Yup, another hoops simulation game has made its way to Facebook. The latest, courtesy of Playdom and NBA Digital, is called NBA Dynasty. And, yes, like most of the other sports games on Facebook, you will play coach and manager to your dream team made up of real-life players from 1946 to the present day.
NBA Dynasty players will be able to compete in games against NBA championship teams and go head-to-head against Facebook friends for the all-time best record.
"With NBA Dynasty, we wanted to create a realistic coaching and managing experience while giving players the opportunity to build their ultimate fantasy team," Playdom's Co-Chief Operating Officer John Donham says. "Players will finally find out if their childhood heroes can beat those of their friends."
This basketball game includes highlight clips from the 2010-11 season, which will play "when an NBA player performs well" and as coach, you will be able to direct the action in the game by setting your starting line-up, subbing players, calling time-outs in real time. You can also boost your team's status by building a large fan base, NBA arena and coaching reputation.
One thing you should know up front -- this is purely a management-style game, so anyone with a hankering to play a virtual game of b-ball might be more inclined to leave this one sitting on the sidelines.
We'll have a full review soon. In the meantime, check out NBA Dynasty on Facebook for yourself >
Thứ Năm, 29 tháng 12, 2011
NBA Dynasty on Facebook: Intense hoops strategy in the fourth period
Ever wait to watch a basketball game until the final quarter, because that's when all the best plays happen? Apparently, so does Playdom, who kept that little secret in mind when developing NBA Dynasty for Facebook. The Disney-owned studio got its mitts on the NBA license and went to town with it, creating one impressive basketball game that throws you into three roles: owner, general manager and coach of a hodgepodge NBA team with the best players from the '40s to present day.
Log into the game and you'll instantly notice its primary draw: the presentation. The amount of time (and money) that went into NBA Dynasty is instantly noticeable from the official NBA teams and players to the video clips that players can share from Comcast Sportsnet and other local sports news networks. And all three of your roles have been given the same level of polish.
Owner:
Of course as owner, it's your job to make sure the team has plenty of fans, exposure and, well, buy things. That's what owners do, right? Most importantly, you must use your earned coins from victories and purchased Crowns, the game's paid currency, to buy better athletes. Each player, which is or was a real-life NBA player, has an assigned star rating that's an accumulation of their defensive and offensive skills.
Other things that owners must consider are new courts and arenas, which will increase your capacity for fans and bring in more coins per win. Lastly, it's your duty to keep track of your goals, which will reward you with extra coins and XP when completed. It's all presented in an easily understandable menu system that explains exactly what needs to be done to move your team to the next level.
Gallery: NBA Dynasty on Facebook
General Manager:
Strategy is the name of your game. GMs manage player lineups and provide their athletes with boosts to their performance. And if you want to get into the nitty gritty of every player's performance, the option is there as well. One of the best qualities of NBA Dynasty is its scalability, meaning the game can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. Well, almost as simple--coaching isn't exactly easy.
Coach:
This is the meat of every sports game on Facebook. As Coach, you'll call every play during the pivotal fourth period in any given basketball game. Your starting lineup will appear as small icons on the court and go against the opposition in randomized plays based on each players' statistics. You can directly control who becomes the "Go-to Guy" on the team, meaning the guy who players will tend to pass the ball too. If a player is "On Fire," it would be a good idea to prioritize him, while players that are "On Ice" would benefit from sitting on the bench for a while.
Thankfully, you're given a few timeouts to make those switches happen. Switching players mid-game becomes vitally important, because as players stay in the game their stamina decreases and thus their performance. It almost goes without saying that you shouldn't sell players that are weaker than your starters, because it's your job to give the all stars a break too.
NBA Dynasty Highlights
At Level 5, you're given the option to skip games entirely, but it's a pleasure to say that you might not want to do that. The amount of control you have over the outcome of a game is far too appealing to pass up in respect of time. Playdom has somehow infused engaging and rewarding gameplay into a burgeoning sub genre that has been plagued by boredom. NBA Dynasty brings a level of polish and realism to sports social games that just recently other developers have come close to.
Click here to play NBA Dynasty on Facebook Now>
Have you tried NBA Dynasty yet? What do you think could introduced to sports games on Facebook that would get you to play them?
Log into the game and you'll instantly notice its primary draw: the presentation. The amount of time (and money) that went into NBA Dynasty is instantly noticeable from the official NBA teams and players to the video clips that players can share from Comcast Sportsnet and other local sports news networks. And all three of your roles have been given the same level of polish.
Owner:
Of course as owner, it's your job to make sure the team has plenty of fans, exposure and, well, buy things. That's what owners do, right? Most importantly, you must use your earned coins from victories and purchased Crowns, the game's paid currency, to buy better athletes. Each player, which is or was a real-life NBA player, has an assigned star rating that's an accumulation of their defensive and offensive skills.
Other things that owners must consider are new courts and arenas, which will increase your capacity for fans and bring in more coins per win. Lastly, it's your duty to keep track of your goals, which will reward you with extra coins and XP when completed. It's all presented in an easily understandable menu system that explains exactly what needs to be done to move your team to the next level.
Gallery: NBA Dynasty on Facebook
General Manager:
Strategy is the name of your game. GMs manage player lineups and provide their athletes with boosts to their performance. And if you want to get into the nitty gritty of every player's performance, the option is there as well. One of the best qualities of NBA Dynasty is its scalability, meaning the game can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. Well, almost as simple--coaching isn't exactly easy.
Coach:
This is the meat of every sports game on Facebook. As Coach, you'll call every play during the pivotal fourth period in any given basketball game. Your starting lineup will appear as small icons on the court and go against the opposition in randomized plays based on each players' statistics. You can directly control who becomes the "Go-to Guy" on the team, meaning the guy who players will tend to pass the ball too. If a player is "On Fire," it would be a good idea to prioritize him, while players that are "On Ice" would benefit from sitting on the bench for a while.
Thankfully, you're given a few timeouts to make those switches happen. Switching players mid-game becomes vitally important, because as players stay in the game their stamina decreases and thus their performance. It almost goes without saying that you shouldn't sell players that are weaker than your starters, because it's your job to give the all stars a break too.
NBA Dynasty Highlights
At Level 5, you're given the option to skip games entirely, but it's a pleasure to say that you might not want to do that. The amount of control you have over the outcome of a game is far too appealing to pass up in respect of time. Playdom has somehow infused engaging and rewarding gameplay into a burgeoning sub genre that has been plagued by boredom. NBA Dynasty brings a level of polish and realism to sports social games that just recently other developers have come close to.
Click here to play NBA Dynasty on Facebook Now>
Have you tried NBA Dynasty yet? What do you think could introduced to sports games on Facebook that would get you to play them?
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Pig Breeding slops closer to release
Pig Breeding
If this leaked image that FarmVille Feed snapped up is any indication, Pig Breeding is that much closer to release in FarmVille. Though, how a yellow father with a toupee and a purple mother make a pink child is beyond me. The much-anticipated logical step from Sheep Breeding will use the same Love Potions and Baby Milk that you use for Sheep today, according to FarmVille Feed. Let's hope this is a good sign for Pig Breeding's release, because Sheep with stars on them are getting kinda old.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
Are you psyched for the upcoming Pig Breeding feature? What other breeding options would you like to see in FarmVille?
If this leaked image that FarmVille Feed snapped up is any indication, Pig Breeding is that much closer to release in FarmVille. Though, how a yellow father with a toupee and a purple mother make a pink child is beyond me. The much-anticipated logical step from Sheep Breeding will use the same Love Potions and Baby Milk that you use for Sheep today, according to FarmVille Feed. Let's hope this is a good sign for Pig Breeding's release, because Sheep with stars on them are getting kinda old.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
Are you psyched for the upcoming Pig Breeding feature? What other breeding options would you like to see in FarmVille?
Zynga fans make up 40 percent of all Facebook users
Even if you're that guy to your friends--you know, who spammed his friends with FarmVille updates all last year--you're apparently far from alone. Social Times has done a little math work based on a Jan. 2011 estimate by Business Insider claiming that there are 600 million Facebook users to find that 40 percent of those 600 million are not just Facebook gamers, but Zynga gamers. The fact that Zynga has the minds of almost 300 million Facebook users puts the company in a great position of power.
If Zynga doesn't like something that Facebook does or says, the company could simply take those paying customers away. Customers who, as of July, will account for a huge portion of Facebook's revenue through the mandatory Facebook Credits change.
In other words, because the social network wants to make a few bucks from the lucrative gaming companies that have arrived on their stoop, the ball is now in their court, namely Zynga's. That is, if players would actually follow Zynga out the door.
In fact, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus has made it clear before that a platform agnostic Zynga is something he is not only considering, but working toward. A large portion of Facebook users likely only log into Facebook to play on their dedicated Zynga accounts, so for Facebook to lose Zynga would be to lose millions if not billions of dollars down the line.
In short, it would be wise for Facebook to play nice with Zynga if it wants the developer to endure the 30 percent cut Facebook takes on its virtual goods. This much bargaining power over one of the globe's most popular and profitable corporations should be alarming. Zynga could change the very face of Facebook if it wanted to, holding the power of nearly 300 million potential customers in one hand and the doorknob in the other.
[Image Credit: One Hit Point]
Do you think Zynga would ever consider leaving if Facebook made a disagreeable decision? Does Zynga really have the power to effect Facebook's profitability? Better yet, would you follow if Zynga left?
If Zynga doesn't like something that Facebook does or says, the company could simply take those paying customers away. Customers who, as of July, will account for a huge portion of Facebook's revenue through the mandatory Facebook Credits change.
In other words, because the social network wants to make a few bucks from the lucrative gaming companies that have arrived on their stoop, the ball is now in their court, namely Zynga's. That is, if players would actually follow Zynga out the door.
In fact, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus has made it clear before that a platform agnostic Zynga is something he is not only considering, but working toward. A large portion of Facebook users likely only log into Facebook to play on their dedicated Zynga accounts, so for Facebook to lose Zynga would be to lose millions if not billions of dollars down the line.
In short, it would be wise for Facebook to play nice with Zynga if it wants the developer to endure the 30 percent cut Facebook takes on its virtual goods. This much bargaining power over one of the globe's most popular and profitable corporations should be alarming. Zynga could change the very face of Facebook if it wanted to, holding the power of nearly 300 million potential customers in one hand and the doorknob in the other.
[Image Credit: One Hit Point]
Do you think Zynga would ever consider leaving if Facebook made a disagreeable decision? Does Zynga really have the power to effect Facebook's profitability? Better yet, would you follow if Zynga left?
FarmVille: Rio decorations land on the farm for seven days only
Modern Cottage Tropical Macaw
Between its very own Angry Birds game and a promotion in FarmVille, you'd think Rio would be done its campaign for exposure, but nay. Just when you though it was over, Zynga has released another set of items to promote the release of the animated cinematic experience. These seven items will be in town for another seven days, so join us behind the break to catch a glimpse at the rest of them and how much they'll cost you.
Beach Ball Blue Umbrella
Modern Cottage – 25 Farm Cash
Tropical Macaw – 15 Farm Cash
Beach Dog – 250,000 Farm Coins
Yellow Umbrella – 20,000 Farm Coins
Red Umbrella – 20,000 Farm Coins
Blue Umbrella – 20,000 Farm Coins
Beach Ball – 5,000 Farm Coins
Red Umbrella Yellow Umbrella
While the most exciting decorations costs Farm Cash, as always, at least the Beach Dog is available for coins albeit a quarter million of them. Either way, make a decision quick on which of the items you'll snag because they're only here until next Tuesday.
[Source and Image Credit: FarmVIlle Freak]
Which of the seven Rio items would you buy? Are you going to see or have already seen Rio? What did you think?
Between its very own Angry Birds game and a promotion in FarmVille, you'd think Rio would be done its campaign for exposure, but nay. Just when you though it was over, Zynga has released another set of items to promote the release of the animated cinematic experience. These seven items will be in town for another seven days, so join us behind the break to catch a glimpse at the rest of them and how much they'll cost you.
Beach Ball Blue Umbrella
Modern Cottage – 25 Farm Cash
Tropical Macaw – 15 Farm Cash
Beach Dog – 250,000 Farm Coins
Yellow Umbrella – 20,000 Farm Coins
Red Umbrella – 20,000 Farm Coins
Blue Umbrella – 20,000 Farm Coins
Beach Ball – 5,000 Farm Coins
Red Umbrella Yellow Umbrella
While the most exciting decorations costs Farm Cash, as always, at least the Beach Dog is available for coins albeit a quarter million of them. Either way, make a decision quick on which of the items you'll snag because they're only here until next Tuesday.
[Source and Image Credit: FarmVIlle Freak]
Which of the seven Rio items would you buy? Are you going to see or have already seen Rio? What did you think?
Thứ Hai, 26 tháng 12, 2011
FrontierVille Design Your Horse Contest: Draw up the next Horse on the homestead
If you've ever wanted to be a super famous game designer, Zynga is giving FrontierVille fans a sliver of that chance. In the brand new Design Your Horse Contest, players can draw up what they think should be the next Horse to hit the homestead. Submit your artwork by May 27, because after that, the Zynga community team will decide on 10 finalists for the community to then vote upon. To choose the winner, players will soon have to answer a poll in which they narrow down their top three choices. Based on that information, we'll have our design champion soon enough.
According to the official rules, the grand prize winner will have his Horse design incorporated into the game and win both a FrontierVille t-shirt and 500 Horseshoes. The second and third place winners will each score 100 Horseshoes--still not too shabby for throwing a sketch together and scanning it.
You can use pen, pencil, markers, crayons, and even software to mold your very own Horse out of the outline provided by Zynga (pictured right). Modifying the outline in any way is grounds for disqualification, so just follow the rules. That means no unicorns, got it?
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Are you entering the Horse Design Contest? What do you think the judges are expecting from submissions?
According to the official rules, the grand prize winner will have his Horse design incorporated into the game and win both a FrontierVille t-shirt and 500 Horseshoes. The second and third place winners will each score 100 Horseshoes--still not too shabby for throwing a sketch together and scanning it.
You can use pen, pencil, markers, crayons, and even software to mold your very own Horse out of the outline provided by Zynga (pictured right). Modifying the outline in any way is grounds for disqualification, so just follow the rules. That means no unicorns, got it?
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Are you entering the Horse Design Contest? What do you think the judges are expecting from submissions?
Building the FrontierVille Livestock Pen: Everything you need to know
Today marks a special day for animal lovers in FrontierVille, who may be questioning selling off some of their adult animals simply because they take up so much room. Now, a Livestock Pen is available to build on your Homestead, that will allow you to store adult Sheep, Goats and Pigs inside. Of course, you won't simply receive a completed Livestock Pen - you'll have to build one from scratch.
The frame of the Livestock Pen is available for free, and you'll receive it once this update rolls around to your game. You'll need to whack the frame (each whack costs 15 Wood), and you'll then need to collect six all new ingredients to finish the building off. The six new items are the Wooden Post, Woven Wire, Feeding Trough, Grain Bin, Water Bucket, and Breeder's Digest. The latter three items can be asked for via individual gift requests sent to your friends, while the Wooden Post, Woven Wire, and Feeding Trough are earned through general news feed items.
Once you complete the Livestock Pen, you'll be able to use the building to store up to 100 animals inside, and can feed them all at once, similar to how you can feed large quantities of adult chickens inside the Chicken Coop. When you collect the bonus from your Livestock Pen, you'll also have a chance to received one of three new animals: a Black Pig, White Goat and Gray Sheep, as seen below.
Ultimately, there are missions that go along with building the Livestock Pen, and we'll make sure to bring you a complete guide over those missions as soon as we can and you can check out our complete guide to completing those missions right here! For now, start asking your friends to send you these items so you can store those animals and clear room on your Homestead!
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you started building the Livestock Pen on your land yet? What do you think of this new animal storage building?
The frame of the Livestock Pen is available for free, and you'll receive it once this update rolls around to your game. You'll need to whack the frame (each whack costs 15 Wood), and you'll then need to collect six all new ingredients to finish the building off. The six new items are the Wooden Post, Woven Wire, Feeding Trough, Grain Bin, Water Bucket, and Breeder's Digest. The latter three items can be asked for via individual gift requests sent to your friends, while the Wooden Post, Woven Wire, and Feeding Trough are earned through general news feed items.
Once you complete the Livestock Pen, you'll be able to use the building to store up to 100 animals inside, and can feed them all at once, similar to how you can feed large quantities of adult chickens inside the Chicken Coop. When you collect the bonus from your Livestock Pen, you'll also have a chance to received one of three new animals: a Black Pig, White Goat and Gray Sheep, as seen below.
Ultimately, there are missions that go along with building the Livestock Pen, and we'll make sure to bring you a complete guide over those missions as soon as we can and you can check out our complete guide to completing those missions right here! For now, start asking your friends to send you these items so you can store those animals and clear room on your Homestead!
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you started building the Livestock Pen on your land yet? What do you think of this new animal storage building?
