Let’s establish a couple of things before we start.
First, some who know me, would say I have a “Cranky Attitude” when it comes to spending donuts on TSTO Items. I would prefer to use the word, “Pragmatic.” The sound you hear is my five daughter’s eyes rolling from points across the country. They HATE it when I use the word “pragmatic,” because they know there is some “common sense wisdom” coming their way, when they are making a decision.
Second…and even more important, as I learned a LONG time ago when it comes to raising kids, or giving advice to people you don’t know, I ultimately have no control whatsoever over the outcome. You are ultimately going to do whatever you want, exercising your “Free Will” to “Pull the Donut Trigger,” or leave said donuts with the “safety on.” (for the record, you should always have the safety on when storing your donuts).
Now…TO THE TASK AT HAND!
Should You Buy The Soul Extraction Institute- Robo Burns/Doggie Smithers Combo??
Pffffffffttttttttttttttt!! Throw Pragmatism Out the Door!
I Love This Weird “Cross-Dimensional” Dress Stuff. In that, I love imagining what the future would look like. Yes. I loved “Ex Machina” and am stoked that it is on NetFlix Amazon Prime now…and I can watch my “future wife” lock up my future self in a closet and then run away into the “Real World” to leave a trail of broken hearts and broken bones behind her.
Too far? OK. Let me reel my intensity back a bit.
Here are the Details of the Combo
You Get a Very Strange and Interesting Building – The Soul Extraction Institute
You TWO Full Characters (they are full…not NPCs) – Robo Burns and Doggy Smithers
They are part of a New “Robots” collection of characters
This is a Limited Time Offer– It leaves the store at the end of Act I at Midnight August 30th – PDT
Pros
– Two Full Characters and Building at One Low Price
– Characters Come with Quest Line
– Characters Earn Update Currency
– Characters are Hilarious and Voiced
-Questline earns more Dark Matter (questline only, and 462
from questline)
Cons
– Building is HUGE (11×11)
-Outside the initial questline they do not help with the event
– These Weird Characters will be wandering around your Springfield forever (wait…is that a pro??)
PREMIUM BUYER – This combo is a ton of fun. It is a great value, and I bought it right away. As in BOOM! Done. It makes me laugh, and will continue to make me laugh for a long time, and you can’t place a price on that.
FREEMIUM BUYER– Again…I say Pull the Donut Trigger…especially if you are spending Bonuts (Bonus Donuts). This is one of those rare times when you are going to kick yourself if you miss this one (which I think you can do in the future, when we have robotic legs).
Final Note: The Institute lends itself to creative decoration. I placed my X-Ray Truck, and Beta Portal next to mine, with the random black hole hovering nearby. I wanted to make sure that the victim of the X-Ray truck had every possibility to “cross over,” after visiting the Institute.
Ultimately, It is Up to YOU! (Free Will and all of that). What do you think about this combo? Too weird? Not Weird enough? Or Just Right?
HappyOldGuy
Patric
From Alissa….
Here’s the quick stats:
Building: Soul Extraction Institute
Characters: Robo Burns & Doggy Smithers (FULL characters, not skins)
Price: 100 Donuts
Size: 11×11 (although this is in the post 😉 )
Earns: $200, 22xp
Conform-O-Meter: Obedience +20
And if you’re wondering my opinion on this combo….BUY IT! 100 donuts, 2 characters (not skins) PLUS a building…best deal I’ve seen!
