in these tasks for you (while you showered them with thanks, of course), or you could even pay your way through the goals with Cafe Cash to unlock the dishes more quickly that way. Either way, you're looking at some lengthy gameplay before you can even be eligible for completing this catering order on your own.
While you're cooking (or waiting on your friends to cook), you can ask your friends for the two collectible items in this order: 12 Monster Skewers and 16 Banana Leaves. Both of these are earned by sending out individual requests to friends, so earning all 28 may take you a few days, depending on the number of neighbors you have available to ask for help.
If you can complete this entire order within the first three days, you'll earn the three-star rating, 12 Catering Points, 3,200 Cafe Points, 70,000 coins and the Cassava Cake recipe. In addition, since this order is technically part of the two-year anniversary event, finishing with the three star rating also gives you a bonus of 10,000 Travel Passes. If three days proves to be too short, but you can finish within five days, you'll receive two stars, 8 Catering Points, 2,300 Cafe Points and 50,000 coins. Finally, if you finish at any point after the first five days have passed, you'll receive just a single star, 4 Catering Points, 1,400 Cafe Points and 30,000 coins. Again, you must finish with the three star rating to unlock the new recipe and the extra Travel Passes, so feel free to "cancel" your order if you run out of time and start over for another try.
What do you think of this newest catering order? How many of these three required dishes have you already unlocked in your cafe?
Friday, December 16, 2011
CityVille: Finish your Bridge, Dam and more with discounted materials
If you've been putting off building one of the larger structures in CityVille (like the Bridge or Dam, as examples), because you didn't want to gather the required building materials from friends, or simply didn't want to pay the high prices to purchase those materials with City Cash, the team at Zynga is hoping that buy putting these items on sale (well, some of these items anyway), it might be enough to persuade you to open your wallet.
To be specific, a sale is now being held for up to 40% off building materials in the game. The materials are unfortunately limited to a specific set of buildings: the Bridge, Sailboat Hotel, Dam, Mall, Mall 2, Pirate Ship Attraction and Go Kart Attraction, and the rest of the game's many, many buildings are left unaffected. To make matters worse - between the two of us - the sale really isn't that good.
For example, let's say you wanted to finish your Pirate Ship Attraction. This one's building materials still cost 3 City Cash each. Perhaps if that were three City Cash in total for all of a particular ingredient I needed (say, two Ship's Prows or five Overhead Bars), that might be an acceptable price, but in our particular example, we're still looking at six City Cash for the Ship Prows and 15 City Cash for the Overhead Bars. Wouldn't it still be smarter (if not more time consuming) to ask friends for these items instead?
I suppose if you're looking for an easier way of completing these specific buildings, then you'll want to take advantage of this apparently limited time opportunity. Just don't feel any unneeded pressure to purchase building materials; the free way is still available, and doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Will you spend City Cash on any of these discounted building materials, or have you already completed the construction on all of these buildings?
To be specific, a sale is now being held for up to 40% off building materials in the game. The materials are unfortunately limited to a specific set of buildings: the Bridge, Sailboat Hotel, Dam, Mall, Mall 2, Pirate Ship Attraction and Go Kart Attraction, and the rest of the game's many, many buildings are left unaffected. To make matters worse - between the two of us - the sale really isn't that good.
For example, let's say you wanted to finish your Pirate Ship Attraction. This one's building materials still cost 3 City Cash each. Perhaps if that were three City Cash in total for all of a particular ingredient I needed (say, two Ship's Prows or five Overhead Bars), that might be an acceptable price, but in our particular example, we're still looking at six City Cash for the Ship Prows and 15 City Cash for the Overhead Bars. Wouldn't it still be smarter (if not more time consuming) to ask friends for these items instead?
I suppose if you're looking for an easier way of completing these specific buildings, then you'll want to take advantage of this apparently limited time opportunity. Just don't feel any unneeded pressure to purchase building materials; the free way is still available, and doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Will you spend City Cash on any of these discounted building materials, or have you already completed the construction on all of these buildings?
Monday, December 12, 2011
Bravo gifts turtle with instant cable TV fame and a Facebook game
Just when we thought we've seen everything, US cable TV network Bravo is launching a Facebook game where you get to dress up their latest celebrity -- she's a turtle. I don't mean she's reclusive or anything. I mean that literally: She is a turtle, but she's not just any turtle. This is a turtle that caught the eye of Bravo's Executive Vice President of Original Programming, also known as Andy Cohen, and host of Bravo TV's Watch What Happens: Live.
