It's been a few weeks since we've seen a rush of free FarmVille farm cash promotions being launched by Zynga, but it has finally come through for us this morning with an activity with Intuit. This Intuit Business promotion can be found under the bottom right of your gameplay area, but it may just be labeled as "complete this brand activity," rather than anything specific to Intuit. Trust me, this sponsored link window works the same as all of the others, it just comes labeled differently.
Once you start the promotion, you'll be asked to share your love for a small, local business in your community. This requires some thought on your part, as I found it to be incredibly difficult to enter something that the fields could actually recognize. That is, you're asked for the name of the business, along with your city and state location, and it will then search for any addresses matching that business description. Once you find one (perhaps you'll just be luckier than me and score a hit on your first try), you'll have to fill in a form asking for your name, email address and why you like this business the most. If I were you, or are just in this for the free Farm Cash, feel free to give them an out-of-use email address as, let's face it, that's an instant sign-up for Intuit's newsletter right there.
Either way, once you jump through these hoops, you'll finally be given your two free Farm Cash. Remember, these Farm Cash should automatically update into your account, but if they don't, refresh the page and see if that sets things right. As always, we'll make sure to bring you more news about free Farm Cash offers in the future, just as soon as they pop into the game. Keep checking back for more!
What will you do with your two free Farm Cash? Do you participate in activities such as this, that require some real information about yourself, rather than just answering surveys? Sound off in the comments.
Friday, September 30, 2011
CityVille Governor's Run Toy Maker Goals: Everything you need to know
So, you've already helped the farmers in your quest to be governor in CityVille, and now it's time to help another group of citizens in your town: the toy makers. This newest trio of Toy Maker goals can be found after you've helped the farmers, and they'll also introduce a new Community Building to your town. Here's a complete rundown of what to expect, and how to earn the vote from these toy makers. Note: you must be at least level 50 to access these goals.
The Misfit Toy Maker
* Place and Build a Toy Factory
* Collect from the Toy Factory 10 Times
Unfortunately, this goal requires you to build a new community building in your town, so I hope you have enough room to do so. The Toy Factory sits on a 4x4 square plot of land, and would normally cost 1.25 million coins to buy in the market, although there are rumblings that you'll receive one for free in your inventory once you start these goals (I personally didn't receive one, but whether that's a glitch, or by design I can't say). The building adds a whopping 3,750 citizens to your maximum population cap, and requires 12 staff members to complete. That is, you'll need to ask 12 friends to help you complete the construction of this one, so I hope they're helpful! For finishing this first goal, you'll receive 2,800 coins as a reward.
Toy Soldier
* Ask friends for 12 Toy Blocks
* Upgrade Toy Store to Level 2
* Place 20 Hearts in your city
As we've told you before, the Hearts are markers you can place in your town to let your friends know exactly which items to interact with whenever they visit. You can add them to your town by accessing the "Get Help" button in the cursor menu in the bottom right corner of the screen. As for upgrading the Toy Store, you can find a complete guide to doing so right here. Finish this goal and you'll receive 1,400 Goods.
Playtime is Over
* Ask friends for 15 Wooden Duckies
* Build Toy Tower
* Collect from Toy Tower 15 Times
The Toy Tower is a new business that costs 1.75 million coins to purchase from the store. Hopefully we'll receive a free one of these as well, but if not - we've been warned! Once built, it requires a whopping 475 Goods to operate, and will supply you with 2,393 coins by default when collecting its profits, if you don't surround the building with payout bonus decorations. As for the Wooden Duckies, just ask your friends to send them to you, and you'll eventually finish this one off (not that it'll be easy, but it's not impossible either). Finish this final Toy Maker goal and you'll receive 100 XP. Whether or not that's worth all of the Goods you've spent on your Toy Tower or not will be up to you.
At this point, you will have finished helping the Toy Makers in your run for Governor, but still have one more group to help before Act 2 of this new political feature will start. We'll make sure to let you know what that final part entails as soon as we know more, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Toy Maker goals? Are they too complicated to be in the middle of a larger feature, possible causing some users to get stuck, or do you appreciate such a challenge? Sound off in the comments.
The Misfit Toy Maker
* Place and Build a Toy Factory
* Collect from the Toy Factory 10 Times
Unfortunately, this goal requires you to build a new community building in your town, so I hope you have enough room to do so. The Toy Factory sits on a 4x4 square plot of land, and would normally cost 1.25 million coins to buy in the market, although there are rumblings that you'll receive one for free in your inventory once you start these goals (I personally didn't receive one, but whether that's a glitch, or by design I can't say). The building adds a whopping 3,750 citizens to your maximum population cap, and requires 12 staff members to complete. That is, you'll need to ask 12 friends to help you complete the construction of this one, so I hope they're helpful! For finishing this first goal, you'll receive 2,800 coins as a reward.
Toy Soldier
* Ask friends for 12 Toy Blocks
* Upgrade Toy Store to Level 2
* Place 20 Hearts in your city
As we've told you before, the Hearts are markers you can place in your town to let your friends know exactly which items to interact with whenever they visit. You can add them to your town by accessing the "Get Help" button in the cursor menu in the bottom right corner of the screen. As for upgrading the Toy Store, you can find a complete guide to doing so right here. Finish this goal and you'll receive 1,400 Goods.
Playtime is Over
* Ask friends for 15 Wooden Duckies
* Build Toy Tower
* Collect from Toy Tower 15 Times
The Toy Tower is a new business that costs 1.75 million coins to purchase from the store. Hopefully we'll receive a free one of these as well, but if not - we've been warned! Once built, it requires a whopping 475 Goods to operate, and will supply you with 2,393 coins by default when collecting its profits, if you don't surround the building with payout bonus decorations. As for the Wooden Duckies, just ask your friends to send them to you, and you'll eventually finish this one off (not that it'll be easy, but it's not impossible either). Finish this final Toy Maker goal and you'll receive 100 XP. Whether or not that's worth all of the Goods you've spent on your Toy Tower or not will be up to you.
At this point, you will have finished helping the Toy Makers in your run for Governor, but still have one more group to help before Act 2 of this new political feature will start. We'll make sure to let you know what that final part entails as soon as we know more, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Toy Maker goals? Are they too complicated to be in the middle of a larger feature, possible causing some users to get stuck, or do you appreciate such a challenge? Sound off in the comments.
CityVille: Post your in-game achievements to the Facebook ticker
Here we are again, mayors. Another Zynga game is asking for additional permission to share your gameplay information with friends via the new Facebook ticker that appears along the right side of the screen when playing games on the site. First it was FarmVille, and now comes CityVille.
This "new permissions" set is at least far more detailed than the FarmVille request, which left many users wondering exactly what they were giving Zynga access to. Here, we're told straight up that by giving Zynga these additional permissions, you're simply allowing it to share your gameplay activity in the ticker (including achievements you've earned or goals you may have completed while playing) with your friends. Facebook apparently requires it to do so, so here we are.
You'll be able to give Zynga permission (or deny it) when you see a window like the one at right appear in your screen. From there, you can either hit "Allow" to let yourself appear in the ticker, or "Don't Allow" to keep yourself hidden. Your own gameplay experience won't change, and nothing in the game itself will change either. This all goes back to how much information you want to share with friends about your gameplay activity, all in the Facebook ticker. That being the case, feel free to choose whichever option you wish without the fear of penalty.
Will you allow Zynga to share your gameplay activity with your CityVille friends? What do you think of the Facebook ticker as a whole? Sound off in the comments.
This "new permissions" set is at least far more detailed than the FarmVille request, which left many users wondering exactly what they were giving Zynga access to. Here, we're told straight up that by giving Zynga these additional permissions, you're simply allowing it to share your gameplay activity in the ticker (including achievements you've earned or goals you may have completed while playing) with your friends. Facebook apparently requires it to do so, so here we are.
You'll be able to give Zynga permission (or deny it) when you see a window like the one at right appear in your screen. From there, you can either hit "Allow" to let yourself appear in the ticker, or "Don't Allow" to keep yourself hidden. Your own gameplay experience won't change, and nothing in the game itself will change either. This all goes back to how much information you want to share with friends about your gameplay activity, all in the Facebook ticker. That being the case, feel free to choose whichever option you wish without the fear of penalty.
Will you allow Zynga to share your gameplay activity with your CityVille friends? What do you think of the Facebook ticker as a whole? Sound off in the comments.
CityVille Mexican theme expands with Statue of Independence, Cantina and more
As promised, here we are again with news of more Mexican Independence items that have been added to CityVille's store. You know, I honestly thought that this would be a one-time release, but leave it to Zynga to release more items even after the holiday in question has passed (this holiday being the Mexican Independence celebration). There aren't as many items here as in the original release we told you about earlier this week, but there is a new crop here, if you happen to be into that sort of thing.
Statue of Independence (Decoration)
* Costs: 36,000 coins
* Payout Bonus: 12% to surrounding businesses and residences; bonus 12% to Mexican themed items
Cantina (Business)
* Costs: 3,800 coins
* Requires: 95 Goods
* Supplies: 640 coins
Quince Anos Party (Decoration)
* Costs: 12 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 12%; bonus 12% to Mexican themed items
Fine Arts Theater (Community Building)
* Costs: 80 City Cash
* Allows: 7500 citizens added to maximum population cap
Agave Crop
* Costs: 5 City Cash per square
* Harvest Time: Instant
* Supplies: 450 Goods per square planted
* First Star of Mastery: 3 Harvests
See? There aren't as many items in this release, but luckily, we're given plenty of time to purchase them either way. You'll have 12 days to do your shopping for these new items (the original section of this theme is down to a 10-day time limit), so just make sure to go shopping eventually before these items do actually expire.
What do you think of these newest CityVille Mexican-themed items? What sort of cultural or geographical theme would you like to see released next? Sound off in the comments.
Statue of Independence (Decoration)
* Costs: 36,000 coins
* Payout Bonus: 12% to surrounding businesses and residences; bonus 12% to Mexican themed items
Cantina (Business)
* Costs: 3,800 coins
* Requires: 95 Goods
* Supplies: 640 coins
Quince Anos Party (Decoration)
* Costs: 12 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 12%; bonus 12% to Mexican themed items
Fine Arts Theater (Community Building)
* Costs: 80 City Cash
* Allows: 7500 citizens added to maximum population cap
Agave Crop
* Costs: 5 City Cash per square
* Harvest Time: Instant
* Supplies: 450 Goods per square planted
* First Star of Mastery: 3 Harvests
See? There aren't as many items in this release, but luckily, we're given plenty of time to purchase them either way. You'll have 12 days to do your shopping for these new items (the original section of this theme is down to a 10-day time limit), so just make sure to go shopping eventually before these items do actually expire.
What do you think of these newest CityVille Mexican-themed items? What sort of cultural or geographical theme would you like to see released next? Sound off in the comments.
The Sims Social: Country meets chic with Country Kitchen items
Is it just me, or is decorating our houses one of the best things to do in the Sims Social? I know I could personally spend plenty of time rearranging furniture in each room, only to ripe it all out and start over again, and to help us do that with even more themes is a new Country Kitchen theme that has launched in the game this week. These country kitchen items bring in all sorts of shades of brown and ivory, and it's one of the most complete themes we've seen released in the game yet. Here's a rundown of what to look out for in the store to make this theme complete in your own home.
