Tonight's FarmVille update brought with it not only new trees, animals, and avatar costumes, but it also saw the release of a slew of new decorative and building items in the game. There are eight new items to talk about in all - two buildings, and six decorations.
These decorations offer a combination of items that are entirely new to the game (like the Winter Home pictured above), and those that are re-releases of items from last year's theme, while the two buildings offer even more structures to add to your quaint Holiday Village on your farm.
Meet us behind the break for a full look at these newest items.
First off, let's take a look at the new buildings. They are the Winter Sweet Shop, and the Winter Home. For some of you, these items might seem incredibly familiar, and they should, as we gave you a special sneak peek of them last week.
The Winter Sweet Shop is the more expensive of the two items, simply because it is a premium item. It can be purchased for 30 Farm Cash, and you'll receive 3,000 experience points as a bonus for purchasing it. Meanwhile, the Winter Home costs 360,000 coins. No, this isn't a cheap item, but at least those who aren't willing to spend Farm Cash (or simply don't have that kind of Farm Cash available to spend in the first place) have a chance at this one. You'll gain a similar XP boost of 3,600 points if you go with this item instead.
Moving onto the decorative items, we see the re-release of an item that was first launched in the game during last year's holiday celebration, and the release of an item that is so much like one from last year that it's almost hard to spot the differences. These, of course, are released alongside some entirely new items.
The item from last year is the "Giant Snowflake I," which is available for just 1,500 coins. This snowflake was part of a three piece set last year, so it will be interesting to see if Zynga releases the other two snowflakes (appropriately called II and III) before the Winter Holiday theme ends for this year.
The other, clone-like item that I mentioned above is called the Giant Nutcracker, which is available for 80,000 coins. For those that were playing last year, you'll likely immediately think that this is the "Red Nutcracker" from last year, but don't be fooled! This Giant Nutcracker (pictured at left in the image below) has more elaborate detailing around the crown and beard, is wearing red pants instead of blue, and is a touch smaller in size than last year's version. Still, though, the differences are so minor at a glance that this farmer is going to skip out on purchasing it, since my Red Nutcrackers from last year do the job just fine.
Moving on, there are four entirely new items, in the form of the Winter Pond, Winter Fireplace, Stockings Arch, and Winter Teddy. Three of the four are premium items, with the Winter Pond costing the most at 30 Farm Cash, while the Winter Fireplace and Stockings Arch cost 10 and 5 Farm Cash, respectively. Each of these will reward you with experience points for purchasing them - 3,000, 1,000 or 500, depending on the item you purchase (in that order).
As for the Winter Teddy, this is a large teddy bear item, that's even bigger than your in-game avatar, which is available for 100,000 coins. As usual, you'll earn 10% of the purchase price as an experience reward for purchasing it, meaning that you'll receive 1,000 points in all.
All of these items, whether a building or a decorative item will only be available for the next 12 days. While that may not seem like a long time elsewhere, in the world of FarmVille we expect to see Zynga releasing a slew of new items before the Holidays have had a chance to slip by for another year.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
CityVille on Facebook reaches 22 million, rivals real world's largest cities
CityVille FrontierVille Promo
When Zynga recently mentioned that CityVille is the company's fastest growing social game it was no joke. According to Inside Social Games, the game has reached 22 million monthly players as of this morning (in less than two weeks), which would make it a faster growing game than not only FrontierVille, but all Zynga games--including FarmVille-- to date. And if this insane growth is possible after Facebook shut down nearly all viral channels for social games, there is only one question to ask: How?
The Zynga Name
Well, let's start from the beginning. Zynga already has an established reputation for social gaming being connected to FarmVille alone, so that certainly helps. In other words, folks were just waiting for CityVille since we first heard word of it back in August. But it takes more than just a reputation to garner this much of a following so quickly.
Let's take this dissection behind the break and see how CityVille became the fastest-growing Zynga game ever.
CityVille in German
Willkommen bei CityVille
That's "Welcome to CityVille" in German (roughly), one of CityVille's five supported languages and most likely key to the game's rapid growth. Translated into Spanish, French and Italian in addition to German and standard English, CityVille is open to a whole new world of players (literally) without the need for intense localization by remote studios. However, this is also because European culture is much more similar to American culture than, say, Chinese or Japanese culture. If the game were to later be translated into those languages, some more intensive localization would have to go down in order to fall in line with cultural customs--which is already underway for FarmVille in Japan and has been done with Zynga Poker in China. At any rate, being open to a more diverse range of players has almost certainly increased Zynga's reach with CityVille.
Hey You, Come Try This Game!Facebook Game Notifications
While cross promotions for CityVille have just recently been popping up in the Zynga Game Bar above each of its games, it's the in-game promotions that are likely grabbing more of us every day. And although this isn't necessarily a new method, it is effective for sure. I don't know about you, but seeing a massive billboard for another game in my farm certainly piques my interest. With results like this already blowing up, I would expect cross promotions for CityVille to stick around for a long time.
"Bobby Sue just sent you Miscellaneous Item #27 in CityVille."
Yes, viral growth has returned. Well, at least a little bit. Facebook game requests have recently started popping in our Notifications on the home page including anything from help requests to gifts. And since you can send gifts to non-players, these Notifications are likely appearing for the social game pure as well. Not to mention that Zynga's infamous "BegVille" techniques have made a not-so-triumphant return in CityVille, which in a way could be helping the game grow through persistence. It's a bit of a stretch, but being constantly reminded about a game could lead to players mentioning in conversation, spreading the news via word of mouth. Multiply that by a few million people and you've got yourself an inadvertent source of growth.
And if CityVille keeps going at this rate, CityVille will soon overtake Cafe World and later FrontierVille in the list of Zynga's top Facebook games. However, is it possible for the game to come close to FarmVille much less thwart it as the developer's number one game? Well, that's up for you, the players, to decide.
When Zynga recently mentioned that CityVille is the company's fastest growing social game it was no joke. According to Inside Social Games, the game has reached 22 million monthly players as of this morning (in less than two weeks), which would make it a faster growing game than not only FrontierVille, but all Zynga games--including FarmVille-- to date. And if this insane growth is possible after Facebook shut down nearly all viral channels for social games, there is only one question to ask: How?
The Zynga Name
Well, let's start from the beginning. Zynga already has an established reputation for social gaming being connected to FarmVille alone, so that certainly helps. In other words, folks were just waiting for CityVille since we first heard word of it back in August. But it takes more than just a reputation to garner this much of a following so quickly.
Let's take this dissection behind the break and see how CityVille became the fastest-growing Zynga game ever.
CityVille in German
Willkommen bei CityVille
That's "Welcome to CityVille" in German (roughly), one of CityVille's five supported languages and most likely key to the game's rapid growth. Translated into Spanish, French and Italian in addition to German and standard English, CityVille is open to a whole new world of players (literally) without the need for intense localization by remote studios. However, this is also because European culture is much more similar to American culture than, say, Chinese or Japanese culture. If the game were to later be translated into those languages, some more intensive localization would have to go down in order to fall in line with cultural customs--which is already underway for FarmVille in Japan and has been done with Zynga Poker in China. At any rate, being open to a more diverse range of players has almost certainly increased Zynga's reach with CityVille.
Hey You, Come Try This Game!Facebook Game Notifications
While cross promotions for CityVille have just recently been popping up in the Zynga Game Bar above each of its games, it's the in-game promotions that are likely grabbing more of us every day. And although this isn't necessarily a new method, it is effective for sure. I don't know about you, but seeing a massive billboard for another game in my farm certainly piques my interest. With results like this already blowing up, I would expect cross promotions for CityVille to stick around for a long time.
"Bobby Sue just sent you Miscellaneous Item #27 in CityVille."
Yes, viral growth has returned. Well, at least a little bit. Facebook game requests have recently started popping in our Notifications on the home page including anything from help requests to gifts. And since you can send gifts to non-players, these Notifications are likely appearing for the social game pure as well. Not to mention that Zynga's infamous "BegVille" techniques have made a not-so-triumphant return in CityVille, which in a way could be helping the game grow through persistence. It's a bit of a stretch, but being constantly reminded about a game could lead to players mentioning in conversation, spreading the news via word of mouth. Multiply that by a few million people and you've got yourself an inadvertent source of growth.
And if CityVille keeps going at this rate, CityVille will soon overtake Cafe World and later FrontierVille in the list of Zynga's top Facebook games. However, is it possible for the game to come close to FarmVille much less thwart it as the developer's number one game? Well, that's up for you, the players, to decide.
FarmVille Unreleased: My Snowman and Snowball Fights coming soon
My Snowman 1
If you thought the winter festivities in FarmVille would end with the Holiday Tree and the upcoming New Year's Eve Party, think again. Our good friends at FarmVille Freak recently detailed an upcoming Snowman event on their podcast, but it's just now that they've posted images of the unreleased content. It appears that much like in FrontierVille, players in FarmVille will be able to build their very own Snowman.
Find more details and images behind the break.
My Snowman 2
If these preview images are any indication, it will play out similar to several recent building events with players asking one another for gifts in order to complete the Snowman. Yet, there is one small twist. We expect this event to be rolled out in conjunction with something even more exciting: Snowball Fights. According to FarmVille Freak, this is exactly how we will "gift" each other the snow needed to build our Snowmen. A pile of snow will accumulate on our farms from throwing so much of it and with that we'll be able to build an icy, flaky friend.
My Snowman 3
Better yet, it appears that after either accumulating enough snow or giving your Snowman a special item, it will dance for you on the farm. Finally, our very own Frosty the Snowman for the farm--let's just hope this one doesn't melt away. Stay tuned to your farm for when this feature goes live and right here for a detailed guide.
