Devlog #25 - Supply drop
Time to talk about March in cpd. Check out all the updates that went into the game this last month: we’ve already covered Let’s make war, the big update from right at the beginning of March, so let’s look at what’s gone into the game since then.
[h2]March updates[/h2]
The updates this time were all about incremental changes to several systems in the game. Fight or flight and street wars – both which went through big overhauls in February – kept being improved. Any large updates to system-wide mechanics such as these will always need some tweaking over time, and once they’re firmly embedded we can start to add more things to them (more options in chases, for example). Feedback so far is that although things at the rough end of Cinci are now a little more challenging, they’re also more satisfying to engage with. On top of that, we’ve had additions and changes to NPC interactions, locations, combat, inventory management, app performance, and much more.
The first update of the month added a lot more lore about the preeminent organisation in the slums: Tower Group. There’s more to know about them but you can only access that information in one place – prison. If you’re the curious type, just cultivate some hostility with Tower and wait for them to pick you up for a stint. Or don’t. Seriously, don’t go to prison. If you do take this route, however, behave – there’s little to find out if you get thrown in the hole.
In our mid-March update the prison content kept coming in, and the Bordertown also got a little love, with small tweaks to interactions with your home and The ethanol plant. Fights were made a bit less punishing; some brand new cards were introduced for newer player characters and the pimping system also got some attention, giving you more control of your management of the business.
[h2]Game engine[/h2]
Content production continued apace over March, but we also took the time to work on some much needed and much requested enhancements to the game’s engine. One thing that’s been a niggle for a while are timed events only calculating your actions when the app is opened, which created some problems with your action count when certain time events triggered while the game was closed.
For example: if you re-opened the game just before a binge ended you’d get the full action count for the binge, but if you opened it just after, you wouldn’t. This is now fixed, and you’ll always get an accurate total of actions based on any changes to refresh rate and action bank size.
Being able to re-order one’s quick access inventory area was also oft-requested and is now implemented (just drag and drop). While we were at it, we also added the ability to roll up the stat blocks that come below it in the left hand interface area, or to undock them completely and move them around the screen. Neat. We’ve got more interface tweaks in mind for the future too, including possibly different quick access selections for different situations.
We also took a look at the game’s keyboard shortcuts and rationalised these a little, as well as adding some more. You can now see them all under the Shortcuts menu item.
Last, but far from least, we’ve added a whole new interface for creating supply packets (formerly known as goodie bags). Historically, the game was limited to everything happening through the cards, which is clunky in some cases – both for players and for us to develop. With this new interface, we’re opening up more of the game to be implemented in this kind of way, which means faster development and smoother gameplay. Narrative content will always be through cards, of course, but we’re thinking things such as the workshop, vehicles, maybe even the changing room…
[h2]DLC[/h2]
In other news, our cincinatti stories DLC, a collection of short stories about the lives of different characters in the cpd universe, now gives you game credits on purchase. So if you enjoy cpd writing and want to get a little more of it, now you have an extra incentive – 10 credits waiting for you on DLC purchase. If you already bought the book, don’t you worry; the credits are applied retrospectively. Thank you for your continued support.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will also have noticed that we’ve just released a series of credit packs as DLC, which will be available to buy on 7th April. As part of this release, the price of the 400 credit bundle will also drop from $31.99 to $29.99. Credits bought this way work in exactly the same way as those bought through microtransactions, but will use Steam’s automatic country-specific pricing adjustments. This should make them much more affordable for some players.
As always, a lot of other changes and tweaks not covered on this devlog were made to the game, as well as new art added, and typos and bugs fixed – thanks for all the reports. If you want to check the exhaustive list of changes, you can find them here, on Steam.
[h2]Come say hi![/h2]
Have something to say about the changes? Want to talk about an encounter in the Projects or the Bordertown? You can always share your feedback and experiences in cpd with us in our discord server - we have an active community of players there always excited to discuss life in 2090’s Cinci. Also, don’t forget to check us out on Twitter, where we share little snippets of the cpd’s universe every day.
