What's Up, Looking Ahead
Hello! ːsteamhappyː Long time no see.
If you've been following us on Discord or the community hub, you know we've faced some challenges on both the development and personal sides as a two-person dev team. That's why we were mostly silent for a while. But now, we're back to our pre-February working speed—which is great for progress—and we will try to be mostly back on track before the end of the year. Thanks again (really) for sticking with us.
As you know, we have made lots of improvements and added content and features since the EA release together but my new year plan is to complete the roadmap without going 'offroad' too much. There is not much additional offroad content left anyway other than the campaign mode, QOL improvements, translations, and some more most requested features (Ok, I guess there are still some :D)
So I'm planning to adopt a quick cycle of;
As for the exact order of major updates; I've refined a new roadmap to incorporate our new major update additions—the Advanced Logistics Update and Luxury Amenities Update and more details. It also shows the updates in planned order. I will share it and update the old graphics on the page today.
We've planned a public test phase for the upcoming Nightlife Update that everyone can access. There are three feature loads in the public test. The test will start with load 1, and after some testing, the features in load 2 and then load 3 will be unlocked.
- Public Test Load 1 Highlights -
- Public Test Load 2 Highlights -
- Public Test Load 3 Highlights -
Once the public test is complete, the update will be moved to the default branch and the public test of the next major update will start. The nightlife update public test is planned to start right after the Steam Summer Event. I will make an announcement and share more details when it starts.
There's a new channel in the Discord server called Dev Diary. Nil and I will be posting daily updates about our side of the development and what's on our minds. You will be able to -please do— join the discussion as you like. So join us on Discord if you haven't already! https://discord.gg/ZQ28XfBfwX
We truly want to thank you so much for all your support during this tough early access phase—it means a lot!
Stay tuned for the new EA roadmap!
Cheers!
If you've been following us on Discord or the community hub, you know we've faced some challenges on both the development and personal sides as a two-person dev team. That's why we were mostly silent for a while. But now, we're back to our pre-February working speed—which is great for progress—and we will try to be mostly back on track before the end of the year. Thanks again (really) for sticking with us.
As you know, we have made lots of improvements and added content and features since the EA release together but my new year plan is to complete the roadmap without going 'offroad' too much. There is not much additional offroad content left anyway other than the campaign mode, QOL improvements, translations, and some more most requested features (Ok, I guess there are still some :D)
So I'm planning to adopt a quick cycle of;
- Major update A in development
- Major update A available on the public test branch, and major update B is in development
- Major update A launch, major update B available on the public test branch, major update C in development
- Major update B launch, major update C available on public test branch, major update D in development, and so on...
As for the exact order of major updates; I've refined a new roadmap to incorporate our new major update additions—the Advanced Logistics Update and Luxury Amenities Update and more details. It also shows the updates in planned order. I will share it and update the old graphics on the page today.
We've planned a public test phase for the upcoming Nightlife Update that everyone can access. There are three feature loads in the public test. The test will start with load 1, and after some testing, the features in load 2 and then load 3 will be unlocked.
- Public Test Load 1 Highlights -
- Contractors System: You can now select the number of outsourced workers such as builders, waste collectors, and delivery persons you want to hire using the contractor's menu. However, these workers also have an hourly rate calculated based on the number of people you call.
- Specialized Parking Spaces: You can now place designated parking spaces for police, builders, delivery persons, and waste collectors to increase efficiency.
- Room Capacity System: I've added a room capacity value to the public service rooms. iI's calculated by room size and available items related to the room type. Now customers don't enter full capacity rooms even for waiting for a service. Room capacity value also determines the overall service capacity of your casino hotel. Factors like transportation capacity and hotel rating influence how much of this capacity is utilized.
- Rating System Refactoring: I've overhauled the hotel rating system, changing how ratings are sampled and adjusting level thresholds. Basically, daily ratings will now vary between +-100, making it clearer for you to make informed decisions about your casino hotel and giving me clearer numbers to work with while balancing the game.
- Customer Wealth System Refactoring: The customer wealth scripts have also been mostly rebuilt. There are now specific needs to attract wealthy customers, along with more defined limitations on wealth types and service/product usage.
- End-Day Report: There's now a single end-day report that includes multiple other reports such as the rating report, financial report, and some administrative windows like tax and salary payment.
- Data Recording System Refactoring: The game now records much more detailed data about your casino hotel, which will be used in various in-game systems and infographics.