Find the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
What do you think of the FarmVille Snowman and Snowball Fights features? Will this get in the way of your Holiday Tree progress or will you juggle both?
If you thought the winter festivities in FarmVille would end with the Holiday Tree and the upcoming New Year's Eve Party, think again. Our good friends at FarmVille Freak recently detailed an upcoming Snowman event on their podcast, but it's just now that they've posted images of the unreleased content. It appears that much like in FrontierVille, players in FarmVille will be able to build their very own Snowman.
Find more details and images behind the break.
My Snowman 2
If these preview images are any indication, it will play out similar to several recent building events with players asking one another for gifts in order to complete the Snowman. Yet, there is one small twist. We expect this event to be rolled out in conjunction with something even more exciting: Snowball Fights. According to FarmVille Freak, this is exactly how we will "gift" each other the snow needed to build our Snowmen. A pile of snow will accumulate on our farms from throwing so much of it and with that we'll be able to build an icy, flaky friend.
My Snowman 3
Better yet, it appears that after either accumulating enough snow or giving your Snowman a special item, it will dance for you on the farm. Finally, our very own Frosty the Snowman for the farm--let's just hope this one doesn't melt away. Stay tuned to your farm for when this feature goes live and right here for a detailed guide.
Find the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
What do you think of the FarmVille Snowman and Snowball Fights features? Will this get in the way of your Holiday Tree progress or will you juggle both?
CrowdStar's Mighty Pirates: A treasure trove of Facebook gaming
Mighty Pirates Battle
Since Playfish's Pirates Ahoy! all but sunk a few months ago with little to no activity, swashbuckling Facebook gamers have been hankering for a fix to their rampant peg legging. Well, move over Pirates Ahoy! as CrowdStar has met the demand with Mighty Pirates. A pirate game with multiple layers through two different gameplay modes and a sprawling storyline (completed through collecting treasure maps) designed to guide players along, this just might be the answer to our inkling for island hopping.
Find out if Mighty Pirates is the game for you after the break.
Island Exploration
Mighty Pirates operates on two levels: Exploration and Battle. The former is accessed by clicking on any one of the island surrounding your vessel, which will immediately transport your avatar (who will strangely appear in his skivvies) to the island. It's from here that you will have to search under every tree, bush and piece of rock to hopefully find a piece of the treasure map and some resources along the way. But beware, skeletal pirates lurk beneath the sand, and will need to be dealt with if you want to complete the entire island. Depending on the area in which you're digging, it will expend a certain amount of Island Energy, which is only used for exploration. As for the other form of Energy, you'll be spending that by firing off a cannon ball or two.
Now, this is where the real fun begins. To access Battle Mode, all you need to do is click on any of the surrounding ships while on the home screen, but be wary of the opponent's level in comparison to your own. Once in Battle, you'll be trading blows in a turn-based style fight with the enemy. As for your options, there are only three: Fire Cannon, Put out Fire and Improve Weapon Accuracy. The amount of Crew Members you've added to your ship--the amount you can have increases with level--affects the amount of actions you can take in a single turn (they'll also be around to help in Exploration). The main goal of Battle is the destroy the opponent's ship while keeping your own from burning down die to fire damage, which becomes an interesting balance given that fire damage puts a dent into your ship's health points every turn. Winning battles rewards you with experience, coins and sometimes even a treasure map piece.
Battle Mode
While turn based battles with big explosions are certainly enjoyable, what makes warfare more interesting in Mighty Pirates is that every ship you engage in naval combat is an actual player of the game. While these battles don't occur in real time, the player will be updated upon logging in of whether they won or lost a battle. And to tack on even greater risks, you can even steal treasure map pieces from enemies by defeating them (and vise versa), which is certainly an incentive to keep your ship in tip top shape.
As you progress in the game through either Battles or Exploration, you'll gain access to improved parts for your ship such as cannons, hulls and sterns. However, you'll also need resources like Iron and Wood, which can only be found while digging for treasure on various islands. That being said, it's not wise to play to only one of the game's two primary modes. Also, leveling up will allow players to increase their Battle statistics like attack power, defense and accuracy, all of which are necessary but are open to different play styles. Though, a high accuracy rating is pretty much a must-have in battle or you'll end up making more splashes than explosions.
Might Pirates Home Screen
If you end up growing tired of a particular area, you can Set Sail once every eight hours to a new set of islands to explore and ships to battle. Though, we'd recommend at least exploring an entire map first before leaving to another region. Just remember to keep track of your Journal progress so that you move along through the game's story smoothly and you should do just fine. Just watch out for those pesky enemy pirates just waiting to thwart your progress. This brief player vs. player element combined with strategic turn-based battles and exploration make for what could be the next big pirate adventure on Facebook.
Click here to play Might Pirates on Facebook Now>
Since Playfish's Pirates Ahoy! all but sunk a few months ago with little to no activity, swashbuckling Facebook gamers have been hankering for a fix to their rampant peg legging. Well, move over Pirates Ahoy! as CrowdStar has met the demand with Mighty Pirates. A pirate game with multiple layers through two different gameplay modes and a sprawling storyline (completed through collecting treasure maps) designed to guide players along, this just might be the answer to our inkling for island hopping.
Find out if Mighty Pirates is the game for you after the break.
Island Exploration
Mighty Pirates operates on two levels: Exploration and Battle. The former is accessed by clicking on any one of the island surrounding your vessel, which will immediately transport your avatar (who will strangely appear in his skivvies) to the island. It's from here that you will have to search under every tree, bush and piece of rock to hopefully find a piece of the treasure map and some resources along the way. But beware, skeletal pirates lurk beneath the sand, and will need to be dealt with if you want to complete the entire island. Depending on the area in which you're digging, it will expend a certain amount of Island Energy, which is only used for exploration. As for the other form of Energy, you'll be spending that by firing off a cannon ball or two.
Now, this is where the real fun begins. To access Battle Mode, all you need to do is click on any of the surrounding ships while on the home screen, but be wary of the opponent's level in comparison to your own. Once in Battle, you'll be trading blows in a turn-based style fight with the enemy. As for your options, there are only three: Fire Cannon, Put out Fire and Improve Weapon Accuracy. The amount of Crew Members you've added to your ship--the amount you can have increases with level--affects the amount of actions you can take in a single turn (they'll also be around to help in Exploration). The main goal of Battle is the destroy the opponent's ship while keeping your own from burning down die to fire damage, which becomes an interesting balance given that fire damage puts a dent into your ship's health points every turn. Winning battles rewards you with experience, coins and sometimes even a treasure map piece.
Battle Mode
While turn based battles with big explosions are certainly enjoyable, what makes warfare more interesting in Mighty Pirates is that every ship you engage in naval combat is an actual player of the game. While these battles don't occur in real time, the player will be updated upon logging in of whether they won or lost a battle. And to tack on even greater risks, you can even steal treasure map pieces from enemies by defeating them (and vise versa), which is certainly an incentive to keep your ship in tip top shape.
As you progress in the game through either Battles or Exploration, you'll gain access to improved parts for your ship such as cannons, hulls and sterns. However, you'll also need resources like Iron and Wood, which can only be found while digging for treasure on various islands. That being said, it's not wise to play to only one of the game's two primary modes. Also, leveling up will allow players to increase their Battle statistics like attack power, defense and accuracy, all of which are necessary but are open to different play styles. Though, a high accuracy rating is pretty much a must-have in battle or you'll end up making more splashes than explosions.
Might Pirates Home Screen
If you end up growing tired of a particular area, you can Set Sail once every eight hours to a new set of islands to explore and ships to battle. Though, we'd recommend at least exploring an entire map first before leaving to another region. Just remember to keep track of your Journal progress so that you move along through the game's story smoothly and you should do just fine. Just watch out for those pesky enemy pirates just waiting to thwart your progress. This brief player vs. player element combined with strategic turn-based battles and exploration make for what could be the next big pirate adventure on Facebook.
Click here to play Might Pirates on Facebook Now>
FarmVille on Film: It's not that easy to Escape the Farm
Just try it, you'll see. Innocent FarmVille player Kelly is suffering in the workplace due to her FarmVille addiction, so she decides to quit. However, this short video, titled "Escape the Farm," makes one thing clear: one does not simply leave the farm. Apparently, a secret organization known as "The Farm" knows when you leave and what they do to players who quit is not pretty. Now, let's just hope Zynga doesn't resort to tactics like this to bring back retired players.
[Via FarmVille Freak]
Have you tried to escape the farm before? Do you see FarmVille any differently after watching this mini-horror?
[Via FarmVille Freak]
Have you tried to escape the farm before? Do you see FarmVille any differently after watching this mini-horror?
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Raise the Village on iPhone: An inspiring game of making a difference
Social games have proven well over the past year their charitable worth. FarmVille alone has raised millions to erect a school in Haiti in wake of the recent, tragic earthquake disaster. But what if the game and the cause were one in the same? New Charity Era L3C and Intersog have already achieved just that with Raise the Village. A mobile social game that inherently contributes to a social cause, Raise the Village allows players to foster their own Ugandan village while contributing to the growth and sustainability of a real village in Uganda, Kapir Atiira. If you've yet to pay real cash for virtual goods, this could very well be the game that inspires you to take that leap.
Find our full impressions of Raise the Village after the break.
Raise the Village in action
Raise the Village, available on all 3G plus iOS devices including the iPad and iPod Touch for free, tasks players with cultivating a Ugandan village, increasing the Spirit, Health and Mind of its people as well as its population by placing new homes, crop farms and plenty other essentials on an expanding plot of land. Keep in mind that every item and task in the game is directly inspired by what these Ugandan villagers need and do every day. For instance, if you direct a village hut to create soap for your villagers within the iPhone game, Charity Era L3C will literally deliver bars of soap to the people of Kapir Atiira.
