Software Inc. News

This update took a little longer since I was hoping to add atriums, but they aren't quite ready yet, so they'll have to wait for the next update.



Changes

• Large windows will now merge with other adjacent large windows across room corners at or below 90 degrees
  
• Pre-marketing tasks are now shown for project management tasks
  
• Added more info to development progress detail window about requirements and unqualified employees
  
• Made shortcut list animation more obnoxious since people still aren't noticing it
  
• Added visualization to see where rooms are in basement when viewing ground floor and vice versa
  

Fixes

• Fixed game breaking after undoing merging a pillar and a room using wall drag tool
  
• Fixed windows and doors not snapping to a wall when wall is about 1 meter wide and diagonal at a grid intersection using standard building grid
  
• Fixed cases of being able to clone rooms on top of one another in certain circumstances
  
• Fixed thumbnail generator in furniture editor broke in last patch
  
• Take-over notification now differentiates between whether company was bought out or went bankrupt
  
• Fixed not being able to select security cameras when ceiling furniture is hidden
  
• Fixed conveyor belts being turned off on a custom rentable map
  

Beta 1.2 overhauls the digital distribution mechanics, requiring you to develop and support your distribution platform and compete directly against the AI companies with their own platforms.
This update wraps up beta 1.2 testing with a bunch of fixes and some improvements to the manufacturing mechanics.

Lasse and I are currently working on a larger graphical overhaul of some elements of the game, which is why this patch is smaller than usual. I will post more details once we get closer to release.

Changes

• Added 3 tiers of conveyor belts for building tight assembly lines
  
• Added ability to highlight all boxes on the premises related to a printing job
  
• Split up "Select furniture types in rooms" to make it more useful for selecting specific furniture
  
• Added warning when conveyor belts are facing each other
  
• Improved work progress detail window
  
• You can now reload a single furniture mod with the RELOAD_FURNITURE_MOD command
  

Fixes

• Fixed door signs sometimes being visible on lower floors
  
• Fixed subsidiaries being able to open digital stores
  
• Fixed not gaining access to add-ons when taking over project management projects
  
• Employees will no longer offset their arrival times due to slow commutes by more than 4 hours, since some saves had people arriving 27 hours early
  
• Fixed game thinking work was missing applicable employees due to active iteration in alpha phase
  
• Fixed game not highlighting project management tasks when issues popped up referring to tasks in project management
  
• Updates and add-ons are now considered when determining how long it's been since player's last release in a software category
  
• Employees will now try to arrive near a lounge in case there are no applicable team rooms or PCs
  
• Fixed creating new company in a custom building would set that building as auto-save target and break it on save
  
• Fixed being able to use server group that doesn't exist by moving into building with servers from the future on the premises
  
• Fixed using arrow keys to change slider values in furniture editor not moving by 1% increments for some sliders
  
• Fixed not being able to edit new alt styles in furniture editor until reload
  
• Fixed being able to release distribution platforms as consumer products by assigning it to a subsidiary
  

Please note that save files from Beta 1.2 are not compatible with Beta 1.1, so if you think you want to go back to Beta 1.1, make sure you don't overwrite your save files in Beta 1.2. Beta 1.1 save files will work fine in Beta 1.2, but your digital distribution platform will be reset on load.

Click here to see how to join the Unstable branch.

Changes

• Overhauled digital distribution so all companies can open their own store and digital products have to be sold through them
  
• Digital distribution platforms now require software to be developed and maintained for them
  
• Player can make exclusivity offers to only sell a product in their store
  
• Separated digital distribution and manufacturing tasks into 2 windows
  
• Moved utility interface from finance window to its own window
  
• Overhauled main bottom button panel and added new Logistics category (Code mods can add their own buttons and categories as well)
  
• Added window to manage an assembler's component queue
  
• Added K to toggle max interaction distance visualization for selected furniture or furniture being built
  
• Bottom left info panel will now say when an employee is working on secondary tasks
  
• Rebalanced support ticket generation speed
  
• ISP cost reduced
  
• Added RelativeServer record to features for modding that multiplies/divides server requirements rather than adding up
  
• Added quit confirmation if last save was > 1 minute ago
  
• Increased number of rooms an employee will search for a fridge, from their desk, to put their lunch in, from 2 rooms to 3
  
• Assemblers will now throw out the least developed assemblies first when full, for chance to actually finish an assembly, in case player has balanced it wrong
  
• Added warning when product is too expensive and losing sales
  
• Tech levels will now lose revelancy more slowly to avoid products being outdated on release due to the update system
  
