Cafe World

I've played more than a few Facebook games, but after awhile they all seemed to be repetitive and...well...boring. It also didn't help that many of them had difficulty working properly in the Facebook interface and by the time some of the problems got fixed, Facebook updated their programming and the game interfaces were problematic...again.

This is still going on today. It's kind of a pain, especially with Zynga games because they're so neighbor intensive. So why is that a problem?

Well, because just when I build up a decent set of neighbors in Cafe World (CW), they get so irritated with the faulty game play and all the problems which Zynga seems to be very slow to fixing. that they decide to quit playing and block the game. So, that means, I'm losing neighbors and game players all the time and I've had to resort to fan websites to build up neighbors that play CW.

Okay, so everyone does it, so why should it seem like a big deal? Because Facebook would prefer that you only "friend" those you actually "know."Um...well...that's all fine and dandy if your friends and family actually play these games, but for me, none of them do, and I'm not alone.

I have to admit, I've actually met some very interesting people through game play, even people in my own state I never would have met if it weren't for Facebook games. So, I don't mind needing to find gaming friends.

I do have a problem with overzealous games, as do most people. Then, I discovered farming games. I tried Farmville, but that game has never loaded right and takes forever just to get to the screen and then freeze, so I stopped wasting my time there. Plus, there was too much to do. Same thing with many of the other Zynga games. There are just too many tasks/goals, and some of them can be so difficult, if not impossible to accomplish, so I gave up even trying as it took all the fun out of playing.

News flash - most of us average game players don't mind a challenge, but games are a way for us to escape the stresses of our everyday lives and have a little fun in the process. I like video games, I do, but the last thing I want is to be repeatedly frustrated by game tasks. Some of them I'll do, some of them I'll skip if I can, and some of them I'll have my husband do if I need them to continue to play the game.

So, when I discovered Farm Town, I began to enjoy it, but even that one got old...the growing times were annoying and they took too long, so I kind of only play that game once in awhile. I like it, I just wish it didn't take so long to grow stuff.

That's why I liked Cafe World, there were so many items to cook that took under an hour, and a ton you could cook in 5 minutes. It made it easy to play the game when I wanted to, for as long as I wanted to. Then, the more I played, the more challenges popped up. That was all great and everything, until they put these ridiculously short time limits on goals, requiring you to cook hideous amounts of long cooking dishes (some up to 2 days), and making the only thing that can help you (timed spices) cost Cafe Cash, and too costly to even desire to pay for it, making the game begin to become unplayable. 

Some time back, I wrote about how I thought Cafe World should make different types of spices and make it easier for us to get spices to help us spice our dishes.

Well, they sort of did. Unfortunately, the last week or so, one of the ways - The Food Polls - haven't been working for most of us. It's not counting all the voting we are doing and it's forcing us to post a poll several times a day. So, is this a Zynga problem or a Facebook interface issue? Either way, I'd think the Zynga developers would be trying to fix it as soon as possible, but players don't seem to be seeing much improvement.

There's also another problem, Cafe World developers keep adding new timed goals and taking some away, and every time they do it messes up the functionality of game play - something that continues to annoy long standing and loyal players.

Loyal game players are getting so annoyed with these continual problems that they have been dropping off the radar for months now. In fact, some time ago, I hired several people for my ice cream cart, but only 2 of them play now, so it's impossible to get the number of people CW requires to operate the ice cream cart.

I've since added a ton of new neighbors, but even these new ones have begun to reach their limit and are torn between playing and quitting. If CW wants to retain these game players, they need to listen to them, and change a few things for the better. Here's what could be improved:

1. Timed goals can be a fun challenge, but the timer for each goal should start when the individual player actually chooses to start the goal. For example, the Joe and Lisa wedding challenge had 20 parts, and not everyone got the same amount of time because of the goofy way the global start timer worked, which was hideously unfair when the timer should have started for each individual player when that player chose to start the challenge rather than on a global clock that started at an unspecified time that no one had any clue of. That was the dumbest thing. Not only that, but if you accidentally hit the "back" button on the goal - like I did with the Joe goals - I didn't see the Joe goals again until I had 5 days left on the Lisa goals. Boy was I surprised - and miffed and frustrated - when I saw that I only had 5 days left to complete 10 more goals. I had no shot whatsoever of earning that groom stove...grrr!

