Initially, I was pleased that Alissa tasked me with writing the “Year in Review” post. And then I realized that as more of a “Critical Review” that takes into account the good and the bad, it is actually easier for someone who is opinionated to write it. Alissa is very nice…and for the most part wants everyone to get along and be happy. I don’t mind that some (many/most) people may not agree with everything I write. I get it. These are personal opinions at best, as we have found out in this Holiday/Winter/Christmas/Pagan event.
Let’s face it. There are some people who LOVE everything that EA does (they don’t call him HappyTapper for nothing!). And others that are a tad more critical (I will refrain from naming names at this point). But, we all experience the same updates in the same way, through our own Tapping Lenses…which makes all of this subjective at best.
So…taking into account that this overview is just my opinion, and that you are perfectly free to disagree with me (although I secretly want you to agree with me so I feel ratified and relevant), LET’S LOOK BACK ON THE YEAR THAT WAS… IN TSTO.
I suspect that you will do a lot of what I do, when I look back on past TSTO events. I realize that I have already forgotten a whole lot of what may have made me mad or cranky. and remembered just the high points. There were very few super low-points. But admittedly, I suspect the times where you said, “Holyfreakinshirt! This is SO COOL!” were infrequent, mostly because I don’t expect much of anyone to say “holyfreakinshirt” out loud. Perhaps it’s because if you do, you owe me a nickle for using a trademarked (pending) phrase in print. But, I digress…
The simple truth is, once we got into a rhythm of back-to-back-to-back updates and mini-events (and realizing that they were serious about killing “Level Updates” for the most part), the year settled into a lot of “the same.” But, we’ll get to my final analysis at the end of this post (hence the word, “final”).
EVENTS IN REVIEW (In Order).
Winter 2015 Carryover- As in every year (except this one), the Winter/Christmas episode is the First/Last event of the year, because it always carries over from the end of December, into the first couple of weeks of January (except for this year…so be careful using the words “always” and “never”). 2016 actually started with the final act of Winter 2015. It was a GREAT way to start the year, as WE FINALLY GOT MAGGIE!!! Whooohooooooo!!!
“Much Apu About Something”
The Simpsons: Tapped Out “Much Apu About Something” episode tie-in content update is the one hundred and fifteenth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on January 13, 2016. A seriously random episode tie-in, that gave us Jay, and the Police Tank. As it turned out, 2016 was not a great year for anyone of Jay’s color, or the police. It was an episode tie-in, for a pretty “meh” episode.
Deep Space Homer
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Deep Space Homer content update is the one hundred and sixteenth content update and was released on January 21, 2016. Now…I know that a ton of people LOVED this update. But, it was a harbinger of things to come, as it was tied to a random Simpsons episode, and once again, loaded us up with tons of decorations that were hard to place in a traditional Springfield. A LOT of land was required, as well as a thematic concept in your town, for where you placed it. I created an amusement part/museum near my Viva Springfield casino resort area. We did get a cool rocket…Deep Space Homer, and Astronaut Barney as well.
Tailgate and Daily Challenges System
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Tailgate and Daily Challenges System content update is the one hundred and seventeenth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on February 4, 2016. It was basically a VERY LAME attempt to get us to spend donuts on sports related stuff. Nothing new of import. We got the “Big Box.” Big whoop.
Valentine’s Day 2016
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Valentine’s Day 2016 content update is the one hundred and eighteenth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on February 10, 2016. – In the tradition of true romance, TSTO brought out a Dead Chick and a Hick. OK. That’s kinda harsh. It gave us Mona (ghost back from the dead) and Becky, a random Premium character that unlocked with the Krusty Kraut, which I did not buy. The update was really pretty sweet, with Grandpa and Mona reconnecting in his memories. We got the Coconut Babaloo, which was a great addition to my Gambling/Resort area. Mona and Grandpa spend 99% of their time, “feeding the birds” which in my case, means feeding pigeons into the small black hole, to keep Springfield safe from Quantum annihilation.
