Your best memories of TSTO

[michelleus66]

Now that TSTO is riding off into the sunset, I thought a thread of everyone’s favorite memories of the game might be fun.

The best times for me were early on – the first Halloween event was epic. I loved popping the zombies and getting all the special event currency.

Being part of the community here also enhanced my appreciation of the game.

I’d say my interest started to lag with the Easter event that had all the different kind of eggs. After killing myself to grind as much as possible – and not being able to get all of the new content due to that friggin’ wheel of chance – I stopped buying donuts and stepped away from the game for a few months.

The coming of Clash of Clans – and its chat feature – really made TSTO seem a bit passé. With CofC, you could hang out for hours and visit with people in real time. Then, EA began giving you diminishing rewards for visiting your neighbors – thereby kneecapping that part of the game.

I returned for a few events here and there, then after a years-long break, finally returned to playing full-time a few years ago (in time for the event that opened up the land above Springfield Heights, and the donut-encrusted rocks).

Since maxing out on in-game cash long ago (and grinding donuts by using the XP generator and buying lots of rat trap trucks), getting the new content has been pretty easy.

But, I sure remember the early days when I had a bunch of brown houses generating their measly amounts (and me clicking on them constantly) in order to get money to buy trees. Then, saving up to buy new land tracts.

I never used donuts to speed things up. I guarded those donuts for all I was worth. So when I actually bought something with them, it was really special.

Anyway, it’s sad to see TSTO go away. But, there really were some fun times over the past 12 years.

[diverrob1225]

Most definitely Halloween and Christmas of 2013.

[Duff Dawg]

This forum for those first couple years were the best part of this game

[Sarah Wiggum]

Sept 27, 2024 12:28:12 GMT -5 Duff Dawg said:

This forum for those first couple years were the best part of this game

I haven’t been here for years and came back after the announcement to discover I’m still logged in! Those Mafia games were the best.

[jimmyu72]

Chatting with all you guys even though it seemed like I was the only one here the past few years.

[michelleus66]

Sept 27, 2024 15:12:52 GMT -5 jimmyu72 said:

Chatting with all you guys even though it seemed like I was the only one here the past few years.

I’m sorry about not replying to your updates, but they were very welcome. (I had forgotten my password, so was only able to lurk.)

Truth be told, since the rest of this place was pretty much dead, your content updates were the only reason I’d stop by. (I’m just glad I have the chance to tell you now. )

[michelleus66]

Back in the early days of TSTO, I made a series of screen grabs of my Springfield, then used Photoshop to create this large map:


I had thought this was from November 2012 – as it was during the Thanksgiving event that my town got restored by someone at EA (after being missing for six weeks) – but the trees don’t have the Autumn foliage, so now I’m not exactly sure when this is from.

The “Stalag 13” (of Hogan’s Heroes fame) was my short-lived farm of brown houses.  I can see I was still working on getting all the then-available land – trying to go around the perimeter first, then filling it in.

TSTO was so much simpler back then.  No Squidport.  No Krustyland.  No Springfield Heights.  And, maxed out at level 20…



Here’s the town from February 2013 – during the Valentine’s Day event.  The Stalag 13 brown house farm had given way to Kamp Krusty.  All of the then-available land had been purchased, and the Christmas 2012 buildings were the first tenants of a shopping plaza I’d started.

It will be an ordeal, but over the next few months I think I’m going to make the effort to attempt another Photoshop map.  After 12 years of designing my town, I’d like to keep a copy for posterity.