And by weird we mean, "Just what the heck do I do in this game?" weird. When we first heard that Flickr co-creator Stewart Butterfield was working on a new breed of social game called Glitch earlier this year, we were excited to see what was in store. Starting today at 1 p.m. eastern, you can experience the goofy first release from Butterfield's Canada-based Tiny Speck.
Glitch, announced way back in November of last year, is Butterfield's attempt at putting the tools for expression in the players' hands. "Our vision for Glitch is to bring a new level of creativity, beauty and social engagement to players who expect more from their online social gaming experience – an experience that has value beyond traditional forms of entertainment," Butterfield told Kotaku. "Glitch is an experiment in culture building. We provide raw materials and a stimulating environment, but it's the players who bring the infinite world alive, shaping it with their imagination."
Based on an early look at the game co-created by Butterfield and Keita Takahashi--the man behind the equally- strange Katamari Damacy series of games--I can confidently say that the game will fill your daily quota of quirkiness. For instance, I recall during my time with an early build of the game entering a building you would normally find in Washington. Inside, I was to apply for an arbitrary license, and was told by an in-game character to sit and wait for my turn.
Growing confused and impatient from waiting for the green-faced clerk to return from behind the desk to call my name, I left the building. When I returned, I was forced to restart the process. So, I reapplied for the license, and literally waited for 10 minutes for the garish desk clerk to return with my new card for whatever purpose. That's when it hit me: Through Glitch, Butterfield was making a statement on the hilarity of bureaucracy. And you know what? I literally laughed out loud in front of my laptop.
However, what's worrying is that the average FarmVille fan isn't concerned with lofty if humorous statements or open-ended gameplay with nearly infinite methods of expression. They just want to feel accomplished within five minutes and get back to work from their lunch break. Since my look at the game, however, Tiny Speck has made major changes to Glitch to appeal to that crowd, Kotaku reports. That said, why not give Glitch a try--it might be the first social game to make you laugh out loud.
Click here to try out Glitch through Facebook Now >
Are you looking for a new kind of social game experience? Do you think lofty games like Glitch can find success in the world of CityVille and The Sims Social? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
Thứ Sáu, 30 tháng 9, 2011
Raptr report: Gamers play Zynga's 'Ville games almost as much as Halo
Wait a second, that's not possible. Zynga games are for casual players, aren't they? Well, maybe not as much as previously though. A report issued by Raptr, the social network for gamers, reveals that the 265 million fans of games like CityVille and FarmVille are playing those games almost as much as Halo players. More importantly, Raptr users are playing said games more than "core" game franchises like Grand Theft Auto, Assassin's Creed and Gears of War combined.
Raptr's report breaks down the top game franchises on the social network by time spent playing, as the service tracks whenever users enter a game and for how long they play. Zynga's stable of games tails top hardcore franchises like Call of Duty's massive 43 percent time share and Halo's 14 percent with 13 percent. The remaining 12 percent is reserved for other hardcore games.
According to the report, big time hardcore games like CoD and WoW are played for longer sessions at a time, but Zynga Facebook games such as Empires & Allies or Pioneer Trail are played more frequently. In fact, Raptr goes on to say that about 12 to 20 percent of CityVille players are also deep into games like StarCraft 2 and Call of Duty Black Ops. And the percentage of Xbox 360 owners that have played a Zynga game increased by 50 percent to a total of 30 percent, the report claims.
Top Franchises by Share Time Spent
The data goes on to show that Zynga controls 60 percent of the market in social games, at least judging from Raptr's 10 million users. And before The Sims Social came along, the massive company's top games racked up three times as many hours as the rest of the top 10 Facebook games combined. Not to mention that Zynga fans are loyal: 90 percent of FrontierVille, Treasure Isle, CityVille, and Empires & Allies players were pulled from existing Zynga games.
While it almost goes without saying, Zynga is still killing it. More importantly for the company, however, is that reports like this will help instill confidence in its upcoming $1 billion initial public offering. With recent news that the company's profits plummeted 90 percent--and that The Sims Social has gobbled up most of its top games--made those prospects shaky.
[Via VentureBeat]
Do you happen to be a "hardcore gamer" that dabbles in Zynga games? Are you surprised at all by Raptr's findings? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Raptr's report breaks down the top game franchises on the social network by time spent playing, as the service tracks whenever users enter a game and for how long they play. Zynga's stable of games tails top hardcore franchises like Call of Duty's massive 43 percent time share and Halo's 14 percent with 13 percent. The remaining 12 percent is reserved for other hardcore games.
According to the report, big time hardcore games like CoD and WoW are played for longer sessions at a time, but Zynga Facebook games such as Empires & Allies or Pioneer Trail are played more frequently. In fact, Raptr goes on to say that about 12 to 20 percent of CityVille players are also deep into games like StarCraft 2 and Call of Duty Black Ops. And the percentage of Xbox 360 owners that have played a Zynga game increased by 50 percent to a total of 30 percent, the report claims.
Top Franchises by Share Time Spent
The data goes on to show that Zynga controls 60 percent of the market in social games, at least judging from Raptr's 10 million users. And before The Sims Social came along, the massive company's top games racked up three times as many hours as the rest of the top 10 Facebook games combined. Not to mention that Zynga fans are loyal: 90 percent of FrontierVille, Treasure Isle, CityVille, and Empires & Allies players were pulled from existing Zynga games.
While it almost goes without saying, Zynga is still killing it. More importantly for the company, however, is that reports like this will help instill confidence in its upcoming $1 billion initial public offering. With recent news that the company's profits plummeted 90 percent--and that The Sims Social has gobbled up most of its top games--made those prospects shaky.
[Via VentureBeat]
Do you happen to be a "hardcore gamer" that dabbles in Zynga games? Are you surprised at all by Raptr's findings? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Game of the Day: Impale
The Smurfs Village
Android owners, did you really think you could survive the blue wave for long? Capcom's Beeline Interactive announced that Smurfs' Village will launch on select Android devices for free on Sept. 28. Originally released for the iPhone and iPad in late 2010, the mobile social game skyrocketed in popularity and even resulted in one hilarious lesson in child rearing in 2011.
The game plays out much like mobile Zynga games like CityVille Hometown in that players are tasked (by Papa Smurf) to build up their very own--you guessed it--village. But this time, it's for the Smurfs to dwell in as the evil Gargamel seeks them out. During your time expanding the Smurfs' miniature empire, you'll gain access to some of the more popular Smurfs and their special abilities.
Namely, many of these blue buggers will unlock mini games for you to enjoy and find additional resources with like Greedy Smurf's Baking Game or Papa Smurf's Potion Mixing Game. Of course, players can also share their experiences with their friends on Facebook through Facebook Connect. According to Capcom, Smurfs' Village consistently ranks as a top grossing app worldwide. (We think we have an idea of how that happened back in the day.)
Most recently, Capcom and Beeline released Smurfs' Grabber to iPhone and iPad, which will soon integrate directly with Smurfs' Village. (Not to mention that Ubisoft released a full-blown Smurfs game for Facebook.) We imagine that, with the heaping gold mine that the Smurfs property has proven to be for Capcom, it won't be long before you're grabbing for goodies in Smurfs' Village with Smurfs' Grabber on Android devices, too. Until then, just focus on building your blue buddies some comfy mushroom houses.
Click here to find The Smurfs' Village on the Android Market >
Are you a fan of the recent mobile and social takes on the Smurfs in smartphones and on Facebook? Will we ever get enough of the smurfing? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Android owners, did you really think you could survive the blue wave for long? Capcom's Beeline Interactive announced that Smurfs' Village will launch on select Android devices for free on Sept. 28. Originally released for the iPhone and iPad in late 2010, the mobile social game skyrocketed in popularity and even resulted in one hilarious lesson in child rearing in 2011.
The game plays out much like mobile Zynga games like CityVille Hometown in that players are tasked (by Papa Smurf) to build up their very own--you guessed it--village. But this time, it's for the Smurfs to dwell in as the evil Gargamel seeks them out. During your time expanding the Smurfs' miniature empire, you'll gain access to some of the more popular Smurfs and their special abilities.
Namely, many of these blue buggers will unlock mini games for you to enjoy and find additional resources with like Greedy Smurf's Baking Game or Papa Smurf's Potion Mixing Game. Of course, players can also share their experiences with their friends on Facebook through Facebook Connect. According to Capcom, Smurfs' Village consistently ranks as a top grossing app worldwide. (We think we have an idea of how that happened back in the day.)
Most recently, Capcom and Beeline released Smurfs' Grabber to iPhone and iPad, which will soon integrate directly with Smurfs' Village. (Not to mention that Ubisoft released a full-blown Smurfs game for Facebook.) We imagine that, with the heaping gold mine that the Smurfs property has proven to be for Capcom, it won't be long before you're grabbing for goodies in Smurfs' Village with Smurfs' Grabber on Android devices, too. Until then, just focus on building your blue buddies some comfy mushroom houses.
Click here to find The Smurfs' Village on the Android Market >
Are you a fan of the recent mobile and social takes on the Smurfs in smartphones and on Facebook? Will we ever get enough of the smurfing? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Android gaming gets smurfalicious, Smurfs' Village launches Sept. 28
The Smurfs Village
Android owners, did you really think you could survive the blue wave for long? Capcom's Beeline Interactive announced that Smurfs' Village will launch on select Android devices for free on Sept. 28. Originally released for the iPhone and iPad in late 2010, the mobile social game skyrocketed in popularity and even resulted in one hilarious lesson in child rearing in 2011.
The game plays out much like mobile Zynga games like CityVille Hometown in that players are tasked (by Papa Smurf) to build up their very own--you guessed it--village. But this time, it's for the Smurfs to dwell in as the evil Gargamel seeks them out. During your time expanding the Smurfs' miniature empire, you'll gain access to some of the more popular Smurfs and their special abilities.
Namely, many of these blue buggers will unlock mini games for you to enjoy and find additional resources with like Greedy Smurf's Baking Game or Papa Smurf's Potion Mixing Game. Of course, players can also share their experiences with their friends on Facebook through Facebook Connect. According to Capcom, Smurfs' Village consistently ranks as a top grossing app worldwide. (We think we have an idea of how that happened back in the day.)
Most recently, Capcom and Beeline released Smurfs' Grabber to iPhone and iPad, which will soon integrate directly with Smurfs' Village. (Not to mention that Ubisoft released a full-blown Smurfs game for Facebook.) We imagine that, with the heaping gold mine that the Smurfs property has proven to be for Capcom, it won't be long before you're grabbing for goodies in Smurfs' Village with Smurfs' Grabber on Android devices, too. Until then, just focus on building your blue buddies some comfy mushroom houses.
Click here to find The Smurfs' Village on the Android Market >
Are you a fan of the recent mobile and social takes on the Smurfs in smartphones and on Facebook? Will we ever get enough of the smurfing? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Android owners, did you really think you could survive the blue wave for long? Capcom's Beeline Interactive announced that Smurfs' Village will launch on select Android devices for free on Sept. 28. Originally released for the iPhone and iPad in late 2010, the mobile social game skyrocketed in popularity and even resulted in one hilarious lesson in child rearing in 2011.
The game plays out much like mobile Zynga games like CityVille Hometown in that players are tasked (by Papa Smurf) to build up their very own--you guessed it--village. But this time, it's for the Smurfs to dwell in as the evil Gargamel seeks them out. During your time expanding the Smurfs' miniature empire, you'll gain access to some of the more popular Smurfs and their special abilities.
Namely, many of these blue buggers will unlock mini games for you to enjoy and find additional resources with like Greedy Smurf's Baking Game or Papa Smurf's Potion Mixing Game. Of course, players can also share their experiences with their friends on Facebook through Facebook Connect. According to Capcom, Smurfs' Village consistently ranks as a top grossing app worldwide. (We think we have an idea of how that happened back in the day.)
Most recently, Capcom and Beeline released Smurfs' Grabber to iPhone and iPad, which will soon integrate directly with Smurfs' Village. (Not to mention that Ubisoft released a full-blown Smurfs game for Facebook.) We imagine that, with the heaping gold mine that the Smurfs property has proven to be for Capcom, it won't be long before you're grabbing for goodies in Smurfs' Village with Smurfs' Grabber on Android devices, too. Until then, just focus on building your blue buddies some comfy mushroom houses.
Click here to find The Smurfs' Village on the Android Market >
Are you a fan of the recent mobile and social takes on the Smurfs in smartphones and on Facebook? Will we ever get enough of the smurfing? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Zynga publishes Mafia Wars 2 comic, sets the stage for Las Vegas intrigue
Mafia Wars 2 has remained a mystery since the word leaked in January. The only follow-up the public has gotten from Zynga is last week's 'badass' trailer. But the game's official fan page announced a Mafia Wars 2 digital comic last night, titled with the game's much bandied about tagline, "Being Bad Never Felt So Good". The comic presents the glamorous yet dangerous world of the game, which is set in Las Vegas, and drops just enough exposition for the reader to meet the cast -- including whose shoes players will be stepping into once the game launches.
This eight-page comic was created by UDON Entertainment, a Canadian comics studio that specializes in Asian-inspired art, lending the story a manga flair in the character designs and paneling layout. UDON (named after the Japanese noodle) isn't a new entrant in games comics either. They're best known for their work with major Japanese games maker Capcom, drawing and publishing comics and artbooks for the Street Fighter series.
Mafia Wars 2 characters
So far, Zynga seems intent on keeping quiet about Mafia Wars 2's gameplay (except for the fact that it'll be a "vast 3-D world"), but they've been very big on establishing the game's world and its characters, the latter of which actually have detailed backstories available on the official website. A focus on characters and narratives is a rare thing in Facebook games. The last time this was done, and to a much greater extent, was Qunify's CLASH: Rise of the Heroes, which is heavily based on superhero comics. One of Zynga's developers, Mike Humphrey, has said that "I'm really looking forward to finally seeing how Mafia Wars 2 is received; it's unlike most games on Facebook right now, and I think it pushes the envelope of what people can expect from games on the platform." Let's hope they keep pushing until the day of the launch.
To check out the comic yourself, click here and follow the directions to 'Like' the game's official Facebook fan page.
