Many of you at this point may have difficulties connecting to FishVille on Facebook. A lot of people have been getting stuck at the loading screen when trying to play FishVille.
The truth is, FishVille is not down and you can easily connect with one of two changes to your internet browser:
First off, try clearing your browser's cache AND cookies. While the developers have been recommending clearing your cache, I was not able to get FishVille to load until I cleared both my browser's cache and cookies.
To clear your cache and cookies in Firefox:
Click Tools >> Clear Private Data >> Make sure "Cache" and "Cookies" are checked off >> Click OK.
To clear your cache and cookies in Internet Explorer:
Click Tools >> Internet Options >> "Delete Cookies" (if that does not work, click "Delete Files" then click "Delete all Offline Content"
After doing this, open up FishVille and you should be able to connect just fine. If this does not work, try connecting with another browser. When Firefox did not work for me, I was able to play FishVille just fine via Internet Explorer.
If you are having difficulties connecting to FishVille, make sure you clear your browser's cache and delete your cookies. If this does not work, connect with a different browser.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
FishVille Leveling Guide
So far, FishVille is a very simple Facebook game. Here are the basics:
1. Level up by acquiring experience points. You can earn experience points by selling fish, buying eggs, and buying plants / decor for your tank.
2. When you first place a fish egg, it will hatch into a baby. You can not sell baby fish. After a certain amount of time (listed as "grows in" in the store interface), it will grow into a junior fish.
3. Junior fish level up one level at a time, from 1 to 4, every time the "grows in" timer is reached. As a junior fish, each level increase results in the fish becoming more valuable in terms of experience points and coins.
4. Once a fish hits level 4, it becomes an adult. At this point, its grow time increases significantly and no longer increases in value (both experience points and coins).
5. You can own multiple tanks in FishVille. You can buy a new tank every 10 levels. You can buy tanks early if you purchase some FishVille dollars, which you can alternately buy at any level for 20 FishVille dollars.
6. As you level up with your tank, it will increase in size. Your tank will grow in capacity from 15 to 30 fish, then 30 to 50 fish. Fifty fish per tank is the maximum.
7. For fish marked "fast", let them grow to level 4 before you sell them. For fish that are not marked fast, you can sell them right after they level up, as you will get a nice bit of experience points for buying the new eggs. Just make sure they are not more than 20% into the next level, as at that point it would be more beneficial to let them level up again before selling them.
Power Leveling Guide
Levels 1-10:
First off, even though it's not very exciting to have nothing to look forward to, know that the Mini-Dart Gobi (the first fish you get access to) provides by far the most amount of experience points per time spent in your tank(s), and it also provides a very high level of coins (shares with the sardine the top spots for most profitable fish).
If you are interested in attaining a high level relatively quickly, I would recommend racing to level 10 with Mini-Dart Gobis. This will give you a 65 fish capacity (50 from your first tank, 15 from your new expansion) and can be done in a just a few hours.
Once you hit 10, make sure you buy a new tank.
Levels 11-end:
If you want to be very active in your tank (like if you work on the computer), make the switch to Red Spot Cardinal. These only provide about 2/3 of the experience points of the Mini Dart Gobi, but they only need to be fed once every 30 minutes, so you can at least do other things on the computer at the same time.
If, like me, you can not be at the computer 24/7, here are some options:
The Blue Green Chromis needs to be fed every 6 hours and still pays out a lot of XP/time spent growing (16 xp per hour). This is the same as the Swissguard Basslet (needs to be fed every 2 hours) and more than the Pajama Cardinal (needs to be fed every 4 hours). The Blue Green Chromis also pays out more than any fish that needs to be fed less frequently.
The Percula Clownfish only need to be fed every 16 hours and pays out 13.5 xp per hour, which is not much less than the Blue Green Chromis.
The Hawaiian Hogfish pays out 12 XP per hour and only needs to be fed once every 2 days.
The options are up to you. If you can check your tank a few times per day, use the blue Green Chromis during the day and the Percula Clownfish by night.
If you can only check your tank twice a day, use the Percula Clownfish.
If you can only check your tank once every day or so, use the Hawaiian Hogfish.
The guide is pretty short at this point because there is not much to the game past this point. If you want to level up quickly, expand your tanks as soon as possible, and make sure your fish never spend any time at the adult stage (or die from not being fed).