FrontierVille Livestock Pen Goals: Everything you need to know
Earlier this evening, we brought you the step-by-step guide for building your new Livestock Pen on your Homestead in FrontierVille. Along with working on this time-consuming building, you can also work on an accompanying set of four Livestock Pen goals, which we'll talk about here.
The first goal is called "This Little Piggie," and it asks you to complete three very simple tasks:
Tend 15 Pigs Anywhere
Hire Bess
Have or Place a Livestock Pen
The Livestock Pen's base is all that needs to be built on your Homestead for this task to complete. Meanwhile, you can tend either 15 of your own pigs, or pigs on your neighbors' Homesteads until you reach 15. As we said - it shouldn't be too hard to find 15 pigs in total, so you'll pass this one quickly. For completing this first mission, you'll receive 50 Food and 500 XP. Part II of this four-part series is called Baa Baa Black Sheep, and yes, it deals with both Sheep and Wool.
Tend 20 Sheep Anywhere
Collect 15 Bags of Wool
Harvest 20 Corn
The Sheep, just as with the Pigs, can be tended on your own Homestead, or on your neighbors'. Meanwhile, you'll need to use your neighbors' help to acquire the Bags of Wool, by sending individual gift requests to friends. Finishing this second quest gives you 750 XP and 100 Food.
For Part III of IV, you'll move onto the last of the three animals associated with the Livestock Pen - the Goat.
Tend 30 Goats Anywhere
Collect 15 Goat Hats
Store One Animal in your Livestock Pen
This is the first goal that will actually require you to complete your Livestock Pen's construction. For a complete look at how to do just that, click right here to check out our guide. Just remember to save some gift requests, so that you can ask your friends for the Goat Hats. This third mission has some pretty nice rewards, at least in terms of the XP gained: 1,000 XP and 150 Food.
Finally, we move onto Part IV of IV, which will likely be the most time consuming of the bunch.
Clear 25 Debris on your Neighbors' Homesteads
Collect Two Daily Bonuses from the Livestock Pen
Store 100 Animals in the Livestock Pen
You'll can only store adult animals in the Livestock Pen, so start stocking up on adult Pigs, Goats, and Sheep now to not have to grow all new animals just to complete this task (and then wait even longer to do so). If you're lucky, you'll just have to wait the full 24 hours for your Daily Bonus to recharge and can then call these missions complete. Your prizes for finishing off this mission series are great - 1,500 XP, 2,000 coins, and a Black Sheep.
Hopefully, with the release of the Livestock Pen, this doesn't mean that any sort of nasty new Varmint will be added to the game that will eat our Goats, Pigs, or Sheep that are outside of the building. Luckily, that doesn't seem to be the case right now, but we'll make sure to keep an eye on things either way.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Livestock Pen Goals? Are you getting backed up with all of these recent goals released in the game, or do you appreciate the challenge of having multiple goal sets at once?
The first goal is called "This Little Piggie," and it asks you to complete three very simple tasks:
Tend 15 Pigs Anywhere
Hire Bess
Have or Place a Livestock Pen
The Livestock Pen's base is all that needs to be built on your Homestead for this task to complete. Meanwhile, you can tend either 15 of your own pigs, or pigs on your neighbors' Homesteads until you reach 15. As we said - it shouldn't be too hard to find 15 pigs in total, so you'll pass this one quickly. For completing this first mission, you'll receive 50 Food and 500 XP. Part II of this four-part series is called Baa Baa Black Sheep, and yes, it deals with both Sheep and Wool.
Tend 20 Sheep Anywhere
Collect 15 Bags of Wool
Harvest 20 Corn
The Sheep, just as with the Pigs, can be tended on your own Homestead, or on your neighbors'. Meanwhile, you'll need to use your neighbors' help to acquire the Bags of Wool, by sending individual gift requests to friends. Finishing this second quest gives you 750 XP and 100 Food.
For Part III of IV, you'll move onto the last of the three animals associated with the Livestock Pen - the Goat.
Tend 30 Goats Anywhere
Collect 15 Goat Hats
Store One Animal in your Livestock Pen
This is the first goal that will actually require you to complete your Livestock Pen's construction. For a complete look at how to do just that, click right here to check out our guide. Just remember to save some gift requests, so that you can ask your friends for the Goat Hats. This third mission has some pretty nice rewards, at least in terms of the XP gained: 1,000 XP and 150 Food.
Finally, we move onto Part IV of IV, which will likely be the most time consuming of the bunch.
Clear 25 Debris on your Neighbors' Homesteads
Collect Two Daily Bonuses from the Livestock Pen
Store 100 Animals in the Livestock Pen
You'll can only store adult animals in the Livestock Pen, so start stocking up on adult Pigs, Goats, and Sheep now to not have to grow all new animals just to complete this task (and then wait even longer to do so). If you're lucky, you'll just have to wait the full 24 hours for your Daily Bonus to recharge and can then call these missions complete. Your prizes for finishing off this mission series are great - 1,500 XP, 2,000 coins, and a Black Sheep.
Hopefully, with the release of the Livestock Pen, this doesn't mean that any sort of nasty new Varmint will be added to the game that will eat our Goats, Pigs, or Sheep that are outside of the building. Luckily, that doesn't seem to be the case right now, but we'll make sure to keep an eye on things either way.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Livestock Pen Goals? Are you getting backed up with all of these recent goals released in the game, or do you appreciate the challenge of having multiple goal sets at once?
FrontierVille Livestock Pen Collection offers XP and energy for tending animals
With the release of the Livestock Pen in FrontierVille comes the launch of a new collection to go along with this new building. The Livestock Pen Collection contains five all-new items to the game, and can be completed in the same manner as you'd expect - either by earning them at random when whacking the frame of the Livestock Pen as you're building it, or by receiving these items at random when collecting the building's Daily Bonus.
Here's what to keep an eye out for:
Feed Bags
Loose Straw
Ear Tags
Clippers
Dewormer
When you finish finding all five of these items, you can turn in the collection for 50 XP and a +5 energy boost. To be clear, that's five free points of energy as a refill, not a change in your overall maximum energy. Personally, I'm a bit disappointed in these prizes. Sure, the extra energy can come in handy when tending animals or crops, but I would much prefer to see exclusive decorations, after putting in the time it takes to complete most building collections. Maybe that's just me...
What do you think? Do you like collection awards to be exclusive decorations or items you can't find anywhere else, or do you like the experience point or coin rewards?
Here's what to keep an eye out for:
Feed Bags
Loose Straw
Ear Tags
Clippers
Dewormer
When you finish finding all five of these items, you can turn in the collection for 50 XP and a +5 energy boost. To be clear, that's five free points of energy as a refill, not a change in your overall maximum energy. Personally, I'm a bit disappointed in these prizes. Sure, the extra energy can come in handy when tending animals or crops, but I would much prefer to see exclusive decorations, after putting in the time it takes to complete most building collections. Maybe that's just me...
What do you think? Do you like collection awards to be exclusive decorations or items you can't find anywhere else, or do you like the experience point or coin rewards?
FarmVille Scotland Trees: Ash Tree & Rowan Tree
A brand spanking new theme has launched in FarmVille this evening, saying goodbye to the English Countryside, but not to our trip overseas. The new theme is based on Scotland, and just as we predicted yesterday, the theme contains two new trees - the Ash Tree and the Rowan Tree. While the Rowan Tree may have seemed as though it would be the more expensive of the pair, it's actually the level one tree, costing 5 Farm Cash to add to your farm. The Ash Tree, meanwhile, costs more, at 10 Farm Cash.
Want to save some cash? Remember that it's smartest to completely ignore the more expensive tree with these releases, as you will likely be able to come across one or more from Mystery Seedlings (either those claimed from your friends on your news feed, or those that you receive from a purchased Rowan Tree). No matter how you get these trees onto your land, they'll only be available in the game's store for the next two weeks. Personally, this is one time I'm glad I have some extra Farm Cash on hand, as that Rowan Tree is just screaming my name.
What do you think of these two new trees? Do you like the new Scotland theme in the game, or were you happy to see the English Countryside theme continue even longer?
Want to save some cash? Remember that it's smartest to completely ignore the more expensive tree with these releases, as you will likely be able to come across one or more from Mystery Seedlings (either those claimed from your friends on your news feed, or those that you receive from a purchased Rowan Tree). No matter how you get these trees onto your land, they'll only be available in the game's store for the next two weeks. Personally, this is one time I'm glad I have some extra Farm Cash on hand, as that Rowan Tree is just screaming my name.
What do you think of these two new trees? Do you like the new Scotland theme in the game, or were you happy to see the English Countryside theme continue even longer?
Chủ Nhật, 25 tháng 12, 2011
Earn 2 free Farm Cash in Real California Milk summer promotion
Early in May, Zynga launched a new cross-promotional activity with Real California Milk, offering two free Farm Cash to FarmVille players. Now, just over a month later, a second Real California Milk promotion has launched, this time dealing with our favorite summer activity.
To start this activity, you'll need to find it underneath your gameplay area in the sponsored link pictured at right. From there, you'll be able to answer the simple question: "What's your favorite family summer activity?" You'll actually need to type something into the box, but your answer can be anything. As soon as you do, the exciting "You've earned your Farm Cash" text appears in the top right corner of the window, and you can close your window. Your game should automatically refresh to show you your two free Farm Cash, but if not, simply refresh the game manually and it should make things right.
What will you do with your two free Farm Cash? Are you saving Farm Cash for something special, or will you spend spend spend?
To start this activity, you'll need to find it underneath your gameplay area in the sponsored link pictured at right. From there, you'll be able to answer the simple question: "What's your favorite family summer activity?" You'll actually need to type something into the box, but your answer can be anything. As soon as you do, the exciting "You've earned your Farm Cash" text appears in the top right corner of the window, and you can close your window. Your game should automatically refresh to show you your two free Farm Cash, but if not, simply refresh the game manually and it should make things right.
What will you do with your two free Farm Cash? Are you saving Farm Cash for something special, or will you spend spend spend?
FarmVille Trading Post: Everything you need to know
Today, the FarmVille team has started a very slow rollout of the Trading Post to users. We gave you a sneak peek of this new feature a few days ago, but we now know exactly how it will work to help you earn bonuses (including crop mastery points) with friends.
First, when the Trading Post update hits your game, you'll be able to place the Trading Post first thing. It appears as though you don't have to build this Trading Post, as it comes fully constructed (as of this writing). You'll only have a single Trading Post to use for both farms, so make sure to place it on the farm you really want it on before clicking. If you want to switch farms, simply leave the placement mode and it will go into your Gift Box until you're ready.
Once placed, you'll be able to go inside your Trading Post to take a look at all of the crops that your friends have planted recently and place orders for them. That is, you won't be able to choose from every crop available in the game, but only those that are currently planted on friends' farms. In order to place an order, simply scroll through the list of available crops (as seen below) and click on "Post Order" to actually order them from a friend(s).
After you've placed an order, the fulfillment is actually up to your friend, but since they've already planted these crops, it's unlikely that they wouldn't pull through. When they harvest the crops that you ordered, your menu will update allowing you to "Claim" your order. Just click on the "Claim" button and you'll be granted coins and crop mastery points for the particular crop that you ordered. In this way, you'll be able to earn mastery points even without planting the crop yourself! This is especially perfect for crops with incredibly short or long growth times, as your friends have put forth the effort of planting them, and you get to claim a few mastery as if you had done so yourself.
For a few house rules, you can only take orders for crops once every 12 hours. If you want to allow your friends a chance for tons of different kinds of rewards, you can also only plant a single square of each crop to make it available. Finally, you can have more than one active order at a time, to really crank out the coins, experience point and mastery point rewards with your friends. To be especially clear, if you fulfill orders, you will earn everything you normally would for harvesting the crop, along with additional rewards, like experience points and coins, as your payment for completing your friends' orders.
Again, this feature is still on an incredibly slow rollout (and some users that have the Trading Post haven't even been able to use it yet), so keep checking your farm to see if/when the update comes your way. We'll make sure to update this space if additional information becomes available, but for right now, it all (thankfully) looks to be a fairly simple process; that is, it will be, once we're all allowed in.
[Image Credits: Official FarmVille Blog]
Do you have a Trading Post on your land yet? Have you been able to order crops from friends, or have friends ordered crops from you?
First, when the Trading Post update hits your game, you'll be able to place the Trading Post first thing. It appears as though you don't have to build this Trading Post, as it comes fully constructed (as of this writing). You'll only have a single Trading Post to use for both farms, so make sure to place it on the farm you really want it on before clicking. If you want to switch farms, simply leave the placement mode and it will go into your Gift Box until you're ready.
Once placed, you'll be able to go inside your Trading Post to take a look at all of the crops that your friends have planted recently and place orders for them. That is, you won't be able to choose from every crop available in the game, but only those that are currently planted on friends' farms. In order to place an order, simply scroll through the list of available crops (as seen below) and click on "Post Order" to actually order them from a friend(s).
After you've placed an order, the fulfillment is actually up to your friend, but since they've already planted these crops, it's unlikely that they wouldn't pull through. When they harvest the crops that you ordered, your menu will update allowing you to "Claim" your order. Just click on the "Claim" button and you'll be granted coins and crop mastery points for the particular crop that you ordered. In this way, you'll be able to earn mastery points even without planting the crop yourself! This is especially perfect for crops with incredibly short or long growth times, as your friends have put forth the effort of planting them, and you get to claim a few mastery as if you had done so yourself.
For a few house rules, you can only take orders for crops once every 12 hours. If you want to allow your friends a chance for tons of different kinds of rewards, you can also only plant a single square of each crop to make it available. Finally, you can have more than one active order at a time, to really crank out the coins, experience point and mastery point rewards with your friends. To be especially clear, if you fulfill orders, you will earn everything you normally would for harvesting the crop, along with additional rewards, like experience points and coins, as your payment for completing your friends' orders.
Again, this feature is still on an incredibly slow rollout (and some users that have the Trading Post haven't even been able to use it yet), so keep checking your farm to see if/when the update comes your way. We'll make sure to update this space if additional information becomes available, but for right now, it all (thankfully) looks to be a fairly simple process; that is, it will be, once we're all allowed in.
[Image Credits: Official FarmVille Blog]
Do you have a Trading Post on your land yet? Have you been able to order crops from friends, or have friends ordered crops from you?
FarmVille re-releases Agricultural Alchemy items for one day only
In what may be the final Birthday Classics theme in FarmVille, Zynga has re-released a set of Agricultural Alchemy items to the game's store. This theme is loosely inspired by Harry Potter, so all aspiring wizards should take note! As usual, these items have only been brought back for a single day, meaning that you'll only have until tomorrow evening to purchase them before they vanish from the store without a trace, possibly never to be seen again. Here's what's available:
Animals:
Wizard Duck - 14 Farm Cash
Griffin - 40 Farm Cash
White Pegasus - 35 Farm Cash
Baby Dragon - 20 Farm Cash
Buildings:
Wizard Lab - 36 Farm Cash
Wizard Castle - 40 Farm Cash
Decorations:
Sorcerer Pig - 18 Farm Cash
Magic Pot - 12 Farm Cash
Magic Cart - 80,000 coins
Wizard Gnome - 12 Farm Cash
Long Eared Owl - 30 Farm Cash
Magic Book - 10 Farm Cash
Unfortunately, this theme doesn't have nearly as many items to choose from, but I suppose that might actually be a good thing since our virtual (and likely real world) pocketbooks have been so strained with the mass amounts of items re-released over the last week. If you still have a few Farm Cash lying around, why not take a look at these magical items and see if there's one (or two) you'd like to add to your farm?
Animals:
Wizard Duck - 14 Farm Cash
Griffin - 40 Farm Cash
White Pegasus - 35 Farm Cash
Baby Dragon - 20 Farm Cash
Buildings:
Wizard Lab - 36 Farm Cash
Wizard Castle - 40 Farm Cash
Decorations:
Sorcerer Pig - 18 Farm Cash
Magic Pot - 12 Farm Cash
Magic Cart - 80,000 coins
Wizard Gnome - 12 Farm Cash
Long Eared Owl - 30 Farm Cash
Magic Book - 10 Farm Cash
Unfortunately, this theme doesn't have nearly as many items to choose from, but I suppose that might actually be a good thing since our virtual (and likely real world) pocketbooks have been so strained with the mass amounts of items re-released over the last week. If you still have a few Farm Cash lying around, why not take a look at these magical items and see if there's one (or two) you'd like to add to your farm?
FarmVille: Go quackers for duck-filled Birthday Mystery box
If you're a duck fan, you'll be thrilled to see tonight's Birthday Mystery Box in FarmVille, as it's simply full of ducks! Tonight's box will only be available for a single day, so you'll have until the game updates tomorrow evening to spend the 20 Farm Cash necessary for one of these boxes.
Here's what you'll have a chance to find inside:
Chrome Duck
Elder Duck
Green-Winged Teal Duck
Male Mandarin
Tufted Duck
Welsh Harlequin Duck
Again, a single box costs 20 Farm Cash, which is more than the typical price for a single Duck in the store (normally 16 Farm Cash or less), but I suppose you're paying extra for the mystery. I'm not sure if that should be the other way around (where you'd pay more for a guarantee at what you're getting), but I suppose I'll let that one slide. If you want to take a chance on receiving your favorite of this lineup, make sure you do so before tomorrow night, or you'll lose your chance!