2. In timed challenges, the goals should fit the timing.

2a. For instance, when there's only a couple of days to complete as many as 10 parts to a challenge, and you're only going to give 10 days in which to complete them, then the items you need to cook should not take you that long, especially when you require that 50 items be cooked. 50 dishes that take 1 day to cook for 1 part of a goal is ridiculous at best, especially when we are limited in the number of stoves we are allowed to have.
  - yeah, I get it, it's CW's way of forcing us to use spices. That would have worked, but I used mine all up just mere days before for the winter challenges, and no way was I going to invest in more spices - not at the prices they're asking for!

2b. That's not the only problem. Considering collecting items by asking neighbors directly can take days, even weeks as I continue to discover, the collected items should be done through global posts so those that are playing regularly can opt to pitch in. It's even taken me longer than 24 hours on occasion to collect things through global requests. It's these parts of goals that are keeping players behind. Why not require things to be purchased with coins for some of the goals? That would mix it up.

2c. The limit on the number of stoves, and for many players counter space, is cruelly low. If it weren't for my concentrating on the Buck stoves, I wouldn't have had nearly enough stoves to complete the Lisa goals I did complete. And no, I had no shot at making any of them ultra stoves. Sure it sucks, but I have 5 stoves each with multiple burners (1 with 4, 2 with 3, 2 with 2).  But seriously, why only 1 stove every couple of levels? Why can't we have more stoves, especially when there are timed challenges to complete?

3. What's with all of the spices (outside of salt and pepper) costing Cafe Cash only? I understand why the newer spices should be as they do much more than just help cooking time along, and even instant spices since just 1 works to complete a dish that takes a couple of days, but why can't we buy 12hr, 6hr, and 1hr spices with coins? Seriously, we should be able to buy some of these spices with coins.

4. Hello, I keep clicking to give people stuff and it says I'm earning 1000 coins and 500 cafe points. The coins appear, but the cafe points don't always show up. That's an inconsistency that needs to be fixed.

Okay - Buck's back, but 120 servings (Kabayaki) at 12hrs per dish! 20 light tubes (asking people directly) and I've got 5 days to do all 5 of them! WTH? Seriously, I appreciate the second chance at the stoves, but why only 5 days? I have 5 stoves that need to not only be completed, but 5 stoves to upgrade to ultra too! That's a bit of a crunch! It would probably take me 5 days per stove just to finish expanding them! The only way to finish these tasks anywhere close to on time, you need a ton of spices, which isn't necessarily all that fair because you can really only get the amount of instant spices required is to buy them outright. 

Like I said, I enjoy the challenges, I just wish there would be more time for the timed challenges, or cooking dishes that didn't take as long. Right now, I only have a couple of 50% stoves, and even with them, cooking 120 dishes at 12hrs per dish for 1 part of the upgrade to ultra challenge for 1 stove seems to be completely impossible. At this point, I'm going to do what I can do to finish expanding the other 4 stoves. If I'm able to get 1 to ultra, it will be a miracle....

Games as Inspiration

To play or not to play - that may be the question running through your mind about a certain facebook/myspace game.

Okay, some of you might think to yourself that these games are a waste of time. True, some of them really might just be that. But then again, they might not be. Cryptic, I know, but I have a point, really, I do.

When I first joined facebook, I like many of became bombarded by requests to play different online games. If you were curious, like I was, you start checking them out, just to see if they are interesting and worth playing. Well, when you start playing one, that leads to playing a multitude of others?

Why?

Well, for those of us polite or "pay-it-forward" kind of people, you start playing a game you really had no intention of playing because someone you met, who seems very nice, gets enjoyment out of something and needs neighbors to accomplish something within a game. That happened to me this weekend.

Sure, I could have said no, but I didn't. I opted to start playing Social City.

Why?

Because when I needed neighbors actively sending out gifts to accomplish something in Farm Town I have been invested in for months, she didn't say no. Sure, she already played the game, but that's not the point. The point here is that if my playing the game and sending out gifts can make someone's day a little brighter, well, then my time has been well spent.

That's why I do play many of the games I do. I'll admit that Yoville, Petville and Fishville have difficulty holding my attention for too long - there's not much to them and they do take quite a bit of time to load and it's really annoying - but others have just caught my attention and I find myself excited to do, of all things, click the mouse button.

What games have caught my attention so religiously? The answers just might surprise you, but then again, they might not.