1. Level up by acquiring experience points. You can earn experience points by selling fish, buying eggs, and buying plants / decor for your tank.
2. When you first place a fish egg, it will hatch into a baby. You can not sell baby fish. After a certain amount of time (listed as "grows in" in the store interface), it will grow into a junior fish.
3. Junior fish level up one level at a time, from 1 to 4, every time the "grows in" timer is reached. As a junior fish, each level increase results in the fish becoming more valuable in terms of experience points and coins.
4. Once a fish hits level 4, it becomes an adult. At this point, its grow time increases significantly and no longer increases in value (both experience points and coins).
5. You can own multiple tanks in FishVille. You can buy a new tank every 10 levels. You can buy tanks early if you purchase some FishVille dollars, which you can alternately buy at any level for 20 FishVille dollars.
6. As you level up with your tank, it will increase in size. Your tank will grow in capacity from 15 to 30 fish, then 30 to 50 fish. Fifty fish per tank is the maximum.
7. For fish marked "fast", let them grow to level 4 before you sell them. For fish that are not marked fast, you can sell them right after they level up, as you will get a nice bit of experience points for buying the new eggs. Just make sure they are not more than 20% into the next level, as at that point it would be more beneficial to let them level up again before selling them.
Power Leveling Guide
Levels 1-10:
First off, even though it's not very exciting to have nothing to look forward to, know that the Mini-Dart Gobi (the first fish you get access to) provides by far the most amount of experience points per time spent in your tank(s), and it also provides a very high level of coins (shares with the sardine the top spots for most profitable fish).
If you are interested in attaining a high level relatively quickly, I would recommend racing to level 10 with Mini-Dart Gobis. This will give you a 65 fish capacity (50 from your first tank, 15 from your new expansion) and can be done in a just a few hours.
Once you hit 10, make sure you buy a new tank.
Levels 11-end:
If you want to be very active in your tank (like if you work on the computer), make the switch to Red Spot Cardinal. These only provide about 2/3 of the experience points of the Mini Dart Gobi, but they only need to be fed once every 30 minutes, so you can at least do other things on the computer at the same time.
If, like me, you can not be at the computer 24/7, here are some options:
The Blue Green Chromis needs to be fed every 6 hours and still pays out a lot of XP/time spent growing (16 xp per hour). This is the same as the Swissguard Basslet (needs to be fed every 2 hours) and more than the Pajama Cardinal (needs to be fed every 4 hours). The Blue Green Chromis also pays out more than any fish that needs to be fed less frequently.
The Percula Clownfish only need to be fed every 16 hours and pays out 13.5 xp per hour, which is not much less than the Blue Green Chromis.
The Hawaiian Hogfish pays out 12 XP per hour and only needs to be fed once every 2 days.
The options are up to you. If you can check your tank a few times per day, use the blue Green Chromis during the day and the Percula Clownfish by night.
If you can only check your tank twice a day, use the Percula Clownfish.
If you can only check your tank once every day or so, use the Hawaiian Hogfish.
The guide is pretty short at this point because there is not much to the game past this point. If you want to level up quickly, expand your tanks as soon as possible, and make sure your fish never spend any time at the adult stage (or die from not being fed).
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
FishVille Strategy - Level List
Here is a list of the levels in FishVille, what you unlock (free gifts, tanks, etc). The "tank upgrades" are assuming that you bought the tank as soon as it was available.
Level 2 - Friend to the Fishes - you can now buy Red Spot Cardinal, Hammer Coral, Rusty Anchor. Now you can gift: Hammer Coral, Red Algae Plant
Level 3 - Fish Schoolmaster - you can now buy: Anarchis, Purple Fan, Slippery Sign, can now gift: Anarchis, Purple Fan
Level 4 - Aquarium Alley - Tank Upgrade (holds 30 fish) - you can now buy: Swissguard Basslet, tunnel log
Level 5 - Goldfish Gazer - You can now buy: Acongensis Kopie, Surf Board You can now gift: Acongensis Kopie
Level 6 - Undersea Decorator - You can now buy: Sardine, Driftwood. You can now gift: Driftwood.
Level 7 - Fishographer - You can now buy: Rubber Ducky. You can now gift: Red Grape Algae
Level 8 - fish guru. You can now buy: percula clownfish, pirate skull. you can now gift: pirate skull. maxima clam
Level 9 - Pearl Farmer. You can now buy: Blue Green Chromis, Maiden's Hair, Beach Umbrella. You can now gift: Maiden's hair.