Here's what you'll have a chance to find inside:
Chrome Duck
Elder Duck
Green-Winged Teal Duck
Male Mandarin
Tufted Duck
Welsh Harlequin Duck
Again, a single box costs 20 Farm Cash, which is more than the typical price for a single Duck in the store (normally 16 Farm Cash or less), but I suppose you're paying extra for the mystery. I'm not sure if that should be the other way around (where you'd pay more for a guarantee at what you're getting), but I suppose I'll let that one slide. If you want to take a chance on receiving your favorite of this lineup, make sure you do so before tomorrow night, or you'll lose your chance!
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash in FUSE promotion
It seems like Zynga is releasing free Farm Cash activities in FarmVille faster than we can write about them (well, almost faster), as today we've seen the launch of yet another activity. This one comes to us from FUSE, which is advertising their 2011 Much Music Video Awards. You'll need to watch a trailer and then answer some poll questions about your favorite musical artists.
Once that's done, you'll receive your two free Farm Cash, which should automatically update into your in-game balance. One thing to note about this promotion is that the actual awards ceremony takes place tonight, so I wouldn't expect the promotion to be around for much longer than just today. Still, it only takes a little more than 60 seconds to complete, so why not log into FarmVille long enough to see if it's available to you?
Once that's done, you'll receive your two free Farm Cash, which should automatically update into your in-game balance. One thing to note about this promotion is that the actual awards ceremony takes place tonight, so I wouldn't expect the promotion to be around for much longer than just today. Still, it only takes a little more than 60 seconds to complete, so why not log into FarmVille long enough to see if it's available to you?
CityVille Upgrade your Museum: Everything you need to know
Yet another Community Building is now ready to be upgraded in CityVille, with Zynga launching a Museum upgrade in the game. This Museum upgrade can be started by first collecting your profits from any Museum you have, and then clicking on the building when you see the large blue and green arrow floating above it.
Here, you'll see the list of building ingredients that you'll need to collect in order to upgrade. Yes, unfortunately this isn't a simple task where you can just ask friends to join as staff and be done, as you'll actually need to collect a series of 15 items, some of which you may already own. You'll need three each of Marble, Display Cases, Display Lights, Ribbons, and Velvet Ropes.
Once you've collected all of these materials, your Museum will change in size and design visually, and will also then allow for up to 400 citizens to live in your town, rather than just 300. Your Museum will then also give off a random chance for you to earn Marble each time you collect from the building.
But don't think your work is done just yet, as you can also upgrade your Museum to Level 3. For this, you'll first need to be at least level 20 and have 2,500 or more citizens in your town. You'll need to once again collect another set of those five building ingredients to upgrade, and once that's done you'll finally be able to put down the hammer and chisel. Your Museum will then support 600 citizens, and your chance at receiving Marble will increase.
While this does seem like a backwards update, requiring you to spend Marble and other objects to upgrade a building just so you can earn that Marble back, I suppose it does give you something to do if you're caught up on all other quests, or if you just like the look of the upgraded Museum. Either way, don't feel a rush to complete these upgrades if you have other items you'd rather use your daily requests for instead.
Here, you'll see the list of building ingredients that you'll need to collect in order to upgrade. Yes, unfortunately this isn't a simple task where you can just ask friends to join as staff and be done, as you'll actually need to collect a series of 15 items, some of which you may already own. You'll need three each of Marble, Display Cases, Display Lights, Ribbons, and Velvet Ropes.
Once you've collected all of these materials, your Museum will change in size and design visually, and will also then allow for up to 400 citizens to live in your town, rather than just 300. Your Museum will then also give off a random chance for you to earn Marble each time you collect from the building.
But don't think your work is done just yet, as you can also upgrade your Museum to Level 3. For this, you'll first need to be at least level 20 and have 2,500 or more citizens in your town. You'll need to once again collect another set of those five building ingredients to upgrade, and once that's done you'll finally be able to put down the hammer and chisel. Your Museum will then support 600 citizens, and your chance at receiving Marble will increase.
While this does seem like a backwards update, requiring you to spend Marble and other objects to upgrade a building just so you can earn that Marble back, I suppose it does give you something to do if you're caught up on all other quests, or if you just like the look of the upgraded Museum. Either way, don't feel a rush to complete these upgrades if you have other items you'd rather use your daily requests for instead.
CityVille Spring Fling: Everything you need to know
A new limited-time-only quest has been launched in CityVille, with that quest being called Spring Fling! This one sees Ruth returning with her friendly flock of pigeons to have a celebration of flowers. Until June 21, you'll be able to complete this quest for a lovely Cherry Hill decoration (yes, the quest window says Wildflower Hill, but the item is actually called Cherry Hill as of this writing), but don't think that reward comes easily.
You'll need to complete the following three steps:
Ask Friends for 6 Spring Flowers
Ask Friends for 8 Flower Bulbs
Revive 40 of your Neighbors' Crops
While asking for items is a fairly self-explanatory task (both of these requests go straight to your wall, and you can ask for both things at once), the crop issue could turn into a fairly big deal, if you only keep active neighbors on your roster. That is, the best way to finish this quest would be to head to the cities of neighbors who no longer play the game, and revive any crops they might have left behind. But what if all of your neighbors have living crops? I suppose you'd just have to ask them all to pitch in, planting a set of five crops and then purposefully letting them wither. Either that or shell out the 45 City Cash to skip this step outright.
Whatever your plan, remember that you only have the next two days to complete this quest, and receive the Cherry Hill prize, before it expires, taking this exclusive decoration along with it.
You'll need to complete the following three steps:
Ask Friends for 6 Spring Flowers
Ask Friends for 8 Flower Bulbs
Revive 40 of your Neighbors' Crops
While asking for items is a fairly self-explanatory task (both of these requests go straight to your wall, and you can ask for both things at once), the crop issue could turn into a fairly big deal, if you only keep active neighbors on your roster. That is, the best way to finish this quest would be to head to the cities of neighbors who no longer play the game, and revive any crops they might have left behind. But what if all of your neighbors have living crops? I suppose you'd just have to ask them all to pitch in, planting a set of five crops and then purposefully letting them wither. Either that or shell out the 45 City Cash to skip this step outright.
Whatever your plan, remember that you only have the next two days to complete this quest, and receive the Cherry Hill prize, before it expires, taking this exclusive decoration along with it.
Cafe World launches Astounding Cafe expansion; full screen play coming soon
While most goals and Catering Orders in Cafe World wouldn't exactly be considered game-changing, two seemingly smaller updates have been or will be launched in the near future that certainly are. First, get ready to say goodbye to your tight, cramped cooking quarters, as the Astounding Cafe expansion (that's 16 x 18) is now available as part of the Astounding Expansion Sale.
This sale will only be available for two more days, and it sees you earning a 4X Mega Lightning Stove, the expansion, and the limited edition Peach Cobbler recipe all for $35. That's an insane price, to be sure, but Zynga claims it would cost you $100 otherwise. Either way, if you'd rather save your money for something else, the Astounding Expansion will launch through a new goal series coming in August (that's unfortunately all we know at this point).
What's even more exciting, however, is the announcement that a full screen gameplay option is finally (almost) ready to come to the game! Via a yellow banner on top of the gameplay area, we see that "Full Screen and the Super Summer Food Feast" are on the way. The Summer Food Fest looks to be launching as early as this week, and if Full Screen has been mentioned in the same sentence, that leaves us pretty excited that it might launch this week as well! How great would that be?! Either way, we're super excited to see Zynga officially acknowledge the game's desperate need for full screen play, and we'll make sure to let you know when it becomes available.
This sale will only be available for two more days, and it sees you earning a 4X Mega Lightning Stove, the expansion, and the limited edition Peach Cobbler recipe all for $35. That's an insane price, to be sure, but Zynga claims it would cost you $100 otherwise. Either way, if you'd rather save your money for something else, the Astounding Expansion will launch through a new goal series coming in August (that's unfortunately all we know at this point).
What's even more exciting, however, is the announcement that a full screen gameplay option is finally (almost) ready to come to the game! Via a yellow banner on top of the gameplay area, we see that "Full Screen and the Super Summer Food Feast" are on the way. The Summer Food Fest looks to be launching as early as this week, and if Full Screen has been mentioned in the same sentence, that leaves us pretty excited that it might launch this week as well! How great would that be?! Either way, we're super excited to see Zynga officially acknowledge the game's desperate need for full screen play, and we'll make sure to let you know when it becomes available.
Thứ Năm, 22 tháng 12, 2011
CityVille City Works Upgrades: Everything you need to know
Back in March, CityVille saw the launch of the City Works community building, which at the time added 350 citizens to your town's maximum population. But in our ever-growing cities, is 350 really enough from a single building? Apparently not, as Zynga has released upgrades for your City Works building, which will see you going from a measly 350 citizens to over 1,000!
The first upgrade requires you to be at least level nine, and have a population of at least 1,150 citizens to undertake. You'll see a green arrow above the building, signifying that you're ready to upgrade it, and will need to enter into the familiar process of collecting building materials to actually do so. You'll need three each of Welding Torches, Staplers, Water Faucets, Pipe Wrenches and Rubber Boots. Once those are collected, your building will go to its Level 2 state, becoming a more complex building with a new van parked out front. And oh yeah - you'll be able to house 650 citizens in your town as well.
If that simply isn't enough for you, you can continue to upgrade the building to Level 3. Level 3 requires you to have a population of at least 2,800 citizens. As this is the second of the building's upgrades, it's also harder, requiring six each of the building ingredients required above. You'll be able to purchase a single unit of each ingredient for 6 City Cash each, or can go about things the old fashioned (albeit slower way), by asking your friends to send you these ingredients instead.
Again, once you've collected the necessary building materials, you'll see another visual transformation to the building, and will finally be able to house the full 1,050 citizens allowed by your new building. If you're looking for a way to increase your population cap without taking up anymore room in your city with buildings, remember to keep these upgrades in mind, as they just might end up being a life (city?) saver.
Will you upgrade your City Works building, or does your town already have a high enough population cap as it is? Are you the type that can't stand to leave a building un-upgraded when upgrades are available?
The first upgrade requires you to be at least level nine, and have a population of at least 1,150 citizens to undertake. You'll see a green arrow above the building, signifying that you're ready to upgrade it, and will need to enter into the familiar process of collecting building materials to actually do so. You'll need three each of Welding Torches, Staplers, Water Faucets, Pipe Wrenches and Rubber Boots. Once those are collected, your building will go to its Level 2 state, becoming a more complex building with a new van parked out front. And oh yeah - you'll be able to house 650 citizens in your town as well.
If that simply isn't enough for you, you can continue to upgrade the building to Level 3. Level 3 requires you to have a population of at least 2,800 citizens. As this is the second of the building's upgrades, it's also harder, requiring six each of the building ingredients required above. You'll be able to purchase a single unit of each ingredient for 6 City Cash each, or can go about things the old fashioned (albeit slower way), by asking your friends to send you these ingredients instead.
Again, once you've collected the necessary building materials, you'll see another visual transformation to the building, and will finally be able to house the full 1,050 citizens allowed by your new building. If you're looking for a way to increase your population cap without taking up anymore room in your city with buildings, remember to keep these upgrades in mind, as they just might end up being a life (city?) saver.
Will you upgrade your City Works building, or does your town already have a high enough population cap as it is? Are you the type that can't stand to leave a building un-upgraded when upgrades are available?
Zynga throws out new game story ideas in another player survey
Back in June, Zynga released a fan survey that asked players to give their opinions on potential game ideas, ranging from becoming a mogul in the music business to taking to the high seas as a pirate. Either those ideas have been tossed aside for the moment, or Zynga plans on working on multiple games at once, as they're back again with another survey that seems to hint at future story ideas for games.
To be specific, we aren't told that these are potential games-in-the-making, but are rather asked which of these stories we'd be "most interested in exploring." There are just six options available, with two dealing with medieval times, the Three Musketeers and even King Arthur's round table. The others range from seeking out paranormal phenomenon and ghost-hunting to living in the forest, studying the art of kung-fu.
Some of these stories actually have a bit of intricate detail included, such as names of locations, which makes me think (ok, hope) they might be more than just the results of a brainstorming session. For instance, we're given a particular story, set in a "small coastal town of Oddwater," where we and our neighbors have supernatural powers. We'd be able to grow "magical plants and creatures," and dabble in witchcraft with spells and potions. Put two and two together, even with just this single example, and it seems as though Zynga might have already begun production on some of these ideas, or at the very least, are toying around with how gameplay could be involved, rather than just storytelling. That's all speculation of course, but my interest is definitely piqued.
If you'd like to give your opinion on any of these game ideas, make sure to take the survey before Zynga closes responses. Who knows? One of these could be the next big thing on Facebook.
If you took the survey, which of the six stories did you find the most interesting? Would you like to see any of them actually transformed into games?
To be specific, we aren't told that these are potential games-in-the-making, but are rather asked which of these stories we'd be "most interested in exploring." There are just six options available, with two dealing with medieval times, the Three Musketeers and even King Arthur's round table. The others range from seeking out paranormal phenomenon and ghost-hunting to living in the forest, studying the art of kung-fu.
Some of these stories actually have a bit of intricate detail included, such as names of locations, which makes me think (ok, hope) they might be more than just the results of a brainstorming session. For instance, we're given a particular story, set in a "small coastal town of Oddwater," where we and our neighbors have supernatural powers. We'd be able to grow "magical plants and creatures," and dabble in witchcraft with spells and potions. Put two and two together, even with just this single example, and it seems as though Zynga might have already begun production on some of these ideas, or at the very least, are toying around with how gameplay could be involved, rather than just storytelling. That's all speculation of course, but my interest is definitely piqued.
If you'd like to give your opinion on any of these game ideas, make sure to take the survey before Zynga closes responses. Who knows? One of these could be the next big thing on Facebook.
If you took the survey, which of the six stories did you find the most interesting? Would you like to see any of them actually transformed into games?
FrontierVille: 50% off Horseshoe sale back on for a limited time
Holy cow, I think I might faint. Seriously, after never seeing any real sales on FrontierVille's Horseshoe packages, we've now seen two sales in the same month! More importantly, unlike the sale that took place earlier this month, today's 50% off sale hasn't been advertised as being available for just one hour, giving more players a chance to stock up!
If you missed out on this sale last time, here's your chance to purchase anywhere from 75 to 2,100 Horseshoes for a little over $5, all of the way up to over $100 and change. Here are the specific packages that are available (all prices are in US Dollars):
75 Horseshoes - $5.41 (down from $10.82)
170 Horseshoes - $10.82 (down from $21.64)
465 Horseshoes - $27.05 (down from $54.10)
1,000 Horseshoes - $54.10 (down from $108.10)
2,100 Horseshoes - $108.20 (down from $217.40)
Am I suggesting everyone go out spend $108 on Horseshoes? Definitely not, but if you're even remotely interested in stocking up on Horseshoes for future Mystery Crates and other premium content, the $5 package contains enough Horseshoes for at least one splurge purchase, and won't break the bank.
On the other side of the token (horseshoe?), you can also purchase discounted coin packages, if you'd rather not earn your coins for free by simply playing the game. Less packages are available, but you can pick up anywhere from 7,500 to 100,000 coins, if you feel so inclined.
There's no exact expiration date or time for when this sale will end, so make sure to take advantage now while you have the best chance of it still being available. Who knows, if this sale is productive for Zynga's pocketbook, perhaps 50% off Horseshoe sales will become a more frequent thing! I don't know about you, but I definitely wouldn't complain about that!
Will you stock up on Horseshoes in FrontierVille during this limited time sale, or are you still trying to spend the Horseshoes you purchased from the last sale? What will you splurge on with these Horseshoes? Do you have a particular item in mind, or will you just save them for future use?
If you missed out on this sale last time, here's your chance to purchase anywhere from 75 to 2,100 Horseshoes for a little over $5, all of the way up to over $100 and change. Here are the specific packages that are available (all prices are in US Dollars):
75 Horseshoes - $5.41 (down from $10.82)
170 Horseshoes - $10.82 (down from $21.64)
465 Horseshoes - $27.05 (down from $54.10)
1,000 Horseshoes - $54.10 (down from $108.10)
2,100 Horseshoes - $108.20 (down from $217.40)
Am I suggesting everyone go out spend $108 on Horseshoes? Definitely not, but if you're even remotely interested in stocking up on Horseshoes for future Mystery Crates and other premium content, the $5 package contains enough Horseshoes for at least one splurge purchase, and won't break the bank.
On the other side of the token (horseshoe?), you can also purchase discounted coin packages, if you'd rather not earn your coins for free by simply playing the game. Less packages are available, but you can pick up anywhere from 7,500 to 100,000 coins, if you feel so inclined.
There's no exact expiration date or time for when this sale will end, so make sure to take advantage now while you have the best chance of it still being available. Who knows, if this sale is productive for Zynga's pocketbook, perhaps 50% off Horseshoe sales will become a more frequent thing! I don't know about you, but I definitely wouldn't complain about that!
