Mall Craze News

Hello everyone!

The Spring Sale is here, and with it comes a new update! The 0.2.3 continues with what 0.2.2 started (and more). The 0.2.2 update brought the first new shop type - Gaming Hardware store, and today, the game has yet another new addition. And it's not just a new shop type, it is a completely new class of shops - Stalls & Kiosks!


The very first addition for stalls & kiosks is Perfume Kiosk.
But before I continue, let's see how stalls and kiosks will differ from normal shops. The main difference is obviously their size, as they don't require a dedicated shop are, entrance, and products to be built. They are a perfect option when you have an empty area in your mall that is not big enough for a regular store. Another great place for a stall would be plaza or hallway - just like in a real-life mall.

Because of their size, they also house a set of pre-defined products to sell.
Here's the Perfume Kiosk in action:



Work In Progress
More is on the way! Here are 3 additional stalls and kiosks that are currently in production:



Even in previous versions, there were 2 objects called "Fountain", but they didn't do anything. That changes with 0.2.3. Both fountains now behave and sound like an actual fountain. Besides that, a 3rd "fountain" was added as well - jumping water.




Another spotlight in this update is reserved for street lamp - yet another object that, prior to 0.2.3, was doing nothing. That is not the case anymore, and the street lamps now emit dynamic light (they also cast shadows with Screenshot shadow graphical settings).




There are multiple updates scheduled for the upcoming 30 days.
One reason is that I already have another 3 stalls and kiosks almost ready, and I also have yet another new shop class similar to stalls, that is coming to the game very soon!

Until then,
Thank You very much for your support, and take care!
- Milan, developer


[h2]Additions & Improvements[/h2]

• The ability to build stalls & kiosks implemented, with Perfume Kiosk being the first one.
  
• Dynamic local lights implemented with the ability to change light color (Street Lamp).
  
• Fountains implemented (Fountain 1,2 & 3).
  
• Dynamic sound system implemented.
  
• Crowd sound added.
  
• Shadows adjusted
  
  • Low: Improved performance over 0.2.2
    
  • Medium: Improved visuals over 0.2.2
    
  • High: 700MB less VRAM cost over 0.2.2
    
  • Screenshot: 700MB less VRAM cost over 0.2.2 + dynamic local light shadows
    

[h2]Small Changes[/h2]

• Collisions added to Big Tree Palm.
  
• Music volume now dynamically changes based on crowd density.
  
• Nature ambient volume now dynamically changes based on crowd density.
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed: Saved customers that overlap Escalator are causing crash on load game.
  
• Fixed: Customers getting stuck at the bottom of escalator in some situations.
  
• Fixed: Bottom step of escalator sometimes glitching through escalator body.
  
• Fixed: Fountain water translucency sorting glitch.
  
• Partial Fix: Customers getting stuck in the middle of the escalator (they get stuck less often).
  

Hello everyone!

The first new shop is here! And what better way to start than adding a Gaming Hardware store into a videogame, right?



Although similar at first glance to the electro store, the Gaming HW focuses on bringing the raw gaming performance to your customers. The new shop offers 16 placeable product shelves, which in total contain 47 different sellable products (each having it's own name, description, and price).


This is the first addition from the new series of shops, with the next one being already in pre-production!

I really love this screenshot! 👇


Thank you all for your support, and take care!
- Milan, developer


[h2]Gaming Hardware store added[/h2]

• Gaming Chair
• Computer Parts (Graphics Card Mid-Range, Graphics Card High-End, Motherboard ATX, Motherboard ATX High-End, Motherboard Micro-ATX, CPU, RAM High-End, RAM Low-End)
• Consoles (Gaming Console, Handheld Console, Gamepad Original, Gamepad Offbrand, Joystick)
• CPU Coolers (CPU Cooler AIO, CPU Cooler, CPU Cooler High-End, CPU Cooler Low-End)
• Headsets (Headphones Closed Back, Headphones Open Back)
• Mouse & Keyboards (Gaming Keyboard Full Sized, Mechanical Keyboard, Gaming Mouse, Programmable Gaming Mouse, Mouse Pad Wide, Mouse Pad Small)
• Gaming Laptops (Gaming Laptop, Gaming Laptop High-End)
• Microphones (Arm Microphone, Desktop Stand Microphone)
• Gaming Monitors (Monitor - High Refresh Rate, Monitor - High Resolution, Monitor - Ultrawide)
• Dream PC
• Gaming PCs (PC Mid-Range, PC High-End, PC Tower Stand)
• Racing Wheel (Racing Wheel, Pedals, Small Racing Rig)
• Gaming Routers (Gaming Router High-End, Gaming Router)
• Streaming Set (Greenscreen Kit, LED Light, Softbox)
• Gaming Table
• Virtual Reality

Hello everyone!