How do you like the comic so far? Are you enjoying what appears to be Zynga's move towards more in-depth, story-driven Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
This eight-page comic was created by UDON Entertainment, a Canadian comics studio that specializes in Asian-inspired art, lending the story a manga flair in the character designs and paneling layout. UDON (named after the Japanese noodle) isn't a new entrant in games comics either. They're best known for their work with major Japanese games maker Capcom, drawing and publishing comics and artbooks for the Street Fighter series.
Mafia Wars 2 characters
So far, Zynga seems intent on keeping quiet about Mafia Wars 2's gameplay (except for the fact that it'll be a "vast 3-D world"), but they've been very big on establishing the game's world and its characters, the latter of which actually have detailed backstories available on the official website. A focus on characters and narratives is a rare thing in Facebook games. The last time this was done, and to a much greater extent, was Qunify's CLASH: Rise of the Heroes, which is heavily based on superhero comics. One of Zynga's developers, Mike Humphrey, has said that "I'm really looking forward to finally seeing how Mafia Wars 2 is received; it's unlike most games on Facebook right now, and I think it pushes the envelope of what people can expect from games on the platform." Let's hope they keep pushing until the day of the launch.
To check out the comic yourself, click here and follow the directions to 'Like' the game's official Facebook fan page.
How do you like the comic so far? Are you enjoying what appears to be Zynga's move towards more in-depth, story-driven Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
Thứ Năm, 29 tháng 9, 2011
Dress up a real turtle and win a trip to New York with Bravo's Turtle Time
Are you ready to help embarrass a turtle on cable TV and make life difficult for set designers on a weekly basis? If the answer is no, that's fine. I don't think most of us are ready for such a thing either. But for those of you who are, there's a new Facebook game that lets you do this called Turtle Time.
First announced last Thursday, Turtle Time is Bravo TV's little promotional stunt for Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live show. Cohen supposedly found the turtle, love blossomed and he decided to go steady by making her his show's mascot. Since the announcement, Bravo TV has launched a Facebook game for the turtle, given her a Twitter account (that now has 1,889 followers) and a name: "Tramona."
The game involves dressing up the turtle, and while the concept sounds innocuous, there might be some PG-13 material in the game, such as the presence of alcoholic items and profanity by the users. So I repeat, this is not a game targeted for kids. Right off the bat, when you try to play the game, it'll ask you for your birth date.
Gallery: Turtle Time
For the time being, players get 14 free items (nine Goods, three Costume pieces, and two Scenes) with 53 for sale at the store. Possibly the most outrageous item is "Gay Guys Holding Hands in Speedos," which surprisingly costs 150 Lettuce instead of Facebook Credits. Lettuce (a turtle's favorite food) is the in-game currency of Turtle Time, and you start off with 1,000 of it. But I managed to snag an extra 100 Lettuce, because I correctly answered a completely random, pop-up quiz question. And while there's no dedicated free gifts option yet, you can buy items and gift them to your friends.
Turtle Time Crowds Make Me Crabby
We can see this getting fun as more people play. Already, there's some killer entries, like surrounding the turtle with crabs or balancing the turtle on a pyramid of wine glasses or whiskey bottles--sorry, I can't rightly recall which. Overall, this is a simple game and the chance for a free trip to New York doesn't hurt either. This game has only been up for less than two days, and it's got 1,486 players. To follow the game, check out its official Facebook page.
Click here to play Turtle Time on Facebook now >
Are you playing for fun or for the free trip to New York? What's the wackiest costume and backdrop can you come up with for the turtle? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
First announced last Thursday, Turtle Time is Bravo TV's little promotional stunt for Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live show. Cohen supposedly found the turtle, love blossomed and he decided to go steady by making her his show's mascot. Since the announcement, Bravo TV has launched a Facebook game for the turtle, given her a Twitter account (that now has 1,889 followers) and a name: "Tramona."
The game involves dressing up the turtle, and while the concept sounds innocuous, there might be some PG-13 material in the game, such as the presence of alcoholic items and profanity by the users. So I repeat, this is not a game targeted for kids. Right off the bat, when you try to play the game, it'll ask you for your birth date.
Gallery: Turtle Time
For the time being, players get 14 free items (nine Goods, three Costume pieces, and two Scenes) with 53 for sale at the store. Possibly the most outrageous item is "Gay Guys Holding Hands in Speedos," which surprisingly costs 150 Lettuce instead of Facebook Credits. Lettuce (a turtle's favorite food) is the in-game currency of Turtle Time, and you start off with 1,000 of it. But I managed to snag an extra 100 Lettuce, because I correctly answered a completely random, pop-up quiz question. And while there's no dedicated free gifts option yet, you can buy items and gift them to your friends.
Turtle Time Crowds Make Me Crabby
We can see this getting fun as more people play. Already, there's some killer entries, like surrounding the turtle with crabs or balancing the turtle on a pyramid of wine glasses or whiskey bottles--sorry, I can't rightly recall which. Overall, this is a simple game and the chance for a free trip to New York doesn't hurt either. This game has only been up for less than two days, and it's got 1,486 players. To follow the game, check out its official Facebook page.
Click here to play Turtle Time on Facebook now >
Are you playing for fun or for the free trip to New York? What's the wackiest costume and backdrop can you come up with for the turtle? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Pioneer Trail Bug Report: Lost progress bug is being squashed
If you've been playing Pioneer Trail (even when it was FrontierVille) for any considerable amount of time, I'd be surprised if you hadn't suffered from a rollback issue or two, or some other form of game/fun-breaking bug. If not, you're liable to run into one now, as a widespread issue has broken out in the game, causing users to lose considerable amounts of progress on goals. This is apparently such a large issue that the majority of the game's official forums has been branded with posts and banners about the issue, but Zynga is here to let you know that help is on the way.
Specifically, we're told this by customer service:
"We have received a high number of inquiries about players losing progress in the game and seeing old missions come back. We apologize for the problem and have our developers looking at the problem now.
There's no need to submit a help ticket for this matter, as we plan on correcting this problem on our end for all affected players. We request if you are having this problem to try again in a few hours (or even later today) to see if your progress has been returned. If this problem has occurred for you, please simply click the "vote to fix" button, this will alert us that you were affected."
Essentially, what this means is that you don't need to contact Zynga Customer Support to fix this issue, as supposedly everything will be placed back to normal on Zynga's end without any input from us. That is, the "game knows" where you were when the bug first hit, and will revert you back to the proper state when the bug has been fixed. As for the time table, things aren't progressing as quickly as we would have hoped. As of yesterday morning, the issue was still being worked on by developers, but a proper fix hadn't actually been pushed out.
While you're waiting for the issue to be resolved, I'd suggest simply not playing the game (or doing anything significant, that you would be upset about having to repeat). Keep checking back with the game's official forums for updates as to the progress of the bug fix, and we'll make sure to let you know if anything significant happens between now and then.
Have you been hit by this "lost progress" bug? How far did it push you back? Let us know in the comments.
Specifically, we're told this by customer service:
"We have received a high number of inquiries about players losing progress in the game and seeing old missions come back. We apologize for the problem and have our developers looking at the problem now.
There's no need to submit a help ticket for this matter, as we plan on correcting this problem on our end for all affected players. We request if you are having this problem to try again in a few hours (or even later today) to see if your progress has been returned. If this problem has occurred for you, please simply click the "vote to fix" button, this will alert us that you were affected."
Essentially, what this means is that you don't need to contact Zynga Customer Support to fix this issue, as supposedly everything will be placed back to normal on Zynga's end without any input from us. That is, the "game knows" where you were when the bug first hit, and will revert you back to the proper state when the bug has been fixed. As for the time table, things aren't progressing as quickly as we would have hoped. As of yesterday morning, the issue was still being worked on by developers, but a proper fix hadn't actually been pushed out.
While you're waiting for the issue to be resolved, I'd suggest simply not playing the game (or doing anything significant, that you would be upset about having to repeat). Keep checking back with the game's official forums for updates as to the progress of the bug fix, and we'll make sure to let you know if anything significant happens between now and then.
Have you been hit by this "lost progress" bug? How far did it push you back? Let us know in the comments.
Cafe World Farmers Insurance promotion comes with Professor Burke Statue
If anything, the folks at Zynga definitely know how to setup a good cross-promotion. After Capital One recently set up shop in a slew of Zynga's games (and practically took over FarmVille), we now see a new promotion launching in Cafe World with another company: Farmers Insurance (remember, we were told that Farmers would be making an appearance in the game back in June). If you watch a lot of TV, you might recognize this promotion's mascot of sorts - Professor Burke - from recent Farmers Insurance commercials.
Now, Professor Burke has come to your cafe as a character and as a statue, plated in gold. This "Professor Burke Statue" has a limited time of effectiveness, but will "insure" your cafe, granting you spoil protection on all of the dishes you cook from now until October 2. Luckily, the statue is free, and it doesn't require any "building" to gain its effect. You can either simply place the statue from the in-game pop-up that appears, or you can head into the game's build menu manually to drag your free statue out and into your cafe.
If there's one thing to remember about this, it isn't that the statue itself comes with a time limit that can be turned on and off depending on when you place it in your cafe; rather, it's a case where you'll want to place it in your cafe as soon as possible as the overall countdown timer ticks down until October 2. If the Farmers Insurance promotion grows in Cafe World, we'll make sure to let you know.
Would you have liked the Professor Burke Statue to have another effect, rather than wither protection? Or, will you take advantage of this opportunity to cook some quickly cooking dishes while you're busy doing other things since they won't spoil? Sound off in the comments.
Now, Professor Burke has come to your cafe as a character and as a statue, plated in gold. This "Professor Burke Statue" has a limited time of effectiveness, but will "insure" your cafe, granting you spoil protection on all of the dishes you cook from now until October 2. Luckily, the statue is free, and it doesn't require any "building" to gain its effect. You can either simply place the statue from the in-game pop-up that appears, or you can head into the game's build menu manually to drag your free statue out and into your cafe.
If there's one thing to remember about this, it isn't that the statue itself comes with a time limit that can be turned on and off depending on when you place it in your cafe; rather, it's a case where you'll want to place it in your cafe as soon as possible as the overall countdown timer ticks down until October 2. If the Farmers Insurance promotion grows in Cafe World, we'll make sure to let you know.
Would you have liked the Professor Burke Statue to have another effect, rather than wither protection? Or, will you take advantage of this opportunity to cook some quickly cooking dishes while you're busy doing other things since they won't spoil? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Hai, 26 tháng 9, 2011
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? Sound off in the comments.
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? Sound off in the comments.
Cafe World Roasting Pit: Everything you need to know
On top of being required to complete five new goals in Cafe World's Manny's Journey set, the game's two-year anniversary event has received another building project as well. This "buildable" is the Roasting Pit, the base of which will be given to you for free when you start these Manny's Journeys goals. While you may think you can simply place the base and then forget about it, if you're interested in completing these goals, and subsequently unlocking any of the four recipes associated with them, you'll be required to complete its construction.
Once you place the Roasting Pit, you'll be able to begin the process of asking your friends for building materials. You'll need to collect eight Bags of Coal, 10 Steel Plates, six Roasting Sticks and six Roasting Pit Stones. The Bags of Coal are the only items you'll be able to ask for via a general post to your news feed / wall, while the other three items are earned via individual gift requests sent to those friends that you think would be the most likely to help you.
Once you finish this Roasting Pit, you'll not only have a new "decorative" machine in your cafe, but you'll also be able to earn a single bonus mastery point for each Filipino dish you serve while the Roasting Pit is displayed and therefore "active" in your cafe. That is, instead of earning a single point for each Filipino dish, this Roasting Pit will cause you to earn two points with every serving, well, served. Also, even if you don't manage to unlock all four recipes in the Manny's Journey goal set, this Roasting Pit will still have a purpose, as a single, pre-existing dish falls under the Filipino heading: Chicken Adobo.
Again, this machine must be built in order to complete the Manny's Journey goal set in Cafe World, so check out our guide to doing just that to have the best shot of earning some new dishes - and fast!
What do you think of the Roasting Pit? Do you like items like this that allow you to earn bonus dish mastery points? Let us know in the comments.
Once you place the Roasting Pit, you'll be able to begin the process of asking your friends for building materials. You'll need to collect eight Bags of Coal, 10 Steel Plates, six Roasting Sticks and six Roasting Pit Stones. The Bags of Coal are the only items you'll be able to ask for via a general post to your news feed / wall, while the other three items are earned via individual gift requests sent to those friends that you think would be the most likely to help you.
Once you finish this Roasting Pit, you'll not only have a new "decorative" machine in your cafe, but you'll also be able to earn a single bonus mastery point for each Filipino dish you serve while the Roasting Pit is displayed and therefore "active" in your cafe. That is, instead of earning a single point for each Filipino dish, this Roasting Pit will cause you to earn two points with every serving, well, served. Also, even if you don't manage to unlock all four recipes in the Manny's Journey goal set, this Roasting Pit will still have a purpose, as a single, pre-existing dish falls under the Filipino heading: Chicken Adobo.
Again, this machine must be built in order to complete the Manny's Journey goal set in Cafe World, so check out our guide to doing just that to have the best shot of earning some new dishes - and fast!
What do you think of the Roasting Pit? Do you like items like this that allow you to earn bonus dish mastery points? Let us know in the comments.
CityVille Executive Driving Range Attraction: Everything you need to know
It seems that just as quickly as we can finish the construction on an Attraction in CityVille, another one is released. Such is the case this week, as the Ferris Wheel has been followed up by the Executive Driving Range, or a golf range, if you prefer.
The base of the Executive Driving Range costs 10,000 coins, and it must be whacked eight times before the base is complete. From there, you'll need to collect various building materials, as you might have expected:
* 5 City Seals
* 5 Golf Balls
* 5 Buckets
* 5 Netting
* 5 Targets
If you're lucky, you'll already have the City Seals in your account waiting for you, and can then concentrate on gathering the other four items instead. Golf Balls and Buckets can be earned by posting a general news item to your wall, while Netting and Targets are earned via individual gift requests sent to friends.
Once the Executive Driving Range is complete, you can put it into operation for five minutes at a time. Once the five minutes has passed, you'll collect your profits just as you would any other business (your income ranges from 1,400 to 6,000 coins each cycle), but you can't restock it with Goods. Instead, you'll need to wait for a countdown timer to hit zero before you can restart it. You can collect Wrenches from your friends to speed up this timer, but remember - you can only post a single request for Wrenches, which are shared among all of the four available Attractions, so you won't be able to stock up as greatly as you might like.