World’s Largest Redwood
The Simpsons: Tapped Out World’s Largest Redwood content update is the one hundred and nineteenth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on February 17, 2016. Let’s be honest. Most of the “World’s Largest” end up being huge and out of place in our Springfields. But this really looks pretty cool in my forest area. We got a Tree-Hugger skin for Lisa…and a huge-ass tree that you built in stages.
Burns’ Casino
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Burns’ Casino content update is the one hundred and twentieth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on February 23, 2016. OK. I have to admit it. I LOVED this update. I mean, really loved it. It was hilarious…even with a few glitches thrown in to freak people out who “wanted everything!!!” There was hilarious dialogue, loads of fun buildings, and a crazy reward system that kept you tapping like a gambling addict at a casino. There were a ton of characters, that were all simply funny in their overt, “Vegas-style” tackiness. Make no mistake…there was some weird stuff that went immediately into storage (Casino Nessie) But Gabbo and Arthur, and Reclusive Mr. Burns, walking around in his kleenex-box shoes, is hilarious. It also gave us their homage (though severely undersized) to the “Spruce Goose,” the flying boondoggle that Howard Hughes built, which now resides in Oregon.
The Marge-Ian Chronicles
The Simpsons: Tapped Out “The Marge-Ian Chronicles” episode tie-in content update is the one hundred and twentyfirst content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on March 9, 2016. This was an episode tie-in that gave us a large, random, Deep Space building and storyline, and a couple of forgettable Premium items. Even with the Space Shuttle Simulator, it was Meh…
St. Patrick’s Day and Easter 2016
The Simpsons: Tapped Out St. Patrick’s Day and Easter 2016 content update is the one hundred and twentysecond content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on March 16, 2016. Looking back now, I can see that this was actually in many ways a precursor to the current “De-Christianization” of TSTO. By tying St. Patricks and Easter together, they mostly diminished any real tie-in to the religious holiday. Nothing says celebrating the Risen Lord like “Shredded Ned” and “Groundskeeper Shamus,” Argh.
Crook and Ladder
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Crook and Ladder content update is the one hundred and twenty-third content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on March 31, 2016. This was really pretty anti-climatic, in that the Fire Station had been one of the most rumored items “in the files” for more than three years. THREE years. It has some pretty funny animation…when you actually remember to send Moe, Homer, Apu, or Skinner on a fire run. But, it is pretty easy to forget.
Spring Cleaning
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Spring Cleaning content update is the one hundred and twenty-fourth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on April 13, 2016. This was another HUGE attempt to Suck Donuts from our coffers with a giant, spectacular, REBATE SALE from Gil. It had a ton of stuff…and offered a lot of great deals. But, knowing that something BIG was coming next, many, if not most people stayed away, and horded their donuts and bonuts.
Wild West
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Wild West content update is the one hundred and twenty-fifth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on April 19, 2016. OK. I’m going to say that I LOVED this update. Living in the REAL West, and having the chance to visit so many amazing historic places in the Northwest that resembled these decorations, AND…Knowing that I was going to be driving through Arches National Park during an epic 30-Day Cross Country trip, which is ALSO what a lot of the rocks are fashioned after in this event…It made it ALL amazingly fun (just like that last run-on sentence). I have a very extensive and permanent section of my town now dedicated to an homage of the West, our national parks, and our trip. The dialogue and storylines were great, as were the introductions into the way they had multiple areas of crafting/winning/building to earn prizes (loads of prizes). LOVED THIS UPDATE.
Whacking Day 2016
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Whacking Day 2016 content update is the one hundred and twentysixth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on May 9, 2016. Hated this update. After the AMAZING Wild West update…if you can’t put anything into this, except bringing back a ton of old stuff, and re-purposed stuff…Why. Even. Bother? Oh. That’s right. It was another donut-suck for new players. Hey. EA!!! Those of us who played the original Whacking Day remember what Whacking Day was like. And this was no Whacking Day event. Meh!!
Level 60
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Level 60 content update is the one hundred and twentyseventh content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on May 18, 2016. Weirdly…the real reason for this Level 60 update, was to pretty much announce that they would no longer being doing Traditional Level Updates anymore. There was also a couple of HUGE GLITCHES…that allowed people to do the new “Non-Update Updates” very easily (as in cheat the system while it was broken) allowing them to level up to 900+ if they went into frantic KEM farming status.