The turle has been selected as the show's new mascot and will make her first appearance on Sept. 25. Her Facebook game will be called "Turtle Time", named after a TV episode of Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York, where one of the drunk stars made a toast at "Fat Turtle", a bar and dance club in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
The Facebook game's objective is to design the turtle's tank and dress her up each week. There will be options to gift decorations to friends in the game, or to use Facebook Credits to buy special items. Results will be posted online, voting will commence, winners will be chosen and live versions of these designs will then be used on the show. Finally, when the season ends in December, Cohen will choose a past winner to fly to New York for a live taping and chance to meet the turtle.
What does the turtle have to say about all this? Here's a quote from Bravo's cheeky press release:
"Ever since I landed on the shores of Sag Harbor, I have been searching for my big break in show biz. When Andy Cohen came walking down those golden sands, I knew my dreams were coming true," Divulged Yet-To-Be-Named Turtle. "I can't wait to move into the Bravo Clubhouse and to be dressed in the latest fashions."
Oh, and before anyone runs to the nearest phone to alert PETA, Bravo has contacted the American Humane Association for an animal safety monitor who'll oversee the tapings according to the Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals In Filmed Media. There's no word if there's someone to monitor the turtle's dignity, but I think that's irretrievable at this point.
[Hat-tip: The Hollywood Reporter]
Is this cruel and/or unusual treatment of animals? Or just some harmless and wacky fun? Have you lost your faith in humanity yet?
The turle has been selected as the show's new mascot and will make her first appearance on Sept. 25. Her Facebook game will be called "Turtle Time", named after a TV episode of Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York, where one of the drunk stars made a toast at "Fat Turtle", a bar and dance club in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
The Facebook game's objective is to design the turtle's tank and dress her up each week. There will be options to gift decorations to friends in the game, or to use Facebook Credits to buy special items. Results will be posted online, voting will commence, winners will be chosen and live versions of these designs will then be used on the show. Finally, when the season ends in December, Cohen will choose a past winner to fly to New York for a live taping and chance to meet the turtle.
What does the turtle have to say about all this? Here's a quote from Bravo's cheeky press release:
"Ever since I landed on the shores of Sag Harbor, I have been searching for my big break in show biz. When Andy Cohen came walking down those golden sands, I knew my dreams were coming true," Divulged Yet-To-Be-Named Turtle. "I can't wait to move into the Bravo Clubhouse and to be dressed in the latest fashions."
Oh, and before anyone runs to the nearest phone to alert PETA, Bravo has contacted the American Humane Association for an animal safety monitor who'll oversee the tapings according to the Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals In Filmed Media. There's no word if there's someone to monitor the turtle's dignity, but I think that's irretrievable at this point.
[Hat-tip: The Hollywood Reporter]
Is this cruel and/or unusual treatment of animals? Or just some harmless and wacky fun? Have you lost your faith in humanity yet?
Zynga profits plummet 90 percent, raises questions about imminent IPO
Will the big show still go on? That's what many wonder, as Zynga just revealed in an updated regulatory filing that its profits dipped by 90 percent in the June quarter, thanks to increased spending and a lack of major game releases earlier this year, Reuters reports. According to the news service, this raises questions as to whether the company can sustain growth ahead of its long-awaited IPO (initial public offering).
Zynga's net income took a nose dive to $1.4 million from $14 million a year earlier, and its net profit plummeted over 90 percent in three months from $16.8 million in March of this year. Reuters chalks this up to the fact that the filing shows that the FarmVille maker's expenses rose $149 million compared to a year earlier, and $59 million alone from the previous financial quarter.
We'd imagine a major chunk of those expenses are thanks to the 14 companies Zynga gobbled up in the past year. It's also worth noting that the developer didn't really release any major Facebook games in 2011 prior to Empires & Allies. (And no, we're not counting FarmVille English Countryside.) Since then, however, the company has been on a frenzy, launching three more Facebook games this summer: Words With Friends, Pioneer Trail and recently Adventure World.