Plate Collection
* Costs: 4 SimCash
* Value: $600
Perfecto Fruitbowl
* Costs: 4 SimCash
* Value $600
Vintage Wines
* Costs: 6 SimCash
* Value: $900
RuralU Deluxe C (Kitchen Counter Piece)
* Costs: 10 SimCash
* Value: $1500
RuralU Deluxe (Kitchen Counter Piece)
* Costs: 12 SimCash
* Value: $1750
Antiquitate Deco (Wall Sconce)
* Costs: 3 SimCash
* Value: $450
19th Century Lamp
* Costs: 10 SimCash
* Value: $1500
19th Century Pot (Flowers)
* Costs: 19 SimCash
* Value: $2800
Antiquitate Oil
* Costs: 325 Social Points
* Value: $700
Basinuate Marble (Sink)
* Costs: 12 SimCash
* Value: 1750
* Clean Stat: 5
FrancoFaux Chaise (Buildable item)
* Costs: 225 Social Points
* Value: $500
Cereal Shelf
* Costs: 250 Social Points
* Value: $550
19th Century Mat
* Costs: 19 SimCash
* Value: $2800
Clox Fruitful
* Costs: 350 Social Points
* Value: $800
RuralU Trove (Wall Cabinet Piece)
* Costs: 600 Social Points
* Value: $1450
RuralU Charm (Wall Cabinet Piece)
* Costs: 800 Social Points
* Value: $2050
FrancoFaux Tableau (Buildable item)
* Costs: 800 Social Points
* Value: $2050
RuralU Latch (Hutch - Buildable item)
* Costs: 1100 Social Points
* Value: $3100
G King Counter (Center Island - Buildable item)
* Costs: 15,000 Social Points
* Value: $21,250
* Happiness Stat: 3
Normanity Chair (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)
* Costs: 450 Social Points
* Value: $1050
FrancoFaux Cafe (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)
* Costs: 650 Social Points
* Value: $1600
Normanity Sofa (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)
* Costs: 700 Social Points
* Value: $1750
* Sleep Stat: 3
In addition to all of these items, there's also a Cooking Skill vent hood called the SuxDelux that's available to users that have reached a Cooking Skill of 40 or higher. This item has a value of $3650.
In the Build Menu, you can also find a selection of new windows in the same matching dark wood color, ranging in price from 750 coins for the RealOak 2 Pane to 6,000 coins for the RealOak 5 Pane. If you want the window in the picture above, with the quaint ivory curtains, that will set you back a whopping 39 SimCash. Along with this, there are five new wallpapers and three new floor tiles to round out the theme.
There's no listed time limit on any of these items, so if you don't have enough Social Points or SimCash available to buy them now, you should be able to save up and purchase them well into the future. Still, if you want to get your hands on these items while they're fresh, I really couldn't blame you. I just hope your kitchen is big enough to hold them all!
[Final Image Credit: Playfish/EA]
What do you think of these Country Kitchen items? Are you more of a modern fan, or do you like country / southwestern items? Sound off in the comments.
Plate Collection
* Costs: 4 SimCash
* Value: $600
Perfecto Fruitbowl
* Costs: 4 SimCash
* Value $600
Vintage Wines
* Costs: 6 SimCash
* Value: $900
RuralU Deluxe C (Kitchen Counter Piece)
* Costs: 10 SimCash
* Value: $1500
RuralU Deluxe (Kitchen Counter Piece)
* Costs: 12 SimCash
* Value: $1750
Antiquitate Deco (Wall Sconce)
* Costs: 3 SimCash
* Value: $450
19th Century Lamp
* Costs: 10 SimCash
* Value: $1500
19th Century Pot (Flowers)
* Costs: 19 SimCash
* Value: $2800
Antiquitate Oil
* Costs: 325 Social Points
* Value: $700
Basinuate Marble (Sink)
* Costs: 12 SimCash
* Value: 1750
* Clean Stat: 5
FrancoFaux Chaise (Buildable item)
* Costs: 225 Social Points
* Value: $500
Cereal Shelf
* Costs: 250 Social Points
* Value: $550
19th Century Mat
* Costs: 19 SimCash
* Value: $2800
Clox Fruitful
* Costs: 350 Social Points
* Value: $800
RuralU Trove (Wall Cabinet Piece)
* Costs: 600 Social Points
* Value: $1450
RuralU Charm (Wall Cabinet Piece)
* Costs: 800 Social Points
* Value: $2050
FrancoFaux Tableau (Buildable item)
* Costs: 800 Social Points
* Value: $2050
RuralU Latch (Hutch - Buildable item)
* Costs: 1100 Social Points
* Value: $3100
G King Counter (Center Island - Buildable item)
* Costs: 15,000 Social Points
* Value: $21,250
* Happiness Stat: 3
Normanity Chair (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)
* Costs: 450 Social Points
* Value: $1050
FrancoFaux Cafe (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)
* Costs: 650 Social Points
* Value: $1600
Normanity Sofa (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)
* Costs: 700 Social Points
* Value: $1750
* Sleep Stat: 3
In addition to all of these items, there's also a Cooking Skill vent hood called the SuxDelux that's available to users that have reached a Cooking Skill of 40 or higher. This item has a value of $3650.
In the Build Menu, you can also find a selection of new windows in the same matching dark wood color, ranging in price from 750 coins for the RealOak 2 Pane to 6,000 coins for the RealOak 5 Pane. If you want the window in the picture above, with the quaint ivory curtains, that will set you back a whopping 39 SimCash. Along with this, there are five new wallpapers and three new floor tiles to round out the theme.
There's no listed time limit on any of these items, so if you don't have enough Social Points or SimCash available to buy them now, you should be able to save up and purchase them well into the future. Still, if you want to get your hands on these items while they're fresh, I really couldn't blame you. I just hope your kitchen is big enough to hold them all!
[Final Image Credit: Playfish/EA]
What do you think of these Country Kitchen items? Are you more of a modern fan, or do you like country / southwestern items? Sound off in the comments.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
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
Get your booze on in Malibu Rum's Beach Club on Facebook
If developers can make Facebook games in which you grow and sell a certain controversial plant and not hear "boo," I guess a game revolving around the firewater can slide. Because the sales of Malibu Rum tend to dip ... a lot in the colder months, Pernod Ricard, the company behind Malibu Rum, created a Facebook game to promote the awareness of its brand.
The game, which launched today, is known simply as Beach Club, and frankly, it's a pretty impressive branded Facebook game. (Look, more and more companies are going to be up to this in the future, and the games are only becoming more detailed, elaborate and visually impressive.) The game, which has Malibu Rum branding aplenty, tasks players with running their very own beach island.
Beach Club, developed by Aegis Media Group's Isobar, is said to block underage Facebook users from playing by relying on both the birth dates in their profiles and an age verification immediately after installing the app. They're not exactly airtight methods of keeping the kiddies out, but do more to keep the game in front of 21 to 35-year-olds than other Facebook games surrounding questionable topics.
According to AdAge, Malibu made a conscious effort to keep the game geared toward adults through more than just age verification. The game makes liberal use of more mature-looking artwork than other games aimed at the same crowd. "In our game the drawing of the avatars are more mature, they are clearly adults walking around this beach," Malibu senior brand manager AnnaMarie Battiloro told AdAge.
Beach Club overview
Oddly enough, the game isn't governed by an energy system or much of anything that limits your play time, unlike most games. While the game is available globally on Facebook, U.S. players earn points that go toward a vacation to Barbados, the rum's birthplace, that Malibu is giving away through Beach Club.
You'll earn these valuable points by keeping the guests of your resort happy through landscaping and adding new attractions to your tropical getaway. The most notable of which is a beach-side bar. Guests will approach the bar, and clicking on it unveils a mini game of sorts in which players have to bartend a series of Malibu Rum-themed drinks. You'll take guests' orders and have to fill them accordingly and quickly by clicking and dragging various ingredients.
Beach Club bartending
And it's all done to the sound of a 30-minute long club soundtrack with some of this past summer's most popular original tracks. Battiloro told AdAge that Malibu doesn't want Beach Club to be "overtly tied to the brand." "We actually are not trying to earn fans from this at all, Battiloro said. "We are trying to earn more brand loyalty, recognition and association."
But when a beach comber drives past our beach resort, leaving the Malibu Rum logo in its wake, we seriously doubt that. But you know what, this is one of the more full-featured, smoothly-animated branded games we've seen in awhile on Facebook. And if this is the direction brands will go when making games on Facebook, I'm not sure I mind that much.
Click here to play Beach Club on Facebook Now >
After hopping into the game, what do you think of Beach Club so far? What do you think of branded games on Facebook? Could they ever reach the quality of original Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
The game, which launched today, is known simply as Beach Club, and frankly, it's a pretty impressive branded Facebook game. (Look, more and more companies are going to be up to this in the future, and the games are only becoming more detailed, elaborate and visually impressive.) The game, which has Malibu Rum branding aplenty, tasks players with running their very own beach island.
Beach Club, developed by Aegis Media Group's Isobar, is said to block underage Facebook users from playing by relying on both the birth dates in their profiles and an age verification immediately after installing the app. They're not exactly airtight methods of keeping the kiddies out, but do more to keep the game in front of 21 to 35-year-olds than other Facebook games surrounding questionable topics.
According to AdAge, Malibu made a conscious effort to keep the game geared toward adults through more than just age verification. The game makes liberal use of more mature-looking artwork than other games aimed at the same crowd. "In our game the drawing of the avatars are more mature, they are clearly adults walking around this beach," Malibu senior brand manager AnnaMarie Battiloro told AdAge.
Beach Club overview
Oddly enough, the game isn't governed by an energy system or much of anything that limits your play time, unlike most games. While the game is available globally on Facebook, U.S. players earn points that go toward a vacation to Barbados, the rum's birthplace, that Malibu is giving away through Beach Club.
You'll earn these valuable points by keeping the guests of your resort happy through landscaping and adding new attractions to your tropical getaway. The most notable of which is a beach-side bar. Guests will approach the bar, and clicking on it unveils a mini game of sorts in which players have to bartend a series of Malibu Rum-themed drinks. You'll take guests' orders and have to fill them accordingly and quickly by clicking and dragging various ingredients.
Beach Club bartending
And it's all done to the sound of a 30-minute long club soundtrack with some of this past summer's most popular original tracks. Battiloro told AdAge that Malibu doesn't want Beach Club to be "overtly tied to the brand." "We actually are not trying to earn fans from this at all, Battiloro said. "We are trying to earn more brand loyalty, recognition and association."
But when a beach comber drives past our beach resort, leaving the Malibu Rum logo in its wake, we seriously doubt that. But you know what, this is one of the more full-featured, smoothly-animated branded games we've seen in awhile on Facebook. And if this is the direction brands will go when making games on Facebook, I'm not sure I mind that much.
Click here to play Beach Club on Facebook Now >
After hopping into the game, what do you think of Beach Club so far? What do you think of branded games on Facebook? Could they ever reach the quality of original Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Empires & Allies Red Tide Rising Goals: Everything you need to know
It looks like our very own little Cold War is about to erupt in Empires & Allies, as Zynga has introduced new Goals to the game to coincide with the Red Tide Rising item event. This long, limited edition series of a whopping seven Goals will send you on a hunt for the mysterious Element Z that ... doesn't seem to go much of anywhere. Hey, at least you'll score a sweet Tank and other rewards for your hard work. Here's everything you need to know about the Red Tide Rising Goals in E&A:
Come Together
* Harvest from 8 Neighbor Farms
* Revive 6 Neighbor Farms
* Collect from 20 Neighbor Houses
This is all about visiting friends. In fact, considering each friend visit grants you five friendly actions, it will take at least six visitations to complete this Goal. And once you do, an EMP power-up awaits as your reward.
Come Together
Capture Evidence
* Collect 5 Defecting Scientists
In this simple Goal, all you need to do is ask your friends for this item, which we'd imagine you're all familiar with by now. Once you do, enjoy a free 1,000 Coins.
The More the Merrier
* Have 2 New Friends Play E&A
Alright, now this is just downright mean. Apparently, it's up to you to be an ambassador for Zynga's strategy game. You must invite two friends who have yet to play E&A, so have fun with that. Hey, you could always just make two mock accounts, have them befriend your real one, install the game via an invite from the real account and finally delete them. But you didn't hear that from us. Your reward for this Goal is a limited edition Sputnik Statue.
Red Tide Rising items
Tooling Up
* Have 10 Army Upgrades
* Build 8 Army Units
* Place 8 Army Units
To upgrade your Army or Land units, use the Army Research Lab (find out how in our guide right here). Then, the next two Goals are simple: Just build some throwaway units like Cadet Soldiers, which cost 100 Coins apiece, and place them. For completing these tasks, enjoy a free 100 Oil.