This is done through Florin, the game's paid currency. For every action performed or item purchased using Florin, Charity Era L3C will deliver that exact item to the Kapir Atiira, because only the items that the people of Kapir Atiira need appear in the game. In other words, just by playing the game and making purchases you're literally providing aid to this real Ugandan village in need. When items are created using Florin and delivered to Kapir Atiira, the company will send you photos in real time of the aid items being delivered. Bought a few mosquito nets for your digital village? Days later, you'll get a message from the game containing photos of that same delivery being made to Kapir Atiira.
Players are encouraged to compete with one another and compare their villages' Spirit, Mind and Health levels as well as maximum population. In order to find friends to play with, you can use both Facebook Connect and your phone's contact list for that.
Soap Action
Players can also earn Village Points through their actions, which allow them to enjoy many parts of the game without spending their money on Florin. Tasks such as creating buildings and learning how a Ugandan village like Kapir Atiira truly operates can be performed using Village Points. However, there isn't much reason to play Raise the Village if you don't plan on donating outside of learning about the village. And that is the primary hurdle for Raise the Village to clear.
While the gameplay is smooth and its presentation is top notch for a game designed to run on nearly all iOS devices, it's sad to say that Raise the Village is one of the first social games where payment is almost required for full enjoyment of the game. But when the purchases revolve around fostering a real-life, impoverished village community, is that really a bad thing? Is that too much pressure for the average social gamer? While those questions will be up for debate for some time, it can't be argued that Raise the Village is one of the most well conceived, planned and presented social games on the iPhone and is hopefully the start of a growing trend.
Find our full impressions of Raise the Village after the break.
Raise the Village in action
Raise the Village, available on all 3G plus iOS devices including the iPad and iPod Touch for free, tasks players with cultivating a Ugandan village, increasing the Spirit, Health and Mind of its people as well as its population by placing new homes, crop farms and plenty other essentials on an expanding plot of land. Keep in mind that every item and task in the game is directly inspired by what these Ugandan villagers need and do every day. For instance, if you direct a village hut to create soap for your villagers within the iPhone game, Charity Era L3C will literally deliver bars of soap to the people of Kapir Atiira.
This is done through Florin, the game's paid currency. For every action performed or item purchased using Florin, Charity Era L3C will deliver that exact item to the Kapir Atiira, because only the items that the people of Kapir Atiira need appear in the game. In other words, just by playing the game and making purchases you're literally providing aid to this real Ugandan village in need. When items are created using Florin and delivered to Kapir Atiira, the company will send you photos in real time of the aid items being delivered. Bought a few mosquito nets for your digital village? Days later, you'll get a message from the game containing photos of that same delivery being made to Kapir Atiira.
Players are encouraged to compete with one another and compare their villages' Spirit, Mind and Health levels as well as maximum population. In order to find friends to play with, you can use both Facebook Connect and your phone's contact list for that.
Soap Action
Players can also earn Village Points through their actions, which allow them to enjoy many parts of the game without spending their money on Florin. Tasks such as creating buildings and learning how a Ugandan village like Kapir Atiira truly operates can be performed using Village Points. However, there isn't much reason to play Raise the Village if you don't plan on donating outside of learning about the village. And that is the primary hurdle for Raise the Village to clear.
While the gameplay is smooth and its presentation is top notch for a game designed to run on nearly all iOS devices, it's sad to say that Raise the Village is one of the first social games where payment is almost required for full enjoyment of the game. But when the purchases revolve around fostering a real-life, impoverished village community, is that really a bad thing? Is that too much pressure for the average social gamer? While those questions will be up for debate for some time, it can't be argued that Raise the Village is one of the most well conceived, planned and presented social games on the iPhone and is hopefully the start of a growing trend.
CityVille: Changes to interface make the game more hassle-free!
By now, most of us have gotten pretty used to the gameplay in CityVille, and by extension, we've also gotten used to the design problems (however few, or minor) that have been present in the user interface. Two of these problems have been fixed by Zynga, as they have announced via the game's official forums that the technical side of gameplay has now been streamlined to be more user, or at least "patience" friendly.
First and foremost, you'll no longer receive a pop-up every time you collect a collectible from a building, when that collectible is going into a collection that has already been completed, but has yet to be turned in. That is, if you're saving up all of your "Peaceful Living Collection" items, because you simply don't need any more free White Picket Fences, you'll no longer be bothered by a pop-up that must be clicked on, alerting you that you've completed the collection again and again. This will greatly help those that like to max out their Bonus Meters, as you won't have to stop clicking on Bonus items long enough to close the window, and therefore won't be as likely to lose your streak without hitting the "Masterful" level in the meter.
Another big change comes with the new ability to now use Battery (read: Energy) items from your inventory in rapid succession, without having to wait for the inventory to close, and open the inventory all over again. Essentially, this will save you from having to reopen and close the inventory ad nauseum, which makes recharging your energy that much easier when doing so with gifts accepted from friends.
Two other changes worth mentioning come with quests and other in-game items, not associated with the gameplay menus. They see a change in the Cinema Quest line, that removes a bug that would stop the Cinema from being available to purchase even after unlocking it in the previous quest, and an addition of Support and Forum links to the game page, so that all players now have instant access to Zynga's support site and the official forums, should they experience problems while playing CityVille.
First and foremost, you'll no longer receive a pop-up every time you collect a collectible from a building, when that collectible is going into a collection that has already been completed, but has yet to be turned in. That is, if you're saving up all of your "Peaceful Living Collection" items, because you simply don't need any more free White Picket Fences, you'll no longer be bothered by a pop-up that must be clicked on, alerting you that you've completed the collection again and again. This will greatly help those that like to max out their Bonus Meters, as you won't have to stop clicking on Bonus items long enough to close the window, and therefore won't be as likely to lose your streak without hitting the "Masterful" level in the meter.
Another big change comes with the new ability to now use Battery (read: Energy) items from your inventory in rapid succession, without having to wait for the inventory to close, and open the inventory all over again. Essentially, this will save you from having to reopen and close the inventory ad nauseum, which makes recharging your energy that much easier when doing so with gifts accepted from friends.
Two other changes worth mentioning come with quests and other in-game items, not associated with the gameplay menus. They see a change in the Cinema Quest line, that removes a bug that would stop the Cinema from being available to purchase even after unlocking it in the previous quest, and an addition of Support and Forum links to the game page, so that all players now have instant access to Zynga's support site and the official forums, should they experience problems while playing CityVille.
FarmVille: Get ready for a New Years Double Mastery Weekend!
Are you ready for another Double Mastery Weekend in FarmVille? I hope you are, because starting at 9:00 PM PST time tonight, Zynga will be flipping the switches on another installment of Double Mastery Weekend, in honor of the New Year holiday.
This means that any time you harvest crops from 9:00 PM PST this evening, until the event ends at 9:00 PM PST on January 2 (Sunday), you'll earn an extra mastery point. If you don't use a bushel while harvesting, this means you'll earn 2 mastery points for every single crop your harvest. Remember, though, this effect will stack with crop bushels, meaning that when one is used, you'll earn three - count them, three - points of mastery for each individual square of a crop that you harvest, so long as you do so before it withers.
This is a great opportunity for all of us to master some of those higher level crops that take more than 1,000 harvests per some star levels, as you'll cut your farming time down to a third of its original length! How great is that?! Make sure to take advantage of this great opportunity while it's available this weekend.
This means that any time you harvest crops from 9:00 PM PST this evening, until the event ends at 9:00 PM PST on January 2 (Sunday), you'll earn an extra mastery point. If you don't use a bushel while harvesting, this means you'll earn 2 mastery points for every single crop your harvest. Remember, though, this effect will stack with crop bushels, meaning that when one is used, you'll earn three - count them, three - points of mastery for each individual square of a crop that you harvest, so long as you do so before it withers.
This is a great opportunity for all of us to master some of those higher level crops that take more than 1,000 harvests per some star levels, as you'll cut your farming time down to a third of its original length! How great is that?! Make sure to take advantage of this great opportunity while it's available this weekend.
FrontierVille: Timed Missions will expire tonight if you don't accept them now!
If you've been holding off on accepting one of the many Timed Missions we've seen released in FrontierVille over the recent weeks and months, now is definitely the time to do so, as when the year of 2010 comes to an end this evening, it will take with it your ability to accept four Timed Missions in the game. Say goodbye to the mission, but also say goodbye to any exclusive prizes that you could earn if you had accepted them.
The expiring missions are the Playtime!, Mutton Bustin', Hoedown, and Barbecue Party missions. We have complete guides on how to finish each and every one of these missions, so don't feel overwhelmed if you've yet to start any of them. Remember, depending on the mission, you'll have varying amounts of time (2 - 5 days) to complete these missions once you accept them. There are tons of rewards to earn here, like Experience Points, Coins, and even some decorative items, including the musical Fiddle, which is otherwise only available as a Horseshoe item.
Check out the guides to complete these four missions below, and good luck to all those that attempt to take them on in a mad dash to the finish!
Playtime! Mission Guide
Hoedown Mission Guide
Barbecue Party Mission Guide
Mutton Bustin' Mission Guide
The expiring missions are the Playtime!, Mutton Bustin', Hoedown, and Barbecue Party missions. We have complete guides on how to finish each and every one of these missions, so don't feel overwhelmed if you've yet to start any of them. Remember, depending on the mission, you'll have varying amounts of time (2 - 5 days) to complete these missions once you accept them. There are tons of rewards to earn here, like Experience Points, Coins, and even some decorative items, including the musical Fiddle, which is otherwise only available as a Horseshoe item.
