Archives for category: Channel 6

How can I get the most out of Channel 6?

May 12, 2013 //

The addition of the Open-Air Stage has revived interest in Channel 6 because, like the Open-Air Stage (and Cletus’ Farm), you invest money to make money. The great thing about Channel 6, though, is that with the right combination of items it has what’s possibly the most lucrative tasks in the game for their duration.

When you first build Channel 6, you have just two programing options, as you can see below:

Once you unlock the weather station, a game dollars decoration that unlocks as part of your Channel 6 quest, though, you get one more:

At this point, premium characters and items unlock more programming options for you. The Worldwide Broadcast Dish at 30 donuts unlocks the Worldwide News program:

And the Channel 6 News Van at 40 donuts lets you do a 4-hour live news report that earns as much as the free 8 hour task:

And if you add Bumblebee Man at 60 donuts, you get Channel Occho as a 24-hour program which lets you invest $2200 dollars to earn $5000 (and Bumblebee man has a task at the Channel 6 as well):

Channel 6 has certainly proved a useful building for me, and one that has helped me build up cash for when I really need it. It’s just a matter of remembering to set the programming, though.

Tags Bumblebee Man, Channel 6, Channel 6 News Van, level 23, programming, tasks, The Simpsons Tapped Out, Weather Station, Worldwide Broadcast Dish

Categories Bumblebee Man, Channel 6, Channel 6 News Van, Donuts, Gameplay, Level 23, Tasks, Weather Station, Worldwide Broadcast Dish

Outsiders’ Musings IV

By TSTO Tips

April 7, 2013 //

Here’s the latest post from rcsprinter.

Today I’ll be talking about buildings with special interactive features.

Most of you will have Cletus’s farm, which is added at a very early level in the game. When you plant a crop there you can see the sprouts in the soil when they’re first planted, and a midway growth snapshot, and when the item is ready for harvesting the fully-grown plant sticks out into the air. Only three other buildings are interactive in this way: Springfield Downs, the Kwik-E-Mart and the Channel 6 Studios.

The racetrack can be excluded from my discussion because it is a short bet, lasting a few seconds, and of course the scratch cards operate on the same principle. But the studios (bringing character Kent Brockman, requires level 23) work in the same way; that is you set a programme/crop filming/growing, and then after its time is up you collect the cash & XP. But here’s the thing – there is no gradual picture evolution for programmes at the TV station like there is for plants at the farm. Have you ever noticed that?

Also, another kind of bug-like occurrence is when you receive notifications for things being finished in your game, the wording will say something like “Weeds are ready at Cletus’s farm”, which is fine, because “weeds” is an object with an “S” on the end, fitting in with the plural. The same rule happens with “Triffids”. But for Perfection, Tomacco, Silvertongue and Corn (actual corn, apparently) it will say “Tomacco are ready at Cletus’s farm” which is grammatically wrong. One can see it is only code following the pattern, but you’d think EA would pull their finger out for little things like that. And for the same process at Channel 6, it’ll be saying “Regular programming are ready at Channel 6″, which makes my blood boil every time it pops up (TSTOTips note: Also for Channel 6 – take a look and you’ll see it asks you to make “Wordwide” news, not “Worldwide”). Simply wrong, and nothing being done about it! Similar things happen with regular character tasks now and then, where grammar following patterns and not common sense becomes corrupted; my example is “Rev Lovejoy has finished Walk the dog”, where obviously the word “walk” works in the present tense when you were setting the task, but I’m surprised nobody has looked at the wording and thought, “Hmm, that should read “Rev Lovejoy has finished walking the dog”".

So, this week I suppose I is more of a rant than a muse, but as always there is the interactive section for fans to get involved with. One interesting thing that people have done in their towns is make pictures with decorations). So, make the most interesting picture you can and send a screenshot through to me at rcsprinter.wikipedia@gmail.com – and the best one will be displayed next week. You can still send emails to the same address with comments, ideas and whole-town pics for the gallery.

rcsprinter

Tags Channel 6, Cletus' Farm, Decorations, errors, mistakes, Outsiders' Musings, The Simpsons Tapped Out

Categories Channel 6, Cletus' Farm, Decorations, Outsiders' Musings

Are there any buildings that contribute nothing to the game?

