King of Retail 2 News

[p]Dear Retailers,
[/p][p]With the Rise to the Top update, we’ve seen some tremendous feedback from players and some really incredible creations. Thank you to everyone who turned out for our update and got involved in the community Discord: your input means a lot to this project and its continued development.
[/p][p]So, I’d like to begin by talking about next steps for King of Retail 2, with our first major milestone update out of the way: what’s next on the horizon? [/p][p][/p][h3]Scaling Up, Bridging Gaps, and Improving The Flow[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p]Some of the major changes you’ve seen: additional floors, access control, the newly rebuilt Build Mode have all been, in their own ways, challenging but necessary improvements that lay the groundwork for bigger and better features. 
[/p][p]We can think of it as addressing technical debt, but also in reapproaching the fundamentals of building and designing so that the core game experience is as enjoyable as it can be. Thank you for bearing with us as we refined build mode and improved customer behavior, and it resulted in a system we can be genuinely proud of.
[/p][h3]Catching Up, What Have We Done So Far?
[/h3][p]1. Employee assignable work areas.[/p][p]With the last update, we allowed staff to move up and down. That means a lot of wasted time for employees if they do this often.[/p][p]Now they can assign which areas an employee is allowed to work at, meaning a much higher level of control, and better efficiency of your employees.[/p][p][/p][p]2. AI overhaul[/p][p]We went into the first step of making your employees more intelligent. They will only refill displays that actually have products in stock.
[/p][p]No more constant checking if there is room for unpacking new products etc. No more running long distances to accomplish a task nearby.[/p][p][/p][p]3. Bugfixes and better info layers.[/p][p]We have fixed some of the bugs that you have reported (and will continue to do so of course). We also noticed some of the info layers. (Zone layers in city, spacing zones in build mode) are rarely activated, which leads to confusion about the various possibilities of the game. 
[/p][p]So instead of being disabled by default, they will be enabled instead, hopefully bringing an easier onboarding and handling of your game. You will still be able to turn them off manually.
[/p][h2]And What’s On the Horizon?[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p]Our next milestones will focus on building out two major parts of gameplay that are in high demand, and which work together to build that second layer of strategic gameplay that will define King of Retail 2: Team Management and Second/Automated Stores.
[/p][h3]Team Management - Promote from Within![/h3][p][/p][p]Soon, we will add functionality for you to assign Team Managers. Managers will manage stores on your behalf, using their expert-level skills (you are hiring the best, right?) to keep your rank-and-file employees active, increase your store income, and take some of the manual work off your hands so you can focus on the bigger picture.
[/p][p]You may ask: what purpose does this serve if you’re already on hand to manage the store yourself? Well, it's a very critical component for allowing the addition of…
[/p][h3]Adding More Stores to your Empire
[/h3][p]In the current build of King of Retail 2, stores go offline when you’re not there. Many, many players are already exploring design possibilities in their second, third, and more stores; but there’s a lack of true managerial oversight that we’re working on bringing into the game in the coming months. Second stores and beyond can be fun, but they’re money sinks at this stage.
[/p][p]With the ability to set up multiple stores and assign internal management teams for them, we’re working towards fully automated stores that function and produce while you’re dealing with other things. This brings together Store Concepts and the overview map and will add a full new layer to the gameplay.[/p][p][/p][p]It’s time to start thinking bigger about retail, and our next few updates will make bigger and better things possible. Again, if you have any questions or suggestions, our Community Discord is not only the best way to get a hold of me, but also to chat with the community at large. [/p][p][/p][p]Thanks everyone, and we’ll have more updates coming in the future.[/p][p][/p][p]-Daniel[/p][p]
[/p]