Level 10 - Big Fish in a Small Pond - Tank 1 now holds 50 fish - can now buy tank 2, royal dottyback, sea mine
Level 11 - Eel Expert. You can now buy: Mermaid's Fan, Grecian Jar
Level 12 - Piranha Tamer. You can now gift: Sea Snail. You can now buy: Blue Samsel, Rocky Ledge
Level 13 - Lobster Wrestler. You can now buy: Frogskin Acropora, Aztec Mask. Tank 2 Upgrade - 30 fish.
Level 14 - Keeper of the Clams. You can now buy: Inland Silverslide, Toy Diver. You can now gift: Starfish.
Level 15 - Tank Surfer. You can now buy: Red Gracillaria
Level 16 - Dogfish Trainer. You can now buy: Pajama Cardinal, Dead Tree
Level 17 - Catfish Herder. You can now buy: Diver Helmet. You can now gift: Shrimp, Cardamine.
Level 18 - Lionfish Tamer. You can now buy: Longnose Hawkfish, Toxic Waste
Level 19 - Mad Fish Scientist. You can now buy: Beach Blanket. You can now gift: Ogo Algae. Tank 2 upgraded to 50 fish.
Level 20 - Fishmeister. You can now buy: Tank 3, Shinto Arch. You can now gift: Hermit Crab.
Level 21 - Octopi Hugger. You can now buy: Annularis Angelfish, Chili Coral, Rock Archway.
Level 22 - Coral Cultivator. Tank 3 upgraded to 30 fish. You can now buy: Chinese Bridge.
Level 23 - Jellyfish Choreographer. You can now buy: Pot O' Gold. You can now gift: Halimeda Plant
Level 24 - Tankologist. You can now buy: Blue Spot Grouper.
Level 25 - Tankerator. You can now buy: Egyptian Jars. You can now gift: Stylophora.
Level 26 - Star Among Starfish. You can now buy: Moai Head.
Level 27 - Grouper Fish Groupie. You can now buy: Cow Skull. You can now gift: Shaving Brush Plant.
Level 28 - Friend of the Ocean. You can now buy: Broken Column. Tank 3 Upgraded to hold 50 fish.
Level 29 - Carp Keeper. You can now buy: Wizard's Tower. You can now gift: Pink Coral.
Level 30 - Lord of the Lagoon. You can now buy: Tank 4, Blue Hippo Tang, Zen Statue.
Level 31 - Sealife Soulmate. You can now buy: Stone Cave. You can now gift: Cambomba. Tank 4 can now hold 30 fish.
Level 32 - Super Tanker. You can now buy: Yellow Sub.
Level 33 - Sushi Savior. You can now buy: Bartlett Anthias, Galaxea Coral, Aztec Statue
Level 34 - Sea Horse Wrangler. You can now buy: Tank 5? Game Change here.
Level 35 - Sea Horse Whisperer. You can now buy: Corinthian Column, Oregon Tortuosa.
Level 36 - Sea Slug Racer. You can now buy: Klunzinger Wrasse.
Level 37 - Commander of the Tank. You can now buy: Hobbit Hole. You can now expand tank 4 from 30 to 50 fish for 49,000 coins.
Level 38 - Sea Monster Breeder. You can now buy: Pirate Ship.
Level 39 - Whale Wrestler. Can now buy: Golden Puffer, Fantasy Castle, and Pink Birdnest Coral.
Level 40 - Lunker Lander. Can now buy: Egyptian Pyramid.
Level 41 - Crabkeeper. Can now buy: Fire Flame.
Level 2 - Friend to the Fishes - you can now buy Red Spot Cardinal, Hammer Coral, Rusty Anchor. Now you can gift: Hammer Coral, Red Algae Plant
Level 3 - Fish Schoolmaster - you can now buy: Anarchis, Purple Fan, Slippery Sign, can now gift: Anarchis, Purple Fan
Level 4 - Aquarium Alley - Tank Upgrade (holds 30 fish) - you can now buy: Swissguard Basslet, tunnel log
Level 5 - Goldfish Gazer - You can now buy: Acongensis Kopie, Surf Board You can now gift: Acongensis Kopie
Level 6 - Undersea Decorator - You can now buy: Sardine, Driftwood. You can now gift: Driftwood.
