City Game Studio News

Hello everyone!

We're back with a brand new iteration of City Game Studio, v1.26! And I've already got quite a few things lined up, including the overhaul of updates and DLCs (which I've been pushing back for a few months now). So here I'm going to tell you about the latest changes that are already available for those who want to try them out on Steam's unstable branch!

[h3]This Week's Recap[/h3]
I say this week's recap, but I've actually been working on this first release candidate for v1.26 for 2 weeks now. At first glance you wouldn't think there's much change and yet, if you take a closer look at the consoles, that's where you'll see the difference.

First off, a new console makes its appearance: the GabeCube. Yes, the name is a nod to Internet memes, since it's not the official name of the console, I took the liberty of borrowing it for City Game Studio!

And since I had my nose in the console data, I took the opportunity to adjust the sales figures for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and XBox Series X while adding an end-of-life date for the Steam Machine (December 2016 for the curious).

For v1.26 I wanted to revamp custom consoles so you can avoid the 1983 crash. Yes, there are players who make consoles as early as 1980, it's possible. But the problem is that your console would immediately suffer from the 1983 crash. So I added an option, when you create a console, it's copy protection. This is what allowed Nintendo to stand out from its competitors, notably with the Nintendo Seal of Quality. Not wanting any issues with Nintendo (you never know, right?), I shortened the concept to simply copy protection for games. Anyway, this option adjusts based on difficulty and allows you to make consoles that don't suffer from the 1983 crash!!

I've also slightly opened up the modmaker to allow you to manage the costs of this new feature in case you add a new difficulty level. But I've also added the ability to change console backwards compatibility via mods, which will let you be a bit more creative!

[h3]What's Coming Next[/h3]
In the coming days and weeks, I'm planning to work on the game's interface and add new filters for the employee panel. I'm also planning to add game engines that are already published when you create yours. This will obviously make your life easier. That'll be for next week.

After that we'll see, but it'll mainly be interface improvements first and foremost. Then I'll tackle the big one, revamping the save file interface to give you more freedom.

All these ideas come from you, so thank you so much for your help, and I hope the game reflects you a little more with each update!

Thank you for reading, see you next week,
Take care of yourselves!
Xavier aka Binogure

[p][/p]

[p]Default version of the game, we want to make sure to have a chance to discover bugs and adjust the balancing, to give you the best game experience possible.

Access the Unstable branch on Steam by right clicking City Game Studio in your Steam library, and then select ‘Properties’. In the new window, select ‘Betas’. The Unstable branch should now be available for you to choose from.

Please leave any feedback you may have in the appropriate channel in our Discord, or in the subforum on Steam.

As always, remember to be considerate towards players not partaking in the Unstable, in case they want to avoid spoilers.

Please make sure to make backups of your save files before playing.[/p]

[h2]Changelog - rc0[/h2]
[h3]Rendering[/h3]

• Use higher resolution for platform sprites (1024px instead of 512px)

[h3]Platforms[/h3]

• Add the Steam Frame
  
• Balance the Nintendo Switch units sold
  
• Balance the PlayStation 5
  
• Balance the Xbox Series X
  
• Adjust the end of life of the first Steam Machine

[h3]Custom-platforms[/h3]

• Add a copy-protection parameter to avoid the 1983 market crash

[h3]Modding[/h3]

• Add a new parameter when creating a new difficulty (copy_protection_costs)
  
• Add a new parameter when adding a new platform (copy_protection)
  
• Add a new parameter when adding a new platform (backward_compatibility)
  
• Add a new parameter when editing an existing platform (backward_compatibility)

[h3]Misc[/h3]

• Add support for 3440 x 1440 resolution

Hey everyone!

The holidays are here, and so are the Steam Winter Sales! And guess what? Version 1.25.0 just dropped right on time!

I won't lie, I'm pretty excited about this timing. You get a fresh update AND a huge discount. It's like Christmas came early (well, technically it's right on time, but you know what I mean).

[h3]The Winter Sale Deal[/h3]
From December 18th to January 5th, City Game Studio is 51% OFF! That's right, you can grab the game at its biggest discount yet. And if you're into the music (composed by the talented Conciliator), the soundtrack is also 51% OFF!

So if you've been waiting for the perfect moment to jump in, or if you want to gift it to a friend who keeps asking "what game should I play?", well... this is it!

[h3]What's New in v1.25.0[/h3]
I just shipped this update, and it's packed with improvements to Game of the Year awards, studio directors, and Options! I've been working hard to make these systems more engaging and rewarding. The GOTY system got a complete overhaul, and managing your studio director is now much smoother.

If you want all the details, check out the v1.25.0 changelog. Trust me, there's a lot to unpack!

