Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Horse Hall

Another recent option in FarmVille consists of the Horse Hall, where new Horses can be created with Horseshoes harvested from existing Horse Hall creations.  In other words, it is very much like the Unicorn Island option.

The first colour of horseshoe, Silver, is given upon the completion of the Horse Hall Building.  Sufficient are given to create the first Horse in the form of the Space Horse.  After that, the colours are:

Space Horse: Silver Horseshoe

Plains Horse: Black Horseshoe

Forest Horse: Silver Horseshoe

Desert Horse: Red Horseshoe

Jungle Stallion:  Black Horseshoe

Grasslands Pony: Red Horseshoe

As you can see, new colours appear less frequently than repetition of existing colours as the Player continues to unlock new Horses.  Whenever a new Horse is created, the Player will obtain a single Horseshoe of the corresponding colour.  The accomplkishment can be shared on the Farmer's Wall, where other players can obtain a Horseshoe as well.  The number of players who can benefit from the Wall post depends on the colour of the Horseshoe.  Rare Horseshoes allow fewer Farmers to benefit from the post.  There is another strange aspect to this  some Wall posts allow Players to take a Horseshoe up to 23 hours after the original post, as is the rule with all FarmVille shares, but sometimes, even after less than half a day, the Player will receive a prompt to the effect that the Horseshoes are 'too old'.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Useful Details about new Atlantis Farm

Atlantis is the first underwater Farm in FarmVille.  It is much more appealing than I actually anticipated.  A friend of mine described it as 'similar to a fish tank, only brighter' and I found her descriptions quite apt.  The buildings and decorations that are sold for Atlantis are those that one might find in an upscale fish tank or aquarium, consisting of elaborate ruins.  Sunken Treasure Chests form the obstacles that must be cleared if you wish to be able to plough and plant throughout the farm.  As always, they contain treasures of their own.  'Opening' a Chest unlocks the item enclosed therein in the Marketplace, as with the Enchanted Glen.

FarmVille Freak has the Quest information for the early Access Quests in Atlantis, but there are other details that may be of use to players who seek to avail themselves of the opportunity to cultivate their new farm now.

First of all, there is a new build, the Atlantis Garden that requires materials.  The Materials needed to upgrade it are: Marble Vase, Coral Shears and Garden Sketches.  You cannot request these materials from neighbours but must craft them in your Atlantis Craftshop.

Marble Vase:
3 Shellfish Bushels
3 Morning Glory Bushels
3 Rhubarb Bushels

Coral Shears
3 Coral Bushels
3 Aloe Vera Bushels
3 Jalapeno Bushels

Garden Shears:
3 Sea Sponge Bushels
3 Lilac Bushels
3 Cotton Bushels

You therefore can benefit greatly if you have neighbours who are not in Atlantis who are willing to grow the other Crops needed for these items.  Players who are not willing to pay 45 FC for early access still may find the information interesting as they will be able to sell these Crops to neighbours who have taken the early access option.

If you do not have the necessary bushels to create these items, you can buy them for 2 FC each.

The new Atlantis 'eatery' is the Coral Cafe.  At Level 1, you can cook the following dishes:

Sea Melon Sorbet:

3 Seawatermelon Bushels
3 Urchinberry Bushels
3 Sugar Cane Bushels

Salt Water Taffy:

3 Ambrosia Bushels
3 Starfish Bushels
3 Blueberry Bushels

Sea Biscuit:

3 Sea Sponge Bushels
3 Coral Bushels
3 Wheat Bushels

Shellfish Surprise:

3 Shellfish Bushels
3 Plankton Bushels
3 Onion Bushels

A little tip upon arrival may be very useful if you are attempting to complete the Atlantis Quests, Chapter 1:

You will be required to complete 2 Shellfish Surprises as a requirement for Step 3.  As usual upon arrival at a new farm in FarmVille, you will find that one slot in the Cafe is occupied by a Shellfish Surprise that is ready to be completed and that ingredients for another have been provided.  I was foolish enough to complete BOTH before I even looked at the information about the Quests.  With few FarmVille neighbours who have opted for early access, it is a little difficult to obtain the necessary ingredients to make more of the Shellfish Surprises immediately!

N.B.  The Bubble Seahorse, by the way, that one is required to harvest in Chapter 1, may be placed in an Atlantis Zoo.  It evidently can be placed in the Marine Observatory as well.

The Marine Observatory is a building project similar to those on other Farms that allow the Player to create new types of Animals using magical ingredients.   There is a Lab where new Animals are created and a Pen where Animals can be housed.  By creating a new Animal, one unlocks the ability to create the next Animal in the list.

The first to be created is the Abu, using four Red Scales.  Next is the Zaratan, which requires five Red Scales and produces a Yellow Scale.    When you arrive at Atlantis, you will find a Marine Observatory on the farm.  It is incomplete but lacks only a few materials.