Will you stock up on Horseshoes in FrontierVille during this limited time sale, or are you still trying to spend the Horseshoes you purchased from the last sale? What will you splurge on with these Horseshoes? Do you have a particular item in mind, or will you just save them for future use?
FarmVille Vineyard Items: Bay Laurel Tree, Stomp Barrel, Camarillo Horse and much more
With tonight's FarmVille update comes a fairly large set of items in the current Vineyard limited edition item theme. There are new trees, animals, buildings and decorations available for purchase, and while most do scream "vineyard" when you look at their design, there are still a few items here that would match other themes as well. Without further ado, let's jump right into our look at what's available.
Trees:
Bay Laurel Tree - 5 Farm Cash
California Laurel - 5 Farm Cash
Here's something that's both exciting and confusing, as both of these trees are only 5 Farm Cash each. They are a pair, meaning that one will give you the other via Mystery Seedlings, but which tree is the Mystery Seedling tree? Fear not, farmers, as we've figured that out for you. If you're looking to just purchase the level one tree, then purchase the California Laurel, as Bay Laurels will appear from Mystery Seedlings (for free) after the fact.
Animals:
Camarillo Horse - 28 Farm Cash
White-winged Scoter - 18 Farm Cash
For duck collectors, the White-winged Scoter is a mostly black duck, with white feathers on its wings. Meanwhile, the Camarillo Horse is all white, and actually looks quite dainty when standing next to other, larger horses (mind you, it's still cute). The Camarillo Horse can be bred, producing an adorable Camarillo Foal, so keep that in mind as well.
Buildings:
Vineyard - 30 Farm Cash
Vineyard B&B - 25 Farm Cash
Personally, the Vineyard is one of the prettiest buildings I've seen in quite some time, with tons of landscaping and an animated water wheel. It's just unfortunate that both of these buildings cost Farm Cash, as I would've loved a cheaper option to add them to my farm.
Decorations:
Barrel Cart - 30,000 coins
Grape Vines - 1 Farm Cash
Grape Vines II - 5,000 coins
Green Hill I - 5 Farm Cash
Green Hill II - 2 Farm Cash
Grape Baskets - 10,000 coins
Stomp Barrel - 50,000 coins
For the Grape Vine items, the difference between the two is that the premium item has grapes visibly growing on the vines, while the coin version does not. Meanwhile, Green Hill I is a much larger, and more complex item than the Green Hill II, which also explains the pricing.
While there may not be many truly impressive items in this release that are available for coins, you'll still have two weeks to decide whether or not you'd like to splurge by spending some Farm Cash instead. It's likely that Zynga will release more Vineyard items into the theme before these expire, however, so keep checking back with us as we'll be sure you're the first to know if/when they do.
Which of these Vineyard items is your favorite? Will you add the Camarillo Horse to your collection? Will you create a whole field with the Grape Vines instead?
Trees:
Bay Laurel Tree - 5 Farm Cash
California Laurel - 5 Farm Cash
Here's something that's both exciting and confusing, as both of these trees are only 5 Farm Cash each. They are a pair, meaning that one will give you the other via Mystery Seedlings, but which tree is the Mystery Seedling tree? Fear not, farmers, as we've figured that out for you. If you're looking to just purchase the level one tree, then purchase the California Laurel, as Bay Laurels will appear from Mystery Seedlings (for free) after the fact.
Animals:
Camarillo Horse - 28 Farm Cash
White-winged Scoter - 18 Farm Cash
For duck collectors, the White-winged Scoter is a mostly black duck, with white feathers on its wings. Meanwhile, the Camarillo Horse is all white, and actually looks quite dainty when standing next to other, larger horses (mind you, it's still cute). The Camarillo Horse can be bred, producing an adorable Camarillo Foal, so keep that in mind as well.
Buildings:
Vineyard - 30 Farm Cash
Vineyard B&B - 25 Farm Cash
Personally, the Vineyard is one of the prettiest buildings I've seen in quite some time, with tons of landscaping and an animated water wheel. It's just unfortunate that both of these buildings cost Farm Cash, as I would've loved a cheaper option to add them to my farm.
Decorations:
Barrel Cart - 30,000 coins
Grape Vines - 1 Farm Cash
Grape Vines II - 5,000 coins
Green Hill I - 5 Farm Cash
Green Hill II - 2 Farm Cash
Grape Baskets - 10,000 coins
Stomp Barrel - 50,000 coins
For the Grape Vine items, the difference between the two is that the premium item has grapes visibly growing on the vines, while the coin version does not. Meanwhile, Green Hill I is a much larger, and more complex item than the Green Hill II, which also explains the pricing.
While there may not be many truly impressive items in this release that are available for coins, you'll still have two weeks to decide whether or not you'd like to splurge by spending some Farm Cash instead. It's likely that Zynga will release more Vineyard items into the theme before these expire, however, so keep checking back with us as we'll be sure you're the first to know if/when they do.
Which of these Vineyard items is your favorite? Will you add the Camarillo Horse to your collection? Will you create a whole field with the Grape Vines instead?
FarmVille Craftshop Expansion Goals: Everything you need to know
Along with the new ability to expand your FarmVille Craftshop to allow crafting of up to six items at once, Zynga has released a new goal series in FarmVille this evening, dealing with the new Craftshop Expansion. This is a three-part goal series, and you have just two weeks to complete it. Here's a guide to show you how to do just that:
A Fitting Beginning
Get 6 Sawhorses
Buy 1 Craftshop
Harvest "whatever you like" 200 times
This goal is fairly simple, as you can harvest any animals, trees or crops on your farm for the harvesting portion to count. Meanwhile, you'll need to ask for Sawhorses via a general wall post, and if you already have a Craftshop on your farm, that step will be completed as well. Finishing off this rather simple goal gives you 100 XP, 5 Love Potions and 1,000 coins.
The Big Job
Add a Station to your Craftshop
Harvest 1 Pigpen
Make the Yellow Racer recipe 1 time
To add a station to your Craftshop, you'll need to collect five each of Wrenches, Pipes and Clamps. The Yellow Racer recipe, meanwhile, calls for 4 bags of Manure (from pigs), 10 Coffee Bushels and six Pepper Bushels. The recipe time is 12 hours for this one, so you'll have plenty of time to collect those building ingredients for your new station while you wait for it to complete. For finishing these three tasks, you'll receive 250 XP, 10 Cans of Fuel, and 2,500 coins.
Joy Ride
Get 12 Pairs of Fuzzy Dice
Use a Tractor 15 Times
Harvest 1 Orchard
Unfortunately, the Orchard task my slow you down, especially if you had just harvested all of your Orchards before launching into this goal. You'll need to ask your friends for the Fuzzy Dice, as you might have expected, and will need to simply plow 15 plots of land with a Tractor to finish off that final task. Doing so completes this goal series, and also sees you rewarded with 500 XP, a Mechanic Gnome (complete with wrench and grease) and 5,000 coins.
All told, this goal series doesn't look to be too complicated, but rather time consuming instead. For most farmers, the process of expanding the Craftshop will likely take the longest, but just remember to keep an eye out for friends that are sharing excess parts, and you'll be able to finish that particular task even faster than if you simply waited for your own requests for items to be fulfilled. Happy crafting!
[Via Zynga]
What do you think of these newest Craftshop Expansion Goals? Are you interested in expanding your Craftshop to be able to craft more than one item at a time, or did you immediately ignore the feature as soon as it was launched?
A Fitting Beginning
Get 6 Sawhorses
Buy 1 Craftshop
Harvest "whatever you like" 200 times
This goal is fairly simple, as you can harvest any animals, trees or crops on your farm for the harvesting portion to count. Meanwhile, you'll need to ask for Sawhorses via a general wall post, and if you already have a Craftshop on your farm, that step will be completed as well. Finishing off this rather simple goal gives you 100 XP, 5 Love Potions and 1,000 coins.
The Big Job
Add a Station to your Craftshop
Harvest 1 Pigpen
Make the Yellow Racer recipe 1 time
To add a station to your Craftshop, you'll need to collect five each of Wrenches, Pipes and Clamps. The Yellow Racer recipe, meanwhile, calls for 4 bags of Manure (from pigs), 10 Coffee Bushels and six Pepper Bushels. The recipe time is 12 hours for this one, so you'll have plenty of time to collect those building ingredients for your new station while you wait for it to complete. For finishing these three tasks, you'll receive 250 XP, 10 Cans of Fuel, and 2,500 coins.
Joy Ride
Get 12 Pairs of Fuzzy Dice
Use a Tractor 15 Times
Harvest 1 Orchard
Unfortunately, the Orchard task my slow you down, especially if you had just harvested all of your Orchards before launching into this goal. You'll need to ask your friends for the Fuzzy Dice, as you might have expected, and will need to simply plow 15 plots of land with a Tractor to finish off that final task. Doing so completes this goal series, and also sees you rewarded with 500 XP, a Mechanic Gnome (complete with wrench and grease) and 5,000 coins.
All told, this goal series doesn't look to be too complicated, but rather time consuming instead. For most farmers, the process of expanding the Craftshop will likely take the longest, but just remember to keep an eye out for friends that are sharing excess parts, and you'll be able to finish that particular task even faster than if you simply waited for your own requests for items to be fulfilled. Happy crafting!
[Via Zynga]
What do you think of these newest Craftshop Expansion Goals? Are you interested in expanding your Craftshop to be able to craft more than one item at a time, or did you immediately ignore the feature as soon as it was launched?
Brooklyn politician hooked on CityVille more than New York City
Hell, it's tough enough to keep up with one city much less a fantasy one. Brooklyn, NY Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. (pictured), currently facing federal corruption charges, has been found to have played Zynga hit CityVille during frequent trips to Albany, according to NY Daily News. On top of managing his digital city while away, Boyland reportedly played CityVille while in Assembly meetings debating important issues like rent regulation.
In fact, NY Daily News reports that during a meeting regarding that very subject, Boyland posted that he needed "donuts to fuel hungry cops" and that the food was necessary "to apprehend the bandits." However, those words could easily be the automated message CityVille puts out when players request Donuts from their friends, and not Boyland's own words. The Capitol newspaper found that Boyland logged into CityVille at least seven times during that very meeting on June 21, after comparing his Facebook activity with Assembly records.
"It's galling that a red-faced Assemblyman would continue to show disrespect for the institution by playing games on the floor," Citizen's Union executive director Dick Dadey told NY Daily News. This news comes in the midst of Boyland facing corruption charges for doing political favors for Brookdale University Hospital in Brooklyn in exchange for a consulting job. You almost can't blame the guy--well, for the gaming. A city with no problems that makes money from thin air? Sounds like a politician's dream to me.
[Image Credit: Kevin Hagen]
What do you think of Boyland's craving for another city? Do you think politicians deserve an escape too, and when does it go too far?
In fact, NY Daily News reports that during a meeting regarding that very subject, Boyland posted that he needed "donuts to fuel hungry cops" and that the food was necessary "to apprehend the bandits." However, those words could easily be the automated message CityVille puts out when players request Donuts from their friends, and not Boyland's own words. The Capitol newspaper found that Boyland logged into CityVille at least seven times during that very meeting on June 21, after comparing his Facebook activity with Assembly records.
"It's galling that a red-faced Assemblyman would continue to show disrespect for the institution by playing games on the floor," Citizen's Union executive director Dick Dadey told NY Daily News. This news comes in the midst of Boyland facing corruption charges for doing political favors for Brookdale University Hospital in Brooklyn in exchange for a consulting job. You almost can't blame the guy--well, for the gaming. A city with no problems that makes money from thin air? Sounds like a politician's dream to me.
[Image Credit: Kevin Hagen]
What do you think of Boyland's craving for another city? Do you think politicians deserve an escape too, and when does it go too far?
Nintendo slashes 3DS price to $169.99 due to slashed expectations
Revolutionary technology that allows mere human eyes to see (and play with) 3D images without glasses isn't enough for you people? Who knows, but Nintendo seems to think it might have something to do with the dollar signs. The company has slashed the price of its brand new--really, this thing came out in March--3DS system from $249.99 in the US to $169.99. Effective Aug. 12, the 3D successor to the wildly popular DS Lite will be 32 percent cheaper.
Nintendo expected big things from the 3DS, but after selling just 710 thousand units between April and June, after selling 3.6 million in its first five weeks, the Big N had to do something. However, price might not be the only ailment the Nintendo 3DS suffered during that time. For one, it's had a difficult launch period with few games released from the publisher before the 3D edition of the N64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in June.
But the 3DS might have a deeper, more terminal illness that has prevented it from taking off. Nintendo hasn't only been stubborn when it comes to Facebook and free mobile gaming, but has come into the online gaming age overall kicking and screaming. The 3DS still uses Friend Codes for players to connect with one another--arguably every gaming platform has graduated to more robust player profiles and social overlays like Xbox Live, Steam and arguably even Facebook.
Perhaps the target audience for the 3DS has moved onto other mobile gaming solutions. You know, like the smartphones in the pockets of hundreds of millions worldwide? For those of you who haven't given up hope, Nintendo is offering 20 free downloadable games--to customers who purchased a 3DS before Aug. 11--from both the NES and Game Boy Advance eras.
[Via Pocket Gamer]
Do you think the 3DS will gain some momentum, thanks to the price cut? How do you game on the go, and would you ever buy a dedicated handheld gaming system again?
Nintendo expected big things from the 3DS, but after selling just 710 thousand units between April and June, after selling 3.6 million in its first five weeks, the Big N had to do something. However, price might not be the only ailment the Nintendo 3DS suffered during that time. For one, it's had a difficult launch period with few games released from the publisher before the 3D edition of the N64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in June.
But the 3DS might have a deeper, more terminal illness that has prevented it from taking off. Nintendo hasn't only been stubborn when it comes to Facebook and free mobile gaming, but has come into the online gaming age overall kicking and screaming. The 3DS still uses Friend Codes for players to connect with one another--arguably every gaming platform has graduated to more robust player profiles and social overlays like Xbox Live, Steam and arguably even Facebook.
Perhaps the target audience for the 3DS has moved onto other mobile gaming solutions. You know, like the smartphones in the pockets of hundreds of millions worldwide? For those of you who haven't given up hope, Nintendo is offering 20 free downloadable games--to customers who purchased a 3DS before Aug. 11--from both the NES and Game Boy Advance eras.
[Via Pocket Gamer]
Do you think the 3DS will gain some momentum, thanks to the price cut? How do you game on the go, and would you ever buy a dedicated handheld gaming system again?
Building the Cafe World 4X Cooking Station: Everything you need to know
Well chefs, Cafe World's clever inventor Siggy is at it again, as he has created another item that will allow you to save space in your cafe, without losing any of its functionality in the process. This time, the invention comes in the form of a 4X Cooking Station, a four-in-one stove, that actually combines four of your already placed stoves into one, saving you space.
Not to be confused with the 4X Mega Stove, which is a single stove that has four burners (that must be unlocked), this 4X Cooking Station combines four stoves into one, allowing you to choose which stoves to combine (whether they be regular or Super/Lightning) in order to receive the biggest bang for your buck. Of course, you won't simply be given a completed 4X Cooking station, as you'll need to build one after placing your free base.
Construction requires four items:
6 Gas Pipes
9 Bolts
10 Steel Panels
10 Thermostats
You'll be able to acquire these items by clicking on the "Ask for More" button associated with each, and then asking your friends to send them to you. Either that, or you can speed up the building process considerably by simply purchasing each building ingredient for 4 Cafe Cash each.
Once the station is done, you can drag and drop four stoves of your choosing into it. To be clear, this 4X Cooking Station doesn't become any larger when full, so you'll save three squares (normally taken up by stoves) when it's completely full. Super Stoves, for instance, also won't lose the ability to cook dishes faster, and you'll be able to serve your 4X Cooking Station with just a single click. Finally, you can add a bit of a personal touch to the station by choosing its color pattern from a selection of templates.
Of course, there can't be a new release in Cafe World without a set of goals to go along with it, so be sure to check back with us soon as we'll bring you a complete guide to the 4X Cooking Station Goals just as soon as we can check out our complete guide to completing them right here.
What do you think of the 4X Cooking Station? Are you fine taking up extra space with each individual stove, or will you gladly take the ability to combine and save space?
Not to be confused with the 4X Mega Stove, which is a single stove that has four burners (that must be unlocked), this 4X Cooking Station combines four stoves into one, allowing you to choose which stoves to combine (whether they be regular or Super/Lightning) in order to receive the biggest bang for your buck. Of course, you won't simply be given a completed 4X Cooking station, as you'll need to build one after placing your free base.
Construction requires four items:
6 Gas Pipes
9 Bolts
10 Steel Panels
10 Thermostats
You'll be able to acquire these items by clicking on the "Ask for More" button associated with each, and then asking your friends to send them to you. Either that, or you can speed up the building process considerably by simply purchasing each building ingredient for 4 Cafe Cash each.
