The Witcher 2 pirates are slapped with a huge settlement fee.
Polish developer CD Projekt has demanded a €911.80 (£765.06) settlement fee from thousands of German BitTorrent users. CD Projekt demands €millions from pirates
The claim comes in the wake of the widespread piracy of The Witcher 2, which was released in May and widely publicised to be DRM-free, and has caused controversy in the community as many of those being slapped with the fee claim not to have done anything wrong. But CD Projekt stands its ground on the matter:
“We’re addressing only 100% confirmed piracy causes that are 100% possible to prove,” said Michal Nowakowski, CD Projekt’s VP of Business Development in a recent statement, “We are not worried about tracking the wrong people. As this is the trade secret of the company working on this, I cannot share it.”
It’s clear, whatever the truth is, that CD Projekt has been wronged, although its methods of seeking reparations are questionable. There’s every chance too, that by actively pursuing pirates in this way, CD Projekt might make any potential pirates in other countries think twice about disseminating illegal copies of The Witcher 2 and other CD Projekt games.
The Witcher 2 PC sold more than 1 million copies, while CD Projekt CEO Marcin Iwinski estimated recently that over 4.5 million copies of The Witcher 2 had been downloaded illegally since the game launched.
Read our Witcher 2 review on TotalPCGaming.com
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Friday, December 30, 2011
APB Reloaded surpasses 3 million users
GamersFirst are celebrating new success with APB Reloaded, with its release on Steam pushing the game beyond 3 million users…
It seems GamersFirst have succeeded in breathing new life in to APB with their recent Free To Play re-release. Since it’s launch on Steam APB Reloaded has surpassed expectations to become the second highest ranking Free To Play game on Valve’s digital download service.
“We recognized the potential for APB Reloaded to be a true breakout hit in the Free2Play category all through beta testing,” said Rahul Sandil, SVP of marketing and business development for GamersFirst. “We quickly amassed a vocal, dedicated community, and they’ve been instrumental in growing the game and helping better the experience.”
One of the new features added to APB Reloaded is Fight Club, a fast paced in and out of car combat mode that lets up to 32 players fight it out in closed-off areas of the city of San Paulo. You can learn more about the game on the APB Reloaded homepage.
It seems GamersFirst have succeeded in breathing new life in to APB with their recent Free To Play re-release. Since it’s launch on Steam APB Reloaded has surpassed expectations to become the second highest ranking Free To Play game on Valve’s digital download service.
“We recognized the potential for APB Reloaded to be a true breakout hit in the Free2Play category all through beta testing,” said Rahul Sandil, SVP of marketing and business development for GamersFirst. “We quickly amassed a vocal, dedicated community, and they’ve been instrumental in growing the game and helping better the experience.”
One of the new features added to APB Reloaded is Fight Club, a fast paced in and out of car combat mode that lets up to 32 players fight it out in closed-off areas of the city of San Paulo. You can learn more about the game on the APB Reloaded homepage.
Skyrim: Steam’s Fastest Seller Ever
The Elder Scrolls V sells 3.5 million copies in 48 hours
Valve has declared The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim its fastest-selling game ever. Valve’s director of business Skyrim: Steam's Fastest Seller Everdevelopment, Jason Holtman, said in a recent statement that, “Skyrim is the fastest selling title in Steam’s history,” after it sold 3.5 million copies in 48 hours when it launched in the second week of November.
“Bethesda’s commitment to and understanding of the PC as a gaming platform shows in the great review scores, spectacular launch, and continued high player numbers that Skyrim has received.”
Bethesda has shipped 10 million units of Skyrim on all formats and estimates that RPG has made $650 million (around £418 million) since its launch.
Valve has declared The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim its fastest-selling game ever. Valve’s director of business Skyrim: Steam's Fastest Seller Everdevelopment, Jason Holtman, said in a recent statement that, “Skyrim is the fastest selling title in Steam’s history,” after it sold 3.5 million copies in 48 hours when it launched in the second week of November.
“Bethesda’s commitment to and understanding of the PC as a gaming platform shows in the great review scores, spectacular launch, and continued high player numbers that Skyrim has received.”
Bethesda has shipped 10 million units of Skyrim on all formats and estimates that RPG has made $650 million (around £418 million) since its launch.
gPotato Reaches 20 Million Users
Gala Networks celebrates with in-game events for Allods Online, Dragonica and more.
gPotato Reaches 20 Million UsersGala Networks has hit a 20 million user milestone today across its gPotato portals, with MMOs like Allods Online and Dragonica. Gala Networks Europe has made a signficant contribution to that total:
“Passing 20 million users is a fantastic milestone for the Gala Group,” said Nicola Pajot, chief operating office for Gala Networks Europe, “we’re hugely proud to have contributed to building a loyal user base for free-to-play titles, that continues to grow year-on-year.”
Gala Networks Europe is celebrating by launching a series of special events on its gPotato.eu portal. Allods Online players can look forward to a Christmas events that ends on 6 January, Dragonica will feature special monster loot drops until 10 January and all gPotato games will feature seasonal events until the first week of 2012. You can check out the full range of celebrations on the official European gPotato portal.
gPotato Reaches 20 Million UsersGala Networks has hit a 20 million user milestone today across its gPotato portals, with MMOs like Allods Online and Dragonica. Gala Networks Europe has made a signficant contribution to that total:
“Passing 20 million users is a fantastic milestone for the Gala Group,” said Nicola Pajot, chief operating office for Gala Networks Europe, “we’re hugely proud to have contributed to building a loyal user base for free-to-play titles, that continues to grow year-on-year.”
Gala Networks Europe is celebrating by launching a series of special events on its gPotato.eu portal. Allods Online players can look forward to a Christmas events that ends on 6 January, Dragonica will feature special monster loot drops until 10 January and all gPotato games will feature seasonal events until the first week of 2012. You can check out the full range of celebrations on the official European gPotato portal.
Trine 2 Review
Trine 2 has the same surprising depth of the original that belies a traditional platform game.
A wizard, a knight and a thief walk into a game studio and… well can you imagine Frozenbyte’s publishing pitch for Trine? The idea of three Trine 2 Reviewovercooked archetypes featuring in one of the oldest and overused genres of the video game industry is more apt to make publishers groan and fans roll their eyes, but then the footage rolls and immediately it has our attention.
Like its predecessor, Trine 2 begins selling itself as soon as you start playing. While you’re feeling your way around the skills and attributes of Amadeus the wizard, Pontius the knight and Zoya the thief, it’s beguiling you with the most beautifully detailed, two-dimensional environments we’ve ever seen.
Because each level is regularly punctuated with unique, hand-drawn features, the visuals never really become blasé, but by the time we’re zipping along and not paying as much attention to the art, we’ve already been sucked in. Trine 2 has the same surprising depth of the original that belies a traditional platform game. Each of the three characters has a core skillset that complements the team.
The knight can engage in melee combat with a sword and shield or use his hammer to smash his way through certain objects. The thief can grapple and swing from certain surface as well as shoot arrows, while the wizard can conjour boxes out of thin air and levitate some objects, like crates and boulders. Those that haven’t played Trine will most likely take these skills at face value at first – what else can you expect from a platform game? But a combination of Havok Physics and a series of unique puzzles mean we’re soon exploring the many dimensions of each character.
There’s much more to Trine 2 than switching to the knight for a combat situation or the Wizard to shift a big boulder blocking our path. You can use Pontius to take on all five of those goblins in melee, or you can grapple out of their reach with Zoya and swing to safety. Or, better still, you can grapple to safety, switch to Amadeus and then lob that boulder at them for some easy experience points. What Frozenbyte squeezes out of a linear, two dimensional platform game is impressive: the abilties each character begins with can be augmented or added to along individual skill trees, with skill points gained from a collective experience pool.Trine 2 Review
The Wizard can levitate monsters, the knight can add a frosty defence to his shield and the thief can move stealthily past baddies. Whether we focus on one character or explore the breadth of abilities across all three, we’re never going to find ourselves stuck in a situation where we need an advanced skill to progress.
There’s always another possible way or five, perhaps with another character. Vague criticism ahoy: there’s little that separates Trine from Trine 2. New environments and puzzles aside, there are a few new skills for each of the characters, but if you’d never seen either game you really couldn’t tell the difference.
However, it was such a pleasant experience the first time around, that’s really more of a comment than a poke at a game that we’d be very happy about if it was stuffed into our stocking this Christmas. 8/10
A wizard, a knight and a thief walk into a game studio and… well can you imagine Frozenbyte’s publishing pitch for Trine? The idea of three Trine 2 Reviewovercooked archetypes featuring in one of the oldest and overused genres of the video game industry is more apt to make publishers groan and fans roll their eyes, but then the footage rolls and immediately it has our attention.
Like its predecessor, Trine 2 begins selling itself as soon as you start playing. While you’re feeling your way around the skills and attributes of Amadeus the wizard, Pontius the knight and Zoya the thief, it’s beguiling you with the most beautifully detailed, two-dimensional environments we’ve ever seen.
Because each level is regularly punctuated with unique, hand-drawn features, the visuals never really become blasé, but by the time we’re zipping along and not paying as much attention to the art, we’ve already been sucked in. Trine 2 has the same surprising depth of the original that belies a traditional platform game. Each of the three characters has a core skillset that complements the team.
The knight can engage in melee combat with a sword and shield or use his hammer to smash his way through certain objects. The thief can grapple and swing from certain surface as well as shoot arrows, while the wizard can conjour boxes out of thin air and levitate some objects, like crates and boulders. Those that haven’t played Trine will most likely take these skills at face value at first – what else can you expect from a platform game? But a combination of Havok Physics and a series of unique puzzles mean we’re soon exploring the many dimensions of each character.
There’s much more to Trine 2 than switching to the knight for a combat situation or the Wizard to shift a big boulder blocking our path. You can use Pontius to take on all five of those goblins in melee, or you can grapple out of their reach with Zoya and swing to safety. Or, better still, you can grapple to safety, switch to Amadeus and then lob that boulder at them for some easy experience points. What Frozenbyte squeezes out of a linear, two dimensional platform game is impressive: the abilties each character begins with can be augmented or added to along individual skill trees, with skill points gained from a collective experience pool.Trine 2 Review
The Wizard can levitate monsters, the knight can add a frosty defence to his shield and the thief can move stealthily past baddies. Whether we focus on one character or explore the breadth of abilities across all three, we’re never going to find ourselves stuck in a situation where we need an advanced skill to progress.
There’s always another possible way or five, perhaps with another character. Vague criticism ahoy: there’s little that separates Trine from Trine 2. New environments and puzzles aside, there are a few new skills for each of the characters, but if you’d never seen either game you really couldn’t tell the difference.
However, it was such a pleasant experience the first time around, that’s really more of a comment than a poke at a game that we’d be very happy about if it was stuffed into our stocking this Christmas. 8/10
Rock Xtreme 685 Laptop Review
Featuring the most powerful mobile graphics card in the world.
Details:Rock Xtreme 685 Laptop Review
Price: £1609
Verdict:
A rocket-powered and reliable performer – with a price tag to match. 8/10
CPU: Intel Core i7-2860QM (2.5GHz, 8Mb cache)
RAM: 6GB
GRAPHICS: ATi HD6990M
HARD DRIVE: 750GB SATA II
SCREEN: 15.6″ (1920×1080) X-Glass LED Backlit
EXTRAS: 3-year warranty, collect and return
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
Web: Rock
A personal preference, laptops don’t even get off the starting block when we’re considering a machine dedicated to leisure and gaming. Without talking about future-proofing and customisation, anyone looking for a portable equivalent of a high-end gaming desktop can add around a £500 premium to the required budget. But the choice that portable gaming brings is a worthwhile one for some – so this is what a rather luxurious £1700 investment can buy you.
The Xtreme 685 is at the high end of this particular range of Rock laptops, distinguished from its nearest cousin, the Xtreme 786, by its Ati-powered graphics card and around a £100 price difference. It’s sturdy enough – the chassis feels quite solid and the keyboard has a chunky desktop tactility with broad, satisfyingly mechanical keys. But it’s a fairly vanilla-looking creature with its plain black lacquer finish and clumsy power brick attachment. So it’s as well that we don’t put that much stock in shiny bezels and faux brushed aluminium, especially not when underneath the hood of the Rock Xtreme 685 is more horse-power than Apollo 13 and all its boosters.
A very respectable quad-core i7 mobile 2860QM lies at the heart of the particular model we reviewed (the Xtreme range is customisable on the Rock website), that rockets up from 2.5GHz while idling to around 3.6GHz in turbo mode. It’s backed-up by a more-than adequate 6GB of triple-channel RAM and a 750GB conventional drive that should furnish most gamers’ storage needs. Plus, the 15.6-inch, full HD screen is incredibly sharp, even if the viewing angles are a little tight.
But the royal sapphire in the Xtreme 685′s crown is the graphics card: the Radeon 6990M is the most powerful graphics card on the planet and is a major contributor to the Xtreme 685 leaving the average desktop solution eating its dust. Battlefield 3, DiRT 3, World In Conflict: benchmarking was academic really, because a monster performance seemed obvious. The Xtreme 685 cranked out between 50-60 frames per second average, dropping to a remarkably high minimum of 31 only under extreme benchmark stress.
The Rock Xtreme 685 expensive, a little pricier than we’d expect on paper but with Rock-solid performances like this, the extra outlay could be worth it.
Details:Rock Xtreme 685 Laptop Review
Price: £1609
Verdict:
A rocket-powered and reliable performer – with a price tag to match. 8/10
CPU: Intel Core i7-2860QM (2.5GHz, 8Mb cache)
RAM: 6GB
GRAPHICS: ATi HD6990M
HARD DRIVE: 750GB SATA II
SCREEN: 15.6″ (1920×1080) X-Glass LED Backlit
EXTRAS: 3-year warranty, collect and return
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
Web: Rock
A personal preference, laptops don’t even get off the starting block when we’re considering a machine dedicated to leisure and gaming. Without talking about future-proofing and customisation, anyone looking for a portable equivalent of a high-end gaming desktop can add around a £500 premium to the required budget. But the choice that portable gaming brings is a worthwhile one for some – so this is what a rather luxurious £1700 investment can buy you.
The Xtreme 685 is at the high end of this particular range of Rock laptops, distinguished from its nearest cousin, the Xtreme 786, by its Ati-powered graphics card and around a £100 price difference. It’s sturdy enough – the chassis feels quite solid and the keyboard has a chunky desktop tactility with broad, satisfyingly mechanical keys. But it’s a fairly vanilla-looking creature with its plain black lacquer finish and clumsy power brick attachment. So it’s as well that we don’t put that much stock in shiny bezels and faux brushed aluminium, especially not when underneath the hood of the Rock Xtreme 685 is more horse-power than Apollo 13 and all its boosters.
A very respectable quad-core i7 mobile 2860QM lies at the heart of the particular model we reviewed (the Xtreme range is customisable on the Rock website), that rockets up from 2.5GHz while idling to around 3.6GHz in turbo mode. It’s backed-up by a more-than adequate 6GB of triple-channel RAM and a 750GB conventional drive that should furnish most gamers’ storage needs. Plus, the 15.6-inch, full HD screen is incredibly sharp, even if the viewing angles are a little tight.
But the royal sapphire in the Xtreme 685′s crown is the graphics card: the Radeon 6990M is the most powerful graphics card on the planet and is a major contributor to the Xtreme 685 leaving the average desktop solution eating its dust. Battlefield 3, DiRT 3, World In Conflict: benchmarking was academic really, because a monster performance seemed obvious. The Xtreme 685 cranked out between 50-60 frames per second average, dropping to a remarkably high minimum of 31 only under extreme benchmark stress.
The Rock Xtreme 685 expensive, a little pricier than we’d expect on paper but with Rock-solid performances like this, the extra outlay could be worth it.
Win a place in the End Of Nations beta
Trion Worlds and Petroglyph are offering a place on the beta for hotly anticipated RTS, End Of Nations, but accomplished poets need only apply…
The festive edition of the End Of Nations ‘Warfront’ video series is offering up a place on the beta for anyone who can string together a half decent poem. You’ve got until 1st January 2012 to submit your entry, and the winner will get straight on the forthcoming beta, as well as have their labour of love feature on the next Warfront video.
Elsehwere in this edition of Warfront the ‘Company’ gameplay mechanic is introduced. As Cole Marshall explains, the various ‘companies’ in the game allow you to customise your forces to suit your needs.
“Pick your class, units and abilities to fit your style of gameplay,” explains a santa-hatted Cole Marshall. “You can use your companies to co-ordinate strategies and tactics with other players to create the perect armoury.”
Using the latest cuts of in-game footage Marshall goes on to demonstrate two first tier companies. The first provides enough firepower to take on most armies, but lacking anti-aircraft units and the second, designed for support, is particularly effective against aircraft, buildings and the ability to detect stealth units.
We’re expecting great things from End Of Nations – check out the video and see what you think…
The festive edition of the End Of Nations ‘Warfront’ video series is offering up a place on the beta for anyone who can string together a half decent poem. You’ve got until 1st January 2012 to submit your entry, and the winner will get straight on the forthcoming beta, as well as have their labour of love feature on the next Warfront video.
Elsehwere in this edition of Warfront the ‘Company’ gameplay mechanic is introduced. As Cole Marshall explains, the various ‘companies’ in the game allow you to customise your forces to suit your needs.
