FrontierVille's Gold Rush possibly coming soon with golden items

    Gold Hot Tub     Gold Outhouse     Gold Water Tower
The wait for what once was one of the nation's greatest resources might be over sooner than we think in FrontierVille. Calin of FrontierVille Info has dug up some unreleased items in the nearly ubiquitous Zynga game that suggest the Gold Rush could be here soon. So, how did arrive at this conclusion?

Every single item is golden. The whole lot of 'em. Either this is some sort of sick prank or Zynga has finally completed the first full expansion to FrontierVille. Our guess is the latter, because we hope that the developer wouldn't be so sadistic. Our second guess is that gold will be a new resource similar to Wood and will be required to craft these items in a new building, but again, that's also us hoping.

This is what the comments is for: hopeful speculation. So, what do you think these new items imply? Is this a telltale sign of the Gold Rush?

FrontierVille Level Cap increases to 150, but not without a hitch

Level Up Glitch
Hold your applause, please. Zynga announced today that the Level Cap in FrontierVille has been raised to 150. This will allow players to advance even further in the game to obscene levels. Unfortunately, veteran pioneers everywhere are experiencing issues when leveling up past 100. The most common of these issues is Frontier Jack presenting players with a congratulatory server sync error, forcing them to refresh their pages. Upon reentering, their progress has been deleted up to just before the final experience points required to level up.

And then it happens again and again, thus crippling their game to a FrontierVille rendition of Groundhog Day. Well, except with less Bill Murray and more frustration. The Zynga community team is reportedly on the case, according to a prompt forum post, but it's uncertain when this issue will be fixed. So, welcome to Level 100, pioneer pros, and enjoy your stay--it might be a long one. Now, here's something to look forward to: you'll need to accumulate 5 million XP to reach Level 150 from Level 100, according to FrontierVille Wiki. How's that for hardcore?

Have any of you experienced the current level-up glitch? If not, why not give your fellow frontier folk a hand and tip us off to how you dodged it.

FrontierVille Flash Mob Party: 50 Horseshoes, five winners, be there

Flash Mob Party
Just before most of us take a long weekend for Christmas, Zynga will be throwing a Flash Mob. Alright, don't freak out. Not literally, but on the FrontierVille forums. Starting tomorrow at 11 a.m. PST sharp, a forum thread will open up on the FrontierVille forums for yet another Flash Mob Party trivia contest. A Zynga community manager will ask five sets of questions to you, the freakishly-knowledgeable pioneers, for a chance at one of five stashes of 50 Horseshoes. The first player to answer a set of questions correctly will win.

Do you have the mental fortitude, or strangely large amount of homestead facts memorized, to become a FrontierVille Master? Stay tuned to the forums tomorrow, have that FrontierVille Wiki page open and F5 key firmly underneath your fingertip for when this Flash Mob overtakes the FrontierVille forums at 3 p.m. EST.

FrontierVille Caroling Collection: Harvest things at random for success

Large WreathThat's the way to do it, folks. Along with the 12 Days of Christmas Goals in FrontierVille comes a brand new collection with absolutely no rhyme or reason. The Caroling Collection can be completed right now, but at the moment there is no solid information on how to better your chances at nabbing each item. Here are all five items that you'll essentially find at random:

    Sheet Music
    Tuning Fork
    Caroling Candle
    Hand Bell
    Music Stand


With players reporting over on FrontierVille Wiki finding the items through almost every task imaginable from tending Neighbors' Pigs to collecting the Cabin Daily Bonus, we honestly can't say how exactly to complete this Collection. Though, finding all five items will reward you with one Large Wreath (pictured right) and 100 XP. Considering its random nature, we imagine this Collection will only be around for a limited time. So, erm, go about your business as usual and the Caroling Collection should be yours... eventually.

Firefox slowing FarmVille, Facebook games down? Try this quick fix

Facebook games are notorious for running like absolute junk at times. (I'm looking at you, FrontierVille.) Thankfully, our friends at Download Squad have found a potential fix to the problem with the help of Lifehacker. Well, at least while running the games in Firefox. According to Download Squad, Firefox takes a snapshot of all the browser tabs you have open every ten seconds so that in the event of a crash, or accidentally closing the browser, your tabs will be restored. Oddly enough, this is actually pretty taxing on Firefox's resources, and harvesting your 10 thousand strawberries in FarmVille doesn't help.

But you can alleviate the problem without shutting off this useful feature entirely--just change how often it saves your tabs. Here's the way to do it from Switched:

    To do this, type about:config into Firefox's address bar, then in the filter box enter browser.sessionstore.interval. The default value is 10000, which is the number of milliseconds between snapshots. Setting the number to 120000 lengthens the period to two minutes, a more reasonable but still useful period. Of course, you can set it to whatever you want, as long as you keep in mind that you're dealing with milliseconds.

