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Guess That Job - Dev Log #29

Hey everyone!

It's a map mystery developer log this week! Can you guess one of the upcoming levels in 0.6 with only some close-ups and odd perspective screenshots? We cordially challenge you to share your wildest speculations! This follows last week’s slippy instalment where we talked about the Helter Skelter coming in the next update: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1290000/view/3989616160679436577

Guesses at the ready!

What is This Level?


Coming in the next update is 4 new career jobs, we have already shown the Helter Skelter which takes part in the Fairground Zone, though what are these next 3 coming? 2 of the jobs take place in a zone you've already visited but 2 are in completely new zones.

Today, it's time to guess this level!



Does this wall look familiar?



Have you got a handle on the map yet?



Ok, now this building is something we mayor may not have seen before!



We a'door' all of your guesses so far on our socials and here on Steam!



Well, take a seat and begin to speculate!

That's enough puns for one developer log. We hope everyone is having an epiphany at this moment, be sure to share your thoughts down in the comments section below!

Clown


Last week with the Helter Skelter we showed off its entrance which was originally a clown. We got very quick feedback from players who have a phobia of clowns with concerns on needing to wash one. It also looked especially menacing when covered in dirt.



Whilst Coulrophobia may affect a minority of players. PowerWash Simulator's primary goal is to be as satisfying and chilled out as possible. With cleaning the object being unavoidable, we thought in this case it was best to remove it from the game. This decision was made last Friday in our weekly play through/discussion of PowerWash Sim as a team.

We're currently still working on its replacement but wanted to get everyone in the loop. Thank you for letting us know so we could make the change.

[h3]Until Next Time...[/h3]

We hope that your excitement for 0.6 is building and you've had fun making some guesses this dev log. We'll see you all next week for #30!

Keep up with everything PowerWash Simulator by following our channels:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PowerWashSim
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/futurlab
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@powerwashsim?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerwashsim/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/powerwashsim
PWS Wiki: https://powerwash-simulator.fandom.com/wiki/PowerWash_Simulator_Wiki

Helter Skelter - Dev Log #28

Hey everyone!

We slide into new content coming in 0.6 with this week's dev log! Before delving deeper into the new fairground ride you can learn more about lighting, movement and other new features that came in 0.5 with last week's instalment: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1290000/announcements/detail/2992066214554670810

We've also released a hotfix yesterday to address the issue with being unable to complete certain subtasks at 99%, you can read more about that here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1290000/view/3989616160675737466

Today, say hello to the Helter Skelter!

Helter Skelter


Following on from the Carousel, the Fairground seems to be getting more rides! Which is good, wouldn't a fairground with just one ride be a little disappointing?

You may have also heard the proprietor of the Helter Skelter get in touch during your cleaning of the Carousel. It's fair to say there may be some healthy... or well, just plain heated rivalry between ride owners at this carnival. We can't wait for you to pick at the new lore dropped in 0.6.

You can also see the cleaned carousel you will have completed from the tall top of this new job! Satisfying or what?



Nick, one of the designers that worked on the Helter Skelter had this to say on the vision for the level:

This job features a huge bright and colourful fairground slide hidden beneath caked-on layers of mud, streaks and grime. Just like the carousel, there are lots of shining lightbulbs to reveal. Many satisfying 'dings' are to be had cleaning up, down around this one! :wink:




Are you up to the task of this attraction? Let us know all of your thoughts on the Helter Skelter in the comments section below!

Watch The New Job Live


We stream every week with our FuturLab Friday show on Twitch at 3PM GMT+1. This week we showed off the Helter Skelter in action and also answered lots of community questions. If you want to watch the VOD on demand, you can find it here:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1151267827

Follow us to catch us every time we're live!

[h3]Until Next Time...[/h3]

We hope you've enjoyed sliding into this developer log and that you're excited for 0.6 to drop. We're still a few weeks away but be sure to keep your eyes peeled here and on socials for more teasers!