“Pick your class, units and abilities to fit your style of gameplay,” explains a santa-hatted Cole Marshall. “You can use your companies to co-ordinate strategies and tactics with other players to create the perect armoury.”
Using the latest cuts of in-game footage Marshall goes on to demonstrate two first tier companies. The first provides enough firepower to take on most armies, but lacking anti-aircraft units and the second, designed for support, is particularly effective against aircraft, buildings and the ability to detect stealth units.
We’re expecting great things from End Of Nations – check out the video and see what you think…
The Elder Scrolls V sells 3.5 million copies in 48 hours Valve has declared The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim its fastest-selling game ever. Valve’s director of business Skyrim: Steam's Fastest Seller Everdevelopment, Jason Holtman, said in a recent statement that, “Skyrim is the fastest selling title in Steam’s history,” after it sold 3.5 million copies in 48 hours when it launched in the second week of November. “Bethesda’s commitment to and understanding of the PC as a gaming platform shows in the great review scores, spectacular launch, and continued high player numbers that Skyrim has received.” Bethesda has shipped 10 million units of Skyrim on all formats and estimates that RPG has made $650 million (around £418 million) since its launch.
The Elder Scrolls V sells 3.5 million copies in 48 hours
Valve has declared The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim its fastest-selling game ever. Valve’s director of business Skyrim: Steam's Fastest Seller Everdevelopment, Jason Holtman, said in a recent statement that, “Skyrim is the fastest selling title in Steam’s history,” after it sold 3.5 million copies in 48 hours when it launched in the second week of November.
“Bethesda’s commitment to and understanding of the PC as a gaming platform shows in the great review scores, spectacular launch, and continued high player numbers that Skyrim has received.”
Bethesda has shipped 10 million units of Skyrim on all formats and estimates that RPG has made $650 million (around £418 million) since its launch.
Valve has declared The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim its fastest-selling game ever. Valve’s director of business Skyrim: Steam's Fastest Seller Everdevelopment, Jason Holtman, said in a recent statement that, “Skyrim is the fastest selling title in Steam’s history,” after it sold 3.5 million copies in 48 hours when it launched in the second week of November.
“Bethesda’s commitment to and understanding of the PC as a gaming platform shows in the great review scores, spectacular launch, and continued high player numbers that Skyrim has received.”
Bethesda has shipped 10 million units of Skyrim on all formats and estimates that RPG has made $650 million (around £418 million) since its launch.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
IndyCar Series signs partnership with Cie Games for new Car Town content
Earlier this month, Cie Games launched a partnership with Universal Pictures in their popular Facebook game Car Town, bringing the upcoming film Fast Five (of the Fast and the Furious franchise) to life, at least virtually, with new in-game environments and items. Now, not even a month later, a new cross-promotion has been announced in the game, with the Indianapolis Business Journal reporting that the IndyCar Series (as in IndyCar Racing Series) has also signed a deal with the developer to bring Indy cars and real-world drivers to the game.
While this deal is exciting enough on its own (as it's set to increase the variety of cars each user could interact with substantially), this also further proves that Car Town and Cie Games are now true, admirable forces in the Facebook gaming world. With Car Town pulling in over eight million players a month, this IndyCar promotion could lead to much bigger things - even partnerships with those real-world sponsors of drivers that have been added to the game.
As for the in-game features currently in place / in the works, players can now enter a new environment - Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Gasoline Alley, and complete challenges like the Indy 500 Challenge that includes a pit crew (comprised of Facebook friends). Players can race against others on the track, compete against other pit crews, and climb the leaderboards.
The game will see the addition of 13 different IndyCars, representing drivers like Danica Patrick, Dario Franchitti, Marco Andretti and more. Other IndyCar features will come online later in the year, so this looks like just the first of many updates that will see Car Town branching out even further into the advertising space. We look forward to seeing what the future brings, and we'll make sure to let you know when and if other sponsors join the pack.
Are you a fan of Car Town? Will you play the game more now that IndyCars are going to be a part of the day-to-day gameplay?
While this deal is exciting enough on its own (as it's set to increase the variety of cars each user could interact with substantially), this also further proves that Car Town and Cie Games are now true, admirable forces in the Facebook gaming world. With Car Town pulling in over eight million players a month, this IndyCar promotion could lead to much bigger things - even partnerships with those real-world sponsors of drivers that have been added to the game.
As for the in-game features currently in place / in the works, players can now enter a new environment - Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Gasoline Alley, and complete challenges like the Indy 500 Challenge that includes a pit crew (comprised of Facebook friends). Players can race against others on the track, compete against other pit crews, and climb the leaderboards.
The game will see the addition of 13 different IndyCars, representing drivers like Danica Patrick, Dario Franchitti, Marco Andretti and more. Other IndyCar features will come online later in the year, so this looks like just the first of many updates that will see Car Town branching out even further into the advertising space. We look forward to seeing what the future brings, and we'll make sure to let you know when and if other sponsors join the pack.
Are you a fan of Car Town? Will you play the game more now that IndyCars are going to be a part of the day-to-day gameplay?
LootDrop's first social game, Cloudforest Expedition, soars this summer
Romero, Brathwaite and Knight sign the papers
This summer, it'll be OK to have your head in the clouds. LootDrop, John Romero and Brenda Brathwaite's brand new social game studio, and publisher RockYou will launch CloudForest Expedition this summer. This is a story-driven exploration game on Facebook that will let you become the next great explorer. Unfortunately, no other details have been revealed at this time, but we can imagine the game will be as goofy and charming as Romero's first social game, LOLapps' Ravenwood Fair.
And LootDrop has already hit the drawing board on their second game, as RockYou has signed a second publishing deal with the studio. As you can see in the image above, all parties appear very happy, and we've boiled that down to two reasons. First, Romero and Brathwaite (far left and far right, respectively) are probably just plain excited to have not one, but two brand new projects in the cards for them. Second, there are likely lots of zeros somewhere on that contract. Hey, if you scored a budget for something you found fun, you'd be saying "cheese" too.
"They really zeroed in on the exploration, adventure genre with a clearing and discovery mechanic at its core, and they're just layering innovation on top of that," RockYou SVP Jonathan Knight told us. "That's what we can expect from this title and the second one." Knight went on to mention that Loot Drop's second game is still in the concept phase, and that the company signed the papers based on both that concept and that it has been "blown away" by Cloudforest Expedition. So, are we looking at an improved adaptation of games like Zynga's Treasure Isle? The game entered alpha testing last week, so we'll have to wait and see this summer.
Are you excited to see what Romero, Brathwaite and crew think up next? Given his experience with LOLapps, how do you think CloudForest Expedition might do against the competition?
This summer, it'll be OK to have your head in the clouds. LootDrop, John Romero and Brenda Brathwaite's brand new social game studio, and publisher RockYou will launch CloudForest Expedition this summer. This is a story-driven exploration game on Facebook that will let you become the next great explorer. Unfortunately, no other details have been revealed at this time, but we can imagine the game will be as goofy and charming as Romero's first social game, LOLapps' Ravenwood Fair.
And LootDrop has already hit the drawing board on their second game, as RockYou has signed a second publishing deal with the studio. As you can see in the image above, all parties appear very happy, and we've boiled that down to two reasons. First, Romero and Brathwaite (far left and far right, respectively) are probably just plain excited to have not one, but two brand new projects in the cards for them. Second, there are likely lots of zeros somewhere on that contract. Hey, if you scored a budget for something you found fun, you'd be saying "cheese" too.
"They really zeroed in on the exploration, adventure genre with a clearing and discovery mechanic at its core, and they're just layering innovation on top of that," RockYou SVP Jonathan Knight told us. "That's what we can expect from this title and the second one." Knight went on to mention that Loot Drop's second game is still in the concept phase, and that the company signed the papers based on both that concept and that it has been "blown away" by Cloudforest Expedition. So, are we looking at an improved adaptation of games like Zynga's Treasure Isle? The game entered alpha testing last week, so we'll have to wait and see this summer.
Are you excited to see what Romero, Brathwaite and crew think up next? Given his experience with LOLapps, how do you think CloudForest Expedition might do against the competition?
Zynga's RewardVille tests your dedication with Daily Goals
As if you haven't proved your devotion to Zynga enough by enrolling in the RewardVille program, the company revealed a new feature to the service recently, Daily Goals. This new challenge tasks players with playing not only their favorite games daily, but all of Zynga's RewardVille games. The feature appears as a side bar on the RewardVille website, and displays an empty bar for each Zynga game every 24 hours.
According to Mafia Wars Maniac, just playing each game for a certain amount of time will fill its meter from zero to 80. After the meter fills up, you'll be rewarded with a random amount of zCoins. However, filling the meter on every game will contribute to a larger, more meta meter, the Power Bonus.
It's unknown as of this writing exactly what the Power Bonus means for seriously dedicated fans, but we'll keep you posted as soon as we find out. (Calling all super fan tipsters!) Based on what RewardVille is all about, we imagine more zCoins and zPoints are in store for you Zynga connoisseurs.
Have you completed any of your Daily Goals yet? How about the daunting Power Bonus? What did you win?
According to Mafia Wars Maniac, just playing each game for a certain amount of time will fill its meter from zero to 80. After the meter fills up, you'll be rewarded with a random amount of zCoins. However, filling the meter on every game will contribute to a larger, more meta meter, the Power Bonus.
It's unknown as of this writing exactly what the Power Bonus means for seriously dedicated fans, but we'll keep you posted as soon as we find out. (Calling all super fan tipsters!) Based on what RewardVille is all about, we imagine more zCoins and zPoints are in store for you Zynga connoisseurs.
Have you completed any of your Daily Goals yet? How about the daunting Power Bonus? What did you win?
Zynga thwarts illegal Sheep and Pig Breeding once and for all
If you have one of those neon Sheep, you're one of the lucky ones. As of today, FarmVille players can no longer breed Sheep or Pigs using unreleased colors and patterns. Zynga posted the news on the FarmVille Blog, which states, "Certain types of sheep and pig colors/patterns not yet released have been improperly distributed in FarmVille; we are currently going through the process of making sure this practice stops." While players who received the illegitimate Sheep and Pigs through legitimate means--like the News Feed--will still be able to keep their flashy livestock, breeding them is no longer an option.
Confused about exactly how Zynga is handling the situation? Check out the full statement below:
The steps that we have taken are:
* The methods by which players were able to breed unreleased sheep and pig colors and patterns have been closed.
* Players who bred sheep and pigs using illicit methods have had their animals revert to their original base colors and no patterns.
* Pigs and sheep acquired from feed posts (but at some point were generated using illicit methods) will get to retain their unusual colors and patterns. However, attempts to breed with these pigs or sheep will result in default colors and no additional pattern inheritance.
Should we release these additional colors or patterns legitimately then players will be able to breed that animal in the appropriate, correct manner. This is not an implication that you or your neighbors have done something wrong. This is a breeding restriction of colors and patterns that as of yet have not intended to be released.
So what's currently allowed to breed and what's not?
* Most current colors are allowed but the "flashing" colors are definitely not.
* Currently Allowed Sheep Patterns: Plain, Spotted, Striped
* Currently Allowed Pig Patterns: Plain, Spotted
The Zynga team went on to remind players that this move isn't to punish those who received the illegally-bred Sheep and Pigs legitimately. All the developer wants to do is stop the spread of these unreleased colors and patterns, and if these varieties are officially released, then everyone will be able to access them freely. So, don't worry about losing your strobe light Sheep anytime soon, just don't expect to make neon babies for a while.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Sheep Breeding]
Do you own any illegally-bred Sheep or Pigs? What do you think of Zynga's response to the issue?
Confused about exactly how Zynga is handling the situation? Check out the full statement below:
The steps that we have taken are:
* The methods by which players were able to breed unreleased sheep and pig colors and patterns have been closed.
* Players who bred sheep and pigs using illicit methods have had their animals revert to their original base colors and no patterns.
* Pigs and sheep acquired from feed posts (but at some point were generated using illicit methods) will get to retain their unusual colors and patterns. However, attempts to breed with these pigs or sheep will result in default colors and no additional pattern inheritance.
Should we release these additional colors or patterns legitimately then players will be able to breed that animal in the appropriate, correct manner. This is not an implication that you or your neighbors have done something wrong. This is a breeding restriction of colors and patterns that as of yet have not intended to be released.
So what's currently allowed to breed and what's not?
* Most current colors are allowed but the "flashing" colors are definitely not.
* Currently Allowed Sheep Patterns: Plain, Spotted, Striped
* Currently Allowed Pig Patterns: Plain, Spotted
The Zynga team went on to remind players that this move isn't to punish those who received the illegally-bred Sheep and Pigs legitimately. All the developer wants to do is stop the spread of these unreleased colors and patterns, and if these varieties are officially released, then everyone will be able to access them freely. So, don't worry about losing your strobe light Sheep anytime soon, just don't expect to make neon babies for a while.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Sheep Breeding]
Do you own any illegally-bred Sheep or Pigs? What do you think of Zynga's response to the issue?
Zynga gobbles up GodFinger developer Wonderland, creates Zynga Mobile UK
Perhaps Zynga's recent sheep invasion in London was symbolic of something greater. The developer with more satellite studios than you can count on two hands just bought Wonderland Software, the UK-based studio behind the iPhone hit GodFinger. Gamasutra reports that the studio will operate as Zynga Mobile UK, but neither company disclosed what was spent on the acquisition.
While Zynga is assimilating the team, it is not taking over publishing rights to GodFinger, which is published by Ngmoco. That company was recently acquired by Japanese social game company DeNA, which could explain a lot. But more importantly, this is the company's thirteenth purchase in just 11 months.
Zynga has talent from nearly every major sector in gaming, but Wonderland is the company's third acquisition of a mobile developer. Like every social game developer in the world, Zynga is clearly going after the mobile scene in a big way. Wonderland joins Words With Friends creator Newtoy and Area/Code, the studio behind Drop7, as Zynga's mobile arms.
Wonderland CEO Matthew Wiggins will stay on the team and become the general manager of Zynga Mobile UK. "Wonderland Software has always been dedicated to pursuing big and creative ideas and turning them into games that players love," Wiggins said in a statement. "We are thrilled to continue our vision as part of the Zynga family and to reach millions of mobile players across a spectrum of devices."
What do you think Zynga will do with this new company under its belt? Will Zynga begin to create original mobile games through its three, freshly-bought studios?
While Zynga is assimilating the team, it is not taking over publishing rights to GodFinger, which is published by Ngmoco. That company was recently acquired by Japanese social game company DeNA, which could explain a lot. But more importantly, this is the company's thirteenth purchase in just 11 months.
Zynga has talent from nearly every major sector in gaming, but Wonderland is the company's third acquisition of a mobile developer. Like every social game developer in the world, Zynga is clearly going after the mobile scene in a big way. Wonderland joins Words With Friends creator Newtoy and Area/Code, the studio behind Drop7, as Zynga's mobile arms.
Wonderland CEO Matthew Wiggins will stay on the team and become the general manager of Zynga Mobile UK. "Wonderland Software has always been dedicated to pursuing big and creative ideas and turning them into games that players love," Wiggins said in a statement. "We are thrilled to continue our vision as part of the Zynga family and to reach millions of mobile players across a spectrum of devices."
What do you think Zynga will do with this new company under its belt? Will Zynga begin to create original mobile games through its three, freshly-bought studios?
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Risk Factions on Facebook: Is this Playfish's answer to Zynga's Empires & Allies?
While Zynga has launched a Empires & Allies, which is best described at Risk meets CityVille, competitor Playfish is hard at work on a new game called Risk Factions on Facebook.
Playfish's parent company EA made a game called Risk: Factions for Xbox Live in 2010, and it's likely that this is just a Facebook rendition of the same game. If you go to the game's Facebook fan page, you can give up your email to get a chance to take part in the game's beta.
Playfish's parent company EA made a game called Risk: Factions for Xbox Live in 2010, and it's likely that this is just a Facebook rendition of the same game. If you go to the game's Facebook fan page, you can give up your email to get a chance to take part in the game's beta.
Zynga's Empires & Allies: Complete Guide to the first 10 Missions
Atten-TION privates! Zynga's Empires & Allies is now live on Facebook, and there's a war to be won! We've gone right to work in the social giant's newest title to bring you a complete guide to how to get started completing missions in this Risk-inspired battle for the ages! While there are plenty of activities for you to take part in throughout the game - producing wood and oil to create homes and military units, battling in full-screen combat against cleverly named villains, and bringing your destroyed island nation back to life (just to name a few) - one of the biggest time-sinks in the game will be the completing of missions.
Want to see what to expect from the game's first ten missions? Meet us behind the break to start on your road to domination!
To be clear, this guide starts after you've completed the basic tutorial (which sees Zynga guiding you step-by-step with no room for error). At this point, you'll already have a Barracks on your land, and will have trained some Cadet Soldiers. You will have also engaged in your first battle, learning the basics of combat (which can be found repeated at the bottom of this post). At the end of the tutorial, you start Episode 2: Rallying the Empire. You're on your own cadet - it's time to make a name for yourself.
Mission 1: At the Ready!
Deploy Cadet Soldiers on the Island
If you've been going through the game in a linear fashion, you will have just completed the tutorial, and will likely need to wait a matter of 3-4 minutes for your first Barracks to finish training your Cadet Soldiers. Once that's done, simply click on your Barracks when the symbol of the Cadet is floating above it to pull the soldiers from the Barracks. You can then place them anywhere on your map to finish this quest, being rewarded with 50 Wood in the process.