[p]Dear retailers,[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Today is the day! The Rise to the Top update is live in King of Retail 2. Download and play now, and enjoy a 25% discount as you grow your empire to new heights. [/p][p]Let’s take a look at what’s in store![/p][p][/p][h2]UPDATE HIGHLIGHT: Escalators, Elevators, & Stairs, Oh My.[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p]The doors open nice and smooth in-game, don't worry; it's just the nature of the tiny gif.[/p][p][/p][p]You’ve been able to build multiple floors in your stores prior to this update, but now, their functionality has been fully implemented. After much testing and tweaking, your customers can travel between the floors of your establishment as they see fit. This feature unlocks a tonne of floor space for customisation that gives you more room to shape your store’s identity—or even build a full-scale megastore. [/p][p]But how did they get up there?[/p][p]Well, you’ve got three options. Elevators, escalators, and stairs![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Slot these into your store and bask in vertical glory as your customers ascend and descend throughout your retail masterpiece. Upper floors are now fully functional, just as your ground floor always has been.[/p][p]I’m really excited to see what you’re able to pull off with this expanded scope, and whilst we’re on the subject of customers, let’s move onto…[/p][p][/p][h2]UPDATE HIGHLIGHT: Access Points & Customer Flow[/h2][p]
[/p][p][/p][p]Originally, customers would squeeze their way through your established entrances however they saw fit, which could feel unnatural and cause them to exhibit… “unusual” behaviour. But now, you’re the one in control.[/p][p]Following player feedback, we’ve added additional options to any door that you place in your store, letting you change their functionality to serve as only an Entrance, only an Exit, Both (the standard setting before this update), and finally, Courier-specific doors. [/p][p][/p][p]That way, you can now direct the flow of traffic and set up a back entrance exclusively for deliveries.[/p][p]We’ve covered foot traffic, we’ve covered your delivery setups, as well as all the extra space you now have to stock those deliveries.[/p][p]So, let’s take a look at what new products have been cleared for sale in your store.[/p][p][/p][h2]UPDATE HIGHLIGHT: New Products![/h2][p][/p][p]With the Health & Beauty line having been introduced in our previous major update, we’re expanding the articles available even further with Rise to the Top.[/p][p]Take a look.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The new additions are as follows:[/p]

• [p]Face Cleansers[/p]
• [p]Sunscreen[/p]
• [p]Body Lotion[/p]
• [p]Self-Tan[/p]
• [p]Scrub[/p]
• [p]Deodorant[/p]

[p]Add the new line-up into your store with this latest update, make use of that extra space, and ensure that all of your customers are feeling both healthy and beautiful.[/p][h2]
UPDATE HIGHLIGHT: Build Mode - Ceiling, Roofs, and Intuitiveness[/h2][p][/p][p]This update marks a major milestone. The changes began rolling out in smaller chunks across earlier patches, and with Build Mode: Expanded as the first step on our roadmap, I’m delighted to see it fully realised today.[/p][p]We’ve covered the vertical aspects of Build Mode, but there's still more to discuss.[/p][p]With two new features, the Ceiling Painter and the Roof Designer, you can now further tweak how your store looks both inside and out. Together, you’re able to customise your ceilings just as you would with your walls and floors, and you’re also able to add some more personality to your roofs, with slants, glass panels, and much more. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]But that’s not all.[/p][p]Previously, your inventory (as in, your shelves, registers, etc.) could only be edited when you were in your store in-person. This was a bit fiddly, as it meant you’d need to hop back and forth between Build Mode and your store if you wanted to adjust everything.[/p][p]But I am happy to say that it is no longer the case.[/p][p]Your inventory can be relocated directly from Build Mode, making reorganising your store so much more intuitive. [/p][p]Although the expanded Build Mode is complete and I’ll be proceeding with the next steps in the roadmap (more on that below), I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for your feedback on these changes, just in case they ever need a touch-up or a hotfix, so please keep your feedback coming. It’s extremely helpful![/p][p][/p][h2]Rise to the Top - Patch Notes[/h2][p][/p][p]With those highlights taken care of, below you’ll find the full list of patch notes for the Rise to the Top update, which you can play right now.[/p][h3]Major[/h3]

• [p]Removed all wall placement limitations; elements can now go across multiple walls, rather than being restricted by a segment.[/p]
• [p]Direct the flow of customers by assigning Entrances, Exits, No-Access, and Courier Entrances.[/p]
• [p]Added Chinese Translations,[/p]
• [p]Added elevators, stairs, and escalators to your store.[/p]
• [p]Upgraded the engine version, leading to reduced raytracing noise on material surfaces.[/p]
• [p]Added the Ceiling Painter & Roof Designer tools in Build Mode.[/p]

[h3]Minor[/h3]