This news speaks volumes to the fact that Zynga has reached a point where it constantly needs to produce in order to sustain its meteoric growth, and more importantly for them right now, the faith of investors. Since the company's last filing, Zynga conducted a third-party analysis that estimated the probability of an IPO at 75 percent. This is down from the 80 percent probability reported in Zynga's previous filing.
In other words, it looks like the anticipated Zynga IPO could be delayed, just as previous reports suggested, to wait for improved market conditions. However, EA is gaining on the company with The Sims Social, and fast. According to AppData, EA and Playfish's game has just about 1.6 million fewer daily players than CityVille's 12.9 million.
Do you think Zynga has anything to worry about, given the news? Would you ever invest in Zynga if given the chance?
Zynga's net income took a nose dive to $1.4 million from $14 million a year earlier, and its net profit plummeted over 90 percent in three months from $16.8 million in March of this year. Reuters chalks this up to the fact that the filing shows that the FarmVille maker's expenses rose $149 million compared to a year earlier, and $59 million alone from the previous financial quarter.
We'd imagine a major chunk of those expenses are thanks to the 14 companies Zynga gobbled up in the past year. It's also worth noting that the developer didn't really release any major Facebook games in 2011 prior to Empires & Allies. (And no, we're not counting FarmVille English Countryside.) Since then, however, the company has been on a frenzy, launching three more Facebook games this summer: Words With Friends, Pioneer Trail and recently Adventure World.
This news speaks volumes to the fact that Zynga has reached a point where it constantly needs to produce in order to sustain its meteoric growth, and more importantly for them right now, the faith of investors. Since the company's last filing, Zynga conducted a third-party analysis that estimated the probability of an IPO at 75 percent. This is down from the 80 percent probability reported in Zynga's previous filing.
In other words, it looks like the anticipated Zynga IPO could be delayed, just as previous reports suggested, to wait for improved market conditions. However, EA is gaining on the company with The Sims Social, and fast. According to AppData, EA and Playfish's game has just about 1.6 million fewer daily players than CityVille's 12.9 million.
Do you think Zynga has anything to worry about, given the news? Would you ever invest in Zynga if given the chance?
FarmVille Dairy Mystery Box brings re-released Cows to pasture
Even if you're dissatisfied with the release of the Cow Pasture animal habitat in FarmVille, that has, more or less, replaced the Dairy Farm on our farms, you still might be interested in adding some previously released cows to your collection for the sake of Animal Mastery. You're now allowed to do just that with the release of the Dairy Mystery Box in the game's store. This box contains six different cows, but remember - the cow you receive upon opening each box is random, and very well could give you duplicates if you purchase more than one.
For 20 Farm Cash, you'll be able to purchase a single Dairy Mystery Box containing one of the following:
Black Yak
Jersey Cow
New Year Cow
Panda Cow
Vineyard Cow
Welsh Black Cow
While it's great to see these cows make a comeback, they won't be here forever; you'll have just a week to purchase as many of these boxes as you like before these cows go back into retirement. Then again, it's always possible these cows will release yet again sometime in the future, so you'll just have to decide for yourself how important it is to have each one right now. Good luck with receiving the cow(s) you want most!
Which of these cows do you hope to win from the Dairy Mystery Box? Do you already have enough of these cows that it would make purchasing one of these boxes too big of a risk?
For 20 Farm Cash, you'll be able to purchase a single Dairy Mystery Box containing one of the following:
Black Yak
Jersey Cow
New Year Cow
Panda Cow
Vineyard Cow
Welsh Black Cow
While it's great to see these cows make a comeback, they won't be here forever; you'll have just a week to purchase as many of these boxes as you like before these cows go back into retirement. Then again, it's always possible these cows will release yet again sometime in the future, so you'll just have to decide for yourself how important it is to have each one right now. Good luck with receiving the cow(s) you want most!
Which of these cows do you hope to win from the Dairy Mystery Box? Do you already have enough of these cows that it would make purchasing one of these boxes too big of a risk?
FarmVille: 2x Mastery Statue comes back for 12 days only
While many users voiced their concerns upon the initial release of the 2x Mastery Statue in FarmVille (that Zynga had created the ultimate money-grabber), that didn't stop many other farmers from purchasing one for their farms. Apparently, the initial release was so successful that they've decided to bring the statue back around for another go. That's right, the 2x Mastery Statue is once again available to purchase in the store, but only for a limited time (12 days, to be exact).