Mission 2: Empire Spirit
Place the Empire Flag from your Inventory
This mission is just as easy as the first, and it introduces you to your in-game inventory. The inventory is represented by the three crates in the bottom right menu of the game screen. Currently, since you're just starting the game, the only decoration in your inventory will be this Flagpole, so you can simply click on the "Select" button and then place the flag anywhere you'd like in your town. You'll receive a one experience point bonus for placing the flag, which will also allow you to name your new Empire. You have 23 characters to work with for a full name, so be creative!
Mission 3: Rebuilding Hope
Build two additional Small Island Huts
Your island starts with two Small Island Huts (a type of home, similar to those in CityVille), but you'll need to raise the population even further by adding two more. Each Hut can be purchased from the game's store (the Hard Hat icon in the lower right of the screen) for 10 Wood each. Don't worry about not having a Wood meter at the top of your screen just yet - it will be activated very shortly. For now, just know that you do have the 20 Wood necessary, and build away!
Each Small Island Hut must be constructed by whacking the frame three times. Each whack costs one energy point, as you'd expect from other Zynga games. Once you have built both Huts, your population will increase to 40/100, and you'll receive 200 coins for finishing this mission.
Mission 4: Feed the Troops!
Build a Farm
Plant Corn
Farms work as you'd expect in Empires & Allies - as a way to earn additional coins. There's no Food meter in the game, but you'll need the profits from these crops to buy additional military units, purchase new homes for your citizens and so on. However, instead of simply plowing land, Farms are an actual building type, found under the "Industry" tab of the game's store.
Each Farm costs 10 Wood to build. By this point, you will have a Wood meter on your screen, so you'll be able to easily tell if you have the Wood on hand. If you're following these goals linearly, you'll have at least 210 Wood on hand, so start building that Farm! Farms also take three whacks to construct, and once that's done, you can start growing Corn, which costs just 25 coins to plant and is ready in five minutes. For simply planting Corn in a single Farm, you'll finish this mission and will earn 150 coins.
Mission 5: Harvest Time
Harvest Corn
As you'd expect, this mission simply asks you to harvest the Corn that you just planted. Just wait for the Corn to visibly change to full grown in the Farm (and for the Money Bag to start floating above the Farm) before you attempt to harvest the crop. If you click on the Farm before this point, you'll be shown a new menu, that will let you delete the current growing crop or ask your friends for help in speeding up its growth. You can also use Empire Points to instantly grow whatever crop you're growing, but for this first mission, just letting things run their natural course is the best plan.
Finishing this mission will give you 75 coins and one experience point for actually harvesting the Corn, along with 50 Wood as a bonus.
Mission 6: The Voice of the People
Construct a new Parliament Building
This particular mission introduces you to the concept of population growth and "government buildings," as seen in CityVille. As we said before, each home you add to your town adds a specific number of citizens to your overall population. These government (community) buildings act as a way to increase your total possible population.
The Parliament building in particular is available from the Government section of the store for 1,000 coins and 100 Wood. If you've been following our guide, you'll have over 5,800 coins and 250 Wood to spare, so you really won't feel the pinch on the wallet with this one (thank goodness). The base of the Parliament is the largest one you will have come across yet, but still only takes three whacks to complete. From there, things become very reminiscent to CityVille, as you'll need to hire three staff members to work in your Parliament before construction is actually complete.
Just click on the "Hire Friends" button to send out individual requests to those friends that have also joined in Zynga's newest game so that you can finish sooner, rather than later. Once completed, your island's maximum population will increase by 100. Your reward is 2,000 coins.
Mission 7: Cannon Building
Build an Additional Barracks
Construct 2 Cannon Artillery
For this mission, you'll be introduced to the creation of new military units. You'll need to buy a new Barracks from the store for 200 coins and 20 Wood (Barracks are found under the Military tab). As you might have expected, this building too requires three whacks to construct. Once it's done, you'll be able to click on the Barracks to see a menu like the one below, where you can choose which type of military unit you'd like to create.
For the purposes of our mission, choose the Cannon Artillery in the top right corner. This unit costs 200 coins to create, and it will take five minutes to complete. For finishing this mission (even if you don't actually wait the five minutes for them to be created), you'll receive 200 coins.
Mission 8: Morale Boost!
Build two additional Farms
Harvest 2 Watermelons
War is tough, and it makes the strongest of men pretty hungry. To boost your soldiers' spirits, you'll need to build two Farms in addition to the one you built earlier, and you'll need to grow Watermelons in these new farms. Each patch of Watermelons costs 240 coins and takes four hours to grow.
For finishing this mission, you'll receive 200 coins.
Mission 9: Recon Mission
Switch to Full Screen Mode
Zoom Out to see your outer islands
Zoom in to Default View
This mission is an incredibly simple one, lasting just seconds. You'll be introduced to some neat aspects of the game's presentation and user interface, and will be able to activate full screen mode, or zoom your view in and out by clicking on the appropriate buttons in the orange vertical menu that runs along the right side of the screen. Acclimate yourself with these three buttons, and you'll receive 150 coins and 50 Wood.
Mission 10: Tank in the Woods
Repel the Attacking Tank
Here we go soldiers - our first battle since the tutorial battle at the beginning of the game. This time, you'll learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of your combat types by running head-first into a battle with a Tank!
Battle opportunities like this one will appear as red-shaded regions on your land. Click on the enemy skull picture and then click on "Attack" to engage the enemy. This particular battle sees you going up against a single Tank with 50 hit points. Each single type of military unit in the game has pros and cons; that is, units they would be stronger or weaker against. For the Tank, your Cannon Artillery are given the combat boost, so you'd want to click on the Cannon Artillery as seen below to activate it as your current active solider.
From there, just click on the Tank to attack it. You'll need to click repeatedly, each time your cursor turns into a red cross-hair, until the Tank's hit points have been depleted and you've won the battle. Remember to pick up the bonus items that appear as you attack, which will go to fill the bonus bar at the top of the screen, giving you extra coins a la CityVille or FrontierVille.
Combat may seem hectic or confusing at first, but the main thing to keep in mind is that matching the symbols found next to your enemies' health bars to the symbols under "Great Against" for your own troops ensures the most damage possible per attack (increasing your chance of winning each battle significantly). Defeating this Tank gives you 50 Wood.
At this point, you'll also receive your first piece of intelligence about the Dark Alliance army - a man called "The Raven" has recruited the most vile warlords form the whole world to attack your small island. There's no explanation as to what you did to make him so mad, but you know that you must rebuild and prepare before he can strike again!
And there you have it - a complete look at the first ten missions of Zynga's Empires & Allies on Facebook, a game that isn't just for social or casual players, but can truly cross the line to the hardcore (give the game a few minutes of your time and you'll see what we mean). There's plenty more where that came from, so won't you join us in waging this war against the Dark Alliance? We can use all of the allies we can get!
Want to see what to expect from the game's first ten missions? Meet us behind the break to start on your road to domination!
To be clear, this guide starts after you've completed the basic tutorial (which sees Zynga guiding you step-by-step with no room for error). At this point, you'll already have a Barracks on your land, and will have trained some Cadet Soldiers. You will have also engaged in your first battle, learning the basics of combat (which can be found repeated at the bottom of this post). At the end of the tutorial, you start Episode 2: Rallying the Empire. You're on your own cadet - it's time to make a name for yourself.
Mission 1: At the Ready!
Deploy Cadet Soldiers on the Island
If you've been going through the game in a linear fashion, you will have just completed the tutorial, and will likely need to wait a matter of 3-4 minutes for your first Barracks to finish training your Cadet Soldiers. Once that's done, simply click on your Barracks when the symbol of the Cadet is floating above it to pull the soldiers from the Barracks. You can then place them anywhere on your map to finish this quest, being rewarded with 50 Wood in the process.
Mission 2: Empire Spirit
Place the Empire Flag from your Inventory
This mission is just as easy as the first, and it introduces you to your in-game inventory. The inventory is represented by the three crates in the bottom right menu of the game screen. Currently, since you're just starting the game, the only decoration in your inventory will be this Flagpole, so you can simply click on the "Select" button and then place the flag anywhere you'd like in your town. You'll receive a one experience point bonus for placing the flag, which will also allow you to name your new Empire. You have 23 characters to work with for a full name, so be creative!
Mission 3: Rebuilding Hope
Build two additional Small Island Huts
Your island starts with two Small Island Huts (a type of home, similar to those in CityVille), but you'll need to raise the population even further by adding two more. Each Hut can be purchased from the game's store (the Hard Hat icon in the lower right of the screen) for 10 Wood each. Don't worry about not having a Wood meter at the top of your screen just yet - it will be activated very shortly. For now, just know that you do have the 20 Wood necessary, and build away!
Each Small Island Hut must be constructed by whacking the frame three times. Each whack costs one energy point, as you'd expect from other Zynga games. Once you have built both Huts, your population will increase to 40/100, and you'll receive 200 coins for finishing this mission.
Mission 4: Feed the Troops!
Build a Farm
Plant Corn
Farms work as you'd expect in Empires & Allies - as a way to earn additional coins. There's no Food meter in the game, but you'll need the profits from these crops to buy additional military units, purchase new homes for your citizens and so on. However, instead of simply plowing land, Farms are an actual building type, found under the "Industry" tab of the game's store.
Each Farm costs 10 Wood to build. By this point, you will have a Wood meter on your screen, so you'll be able to easily tell if you have the Wood on hand. If you're following these goals linearly, you'll have at least 210 Wood on hand, so start building that Farm! Farms also take three whacks to construct, and once that's done, you can start growing Corn, which costs just 25 coins to plant and is ready in five minutes. For simply planting Corn in a single Farm, you'll finish this mission and will earn 150 coins.
Mission 5: Harvest Time
Harvest Corn
As you'd expect, this mission simply asks you to harvest the Corn that you just planted. Just wait for the Corn to visibly change to full grown in the Farm (and for the Money Bag to start floating above the Farm) before you attempt to harvest the crop. If you click on the Farm before this point, you'll be shown a new menu, that will let you delete the current growing crop or ask your friends for help in speeding up its growth. You can also use Empire Points to instantly grow whatever crop you're growing, but for this first mission, just letting things run their natural course is the best plan.
Finishing this mission will give you 75 coins and one experience point for actually harvesting the Corn, along with 50 Wood as a bonus.
Mission 6: The Voice of the People
Construct a new Parliament Building
This particular mission introduces you to the concept of population growth and "government buildings," as seen in CityVille. As we said before, each home you add to your town adds a specific number of citizens to your overall population. These government (community) buildings act as a way to increase your total possible population.
The Parliament building in particular is available from the Government section of the store for 1,000 coins and 100 Wood. If you've been following our guide, you'll have over 5,800 coins and 250 Wood to spare, so you really won't feel the pinch on the wallet with this one (thank goodness). The base of the Parliament is the largest one you will have come across yet, but still only takes three whacks to complete. From there, things become very reminiscent to CityVille, as you'll need to hire three staff members to work in your Parliament before construction is actually complete.
Just click on the "Hire Friends" button to send out individual requests to those friends that have also joined in Zynga's newest game so that you can finish sooner, rather than later. Once completed, your island's maximum population will increase by 100. Your reward is 2,000 coins.
Mission 7: Cannon Building
Build an Additional Barracks
Construct 2 Cannon Artillery
For this mission, you'll be introduced to the creation of new military units. You'll need to buy a new Barracks from the store for 200 coins and 20 Wood (Barracks are found under the Military tab). As you might have expected, this building too requires three whacks to construct. Once it's done, you'll be able to click on the Barracks to see a menu like the one below, where you can choose which type of military unit you'd like to create.
For the purposes of our mission, choose the Cannon Artillery in the top right corner. This unit costs 200 coins to create, and it will take five minutes to complete. For finishing this mission (even if you don't actually wait the five minutes for them to be created), you'll receive 200 coins.
Mission 8: Morale Boost!
Build two additional Farms
Harvest 2 Watermelons
War is tough, and it makes the strongest of men pretty hungry. To boost your soldiers' spirits, you'll need to build two Farms in addition to the one you built earlier, and you'll need to grow Watermelons in these new farms. Each patch of Watermelons costs 240 coins and takes four hours to grow.
For finishing this mission, you'll receive 200 coins.
Mission 9: Recon Mission
Switch to Full Screen Mode
Zoom Out to see your outer islands
Zoom in to Default View
This mission is an incredibly simple one, lasting just seconds. You'll be introduced to some neat aspects of the game's presentation and user interface, and will be able to activate full screen mode, or zoom your view in and out by clicking on the appropriate buttons in the orange vertical menu that runs along the right side of the screen. Acclimate yourself with these three buttons, and you'll receive 150 coins and 50 Wood.
Mission 10: Tank in the Woods
Repel the Attacking Tank
Here we go soldiers - our first battle since the tutorial battle at the beginning of the game. This time, you'll learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of your combat types by running head-first into a battle with a Tank!
Battle opportunities like this one will appear as red-shaded regions on your land. Click on the enemy skull picture and then click on "Attack" to engage the enemy. This particular battle sees you going up against a single Tank with 50 hit points. Each single type of military unit in the game has pros and cons; that is, units they would be stronger or weaker against. For the Tank, your Cannon Artillery are given the combat boost, so you'd want to click on the Cannon Artillery as seen below to activate it as your current active solider.
From there, just click on the Tank to attack it. You'll need to click repeatedly, each time your cursor turns into a red cross-hair, until the Tank's hit points have been depleted and you've won the battle. Remember to pick up the bonus items that appear as you attack, which will go to fill the bonus bar at the top of the screen, giving you extra coins a la CityVille or FrontierVille.
Combat may seem hectic or confusing at first, but the main thing to keep in mind is that matching the symbols found next to your enemies' health bars to the symbols under "Great Against" for your own troops ensures the most damage possible per attack (increasing your chance of winning each battle significantly). Defeating this Tank gives you 50 Wood.
At this point, you'll also receive your first piece of intelligence about the Dark Alliance army - a man called "The Raven" has recruited the most vile warlords form the whole world to attack your small island. There's no explanation as to what you did to make him so mad, but you know that you must rebuild and prepare before he can strike again!
And there you have it - a complete look at the first ten missions of Zynga's Empires & Allies on Facebook, a game that isn't just for social or casual players, but can truly cross the line to the hardcore (give the game a few minutes of your time and you'll see what we mean). There's plenty more where that came from, so won't you join us in waging this war against the Dark Alliance? We can use all of the allies we can get!
EA Mobile to unveil Pet Society Vacation at E3 2011; full E3 lineup revealed
With the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) now less than a week away, EA Interactive has given social and casual gamers alike a look at their E3 lineup, sans a few surprises that will revealed at the show. EA Mobile, Chillingo and Playfish will all share a space at this year's event, with the lineup revealing one particular game that Pet Society lovers will melt for.
Pet Society Vacation, while lacking in details, will be coming to iPhone and iPod Touch sometime (presumably) this year. Will this be a completely separate game from Pet Society on Facebook, or will it be like Social City or FarmVille on iOS, letting users interact with their furry pals, friends' pets, and even shop in the game's many stores on the go, only to have that information sync back to Facebook? We'll make sure to let you know what is revealed at E3 proper, so stay tuned.
For the complete lineup of EA Mobile, Chillingo and Playfish games to be shown at E3, meet us behind the break. EA Mobile:
FIFA 11 Prototype (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Battleship (iPad)
Surviving High School (iPad)
Monopoly Here & Now: the World Edition (iPad)
The Sims Medieval (iPhone, iPod Touch)
Pet Society Vacation (iPhone, iPod Touch)
Chillingo:
Blobster (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Contre Jour (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
DrawRace 2 (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Feed Me Oil (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Roll in the Hole (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Bear Grylls: The Bear Essentials (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Playfish:
Monopoly Millionaires
We'll make sure to bring you details about more of these games at E3 and beyond, so keep checking back.
Which of this lineup makes you most excited? What do you think Pet Society Vacation will entail as a game or stand-alone app?
Pet Society Vacation, while lacking in details, will be coming to iPhone and iPod Touch sometime (presumably) this year. Will this be a completely separate game from Pet Society on Facebook, or will it be like Social City or FarmVille on iOS, letting users interact with their furry pals, friends' pets, and even shop in the game's many stores on the go, only to have that information sync back to Facebook? We'll make sure to let you know what is revealed at E3 proper, so stay tuned.
For the complete lineup of EA Mobile, Chillingo and Playfish games to be shown at E3, meet us behind the break. EA Mobile:
FIFA 11 Prototype (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Battleship (iPad)
Surviving High School (iPad)
Monopoly Here & Now: the World Edition (iPad)
The Sims Medieval (iPhone, iPod Touch)
Pet Society Vacation (iPhone, iPod Touch)
Chillingo:
Blobster (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Contre Jour (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
DrawRace 2 (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Feed Me Oil (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Roll in the Hole (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Bear Grylls: The Bear Essentials (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
Playfish:
Monopoly Millionaires
We'll make sure to bring you details about more of these games at E3 and beyond, so keep checking back.
Which of this lineup makes you most excited? What do you think Pet Society Vacation will entail as a game or stand-alone app?
Empires & Allies Land Expansions: Everything you need to know
With any city-builder comes a constant battle for space, and even though Zynga's newest Facebook game Empires & Allies is about far more than the city-building portions, you'll still spend the majority of your time back on your Home Island(s) creating new military units, refining oil, processing wood and so on. You'll need space to build more and more buildings as you level up, and you'll eventually need to expand your land.