• [p]Big entrances can be moved left and right.[/p]
• [p]Updated the door and wall element hover UI.[/p]
• [p]Added UI buttons for door entrance usage.[/p]
• [p]Couriers now use Courier-specific entrances, if applicable.[/p]
• [p]Save games convert properly to the new system.[/p]
• [p]Added virtual "lava" to Entrances, and No-Access doors, preventing the AI from going through them, unless they have no other option.[/p]
• [p]Added a new construction rule: at least one Entrance and one Exit, and doors can’t overlap anything else.[/p]
• [p]You can now move inventory around in Build Mode.[/p]
• [p]Shapes no longer influence the location validation of your inventory.[/p]
• [p]Product decorations no longer influence location validation of your inventory.[/p]
• [p]Lamps produce light more cleanly.[/p]
• [p]Posters can be scaled up.[/p]
• [p]Increased the usage of door sizes.[/p]
• [p]Pins from renting a shop now stay open after the rental of your first shop.[/p]
• [p]Reduced the camera lag in Build Mode.[/p]
• [p]Anything that can cause an error in Build Mode now has a marker showing what’s causing it.[/p]

[h3]Bugs[/h3]

• [p]Closing the painting menu will properly reset the hovered item.[/p]
• [p]Reduced the customer spawn circle, as they could spawn out of bounds, making them immobile.[/p]
• [p]The Floor Painter now selects the proper material when opened.[/p]
• [p]Increased the latest work hour based on a store opening from 10:00 to 16:00.[/p]
• [p]Going to work now looks at the proper day itself, and not the hours from the day before.[/p]
• [p]Added collision to the bank building.[/p]
• [p]The Load Game year now shows in the proper format.[/p]
• [p]Quick-Deleting in Build Mode will ask for confirmation first.[/p]
• [p]Reviewed all product names and tweaked them to proper English.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that calculated the wrong price of an item when opening the store with a non-default currency.[/p]
• [p]Windows now have proper weather effects on them.[/p]
• [p]Corrected products that exceeded display limits.[/p]
• [p]Resetting or confirming a build in Build Mode now properly closes all menus before making checks.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where you couldn't pause without increasing the game speed first.[/p]
• [p]Corrected products that didn't fit in their respective boxes.[/p]

[h3]Balancing[/h3]

• [p]Increased staff sales efficiency.[/p]
• [p]Decreased game attempts by 1 when inviting customers inside.[/p]

[h3]AI[/h3]

• [p]Your staff only go to the nearby location when idling.[/p]
• [p]Increased navigation zone to support bigger stores. [/p]
• [p]Adjusted all AI to move with the new system.[/p]
• [p]Overhauled the courier delivery method.[/p]
• [p]Customers now prefer to look at the product in the room they are in, to avoid running back and forth.[/p]
• [p]Increased navigation resolution.[/p]

[h3]Products[/h3]

• [p]Face Cleansers[/p]
• [p]Sunscreen[/p]
• [p]Body Lotion[/p]
• [p]Self-Tan[/p]
• [p]Scrub[/p]
• [p]Deodorant[/p]

[h2]What’s Next[/h2][p]You’ve risen to the top, yes, but what’s next for King of Retail 2?[/p][p]Let’s take another look at our roadmap. [/p][p][/p][p]Next on the agenda, we have HQ Expansion & Multi Stores, and that’s where my attention will be. The goal is to let you centralise your retail operation, running multiple stores simultaneously, promoting floor managers, and becoming the true CEO you were born to be. [/p][p]This will be a sizable undertaking, of course, so I’m planning to roll it out through smaller, more frequent updates, as the elements will connect quite seamlessly over time, which will be great for getting new content into your hands more quickly.[/p][p]For other notes, don’t forget to swing by the King of Retail 2 Official Discord, where you’ll be the first to see in-progress updates; I’m frequently hanging out in there, too, and will aim to answer your questions when I catch them.[/p][p]Plus, on Friday, I do a devstream over at my Twitch Channel, where you can watch me working on updates. I tend to answer questions there, too, so swing by on a Friday and let’s chat.[/p][p]With all that being said, I’ll leave you to jump into the Rise to the Top update! [/p][p]Keep the feedback coming, let me know how you’re feeling about this one, and until next time…[/p][p]Have a great sale.[/p]

• [p]Daniel[/p]