Release the Hounds
* Use Upgraded Army Units to Destroy 22 Enemy Units
* Use Upgrade Army Units to Inflict 1,000 Damage
This Goal doesn't dictate where exactly you have to destroy or damage said units, so try just entering a low-level Campaign battle and wreaking havoc on Captain Krunsch. You can also retreat from battles to avoid losing any of your precious upgraded Army units. This Goal, once completed, will reward you with 100 Wood.
Red Tide Rising items 2
Disposal!
* Collect 5 Bomb Disposal Robots
This simple Goal requires that you ask friends for the Robots, so ask away and be done with it. You'll score another 1,000 Coins for completing this Goal.
Shared Meal!
* Harvest 24 Red Onions
* Harvest 12 Neighbors' Farms
* Collect 250 Oil
To harvest 24 Red Onions, you will need a total of 9,216 Coins, and each crop takes 1 day and eight hours to complete. To harvest 12 Neighbor Farms, you will have to visit at least three friends. Your reward for completing this Goal is a limited edition Tank, the SU-122 with an impressive 200 Health.
[Source: Empires and Allies Base]
Have you started these new Russian-themed Goals yet? What do you think of the rewards at stake, and what tips might you have for completing these Goals even faster? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Come Together
* Harvest from 8 Neighbor Farms
* Revive 6 Neighbor Farms
* Collect from 20 Neighbor Houses
This is all about visiting friends. In fact, considering each friend visit grants you five friendly actions, it will take at least six visitations to complete this Goal. And once you do, an EMP power-up awaits as your reward.
Come Together
Capture Evidence
* Collect 5 Defecting Scientists
In this simple Goal, all you need to do is ask your friends for this item, which we'd imagine you're all familiar with by now. Once you do, enjoy a free 1,000 Coins.
The More the Merrier
* Have 2 New Friends Play E&A
Alright, now this is just downright mean. Apparently, it's up to you to be an ambassador for Zynga's strategy game. You must invite two friends who have yet to play E&A, so have fun with that. Hey, you could always just make two mock accounts, have them befriend your real one, install the game via an invite from the real account and finally delete them. But you didn't hear that from us. Your reward for this Goal is a limited edition Sputnik Statue.
Red Tide Rising items
Tooling Up
* Have 10 Army Upgrades
* Build 8 Army Units
* Place 8 Army Units
To upgrade your Army or Land units, use the Army Research Lab (find out how in our guide right here). Then, the next two Goals are simple: Just build some throwaway units like Cadet Soldiers, which cost 100 Coins apiece, and place them. For completing these tasks, enjoy a free 100 Oil.
Release the Hounds
* Use Upgraded Army Units to Destroy 22 Enemy Units
* Use Upgrade Army Units to Inflict 1,000 Damage
This Goal doesn't dictate where exactly you have to destroy or damage said units, so try just entering a low-level Campaign battle and wreaking havoc on Captain Krunsch. You can also retreat from battles to avoid losing any of your precious upgraded Army units. This Goal, once completed, will reward you with 100 Wood.
Red Tide Rising items 2
Disposal!
* Collect 5 Bomb Disposal Robots
This simple Goal requires that you ask friends for the Robots, so ask away and be done with it. You'll score another 1,000 Coins for completing this Goal.
Shared Meal!
* Harvest 24 Red Onions
* Harvest 12 Neighbors' Farms
* Collect 250 Oil
To harvest 24 Red Onions, you will need a total of 9,216 Coins, and each crop takes 1 day and eight hours to complete. To harvest 12 Neighbor Farms, you will have to visit at least three friends. Your reward for completing this Goal is a limited edition Tank, the SU-122 with an impressive 200 Health.
[Source: Empires and Allies Base]
Have you started these new Russian-themed Goals yet? What do you think of the rewards at stake, and what tips might you have for completing these Goals even faster? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
No More Heroes creator to spit out three more Mobage social games
And only one of which will actually involve grasshoppers. Grasshopper Manufacture, the Japanese developer responsible for stylish, gory hardcore games like No More Heroes, revealed just before the Tokyo Game Show that it will release three mobile social games through the now-global Mobage network, Kotaku reports.
The first game to be released internationally under this new deal between the developer and DeNA, which runs the Mobage network with recent acquisition ngmoco, is Frog Minutes. The game already released in Japan back in March, so this will likely just be a localized version for Mobage on Android phones in the U.S. and abroad.
In Frog Minutes, players disturb parts of a forest scene to stir up various insects and feed them to frogs. The more quickly players do this, the higher their score will climb, it seems. Ribbeting, isn't it? (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Not much was revealed about Grasshopper Manufacture's other two Mobage projects other than their titles: Humans vs Zombies and Alien Busters.
The developer plans to show more of those games at a later date, according to Kotaku. Grasshopper Manufacture is placing big bets on social games with a mobile social version of No More Heroes, which designer Suda 51 said he hopes it will be bloodiest social game around.
While it's interesting to see a Japanese developer known for taking risks with unique games major consoles that (unfortunately) sell poorly hop into the low-risk, high-profit world of social gaming, it wasn't hard to see this one coming. And considering the effect social games has had on traditional American developers, we doubt this is the last news like this we'll hear from Japan.
Are you excited to see Grasshopper Manufacture go full-bore into social gaming? What other Japanese developers do you expect to see enter the space? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
The first game to be released internationally under this new deal between the developer and DeNA, which runs the Mobage network with recent acquisition ngmoco, is Frog Minutes. The game already released in Japan back in March, so this will likely just be a localized version for Mobage on Android phones in the U.S. and abroad.
In Frog Minutes, players disturb parts of a forest scene to stir up various insects and feed them to frogs. The more quickly players do this, the higher their score will climb, it seems. Ribbeting, isn't it? (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Not much was revealed about Grasshopper Manufacture's other two Mobage projects other than their titles: Humans vs Zombies and Alien Busters.
The developer plans to show more of those games at a later date, according to Kotaku. Grasshopper Manufacture is placing big bets on social games with a mobile social version of No More Heroes, which designer Suda 51 said he hopes it will be bloodiest social game around.
While it's interesting to see a Japanese developer known for taking risks with unique games major consoles that (unfortunately) sell poorly hop into the low-risk, high-profit world of social gaming, it wasn't hard to see this one coming. And considering the effect social games has had on traditional American developers, we doubt this is the last news like this we'll hear from Japan.
Are you excited to see Grasshopper Manufacture go full-bore into social gaming? What other Japanese developers do you expect to see enter the space? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Karma Kingdom looks to combine social good, social fun on Facebook
mad pet half pipe game of the dayHelp the Madpets tear up the half-pipe in this cute skateboarding game. Choose between cute foxes, pigs, bunnies, and more. Then select between Free Ride, Challenge, or Big Air; and you're ready to hit the pipe. Think you've mastered the half-pipe and have what it takes to be a pro skater? Then open up the combo list and attempt some of the more advanced tricks. Complete them all and you've earned yourself a place amongst the best of the Madpet skaters.
Click here to play Madpet Half-Pipe!
madpet half pipe game of the day madpet half pipe game of the day
Pro Tips:
* To execute the harder tricks, press the combo buttons at the same time, that way your pet won't preemptively do a different trick.
* Practice in free mode before attempting challenge and big air. That way you can learn some of the higher scoring tricks before taking them to competition.
* Even if your trick looks as though it has completed by the time you land, if you cut it close, often your pet will fall and lose all momentum. Play it safe and finish your tricks well before the landing.
Click here to play Madpet Half-Pipe!
What did you think of Madpet Half-Pipe? Were you able to execute all the tricks?
Click here to play Madpet Half-Pipe!
madpet half pipe game of the day madpet half pipe game of the day
Pro Tips:
* To execute the harder tricks, press the combo buttons at the same time, that way your pet won't preemptively do a different trick.
* Practice in free mode before attempting challenge and big air. That way you can learn some of the higher scoring tricks before taking them to competition.
* Even if your trick looks as though it has completed by the time you land, if you cut it close, often your pet will fall and lose all momentum. Play it safe and finish your tricks well before the landing.
Click here to play Madpet Half-Pipe!
What did you think of Madpet Half-Pipe? Were you able to execute all the tricks?
Game of the Day: Madpet Half-Pipe
mad pet half pipe game of the dayHelp the Madpets tear up the half-pipe in this cute skateboarding game. Choose between cute foxes, pigs, bunnies, and more. Then select between Free Ride, Challenge, or Big Air; and you're ready to hit the pipe. Think you've mastered the half-pipe and have what it takes to be a pro skater? Then open up the combo list and attempt some of the more advanced tricks. Complete them all and you've earned yourself a place amongst the best of the Madpet skaters.
Click here to play Madpet Half-Pipe!
madpet half pipe game of the day madpet half pipe game of the day
Pro Tips:
* To execute the harder tricks, press the combo buttons at the same time, that way your pet won't preemptively do a different trick.
* Practice in free mode before attempting challenge and big air. That way you can learn some of the higher scoring tricks before taking them to competition.
* Even if your trick looks as though it has completed by the time you land, if you cut it close, often your pet will fall and lose all momentum. Play it safe and finish your tricks well before the landing.
Click here to play Madpet Half-Pipe!
What did you think of Madpet Half-Pipe? Were you able to execute all the tricks?
Click here to play Madpet Half-Pipe!
madpet half pipe game of the day madpet half pipe game of the day
Pro Tips:
* To execute the harder tricks, press the combo buttons at the same time, that way your pet won't preemptively do a different trick.
* Practice in free mode before attempting challenge and big air. That way you can learn some of the higher scoring tricks before taking them to competition.
* Even if your trick looks as though it has completed by the time you land, if you cut it close, often your pet will fall and lose all momentum. Play it safe and finish your tricks well before the landing.
Click here to play Madpet Half-Pipe!
What did you think of Madpet Half-Pipe? Were you able to execute all the tricks?
Club Penguin fires a salvo of fun with Puffle Launch for iPhone [Video]
Parents, secure the iPhones and iPads. If Club Penguin isn't going to slide onto Facebook anytime soon, we'll take the next best thing: the iPhone. Puffle Launch, first released as a mini game within the kids world of Club Penguin over a year ago, launches onto iPhone tomorrow, Sept. 15. The game, which will be available for the paltry price of $.99, puts players in control of Daredevil, one of the many Puffles available in the existing Disney-owned web game.
Just like in Club Penguin, kids can fire Daredevil from a cannon, careening into obstacles and collecting Coins. Better yet, those Coins can be transferred to kids' existing Club Penguin accounts to buy new items from the web game's store. As players advance through the game's many daring and dangerous aerial courses, they will eventually have to face the Crab Boss.
According to a Club Penguin representative, Puffle Launch is already played by 150,000 kids daily, and a new Puffle is adopted every second in the kid-friendly virtual world. (That amounts to more than 20 million of the little balls of love adopted in 2011 already!) With statistics like that, color us baffled as to why Club Penguin has yet to hit Facebook, especially considering the amount of preteens that are already active on the social network.
Hopefully, this is just the beginning of Club Penguin's expansion beyond its little home on the web and onto new platforms (aside from Nintendo's stable of consoles). Check out the game's trailer below, but you might not want to show the kids just yet, unless you're willing to buy it on every iOS device in the house.
Are you excited that Club Penguin has finally made it to iOS? Where or how else would you like to see the Club Penguin franchise go? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Just like in Club Penguin, kids can fire Daredevil from a cannon, careening into obstacles and collecting Coins. Better yet, those Coins can be transferred to kids' existing Club Penguin accounts to buy new items from the web game's store. As players advance through the game's many daring and dangerous aerial courses, they will eventually have to face the Crab Boss.
According to a Club Penguin representative, Puffle Launch is already played by 150,000 kids daily, and a new Puffle is adopted every second in the kid-friendly virtual world. (That amounts to more than 20 million of the little balls of love adopted in 2011 already!) With statistics like that, color us baffled as to why Club Penguin has yet to hit Facebook, especially considering the amount of preteens that are already active on the social network.