[h3]Why Now is a Great Time to Start[/h3]
City Game Studio has come a long way since 2019. We're talking about 9+ years of development, quarterly major updates, and a game that keeps evolving based on YOUR feedback. The game is more polished, more feature-rich, and more fun than ever.

Whether you want to:

• Build a gaming empire from 1976 to present day
  
• Create your own game consoles and compete with the big players
  
• Manage multiple studios across the city
  
• Experience the full history of gaming with accurate console lifecycles
  
• Or just have a good time in sandbox mode

...City Game Studio has you covered. And now with 51% OFF, there's never been a better time to dive in!

[h3]What's Next?[/h3]
I'm already working on v1.26.0 (yeah, I don't stop). I've got some cool ideas brewing based on your recent feedback, and I can't wait to share them with you in a few months.

Also, City Game Studio 2 is making good progress. I wish I could show you more, but I want to make sure it's really solid before revealing too much!

[h3]Thank You![/h3]
Seriously, thank you all for your continued support. Every review you leave, every bug you report, every suggestion you make - it all helps make City Game Studio better. You're the reason this game keeps evolving and improving.

If you're already playing, I hope you enjoy the new v1.25.0 update. If you're new here, welcome to the world of game development simulation! Feel free to reach out if you have questions - I read everything!

Have an amazing holiday season, and happy gaming!

Xavier aka Binogure

P.S. If you grab the game during the sale, don't forget to leave a review! I read them all, positive and negative, and they really help me improve the game.

Hey everyone!

I'm still gathering your feedback, but this time directly through the bug report form. Fortunately, there haven't been too many issues, but enough to warrant a small update that will further improve your gaming experience.

So, this is a minor update that fixes bugs and slightly improves performance, so let me break it down for you right away.

The first bug fix comes from the old save file migration system. Indeed, since the beginning of City Game Studio, I've implemented a system that allows your save files to evolve. This means that even if you have a save file that's 5 years old, the migration system will make it compatible with the latest version of City Game Studio. The migration will take a few seconds though. Anyway, this save system had a small bug directly related to the studio director. And it's now fixed.

Another bug, also with the studio director, involved the pricing of game ports. Let me explain: when the studio director ports games, they set the price for the ports themselves, and there was a bug in there that could make game ports free. Rest assured, this doesn't happen often and it's what we call a corner case. It's now fixed.

One last bug has been fixed that concerned games that were at the end of their lifecycle. In fact, it could happen that some games were cancelled before being released to the market, which caused an internal bug. Nothing visible to you, but I still prefer to fix this kind of bug.

And the last change is a micro-optimization that will display long lists of elements (employee list, studio list, game list...) a bit faster. It's not much—on high-performance computers you won't see the difference, but on older computers you might notice a slight improvement.

That's all from me. I've already gathered plenty of feedback for v1.26, which will once again be a great update! Thank you for continuing to grow the City Game Studio community.

See you soon,
Have wonderful holidays,
Take care of yourselves in the meantime
Xavier aka Binogure

Bugfixes:

• Fixed a bug when migrating old save files (pre-v1.24.0)
  
• Fixed a bug with the studio director when porting games to a new platform (pricing issue)
  
• Fixed an issue when discontinuing a game (incorrect calculation)
  
• Fixed an issue when listing competitors' studio buildings (wrong studio area)

Miscellaneous:

• Micro-optimization: using bitwise operations instead of modulo operator

Hey everyone,

you're loving v1.25.0 and it shows. Your feedback has been incredibly positive, and that really means the world to me. That said, there are a few hiccups, some small bugs that slipped through, and even though I tested as thoroughly as I could, they made it into the release.

Most of the issues revolve around the studio director not saving configurations properly. There's also a resolution problem, and another one with game ports, all of these have been fixed. I've also worked on another fix concerning the return to main menu. It happened fairly often that when you'd go back to the main menu, you'd encounter a crash. Worth noting that you didn't lose any progress, but a crash is always a terrible experience, and I'm sorry about that.

Anyway, this version is even more stable than the previous one, and I hope you'll have an even better time playing!

I've already started working on v1.26, and you're really going to love it. Especially since you've given me plenty of great suggestions. In the meantime, here's the full list of changes below.

Talk to you very soon,
Take care
Xavier aka Binogure

[h3]Bugfix[/h3]

• Fixed an issue preventing studio director management on low resolution displays (below 1360x768)
  
• The studio director could port games to consoles that weren't powerful enough (which wasn't ideal)
  
• The studio director didn't save the platform & dematerialized store parameters correctly
  
• The studio director didn't save the game size parameter correctly
  
• The studio director could port games even when an exclusivity contract was active
  
• Fixed a crash that occurred when returning to the main menu