Of course, building the Executive Driving Range is entirely voluntary, but if you like features such as this, why not give it a swing? Note: you must be at least level 25 to access the Executive Driving Range.
Will you build the Executive Driving Range in your town, or are three attractions enough? Sound off in the comments.
The base of the Executive Driving Range costs 10,000 coins, and it must be whacked eight times before the base is complete. From there, you'll need to collect various building materials, as you might have expected:
* 5 City Seals
* 5 Golf Balls
* 5 Buckets
* 5 Netting
* 5 Targets
If you're lucky, you'll already have the City Seals in your account waiting for you, and can then concentrate on gathering the other four items instead. Golf Balls and Buckets can be earned by posting a general news item to your wall, while Netting and Targets are earned via individual gift requests sent to friends.
Once the Executive Driving Range is complete, you can put it into operation for five minutes at a time. Once the five minutes has passed, you'll collect your profits just as you would any other business (your income ranges from 1,400 to 6,000 coins each cycle), but you can't restock it with Goods. Instead, you'll need to wait for a countdown timer to hit zero before you can restart it. You can collect Wrenches from your friends to speed up this timer, but remember - you can only post a single request for Wrenches, which are shared among all of the four available Attractions, so you won't be able to stock up as greatly as you might like.
Of course, building the Executive Driving Range is entirely voluntary, but if you like features such as this, why not give it a swing? Note: you must be at least level 25 to access the Executive Driving Range.
Will you build the Executive Driving Range in your town, or are three attractions enough? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Bảy, 24 tháng 9, 2011
MapleStory Adventures hits over 3M players, new classes coming soon
You'd think an astronomical divorce rate would scare players away, but nay. Nexon announced today that its first crack at Facebook games, MapleStory Adventures, has touched the chibi-loving hearts of over 3.2 million monthly players. While this number pales in comparison to the 100 million players that have jumped into the original game, it's impressive considering.
But not necessarily surprising. First of all, have you ever met a MapleStory fan ... or should I say fanatic? Second, the "click things and cute things happen" approach could certainly keep players hooked. Now that the Facebook version has roped in a few million, we imagine the Korean studio looks to bring its 414,000 daily players, according to AppData, up closer to six digits.
And what do you know, the company just announced that new classes are coming to MapleStory Adventures to give players more variety to work with than merely "Magician" and "Warrior." (Admittedly, classes are a bit lean at the moment.) While Nexon didn't reveal any specifics, we hope the new classes somehow involve adorable dragons ... somehow.
In addition to the recently-introduced Sky Scraper area, Nexon plans to add multi-character slots, personal spaces that players can customize and to localize MapleStory Adventures in Spanish, French, German, Chinese and more. In short, this is Nexon's way of saying: Stay tuned, because there is plenty more to come. We guess some 400,000 of you have no issue with that.
Have you been playing MapleStory Adventures on Facebook? What do you think of the game so far, and what classes do you hope Nexon adds to the game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
But not necessarily surprising. First of all, have you ever met a MapleStory fan ... or should I say fanatic? Second, the "click things and cute things happen" approach could certainly keep players hooked. Now that the Facebook version has roped in a few million, we imagine the Korean studio looks to bring its 414,000 daily players, according to AppData, up closer to six digits.
And what do you know, the company just announced that new classes are coming to MapleStory Adventures to give players more variety to work with than merely "Magician" and "Warrior." (Admittedly, classes are a bit lean at the moment.) While Nexon didn't reveal any specifics, we hope the new classes somehow involve adorable dragons ... somehow.
In addition to the recently-introduced Sky Scraper area, Nexon plans to add multi-character slots, personal spaces that players can customize and to localize MapleStory Adventures in Spanish, French, German, Chinese and more. In short, this is Nexon's way of saying: Stay tuned, because there is plenty more to come. We guess some 400,000 of you have no issue with that.
Have you been playing MapleStory Adventures on Facebook? What do you think of the game so far, and what classes do you hope Nexon adds to the game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
New study finds Facebook games might do the economy good
The Facebook Economy
The success of Facebook gaming goes beyond Facebook. Based on an economic impact study released today (courtesy of the University of Maryland), Facebook games, applications, and social plugins (e.g. "Like" buttons, fan pages, Facebook Connect, etc.) are responsible for adding somewhere from 182,744 to 235,644 full-time jobs, and $12.19 billion to $15.71 billion into the US economy.
Seeing that the Facebook platform has only been around since May 2007, the growth has been tremendous. The study cites Zynga as an example as the most successful venture on the Facebook platform, primarily thanks to hits like FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and Words With Friends. Zynga itself has 2,000 employees with the company valued at $15 to $20 billion. Whereas, Playfish was bought by EA for $300 million, and Playdom was bought by Disney for $763.2 million.
The study, created by professors of the Center for Digital Innovation, Technology, and Strategy at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, moves on from counting the numbers of direct employment to uncovering jobs indirectly created by Facebook apps. It then estimates the economic value of all those jobs, which means analyzing salaries and benefits. Still skeptical? They're calling it the "Facebook App Economy" and you can read all about it here.
[Image Credit: Visual Economics]
[Via SFGate]
Do you still think that Facebook games are a waste of money? Do you know anyone who's been able to make a living thanks to Facebook games? Add Comment
The success of Facebook gaming goes beyond Facebook. Based on an economic impact study released today (courtesy of the University of Maryland), Facebook games, applications, and social plugins (e.g. "Like" buttons, fan pages, Facebook Connect, etc.) are responsible for adding somewhere from 182,744 to 235,644 full-time jobs, and $12.19 billion to $15.71 billion into the US economy.
Seeing that the Facebook platform has only been around since May 2007, the growth has been tremendous. The study cites Zynga as an example as the most successful venture on the Facebook platform, primarily thanks to hits like FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and Words With Friends. Zynga itself has 2,000 employees with the company valued at $15 to $20 billion. Whereas, Playfish was bought by EA for $300 million, and Playdom was bought by Disney for $763.2 million.
The study, created by professors of the Center for Digital Innovation, Technology, and Strategy at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, moves on from counting the numbers of direct employment to uncovering jobs indirectly created by Facebook apps. It then estimates the economic value of all those jobs, which means analyzing salaries and benefits. Still skeptical? They're calling it the "Facebook App Economy" and you can read all about it here.
[Image Credit: Visual Economics]
[Via SFGate]
Do you still think that Facebook games are a waste of money? Do you know anyone who's been able to make a living thanks to Facebook games? Add Comment
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Take a bite out of Deanna2u's BLT burger farm
Is it farm art or food art? Is it a burger or a BLT sandwich? Either way, it looks delicious! Today, we put aside landscapes and abstract pieces to go for still-life with hay bales, because I can't remember a time where a FarmVille farm managed to induce as much drooling as Deanna2u's simple, perfect creation.
Deanna2u chose bold bright colors on a black outline and a blue field, layering the bun's insides with what looks like cheese, ham (or an ultra rare cooked patty), lettuce and tomatoes. Is it just me or do the tomatoes actually look like they're smiling?
What other objects would look delicious on a farm? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Deanna2u chose bold bright colors on a black outline and a blue field, layering the bun's insides with what looks like cheese, ham (or an ultra rare cooked patty), lettuce and tomatoes. Is it just me or do the tomatoes actually look like they're smiling?
What other objects would look delicious on a farm? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Adventure World Cheats and Tips: A Tool Upgrades Guide
There may not be another Zynga game in which Energy is more important than in Adventure World. Every switch thrown, every puzzle solved and beastie whacked costs you the Facebook game juice. Players often find themselves without Energy minutes into an Expedition. But this isn't the time for whining--it's time to show you the value of upgrading your Tools and how to do it.
Tools: The Game Changer
If you noticed, each piece of debris and monster has a life bar, and normally take multiple hits with your Whip or Machete to whittle down. This, of course, quickly becomes a waste in later Expeditions purely due to the amount of obstacles in your path. But increasing the amount of damage your various Tools inflict against said baddies could considerably reduce the Energy spend in-game.
For instance, say a Snake has three hit points and is Level 5. Since monsters can hit back in this game, it could take three to five Energy before an enemy goes down. Now, imagine if you had upgraded your Whip to Level 2. Offing that Snake would take just two to four Energy with a beefier Whip. The same situation applies to Tools like the Machete.
Adventure World Tool Shop inside
And Now For Your How-To
Adventure World Tool Shop outsideUpgrading your Tools in Adventure World is simple. All you need to do is head back to Base Camp from an Expedition, and look for a makeshift hut that should already be in place in your headquarters. When you click on the Tool Shop, a window will appear featuring all the Tools you've found thus far on your journeys. Click on the Tool you wish to upgrade.
Once you click on a Tool to upgrade, you'll notice that each Tool costs Coins to upgrade. That's it--no asking friends to help you out with materials or farming certain crops for special items. Just the goods you find during your travels in search of El Dorado. However, Coins are actually quite rare in this game, so you'll need to save and spend wisely.
When you have enough Coins for an upgrade, just click on the appropriate icon to pay up. Tool upgrades are also level-locked, meaning you must reach a certain level for most Tools before being able to upgrade them using Coins. If you're feeling impatient, you could always unlock access to those higher level Tools early using Adventure Cash.
Just One Small Catch...
However, some Tool upgrades do require an extra boost: your Tool Shop. Yes, the building itself can be upgraded, too. And this time, you will need items from your friends. (Just think of how things work in CityVille.) Luckily, you only have to do this about twice to unlock access to all of the game's Tools. Then, it's back onto leveling up to access new upgrades for Coins.
Adventure World Tool Shop Upgrade
Upgraded Tools are hands-down the way to go, if you want to save precious Energy for the good stuff, that is. You know, exploring ... uncovering the secrets of El Dorado? That kind of stuff. Your wallet might thank us later.
Click here to find all of our Adventure World Tips in one spot >
[Source: Zynga]
Have you upgraded your Tools in Adventure World yet? What other Energy-saving tips might you have for your fellow adventurers? Sound off in the comments
Tools: The Game Changer
If you noticed, each piece of debris and monster has a life bar, and normally take multiple hits with your Whip or Machete to whittle down. This, of course, quickly becomes a waste in later Expeditions purely due to the amount of obstacles in your path. But increasing the amount of damage your various Tools inflict against said baddies could considerably reduce the Energy spend in-game.
For instance, say a Snake has three hit points and is Level 5. Since monsters can hit back in this game, it could take three to five Energy before an enemy goes down. Now, imagine if you had upgraded your Whip to Level 2. Offing that Snake would take just two to four Energy with a beefier Whip. The same situation applies to Tools like the Machete.
Adventure World Tool Shop inside
And Now For Your How-To
Adventure World Tool Shop outsideUpgrading your Tools in Adventure World is simple. All you need to do is head back to Base Camp from an Expedition, and look for a makeshift hut that should already be in place in your headquarters. When you click on the Tool Shop, a window will appear featuring all the Tools you've found thus far on your journeys. Click on the Tool you wish to upgrade.
Once you click on a Tool to upgrade, you'll notice that each Tool costs Coins to upgrade. That's it--no asking friends to help you out with materials or farming certain crops for special items. Just the goods you find during your travels in search of El Dorado. However, Coins are actually quite rare in this game, so you'll need to save and spend wisely.
When you have enough Coins for an upgrade, just click on the appropriate icon to pay up. Tool upgrades are also level-locked, meaning you must reach a certain level for most Tools before being able to upgrade them using Coins. If you're feeling impatient, you could always unlock access to those higher level Tools early using Adventure Cash.
Just One Small Catch...
However, some Tool upgrades do require an extra boost: your Tool Shop. Yes, the building itself can be upgraded, too. And this time, you will need items from your friends. (Just think of how things work in CityVille.) Luckily, you only have to do this about twice to unlock access to all of the game's Tools. Then, it's back onto leveling up to access new upgrades for Coins.
Adventure World Tool Shop Upgrade
Upgraded Tools are hands-down the way to go, if you want to save precious Energy for the good stuff, that is. You know, exploring ... uncovering the secrets of El Dorado? That kind of stuff. Your wallet might thank us later.
Click here to find all of our Adventure World Tips in one spot >
[Source: Zynga]
Have you upgraded your Tools in Adventure World yet? What other Energy-saving tips might you have for your fellow adventurers? Sound off in the comments
Cafe World High Tea Party Catering Order: Everything you need to know
Last week, we brought you a rundown of the British section of festivities taking place in Cafe World as part of the game's two-year-anniversary event. At the time, something was always missing from that equation (the catering order), but now, the Catering Order has officially been launched. Are you ready for high tea?
The High Tea Party catering order has a three day time limit, and isn't exactly easy. You'll be required to serve Yorkshire Pudding 500 times, Shepherd's Pie 30 times and Bangers and Mash 120 times. Do those recipes look familiar? They should, as they're part of the prize list that can be earned by completing the Winston's Royals goals in the game. However, you'll need to complete these goals multiple times to unlock all of the prizes associated with this event, so I can only imagine just how few chefs actually have all three of these dishes available to cook/serve. Luckily, you can bring 18 of your friends in on this order with you, so hopefully a few of them can take care of most of (if not all of) the cooking for you. Just remember to say thank you with free gifts!
On top of all of this, you'll need to collect 12 Fancy Hats and 12 Food Trays by sending out individual request to friends. If you can complete all of these tasks in under three days' time, you'll receive the three-star rating, 12 Catering Points, 3,200 Cafe Points, 70,000 coins and the 2-Year Anniversary cake recipe.
Unfortunately, you must finish in under three days in order to walk away with this new recipe. If you can't manage to do that, but still finish within five days (I have to admit that still sounds like it would be hard), 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 fifth day, you'll receive just a single star, 4 Catering Points, 1,400 Cafe Points and 30,000 coins.
As an extra bonus (since this catering order goes along with the two-year-anniversary event), if you can finish with three stars, you'll also walk away with 10,000 free Travel Passes, which are used to enter yourself (automatically) into contests for in-game prizes like stoves, but also real world trips around the world! Good luck to all those who enter, along with all those who tackle this High Tea Party catering order itself.
What do you think of this High Tea Party order? Have you unlocked all three of these dishes in your own cookbook, or are you being forced to rely on your friends to finish this one in time? Sound off in the comments.