I admit that I miss the traditional Level Updates. I am just not motivated to farm KEMs or Bloodmobiles….so I am currently at level 180. I’m fine with that. rEAlly!
Homer’s Chiliad
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Homer’s Chiliad content update is the one hundred and twentyeigth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on June 2, 2016. I really Hated/Ignored this update. I was just getting ready to leave for our trip at the end of the month and was working double-time to get prepared. So, I was glad this was a “meh” event. The items were all weird, way out of place in our Springfields, and to this day, I can barely reach 20 on my best day of tapping turtles in the Calderon/Insanity Peppers game. The drug dialogue was really lame…and made all drugs seem weirdly psychotropic. Let’s face it…Homer would never do Peyote or Iowaska. So, I don’t know what the coyote had in his pipe…
Superheroes 2
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Superheroes 2 content update is the one hundred and twentyninth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on June 14, 2016. I admit that once again, my emotions on this update were likely skewed by the fact that I was on a cross-country trip for 30 days, which crossed over most of this update. It wasn’t so much that it didn’t hold up to the Original Superheros update, but that just like so many of the Comic Book epic spectacular movies, they rarely live up to our expectations as fans. It was another THREE FULL FRANTIC ACTS of tapping… and in the end, the only really recognizable thing that remained in my Springfield (because loads went to storage) was Charcoal Briquette…because she’s hot! I was happy to get Clobber Girl for Lisa…but admit that I never have her in uniform. This act had WAAAAAAAAAAAY too many retreads and not enough fresh, new content to rate it “Super.”
4th of July 2016
The Simpsons: Tapped Out 4th of July 2016 content update is the one hundred and thirtieth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on June 29, 2016. Well…again, not surprisingly, I was pleasantly pleased to get Teddy Roosevelt and the National Park, as deep into our cross country trip, where we were visiting a number of National Parks. If you were new to the game, you had LOADS of retreads to choose from. If you were a long-time player, this update felt a bit random, as it was mostly directed at Retread Presidents, scandals, and semi-patriotic clutter.
Dilapidated Rail Yard
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Dilapidated Rail Yard content update is the one hundred and thirty-first content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on July 26, 2016. This update felt scattered and disjointed at best. While it DID introduce a tunnel for our monorails to be able to run between Springfield and Springfield Heights, there were loads of design issues that came about, and it took FOREVER to earn the required 2nd tunnel to be able to do a full loop. The most positive thing to say, is that it did give newer players a chance to get/start the Monorail if they missed it. What the super villains had to do with it…I still don’t understand.
Springfield Games
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Springfield Games content update is the one hundred and thirty-second content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on August 3, 2016. As much as I wanted to like this update, I didn’t. At all. It was random…poorly executed and conceived, and just wandered all over the place in regards to dialogue. It was like they needed some way to re-purpose their Tap-Ball programming/concepts…but, just didn’t have the content to really pull it off. I’m pretty sure that the torch and the Go-Cart track are the only edifices to remind me that I even played this. The rest is in storage.
SciFi
The Simpsons: Tapped Out SciFi content update is the one hundred and thirty-third content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on August 16, 2016. Well…this is where things become TRULY SUBJECTIVE. If you are the kind of player who doesn’t mind weirdly incongruous, very out-of-place characters from the future, wandering side-by-side with characters from the present, then you think that this was a GREAT update. Who doesn’t want Lisa as a Future President and Bart as a Skateboarding ne’er-do-well walking around side-by-side? Me. That’s who. I prefer to keep my “Time/Space” realities real. No matter what Hollywood would have you believe, a “future you” can’t go back in time to visit a “past you,” as long as Newtonian physics exist. But, what the heck. It’s a cartoon…right? I DID love the wrinkle on alternate universes, and the possibility of multiple outcomes from a single slice of Free Will. But, the event ultimately left me remembering little about it. The only really redeeming residual prize was Stephen Hawking…zooming around in his rocket chair.
