Big Ambitions News

Surprise! It's spooky season, and the bugs are crawling all around! So, we have a small patch to squash a few big, scary bugs!

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]
EA 0.4 will be bringing a huge list of bug-fixes, but there were a few big ones we thought should be addressed sooner:

• Fixed issue where Headhunter couldn't recruit Graphic Designers unless they were extremely high-skill
  
• Fixed issue that sometimes caused the game to lock up when completing the Uncle Fred Marketing quest.
  
• Fixed issue that caused the scheduler to "forget" your schedule, specifically when you purchased multiple versions of a store of the same name.
  
• Fixed issue with Hairdresser and Security Guard Interior Score going to 0 if the player is in the store
  
• Fixed issue with how gambling is calculated - the initial bet and losses previously were ignored, but now they are subtracted from the total before calculating taxes.
  
• Fixed issue loading blueprints where the game would lock up because it was downloading
  
• Fixed issue where sometimes the correct building size for Uncle Fred's Fast-Food quest wouldn't be available
  

[h2]Holidays[/h2]
In addition to some bug fixes, we are introducing our first "seasonal decorations"! If you head into Ika Bohag this week, you'll find a few Jack-O-Lanterns decorations for sale. Grab them quick, though, before they're gone!

And make sure you check back in the month of December - there might be some bigger changes around the city as well!



Happy Halloween! See you at EA 0.4's release in mid-December!

~Hovgaard Games Team

A week before EA 0.3 was ready to launch, everything was looking great. And we told ourselves to stop. But then we couldn't help it and tried to fix a handful of bugs through the week, which of course, led to some unexpected things popping up.

Lesson learned - stop while we're ahead! But now we've fixed the fixes as well as added some balancing based on player feedback!

[h2]Bug Extermination:[/h2]

[h3]Stuttering / Lag[/h3]

• We patched up a couple spots that were causing some big lag spikes. Things should be running very smoothly now!
  

[h3]Nightclubs[/h3]

• Would open without any drinks, which means no customers arrived. Now the Nightclub requires drinks to open
  
• Fixed that the Coat Check wasn't appearing in BizMan or Econoview
  

[h3]Vehicles[/h3]

• Fixed Wrong Sound Effects for Mersaidi MGA GT, Anselmo AF90, UMC Desert
  
• Fixed "slippery" handling for UMC Nunavut
  
• Fixed issue where vehicles would drive extremely slowly
  
• Fixed Electric Scooters wouldn't respawn until you reload
  
• Fixed warehouse UI allowed players to "enter" (teleport) to the warehouse from anywhere
  

[h3]Misc[/h3]

• Fixed Paper Bags weren't giving any alerts when a cash register was empty
  
• Traffic lights now display properly again, going Green > Yellow > Red > Green
  
• Fixed MarketInsider was not properly showing the Providers / Demands of Hair Care Products
  
• Fixed could enter a building under construction (Installation Firm) by entering through the elevator
  
• Fixed an issue with Blueprints where packed furniture would appear as "undefined"
  
• Added "BusinessType" to Blueprints for better sorting (old blueprints will need to manually add this filter)
  
• Added Standing Digital Scale to Default Supermarket Layouts that included Fruits and Vegetables
  
• Fixed a couple UI Display/Interaction errors
  
• Clarified a few UI text, F1 Help, and Translation errors

[h2]Balancing / Clarification:[/h2]

[h3]Wall-Placement Grid:[/h3]
If you were in the middle of a big room when trying to place something on the wall, nothing was visually indicated, so it looked like nothing was happening. We added a faded-red indication of the item, even when your mouse isn't over a wall, so they players know that placement is active.

[h3]Hairdresser:[/h3]
We started with fairly realistic numbers - 20/30 minutes per average haircut process, so 2-3 customers per hour. However, that led to an extremely high number of Hair Stylists and very low profit margins! Furthermore, players really liked having the options of two chair types, but felt punished that one was "worse".

So here are the new numbers:

• Hairdresser Chair / Hairdresser Chair Modern - 5 Customer Capacity
  
• Hairdresser Head Wash - 10 Customer Capacity.
  