[p]Dear Retailers,[/p][p] [/p][p]It’s time to Rise to the Top, as our first major milestone update nears completion!
[/p][p]At the start of this month, I gave some news of a major update coming around the corner. In truth, this is part of an update that kicked August off. But now that we’re putting the final touches on it, I can proudly announce that our first major milestone: the “Rise to the Top” update, will now be available on Thursday, August 28th!
[/p][p]Rise to the Top is an update focused on taking stores to the next level, quite literally but also figuratively – with huge changes to the way stores are built and designed. Now, second floors and beyond are available to entrepreneurs, alongside smarter customers to make use of them.
[/p][h2]ENTRANCES, EXITS & ACCESS CONTROL
[/h2][p]The logic behind each customer’s behaviour is quite complicated, and the ideal state we want with customer behaviour is to, well, behave like customers. Walking around stores and through entranceways should feel natural and normal. [/p][p][/p][p]That being said, a lot of players have asked for features like a back entrance for deliveries, or to add an entrance/exit set of doors to create a highly visible and directed flow of traffic. As part of the Rise to the Top Update, you can now add designations to doorways, allowing to serve as Entrance Only, Exit Only, Both, or Courier Only. [/p][p]Access Control Toggle | In-Development[/p][p] [/p][h2]ELEVATION[/h2][p][/p][p]noun[/p]

1. [p]the action or fact of elevating or being elevated[/p]

[p] “My customers are experiencing elevation right now.”[/p][p] [/p]

1. [p]height above a given level, especially sea level[/p]

[p] “I can add a new elevation to my store!?”[/p][p]
Elevators can stand freely or sit into walls. With them, the second level and beyond is now available for design and customer use. The possibilities are just beginning, in fact, as we introduce this new feature into the game. [/p][p][/p][p]Oh, and it's not just elevators. We're also introducing stairs and escalators as a vertical traversal option, as well, so you can pick your favourite, or better yet, use all three.[/p][p][/p][p]Elevation Options | In-Development[/p][p]
We’re really excited to see what concepts develop out of this addition. Customers can now navigate up and down floors with ease, allowing for multi-level department stores, mezzanines, or overlooks. [/p][h2]
RAISE THE ROOF [/h2][p]We’ve been hard at work completely retuning the Build Mode in-game, a process which has taken many months and is one we've been delivering in chunks as new features are added and the building process is simplified. In the meantime, Interior Decoration is coming full-circle as we add Ceiling Painting and Roof Designing. These feature have been added as part of a full rebuilding of Floors/Ceiling to accommodate Elevators, holes, and gaps.[/p][p][/p][p]You can paint your ceiling however you wish, and you can also tweak the design of your roof to best suit your store, whether it be slanted, ridged, or completely made of glass; it's up to you![/p][p]Roof Designer & Ceiling Painter | In-Development[/p][h2]
CHINESE LOCALIZATION[/h2][p][/p][p]We’ve gotten a fair bit of feedback from Chinese players as to the quality of the localization. Rest assured that I’m hard at work at this as well, and will be able to also introduce this in the next update. We're also looking at ways to localise these very blog posts, as well, so please bare with us as we sort that out, too.[/p][p][/p][p]I’m looking forward to seeing what’s possible with elevation coming to King of Retail 2. You can expect a deep dive into all of the new content arriving on Thursday, alongside the detailed patch notes.[/p][p][/p][p]And don’t forget to join the Community in our KoR2 Discord. As always, I’m around to answer questions, listen to ideas, hear suggestions, and deal with your bug reports.[/p][p][/p][p]Until next time,[/p][p][/p][p]Daniel[/p][p]
[/p]

[h3]Dear retailers!
Is is time to give an update to King of Retail 2.[/h3]

[h2]--- The past month --- [/h2]

As some of you might know, King of Retail 2 is primarily created by me and my wife working full time, along with a few others working part time, and it has been in progress for 3 years now.

Making a game is not easy, especially as an indie developer, as you need to do the same work that an established studio has a few hundred specialised employees to do, while it is also required to be more present and direct with the community.

It is a hard job, and for the past 2 years all our time has been going towards building this game. That means no vacation time, no weeks off, and overall a goodbye to "normal" life. This then culminates in a release period that a lot of stress and pressure with 100 hour working weeks, both up until, and after the release.

We are not complaining though. That is a choice we have made, and we choose it because it is fun making games, and there is something very rewarding in seeing people get entertained by something you created.

I am telling it to paint a picture of what a game developer goes through to make a game. A lot of hard work and very little living for a long period.

In February, when all of this was close to it's peak, our dog Loki had a seizure.
We took him to the vet and found out he had cancer.
In Denmark, the vet's answer to anything remotely challenging is usually, "there is nothing to do, consider putting him down".