• Wall mounted furniture can now be placed right up against wall split if angle formed by walls is above 180 degrees
  

Fixes

• Force recompilation of code mods, due to breaking change in last update
  
• Fixed AI sometimes engaging in cross-holding, allowing for infinite money exploit
  
• Fixed rotation of corner tables when mirroring rooms
  
• Software updates didn't add new bugs due to bug
  
• Fixed tutorial videos not always playing
  
• Helicopter pads built from basement floor are now blocked by roads above
  
• Fixed collision issues when building furniture under roads or roads above furniture
  
• Fixed employees getting stuck on stairs when they had their pathing interrupted
  
• Fixed staff receiving company car benefit on hire
  
• Fixed features not being auto selected for sequels when new forced features have been unlocked for software
  
• Added way to break out of save loading screen on computers that are way below minimum requirements
  
• Fixed update ETA being wrong
  

• Added ability to colorize windows and doors + added different looks to standard door
  
• Added ability to put signs on doors
  
• Police will now ignore parking assignments
  
• Added unfixed bug count to collapsed support work item
  
• Reduced width of the wall-mounted conveyor belt so it fits right up against walls
  
• Fire inspection fines now scale with company size
  
• Added button to view/select servers in server window
  
• Server connections are now preserved when cloning rooms or building blueprints
  
• Room use limits no longer apply to pass-through, e.g. a designer can pass through a programmer-only room to get to another room
  
• The "center" of a room will now move if it is not within the room itself, e.g. if the room is U shaped
  
• You can now see path connections when building or removing paths
  
• Added button to select all of the same segment type in a room, e.g. all doors, works the same as "Select furniture types in selected rooms"
  
• Added ability to change lead designer for project management design tasks
  

• Fixed furniture editor not handling holdable points correctly
  
• Fixed not being able to open add-on details from distribution window
  
• Environment overlay now shows furniture impact on environment
  
• Fixed patent list in company detail windows
  
• Fixed pie chart labels in design document window
  
• Fixed missing lead designer for subsidiaries notification not dissapearing when company is closed
  
• Fixed instances of prematurely finishing game load, when another wave of navigation mesh generation was expected, causing rooms to appear unreachable on load
  
• Fixed normal mapping not working for furniture atlas shader when RGB mapping was disabled
  
• Fixed framework boost not being scaled by framework quality in design document window
  
• HR will no longer hire designers with demands
  
• Fixed daily hiring pool for HR management not having a limit if player or other HR team had made no similar searches
  
• Fixed employees being able to go through a blocked passageway one-way, leading them to get blocked-in on the other side
  
• Blocked passage warning for elevators and stairs are now visible on both floors
  
• Made anti z-fighting scaling on cubicle walls more subtle
  
• Fixed single team selection not working properly after filtering by search and then picking with mouse instead of enter
  
• Fixed missing spec warning in update window not refreshing after reopening
  
• Fixed ambiguity of distribution deal notifications
  
• Cancelling a project management task didn't unhide any running update tasks
  
• Fixed position of tools in update window sometimes getting jumbled
  
• Fixed employee education filter not filtering out employees with big brain trait ready for education in locked specializations
  
• If an employee fails to find a path to a furniture that wasn't ruled out by team assignments, they will skip any other candidates in the same room to improve performance
  
• Employee satisfaction effect from salary changes no longer decays while they are gone
  
• Final release window is now scaled to always fit on screen independent of UI scaling
  

Changes

• Added search bar to team selection window
  
• You can now switch between windowed and exclusive fullscreen, enabled by Unity 2018 upgrade
  
• Room auras are now globally capped and mood aura calculation has improved
  
• Added ability to click arrows in material preview panel to scroll between styles
  

Fixes

• Made gable generation more robust, e.g. for ramp shaped roofs
  
• Autosave now happens after wage negotiations have finished
  
• Fixed bugs when merging rooms using wall drag tool inside an outdoor area and undoing
  
• Fixed update teams for project management not getting updated when renaming teams
  
• Game will now remember when a name generator failed to find a unique name and exit early to avoid simulation slow downs
  
• Game will now fallback to built-in company name generator if modded company name generator fails to find anymore unique names
  
• Fixed buggy interactions between wind turbines and blueprints
  
• Fixed Hardware Inc. map conveyor belts not being switched on by default. Can be fixed in older saves by power cycling them using connected conveyor belts
  
• Game will only warn about missing lead designer progress once, to avoid spam caused by trainer mod
  
• Failed to get cursor position: Success messages from Steam Deck now ignored
  
• Fixed temperature output usage estimations in UI to account for room size