The Winter Update and Winter Sale has Arrived!

[p]Dear Retailers,[/p][p][/p][p]The holidays are officially upon us with the start of the Steam Winter Sale, and we ARE participating with our lowest discount yet, with up to 25%. In all likelihood, if you’re reading this, you’re probably already a player. But if you have any friends looking for a deep Retail simulation, now would be the best time to put that in their gift stocking![/p][p][/p][p]Enough shilling, as we have a host of new updates, fixes, and content ready for the Sale. We’re doing a lot of under-the-hood work this update, but with changes that should improve the experience for everyone and better realize the fundamental gameplay behind King of Retail 2.[/p][p][/p][p]Actually, there’s just one more plug I’d like to make before we move on:
[/p][h2]The Winter Retail Challenge is Ongoing [/h2][p][/p][p]Just a top-of-mind reminder that the Winter Retail Challenge is in full swing on our Community Discord. If you haven’t joined yet, and are interested, make sure to check it out.
[/p][p]With holiday assets already available in the Steam Workshop, your own assets, or any combination of to create your own winter-themed retail masterpiece. Supermarkets, boutiques, tech stores, malls—anything goes, as long as it embraces the season and shows off a festive cheer. 
[/p][p]We’re accepting screenshots or short videos (whatever is easiest) to be submitted in Discord. [/p][p]Entries will be judged on creativity, theme execution, store layout and flow, use of seasonal decorations, and overall festive charm. We’ll choose the Top 3 creations, and we’ll be providing a Steam Gift Card for the top ideas.[/p][p]We’re running until January 5th, so give it a shot and maybe win a prize for your design.[/p][p]And with that, let’s move onto 0.3.4.0 Patch updates and what’s in store![/p][p][/p][h2]Huge Engine Improvements - Faster Loading, Bigger Stores[/h2][p]A week ago, a player reached out to me due to an issue with AI customers not working. I took a look at his save and, lo and behold, there were over 300 NPC’s in his store during busy hours (it was a very big floor space) and had over 144,000 stocked retail items.[/p][p]Suffice to say, this had a huge impact on performance. It took me 1½ hour to get through a day in his store on my mid level machine due to constant lagging. So I took a look and managed to improve the performance greatly.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]To break things down, we’ve improved King of Retail 2’s engine handling to address 3 major issues:[/p]

• [p]Stores can eventually get too big, causing load issues and slowdown as the game both has to render and maintain individually stocked items, as well as customers. = [/p]
• [p]The number of allowed AI controllers would cap out at about 300, leading to additional customers having no behaviors. This resulted in customers clogging entrance ways with no behavior or intent to buy anything (realistic, but not quite the realism I was going for) = [/p]
• [p]300 customers evaluating 13.000 different product locations is a lot of calculations, and only worsens with more customers or products[/p]

[p]Now when opening or loading a saved game, products now load in progressively instead of trying to do it all in one process, which reduces RAM spikes, and the need of looking up the same thing multiple times.

I also changed the way customers evaluate products, so they evaluate a random subset instead. This means you can now add as many products as you like, without it increasing this need for calculations.

Then I changed the way customers navigate as well as doing some manual changes based on distance, like when do animations need to be seen, when should they be raytraced etc.[/p][p]In essence, this has been a fantastic opportunity to stress-test King of Retail 2, and it’s allowed us to make a lot of under-the-hood changes to improve overall performance during regular play. And the store that lagged and took me 1½ hour to get through 1 game day i can now play on increased speed without issues.