Level 7 - Fishographer - You can now buy: Rubber Ducky. You can now gift: Red Grape Algae
Level 8 - fish guru. You can now buy: percula clownfish, pirate skull. you can now gift: pirate skull. maxima clam
Level 9 - Pearl Farmer. You can now buy: Blue Green Chromis, Maiden's Hair, Beach Umbrella. You can now gift: Maiden's hair.
Level 10 - Big Fish in a Small Pond - Tank 1 now holds 50 fish - can now buy tank 2, royal dottyback, sea mine
Level 11 - Eel Expert. You can now buy: Mermaid's Fan, Grecian Jar
Level 12 - Piranha Tamer. You can now gift: Sea Snail. You can now buy: Blue Samsel, Rocky Ledge
Level 13 - Lobster Wrestler. You can now buy: Frogskin Acropora, Aztec Mask. Tank 2 Upgrade - 30 fish.
Level 14 - Keeper of the Clams. You can now buy: Inland Silverslide, Toy Diver. You can now gift: Starfish.
Level 15 - Tank Surfer. You can now buy: Red Gracillaria
Level 16 - Dogfish Trainer. You can now buy: Pajama Cardinal, Dead Tree
Level 17 - Catfish Herder. You can now buy: Diver Helmet. You can now gift: Shrimp, Cardamine.
Level 18 - Lionfish Tamer. You can now buy: Longnose Hawkfish, Toxic Waste
Level 19 - Mad Fish Scientist. You can now buy: Beach Blanket. You can now gift: Ogo Algae. Tank 2 upgraded to 50 fish.
Level 20 - Fishmeister. You can now buy: Tank 3, Shinto Arch. You can now gift: Hermit Crab.
Level 21 - Octopi Hugger. You can now buy: Annularis Angelfish, Chili Coral, Rock Archway.
Level 22 - Coral Cultivator. Tank 3 upgraded to 30 fish. You can now buy: Chinese Bridge.
Level 23 - Jellyfish Choreographer. You can now buy: Pot O' Gold. You can now gift: Halimeda Plant
Level 24 - Tankologist. You can now buy: Blue Spot Grouper.
Level 25 - Tankerator. You can now buy: Egyptian Jars. You can now gift: Stylophora.
Level 26 - Star Among Starfish. You can now buy: Moai Head.
Level 27 - Grouper Fish Groupie. You can now buy: Cow Skull. You can now gift: Shaving Brush Plant.
Level 28 - Friend of the Ocean. You can now buy: Broken Column. Tank 3 Upgraded to hold 50 fish.
Level 29 - Carp Keeper. You can now buy: Wizard's Tower. You can now gift: Pink Coral.
Level 30 - Lord of the Lagoon. You can now buy: Tank 4, Blue Hippo Tang, Zen Statue.
Level 31 - Sealife Soulmate. You can now buy: Stone Cave. You can now gift: Cambomba. Tank 4 can now hold 30 fish.
Level 32 - Super Tanker. You can now buy: Yellow Sub.
Level 33 - Sushi Savior. You can now buy: Bartlett Anthias, Galaxea Coral, Aztec Statue
Level 34 - Sea Horse Wrangler. You can now buy: Tank 5? Game Change here.
Level 35 - Sea Horse Whisperer. You can now buy: Corinthian Column, Oregon Tortuosa.
Level 36 - Sea Slug Racer. You can now buy: Klunzinger Wrasse.
Level 37 - Commander of the Tank. You can now buy: Hobbit Hole. You can now expand tank 4 from 30 to 50 fish for 49,000 coins.
Level 38 - Sea Monster Breeder. You can now buy: Pirate Ship.
Level 39 - Whale Wrestler. Can now buy: Golden Puffer, Fantasy Castle, and Pink Birdnest Coral.
Level 40 - Lunker Lander. Can now buy: Egyptian Pyramid.
