PowerWash Simulator News

Hey everyone - welcome to dev log 52!

Last week we took a recess to visit the new and improved Playground. More on that here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1290000/view/3222895988541581944

This week we're showing off the most visually changed career job, the Forest Cottage!

But, before that. Happy Easter, everyone, for this weekend! :)





This is our latest reveal of many changes we have been making to levels based on your feedback. The changes will come in the next update alongside new jobs, but we aren't quite ready to show those off just yet.

Designer Nick and Artist Laura have been busy giving the forest cottage more life whilst making it less frustrating to traverse. Take a gander:

BEFORE:


AFTER:


The biggest design change has been to make the roofs less rounded and add more rectangular beams to the top of the house. We had made inclined surfaces more sticky in a previous update which stopped people from having to slip and slide across the whole map. Though, it could still be frustrating in some areas due to the roof's curved and more rounded shape.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


Many details have also been renamed to be clearer, and objects have been split into more parts.

Laura has been busy going back and making the dirt and colors of the house more satisfying to clean. You can see above the change of the house's color from the original pale brown, which, when uncovered, isn't super obvious you cleaned it in the first place. The wood slats on the roof were tough to tell, dirty to clean, and have been made a much brighter wood.

New wood:



Some added details have also been like the rooster weather vein and some extra window detail.



If you want to see more and also how we've stopped the Skate Park floor from stealing a chunk of dirt, you can watch our latest dev stream: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1455664641


Last week, we attended the new gaming event WASD and had our own PWS booth! In short, it was epic! Thanks to everyone who stopped by.

If you want to read our full blog (wash-up) on the event, you can here: https://futurlab.co.uk/2022/04/12/w-a-s-d-event-washup/



Each week we release a PowerWash version of a popular meme format. This week it was the 'they're the same picture' template:



Easy template: https://t.co/4F7A9IBVIe

From community member Shaxxy:



Have fun!



Thank you to everyone for reading, have a fantastic Easter weekend, and we hope you will tune in next week! :)

Join our Discord to submit and vote on ideas for PowerWash Simulator, find other players, and more!

---> https://discord.com/invite/powerwashsimulator

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

Hey everyone - welcome to dev log 51!

Last week we showed off the first of the big changes we've made to levels. More on that here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1290000/view/3222895988526712047

This week, we're showing off our WASD booth ahead of our first gaming expo in a while! We're also once again joined by designer Dave and artist Dennis who have been improving the Playground job. We also want to make it clear that more jobs are coming with the next update too! Early Access has given us a unique chance to return to old content and ultimately make the whole game better!





We're exhibiting at WASD, a new gaming event in London at the Tobacco Docks. Come meet members of the art, production, and marketing team. Play the game. Plus, take a photo with a life-size cardboard cutout of a gnome. If you are at WASD over the weekend, be sure to drop by at GG10 booth 13! :D



Ding!



Stickers!


More info on the show:
https://www.wasdlive.com/





Dave the designer who worked on the upcoming changes to the Playground job is here to give his behind-the-scenes insights!

Originally posted by Dave

The playground has long been a location we wanted to revisit, it’s a fairly big level but the way it was originally broken down grouped a lot of parts, it had fewer tasks than the PowerWash Van! We’re very happy to say the Redux version of the Playground has many more tasks, giving a much better sense of progression and satisfaction.

For instance, there were three climbing frame towers and each was a single task. In the new version, the towers have been broken down to around 20 tasks each, greatly increasing the number of DINGs. The floor has been divided by colours and shapes too, which makes it much more satisfying to clean.

When we reworked the playground we had to repaint the dirt. This allowed us to improve the thresholds (how much dirt is left before the task auto-completes) of everything in the level. You should find everything DINGs closer to when you’d expect, and you spend less time hunting for elusive specks of dirt. We can't wait to see what you think of the new playground![/Quote]



Dennis from our art team has also worked on several art tweaks including:

• Lighting under towers so you can see!
  
• Remade the dirt on the washables to appear thicker and more satisfying to wash (the floor got completely covered in dirt for instance)
  
• Tiny tweaks to the colours of the washables (probably the bigger one's making the blue contrast better with the dirt)
  
• Increased the height of the climbing frame to accommodate a taller player collider
  
• Tick-tac-toe symbols added
  

We have felt for a long time that the Playground job has always almost been in people's favorites, but these changes may move it up players' rankings!