Once the station is done, you can drag and drop four stoves of your choosing into it. To be clear, this 4X Cooking Station doesn't become any larger when full, so you'll save three squares (normally taken up by stoves) when it's completely full. Super Stoves, for instance, also won't lose the ability to cook dishes faster, and you'll be able to serve your 4X Cooking Station with just a single click. Finally, you can add a bit of a personal touch to the station by choosing its color pattern from a selection of templates.
Of course, there can't be a new release in Cafe World without a set of goals to go along with it, so be sure to check back with us soon as we'll bring you a complete guide to the 4X Cooking Station Goals just as soon as we can check out our complete guide to completing them right here.
What do you think of the 4X Cooking Station? Are you fine taking up extra space with each individual stove, or will you gladly take the ability to combine and save space?
Thứ Sáu, 16 tháng 12, 2011
Tagged bulks up for a bout with Facebook, acquires WeGame
The imminent battle between Facebook and Google+ over social games domination has a potential, scrappy third contender. People often forget about Tagged, the San Francisco-based social network with a considerable 100 million plus users. Video games, our favorite thing to talk about, might change all that, as the company announced that it has purchased WeGame.
WeGame is a cross between a social network for gamers in vein of services like Raptr and an online store with digital copies of games. Of course, terms of the deal weren't disclosed, and it's unclear exactly how the social network will make use of its new gaming network-meets-game store.
This news is especially striking considering the fact that Tagged already offers social games to its users. In fact, the company hired former Pogo VP Andrew Pederson to oversee its social gaming efforts. Perhaps that venture hasn't produced results, or Tagged simply looks to further bolster its social gaming efforts. Unfortunately, we currently haven't a clue.
According to TechCrunch, Tagged will reveal the details of how WeGame's technology will be incorporated "in the coming months." The company in question is run by a mere four employees, so we imagine there is a good amount of automation going on there, something Tagged could be looking to take advantage of.
It's also worth noting that WeGame is heavily skewed toward the hardcore crowd, offering a number of games for sale that only fans of franchises like World of WarCraft might recognize. That said--and this is pure speculation--Tagged could be looking in a completely different direction than Facebook is and Google+ appears to be: the proverbial Call of Duty player. Hey, if the social network has found strong enough of a niche to thrive in the shadow of Facebook, perhaps it has found another.
Are you either a Tagged or WeGame user? What do you think of Tagged picking up another games service when it already offers games?
WeGame is a cross between a social network for gamers in vein of services like Raptr and an online store with digital copies of games. Of course, terms of the deal weren't disclosed, and it's unclear exactly how the social network will make use of its new gaming network-meets-game store.
This news is especially striking considering the fact that Tagged already offers social games to its users. In fact, the company hired former Pogo VP Andrew Pederson to oversee its social gaming efforts. Perhaps that venture hasn't produced results, or Tagged simply looks to further bolster its social gaming efforts. Unfortunately, we currently haven't a clue.
According to TechCrunch, Tagged will reveal the details of how WeGame's technology will be incorporated "in the coming months." The company in question is run by a mere four employees, so we imagine there is a good amount of automation going on there, something Tagged could be looking to take advantage of.
It's also worth noting that WeGame is heavily skewed toward the hardcore crowd, offering a number of games for sale that only fans of franchises like World of WarCraft might recognize. That said--and this is pure speculation--Tagged could be looking in a completely different direction than Facebook is and Google+ appears to be: the proverbial Call of Duty player. Hey, if the social network has found strong enough of a niche to thrive in the shadow of Facebook, perhaps it has found another.
Are you either a Tagged or WeGame user? What do you think of Tagged picking up another games service when it already offers games?
CrowdStar, others dock in Sibblingz Spaceport for mobile social games
If we haven't driven home yet that mobile will be massive in the future of social games, we clearly haven't done our job. Luckily, news like the fact that Sibblingz has signed on It Girl creator CrowdStar and a number of other developers to use its Spaceport service helps us make good on that.
TechCrunch reports that--in addition to CrowdStar--BitRhymes, IKIGames, LuckyLabs, Fortune Planet and DeezGames have signed on to use Spaceport to create mobile versions of their Facebook games. Spaceport is Sibblingz's cloud-based game development platform that allows developers like CrowdStar to create mobile games that work on both iOS and Android devices.
Essentially, it allows developers to create a mobile game once and have it run on multiple mobile devices. The platform makes use of coding languages like Javascript and HTML5, but neither of which are known for making robust or fully-featured games on iPhones or Android phones. However, Sibblingz claims that games built on Spaceport feature an app-like experience.
What Sibblingz means is that, while these games are built using simpler code languages, they will perform like, say CityVille Hometown by Zynga. That game was built using tools specifically for iOS devices and is thus more visually impressive and feature-rich than mobile browser games. However, according to TechCrunch, developers can even create games specifically for iPhones and iPads through Spaceport.
Sibblingz also says that developers can make games for Facebook's worst-kept secret, Project Spartan--an initiative to bring Facebook to mobile devices through browsers using HTML5 complete with full-featured apps and games--through Spaceport. Jeez, on paper it sounds like Spaceport can do anything but make the cash flow.
Regardless, what's important to take away here is that social game developers realize that mobile is where it's at. Frankly, it's one area where clear winners have yet to be defined, much unlike Facebook (ahem, Zynga and EA). At this point, anyone could come out a winner on mobile, and perhaps the companies that embrace cross-platform game creation like CrowdStar will have the upper hand.
Do you think these developers have a chance at winning the mobile race these social game creators are running with Spaceport? Who do you think will ultimately win the mobile social gaming war?
TechCrunch reports that--in addition to CrowdStar--BitRhymes, IKIGames, LuckyLabs, Fortune Planet and DeezGames have signed on to use Spaceport to create mobile versions of their Facebook games. Spaceport is Sibblingz's cloud-based game development platform that allows developers like CrowdStar to create mobile games that work on both iOS and Android devices.
Essentially, it allows developers to create a mobile game once and have it run on multiple mobile devices. The platform makes use of coding languages like Javascript and HTML5, but neither of which are known for making robust or fully-featured games on iPhones or Android phones. However, Sibblingz claims that games built on Spaceport feature an app-like experience.
What Sibblingz means is that, while these games are built using simpler code languages, they will perform like, say CityVille Hometown by Zynga. That game was built using tools specifically for iOS devices and is thus more visually impressive and feature-rich than mobile browser games. However, according to TechCrunch, developers can even create games specifically for iPhones and iPads through Spaceport.
Sibblingz also says that developers can make games for Facebook's worst-kept secret, Project Spartan--an initiative to bring Facebook to mobile devices through browsers using HTML5 complete with full-featured apps and games--through Spaceport. Jeez, on paper it sounds like Spaceport can do anything but make the cash flow.
Regardless, what's important to take away here is that social game developers realize that mobile is where it's at. Frankly, it's one area where clear winners have yet to be defined, much unlike Facebook (ahem, Zynga and EA). At this point, anyone could come out a winner on mobile, and perhaps the companies that embrace cross-platform game creation like CrowdStar will have the upper hand.
Do you think these developers have a chance at winning the mobile race these social game creators are running with Spaceport? Who do you think will ultimately win the mobile social gaming war?
Mafia Wars 2: Like Facebook fan page to unlock prizes in final game
While little is known about Mafia Wars 2 in terms of it's actual gameplay, we do know that prizes are being offered for users that Like the game's Facebook fan page. If this entire promotion looks familiar, it's because EA/Playfish pulled this one during the Sims Social pre-launch hype, and now we're seeing it again here.
Either way, we know that there will eventually be nine prizes available to unlock, although only seven of them have been revealed. These prizes are limited to varying (increasing) amounts of Likes, and will be unlocked in the final game upon launch if we reach those milestones in time. Here's the complete rundown:
Black Mohawk Hair - 20,000 Likes
Casino Row T-Shirt - 50,000 Likes
Graffiti Wall - 100,000 Likes
Skull Bandana - 250,000 Likes
Animated Lions - 500,000 Likes
Tribal Tattoo - 1 million Likes
Stripes Baseball Cap - 1.5 million Likes
Two additional prizes have yet to be revealed. So far, the fan page has only gained 70,000 Likes, so we've only managed to unlock the Black Mohawk Hair and Casino Row T-Shirt as prizes. Since the game's announcement is so new, and the hype train has barely left the station, I'd imagine we'll see that number climb slowly at first, and then monumentally as the game comes closer and closer to launch. And once we find out what those final two prizes are, we'll make sure to let you know.
Are you excited about Mafia Wars 2? If the game doesn't offer any incentive for users to switch from the original to this new version, will you?
Either way, we know that there will eventually be nine prizes available to unlock, although only seven of them have been revealed. These prizes are limited to varying (increasing) amounts of Likes, and will be unlocked in the final game upon launch if we reach those milestones in time. Here's the complete rundown:
Black Mohawk Hair - 20,000 Likes
Casino Row T-Shirt - 50,000 Likes
Graffiti Wall - 100,000 Likes
Skull Bandana - 250,000 Likes
Animated Lions - 500,000 Likes
Tribal Tattoo - 1 million Likes
Stripes Baseball Cap - 1.5 million Likes
Two additional prizes have yet to be revealed. So far, the fan page has only gained 70,000 Likes, so we've only managed to unlock the Black Mohawk Hair and Casino Row T-Shirt as prizes. Since the game's announcement is so new, and the hype train has barely left the station, I'd imagine we'll see that number climb slowly at first, and then monumentally as the game comes closer and closer to launch. And once we find out what those final two prizes are, we'll make sure to let you know.
Are you excited about Mafia Wars 2? If the game doesn't offer any incentive for users to switch from the original to this new version, will you?
Earn 4 free FarmVille Farm Cash in Capital One promotion
At this rate, perhaps we should just rename FarmVille "Capital OneVille." Why? Yet another cross-promotional activity has launched in the game, allowing users to walk away with 4 free Farm Cash. Unlike the Capital One farm and goat, or even the Capital One free gift that can be sent to friends, this promotion is found where most other free Farm Cash promotions are located: underneath the FarmVille gameplay area.
This promotion is a fairly lengthy one. Once you launch the activity window, you'll need to watch a full Capital One trailer, and can then answer some quiz and survey about what you've seen or the Capital One brand in general. Don't worry - these "quiz" questions are incredibly easy, and if I had to make a guess, it likely wouldn't matter which way you answered; you'd still likely get the Farm Cash at the end.
After manually answering one fill-in-the-blank question, the activity will finally be complete, and you'll be the proud owner of 4 free Farm Cash. This is double the amount of Farm Cash we normally see released in such promotions, so at least it excuses a bit of the additional time it takes to complete this particular activity. As usual, you'll want to complete this promotion as soon as you see it pop-up underneath your game; there's no telling when it will expire, and you will have missed your chance.
Have you seen the Capital One promotion appear under your gameplay area in FarmVille? What will you do with your four free Farm Cash?
This promotion is a fairly lengthy one. Once you launch the activity window, you'll need to watch a full Capital One trailer, and can then answer some quiz and survey about what you've seen or the Capital One brand in general. Don't worry - these "quiz" questions are incredibly easy, and if I had to make a guess, it likely wouldn't matter which way you answered; you'd still likely get the Farm Cash at the end.
After manually answering one fill-in-the-blank question, the activity will finally be complete, and you'll be the proud owner of 4 free Farm Cash. This is double the amount of Farm Cash we normally see released in such promotions, so at least it excuses a bit of the additional time it takes to complete this particular activity. As usual, you'll want to complete this promotion as soon as you see it pop-up underneath your game; there's no telling when it will expire, and you will have missed your chance.
Have you seen the Capital One promotion appear under your gameplay area in FarmVille? What will you do with your four free Farm Cash?
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove: Splurge on an Unwither Ring for your new farm
Even though the actual act of farming isn't the main focus of FarmVille's third farm the Lighthouse Cove (rather, the focus is on creating a resort village with buildings, trees or even animals), if you really don't want to have to worry about farming (specifically, losing your crops) ever again, you can purchase an Unwither Ring specifically for your new farm so that your new crops will never wither... ever. Even if you happen to forget you've planted crops in your new farm, or plant short-growing crops that happen to wither quicker than you imagined, this Unwither Ring will prevent all that.
Of course, just because you're purchasing one for a new farm doesn't mean the price of this luxury / convenience has gone down. A single Unwither Ring costs 250 Farm Cash, and you can either keep one for yourself, or purchase one to send to a friend (a very, very lucky friend). If the color matters, this new version of the Unwither Ring comes in a lovely purple box.
As usual, this Unwither Ring release isn't permanent, as you'll only have 12 days to purchase one for your Lighthouse Cove. While the item will permanently function on that farm, your ability to purchase is fading fast. Still, is the current equivalent of over $45 US worth the convenience of never having to worry about your crops' time limit? We'll leave that up to you to decide.
Will you purchase an Unwither Ring for your Lighthouse Cove farm? Do you have a ring on your other farms? If so, were they worth the purchase?
Of course, just because you're purchasing one for a new farm doesn't mean the price of this luxury / convenience has gone down. A single Unwither Ring costs 250 Farm Cash, and you can either keep one for yourself, or purchase one to send to a friend (a very, very lucky friend). If the color matters, this new version of the Unwither Ring comes in a lovely purple box.
As usual, this Unwither Ring release isn't permanent, as you'll only have 12 days to purchase one for your Lighthouse Cove. While the item will permanently function on that farm, your ability to purchase is fading fast. Still, is the current equivalent of over $45 US worth the convenience of never having to worry about your crops' time limit? We'll leave that up to you to decide.
Will you purchase an Unwither Ring for your Lighthouse Cove farm? Do you have a ring on your other farms? If so, were they worth the purchase?
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove: New items come with sale prices for a limited time
On top of releasing new items in the FarmVille marketplace this evening, Zynga has also given us an extra incentive to go shopping by placing (most of these) new items on sale, but only for a limited time. These items come in the Lighthouse Cove theme, which, as you'll recall means that you can either place them on your Lighthouse Cove proper, or can place them on other farms as well. Just remember that if you purchase them on your Home or English farm and then want to move them to the Lighthouse Cove, you won't be able to move them back and forth until we've been given the ability to access storage across all three farms. Without further ado, here's a look at this week's available items.
Trees
Autumn Cherry Tree - 5 Farm Cash (down from 8)
Bradford Pear Tree - 10 Farm Cash (down from 14)
The Autumn Cherry Tree is the level one tree in this equation, meaning you can earn Bradford Pear Trees for free from Mystery Seedlings. These sale prices bring the trees back down to the prices we used to see trees priced at normally, so make sure to snag one (some) if those cheaper prices are acceptable to you.
Animals
Brown Maine Coon - 8 Farm Cash (down from 10)
Brown Pinto Mini - 22 Farm Cash (down from 26)
The Brown Maine Coon is simply a brown version of the original Maine Coon that's available for 200,000 coins, permanently. It does, however, come with its own mastery sign, so you'll need to splurge on at least one if you want to be eligible to earn it. As for the Brown Pinto Mini, this is a new horse that gives you 2,600 experience points upon purchasing it.
Buildings
Fisherman's Shack - 16 Farm Cash (down from 20)
New England Inn - 30 Farm Cash
If you're taking the supposed "purpose" of Lighthouse Cove seriously (that being to create a building-centric resort town), you'll be happy to see that this Fisherman's Shack placed on sale, as you'll be able to further flesh out that building with this "home" for even cheaper than before. Interestingly, the New England Inn isn't on sale, but it's not the only one that's not been given the sale price treatment.
Decorations
Autumn Creek - 12 Farm Cash (down from 15)
October Picnic - 3 Farm Cash
Flowery Picket - 5,000 coins
Porch Swing - 50,000 coins
Tree Arch - 10,000 coins
As I said before, here's another set of items that haven't been given sale prices. While this is expected with coin items, as coins are free to come by, I am surprised that the October Picnic hasn't been priced at 1 or 2 Farm Cash instead of 3, just so it too could be "on sale." Either way, make sure to check your storage for a Tree Arch, as it's been released before in previous events. Also, while an item called the "Porch Swing" has been released before, please note that this item is different.
As usual, all of these items are on a time limit, and will only be around for the the next 13 days. Happy farming!
Which of these items will you purchase for your farms? Have you been using these Lighthouse Cove items on other farms as simply decorations, or are you keeping them on your new farm?
Trees
Autumn Cherry Tree - 5 Farm Cash (down from 8)
Bradford Pear Tree - 10 Farm Cash (down from 14)
The Autumn Cherry Tree is the level one tree in this equation, meaning you can earn Bradford Pear Trees for free from Mystery Seedlings. These sale prices bring the trees back down to the prices we used to see trees priced at normally, so make sure to snag one (some) if those cheaper prices are acceptable to you.
Animals
Brown Maine Coon - 8 Farm Cash (down from 10)
Brown Pinto Mini - 22 Farm Cash (down from 26)
The Brown Maine Coon is simply a brown version of the original Maine Coon that's available for 200,000 coins, permanently. It does, however, come with its own mastery sign, so you'll need to splurge on at least one if you want to be eligible to earn it. As for the Brown Pinto Mini, this is a new horse that gives you 2,600 experience points upon purchasing it.