In other words, just change the number and Firefox should be able to handle intense games like Zuma Blitz even better than before. However, this only works for games that were created in Flash. If you're having trouble running a game like PGA Tour on Facebook, that might be an issue with your video card's age considering it runs on a 3D engine. In the event that your computer can't run a 3D browser game, I'd say it's time for an upgrade.

[Via PopCap]

[Image Credit: Meme Generator]

Did this fix work to make your games run faster? What tips or tricks do you have to make Facebook games run more smoothly?

Pioneer Trail Collections Guide: Earn free Prize Tickets, Tools and much more

With the launch of the Pioneer Trail, we've seen an absolute explosion in content in the game's Collections feature. While we brought you a look at the Pecan and Turkey Hunting Collections in this new version of FrontierVille, there are so many more collections than that, that have already been made available. Sure, you may not be able to even access all of the collectibles yet (as the Avalanche Pass won't even open up for play until August 22), but here's a great guide to get your started on deciding which prizes you'd most like to go for.

Hickory Tree Collection: Earned by chopping Hickory Trees
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets

Blackberry Collection: Earned by harvesting Blackberry Bushes
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets

Wild Lupine Collection: Earned by clearing Wild Lupine
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets

Pecan Collection: Earned by tending Pecan Trees
Prize: 3,000 coins

Turkey Hunting Collection: Earned by hunting Turkeys in Beaver Valley
Prize: 50 Prize Tickets

Trail Medicine Collection: Earned by collecting Doctor's Bags on the Trail
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets

St. Bernard Collection: Earned by gathering medicine from St. Bernards on the Trail
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets


Travelin' Tools Collection: Earned by scavenging Toolboxes on the Trail
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets


Prickly Pear Cactus Collection: Earned by tending Prickly Pear Cactus in Fort Courage
Prize: Prickly Pear Cactus


Canada Goose Collection: Earned by hunting Canadian Geese on the Trail
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets

Crabapple Collection: Earned by harvesting Crabapple Trees
Prize: 50 Prize Tickets


Crawdad Collection: Earned by harvesting Crawdad Traps
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets


Med-Pack Collection: Earned by gathering Med-Packs in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets


Gnarly-Horned Mountain Goat Collection: Earned by hunting Gnarly-Horned Mountain Goats in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets

Prairie Lavender Collection: Earned by clearing Prairie Lavender on the Trail
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets


Pole Pine Collection: Earned by chopping down Lodge Pole Pines in Fort Courage
Prize: Sharp Axe x5


Manzanita Collection: Earned by clearing Manzanita on the Trail
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets


Military Collection: Earned by collecting daily bonuses from the soldiers in Fort Courage
Prize: 4 Cloth, 300 XP


Apothecary Collection: Earned by gathering Mortar and Pestles in High Plains
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets


Mountain Blueberry Collection: Earned by harvesting Mountain Blueberries on the Trail
Prize: 50 Prize Tickets


Beast O' Burden Collection: Earned by scavenging through Mule Packs on the Trail
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets


Work Chest Collection: Earned by scavenging Steamer Trunks in High Plains
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets


Persimmon Collection: Earned by harvesting Persimmon Trees
Prize: 1,500 coins, 100 XP


Pheasant Hunting Collection: Earned by hunting Pheasants in High Plains
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets


Red Trillium Collection: Earned by clearing Red Trillium on the Trail
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets


Sandstone Collection: Earned by clearing Sandstone debris in Fort Courage
Prize: Tools x4

Snowy Barrel Collection: Earned by scavenging Snowy Barrels in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets

Snowy Spruce Collection: Earned by chopping Snowy Spruce Trees
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets

Wild Rice Collection: Earned by harvesting Wild Rice
Prize: 300 coins, 25 XP

Wild Strawberry Collection: Earned by harvesting Wild Strawberries
Prize: 700 coins, 25 XP

Wolf Collection: Earned by hunting Wolves in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets

Thumbleweed Collection: Earned by clearing Thumbleweeds in Fort Courage
Prize: Thorns, 200 coins

White Oak Collection: Earned by chopping White Oak Trees
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets

And there you have it! As of this writing, the complete set of Pioneer Trail collections that detail the tasks you can complete while out on the Trail. While the Pioneer Trail itself is a cycle, that can be completed over again after you've first finished, we wouldn't rule out any additional content (and therefore new collections) being released in the future. We'll make sure to let you know if that happens.

Check out the rest of our FrontierVille / Pioneer Trail Guides, Cheats, and Tips right here.

Have you completed any of these collections, or are you still trying to complete missions back on your Homestead, rather than jumping into the Trail?