Before and after of the upcoming Back Garden Redux:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Aim Mode Preview:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We'll



Each week we release a PowerWash version of a popular meme format. This week it was the This Is Fine washer.





Have fun!



Thank you to everyone for reading, have a fantastic weekend, and we hope you will tune in next week! :)

Join our Discord to submit and vote on ideas for PowerWash Simulator, find other players, and more!

---> https://discord.com/invite/powerwashsimulator

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

Hey everyone - welcome to dev log 50!

Last week we shared insights from Dan, our Lead Designer, on how the economy is being tweaked with more multiplayer and repeat play rewards. More on that here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1290000/announcements/detail/3133949262585464694

This week we preview improvements coming to some of the earlier jobs!





We've been busy putting older jobs under the microscope, which has led to many tweaks and changes and, in some cases, overhauls of the entire levels. We also had guidance from a feedback form we released months ago where over 3500 people rated levels on a scale of 1-10.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1290000/announcements/detail/2992066214554670810

Four levels have received significant changes: the Back Garden, Playground, Shoe House, and Storybook Cottage. The changes are often threshold tweaks, splitting large parts into smaller parts and visual improvements. There are other levels with some of these improvements, but these four are the most striking.



We'll be highlighting more of these Redux Jobs in future dev logs, but we want to stress that this is not yet in live PWS but is coming in a future update!

Dave from the design team has these insights to share on the changes coming to the Back Garden job:

Dave:

Originally posted by Dave

It's been over a year since PowerWash Simulator was released in Early Access. Since then, we have learnt a lot! As the jobs got more elaborate, we looked back at some of the levels initially released and formed a list of things we'd love to improve about them.

We're pleased to say that we have had the opportunity to return to these jobs ahead of the game's full release.

The Back Garden is the first big job players encounter in the game. To help players progress, we've broken down some of the objects into smaller parts and changed their names to indicate better where they can be found.

Also, to further improve the sense of progress and satisfaction we've made some colour changes. From the floor and trims to the trellis and shed, everything has been given a brighter coat of paint to improve the contrast between dirty and clean areas.

We've rebalanced some cleaning thresholds too. Everything should DING when you expect it to - no more hunting for tiny specks of dirt or having large patches simply vanish before your eyes. Cleaning the Back Garden has never been more satisfying, and we can't wait to share these changes with the community to see what you all think.

The Back Garden, in particular, is heavy on visual changes. Dennis from our art team has been working hard to make the level even more satisfying and has this to share:

Dennis:

Originally posted by Dennis

Me and the art team thought that some of the earlier levels could be brought in line with how our newer levels look and feel. The older levels were much colder in colours, which detracted from the colourful, happy vibe we're going for and want the players to experience. This rings true not only for the washable assets themselves but also for the environment!

Originally posted by Dennis

The colours on the washable objects in the improved Back Garden were chosen with particular care to give maximum contrast when washing. All in all, the whole level feels more cohesive and unified now!

Another thought we've put in was the dirt, which focused a lot on looking realistic in some earlier levels. That doesn't always translate well to great washing satisfaction, so we were keen on updating that on the backyard to be thicker and contrast better with the underlying object colours.

The Back Garden is one of the first levels players come across, so we hope that the improvements will make things more satisfying and better set the tone for the rest of the game! We also hope that it will give players more of a reason to go back and replay these levels again! Will you be returning to these redux levels?

Again, we have much more to share, and it is coming in a future update.



Today is April 1st. Do we need to say more?

Warning: it's probably wise to turn the volume down if you want to watch the below spoof!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We warned you!

Also, did you spot the improvements to part of the Playground at the very end of the video?



Each week we release a PowerWash version of a popular meme format. This week it was the T-Pose PWS meme.

Here's the base image:


An easy template is here, too: https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/380129083/TPose-PWS

Have fun!



Thank you to everyone for reading, have a fantastic weekend, and we hope you will tune in next week! :)

Join our Discord to submit and vote on ideas for PowerWash Simulator, find other players, and more!

---> https://discord.com/invite/powerwashsimulator

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

Hey everyone - welcome to dev log 49!

Last week we shared insights from Paul, our UI artist, on how the decals in the Subway and Fortune Teller's Caravan were created. More on that here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1290000/announcements/detail/3139578128516450105

This week we take a look at what we've come up with on tweaking the economic system in the game.



Dealing with the 'unpaid intern' syndrome, popularised by the content creator Smii7y has been something on our mind alongside the economy in general.

