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v3.0.5 patch

Some more bug fixes and some balance changes for Sandbox. Thank you for all your feedback. :)

Lots of small, inconsequential sounding things in this list, but when they add together they really do make a difference. Sandbox is now playing better than ever!

If anybody is enjoying the new expansion and would like to help out, please feel free to leave a review. This can be done directly on the store page.

[h3]Changelog[/h3]
  • Fixed bug: If sandbox reward animal is a breeder it was overriding the minimum number of animals to 2, even if it was a shoaler or group spawner which has a higher requirement.
  • Fixed bug: Greek Arch and Acropolis can no longer be placed under bridge/jetty tanks platforms.
  • Fixed bug: Sunken wreck can no longer be placed under roofs, archways and bridges.
  • Fixed bug: Science poster now says Pairs Only instead of Dither Fish
  • Fixed bug: Science points cannot be offered as a reward in sandbox before rank 3.
  • Fixed bug: Adorned Decorator Crab counts as a Decorator Crab for objective and count purposes.
  • Fixed bug: Science tank version of 'Donation' objective had not been updated in the last patch. It now requires a lower science total, the same as the ecology version of the same objective.
  • Balance: Added an addition trade rarity range (3 total) so that trade rewards match trade requirements more closely. Rarity (prestige) 1-8 trades up to 9-12 which trades to 13-16 which trades to 17-20.
  • Balance: Trade objectives offer more appropriate animal numbers based on size. More small animals, less big animals. Exception: minimum requirements for shoaling or breeding.
  • Balance: Added additional trades which give a supply of an animal instead of a finite number for more variety.
  • Balance: Reduced rarity of animals available from merchants. Trades and objectives are required for best stuff.
  • Balance: 'Sponsored exhibit' objective in sandbox is now easier and only targets theme decorations. The science and ecology point totals will only be updated in the objective tracker if the tank already matches the 'x different animals' requirement. This will hopefully reduce the occurrences of multiple tank contributing to the same objectives.
  • Balance: Trades which unlock animals are added to reward tracker so that you don't get offered the same animal again from another opportunity.
  • Balance: Sandbox 'Rehouse' objective, animal is counted as a reward as well as an objective so you won't be offered the same animal as a reward for another opportunity.
  • Balance: Sandbox 'Display using X?' objective, decoration is counted as a reward as well as an objective so you won't be offered the same decoration as a reward for another opportunity.
  • Balance: Reduced difficulty and increased frequency of FF poster objectives.
  • Balance: Paints are added to objective tracker so you won't be offered the same paint objective more than once.
  • Balance: Bridge, poster and archway objectives will only be offered once even if you decline and never build any of those objects.
  • Balance: Multisize decorations cannot be offered by merchants or objectives. The only example of this is Acropolis.
  • Localisation: various strings improved.
  • Modding: Removed requirement for attractions to occupy layer 0.
  • Modding: Fixed bug where hyphen in mod name was causing standalone custom maps not to work.

v3.0.4 patch

A few bug fixes. Thank you for the reports. :)

Glad to see everybody enjoying the new expansion!

[h3]Changelog[/h3]
  • Fixed bug: you could place Jetty and Bridge tanks over bridges.
  • Fixed bug: Tanks not being visited under certain conditions.
  • Balance: In Full Unlock mode in Sandbox, objective difficulty is tied to your rank even though you have access to everything.

Megaquarium: Architect's Collection is out now with 15 new animals

Megaquarium: Architect's Collection is a new and exciting sounds expansion pack for the impressive aquarium building game that's now available.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2021/11/megaquarium-architects-collection-is-out-now-with-15-new-animals

Megaquarium: Architect's Collection out now!

Megaquarium: Architect's Collection is out now. What are you waiting for? Go get it!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1339440/Megaquarium_Architects_Collection/

I hope you enjoy it!

[h2]New achievements[/h2]
To celebrate the launch of the Architect's Collection, I've added three new achievements to the game:

Decorator - Have 1500 Prestige income from decorations and paint.
Sell sell sell! - 4000 daily revenue from food, drink and gift shop sales.
Helpful - Complete 30 side objectives.

All three achievements can be completed whether you own the new expansion or not. However, I have designed them around the themes of the expansion and the update that comes out alongside it.

[h2]Update[/h2]
As you're probably aware, the game has also got a huge update alongside the launch of the expansion.

If you missed them, here are some blog posts I wrote about the major features:
Sandbox improvements New mechanics

For a full list of the changes see below.