The High Tea Party catering order has a three day time limit, and isn't exactly easy. You'll be required to serve Yorkshire Pudding 500 times, Shepherd's Pie 30 times and Bangers and Mash 120 times. Do those recipes look familiar? They should, as they're part of the prize list that can be earned by completing the Winston's Royals goals in the game. However, you'll need to complete these goals multiple times to unlock all of the prizes associated with this event, so I can only imagine just how few chefs actually have all three of these dishes available to cook/serve. Luckily, you can bring 18 of your friends in on this order with you, so hopefully a few of them can take care of most of (if not all of) the cooking for you. Just remember to say thank you with free gifts!
On top of all of this, you'll need to collect 12 Fancy Hats and 12 Food Trays by sending out individual request to friends. If you can complete all of these tasks in under three days' time, you'll receive the three-star rating, 12 Catering Points, 3,200 Cafe Points, 70,000 coins and the 2-Year Anniversary cake recipe.
Unfortunately, you must finish in under three days in order to walk away with this new recipe. If you can't manage to do that, but still finish within five days (I have to admit that still sounds like it would be hard), 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 fifth day, you'll receive just a single star, 4 Catering Points, 1,400 Cafe Points and 30,000 coins.
As an extra bonus (since this catering order goes along with the two-year-anniversary event), if you can finish with three stars, you'll also walk away with 10,000 free Travel Passes, which are used to enter yourself (automatically) into contests for in-game prizes like stoves, but also real world trips around the world! Good luck to all those who enter, along with all those who tackle this High Tea Party catering order itself.
What do you think of this High Tea Party order? Have you unlocked all three of these dishes in your own cookbook, or are you being forced to rely on your friends to finish this one in time? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Năm, 22 tháng 9, 2011
Cafe World 2 Year Anniversary Winston's Royals Goals: Everything you need to know
I really hate to be the bearer of bad news, chefs (I really do), but it looks like there's a new goal series - actually, an entire event - now taking place in Cafe World celebrating the game's two year anniversary. Via this (apparently first?) goal series, you'll be helping Winston prepare a feast fit for a King, because you are indeed cooking for Royals (our anniversary celebration includes a vacation to Britain). There are new dishes up for grabs in these goals, and if you can finish them all within the next 18 days, you'll have the ability to repeat them to earn all of the dishes therein. Yes, that's right, two of your favorite things are present here - repeatable goals and a time limit. While I know that not all of you out there are opposed to such things, there are plenty more who are, so we'll try to help you through these goals at least once with our guide.
Winston's Royals 1
* Ask for 3 old British Recipe Cards
* Spice 6 of your own dishes
* Place the High Table Tea Party
First, the High Table Tea Party is a new building project that we'll have a guide for as soon as possible and you can check out our guide to building it right here. In the meantime, don't panic about the spice task; if you have any extra Salts or Peppers lying around, just use those. Meanwhile, as your friends for the Recipe Cards. Finishing this goal gives you five Travel Passes. These are a huge element of this event, as they'll give you a chance to win real-world prizes like trips "around the world," or in-game items like Stoves and Cafe Cash, and you'll have the ability to collect literally hundreds of them throughout the entirety of this event.
Winston's Royals 2
* Ask for 4 British Postcards
* Collect 2 Anniversary Collection Items
* Serve 10 French Onion Soups
French Onion Soup can be served after four hours. Meanwhile, the Anniversary Collection comes with five new items that you can earn by using spices on your dishes. Finishing this goal gives you 10 more Travel Passes.
Winston's Royals 3
* Ask for 6 Old British Recipe Cards
* Spice 10 Neighbor Dishes
* Serve 15 Angel Fruit Cakes
Angel Fruit Cake takes 8 hours to cook. Also, when visiting your neighbors, make sure to spice cooking dishes, and not just stoves. It's possible the latter would count, but there's always a chance that it won't. Better safe than sorry, no? Finish off this third goal and you'll earn - you guessed it - more Travel Passes, 15 to be exact.
Winston's Royals 4
* Ask for 7 British Postcards
* Serve 2 Dishes with the Pastry Station
* Serve 25 Gem Cakes
Here's where things get a bit complicated, as you'll have to worry about cooking dishes on your stoves and in the Pastry Station. If you've yet to build your Pastry Station, here's a complete guide to doing so. As for the Gem Cake, it takes 12 hours to prepare. Finish off this goal for 20 more Travel Passes.
Winston's Royals 5
* Ask for 10 Old British Recipe Cards
* Serve 18 Chocolate Creme Brulee
* Complete the High Tea Party Table
Chocolate Creme Brulee is a specialty coffee drink found in the Coffee Machine. You will need to have hired Becky the Barista in order to unlock it. For finishing off this last goal, you'll receive a whopping 500 Travel Passes along with a Mystery Prize in the form of a new recipe. This new recipe will most likely be Yorkshire Pudding, although there are three others that might appear in random order as you repeat the goal series. These are the Bangers and Mash, Shepherd's Pie and Salmon Mousse.
As we mentioned before, Winston's Royals looks to be just the first of many goal series available in this two-year anniversary event. While it's unclear whether or not the 18 days applies to just Winston's Royals, or to the entire event, we do know that we'll eventually travel to other countries and unlock other rewards. In the meantime, here's a complete checklist of the "British" tasks you can complete, which can be found in your own game at any time (click on the airline ticket in the right-side menu).
Good luck completing these goals and earning all of the rewards in time!
What do you think of the Winston's Royals goals and the two-year anniversary event as a whole? Sound off in the comments!
Winston's Royals 1
* Ask for 3 old British Recipe Cards
* Spice 6 of your own dishes
* Place the High Table Tea Party
First, the High Table Tea Party is a new building project that we'll have a guide for as soon as possible and you can check out our guide to building it right here. In the meantime, don't panic about the spice task; if you have any extra Salts or Peppers lying around, just use those. Meanwhile, as your friends for the Recipe Cards. Finishing this goal gives you five Travel Passes. These are a huge element of this event, as they'll give you a chance to win real-world prizes like trips "around the world," or in-game items like Stoves and Cafe Cash, and you'll have the ability to collect literally hundreds of them throughout the entirety of this event.
Winston's Royals 2
* Ask for 4 British Postcards
* Collect 2 Anniversary Collection Items
* Serve 10 French Onion Soups
French Onion Soup can be served after four hours. Meanwhile, the Anniversary Collection comes with five new items that you can earn by using spices on your dishes. Finishing this goal gives you 10 more Travel Passes.
Winston's Royals 3
* Ask for 6 Old British Recipe Cards
* Spice 10 Neighbor Dishes
* Serve 15 Angel Fruit Cakes
Angel Fruit Cake takes 8 hours to cook. Also, when visiting your neighbors, make sure to spice cooking dishes, and not just stoves. It's possible the latter would count, but there's always a chance that it won't. Better safe than sorry, no? Finish off this third goal and you'll earn - you guessed it - more Travel Passes, 15 to be exact.
Winston's Royals 4
* Ask for 7 British Postcards
* Serve 2 Dishes with the Pastry Station
* Serve 25 Gem Cakes
Here's where things get a bit complicated, as you'll have to worry about cooking dishes on your stoves and in the Pastry Station. If you've yet to build your Pastry Station, here's a complete guide to doing so. As for the Gem Cake, it takes 12 hours to prepare. Finish off this goal for 20 more Travel Passes.
Winston's Royals 5
* Ask for 10 Old British Recipe Cards
* Serve 18 Chocolate Creme Brulee
* Complete the High Tea Party Table
Chocolate Creme Brulee is a specialty coffee drink found in the Coffee Machine. You will need to have hired Becky the Barista in order to unlock it. For finishing off this last goal, you'll receive a whopping 500 Travel Passes along with a Mystery Prize in the form of a new recipe. This new recipe will most likely be Yorkshire Pudding, although there are three others that might appear in random order as you repeat the goal series. These are the Bangers and Mash, Shepherd's Pie and Salmon Mousse.
As we mentioned before, Winston's Royals looks to be just the first of many goal series available in this two-year anniversary event. While it's unclear whether or not the 18 days applies to just Winston's Royals, or to the entire event, we do know that we'll eventually travel to other countries and unlock other rewards. In the meantime, here's a complete checklist of the "British" tasks you can complete, which can be found in your own game at any time (click on the airline ticket in the right-side menu).
Good luck completing these goals and earning all of the rewards in time!
What do you think of the Winston's Royals goals and the two-year anniversary event as a whole? Sound off in the comments!
Cafe World High Tea Table: Everything you need to know
As we told you earlier today, the High Tea Table in Cafe World is but a small part in a much larger event in the game celebrating the two-year anniversary. Within this celebration are sections split into different countries, with the first destination being Great Britain. As part of the goal series for this section - Winston's Royals - you'll need to build the High Tea Table, so we're here to help you figure out how to do just that.
The High Tea Table's base can be added to your cafe for free by looking under the Specials tab of the Functional menu. Once placed, you'll have the expected task of gathering multiple building ingredients with your friends' help. You'll need eight Fancy Tea Pots, 10 Delicate Teacups, six Silver Platters and 6 sets of Cream and Sugar dishes. Only the Fancy Tea Pot is earned through a general news post - you'll need to gather the other three items either using Cafe Cash or by sending out individual requests to your friends for help.
Once completed, this table has more of a function that simply looking pretty, as it gives you extra mastery points when serving "British" dishes. Remember, you can sort your Cookbook by nationality, so if you're looking to quickly master some dishes, go for these British offerings as you'll earn +1 point of extra mastery each time you serve a British dish with this table out and active in your cafe.
What do you think of the High Tea Table? Are you looking forward to serving high tea to the "Royals" in your cafe, or are you tired of endless building projects? Sound off in the comments.
The High Tea Table's base can be added to your cafe for free by looking under the Specials tab of the Functional menu. Once placed, you'll have the expected task of gathering multiple building ingredients with your friends' help. You'll need eight Fancy Tea Pots, 10 Delicate Teacups, six Silver Platters and 6 sets of Cream and Sugar dishes. Only the Fancy Tea Pot is earned through a general news post - you'll need to gather the other three items either using Cafe Cash or by sending out individual requests to your friends for help.
Once completed, this table has more of a function that simply looking pretty, as it gives you extra mastery points when serving "British" dishes. Remember, you can sort your Cookbook by nationality, so if you're looking to quickly master some dishes, go for these British offerings as you'll earn +1 point of extra mastery each time you serve a British dish with this table out and active in your cafe.
What do you think of the High Tea Table? Are you looking forward to serving high tea to the "Royals" in your cafe, or are you tired of endless building projects? Sound off in the comments.
CityVille Neighborhoods: Everything you need to know
Check out our CityVille Neighborhoods Goals Guide right here.
Here we go, mayors. A new feature has been launched in CityVille that will help one of the biggest concerns I personally have with the game (and I know I'm not alone). A new Neighborhoods feature has launched to players above level 30, with at least 620 population, that will allow you to move homes (including high rises) into smaller areas to save space. This feature, you guessed it, is similar to the Mall feature, but here's a complete rundown of how this works for homes.
First and foremost, yes, you can have more than one Neighborhood in your town, and there are different types of Neighborhoods depending on the kinds of homes you'd like to store. Gated Communities cost 10,000 coins and store up to 15 Family Residences. Uptown Estates cost 15,000 coins and store 15 Apartments and finally, Palm Towers cost 20,000 coins and store 15 Vacation Home.
For our example, let's say you wanted to build a Gated Community in your town. You'd go into the store to purchase the base, as seen below, and would then need to whack that base six times to build up the frame.
From there, you'll instantly have access to two storage spots, of a possible five on the first "block," or "floor," if we're comparing this to the Mall. To fill these spaces, simply click on your empty Neighborhood and then click on "Fill" under one of the empty spaces. This will cause all of the buildings that can fit inside to glow. Click on one and voila! It's stored inside your Neighborhood, which will change shape and complexity as new buildings are added to it.
To unlock additional space inside your Neighborhoods, you'll need to ask your friends to staff extra spots, as seen above. The rate of one user per one storage slot isn't bad, really. Once your first block is full, you'll have to go through the process of asking for building materials to open up the second block. In our particular example of the Gated Community, you'll need five each of Red Bricks, Crossing Signs, Roof Tiles, Cement and Lumber. These are earned either by purchasing them outright with City Cash, or by asking your friends to send them to you.
When you've unlocked your second block, the process will repeat (and so on until you've unlocked and filled all three blocks, with more building materials being required the second time). Again, at first, these Neighborhoods may be incredibly space-consuming, but once they're full, you'll find them to be fairly space-saving, especially if you choose to place the largest homes in each category into storage. Don't worry about losing their stats, though, as you'll be able to collect rent as normal while they're inside. That is, you'll be able to click on your Neighborhood, and will then be asked to spend a larger amount of energy to collect from all "ready" buildings inside, just as you collect profits from your Mall.
All told, these are some fairly time consuming building projects, but if you're willing to go through with building them (and have plenty of friends around that are willing to help you out), you'll end up saving tons of space for future purchases, whether residential in nature or otherwise. We'll make sure to let you know when other kinds of Neighborhoods, for other kinds of homes are released, so keep checking back with us.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Neighborhoods feature? Is the space you saved substantial enough to warrant building them? Sound off in the comments.
Here we go, mayors. A new feature has been launched in CityVille that will help one of the biggest concerns I personally have with the game (and I know I'm not alone). A new Neighborhoods feature has launched to players above level 30, with at least 620 population, that will allow you to move homes (including high rises) into smaller areas to save space. This feature, you guessed it, is similar to the Mall feature, but here's a complete rundown of how this works for homes.
First and foremost, yes, you can have more than one Neighborhood in your town, and there are different types of Neighborhoods depending on the kinds of homes you'd like to store. Gated Communities cost 10,000 coins and store up to 15 Family Residences. Uptown Estates cost 15,000 coins and store 15 Apartments and finally, Palm Towers cost 20,000 coins and store 15 Vacation Home.
For our example, let's say you wanted to build a Gated Community in your town. You'd go into the store to purchase the base, as seen below, and would then need to whack that base six times to build up the frame.
From there, you'll instantly have access to two storage spots, of a possible five on the first "block," or "floor," if we're comparing this to the Mall. To fill these spaces, simply click on your empty Neighborhood and then click on "Fill" under one of the empty spaces. This will cause all of the buildings that can fit inside to glow. Click on one and voila! It's stored inside your Neighborhood, which will change shape and complexity as new buildings are added to it.
