Dev Blog 131: Alpha 31 released on experimental (the multi-floor update), aircraft cabin cleaning and NG19 postmortem
Hello airport CEO!
We're back once again with another dev blog but... accompanying that dev blog is a brand new experimental release. Yes! The drought is over. Alpha 31 is deployed on the experimental branch and contains The multi-floor update on which we've been working on for quite some while.
First things first. Click the following link to read all about the new update in this week's latest dev blog: Dev Blog 131: Alpha 31 released on experimental (the multi-floor update), aircraft cabin cleaning and NG19 postmortem
Check this Forum development topic for the full change log (as we only provide change logs on Steam when performing default releases): Airport CEO Alpha 31 Experimental topic
If you want to check out what it's like to be a multi-story terminal constructor, you can head on over to the experimental branch and check it out right now. However, we do have some important things we want to mention as you try out this new version (these are also mentioned in the dev blog and in-game):
Underground conveyor belts needs reconstruction
Due to a completely new underground conveyor belt building system, your old baggage system will not work on Alpha 31 or newer versions unless your airport is adapted or only is constructed using ground floor belts! All underground conveyor belts built with the legacy system will automatically be transferred to the "real" underground floor (one floor down, labeled as “-1”). Alpha 31 features a brand-new conveyor belt escalator system which includes manual placements of escalators to enable underground crossings and better player control. This means that all conveyor belt escalators must be re-placed manually by you in order to get your baggage system up and running again after updating!
We HIGHLY recommend you perform the following steps to restore your save to functioning order:
Once your baggage system is restored, some already existing baggage might get stuck on various places on the belts and this is expected, they will automatically be deleted after a while so there is no need to report lingering baggage on a conveyor belt as a bug. Some flights might also get stuck or delayed waiting for undelivered baggage. You will need to dismiss these using the stand panel. After a few flights, given that you’ve re-built your conveyor belt system correctly, the complete baggage system should be up and running again as expected!
Road sidewalks disabled
Alpha 31 also brings changes to road sidewalk, and will no longer support walkable road sidewalks (the area next to the road which is part of the placed road piece). Instead you must place normal sidewalk and crosswalks to create a path from and to your terminal. This change was made in preparation for the multiple terminal update which will come at a later stage.
We will continue to echo these changes throughout the full deployment of this update, and we’ve also implemented several operational security measures across the game to make you attentive on these changes. For example, airports saved with Alpha 30 but launched with Alpha 31 will have baggage handling automatically disabled and a dialog box popping up making you aware of the important changes happening between Alpha 30 and 31.
While these changes are annoying, they are unfortunately the reality of any early access game development. We’ve done our best to make sure that this transition happens as smooth as possible, considering the huge technical change this is while still keeping save integrity and loadability as one of the highest priorities across the development of the game.
Jetways automatically removed
Jetways now only connect to the first floor, thus any existing stand jetways you have built in your Alpha 30 update will automatically removed and the stand will be converted to a non-jetway stand to accommodate this change. This should however have no apparent impact on your airport from an operational perspective, as the city will provide you with a few stair trucks to accommodate the change.
With Alpha 31 now available in the open we’ll again start to serve daily updates (mainly during working weekdays) to the experimental branch and once Alpha 31 is stable we’ll start deploying the new turnaround features part of Alpha 32, which are mostly already complete but will be kept back in order to work qualitatively with bugs and roll out more complexity in incremental stages. Our current goal is to make all new content, i.e. Alpha 31 and Alpha32, deployed on the default branch before the Steam summer sale.
We'll be back all next week with bug fixes and daily deployments! Enjoy.
Fredrik, Alexander & Olof - Apoapsis Studios
We're back once again with another dev blog but... accompanying that dev blog is a brand new experimental release. Yes! The drought is over. Alpha 31 is deployed on the experimental branch and contains The multi-floor update on which we've been working on for quite some while.
First things first. Click the following link to read all about the new update in this week's latest dev blog: Dev Blog 131: Alpha 31 released on experimental (the multi-floor update), aircraft cabin cleaning and NG19 postmortem
Check this Forum development topic for the full change log (as we only provide change logs on Steam when performing default releases): Airport CEO Alpha 31 Experimental topic
Airport CEO Alpha 31 released on experimental
If you want to check out what it's like to be a multi-story terminal constructor, you can head on over to the experimental branch and check it out right now. However, we do have some important things we want to mention as you try out this new version (these are also mentioned in the dev blog and in-game):
Underground conveyor belts needs reconstruction
Due to a completely new underground conveyor belt building system, your old baggage system will not work on Alpha 31 or newer versions unless your airport is adapted or only is constructed using ground floor belts! All underground conveyor belts built with the legacy system will automatically be transferred to the "real" underground floor (one floor down, labeled as “-1”). Alpha 31 features a brand-new conveyor belt escalator system which includes manual placements of escalators to enable underground crossings and better player control. This means that all conveyor belt escalators must be re-placed manually by you in order to get your baggage system up and running again after updating!
We HIGHLY recommend you perform the following steps to restore your save to functioning order:
- Open the development panel by pressing F10
- Find a toggle called “simulate construction” and make sure it is unchecked
- Build conveyor belt escalators where needed to repair the baggage belt connections (found in the build menu where you usually find all buildable conveyor belt items)
- Pay close attention to the direction of the escalator (if the escalator should go up or down)
- Re-enable baggage service from the operations panel
- Finally enable construction again from the development panel
Once your baggage system is restored, some already existing baggage might get stuck on various places on the belts and this is expected, they will automatically be deleted after a while so there is no need to report lingering baggage on a conveyor belt as a bug. Some flights might also get stuck or delayed waiting for undelivered baggage. You will need to dismiss these using the stand panel. After a few flights, given that you’ve re-built your conveyor belt system correctly, the complete baggage system should be up and running again as expected!
Road sidewalks disabled
Alpha 31 also brings changes to road sidewalk, and will no longer support walkable road sidewalks (the area next to the road which is part of the placed road piece). Instead you must place normal sidewalk and crosswalks to create a path from and to your terminal. This change was made in preparation for the multiple terminal update which will come at a later stage.
We will continue to echo these changes throughout the full deployment of this update, and we’ve also implemented several operational security measures across the game to make you attentive on these changes. For example, airports saved with Alpha 30 but launched with Alpha 31 will have baggage handling automatically disabled and a dialog box popping up making you aware of the important changes happening between Alpha 30 and 31.
While these changes are annoying, they are unfortunately the reality of any early access game development. We’ve done our best to make sure that this transition happens as smooth as possible, considering the huge technical change this is while still keeping save integrity and loadability as one of the highest priorities across the development of the game.
Jetways automatically removed
Jetways now only connect to the first floor, thus any existing stand jetways you have built in your Alpha 30 update will automatically removed and the stand will be converted to a non-jetway stand to accommodate this change. This should however have no apparent impact on your airport from an operational perspective, as the city will provide you with a few stair trucks to accommodate the change.
With Alpha 31 now available in the open we’ll again start to serve daily updates (mainly during working weekdays) to the experimental branch and once Alpha 31 is stable we’ll start deploying the new turnaround features part of Alpha 32, which are mostly already complete but will be kept back in order to work qualitatively with bugs and roll out more complexity in incremental stages. Our current goal is to make all new content, i.e. Alpha 31 and Alpha32, deployed on the default branch before the Steam summer sale.
We'll be back all next week with bug fixes and daily deployments! Enjoy.
Fredrik, Alexander & Olof - Apoapsis Studios