Initially, I played Farm Town, Dragon Wars (dragons, need I say more?), Vampire Wars, Pirates Rule the Caribbean, Mafia Wars and Fashion Wars were the games I played on a very regular basis. In the beginning, they were all different and played differently. The only thing they had in common was the strategy used in building character strength.

Then, the makers decided to change the format of all of these games - with the exception of Farm Town - and make them all work virtually the same. As a result, the games feel too limited and cookie cutter and have lost most of their original appeal.

Currently, Nightclub City, Social City, Country Life and Treasure Isle have grabbed my attention. Farm Town seems to be the only one to really be able to maintain my attention.

So what is it about these games that draws me?

The building aspect. In Farm Town it's the ability to build and create different farms. With Social City, it's the ability to create your own city and watch it "grow". Nightclub City is pretty much the same thing, only it's focus is one Nightclub rather than an entire city. However, the neat thing about Nightclub City is that, provided you get your place making enough money, you can change it's design to your whims.

Drawbacks?

Social City - Haven't played the game enough yet to have discovered any.

Nightclub City - Drink storage space can take up a lot of room - but that's the nature of the beast and part of the game. You just have to figure out creative ways to deal with the extra storage tanks if you want to continue to make money and grow your club.

Country Life - Too many of the buildings (Green House, Water-well, etc.) require building materials be gifted or purchased with Ranch Cash (Country Life $$). If you can purchase the building for coins, you should be able to buy the parts necessary to make it work for coins too.

Farm Town is beginning to become overrun with facilities and stuff and needs more space for building. In order to have all the facilities run properly, you need to grow more crops....I need a fourth farm.

Things about Farm Town I'd change if I could:
1. add a "hide animals" button
2. make cows and goats purchasable instead of gift only
3. create a coffee mill and make it cost coins not FT $$
4. add cucumbers as a crop for a higher level (80 or 90) and make the preserve factory able to produce pickles
5. make all fruit producing trees purchasable instead of some as gift only.
6. add at least 60 new levels
7. make all animals harvestable for meat as well as other stuff like milk
8. If you buy it in FT$ you can sell it back and get FT$ instead of coins - only fair.
9. Instead of creating new facilities, just improve the existing ones with seasonal/rotating things to produce - The pizzeria could make other types of Italian food using existing crops (eggplant, garlic, basil). The sandwich shop could use caught fish and rice to make sushi. The taco place would use avocados and other stuff to make guacamole - You get the point.
10. Improve the server capability by having the user save Farm and Store data on own computer - this would allow user to harvest, plow, and plant without having to be connected to server. However, the user would need to connect with the server to hire people, to use/earn Farm Town $ and to sell stuff as well as connect with the server once every 12 hours to update and program changes.
11. Use soybeans to create bio-fuel to operate equipment - much more green and soybeans happens to be an existent renewable crop.
12. Make solar panels functional and make existing fuel-using seeders and harvesters hybrids - the solar power would allow them to use less fuel...
13. Create another crop (usable in one of the facilities) that grows in 2 hours and one that grows in 6 hours.
14. Add a "4th Farm" only it's primary function would be as a town/city and would allow you to build a city.

In case you're not familiar with the game, you wouldn't see the pattern, so I'll tell you. In my opinion, the game is too neighbor dependent. It's one thing to need neighbors to grow the size of your farm, harvest your crops, plow your fields or work your facilities so they produce faster, but you shouldn't have to rely on your neighbors to gift you items to make your facilities work (meat, pickles, fuel, etc.) - that's my biggest pet peeve about the game and Facebook games in general.

Any game I'd like to see created?

Beer Town! I'd love to be able to grow hops, barley, malt and other ingredients used to make beer. It would be so cool to be able to determine if you were going to have a brewpub or just be a brewery with a tasting room. You'd have to pay attention to things like IBUs, Gravity, and whatever else you might have to do to brew a batch of beer. Granted, things would move faster in the game world than the real world, but I see Beer Town as having a lot of potential.

Of course, I'd find it cool if you could do this in Farm Town, but I get why you can't - kids play the game and it wouldn't set a good example.

How can these games be inspirational?

Well, as a writer, inspiration does come from everywhere, so why not the online games? It doesn't have to be the backdrop, but some element in one of the games could provide an author with inspiration - you just have to be open to it!