Here’s a look at the tasks…
Robo Burns Permanent Tasks:
| Task | Length | Earns | Location |
| Recharge Power Cells | 1hr | $105, 26xp | Power Plant |
| Terminate Employee | 2hrs | $285, 67xp | Outside, Visual (Requires Homer) |
| Play with Puppy Dog Smithers | 4hrs | $520, 140xp | Outside,Visual (Requires Smithers) |
| Laugh at Mortals | 8hrs | $420, 150xp | Krusty Burger |
| Clean his Circuitry | 12hrs | $600, 150xp | Soul Extraction Institute |
| Create Weapons Grade Plutonium | 24hrs | $1,000, 225xp | Power Plant |
Doggy Smithers Permanent Tasks:
| Task | Length | Earns | Location |
| Power Doggy Nap | 1hr | $105, 26xp | Burns Manor |
| Play with Robo Burns | 4hrs | $520, 140xp | Outside/Visual |
| Scratch Virtual Fleas | 8hrs | $420, 150xp | Burns Manor |
| Bark at Nothing | 12hrs | $600, 150xp | Outside/Visual |
| Sniff Racing Dogs | 24hrs | $1,000, 225xp | Springfield Downs |
The first Robo Burns task that seemed to continually earn event currency (as long as the real Burns didn’t complete his task) no longer does that for me. Robo Burns does not earn matter anymore, and yet regular Burns never even started his task. I can only assume the latest in-game mini patch removed that option so that people like me wouldn’t farm matter indefinitely….
You may want to edit this post with the following info.
If Future Burns initial 8 hour task earns event currency until you complete that mission, then why complete it at all and loose it?
Ie advise people not to complete that mission until towards the end of the event.
This is off this specific topic, but I just came across a shortcut for finding the robots in your Springfield. While in the 3D printer task page, tap the arrow in the upper right hand corner that shows how many robot parts you need for the next level. This opens a window with a choice to rush the level with donuts or “do it yourself”. If you tap on “Do It”, you will be flown to the next robot.
Yup, but this is actually faster (and it involves no actual searching)…
http://tstoaddicts.com/2016/08/19/sci-fi-101-act-1-missing-robots/
I rarely spend doughnuts and I bought this right away! I love it! I new I wanted it as soon as it came out. Looks great in my town.
I decided that I needed this but I didn’t have enough donuts for it (I totally missed the KEM bug and I bought the collider because for some reason I’ve wanted the black hole for a long time). Said and done, I activated the XP collider and bought just enough donuts to be able to buy the soul extractor. The building is a bit on the big side but the characters are cool (and relatively cheap), plus it will help me get some extra event currency now that I’m done with the quest line for act 1. I don’t think I will regret this buy, regardless of what comes for sale in the next act.
Correction: I did not buy donuts, I bought rat trap trucks.
Could the Addicts kindly make a Should I Buy post for the Super Collider (and accompanying black hole)? It predates my TSTO start date and I couldn’t find an archived post about it.
Much thanks!
Expect it soon…
Question, does robo-Burns play with Bobo, like in the first picture from this post? I’m freemium player and am trying to save up some donuts for Halloween, but now I’m really tempted. And I’d love to see Burns playing with Bobo.
I knew as soon as I saw this combo that I would be buying it! I love robot-Burns and robot-Smithers. That episode cracks me up, and I’ve always thought robots were fascinating. I’d like to have lots more robots wandering around my town. One thing that would have been really awesome would be to have alternate skins for some of the buildings like we have during certain holidays, where you could switch to a futuristic-looking version of the building. I could have a lot of fun playing around with that in my town!
Ha! I love this hhuuuge addition to my City. Always thankful for additional incite though and happy we agree on this! Happy Tapping. RevJRO1650
So, characters, not skins for burns and smithers??
Yes full characters NOT skins
So I can have Money Bags Burns earning big time on the mountain of gold & have Robo-Burns doing whatever at the same time?? Hmmm, tempting.
tonflo1
After getting 680 donuts from the KEM ‘sale’, I decided to follow your lead on this and now with have my soul extracted.
For those who wants maximum value for their hard earned donuts, please get this combo. Its probably the best deal I have seen since playing the game. One building, and 2 new premium characters cost only 100 donuts! For a limited time only!
As for me, I am at the point where I am more selective and based on my wants… holding out to see Frink’s deal. Also bought the Super Collider with the Black Hole. If only the hole was bigger but then, it will suck everything else nearby!
I pulled that trigger on the second day. No Regurts. 🙂 Query: Does it make sense to spend Robot Parts to upgrade your level when buying Demos does the same thing, (and you end up with a new item)? Just alittle confused.