Thank you for staying with us until here, and we’ll see you next time.
[h2]March updates[/h2]
The updates this time were all about incremental changes to several systems in the game. Fight or flight and street wars – both which went through big overhauls in February – kept being improved. Any large updates to system-wide mechanics such as these will always need some tweaking over time, and once they’re firmly embedded we can start to add more things to them (more options in chases, for example). Feedback so far is that although things at the rough end of Cinci are now a little more challenging, they’re also more satisfying to engage with. On top of that, we’ve had additions and changes to NPC interactions, locations, combat, inventory management, app performance, and much more.
The first update of the month added a lot more lore about the preeminent organisation in the slums: Tower Group. There’s more to know about them but you can only access that information in one place – prison. If you’re the curious type, just cultivate some hostility with Tower and wait for them to pick you up for a stint. Or don’t. Seriously, don’t go to prison. If you do take this route, however, behave – there’s little to find out if you get thrown in the hole.
In our mid-March update the prison content kept coming in, and the Bordertown also got a little love, with small tweaks to interactions with your home and The ethanol plant. Fights were made a bit less punishing; some brand new cards were introduced for newer player characters and the pimping system also got some attention, giving you more control of your management of the business.
[h2]Game engine[/h2]
Content production continued apace over March, but we also took the time to work on some much needed and much requested enhancements to the game’s engine. One thing that’s been a niggle for a while are timed events only calculating your actions when the app is opened, which created some problems with your action count when certain time events triggered while the game was closed.
For example: if you re-opened the game just before a binge ended you’d get the full action count for the binge, but if you opened it just after, you wouldn’t. This is now fixed, and you’ll always get an accurate total of actions based on any changes to refresh rate and action bank size.
Being able to re-order one’s quick access inventory area was also oft-requested and is now implemented (just drag and drop). While we were at it, we also added the ability to roll up the stat blocks that come below it in the left hand interface area, or to undock them completely and move them around the screen. Neat. We’ve got more interface tweaks in mind for the future too, including possibly different quick access selections for different situations.
We also took a look at the game’s keyboard shortcuts and rationalised these a little, as well as adding some more. You can now see them all under the Shortcuts menu item.
Last, but far from least, we’ve added a whole new interface for creating supply packets (formerly known as goodie bags). Historically, the game was limited to everything happening through the cards, which is clunky in some cases – both for players and for us to develop. With this new interface, we’re opening up more of the game to be implemented in this kind of way, which means faster development and smoother gameplay. Narrative content will always be through cards, of course, but we’re thinking things such as the workshop, vehicles, maybe even the changing room…
[h2]DLC[/h2]
In other news, our cincinatti stories DLC, a collection of short stories about the lives of different characters in the cpd universe, now gives you game credits on purchase. So if you enjoy cpd writing and want to get a little more of it, now you have an extra incentive – 10 credits waiting for you on DLC purchase. If you already bought the book, don’t you worry; the credits are applied retrospectively. Thank you for your continued support.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will also have noticed that we’ve just released a series of credit packs as DLC, which will be available to buy on 7th April. As part of this release, the price of the 400 credit bundle will also drop from $31.99 to $29.99. Credits bought this way work in exactly the same way as those bought through microtransactions, but will use Steam’s automatic country-specific pricing adjustments. This should make them much more affordable for some players.
As always, a lot of other changes and tweaks not covered on this devlog were made to the game, as well as new art added, and typos and bugs fixed – thanks for all the reports. If you want to check the exhaustive list of changes, you can find them here, on Steam.
[h2]Come say hi![/h2]
Have something to say about the changes? Want to talk about an encounter in the Projects or the Bordertown? You can always share your feedback and experiences in cpd with us in our discord server - we have an active community of players there always excited to discuss life in 2090’s Cinci. Also, don’t forget to check us out on Twitter, where we share little snippets of the cpd’s universe every day.
Thank you for staying with us until here, and we’ll see you next time.