Season Premiere 2016 “Monty Burns’ Fleeing Circus”
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Season Premiere 2016 “Monty Burns’ Fleeing Circus” episode tie-in content update is the one hundred and thirty-fourth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on September 21, 2016. There is really little to say about this. It mostly LOADS of retreads…and little more. Forgettable in every way.
Treehouse of Horror XXVII
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Treehouse of Horror XXVII content update is the one hundred and thirty-fifth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on October 4, 2016. It’s true that we hold the THOH updates to a higher standard than other updates. This is supposed to be where the programming and writing team really pull out the stops to have a blast with new content, wild tie-ins, and loads of spooky fun. When comparing it to past THOH events, this one would have to rank near, or at the very bottom. Sorry. But, it just didn’t deliver. There were so few original characters and buildings introduced, that you really started to wonder if the game could be sustained in the future. The ratio of Retreads/New Content had to be close to a 70/30. What the update lacked in creative characters, it made up for in spades in the SIZE of the buildings. So…Much…Room…Needed…if you really wanted to place it all. And frankly, who would want to? I have a large section with the Cathedral, and a couple of the castles. But little of this stuff made the final cut to have a permanent place in my Springfield. The best part of this event, is that it was SUPER EASY to finish it on time…and you got most everything you wanted, along with a ton of stuff you didn’t.
“Havana Wild Weekend”
The Simpsons: Tapped Out “Havana Wild Weekend” episode tie-in content update is the one hundred and thirty-sixth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on November 9, 2016.
Well…what can really be said about an update that was so thin on content, that I actually forgot it happened, just a month after it debuted. Nice old car. That’s it.
The Most Dangerous Game
The Simpsons: Tapped Out The Most Dangerous Game content update, the Thanksgiving 2016 event, is the one hundred and thirty-seventh content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on November 16, 2016. This was another “Retread-Reliant” update that had little too offer if you had played all of the past Thanksgiving updates. It did roll into a handful of “Black Friday” deals with rebates, but for the most part, just left you less than “Thankful” for what was supposed to be a Thanksgiving update. I DID like the Wildlife sanctuary and the camping tent/RV, as the all went well in my National Park tribute. But BigClaw? Really? Ergh….
Winter 2016
The Simpsons: Tapped Out Winter 2016 content update is the one hundred and thirty-eighth content update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out and was released on December 6, 2016. It is in this kind of a Long-Winded annual recap, that I take advantage of the fact that most of you have stopped reading long ago. I can therefore give my real, and no-doubt controversial opinion of the Winter 2016 update. And here it is….I liked it. A lot. I have to admit that I am chock-full of Christmas stuff of every flavor. It was about time that EA shook things up a bit. And boy…did they. I find almost all organized religion as a bit of a melting pot of beliefs that never completely satisfy my soul. With my past experiences, and what I consider the gift of having an NDE that made a few things pretty clear about choosing one “ism” over another as being pointless, I was able to simply laugh at the way EA/Gracie tweaked at the basic concepts of the Christmas holiday being owned by one faith or another. Let’s face it…what this country really wants/needs/worships is the fact that almost every year, the Christmas season fuels the GDP of country. If we actually celebrated in a more traditional way, the economy would stagger. So….BRING IT ON! Pagans, Wiccans, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and every other flavor in the rainbow. We are all made of the same sub-atomic particles that make up everything that is and ever shall be. So…chillax. It’s just a game. Right? BEST part of Winter 2016? It was short. The Gift boxes? Meh. Grandpa in a Diaper for New Years? Funny…but ageist (and no…before any of you young whippersnappers ask…I am a long way away from “diaper time”). Maggie killing a lamby? Yucky. But, like I said…I’ll get over it. My hope is that this is as bad as it gets in the coming year…because in the end, it was a really funny, interestingly different event!