Check out the guides to complete these four missions below, and good luck to all those that attempt to take them on in a mad dash to the finish!
Playtime! Mission Guide
Hoedown Mission Guide
Barbecue Party Mission Guide
Mutton Bustin' Mission Guide
Cafe World: The Saga of the New Years Goals continues, but this time with free iPads!
Heya Chefs! We've been taking an in-depth look at how Zynga will be ringing in the New Year in Cafe World throughout this week, and at simply how much work needs to be done in an assumed short amount of time. Many users (myself included) are questioning whether or not it will even be worth it to complete the eight New Years Party Goals, even if we miss out on four exclusive recipes in the process, just because of how many things we need to collect, mostly with friends' help.
Zynga is looking to get players back into the gaming spirit, however, as they have offered some amazing real world incentive for users to finish the eight missions. They are now holding a contest, where each person that finishes all eight goals will automatically be entered to win one of 5 iPads, 5 iPod Touches, and 5 Flip Cameras! How's that for incentive!?
These are some fantastic prizes, worth hundreds of dollars in the real world, and they definitely work to create a shining light at the end of the very long tunnel that is these New Years Goals. However, if you can do so before January 10, you'll be entered for your chance to win!
Zynga is looking to get players back into the gaming spirit, however, as they have offered some amazing real world incentive for users to finish the eight missions. They are now holding a contest, where each person that finishes all eight goals will automatically be entered to win one of 5 iPads, 5 iPod Touches, and 5 Flip Cameras! How's that for incentive!?
These are some fantastic prizes, worth hundreds of dollars in the real world, and they definitely work to create a shining light at the end of the very long tunnel that is these New Years Goals. However, if you can do so before January 10, you'll be entered for your chance to win!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
What's in a name: Playdom rebrands City of Might as City of Warfare?
Not much, apparently. Fusible reports that Gardens of Time maker Playdom filed for the trademark "City of Warfare" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 26. While the website seems to think that the developer is creating a whole new game, we're thinking that Playdom might simply be rebranding its upcoming City of Might as City of Warfare.
Regardless, the game will almost certainly center around the same premise that we caught a glimpse of at this year's E3. When we last saw City of Might, it looked to build a franchise out of Playdom's existing City of Wonder and enter new genres. However, the game appeared to be terribly reminiscent of competitors like Empires & Allies and perhaps more hardcore social strategy games.
The game was expected to launch this summer, but has yet to leave its closed beta test. Since then, Playdom has teased two more games, Galaxy of Wonder and Secret Agent X. The first of which sounds like it will take the familiar City of Wonder gameplay into a new environment, while the latter appears to entertain new gameplay ideas.
Regardless, City of Migh--er, Warfare should be close to release, if the company was willing to show it in action months ago. Fusible mentions that it nailed the Gnome Town trademark right on the nose, only for Playdom to release the game days later, so perhaps we're even closer. The developer also plans to release games focusing on Disney brands--it's about time.
Regardless, the game will almost certainly center around the same premise that we caught a glimpse of at this year's E3. When we last saw City of Might, it looked to build a franchise out of Playdom's existing City of Wonder and enter new genres. However, the game appeared to be terribly reminiscent of competitors like Empires & Allies and perhaps more hardcore social strategy games.
The game was expected to launch this summer, but has yet to leave its closed beta test. Since then, Playdom has teased two more games, Galaxy of Wonder and Secret Agent X. The first of which sounds like it will take the familiar City of Wonder gameplay into a new environment, while the latter appears to entertain new gameplay ideas.
Regardless, City of Migh--er, Warfare should be close to release, if the company was willing to show it in action months ago. Fusible mentions that it nailed the Gnome Town trademark right on the nose, only for Playdom to release the game days later, so perhaps we're even closer. The developer also plans to release games focusing on Disney brands--it's about time.
Angry Birds flies (and crashes) past half a billion downloads [Video]
The Angry Birds games are, for all intents and purposes, a cultural phenomenon at this point. And that's chalked up to more than just how many times the games have been downloaded--the things are dang near everywhere. Rovio CMO Peter Vesterbacka announced at Slush 2011 in Finland that its flagship game series has been downloaded over 500 million times.
And, according to TechCrunch, the game reportedly experienced 100 million of those downloads in the past two weeks alone. As of earlier this month, the game enjoys over 130 million monthly players and over 30 million daily players. To put things into perspective, the equivalent of over half of Zynga's monthly player base across all of its games is playing a single game.
Rovio is doing everything in its power to keep the money-printing franchise relevant. Everything from Angry Birds plush toys to t-shirts and a cookbook have been released. (Let's not forget about the feature film that's slated for 2014.) And to celebrate, Rovio created this nifty video showing off how awesome it is. The red bird literally soars through milestones, one of which being that 200,000 years worth of Angry Birds has been played to date.
No wonder Rovio is eying up a $1 billion initial public offering. However, many wonder whether the franchise can remain relevant as the Finnish developer skyrockets toward its goal of 1 billion Angry Birds players. To ensure everything goes according to plan, Rovio looks to bring the birds into new game genres. Angry Karts, anyone?
[Image Credit: Mohamed Raoof]
Do you think the Angry Birds can go up from here? What type of Angry Birds game would you like to see next?
And, according to TechCrunch, the game reportedly experienced 100 million of those downloads in the past two weeks alone. As of earlier this month, the game enjoys over 130 million monthly players and over 30 million daily players. To put things into perspective, the equivalent of over half of Zynga's monthly player base across all of its games is playing a single game.
Rovio is doing everything in its power to keep the money-printing franchise relevant. Everything from Angry Birds plush toys to t-shirts and a cookbook have been released. (Let's not forget about the feature film that's slated for 2014.) And to celebrate, Rovio created this nifty video showing off how awesome it is. The red bird literally soars through milestones, one of which being that 200,000 years worth of Angry Birds has been played to date.
No wonder Rovio is eying up a $1 billion initial public offering. However, many wonder whether the franchise can remain relevant as the Finnish developer skyrockets toward its goal of 1 billion Angry Birds players. To ensure everything goes according to plan, Rovio looks to bring the birds into new game genres. Angry Karts, anyone?
[Image Credit: Mohamed Raoof]
Do you think the Angry Birds can go up from here? What type of Angry Birds game would you like to see next?
How FarmVille-maker Zynga is changing the game industry
Some might say Hollywood has had the biggest influence on gaming, and others will argue that the late Steve Jobs is one of the most important figures in gaming. FarmVille-maker Zynga is also wielding a pretty big hammer, though you might be hard pressed to find many game makers who will freely admit to it.
Save for MMO maker Todd Coleman. The KingsIsle creative director, responsible for the kid-friendly MMO Wizard 101, says that Zynga games were a major inspiration for Grub Guardians, an online tower defense game that also serves as a companion game to Wizard 101.
"We're taking a trick from the Zynga playbook," he says. "The trick is that players like to connect to a game's advancement curve, they like to make forward progress from whatever device they have handy."
In this case, players who want to get ahead in Wizard 101, but don't have a computer handy, will be able to do so by playing Grub Guardians. Play a few rounds of the tower defense game in whatever browser you have handy (and later on iOS and Android devices), then score new items and experience for your pet in Wizard.
"Sometimes players take 15 minutes, sometimes two hours, sometimes just 30 seconds to play Wizard. We thought it would be interesting to expose smaller, more digestible entry points to make advancements in the game," Coleman says.
The one way Zynga isn't influencing this MMO developer? Metrics. Zynga is notorious for crunching numbers and then using them to drive the game making process. Coleman maintains that when it comes to making games with more complexity than, say, FarmVille, you can't just rely on data to make decisions. Sometimes, he says, you just have to go with your gut.
Coleman and crew's guts seems to be leading down the right path (Wizard 101 has 13 million unique users a month, according to the Gamasutra article), though it's also hard to argue with Zynga's number crunching ways when a simple game like FarmVille brings in 28 million players a month. In the battle of gut vs. numbers -- numbers win. Or do they?
Save for MMO maker Todd Coleman. The KingsIsle creative director, responsible for the kid-friendly MMO Wizard 101, says that Zynga games were a major inspiration for Grub Guardians, an online tower defense game that also serves as a companion game to Wizard 101.
"We're taking a trick from the Zynga playbook," he says. "The trick is that players like to connect to a game's advancement curve, they like to make forward progress from whatever device they have handy."
In this case, players who want to get ahead in Wizard 101, but don't have a computer handy, will be able to do so by playing Grub Guardians. Play a few rounds of the tower defense game in whatever browser you have handy (and later on iOS and Android devices), then score new items and experience for your pet in Wizard.
"Sometimes players take 15 minutes, sometimes two hours, sometimes just 30 seconds to play Wizard. We thought it would be interesting to expose smaller, more digestible entry points to make advancements in the game," Coleman says.
The one way Zynga isn't influencing this MMO developer? Metrics. Zynga is notorious for crunching numbers and then using them to drive the game making process. Coleman maintains that when it comes to making games with more complexity than, say, FarmVille, you can't just rely on data to make decisions. Sometimes, he says, you just have to go with your gut.
Coleman and crew's guts seems to be leading down the right path (Wizard 101 has 13 million unique users a month, according to the Gamasutra article), though it's also hard to argue with Zynga's number crunching ways when a simple game like FarmVille brings in 28 million players a month. In the battle of gut vs. numbers -- numbers win. Or do they?