Buildings
Fisherman's Shack - 16 Farm Cash (down from 20)
New England Inn - 30 Farm Cash
If you're taking the supposed "purpose" of Lighthouse Cove seriously (that being to create a building-centric resort town), you'll be happy to see that this Fisherman's Shack placed on sale, as you'll be able to further flesh out that building with this "home" for even cheaper than before. Interestingly, the New England Inn isn't on sale, but it's not the only one that's not been given the sale price treatment.
Decorations
Autumn Creek - 12 Farm Cash (down from 15)
October Picnic - 3 Farm Cash
Flowery Picket - 5,000 coins
Porch Swing - 50,000 coins
Tree Arch - 10,000 coins
As I said before, here's another set of items that haven't been given sale prices. While this is expected with coin items, as coins are free to come by, I am surprised that the October Picnic hasn't been priced at 1 or 2 Farm Cash instead of 3, just so it too could be "on sale." Either way, make sure to check your storage for a Tree Arch, as it's been released before in previous events. Also, while an item called the "Porch Swing" has been released before, please note that this item is different.
As usual, all of these items are on a time limit, and will only be around for the the next 13 days. Happy farming!
Which of these items will you purchase for your farms? Have you been using these Lighthouse Cove items on other farms as simply decorations, or are you keeping them on your new farm?
Thứ Ba, 13 tháng 12, 2011
FarmVille meets Indiana Jones for real in Adventure World soon
Since Adventure World's release last week, many media outlets dubbed it "FarmVille meets Indiana Jones." It seems that Zynga took those allusions to heart, as the company has teamed up with Lucasfilm to make good on those hit-generating remarks. Zynga just announced that Indiana Jones will soon make his way into Adventure World this October.
In fact, it appears that the game will be completely rebranded with the Indiana Jones name, according to the above image. The teaser depicts the familiar Adventure World logo, but now reads, "Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game." To us at least, this implies that Zynga Boston's debut game will incorporate the Indiana Jones brand throughout (and perhaps permanently). The wording of Zynga's announcement certainly steers us toward this conclusion:
Zynga is proud to announce that we're teaming up with Lucasfilm to bring Indiana Jones - the KING of lost idol hunting, bull whipping, holy grail-ing and flying (but not landing) - to your favorite adventure game. Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game will be coming soon to a browser near you.
If this is, in fact, the case, Adventure World would be the first Zynga game built entirely around a single brand, rather than the one-off promotions we see from brands like McDonald's in FarmVille and recently Best Buy in CityVille. Considering the massively ambitious game hasn't been doing so hot its first week out of the gate, this could be second wind it needs.
Is the Indy Jones fan in you excited by this announcement? What do you think of Adventure World so far?
In fact, it appears that the game will be completely rebranded with the Indiana Jones name, according to the above image. The teaser depicts the familiar Adventure World logo, but now reads, "Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game." To us at least, this implies that Zynga Boston's debut game will incorporate the Indiana Jones brand throughout (and perhaps permanently). The wording of Zynga's announcement certainly steers us toward this conclusion:
Zynga is proud to announce that we're teaming up with Lucasfilm to bring Indiana Jones - the KING of lost idol hunting, bull whipping, holy grail-ing and flying (but not landing) - to your favorite adventure game. Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game will be coming soon to a browser near you.
If this is, in fact, the case, Adventure World would be the first Zynga game built entirely around a single brand, rather than the one-off promotions we see from brands like McDonald's in FarmVille and recently Best Buy in CityVille. Considering the massively ambitious game hasn't been doing so hot its first week out of the gate, this could be second wind it needs.
Is the Indy Jones fan in you excited by this announcement? What do you think of Adventure World so far?
Game of the Day: Pop & Drop
pop and drop game of the dayA herd of colored balls is headed your way, and unless you act quickly, they'll drop right on top of you! Pop all the colored balls before they reach you by creating sets of three or more.
Pop & Drop features two awesome game modes: action mode and the strategy-based perpetual mode. I promise you though, you'll be kept on your toes regardless of what mode you play. Make sure to use the special power pieces to help you rack up the big points.
Click here to play Pop & Drop!
pop and drop game of the day pop and drop game of the day
Pro Tips:
Pop & Drop shows you where your next shot is going to land. This is an invaluable tool! With it you can line up insanely tight shots through gaps, enabling you to hit those huge combos.
Bank balls off the walls. As I said before, Pop & Drop shows you where your next ball will land, even for banked shots. Use it to access those hard to reach places.
Be precise! When the balls are closing in, don't fire wildly. Calm down and make sure you hit an intelligent shot. For example, don't just shoot the ball onto the first level, or you'll need two more balls of the same color to knock it off. Instead, stack it onto another color so when you knock that set off, both colors will pop.
When all hope is lost, and the colored ball armada is knocking on your door, don't forget to use your arsenal of destructive grenades.
Pop & Drop features two awesome game modes: action mode and the strategy-based perpetual mode. I promise you though, you'll be kept on your toes regardless of what mode you play. Make sure to use the special power pieces to help you rack up the big points.
Click here to play Pop & Drop!
pop and drop game of the day pop and drop game of the day
Pro Tips:
Pop & Drop shows you where your next shot is going to land. This is an invaluable tool! With it you can line up insanely tight shots through gaps, enabling you to hit those huge combos.
Bank balls off the walls. As I said before, Pop & Drop shows you where your next ball will land, even for banked shots. Use it to access those hard to reach places.
Be precise! When the balls are closing in, don't fire wildly. Calm down and make sure you hit an intelligent shot. For example, don't just shoot the ball onto the first level, or you'll need two more balls of the same color to knock it off. Instead, stack it onto another color so when you knock that set off, both colors will pop.
When all hope is lost, and the colored ball armada is knocking on your door, don't forget to use your arsenal of destructive grenades.
Diamond Dash maker: Social games 'will evolve again in the next years'
Frankly, they kind of have no choice. That's general idea Wooga studio head Henric Suuronen (pictured) seems to have put forward in an in-depth interview with Gamasutra. And it would be wise to listen--the Berlin, Germany-based Facebook game creator is third behind Zynga and EA (now that PopCap's numbers have been integrated), according to AppData.
During the interview, Suuronen gave Gamasutra a detailed explanation of where Facebook games have been, what it takes to create them from a design perspective and, most importantly, where they're going. Specifically speaking to social mechanics in Facebook games, Suuronen said to Gamasutra:
"Now moving four years forward, you have games like CityVille, Pioneer Trail from Zynga, Kabam games, Digital Chocolate games, and Zombie Lane -- great game -- and now Magic Land," Suuronen told Gamasutra. "So it has really evolved. So why would the progression stop here? So I think it will evolve, as it has done from four years ago with Jetman and Scrabulous and Tower Bloxx. So it will evolve again in the next years."
The hit maker behind Diamond Dash recently released its seventh game on Facebook, Magic Land, which enjoys a healthy 3.4 million monthly players and over 330,000 daily players. According to Suuronen, Wooga's latest game had the most man hours thrown into it, a trend he seems to believe will continue. "The whole myth of the minimum viable product -- it's gone," Suuronen told Gamasutra. "It's something that you say to investors to sound cool."
Sure, Suuronen believes that players will eventually get tired of the standard social gaming mechanics of sharing gifts and helping asynchronously. However, the Wooga studio head also points out that the harsh reality of designing Facebook games to get players to pay up isn't going anywhere, and some traditional designers have trouble coming to grips with that.
Considering social games are expected to make $1 billion this year alone (and cash in even more from there), traditional designers and companies better wise up quick if they want to fit in the next big money machine. Read Suuronen's full interview with Gamasutra here, in which he predicts how you might be enticed to pay up in the future.
Do you agree that Facebook games can only grow into more robust entertainment options from here? Where would you like to see the industry go from today's CityVille's and other life simulators?
During the interview, Suuronen gave Gamasutra a detailed explanation of where Facebook games have been, what it takes to create them from a design perspective and, most importantly, where they're going. Specifically speaking to social mechanics in Facebook games, Suuronen said to Gamasutra:
"Now moving four years forward, you have games like CityVille, Pioneer Trail from Zynga, Kabam games, Digital Chocolate games, and Zombie Lane -- great game -- and now Magic Land," Suuronen told Gamasutra. "So it has really evolved. So why would the progression stop here? So I think it will evolve, as it has done from four years ago with Jetman and Scrabulous and Tower Bloxx. So it will evolve again in the next years."
The hit maker behind Diamond Dash recently released its seventh game on Facebook, Magic Land, which enjoys a healthy 3.4 million monthly players and over 330,000 daily players. According to Suuronen, Wooga's latest game had the most man hours thrown into it, a trend he seems to believe will continue. "The whole myth of the minimum viable product -- it's gone," Suuronen told Gamasutra. "It's something that you say to investors to sound cool."
Sure, Suuronen believes that players will eventually get tired of the standard social gaming mechanics of sharing gifts and helping asynchronously. However, the Wooga studio head also points out that the harsh reality of designing Facebook games to get players to pay up isn't going anywhere, and some traditional designers have trouble coming to grips with that.
Considering social games are expected to make $1 billion this year alone (and cash in even more from there), traditional designers and companies better wise up quick if they want to fit in the next big money machine. Read Suuronen's full interview with Gamasutra here, in which he predicts how you might be enticed to pay up in the future.
Do you agree that Facebook games can only grow into more robust entertainment options from here? Where would you like to see the industry go from today's CityVille's and other life simulators?
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Edrenee's farm has a little bit of everything
Previously this week, you folks had a couple complaints about Hemi 426's featured zoo farm. Though you agreed it was a huge FarmVille achievement, many of you folks thought it was just too cluttered and disorderly. In response, I present to you Edrenee's extremely organized farm.
While Edrenee's farm doesn't do anything incredibly artistic, you can't disagree that the orderly rows of crops and trees create a remarkable effect. It almost looks like a gardening enthusiast's back yard, with all kinds of crops neatly planted in rows. It's certainly a nice break from what we usually see: endless plantation-sized fields of the same crop. So even though it's not as creative as say, the dragon farm we featured a few weeks ago, it is a very nice FarmVille design that is certainly unique in its own right.
Finally, make sure you realize just how difficult it would be to coordinate all the crop grow times to take this photo. Very impressive Edrenee.
What do you think of Edrenee's farm?
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!
While Edrenee's farm doesn't do anything incredibly artistic, you can't disagree that the orderly rows of crops and trees create a remarkable effect. It almost looks like a gardening enthusiast's back yard, with all kinds of crops neatly planted in rows. It's certainly a nice break from what we usually see: endless plantation-sized fields of the same crop. So even though it's not as creative as say, the dragon farm we featured a few weeks ago, it is a very nice FarmVille design that is certainly unique in its own right.
Finally, make sure you realize just how difficult it would be to coordinate all the crop grow times to take this photo. Very impressive Edrenee.
What do you think of Edrenee's farm?
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!
Playfish founder: We have redefined social games with The Sims Social
The Sims Social is just an arm's reach from being the number one game on Facebook, so this kind of logic is expected. In an interview with MCV, Playfish founder and co-GM Kristian Segerstrale said, "In bringing one of EA's most popular game franchises to Facebook, Playfish and The Sims team have redefined the meaning of social in video games."
While The Sims Social certainly treads some new ground in how Facebook gamers interact, it's important to remember to chalk up much of the game's runaway success to the brand it's attached to. In just over a month since its release, The Sims Social has skyrocketed to become the second most popular Facebook game to date in both daily and monthly players, AppData reports.
Just last week, EA's (which owns Playfish) proverbial secret weapon ousted Zynga's iconic and ubiquitous FarmVille in daily players, but now the game has even more monthly players than the household name farming simulator with over 43.8 million and counting. The Sims Social has dipped a bit in daily players, but is just about 2.9 million fans away from beating out the might CityVille as the most played Facebook game daily.
"By combining Playfish's expertise and passion for social play with the deep creative heritage of The Sims franchise and the insights of its creators, we feel we've brought something very special to life – and tens of millions of players around the world have responded with extraordinary enthusiasm over the last few weeks," Segerstrale said to MCV.
The founder went on to say that new features to The Sims Social will land in the coming months. And we're sure that if EA wants to host the top Facebook game overall, that those features will have to be even more groundbreaking than before. How's about in-game marriages, eh? (Because we all know how well that's worked elsewhere.)
Have you been a part of The Sims Social craze on Facebook? Do you think it's incredible growth is due to its reportedly groundbreaking social features, or is more thanks to its name (it could always be both)?
While The Sims Social certainly treads some new ground in how Facebook gamers interact, it's important to remember to chalk up much of the game's runaway success to the brand it's attached to. In just over a month since its release, The Sims Social has skyrocketed to become the second most popular Facebook game to date in both daily and monthly players, AppData reports.
Just last week, EA's (which owns Playfish) proverbial secret weapon ousted Zynga's iconic and ubiquitous FarmVille in daily players, but now the game has even more monthly players than the household name farming simulator with over 43.8 million and counting. The Sims Social has dipped a bit in daily players, but is just about 2.9 million fans away from beating out the might CityVille as the most played Facebook game daily.
"By combining Playfish's expertise and passion for social play with the deep creative heritage of The Sims franchise and the insights of its creators, we feel we've brought something very special to life – and tens of millions of players around the world have responded with extraordinary enthusiasm over the last few weeks," Segerstrale said to MCV.
The founder went on to say that new features to The Sims Social will land in the coming months. And we're sure that if EA wants to host the top Facebook game overall, that those features will have to be even more groundbreaking than before. How's about in-game marriages, eh? (Because we all know how well that's worked elsewhere.)
Have you been a part of The Sims Social craze on Facebook? Do you think it's incredible growth is due to its reportedly groundbreaking social features, or is more thanks to its name (it could always be both)?
Empires & Allies Battle Blitz launches global PvP (and special prizes)
Finally, Zynga's answer to the growing legion of hardcore strategy games on Facebook, Empires & Allies, puts on the brass knuckles, so to speak. The developer has released Battle Blitz to the game, a feature that essentially allows you to invade (or be invaded by) any opposing Empire in the game. In other words, E&A finally has its own global PvP (player vs player) mode.
The feature appears on your tool bar to the bottom right of the screen with an icon that looks like two heads butting each other. Click on it to open the Battle Blitz menu. This replaces your Neighbor Bar for the time being with portraits of players that may or (most likely) may not be your Facebook friends. However, you must fight these players in succession--more on that later.
Once you click on the player, you will be taken to their Empire. Then, it's clobbering time as per usual. Click on a site to invade, and proceed to bring it to the ground. Once you successfully invade an opposing Empire, the Prize Machine will appear. Successfully invading Empires through Battle Blitz earns you Tokens to use in this feature for rewards like resources.
E&A Prize Machine
The reason you must invade Battle Blitz players in succession is that the higher you climb on the Battle Blitz ladder, the better your rewards will be from the Prize Machine. And just like normal invasions between friends, players can easily opt out of Battle Blitz by using your Immunity Tower or click on the white flag icon found to the left of the Battle Blitz bar. But look, this is war--why would you want to do that? What are you ... chicken?
The feature appears on your tool bar to the bottom right of the screen with an icon that looks like two heads butting each other. Click on it to open the Battle Blitz menu. This replaces your Neighbor Bar for the time being with portraits of players that may or (most likely) may not be your Facebook friends. However, you must fight these players in succession--more on that later.
Once you click on the player, you will be taken to their Empire. Then, it's clobbering time as per usual. Click on a site to invade, and proceed to bring it to the ground. Once you successfully invade an opposing Empire, the Prize Machine will appear. Successfully invading Empires through Battle Blitz earns you Tokens to use in this feature for rewards like resources.
E&A Prize Machine
The reason you must invade Battle Blitz players in succession is that the higher you climb on the Battle Blitz ladder, the better your rewards will be from the Prize Machine. And just like normal invasions between friends, players can easily opt out of Battle Blitz by using your Immunity Tower or click on the white flag icon found to the left of the Battle Blitz bar. But look, this is war--why would you want to do that? What are you ... chicken?
FarmVille Livestock Pen Animals re-released to fill your habitats
If you're looking for a slew of new (ok, re-released) animals to fill your new Livestock Pen in FarmVille, you'll want to check out the game's store within the next five days, as you can choose from a selection of re-released pigs, sheep and goats for a limited time. Here's the full lineup of re-released animals, along with their prices for your reference.
Black Pied Pig - 18 Farm Cash
Alpine Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Latxa Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Biker Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Fame Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Chamois Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Island Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Devon Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Again, these animals have been released previously; for instance, the Black Pied Pig was released previously in the German event in 2010 and then again in the Birthday Classics even earlier this year. You'll want to make sure you don't already have these animals on your farm before shelling out the Farm Cash, so you don't run into unnecessary duplicates. Just make sure you shop fast - these little fellas (and ladies) won't be around forever.
Are you going to purchase any of these animals during their brief re-release in the store, or do you already have the best ones on your farm?