Keep up with everything PowerWash Simulator by following our channels:


Twitter: https://twitter.com/PowerWashSim
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/futurlab
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@powerwashsim?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerwashsim/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/powerwashsim
PWS Wiki: https://powerwash-simulator.fandom.com/wiki/PowerWash_Simulator_Wiki

Hotfix 0.5.1 Live!

Hey all!


Hotfix 0.5.1 is now live:


Fixed:
  • Issue where jobs weren't completable if there was progress prior to 0.5 in save data.
  • Missing controller glyph for button to toggle the Carousel on and off.


Sorry to everyone who experienced the completion issue and thank you to everyone's reports that helped us identify/fix the problem as quickly as possible.

Entering an issue job again that is stuck should instantly move it to 100% and fix it. The new jobs that may have been missing should now appear in career mode.

We hope everyone is now able to enjoy the content in 0.5 and has been enjoying it if they didn't experience this issue.

We look forward to seeing everyone for this week's dev log and live stream tomorrow!

Emissive Lights and Movement - Dev Log #27

Hey everyone!

Today we shine a light on recently added new game mechanics with our latest dev log! Before we brighten your day, we're talking today about content in Update 0.5 which landed last week! If you missed it, you can read the full patch notes here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1290000/announcements/detail/2992066214554670810

Today, we're taking a look at the Carousel level and the new satisfying mechanics we've introduced.



Emissive Lights & Movement


The Carousel level in 0.5 has brought 3 completely new things to PowerWash Simulator with washable lights, moving dirt objects and music.

First lets talk about the emissive light system. Torger, one of the artists who worked on the new system had this to say:

Originally posted by Torger
Adding washable lights and glowing dirt opened up new opportunities for the types of maps we could create. Allowing us to bring scenes such as the Fun Fair to life in a much more visually appealing way and hopefully giving the players some new cleaning experiences.




We thought the contrast from dirty to clean was levelled up by this light and hope that you all have found uncovering this as a pleasant and satisfying surprise! There's definitely more we can do with cleanable lighting in the future...



Cleanable moving objects were also something we have wanted to do for a while and made perfect sense for a fairground ride level. Drive by spraying is now an option! It has actually been a pleasure hearing feedback on this and some of the interesting cleaning techniques.

We were however worried about players who may be prone to motion sickness and putting in a stop button came from internal feedback to combat this. It also adds the option for a player to have the ride moving or not. It may be someone just wants to stand still and clean the carousel floor as it moves and then to stop it whilst they do the details.



Note and spoilers, there is a slight challenge with this level, if you are stuck on the poles:

If you turn the carousel off and on again, the carousel moves revealing more of the pole from the top of the carousel

Some of the replays of this level have also been a joy to watch as it moves in the GIF!

Finally music is something that we originally planned to leave to players to choose in the background of their spray sessions. Whether that music be soothing lo-fi, thrashing heavy metal or even an insightful podcast, we've already seen many streamers and players talk about what their preference is to zen out to! The carousel music is our first toe in the water so to speak in seeing how music might be received in the game. In this instance it is very specific to the ride itself but maybe there will be more tracks in the future!

We'd love to hear your thoughts on all of the new mechanics. Would you like to see more lights to clean? More moving objects? More music? Let us know in the comments section below!

Community Map Request Vote 3


The Fountain is the winner for our latest community level vote! With 2257 votes it defeated the School Bus at 744 votes on our official Discord server. It also beat out in the tournament style both the Tractor and Dump Truck.



This means that we will be making by 1.0 the Mini Golf Course, Steam Locomotive and Fountain based on your suggestions/votes!

Whilst there's no current polls planned for community request maps right now, we'll have lots more exciting stuff happening on our Discord soon!

Join here: https://discord.com/invite/powerwashsimulator

Hotfix Coming Soon


We're aware of the issue some players have being stuck with 99% and an object that is definitely clean. We're currently working on a fix to get out ASAP. It does not affect any of the 0.5 new maps. Also it could be that there is still dirt on an object at 99%, you may just need to check with the highlight tool you have gotten everything.

Sorry to all those players affected!

[h3]Until Next Time...[/h3]

We've shone the light on many of the mover and shaker changes in 0.5 but what is coming with 0.6? Be sure to keep your eyes peeled here and on socials for teasers!