Quote of the Moment: 'There is no right way to do [social games]'
That's what Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price (pictured) said to GameSpot during an interview. The company has recently created Insomniac Click, its very own social games studio. But forming a social games wing has had deeper effects than simply making executives see green. Social gaming has apparetly permeated how the studio approaches its core game franchises like Resistance and Rachet & Clank on the PS3.
"What we are learning as we get further into social game development is the importance of on-boarding, the importance of social hooks, and reaching the broadest audience possible while delivering a AAA experience," Price told GameSpot. "These are things that we of course considered in console development, but as we are building social games we have to be even more focused on particular aspects of development, and because of that, we are learning a lot that also applies to our console games. And as a result, we are learning lessons that we probably wouldn't have learned if we were purely focused on our console games."
In other words, social games have had a visible effect on how the studio creates and maintains its existing console games. No, you won't come across farms to grow as you fend off the alien invasion, but you might "share" the fun with your friends. Price went on to say that the existence of Insomniac Click has led the studio to consider a bigger focus on community in its games. Then, the Insomniac head gets even more real for a second.
"Well, most of us are trying to figure out exactly where we want to focus in terms of making our mark in social games, because there is so much experimentation happening every day, and there is no right way to do it," Price said. "That's what is exciting about it." (And we seriously doubt Insomniac Games is alone there.)That's what Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price (pictured) said to GameSpot during an interview. The company has recently created Insomniac Click, its very own social games studio. But forming a social games wing has had deeper effects than simply making executives see green. Social gaming has apparetly permeated how the studio approaches its core game franchises like Resistance and Rachet & Clank on the PS3.
"What we are learning as we get further into social game development is the importance of on-boarding, the importance of social hooks, and reaching the broadest audience possible while delivering a AAA experience," Price told GameSpot. "These are things that we of course considered in console development, but as we are building social games we have to be even more focused on particular aspects of development, and because of that, we are learning a lot that also applies to our console games. And as a result, we are learning lessons that we probably wouldn't have learned if we were purely focused on our console games."
In other words, social games have had a visible effect on how the studio creates and maintains its existing console games. No, you won't come across farms to grow as you fend off the alien invasion, but you might "share" the fun with your friends. Price went on to say that the existence of Insomniac Click has led the studio to consider a bigger focus on community in its games. Then, the Insomniac head gets even more real for a second.
"Well, most of us are trying to figure out exactly where we want to focus in terms of making our mark in social games, because there is so much experimentation happening every day, and there is no right way to do it," Price said. "That's what is exciting about it." (And we seriously doubt Insomniac Games is alone there.)
"What we are learning as we get further into social game development is the importance of on-boarding, the importance of social hooks, and reaching the broadest audience possible while delivering a AAA experience," Price told GameSpot. "These are things that we of course considered in console development, but as we are building social games we have to be even more focused on particular aspects of development, and because of that, we are learning a lot that also applies to our console games. And as a result, we are learning lessons that we probably wouldn't have learned if we were purely focused on our console games."
In other words, social games have had a visible effect on how the studio creates and maintains its existing console games. No, you won't come across farms to grow as you fend off the alien invasion, but you might "share" the fun with your friends. Price went on to say that the existence of Insomniac Click has led the studio to consider a bigger focus on community in its games. Then, the Insomniac head gets even more real for a second.
"Well, most of us are trying to figure out exactly where we want to focus in terms of making our mark in social games, because there is so much experimentation happening every day, and there is no right way to do it," Price said. "That's what is exciting about it." (And we seriously doubt Insomniac Games is alone there.)That's what Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price (pictured) said to GameSpot during an interview. The company has recently created Insomniac Click, its very own social games studio. But forming a social games wing has had deeper effects than simply making executives see green. Social gaming has apparetly permeated how the studio approaches its core game franchises like Resistance and Rachet & Clank on the PS3.
"What we are learning as we get further into social game development is the importance of on-boarding, the importance of social hooks, and reaching the broadest audience possible while delivering a AAA experience," Price told GameSpot. "These are things that we of course considered in console development, but as we are building social games we have to be even more focused on particular aspects of development, and because of that, we are learning a lot that also applies to our console games. And as a result, we are learning lessons that we probably wouldn't have learned if we were purely focused on our console games."
In other words, social games have had a visible effect on how the studio creates and maintains its existing console games. No, you won't come across farms to grow as you fend off the alien invasion, but you might "share" the fun with your friends. Price went on to say that the existence of Insomniac Click has led the studio to consider a bigger focus on community in its games. Then, the Insomniac head gets even more real for a second.
"Well, most of us are trying to figure out exactly where we want to focus in terms of making our mark in social games, because there is so much experimentation happening every day, and there is no right way to do it," Price said. "That's what is exciting about it." (And we seriously doubt Insomniac Games is alone there.)
Supercell blows up on Facebook with real-time multiplayer Gunshine.net
Many seem to believe that hardcore or traditional gamers are waiting to be captivated on Facebook. Helinski, Finland based social game developer Supercell would be one of them. After five months of open beta testing, the company has formally released Gunshine.net to Facebook, an isometric, real-time multiplayer RPG (role-playing game) for the core gaming crowd.
The game already exists on the website of the same name, but this version is said to combine an open world and real-time combat with social features like hiring friends and team creation to take on daunting bosses. Gunshine.net takes place in a dystopian, sci-fi world where players do battle on an isometric map. Players arrive in a pristine island called Dreamwake, tasked with fighting off infected citizens and later uncover just what's going on here.
Ultimately, Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen wants to prove that this type of social game can work successfully on Facebook. "We intend to get ahead of the curve and challenge the big guys," Paananen said in a release. "With Gunshine.net, we wanted to reach a niche group of gamers that enjoy playing a rich, MMO-style game in a sci-fi, dystopian setting, and we wanted to prove that this type of model works on Facebook. Our next step is to widen Supercell's reach by launching games that offer similar styles of rich game play, but with themes that have broader appeal."
Gunshine.net Intro
Gunshine.net currently hosts 160,000 monthly players and 20,000 daily players, according to AppData. The game certainly looks impressive, with full 3D visuals, and a heavy focus on plot before getting to the multiplayer aspects. We've yet to see traditional-style games do well on Facebook aside from the few strategy game makers, but perhaps blowing up a few zombies in an RPG is just what the doctor ordered.
The game already exists on the website of the same name, but this version is said to combine an open world and real-time combat with social features like hiring friends and team creation to take on daunting bosses. Gunshine.net takes place in a dystopian, sci-fi world where players do battle on an isometric map. Players arrive in a pristine island called Dreamwake, tasked with fighting off infected citizens and later uncover just what's going on here.
Ultimately, Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen wants to prove that this type of social game can work successfully on Facebook. "We intend to get ahead of the curve and challenge the big guys," Paananen said in a release. "With Gunshine.net, we wanted to reach a niche group of gamers that enjoy playing a rich, MMO-style game in a sci-fi, dystopian setting, and we wanted to prove that this type of model works on Facebook. Our next step is to widen Supercell's reach by launching games that offer similar styles of rich game play, but with themes that have broader appeal."
Gunshine.net Intro
Gunshine.net currently hosts 160,000 monthly players and 20,000 daily players, according to AppData. The game certainly looks impressive, with full 3D visuals, and a heavy focus on plot before getting to the multiplayer aspects. We've yet to see traditional-style games do well on Facebook aside from the few strategy game makers, but perhaps blowing up a few zombies in an RPG is just what the doctor ordered.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
FrontierVille Red, Pink, and White Rose Collections now available
Today has been absolutely huge for new releases in FrontierVille, with Zynga not only releasing a new building in the form of a Chapel (along with accompanying goals and a new collection), but also releasing a trio of new Valentine's Day themed rose crops. As any pioneer knows, the release of a crop in the game isn't complete without a collection to go along with it (giving users permanent incentive to growing said crops), so this time there are three new collections to speak of, one each for Red Roses, Pink Roses, and White Roses.
The Red Rose Collection asks you to find five items - a Red Rose Petal, Red Rose Vase, Red Rose Thorn, Red Rosebud, and 12 Red Roses. All of these items can be acquired by simply planting and harvesting Red Roses on your homestead, or by tending to Red Roses that your friends have planted on their Homesteads.
The prizes for completing the Red Rose Collection are a Red Rose Arbor and 25 XP.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the other two rose collections (hint: they're basically identical).
As we said, once you've started collecting items from the Red Roses collection, you'll instantly know what to expect from the White and and Pink Rose Collections.
The White Rose Collection asks you to find the following:
White Rose Petal
White Rose Vase
White Rose Thorn
White Rosebud
12 White Roses
The rewards for finishing this collection are one White Rose Arbor and 25 XP.
If you haven't guessed yet, the Pink Rose Collection is exactly the same as the other two - simply replace "White" or "Red" with "Pink," and you have the collection in a nutshell. To be specific, you'll be looking for:
Pink Rose Petal
Pink Rose Vase
Pink Rose Thorn
Pink Rosebud
12 Pink Roses
You'll receive a Pink Rose Arbor and 25 XP for completing this final Rose-themed collection.
Both the White Rose and Pink Rose collectible items can be earned in the same way - either by harvesting your own White or Pink Roses, or by tending to the same on your friends' Homesteads. Good luck in completing them!
Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day coverage right here.
What do you think of these new collections? Would you rather original collections be available for each crop, rather than the same prizes only in different colors?
The Red Rose Collection asks you to find five items - a Red Rose Petal, Red Rose Vase, Red Rose Thorn, Red Rosebud, and 12 Red Roses. All of these items can be acquired by simply planting and harvesting Red Roses on your homestead, or by tending to Red Roses that your friends have planted on their Homesteads.
The prizes for completing the Red Rose Collection are a Red Rose Arbor and 25 XP.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the other two rose collections (hint: they're basically identical).