Hopefully, this is just the beginning of Club Penguin's expansion beyond its little home on the web and onto new platforms (aside from Nintendo's stable of consoles). Check out the game's trailer below, but you might not want to show the kids just yet, unless you're willing to buy it on every iOS device in the house.
Are you excited that Club Penguin has finally made it to iOS? Where or how else would you like to see the Club Penguin franchise go? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove Items: Outfit your new farm with these goodies
With tonight's launch of the Lighthouse Cove in FarmVille, we're given an opportunity to stock that farm with all sorts of new goodies! There are new trees, animals, buildings and of course plenty of decorations to choose from in this initial launch, some of which even go for coins! Here's a complete rundown of these items, along with a bit of a visual sneak peek for those that decide to wait until "free" Lighthouse Cove tickets launch next week.
Trees:
Eastern Red Cedar - 7 Farm Cash
Tulip Poplar - 7 Farm Cash
Lombardy Poplar - 15 Farm Cash
White Ash Tree - 5,000 coins
Black Gum Tree - 7 Farm Cash
Speckled Alder - 15 Farm Cash
White Cedar Tree - 15 Farm Cash
In this scenario, we're stuck with seven trees, which doesn't seem to make sense in the "Level 1 / Level 2 tree pairing setup," but we can confirm that Eastern Red Cedar Trees will produce White Cedar Trees when placed in an Orchard. You're given one of each as free gifts just for landing in Lighthouse Cove, however, so keep that in mind.
Animals:
Milking Shorthorn - 100,000 coins
Pine Marten - 100,000 coins
Main Coon - 200,000 coins
Loon Duck - 18 Farm Cash
Buttercup Chicken - 20 Farm Cash
Chinook - 20 Farm Cash
Dorset Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Duroc Pig - 20 Farm Cash
Pineywoods Cow - 24 Farm Cash
New England Pinto - 26 Farm Cash
Sailor Cow - 24 Farm Cash
Canadian Goose - 20 Farm Cash
Quarter Pony - 24 Farm Cash
Eastern Moose - 22 Farm Cash
Mountain Lion - 20 Farm Cash
River Otter - 20 Farm Cash
Painted Turtle - 20 Farm Cash
Take particular notice of the Mountain Lion. If you purchased your way into Lighthouse Cove for 55 Farm Cash, you will have one of these big cats waiting for you in your Gift Box as a free gift for purchasing your ticket. Your farm will also have a River Otter waiting for you, for free, so feel free to skip on purchasing it if you don't care about having only one.
Buildings:
Chicken Coop - 5,000 coins
Garden Shed - 30,000 coins
Restaurant - 100,000 coins
Cove B&B - 30 Farm Cash
Garage (fully constructed) - 50 Farm Cash
Garage (frame) - 50,000 coins
Orchard (fully constructed) - 30 Farm Cash
Orchard (base) - 1,000 coins
Coastal Tool Shed - 22 Farm Cash
Coastal Barn - 30 Farm Cash
Cape House - 500,000 coins
Cottage - 20 Farm Cash
Cape Mansion - 50 Farm Cash
Post Office - 15 Farm Cash
Village Center - 50,000 coins
With these buildings, keep in mind that you'll receive a free base of an Orchard, and will also receive the Cove B&B on your land when you first arrive in Lighthouse Cove. As for the garage and restaurant, these are the vehicle storage and crafting buildings, respectively. We'll bring you a complete guide to the Restaurant feature in the Lighthouse Cove as soon as we can.
Decorations:
Beached Rowboat - 20 Farm Cash
Red Clover Pot - 1,000 coins
Ladyslipper Flower - 2 Farm Cash
Horse-Drawn Wagon - 10 Farm Cash
Inkeeper Gnome - 15 Farm Cash
Sailor Gnome - 15 Farm Cash
Fountain - 15 Farm Cash
Haystack - 10,000 coins
Pond - 15 Farm Cash
Stone Fence Gate - 50,000 coins
Picket Fence Gate - 2 Farm Cash
Daylily Flowerbed - 5,000 coins
Picket Fence - 5,000 coins
Stone Fence - 5,000 coins
Bench - 30,000 coins
Lamppost - 1 Farm Cash
You'll be given a few pieces of the Stone Fence for free when starting in Lighthouse Cove, but for the other decorations, it looks like you're on your own.
And there you have it! A complete look at what are (as of this writing) not-time-limited items available in the Lighthouse Cove farm. We'll bring you continued coverage about this new farm, so keep checking back with us for more!
What do you think of the many items made available to newcomers to the Lighthouse Cove? How many of these items will you stock up on? Sound off in the comments.
Trees:
Eastern Red Cedar - 7 Farm Cash
Tulip Poplar - 7 Farm Cash
Lombardy Poplar - 15 Farm Cash
White Ash Tree - 5,000 coins
Black Gum Tree - 7 Farm Cash
Speckled Alder - 15 Farm Cash
White Cedar Tree - 15 Farm Cash
In this scenario, we're stuck with seven trees, which doesn't seem to make sense in the "Level 1 / Level 2 tree pairing setup," but we can confirm that Eastern Red Cedar Trees will produce White Cedar Trees when placed in an Orchard. You're given one of each as free gifts just for landing in Lighthouse Cove, however, so keep that in mind.
Animals:
Milking Shorthorn - 100,000 coins
Pine Marten - 100,000 coins
Main Coon - 200,000 coins
Loon Duck - 18 Farm Cash
Buttercup Chicken - 20 Farm Cash
Chinook - 20 Farm Cash
Dorset Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Duroc Pig - 20 Farm Cash
Pineywoods Cow - 24 Farm Cash
New England Pinto - 26 Farm Cash
Sailor Cow - 24 Farm Cash
Canadian Goose - 20 Farm Cash
Quarter Pony - 24 Farm Cash
Eastern Moose - 22 Farm Cash
Mountain Lion - 20 Farm Cash
River Otter - 20 Farm Cash
Painted Turtle - 20 Farm Cash
Take particular notice of the Mountain Lion. If you purchased your way into Lighthouse Cove for 55 Farm Cash, you will have one of these big cats waiting for you in your Gift Box as a free gift for purchasing your ticket. Your farm will also have a River Otter waiting for you, for free, so feel free to skip on purchasing it if you don't care about having only one.
Buildings:
Chicken Coop - 5,000 coins
Garden Shed - 30,000 coins
Restaurant - 100,000 coins
Cove B&B - 30 Farm Cash
Garage (fully constructed) - 50 Farm Cash
Garage (frame) - 50,000 coins
Orchard (fully constructed) - 30 Farm Cash
Orchard (base) - 1,000 coins
Coastal Tool Shed - 22 Farm Cash
Coastal Barn - 30 Farm Cash
Cape House - 500,000 coins
Cottage - 20 Farm Cash
Cape Mansion - 50 Farm Cash
Post Office - 15 Farm Cash
Village Center - 50,000 coins
With these buildings, keep in mind that you'll receive a free base of an Orchard, and will also receive the Cove B&B on your land when you first arrive in Lighthouse Cove. As for the garage and restaurant, these are the vehicle storage and crafting buildings, respectively. We'll bring you a complete guide to the Restaurant feature in the Lighthouse Cove as soon as we can.
Decorations:
Beached Rowboat - 20 Farm Cash
Red Clover Pot - 1,000 coins
Ladyslipper Flower - 2 Farm Cash
Horse-Drawn Wagon - 10 Farm Cash
Inkeeper Gnome - 15 Farm Cash
Sailor Gnome - 15 Farm Cash
Fountain - 15 Farm Cash
Haystack - 10,000 coins
Pond - 15 Farm Cash
Stone Fence Gate - 50,000 coins
Picket Fence Gate - 2 Farm Cash
Daylily Flowerbed - 5,000 coins
Picket Fence - 5,000 coins
Stone Fence - 5,000 coins
Bench - 30,000 coins
Lamppost - 1 Farm Cash
You'll be given a few pieces of the Stone Fence for free when starting in Lighthouse Cove, but for the other decorations, it looks like you're on your own.
And there you have it! A complete look at what are (as of this writing) not-time-limited items available in the Lighthouse Cove farm. We'll bring you continued coverage about this new farm, so keep checking back with us for more!
What do you think of the many items made available to newcomers to the Lighthouse Cove? How many of these items will you stock up on? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove Restaurant: Everything you need to know
As we told you earlier, one of the biggest themed items farmers can expect from FarmVille's new Lighthouse Cove would be the Restaurant, which serves as this third farm's Crafting Cottage. The base Restaurant, with just two Crafting tables, can be purchased from the game's store for 100,000 coins, and as of this writing, you're only allowed to have one Restaurant in your Lighthouse Cove farm.
With this starter Restaurant, you'll have an item that is far less impressive than that of the game's preview image, but will still have access to a few recipes. Here's a rundown of those, including the crops you'll need to grow to craft them.
Cheddar Cheese - 2 Red Clover, 1 Hay and 2 Rhubarb Bushels
Blackberry Ice Cream - 3 Darrow Blackberry, 2 Chandler Blueberry and 3 Strawberry Bushels
Creamed Corn - 3 Butter & Sugar Corn, 3 Tarragon and 1 Pepper Bushels
Once you level up recipes six times, you'll be able to upgrade your restaurant to level 2 (which also changes it visually). At that point, you'll unlock three Level 2 recipes:
Wild Blueberry Pie - 2 Chandler Blueberry, 3 Wheat and 2 Rhubarb Bushels
Black Raspberry Wine - 3 Raspberry, 2 White Grape and 3 Chandler Blueberry Bushels
Fruit Cider - 2 Cove Cranberry, 3 Red Currant and 3 Lady Slipper Bushels
As you might expect, there are far more recipes to unlock than this, as you level up your Restaurant and unlock new ones to craft. We'll make sure to update you when we know what those recipes are, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the look of the Restaurant in FarmVille? Are you going to focus on crafting just to level up its appearance to that of the teaser image, or will you craft casually and let the upgrades happen along the way? Sound off in the comments.
With this starter Restaurant, you'll have an item that is far less impressive than that of the game's preview image, but will still have access to a few recipes. Here's a rundown of those, including the crops you'll need to grow to craft them.
Cheddar Cheese - 2 Red Clover, 1 Hay and 2 Rhubarb Bushels
Blackberry Ice Cream - 3 Darrow Blackberry, 2 Chandler Blueberry and 3 Strawberry Bushels
Creamed Corn - 3 Butter & Sugar Corn, 3 Tarragon and 1 Pepper Bushels
Once you level up recipes six times, you'll be able to upgrade your restaurant to level 2 (which also changes it visually). At that point, you'll unlock three Level 2 recipes:
Wild Blueberry Pie - 2 Chandler Blueberry, 3 Wheat and 2 Rhubarb Bushels
Black Raspberry Wine - 3 Raspberry, 2 White Grape and 3 Chandler Blueberry Bushels
Fruit Cider - 2 Cove Cranberry, 3 Red Currant and 3 Lady Slipper Bushels
As you might expect, there are far more recipes to unlock than this, as you level up your Restaurant and unlock new ones to craft. We'll make sure to update you when we know what those recipes are, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the look of the Restaurant in FarmVille? Are you going to focus on crafting just to level up its appearance to that of the teaser image, or will you craft casually and let the upgrades happen along the way? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove Introduction Goals: Everything you need to know
After you've made your way into the Lighthouse Cove in FarmVille, you'll be met with a series of introductory goals, that serve to introduce you to some crops, and the crop growth limit. We'll start with Welcome to Lighthouse Cove.
* Plow 3 Plots
* Plant 10 Chandler Blueberries
As you can see, we're given a very easy goal to get us started in the game's third farm. Just finish these two tasks, and you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and two each of Logs, Steel Beams and Stones, the building materials native to Lighthouse Cove.
After this introductory goal, you'll launch straight into another trio, this time of limited time goals that will only be around for a week. The first is called Ahead of Schedule.