Black Pied Pig - 18 Farm Cash
Alpine Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Latxa Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Biker Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Fame Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Chamois Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Island Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Devon Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Again, these animals have been released previously; for instance, the Black Pied Pig was released previously in the German event in 2010 and then again in the Birthday Classics even earlier this year. You'll want to make sure you don't already have these animals on your farm before shelling out the Farm Cash, so you don't run into unnecessary duplicates. Just make sure you shop fast - these little fellas (and ladies) won't be around forever.
Are you going to purchase any of these animals during their brief re-release in the store, or do you already have the best ones on your farm?
FarmVille Livestock Mystery Crate: What's inside?
As part of Zynga's attempt to make people care about the Livestock Pen in FarmVille, which, admittedly is a little hard (don't we already have dedicated storage buildings for both pigs and sheep?), it has released a Livestock Mystery Crate in the game's store containing six animals that can be stored inside your new pen. Now, the Livestock Pen can also store animals like goats or llamas, but unfortunately, only two items of these six re-released animals isn't some form of Pig or Sheep. Here's a full list so you see what I mean:
Alpaca
Babydoll Sheep
Miniature Goat
Teacup Pig
Welsh Mountain Sheep
White Ram
Each of these crates costs 20 Farm Cash, and they can be purchased from within the Decorations tab of the marketplace, instead of the Animals tab like you might expect. Remember, while you are guaranteed to receive one of these animals when you purchase a crate, you aren't guaranteed that you won't receive duplicates the next time you purchase one. That being the case, you'll want to really make sure you don't already have some of these animals already on your land before making a purchase, to ward off any unneeded extras. If you do want one of these crates, shop fast, as they'll only be around for five days.
Do you already have all of the animals inside the Livestock Mystery Crate, or will you purchase some for your farm this week? Which of these animals are you hoping to find inside?
Alpaca
Babydoll Sheep
Miniature Goat
Teacup Pig
Welsh Mountain Sheep
White Ram
Each of these crates costs 20 Farm Cash, and they can be purchased from within the Decorations tab of the marketplace, instead of the Animals tab like you might expect. Remember, while you are guaranteed to receive one of these animals when you purchase a crate, you aren't guaranteed that you won't receive duplicates the next time you purchase one. That being the case, you'll want to really make sure you don't already have some of these animals already on your land before making a purchase, to ward off any unneeded extras. If you do want one of these crates, shop fast, as they'll only be around for five days.
Do you already have all of the animals inside the Livestock Mystery Crate, or will you purchase some for your farm this week? Which of these animals are you hoping to find inside?
FarmVille: New Craftshop recipes use Lighthouse Cove crops
If you thought your Lighthouse Cove crops in FarmVille were only going to be good for completing goals or earning new mastery signs, think again. Zynga has released a series of new Craftshop recipes using these new crops which will see you combining "old" crops with these new bushels. Here's a complete rundown of the new crops so you know exactly what to grow (and what to stock up on) should you wish to craft any of these items in bulk.
Bright Yellow Tractor: 4 Clam, 10 Tarragon and 6 Elderberry Bushels
Mechanic Scarecrow: 3 Hay Bushels, 3 Apple Wood Baskets and 4 Wheat Bushels
Sheep Topiary: 4 Tarragon Bushels, 2 Wool Bundles and 5 Green Tea Bushels
Apple Red Seeder: 4 Seafood, 10 Dill and 6 Onion Bushels
Bonsai: 3 Kennebec Potato, 2 Cherry and 4 Basil Bushels
Tree House: 4 Lady Slipper Bushels, 2 Apple Wood Baskets and 4 Chandler Blueberry Bushels
Apple Red Harvester: 4 Lobster, 10 Daylily and 6 Basil Bushels
Post Office: 10 Cove Cranberry Bushels, 4 Poplar Wood Baskets and 6 Cauliflower Bushels
Evergreen Train: 10 Red Clover Bushels, 4 Poplar Wood Baskets and 6 Hay Bushels
Keep in mind, farmers, that if you're new to crafting these items, you won't be able to craft many of them until you earn mastery stars by crafting other things. Luckily, ones like the Bright Yellow Tractor and Sheep Topiary recipes are open by default, so at least you can earn some mastery stars while completing these new recipes. Also, keep track of how long each of these recipes take to complete, as some of them aren't exactly fast (the Harvester, for instance).
We'll make sure to let you know if additional Craftshop recipes are released in the future, along with what you'll take to actually craft them. Keep checking back with us for more.
What do you think of these new Craftshop recipes? Which items would you like to have more of on your farm?
Bright Yellow Tractor: 4 Clam, 10 Tarragon and 6 Elderberry Bushels
Mechanic Scarecrow: 3 Hay Bushels, 3 Apple Wood Baskets and 4 Wheat Bushels
Sheep Topiary: 4 Tarragon Bushels, 2 Wool Bundles and 5 Green Tea Bushels
Apple Red Seeder: 4 Seafood, 10 Dill and 6 Onion Bushels
Bonsai: 3 Kennebec Potato, 2 Cherry and 4 Basil Bushels
Tree House: 4 Lady Slipper Bushels, 2 Apple Wood Baskets and 4 Chandler Blueberry Bushels
Apple Red Harvester: 4 Lobster, 10 Daylily and 6 Basil Bushels
Post Office: 10 Cove Cranberry Bushels, 4 Poplar Wood Baskets and 6 Cauliflower Bushels
Evergreen Train: 10 Red Clover Bushels, 4 Poplar Wood Baskets and 6 Hay Bushels
Keep in mind, farmers, that if you're new to crafting these items, you won't be able to craft many of them until you earn mastery stars by crafting other things. Luckily, ones like the Bright Yellow Tractor and Sheep Topiary recipes are open by default, so at least you can earn some mastery stars while completing these new recipes. Also, keep track of how long each of these recipes take to complete, as some of them aren't exactly fast (the Harvester, for instance).
We'll make sure to let you know if additional Craftshop recipes are released in the future, along with what you'll take to actually craft them. Keep checking back with us for more.
What do you think of these new Craftshop recipes? Which items would you like to have more of on your farm?
Sims Social survey lets you sound off on item prices, favorite features and more
It's that time folks - time to let your collective voices be heard! EA wants to know how much fun (or not) you're having with the Sims Social on Facebook, and they've released a fairly long survey to help you tell them. This survey contains all sorts of questions, ranging from the basics of how often you play the game, to allowing you to rate your opinion on item pricing (are they too cheap? too expensive?) and what some of your favorite features are in the game.
Of course, the point of all of this is to gather enough opinions to actually sway the way the game develops in the future. Hopefully, with questions dealing with how much we like to "build" items with parts (bookcases, double beds, etc.), and the option to say that you don't like it at all, we may actually see a lessening in those kinds of items, if enough users agree. You can even rank various gameplay features (decorating your house, visiting friends, customizing your Sim, etc.) in the order that you like them. In this way, perhaps we'll see more focus being placed on the most (overall) liked feature, and you'll be able to say you helped to make that happen.
Unfortunately, this isn't the kind of survey that will allow you to give your opinion on future item sets, but there are plenty of blank text boxes for you to say exactly what you want to the developers in a place that you know they'll see it. Again, this survey is prety lengthy (when compared to other Facebook game surveys anyway), so you'll want to make sure you have around 5-10 minutes to set aside to take it.
We've taken this survey as well, and if we start to notice any gameplay changes arising because of options listed here, we'll make sure to let you know. In the meantime, head over to this link right here to take the survey for yourself.
Of course, the point of all of this is to gather enough opinions to actually sway the way the game develops in the future. Hopefully, with questions dealing with how much we like to "build" items with parts (bookcases, double beds, etc.), and the option to say that you don't like it at all, we may actually see a lessening in those kinds of items, if enough users agree. You can even rank various gameplay features (decorating your house, visiting friends, customizing your Sim, etc.) in the order that you like them. In this way, perhaps we'll see more focus being placed on the most (overall) liked feature, and you'll be able to say you helped to make that happen.
Unfortunately, this isn't the kind of survey that will allow you to give your opinion on future item sets, but there are plenty of blank text boxes for you to say exactly what you want to the developers in a place that you know they'll see it. Again, this survey is prety lengthy (when compared to other Facebook game surveys anyway), so you'll want to make sure you have around 5-10 minutes to set aside to take it.
We've taken this survey as well, and if we start to notice any gameplay changes arising because of options listed here, we'll make sure to let you know. In the meantime, head over to this link right here to take the survey for yourself.
FarmVille: 24x24 and under land expansions 50% off this weekend
If you're a new(er) player to FarmVille that hasn't had a chance to expand their Home or English Countryside farms, or, if you've just held off until expanding your farms until now, Zynga is offering some major incentive to doing so this weekend. All expansions in both the Home Farm and the English Countryside farm that are 24x24 and smaller are now 50% off. This sale will last until Sunday evening at 9PM PST.
Let's put this into perspective. The two most recent expansions to the Home Farm are for 30x30 and 32x32. While the 32x32 land expansion is technically still on "sale" for 5 days only, it still goes for 180 Farm Cash. Both of these expansions, then, wouldn't be part of this weekend sale. As for English Countryside expansions, there are four that many farmers have likely not unlocked: starting with 26x26 and up, simply because of their prices (2.5 million coins, 5 million coins, 195 Farm Cash and 195/215 Farm Cash respectively). This, again, takes us to the 32x32 sized farm, but none of these are included in the sale.
What's even more disappointing about this sale is the fact that Lighthouse Cove expansions aren't included. As we're limited (in Lighthouse Cove only) to a certain number of crops based on how big our farm is, and since these early expansions start out costing 30 Farm Cash each, it would have been great to see them included in this sale. Whether this means the prices will soon turn to coins instead is anyone's guess, but for now, I suppose this is one sale that most of us will simply have to miss out on.
Are you a farmer that can take advantage of this sale? Will you purchase any expansions for your farms this weekend?
Let's put this into perspective. The two most recent expansions to the Home Farm are for 30x30 and 32x32. While the 32x32 land expansion is technically still on "sale" for 5 days only, it still goes for 180 Farm Cash. Both of these expansions, then, wouldn't be part of this weekend sale. As for English Countryside expansions, there are four that many farmers have likely not unlocked: starting with 26x26 and up, simply because of their prices (2.5 million coins, 5 million coins, 195 Farm Cash and 195/215 Farm Cash respectively). This, again, takes us to the 32x32 sized farm, but none of these are included in the sale.
What's even more disappointing about this sale is the fact that Lighthouse Cove expansions aren't included. As we're limited (in Lighthouse Cove only) to a certain number of crops based on how big our farm is, and since these early expansions start out costing 30 Farm Cash each, it would have been great to see them included in this sale. Whether this means the prices will soon turn to coins instead is anyone's guess, but for now, I suppose this is one sale that most of us will simply have to miss out on.
Are you a farmer that can take advantage of this sale? Will you purchase any expansions for your farms this weekend?
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash in Intuit Business promotion
It's been a few weeks since we've seen a rush of free FarmVille farm cash promotions being launched by Zynga, but it has finally come through for us this morning with an activity with Intuit. This Intuit Business promotion can be found under the bottom right of your gameplay area, but it may just be labeled as "complete this brand activity," rather than anything specific to Intuit. Trust me, this sponsored link window works the same as all of the others, it just comes labeled differently.
Once you start the promotion, you'll be asked to share your love for a small, local business in your community. This requires some thought on your part, as I found it to be incredibly difficult to enter something that the fields could actually recognize. That is, you're asked for the name of the business, along with your city and state location, and it will then search for any addresses matching that business description. Once you find one (perhaps you'll just be luckier than me and score a hit on your first try), you'll have to fill in a form asking for your name, email address and why you like this business the most. If I were you, or are just in this for the free Farm Cash, feel free to give them an out-of-use email address as, let's face it, that's an instant sign-up for Intuit's newsletter right there.
Either way, once you jump through these hoops, you'll finally be given your two free Farm Cash. Remember, these Farm Cash should automatically update into your account, but if they don't, refresh the page and see if that sets things right. As always, we'll make sure to bring you more news about free Farm Cash offers in the future, just as soon as they pop into the game. Keep checking back for more!
What will you do with your two free Farm Cash? Do you participate in activities such as this, that require some real information about yourself, rather than just answering surveys
Once you start the promotion, you'll be asked to share your love for a small, local business in your community. This requires some thought on your part, as I found it to be incredibly difficult to enter something that the fields could actually recognize. That is, you're asked for the name of the business, along with your city and state location, and it will then search for any addresses matching that business description. Once you find one (perhaps you'll just be luckier than me and score a hit on your first try), you'll have to fill in a form asking for your name, email address and why you like this business the most. If I were you, or are just in this for the free Farm Cash, feel free to give them an out-of-use email address as, let's face it, that's an instant sign-up for Intuit's newsletter right there.
Either way, once you jump through these hoops, you'll finally be given your two free Farm Cash. Remember, these Farm Cash should automatically update into your account, but if they don't, refresh the page and see if that sets things right. As always, we'll make sure to bring you more news about free Farm Cash offers in the future, just as soon as they pop into the game. Keep checking back for more!
What will you do with your two free Farm Cash? Do you participate in activities such as this, that require some real information about yourself, rather than just answering surveys
Chủ Nhật, 11 tháng 12, 2011
Pioneer Trail: Help name the upcoming winter holiday expansion
With the holiday season quickly approaching, we've learned that Zynga will be launching yet another "expansion" into the Pioneer Trail to celebrate. It's likely that this expansion will be something along the lines of the Halloween Ghost Town event, but before they announce anything specific, the Pioneer Trail team would like you to help pick out a name for this future feature.
The team has launched a survey on the official Pioneer Trail forums, asking you one simple question: "The FrontierVille team is working on a giant holiday feature *just for you* and we need your help picking out a name. Which of the following names sounds most appealing to you?" Here are the options available to you:
Christmas Grove
Christmas Town
Holiday Haven
Holiday Hollow
Holiday Village
Winter Wonderland
Opinions aside (I personally wouldn't be able to go through something called "Christmas Town" without singing this in my head each and every day), it's actually pretty surprising to see the word "Christmas" displayed here in any of the choices. As so many games try to stay impartial when it comes to holidays (or religious beliefs therein), it will be interesting to see if a Christmas-centric name will actually be the one chosen, if fans vote that one in.
We haven't been told when the survey will end, or when this holiday feature will launch, but we can expect it will happen pretty quickly after Thanksgiving. And, regardless of its final name, you can be sure we'll be there every step of the way to guide you through.
Which of the names did you choose in this survey about Pioneer Trail's newest expansion?
The team has launched a survey on the official Pioneer Trail forums, asking you one simple question: "The FrontierVille team is working on a giant holiday feature *just for you* and we need your help picking out a name. Which of the following names sounds most appealing to you?" Here are the options available to you:
Christmas Grove
Christmas Town
Holiday Haven
Holiday Hollow
Holiday Village
Winter Wonderland
Opinions aside (I personally wouldn't be able to go through something called "Christmas Town" without singing this in my head each and every day), it's actually pretty surprising to see the word "Christmas" displayed here in any of the choices. As so many games try to stay impartial when it comes to holidays (or religious beliefs therein), it will be interesting to see if a Christmas-centric name will actually be the one chosen, if fans vote that one in.
We haven't been told when the survey will end, or when this holiday feature will launch, but we can expect it will happen pretty quickly after Thanksgiving. And, regardless of its final name, you can be sure we'll be there every step of the way to guide you through.
Which of the names did you choose in this survey about Pioneer Trail's newest expansion?
Pioneer Trail Crafting Workshop Collection hints at future building?
If you're feeling bogged down in Halloween content in Pioneer Trail, rest assured that Zynga hasn't abandoned thoughts of other things, as it's clear new items are definitely in the works. How do we know? A new Crafting Workshop collection has shown up in the game's Collections menu, and we're told specifically that these collectible items come from a Crafting Workshop Building.
To be specific, the folks at CEGamers have found a picture of the Crafting Workshop in its final form. Whether or not the building has already started a slow rollout, or if this was just a preview of things to come, however, remains to be seen. For what it's worth, the game's official forums has made no official claim about the Crafting Workshop event existing, let alone anything about when the building will launch for all users.
Either way, we do know further details about this collection, which requires the following five items:
Saw Dust
Bent Nails
Framing Squares
Measuring Sticks
Bird Houses
All five of these items can be earned either at random while actually building the frame of the Crafting Workshop, or by collecting the building's Daily Bonus everyday after it's finished. For completing the collection, you'll receive 100 XP, 1,000 coins and a Motion Components item. This could just be a collection item, or it could be something used within the Crafting Workshop itself, but again, details are pretty slim at this point. Either way, we'll make sure to let you know when we know more about the Crafting Workshop so keep checking back.
[Top Image Credit: CEGamers]
Have you received the Crafting Workshop in your game, or are you in a "wait and see" pattern too?
To be specific, the folks at CEGamers have found a picture of the Crafting Workshop in its final form. Whether or not the building has already started a slow rollout, or if this was just a preview of things to come, however, remains to be seen. For what it's worth, the game's official forums has made no official claim about the Crafting Workshop event existing, let alone anything about when the building will launch for all users.