This should cut your required Hair Stylists by nearly half!

[h3]Security: [/h3]
In addition to fixing a couple little bugs, a few things were balanced/clarified:

• Jewelry Stores required 3 fully trained Security Guards for maximum coverage. This has been reduced to 2.
  
• Players weren't sure if they needed to have guards when the store was closed, so security now clarifies that the store is closed/secured rather than showing a lower percentage when the guards are gone.
  
• Existing Camera Coverage is now indicated when you place a new camera. This would allow you to see what is already covered when you're placing additional cameras.
  
• The amount of theft has been reduced. Thieves were a little too active.
  
• Security Guards now have Security Vests to make sure you know they mean business!
  

[h2]Build 2049[/h2]

A Couple Quick Fixes:

• While fixing one issue for 2048, we apparently locked the freight trucks out of the warehouses. So we fixed that here!
  
• One change we made to prevent overall stuttering, ended up causing lag when initially entering a building, so we fixed that one here too!

[h2]Conclusion[/h2]

Thank you to everyone for submitting bug reports to help us get everything in good working condition. Be sure to let us know if you see anything else. But otherwise, we'll see you soon as we begin to tease what is coming next!

~The Hovgaard Games Team

PS - Have you tried pushing this button?

Hello everyone! It's been great seeing all the new blueprints you've been making! But we also watched you encountering some bugs, so here we go with a hotfix!!

Note: We are aware that many people are having issues with the graphics stuttering (even while maintaining high FPS), especially while driving. We are investigating this and will have another fix for that soon!

[h3]Trying to Load an old EA 0.1 save into EA 0.3?[/h3]
Really older saves probably won't load directly into 0.3.
To attempt to fix this:

• Right-click on the game in Steam and click Properties.
  
• Then go to Betas and click "EA 0.2 (Old Version)" from the dropdown.
  
• Update Big Ambitions and launch EA 0.2.
  
• Load your EA 0.1 and resave inside EA 0.2.
  
• Exit Big Ambitions.
  
• Right-click on the game in Steam and click Properties.
  
• Then go to Betas and click "none" from the dropdown to return to EA 0.3
  
• Load Big Ambitions and try to import your newly resaved game from EA 0.2.
  
• Hopefully it's working!
  

[h3]HotFix Notes: [/h3]

• Taxis were flipping over and causing chaos. We asked them to stop.
  
• Some Taxis were also just taking the player and leaving the camera behind! Fixed that too!
  
• Coffee shops all heavily dropped in profit in 0.3. But now the customers love you again.
  
• Players weren't receiving money from Hairdressers if the player worked at the register. This has been fixed!
  
• Blueprints were shy and didn't connect to your store properly. Now they should!
  
  • If you already placed a blueprint, you might need to pick up an item and put it back down for the business to recognize the objects!
• Some players had UI alerts that wouldn't go away. We believe that is fixed too! (be sure to let us know if you still see it, though!)
  
• Paper bags deleted themselves from your inventory lists, but we brought them back.
  
• Security Guards are visible now! Take that, criminals!
  
• Sometimes Uncle Fred's required starting buildings were full. That should be fixed!
  
• Opening the F1 menu while in the map would unpause the game. Oops, we stopped that.
  
• Your messages from City Workforce might have been labeled "Kristian Bahood". We updated your phonebook!
  
• El Gato finally remembered to update its menu to mention it sells Ice Cream!
  
• Fixed some issues with employee workstations and customer queues that were causing crashes while the player is in the store!
  
• Nightclub customers weren't bringing in many coats for the coat check.
  
• If you unassigned an employee while in the building, they kept working. Now they get properly kicked out!
  
• Added an icon to each element of the "workout" outfit to make it easier for players to find.
  
• Fixed a handful of UI issues, SFX, and animation issues.
  
• Did some graphic cleanup that should help with image-stuttering slightly.
  
• Fixed some vehicle interaction issues.
  
• Fixed several cases where vehicles would fall through the ground. If you do experience this still, please report it with F2 so we can fix it!
  