As vets are very expensive here that is usually what happens in bigger cases, as they then have very little experience and you at the same time pay a lot for this lack of experience.
My wife talked to her friend who is a neurosurgeon (not from Denmark). He doubted their conclusions and methods, and said there are many things to do yet.
So through one phone call, he did a better diagnosis than danish vets who performed a 1000 € scan and blood tests, and then prescribed medicine that helped very little on these seizures.

He laid out a plan, for us to follow, and we thought, if we can give him one last, good summer, that would be worth it.
So for the past 6 months, we have been fighting with this every day, not leaving his side, administering medicine 5 times a day, and other things.
For instance we decided to drive to Poland and back to get an MRI scan, as that (including blood test and scans) became 700€ in total, which in Denmark that would have been 4000€ at least. Note that all of this is while preparing a game release.

We somehow made it through a very hard first half year, and looked forward to starting living a bit again. But unfortunately at the start of the month, our dear friend couldn't handle it any more, and we had to start living by making the hardest decision of them all, and free him of his increasing pains. For these years it was just the 3 of us going through it day by day, but when 3 became 2, it hit us very hard.



That is why we have been silent here the past month, as it hit us hard, and we then took 2 a week home vacation to deal with this.
But we are back working on the game, and have been so for a while. I felt l needed to explain the reason behind this, to those who might be concerned about not having a steam post for a month :)


[h2]--- Dev streams --- [/h2]

On our discord we have received a tremendous amount of support and given us a very appreciated warmth which helped a lot when dealing with this. So our deepest thanks to our great community :)

To give something back, and to be even more open to our community, i decided to do live streams while working. You can come by and see how it is done, ask questions and come with suggestions.
I am a complete noob in the streaming world (which is why the first stream got deleted), so i have a lot to learn here as well, but it was very fun to engage with and show the community the work and all the new stuff live.

For now i plan to do this every Friday. And this Friday, i plan to do live bug fixing, where i will fix some of the bugs you choose to bring up.
[/p][p]Follow the link here:



[h2]--- What we have been doing ---[/h2]

So what is actually on the way?

[h3]- Entrances[/h3]

First of all we changed how entrances work, meaning you can now direct the flow of the customers. You can assign specific entrances and exits, as well as denying customers access through certain doors. You can also make a courier specific door, if you want you deliveries to come in form a certain direction.



So no more customers going in near the cash registers, or going through your storage room, unless of course it is something you want.

[h3]- Chunk system, and no limit walls[/h3]

I promised that you would be able to design vertical stores. To do this new systems needed to be implemented. As a window "cuts" a hole in the wall, we now also need something that can cut hole in floors as well.

Before a wall "owned" its windows, where the store now is cut up into virtual chunks (like minecraft). This makes it easier for me to move things around and check if their locations are valid, and then cut holes in floors and walls as needed.
It also have the extra bonus effect of windows and doors no longer being limited to the bounds of a wall. Instead you can now freely move and scale them across multiple walls if desired, removing the limitations there was before.[/p][p]



[h3]- Elevators[/h3]

The above was made so we could implement elevators of different kinds, which can both stand freely, as well as inside walls. So now it is possible to take the elevator to the floor of your choice, taking the first steps to multi-floor stores and pseudo malls.



[h3]- Ceiling painter[/h3]

Because i now need to cut holes in the floors/ceilings, i needed to change the ceiling mesh. So the ceiling is now fully flat, but is instead paintable. So you can now further your customisation by adding tinatable ceilings of your choice to your store.

[h3]- Music[/h3]

Finding bugs and doing math-heavy programming can be very demanding, and hard for the head. At the end of a working day, i sometimesget too tired for this, and either work very slowly, or just start making stupid mistakes. In this case i need to stop the heavy stuff. But the working day is not over, so instead switch to some lighter tasks when that happens.
I really enjoy making the music in the game, and have so much fun creating these lyrics that is not so subtly complaining about the retail life.
And since it could get very repetitive to listen to a channel, i have double the amount of tracks in each channel, as well as added 2 new radio stations.

[h3]- New products[/h3]

We have of course also been continuing the product-production with the focus on Beauty-products, which is now at around 250 items, leaving the total number of products in the game at over 2500 products.



[h3]- Chinese[/h3]

We have also prepared Chinese localisation, so as soon as the next update is out, Chinese players will finally be able to play the game in their own language.