To unlock additional space inside your Neighborhoods, you'll need to ask your friends to staff extra spots, as seen above. The rate of one user per one storage slot isn't bad, really. Once your first block is full, you'll have to go through the process of asking for building materials to open up the second block. In our particular example of the Gated Community, you'll need five each of Red Bricks, Crossing Signs, Roof Tiles, Cement and Lumber. These are earned either by purchasing them outright with City Cash, or by asking your friends to send them to you.
When you've unlocked your second block, the process will repeat (and so on until you've unlocked and filled all three blocks, with more building materials being required the second time). Again, at first, these Neighborhoods may be incredibly space-consuming, but once they're full, you'll find them to be fairly space-saving, especially if you choose to place the largest homes in each category into storage. Don't worry about losing their stats, though, as you'll be able to collect rent as normal while they're inside. That is, you'll be able to click on your Neighborhood, and will then be asked to spend a larger amount of energy to collect from all "ready" buildings inside, just as you collect profits from your Mall.
All told, these are some fairly time consuming building projects, but if you're willing to go through with building them (and have plenty of friends around that are willing to help you out), you'll end up saving tons of space for future purchases, whether residential in nature or otherwise. We'll make sure to let you know when other kinds of Neighborhoods, for other kinds of homes are released, so keep checking back with us.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Neighborhoods feature? Is the space you saved substantial enough to warrant building them? Sound off in the comments.
CityVille Neighborhood Goals: Everything you need to know
To go along with the launch of the new Neighborhoods feature in CityVille, there's also a goal set to complete as well. If you remember, these Neighborhoods allow you to store homes for easier bulk access, and also just to generally save space (a huge factor in the game to this day). This goal series starts with one called Neighborhood Watch! (or, "On the House," if you prefer), which sees you simply placing a Neighborhood into your town to get used to the feature.
Neighborhood Watch!
* Build a Neighborhood
* Place 2 Residences into a Neighborhood
As we told you in our guide to Neighborhoods, they come in three varieties (currently) and range in price from 10,000 to 20,000 coins, depending on the kind of home you are trying to store (basic residences, apartments or vacation homes). Once you complete the construction of the Neighborhood, you'll be given these two storage spaces for free, so just fill them up and complete the goal! You'll receive a cute Garden Gnome decoration as a prize.
Block Party
* Ask for 6 Neighborhood Event Posters
* Place one more Residence into your Neighborhood
* Place a Garden Gnome Decoration
Luckily, there's a "Place" button right next to this final task, so you don't have to search through your inventory to find the Garden Gnome manually. In the meantime, you'll need to ask a single friend to help you open up that new slot in your Neighborhood so that you can store your third residence. Finally, the Event Posters can be earned by posting a general news item to your wall. For finishing this second goal, you'll receive a Family Home residence, which gives you 90-170 population.
Movin' On Up
* Unlock Block 2
* Fill Block 2
As we told you in our guide, to unlock the next block of your Neighborhood, you'll need to collect building materials with the help of friends. Once you've unlocked the second block, you'll also need to gather more staff to unlock the final slots on that block, and then fill it completely with homes. Finishing this goal gives you the Neighborhood Watch item, a watch-tower that takes up a 2x2 area on your land and provides a 5% bonus to surrounding buildings.
Welcome Wagon
* Ask for 8 Neighborhood Bake Sale Goodies
* Build a second Neighborhood
* Fill one Neighborhood
This goal will likely take you the longest to complete, as it requires collecting even more building ingredients than before, and even more staff to completely fill one neighborhood to its max of 15 houses. Finishing off this final goal of the series gives you the Deluxe Tree House.
All in all, these goals don't really require rushing, but as I'm sure most of you will likely want to build Neighborhoods for your own space-saving plans, you'll eventually finish them off with time.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Neighborhood feature in CityVille? Do you like the rewards for these goals? Sound off in the comments.
Neighborhood Watch!
* Build a Neighborhood
* Place 2 Residences into a Neighborhood
As we told you in our guide to Neighborhoods, they come in three varieties (currently) and range in price from 10,000 to 20,000 coins, depending on the kind of home you are trying to store (basic residences, apartments or vacation homes). Once you complete the construction of the Neighborhood, you'll be given these two storage spaces for free, so just fill them up and complete the goal! You'll receive a cute Garden Gnome decoration as a prize.
Block Party
* Ask for 6 Neighborhood Event Posters
* Place one more Residence into your Neighborhood
* Place a Garden Gnome Decoration
Luckily, there's a "Place" button right next to this final task, so you don't have to search through your inventory to find the Garden Gnome manually. In the meantime, you'll need to ask a single friend to help you open up that new slot in your Neighborhood so that you can store your third residence. Finally, the Event Posters can be earned by posting a general news item to your wall. For finishing this second goal, you'll receive a Family Home residence, which gives you 90-170 population.
Movin' On Up
* Unlock Block 2
* Fill Block 2
As we told you in our guide, to unlock the next block of your Neighborhood, you'll need to collect building materials with the help of friends. Once you've unlocked the second block, you'll also need to gather more staff to unlock the final slots on that block, and then fill it completely with homes. Finishing this goal gives you the Neighborhood Watch item, a watch-tower that takes up a 2x2 area on your land and provides a 5% bonus to surrounding buildings.
Welcome Wagon
* Ask for 8 Neighborhood Bake Sale Goodies
* Build a second Neighborhood
* Fill one Neighborhood
This goal will likely take you the longest to complete, as it requires collecting even more building ingredients than before, and even more staff to completely fill one neighborhood to its max of 15 houses. Finishing off this final goal of the series gives you the Deluxe Tree House.
All in all, these goals don't really require rushing, but as I'm sure most of you will likely want to build Neighborhoods for your own space-saving plans, you'll eventually finish them off with time.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Neighborhood feature in CityVille? Do you like the rewards for these goals? Sound off in the comments.
CityVille says Viva Mexico! with new Mexican themed items
To celebrate Mexican Independence, Zynga has launched a full theme of Mexican themed items in CityVille this afternoon. These items range from small decorations to large landmarks, so we'll make sure to give you a complete rundown on these items to know what to expect. Keep in mind, while they do have a longer time limit than usual at anywhere from 12-14 days (the usual being a week), they will eventually vanish from the store, so do some shopping sooner, rather than later. Here's what's available:
Ice Cream Cart (Decoration)
* Costs: 5,000 coins
* Payout Bonus: 3% to surrounding businesses and homes; bonus 3% to Mexico themed items
Guerrero Residence (Home)
* Costs: 40 City Cash
* Population: 600-1200
* Rent: 296 coins every 18 hours
Sombrero Store (Business)
* Costs: 6,800 coins
* Requires: 170 Goods
* Supplies: 1,024 coins
Garcia House (Home)
* Costs: 13,500 coins
* Population: 120-240
* Rent: 18 coins every five minutes
Watch Tower (Decoration)
* Costs: 24 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 24%; bonus 24% to Mexican themed items
Mayan Pyramid (Decoration)
* Costs: 72,000 coins
* Payout Bonus: 12%; bonus 12% to Mexican themed items
* Not Limited Edition!
Morelos Fort (Community Building)
* Costs: 70 City Cash
* Allows: 2,000 citizens added to max population cap
Hacienda de Dolores (Home)
* Costs: 65 City Cash
* Population: 1850-3650
* Rent: 451 coins every 3.1 days
House of Churros (Business)
* Costs: 40 City Cash
* Requires: 305 Goods
* Supplies: 1648 coins
On top of all of this, there's also a Mexico Mystery Crate available for 40 City Cash that contains one of four items: the Morelos Fort, Hacienda de Dolores, Guerrero Residence or House of Churros. Sure, you'd get two items from this crate at a discounted price, but remember that there's no guarantee you won't receive duplicates when purchasing more than one crate. That is, if you're going for both the Hacienda and the Fort, you may very well end up with two House of Churros instead.
Either way, we'll make sure to let you know if other items are added in this Mexican Independence celebration theme, but we wouldn't be surprised if it's a one-time-deal.
What do you think of this new theme of items? Which ones have you purchased for your town and which ones will you skip? Sound off in the comments.
Ice Cream Cart (Decoration)
* Costs: 5,000 coins
* Payout Bonus: 3% to surrounding businesses and homes; bonus 3% to Mexico themed items
Guerrero Residence (Home)
* Costs: 40 City Cash
* Population: 600-1200
* Rent: 296 coins every 18 hours
Sombrero Store (Business)
* Costs: 6,800 coins
* Requires: 170 Goods
* Supplies: 1,024 coins
Garcia House (Home)
* Costs: 13,500 coins
* Population: 120-240
* Rent: 18 coins every five minutes
Watch Tower (Decoration)
* Costs: 24 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 24%; bonus 24% to Mexican themed items
Mayan Pyramid (Decoration)
* Costs: 72,000 coins
* Payout Bonus: 12%; bonus 12% to Mexican themed items
* Not Limited Edition!
Morelos Fort (Community Building)
* Costs: 70 City Cash
* Allows: 2,000 citizens added to max population cap
Hacienda de Dolores (Home)
* Costs: 65 City Cash
* Population: 1850-3650
* Rent: 451 coins every 3.1 days
House of Churros (Business)
* Costs: 40 City Cash
* Requires: 305 Goods
* Supplies: 1648 coins
On top of all of this, there's also a Mexico Mystery Crate available for 40 City Cash that contains one of four items: the Morelos Fort, Hacienda de Dolores, Guerrero Residence or House of Churros. Sure, you'd get two items from this crate at a discounted price, but remember that there's no guarantee you won't receive duplicates when purchasing more than one crate. That is, if you're going for both the Hacienda and the Fort, you may very well end up with two House of Churros instead.
Either way, we'll make sure to let you know if other items are added in this Mexican Independence celebration theme, but we wouldn't be surprised if it's a one-time-deal.
What do you think of this new theme of items? Which ones have you purchased for your town and which ones will you skip? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Tư, 21 tháng 9, 2011
Have the (retro) time of your life in Dirty Dancing on Facebook
When we first found that a Dirty Dancing Facebook game was in the works, I admittedly almost thought I was dreaming. But nay, it is, in fact, real and has officially launched on the platform. Toronto-based developer Social Game Universe and Lionsgate have released a retro-inspired social homage to one of the arguably greatest '80s flicks of all time. (Personally, it's not my schtick, but even I wouldn't argue with the 10.9 million fans of Dirty Dancing on Facebook.)
"We wanted to create a game that would not only capture the essence and aesthetic of the Dirty Dancing film, but also offer Facebook gamers an opportunity to experience it in a whole new way," Social Game Universe CEO Nathon Gunn said in a release. "By enabling players to partner with their Facebook friends to generate love and romance at Kellerman's, they can add their own unique spin to the game, creating a different social experience for each player."
Just like we heard before, players will essentially curate an 8-bit version of the Kellerman's Resort from the movie through little blasts of lovey-dovey stuff called Romance Waves, which will make your guests stay longer. Players, guided by either Johnny or Baby from the classic film (Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, respectively), perform dance rehearsals with combinations of different dance techniques to garner more Romance Waves.
Upon starting the game, each player chooses their own style of dance from a small selection, which becomes their permanent style. When recruiting friends asynchronously for dance rehearsals comprised of three dancers, you will unlock new dance combinations and collect even more Romance Waves to keep guests falling in love, sticking around longer, and spending coins on your various attractions.
Dirty Dancing Facebook in Action
To keep faithful to its legendary source material, every Romance Wave blast will let out clips from songs featured in Dirty Dancing's Oscar-winning soundtrack. And as players discover new dance rehearsal combinations, they will unlock secret combinations for big Romance Wave rewards. Of course, you can also boost your progress by spending Watermelons, the game's paid currency, on decorations and attractions to get your guests to spend.
This all creates a cycle of finding new dance routines through combining your friends' dance styles in new ways, bursts of Romance and expanding and restoring your version of the Kellerman's Resort. As you keep you and your friends' feet tapping and romancing, you can take pictures of your resort and share them with friends as well as help them out by visiting. And hey, if you're patiently waiting for the next Dirty Dancing flick to hit in 2013, maybe this will hold you over.
Click here to play Dirty Dancing on Facebook Now >
If you've tried the game already on Facebook, what do you think of it so far? Will you be playing this in anticipation of the next film? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
"We wanted to create a game that would not only capture the essence and aesthetic of the Dirty Dancing film, but also offer Facebook gamers an opportunity to experience it in a whole new way," Social Game Universe CEO Nathon Gunn said in a release. "By enabling players to partner with their Facebook friends to generate love and romance at Kellerman's, they can add their own unique spin to the game, creating a different social experience for each player."
Just like we heard before, players will essentially curate an 8-bit version of the Kellerman's Resort from the movie through little blasts of lovey-dovey stuff called Romance Waves, which will make your guests stay longer. Players, guided by either Johnny or Baby from the classic film (Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, respectively), perform dance rehearsals with combinations of different dance techniques to garner more Romance Waves.
Upon starting the game, each player chooses their own style of dance from a small selection, which becomes their permanent style. When recruiting friends asynchronously for dance rehearsals comprised of three dancers, you will unlock new dance combinations and collect even more Romance Waves to keep guests falling in love, sticking around longer, and spending coins on your various attractions.
Dirty Dancing Facebook in Action
To keep faithful to its legendary source material, every Romance Wave blast will let out clips from songs featured in Dirty Dancing's Oscar-winning soundtrack. And as players discover new dance rehearsal combinations, they will unlock secret combinations for big Romance Wave rewards. Of course, you can also boost your progress by spending Watermelons, the game's paid currency, on decorations and attractions to get your guests to spend.
This all creates a cycle of finding new dance routines through combining your friends' dance styles in new ways, bursts of Romance and expanding and restoring your version of the Kellerman's Resort. As you keep you and your friends' feet tapping and romancing, you can take pictures of your resort and share them with friends as well as help them out by visiting. And hey, if you're patiently waiting for the next Dirty Dancing flick to hit in 2013, maybe this will hold you over.
Click here to play Dirty Dancing on Facebook Now >
If you've tried the game already on Facebook, what do you think of it so far? Will you be playing this in anticipation of the next film? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Angry Birds is the top game on Google+ Games, Rovio exec says
Angry Bird explosion
Where else will the Angry Birds crash land into and dominate? Nintendo 3DS? Xbox 360? Your scientific calculator? Who knows, but according to All Things Digital, Rovio SVP of brand advertising and analytics Wibe Wagemans said yesterday at the Mobile Future Forward conference in Seattle, Wash. that Angry Birds is the number on game on Google+ Games.
