Create your own maritime empire in Shipping Tycoon on iPhone

While the shipping business might not seem like the most interesting premise on which to base a game, Hero Mind has released a new freemium iPhone game based on just that. Shipping Tycoon gives you a single port to start and then asks you to purchase new ships only to send those ships to your friends' games, where you'll earn different amounts of profit, depending on how far the ship traveled (different ports are set in various worldwide locations).

Your ships will take time to arrive, and you must wait for the ships to both make it to their destinations and for them to come back home before you can send them back out again. Furthermore, you'll need to refuel your ships in their destination ports, forcing you to interact with your friends' games (you can add strangers as friends via the in-game community menu).

As you level up, you'll unlock new ships, and can also build a few businesses on the land next to your port in order to increase your profits over time. Each new docking location can be unlocked with some cash, but you'll need to wait for the docks to actually be built before you create a new shipping route.

All told, Shipping Tycoon is a sometimes tedious experience that deserves credit for trying something new. There are some localization issues with the game's English, and even the shortest routes take quite a while to complete, but if you're willing to push through this acclimation period, you will soon find yourself at the helm of a massive fleet of ships, each making more money than the last.

Interestingly, Hero Mind has released the game for free, but the game's description says that it will only remain so for a limited time (then, the price will supposedly jump to $5). Needless to say, it's a bit odd to see a game require a charge upfront and then also offer premium currency within the game, so hopefully this is all just a marketing ploy to boost interest, rather than a true promise of a price increase. If it's the latter, make sure to download the game now while it's still free if you're at all interested.

Click here to download Shipping Tycoon on iPhone --->

What do you think of Shipping Tycoon? Would you pay money to download an app if it also expected you to purchase in-game currency afterwards? Sound off in the comments.

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CityVille Shipping Upgrade Goals: Everything you need to know

As you go through the multi-step Pier Upgrade process in CityVille, which will allow you to expand the size and Goods storage capacity of your docks, you'll also be asked to complete a series of five themed goals, given to you by Captain Rusty. These goals offer limited edition items, as well Freighters and the like, so let's get started on a guide showing you exactly how to complete them.

Dock Star Have a Level 2 PierUnlad from a Boat 10 TimesUnload from a Freighter Once
The Level 2 Pier is earned by completing the Pier upgrade process, which involves collecting 30 building materials with the help of friends. Make sure to check out our guide to Shipping Pier Upgrades to learn exactly what those items are. When you complete this goal, you'll receive the Harbor Master's Office building, a Community Building that allows for 4,000 citizens to live in your town. You'll need six staff members to finish its construction.

Sunken Treasure Have 3 PiersHave 2 FreightersHave 10,000 Goods
By adding these additional Piers, you'll get closer to the 10,000 Goods storage capacity, as each one adds to that maximum storage. If you don't have that amount of storage already, this goal will likely be a bit time consuming, but once you finish it, you'll receive a Special Freighter, which offers 50% more Goods when it returns from Shipping Contracts.

Lonely Island Collect from Natural History Museum 2 TimesCollect from Coffee Shop 5 TimesAsk for 8 Cell Phones
Cell Phones are earned through a wall post. You'll receive a Coffee Table for finishing this goal, which is a decorative item offering a 15% payout bonus.

Super Freighter! Have a Level 3 PierUnload from a Freighter 3 TimesUnload from a Super Freighter Once
The Super Freighters cost even more than the regular Freighters, but luckily, you only need to have one of them for this goal. As for upgrading your Pier to Level 3, you'll need to collect the same building materials as before, but in larger quantities. If you finish this goal, you'll receive a Special Super Freighter, which gives 175% more Goods than traditionally received from the same Shipping Contract.

Bigger Fish to Fry Have 20,000 GoodsHave 2 Level 3 PiersUnload from a Special Super Freighter once
This will likely be the most time consuming goal of them all, as you'll need to complete both levels of Pier upgrades on two separate Piers, along with ensuring (either through these upgrades or by simply purchasing more Piers) that you can store 20,000 Goods at one time. If you can meet these hefty requirements, you'll receive the Harbor Master's Boat as your reward for this final goal. It gives a 4% payout bonus to nearby homes and businesses, and is strictly a decoration.

These goals are definitely some of the most time consuming and gift-request-specific we've seen released in quite some time. It doesn't look like they'll be leaving the game anytime soon, so feel free to take your time with completing them, or even put them off for a while, until you've finished more pressing things in your city.

[Goals 2-5 Via CityVille Wiki]

What do you think of these Shipping Upgrade goals? Do you use the Shipping / Pier feature a lot already, or are you one that sticks to farming instead? Sound off in the comments.

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CityVille Shipping Pier Upgrades: Everything you need to know

If you're one of the many CityVille players with multiple Piers cluttering your shoreline so that you can hold more boats (and therefore earn more Goods), you'll be happy to know that you can now expand and upgrade the size of your Piers, giving you not only more space to dock boats, but also more overall storage to hold Goods, whether you've received those Goods from shipping or even from farming!

If you haven't placed a pier in your town, you'll be prompted to do so the next time you login. Provided you've reached at least Level 20, if you haven't created an expansion that touches the water yet, you'll be given a discount on purchasing it for City Cash, as it should cost you only three City Cash for the expansion itself. If you've already unlocked a Pier in your city, however, you'll simply be able to jump straight away into the upgrade process.

There are three requirements to upgrade a single Pier, and you'll need to upgrade each individual Pier you own individually to take advantage of these bonuses and rewards.

Have 6 ShipsHarvest 15 Ships on this PierGather Parts to upgrade your Pier

Again, each Pier must be upgraded individually, with this second requirement asking you to harvest ships specifically on the Pier that you're currently trying to upgrade. As for gathering parts, you'll need to gather six of each of the following items:

Pier PlanksCranesMooring LinesCargoForklifts
The Pier Planks, Mooring Lines and Forklifts are earned through general news items you'll post to your wall, while the other two items are earned via individual requests sent to your friends. You can also purchase the parts for City Cash.

Once you've finished these three tasks, you'll have upgraded that individual Pier to Level 2. This takes the Pier from a 6-foot Dock, housing 420 Goods to one that is an 8-Foot Dock, allowing storage for 1500 Goods. From there, you'll be able to upgrade yet again to Level 3, but this time, the requirements are different:

Harvest 30 Ships or Freighters on this PierHave 3 FreightersGather parts to upgrade the Pier.
You'll be required to gather 50 parts overall for this upgrade, instead of 30 as for the first upgrade. Additionally, the Freighters and Super Freighters are available to purchase from the store, just as you've purchased Boats or Barges in the past. A Freighter costs 10,000 coins, while a Super Freighter costs 100,000 coins. These cost more coins to purchase initially, but they can also return with more Goods than you would have received from Boats normally, so that's the trade-off. Once you've reached Level 3 of a Pier, it will offer storage for 2,500 Goods and will be 10 feet long.

To go along with these Pier upgrades, a set of new goals has also been released pertaining to Shipping Upgrades, and we'll make sure to have a complete guide to those goals for you as soon as we can.

What do you think of the ability to upgrade your shipping Piers in CityVille? Will you upgrade each to Level 2/3 and upgrade all of your Boats to Freighters, or is that too much work to take on right now? Sound off in the comments.

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