As a reminder, this 2x Mastery Statue gives you double the amount of mastery points on all crops and trees harvested during a two-day period. A single statue costs 25 Farm Cash, and if you're already the owner of a Platinum Mastery Statue (which has the same effect, but permanently), you'll want to skip out on buying these re-released statues as the status effect doesn't stack.
Also, let me once again point out that this double mastery boost doesn't apply to animals, so if you've really taken to Animal Mastery, there's no reason to waste your Farm Cash on these statues either. Perhaps one day we'll see a double mastery statue released just for animals, but that still doesn't solve the conundrum of whether or not these items should exist to begin with. With enough hard work and some patience, you'll be able to earn dozens, if not hundreds of mastery signs for your farm. Do we really need to pay Farm Cash to speed up the process? We'll leave that up to you, farmers.
Will you purchase a 2x Mastery Statue? Did you purchase one of these statues upon their initial release, or did you splurge on the Platinum Mastery Statue instead?
As a reminder, this 2x Mastery Statue gives you double the amount of mastery points on all crops and trees harvested during a two-day period. A single statue costs 25 Farm Cash, and if you're already the owner of a Platinum Mastery Statue (which has the same effect, but permanently), you'll want to skip out on buying these re-released statues as the status effect doesn't stack.
Also, let me once again point out that this double mastery boost doesn't apply to animals, so if you've really taken to Animal Mastery, there's no reason to waste your Farm Cash on these statues either. Perhaps one day we'll see a double mastery statue released just for animals, but that still doesn't solve the conundrum of whether or not these items should exist to begin with. With enough hard work and some patience, you'll be able to earn dozens, if not hundreds of mastery signs for your farm. Do we really need to pay Farm Cash to speed up the process? We'll leave that up to you, farmers.
Will you purchase a 2x Mastery Statue? Did you purchase one of these statues upon their initial release, or did you splurge on the Platinum Mastery Statue instead?
Cafe World 2 Year Anniversary Manny's Journey Goals: Everything you need to know
After spending a few days in Great Britain, the Cafe World two-year anniversary extravaganza has moved onto the Philippines, where we'll meet Master Chef Manny in a new set of goals called "Manny's Journey." Through these goals, we'll be introduced to four new dishes, but of course, they won't simply be handed to you. You'll need to finish the Manny's Journey goals multiple times in order to unlock all of the prizes, which include a 50% Lightning Stove (that would reduce the time it takes your dishes to cook by 50%). Here's a complete guide to these new goals.
As a note, we weren't told by Zynga whether or not these goals contain the same dishes for all users across the entire game, or if they vary as in past goal sets. If you notice any differences in your own game, this will likely be the cause.
Manny's Journey 1
Ask for 3 Old Filipino Recipe Cards
Place the Roasting Pit
Serve 20 Fish n Chips
You'll start this goal series out serving Fish n Chips which takes two hours to prepare. You can wait for those to cook while asking your friends to send you the Old Filipino Recipe Cards, and can finish off this goal by placing the base to your new Roasting Pit. Yes, there's a building project to go along with these goals, and we'll bring you a guide to building the Roasting Pit as soon as we can you can check out our guide to building the Roasting Pit right here. Finishing this first goal gives you 15 Travel Passes. As a reminder, these Travel Passes work as contest entries of sorts, giving you a chance to win in-game prizes, along with real world trips to exotic locations.
Manny's Journey 2
Ask for 6 Filipino Postcards
Spice 6 Neighbors Dishes
Serve 20 Gnocchi Gianna
The Gnocchi Gianna takes six hours to prepare, and is unlocked while completing the Pasta Maker goals. For finishing this goal, you'll receive 20 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 3
Ask for 10 New Filipino Recipe Cards
Collect 4 Anniversary Collection items
Serve 30 Broiled Rainbow Trout
Anniversary Collection items are earned by using spices on your dishes, while Broiled Rainbow Trout takes 12 hours to cook (at the very least, this gives you plenty of time to collect spices if you don't earn the four Anniversary Collection items after running through your supply). Finish this goal to receive 25 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 4
Ask for 8 Filipino Postcards
Serve 12 Cafe Bombon
Serve 30 Osso Bucco
Osso Bucco takes 18 hours to prepare, giving you plenty of time to collect these Postcards from friends. As for the Cafe Bombon, this is a Specialty Coffee Drink that can only be served after you've hired Becky the Barista to work in your cafe. It costs 55 Energy for 10 Servings, so you'll need to prepare it twice in order to reach the total required number of 12 servings. You've almost reached the finale at this point, and finishing this particular goal gives you 30 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 5
Ask for 12 Dirty Filipino Recipe Cards
Serve 18 Acai Blueberry Juice
Complete the Roasting Pit
Once again, the Acai Blueberry Juice must be served from a machine - this time the Drink Bar. It's not available until after you've hired Beverly Bartender. Once you finish this goal, you'll have finished off Manny's Journey, and will receive 500 Travel Passes. You'll also receive one of four new dishes, from a selection of Beef Mechado, Filipino Paella, Lechon and Sisig.