MY OVERVIEW- of the overview. Final Thoughts
(Click Image to see Full Size)
When you take the time to chart my opinions of the past year, it looks like the patient is very much alive….but REALLY erratic in regards to “Quality of Life.” The bottom line here, is that EA is giving us loads of content, especially for a Freemium game. But maybe that is the problem. Less clutter, and more real content…as in MORE dialogue, more tasks that aren’t just repetitive grinding…and a LOT more time and effort put into Halloween.
When most of the update ratings fall in the lower third of “I liked It” and many fall into the “I Hated It” category, you can’t rely on the infrequent “I Loved It” updates to keep saving the franchise. Consistency…attention to detail…and follow-through. Is that too much to ask? Maybe…
There was a lot of “Meh” but there were also a load of laughs. Every time I felt burned out, or ambivalent, they came back with a great update to keep me engaged.
We’ll see what 2017 has in store. But, I know, “I’ll Be Tappin’!”
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE/LEAST FAVORITE Event/Update? Go ahead. Offer an opinion. The worst that can happen is that someone disagrees with you. Right? (welcome to my world).
I loved the Casino quests, and also the 4x resources week they had a few months ago for summer. I got so much stuff built and finished. I hope it comes back this year.
I see your main complaint is usually recycled content. While I can understand that a long-year player may feel disappointed, there is probably a good reason not to release more new content (apart from laziness/lack of imagination). You see, I started playing over 2 years ago: at when I first downloaded TSTO, the game files where under 700 MB. Now they are well over 1.2 GB. Each new item added means you have to add bitmaps to the files, animations (because not animated items are usually described as “meh”), associated sounds, character interactions… And even more if you ad a new character. And EA knows, that not every player has top hardware with unlimited memory. I can believe they may be losing players because of increased game size… So they are trying to find some balance between growing game size and giving long time players new content.
BTW: it would be interesting to see how many of presently active players are veterans, playing (almost) from the beginning and how many have only recently joined. EA probably dos not release such data, but I believe they may look at them when deciding how much new vs recycled content to add.
we have some data here (at least about our readers)
http://tstoaddicts.com/2016/08/16/addicts-blogiversary-all-about-you-3-years-later/
Thanks, but this is only TSTO readers, and only those, who decided to take the poll…
I thought 2016 was good one in the games a bit content heavy or wow loads of content but highlight was getting Stephen Hawkins. And the dialogue for that was very good.
I’m kind of sad now.😐 I took time off from TSTO (because real life got in the way) during both the Wild West and Casino events! I generally agree with everything Pat says so I am even more disappointed now! As we liked to say here in Chicago, there’s always next year!
Go Cubs! That alone should give you hope!
I’ve had life get in the way of a few updates. At some point ol’Gil will pop up and sell everything you would’ve had to work for!!! ( I’m still waiting for the radish platform) Go Cubs!
It’s been another great year of tapping! My favorite was the Casino event. I was also happy to have a Superheroes sequel. Can’t wait to see what the coming year has in store for us. And thank you all for your hard work and dedication to this page. It is greatly appreciated.
The Big Box has given me more donuts than any other single thing in the game, so I gotta disagree with that “big whoop.”
Ok. So BIG whooopie?
So much content and events in the past year that I thought we had Maggie for 2 years already!
Generally I liked these events as EA clearly had planned it well, giving players enough time to earn most or all of the prizes. A big thumbs up to the Big Box when they introduced a new way to earn donuts through daily tasks.
My favorite event was Casino. Followed religiously the schedule and able to get all freemium prizes ahead of time and earn lots of donuts. Loved it so much that I created a special huge area just for it, and loving it.
My most memorable event was Sci Fi. I had dengue fever and rested at home. With high fever, I was semi conscious of what I was doing and just playing it rarely. Twice per day. Buildings were lame but I loved the new characters.
What was disappointing was this year’s Black Friday offers. No rebates for any characters. Still waiting for my Duff man and Hungry Hun to be rebated.
Thanks for sharing…good points!
I agree, the casino update was by far my favorite this year, I only wish we could still play the games.
I hope you’re feeling better, I too had to do a bit of recovering from some surgeries this year. I hope you had a Merry holiday season and have a wonderful new year!!!!
Thanks for well wishes. Best of health to all of us in this New Year!