Tim Twice Circled

[h3]Changelog[/h3]
  • Feature: Decorations can be placed outside of tanks.
  • Feature: Paints generate prestige.
  • Feature: Added one-way gate.
  • Feature: Improved arrow behaviour.
  • Feature: Guests will actually steal from gift shop supply boxes now. ;)
  • Feature: You can place guests and staff at different heights e.g. platforms, bridges (AC).
  • Feature: 1st person mode respects height. But you can still walk through walls.
  • Feature: Added 3 new objectives.
  • Sandbox: Improved opportunity variety
  • Sandbox: Animal rarity affects animals which are excluded/unlocked
  • Sandbox: Max objectives = 6.
  • Sandbox: Added abandonment of objectives.
  • Sandbox: All messages can be deleted after you have finished interacting with them.
  • Sandbox: Increased starting money.
  • Balance: Staff talks now have difficulty levels. Low skilled staff will find high difficulty talks very time-consuming. Guests will wander off if a talk is too long and you will receive only partial point income.
  • Balance: High value food and drink dispensers and massage chairs can break down.
  • Balance: Decreased breakdown rate increase on higher difficulties. (hard:10%, brutal:25% faster breakdowns).
  • Balance: Food, drink and gift shop default margins are now 200% (increased revenue from these sources). The highest value food and drink base values were decreased though.
  • Balance: Added negative thoughts when a guest cannot reach the exit and when an unfulfilled need is making them want to go home.
  • Balance: Larger decorations have a much greater prestige enjoy chance (internal and external)
  • Balance: Decoration prestige enjoy change affects cost.
  • Balance: Increased prestige difference between ranks to allow for increased prestige gain from decorations and paint.
  • Balance: Guest entrance rate is now constant for a given prestige value, even if distance between ranks is modified by DLC or campaign level.
  • Balance: Increased prestige from feeding tank (FF).
  • Balance: Slightly increased entrance ticket rates at ranks 1-6.
  • Balance: Slightly reduced prestige value of biggest decorations and increased cost.
  • Balance: Tweaked some animals sizes.
  • Balance: Gift shop shelves now arrive empty. But they cost less.
  • Balance: Higher value gift shop items have a lower chance of attracting guests, you need to keep guests near them longer to get the sale!
  • Balance: Tool dispensers sell for 0 if they are empty.
  • UI: Split disallowed skill levels into different roles.
  • UI: Added hotkey to 'copy object'.
  • UI: Added hotkey to 'copy paint'.
  • UI: Added tooltip to prestige value on prestige window. Tells you your current base prestige.
  • UI: Added build menu category to all objects when you hover over the (i) or the portrait on its individual window.
  • UI: Improved message formatting.
  • UI: Added many additional icons to non-animal game objects to better describe their behaviour.
  • UI: Added thousand separators to many numbers.
  • UI: Objects in the build menu always have the default blue theme.
  • Graphics: People smoothly transition between different floor heights.
  • Graphics: People show the object they are holding when you pick them up.
  • Fixed bug: Poster not updating when animals are added to attached tank.
  • Fixed bug: 'Floating stuff'
  • Fixed bug: entrance flag waving.
  • Fixed bug: sound load paths are escaped so any path can be valid.
  • Fixed bug: delete bench with guest on it, guest animation resets and item follows guest.
  • Fixed bug: dislikes food competitors requirement was always met for growing up purposes.
  • Fixed bug: FF aquascaping types were not increasing costs. FF aquascaping has therefore become more expensive.
  • Stability: Check for missing staff members on load to avoid error.
  • Stability: Clamp staff talents and skills at 50 (even via modding).
  • Optimisation: Improved loading time of staff manage tab.
  • Optimisation: Spread out objective checking code.

Additional details about upcoming update revealed!

The Architect's Collection will launch alongside a huge update the base game on 11th November 2021.

In the last post I went in-depth on the new sandbox mode. This time I'll shed some light on the other most exciting new features.

[h3]External decorating[/h3]
The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed in the trailer and screenshots that some of the guests are paying more attention to decorations outside your tanks than before.



Previously, decorations only earned you prestige when a guest viewed them inside a tank, but once this update goes live they will earn you prestige when placed externally too.

One of the neat things about launching this alongside the Architect's Collection is that the expansion contains a set of dividers (like the velvet rope you can see in the picture above) that can be used to cordon off your decorations while still allowing your guests to view them.

Fun fact: guests can view external decorations from up to 3 tiles away!

[h3]Paints earn prestige[/h3]
Staying on the theme of making the spaces between your tanks as important as the tanks themselves—in the new update paints will earn you prestige!

As your guests traverse your aquarium they will note all the painted objects they encounter (including the floor itself). Once they have encountered a sufficient amount of an individual paint, they'll earn you some prestige.

I really like this mechanic because it rewards you for making a beautiful aquarium—something you'll probably want to be doing anyway. I also like the way it requires a build up of a single paint style which incentivises you to theme your aquarium in blocks - much like a real aquarium!

NB If you're not a paint enthusiast, don't worry! Painting is not mandatory. It's just another opportunity to convert your design skill into prestige.

[h3]Arrows[/h3]
I've upgraded the floor arrow to give a more intuitive behaviour. It attracts guests to it and then sends them on their way in a straight line in the direction it points.

Guests will explore all the attractions in an area first, before paying attention to the floor arrow. This makes floor arrows really helpful for moving guests along to the next area, rather than dawdling about getting lost!

Overall this new behaviour is more transparent and provides better feedback than the old arrows did, so it's easier to tweak them to your liking.

[h3]One-way gates[/h3]
I've wanted to add one-way gates to the game for a long time. They are another example of a deceptively simple idea which took a significant system rewrite to get working. The result is really nice though.



You can use these gates to enforce a one-way system around a small part of, or even your entire aquarium! Thankfully staff can still pass through the gate in either direction.

With their inclusion it's easy to automatically trap guests so they cannot leave. To combat this I've included some new negative guests thoughts when guests want to leave but cannot find a path to the exit.

So be warned: while it's very easy to trap guests inside your aquarium, your prestige will take a significant hit if you try it. ;)

[h3]Per-skill task controls[/h3]
This one is straight out of the community suggestion inbox. Previously you could prohibit a staff from carrying out tasks of certain skill levels. However, this was applied to all roles at once.



This meant that if a staff member was good at fixing but poor at feeding, you couldn't prevent them from doing the high skill feeding tasks without also stopping them doing the fixing ones too!

In response to player feedback I have split this control so there is a separate set of toggles for each role.

I'm so pleased with how Megaquarium continues to evolve. Thank you all for your ongoing attention, I hope you enjoy everything when it goes live on November 11th.

Tim