[h3]A few additional things that weren't in the original patch notes: [/h3]

• Imports/wholesale deliveries were moved to 02:00
  Some players were expecting the orders to happen prior to the end of the day transactions and others expected it to happen afterward, so we moved it to 02:00 to make it clear the order of events!
  
• UMC Desert was nerfed slightly to have 14 capacity and cost $8000.
• Clothing/Midtown Nerf Details:
  • Midtown's highest acceptable prices was lowered a little bit. If you were previously targeting the highest prices, your prices will have been adjusted to ensure your customers didn't revolt.
    
  • Buying cheap clothes wholesale/import cost 30% more now.
    
  • Buying expensive clothes wholesale/import cost 50% more now.
    

Thanks for reporting these to us so we could continue to make the game even better! We'll be back soon with a fix for the lagging!

~ The Hovgaard Games Team

Welcome to the Blueprint update! Thank you for your patience - we know this update was delayed a bit as the team expanded, but we didn't want to rush it before it was ready.

But now it's ready! EA 0.3 is huge and full of updates, so let's get right into it!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



Have you ever made a store and thought, "Wow, this layout is perfect. I wish I could save it and share it with the community!"



Well, you're in luck - now you can with Blueprints!! You can easily save your business layout and share your designs with the community - all without leaving the game, thanks to the newly integrated Steam Workshop page! From there you can also download layouts from other community members so you can use them in your world!



Now that you've become a millionaire, you might not want to keep racing to the store before it closes and grabbing 4 boxes at a time to fill up your van! It's time to hire someone else to do that for you. Visit one of the new Interior Installation Firms to get one of those blueprints installed into your store. Or you can use the default layouts provided by the Installation Firms. You're a big CEO now - you can afford it!



There are three new Installation Firms around the city that specialize in different types of buildings (retail, office, residential), so be sure to check them all out. And don't worry - no player buildings were lost to make room for these new buildings - you may notice that Mr. Scott's Office Supply and City Workforce have relocated, though!



Do you hear that? I hear some dance music playing at that new Nightclub…it sounds profitable! Let's check it out!



[h3]Nightclub Income:[/h3]

• Entrance Fees
  
• Coat Check Fees
  
• Beer
  
• Margaritas
  
• Martinis
  
• Whisky
  

We have a bunch of new decorations in case you want to show off your new Nightclub to the community!



[h3]Nightclub Furniture:[/h3]

• Dance floors
  
• Disco Ball
  
• Neon Lights
  
• Modular cocktail bar
  
• Barstools
  
• DJ Booth
  

[h3]New Employee: The DJ[/h3] And of course, you can't leave that DJ booth empty! You can also hire a brand-new employee, the DJ, to keep the customers in the club for hours!

And who says the customers get to have all the fun? Head out to the dance floor and try out the new player dances as well! Just don't try to take over the DJ booth - there's a reason we hired a DJ!



But no one is stopping you from putting a DJ booth in your apartment and playing some tunes for a happiness boost!



Obviously, if your customers are going to be dancing under the spotlight, we'd better give them the chance to get all pretty with a fresh look from the new Hairdresser business.



First up, you need the proper equipment:

[h3]Hairdresser Furniture:[/h3]

• Hairdresser Chair
  
• Hairdresser Chair Modern
  
• Hairdresser Head Wash
  
• Hairdresser Mirror
  
• Hairdresser Shelf
  

Let's put that equipment to use and offer your customers several services:

[h3]Hairdresser Income:[/h3]

• Hair Shampooing & Blowout
  
• Hair Cutting
  
• Hair Styling
  
• Hair Chemical / Color
  
• Hair Care Products
  

Don't forget to keep the store stocked up with Hair Care Products - the Stylists need them to do their job, plus with any luck, you can sell some more to your customers on their way out!

[h3]New Employee: The Hair Stylist[/h3]This kind of hair wizardry needs the specialized talents of the Hair Stylist.



And while you might not have the skills to cut customer's hair yourself, you can certainly hop in the line and update your hairstyle whenever you'd like!



All this profit you're earning is getting everyone's attention including some people's attention you might not have wanted - the criminals. Unfortunately, that means if you don't add some security features, you'll start seeing daily losses to inventory.

Protect your inventory - you don't become a billionaire by letting people steal your stuff!



