Power to the People News

[h2]Switching stations[/h2]

By far, the most exciting new feature we've added to the game in recent history are the "switching stations". They are a new building type that allows players to turn the flow of power on or off. You can choose to do so manually, on a timer at specific times of the day or based on the results of monitoring some other power building. In this way, you can use them to bring some backup generators online when the lithium battery farm is running out of juice or to connect an autonomous portion of your grid into the main grid when demand spikes. So many possibilities!



[h2]Full gamepad support[/h2]

We have finished the implementation of gamepad support, after reworking the whole "input layer" from the ground up. All UI elements have been redesigned and tested both using keyboard+mouse and different types of gamepads to ensure that players can get a good experience. This will also allow us to port the game to consoles more easily in the future if we decide to go down that road!



[h2]New ambient light system[/h2]

A brand new ambient light system has been implemented. This massive visual improvement simulates the color of ambient lighting coming from up in the sky and from the horizon independently based on the position of the sun on the sky. The result is a much more realistic and immersive lighting simulation that provides gorgeous sunsets, deep nighttime and blueish shadows on bright sunny days!

In the middle of the night:


Moments before sunrise:


[h3]Click here to join our Discord channel[/h3]
Don't forget to wishlist and follow the game here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1413370/Power_to_the_People/

[h2]First steps towards gamepad support[/h2]

We have been working hard on reimplementing the whole "input layer" in order to support different control methods. For the time being, the game is only playable using mouse and keyboard, but all this work will be the foundation to be able to add gamepad support in the future. And, well, if things go well and we decide to do a Switch version of the game... This foundation will come in handy!

You can see a quick test we've made to allow players to control the camera movement using a gamepad here:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Star scores[/h2]

Thanks to some changes to the "end of day" report, players will now have a more accurate idea on how well their power company is performing. A 1 to 5 stars rating will be given for each category, in order to help players identify possible problems with their electrical infrastructure.



[h2]New buildings[/h2]

We've also added a couple of new buildings to the game: a redesigned petrol station and a new variant for the high rise apartment buildings. In addition, we've also created lightmaps for every single building in the game, providing more realistic lighting effects at night.



[h2]Performance improvements[/h2]

After lots of time spent profiling our code, we have identified a couple of issues in the way that the power grid was being simulated. When there are many large cities in a map with tons of power lines and power plants, performance used to decrease significantly. We still have some work to do, but we're in a much better position than before! Under some specific circumstances frame rates have increased by 200%!

Finally, the official trailer for Power to the People is now live! Check it out on the Steam store page or right here via YouTube:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Hello again! It has been a few weeks since we last posted an update, as we have been super busy with some marketing tasks. You'll find out more about it very soon! But we have also been making good progress to make the game even better! Read on in order to find out what we've been working on:

[h2]Glowing power lines[/h2]

Sometimes the simplest modifications to the game can result in a drastic improvement of the user experience. We've made a few changes to the shader we're using for the power lines and now they glow once their maximum power rating is exceeded. In this way, players can find out which parts of their infrastructure are the most stressed and act accordingly. Also, it looks very, very cool (if we may say so ourselves).



[h2]Refunds when bulldozing[/h2]

Yet another small improvement that makes the game a lot more balanced and more aligned to players' expectations. Now you'll get a 50% refund when bulldozing your power buildings. That means you'll be able to reinvest those funds on new infrastructure... Or maybe on desperately trying to repair your exploding substations and overheated power lines!



[h2]Usability improvements[/h2]

Tons of other usability improvements have made it to the latest version of the game! Some of them are:

• Tooltips in the climate charts screen to help players understand what they are looking at.
  
• Allow players to keep the information lenses (power lines load factor and customer satisfaction) active while they are using other game tools, such as placing power lines.
  
• All animations now get paused when the game is paused, in order to convey the message more easily.
  
• Pausing the game when entering any of the "buy new building" screens.
  
• A better system for camera rotation.
  

[h2]Redesigned tutorials[/h2]

We've basically rewritten all texts in the tutorials to make them both more entertaining and more informative. There is also a brand new tutorial character, Hertha, who is going to help you understand how to effectively use energy storage solutions and how to fix broken power lines.



[h2]Updated sound effects[/h2]

We are still hard at work in order to improve the soundscape of the game even further. We've added a few new UI sounds and we've also created a brand new soundscape for cities. Now you'll be able to hear the sounds of traffic, and notice how everything becomes chaotic as your infrastructure fails and customer satisfaction decreases!

Hey, everyone! It has been a couple of weeks since we last posted an update, but we can assure you we are still working hard on making the game better and more exciting! Here are some of the things we have been working on:

[h2]New tutorial character[/h2]

We have a brand new character to guide you through the first two tutorials in the game, and now he's fully animated! There will be soon another addition to the family, who will have the leading role in some of the more advanced tutorials to come. He sure looks surprised in this small preview!



[h2]Skip maintenance! (or maybe not?)[/h2]

Players now have the option to skip maintenance on their power plants. Sometimes you simply cannot afford to have one of your main power generating facilities shut down for a few hours. You should always have a backup plan for those cases, of course... But if you don't, you can simply decide to skip maintenance procedures. You might be lucky and get away with it... Or not!



[h2]A brand new soundscape[/h2]

Our sound designers have been working very hard in order to create an exciting yet nuanced soundscape for the game. They have redesigned all the environment sounds in order to create a fully immersive experience. The camera's zoom level, the weather, the surroundings, the power buildings... all of them will contribute to creating a great audio experience for all our players.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Small usability improvements[/h2]

We have also been working hard at making the gameplay experience better and smoother for our players. Small UI tweaks, a greater zoom out distance and an easier to use Settings window: they all contribute to a better user experience.