By TSTO Tips

April 5, 2013 //

First – I think all buildings contribute something, at least aesthetically. But that’s not really what the question is asking…

Most of the buildings you add to the game make an ongoing contribution – you collect rent (the shops, houses and restaurants) or they generate income of another kind (Cletus’ Farm, Channel 6). Android players won’t see this in their own towns, but even the School, the Town Hall, and Moe’s Tavern make an ongoing contribution by being vandalism targets and giving you something to clean up to increase your Righteousness Rating.

One building, though, contributes nothing at all to your income – and that’s the Retirement Castle. And another is the Power Plant. They both give you characters and jobs that you can send characters to, of course, but they give you no regular income. They don’t even appear to contribute positively to the conformity bonus in any ongoing way (although building the Power Plant will actually reduce your Tree-Hugging rating and increase your Obedience rating*.)

I’m really not sure why that is. After all, a retirement home is usually a business like anything else – and even the Church generates an income. Unless, of course, the Retirement Castle is government-subsidized, which means that money goes into it and never comes out. And I suspect that every dollar earned by the Power Plant goes into the pockets of C. Montgomery Burns!

If anyone else would like to suggest reasons, please comment!

* Thanks to everyone who contributed to the discussion on this and to warlach for demonstrating that its addition and removal has an impact!

Tags Channel 6, Cletus' Farm, Conform-o-meter, conformity bonus, First Church of Springfield, income, Moe's Tavern, Rent, Retirement Castle, Righteousness rating, Springfield Elementary, The Simpsons Tapped Out, Town Hall, Tree-hugging rating

Categories Buildings, Channel 6, Cletus' Farm, Conform-o-meter, First Church of Springfield, Moe's Tavern, Retirement Castle, Righteousness rating, Springfield Elementary, Town Hall

How do you know when a character is doing a task inside a building (part 2)?

By TSTO Tips

March 19, 2013 //

With business as usual in Springfield (although that still inlcludes some extended St. Patrick’s Day business), here’s part 2 of the list of animations that tell you when a character is inside a building.

While you can tap on a building to see who’s inside, the animations are an extra bit of fun. Part 2 covers all the regular buildings currently available from Jake’s Unisex Hair Palace on. You can see Part 1, covering all the buildings up to Moe’s tavern here. Premium buildings will be covered in a separate post.

Jake’s Unisex Hair Palace - there doesn’t appear to be any animation
Springfield Downs - the dog-racing animation runs when the dogs are actually racing and when characters are visiting the track
The Gilded Truffle - the windows on the second floor light up (flickering candles and people having a good time)
King Toot’s - no animations
Police Station - flashing red and white lights
Skip’s Diner - no animations
Luigi’s – smoke rises from the pipes on the roof
Springfield Penitentiary - searchlights
Retirement Castle - no animations
Town Hall - shadows moving in the windows
Muntz House - a raccoon runs onto the roof and chews some electrical wires
Krabappel Apartment - a window on the second floor opens and cigarette smoke is blown out
Channel 6 – the satellite dish rotates (when either someone is doing a task or a program is being made)
Springfield Post Office - the front doors open and mail blows out
Hibbert Family Practice - shadows move in the windows
Springfield General Hospital - the lights on the helipad on the roof flash
Burns Manor - a vulture flies out of the dome and sits on the roof
Pimento Grove - sadly unused, so no animation
Wiggum House - flashing red and blue police lights
El Chemistri - it doesn’t get any use after the level 26 quest, but I’m sure there was animation…

Part 3, focusing on the premium buildings, is still to come.