* Get 3 Wool Blankets
* Harvest 10 Chandler Blueberries
* Complete 1 Pet Run
The Wool Blankets are earned through a general news item posted to your wall. Unfortunately, it does look like you'll have to build another Pet Run from scratch for this goal, as traveling to a farm with a completed Pet Run removes your access to these goals, as of this writing. Finishing this goal gives you 100 XP, a Tourist Gnome and 2,500 coins.
Pick It Up
* Get 6 Oat Sacks
* Harvest 45 Daylilies
* Buy 1 Storage Cellar
Storage Cellars cost just one coin from the store. Meanwhile, Daylilies are a new crop that take 16 hours to grow. Finally, the Oat Sacks are earned through a general news feed item. Finish this goal and you'll earn 200 XP, one Scottie dog and 2,500 coins.
Happy Trees
* Get 6 Tree Fertilizers
* Harvest 45 Butter & Sugar Corns
* Store 20 Trees in an Orchard
Luckily, you can purchase trees that aren't native to the Lighthouse Cove - like old fruit trees that cost just a few hundred coins each, so feel free to fill an Orchard with those. The Fertilizers, meanwhile, are earned through another news feed item. Once you finish this goal, you'll earn 300 XP, 1 Red Oak Tree and 2,500 coins.
Once you finish this trio of goals, you'll have finished the first "Chapter" in the Lighthouse Cove goal series. We're told that new "tasks" will be released in Lighthouse Cove every week, for an undisclosed amount of weeks, however, so we'll make sure to give you a look at every new set of guys just as soon as they're released.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these new Lighthouse Cove goals? Do they serve their purpose of introducing you to this new farm, or should they be more difficult? Sound off in the comments.
* Plow 3 Plots
* Plant 10 Chandler Blueberries
As you can see, we're given a very easy goal to get us started in the game's third farm. Just finish these two tasks, and you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and two each of Logs, Steel Beams and Stones, the building materials native to Lighthouse Cove.
After this introductory goal, you'll launch straight into another trio, this time of limited time goals that will only be around for a week. The first is called Ahead of Schedule.
* Get 3 Wool Blankets
* Harvest 10 Chandler Blueberries
* Complete 1 Pet Run
The Wool Blankets are earned through a general news item posted to your wall. Unfortunately, it does look like you'll have to build another Pet Run from scratch for this goal, as traveling to a farm with a completed Pet Run removes your access to these goals, as of this writing. Finishing this goal gives you 100 XP, a Tourist Gnome and 2,500 coins.
Pick It Up
* Get 6 Oat Sacks
* Harvest 45 Daylilies
* Buy 1 Storage Cellar
Storage Cellars cost just one coin from the store. Meanwhile, Daylilies are a new crop that take 16 hours to grow. Finally, the Oat Sacks are earned through a general news feed item. Finish this goal and you'll earn 200 XP, one Scottie dog and 2,500 coins.
Happy Trees
* Get 6 Tree Fertilizers
* Harvest 45 Butter & Sugar Corns
* Store 20 Trees in an Orchard
Luckily, you can purchase trees that aren't native to the Lighthouse Cove - like old fruit trees that cost just a few hundred coins each, so feel free to fill an Orchard with those. The Fertilizers, meanwhile, are earned through another news feed item. Once you finish this goal, you'll earn 300 XP, 1 Red Oak Tree and 2,500 coins.
Once you finish this trio of goals, you'll have finished the first "Chapter" in the Lighthouse Cove goal series. We're told that new "tasks" will be released in Lighthouse Cove every week, for an undisclosed amount of weeks, however, so we'll make sure to give you a look at every new set of guys just as soon as they're released.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these new Lighthouse Cove goals? Do they serve their purpose of introducing you to this new farm, or should they be more difficult? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Repairing the Lighthouse Cove: Everything you need to know
One of the biggest elements of FarmVille's new Lighthouse Cove farm will come in actually repairing the dock and lighthouse after a huge storm wiped them out. This is done via item collection, using the three new tools found in the Lighthouse Cove proper: Logs, Stones and Steel Beams. As of this writing, there look to be 10 different levels for upgrades you can provide to the "Lighthouse Cove" itself, with the starting level requiring just three each of those Logs, Stones and Steel Beams. This removes the seaweed and debris from the water, but does little else.
As you continually repair, or level up your Lighthouse Cove (of course, each level takes more and more of each building material), you'll see visual transformations reflecting those repairs. This is important to note, as repairing the cove will be the only way to draw out animals like dolphins, which serve an (as of now) still unknown purpose. Your friends can send you more of these parts, or you can purchase them outright for Farm Cash.
On top of all of this, the Lighthouse Cove can actually be "harvested," once per day, giving you a chance to find "sea" bushels, like Clams. These bushels are then placed into a Market Stall for your friends to use, if they so choose.
We're sure that the upgrades given to the Lighthouse Cove will have a much larger effect on the game sometime in the future, but for right now, just focus on getting through the first few levels, while still trying to complete all of those new goals as well.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you started repairing your Lighthouse Cove area, or are you waiting for the free passes to be handed out to FarmVille players? What will be the first thing you do when landing in Lighthouse Cove? Sound off in the comments.
As you continually repair, or level up your Lighthouse Cove (of course, each level takes more and more of each building material), you'll see visual transformations reflecting those repairs. This is important to note, as repairing the cove will be the only way to draw out animals like dolphins, which serve an (as of now) still unknown purpose. Your friends can send you more of these parts, or you can purchase them outright for Farm Cash.
On top of all of this, the Lighthouse Cove can actually be "harvested," once per day, giving you a chance to find "sea" bushels, like Clams. These bushels are then placed into a Market Stall for your friends to use, if they so choose.
We're sure that the upgrades given to the Lighthouse Cove will have a much larger effect on the game sometime in the future, but for right now, just focus on getting through the first few levels, while still trying to complete all of those new goals as well.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you started repairing your Lighthouse Cove area, or are you waiting for the free passes to be handed out to FarmVille players? What will be the first thing you do when landing in Lighthouse Cove? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove Bonus Challenge Goals: Everything you need to know
While you're busy working on the first "introductory" chapter of goals in FarmVille's new Lighthouse Cove, keep in mind that three additional goals will soon fall onto your plate in the form of Bonus Challenges. Here's a complete look at these goals, which have a full month long time limit (that is, once they're given to you, not from today).
Bonus Challenge 1
* Get 3 Hobby Horses
* Harvest 70 Cove Cranberries
* Improve the Cove to Level 4
As we told you earlier this evening, you'll "improve" your Cove by repairing the Lighthouse Cove dock and lighthouse area using Steel Beams, Logs and Stones. Once you reach level four, you'll apparently have the ability to draw out dolphins, so watch out for that! Finishing this first goal gives you 500 XP, a Fisherman / Fishing Gnome and 2,500 coins.
Bonus Challenge 2
* Harvest 90 Chandler Blueberries
* Expand to a Harbor Homestead
* Make Wild Blueberry Pie Twice
Here's where things get a bit complicated. While Wild Blueberry Pies are fairly self-explanatory, and must be crafted inside the Level 2 Restaurant, the Harbor Homestead is the third homestead expansion option in Lighthouse Cove, and it costs 50 Farm Cash. To make matters worse, the two expansion before it? Yeah, they cost Farm Cash too - 30 and 40 Farm Cash each, to be specific. I'm sure there will be coin options released eventually, but keep this in mind for now. Once you finish this goal, you'll receive 1,000 XP, a Tulip Poplar Tree and 2,500 coins.
Bonus Challenge 3
* Harvest Lighthouse Cove
* Make Black Raspberry Wine Twice
* Harvest the Zoo
Unfortunately, it looks like you might have to build another Zoo to finish this goal, on top of those you may have on other farms. Check out our guide to building a Zoo for more details. Also, as you might have guessed, the Black Raspberry Wine is another crafting recipe, also requiring a Level 2 Restaurant. Finishing this final Bonus Challenge goal gives you 500 XP, a Gorilla, ten Animal Feeds and 2,500 coins.
Zynga has said previously that new content will be added to the Lighthouse Cove every week (for a few weeks, anyhow), so keep checking back with us and we'll make sure to keep you up to date as new items are added.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Are these Bonus Challenges worth doing? Do you appreciate a real challenge in your goals, or do you wish these goals were less complex? Sound off in the comments.
Bonus Challenge 1
* Get 3 Hobby Horses
* Harvest 70 Cove Cranberries
* Improve the Cove to Level 4
As we told you earlier this evening, you'll "improve" your Cove by repairing the Lighthouse Cove dock and lighthouse area using Steel Beams, Logs and Stones. Once you reach level four, you'll apparently have the ability to draw out dolphins, so watch out for that! Finishing this first goal gives you 500 XP, a Fisherman / Fishing Gnome and 2,500 coins.
Bonus Challenge 2
* Harvest 90 Chandler Blueberries
* Expand to a Harbor Homestead
* Make Wild Blueberry Pie Twice
Here's where things get a bit complicated. While Wild Blueberry Pies are fairly self-explanatory, and must be crafted inside the Level 2 Restaurant, the Harbor Homestead is the third homestead expansion option in Lighthouse Cove, and it costs 50 Farm Cash. To make matters worse, the two expansion before it? Yeah, they cost Farm Cash too - 30 and 40 Farm Cash each, to be specific. I'm sure there will be coin options released eventually, but keep this in mind for now. Once you finish this goal, you'll receive 1,000 XP, a Tulip Poplar Tree and 2,500 coins.
Bonus Challenge 3
* Harvest Lighthouse Cove
* Make Black Raspberry Wine Twice
* Harvest the Zoo
Unfortunately, it looks like you might have to build another Zoo to finish this goal, on top of those you may have on other farms. Check out our guide to building a Zoo for more details. Also, as you might have guessed, the Black Raspberry Wine is another crafting recipe, also requiring a Level 2 Restaurant. Finishing this final Bonus Challenge goal gives you 500 XP, a Gorilla, ten Animal Feeds and 2,500 coins.
Zynga has said previously that new content will be added to the Lighthouse Cove every week (for a few weeks, anyhow), so keep checking back with us and we'll make sure to keep you up to date as new items are added.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Are these Bonus Challenges worth doing? Do you appreciate a real challenge in your goals, or do you wish these goals were less complex? Sound off in the comments.
Monday, September 26, 2011
CityVille: 3x XP on Neighbor Visits this weekend only
If you're looking for a way to quickly reach the next level in CityVille (ok, so maybe it won't speed you up that much), you'll want to play as much as you can this weekend. Why? Zynga is holding a triple XP event for this weekend only, that will see you earning 3x the amount of XP when visiting and helping neighbors. Sure, it would be great if this event swept across the entire game, allowing you to have triple XP on businesses and homes as well, but I suppose we can't really complain when we're receiving something for nothing here.
If you play your cards right, and visit all of your friends both days this weekend, you can of course earn double the amount of bonuses, but it's understandable if you don't think the bonus XP received is really worth it. Hopefully, if this event goes over well enough, we'll receive even more bonuses in the future. Perhaps a bonus amount of XP for each home collected from? Each business? That sounds like a great way to pull in players, if you ask me, but we won't hold our breath. In the meantime, I hope you earn more bonus XP through this event than me, as I'm starting to wonder if it's even worth it...
What do you think? Will you take the time to visit all of your friends for 3x XP this weekend? Sound off in the comments.
If you play your cards right, and visit all of your friends both days this weekend, you can of course earn double the amount of bonuses, but it's understandable if you don't think the bonus XP received is really worth it. Hopefully, if this event goes over well enough, we'll receive even more bonuses in the future. Perhaps a bonus amount of XP for each home collected from? Each business? That sounds like a great way to pull in players, if you ask me, but we won't hold our breath. In the meantime, I hope you earn more bonus XP through this event than me, as I'm starting to wonder if it's even worth it...
What do you think? Will you take the time to visit all of your friends for 3x XP this weekend? Sound off in the comments.