Either way, we do know further details about this collection, which requires the following five items:
Saw Dust
Bent Nails
Framing Squares
Measuring Sticks
Bird Houses
All five of these items can be earned either at random while actually building the frame of the Crafting Workshop, or by collecting the building's Daily Bonus everyday after it's finished. For completing the collection, you'll receive 100 XP, 1,000 coins and a Motion Components item. This could just be a collection item, or it could be something used within the Crafting Workshop itself, but again, details are pretty slim at this point. Either way, we'll make sure to let you know when we know more about the Crafting Workshop so keep checking back.
[Top Image Credit: CEGamers]
Have you received the Crafting Workshop in your game, or are you in a "wait and see" pattern too?
Pioneer Trail Sneak Peek: Crafting Workshop building requirements
Earlier this evening, we brought you a look at a new collection that has already gone live in the Pioneer Trail - the Crafting Workshop collection - but doesn't have a building to go along with it... yet. According to the folks at CEGamers, this new building will be constructed like basically all others, via an item collection process that we've seen time and time again.
If these details end up being accurate (that is, when the building starts rolling out in full to all pioneers), you'll be expected to gather the following:
10 Metal Clamps
10 Large Nails
10 Metal Brackets
15 Hacksaws
15 Crafting Gloves
15 Crafting Goggles
From the looks of things, the Metal Clamps, Large Nails and Metal Brackets will be earned through general news items posted on your wall / feed, while the other three items - the Hacksaws, Crafting Gloves and Crafting Goggles - will be earned through individual gift requests sent to those neighbors that you think will be most likely to help you.
It's interesting to think of what this building (after construction) might actually be able to do. Perhaps it can craft new decorations or even craft building materials that you commonly need around the Homestead? Or, maybe it will have some other, completely new function in the game. Whatever the case, we'll stay on top of things, and will let you know when Zynga officially announces the launch of the Crafting Workshop, along with whether or not any goals come with it.
[Image Credit: CEGamers]
Have you received the Crafting Workshop on your Homestead yet? What do you think the building will be able to do once finished on your Homestead?
If these details end up being accurate (that is, when the building starts rolling out in full to all pioneers), you'll be expected to gather the following:
10 Metal Clamps
10 Large Nails
10 Metal Brackets
15 Hacksaws
15 Crafting Gloves
15 Crafting Goggles
From the looks of things, the Metal Clamps, Large Nails and Metal Brackets will be earned through general news items posted on your wall / feed, while the other three items - the Hacksaws, Crafting Gloves and Crafting Goggles - will be earned through individual gift requests sent to those neighbors that you think will be most likely to help you.
It's interesting to think of what this building (after construction) might actually be able to do. Perhaps it can craft new decorations or even craft building materials that you commonly need around the Homestead? Or, maybe it will have some other, completely new function in the game. Whatever the case, we'll stay on top of things, and will let you know when Zynga officially announces the launch of the Crafting Workshop, along with whether or not any goals come with it.
[Image Credit: CEGamers]
Have you received the Crafting Workshop on your Homestead yet? What do you think the building will be able to do once finished on your Homestead?
King.com hits top 10 Facebook developers, 1B games played a month
But wait, there's more: the company has also opened offices in San Francisco and Romania. King.com, London, England-based creator of hit Facebook games like Bubble Saga, announced it is now a top 10 Facebook app developer, according to AppData. The social game maker and games portal chalks the accomplishment up to reaching 1 billion games played monthly.
While that measure is across all King.com game platforms, the developer welcomes 17.6 million monthly and 4.2 million daily players on Facebook. Of course, the top performing King.com game is Bubble Saga. The company's Romania office will handle its mobile efforts, while North American business development will be led by former Gamelab president Jong Woo, King.com's new senior business development director in San Francisco.
"We are ecstatic to have not only reached a billion monthly gameplays, but to also become a top 10 Facebook developer. It's rewarding to see our games gain so much interest and excitement among our players–across all platforms," King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are taking this recent momentum and expanding our reach through North America by adding an office in San Francisco and new employees to that region so we can more closely connect with our partners and gamers there."
Most recently, King.com released Bubble Witch Saga to Facebook, which boasts more daily players than the company's top game at 1.7 million. Perhaps most importantly, this news confirms King.com's plans to strengthen its mobile presence, as social game makers are so wont to do these days. And something tells us those bubble-loving witches might get the treatment next.
Have you played either of the Bubble Saga games on Facebook yet? Which King.com game do you hope gets a mobile version next?
While that measure is across all King.com game platforms, the developer welcomes 17.6 million monthly and 4.2 million daily players on Facebook. Of course, the top performing King.com game is Bubble Saga. The company's Romania office will handle its mobile efforts, while North American business development will be led by former Gamelab president Jong Woo, King.com's new senior business development director in San Francisco.
"We are ecstatic to have not only reached a billion monthly gameplays, but to also become a top 10 Facebook developer. It's rewarding to see our games gain so much interest and excitement among our players–across all platforms," King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are taking this recent momentum and expanding our reach through North America by adding an office in San Francisco and new employees to that region so we can more closely connect with our partners and gamers there."
Most recently, King.com released Bubble Witch Saga to Facebook, which boasts more daily players than the company's top game at 1.7 million. Perhaps most importantly, this news confirms King.com's plans to strengthen its mobile presence, as social game makers are so wont to do these days. And something tells us those bubble-loving witches might get the treatment next.
Have you played either of the Bubble Saga games on Facebook yet? Which King.com game do you hope gets a mobile version next?
Free Team Fortress 2 turns 20 to 30 percent of players into payers
Show me the mon--wait, scratch that. Valve has already seen it, and co-founder Gabe Newell is interested. During a conference in Seattle, the overseer of hit hardcore game franchises like Portal said that Team Fortress 2--its popular multilplayer shooter that recently went free-to-play--has seen incredible results in how many paying customers it has created.
"And then the conversion rate, when we talk to partners who do free-to-play, a lot of people see about a 2 to 3 percent conversion rate of the people in their audience who actually buy something, and then with Team Fortress 2, which looks more like Arkham Asylum in terms of the user profile and the content, we see about a 20 to 30 percent conversion rate of people who are playing those games who buy something," Newell revealed, according to Geekwire.
Newell alluded to the average number of social gamers that pay for in-game items and boosts. Calling it a fairly recent statistic, the Valve CEO said that's far larger than games like, say, FarmVille experience. "We don't understand what's going on," Newell said. "All we know is we're going to keep running these experiments to try and understand better what it is that our customers are telling us."
So, expect more of Valve's game franchises to go free-to-play for its 35 million plus Steam (its popular games distribution service) users. But consider the ripple effect Newell's words might have on other traditional game companies. Other than Valve's games, more hardcore games will undoubtedly go free-to-play. And they'll all have those blasted social games to thank.
[Via Develop]
Will Newell's words inspire even more traditional game companies to go free-to-play? Is this where gaming is headed across the board?
"And then the conversion rate, when we talk to partners who do free-to-play, a lot of people see about a 2 to 3 percent conversion rate of the people in their audience who actually buy something, and then with Team Fortress 2, which looks more like Arkham Asylum in terms of the user profile and the content, we see about a 20 to 30 percent conversion rate of people who are playing those games who buy something," Newell revealed, according to Geekwire.
Newell alluded to the average number of social gamers that pay for in-game items and boosts. Calling it a fairly recent statistic, the Valve CEO said that's far larger than games like, say, FarmVille experience. "We don't understand what's going on," Newell said. "All we know is we're going to keep running these experiments to try and understand better what it is that our customers are telling us."
So, expect more of Valve's game franchises to go free-to-play for its 35 million plus Steam (its popular games distribution service) users. But consider the ripple effect Newell's words might have on other traditional game companies. Other than Valve's games, more hardcore games will undoubtedly go free-to-play. And they'll all have those blasted social games to thank.
[Via Develop]
Will Newell's words inspire even more traditional game companies to go free-to-play? Is this where gaming is headed across the board?
Thứ Sáu, 9 tháng 12, 2011
Avast ye, bingo fans! Gamesville's Pirate Cove Bingo sails on Facebook
Not to be confused with a Zynga game, Gamesville is a large web games portal that's been proudly "Wasting your time since 1996". Back in March, Gamesville debuted their first Facebook game, Super Chef Full Boil, as a Facebook exclusive, along with their usual promises of free cash drawings and prizes for players. But during the summer, the game was quietly dropped from Facebook, and now exists solely on Gamesville.
Undaunted, Gamesville unleashed another Facebook game today, a pirate-themed bingo game, with a rum-lovin' pirate announcer in tow, called Pirate Cove Bingo. Unlike Super Chef Full Boil, a puzzler that required Facebook players to register on Gamesville.com to participate in free cash and prize drawings, Pirate Cove Bingo is Facebook player-friendly.
In Pirate Cove Bingo, there's a $25 USD daily sweepstakes drawing. Every player gets unlimited White Cards and 5 Gold Cards per day to play bingo. If you get a bingo while using a Gold Card, the Gold Card becomes submitted as an entry to the day's daily sweepstakes.
Pirate Cove Bingo
However, only players from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada who are 18 years-old and above are eligible for the sweepstakes. On top of that, Canadians have an extra hurdle where they must "answer a mathematical, time-limited question administered by telephone, mail or email" if they are chosen as winners. (This requirement is likely a quirk of Canadian law, and not the fault of Gamesville, which is based in Waltham, MA.)
Pirate Cove Bingo creators
Like most Facebook games, it's free-to-play, though I suspect Gamesville will eventually allow players to buy more Gold Cards using Facebook Credits. There's already future plans to offer a level and ranking system, new game rooms, and coins later on. The thirty-three seconds between rounds are used to run commercials for the game's sponsors. I've seen one recurring commercial for the Nintendo 3DS so far. As for social elements, there's a chat room and leaderboard of the eleven, most recent sweepstakes winners.
Click here to play Pirate Cove Bingo on Facebook now >
Do you prefer playing bingo in real life or online? Do you have a favorite bingo game on Facebook?
Undaunted, Gamesville unleashed another Facebook game today, a pirate-themed bingo game, with a rum-lovin' pirate announcer in tow, called Pirate Cove Bingo. Unlike Super Chef Full Boil, a puzzler that required Facebook players to register on Gamesville.com to participate in free cash and prize drawings, Pirate Cove Bingo is Facebook player-friendly.
In Pirate Cove Bingo, there's a $25 USD daily sweepstakes drawing. Every player gets unlimited White Cards and 5 Gold Cards per day to play bingo. If you get a bingo while using a Gold Card, the Gold Card becomes submitted as an entry to the day's daily sweepstakes.
Pirate Cove Bingo
However, only players from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada who are 18 years-old and above are eligible for the sweepstakes. On top of that, Canadians have an extra hurdle where they must "answer a mathematical, time-limited question administered by telephone, mail or email" if they are chosen as winners. (This requirement is likely a quirk of Canadian law, and not the fault of Gamesville, which is based in Waltham, MA.)
Pirate Cove Bingo creators
Like most Facebook games, it's free-to-play, though I suspect Gamesville will eventually allow players to buy more Gold Cards using Facebook Credits. There's already future plans to offer a level and ranking system, new game rooms, and coins later on. The thirty-three seconds between rounds are used to run commercials for the game's sponsors. I've seen one recurring commercial for the Nintendo 3DS so far. As for social elements, there's a chat room and leaderboard of the eleven, most recent sweepstakes winners.
Click here to play Pirate Cove Bingo on Facebook now >
Do you prefer playing bingo in real life or online? Do you have a favorite bingo game on Facebook?
The Sims Social and Wendy's: Why ads like this will always make you click
The Sims Social has struck a new advertising deal with Wendy's and, like it or not, you'll probably participate in it. Why? In exchange for watching a brief ad for the new Wendy's W (the chain's new $2.99 monster burger with two patties, double cheese and a butter-slathered bun), you'll be rewarded with a virtual burger that will give your character a +3 energy boost.
sims social wendy's
In the larger scheme of things, a three-point energy boost isn't that big of a reward. In fact, it might be considered stingy. But you'll watch the Wendy's ad anyway because you're getting something for free. Why? The same reason people (maybe even you) jump up when someone announces that there are leftover sandwiches in the office kitchenette. No matter how stale they are, they're free! And free is awesome. And something free in a game that you like to play is twice as awesome. There's also something that makes in-game ads like this seem less insidious if you're rewarded something, anything for your time.
wendys the sims social w
So head to The Sims Social game on Facebook, and look for the Wendy's "Watch and Earn" ad sitting right below the game. Click it and get your free +3 energy. C'mon, you know you wanna.
Fess up: Did you watch the Wendy's ad for the free energy?
sims social wendy's
In the larger scheme of things, a three-point energy boost isn't that big of a reward. In fact, it might be considered stingy. But you'll watch the Wendy's ad anyway because you're getting something for free. Why? The same reason people (maybe even you) jump up when someone announces that there are leftover sandwiches in the office kitchenette. No matter how stale they are, they're free! And free is awesome. And something free in a game that you like to play is twice as awesome. There's also something that makes in-game ads like this seem less insidious if you're rewarded something, anything for your time.
wendys the sims social w
So head to The Sims Social game on Facebook, and look for the Wendy's "Watch and Earn" ad sitting right below the game. Click it and get your free +3 energy. C'mon, you know you wanna.
Fess up: Did you watch the Wendy's ad for the free energy?
The Oregon Trail mozies on over to Wii for a fine 'n dandy price of $20
Well, I reckon that there's a bargain. The fine fellers at Destructoid found that The Oregon Trail has taken a likin' ta ye olde Nintendo Wii console. (Is that annoying yet? Fine, we'll stop.) The game, developed by DoubleTap Games and published by Red Wagon Games under license by--who else?--The Learning Company, will hit stores on Dec. 9 for the budget price $19.99.
At any rate, color us surprised to find out that the Wii has yet to be touched by the legendary franchise, as it's damned near everywhere at this point. Hell, the game even hit Facebook before it was released on the Wii. Consider us even more shocked to remember that this is The Oregon Trail's 40th anniversary of teaching youngin's everywhere the horrors of dysentery.
This version of The Oregon Trail will be far different from the one recently released by Gameloft for smartphones in that it will feature full 3D graphics. Players will also have the pleasure of driving the wagon themselves across the nearly 3,000 mile expanse of the United States in four different storylines spanning three time periods. (So, how different from the 1840s are we talking, here?)
Players will get to partake in many of the familiar activities featured in previous takes on The Oregon Trail, like fishing, hunting and customizing their wagons. Now, hold on. Forgive us for getting stuck on this, but isn't the time period kind of vital to the historical accuracy of the game? The Oregon Trail was an educational tool, after all--ooh, look: you can play it on 3DS, too!
[Via Mashable]
Are you psyched to see The Oregon Trail to hit Wii and 3DS? Do you think this game will be better or worse than previous releases of the game this year?
At any rate, color us surprised to find out that the Wii has yet to be touched by the legendary franchise, as it's damned near everywhere at this point. Hell, the game even hit Facebook before it was released on the Wii. Consider us even more shocked to remember that this is The Oregon Trail's 40th anniversary of teaching youngin's everywhere the horrors of dysentery.
This version of The Oregon Trail will be far different from the one recently released by Gameloft for smartphones in that it will feature full 3D graphics. Players will also have the pleasure of driving the wagon themselves across the nearly 3,000 mile expanse of the United States in four different storylines spanning three time periods. (So, how different from the 1840s are we talking, here?)
Players will get to partake in many of the familiar activities featured in previous takes on The Oregon Trail, like fishing, hunting and customizing their wagons. Now, hold on. Forgive us for getting stuck on this, but isn't the time period kind of vital to the historical accuracy of the game? The Oregon Trail was an educational tool, after all--ooh, look: you can play it on 3DS, too!
[Via Mashable]
Are you psyched to see The Oregon Trail to hit Wii and 3DS? Do you think this game will be better or worse than previous releases of the game this year?
ForestVille: Zynga's next 'Ville' game headed to iPhone, iPad
Over the weekend, Zynga went on a domain shopping spree for something called ForestVille. Turns out, this is, indeed, yet another 'Ville' game for Zynga, and it will be headed to iPhone and iPad. The game already has an official Facebook fan page and here's a description pulled from the Info page:
"FROM THE MAKERS OF FARMVILLE and CITYVILLE HOMETOWN
Help Daisy the fox and her furry friends build a fabulous forest habitat! Establish farms and fishing spots for food, decorate with natural wonders, and expand your forest to unlock new species. Play ForestVille from Zynga and create the forest of your dreams!"
We can't help but notice Daisy's short shorts and buck teeth/fangs. If that's not a blatant nod to Daisy in Dukes of Hazzard, well, it should be.
"FROM THE MAKERS OF FARMVILLE and CITYVILLE HOMETOWN
Help Daisy the fox and her furry friends build a fabulous forest habitat! Establish farms and fishing spots for food, decorate with natural wonders, and expand your forest to unlock new species. Play ForestVille from Zynga and create the forest of your dreams!"
We can't help but notice Daisy's short shorts and buck teeth/fangs. If that's not a blatant nod to Daisy in Dukes of Hazzard, well, it should be.
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