FarmVille Rispoli / Feather Goals: Everything you need to know

While it may cold where you are, a cool surfer has shown up in your game in FarmVille this week, offering a taste of summer fun here in the middle of winter (of course, we'll all quickly learn that surfing in the middle of winter might not be the best idea). His appearance comes by way of a new goal series, with there being nine goals in all to complete within the next two weeks. Here's what to expect when completing these goals, as reported by FarmVille Freak.

The Future's So Bright

    Get 3 Pairs of Cool Shades
    Get Pairs of Board Shorts
    Harvest 150 Fruit


For these two "Get X Item" tasks, and any other similar task in this series, you'll need to ask your friends to send you the items in question via either individual requests or general wall posts. For finishing this first goal, you'll receive 100 XP, 2,500 coins and a Shivering Duck.

Totally Tantastic

    Get 4 Bottles of Tanning Lotion
    Harvest Shivering Duck
    Harvest 200 Corn


Rewards: 100 XP, Summer Polar Bear, 2,500 coins

Hang Ten?!

    Get 5 Surfboards
    Harvest Summer Polar Bear
    Harvest 250 Sunflowers


Rewards: 100 XP, Shivering Pig, 2,500 coins

On the Mend

    Get 6 Heat Packs
    Harvest the Aviary
    Harvest 400 Aloe Vera


Rewards: 100 XP, White Doe Nurse, 2,500 coins

From Swells to Flurries

    Get 7 Snowboarding Outfits
    Harvest White Doe Nurse Twice
    Harvest 700 Strawberries


Rewards: 100 XP, Boarding Gear, 2,500 coins

Time to Shred!

    Get 8 Snowboards
    Master Shivering Duck to Level 1
    Harvest 800 Blueberries


Rewards: 100 XP, Snowboarding Kangaroo

Let it Snow!

    Get 9 Pairs of Snow Shoes
    Harvest 1 Snowboarder Kangaroo
    Harvest 850 Grain


Rewards: 100 XP, Arborist, 2,500 coins

Put a Lid On It!

    Get 10 Beanies
    Harvest Summer Polar Bear Twice
    Harvest 900 Veggies


Rewards: 100 XP, Farmhands, 2,500 coins

It's Cold Outside

    Get 12 Firewood Bundles
    Master Snowboard Kangaroo to Level 1
    Harvest 950 Fruit


Rewards: 100 XP, XP Book, 10,000 coins

Unfortunately, the XP rewards in these goals are disappointing, so it falls on the decorations or animals that you'll also receive to take up the slack. Sure, an XP Book is fine, but some of the farming tasks here will take quite some time to complete, unless you have enough plots across all of your farms to have 900 crops growing at the same time (it's definitely possible, but not 100% probable if you're a lower level player). Still, if you want to get your hands on these new and (for now) exclusive items, make sure to start on this goal series in your game before it's too late.

What do you think of these goals in FarmVille? Do you think the rewards are worth all of the extra farming we'll have to do to complete them?

FarmVille Winter Livestock Pen: Everything you need to know

In the middle of December, Zynga released the Winter Horse Paddock and Winter Cow Pasture in FarmVille, allowing players in Winter Wonderland (or elsewhere) to store their new winter animals in themed buildings. While Horses and Cows are just two groups of animals in the game, that same themed storage has now come to goats, sheep and pigs via the Winter Livestock Pen.

Luckily, if you still have some ingredients on hand from the previous Livestock Pens you've probably built, you can use those here, as you'll need 10 each of Water Pumps, Wires and Steel Beams to complete the Winter Livestock Pen's construction. These items, of course, come from item requests sent to friends, or they can be purchased individually for 1 Farm Cash each. When you finish its construction, you'll be left with a building that can hold 20 goats, sheep and pigs, and will be given a Snow Flake Pig for free.

Afterwards, you can immediately go to work expanding the building to hold more animals, by simply collecting more and more of the three building ingredients above. That is, to expand the first time, you'll need 15 of each item. This takes the capacity to 30 animals, while the next expansion takes 20 of each ingredient and brings the Winter Livestock Pen to its maximum capacity of 40 individual animals.

This still doesn't complete the lineup of animal storage buildings that need to be given winter treatments, but it does get us one step closer. Every little bit counts, right?

What do you think of this Winter Livestock Pen? Did you already build a regular Livestock Pen on your Winter Wonderland farm?

FarmVille Winter Aviary: Everything you need to know

Along with this week's release of the Winter Livestock Pen in FarmVille comes the launch of the Winter Aviary, a storage building specifically themed for your Winter Wonderland farm, complete with holiday wreaths and snow. The Winter Aviary is built in the manner you'd expect: just place the base of one on your farm, and then collect the 10 Clamps, Hinges and Screwdrivers necessary to complete its construction.

These items come from individual gift requests sent to friends, or can also be purchased individually for a single Farm Cash each. When you finish this first construction phase, you'll receive a Snow Chicken for free, and can share one with your friends. The Aviary will hold 20 birds to start, and can then be expanded to hold 30 animals by collecting 15 each of the same three building ingredients above. Finally, the second expansion takes the building to its maximum storage capacity of 40 animals by collecting 20 each of the items.

With the release of this Aviary and the Winter Livestock Pen, we're still missing winter versions of buildings like the Zoo or Wildlife Habitat, but it's great to see these released while we're waiting. We'll make sure to let you know when the rest of the winter-themed animal buildings do eventually launch in the game.