Adventure World FAQs: Zynga answers our first questions
Just as was the case for the launch of the Pioneer Trail on Facebook, Zynga has taken the time to answer some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding its newest game: Adventure World. While we've already brought you a detailed look at the overall game, along with its first few expeditions, you might still be left with questions. Luckily, we're able to show you Zynga's answers to these questions, as they were posted on the game's official forums, so read on to learn a bit more about the game.
If I don't pick-up coins/xp/etc, will they still be added? Yes, everything that drops is added automatically, you don't have to pick it up; but it's very easy to do so by just hovering over the dropped "doobers".
How do I gain experience (XP)? XP can be gained by performing various actions in the game. When an action grants you XP, you will see it drop in the form of a star "doober". Completing quests will also grant you XP bonuses. You can check your XP progress by hovering over your XP bar; you might also note what can be unlocked by reaching the next level.
How can I buy new decorations for my Base Camp? Click on the "Build" button, then navigate to "Décor"; make sure you also meet all the requirements to buy it (such as coins and level).
How do I move, rotate or delete/remove an object? Click on the "Build" button, navigate to "Décor", then select the desired tool.
How can I place more dig sites? Click on the "Build" button, navigate to "Sites", then select the desired Dig Site.
Where can I find my inventory? You can access your inventory by clicking on the "Inventory" button, which is located to the right of your neighbor ladder.
How can I go on expeditions? Once you have unlocked new locations, you can travel there by clicking on the "Map" button then selecting a destination. Make sure you have plenty of supplies.
How can I hire friends for Expeditions? You can hire friends for your expedition crew by first clicking on an "Add Bonus" button, located on the bar near the bottom of your screen, and then by clicking on an "Ask for Help" button on the screen that comes up.
Why do I lose extra energy when fighting creatures? When fighting you may lose one extra energy point every time you attack or get hit with an attack from the creature. There is a chance you can dodge the attack, or stun them when you attack, and avoid getting hit.
How can I get more resources? You will be able to produce one (1) of the three (3) resources, the other two (2) you can collect either by visiting friends with that specific resource and harvesting it, or by requesting them from your friends. You could also gain resources from completing expeditions.
How quickly do supplies spoil? Supplies will spoil at 4 times their harvest time. So if you send out a boat that will be ready in 8 hours it will spoil 32 hours after you have supplied it (or 24 hours after it came back).
How can I get more energy? Your energy will refill according to the timer on your energy bar, every time the timer counts down to 0 you will receive 1 energy point up to your max energy. You can also receive more energy by visiting your neighbors, as a random bonus drop for various actions, and you can purchase more energy with Adventure Cash by clicking on your energy bar. In addition, energy can be gifted from the free gifts page. When you reach the next level your energy bar will be fully refilled and your maximum energy is increased by 1 (up to the current maximum energy limit).
While on Expeditions, icons for my completed quests are not being removed, is this normal? Yes it is. You will always be able to see quest icons during expeditions, even after you have completed them. Quest icons in your base camp, however, will be removed as you complete the associated quests.
How does Expedition Mastery work? You can gain expedition mastery levels by replaying expeditions you have already completed. Rewards for every expedition increase with the mastery level.
What do I get from completing a collection? Each collection has a different reward; these rewards are shown on the collections page and are often needed to complete quests.
How do you obtain collection items? Collection items have a chance to drop as you perform various tasks in the game.
How many game levels are there? Currently, 40 is the maximum level achievable, but more levels are added periodically.
What is the maximum amount of neighbors you can have? The maximum number of neighbors you can have is 150.
If you don't want to read the entire series of questions, keep these particular facts in mind: you can currently have 150 Adventure World neighbors, and can level yourself up to Level 40 before reaching the current level cap. It's very likely that the Level cap will be increased within the next couple of months (depending on how quickly power users make their way to the top), so don't be discouraged if that seems like that game is limited in its content.
Additionally, it's great to see such a long spoil time on supplies: four times their harvest time. If you want to only play the game once or twice a day, you can still send out for the smaller supply bundles, and can be sure that they'll still be fresh when you come back to the game later that day.
All in all, Adventure World is a fairly complex experience that will likely take some getting used to, but hopefully, with these answers, you'll have an easier time of acclimating. We'll make sure to continue our coverage about the game to get you up to speed even quicker, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of Adventure World so far? What level have you already reached? Sound off in the comments.
If I don't pick-up coins/xp/etc, will they still be added? Yes, everything that drops is added automatically, you don't have to pick it up; but it's very easy to do so by just hovering over the dropped "doobers".
How do I gain experience (XP)? XP can be gained by performing various actions in the game. When an action grants you XP, you will see it drop in the form of a star "doober". Completing quests will also grant you XP bonuses. You can check your XP progress by hovering over your XP bar; you might also note what can be unlocked by reaching the next level.
How can I buy new decorations for my Base Camp? Click on the "Build" button, then navigate to "Décor"; make sure you also meet all the requirements to buy it (such as coins and level).
How do I move, rotate or delete/remove an object? Click on the "Build" button, navigate to "Décor", then select the desired tool.
How can I place more dig sites? Click on the "Build" button, navigate to "Sites", then select the desired Dig Site.
Where can I find my inventory? You can access your inventory by clicking on the "Inventory" button, which is located to the right of your neighbor ladder.
How can I go on expeditions? Once you have unlocked new locations, you can travel there by clicking on the "Map" button then selecting a destination. Make sure you have plenty of supplies.
How can I hire friends for Expeditions? You can hire friends for your expedition crew by first clicking on an "Add Bonus" button, located on the bar near the bottom of your screen, and then by clicking on an "Ask for Help" button on the screen that comes up.
Why do I lose extra energy when fighting creatures? When fighting you may lose one extra energy point every time you attack or get hit with an attack from the creature. There is a chance you can dodge the attack, or stun them when you attack, and avoid getting hit.
How can I get more resources? You will be able to produce one (1) of the three (3) resources, the other two (2) you can collect either by visiting friends with that specific resource and harvesting it, or by requesting them from your friends. You could also gain resources from completing expeditions.
How quickly do supplies spoil? Supplies will spoil at 4 times their harvest time. So if you send out a boat that will be ready in 8 hours it will spoil 32 hours after you have supplied it (or 24 hours after it came back).
How can I get more energy? Your energy will refill according to the timer on your energy bar, every time the timer counts down to 0 you will receive 1 energy point up to your max energy. You can also receive more energy by visiting your neighbors, as a random bonus drop for various actions, and you can purchase more energy with Adventure Cash by clicking on your energy bar. In addition, energy can be gifted from the free gifts page. When you reach the next level your energy bar will be fully refilled and your maximum energy is increased by 1 (up to the current maximum energy limit).
While on Expeditions, icons for my completed quests are not being removed, is this normal? Yes it is. You will always be able to see quest icons during expeditions, even after you have completed them. Quest icons in your base camp, however, will be removed as you complete the associated quests.
How does Expedition Mastery work? You can gain expedition mastery levels by replaying expeditions you have already completed. Rewards for every expedition increase with the mastery level.
What do I get from completing a collection? Each collection has a different reward; these rewards are shown on the collections page and are often needed to complete quests.
How do you obtain collection items? Collection items have a chance to drop as you perform various tasks in the game.
How many game levels are there? Currently, 40 is the maximum level achievable, but more levels are added periodically.
What is the maximum amount of neighbors you can have? The maximum number of neighbors you can have is 150.
If you don't want to read the entire series of questions, keep these particular facts in mind: you can currently have 150 Adventure World neighbors, and can level yourself up to Level 40 before reaching the current level cap. It's very likely that the Level cap will be increased within the next couple of months (depending on how quickly power users make their way to the top), so don't be discouraged if that seems like that game is limited in its content.
Additionally, it's great to see such a long spoil time on supplies: four times their harvest time. If you want to only play the game once or twice a day, you can still send out for the smaller supply bundles, and can be sure that they'll still be fresh when you come back to the game later that day.
All in all, Adventure World is a fairly complex experience that will likely take some getting used to, but hopefully, with these answers, you'll have an easier time of acclimating. We'll make sure to continue our coverage about the game to get you up to speed even quicker, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of Adventure World so far? What level have you already reached? Sound off in the comments.
Adventure World Cheats & Tips: Expedition Mastery Guide
While we've already brought you a detailed look at the first few Expeditions in Adventure World, did you know that you can actually repeat these Expeditions and eventually master them? That's right, each time you repeat an Expedition, you'll earn points towards mastering the Expedition itself, and with each star of mastery you earn (for that particular Expedition), your potential rewards will increase.
As of right now, it looks like each individual Expedition has a total of five mastery stars available to earn, but you won't necessarily go up a full star level each time you play through it. That is, you may have to finish a single Expedition more than five times to completely master it. In the process, however, you'll earn plenty of rewards like Food, Fuel and Coins. Luckily, you can see a complete rundown of what your additional rewards will be before really getting too deep into repeating them. Just start an Expedition as you normally would (say, on your very first time running through it), and click on the "Rewards" button at the bottom of the screen, as seen below.
This will bring up the following menu, showing you the possible maximum rewards for each star level of that Expedition. As you can see from our below example - Jungle Run - the rewards become significantly higher the more and more times you play through the entire Expedition, but remember, doing so is mostly voluntary. That is, you may need to backtrack to past Expeditions to level up and unlock new ones, but at least you can pick and choose which ones to repeat and which ones to avoid based on your preferences.
All in all, the process of mastering Expeditions really isn't that complicated - just know that by playing the game more often, you'll increase the rate at which you master them, and the rate at which you earn bigger and better rewards. And make sure to keep checking back with us as we bring you more details about Zynga's newest - and largest - Facebook game yet.
Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.
Will you work to master each and every Expedition in Adventure World, or are some of these Expeditions too difficult to complete more than once? Sound off in the comments.
As of right now, it looks like each individual Expedition has a total of five mastery stars available to earn, but you won't necessarily go up a full star level each time you play through it. That is, you may have to finish a single Expedition more than five times to completely master it. In the process, however, you'll earn plenty of rewards like Food, Fuel and Coins. Luckily, you can see a complete rundown of what your additional rewards will be before really getting too deep into repeating them. Just start an Expedition as you normally would (say, on your very first time running through it), and click on the "Rewards" button at the bottom of the screen, as seen below.
This will bring up the following menu, showing you the possible maximum rewards for each star level of that Expedition. As you can see from our below example - Jungle Run - the rewards become significantly higher the more and more times you play through the entire Expedition, but remember, doing so is mostly voluntary. That is, you may need to backtrack to past Expeditions to level up and unlock new ones, but at least you can pick and choose which ones to repeat and which ones to avoid based on your preferences.
All in all, the process of mastering Expeditions really isn't that complicated - just know that by playing the game more often, you'll increase the rate at which you master them, and the rate at which you earn bigger and better rewards. And make sure to keep checking back with us as we bring you more details about Zynga's newest - and largest - Facebook game yet.
Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.
Will you work to master each and every Expedition in Adventure World, or are some of these Expeditions too difficult to complete more than once? Sound off in the comments.
Adventure World Cheats & Tips: Base Camp Expansion Guide
Not entirely unlike the Pioneer Trail, or even FarmVille, Zynga's newest Facebook game - Adventure World - allows you to decorate a Base Camp that serves as this game's "Homestead" or "Home Farm." And just like in those other popular games, you'll be able to expand your Base Camp to hold more goodies, whether functional, or just those used for decoration.
While Adventure World starts you off with a fairly large section of land, covered in shrubs, trees and other debris, it's inevitable that we'll eventually run out of room. Even if we didn't, just look at those cool items waiting off in the shadows! There are new treasure sites (like the one pictured above), but there's even an Adventure Society Plane just waiting to be unlocked. To purchase these expansions, you can either click on something in this shadow-covered land, which automatically brings up the Expansion menu, or you can access it the "old fashioned way," by clicking on the Hammer / Bricks icon in the game's tool menu and then clicking on the Expansion tab (at the far right).