Level 41 - Crabkeeper. Can now buy: Fire Flame.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
FishVille Strategy - Creatures
Creatures are animals (non fish) that you can keep in your tank as decorations or sell them for coins. Right now, you can only get creatures from friends. Recently, they bumped up the required level necessary to gift these items by quite a bit. However, to compensate, the value of selling each one of these creatures has increased by quite a bit as well
Creature List
Right now there are only a few creatures available -
Maxima Clam (Level 8) - sells for 150 coins
Sea Snail (Level 11) - sells for 196 coins
Starfish (Level 14) - sells for 256 coins
Shrimp (Level 17) - sells for 279 coins
Hermit Crab (Level 20) - sells for 328 coins
Now that they have increased the value of these creatures, getting some free gifts can be an easy way for a new player to get some extra coins.
Creature List
Right now there are only a few creatures available -
Maxima Clam (Level 8) - sells for 150 coins
Sea Snail (Level 11) - sells for 196 coins
Starfish (Level 14) - sells for 256 coins
Shrimp (Level 17) - sells for 279 coins
Hermit Crab (Level 20) - sells for 328 coins
Now that they have increased the value of these creatures, getting some free gifts can be an easy way for a new player to get some extra coins.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
FishVille Strategy Guide
While I probably will not cover FishVille (Zynga's new Facebook game) full-time like I have with Mafia Wars, I will post up a strategy guide for detailing the basics, strategy, and my first impressions.
FishVille Basics
In FishVille, you basically "run" an aquarium as if it was a business (I suppose it is for some people now that I think about it). You raise fish, feed them, keep the tank clean, and then sell them for coins and experience points. With your coins, you can buy new fish, decorations, plants, or even a second tank. As you get experience points from selling fish, you level up, giving you access to new fish, decorations, plants, and new tanks (expansions).
Currency
You will notice that in FishVille, this game is monetized from release (unlike Cafe World). Coins can be earned by selling fish that you have raised. Coins can be used to purchase most goods in game. Dollars can be bought for real life cash or earned by completing offers. Right away you can spend 20 fishville dollars to buy a tank expansion (up to all 8). There is no level cap on tanks bought with dollars (unlike their coin-costing counterparts), so a new player could easily get ahead by spending real life money (8x the experience points / coin earning rate).
Fish Basics
In FishVille, when you start out, each fish tank can hold a total of fifteen fish (of any size). To raise fish, you simply buy fish eggs (by clicking the store button) and lay them down in the tank. These eggs hatch within a couple seconds into baby fish.
After a certain amount of time (anywhere from 5 minutes to a day or more, this value is listed under each fish's description in the store panel), these fish will mature into "Junior Fish." Baby fish can not be sold, and as far as I know you can not even get rid of them even if you do not them anymore.
Baby fish (and all fish) need to be fed. The timer on each fish is two times its "grow" time. So, the Shy Hamlet grows every 4 hours, which means it needs to be fed every 8 hours.
Junior Fish can be sold for experience points and coins simply by clicking them with the net tool activated (bottom right toolbar). However, as Junior Fish mature, they increase in value. Past the baby level, each fish has an age. Think of this like a fish leveling system; as your fish sit in the tank they level up. A junior fish levels up in the same amount of time it takes to grow from a baby fish to a junior fish age 1. In other words:
- The Mini Dart Goby grows from a baby fish into a junior fish in 5 minutes.
- This junior Mini Dart Goby is now age 1.
- Five minutes later, it will be age 2.
- Five minutes later, it will be age 3.
However, once a junior fish reaches level 4, it will be come an adult fish. Adult fish do not need to be fed nearly as often and age very slowly. For example, the Mini Dart Goby grows every 5 minutes, but once it hits level 4, its grow time slows down to 1 full day. It only needs to be fed once every 2 days at this point as well.
Fish Strategy
As far as the "best fish" to raise, it seems the fastest growing ones provide the best coins and experience points for their time in the tank. So, the person who sits there and raises fish marked "fast" (specifically says "fast" in the market), will earn more coins and experience then someone who raises fish that take a full day to grow. This is similar to both Cafe World and FarmVille.
The more important question is when to sell your fish. My early tests suggest that it is most effective to wait until your fish reach Age 4 to sell them.
Example:
Mini Dart Gobi:
Grows In: 5 minutes
Cost: 7 Coins
Age 1 (5 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 18 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 132 coins/hour)
XP: 6
Age 2 (10 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 36 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 174 coins/hour)
XP: 12
Age 3 (15 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 54 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 188 coins/hour)
XP: 18
Age 4 (20 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for 72 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 195 coins/hour)
XP: 24
While the experience points per hour is the same per fish level, the coins per hour increases. Since up until age 4, fish increase in value at a steady rate equal to their grow time, letting them grow longer keeps your egg expenses low.