[h2]--- And after ---[/h2]

So with the above being made, what will come after?

[h3]- Stairs and escalators? [/h3]

I would like to add stairs and escalators to the game.
But since they work differently than the elevator, they require new implementations. I don't know yet how hard/easy it will be to make. And i feel that we urgently need to start working on the actual Retail part of King of Retail, since focus has been on build mode for a long period now.
So i don't know if they will be part of this update, or have to wait for a later update. But i can promise they will definitely arrive at some point.

[h3]- Final implementations[/h3]

With elevators allowing for travelling up and down, i need the AI's to be able to use them, and to properly navigate between floors to reach their desired destinations. And then i need to make it possible to actually place your inventory on these various floors.
Then the final task is to allow you to move inventory around in Build mode, so you don't need to switch between these two modes, because a piece of inventory stands in a wrong position.

[h3]- Starting multistore[/h3]

After the above, we will start on multistore mode. The game as it is now, flattens out after you have employees, and your store is up and running.
You also don't yet have much in options of actually managing your store.

So that will be the next we will work on for a long time.
First, allowing a management hierachy in your stores, so they can run in your absence, allowing you to switch between your stores when you desire during the day.
Then a massive upgrade to your HQ, where you will be able to hire promote managers, that will have a much more active role compared to the first game. Build your HQ, assign them offices, give them associates, and delegate tasks to them.
Be able to finally to marketing that allows you to influence your stores much more.

Go from being active on the sales floor, to start being the manager who just overlooks how things runs.

[h2]--- Community ---[/h2]

[h3]- Contest[/h3]

We had a contest on our Discord about making the best looking supermarket, and the winner was LauraLuff, who created this supermarket:[/p][p][/p][p]

[h3]- Other cool pictures[/h3]

- We have also scouted the archives for various player created stores, which we thought we would share here as well.







That was all the information for now:

Feel free to


if you want to be part of the community. And don't hold back on questions, ideas, suggestions, bug reports or what ever you might have on your mind.

Thanks for reading along, and until next time:
Have a great sale.

Cheers,
Daniel

[h2]Dear retailers, [/h2][p][/p][p]Now that summer has arrived, as promised, I’ve got a new update for King of Retail 2 that is playable right now! We’ve got the build mode overhauls, new product lines, destruction of the radial wheel, and other much sought-after tweaks and improvements. [/p][p][/p][p]So let’s dive right in. [/p][p][/p][p]Build Mode is seeing a large overhaul in this update, and it will serve as just the first part of the major changes I have planned for the mode at this time.
[/p][p][/p][p]The way you design your building has fundamentally changed. Originally, you would use the Outer Structures segment of the Radial Menu (more on this later) to build the shell of your store. Although this would do the job, I wanted to expand this much further, switching from simply building walls to building Area Blocks.
[/p][p]Area Blocks now form the basis of a unit of “store,” with their own walls tweaked individually. This means that it’s a lot easier to plot out your store and create both outer and internal walls for the layout. No more worrying about creating loops with your wall setup. So, for all of those who’ve been begging for their own Storage Rooms: you’re all set!
[/p][p]The UI in Build Mode has also been overhauled, stripping out the Radial Menu entirely in favour of the Toolbar at the top.
[/p][p][/p][p]
You can also now create multiple floors within your stores, however, I do want to stress that these floors won’t be fully functional yet. That's part 2 of the Build Mode update, where you will be able to operate beyond the ground level; I split this update into multiple chunks as delivering it all in one go would be quite risky due to how it will interact with many other elements of the game. [/p][p]
I’ll continue working away on this and will keep you posted as things progress. [/p][p][/p][p]As this overhaul to Build Mode is so substantial, it will make its way to the demo in the near future![/p][p]We’ve also taken in lots of feedback from players across the Steam discussion forums and in our Discord regarding the Radial Menu. Generally, the feedback was that the Radial Menu added a lot of unnecessary menu management to the game, burying your essentials behind a menu that you needed to open and close frequently, and sometimes leaving players confused on how an interactable could be interacted with.[/p][p]
So I obliterated it, in favour of the new Overlap Menu and updated Toolbars![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The Overlap Menu will now appear above any interactable that you’re within range of, as shown above. This way, you’ll be able to find and click directly on the action you want to take, without needing to open any additional menus. [/p][p]
Want to restock a shelf? Do so in a single click.[/p][p]
Looking to land a hard sell on a customer? No problem![/p][p]
Is that display in the wrong place? Not anymore. [/p][p]
I think this new menu system massively streamlines the UI and how you interact with King of Retail 2, both when in your store, and when crafting perfection in Build Mode. [/p][p][/p][p]Also, as with Build Mode, the new, wheel-less UI will also be present in the demo later down the line.[/p][p]Two new product ranges have arrived in update 0.2.0.0. [/p][p][/p][p]First up, we’ve got the Slippers range, serving as a broader extension of the footwear category that will continue to see expansion as development continues. With Summer now in full swing, I thought there was no better time to introduce some comfy footwear for your customers to take on their trips to the beach.[/p][p][/p][p]And there’s more! You want your customers to be stylish, of course, but you’ll also want them to be able to focus on their health and beautification. Introducing; a brand new article type with Health & Beauty products! This range includes a variety of beauty-related products to further kit out your stores and expand your repertoire. You can expect hand creams, face creams, soaps, shampoos, and much more.
[/p][p]With those highlights in place, here’s what the entirety of update 0.2.0.0 has in-store![/p][p][/p][h2]MAJOR[/h2]