As we said, once you've started collecting items from the Red Roses collection, you'll instantly know what to expect from the White and and Pink Rose Collections.
The White Rose Collection asks you to find the following:
White Rose Petal
White Rose Vase
White Rose Thorn
White Rosebud
12 White Roses
The rewards for finishing this collection are one White Rose Arbor and 25 XP.
If you haven't guessed yet, the Pink Rose Collection is exactly the same as the other two - simply replace "White" or "Red" with "Pink," and you have the collection in a nutshell. To be specific, you'll be looking for:
Pink Rose Petal
Pink Rose Vase
Pink Rose Thorn
Pink Rosebud
12 Pink Roses
You'll receive a Pink Rose Arbor and 25 XP for completing this final Rose-themed collection.
Both the White Rose and Pink Rose collectible items can be earned in the same way - either by harvesting your own White or Pink Roses, or by tending to the same on your friends' Homesteads. Good luck in completing them!
Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day coverage right here.
What do you think of these new collections? Would you rather original collections be available for each crop, rather than the same prizes only in different colors?
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Valentine Pony, Reflective Heart Pool, and ... Pink Candy Corn?
Luckily, it seems that Zynga isn't near done with releasing Valentine's Day themed items in FarmVille, as we've come across another set of as-of-now unreleased images of items that we believe will be launching in the game in the near future. There are two new animals here, a new decorative item and something that is being referred to as a "Valentine Bonus Prize," but we'll get to that later.
The two animals are the Valentine Pony and the Valentine Pony Foal. You'll be able to add the Valentine Pony to your collection either as a Mystery Game item, store item, or through some other method, and will then have a chance of breeding a Valentine Pony Foal if you place it into your Horse Stable with a Stallion.
Meanwhile, a Reflective Heart Pool is a lovely new decorative item that comes in the shape of a heart with multi-colored flowers arranged on the outside. Finally, the Valentine Bonus Prize that we mentioned earlier looks to be the final prize available from the Valentine Mailbox, which we are now almost certain will update to receive new prize items in the future,just as the Holiday Tree updated at the end of last year. What will be inside this Valentine Mystery Box remains a mystery; however, it's pretty safe to say that it will be an animal, based on the image above.
Finally, a new limited edition crop looks to be coming to the game in the form of Pink Candy Corn. The exact details to this crop (growth time and cost, profits, and so on) remain to be seen, but we'll be sure to bring you all of that and more when and if the crop launches in the game in full.
Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day coverage right here.
Which of these items are you most looking forward to seeing added to FarmVille?
The two animals are the Valentine Pony and the Valentine Pony Foal. You'll be able to add the Valentine Pony to your collection either as a Mystery Game item, store item, or through some other method, and will then have a chance of breeding a Valentine Pony Foal if you place it into your Horse Stable with a Stallion.
Meanwhile, a Reflective Heart Pool is a lovely new decorative item that comes in the shape of a heart with multi-colored flowers arranged on the outside. Finally, the Valentine Bonus Prize that we mentioned earlier looks to be the final prize available from the Valentine Mailbox, which we are now almost certain will update to receive new prize items in the future,just as the Holiday Tree updated at the end of last year. What will be inside this Valentine Mystery Box remains a mystery; however, it's pretty safe to say that it will be an animal, based on the image above.
Finally, a new limited edition crop looks to be coming to the game in the form of Pink Candy Corn. The exact details to this crop (growth time and cost, profits, and so on) remain to be seen, but we'll be sure to bring you all of that and more when and if the crop launches in the game in full.
Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day coverage right here.
Which of these items are you most looking forward to seeing added to FarmVille?
Game of the Day: Call of Atlantis
The Game of the Day rolls on and takes to ancient times with Call of Atlantis. Call of Atlantis is three great game genres rolled into one.It's part match 3 (like Bejeweled) part hidden object (like Mystery Case Files), part adventure and all awesome. Trek across ancient cities collecting the seven mysterious crystals of power.
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Click here to play Call of Atlantis
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Click here to play Call of Atlantis
Nab a FarmVille Alpine Goat, turn Facebook Credits into Farm Cash
Zynga sure is taking this whole Facebook Credits thing seriously, huh? If you've stocked up on Facebook Credits recently or just want a brand new animal to play around with on the farm, trading in any amount of Facebook Credits for Farm Cash will reward you with an Alpine Goat in FarmVille. The Alpine Goat first appeared during the German Event of last year, so consider this a second chance.
The Alpine Goat harvests every three days for 84 coins and originally cost 14 Farm Cash, but now you can grab him for a buck. That's right, any of the three above packages will reward you with the goat. For the uninformed, 10 Facebook Credits is $1 in real money as 50 Credits is equal to $5 and 200 is $20. This offer expires in just over 59 hours as of this writing, so scrounge up that dollar quick if you want old Billy here.
The Alpine Goat harvests every three days for 84 coins and originally cost 14 Farm Cash, but now you can grab him for a buck. That's right, any of the three above packages will reward you with the goat. For the uninformed, 10 Facebook Credits is $1 in real money as 50 Credits is equal to $5 and 200 is $20. This offer expires in just over 59 hours as of this writing, so scrounge up that dollar quick if you want old Billy here.
CityVille Bookstore and Goal: Everything you need to know
A new business has dropped in CityVille, the Bookstore. However, you'll need to complete a daunting task for access to the building. In "Opening the Books," you'll need to either add two brand new neighbors to the game or have a total of 25 already. Then, you will just have to visit two of those friends to complete the Goal and unlock the Bookstore.
Once unlocked, the Bookstore costs 3 thousand coins, earns 430 coins for every 100 Goods spent. Whether it's worth finding more friends or having a metric ton of them is up to you, but it will unlock a shiny new Collection. For more tips on good use of businesses, check out our guide.
Once unlocked, the Bookstore costs 3 thousand coins, earns 430 coins for every 100 Goods spent. Whether it's worth finding more friends or having a metric ton of them is up to you, but it will unlock a shiny new Collection. For more tips on good use of businesses, check out our guide.
Friday, January 6, 2012
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Dénise Le Grand's white elephant puzzle
Folks, I have been playing FarmVille and writing FarmVille news for a long time, and I can confidently say I've never come across an elephant jigsaw puzzle farm...until now. Ms. Le Grand (also known as Heartagirl on the FV Forums) has blown me away with her creative farm design. A jigsaw puzzle farm? Of a white elephant? It's pure genius!
But the big picture isn't everything. If you look closely you can see that many of the pieces are made up of different animals, hay bales, and crops. Not to mention that cool optical illusion of a piece being put in place at the top. Even the elephant itself is very carefully designed, look at the shadows representing the legs on the far side. Well done Ms. Le Grand, your farm is, without a doubt, one of a kind.
Continue reading to see what Dénise Le Grand had to say about her farm art.
farmville pic of the day denise le grand elephant puzzle
What inspired your creative jigsaw puzzle farm design?
What inspired me first was the elephant. I love elephants and in real life I collect them in all shapes and materials. The second thing was the jigsaw. I also love jigsaws and I thought it would be great to make something with shadows and pieces falling together but not finished yet. So I immediately thought of a jigsaw with 1 piece still not in place.
Do you have any awesome decorating tips to share?
Don't freak out when you see some farm designs! Just start simple and keep trying and make the design more difficult every time you make something. Draw the design first, like I do, and keep the drawing next to you or find something online you like and start making the outlines with hay bales. Most importantly, remember that designing farms takes time, so having problems sleeping might help ;)
My elephant farm is the 3rd farm I entered for competition and was also my 3rd big farm design I made.
How did you go about making those perfectly shaped puzzle pieces and elephant? Was it difficult?
First I started to make the squares with shadow, then I made them into jigsaw pieces. Then I made the outlining of the elephant. Was it difficult? Yes and no.
How long did it take you to complete the design?
It took me much longer then the other designs I made. The part that was difficult was the design itself 'cause I started with jigsaw pieces that were not placed together yet. I restarted 3 times before I was on the right track. It took me 4 or 5 days, but that's also 'cause I wanted to make it as perfect as possible, 'cause it was an elephant.
What do you think of Ms. Le Grand's Great White Elephant Puzzle farm? Tell us in the comments below.
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist! Bookmark this site!
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
But the big picture isn't everything. If you look closely you can see that many of the pieces are made up of different animals, hay bales, and crops. Not to mention that cool optical illusion of a piece being put in place at the top. Even the elephant itself is very carefully designed, look at the shadows representing the legs on the far side. Well done Ms. Le Grand, your farm is, without a doubt, one of a kind.
Continue reading to see what Dénise Le Grand had to say about her farm art.
farmville pic of the day denise le grand elephant puzzle
What inspired your creative jigsaw puzzle farm design?
What inspired me first was the elephant. I love elephants and in real life I collect them in all shapes and materials. The second thing was the jigsaw. I also love jigsaws and I thought it would be great to make something with shadows and pieces falling together but not finished yet. So I immediately thought of a jigsaw with 1 piece still not in place.
Do you have any awesome decorating tips to share?
Don't freak out when you see some farm designs! Just start simple and keep trying and make the design more difficult every time you make something. Draw the design first, like I do, and keep the drawing next to you or find something online you like and start making the outlines with hay bales. Most importantly, remember that designing farms takes time, so having problems sleeping might help ;)
My elephant farm is the 3rd farm I entered for competition and was also my 3rd big farm design I made.
How did you go about making those perfectly shaped puzzle pieces and elephant? Was it difficult?
First I started to make the squares with shadow, then I made them into jigsaw pieces. Then I made the outlining of the elephant. Was it difficult? Yes and no.
How long did it take you to complete the design?