Tags animations, burns manor, Channel 6, El Chemistri, Gilded Truffle, Hibbert Family Practice, Jake's Unisex Hair Palace, King Toot's, Krabappel's Apartment, Luigi's, Muntz House, pimento grove, Police Station, Retirement Castle, Skip's Diner, Springfield Downs, Springfield General Hospital, Springfield Penitentiary, Springfield Post Office, The Simpsons Tapped Out, Town Hall, Wiggum House

Categories Burns Manor, Channel 6, El Chemistri, Gameplay, Hibbert Family Practice, Jake's Unisex Hair Palace, King Toot's, Krabappel's Apartment, Luigi's, Pimento Grove, Police Station, Post Office, Retirement Village, Springfield Downs, Springfield General Hospital, Springfield Penitentiary, The Gilded Truffle, Town Hall, Wiggum House

Have the prices of any of the buildings changed now that the level 26 update is here?

By TSTO Tips

February 15, 2013 //

Every time a new level is released, the prices of some or all of the more expensive buildings at previous levels are adjusted downwards. With this update, there are also some new, lower prices for everything from the Post Office up to Burns Manor and Pimento Grove.

So, here are the latest prices for all the buildings from Bart’s Treehouse onwards:

Bart’s Treehouse – 25,000
Springfield Library – 20,500
Android’s Dungeon – 30,000
Orange House – 24,500
First Church of Springfield – 32,500
Java Server – 26,500
Moe’s – 32,000
Jake’s Unisex Hair Palace – 29,000
Springfield Downs – 34,500
Gilded Truffle – 31,000
King Toot’s – 37,000
Police Station – 40,500
Skip’s Diner – 35,500
Luigi’s – 36,000
Springfield Penitentiary – 46,000
Retirement Castle – 37,500
Town Hall – 63,000
Muntz House – 60,500
Krabappel Apartments – 70,000 (thanks to graciesauermma for the update)
Post Office – 96,500
Channel 6 – 74,000
Hibbert Family Practice – 85,500 (thanks to ThumperKT for the update)
Springfield General Hospital – 104,500
Burns Manor – 151,000
Pimento Grove – 112,500
Wiggum House – 175,000
El Chemistri – 214,000 (and 36 hours to build)

Escalator to Nowhere – 1,000,000 (and 3 days to build)
Popsicle Stick Skyscraper – 2,000,000 (and 3 days to build)

With the exception of Bart’s Tree House, which builds right away, every other building on the list takes 24 hours to build (except where I’ve indicated something different).

Tags Buildings, burns manor, Channel 6, El Chemistri, level 26, pimento grove, Prices, Springfield General Hospital, The Simpsons Tapped Out, update, Wiggum House

Categories Buildings, Burns Manor, Channel 6, El Chemistri, Escalator to Nowhere, Hibbert Family Practice, Level 26, Pimento Grove, Popsicle Stick Skyscraper, Post Office, Prices, Springfield General Hospital, Updates, Wiggum House

Should I spend my donuts on Bumblebee Man?

By TSTO Tips

February 11, 2013 //

This one’s a little tricky, because the answer is both “yes” and “no”. I’ll explain what I mean later in the post. But first, here are some reasons why you should buy him:

1. At 60 donuts, he’s one of the more inexpensive premium characters.
2. He does his quests in Spanish, adding a little variety to the game.
3. Like all premium characters, he earns you more money and XP on his quests than standard characters do.
4. He has a secret that you only uncover in his quest.

Here are a couple of reasons why not:

1. He doesn’t have a building, which means that there is nothing to add to your town.
2. Apart from a conversation with Lisa, he doesn’t interact with any of your other characters.

And here are some reasons why you shouldn’t buy him too soon:

1. If you don’t have the Library, the Town Hall, or Channel 6, he’s limited to 30-minute and 1-hour tasks.
2. To open up his 4-hour task, you need the Library. This is the 3rd task in his quest and it can get a bit confusing. You see a message to get to level 12 and build the library. However, Bumblebee Man is not the character that prompts you to build the library (premium characters never prompt you to build the main buildings) – Skinner does in an interaction with Bart and Lisa, and this only happens if you have completed all the tasks that unlock all the buildings and characters that come before it on the list.
3. The next task in Bumblebee Man’s quest involves him commencing his divorce at the Town Hall. Again, although you get a message saying you need to reach level 20 and build the Town Hall, Bumblebee Man isn’t the prompt character for this (I wrote about this here) – Chief Wiggum is, following an interaction with Lisa. And, as with the Library, you’ll only be able to build it if you have completed all the tasks you need to unlock all the buildings that come before it on the list.
4. Bumblebee Man’s quest ends there, but you won’t be able to get a full task list for him until you unlock Channel 6.