• [p]Completely removed the Radial Menu.[/p]
• [p]Added a new Overlap Menu that shows up as soon as you approach any interactable, majorly reducing the number of required clicks, and streamlining the overall UI experience.[/p]
• [p]Reworked build mode to let you define your Store by adding area blocks, as opposed to just walls.[/p]
• [p]Remaining features previously tied to the Radial Wheel have been moved to the toolbar at the top of the HUD.[/p]
• [p]You can now add and remove floors inside each area block.[/p]
• [p]You can now add and remove walls inside each area block, creating internal rooms.[/p]
• [p]Reduced/removed the blue bar from the bottom side menus.[/p]
• [p]Replaced the build mode camera with a full "free move" camera.[/p]
• [p]Replaced display designer mode camera with a "free move" camera.[/p]

[h2]MINOR[/h2]

• [p]Pressing ‘E’ while overlapping an interactable now activates its primary menu.[/p]
• [p]Added conversions of old save games to the new building setup.[/p]
• [p]The camera moves up and down with floor level changes.[/p]
• [p]Increased the maximum camera offset in build mode.[/p]
• [p]Reduced max camera zoom distance in build mode.[/p]
• [p]Updated the building rules to fit the new system.[/p]
• [p]Updated the default building to fit the new system.[/p]
• [p]Doors can now be placed in walls above ground level.[/p]
• [p]Removed Open Radial Menu from keybinds.[/p]
• [p]Separated product and general decorations into two categories.[/p]
• [p]Removed defunct product selection filters.[/p]
• [p]Replaced category names with icons in the product finder.[/p]
• [p]Added a Z-axis clamp to camera movement.[/p]
• [p]Reworked the Place Inventory movement screen.[/p]
• [p]Added movement tips to build mode.[/p]
• [p]Added a color icon to the Cash Register overlap menu to show the state of a Cash Register.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the tooltip menu.[/p]
• [p]Updated the main menu to have information on the latest update.[/p]
• [p]Added movement info to the Display Designer.[/p]
• [p]All cash registers close automatically after each day.[/p]
• [p]Added a marker for an out-of-place decoration.[/p]
• [p]Added a filter and visual cue showing the state of a cash register.[/p]

[h2]BUGS[/h2]

• [p]You can no longer see under the level.[/p]
• [p]Decorations now show their proper location state when clicked on.[/p]
• [p]In-store music is now also based on the general music volume.[/p]

[h2]BALANCING[/h2]

• [p]Increased overall refilling efficiency.[/p]
• [p]Decreased the display refill timer lockout.[/p]

[h2]CONTENT[/h2]

• [p]Added slippers![/p]
• [p]Added more custom displays.[/p]
• [p]Added a brand new Beauty category featuring face creams.  [/p]
• [p]Added 2 clothed mannequins as decorations. [/p]

[p]
And there we have it![/p][p]Jump into the game, let me know how you’re feeling about this update, and please keep the feedback coming! A bunch of changes made in this update are in response to player feedback, so thank you to everyone who’s made their voices heard thus far. Your comments are much appreciated.[/p][p]
Have a wonderful rest of your day, and until next time…[/p][p] [/p][p]Happy selling![/p]

• [p]Daniel [/p]