- Information Windows Package 1: The main UI layout has undergone changes. You can now be able to find various information toggle windows. Similar to the 'rating', 'crime', and 'people on map' info windows, they also have been moved to this new information windows button group.
- Separate Room Policies: You can now set the work hours or smoking policy of the rooms separately using the policy menu or the room's own information menu even if they have the same room type.
- New Specialty Restaurants: Specialty restaurants such as French Bistros, Mexican Cantina, Seafood Restaurant, Italian Ristorante, and Steakhouse, that need their own chef type and have various specialty cuisine menu items.
- Smoothie Bar: A place where your guests can enjoy blended fruit drinks, perfect for a quick and healthy treat on the go. There's a new menu item type called, you guessed it, smoothies. There are 10 types, and every customer has a favorite one, just like with other menu items. You can use your baristas to work here too.
- Yoga Studio: A space for yoga practice, requiring yogis to instruct guests.
- Backstage: An area for performers like comedians and musicians to prepare and relax before and after shows.
- Cigar Lounge: A cozy and sophisticated space designed for aficionados to relax and enjoy premium cigars, offering a luxurious atmosphere for wealthy customers.
- Karaoke Bar: A fun place where people sing songs on stage while having drinks, creating unforgettable memories in a fun and energetic atmosphere.
- Comedy Club: A club where comedians perform stand-up comedy, making people laugh with their jokes and stories. Needs backstage and comedians to operate.
- Nightclub: A place where people dance, drink, and have fun. Hire DJs for music and place lights to make the atmosphere energetic and exciting.
- Cybercafe: A café where people can use computers and the internet, enjoying snacks and drinks while browsing or playing online games.
- Exotic Club: A venue known for its entertainment, featuring captivating performances that are performed by your pole dancers.
- Action Sliders: A new UI feature providing info about various actions in your casino hotel, such as laundry cleaning and menu item preparation.
- UI Improvements Package 1
- Bug Fixes Package 1
- Item Varieties Package 1
- Game Balance Package 1
- Public Test Load 2 Highlights -
- Events System Refactoring: The events system has been rebuilt. You can now organize two events per day—one in the morning and one at night. The event plans mechanic is removed, allowing for larger events without random plans. This system is connected to the new calendar system, with day and time affecting event performance.
- Calendar System: There is now a calendar where you can check things such as what's the week's hype cocktail, slot game, souvenir item, and so on. It's directly connected to the events system so you can also check your events and their status. The day and time also have a greater impact now (e.g., bars are more popular in the evenings and on weekends). It now only runs on the month for now but will be expanded to a year with the season's update, and seasonal events and holidays are also going to be added with it.
- People Inventory System: You will now be able to clearly see what people are carrying on them from their menu, such as trash bags for janitors, menu items for customers, tools for maintenance officers, and so on.
- Performance Hall: A venue where artists showcase their talents, it can be used while organizing events with outsourced workers such as music groups.
- Dance Hall: A venue where people gather to dance to music and socialize with others in a vibrant and energetic atmosphere.
- Game System Performance Improvements Package
- Bug Fixes Package 2
- QOL Improvements Package 1
- Item Varieties Package 2
- UI Improvements Package 2
- Public Test Load 3 Highlights -
- Live Music Bar: A place where guests can listen to musicians playing music live while enjoying drinks.
- Character Performers: Performers can be hired to wear costumes, roam around the casino hotel, and entertain customers.
- Tutorial Rework: Let's be real. The current tutorial isn't exactly exciting. I've made some improvements for now, but the main plan is to create a campaign mode with a little story that you can start and finish. The first couple of levels will also work as a smooth tutorial. It'll make getting the hang of things a lot easier, but we needed to do some work on the current tutorial in the meantime, so here we go.
- Information Windows Package 2
- Audio Mixing and Audio Affects Improvements Package
- Bug Fixes Package 3
- QOL Improvements Package 2
- Item Varieties Package 3
- Game Balance Package 2
- New CEO Decisions Package
Once the public test is complete, the update will be moved to the default branch and the public test of the next major update will start. The nightlife update public test is planned to start right after the Steam Summer Event. I will make an announcement and share more details when it starts.
There's a new channel in the Discord server called Dev Diary. Nil and I will be posting daily updates about our side of the development and what's on our minds. You will be able to -please do— join the discussion as you like. So join us on Discord if you haven't already! https://discord.gg/ZQ28XfBfwX
We truly want to thank you so much for all your support during this tough early access phase—it means a lot!
Stay tuned for the new EA roadmap!
Cheers!