I’m so sorry to hear you were sick, hopefully you recovered well!
Sadly I have had a few hiccups during the course of the year and have been unable to finish a few of the tasks. Thanks EA.
Just wanted to wish you guys across the pond a very Happy New Year. 💜💜💛💙💜💜
May the best ye hae ivver seen be the warst ye’ll ivver see.
May the moose ne’er lea’ yer girnal wi a tear-drap in its ee.
May ye aye keep hail an hertie till ye’r auld eneuch tae dee.
May ye aye juist be sae happie as A wuss ye aye tae be.
I drink to the health of another,
And the other I drink to is he –
In the hope that he drinks to another,
And the other he drinks to is me!
Here’s to them that like us –
Them that think us swell –
And here’s tae them that hate us –
Let’s pray for them as well!
Here’s to the heath, the hill and the heather,
The bonnet, the plaid, the kilt and the feather!
Here’s to the heroes that Scotland can boast,
May their names never dee –
That’s the Heilan’ Man’s Toast!
Here’s tae us –
Wha’s like us –
Damn few –
And they’re a’ deid –
Mairs the pity!
May the hill rise behind you,
And may the mountain be always over the crest;
And may the God that you believe in
Hold you in the palm of his hand.
Lang may yer lum reek!
Wi’ ither folks coal!
May we be happy – and our enemies know it!
A guid New Year and mony may ye see.
May ye ne’er want a frien’ or a dram to gie him.
When we’re gaun up the hill of fortune, may we ne’er meet a frien’ comin’ doun!
All the best to you all from the Milton’s.
Hi all,
Ok best new feature in 2016 for me was the addition of the job manager, saved having to click through every character to send them on their next job. What a great time saver it has proven. Not too sure which update it came in though.
Err it was added in 2016 wasn’t it? As year seems to have flown by.
Happy New Year! It’s been 2017 for 1hr and 25 mins now in the UK. I have to agree with you Patric, this year of TSTO updates and events has varied wildly from the excellent to the disappointing. More emphasis on the disappointing really although I did like the Wild West, the fire update and this past Christmas one. Maybe I didn’t enjoy it as much because I have so much less time to play now. Or maybe it’s because the game didn’t hook me in enough to tempt me to stop marking books/planning lessons and play instead. Whatever it was, let’s hope EA get creative in 2017.
Casino event was the best. Would really like more ocean so the boats and iceberks and islands had more room. Thee other improvement is regarding visits, wish we had a daily clock so that if you do visits latell 1 day it does not force you to either skip a day ofor visits or stay up late every night. Example every day at 12 noon somewhere the game resets visits, which if you did them at night you could make do next day in morning or lunch.
Still compared to the standard freemium type of game this is the best as you do not have to worry about someone attacking and taking all you earned or spent in 2 minutes and if you don’t have to have everything or are patient you eventually can get most things. If you go in vacation you can relax and not have the best time wasting game being updated so much that you cannot get satisfaction from playing when you come home. Sorry so long and thanks for reading. Your team reviewing and the developerstwhile at EA are the best.
UK: It’s now 2017🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🎉🎉🎉🎉💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽X
Happy New Year! 🙂
Ah. Thank you Alissa. Same to you. All the very best to you & your family for the coming year….💜X
Thanks for this thorough overview Patric. Truth be told, I am struggling to remember anything concrete about these events/updates/tie-ins. I felt they came so quickly with scarcely anytime to catch one’s breath, decorate, sit back & enjoy. It was a case of ploughing through & hoping to get the prizes. I just hope for 2017 we get more QUALITY over QUANTITY. Happy New Year……Hello 2017….🍾🎉☃X
LOVED IT:
Dilapidated Rail Yard by a land slide…literally. Well kinda. With the introduction of the second tunnel came the disappearing mountain glitch. I gained some pretty valuable parcels, for free.
HATED IT:
The lame attempt to add prizes to real money doughnut purchases. Just an absolute slap in face to long time players who have bit the bullet and made previous purchases. Had those prizes been there since day 1, fine. But this really made me feel better about every glitch or bug I ever took advantage of.