JNAPLES- Use the robot parts to purchase the items you want and you will upgrade too. If you just use the parts to upgrade it’s a waste as you will not get any items (if there’s absolutely nothing on offer that floats your boat then just use upgrade and bypass the item purchasing element)…,💜X
It’s best just to make the demos to level up. The only reason to really use the robot parts to just level up is when you don’t really want any of the items that are available for you to craft at the current level.
That’s what I thought. Thanks, guys! 🙂
Bought it in a heartbeat. Think it’s fantastic and a great deal!
i think the larger question is “what is the ‘frink special’ going to be and how much will it cost?” i don’t want to use up all my donuts and come up short when the big frink combo becomes available.
It’s all just rumor until it comes out… And will be different in the bundle options if you already own it.
I was surprised, I was expecting you to go full on conservative. Doesn’t bother me none, regardless of who’s giving the opinion I always want another view point cause I need others to help point out the things I am not seeing wether good or bad. I was thinking the only real con is although there are different characters it’s still kind of like you already have those characters and these are just different skins for them. As long as you are able to view them as two completely full on different characters though then yeah, hell yeah. For a building and TWO actual premium characters the donut price is shockingly low for EA. There are tons of buildings that cost over 100 donuts and most single stand-alone characters cost close to a 100. Very good deal. But I’m also a very biased Burns fan. He reminds me of a young me.
Two new playable characters and a building that earns $$$, this one’s a no-brainer.
Just FYI, it’s not 11×11…it’s 10×10.
Proof:
http://i67.tinypic.com/b4dfkk.jpg
If you include that shadow, yikes! All these huge buildings with huge shadows are killing me. I don’t mind the square size as much as buildings blocking my roads. Orphan Alley, anyone?
I like being able to wrap my monorail behind the large buildings as it looks cool disappearing around them and coming back out. Plus it good to hide stuff to life your star and xp rating stuff if you dont like the looks of them
Also good for deleting fences, trees etc otherwise hidden by said buildings, thus keeping item count down
I’ve given this a miss and gone for the Super Collider instead. I know it’s a great deal but I want my Springfield to remain relatively normal without bots clanking about. Luckily this event has slotted in nicely next to my Zenith City from the Super Heroes 2 event as a kind of futuristic resort, and my designing is well underway. I might be an architect when I grow up!
I don’t want this but having read the comments…….some people think this will be in demand after it’s gone (Mapple)
….usually when I spend donuts, it’s impulsive
🇬🇧 😃
At least you know yourself.
Wouldn’t mind the characters…………but that’s one ugly old building,
My donuts stay firmly in my pocket, especially as I’m intending to get Frink and don’t want to blow too much
😃 🇬🇧 🐰 🎂
This was a no-brainer once I realized they weren’t skins. I’ve got the building next to the Re-Neducation Center, flanked by my test tube human subject thingies. A mini dystopian area for my town!
I decided to get this yesterday and have enjoyed these characters. I also like how the Soul Extraction Institute looks in my Springfield. The only con for me is that other characters are needed for some tasks, but this is worth the doughnuts overall.
I think in the movie Mars Attack, you could see a character like doggy smithers.
Ahh man, I’m bummed. I bought Frink before the event, took “advantage” (if you can call it that…most people in the comments seem to have gotten much more from it!) of the KEM glitch which got me about 60 donuts, and now I’m stalled at 63 sprinklies. Debating on throwing EA a few dollars if it doesn’t look achievable by the 26th.
I’m thinking with dailies and Maggie, maybe some bloodmobiles, I might scrape by on the skin of my teeth! Are bonuts from friend visits still a thing? 🤑🍩🍩
They are…but rare.
Yeahh I figured. Oh well! Maybe I’ll get lucky! 🤗
They sure are…i got two yesterday (and that was just visiting the 30 neighbors that get you event currency). If you have 100 neighbors and visit them all every day, you should *average* 1.5 neighbor donuts per day. So, it’s doubtful you’ll hit your target that way by your deadline. Have you considered turning on your collider and farming rat trap trucks? (You’ll need a good bit of cash on hand to make that work for you, though.)