Players of CityVille will recognize the system here. Currently, your very first expansion comes at a price of 5,000 coins and 10 Liberty Bonds. Liberty Bonds are the equivalent of CityVille's Zoning Permits, and you'll need to collect them from friends in mass quantities to expand each and every time you do so. There's a catch here though. Whether by some oversight or intentional design choice, you can't currently ask for Liberty Bonds via the game's expansion menu (found in the game's store - the Hard Hat icon). Only when you've earned enough coins to purchase the expansion will you be able to ask for Liberty Bonds, forcing you to wait quite a while instead of accomplishing two tasks at once.
Either way, you can work around this and expand early, if you put your mind to it. Participate in battles frequently, and you'll receive Liberty Bonds as prizes. Furthermore, Liberty Bonds are currently available to send via the game's free gifts page, so your friends can send you as many (or as few, if you don't remind them) as they'd like.
Regardless of how you come across your Liberty Bonds, you'll go about actually adding the expansion to your land in the same way. Simply purchase the expansion from the store and then choose the area that you'd like to expand. Unfortunately, this is another system carried over from CityVille, as your entire city won't gain expanded limits; rather, you'll have to pick and choose where to add more land.
You'll want to plan your expansions ahead of time, as they cost more and more coins each time that you purchase a single lot of land. For example, after you've purchased the first land expansion for 5,000 coins, the second expansion doesn't come until you've reached 6,000 coins, and have collected another 10 Liberty Bonds.
It's a lengthy process, sure, but it's nothing we can't overcome, so long as Liberty Bonds stay readily available. If not, then we may really have a war on our hands.
Check out the rest of our Empires & Allies Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of Empires & Allies' expansion process? Should the game have stuck to a FarmVille or FrontierVille system, where your initial square simply becomes larger, or do you like picking where each chunk of new land should go?
Players of CityVille will recognize the system here. Currently, your very first expansion comes at a price of 5,000 coins and 10 Liberty Bonds. Liberty Bonds are the equivalent of CityVille's Zoning Permits, and you'll need to collect them from friends in mass quantities to expand each and every time you do so. There's a catch here though. Whether by some oversight or intentional design choice, you can't currently ask for Liberty Bonds via the game's expansion menu (found in the game's store - the Hard Hat icon). Only when you've earned enough coins to purchase the expansion will you be able to ask for Liberty Bonds, forcing you to wait quite a while instead of accomplishing two tasks at once.
Either way, you can work around this and expand early, if you put your mind to it. Participate in battles frequently, and you'll receive Liberty Bonds as prizes. Furthermore, Liberty Bonds are currently available to send via the game's free gifts page, so your friends can send you as many (or as few, if you don't remind them) as they'd like.
Regardless of how you come across your Liberty Bonds, you'll go about actually adding the expansion to your land in the same way. Simply purchase the expansion from the store and then choose the area that you'd like to expand. Unfortunately, this is another system carried over from CityVille, as your entire city won't gain expanded limits; rather, you'll have to pick and choose where to add more land.
You'll want to plan your expansions ahead of time, as they cost more and more coins each time that you purchase a single lot of land. For example, after you've purchased the first land expansion for 5,000 coins, the second expansion doesn't come until you've reached 6,000 coins, and have collected another 10 Liberty Bonds.
It's a lengthy process, sure, but it's nothing we can't overcome, so long as Liberty Bonds stay readily available. If not, then we may really have a war on our hands.
Check out the rest of our Empires & Allies Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of Empires & Allies' expansion process? Should the game have stuck to a FarmVille or FrontierVille system, where your initial square simply becomes larger, or do you like picking where each chunk of new land should go?
FarmVille Blooming Great Goal: Everything you need to know
A new goal has launched in FarmVille's English Countryside this evening, and it sees Agatha looking to replicate the lovely flower gardens she's seen in the past on your own farm. This goal, as you might have guessed, asks you to plant flowers - three different flowers, to be exact.
Harvest 50 Spring Squill
Harvest 50 Bluebells
Harvest 50 Cornflower
All told, this isn't a lot of crops, and you can easily split your progress into different days, if you don't want to dedicate 150 plots to the goal all at once. Bluebells cost 120 coins and take 12 hours to grow, Cornflower costs 90 coins and takes 16 hours to grow, and finally, Spring Squill is another 12-hour crop, costing 140 coins per square. For finishing this goal, you'll receive four Spring Flowerbeds, 200 XP and 2,500 coins.
While this goal doesn't actually move us any farther along on the English Countryside map, it does give us something to work on in the meantime, so I suppose we can't really complain.
Have you started this English Countryside goal yet, or are you still a few buildings behind in terms of overall progress?
Harvest 50 Spring Squill
Harvest 50 Bluebells
Harvest 50 Cornflower
All told, this isn't a lot of crops, and you can easily split your progress into different days, if you don't want to dedicate 150 plots to the goal all at once. Bluebells cost 120 coins and take 12 hours to grow, Cornflower costs 90 coins and takes 16 hours to grow, and finally, Spring Squill is another 12-hour crop, costing 140 coins per square. For finishing this goal, you'll receive four Spring Flowerbeds, 200 XP and 2,500 coins.
While this goal doesn't actually move us any farther along on the English Countryside map, it does give us something to work on in the meantime, so I suppose we can't really complain.
Have you started this English Countryside goal yet, or are you still a few buildings behind in terms of overall progress?
Friday, December 23, 2011
CityVille Street Carnival Prizes: Everything you need to know
If you're like most CityVille players, your last few days have probably been filled with requests for Carnival Tickets for the Street Carnival. Well, if you've already accumulated quite a sum, you'll be happy to know that you can now redeem those tickets for one of six prizes. First, though, you'll need to build the actual Street Carnival item in your town to have a place to redeem your tickets.
As we mentioned in our complete guide to the Street Carnival Goals, this Street Carnival can be built with six whacks, and requires no further construction after that (thank goodness). Simply clicking on the outdoor stage will then show you the Street Carnival prize menu, where you can not only ask for more tickets (and purchase ticket bundles for City Cash), but you can also redeem your tickets for themed goodies. Note: When you redeem your tickets for a prize, it will go into your inventory, rather than allowing you to immediately place it on your land.
Here's the complete rundown of prizes:
15 Tickets - Pretzel Stand - 1% bonus payout
50 Tickets - Ring Toss - 5% bonus payout
150 Tickets - Whack-a-Mole - 7% bonus payout
200 Tickets - Fun House - 240-480 population; rent is 20 coins every five minutes
250 Tickets - Fun Slide - Requires 300 Goods; payout is 1500 coins by default
400 Tickets - Rocket Ship Ride - Requires 500 Goods; payout is 2800 coins by default
As you can see, the prizes very quickly go from reasonable to extravagant in terms of their price, and if you'd like to have one of each, you'd better ask for lots of tickets, and ask for them often, to even stand a chance. We're not sure when this event will come to an end in the game, or if you'll be able to ask for tickets forever (a less likely outcome), so make sure to stock up on tickets now while you're guaranteed to be able to do so.
Which of these prizes are you most looking forward to adding to your town? Are any so expensive that you simply refuse to collect that many tickets?
As we mentioned in our complete guide to the Street Carnival Goals, this Street Carnival can be built with six whacks, and requires no further construction after that (thank goodness). Simply clicking on the outdoor stage will then show you the Street Carnival prize menu, where you can not only ask for more tickets (and purchase ticket bundles for City Cash), but you can also redeem your tickets for themed goodies. Note: When you redeem your tickets for a prize, it will go into your inventory, rather than allowing you to immediately place it on your land.
Here's the complete rundown of prizes:
15 Tickets - Pretzel Stand - 1% bonus payout
50 Tickets - Ring Toss - 5% bonus payout
150 Tickets - Whack-a-Mole - 7% bonus payout
200 Tickets - Fun House - 240-480 population; rent is 20 coins every five minutes
250 Tickets - Fun Slide - Requires 300 Goods; payout is 1500 coins by default
400 Tickets - Rocket Ship Ride - Requires 500 Goods; payout is 2800 coins by default
As you can see, the prizes very quickly go from reasonable to extravagant in terms of their price, and if you'd like to have one of each, you'd better ask for lots of tickets, and ask for them often, to even stand a chance. We're not sure when this event will come to an end in the game, or if you'll be able to ask for tickets forever (a less likely outcome), so make sure to stock up on tickets now while you're guaranteed to be able to do so.
Which of these prizes are you most looking forward to adding to your town? Are any so expensive that you simply refuse to collect that many tickets?
FrontierVille: Collect more Wedding Presents to buy new themed goodies
If you've already found yourself once again caught up in the hub-bub of Fanny and Hank's wedding in FrontierVille (via the new Getting Hitched Wedding Goals), don't forget that there is still plenty of decorating to be done via items available for purchase in the Wedding Wagon's Market. In fact, with today's update, all new items have been added for purchase, including new decorations, animals, outfits and hats. Unfortunately, some of these outfit items cost Horseshoes.
Additionally, some of these items seem a bit too expensive for their size, but at least your supply of Wedding Gifts is never-ending (and can be entirely free). Remember, you can just ask your friends to send you some, wait a few hours, and then repeat the process all over again. Once you've collected enough, here's what's available for your next shopping spree:
Decorations:
Chiavani Chair - 3 Presents
Dance Floor - 4 Presents
Petal Basket - 10 Presents
Love Potion - 10 Presents
Sparkling Wine - 10 Presents
Podium - 12 Presents
Guests Table - 25 Presents
White Doves - 35 Presents
Confetti Cannon - 35 Presents
Romantic Arbor - 35 Presents
Chocolate Fountain - 40 Presents
Just Hitched Cart - 50 Presents
Animals:
Ring Turtle - 40 Presents
Spiffy Chicken - 42 Presents
Gussied Up Goose - 42 Presents
Bartender Alpaca - 50 Presents
Outfits:
White Tuxedo - 27 Horseshoes
Black, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink, Violet, or Yellow vested Tuxedos - 40 Presents each
Orange or Violet Frilly Dress - 50 Presents each
White Frilly Dress - 44 Horseshoes
Blue Classic Dress - 60 Presents
Black or White Classic Dress - 49 Horseshoes each
Yellow, Green or Pink Modern Dress - 65 Presents each
White Modern Dress - 49 Horseshoes
Hats:
Wedding Tiary (available in five hair colors) - 60 Horseshoes
Wedding Veil (available in five hair colors) - 60 Horseshoes
As you can see, most of these items aren't cheap, and you'll need to ask for quite a few presents (ok, a ton) to even be able to afford just one of each of these items, even if you only purchased one clothing item for each gender! No one said marriages in the real world are cheap, and Zynga's keeping to that here. Luckily, none of these items currently have expiration dates in the store, so perhaps we'll have a chance to save up for all of them after all.
What do you think of this new wave of Wedding Market items? Will you purchase and entire barnyard of wedding party animals, or will you stick to creating a lovely reception area for Fanny and Hank's wedding with these decorations?
Additionally, some of these items seem a bit too expensive for their size, but at least your supply of Wedding Gifts is never-ending (and can be entirely free). Remember, you can just ask your friends to send you some, wait a few hours, and then repeat the process all over again. Once you've collected enough, here's what's available for your next shopping spree:
Decorations:
Chiavani Chair - 3 Presents
Dance Floor - 4 Presents
Petal Basket - 10 Presents
Love Potion - 10 Presents
Sparkling Wine - 10 Presents
Podium - 12 Presents
Guests Table - 25 Presents
White Doves - 35 Presents
Confetti Cannon - 35 Presents
Romantic Arbor - 35 Presents
Chocolate Fountain - 40 Presents
Just Hitched Cart - 50 Presents
Animals:
Ring Turtle - 40 Presents
Spiffy Chicken - 42 Presents
Gussied Up Goose - 42 Presents
Bartender Alpaca - 50 Presents
Outfits:
White Tuxedo - 27 Horseshoes
Black, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink, Violet, or Yellow vested Tuxedos - 40 Presents each
Orange or Violet Frilly Dress - 50 Presents each
White Frilly Dress - 44 Horseshoes
Blue Classic Dress - 60 Presents
Black or White Classic Dress - 49 Horseshoes each
Yellow, Green or Pink Modern Dress - 65 Presents each
White Modern Dress - 49 Horseshoes
Hats:
Wedding Tiary (available in five hair colors) - 60 Horseshoes
Wedding Veil (available in five hair colors) - 60 Horseshoes
As you can see, most of these items aren't cheap, and you'll need to ask for quite a few presents (ok, a ton) to even be able to afford just one of each of these items, even if you only purchased one clothing item for each gender! No one said marriages in the real world are cheap, and Zynga's keeping to that here. Luckily, none of these items currently have expiration dates in the store, so perhaps we'll have a chance to save up for all of them after all.
What do you think of this new wave of Wedding Market items? Will you purchase and entire barnyard of wedding party animals, or will you stick to creating a lovely reception area for Fanny and Hank's wedding with these decorations?
Cafe World Becky Barista Goals: Everything you need to know
With this week's launch of the Becky Barista and Beverly Bartender features in Cafe World, we always knew that there was a series of new goals to complete, but actually figuring out what those goals were, past the first goal, hasn't been a piece of cake. Does Becky have her own goal series, only for Beverly to be left out? Just what is going on here!? Luckily, the folks at Di's Mingle Network have been able to figure out what to expect, and it's actually a combination of the two girls in one oddly named goal series. Here's a complete guide.
Becky the Barista
Build your Coffee Machine
Hire Becky
Serve Jammin' Jelly Donuts 40 Times
As we told you in our hiring guide yesterday, you'll need to collect a series of ingredients to hire Becky at your Coffee Machine. Once that's done, you'll receive the Biscotti recipe for finishing this first entire goal.
Becky's First Day
Master 2 Specialty Coffees to Level 1
Ask for 10 Cups of All Purpose Flour
Ask for 10 Bottles of Vanilla Extract
Wouldn't you know it? More items must be gathered from friends. Shocking. That slight sarcasm aside, at least the methods here are the same: just ask your friends to send you these items, while brewing Becky's specialty coffees in the background, and you'll be able to eventually move on.
Beverly the Bartender
Master all Specialty Coffees to Level 1
Ask for 15 Unsalted Butter
Help Beverly get through Bartending School
Ah, see? Here's where Beverly comes in. Apparently, she things she can serve drinks faster than Becky, but we'll have to help her get through Bartending School before she can prove it. In comes another item collection task, similar to how you collected items to just hire Becky. I hope you have some patient friends who are willing to help you out. Finishing this goal will see you unlocking the Short Bread Cookies recipe.
The Bar Exam
Master 2 Juice Blends to Level 1
Ask for 15 Roasted Coffee Beans
Ask for 15 Cocoa Powder
Now that you've helped Beverly graduate, she's ready to work at your Drink Bar, and she's brought with her new specialty drinks. Master two of these to finish that particular task. Once this goal is complete, you'll receive the Coffee Cake recipe.
Sister Act
Master all Specialty Coffees to Level 2
Master all Juice Blends to Level 2
Ask for 15 Baby Carrots
If you're asking where the Carrots come from (I know they don't make much sense at first), they actually explain this final goal's prize: the Carrot Cake recipe. To earn it, though, you'll need to make sure to stay diligent about always having drinks to serve in your cafe, or both the Coffee and Juice varieties.
After finishing this goal series, it looks like things will have fallen into place in terms of automatically serving drinks. If you were hoping this would eliminate the need for brewing or creating drinks in goals, that's likely a false hope, but at least now, we won't have to spend time clicking on each individual guest to serve them as these girls can take care of that. I believe that's what they call a Silver Lining.
[Goals 2-5 via Di's Mingle Network]
What do you think of these completed Becky Barista and Beverly Bartender goals? Do you like the fact that these girls will save you from clicking to serve drinks manually, or do you think their perks aren't worth the work required to earn them?
Becky the Barista
Build your Coffee Machine
Hire Becky
Serve Jammin' Jelly Donuts 40 Times
As we told you in our hiring guide yesterday, you'll need to collect a series of ingredients to hire Becky at your Coffee Machine. Once that's done, you'll receive the Biscotti recipe for finishing this first entire goal.
Becky's First Day
Master 2 Specialty Coffees to Level 1
Ask for 10 Cups of All Purpose Flour
Ask for 10 Bottles of Vanilla Extract
Wouldn't you know it? More items must be gathered from friends. Shocking. That slight sarcasm aside, at least the methods here are the same: just ask your friends to send you these items, while brewing Becky's specialty coffees in the background, and you'll be able to eventually move on.
Beverly the Bartender
Master all Specialty Coffees to Level 1
Ask for 15 Unsalted Butter
Help Beverly get through Bartending School
Ah, see? Here's where Beverly comes in. Apparently, she things she can serve drinks faster than Becky, but we'll have to help her get through Bartending School before she can prove it. In comes another item collection task, similar to how you collected items to just hire Becky. I hope you have some patient friends who are willing to help you out. Finishing this goal will see you unlocking the Short Bread Cookies recipe.
The Bar Exam
Master 2 Juice Blends to Level 1
Ask for 15 Roasted Coffee Beans
Ask for 15 Cocoa Powder
Now that you've helped Beverly graduate, she's ready to work at your Drink Bar, and she's brought with her new specialty drinks. Master two of these to finish that particular task. Once this goal is complete, you'll receive the Coffee Cake recipe.