Either way, once you open this menu, you'll see that there are currently six expansions available to purchase, but they are locked based on your in-game level, or the amount of coins you currently have to spend. The first expansion costs 3,000 coins, and once you click on it to purchase it, you'll be allowed to move a large expansion area over to one of the shadowy spaces in your Base Camp. Click on the ground to purchase the selected expansion plot and voila! The shadows disappear and you can now interact with whatever item you've unlocked.
If you wish to use this land for decoration, you can do that as well, by first clicking on all of that new debris to spend energy clearing it away. As of right now, there's no "Zoning Permit" or "Land Grant" that's needed to unlock these expansions; you'll just need good old coins. It's not entirely impossible that such a roadblock might be added in the future, however, so your best bet might be to focus on expanding sooner, rather than later.
Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Base Camp expansion system in Adventure World? Do you like purchasing just single sections of land, or would you prefer each side of the Base Camp to simply extend further with each expansion? Sound off in the comments.
While Adventure World starts you off with a fairly large section of land, covered in shrubs, trees and other debris, it's inevitable that we'll eventually run out of room. Even if we didn't, just look at those cool items waiting off in the shadows! There are new treasure sites (like the one pictured above), but there's even an Adventure Society Plane just waiting to be unlocked. To purchase these expansions, you can either click on something in this shadow-covered land, which automatically brings up the Expansion menu, or you can access it the "old fashioned way," by clicking on the Hammer / Bricks icon in the game's tool menu and then clicking on the Expansion tab (at the far right).
Either way, once you open this menu, you'll see that there are currently six expansions available to purchase, but they are locked based on your in-game level, or the amount of coins you currently have to spend. The first expansion costs 3,000 coins, and once you click on it to purchase it, you'll be allowed to move a large expansion area over to one of the shadowy spaces in your Base Camp. Click on the ground to purchase the selected expansion plot and voila! The shadows disappear and you can now interact with whatever item you've unlocked.
If you wish to use this land for decoration, you can do that as well, by first clicking on all of that new debris to spend energy clearing it away. As of right now, there's no "Zoning Permit" or "Land Grant" that's needed to unlock these expansions; you'll just need good old coins. It's not entirely impossible that such a roadblock might be added in the future, however, so your best bet might be to focus on expanding sooner, rather than later.
Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Base Camp expansion system in Adventure World? Do you like purchasing just single sections of land, or would you prefer each side of the Base Camp to simply extend further with each expansion? Sound off in the comments.
Adventure World Cheats & Tips: Avatar Appearance Guide
If you're like me, your first instinct with Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World was probably to immediately start making your way through Expeditions. After all, it's not everyday that you have a chance to gain access to the lost city of El Dorado, even if it is virtually. Here's something you might have missed though - did you know you can change your avatar's appearance? With so many characters walking around in the same tan outfits, this is a great way to spend a few coins to really set yourself apart from your peers (even more helpful when joining Expeditions, as your friends can tell you apart).
To change your avatar's appearance or clothing, click on the Crate in the bottom right corner of the screen, and from there click on the brown hat. This brings up a menu like the one below, where you'll see your avatar moving through a series of animations, and can choose from a variety of facial features (eyebrows, noses, and even facial hair or glasses), along with clothing options for both tops and bottoms.
Simply browse through these sections, clicking on items as you choose to try them on. Again, it's important to note that you avatar is constantly moving in the preview area, as this will show you what he or she will actually look like while moving, while wearing these new items. You'll need to then click on the large green button that appears underneath your avatar to actually purchase the individual items you try on, so don't forget to do that before closing the window or changing tabs.
If you do happen to close the window (or change tabs) before purchasing any of your changes, they'll unfortunately be lost, requiring you to enter the menu and try on (and actually purchase) these items from scratch. In this, there's unfortunately not any way (currently) to try on full outfits to see how new tops look with new pants, unless you purchase one outright. When you purchase a new item, it will instantly be equipped, so you'd have to purchase one or the other on a whim and hope it doesn't actually look good with the other item you had thought of.
All in all, it's likely that more clothing items will be released in the future to give us even more customization options, but for now, take a look at the selection available and see if you can create an avatar that more represents your own personal style.
Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you edited your avatar's appearance in Adventure World, or are you saving your coins for other items, such as Base Camp Expansions, instead? Sound off in the comments.
To change your avatar's appearance or clothing, click on the Crate in the bottom right corner of the screen, and from there click on the brown hat. This brings up a menu like the one below, where you'll see your avatar moving through a series of animations, and can choose from a variety of facial features (eyebrows, noses, and even facial hair or glasses), along with clothing options for both tops and bottoms.
Simply browse through these sections, clicking on items as you choose to try them on. Again, it's important to note that you avatar is constantly moving in the preview area, as this will show you what he or she will actually look like while moving, while wearing these new items. You'll need to then click on the large green button that appears underneath your avatar to actually purchase the individual items you try on, so don't forget to do that before closing the window or changing tabs.
If you do happen to close the window (or change tabs) before purchasing any of your changes, they'll unfortunately be lost, requiring you to enter the menu and try on (and actually purchase) these items from scratch. In this, there's unfortunately not any way (currently) to try on full outfits to see how new tops look with new pants, unless you purchase one outright. When you purchase a new item, it will instantly be equipped, so you'd have to purchase one or the other on a whim and hope it doesn't actually look good with the other item you had thought of.
All in all, it's likely that more clothing items will be released in the future to give us even more customization options, but for now, take a look at the selection available and see if you can create an avatar that more represents your own personal style.
Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you edited your avatar's appearance in Adventure World, or are you saving your coins for other items, such as Base Camp Expansions, instead? Sound off in the comments.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
CityVille Governor's Run Goals Act 1, Part 1: Everything you need to know
Well, I guess we know now what Captain Krunsch meant when he said, "I plan on sleeping in the governor's mansion tonight!" Now that Governor Phil has abandoned his post and joined the Circus, Zynga has introduced the Governor's Run Goals to CityVille.
This event will span three acts, each consisting of nine Goals to complete. Here's everything you need to know about the first of the Governor's Run Goals, which revolve around Farmer Rita (Please keep in mind that this is early information and is subject to change):
First of all, you must be at least Level 50 to have access to these Goals. Once you reach that criteria, a window will appear upon logging into the game that features a short Flash video detailing just how Krunsch made it onto the campaign trail.
In this Governor's Run event, you must win over the hearts of the three major voting groups consisting of nine series of Goals: The People, Special Interests and Big Business. So far, we have just have information on Farmer Rita's portion of Act 1.
CityVille Feast or Famine
Feast or Famine
* Collect 10 Bags of Animal Feed
* Master the Alfalfa Crop
* Have 3,000 Goods
To acquire those 10 Bags of Animal Feed, ask your friends through the Goal's menu. To completely master Alfalfa, you will need a total of 13,200 coins, and each Alfalfa will take six hours to ripen. Harvesting 300 of these crops should net you the 3,000 Goods you need. Your reward for this Goal is 60 XP.
CityVille Run for Governor
Creating a Buzz
* Collect 15 Organic Locust Sprays
* Harvest 80 Locust Resistant Blueberries
* Harvest 80 Neighbor Crops
The 15 Organic Locust Sprays are found by asking friends through the Goal window. These Locust Resistant Blueberries look to be a new crop in the game. To harvest the 80 neighbor crops, you will have to visit 16 friends total. No reward information for this Goal is available yet.
Farmer Charmer
* Collect 20 Fruit Cartons
* Collect from 7 Cruise Ships
* Collect from Produce Paradise 10 times
The 20 Fruit Cartons are more than likely found through friend help requests, like the similar Goal requirements before it. Since Cruise Ships generally act like Community Buildings and can only be collected every 12 hours, this portion of the Goal will take at least 84 hours, or 3.5 days.
The Produce Paradise costs 12,500 coins, and considering the massive amounts of coins most high-level players have these days, I'd recommend buying a bunch and selling them back, if you're feeling impatient. Again, no reward information available on this one yet. Once you complete these three Goals, the second part of Governor's Run Act 1, "The People," will be made available to you.
[Source and Image Credits: Zynga, LightChan]
Have you started the Governor's Run series of Goals in CityVille yet? What tips do you have for completing these Goals even more quickly? Sound off in the comments. 8 Comments
This event will span three acts, each consisting of nine Goals to complete. Here's everything you need to know about the first of the Governor's Run Goals, which revolve around Farmer Rita (Please keep in mind that this is early information and is subject to change):
First of all, you must be at least Level 50 to have access to these Goals. Once you reach that criteria, a window will appear upon logging into the game that features a short Flash video detailing just how Krunsch made it onto the campaign trail.
In this Governor's Run event, you must win over the hearts of the three major voting groups consisting of nine series of Goals: The People, Special Interests and Big Business. So far, we have just have information on Farmer Rita's portion of Act 1.
CityVille Feast or Famine
Feast or Famine
* Collect 10 Bags of Animal Feed
* Master the Alfalfa Crop
* Have 3,000 Goods
To acquire those 10 Bags of Animal Feed, ask your friends through the Goal's menu. To completely master Alfalfa, you will need a total of 13,200 coins, and each Alfalfa will take six hours to ripen. Harvesting 300 of these crops should net you the 3,000 Goods you need. Your reward for this Goal is 60 XP.
CityVille Run for Governor
Creating a Buzz
* Collect 15 Organic Locust Sprays
* Harvest 80 Locust Resistant Blueberries
* Harvest 80 Neighbor Crops
The 15 Organic Locust Sprays are found by asking friends through the Goal window. These Locust Resistant Blueberries look to be a new crop in the game. To harvest the 80 neighbor crops, you will have to visit 16 friends total. No reward information for this Goal is available yet.
Farmer Charmer
* Collect 20 Fruit Cartons
* Collect from 7 Cruise Ships
* Collect from Produce Paradise 10 times
The 20 Fruit Cartons are more than likely found through friend help requests, like the similar Goal requirements before it. Since Cruise Ships generally act like Community Buildings and can only be collected every 12 hours, this portion of the Goal will take at least 84 hours, or 3.5 days.
The Produce Paradise costs 12,500 coins, and considering the massive amounts of coins most high-level players have these days, I'd recommend buying a bunch and selling them back, if you're feeling impatient. Again, no reward information available on this one yet. Once you complete these three Goals, the second part of Governor's Run Act 1, "The People," will be made available to you.
[Source and Image Credits: Zynga, LightChan]
Have you started the Governor's Run series of Goals in CityVille yet? What tips do you have for completing these Goals even more quickly? Sound off in the comments. 8 Comments
Honor late, great Patrick Swayze in ... a Dirty Dancing Facebook game?
Remember, it's Sept. 9, not April 1, so this is for real. AllFacebook reports that a Facebook game surrounding the iconic 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, Dirty Dancing, is in development at Toronto-based studio Social Game Universe. The game will include the tunes you all know from the hit movie, like "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" and "Hungry Eyes," as players rehearse and perform dance numbers at the Kellerman's Resort to level up.
Presented in 8-bit style visuals like the video games of the time, Dirty Dancing on Facebook will have players dancing alongside retro, digitized versions of Baby and Johnny from the movie. (I'd rather think of them as Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in glorious 8-bit rendering, but to each his own.)
Players will then roam around the resort and drop "Romance Waves" to cause guests to fall in love and stay for awhile longer. Wait, that never happened in the movie!
Anyway, players will perform real dance moves that originated from the film, likely including Baby's infamous "maraca shaking." If any of this tickles your fancy, you can head over to the Facebook page right now and sign up for a chance at an exclusive preview of the game.
However, it looks like Social Game Universe is looking for super fans, here--you've been warned. Dirty Dancing is expected to make its Facebook game debut later this month.
Are you psyched that Dirty Dancing is getting its very own Facebook game? (Hey, anything beats that weird remake released in 2004.) What other nods to the classic movie do you hope to see in this game? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Presented in 8-bit style visuals like the video games of the time, Dirty Dancing on Facebook will have players dancing alongside retro, digitized versions of Baby and Johnny from the movie. (I'd rather think of them as Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in glorious 8-bit rendering, but to each his own.)
Players will then roam around the resort and drop "Romance Waves" to cause guests to fall in love and stay for awhile longer. Wait, that never happened in the movie!