In the next update, we have an extra bonus payment for Free Play and Special Jobs with a flat 25% of each item given on completion. This 25% bonus will also extend to Career and Free Play mode assistants.



Dan, our lead designer, gives their insight into the thoughts behind the new system:

Originally posted by Dan

Our goal has always been to provide players with the freedom to approach PowerWash Simulator however they wish.

Earning money in multiplayer helps with this, especially for players who are more interested in playing with friends than making progress through their own career. This change will allow these players to save up and purchase cosmetic items such as outfits and gloves while washing in Free Play, Special jobs, or as an assistant in Career Mode.

But we also wanted to preserve Career Mode to be the main way to earn money and save up to purchase equipment upgrades. So if you want to get rich quick, it's still best to make your way through the career as that pays the best!

Again this will be coming in the future, and it isn't in the live version right now. We're excited to hear people's thoughts and people to claim their in-game bonus cheques!



PowerWash Simulator is currently reduced by 15% until March 28th! Tell your friends, family, and whoever else might want a good deal of satisfaction!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1290000/PowerWash_Simulator/

Be sure to check out all of the other amazing games from our friends at Square Enix that are in the sale too! :)





We have a couple of talks and are taking part in this year's Simfest here on Steam. Find out more about this event here:

https://store.steampowered.com/sale/simfest_hobby



Sorry, there was no meme this week. We are currently making a new batch but rigging the models takes some time, and we've been busy this week. If you have any suggestions of a format you would like to see, please let us know in the comments below!

Thank you to everyone for reading, have a fantastic weekend, and we hope you will tune into next week! :)

Join our Discord to submit and vote on ideas for PowerWash Simulator, find other players, and more!

---> https://discord.com/invite/powerwashsimulator

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

Hey everyone - welcome to dev log 48!

Last week we previewed the upcoming 'Aim Mode' feature, which targets reducing motion sickness. You can read more on that here (there's also a video demonstration below in this dev log): https://steamcommunity.com/games/1290000/announcements/detail/3139577498471389980



It has only been a couple of weeks since Update 0.8 splash landed. We've noticed so far how much people love uncovering some of the latest decals (posters etc.) in the Subway level and thought it would be nice to share more on their conception.



Paul, our UI artist created these wonderful creations and has these insights and WIP art that made it into the game:

[Quote]In my role as UI Artist, I've mostly been working on UI elements in the game's menu and HUD, but as the game has grown through early access and the levels have become more complex I've had an opportunity to do more graphic work for 2D elements like signs, posters, and maps.
For the Subway level, we wanted to make the location feel like a working station that has suddenly closed and been frozen in time.



[Quote]As it was last open in the '80s I tried to give the posters a bit of an eighties feel while pulling in some references from other story elements in the game, to make it feel like Muckingham is an interconnected world. I looked at photos from the New York subway in the 1980s for inspiration and had a lot of fun creating assets in this style.



[Quote]It was also great to create a subway map for the Muckingham station which outlined further how these fictional locations fit together, going so far as to create a logo for 'Caldera City Public Transport', I really enjoy adding elements like this to make something feel a little more real.



[Quote]For the Fortune tellers caravan we first thought of putting tarot cards on the caravan, but instead used that as a start point and pushed them more towards fictional 'water diviner cards', having drawings of dousing and other water-related activities that the Uncanny Franny would use to tell your fortune.



The caravan before decals.



We run a weekly developer live stream called FuturLab Friday, this week we did a short preview of the Aim Mode if you want to see it in action:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1428304626

Please follow us and keep an eye on the schedule for the next one! (Yes this one was on a Thursday!)





We're going to W.A.S.D, one of the UK's newest and biggest video game shows! We want you to visit our booth so we're giving away 2 x 3 Day Passes to 1 lucky winner!

W.A.S.D takes part on the 7th, 8th & 9th of April!

Enter here for a chance to win: https://gleam.io/jjFnJ/wasd-x-pws



We release a format of a popular meme template using PowerWash Simulator models every Monday at 2 PM GMT, this is our latest one - Internal Screaming PowerWash Sim.

Template: https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/377235413/Internal-Screaming-PowerWash-Sim

Text:

Clean:

Let us know if there are any formats you would like to see created! :)



Thank you everyone for reading, have a fantastic weekend, and we hope you will tune into next week! :)

Join our Discord to submit and vote on ideas for PowerWash Simulator, find other players, and more!

---> https://discord.com/invite/powerwashsimulator

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