Sister Act
Master all Specialty Coffees to Level 2
Master all Juice Blends to Level 2
Ask for 15 Baby Carrots
If you're asking where the Carrots come from (I know they don't make much sense at first), they actually explain this final goal's prize: the Carrot Cake recipe. To earn it, though, you'll need to make sure to stay diligent about always having drinks to serve in your cafe, or both the Coffee and Juice varieties.
After finishing this goal series, it looks like things will have fallen into place in terms of automatically serving drinks. If you were hoping this would eliminate the need for brewing or creating drinks in goals, that's likely a false hope, but at least now, we won't have to spend time clicking on each individual guest to serve them as these girls can take care of that. I believe that's what they call a Silver Lining.
[Goals 2-5 via Di's Mingle Network]
What do you think of these completed Becky Barista and Beverly Bartender goals? Do you like the fact that these girls will save you from clicking to serve drinks manually, or do you think their perks aren't worth the work required to earn them?
FarmVille Summer Animals: Beach Ball Ram and Candycane Boar
I know what you're thinking. Did two animals actually launch in the FarmVille store outside of the "scheduled" Wednesday and Sunday night release windows? You betcha! What's more, these two animals are males that can be bred, making for some fun new patterns being added to the Sheep and Pig Breeding catalogs.
The Beach Ball Ram comes first, with his lovely blue and pink colors, and 30 Farm Cash price tag (yikes). If you're just interested in purchasing him as a pet, rather than for breeding, you won't earn much of a profit out of him, as he can only be harvested from every three days. Meanwhile, if you're a Pig Breeder instead, you can purchase a Candycane Boar. Don't get discouraged by his dark red color though. This Boar is actually of the color-changing variety, as the stripes stay one color, and the rest of his body cycles through the rainbow. Suddenly, this 20 Farm Cash price tag seems a bit more worth it. Just so we're clear, the Candycane Boar is the only one that changes colors; the Beach Ball Ram does not.
As both of these animals are part of the Summer theme, they are limited edition and will only be available for the next two weeks. Will we see these patterns or varieties of animals released elsewhere in the future? That much remains to be seen, but do you really want to take the chance that they aren't?
The Beach Ball Ram comes first, with his lovely blue and pink colors, and 30 Farm Cash price tag (yikes). If you're just interested in purchasing him as a pet, rather than for breeding, you won't earn much of a profit out of him, as he can only be harvested from every three days. Meanwhile, if you're a Pig Breeder instead, you can purchase a Candycane Boar. Don't get discouraged by his dark red color though. This Boar is actually of the color-changing variety, as the stripes stay one color, and the rest of his body cycles through the rainbow. Suddenly, this 20 Farm Cash price tag seems a bit more worth it. Just so we're clear, the Candycane Boar is the only one that changes colors; the Beach Ball Ram does not.
As both of these animals are part of the Summer theme, they are limited edition and will only be available for the next two weeks. Will we see these patterns or varieties of animals released elsewhere in the future? That much remains to be seen, but do you really want to take the chance that they aren't?
FarmVille: Yellow Sow now available through Animal Feed Trough
Farmers, I have a confession to make. I'm not the biggest fan of the Animal Feed Trough in FarmVille. There, I said it. I can take only so many Poncho Llamas and Baby Elephants before I go out of my mind, but luckily, Zynga looks to be trying to rejuvenate the feature by adding a new animal for "discovery." You can now find a Yellow Sow in the Feed Trough, so long as you always keep your feed level at 20 and hope for the best.
As usual, the animal you'll find is random, but if you're a Pig Breeder, this is actually a really great animal to find, as it will add this pale yellow color to your breeding catalog, so that you can pass it on to Piglets with patterns... Well, again, if you're lucky. Hopefully, if enough users start using their Feed Troughs again, Zynga will take it as a hint to add more new animals, and we'll make sure to let you know if they do.
Have you given up on your Feed Trough? How many animals is "too many?" Will you start using the feature again to try and find one of these new Sows?
As usual, the animal you'll find is random, but if you're a Pig Breeder, this is actually a really great animal to find, as it will add this pale yellow color to your breeding catalog, so that you can pass it on to Piglets with patterns... Well, again, if you're lucky. Hopefully, if enough users start using their Feed Troughs again, Zynga will take it as a hint to add more new animals, and we'll make sure to let you know if they do.
Have you given up on your Feed Trough? How many animals is "too many?" Will you start using the feature again to try and find one of these new Sows?
FarmVille: 100% pattern inheritance back on; breed like mad while you can
This weekend marks another glorious occasion for FarmVille pig and sheep breeders: According to the FarmVille fan page, 100% pattern inheritance has been turned back on in the game, but only until the end of the day on July 10 (that's tomorrow) - specifically at 9:00 PM PDT. As a refresher, this means that absolutely any possible breeding pair you put together with either pigs or sheep will automatically have the father's pattern, regardless of what the pattern is.
Want a dozen flashing star sheep? So long as you have one Ram with that pattern, you can have them, along with the thousands of other color and pattern combinations available. The same goes for Pigs, which means that while this might be a great feature for those that routinely save up their Love Potions and Bottles, if you don't, you'd want to hurry and ask your friends to send you as many as they can while there's still time.
If you've ever complained about receiving a plain white sheep when breeding, now is your chance to make up for it. Don't wait until it's too late; start breeding right now!
What kinds of sheep do you plan on breeding during this 100% pattern inheritance weekend?
Want a dozen flashing star sheep? So long as you have one Ram with that pattern, you can have them, along with the thousands of other color and pattern combinations available. The same goes for Pigs, which means that while this might be a great feature for those that routinely save up their Love Potions and Bottles, if you don't, you'd want to hurry and ask your friends to send you as many as they can while there's still time.
If you've ever complained about receiving a plain white sheep when breeding, now is your chance to make up for it. Don't wait until it's too late; start breeding right now!
What kinds of sheep do you plan on breeding during this 100% pattern inheritance weekend?
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Google axes Slide, takes many Facebook games down with it
In a bit of a scandalous move, Google has announced that many (OK, almost all) of Slide's products--including many Facebook games and applications--will be shut down over the coming months. Google purchased Slide, the company behind Superpoke!, last August for $182 million, but now, they've dropped the hammer on the company.
The reasoning? It apparently all boils down to the fact that Max Levchin, the founder and CEO of Slide, has decided to leave Slide and Google altogether. If the reasoning goes deeper than that, we've yet to see that announced.
As reported by TechCrunch, most of Slide's specific employees will stay on at Google, but all of their products, save for one, will close. In terms of Facebook applications, this includes apps like SuperPoke! (one of the original truly popular social applications), SuperPoke! Pets (the company's pet care-taking sim) and SPP Ranch!, a game that had what I would argue are some of the cutest graphics in a social game to date.
When adding in Slide's other Facebook applications, we're left with a figure of around 460,000 monthly active users, according to AppData. But that arguably low number still doesn't make this news any less of a disappointment to those who remember just how popular SuperPoke! was back in the day. It also doesn't include the users that may not have used Facebook Connect to sign up for games like SPP Ranch! and SuperPoke! Pets that are now hosted outside of Facebook proper.
Outside of the Facebook game arena, this announcement also shutters the new photo-sharing iPhone application Photovine, which launched just last week. This leaves us to believe that there might be something more cryptic to the Slide closure than Max Levchin leaving, but that we'll probably never know for sure. With the closure of of Slide, we've certainly reached the end of an era, and I, for one, will be sad to see the adorable SuperPoke! sheep go.
The reasoning? It apparently all boils down to the fact that Max Levchin, the founder and CEO of Slide, has decided to leave Slide and Google altogether. If the reasoning goes deeper than that, we've yet to see that announced.
As reported by TechCrunch, most of Slide's specific employees will stay on at Google, but all of their products, save for one, will close. In terms of Facebook applications, this includes apps like SuperPoke! (one of the original truly popular social applications), SuperPoke! Pets (the company's pet care-taking sim) and SPP Ranch!, a game that had what I would argue are some of the cutest graphics in a social game to date.
When adding in Slide's other Facebook applications, we're left with a figure of around 460,000 monthly active users, according to AppData. But that arguably low number still doesn't make this news any less of a disappointment to those who remember just how popular SuperPoke! was back in the day. It also doesn't include the users that may not have used Facebook Connect to sign up for games like SPP Ranch! and SuperPoke! Pets that are now hosted outside of Facebook proper.
Outside of the Facebook game arena, this announcement also shutters the new photo-sharing iPhone application Photovine, which launched just last week. This leaves us to believe that there might be something more cryptic to the Slide closure than Max Levchin leaving, but that we'll probably never know for sure. With the closure of of Slide, we've certainly reached the end of an era, and I, for one, will be sad to see the adorable SuperPoke! sheep go.
Gnome Town Cheats & Tips: Getting Started Guide
Gnome Town loading screen
Gnome Town, developed by Playdom and played on Facebook, allows you to be the hero as you save the critters of the enchanted forest from the evil gnome. You will free the animals and build a town where you will all live together and prosper as you tend crops, run businesses, and explore hidden treasures in the forest. Gamezebo's quick start strategy guide will provide you with detailed images, tips, information, and hints on how to play your best game.
Getting Started
Gnometown: Gnome or Gnomette?
Gnome Town can be played by clicking on the "Play Now!" button at the top of this page. You must have an active Facebook account in order to play. You can register for a free account here - www.facebook.com
You will have to play through a very brief tutorial where you will meet the "Wise Ol' Gnome" who is your guide at various times in the game. The brief tutorial will show you how to do basic navigation around the game screen. This guide will give you a more detailed tutorial to get you through the first few levels.
Once the tutorial is over you may want to adjust to full screen mode and toggle the music or sound effects off. To do this look to the upper right corner for the gear icon. Click on it to expand the menu and make your choice.
Along the top of the screen there are options to send free gifts, invite people to be your neighbor, and to join the Playdom forum where you can connect with other players and ask questions about the game.
You will be asked to choose your character's gender ("Are you a 'Gnome' or a 'Gnomette'") and then give your character a name.
The game will be updated with new items especially around holidays so be sure to check the market for new additions each week.
Gnometown: Buy Gold or Silver?
Game Currency
There are three types of currency in Gnome Town. The game refers to these items as "Shinies."
Silver coins - This is the basic game currency and used to purchase items from the market. You can also collect these when you harvest a crop, finish a quest, collect rent from buildings, or reach a new level in the game. The game starts you out with 250 silver coins.
Gold bars - This is the premium game currency used to purchase high end items or special privileges such as finishing a task instantly. The game starts you out with two gold bars and the Gnome King can grant them to you when he sends messages. You can also earn them when you complete certain quests or level up in the game.
How to purchase more currency - You can purchase more currency by clicking on the "+" symbol to the right of the currency indicator. These can be purchased with Facebook Credits via PayPal or a major credit card.
Gnometown menu screen
Food - This is indicated by the cupcake icon and collected by harvesting crops or bushes or when your neighbors gift it to you during visits or once per day gifts. You will need food in order to speed up processes or work done in the forest by your character and the animal helpers. Whenever a task is underway, such as chopping down a large mushroom, you will have to wait a certain amount of time until it is completed. The only way to speed up this process is to pay in food points. Clicking on "Speed" will take you to the menu that allows you to pay in food and speed up the work. Click on the food button agreeing to the amount and the work is instantly complete allowing you to collect your rewards.
Wood - Wood is collected from chopping down items such as mushrooms and acorns, completing quests, and clearing debris from the enchanted forest. You will need wood to build structures once you purchase them from the market.
Machetes - You are only given a certain number of machetes per level and once you use them all you will have to purchase more at a rate of 10 machetes per seven gold bars. You can also wait until you complete a quest or level up to earn a few more. Since the forest is enchanted the machetes are gone after one use. They do not regenerate over time so use them wisely.
Gnometown XP Level Indicator
Experience Points
Experience points (XP) are earned for just about all actions in the game. If you purchase an item you will earn some XP. If you complete a job or finish a process such as building a house or completing a task you will also earn XP.
XP are seen as stars in the game and when they land on the ground you can click on them to add them to the XP indicator located at the top center of the game screen faster.
XP are what determines when you reach a new level in the game. If you look at the top center of the game screen you will see your level/XP indicator. It will tell you how many XP you currently have and how many you need to reach the next level.
The star on the XP indicator shows you your current level in the game.
Each time you level up you will earn machetes, additional XP, food points, collectibles, silver coins, and sometimes gold bars. You will also unlock several items in the market which will allow you to place more items in your town and increase your overall town value.
Gnometown Statistics Town Info
Game Statistics/Town Info
Click on "Info" under your user name to see your game statistics.
This can be very helpful when you want to throw a party or participate in the "Gnomespedition" feature of the game.
You can see how many neighbors you have as well as your values in the "Gnomespedition" categories.
You can change your user name here without charge or penalty.
Navigating The Game Screen
The enchanted forest is much larger than what will fit on the game screen even if you have it in full screen mode, so you will need to learn to drag the scene in order to reach all areas.
Click on an area of the enchanted forest and hold your left mouse button down while dragging the scene in the direction you wish to move.
You will see the cursor turn into a hand when you have done this correctly.
Gnometown game settings
Full screen mode/settings navigation menu - Look for the gear icon at the top right and click on it to expand. Here you can enter and exit full screen or windowed mode, toggle sounds on and off, and adjust picture quality if needed. You can also hit "Esc" to exit full screen mode and any time you send out a message to post on your or a neighbor's live feed the game will automatically enter windowed mode. You will have to go in and reset it to full screen mode after you post any messages in the game.
Gnometown game controls
Move, rotate, sell, and store items - At the bottom right of the game screen will see four buttons. Click on the arrow button to expand the menu allowing you to move, rotate, sell, or place an item in inventory. Click on the action you wish to perform to cause it to stick to your cursor and then click on the item you wish to act upon. When you are finished click on the arrow to clear the instruction out and return to normal game play.
Gnometown inventory collections
Inventory/collections - To access your inventory (this is where gifts go when you accept them from neighbors) or collection status, click on the bag icon at the bottom right of the game screen. There are two tabs along the top of this menu allowing you to access your inventory and collections information easily.
The second tab will allow you to see which collections you have completed as well as turn in the completed collection for reward. (See "Collections" below for more detailed information.)
Gnometown Quest List
Gnometown Quests
Quests
Starting with the tutorial you will be given many quests to guide your progress in the game.
The quests are found in the quest list along the left side of the screen. Simply click on the icon to read about the quest.
Most quests have two or more tasks that you must complete. You will see the word "Progress" appear over the icon anytime you complete a task or a portion of it.
When you complete a quest you will be notified and you will earn a large reward of coins, XP, food, wood, and sometimes gold bars and machetes.
You will also be offered the option to share this bonus with your neighbors. If you choose the share option a message will post on your profile page and on the live feeds allowing them to click on a link which will reward them with silver coins, XP, and other bonus items.
Gnometown investigate relics
Investigating Relics
As you clear away items in the forest you will find relics that you will need to clean and investigate to learn things about the game and to give you tips for game bonuses and completing certain quests.
It is a good idea to clear out as much forest as possible each time you play to expose as many relics as possible. You will use up your machetes but you can earn them back as you complete quests.
Gnometown Market
Purchasing Items From the Market
To purchase items from the market click on the market icon at the bottom right of the screen.
At the top of the menu there are several categories you can purchase from. Choose your category by clicking on the appropriate tab.
You may see that some items are locked. You must reach a certain level of the game before some items are unlocked for purchase.
Note that each item will earn you a certain number of XP, and contributes a certain number of points to either the "Journey," "Party," or "Brawl" categories in the "Gnomespedition" or "PvP" feature of the game. (See "Gnomespedition" below.) You should consider these points when making a purchase as they can help you win in certain categories during your five challenges per day.
Gnometown: Freeing an animal helper
Gnometown: You saved an animal!
Animal Helpers
As you clear debris away in the enchanted forest you will come upon crates that contain animals that were captured by the evil gnome. You will be able to free these animals. Some will take a few seconds and others may take hours or even days to free.
You can spend food points or gold bars to speed up this process.
Once the animals are free they will live in your gnome town with you and you will build them a house and they will become your helpers in the game.
When you click on an item to clear away the first animal you freed will go do the job. If you click on another task such as clearing a second item or harvesting a crop the second animal freed (there may be two in a crate) will take that task, and so on.
Each animal works on the task and has the option to speed up the work available.
Tip - Some animals will be working on long term jobs that take several hours. This will put that animal helper out of commission from doing other jobs unless you choose to pause the job. This will halt the long term job and free the animal helper to work on other things. When you are ready simply resume the job and the timer will start counting down again.
Gnometown: Use Machete to clear forest
Gnometown Item Drops
Using Machetes/Clearing the Enchanted Forest
Around the perimeter of the camp you will see dark, dead looking brush and this is the part of the enchanted forest that will need to be cleared away using your machete.
Simply placing your cursor over this area will change it to the machete.
You only get a few at a time, and as you complete tasks you will earn more machetes to use.
After you clear away the brush, this will cause several other items to appear on the land that need to be cleared individually.
If you place your cursor over these brightly colored items such as acorns, mushrooms, weeds, leaves, and dandelions you will see a time listed. This is the amount of time it will take for your gnome or animal helpers to clear it away. You can speed up this process by clicking on the speed button and agreeing to pay in either food points or gold bars to speed it up.