I’ve got the collider on and got up to 71 with blood buses. Are rat traps better? If I could even just grind it to only having to buy the $2 package, I’ll be super happy 🙃 Otherwise, $5 isn’t so bad 😛
Even without the glitch, farming Kems is not bad. My % is 190 and I get 3 donuts every 4 hours from 25 kems. I could build more, but that number balances what my characters make in 4 hours and lets me bank a little extra. You do not blow through your game cash as quickly.
Question: How do your KEMs give you donuts? Are you just buying the premium scratch-r’s or do you mean that the income and XP you collect from the buildings take your level up?
To earn money farming KEMs, you buy numerous Kwik-E-Marts by spending your in-game cash. After 4 hours of build time, the KEMs give you XP. When you add the XP to your running total, you level up and get one donut. If you are above level 939, you get a chance to pick a box to get one, two or three donuts. After all the KEMs are built, you then sell them back for in-game cash. If you can combine this effort with the XP Collider, which multiplies your XP earned and is started by spending a minimum of 5 donuts to have it do this for 24 hours, you increase the number of XP each KEM earns. So, you are trading in-game cash for donuts.
Neither – it’s the XP you get from buying them (once they finish building). Then you sell them back and buy them again. Standard farming, except with a 4-hour waiting period for the build.
The return on bloodmobiles and rat tap trucks are the same, but rat trap trucks are more expensive and smaller, so they’re more efficient to farm.
Since you referenced your Beta Portal, the door is open. Did I miss getting the other two transport portals? I saw mention of them early in the update when I used my Alpha and Omega portals. I tried to find them in my storage and in the store but they weren’t there bWith the last mini update that reference to them went away.
They are coming later in the update. Good to see you over here, Betty!
I had the original ones from a LONG time ago. The originals, plus two more, will be offered later in the update. At least, they are in the files.
I bought this immediately once I realized it was two full characters (which I did on Day 1). There are some individual characters that cost 100 Donuts, and for that same price you get two toons *AND* a building? Yeah. Sold.
The facts that the characters earn event currency during their quest and are in-general fun/funny, are both icing on the cake.
Thanks for the review “New Guy” Patric. Well done!
LOL…I’m as new as finding a vintage penny in the penny jar. But, thanks!
In this “alternate future/reality” event, I’m a little disappointed that there’s been no sign of Lisa’s British fiance Hugh yet.
This is a perfect event to introduce him, and I’d much rather have Hugh than Colonel Seymour Skinner.
He’s not teased as a prize for acts 2 or 3, so I’m crossing my fingers that he’ll show up in the store at a reasonable price.
Well…maybe in another alternate version of the game.
Robo Burns can generate event currency indefinitely, just don’t finish the quest line. I have him doing the first 8 hour task over and over, earning dark matter, and I just haven’t sent regular Burns to do his task for that part of the quest yet. As long as the quest isn’t completed, the task won’t disappear for Robo Burns.
BRILLIANT!!! Why didn’t I think of that?
how many parts in the questline? I sent burns to feel the steel in part 1, then stored the cooling towers to free him up. thank you
I am on the 5th part if what I think is 8.
Could anyone repeat this Trick after the Pt 3 of the QuestLine? There were 2 tasks to do in Pt. 3 (or 4) but I could send Robo Burns only 1 Time (even thow I hadn’t done the Tasks for Mr. Burns) Now I am at Pt. 5 and I really wanna repeat the Quest-Task so I can earn more Dark Matter (since I am way behind schedule)
Hey, awesome observation! I missed a similar exploit during the Wild West update where I could’ve gathered tons of pick axes every 6 secs, had I just not finished the job to send Apu to sell to prospectors… Moving too fast…
Add me hoodcat1982
Shucks….wish I’d read this sooner… Good tip!
I wish I had the sense to do this. I just thought they would have an event generating task after the wuestline, as is usually the case with premium purchases. Pretty bummed that I missed that trick….💜X