A new Marine Observatory can be purchased for 5 Coins.  The materials required to complete it are as follows:

10 Bronze Hammers
10 Coral Chisels
10 Ultramarine Crystals

You can request these materials from Neighbours.



Monday, March 4, 2013

New Untimed Quests in FarmVille

After FarmVille went through a very impractical and frustrating stage wherein only 4 Quests could be displayed on a farmer's screen, I (as well as a number of others, no doubt!) suggested that FarmVille use a Quest Manager similar to those in other games, including Family Farm.  Recently, FarmVille not only implemented the system, but added a number of new Untimed Quests.

The Untimed Quests allow players to work at their own pace and to obtain Limited Edition items, in many cadses, that they may have missed in the past and do not appear in the Marketplace.  For example, the Chinese New Year Quest sequence offers many of the Lunar New Year Animals as rewards.

FarmVille Freak is a wonderful site that usually makes any efforts of mine to publish information about FarmVille rather superfluous.  In the case of the Untimed Quests, however, I have not been able to find any details on that site and therefore am posting whatever information I obtain either from my own game or from contributors who play FarmVille on this site.

Unfortunately, I did not think of this plan until I had progressed through a number of steps in a couple of the Quests.  What is posted here therefore at this point in time is a 'work on progress'  Ultimately, I will create a separate page on this site for the Untimed Quests for which I have all details:

Why are details about Quests helpful? The primary reason is to give Players details about the Crops they will need to harvest to satisfy requirements for completion of a step.  Where more than one Quest requires the same Crop harvest, a Player often can synchronise his/her farming efforts to allow the harvest to count towards more than one Quest sequence.

Another reason are the Rewards.  If you know the Rewards in advance, you can decide whether or not it is worth your time and effort to pursue any given Quest.

If a Player has the energy and determination, I would welcome ALL details, including the names of the Quest steps and every reward.  The most important details, however are simply the Crops required for each step, Animal harvests required and special Limited Edition Items given as Rewards.  Usually any Reward will include Coins and XP as well as an Item, but the Item is the most important in terms of creating a guide for Players of FarmVille.

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Lunar New Year Quests:

Six:
Get 8 Cake Decorations
Harvest Lunar New Year Cow twice
Harvest 125 Wheat

Seven:
Get 8 Red Envelopes
Master the Lunar New Year Cow
Harvest 150 Rice
Reward: Lunar New Year Sheep

Eight:
Get 10 Large Flashlights
Harvest Lunar New Year Sheep
Harvest 150 Morning Glories

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Mardi Gras Quests:


Farmville Mardi Party

 The Colours
Get 8 Mardi Gras Streamers
Harvest Mardi Gras Duck
Harvest 100 Morning glory
Reward:  175 XP, 1 Mardi gras Llama, and 3500 Coins



Get 8 Baby Doll trinkets
Master Mardi Gras Duck to 1 Star
Harvest `150 Cranberries

Six: Colourful Cakes
Get 8 King Cakes
Harvest Mardi Gras Ostrich
Harvest 150 Rice
Reward: Mardigator

Seven:
Get 8 Cameras
Harvest Mardigator
Harvest 150 Peppers
Reward: Mardi Gras Peacock

Eight:
Get 10 Bags
Harvest Mardi Gras Peacock twice
Harvest 150 Red Tulips

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The Rise, Fall and Career

1.  Sign Away
Get 4 Truffles Autograph
Harvest 50 Tomatoes
Harvest The Horse Paddock Twice
Reward:  125 XP.  1 Scarlet Pigonia, and 2500 Coins

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Kelly the Spring Flower

1.  The Spring of Love
Get 4 Scarlet Begonias
Harvest 50 Red Tulips
Store 10 Items on Your Home Farm
Reward:  125 XP, 1 Scarlet Pigonia, and 2500 Coins





Thursday, January 31, 2013

Solacorn Reward

I am very partial to horses and their mythical cousins, the Pegasus, Unicorn and Pegacorn.  For those who may not be aware of the subtle distinctions between each type of steed that can be found in FarmVille, the Unicorn has a single horn, the Pegasus has wings and the Pegacorn has both a single horn and wings.

Every Farm has its own rules where upgrades and requirements for 'beating' the Farm are concerned.  Requirements invariably include completion of all upgrades of a building project or projects unique to that farm.  In the case of the Enchanted Glen, one must complete both the Mushroom Home and the Rivermist Fortress.

I was rather delighted to discover that the maximum upgrade level for the Rivermist Fortress is Level 5, which is not that difficult to attain.  Furthermore, there is a wonderful reward for those who make the final upgrade in the form of a Solacorn, which is a golden Pegacorn.