The amount of security you need is based on your store size, and type of goods you're selling. A small fast-food restaurant can get away with just buying a couple security door panels, but a large jewelry store will need a lot more!



[h3]Security Furniture:[/h3]

• Security Panel
  
• Security Camera
  
• Dome Security Camera
  
• Security Guard Locker
  

[h3]New Employee: The Security Guard[/h3]For most valuable stores, you'd better get a little of everything and hire a couple security guards to keep an eye on things.

The Security Guard locker is an employee station, similar to the Cleaning Station - to assign a security guard, you'll first need to have a Security Guard Locker placed!



Okay, so those two new businesses will be fun and add a lot of new elements to the game, but what about the rest of the store's economies? I'm glad you asked - there are a few changes!

[h3]Ice Cream[/h3]First up, you can now sell frozen happiness with a new product: Ice Cream! Ice Cream does well in Fast Food Restaurants, Supermarkets and Coffee Shops!



[h3]Primary and Secondary Items[/h3]Speaking of adding more items to a store, technically you can still put basically anything in any store, but it might not be as profitable anymore.

The primary and secondary items will sell nicely, but anything else will sell much worse than before! Be sure to check out the F1 help guide for a list of which items are sold at each store type!

[h3]Products Shortages & Backorders[/h3]Next, we've got potential supply chain disruption! Inventory Shortages and Backorders now happen from time to time. If a product is going through a shortage, you'll have to pay even more for your normal supply, and if the item goes into backorder, you just won't be able to get any more for a while. Of course, you can try to offset this by keeping a little extra inventory on hand for emergencies!



[h3]Clothing Store Nerf[/h3]You may have noticed that the clothing market still brings in the most money by far, and could use a little balancing. Here is a little balancing.

[h3]Food Inventory Box Quantity Balancing[/h3]
With the previous update, we balanced Fast Food and Coffee Shops to be more profitable. The problem is now the stores are going through boxes of inventory too quickly! So we have adjusted a few box quantities to help balance this!



Next up, we've also got some changes to recruitment to address player feedback!

[h3]Full Time & Part Time[/h3]For the two current recruiters (Andersons Recruitment & City Workforce), we got rid of the recruitment by age and replaced that with the option for full-time or part-time!



[h3]New Candidates Tab[/h3]And instead of the candidates all being crammed into a phone text and sometimes lost, the candidates appear in a new tab in the MyEmployees app instead.

This allows much better sorting and searching for the correct candidate. But keep in mind, these candidates now only last 7 days before they expire, so don't take too long to make your decision!



[h3]New Employee: The Headhunter[/h3]
Then we figured we should add another new employee, the Headhunter who allows you to do advanced recruitment for even more control over who you hire!

[h3]Automatic Employee Replacement:[/h3]
Additionally, this employee can keep an eye on a couple of HR Managers and automatically replace their employees that retire or resign, leaving you free to continue to expand your empire!



[h3]Headhunter Furniture:[/h3]

• Phone
  
• Office Phone
  

We understand that you want to play how you want to play, and some people would rather stay in the current version. Because of this, we are leaving up the latest stable version prior to the update. This means, you can choose to stay on the latest version of EA 0.2 instead of the current EA 0.3 release.

In order to access this previous version, find Big Ambitions on your Steam Library, and go to Properties > Betas. From the drop down menu, you should be able to select the previous version that you wish to play.

But, in order to ensure your previous version's saved games don't get overwritten, the first time you launch EA 0.3, it will prompt you to let the game convert your saves to EA 0.3. This makes a copy of the saved game in a EA 0.3 folder, which allows you to revert to the original saved game, if you decide to revert back from EA 0.3 to EA 0.2!



[h3]Graphic Updates[/h3]

• Character hair has been redone.
  
• Picture frames have pictures in them!
  