It is not a wise move to spend your food items on speeding up processes under one minute. It is best to save the food items for the processes that take several hours to complete instead.
Once you do clear away these items stars (XP), logs (wood), cupcakes (food), and sometimes collectibles will fall onto the ground. You can click on these to add them to the meters at the top of the screen where you can see your overall totals or if you wait a few moments they will just add on their own. Clicking them does not give you any advantage except they are out of the way faster.
Each time you clear away a section of the dark forest you will reveal more of these smaller debris items that will need to be cleared away. Clear out the small ones first and save the large ones for a worker that will be out of commission for a few hours. If you want to use food points to speed up the processes that take several hours you can or you can leave the game for a few hours and come back as they will work while you are out of the game.
Note - If you really need a worker that is tied up with a project that takes several hours you have the option to pause that job and this will free up the worker but stop the progress on the job they were working on. You will have to use your judgement as to when this is a smart move.
Gnometown: How to Speed Up
Gnometown: Speed Up tasks
Speeding Up Processes
Placing your cursor over any item that is being worked on by an animal helper will tell you if the process is eligible to speed up. If so, you will see the word "Speed" and clicking on it will bring up the menu showing you what you can pay to speed up the process to completion.
You usually have the option of using food points or gold bars to purchase the speed up option.
Once you choose it the food points or gold bars are deducted and whatever you have chosen to speed up will be instantly completed and ready for reward collection.
Tip - Do not use the speed up feature for any process that takes under one minute. This is a huge waste of your resources.
Gnometown buildings
Placing and Constructing Buildings
There are currently over 15 different buildings that can be placed in your gnome town.
These buildings unlock at various levels and are purchased with either silver coins or gold bars.
Click on market then on the building tab along the top.
Once you choose your building it will stick to your cursor. Place it on a cleared area of land and look for the base to turn green. If it turns red there is an obstacle in your path. Adjust until you see a green outline and then click on the land to lock in the purchase.
Now you will have just the frame to the building.
You will need to click on the frame at least twice having an animal helper work on it.
Once you complete the frame you will be asked to staff the building. Not all buildings need to be staffed, but most do, and the number of neighbors required varies.
You will need to find at least two of your neighbors willing to staff the business.
Gnometown Hire Neighbors
You will need to click on "Hire Friends" in order to send invitations out to all neighbors.
Important - Once you reach the menu look for the pull down menu near the top left of the screen. Be sure to choose "Friends Playing Gnome Town" to make sure the list includes those already playing the game. If you send to any of the other options you will send to those that don't play the game and they may not respond to you.
Once the required number of neighbors agree to help you out you will see that the notification on the building has changed and it prompts you to finish it.
Click on "Finish" and the building will change into its final form and you will earn XP, coins, and possibly other items as your reward.
You can place more than one of a type of building on your land but you will have to find staff for each building.
Tip - It is best to wait until you have a quest prompting you to build a building. For example, if you build a farm before a quest requires it, you will not get credit for the one you have already built. You will have to pay to build another one to get credit for completing the quest.
Gnome Town rewards
Collecting Rewards
Anytime you complete a task you will see small icons fall to the ground which represent different kinds of rewards.
The following is a breakdown of the different items:
Cupcake - Food
Star - XP
Log - Wood
Coins - Silver coins
Machete - Machetes
Gold Bars - Gold bars
Collectibles - These vary but you will see an item related to the item you are collecting from. For example if you are collecting from the strawberry bush you will see strawberry items.
When you see these items fall to the ground you can either click on them or after a few moments they will automatically add to the running totals.
Gnome Town Collecting Rent from Buildings
Collecting Rent From Buildings
Once a business or home is completed it will begin to accumulate rent for you.
Most of the businesses will earn money for you once every 24 hours with the exception of a few.
The gnome house does not collect any kind of rent and is just decorative.
Place your cursor over a building at any time to see a countdown clock indicating when you can collect the next rent payout.
Try to collect these on time each day to maximize your profits.
Gnome Town watering crops
Bushes and Crops
Crops - Crops can be purchased in the market under the crops tab. You will start out with one crop unlocked and as you level up more will become available to you.
Note that you will earn XP, silver coins, and food points from the crops once you harvest them.
Once you place a crop by clicking on an open area of land, you will need to water it. If you place your cursor over the plot you will see how long it will take to water and you can speed up the process if you want to.
Once you water the plot you will need to click on it again and wait until harvest.
You will see the fruit or vegetables appear as the crop matures.
Once you see the gold star over the crop you can click on it to collect your rewards.
Tip - Try to keep crops going at all times. Once you have some of the longer maturing crops unlocked start a few of these before you leave the game for several hours.
Gnome Town Bushes
Bushes - Bushes are different as they are a renewable resource and will produce for you over and over.
Strawberry bushes are the first bush available. Remember, they do not disappear like the crops do so place them in a strategic area. If you place several together it will be known as an orchard.
You will need to have your animal helpers water the bushes the first time they are grown. Once mature you will need to harvest them. You will see an orange arrow pointing downward over each bush when it is ready to be harvested.
Once complete all of the food, coins, XP, and collectibles will appear.
Collectible items will appear from crops and bushes and are important as this is the only way to collect these items.
You may, for example, see carrot soup thrown out with the rewards of the carrot crop. Click on these when you see them. (See "Collections" below for more detailed information.)
Gnome Town Creatures
Tending to Creatures
After you progress a few levels you will be introduced to creatures, which are like pets to your animal helpers.
Purchase creatures in the market and place them in your town in what you consider a permanent location. (You can always move them later but they must be in your town to be useful to you.)
You will need to feed the creatures, also known as tending to them, and once you do they will grow until they reach full size.
Click on them to feed them and an animal helper will walk over with a bag and start feeding them for the amount of time needed. You can speed this up if you want to pay to do so.
Once finished you will see a gold star over the creature, which when clicked on will allow you to collect rewards.
You will need to feed some creatures a second time before they are fully grown such as the snails.
Once fully grown you will see an orange down facing arrow over each creature, which means you can click on them to collect funds.
After you collect your rewards you must wait until you can feed the creatures again and there is a countdown clock you can see any time by placing your cursor over the creature.
You will earn XP and silver coins as rewards from creatures.
Creatures include snails, ladybugs, caterpillars, moles, and hummingbirds. (More may be added in future game updates.)
Each creature has a different amount of time they will need to be tended to and will offer varying amounts of reward once completed.
Gnome Town Gnomespedition
Gnomespedition - PvP and Throwing Parties
You are given several chances a day to compete with other players in the "Gnomespedition" or "PvP" (player versus player) feature.
This can be found by clicking at the bottom right corner of the game screen. You will see a bandanna type icon along with the number of turns you have left for the day in the upper right hand corner.
You will see a maximum of five turns on the indicator. Once you use these up they will regenerate at a rate of one turn every hour up to a maximum of five turns.
Gnome Town Gnomespedition: Finding PVP Value
How to accumulate points - As you place decorative items around your town you may notice that they have a value associated to them. These values fall into three categories which are:
Brawl - (Items include - fire pits, rack of armour, and tool shed)
Journey - (Items include - hay bale, bonsai tree, bakery, and wheelbarrow)
Party - (Items include - picnic tables, flower pots, gnome tavern, and condo)
When you purchase items or when you are gifted items by friends and place them in your town you add to the collective total of each type of points.
If you purchase items with gold bars in the "Special" or "Decoration" menu you can give yourself a huge boost in points in one of the three areas.
The more of these items placed in your town the higher your scores.
The number of neighbors you have and helpers appears to play a part in your score as well. It is not known how this is scored but it is best to keep these numbers as high as possible.
Do not let decorative items gifted to you just sit in your inventory. Be sure to use them and place them in your town right away. For example, if neighbors send you five potted flowers each with a party score of four points, placing all of them in your town will increase your party score by 20 points. If they sit in storage they will not count toward this overall total.
The higher end items in the market will add hundreds of points to your score so you may want to consider purchasing a few if the rewards in this area are important to you.
Place your cursor over any item in your town to reveal its point value if it has one.
Gnome Town Challenge Friends
How to play - Once you click on the bottom right corner icon you will bring up a menu like the one shown in the image above.
Look at the number of wins and losses, as well as the level. You may want to stay with people closer to your level but this isn't always indicative of who will win.
If you see someone you want to challenge click on the "Interact" button at the far right.
Gnome Town Gnomespedition Party
Analyze - Now you will be taken to a screen such as the one shown in the image above.
Here you will see a breakdown of each of the three categories.
Before you challenge this person place your cursor over the category area until it turns gold in color.
Note the comment at the top of the box. If it tells you that you can't win in that category then do not attempt to challenge this person. Click on "Back to List" and search for another candidate.
It may take a while to win especially in the early levels, but your best bet is to have a lot of neighbors gift you items and place them in your town to get your numbers up.
There is a quest in the game that requires you to win one of five games, which is actually very difficult to do, so concentrate on getting your number up in each of the three categories before you even attempt this feature.
You are allowed only five challenges per 24 hour period.
Gnome Town Gnomespedition Win
If you win a challenge you will earn a large reward and your scores will be posted on the board for others to see.
You will not only be challenging your neighbors but people not on your neighbor list that are also playing the game.
Tip - Do not bother to challenge anyone until you have placed several decor items in your town getting your scores in the high hundreds for each of the three categories and until the indicator tells you that you can win. If you try to play before you can win you will waste time and money.
Gnome Town Collections
Collections
As you harvest crops and complete quests small items along with your XP, silver coins, food, and wood will be thrown out for you to collect. These are known as collectibles and once you collect one of each type for a set you have completed a collection.
To access your collection progress click on the bag icon at the lower right corner where you inventory is also located.
Click on the second tab "Collections" along the top.
Now you will see every collection in the game and if you have a collectible the area will be colored and highlighted.
You win different prizes for completing different collections.
Once you have completed a collection the reward button will highlight and you will need to click on "Collect Reward."
You will immediately earn the reward and it will be placed in inventory.
After you complete a collection, you can start to complete it again and win the reward several times.
You will have to wait until certain crops and quests unlock before you will be able to finish some of the collections.
Try to keep an eye on the collections area, as when you do get a collectible the indicator screen will flash for a few brief seconds and it is very easy to miss. You want to collect rewards as soon as they are available so you don't miss the opportunity to collect it a second time.
Gnome Town Neighbor Menu
Visiting Neighbors
Along the bottom of the game screen you will see your neighbor menu.
You are allowed to visit your neighbors once every 24 hours to help them out and collect XP and food bonus items.
Click on the picture of your neighbor along the bottom of the screen and you will be taken to their town. You will be able to see where they have placed everything, their level, and what items their animal helpers are currently working on.
When you arrive you will be met with a message asking you if you want to help your neighbor. Click on "Yes."
Gnome Town Neighbor Visits
Next you will notice a covered plate is stuck to your cursor in shadowed form. This is to be placed on the ground somewhere in your neighbor's town. The next time they visit, they can click on it and it will show your picture and they will be able to collect the XP and food points you have sent them. When you do this a cupcake and star will appear for you to click on. It will show for a split second how much you have won by helping out your neighbor. Sometimes you win as little as 10 XP or as much as 200 XP; or you can win as little as 10 food points or up to 400 food points. They are immediately credited to your account when you place the dish on your neighbor's land.
It is wise to have as many neighbors as possible so that you can fill positions in your buildings and you can do daily visits and earn as much money as possible.
If you need help finding neighbors be sure to click on the "Forum" button above the top of the game screen. Once there you will need to register for an account with Playdom and you will be able to visit the "Gnome Town forums. Look for "Official Gnome Town Add Neighbors Thread." Here you will find people looking for new neighbors to play the game with. You will need to add them as Facebook friends first and then send them an invitation to the game or have them send you one.
If you visit a neighbor before the 24 hours is up you can still look around, you just won't see the message asking about the bonus gift. Come back when the 24 hours is up to collect again.
Click on the "Return Home" button at the bottom right when you are finished doing your neighbor visits.
Gnome Town Gifts
Sending and Receiving Daily Gifts
You are allowed to send and receive one gift per neighbor per 24 hour period in the game.
Sending gifts - To send a free gift click on the "Send Gift" button along the top of the game screen.
You will be taken to a menu where there are several gifts available for you to send to your neighbors.
You can send one gift to everyone at once, or you can send one gift at a time.
Click on the gift item you have chosen. Note that some may be locked and will not be available until you have reached a certain level in the game.
Next click on "Send" and you will be taken to a screen with a list of your neighbors.
Important - Be sure to use the pull down menu at the upper left corner and click on the "Gnome Town" players option.
Now you will see a list of active Gnome Town players that are on your Facebook friend list, not just your Facebook friends.
Click on up to 50 names at once to send a gift to if you want to do a group gifting.
Simply click on "Send" when you are finished and your neighbor will receive the gift under "Messages" the next time they log into the game. Once they accept the gift they can use it right away.
Gnome Town accept gifts
Receiving gifts - When you log into the game you will notice along the top of the game screen a red notification number along the "Messages" button. Click on this to see what gifts, invitations, or help requests have been sent to you by Facebook friends.
You will see individual messages for gifts sent to you and you will need to click on "Accept" in order for the gift to be placed in your inventory area for future use.
You will be able to see who sent the gift and you can also click on "Return the Favor" to send the same gift back to your neighbor.
Tip - Most people gift the item that they want gifted to them so be sure to return the favor and gift daily to those that gift to you. You may want to keep paper and pen near the computer to keep track of those who gift to you daily.
Gnome Town, developed by Playdom and played on Facebook, allows you to be the hero as you save the critters of the enchanted forest from the evil gnome. You will free the animals and build a town where you will all live together and prosper as you tend crops, run businesses, and explore hidden treasures in the forest. Gamezebo's quick start strategy guide will provide you with detailed images, tips, information, and hints on how to play your best game.
Getting Started
Gnometown: Gnome or Gnomette?
Gnome Town can be played by clicking on the "Play Now!" button at the top of this page. You must have an active Facebook account in order to play. You can register for a free account here - www.facebook.com
You will have to play through a very brief tutorial where you will meet the "Wise Ol' Gnome" who is your guide at various times in the game. The brief tutorial will show you how to do basic navigation around the game screen. This guide will give you a more detailed tutorial to get you through the first few levels.
Once the tutorial is over you may want to adjust to full screen mode and toggle the music or sound effects off. To do this look to the upper right corner for the gear icon. Click on it to expand the menu and make your choice.
Along the top of the screen there are options to send free gifts, invite people to be your neighbor, and to join the Playdom forum where you can connect with other players and ask questions about the game.
You will be asked to choose your character's gender ("Are you a 'Gnome' or a 'Gnomette'") and then give your character a name.
The game will be updated with new items especially around holidays so be sure to check the market for new additions each week.
Gnometown: Buy Gold or Silver?
Game Currency
There are three types of currency in Gnome Town. The game refers to these items as "Shinies."
Silver coins - This is the basic game currency and used to purchase items from the market. You can also collect these when you harvest a crop, finish a quest, collect rent from buildings, or reach a new level in the game. The game starts you out with 250 silver coins.
Gold bars - This is the premium game currency used to purchase high end items or special privileges such as finishing a task instantly. The game starts you out with two gold bars and the Gnome King can grant them to you when he sends messages. You can also earn them when you complete certain quests or level up in the game.
How to purchase more currency - You can purchase more currency by clicking on the "+" symbol to the right of the currency indicator. These can be purchased with Facebook Credits via PayPal or a major credit card.
Gnometown menu screen
Food - This is indicated by the cupcake icon and collected by harvesting crops or bushes or when your neighbors gift it to you during visits or once per day gifts. You will need food in order to speed up processes or work done in the forest by your character and the animal helpers. Whenever a task is underway, such as chopping down a large mushroom, you will have to wait a certain amount of time until it is completed. The only way to speed up this process is to pay in food points. Clicking on "Speed" will take you to the menu that allows you to pay in food and speed up the work. Click on the food button agreeing to the amount and the work is instantly complete allowing you to collect your rewards.
Wood - Wood is collected from chopping down items such as mushrooms and acorns, completing quests, and clearing debris from the enchanted forest. You will need wood to build structures once you purchase them from the market.
Machetes - You are only given a certain number of machetes per level and once you use them all you will have to purchase more at a rate of 10 machetes per seven gold bars. You can also wait until you complete a quest or level up to earn a few more. Since the forest is enchanted the machetes are gone after one use. They do not regenerate over time so use them wisely.
Gnometown XP Level Indicator
Experience Points
Experience points (XP) are earned for just about all actions in the game. If you purchase an item you will earn some XP. If you complete a job or finish a process such as building a house or completing a task you will also earn XP.
XP are seen as stars in the game and when they land on the ground you can click on them to add them to the XP indicator located at the top center of the game screen faster.
XP are what determines when you reach a new level in the game. If you look at the top center of the game screen you will see your level/XP indicator. It will tell you how many XP you currently have and how many you need to reach the next level.
The star on the XP indicator shows you your current level in the game.
Each time you level up you will earn machetes, additional XP, food points, collectibles, silver coins, and sometimes gold bars. You will also unlock several items in the market which will allow you to place more items in your town and increase your overall town value.
Gnometown Statistics Town Info
Game Statistics/Town Info
Click on "Info" under your user name to see your game statistics.
This can be very helpful when you want to throw a party or participate in the "Gnomespedition" feature of the game.