Granted, that's out of all 16 games on the platform right now, but some of those games were put there by the likes of major social game creators like Zynga, Wooga, EA and Playdom. Wagemans, formerly an executive on Microsoft's Bing team, went on to say that Rovio has grown faster in the past two years than companies like MySpace, YouTube, Amazon and Skype. He also said, "We are now the fastest-growing consumer brand in history," ATD reports.
When you think about it, though: Not only is the Angry Birds game on nearly every gaming platform under the sun, but the little wingless cartoons and their amorphous green piglet enemies have been transformed into plush toys, t-shirts, board games, cook books, a feature film--need I go on?
During his talk in Seattle, Wageman revealed that Rovio welcomes over 120 million monthly Angry Birds players across the myriad of platforms the game is available on. Simply put, the western world is hooked on Angry Birds (it's science, remember?) and soon so will the East, if Rovio has any say in it. Sure, that's less than half of the 273 million or so monthly players Zynga caters to on Facebook alone, to which Wageman said, "We haven't even launched on Facebook yet." Oh ... oh, no.
[Image Credit: FuckYeahAlbuquerque]
Are you one of the 120 million or more devoted Angry Birds fans? Do you think Rovio could compete directly with Zynga when Angry Birds launches on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Where else will the Angry Birds crash land into and dominate? Nintendo 3DS? Xbox 360? Your scientific calculator? Who knows, but according to All Things Digital, Rovio SVP of brand advertising and analytics Wibe Wagemans said yesterday at the Mobile Future Forward conference in Seattle, Wash. that Angry Birds is the number on game on Google+ Games.
Granted, that's out of all 16 games on the platform right now, but some of those games were put there by the likes of major social game creators like Zynga, Wooga, EA and Playdom. Wagemans, formerly an executive on Microsoft's Bing team, went on to say that Rovio has grown faster in the past two years than companies like MySpace, YouTube, Amazon and Skype. He also said, "We are now the fastest-growing consumer brand in history," ATD reports.
When you think about it, though: Not only is the Angry Birds game on nearly every gaming platform under the sun, but the little wingless cartoons and their amorphous green piglet enemies have been transformed into plush toys, t-shirts, board games, cook books, a feature film--need I go on?
During his talk in Seattle, Wageman revealed that Rovio welcomes over 120 million monthly Angry Birds players across the myriad of platforms the game is available on. Simply put, the western world is hooked on Angry Birds (it's science, remember?) and soon so will the East, if Rovio has any say in it. Sure, that's less than half of the 273 million or so monthly players Zynga caters to on Facebook alone, to which Wageman said, "We haven't even launched on Facebook yet." Oh ... oh, no.
[Image Credit: FuckYeahAlbuquerque]
Are you one of the 120 million or more devoted Angry Birds fans? Do you think Rovio could compete directly with Zynga when Angry Birds launches on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Thứ Ba, 20 tháng 9, 2011
Bubble Witch Saga pops on Facebook, King.com hits 900M gameplays
If games like Bubble Bobble have taught us anything, it's that sometimes there's nothing more relaxing than popping bubbles. Casual and social game developer King.com knows this all too well, and has released its second bubble-bursting game on Facebook, Bubble Witch Saga. This new game is a socially-enhanced port of one of the top five most popular games ever on King.com (the casual games website of the same name), King.com Director of Product Performance, Social and Mobile, Lars Jornow told us.
The game features more levels than ever with 70 unique stages, new booster power-ups available for Facebook Credits and a deeper storyline than before. Players assume the role of an aspiring witch who wishes to join the proverbial circle of three. In order to impress the witches, you must burst the bubbles by matching three of the same color to fill their cauldron with magic goop. I mean, who knows what witches put in those things?
Bursting the bubbles will get the cauldron below bubbling, as witches are so wont to do. Each successful match causes spiders to drop from the ceiling. The more spiders you have when you burst enough bubbles, the more points you'll get (and hopefully stars), as the spiders will act as bumpers for the remaining bubbles and increase your chances of scoring big.
Buggle Witch Saga concept art
Completing each level with the most stars possible will help you reach new uncharted parts of a vast forest in your quest to become the fourth witch of the circle. Players can invite their friends to the game to help restore their lives if they fail to clear a difficult level, and later in the game they will need more friends to unlock new levels to play.
Bubble Witch Saga takes an interesting spin on the bubble-bursting sub genre of casual and social games, with its semi-realistic art style that's delightfully reminiscent of the unforgettable Halloween flick Hocus-Pocus. While the game already has six episodes (with about 10 levels each) of content, Jornow tells us that more content is already in the works.
Bubble Witch Saga gameplay
Not to mention that the game will hit mobile devices later this year. King.com also announced that it has surpassed 900 million monthly gameplay sessions across all of its platforms. Granted, that's thanks to its over 200 games total, but an impressive feat nonetheless--though, the company does say that it has beat PopCap in monthly players on Facebook, according to AppData. Bubble Witch is available for play now on Facebook, so have at those bubbles, my pretties. (I promise that's the last time I say "my pretties" here ... whoops, done it again!)
Click here to play Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook Now >
Are you excited to kick back and blow up some bubbles once again? What do you think of this game so far, and the bubble-bursting sub genre of casual or social games? Share with us in the comments. Add Comment
The game features more levels than ever with 70 unique stages, new booster power-ups available for Facebook Credits and a deeper storyline than before. Players assume the role of an aspiring witch who wishes to join the proverbial circle of three. In order to impress the witches, you must burst the bubbles by matching three of the same color to fill their cauldron with magic goop. I mean, who knows what witches put in those things?
Bursting the bubbles will get the cauldron below bubbling, as witches are so wont to do. Each successful match causes spiders to drop from the ceiling. The more spiders you have when you burst enough bubbles, the more points you'll get (and hopefully stars), as the spiders will act as bumpers for the remaining bubbles and increase your chances of scoring big.
Buggle Witch Saga concept art
Completing each level with the most stars possible will help you reach new uncharted parts of a vast forest in your quest to become the fourth witch of the circle. Players can invite their friends to the game to help restore their lives if they fail to clear a difficult level, and later in the game they will need more friends to unlock new levels to play.
Bubble Witch Saga takes an interesting spin on the bubble-bursting sub genre of casual and social games, with its semi-realistic art style that's delightfully reminiscent of the unforgettable Halloween flick Hocus-Pocus. While the game already has six episodes (with about 10 levels each) of content, Jornow tells us that more content is already in the works.
Bubble Witch Saga gameplay
Not to mention that the game will hit mobile devices later this year. King.com also announced that it has surpassed 900 million monthly gameplay sessions across all of its platforms. Granted, that's thanks to its over 200 games total, but an impressive feat nonetheless--though, the company does say that it has beat PopCap in monthly players on Facebook, according to AppData. Bubble Witch is available for play now on Facebook, so have at those bubbles, my pretties. (I promise that's the last time I say "my pretties" here ... whoops, done it again!)
Click here to play Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook Now >
Are you excited to kick back and blow up some bubbles once again? What do you think of this game so far, and the bubble-bursting sub genre of casual or social games? Share with us in the comments. Add Comment
OpenFeint co-founder leaves, Gree International head becomes CEO
Well, that sure was quick. Just months after Japanese social game network Gree acquired OpenFeint (for a cool $104 million, mind you), the latter's co-founder and CEO has left the company, VentureBeat reports. The Burlingame, Calif.-based mobile social game network's 26-year-old co-founder Jason Citron has moved on to new opportunities, and has been replaced by Gree's head of international operations Naoki Aoyagi (pictured).
"In just over 24 months, OpenFeint has grown to over 120 million users across 7,000 games," Aoyagi said in a release. "I thank Jason for his leadership growing the company and wish him well in his new adventures." But, according to VentureBeat, the old switcheroo might not have been so cut and dry.
VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi reports hearing rumors that Citron had been fired from the company before contacting OpenFeint and Citron, both of which declined to comment on the news until Aoyagi made the above statement in a release. However, both companies aim to announce their plans for integration between the U.S. operations of both companies in the coming weeks.
In other words, Gree's westward expansion into the U.S. through OpenFeint is imminent, and Gree will likely have even more of a say in how OpenFeint handles things now with a former Gree executive at the reins. Gree hopes to turn U.S. mobile gamers into the apparently wild spenders that Japanese mobile gamers tend to be.
However, direct Japanese competitor DeNA has already launched its Mobage mobile social games platform in the U.S. through recent acquisition ngmoco, and already has support of major U.S. carrier AT&T (though, it is AT&T). It looks like this holiday season will prove whether Gree and OpenFeint can catch up to their new rivals, not to mention existing western competitors like Zynga and EA, both of which have global and mobile ambitions. At any rate, it's going to be a very merry Christmas for mobile gamers.
[Image Credit: VentureBeat]
Do you think Gree and OpenFeint can catch up to DeNA under its new management? What do you hope to see from Citron now that he's freed himself from the company he helped bring up to this point? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
"In just over 24 months, OpenFeint has grown to over 120 million users across 7,000 games," Aoyagi said in a release. "I thank Jason for his leadership growing the company and wish him well in his new adventures." But, according to VentureBeat, the old switcheroo might not have been so cut and dry.
VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi reports hearing rumors that Citron had been fired from the company before contacting OpenFeint and Citron, both of which declined to comment on the news until Aoyagi made the above statement in a release. However, both companies aim to announce their plans for integration between the U.S. operations of both companies in the coming weeks.
In other words, Gree's westward expansion into the U.S. through OpenFeint is imminent, and Gree will likely have even more of a say in how OpenFeint handles things now with a former Gree executive at the reins. Gree hopes to turn U.S. mobile gamers into the apparently wild spenders that Japanese mobile gamers tend to be.
However, direct Japanese competitor DeNA has already launched its Mobage mobile social games platform in the U.S. through recent acquisition ngmoco, and already has support of major U.S. carrier AT&T (though, it is AT&T). It looks like this holiday season will prove whether Gree and OpenFeint can catch up to their new rivals, not to mention existing western competitors like Zynga and EA, both of which have global and mobile ambitions. At any rate, it's going to be a very merry Christmas for mobile gamers.
[Image Credit: VentureBeat]
Do you think Gree and OpenFeint can catch up to DeNA under its new management? What do you hope to see from Citron now that he's freed himself from the company he helped bring up to this point? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Scrabble gets ridiculously meta in Scrabble Showdown [Video]
Scrabble Showdown
We think it's official: Scrabble is now available on every game platform ever--even cable TV. What if we told you that, while playing Scrabble on Facebook against your friends playing on their smartphones, you could watch folks play on TV? (Now, if that's not meta, we don't know what is.) Scrabble Showdown, a new game show on The Hub cable TV network produced by Hasbro Studios, will debut this Saturday, Sept. 17, at 6:30 p.m. EST. (Check here to see where it will play in your area.)
In the half-hour long game show, families compete in a variety of Scrabble games including Scrabble Babble, Slam, Flash and the Final Lightning Round (you know, because it wouldn't be a game show without one of those). Of course, there are major prizes at stake like vacations to "anywhere in the world," according to a release. At this point, you really will have zero excuse to not own your friends in Scrabble on Facebook.
This show, hosted by Justin Willman of The Food Network's Cake Wars, is bound to get intense. I mean, have you seen professional Scrabble players? They'll be flocking to this new battlefield in no time. Check out a preview of the show below, and if you tune in this weekend--who knows--you might learn a trick or two to school your friends with on Facebook.
Do you plan on tuning into Scrabble Showdown this weekend? What other Facebook or casual games do you think would make a fun game show? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
We think it's official: Scrabble is now available on every game platform ever--even cable TV. What if we told you that, while playing Scrabble on Facebook against your friends playing on their smartphones, you could watch folks play on TV? (Now, if that's not meta, we don't know what is.) Scrabble Showdown, a new game show on The Hub cable TV network produced by Hasbro Studios, will debut this Saturday, Sept. 17, at 6:30 p.m. EST. (Check here to see where it will play in your area.)
In the half-hour long game show, families compete in a variety of Scrabble games including Scrabble Babble, Slam, Flash and the Final Lightning Round (you know, because it wouldn't be a game show without one of those). Of course, there are major prizes at stake like vacations to "anywhere in the world," according to a release. At this point, you really will have zero excuse to not own your friends in Scrabble on Facebook.
This show, hosted by Justin Willman of The Food Network's Cake Wars, is bound to get intense. I mean, have you seen professional Scrabble players? They'll be flocking to this new battlefield in no time. Check out a preview of the show below, and if you tune in this weekend--who knows--you might learn a trick or two to school your friends with on Facebook.
Do you plan on tuning into Scrabble Showdown this weekend? What other Facebook or casual games do you think would make a fun game show? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
A sad 75 percent of (expensive) MapleStory marriages end in divorce
And you thought the 50 percent divorce rate of real marriages in the U.S. was bad. Nexon reports that, of the 26,982 in-game MapleStory marriages, 20,344 (or 75 percent) end in annulment. And those in-game betrothals aren't cheap--each union in the free-to-play MMO (massively multiplayer online game) costs $25 in Nexon Cash, the South Korean developer's paid currency.
After seeing the massive (and kind of depressing) divorce rate, the Nexon community team turned to its players to find out just what was up. And while the company didn't find out much, it did uncover some hilarious somber stories. Take Seth, a 19-year-old MapleStory player from Colorado Springs, Colo:
My former Maple spouse and I started off great; going on party quests together, boss runs, training, helping each other become better Maplers. Then I realized after a while that she was only out there to get free things off of me and we got in this conversation where she admitted to this accusation, so I decided I would have to annul our Maple marriage.
MapleStory matrimony
Here's a pro tip, kids: Think hard before marrying someone online whom you've yet to meet in person. Sure, it's all in good fun ... right until you start to share account information and lose all your goodies. (Another major no-no.)
"Getting married in MapleStory can be quite a fun event for the happy couple and their friends," MapleStory producer Crystin Cox said in a release. "While it looks like our players break up at a much higher rate than people do in real life, at least our players are not on the hook for alimony."
Fair enough, we guess. I think it's safe to assume this feature won't make it into MapleStory Adventures, which debuted on Facebook just over the summer, a version of the game I enjoyed immensely (and so do over 3 million monthly players). But with stats like this, consider it good news that this feature won't see the light of day elsewhere.