• More custom coloring of items
  
• New Clothes
  
• New Furniture
  
• New Delivery Truck (AI Only)
  
• Show lights in windows at night if the business is open
  
• Many new and updated animations
  
• Fixed hand-placement animations to line up better

[h3]AI[/h3]

• AI randomly hangs out around the city
  
• AI gathered at the nightclub
  
• Customers leave if you temporarily close the business
  
• New Layouts for all AI businesses in all building sizes
  • Added new Secondary Items
    
  • Added Security
    
  • Added Cleaning Station
    
  • Added Storage Shelves
    

[h3]UI Updates[/h3]

• Shift + Click to multi-select in MyEmployees
  
• Employee Training time remaining
  
• "Next Business" dropdown section for BizMan/Econoview
  
• Warehouse driver UI clarification
  
• Updated Uncle Fred objectives / tutorial finger pointing for clarity
  
• Much better auto-fill scheduling and distribution through the week,
  
• Interior Design Undo/Redo

[h3]Traffic and Electric Scooters[/h3]

• Vehicle handling has been completely redone
  
• Traffic should actually let you park now
  
• Traffic shouldn't crash into each other as much
  
• Autopark should work a lot better for street parking now
  
• You can rent an electric scooter to get around town faster

[h3]Employee Demands QoL Updates[/h3]

• If an employee is being trained by HR and gets a new demand that is already being fulfilled, you won't get a text about it
  
• If you are in story mode and haven't unlocked HR yet, employees won't demand Health Insurance

[h3]AJ Pederson & Son Expansion[/h3]

• Building interior has expanded to fit a bunch of new items
  
• Nightclub furniture / DJ Booth
  
• Hairdresser chairs and other furniture
  
• All Security devices

[h3]Misc[/h3]

• New Wall-Grid placement system
  
• New snapping system for thin objects like the bookshelf, so they can be against the wall
  
• New Radio Stations including one for your own MP3s
  
• New hospital floor lines to help you find the exit!
  
• New dynamic signs
  
• Self-Serve at order-based business even if there are no employees working
  
• Game pauses while you place an order at the register, so you don't lose your place in line
  
• Taxi travel time, adjusted based on game speed settings
  
• Gambling winnings are now taxed
  
• Added floor markers in Hospital to guide players to the exit.
  
• Greatly expanded "F1 Help" Guide
  

[h3]Fixed Bugs![/h3]

• Fixed - Employees were invisible in Sommerhus Chair
  
• Fixed - Couldn't store donuts in fridge
  
• Fixed - Building preview shows placement grid
  
• Fixed - Items were sitting sideways on Counter with Glass
  
• Fixed - Mesh missing 52 5th Ave
  
• Fixed - Desktop Computer couldn't be placed on Standard Desk
  
• Fixed - Various Issues when buying an AI store
  
• Fixed - "Seven" 7th St Map Text UI issue
  
• Fixed - Couldn't change business name if only change was capitization
  
• Fixed - You could click "sleep" or "work" while in VoogleMaps
  
• Fixed - HQ could get stuck in "temporarily closed"
  
• Fixed - Employee was happy with some night hours while demanding "no night shifts"
  
• Fixed - so you can scroll in the Employee Scheduler
  
• Fixed - the Logistics UI that was scrolling backward
  
• Fixed - finishing some warehouse achievement would give apartments achievements
  
• Fixed - issue where If you gamble in the last couple seconds of the night, it would keep your money
  
• Fixed - a bug where you could order items at your own store even if they were sold out
  
• Fixed - a bug that would supposed freeze while you get health insurance
  
• Fixed - a bug where you could sometimes access the subway transport from anywhere on the map
  
• Fixed - a bug where the truck garage would play the opening SFX while staying closed
  
• Fixed - issue where cleaners hours were counting on their day off.
  
• Fixed - "Keep Calm and Squat On" GPS map icon
  
• Fixed - UI for Importers to properly show how long until opening hours when closed.
  
• Fixed - UI on registers to properly show the percentage of the shift completed
  
• Fixed - navigation on a couple items at Ika Bohag
  
• Fixed - repeating delivery text UI so all languages could read it
  
• Fixed - some texture issues around the city
  
• Repairing your Car costs have been cut by half.
  