Thank you! SOMEONE who loved the Wild West event as much as I did. I still have a large permanent Wild West area because I did really enjoy the event (I preferred the Casino event but still LOVED Wild West). Everyone I have talked to about favourite/least favourite events have said that they thought it was meh but I really enjoyed it. PLUS, everyone forgets that it added some SUPER HELPFUL permanent additions to the game: cut & paste and the visual task icon (so helpful!).
I like the Chilliad, unlike your opinion, mainly because it is one of my favourite episodes (love it!!!) so I was just super excited to get the Coyote.
Overall – a good year when you focus on the great things.
Always happy to have your happy outlook on things HT!
Why not be happy about a game that costs time, effort and money yet being handed to you for FREE?? *sings* always look on the bright side of life *sings*
I am glad my optimisim is appreciated 😊. Have a great new year Cranky
Thanks! Same to you!
I really liked the Wild West event too HT. I love the rock formations that it added. Goes great with all of the caves in the game. I can’t think of an event I disliked this year. Love each new opportunity for decorations and characters. I just want even more goodies next year. Happy new year all
Personally, I was not big on olympic update or superheros….but the Casino update was fan-freakin-tastic! I loved it! I hope this is one they revisit, as I would love nothing more than to expnd my Springfield strip. THOH definitely fell short. Winter update was refreshingly different, however i would hve rather had more Christmas items or Hanukkah items available than tents. Maybe if the festival had had more booths and fewer tents I would hve lijed it more…..
Thanks much for your input! I agree with much of what you said.
My favorite was Halloween. At first I didn’t like it but after a couple of the big ticket purchases, inspiration hit me and ended up being one of my favorite themed areas in my town.
And I didn’t seem to remember anything from the first half of the year. That’s where all my money went. Doughnuts and herbs.
Lol. That last line is self-evident!
I’m too zen to rank the events – I’m just along for the ride.
That said, I’m waiting for the update that will let me feed my nearly 300 monorail curve track into the 3D printer and change them into straight track. And a discounted Krusty Station to hit the store.
Lol! I’d even settle for a ten for one trade in option!
I really enjoyed the fire station and chili events. I wish I could get all the skins I passed up at the time. Other than that, Christmas bringing the parson and star suit Maggie has made it my fave of the year. And for the crafting, I loved the mushrooms. Got a field of em!
I agree……….. oh wait wrong post…..
Holyfreakingvest (not quite as excited as a shirt….) what a year that was. I enjoyed most of the events, but similar to most people I feel a few got a bit dull towards the end. I hope EA try out some new ideas next year rather than just mixing old formats in different combinations (e.g. An Xmas advent event – you can have that for free EA 😀).
I think that even though I have been playing for a long time (original whacking day was my first event) as a freemium player (till recently, now the odd buy and a small KEM farm (well more of a small holding or an allotment really)) there have always been lots of returning items fo me to pick up so I have been able to get more out of most events. I would imagine if you were a more premium player you would enjoy them less.
Generallly I would give 2016 in TSTO an A minus
Thanks for the input! I agree with much of what wrote…
Not everyone has been playing since the beginning! Personally I was THRILLED that they brought back Whacking Day, as I had been jealously admiring the Whacking Day stuff in other towns, because that’s such a wonderful, iconic episode that I love! Personally I love when they do tie-ins to classic episodes, which is why I COMPLETELY disagree with your assessment of the “Deep Space Homer” event as just “another tie-in to a random episode.” “Deep Space Homer” is an ABSOLUTE CLASSIC episode from the Golden Age of the Simpsons….if it wasn’t, would we have had the “Hail Ants” signs from the beginning? But anyway, my biggest thing is that it’s hard to wrangle all the new stuff from various events, I still have a ton of stuff that I haven’t really organized in my town. I only just recently finalized my Wild West area! I love Star Snowsuit Maggie so much, this whole event was worth it just to get that costume 😀
Thanks for the input!
What I really liked about THOH was the gothic theme. True, I had to buy a whole strip of land to put it in, but the cobblestone paths and gothic buildings let me create my own Universal Monsters-themed area in Springfield.