You can see how many neighbors you have as well as your values in the "Gnomespedition" categories.
You can change your user name here without charge or penalty.
Navigating The Game Screen
The enchanted forest is much larger than what will fit on the game screen even if you have it in full screen mode, so you will need to learn to drag the scene in order to reach all areas.
Click on an area of the enchanted forest and hold your left mouse button down while dragging the scene in the direction you wish to move.
You will see the cursor turn into a hand when you have done this correctly.
Gnometown game settings
Full screen mode/settings navigation menu - Look for the gear icon at the top right and click on it to expand. Here you can enter and exit full screen or windowed mode, toggle sounds on and off, and adjust picture quality if needed. You can also hit "Esc" to exit full screen mode and any time you send out a message to post on your or a neighbor's live feed the game will automatically enter windowed mode. You will have to go in and reset it to full screen mode after you post any messages in the game.
Gnometown game controls
Move, rotate, sell, and store items - At the bottom right of the game screen will see four buttons. Click on the arrow button to expand the menu allowing you to move, rotate, sell, or place an item in inventory. Click on the action you wish to perform to cause it to stick to your cursor and then click on the item you wish to act upon. When you are finished click on the arrow to clear the instruction out and return to normal game play.
Gnometown inventory collections
Inventory/collections - To access your inventory (this is where gifts go when you accept them from neighbors) or collection status, click on the bag icon at the bottom right of the game screen. There are two tabs along the top of this menu allowing you to access your inventory and collections information easily.
The second tab will allow you to see which collections you have completed as well as turn in the completed collection for reward. (See "Collections" below for more detailed information.)
Gnometown Quest List
Gnometown Quests
Quests
Starting with the tutorial you will be given many quests to guide your progress in the game.
The quests are found in the quest list along the left side of the screen. Simply click on the icon to read about the quest.
Most quests have two or more tasks that you must complete. You will see the word "Progress" appear over the icon anytime you complete a task or a portion of it.
When you complete a quest you will be notified and you will earn a large reward of coins, XP, food, wood, and sometimes gold bars and machetes.
You will also be offered the option to share this bonus with your neighbors. If you choose the share option a message will post on your profile page and on the live feeds allowing them to click on a link which will reward them with silver coins, XP, and other bonus items.
Gnometown investigate relics
Investigating Relics
As you clear away items in the forest you will find relics that you will need to clean and investigate to learn things about the game and to give you tips for game bonuses and completing certain quests.
It is a good idea to clear out as much forest as possible each time you play to expose as many relics as possible. You will use up your machetes but you can earn them back as you complete quests.
Gnometown Market
Purchasing Items From the Market
To purchase items from the market click on the market icon at the bottom right of the screen.
At the top of the menu there are several categories you can purchase from. Choose your category by clicking on the appropriate tab.
You may see that some items are locked. You must reach a certain level of the game before some items are unlocked for purchase.
Note that each item will earn you a certain number of XP, and contributes a certain number of points to either the "Journey," "Party," or "Brawl" categories in the "Gnomespedition" or "PvP" feature of the game. (See "Gnomespedition" below.) You should consider these points when making a purchase as they can help you win in certain categories during your five challenges per day.
Gnometown: Freeing an animal helper
Gnometown: You saved an animal!
Animal Helpers
As you clear debris away in the enchanted forest you will come upon crates that contain animals that were captured by the evil gnome. You will be able to free these animals. Some will take a few seconds and others may take hours or even days to free.
You can spend food points or gold bars to speed up this process.
Once the animals are free they will live in your gnome town with you and you will build them a house and they will become your helpers in the game.
When you click on an item to clear away the first animal you freed will go do the job. If you click on another task such as clearing a second item or harvesting a crop the second animal freed (there may be two in a crate) will take that task, and so on.
Each animal works on the task and has the option to speed up the work available.
Tip - Some animals will be working on long term jobs that take several hours. This will put that animal helper out of commission from doing other jobs unless you choose to pause the job. This will halt the long term job and free the animal helper to work on other things. When you are ready simply resume the job and the timer will start counting down again.
Gnometown: Use Machete to clear forest
Gnometown Item Drops
Using Machetes/Clearing the Enchanted Forest
Around the perimeter of the camp you will see dark, dead looking brush and this is the part of the enchanted forest that will need to be cleared away using your machete.
Simply placing your cursor over this area will change it to the machete.
You only get a few at a time, and as you complete tasks you will earn more machetes to use.
After you clear away the brush, this will cause several other items to appear on the land that need to be cleared individually.
If you place your cursor over these brightly colored items such as acorns, mushrooms, weeds, leaves, and dandelions you will see a time listed. This is the amount of time it will take for your gnome or animal helpers to clear it away. You can speed up this process by clicking on the speed button and agreeing to pay in either food points or gold bars to speed it up.
It is not a wise move to spend your food items on speeding up processes under one minute. It is best to save the food items for the processes that take several hours to complete instead.
Once you do clear away these items stars (XP), logs (wood), cupcakes (food), and sometimes collectibles will fall onto the ground. You can click on these to add them to the meters at the top of the screen where you can see your overall totals or if you wait a few moments they will just add on their own. Clicking them does not give you any advantage except they are out of the way faster.
Each time you clear away a section of the dark forest you will reveal more of these smaller debris items that will need to be cleared away. Clear out the small ones first and save the large ones for a worker that will be out of commission for a few hours. If you want to use food points to speed up the processes that take several hours you can or you can leave the game for a few hours and come back as they will work while you are out of the game.
Note - If you really need a worker that is tied up with a project that takes several hours you have the option to pause that job and this will free up the worker but stop the progress on the job they were working on. You will have to use your judgement as to when this is a smart move.
Gnometown: How to Speed Up
Gnometown: Speed Up tasks
Speeding Up Processes
Placing your cursor over any item that is being worked on by an animal helper will tell you if the process is eligible to speed up. If so, you will see the word "Speed" and clicking on it will bring up the menu showing you what you can pay to speed up the process to completion.
You usually have the option of using food points or gold bars to purchase the speed up option.
Once you choose it the food points or gold bars are deducted and whatever you have chosen to speed up will be instantly completed and ready for reward collection.
Tip - Do not use the speed up feature for any process that takes under one minute. This is a huge waste of your resources.
Gnometown buildings
Placing and Constructing Buildings
There are currently over 15 different buildings that can be placed in your gnome town.
These buildings unlock at various levels and are purchased with either silver coins or gold bars.
Click on market then on the building tab along the top.
Once you choose your building it will stick to your cursor. Place it on a cleared area of land and look for the base to turn green. If it turns red there is an obstacle in your path. Adjust until you see a green outline and then click on the land to lock in the purchase.
Now you will have just the frame to the building.
You will need to click on the frame at least twice having an animal helper work on it.
Once you complete the frame you will be asked to staff the building. Not all buildings need to be staffed, but most do, and the number of neighbors required varies.
You will need to find at least two of your neighbors willing to staff the business.
Gnometown Hire Neighbors
You will need to click on "Hire Friends" in order to send invitations out to all neighbors.
Important - Once you reach the menu look for the pull down menu near the top left of the screen. Be sure to choose "Friends Playing Gnome Town" to make sure the list includes those already playing the game. If you send to any of the other options you will send to those that don't play the game and they may not respond to you.
Once the required number of neighbors agree to help you out you will see that the notification on the building has changed and it prompts you to finish it.
Click on "Finish" and the building will change into its final form and you will earn XP, coins, and possibly other items as your reward.
You can place more than one of a type of building on your land but you will have to find staff for each building.
Tip - It is best to wait until you have a quest prompting you to build a building. For example, if you build a farm before a quest requires it, you will not get credit for the one you have already built. You will have to pay to build another one to get credit for completing the quest.
Gnome Town rewards
Collecting Rewards
Anytime you complete a task you will see small icons fall to the ground which represent different kinds of rewards.
The following is a breakdown of the different items:
Cupcake - Food
Star - XP
Log - Wood
Coins - Silver coins
Machete - Machetes
Gold Bars - Gold bars
Collectibles - These vary but you will see an item related to the item you are collecting from. For example if you are collecting from the strawberry bush you will see strawberry items.
When you see these items fall to the ground you can either click on them or after a few moments they will automatically add to the running totals.
Gnome Town Collecting Rent from Buildings
Collecting Rent From Buildings
Once a business or home is completed it will begin to accumulate rent for you.
Most of the businesses will earn money for you once every 24 hours with the exception of a few.
The gnome house does not collect any kind of rent and is just decorative.
Place your cursor over a building at any time to see a countdown clock indicating when you can collect the next rent payout.
Try to collect these on time each day to maximize your profits.
Gnome Town watering crops
Bushes and Crops
Crops - Crops can be purchased in the market under the crops tab. You will start out with one crop unlocked and as you level up more will become available to you.
Note that you will earn XP, silver coins, and food points from the crops once you harvest them.
Once you place a crop by clicking on an open area of land, you will need to water it. If you place your cursor over the plot you will see how long it will take to water and you can speed up the process if you want to.
Once you water the plot you will need to click on it again and wait until harvest.
You will see the fruit or vegetables appear as the crop matures.
Once you see the gold star over the crop you can click on it to collect your rewards.
Tip - Try to keep crops going at all times. Once you have some of the longer maturing crops unlocked start a few of these before you leave the game for several hours.
Gnome Town Bushes
Bushes - Bushes are different as they are a renewable resource and will produce for you over and over.
Strawberry bushes are the first bush available. Remember, they do not disappear like the crops do so place them in a strategic area. If you place several together it will be known as an orchard.
You will need to have your animal helpers water the bushes the first time they are grown. Once mature you will need to harvest them. You will see an orange arrow pointing downward over each bush when it is ready to be harvested.
Once complete all of the food, coins, XP, and collectibles will appear.
Collectible items will appear from crops and bushes and are important as this is the only way to collect these items.
You may, for example, see carrot soup thrown out with the rewards of the carrot crop. Click on these when you see them. (See "Collections" below for more detailed information.)
Gnome Town Creatures
Tending to Creatures
After you progress a few levels you will be introduced to creatures, which are like pets to your animal helpers.
Purchase creatures in the market and place them in your town in what you consider a permanent location. (You can always move them later but they must be in your town to be useful to you.)
You will need to feed the creatures, also known as tending to them, and once you do they will grow until they reach full size.
Click on them to feed them and an animal helper will walk over with a bag and start feeding them for the amount of time needed. You can speed this up if you want to pay to do so.
Once finished you will see a gold star over the creature, which when clicked on will allow you to collect rewards.
You will need to feed some creatures a second time before they are fully grown such as the snails.
Once fully grown you will see an orange down facing arrow over each creature, which means you can click on them to collect funds.
After you collect your rewards you must wait until you can feed the creatures again and there is a countdown clock you can see any time by placing your cursor over the creature.
You will earn XP and silver coins as rewards from creatures.
Creatures include snails, ladybugs, caterpillars, moles, and hummingbirds. (More may be added in future game updates.)
Each creature has a different amount of time they will need to be tended to and will offer varying amounts of reward once completed.
Gnome Town Gnomespedition
Gnomespedition - PvP and Throwing Parties
You are given several chances a day to compete with other players in the "Gnomespedition" or "PvP" (player versus player) feature.
This can be found by clicking at the bottom right corner of the game screen. You will see a bandanna type icon along with the number of turns you have left for the day in the upper right hand corner.
You will see a maximum of five turns on the indicator. Once you use these up they will regenerate at a rate of one turn every hour up to a maximum of five turns.
Gnome Town Gnomespedition: Finding PVP Value
How to accumulate points - As you place decorative items around your town you may notice that they have a value associated to them. These values fall into three categories which are:
Brawl - (Items include - fire pits, rack of armour, and tool shed)
Journey - (Items include - hay bale, bonsai tree, bakery, and wheelbarrow)
Party - (Items include - picnic tables, flower pots, gnome tavern, and condo)
When you purchase items or when you are gifted items by friends and place them in your town you add to the collective total of each type of points.
If you purchase items with gold bars in the "Special" or "Decoration" menu you can give yourself a huge boost in points in one of the three areas.
The more of these items placed in your town the higher your scores.
The number of neighbors you have and helpers appears to play a part in your score as well. It is not known how this is scored but it is best to keep these numbers as high as possible.
Do not let decorative items gifted to you just sit in your inventory. Be sure to use them and place them in your town right away. For example, if neighbors send you five potted flowers each with a party score of four points, placing all of them in your town will increase your party score by 20 points. If they sit in storage they will not count toward this overall total.
The higher end items in the market will add hundreds of points to your score so you may want to consider purchasing a few if the rewards in this area are important to you.
Place your cursor over any item in your town to reveal its point value if it has one.
Gnome Town Challenge Friends
How to play - Once you click on the bottom right corner icon you will bring up a menu like the one shown in the image above.
Look at the number of wins and losses, as well as the level. You may want to stay with people closer to your level but this isn't always indicative of who will win.
If you see someone you want to challenge click on the "Interact" button at the far right.
Gnome Town Gnomespedition Party
Analyze - Now you will be taken to a screen such as the one shown in the image above.
Here you will see a breakdown of each of the three categories.
Before you challenge this person place your cursor over the category area until it turns gold in color.
Note the comment at the top of the box. If it tells you that you can't win in that category then do not attempt to challenge this person. Click on "Back to List" and search for another candidate.
It may take a while to win especially in the early levels, but your best bet is to have a lot of neighbors gift you items and place them in your town to get your numbers up.
There is a quest in the game that requires you to win one of five games, which is actually very difficult to do, so concentrate on getting your number up in each of the three categories before you even attempt this feature.
You are allowed only five challenges per 24 hour period.
Gnome Town Gnomespedition Win
If you win a challenge you will earn a large reward and your scores will be posted on the board for others to see.
You will not only be challenging your neighbors but people not on your neighbor list that are also playing the game.
Tip - Do not bother to challenge anyone until you have placed several decor items in your town getting your scores in the high hundreds for each of the three categories and until the indicator tells you that you can win. If you try to play before you can win you will waste time and money.
Gnome Town Collections
Collections
As you harvest crops and complete quests small items along with your XP, silver coins, food, and wood will be thrown out for you to collect. These are known as collectibles and once you collect one of each type for a set you have completed a collection.
To access your collection progress click on the bag icon at the lower right corner where you inventory is also located.
Click on the second tab "Collections" along the top.
Now you will see every collection in the game and if you have a collectible the area will be colored and highlighted.
You win different prizes for completing different collections.
Once you have completed a collection the reward button will highlight and you will need to click on "Collect Reward."
You will immediately earn the reward and it will be placed in inventory.
After you complete a collection, you can start to complete it again and win the reward several times.
You will have to wait until certain crops and quests unlock before you will be able to finish some of the collections.
Try to keep an eye on the collections area, as when you do get a collectible the indicator screen will flash for a few brief seconds and it is very easy to miss. You want to collect rewards as soon as they are available so you don't miss the opportunity to collect it a second time.
Gnome Town Neighbor Menu
Visiting Neighbors
Along the bottom of the game screen you will see your neighbor menu.
You are allowed to visit your neighbors once every 24 hours to help them out and collect XP and food bonus items.
Click on the picture of your neighbor along the bottom of the screen and you will be taken to their town. You will be able to see where they have placed everything, their level, and what items their animal helpers are currently working on.
When you arrive you will be met with a message asking you if you want to help your neighbor. Click on "Yes."
Gnome Town Neighbor Visits
Next you will notice a covered plate is stuck to your cursor in shadowed form. This is to be placed on the ground somewhere in your neighbor's town. The next time they visit, they can click on it and it will show your picture and they will be able to collect the XP and food points you have sent them. When you do this a cupcake and star will appear for you to click on. It will show for a split second how much you have won by helping out your neighbor. Sometimes you win as little as 10 XP or as much as 200 XP; or you can win as little as 10 food points or up to 400 food points. They are immediately credited to your account when you place the dish on your neighbor's land.
It is wise to have as many neighbors as possible so that you can fill positions in your buildings and you can do daily visits and earn as much money as possible.
If you need help finding neighbors be sure to click on the "Forum" button above the top of the game screen. Once there you will need to register for an account with Playdom and you will be able to visit the "Gnome Town forums. Look for "Official Gnome Town Add Neighbors Thread." Here you will find people looking for new neighbors to play the game with. You will need to add them as Facebook friends first and then send them an invitation to the game or have them send you one.
If you visit a neighbor before the 24 hours is up you can still look around, you just won't see the message asking about the bonus gift. Come back when the 24 hours is up to collect again.
Click on the "Return Home" button at the bottom right when you are finished doing your neighbor visits.
Gnome Town Gifts
Sending and Receiving Daily Gifts
You are allowed to send and receive one gift per neighbor per 24 hour period in the game.
Sending gifts - To send a free gift click on the "Send Gift" button along the top of the game screen.
You will be taken to a menu where there are several gifts available for you to send to your neighbors.
You can send one gift to everyone at once, or you can send one gift at a time.
Click on the gift item you have chosen. Note that some may be locked and will not be available until you have reached a certain level in the game.
Next click on "Send" and you will be taken to a screen with a list of your neighbors.
Important - Be sure to use the pull down menu at the upper left corner and click on the "Gnome Town" players option.
Now you will see a list of active Gnome Town players that are on your Facebook friend list, not just your Facebook friends.
Click on up to 50 names at once to send a gift to if you want to do a group gifting.