[Image Credits: Ylwong, Phame]
Have you ever married someone in MapleStory? What do you think of marriages in games like MapleStory, and would you like to see this feature come to the Facebook version of the game knowing the risks? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
After seeing the massive (and kind of depressing) divorce rate, the Nexon community team turned to its players to find out just what was up. And while the company didn't find out much, it did uncover some hilarious somber stories. Take Seth, a 19-year-old MapleStory player from Colorado Springs, Colo:
My former Maple spouse and I started off great; going on party quests together, boss runs, training, helping each other become better Maplers. Then I realized after a while that she was only out there to get free things off of me and we got in this conversation where she admitted to this accusation, so I decided I would have to annul our Maple marriage.
MapleStory matrimony
Here's a pro tip, kids: Think hard before marrying someone online whom you've yet to meet in person. Sure, it's all in good fun ... right until you start to share account information and lose all your goodies. (Another major no-no.)
"Getting married in MapleStory can be quite a fun event for the happy couple and their friends," MapleStory producer Crystin Cox said in a release. "While it looks like our players break up at a much higher rate than people do in real life, at least our players are not on the hook for alimony."
Fair enough, we guess. I think it's safe to assume this feature won't make it into MapleStory Adventures, which debuted on Facebook just over the summer, a version of the game I enjoyed immensely (and so do over 3 million monthly players). But with stats like this, consider it good news that this feature won't see the light of day elsewhere.
[Image Credits: Ylwong, Phame]
Have you ever married someone in MapleStory? What do you think of marriages in games like MapleStory, and would you like to see this feature come to the Facebook version of the game knowing the risks? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Plants vs Zombies's Crazy Dave finds his calling: hip hop music [Video]
Cray-Z Wabby Wabbo
Unintelligible stammering backed by some smooth zombie croons, but hip hop nevertheless. In this new video by PopCap, Crazy Dave (you know, the guy who sells you stuff?) from Plants vs Zombies takes a shot at making a hip hop video. Of course, you'll never know what the guy is spitting out rhymes about, as he can't say much more than "wabby" and "wabbo."
In fact, that's exactly the title of Cray-Z's--Crazy Dave's most fitting stage name--debut video, "Wabby Wabbo." According to its description, Ded Jam Records decided that the world deserved to hear Crazy Dave's mindless blabbering in a more appropriate format: rap music. (Let the flaming in the comments commence!)
We don't want to ruin all the surprises, but just know this: Cray-Z, like just about all successful hip hop artists, seriously loves his bling, expensive cars and collaborating with back-up vocalists for seconds at a time. Oh, and a fan-favorite zombie makes a show-stopping vocal contribution ... literally.
Considering all the work PopCap has been up to on the game already, we're guessing this is just how the team prefers to spend their free time. And please, guys, if your free time results in more comedy gold like this, definitely squeeze in more of that free time. Check out the video below.
[Video Credit: PlantsVsZombies]
Are you a fan of Plants vs Zombies? What about PopCap's hilarious videos surrounding its games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Unintelligible stammering backed by some smooth zombie croons, but hip hop nevertheless. In this new video by PopCap, Crazy Dave (you know, the guy who sells you stuff?) from Plants vs Zombies takes a shot at making a hip hop video. Of course, you'll never know what the guy is spitting out rhymes about, as he can't say much more than "wabby" and "wabbo."
In fact, that's exactly the title of Cray-Z's--Crazy Dave's most fitting stage name--debut video, "Wabby Wabbo." According to its description, Ded Jam Records decided that the world deserved to hear Crazy Dave's mindless blabbering in a more appropriate format: rap music. (Let the flaming in the comments commence!)
We don't want to ruin all the surprises, but just know this: Cray-Z, like just about all successful hip hop artists, seriously loves his bling, expensive cars and collaborating with back-up vocalists for seconds at a time. Oh, and a fan-favorite zombie makes a show-stopping vocal contribution ... literally.
Considering all the work PopCap has been up to on the game already, we're guessing this is just how the team prefers to spend their free time. And please, guys, if your free time results in more comedy gold like this, definitely squeeze in more of that free time. Check out the video below.
[Video Credit: PlantsVsZombies]
Are you a fan of Plants vs Zombies? What about PopCap's hilarious videos surrounding its games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Chủ Nhật, 11 tháng 9, 2011
DccNiTghtmare 0.3, ASC 2.20
DNT: inspiration source in the shelf
DNT: post-apocalyptic santa
DccNiTghtmare (DNT), the RPG with a dyslexical title, a post-apocalyptic setting and The Sims-like graphics, is 0.3 Versions old (download here).To my great joy, there are already three solvable quests and a bunch of collectable items. The main thing, however: humor. In your journes you can either choose the light path and install GNU/Linux on the computers you pass by or infect it with the dark force of ruinix. You can actually do this in the latest version. I like where this is going, if this open source/proprietary thing gets implemented well, the game will have completely different playing styles.
Update: 0.3.2 of DNT has been released and it runs! [video] Also check out this DNT tutorial in comic form.
Advanced Strategic Command's latest stable version is 2.2.0. Some of the changes include new terrain and object graphics and changed unit definitions. Unfortunately it won't run on my system for now, so no screens from me this time.
Plutocracy, Cheese Boys and Goblin Hack 1.16
Cheese Boys breaking the fourth wall
Cheese Boys is a humorous post-apocalyptic action adventure. The current two-level implementation, that features dialog and fighting already contains a lot of strange fourth wall breaking humor (although it is quite different to Fallout's.)Goblin Hack 1.16
Goblin Hack (GH) 1.16 is now out with new features, including music by Pascal Provost and new level kinds. Apparently there even is an end game level now, which I assume 0.17% of all GH players will reach. (Ever finished Nethack? Not me. :) )Plutocracy rev 499
Plutocracy is a multiplayer 3D RTS game focusing on merchant trade and domination by economic means, although warfare and piracy are always an option. The game has a 1600s Caribbean theme, is played on a real globe, and aims to replicate realistic economic transactions.I fell in love with it's graphical style, which reminds me of Populous III. I haven't had the chance to play it with anybody else and there are no bots, so I can't say anything about playability, besides the fact that it's easy to lose your units out of sight.
Freedom is Fun
Happy festive season to all those who are celebrating, and commiserations to those who are missing out or have not been blessed with a nice Christmas period.
Many thanks to Q for being a custodian of the blog. It would surely have died long ago but for his endeavour and I deeply appreciate his ongoing efforts.
NYC in SauerI have a queue of interesting things... like this lovely screenshot of a NYC map for Sauerbraten that pushes the engine's performance.
There was a Christmas release of SuperTuxKart and it's full of goodies. Verison 0.6rc1 (an rc, thusly YMMV) offers (among a lot of new tracks and other improvements) improved physics with skidding, nitro, a better AI, and positional sound effects. Sounds super.
Gearhead2 is now completable as of the latest release, version 0.530, meaning that it is no longer a tech demo but a real live game. It's a futuristic / mech-based graphical roguelike and a very nice one too by all accounts.
Vega Strike has had a lot of speech packs contributed in the last few weeks. To preview them you'll have to head on over to the VS forums (sorry, no direct links). I'm sure this will make the next release of the game more atmospheric. Whilst core development seems a little cool at the moment, the community contributions are as active as ever and I predict an explosive release sometime in 2009 that makes people go, "Wow, that's what open source can do." I also mined this nugget from the Ogre forums when procrastinating the other day (hellcatv is a lead VS dev, VS is prospectively getting ported to OGRE, and that thread is about a feature that looks particularly useful for transitions between space and planetscapes). Yes, that is rumour-mongering, and I'm proud of it!
Scourge is getting nicer lighting, there's a poor quality video on vimeo of it in its infancy (the effects have since improved). There was a bump with the 0.21 release, which got pulled and replaced by 0.21.1, but now that's sorted out development momentum has returned and already 0.22 looks promising.
I don't monitor nearly as many projects as I used to. Are there any other impressive screenshots you guys have seen lately? Any other projects looking promising for nice 2009 releases?
Many thanks to Q for being a custodian of the blog. It would surely have died long ago but for his endeavour and I deeply appreciate his ongoing efforts.
NYC in Sauer
There was a Christmas release of SuperTuxKart and it's full of goodies. Verison 0.6rc1 (an rc, thusly YMMV) offers (among a lot of new tracks and other improvements) improved physics with skidding, nitro, a better AI, and positional sound effects. Sounds super.
Gearhead2 is now completable as of the latest release, version 0.530, meaning that it is no longer a tech demo but a real live game. It's a futuristic / mech-based graphical roguelike and a very nice one too by all accounts.
UFO:AI Starchaser
I really liked this UFO:AI "Starchaser" interceptor (right). I'm looking forward to 2.3 which should be another impressive release for the project.Vega Strike has had a lot of speech packs contributed in the last few weeks. To preview them you'll have to head on over to the VS forums (sorry, no direct links). I'm sure this will make the next release of the game more atmospheric. Whilst core development seems a little cool at the moment, the community contributions are as active as ever and I predict an explosive release sometime in 2009 that makes people go, "Wow, that's what open source can do." I also mined this nugget from the Ogre forums when procrastinating the other day (hellcatv is a lead VS dev, VS is prospectively getting ported to OGRE, and that thread is about a feature that looks particularly useful for transitions between space and planetscapes). Yes, that is rumour-mongering, and I'm proud of it!
Scourge is getting nicer lighting, there's a poor quality video on vimeo of it in its infancy (the effects have since improved). There was a bump with the 0.21 release, which got pulled and replaced by 0.21.1, but now that's sorted out development momentum has returned and already 0.22 looks promising.
I don't monitor nearly as many projects as I used to. Are there any other impressive screenshots you guys have seen lately? Any other projects looking promising for nice 2009 releases?
Inside a Star-Filled Sky (Public Domain For-Pay) + Video Review + Jason Rohrer on open source
Inside a Star-Filled Sky (IaSFS? InaStFiSk?) is a game. And art. [You want a game?=art discussion? Go to page 9! ;)] This art runs on OSX, Linux and Windows.
So you move around in procedurally generated mazes in real-time, shoot enemies, pick up stuff and change between levels. Sounds like.. GoblinHack so far (the graphics are softer though).
But.
The mazes are people.
Or pixelated monsters for that matter. Or upgrades.
You control a thing inside another thing. the thing is a maze.
The game costs at least $1.75 because it's pay what you want + fees.
I was lucky to get Jason to answer two of my questions.
About public domain: There is no PD statement in Jason's code as far as I can tell but I was told via email that it is PD. UPDATE: fortify dependency has been removed. The game code contains (depends on?) the non-free fortify.
I could upload the game and share the link. It'd be legal. I would feel guilty though. So instead I offer you my help at buying the game if you can't use the payment method available. If you can transfer to a German bank account or are located in/near Berlin, Germany, contact me and I'll buy the game for you if you somehow give me the money you want to pay.
I guess we need screens...
But.
The mazes are people.
Or pixelated monsters for that matter. Or upgrades.
You control a thing inside another thing. the thing is a maze.
I was lucky to get Jason to answer two of my questions.
Q: Is IaSFS in the public domain?IMHO Jason is a very interesting guy to listen to [video search "Jason Rohrer"].
Jason Rohrer: Yes, it's all in the public domain (which is why no license file is included).
Q: Why do you release your games as open source? Why does open source matter (to you)?
Jason Rohrer: I release all of my work as open source because there's no reason not to. People mostly "hide" their source code out of fear, but I think that fear is unfounded. In the game world, releasing source code is almost unheard of, except for decades-old abandonware projects. Long ago, I used to harbor the romantic hope that some other coder would benefit from reusing or at least studying my source code. But over 12 years of releasing all of my source code, that has happened only rarely. Instead, the main benefit has come from making my work as portable and as long-lived as possible. Binaries break eventually as platforms change, and they cannot be repaired. A source distribution can survive and remain functional much longer. My passion for open source has transitioned from idealistic to pragmatic over the years.
About public domain: There is no PD statement in Jason's code as far as I can tell but I was told via email that it is PD. UPDATE: fortify dependency has been removed. The game code contains (depends on?) the non-free fortify.
I guess we need screens...
Enjoy! It's from the official gallery!
Maratis - Simple 3D Game Editor
Maratis is a simple and visual game development tool designed for artists and developers. Tested on Windows, Mac and iPhone. [full feature list]Simple is good and Maratis' Interface is very pleasantly simple. I suspect the same thing (without iOS support) could be achieved by providing a simple blender UI setup and a few instructions. The default Blender interface is quite intimidating for beginners after all.
Blender Game Engine Air race
And believe it or not, but it is made with Blender3d 2.49b's game engine (update to 2.5/2.6 planned at some point)! Another video with a nice terrain you can find here (beware crappy sound). And an in-game track editor is under development too!
You can have a look at the development of it and download some old versions of the .blend over at the Blender artists thread. But don't expect visuals like above, as the awesome Blender artist Martinsh just recently started to overhaul the graphics like that.
So where is the catch? Well licensing is a bit unclear... in a recent BlenderNation news posts the main developer stated: "This air-race related project is a non-commercial open -source freeware and source .blend file will be released for common good", but I am not sure in how far this will extend to the new art assets, and a clearer commitment to a Creative Commons license and an actual release of the source .blend would make me feel more confident about the licensing status ;)
But hey... at least I assume it was completely done with FOSS software (e.g. Blender3D)!
You can have a look at the development of it and download some old versions of the .blend over at the Blender artists thread. But don't expect visuals like above, as the awesome Blender artist Martinsh just recently started to overhaul the graphics like that.
So where is the catch? Well licensing is a bit unclear... in a recent BlenderNation news posts the main developer stated: "This air-race related project is a non-commercial open -source freeware and source .blend file will be released for common good", but I am not sure in how far this will extend to the new art assets, and a clearer commitment to a Creative Commons license and an actual release of the source .blend would make me feel more confident about the licensing status ;)
But hey... at least I assume it was completely done with FOSS software (e.g. Blender3D)!
Enemy Territory Xreal development picked up again
To my surprise it stayed really quiet after the Enemy Territory source release last year, with ioET never getting even seriously started, and no other interesting releases showing up :( The only exception was the Xreal renderer partially ported to ET, but development stalled and their website recently went down, with no further signs of development.