Other FishVille Features:
Feeding Your Fish:
Your fish will ask for food (food icon appearing by their heads) long before you need to feed them. If you have ever had a fish tank, you know that fish will eat when they are not hungry, so this is no surprise. Do not be alarmed or feel compelled to cater to the every want of your virtual fish farm. Fish food is free.
Decorations and Plants
Plants are basically decorations, as far as I can tell they do nothing. Your fish like to swim behind them though. You do not need me to post these here - simply look them up in the store manual!
Tapping on the Glass
If you click on your tank, it scares your fish. For some reason I enjoy this feature very much.
Showing Your Fish "Some Love"
This feature pops up every now and then in the bottom left corner of the tank. Clicking it with a full fish tank will give you coins. It also plays a cheering crowd sound bit that mysteriously sounds like the cheering in the original Sim City when you did something that your denizens liked.
Tank Upgrade
As you play FishVille, your tank will be upgraded, allowing you to hold more fish. At level 4, I was upgraded to a 30 fish limit for my tank (started at 15 fish).
My Impressions
Overall, I think this game will be a home run for Zynga. FishVille is definitely another play at the FarmVille and Cafe World crowd, as it is very similar in style graphically and mechanically. However, this game is much more polished at launch and feels like a good bit of effort has actually gone into the game design.
For starters, the game is actually monetized, which is good for Zynga, and the advantage in shelling out a few real life dollars is significant.
When it comes to feeding fish, FishVille satisfies my need for instant gratification. I can click on the fish food button and click 20 times really fast on the screen and be done feeding my fish in 3 seconds. I also appreciate the fact that the game is way less "clickier" than FarmVille. You do not have to click 1200 times to feed your fish (like planting a 20x20 farm in FarmVille!).
Secondly, the option to have up to 8 tanks will satisfy a lot of users as well. That way, players can have a few "money tanks" where they focus on fish that provide good coins and experience points while they work on building up a decorative tank on the side.
On top of that, it is nice that decorations do not effect the performance of your tank. In FarmVille for example, if you have decorations, you have less space for crops. If you want your farm to look like more than a big field, you are automatically leveling up a lot slower than a "mass field" friend. However, FishVille nips that in the bud because each tank is capped not by overall space but simply a 15 fish limit (upgrades over time) - users can decorate to their hearts content without effecting their productivity.
Conclusion
When all is said and done, I think I prefer FishVille to Cafe World and possibly even FarmVille. I think this will be another home run for Zynga.
If you have any questions, feel free to post in the comments below, I (or other readers) will answer them when I/we can.
FishVille Basics
In FishVille, you basically "run" an aquarium as if it was a business (I suppose it is for some people now that I think about it). You raise fish, feed them, keep the tank clean, and then sell them for coins and experience points. With your coins, you can buy new fish, decorations, plants, or even a second tank. As you get experience points from selling fish, you level up, giving you access to new fish, decorations, plants, and new tanks (expansions).
Currency
You will notice that in FishVille, this game is monetized from release (unlike Cafe World). Coins can be earned by selling fish that you have raised. Coins can be used to purchase most goods in game. Dollars can be bought for real life cash or earned by completing offers. Right away you can spend 20 fishville dollars to buy a tank expansion (up to all 8). There is no level cap on tanks bought with dollars (unlike their coin-costing counterparts), so a new player could easily get ahead by spending real life money (8x the experience points / coin earning rate).
Fish Basics
In FishVille, when you start out, each fish tank can hold a total of fifteen fish (of any size). To raise fish, you simply buy fish eggs (by clicking the store button) and lay them down in the tank. These eggs hatch within a couple seconds into baby fish.
After a certain amount of time (anywhere from 5 minutes to a day or more, this value is listed under each fish's description in the store panel), these fish will mature into "Junior Fish." Baby fish can not be sold, and as far as I know you can not even get rid of them even if you do not them anymore.
Baby fish (and all fish) need to be fed. The timer on each fish is two times its "grow" time. So, the Shy Hamlet grows every 4 hours, which means it needs to be fed every 8 hours.