Anyway, players will perform real dance moves that originated from the film, likely including Baby's infamous "maraca shaking." If any of this tickles your fancy, you can head over to the Facebook page right now and sign up for a chance at an exclusive preview of the game.
However, it looks like Social Game Universe is looking for super fans, here--you've been warned. Dirty Dancing is expected to make its Facebook game debut later this month.
Are you psyched that Dirty Dancing is getting its very own Facebook game? (Hey, anything beats that weird remake released in 2004.) What other nods to the classic movie do you hope to see in this game? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Honoring 9/11 on barbs0803's memorial farm
Click the image to make it larger.
WTC The SphereLast month, FarmVille player barbs0803 submitted the above farm entry with the caption: "My tribute to 911 Never forget those we have lost". Now seems to be the appropriate time to share it. This 9/11 tribute farm shows the towers on the day of their collapse, complete with fire and smoke, made out of what appears to be Maple, Yellow Maple, and Rainbow Trees that aren't in bloom. The smaller explosions are Outdoor Torches from last June's Tiki theme set. But to the right, barbs0803 has also included two reflecting pools crafted with bales of hay, a design based on the real 9/11 memorial plans, which involves pools built into the footprints of the original towers and surrounded by oak trees. These two centerpieces tell a story of before and after.
On the top left corner, Fleur de lis Trees are made to resemble golden laurels bordering a flag of the Great Seal of the United States. The rest of the farm is filled in by Forget-Me-Nots, reinforcing the memorial theme. It also proves that barbs0803 is at least a Level 90 player, because those flowers can't be planted otherwise. For a final bit of detail, barbs0803 added a statue between the towers, to resemble The Sphere, a sculpture that resided beneath the WTC and was damaged beyond repair on the day of the attack. However, there's one mistake that's immediately noticeable -- the use of Light Poles as antennas on both towers, since only the north tower, Tower One, had that feature.
Here in New York, it's hard to hide from the memory of September 11th, especially with its 10th anniversary on this coming Sunday. Personally, I feel the absence of the towers most strongly when I'm riding west on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The twin towers were the most prominent and recognizable part of the lower Manhattan skyline. It's taken the city a decade to build a permanent memorial, which is finally opening to the public after this weekend. For those of you who can't make it, we'll always have barbs0803's farm.
Do you think a FarmVille farm is an appropriate way to memorialize September 11th? Can you identify the parts that barbs0803 used to create the towers? 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!
WTC The SphereLast month, FarmVille player barbs0803 submitted the above farm entry with the caption: "My tribute to 911 Never forget those we have lost". Now seems to be the appropriate time to share it. This 9/11 tribute farm shows the towers on the day of their collapse, complete with fire and smoke, made out of what appears to be Maple, Yellow Maple, and Rainbow Trees that aren't in bloom. The smaller explosions are Outdoor Torches from last June's Tiki theme set. But to the right, barbs0803 has also included two reflecting pools crafted with bales of hay, a design based on the real 9/11 memorial plans, which involves pools built into the footprints of the original towers and surrounded by oak trees. These two centerpieces tell a story of before and after.
On the top left corner, Fleur de lis Trees are made to resemble golden laurels bordering a flag of the Great Seal of the United States. The rest of the farm is filled in by Forget-Me-Nots, reinforcing the memorial theme. It also proves that barbs0803 is at least a Level 90 player, because those flowers can't be planted otherwise. For a final bit of detail, barbs0803 added a statue between the towers, to resemble The Sphere, a sculpture that resided beneath the WTC and was damaged beyond repair on the day of the attack. However, there's one mistake that's immediately noticeable -- the use of Light Poles as antennas on both towers, since only the north tower, Tower One, had that feature.
Here in New York, it's hard to hide from the memory of September 11th, especially with its 10th anniversary on this coming Sunday. Personally, I feel the absence of the towers most strongly when I'm riding west on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The twin towers were the most prominent and recognizable part of the lower Manhattan skyline. It's taken the city a decade to build a permanent memorial, which is finally opening to the public after this weekend. For those of you who can't make it, we'll always have barbs0803's farm.
Do you think a FarmVille farm is an appropriate way to memorialize September 11th? Can you identify the parts that barbs0803 used to create the towers? 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!
The Sims Social beats FarmVille, attracts second most daily players
Boy, people sure do love to play god. According to Appdata, The Sims Social has surpassed Zynga's iconic FarmVille with the second most daily players of any Facebook game. Since its launch just a month ago today, EA and Playfish's ambitious social rendition of The Sims has amassed over 9.3 million daily players--that's over 1 million more than FarmVille's 8.1 million.
The Sims Social still has a way to go to the number one spot, which is, of course, held by Zynga's most popular game CityVille at just under 14 million daily players. Regardless, it's unprecedented for a game to grow this quickly in daily players, at least for a game that wasn't built by Zynga. Not to mention this is despite the hiccups the game faced along the way including days worth of downtime.
So, that's the power of The Sims, huh? Well, not so fast. While The Sims Social has certainly showed its might when it comes to gripping players (and keeping them there ... so far), the game is still in fourth place in terms of monthly players at just over 34.3 million. This number could grow in time naturally as daily players spread the word and through advertising, but it's nevertheless telling of the limits a Facebook game faces when it doesn't have a massive existing player base, like Zynga's games.
In other words, EA and Playfish have quite a lot of work ahead of them, if they want The Sims Social to be on top in all regards. But judging from the game's performance thus far despite its early setbacks--and in the face of the most popular Facebook games to date--perhaps Simlish could become the dominant language in Facebook gaming.
Have you been one of the over 9 million locked into The Sims Social? What do you think of the game so far? Share with us in the comments. Add Comment.
The Sims Social still has a way to go to the number one spot, which is, of course, held by Zynga's most popular game CityVille at just under 14 million daily players. Regardless, it's unprecedented for a game to grow this quickly in daily players, at least for a game that wasn't built by Zynga. Not to mention this is despite the hiccups the game faced along the way including days worth of downtime.
So, that's the power of The Sims, huh? Well, not so fast. While The Sims Social has certainly showed its might when it comes to gripping players (and keeping them there ... so far), the game is still in fourth place in terms of monthly players at just over 34.3 million. This number could grow in time naturally as daily players spread the word and through advertising, but it's nevertheless telling of the limits a Facebook game faces when it doesn't have a massive existing player base, like Zynga's games.
In other words, EA and Playfish have quite a lot of work ahead of them, if they want The Sims Social to be on top in all regards. But judging from the game's performance thus far despite its early setbacks--and in the face of the most popular Facebook games to date--perhaps Simlish could become the dominant language in Facebook gaming.
Have you been one of the over 9 million locked into The Sims Social? What do you think of the game so far? Share with us in the comments. Add Comment.
The Sims Social beats FarmVille, attracts second most daily players
Boy, people sure do love to play god. According to Appdata, The Sims Social has surpassed Zynga's iconic FarmVille with the second most daily players of any Facebook game. Since its launch just a month ago today, EA and Playfish's ambitious social rendition of The Sims has amassed over 9.3 million daily players--that's over 1 million more than FarmVille's 8.1 million.
The Sims Social still has a way to go to the number one spot, which is, of course, held by Zynga's most popular game CityVille at just under 14 million daily players. Regardless, it's unprecedented for a game to grow this quickly in daily players, at least for a game that wasn't built by Zynga. Not to mention this is despite the hiccups the game faced along the way including days worth of downtime.
So, that's the power of The Sims, huh? Well, not so fast. While The Sims Social has certainly showed its might when it comes to gripping players (and keeping them there ... so far), the game is still in fourth place in terms of monthly players at just over 34.3 million. This number could grow in time naturally as daily players spread the word and through advertising, but it's nevertheless telling of the limits a Facebook game faces when it doesn't have a massive existing player base, like Zynga's games.
In other words, EA and Playfish have quite a lot of work ahead of them, if they want The Sims Social to be on top in all regards. But judging from the game's performance thus far despite its early setbacks--and in the face of the most popular Facebook games to date--perhaps Simlish could become the dominant language in Facebook gaming.
Have you been one of the over 9 million locked into The Sims Social? What do you think of the game so far? Share with us in the comments.Add Comment
The Sims Social still has a way to go to the number one spot, which is, of course, held by Zynga's most popular game CityVille at just under 14 million daily players. Regardless, it's unprecedented for a game to grow this quickly in daily players, at least for a game that wasn't built by Zynga. Not to mention this is despite the hiccups the game faced along the way including days worth of downtime.
So, that's the power of The Sims, huh? Well, not so fast. While The Sims Social has certainly showed its might when it comes to gripping players (and keeping them there ... so far), the game is still in fourth place in terms of monthly players at just over 34.3 million. This number could grow in time naturally as daily players spread the word and through advertising, but it's nevertheless telling of the limits a Facebook game faces when it doesn't have a massive existing player base, like Zynga's games.
In other words, EA and Playfish have quite a lot of work ahead of them, if they want The Sims Social to be on top in all regards. But judging from the game's performance thus far despite its early setbacks--and in the face of the most popular Facebook games to date--perhaps Simlish could become the dominant language in Facebook gaming.
Have you been one of the over 9 million locked into The Sims Social? What do you think of the game so far? Share with us in the comments.Add Comment
Zynga Mobile steals away Disney Interactive exec Adam Sussman
Just despicable: When Zynga isn't buying out companies, it's downright hiring buying out people. According to paidContent, Disney Games SVP Adam Sussman has left the company to join Zynga Mobile, which Disney confirmed to paidContent's Staci D. Kramer. Sussman joined Disney Interactive Media Group (DIMG) in January of this year, coming from EA's mobile division.
The former SVP was responsible for global publishing at Disney's games department, but paidContent believes Sussman will focus solely on mobile games while with Zynga Mobile, working under David Ko. In his move to Zynga Mobile, Sussman joins former Playdom VP of global distribution Paul LaFontaine as the second Disney Games executive to leave this week alone.
Companies like Disney, EA and similar major gaming companies have suffered several losses of high-level executives--including EA COO John Schappert (which has since been confirmed)--to Zynga and other competitors this year. Even a delayed IPO (initial public offering) can't scare high-level games industry execs away from the big red dog.
The continuous string of bad news already had analysts questioning whether Disney and Playdom could hang with its competitors months ago, and the fact that the company is having trouble holding onto its key players doesn't help today. Despite its losses, games like Gardens of Times do consistently well for Disney Playdom.
So, perhaps there is still hope for the company that it can squeeze out another hit and continue to hang with the top five Facebook game developers. You know, another hit like ... a Facebook game actually revolving around Disney characters? (Um ... duh?)
[Image Credit: Disney]
Do you think Disney Playdom can still compete with Zynga, EA and Wooga despite its losses and worried analysts? Why do you think the developer has yet to make a Facebook game using Disney characters? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
The former SVP was responsible for global publishing at Disney's games department, but paidContent believes Sussman will focus solely on mobile games while with Zynga Mobile, working under David Ko. In his move to Zynga Mobile, Sussman joins former Playdom VP of global distribution Paul LaFontaine as the second Disney Games executive to leave this week alone.
Companies like Disney, EA and similar major gaming companies have suffered several losses of high-level executives--including EA COO John Schappert (which has since been confirmed)--to Zynga and other competitors this year. Even a delayed IPO (initial public offering) can't scare high-level games industry execs away from the big red dog.
The continuous string of bad news already had analysts questioning whether Disney and Playdom could hang with its competitors months ago, and the fact that the company is having trouble holding onto its key players doesn't help today. Despite its losses, games like Gardens of Times do consistently well for Disney Playdom.
So, perhaps there is still hope for the company that it can squeeze out another hit and continue to hang with the top five Facebook game developers. You know, another hit like ... a Facebook game actually revolving around Disney characters? (Um ... duh?)
[Image Credit: Disney]
Do you think Disney Playdom can still compete with Zynga, EA and Wooga despite its losses and worried analysts? Why do you think the developer has yet to make a Facebook game using Disney characters? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)