Now however someone else seems to have taken up the source code and released a updated developers version. Let's hope for the best and I am really looking forward to play an updated version of that multiplayer classic again!
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Now however someone else seems to have taken up the source code and released a updated developers version. Let's hope for the best and I am really looking forward to play an updated version of that multiplayer classic again!
icculus @ Flourish! 2011: Gaming and Linux - also an interview!
Ryan "Icculus" Gordon is a former Loki Software employee who is now responsible for icculus.org, which hosts many Loki Software projects as well as several new projects created by himself and others. Gordon's site hosts projects with the code from such commercial games as Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, Quake III Arena and many other free and open source projects for multiple platforms.I can tell the Flourish! conference is a good one because it does not have "Free", "Libre" or "Open" in its title directly. ;)
Last year's conf was documented in videos and hopefully the same will happen with icculus' talk.
There is a recent interview [Czech version], in which icculus talks about himself, graphics programming, a better world and porting.
SDL job offer, open art funding opportunities, tiny java/Slick game competition...
SDL-makers Galaxy Gameworks are looking for a talented developer who would be interested in developing and maintaining SDL.
Pfunked might support artists starting their own funding campaigns for creating art for FLARE, as he did with Justin's. Here are some asset ideas.
Then there's the option to offer high-quality art for being 'funded into free' at OpenGameArt. The current target is $130 for this dwarf warrior.
I wish there were (more) open source projects at 8bitfunding, Kickstarter, Fundry and IndieGoGo. The only open source game dev projects I found are a flash game (successful), FAR Colony and an interactive fiction engine iphone port (successful). I'm sure not only full game projects could make use of these fundraising services but free content creators as well.
Then there's a game competition by the Slick java game engine. Check the image above for rules and prizes.
That's about all I can find and think of right now. Got anything to add? :)
PS: do you use flattr? Then share your data for great justice! If you're not using it yet but are sharing content on the web, then start using it already! :D
PPS: Wesnoth is still offering $200 for a swamp sound loop.
0 nhận xét
Pfunked might support artists starting their own funding campaigns for creating art for FLARE, as he did with Justin's. Here are some asset ideas.
Then there's the option to offer high-quality art for being 'funded into free' at OpenGameArt. The current target is $130 for this dwarf warrior.
I wish there were (more) open source projects at 8bitfunding, Kickstarter, Fundry and IndieGoGo. The only open source game dev projects I found are a flash game (successful), FAR Colony and an interactive fiction engine iphone port (successful). I'm sure not only full game projects could make use of these fundraising services but free content creators as well.
Slick contest - art by danc
Then there's a game competition by the Slick java game engine. Check the image above for rules and prizes.
That's about all I can find and think of right now. Got anything to add? :)
PS: do you use flattr? Then share your data for great justice! If you're not using it yet but are sharing content on the web, then start using it already! :D
PPS: Wesnoth is still offering $200 for a swamp sound loop.
Holy Crap! M.A.R.S. 0.7.0!
I don't like gravity shooters. In fact I don't like them so much I don't play them. They require more precision and skill than I want to give and are unforgiving.
It is ridiculous that I like one gravity shooter though. A ridiculous one. M.A.R.S.
So.. new version.. let my just copy-paste that changelog.. OH MY DOG THEY HAVE A VISUAL CHANGELOG!
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It is ridiculous that I like one gravity shooter though. A ridiculous one. M.A.R.S.
So.. new version.. let my just copy-paste that changelog.. OH MY DOG THEY HAVE A VISUAL CHANGELOG!
- new music (by Obsidian Shell)
- new game mode (Grave-Itation Pit)
- improved AI (collect powerups, use specials, kick more butt)
- new planet gfx
- new ships
- new specials (Freezer, Fire Wall)
- gamepad support (tested with Xbox360 controller)
- more languages (total of 15)
Reddit Game Jam 06 (March 25 to 27)
Reddit Game Jam 06 starts March 25 and ends two days later (22:00 UTC).
From the subreddit's sidebar:
Anybody can participate. Those who can't code should get together with coders in a team. Team size this time is unlimited.FOSS is encouraged, not required. [full rules]
From the subreddit's sidebar:
A game jam is an event during which all participants create games according to a provided theme within a short amount of time (usually between two days to a week). The Reddit Game Jam hosts game jams as part of the wonderful Reddit community.
Anybody can participate, experienced or newbie, flash developer or C hacker.
The main goal of this game jam is to be a learning experience for everyone involved. There is nothing to win except for fame, comments and of course karma."
Spaced Out - Vega Strike and Pioneer betas plus Multiplayer Simutrans and MotoGT
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The recent blogging activity, spurred on by the growth in official Free Gamer blog authors, is a pleasure to see. When I started the blog back in 2006, I didn't think it'd ever be so popular, let alone last this long.* Casual reference to remind readers that I am the original author and, should I ever be displeased, I will smite thee with banana flesh limbs.
^ Reference to IVAN; LIVAN or IVANX are better - see community site for variants.
Vega Strike Shaders
There's a new beta release for Vega Strike. Version 0.5.1 beta 1 (forum announcement) is a bigger point release than the 0.5.0->0.5.1 step implies. Improved planet shaders, lots of bug fixing, lots of general tidy up, video support (mainly for mods) and a lot more ships.Coincidentally, one of the original Vega Strike authors is working on a project called OurBricks for online collaboration of 3D resources. Lots of the Vega Strike ships are already uploaded.
The ever impressive Pioneer Space Sim project, an Elite-inspired game, continues its activity with the release of Pioneer beta 9. Changelog includes rewritten combat AI, lots of HUD work, some even nicer planet terrain, trade ships, and more.
Also there's big news for Simutrans fans. There was a lull in releases after Simutrans 102.2.2 as the team worked on introducing multiplayer. After nearly a year, version 110.0.1 (and 110.0.0 before it) has arrived with the usual plethora of fixes and well as full multiplayer support.
Our final exciting release is for the fourth beta for MotoGT. Changes include new tracks, effects, joystick support, full championship mode, and more. A video:
Red Eclipse 1.0
The Red Eclipse project, forked from the now-defunct Blood Frontier project, has made it's first release - Red Eclipse 1.0: Ides Edition. It has been continuous under heavy development, as was BF before it, but the RE team took their time over a release opting to "Get Things Right" first*. Thus, the '1.0' should be an accurate reflection; solid gameplay, stable game, and embodies the majority of the game design the developers first envisaged.
It claims to have both single- and multi-player modes. At time of writing, the website has no about page, no details on the game other than the very basics (genre, platforms, etc). I am told that, in the single player game, you lead a squad through a series of zombie-infested maps. Who doesn't love zombies?!
Gameplay is described as 'agile' so it's frantic and fast-paced with acrobatics and super powered weaponry.
Red Eclipse is based on the Cube 2: Sauerbraten engine, so comes with a very powerful built-in map editing and the stability and graphical capabilities of one of the most mature Free Software FPS engines.
EDIT - updated to a better trailer. If you want to see the previous trailer, go here, but it's naff so just watch the one below.
It claims to have both single- and multi-player modes. At time of writing, the website has no about page, no details on the game other than the very basics (genre, platforms, etc). I am told that, in the single player game, you lead a squad through a series of zombie-infested maps. Who doesn't love zombies?!
Gameplay is described as 'agile' so it's frantic and fast-paced with acrobatics and super powered weaponry.
Red Eclipse is based on the Cube 2: Sauerbraten engine, so comes with a very powerful built-in map editing and the stability and graphical capabilities of one of the most mature Free Software FPS engines.
EDIT - updated to a better trailer. If you want to see the previous trailer, go here, but it's naff so just watch the one below.
Tiny game: Stop the Zombies!
I discovered a tiny and minimal Java/Processing game through future superstar game designer William: Stop the Zombies!
Launch nuke circles. Save human pixels. Kill zombie pixels. Or just kill everything.
The code is under a "Do whatever you want with it" license as far as I'm concerned, as it says in the code, it was based on someone else's code already.
It should be noted that that code will no longer compile due to changes in the Processing environment over the years.
Graphs & Virgins: Evil Cult
Evil Cult [latest version]. One of my favorite games. A 4X (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) turn-based game with little micro-management so far (I consider this a huge plus).
The developer recently posted a blog update. You can follow him on Twitter. Much development discussion is going on in this thread.
I made two videos of the gameplay: a 5x time lapse and an Let's Play for your pleasure.
Regarding 4x games: There's an ongoing Master of Orion 2 rewrite. Latest activity in the repository: Mon Apr 11 11:55:42 2011 +0200. Here's a custom news feed if you want to follow the project. (I won't be adding custom feeds to the planet for now).
I also created a news feed generator for FreeOrion.
Cashflow for Open Game Projects via Flattr without investment
So far you had to invest at least 2€ to be part of the service. Now you can use it for free.
So every project that is a one-person project or has a donation infrastructure: please add flattr to your site.
If neiter fits: start thinking about how you would share donations with the team if you got any and add a flattr button when you're done. :)
Thanks to Grumbel for reminding via his post.
AGS: Adventure Game Studio open sourced
Better late then never they say... so today I bring you the news that the grand-daddy of point and click adventure game creation software, AGS, has been open-sourced recently.
For AGS there are literally thousands of fan made games available (picture taken from this one), and even though most of them (all?) are not FOSS, it is definitely nice to have the engine and the editor now under the pretty liberal and GPL compatible Artistic License 2.0.
For AGS there are literally thousands of fan made games available (picture taken from this one), and even though most of them (all?) are not FOSS, it is definitely nice to have the engine and the editor now under the pretty liberal and GPL compatible Artistic License 2.0.
Naev Sound and Xonotic Map Devolution
Spoiler alert regarding a video of a NAEV mission that shows off the sound capacities of the game. The project relies on OpenAL Soft.
You should come for the sound [10MB vorbis rip]* or for the HD version.
You should come for the sound [10MB vorbis rip]* or for the HD version.
Effects to notice:* It'd be great if more project took so much care of audio licensing so there could be f-a-i-f game sound walks. Great distraction from urban noise. Game soundtracks are disturbing though mostly.
- Positional sound (basic for OpenAL)
- Doppler Effect (depends on velocity)
- Air absorption factor (sounds like you’re under water)
- Reverb (also helps make it sound like you’re underwater)
- Speed of sound changes (depends on nebula density – also for sounding underwater)
An amazing screens-video of the different stages of modernizing/Xonoticisizing CBCTF1 - Space CTF to Newtonian Nightmare was posted.
LanPower Game Key v2
On 2. July, the second Free-as-in-freedom USB Game Key will be released by the French-language based team LanPower.
The GameKey light serie 2 is a compilation of portable FOSS games, mostly compatible with both Windows and Linux.English, German, French, Italian and Spanish translations are available for the GUI. If you would like to add your translation to the mix, here are the translation files: English | French. (contact: asso.lanpower A✜T free.fr)
Assorted strategy game news
Quick Sunday afternoon rundown of recent strategy game updated...
0AD got a new beta 5 release, which improvements in rendering & AI code, a completely new faction (Iberians), and a new map:
MegaGlest also got updated recently (Version 3.5.1), bringing various fixes and performance improvements. Furthermore I can report that both the sable and the development version of Battle for Wesnoth have been updated, and I strongly recommend everyone (who has not played this game for a while) to retry this classic in the newest development version.
EvolutionRTS, a nice looking (but sadly CC-by-NC-ND licensed) game based on the SpringRTS engine also saw an update to version 1.3 this month (check out this gameplay video).
Hmmm, what else? Ahh, UFO:AI was ported to Android, and and the change of Warzone2100 from SDL to qt (which is not exactly a game framework) raised some eyebrows, but will probably make the game more easily portable and better integrated into your favorite desktop.
0AD got a new beta 5 release, which improvements in rendering & AI code, a completely new faction (Iberians), and a new map:
MegaGlest also got updated recently (Version 3.5.1), bringing various fixes and performance improvements. Furthermore I can report that both the sable and the development version of Battle for Wesnoth have been updated, and I strongly recommend everyone (who has not played this game for a while) to retry this classic in the newest development version.
EvolutionRTS, a nice looking (but sadly CC-by-NC-ND licensed) game based on the SpringRTS engine also saw an update to version 1.3 this month (check out this gameplay video).
Hmmm, what else? Ahh, UFO:AI was ported to Android, and and the change of Warzone2100 from SDL to qt (which is not exactly a game framework) raised some eyebrows, but will probably make the game more easily portable and better integrated into your favorite desktop.
LibriVox Hacked
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The public domain audibook project LibriVox got hacked (not the first time it seems). There was no open announcement yet [edit: here's the blog post] but as a forum user I received an email:
I would like to appeal to the community to look out for each other and report strange activities like spam posts or random content deletion to site admins, pointing out this recent hacking. Everybody who had a LibriVox account and used their password elsewhere should change it ASAP, especially if moderative or administrative accounts are involved!
... Let me just add a little bit of positive open content news though: I was looking for car blinker sounds, contacted three Freesound contributors and got permission from all of them to re-distribute under CC0, which I did on OpenGameArt. j1987 even added a "all my sounds are public domain" note. :)
A hacker broke into the LibriVox forum and got access to our completedatabase including emails and encrypted passwords. We have locked them outof the system, and we’ve fixed the vandalism, but they still have ourdatabase.Well, I'm glad they are open about this. A great time to update the passwords I use to more secure ones. :)
In the interests of full disclosure, here is some extra information:(1) The database contained every piece of communications sent through theforum, including all private messages. This information is now in thepossession of the hacker.
(2) All forum passwords in the database are encrypted. However, if yourpassword was very simple, it will be trivial for the hacker to break theencryption using "brute-force" techniques. They will likely attempt exactlythis, so if you use the same password on any other Internet service, youshould immediately change your password at those services.
We are very sorry that this happened, and once this is sorted out as bestas it can be, we’ll be doing a more thorough security review.
I would like to appeal to the community to look out for each other and report strange activities like spam posts or random content deletion to site admins, pointing out this recent hacking. Everybody who had a LibriVox account and used their password elsewhere should change it ASAP, especially if moderative or administrative accounts are involved!
... Let me just add a little bit of positive open content news though: I was looking for car blinker sounds, contacted three Freesound contributors and got permission from all of them to re-distribute under CC0, which I did on OpenGameArt. j1987 even added a "all my sounds are public domain" note. :)
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