So those of you with big stores should feel an impact, and now be able to go even bigger![/p][h2]The New Tutorial System is Launched![/h2][p]Tutorialization has been a big challenge to tackle, in part because we have so many open-ended ways to approach the game, either from the top-down or bottom-up, that its tricky to know exactly where to start.[/p][p]With an all-new “Learn to Play” function in the New Game menu, we’ve introduced a 4-Step Tutorial that covers the basics of how to play, without dipping too heavily into scenarios or extensive pre-fabs that hold your hand step-by-step. I’ve identified Finding Information and Menuing to be among some of the big things that become stopping points for new players, so we’re introducing players to not only the flow of gameplay but also how to move, find things, and access features.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a bottom-up approach at its core, at least initially, as we know the general fundamentals of gameplay are both valuable to get into early but also less likely to change as we progress through Early Access and add new features to the top-level.[/p][p]If you’re new to King of Retail 2, I encourage you to check out the new Tutorial mode and leave your thoughts in the comments below or in our Community Discord, as this is an active initiative that we’ll be continuously improving until 1.0.[/p][h2]This is My Electric Feel: Electronics Product Update[/h2][p]Long requested, and given enough time so that we can get the products right: Electronics will be making their way into King of Retail 2 with this latest update, with more Electronic products to come.[/p][p][/p][p]Perhaps one of our biggest brand catalogues in terms of sheer possibility and diversity, Electronics are the big money makers of big box retail, and now they’re yours![/p][p][/p][p]With today’s update, we will be launching with Consumer GPUs and Video Games as product categories. We’ll also be looking at adding other computer hardware, including RAM hardware, in future updates to come in the new year.[/p][p][/p][p]GPUs will also pilot the new Trending Demand dynamic for customers, who may prefer particular models and colors which can change throughout the year. Buying a variety of stock and being reflexive about your stocking choices can now pay off with more frequent sales.[/p][p][/p][h2]Full Patch Notes Ahead![/h2][p]Coming today in update 3.4.0[/p][h2]Major[/h2]

• [p]Overhauled tutorial system to be more interactive and with GIF's[/p]
• [p]Removed tutorial flow from main game.[/p]

[h2]Minor[/h2]

• [p]HQ are required from day 1[/p]
• [p]Reduced loading time drastically when managing properties in the city screen[/p]
• [p]Improved product overlay layout[/p]
• [p]Tutorial panels gets transparent when hovering them[/p]
• [p]Adjusted expand store menu[/p]
• [p]Change to soft pointer references for all product meshes and material (Optimization stuff)[/p]
• [p]Changed product importing flow, which should result in lower memory spikes upon loading[/p]
• [p]Added see through effects on display controls[/p]
• [p]Changed save game load process to account for high product numbers[/p]
• [p]In game hud auto scales to fit within the menu[/p]
• [p]Changed distance from where animations are showing[/p]
• [p]Changed distance from where face morphs are applied[/p]
• [p]Changed distance where raytracing is applied[/p]
• [p]Adjusted AI movement behavior[/p]
• [p]Added version trending system for GPU's with updated twice per year.[/p]

[h2]AI[/h2]

• [p]Failing to take a product due to luxury value, needs are reduced as if taken, to make this having an effect and not just be time waste[/p]
• [p]Customer will not look at same product twice.[/p]
• [p]Sales staff can reduce the luxury penalty by 30% based on skills and interaction[/p]
• [p]Added product batching where AI evaluates a random selection of products to avoid lag spikes in large stores[/p]
• [p]Increased maximum allowed AI rates[/p]

[h2]Bugs[/h2]

• [p]If next customer exceed the max AI limit, customer will not spawn[/p]
• [p]Updating all store product counts when leaving the store[/p]
• [p]No more AI sidestepping[/p]

[h2]Products[/h2]

• [p]Added GPU's [/p]
• [p]Added games[/p]
• [p]Added mascara[/p]
• [p]Added perfumes[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Featured Mod of the Week[/h2][p]This week, we’ll be looking at some of the fine Displays uploaded through the in-game designer. Our Featured Mod today is the Display Skin Care 3x3 / Hautpflege Regal 3x3 by Lady-Kasya, which is one of several sized display styles specifically for skin care.[/p][p][/p][p]Coming of the back of our October update, these elegant displays are perfect for premium, luxury brand cosmetic and care products. Consider joining the Steam Workshop and popping a few in your next boutique.[/p][p]-[/p][p]We’ll be sharing some additional news closer to the end of the year with plans for 2026 on the horizon. Many, many gaps have been closed over the last few months in order to streamline gameplay and improve the base experience. We’re not there yet, but the new year will entail more in-depth features and new additions the game that I’m excited to share with you soon.[/p][p]As always, consider joining the Community Discord as it’s really the most direct channel I have to hear your feedback and suggestions, as well as look over your Winter Retail Contest submissions, so please have at it! I’ll be on my Twitch channel tomorrow, streaming development live, so please also pop in to say hi, and possibly get a sneak-peak on what’s to come next year.[/p][p][/p][p]Until next time, happy sales.[/p][p]-Daniel[/p][p]
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