To be especially clear, completing this goal series the first time only gives you a single recipe, and it looks like you'll need to complete the entirety of these goals another three times to unlock the remaining three recipes. These goals (along with your chance to repeat the British goals) will expire in 10 days, so you'll want to make sure and complete as many goals as quickly as possible to stand the biggest chance of unlocking everything in time.
What do you think of these Manny's Journey goals? Do you think they're easier, or more difficult than Winston's Royals goals?
As a note, we weren't told by Zynga whether or not these goals contain the same dishes for all users across the entire game, or if they vary as in past goal sets. If you notice any differences in your own game, this will likely be the cause.
Manny's Journey 1
Ask for 3 Old Filipino Recipe Cards
Place the Roasting Pit
Serve 20 Fish n Chips
You'll start this goal series out serving Fish n Chips which takes two hours to prepare. You can wait for those to cook while asking your friends to send you the Old Filipino Recipe Cards, and can finish off this goal by placing the base to your new Roasting Pit. Yes, there's a building project to go along with these goals, and we'll bring you a guide to building the Roasting Pit as soon as we can you can check out our guide to building the Roasting Pit right here. Finishing this first goal gives you 15 Travel Passes. As a reminder, these Travel Passes work as contest entries of sorts, giving you a chance to win in-game prizes, along with real world trips to exotic locations.
Manny's Journey 2
Ask for 6 Filipino Postcards
Spice 6 Neighbors Dishes
Serve 20 Gnocchi Gianna
The Gnocchi Gianna takes six hours to prepare, and is unlocked while completing the Pasta Maker goals. For finishing this goal, you'll receive 20 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 3
Ask for 10 New Filipino Recipe Cards
Collect 4 Anniversary Collection items
Serve 30 Broiled Rainbow Trout
Anniversary Collection items are earned by using spices on your dishes, while Broiled Rainbow Trout takes 12 hours to cook (at the very least, this gives you plenty of time to collect spices if you don't earn the four Anniversary Collection items after running through your supply). Finish this goal to receive 25 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 4
Ask for 8 Filipino Postcards
Serve 12 Cafe Bombon
Serve 30 Osso Bucco
Osso Bucco takes 18 hours to prepare, giving you plenty of time to collect these Postcards from friends. As for the Cafe Bombon, this is a Specialty Coffee Drink that can only be served after you've hired Becky the Barista to work in your cafe. It costs 55 Energy for 10 Servings, so you'll need to prepare it twice in order to reach the total required number of 12 servings. You've almost reached the finale at this point, and finishing this particular goal gives you 30 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 5
Ask for 12 Dirty Filipino Recipe Cards
Serve 18 Acai Blueberry Juice
Complete the Roasting Pit
Once again, the Acai Blueberry Juice must be served from a machine - this time the Drink Bar. It's not available until after you've hired Beverly Bartender. Once you finish this goal, you'll have finished off Manny's Journey, and will receive 500 Travel Passes. You'll also receive one of four new dishes, from a selection of Beef Mechado, Filipino Paella, Lechon and Sisig.
To be especially clear, completing this goal series the first time only gives you a single recipe, and it looks like you'll need to complete the entirety of these goals another three times to unlock the remaining three recipes. These goals (along with your chance to repeat the British goals) will expire in 10 days, so you'll want to make sure and complete as many goals as quickly as possible to stand the biggest chance of unlocking everything in time.
What do you think of these Manny's Journey goals? Do you think they're easier, or more difficult than Winston's Royals goals?
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