Junior Fish can be sold for experience points and coins simply by clicking them with the net tool activated (bottom right toolbar). However, as Junior Fish mature, they increase in value. Past the baby level, each fish has an age. Think of this like a fish leveling system; as your fish sit in the tank they level up. A junior fish levels up in the same amount of time it takes to grow from a baby fish to a junior fish age 1. In other words:
- The Mini Dart Goby grows from a baby fish into a junior fish in 5 minutes.
- This junior Mini Dart Goby is now age 1.
- Five minutes later, it will be age 2.
- Five minutes later, it will be age 3.
However, once a junior fish reaches level 4, it will be come an adult fish. Adult fish do not need to be fed nearly as often and age very slowly. For example, the Mini Dart Goby grows every 5 minutes, but once it hits level 4, its grow time slows down to 1 full day. It only needs to be fed once every 2 days at this point as well.
Fish Strategy
As far as the "best fish" to raise, it seems the fastest growing ones provide the best coins and experience points for their time in the tank. So, the person who sits there and raises fish marked "fast" (specifically says "fast" in the market), will earn more coins and experience then someone who raises fish that take a full day to grow. This is similar to both Cafe World and FarmVille.
The more important question is when to sell your fish. My early tests suggest that it is most effective to wait until your fish reach Age 4 to sell them.
Example:
Mini Dart Gobi:
Grows In: 5 minutes
Cost: 7 Coins
Age 1 (5 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 18 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 132 coins/hour)
XP: 6
Age 2 (10 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 36 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 174 coins/hour)
XP: 12
Age 3 (15 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 54 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 188 coins/hour)
XP: 18
Age 4 (20 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for 72 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 195 coins/hour)
XP: 24
While the experience points per hour is the same per fish level, the coins per hour increases. Since up until age 4, fish increase in value at a steady rate equal to their grow time, letting them grow longer keeps your egg expenses low.
Other FishVille Features:
Feeding Your Fish:
Your fish will ask for food (food icon appearing by their heads) long before you need to feed them. If you have ever had a fish tank, you know that fish will eat when they are not hungry, so this is no surprise. Do not be alarmed or feel compelled to cater to the every want of your virtual fish farm. Fish food is free.
Decorations and Plants
Plants are basically decorations, as far as I can tell they do nothing. Your fish like to swim behind them though. You do not need me to post these here - simply look them up in the store manual!
Tapping on the Glass
If you click on your tank, it scares your fish. For some reason I enjoy this feature very much.
Showing Your Fish "Some Love"
This feature pops up every now and then in the bottom left corner of the tank. Clicking it with a full fish tank will give you coins. It also plays a cheering crowd sound bit that mysteriously sounds like the cheering in the original Sim City when you did something that your denizens liked.
Tank Upgrade
As you play FishVille, your tank will be upgraded, allowing you to hold more fish. At level 4, I was upgraded to a 30 fish limit for my tank (started at 15 fish).
My Impressions
Overall, I think this game will be a home run for Zynga. FishVille is definitely another play at the FarmVille and Cafe World crowd, as it is very similar in style graphically and mechanically. However, this game is much more polished at launch and feels like a good bit of effort has actually gone into the game design.
For starters, the game is actually monetized, which is good for Zynga, and the advantage in shelling out a few real life dollars is significant.
When it comes to feeding fish, FishVille satisfies my need for instant gratification. I can click on the fish food button and click 20 times really fast on the screen and be done feeding my fish in 3 seconds. I also appreciate the fact that the game is way less "clickier" than FarmVille. You do not have to click 1200 times to feed your fish (like planting a 20x20 farm in FarmVille!).
Secondly, the option to have up to 8 tanks will satisfy a lot of users as well. That way, players can have a few "money tanks" where they focus on fish that provide good coins and experience points while they work on building up a decorative tank on the side.
On top of that, it is nice that decorations do not effect the performance of your tank. In FarmVille for example, if you have decorations, you have less space for crops. If you want your farm to look like more than a big field, you are automatically leveling up a lot slower than a "mass field" friend. However, FishVille nips that in the bud because each tank is capped not by overall space but simply a 15 fish limit (upgrades over time) - users can decorate to their hearts content without effecting their productivity.
Conclusion
When all is said and done, I think I prefer FishVille to Cafe World and possibly even FarmVille. I think this will be another home run for Zynga.
If you have any questions, feel free to post in the comments below, I (or other readers) will answer them when I/we can.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