It took me much longer then the other designs I made. The part that was difficult was the design itself 'cause I started with jigsaw pieces that were not placed together yet. I restarted 3 times before I was on the right track. It took me 4 or 5 days, but that's also 'cause I wanted to make it as perfect as possible, 'cause it was an elephant.
What do you think of Ms. Le Grand's Great White Elephant Puzzle farm? Tell us in the comments below.
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist! Bookmark this site!
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Wishful Features: CityVille Franchises need more control
Ever launched a Franchise in a friend's CityVille town only to have it produce nothing? Maybe the player quit the game without deleting it. Perhaps he just doesn't care about your Franchise. Worse even, have you had a friend launch a franchise in your own city, only for him to never supply it?
The only control we have over Franchises at the moment is preventing them from establishing in our own cities, and removing them once they're created. To delete one of our own Franchises from a friend's city, we need to ask that friend to delete it themselves. What if that friend quit playing the game without telling anyone (not that this is his responsibility). And forget whatever crummy franchise you put down in Samantha's city. That's there for good. CityVille forum contributor Jammsbro started a thread simply titled, "I hate greedy players," which spawned from this very issue. And it could be easily avoided if Zynga allowed us more direct control over our Franchises.
Say you created a Coffee Shop Franchise early on in the game, and you realize that it's simply not as profitable as, say, the Sushi Bar Franchise. However, some of the players whose cities host your Coffee Shops are no longer active. At the moment, you are stuck with those busted old java houses. I'm no designer, but I can't imagine it would be too difficult for Zynga to add the option to delete our Franchises remotely. That way, we could make good on our poor, early game decisions.
This wouldn't only allow players to rake in more profits. Wouldn't players be more proactive and selective about their Franchises in fear of having to delete or being deleted? Giving players the ability to delete Franchises would create more competition and more communication between friends in order to weed out the inactive players. So, please Zynga, let us control our unwieldy Franchises.
[Image Credit: CityVille Tips and Tricks]
Do you think CityVille would benefit from more control over Franchises? How else do you think Franchises could be improved?
The only control we have over Franchises at the moment is preventing them from establishing in our own cities, and removing them once they're created. To delete one of our own Franchises from a friend's city, we need to ask that friend to delete it themselves. What if that friend quit playing the game without telling anyone (not that this is his responsibility). And forget whatever crummy franchise you put down in Samantha's city. That's there for good. CityVille forum contributor Jammsbro started a thread simply titled, "I hate greedy players," which spawned from this very issue. And it could be easily avoided if Zynga allowed us more direct control over our Franchises.
Say you created a Coffee Shop Franchise early on in the game, and you realize that it's simply not as profitable as, say, the Sushi Bar Franchise. However, some of the players whose cities host your Coffee Shops are no longer active. At the moment, you are stuck with those busted old java houses. I'm no designer, but I can't imagine it would be too difficult for Zynga to add the option to delete our Franchises remotely. That way, we could make good on our poor, early game decisions.
This wouldn't only allow players to rake in more profits. Wouldn't players be more proactive and selective about their Franchises in fear of having to delete or being deleted? Giving players the ability to delete Franchises would create more competition and more communication between friends in order to weed out the inactive players. So, please Zynga, let us control our unwieldy Franchises.
[Image Credit: CityVille Tips and Tricks]
Do you think CityVille would benefit from more control over Franchises? How else do you think Franchises could be improved?
Poll: What brings you back to FarmVille after 100 levels?
It's Game Over!
For 14 million daily players, FarmVIlle is an absolute blast. However, Zynga actually rewards little to that elite player base. Like forum contributor WanderYeNot says, "I don't see why that is... it's like punishing you for being a loyal player." Farm Cash isn't rewarded to players, nor is much anything else. Some players claim that it isn't all about levels, which might be true. But levels should mean something, no? In the meantime, what is it that brings you veterans coming back past Level 100?
What brings you back to FarmVille past Level 100?
It doesn't. I'm so bored of that game!What do you mean? I have all these crops to master.I like the events throughout the year.It keeps me in touch with my friends.
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
For 14 million daily players, FarmVIlle is an absolute blast. However, Zynga actually rewards little to that elite player base. Like forum contributor WanderYeNot says, "I don't see why that is... it's like punishing you for being a loyal player." Farm Cash isn't rewarded to players, nor is much anything else. Some players claim that it isn't all about levels, which might be true. But levels should mean something, no? In the meantime, what is it that brings you veterans coming back past Level 100?
What brings you back to FarmVille past Level 100?
It doesn't. I'm so bored of that game!What do you mean? I have all these crops to master.I like the events throughout the year.It keeps me in touch with my friends.
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
An Hour Without FarmVille: What would you do?
Facebook has been shut down for one hour. All access to the website has been blocked off and no apps calling to it like Facebook Mobile or--gasp--games can receive any data. For all intents and purposes, Facebook is, nay, FarmVille is dead for 60 minutes. What do you do? Alright, so Facebook really isn't shut down. (But how many of you checked?)
Angie Bird, a 26-year-old Facebooker and environmentalist has attempted to contact Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, to ask the dreaded question Social Times reports. Earth Hour is coming up, a 60-minute period of celebration and observance of our planet. Everything goes off--Internet, TV, cell phones, videogames--in respect of the energy it consumes.
Will Zuckerberg pull the plug and lead the ceremony? Doubtful, but that ripple-effect-waiting-happen begs questioning. What would we do if Facebook games shut off for one hour? Would you go about your business? Is there work to be done around the house? How about your loved ones; is some quality time in order? These are the things that people might not think about when engrossed in their individual conquests for levels and mastery signs.
These are the things that we could all think about more. Now, don't get me wrong. Turning off for an hour and clicking some crops is a harmless hobby. (And a fun one at that.) Perhaps these are the questions in life that FarmVille addicts fail to ask after finding FarmVille. Many people question whether Facebook game addicts even exist, or if it's even possible to become addicted to a game. If this is the effect of social games on certain folks, an entrancing distraction from real life, then it's somewhat easier to understand an addict's side of the story.
That being said, asking ourselves what we would do without FarmVille, before feeling as if we need it, might be a good way to avoid getting hooked. Not to mention it could help grant some perspective surrounding this issue of "addiction" and claims of "evil" flying off the handle. (That, frankly, a lot of people need.) So, do yourself a favor some time, and go do something else for an hour. The next time you come back to the farm, you might appreciate it that much more.
What would you for an hour if FarmVille shut down? Have you tried to step away from Facebook games for awhile? How did it change your perpestive toward them?
Angie Bird, a 26-year-old Facebooker and environmentalist has attempted to contact Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, to ask the dreaded question Social Times reports. Earth Hour is coming up, a 60-minute period of celebration and observance of our planet. Everything goes off--Internet, TV, cell phones, videogames--in respect of the energy it consumes.
Will Zuckerberg pull the plug and lead the ceremony? Doubtful, but that ripple-effect-waiting-happen begs questioning. What would we do if Facebook games shut off for one hour? Would you go about your business? Is there work to be done around the house? How about your loved ones; is some quality time in order? These are the things that people might not think about when engrossed in their individual conquests for levels and mastery signs.
These are the things that we could all think about more. Now, don't get me wrong. Turning off for an hour and clicking some crops is a harmless hobby. (And a fun one at that.) Perhaps these are the questions in life that FarmVille addicts fail to ask after finding FarmVille. Many people question whether Facebook game addicts even exist, or if it's even possible to become addicted to a game. If this is the effect of social games on certain folks, an entrancing distraction from real life, then it's somewhat easier to understand an addict's side of the story.
That being said, asking ourselves what we would do without FarmVille, before feeling as if we need it, might be a good way to avoid getting hooked. Not to mention it could help grant some perspective surrounding this issue of "addiction" and claims of "evil" flying off the handle. (That, frankly, a lot of people need.) So, do yourself a favor some time, and go do something else for an hour. The next time you come back to the farm, you might appreciate it that much more.
What would you for an hour if FarmVille shut down? Have you tried to step away from Facebook games for awhile? How did it change your perpestive toward them?
Maple Story is coming to Facebook, free-to-play goes social once again
MapleStory, one of the most successful free-to-play MMOs out there from Nexon, will launch a Facebook edition this summer. The 2D, side-scrolling multiplayer game has had 102.4 million subscribers as of Sept. 2009, and Nexon clearly hopes to bring that runaway success to Facebook. The nearly 6-year-old game will be known as MapleStory Adventures on Facebook, and will reportedly have a simpler interface while allowing players to complete quests, level up and defeat monsters in the same style.
However, it's unknown whether the multiplayer component of the game will be asynchronous (think friend interaction in FrontierVille) or real time like the original. Regardless, the game will adopt the micro transaction it has always employed. So, think of this as merely a transition rather than an update--with a ton more potential players.
Expanding our global IPs into the social and mobile gaming space is a watershed moment in Nexon's global expansion efforts, said Daniel Kim, CEO of Nexon America. Not only will this move provide new ways for hundreds of millions of fans worldwide to experience Nexon's games, it allows Nexon the opportunity to prove the robustness of its business model on new platforms.
Nexon will also be releasing KartRider later this month as an iOS and Android game later this month. It will be called KartRider Rush and feature the same distribution model as MapleStory for Facebook. Players will be able to compare scores with one another over Facebook Connect, and will allow for real time, four-player racing. That's great, but we all know what the real news is: Adorable chibi warriors will finally be at your Facebooking fingertips this summer.
Would you play MapleStory on Facebook? What do you think of free-to-play MMOs' migration to Facebook?