Keep up with everything PowerWash Simulator by following our channels:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PowerWashSim
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/futurlab
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@powerwashsim?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerwashsim/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/powerwashsim

PowerWash Simulator Content Update 0.5

Hey everyone!

Welcome to Content Update 0.5 - I Know Wash You Did Last Summer! Discover new career jobs, completely new zones, cosmetics, rebindings, lore and much more!

Watch our surprisingly clean update trailer here:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Content:
Added four new jobs to Career Mode
The Mayor’s Mansion, Carousel, Drill and Temple!



[h2]More[/h2]
  • Added Water and Time Challenges for Dirt Bike & Back Garden jobs
  • Added glove styles
  • Added skins for the Prime Vista 3000 Heavy Duty Washer
  • Added Extra Long Extension for all washers (available in the shop once Fire Helicopter is complete)
  • Key rebinding option available (more on this below)
  • Music slider added to audio options
  • Button labels added to the HUD
  • Options menu rework




Fixes:


  • Higher frame rates no longer have an impact on wash performance
  • Improved stickiness on some surfaces
  • Minor dirt improvements on Back Garden
  • Audio improvements in the Treehouse
  • App now runs even if not in focus to prevent UI screens getting stuck
  • Exiting the feedback tool before the report has been sent no longer causes a freeze




Developer notes

A priority for this update was to add the option to rebind the controls as we’re aware that some people have been unable to play comfortably without this feature. This system brings with it many variables and while we believe we’ve covered all the critical areas to improve your experience, there is still some functionality we need to work on. While some keys & specific controls cannot be bound, you will also find that on-screen glyphs are not updating if you’ve customised your inputs.

Please bear with us while we continue to polish this feature, but for now we hope it will improve the experience of those most-seriously affected. If you encounter any issues, you should always be able to open the tablet and reset your bindings in the controls tab.

Our next step in improving accessibility is to add an FOV slider. It’s a much-requested feature and while it is high priority, we need to refactor the VFX and camera system before we can implement it. It’s a big change which is also needed for multiplayer, so work is underway! We will have it ready for a future update, but at this time we can’t say exactly when.

Many of you have reported certain problems with UI screens becoming stuck or overlapping. We’ve appreciated your reports and found that most of these issues stem from tabbing out of the game. Prior to this update, the game would have stopped running when not focused (unless you had enabled the “Run in Background” option) and this was causing certain screens to get stuck or overlap. We needed to remove this option for the upcoming multiplayer, so have taken this step now as it should also prevent most of these bugs from occurring.

We’ve added a couple of new sections to the shop in Career Mode, where you can now spend your hard-earned currency on cosmetic updates to gloves and the heavy duty washer. Once purchased, you can access these via the inventory in game. We’ll be adding more styles in the future and new ways to show them off, so stay tuned for more on that in the months ahead.

Finally, we’re continuing to work on improving friction and collision when clambering across rooftops and scaling ladders. We’ve addressed a few key areas in this update but will be continuing to review it throughout Early Access.

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

  • As we were finalising this update, we discovered that the power of washers is lower when using Legacy wash mode rather than Standard. This will prevent players who use this mode from attaining medals in the new Challenges we've added with update 0.5. If you can, please use the Standard wash mode while we work to address this. This decrease of power will be less noticeable in Career Mode and Free Play but where margins are razor thin for medals it is extremely difficult to achieve the medals as intended.
  • For keys 'control', 'shift', and 'alt' they need to be held down for 3 seconds rather than pressed. All other keys should bind normally on a single key press.
  • There's no glyph displaying on a prompt to pick up an object (scaffold/ladder/stool) or to push the button to turn on/off the Carousel when using a controller. The default button is down on the d-pad.


If you hit any other issues with this update please report them with F8 in-game which goes straight to the developers!

We hope that you enjoy the new content and please keep your feedback coming!

(Note this also counts as this weeks dev log, see you next week for the next installment!)

Keep up with everything PowerWash Simulator by following our channels:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PowerWashSim
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/futurlab
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@powerwashsim?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerwashsim/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/powerwashsim