Are you excited to see a Winter Aviary launch in FarmVille, or had you already purchased regular Aviaries for your farm in Winter Wonderland?

CityVille Cruise Ship Upgrades: Everything you need to know

Way back in the Spring of 2011, CityVille saw the launch of the City Port and Cruise Ships that allow you to earn large coin payouts every time you supply and collect from the Cruise Ship that waits in port. After a while, though, the feature fell into the background. In an effort to get users to care once more about their City Ports, Zynga has released new Cruise Ships and City Port upgrades to users that are Level 20 or higher (of course, you also have to own a City Port).

First things first, you'll need to start upgrading your City Port to Level 2, which requires the following:

Gather Parts
Unload Tourists from Alaskan or Scandinavian Tours 25 Times
Unload Tourists from Caribbean or Mediterranean Tours 25 Times

The part gathering task sees you collecting 35 building ingredients. You'll need to collect seven each of Baggage, Check-in Booths, Captain's Hats, Waiting Benches and Brochures. To complete the other two tasks, you can now take part in another new feature - the ability to send your Cruise Ship to whichever location you desire (from a list of five), with each location requiring different amounts of Goods to activate.

Alaskan Tour - 200 Goods; Lasts 8 Hours
Scandinavian Tour - 300 Goods; Lasts 12 Hours
Caribbean Tour - 500 Goods; Lasts 1 Day
Mediterranean Tour - 750 Goods; Lasts 2 Days

When you complete your first upgrade, your City Port will be a Level 2 Port, unlocking the Delucxe Cruiser ship to be purchased from the game's store for 500 coins. It offers a 1.5x payout on coins, depending on which Tour you purchase with your Goods. In comparison, the basic Little Liner only costs 100 coins and has a 1x multiplier.

You can continue to upgrade your City Port to Level 3 after this point, but you'll need to collect 12 each of five different building materials, instead of just seven. One final perk of upgrading your City Port is the fact that it become longer, allowing you to purchase larger boats for the sides.

What do you think of these CityVille City Port and Cruise Ship upgrades?

Empires & Allies Heavenly Ruler's Palace demands devotion from your soldiers

As the overseer of your very own island empire in Empires & Allies, you might sometimes feel unappreciated by your citizens and soldiers (they are virtually after all). All of that can change this week however, as the game has received a rather... egotistical update in the form of the Heavenly Ruler's Palace. This item serves as a decoration that will give you a 15% bonus on the payouts of all surrounding industry buildings and homes.

What makes this item special, however, is the fact that your Facebook profile picture will show up in a highlighted square in the center of the Palace - it is named for you, after all, the ruler of your island. Unfortunately, this item doesn't come pre-built, as you will need to collect parts to complete it:

    12 Gold Statues
    12 Marble Pillars
    12 Palace Crests
    12 Red Carpets


These items are, of course, earned by asking your friends to send them to you. Once it's done, you'll be the proud (well, hopefully proud) owner of a building with your picture on it. It's a seemingly random addition to the game, but it's also kind of fun, right?

What do you think of this Heavenly Ruler's Palace item in Empires & Allies? Will you build one in your empire?

FarmVille Anti-Valentine's Day Items: For when you aren't feeling the love

Last year, FarmVille saw it's first Anti-Valentine's Day theme of items released in the store, giving single folks a chance to celebrate their statue by making a statement on their farms. This year, the theme has returned to the store, bringing with it new animals, trees and more. As usual, we're here with a complete look at those items, so let's see just how you'll be able to spread the Anti-Valentine's Day "pride" this year on your farms.

Trees

Broken Heart Tree - 6 Farm Cash
Giant Broken Heart Tree - 12 Farm Cash

This is basically the pair of regular Heart Trees, but with a much darker, purple color theme and broken hearts instead of intact ones growing on the trees.

Animals

Broken Heart Bear - 18 Farm Cash
Single Unicorn - 30 Farm Cash

Decorations

Heart Broken Gnome - 15 Farm Cash
Tainted Love Lake - 16 Farm Cash

Unfortunately, there just aren't very many items available with this set of Anti-Valentine's Day items. Still, there are a couple of days before that huge day of romance arrives, so it's incredibly likely we'll see this theme grow between now and then. You can be sure that we'll let you know if and when that happens.

Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day 2012 coverage here.

What do you think of this Anti-Valentine's Day items in FarmVille? Are you sticking with the traditional pink and love-filled items, or do you like these items for single gamers?

FarmVille Model Farm shows off Valentine's Day items, offers free prizes

Like every other installment of the Model Farm in FarmVille, a new edition is now available celebrating Valentine's Day, and also offering items for you for simply taking a few seconds to check it out. As usual, this Model Farm is nothing but a visual representation of some of the themed items you can currently purchase in the store, giving you a way to see items in their full sizes, sitting next to other like-objects. In theory, you can take some decorating ideas away from the Model Farm, and can also purchase these items instantly by just clicking on them.

If you're just in it for the goodies however, know that your first prize isn't so hot: just 500 coins. Still, with all of the coin land expansions that have recently released, you might need every coin now more than ever, so it definitely doesn't hurt to pick these up. Make sure to go back to the Model Farm everyday for a new prize.

Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day 2012 coverage here.

What sorts of items do you hope come as prizes from visiting this Model Farm? More coins? Arborists? Farmhands?