Nice use!
I don’t envy their creative team: They have to constantly develop and implement material to keep the tapping masses fat, happy, and profitable, and try constantly to find the right balance that’s going to yield the best results.
I can say without hesitation that there has been no event that I’ve hated. They’ve all ranged from Very Fun to Just Business As Usual, and sure, some did get rather tedious towards the end, but never have I felt like putting the game down and walking away.
What’s more, I can’t blame the writers one bit for getting a little snarky this year, especially that “Merry Christmas, you ingrates!” line. The one thing that has consistently bothered me throughout the entire year was the almost-constant complaining and “Worst. Event. Ever.”s from the players. It just seemed that EA couldn’t make a single decision or technical goof without at least a dozen calls for heads. I have a severe aversion to entitled attitudes, and I won’t be able to hear “Shame on EA” too many more times before completely blowing my stack.
I agree with much of what you posted. Thanks!
Wait, we had a Monty Burns Fleeing Circus update? 😂😂😂
Great post, I was amazed at how much happened in Springfield this past year. Overall, I was happy with the year. My primary gripe is with events, or updates, that require odd timed grinding. They don’t fit into a normal human schedule. So we were glad they didn’t happen and hopefully none are on the horizon.
Also, we were quite happy that events seemed designed in a way that with a reasonable level of effort one could successfully complete them without a high level of stress.
Truth is I don’t have a favorite, or one I hated for that matter. Do I get a little bored in the latter stages of 6 week events, yup. Do I like some periods of downtime between events, yup. Mostly I like a stream of new content and on that score 2016 delivered. I accept that this is a game and will, just like the show, have its ups and downs. Thats ok by me.
I do know one thing, this site makes a HUGE contribution to making TSTO more fun to play. Thanks for all your hard work.
Alissa gets the credit for keeping this place alive. It is the readers who keep us all working tOnstay on top…and add perspective. All in all…the fact that this is the 6th year of TSTO is pretty amazing…
My favorite event was Burns’ Casno 2016. My least favorite event would either be Superheroes 2 (it was basically Tap Ball) or Winter 2016 (basically Wild West).
This year was great until the 3rd Act of the SciFi event. It felt lazy and was disappointing g everything after that basically sucked.
I have based my “love it or leave it” scale on what is currently still in my town…lots of land still allotted for THOH items, lots of Casino stuff down at the beach, a small “Old West” area, and a scattering of things like the Coconut Babaloo, The Havana Home, the Hyper Stadium, and the Wildlife Refuge. Almost everything else is in storage…including the entire Winter Event – not including the Spirit Tree and the Henge…both moved to THOH area. (Forgot…moved the Ba’al Pit and Dunk a Monk to Squidport). I loved the future event, and had a huge and elaborate design by the end of it, but found it hard to maintain the enthusiasm after it ended. Nothing really worked well in my “real life” Springfield. All my characters are still roaming…for some reason, I don’t find the disparity of timelines etc. as jarring as I do with buildings. No logic, there, I know, but that’s just how my grey cells work. All in all, THOH was my winner, Casinos and Sci Fi tied for second…the rest….meh….
Great way to measure success…and I agree! My storage space is bursting at the seams.
OMG so many events, I forgotten so many of them already or forgot they happened this year. I do remember feeling burned out during the year. Grinding out an event and going right into the next major event. I do like the sentiment at the end, perhaps fewer, more well done events would be better. Perhaps things that aren’t so time constrained, so I can do them over whatever period of time I like. Although I do get it, when there isn’t an event going on, there isn’t much to do in the game. There aren’t any new levels, new characters, new questlines without the events.
Thanks for you input! I agree with much of what you wrote.
I like the idea of mini events with no timeline…more like elaborate quest lines that could take up to a week to complete if you “grind away” (or longer if you choose not to) involving a couple newly introduced characters. You could choose to finish the tasks at your own rate, and the characters would be yours at the end of the quest. Part of the quest could be completing tasks that would win new items. Actually, any new event format would be welcome at this point.