• Fixed - Employee Demand OLs match the formatting from the MyEmployees page
  
• Fixed - missing graphic elements
  
• Fixed - exhausted animation not playing after driving
  
• Fixed - a glitch that would allow you to drive two vehicles at once
  
• Fixed - a glitch that allowed you to drive into an apartment
  
• Fixed - an issue that allowed Freight Trucks to back over the border boundariesa
  
• Fixed - an issue where trucks quickly leave a warehouse and smash things across the street.
  
• Fixed - an issue that causes Freight Trucks to turn white after a white
  
• Fixed - an issue where the player couldn't run down the Parking Garage at 10 Broadway
  
• Fixed - an issue where the NY Distro forklift would lose purchase products.
  
• Fixed - the bridge in Hell's Kitchen so you can't drive through to
  
• Fixed - a bug where game with glitch if you work past your shift
  
• Fixed - a bug where it you double tapped "F", it would fire frzeeze you in place
  
• Fixed - a bug where you would get stuck in the queue if the shift ended while you stood there
  
  

Now get out there and enjoy the update- we're excited to see your first blueprints!

And keep your eye out for updates and teases as EA 0.4 gets underway!

~ Hovgaard Games

[h2]Hello Ambitious Entrepreneurs![/h2]

As we gear up for the release of EA 0.3, we wanted to pull back the curtain a bit and give you a closer look into the inner workings of our studio and our grand plans for Big Ambitions.

If it's fresh in-game content or sneak peeks you're after, you might want to skip this one 😁

[h2]Reflecting on Early Access[/h2]
Launching Big Ambitions, we dared to dream of 50,000 copies sold in the first month. Instead, a staggering 200,000 of you jumped aboard. Fast forward to today, and that number's grown to a whopping 300,000!

Frankly, it's been a whirlwind. As a small indie studio, we've been on our toes, adapting to the demand, squashing bugs, and striving to provide the best customer support possible.

But growth comes with growing pains. Our EA 0.2 update, while packed with content, wasn't up to the standard you deserve. We heard your feedback loud and clear. From that point on, a few resolutions were made:

• Quality over Speed: No more racing against the clock, even if a few claim we've left the game behind. We're now planning a minimum of 3 months of development between updates.
  
• Flexible Updates: Instead of committing to a fixed feature list, we'll limit to locked release dates, ensuring more polished updates, without delays.
  
• Player Autonomy: You’ll always have the choice to opt into updates at your own pace. Read more here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1331550/discussions/0/3841053719675090442/

[h2]The future of Big Ambitions[/h2]
Because of the substantial success of our Early Access release, we're now heavily expanding the scope of the game. Huge features/updates like production factories, new cities, airports, modding support, sailable boats, etc. are no longer hopes and dreams, but long-term plans.

A few people mentioned that with EA 0.3, the game is probably 30% done (assuming 1.0 comes after 0.9). This is not the case. We will go way further than just 0.10. You can expect us to be working on Big Ambitions for years to come.

Regarding our roadmap, we're now shifting things around. We'll no longer be presenting a long list of promised features. Instead, for each update, we'll announce features as we get closer to its release. We're already doing it for the EA 0.3 release: https://twitter.com/hovgaardgames

We got big ambitions ourselves. Our goal is to make the game become the best and biggest business tycoon game ever made and we're thrilled to have you alongside us. What you have seen so far is only just the beginning 😎

[h2]What's Brewing at Hovgaard Games?[/h2]
First of all, we want to expand our team, and we already welcomed two new talented colleagues. That being said, onboarding new employees dramatically reduce productivity for a limited duration. We don't want to risk getting behind schedules, so we're taking things slow and steady, making sure we find the right people.

Adding to this, 4 of our 6 employees are Spaniards, so we have recently opened an office in sunny Barcelona, Spain. Moving forward, all our future employment will be based in Spain.

Our studio's direction? Crystal clear. We're all about crafting standout management and tycoon games for our beloved desktop community. Consoles? Not in the cards. Mobile? We'll hard pass. Our hearts are set on you. ❤️

[h2]A Parting Note[/h2]
From the entire Hovgaard Games family, a massive thank you! For the referrals, the glowing Steam reviews, and your unwavering support. It's you who fuels our dreams to continue creating unique and revolutionary management and tycoon games.

All the best,
Jonas
Founder, Hovgaard Games