Simply click on "Send" when you are finished and your neighbor will receive the gift under "Messages" the next time they log into the game. Once they accept the gift they can use it right away.
Gnome Town accept gifts
Receiving gifts - When you log into the game you will notice along the top of the game screen a red notification number along the "Messages" button. Click on this to see what gifts, invitations, or help requests have been sent to you by Facebook friends.
You will see individual messages for gifts sent to you and you will need to click on "Accept" in order for the gift to be placed in your inventory area for future use.
You will be able to see who sent the gift and you can also click on "Return the Favor" to send the same gift back to your neighbor.
Tip - Most people gift the item that they want gifted to them so be sure to return the favor and gift daily to those that gift to you. You may want to keep paper and pen near the computer to keep track of those who gift to you daily.
Bejeweled 2 for iOS Blitzes App Store with new price of $0.00 [Updated]
Update: According to the Bejeweled Bliz Facebook fan page, this new price will only last until Aug. 28. So, get to downloading already!
If you've yet to download Bejeweled onto your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you officially have no excuse not to. The game is now going for the ultimate price on the iOS App Store: free. For zero dollars and zero cents, you can now be the proud owner of both Bejeweled 2 and Bejeweled Blitz (both are featured in the same app).
More importantly, this means you can own your Facebook friends' Bejeweled Blitz scores from anywhere you are for the exact same price they're paying. Through Facebook Connect, players can join in on the 60-second bursts of Bejeweled action, complete with the rare gems and power-ups found in the Facebook version.
We're going to assume this is creator PopCap's way of saying, "How in the world have you not played this game yet?" And, if you're one of the few who hasn't, we'd like to know the very same thing. Luckily, you no longer have to defend yourself--just head over to the App Store, click "Purchase" and watch your productivity whither away with the rest of us.
Click here to download Bejeweled 2 + Blitz for Free Now >
[Via Pocket Gamer]
Are you one of the few, the shameful who has yet to download Bejeweled on your iPhone? Which of its games do you hope hits the App Store next?
If you've yet to download Bejeweled onto your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you officially have no excuse not to. The game is now going for the ultimate price on the iOS App Store: free. For zero dollars and zero cents, you can now be the proud owner of both Bejeweled 2 and Bejeweled Blitz (both are featured in the same app).
More importantly, this means you can own your Facebook friends' Bejeweled Blitz scores from anywhere you are for the exact same price they're paying. Through Facebook Connect, players can join in on the 60-second bursts of Bejeweled action, complete with the rare gems and power-ups found in the Facebook version.
We're going to assume this is creator PopCap's way of saying, "How in the world have you not played this game yet?" And, if you're one of the few who hasn't, we'd like to know the very same thing. Luckily, you no longer have to defend yourself--just head over to the App Store, click "Purchase" and watch your productivity whither away with the rest of us.
Click here to download Bejeweled 2 + Blitz for Free Now >
[Via Pocket Gamer]
Are you one of the few, the shameful who has yet to download Bejeweled on your iPhone? Which of its games do you hope hits the App Store next?
Watch out, Zynga: EA's The Sims Social is gaining on you ... and fast
Is that a drop of sweat we see on Zynga's brow? EA and Playfish's The Sims Social is already growing faster than one of the FarmVille creator's most popular games, The Pioneer Trail. Since its "open beta" release a little over two weeks ago, the game has amassed over 6 million daily players, according to AppData. That's 2 million more than Zynga's aforementioned expansion to FrontierVille, and less than 900,000 below the company's fourth-largest game, Empires & Allies.
At this rate, The Sims Social could surpass the mighty CityVille in daily players sometime in September, according to Mashable. While the game didn't explode as quickly as, say, E&A did during its June launch, these numbers are unprecedented for a non-Zynga game. The Sims Social's astronomical growth is even more significant considering the game suffered performance and connection issues right out of the gate, which would spell death for any other Facebook game.
But it seems EA nailed the dismount, and is now poised to turn The Sims Social into Facebook's most popular game. Leave it to a property like The Sims to threaten Zynga's Facebook throne, as no other type of Facebook game has come as close.
Gallery: The Sims Social on Facebook
However, it looks like the social game behemoth might already have a retaliation in the works, as the company recently registered a domain with the word "FamilyVille" in it. But regardless of how popular this rumored game becomes, it's still not The Sims. In the Facebook Thunderdome, two developers enter, one developer leaves.
Do you think The Sims Social poses a legitimate threat to Zynga and it's long-time rule of the Facebook games world? How do you think Zynga will respond to the threat?
At this rate, The Sims Social could surpass the mighty CityVille in daily players sometime in September, according to Mashable. While the game didn't explode as quickly as, say, E&A did during its June launch, these numbers are unprecedented for a non-Zynga game. The Sims Social's astronomical growth is even more significant considering the game suffered performance and connection issues right out of the gate, which would spell death for any other Facebook game.
But it seems EA nailed the dismount, and is now poised to turn The Sims Social into Facebook's most popular game. Leave it to a property like The Sims to threaten Zynga's Facebook throne, as no other type of Facebook game has come as close.
Gallery: The Sims Social on Facebook
However, it looks like the social game behemoth might already have a retaliation in the works, as the company recently registered a domain with the word "FamilyVille" in it. But regardless of how popular this rumored game becomes, it's still not The Sims. In the Facebook Thunderdome, two developers enter, one developer leaves.
Do you think The Sims Social poses a legitimate threat to Zynga and it's long-time rule of the Facebook games world? How do you think Zynga will respond to the threat?
Zynga CEO tightens reigns on IPO with 70 times more voting power
Zynga CEO Mark Pincus (pictured) likes his four-year-old company just the way it is, and he's going to keep it that way. Bloomberg reports that the FarmVille creator's board has approved a new stock structure with three levels of voting power. More specifically, the change grants Pincus 70 votes per share he owns, 10 votes per share for early investors and just 1 vote for whomever buys shares once the company opens itself up to the market.
This effectively gives Pincus the final say in where the company goes during future shareholder meetings. And that's even with the tiny 16 percent of the company he owns (though, is the largest share). Lise Buyer, principal at Portola Valley, Calif.-based IPO advisory firm Class V Group, told Bloomberg that the unprecedented move may be to keep too much voting power from early shareholding employees. (Very sneaky, sis.)
"Maybe there are so many early employees that even 10-to-1 would put the ultimate decision power in the hands of too large a group of employees or investors," she told Bloomberg. Current shareholders must agree to the change by Sept. 2 and, if approved, the new structure--which even massive, publicly-traded companies like Google don't have--would go into effect along with the imminent initial public offering.
"Zynga is holding the trump card here in that they do not need the IPO," research director at New York-based GreenCrest Capital Management LLC Nitsan Hargil told Bloomberg. "This is the kind of company that the market needs more than it needs the market." In other words, the ball is in Zynga's court, and will continue to stay there even after folks like you and I can buy stake in the company. Smooth moves, Zynga.
[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Would you ever buy stock in Zynga now that you'll have even less of a say in where the company goes? Do you think this change will scare away the big-time investors, too?
This effectively gives Pincus the final say in where the company goes during future shareholder meetings. And that's even with the tiny 16 percent of the company he owns (though, is the largest share). Lise Buyer, principal at Portola Valley, Calif.-based IPO advisory firm Class V Group, told Bloomberg that the unprecedented move may be to keep too much voting power from early shareholding employees. (Very sneaky, sis.)
"Maybe there are so many early employees that even 10-to-1 would put the ultimate decision power in the hands of too large a group of employees or investors," she told Bloomberg. Current shareholders must agree to the change by Sept. 2 and, if approved, the new structure--which even massive, publicly-traded companies like Google don't have--would go into effect along with the imminent initial public offering.
"Zynga is holding the trump card here in that they do not need the IPO," research director at New York-based GreenCrest Capital Management LLC Nitsan Hargil told Bloomberg. "This is the kind of company that the market needs more than it needs the market." In other words, the ball is in Zynga's court, and will continue to stay there even after folks like you and I can buy stake in the company. Smooth moves, Zynga.
[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Would you ever buy stock in Zynga now that you'll have even less of a say in where the company goes? Do you think this change will scare away the big-time investors, too?
Empires & Allies XP Dash Leaderboard turns up the heat on leveling up
If there's one thing that Empires & Allies has in spades, it's friendly competition. Zynga is taking that hook and running with it, as the developer has introduced yet another leaderboard to the game.
Known as XP Dash, this leaderboard tracks the amount of XP you and your friends amass within a week's time. And the Milestone Rewards for this week alone are more than enough to spur competition:
Mastery Reward (Requires 2,800 XP):
Bismarck - Level 25 Battleship (275 Health)
Effective against Tanks, Submarines and Fighters
Elite Reward (Requires 1,400 XP):
Red Tiger Tank - Level 15 Tank (200 Health)
Effective against Infantry, Submarines and Fighters
Veteran Reward (Requires 500 XP):
Tiger Tank - Level 10 Tank (100 Health)
Effective against Infantry, Submarines and Fighters
XP Dash Leaderboard
These rewards are part of the Black Forest Jubilee event, which ended on Aug. 22. So, consider this a second chance to get some of the most powerful units featured during that event. Time to hit the campaign trail once more.
How far along are you in this week's XP Dash Leaderboard? What other types of Leaderboards do you hope will be added to E&A in the future?
Known as XP Dash, this leaderboard tracks the amount of XP you and your friends amass within a week's time. And the Milestone Rewards for this week alone are more than enough to spur competition:
Mastery Reward (Requires 2,800 XP):
Bismarck - Level 25 Battleship (275 Health)
Effective against Tanks, Submarines and Fighters
Elite Reward (Requires 1,400 XP):
Red Tiger Tank - Level 15 Tank (200 Health)
Effective against Infantry, Submarines and Fighters
Veteran Reward (Requires 500 XP):
Tiger Tank - Level 10 Tank (100 Health)
Effective against Infantry, Submarines and Fighters
XP Dash Leaderboard
These rewards are part of the Black Forest Jubilee event, which ended on Aug. 22. So, consider this a second chance to get some of the most powerful units featured during that event. Time to hit the campaign trail once more.
How far along are you in this week's XP Dash Leaderboard? What other types of Leaderboards do you hope will be added to E&A in the future?
Angry Anna: India battles political corruption with Angry Birds clone
Corrupt politicians don't stand a chance against Angry Anna, a new social game that's captured India's social conscience. The game has earned over 200,000 playthroughs at about 3,000 every half hour since it hit the web two days ago. True to its name, this game is a small Angry Birds clone that contains four levels and features popular anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare as an Angry Bird, along with Baba Ramdev and Kiran Bedi. The baddies, or the green pigs, are implied to be the following political figures: Manmohan Singh, Suresh Kalmadi, P. Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal.
Angry Anna main screen
Promoted solely from Facebook 'Likes' and word-of-mouth via Twitter, Geek Mentors Studios plans to eventually release the game for the iPhone and iPad. Currently, Angry Anna is hosted by a U.S. computer software company, GameSalad, and you can play it here. The game's official website is at www.angryanna.com. So go play and make some heads roll! Never has doing so been so cute, and there already there appears to be fanart for the game.
Gallery: Angry Anna
This isn't the first time we've heard of a political social game bent on raising public awareness (see "Politics" on the Russian portal Vkontakete), nor the first one to come from India, such as ibibo's "Yes Prime Minister", which also features Hazare. But Angry Anna, created by the Noida-based Geek Mentors Studios, is certainly first to use an Angry Birds hook. And they've got spunk, too, breaking away from their usual Snakes and Ladders games to make Angry Anna. On top of that, one of their next upcoming games is called, Bull Shit, and that's no bull.
[Hat-tip: afaqs!]
What do you think of this Angry Birds-inspired political social game? How do you think politically-charged social games would do in the U.S. and elsewhere?
Angry Anna main screen
Promoted solely from Facebook 'Likes' and word-of-mouth via Twitter, Geek Mentors Studios plans to eventually release the game for the iPhone and iPad. Currently, Angry Anna is hosted by a U.S. computer software company, GameSalad, and you can play it here. The game's official website is at www.angryanna.com. So go play and make some heads roll! Never has doing so been so cute, and there already there appears to be fanart for the game.
Gallery: Angry Anna
This isn't the first time we've heard of a political social game bent on raising public awareness (see "Politics" on the Russian portal Vkontakete), nor the first one to come from India, such as ibibo's "Yes Prime Minister", which also features Hazare. But Angry Anna, created by the Noida-based Geek Mentors Studios, is certainly first to use an Angry Birds hook. And they've got spunk, too, breaking away from their usual Snakes and Ladders games to make Angry Anna. On top of that, one of their next upcoming games is called, Bull Shit, and that's no bull.
[Hat-tip: afaqs!]
What do you think of this Angry Birds-inspired political social game? How do you think politically-charged social games would do in the U.S. and elsewhere?
Empires & Allies Sneak Peek: The War Room has trophies at stake
Will Empires & Allies, Zynga's flagship strategy game, will finally go "hardcore?" According to recently leaked images (captured by Empires And Allies Base), that may very well be the case. Zynga teased the upcoming War Room feature a little over a week ago as the game's push into global PvP (player vs player) battles, but provided zero imagery.
Now, we know exactly what this War Room might look like, and it appears to be a building through which we'll conduct all of our global invasion operations. (Doesn't it look like a giant videogame?)
In fact, you'll notice upon logging into the game that the icon featured in the image pictured right is already in the game, though it's grayed out and doesn't respond to clicks. That's probably a good sign that this feature will come sooner rather than later.
Empires Allies War Room building
However, the new War Room feature will not only allow us to attack players' empires regardless of whether they're Facebook friends, it might introduce a new leaderboard to the game, complete with nifty trophies. The trophies, which come in gold, silver and bronze globes, imply that players will place in ... something. Perhaps this feature will reign in a weekly tournament system of sorts, rewarding players who come out on top compared with players around the world. The more we hear about the War Room, the more excited we are to be annihilated crush folks around the world.
Empires Allies Global PvP trrophies
[Source and Image Credit: Empires And Allies Base]
Are you even more psyched now for the upcoming War Room feature? How do you think we'll be able to initiate attacks against players and, more importantly, defend ourselves?
Now, we know exactly what this War Room might look like, and it appears to be a building through which we'll conduct all of our global invasion operations. (Doesn't it look like a giant videogame?)
In fact, you'll notice upon logging into the game that the icon featured in the image pictured right is already in the game, though it's grayed out and doesn't respond to clicks. That's probably a good sign that this feature will come sooner rather than later.
Empires Allies War Room building
However, the new War Room feature will not only allow us to attack players' empires regardless of whether they're Facebook friends, it might introduce a new leaderboard to the game, complete with nifty trophies. The trophies, which come in gold, silver and bronze globes, imply that players will place in ... something. Perhaps this feature will reign in a weekly tournament system of sorts, rewarding players who come out on top compared with players around the world. The more we hear about the War Room, the more excited we are to be annihilated crush folks around the world.
Empires Allies Global PvP trrophies
[Source and Image Credit: Empires And Allies Base]
Are you even more psyched now for the upcoming War Room feature? How do you think we'll be able to initiate attacks against players and, more importantly, defend ourselves?
Zynga shows mad StarCraft 2 skills in the After Hours Gaming League
Maybe it was all that time spent working on Empires & Allies, huh? Zynga showed that it can hang with the hardcore gamers after all, as it placed second to Microsoft in the After Hours Gaming League (AHGL). The AHGL is a new, recurring nine-week long StarCraft 2 tournament in which teams comprised of staffers at eight major tech companies go head-to-head for charity.
Representing one of the company's long time charity partners, Save the Children, Zynga ended the epic tournament with five wins and two losses. However, it unfortunately couldn't best Team Microsoft's seven-nothing winning streak. Regardless, Team Zynga showed that while its company makes some of the most accessible games around, at least some of its staff has major gamer cred.
The other companies represented in the AHGL include Google, Amazon, Twitter, Dropbox, Facebook and Yelp ... most of which did terribly. But hey, not everyone can be awesome at hotkey management and clicking things really, really fast.
The AHGL is returning this fall for season two, and we can't wait to see if Zynga finally snags that number one spot and gets to donate $5,000 to Save the Children (they did get ping pong paddles...). Until then, the team better practice upping its actions per minute. Check out the awards ceremony below, and watch the matches between Team Microsoft and Team Zynga right here.
[Via Mafia Wars Loot Lady]
Did you expect Zynga employees to be skilled StarCraft 2 players? Do you happen to be an SC2 fan?
Representing one of the company's long time charity partners, Save the Children, Zynga ended the epic tournament with five wins and two losses. However, it unfortunately couldn't best Team Microsoft's seven-nothing winning streak. Regardless, Team Zynga showed that while its company makes some of the most accessible games around, at least some of its staff has major gamer cred.
The other companies represented in the AHGL include Google, Amazon, Twitter, Dropbox, Facebook and Yelp ... most of which did terribly. But hey, not everyone can be awesome at hotkey management and clicking things really, really fast.
The AHGL is returning this fall for season two, and we can't wait to see if Zynga finally snags that number one spot and gets to donate $5,000 to Save the Children (they did get ping pong paddles...). Until then, the team better practice upping its actions per minute. Check out the awards ceremony below, and watch the matches between Team Microsoft and Team Zynga right here.
[Via Mafia Wars Loot Lady]
Did you expect Zynga employees to be skilled StarCraft 2 players? Do you happen to be an SC2 fan?
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