However, it's unknown whether the multiplayer component of the game will be asynchronous (think friend interaction in FrontierVille) or real time like the original. Regardless, the game will adopt the micro transaction it has always employed. So, think of this as merely a transition rather than an update--with a ton more potential players.
Expanding our global IPs into the social and mobile gaming space is a watershed moment in Nexon's global expansion efforts, said Daniel Kim, CEO of Nexon America. Not only will this move provide new ways for hundreds of millions of fans worldwide to experience Nexon's games, it allows Nexon the opportunity to prove the robustness of its business model on new platforms.
Nexon will also be releasing KartRider later this month as an iOS and Android game later this month. It will be called KartRider Rush and feature the same distribution model as MapleStory for Facebook. Players will be able to compare scores with one another over Facebook Connect, and will allow for real time, four-player racing. That's great, but we all know what the real news is: Adorable chibi warriors will finally be at your Facebooking fingertips this summer.
Would you play MapleStory on Facebook? What do you think of free-to-play MMOs' migration to Facebook?
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
FrontierVille: The snow is gone and green trees have returned
If you're one in a warmer climate, you'll be happy to know that Zynga has updated FrontierVille's "weather" to match your new Spring climate. That's right, after a few months, winter has officially left the game, bringing back the original green Oak and Pine Trees that we all love (or perhaps simply love to hate).
This means that all of your current trees should have automatically transformed from lifeless and snow-covered to lush and green, and that any new trees that grow on your Homestead should match. If they are still snow-covered on your Homestead, simply wait a few hours, and we're sure the update will come around to you.
Aside from simply looking better, remember that you can also use these trees to bring out a Robin Egg and trigger the Spring has Sprung missions on your land, which will really help you get in the mood for warmer weather.
What do you think of the melting of the snow in FrontierVille? Were you ready for green trees to return to your land, or did you want your Homestead to stay a winter wonderland year round?
This means that all of your current trees should have automatically transformed from lifeless and snow-covered to lush and green, and that any new trees that grow on your Homestead should match. If they are still snow-covered on your Homestead, simply wait a few hours, and we're sure the update will come around to you.
Aside from simply looking better, remember that you can also use these trees to bring out a Robin Egg and trigger the Spring has Sprung missions on your land, which will really help you get in the mood for warmer weather.
What do you think of the melting of the snow in FrontierVille? Were you ready for green trees to return to your land, or did you want your Homestead to stay a winter wonderland year round?
Official FarmVille Podcast (March 25, 2011): Sheep Breeding coming to Home Farm
This week's official FarmVille podcast saw a complete English Countryside theme taking over. FarmVille Community Manager Lexilicious confirmed that the podcast will return to its normal form on April 8. For this edition, however, we were given a complete overview of the beginning of our adventure to England, making the majority of this more of a recap than a sneak peek.
Some questions were answered in the podcast, however; namely the question of when Sheep Breeding will be coming to Home Farms. Interestingly, the answer wasn't that it "won't be coming," but rather that it will be coming to the game in the future. However, we'll only be able to access sheep breeding (and presumably the entire Sheep Pen itself) after we've "mastered" the English Countryside farm. Of course, the details are slim right now as to what the exactly means. Do we simply need to finish all of the English Countryside goals to be considered a master, or will we actually have to master all trees and crops available on our English farms in order to unlock sheep breeding back home?
We'll make sure to let you know as more details become available surrounding this announcement, so keep checking back. As usual, if you missed the full podcast, you can check it out in its entirety at the top of this post.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
What do you think mastering the English Countryside farm will entail? Would you rather just pay Farm Cash to unlock sheep breeding on your Home Farm, or do you like a challenge.
Some questions were answered in the podcast, however; namely the question of when Sheep Breeding will be coming to Home Farms. Interestingly, the answer wasn't that it "won't be coming," but rather that it will be coming to the game in the future. However, we'll only be able to access sheep breeding (and presumably the entire Sheep Pen itself) after we've "mastered" the English Countryside farm. Of course, the details are slim right now as to what the exactly means. Do we simply need to finish all of the English Countryside goals to be considered a master, or will we actually have to master all trees and crops available on our English farms in order to unlock sheep breeding back home?
We'll make sure to let you know as more details become available surrounding this announcement, so keep checking back. As usual, if you missed the full podcast, you can check it out in its entirety at the top of this post.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
What do you think mastering the English Countryside farm will entail? Would you rather just pay Farm Cash to unlock sheep breeding on your Home Farm, or do you like a challenge.
FarmVille: Crab Apple Trees growing from Mystery Seedlings
We've received another semi-official sneak peek of a new tree coming to FarmVille this week, as some users are starting to receive Crab Apple Trees from their Mystery Seedlings. The Crab Apple tree appears to be of a normal height, so this very well could be a situation where another, entirely different tree is released in the game that is as-of-now unknown, but happens to produce a Crab Apple tree when placed in an Orchard.
We'll make sure to let you know when these trees are officially released in the market, but for now, keep a special eye out on your news feed for any posts offering Mystery Seedlings, as you never know if you'll be the lucky one to receive one at random.
Have you received a Crab Apple Tree from your Mystery Seedling yet?
We'll make sure to let you know when these trees are officially released in the market, but for now, keep a special eye out on your news feed for any posts offering Mystery Seedlings, as you never know if you'll be the lucky one to receive one at random.
Have you received a Crab Apple Tree from your Mystery Seedling yet?
FarmVille English Countryside Sneak Peek: Shetland Pony, Sussex Chicken, Bagot Goat & much more
If you're an animal collector in FarmVille, I've got a treat for you, as we've come across a whole slew of unreleased animals that will apparently be coming to the English Countryside item theme in the near future. There are a whopping nine new animals to take a look at here, so let's dive right here.
For solo animals (that is, those without offspring), we have the English Partridge, Sussex Chicken, Bagot Goat, Gray Heron, and a Tufted Duck. You can see these animals from left to right in the image above.
As for the other four animals, there is one new horse and one new cow, along with their appropriate offspring. Meet us behind the break to see what they are.
The new horse is the Shetland Pony, and as you'd expect, the Pony allows for breeding and will give off a Shetland Pony Foal. This horse is quite cute, and yes, is an original animal, rather than a recolor like we've seen in the past (and that many users are becoming increasingly annoyed by).
The other animal pair is the Devon Cow and Devon Calf. Personally, the calf's poof of hair on top of its head makes it one of the cutest calves I've ever seen, so it will be interesting to see how hard the cow is on our virtual wallets when it eventually releases (as I want one).
Check out the animations of these two last animals below.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Out of all of these animals, which one is your favorite, or do you plan on purchasing them all?
For solo animals (that is, those without offspring), we have the English Partridge, Sussex Chicken, Bagot Goat, Gray Heron, and a Tufted Duck. You can see these animals from left to right in the image above.
As for the other four animals, there is one new horse and one new cow, along with their appropriate offspring. Meet us behind the break to see what they are.
The new horse is the Shetland Pony, and as you'd expect, the Pony allows for breeding and will give off a Shetland Pony Foal. This horse is quite cute, and yes, is an original animal, rather than a recolor like we've seen in the past (and that many users are becoming increasingly annoyed by).
The other animal pair is the Devon Cow and Devon Calf. Personally, the calf's poof of hair on top of its head makes it one of the cutest calves I've ever seen, so it will be interesting to see how hard the cow is on our virtual wallets when it eventually releases (as I want one).
Check out the animations of these two last animals below.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Out of all of these animals, which one is your favorite, or do you plan on purchasing them all?
FarmVille English Countryside Sneak Peek: Tudor Cottage, Rose Iron Fence, Garden Gazebo & more
It looks like the English Countryside theme of limited edition items in FarmVille will be growing by leaps and bounds in the near future, as we've come across a whole set of new decorative items that look to fit into that theme. It's unknown right now as to whether or not all of these items will be available on both farms, or if some will be locked to England, so keep that in mind.
For new buildings, there is a Tudor Cottage and an Oast House. For those unfamiliar with the latter, an Oast House is a building that's designed for drying Hops used in breweries. As Hops are a new crop in the English Countryside, this is an incredibly logical choice for a themed building, and if any item were to be locked to England, we'd imagine it would be this one.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the new decorative items.
There are four new decorative items that you'll apparently be able to purchase as well (if we had to put money on it, we'd guess all of these items will be part of an update coming as early as this evening). They are the Rose Iron Fence, the Garden Gazebo, a Ivy Covered Swing, and a Garden Picnic. While the names for some of these items might be different in their final release, any of these items would make a lovely addition to either of your farms, but remember, if they are available for both and you want them on both, you'll need to purchase them twice as items can't be switched from one farm to the other.
We'll make sure to give you all of the details about these new items when they officially launch in the game, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Which of these items do you like the most? Will you spend your coins/Farm Cash on the decorations, rather than the buildings?
For new buildings, there is a Tudor Cottage and an Oast House. For those unfamiliar with the latter, an Oast House is a building that's designed for drying Hops used in breweries. As Hops are a new crop in the English Countryside, this is an incredibly logical choice for a themed building, and if any item were to be locked to England, we'd imagine it would be this one.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the new decorative items.
There are four new decorative items that you'll apparently be able to purchase as well (if we had to put money on it, we'd guess all of these items will be part of an update coming as early as this evening). They are the Rose Iron Fence, the Garden Gazebo, a Ivy Covered Swing, and a Garden Picnic. While the names for some of these items might be different in their final release, any of these items would make a lovely addition to either of your farms, but remember, if they are available for both and you want them on both, you'll need to purchase them twice as items can't be switched from one farm to the other.
We'll make sure to give you all of the details about these new items when they officially launch in the game, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Which of these items do you like the most? Will you spend your coins/Farm Cash on the decorations, rather than the buildings?
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