So, that’s what I mean by “yes” and “no” – yes, you should buy him but not until you have unlocked the Library and the Town Hall in the main game.

Tags Buildings, Bumblebee Man, Channel 6, donuts, level 12, Level 20, Library, premium characters, The Simpsons Tapped Out, Town Hall

Categories Bumblebee Man, Channel 6, Donuts, Gameplay, Level 12, Level 20, Library, Town Hall

I’m at level 25 but I’ve only just built Krabappel’s Apartment and the other buildings are still locked!

By TSTO Tips

February 8, 2013 //

This is a fairly common issue (I went through it too), and it can be quite frustrating. The good news is that there’s nothing wrong with your game – it’s just how it works for frequent players. So, in this post, I’ll give you some background on the inner workings of the game, and a walkthrough of what happens between building Krabappel’s Apartment and the next building, Channel 6.

If you play a lot and visit all your friends every day, your XP builds up very fast – and that can mean that your game level can rise faster than your task level. The problem is that most of the buildings only unlock when the whole series of tasks before them has been completed. For example, Channel 6 won’t unlock until the entire Edna storyline is complete.

So, that means that while your XP might tell you you’re level 25, your real game level is level 22. To unlock those shaded buildings, then, you just have to do what you’ve been doing throughout the game – complete all the tasks in order.

At level 22, however, the tasks can feel like they go on forever – and this walkthrough shows you why. But first, to start off the level, Principal Skinner interacts with Willie to build the Krabappel Apartments after Bart and Lisa have finsihed after being sent to school. The Apartment will cost you $70,000 and will take 24 hours to build, unlocking Edna.

1. Once you’ve built her apartment, Edna teaches school (8 hours)
2. When she’s finished that, she teaches school, again (8 hours – keep Skinner free as she finishes)
3. Edna hosts detention (12 hours) while Skinner goes bird watching (24 hours – keep Edna free as he finishes)
4. Edna relaxes in the teachers’ lounge (1 hour – keep Ned free as she finishes)
5. Edna and Ned dine at Gilded Truffle (2 hours each – they don’t need to do this at the same time, but it’s nice if they do)
6. Edna takes a smoke break (10 minutes – keep Bart free as she finishes)
7. Bart skips school (8 hours – keep Edna free as he finishes)
8. As a result, Bart has to serve detention (6 hours) while Edna hosts detention (12 hours – keep both Bart and Lisa free as she finishes)
9. Edna goes on strike (24 hours) while Bart skateboards (4 hours) and Lisa does next week’s homework (24 hours – keep Bart and Marge free as Lisa and Edna finish)
10. Marge sends Bart and Lisa to Sunday School (12 hours each – keep Milhouse free as both Bart and Lisa finish)
11. Bart, Lisa, and Milhouse go to Sunday School (this is the second time for Bart and Lisa – 12 hours each)
12: Bart, Milhouse, and Martin have a sleep over in Bart’s Treehouse (24 hours each)
13. Bart, Milhouse, and Martin go to Library (24 hours each)
14: Bart breaks into the school’s CPU while Milhouse pulls the fire alarm (10 mins each – keep Chief Wiggum free as they finish)
15: Milhouse has to clean the school (he has to do this twice at 12 hours each – keep Edna free as he finishes for the second time)
16: Edna goes back and teaches class (8 hours – keep Mayor Quimby free as Edna finishes as he prompts the start if the next level)

So, there’s a lot to do at this level and many of the tasks are very long – which is why there can be a very long gap between building Krabappel’s Apartment and finally getting to Kent Brockman and Channel 6.