The main purpose of 0.2.X updates will be bringing new content into the game.
Update 0.2.1 is the first stepping stone towards that goal.

[h2]Shop Construction Process Streamlined[/h2]
Before adding new shops into the game, I wanted to address the construction process first, as it was confusing at times. The main reason for that was mostly separate building menus for shop layout construction and products construction. Once you had your shop constructed and you hired your cashiers, you then had to navigate to a separate product building menu.

Fixing this issue was fairly straightforward - the shop construction menu and product construction menu are now merged into one.


For already built shops, you can access this menu in 2 ways - through shop's entrance (the same way as products build menu in previous versions) or through shop's dashboard (this remains the same). Products are not required to be build in order to finish shop construction, meaning that you can still build layout for all your shops first, and then come back to them and build products later.

[h2]New Decoration[/h2]
[h3]3 New Floor Designs[/h3]
The next couple of updates will be more packed with these, but I wanted to sprinkle some new decoration for this update as well. For this, I've added 3 new floor designs. In combination, these allow you to creatively decorate floor with various shapes.


[h3]3 New Decoration Objects[/h3]

• Oak Tree
  
• Big Palm Tree
  
• Decorative Cactus
  

[h2]Changes from Hotfix 0.2.0.1 & 0.2.0.2[/h2]
These two hotfixes focused on smaller bug fixes after 0.2.0 launch, but I wanted to highlight one thing in this update as well. Mall Craze now has support for DirectX 11. From received crash reports (Thank you for them and please continue sending them!), the main problem with random periodic crashes for some people seems to be DirectX 12 related. I've written various possible fixes in this new Crash Troubleshooting Guide.

[h2]Coming in 0.2.2[/h2]
New shops are right around the corner, with 0.2.2 being the first update that will feature a new shop! It is Tuesday today, so I should start with the creation process right away.

Thank you for your support, and take care!
- Milan, developer



[h2]Additions & Improvements[/h2]

• Shop construction process streamlined: Product Construction menu merged with Shop Construction menu.
  
• 3 new floor designs added.
  
• 3 new decoration objects added:
  
  • Oak Tree
    
  • Big Palm Tree
    
  • Cactus
    
• New object thumbnails (342x)
  

[h2]Small Changes[/h2]

• Glass fence 3D model updated.
  
• Padding of some UI elements adjusted.
  
• Default materials adjusted for a few objects.
  
• Oak trees added as background level scenery.
  
• Item build buttons:
  
  • Design improved.
    
  • Click animation added.
    
• Shop build button:
  
  • Pressed sound added.
    
• Crash Reporter Updated:
  
  • Error description added.
    
  • Link to Crash Troubleshooting Guide added.
    
• Menu buttons updated.
  
• Tutorial: Shop Construction section updated.
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed: Game crashing on startup because of outdated settings files. (Settings are now reset to default in this case.)
  
• Fixed: Some save files not loading properly because of incorrectly saved Construction Designs.
  
• Fixed: Shop floor rotation not being saved in save files.
  

[h2]Additions & Improvements[/h2]

• Support for DirectX 11 Added.
  

[h2]Small Changes[/h2]

• Crash Troubleshooting button added in Main Menu linking to Troubleshooting Guide. on the Community Hub.
  

• Previous versions corrupted save files when there was a shop or mall named with an apostrophe ', which caused game crash when loading the save. New save files made with 0.2.0 do not have this issue. If you wish for me to try and restore the save file manually, please send the file at [email protected] Your save files can be found in the Documents/MallCraze folder.
  
• Some people experience random periodical crashes. Possible solutions can be found in this Troubleshooting Guide.
  

-Milan, developer

[h2]Small Changes[/h2]

• Collisions improved for Small Tree object (customers were sometimes stepping over it).
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed: Firing cashier during customer checkout crashes the game.
  
• Fixed: Customers sometimes walking on the edges of escalator.
  
• Fixed: Customers sometimes walking in the wrong direction when there is escalator and stairs next to each other.
  

Previous versions corrupted save files when there was a shop or mall named with an apostrophe ', which caused game crash when loading the save. New save files made with 0.2.0 do not have this issue. However, the old corrupted save filed are still corrupted and won't work automatically. If you would like me to try and restore the save file manually, please sent the file at [email protected]
Your save files can be found in the Documents/MallCraze folder.

-Milan, developer