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City Game Studio v1.25.0: Game of the Year Completely Overhauled

Hello everyone!

Here we are, v1.25.0 has just been released and the changes are as numerous as they are significant. So without wasting a single second, let me tell you about the major changes in v1.25.0.

[h3]Game of the Year[/h3]
This is the biggest change in v1.25.0 as we're completely overhauling the Game of the Year feature. The interface has been completely redesigned to make it more consistent with the rest of the game. The first version of Game of the Year dated back to 2020 if I remember correctly, and in the meantime the game has undergone several graphical overhauls.

What's changed is the presentation of information. City Game Studio now shows you much more clearly which game has the best chance of winning the award. This allows you to make more informed decisions. It's now possible to view the history of games that have won this award.

And the cherry on top, when you win this title, you can now place a trophy in your studio that will boost your employees' morale. I would have liked the trophy to have more references to the winning game, but the game's data structure doesn't allow it without significantly impacting performance. And I preferred to sacrifice that part to gain performance.


[h3]The Studio Director[/h3]
With every update, the studio director gets modifications. And all the modifications come from your suggestions, which tells me you really love the studio director. The big change for the studio director is the ability to port games to other consoles. Don't worry, you're the one who decides the console compatibility rate, allowing you to ensure quality ports.

Indeed, the higher the compatibility rate between two platforms, the better the quality of the port. And conversely, the lower the compatibility rate, the worse the score will be.

And since the studio director had a somewhat cluttered interface, I also took the time to rework it to better organize the information and allow you, once again, to make the best decisions. I hope you like these changes!

[h3]The Interface[/h3]
I completely redesigned the interface for game and console sales. Gone are the curves and hello to histograms. We lose some information on marketing expenses, but we gain visibility on profits.

All sales curves have been reviewed, and some are colored to better match game types. For example, when you work with a publisher, the curves will be yellow. If you publish a game, then the curves will be blue, and if you hire a studio to develop a game that you publish, then the curves will be green.

Regarding console sales information, there's now a gauge indicating production cost reductions. It's handy, and it lets you know where you stand in terms of sales. Because the more a console sells, the more production costs will drop.

In this sales panel, on the right, there are also menus where some elements are disabled. And I've added tooltips to explain why elements are disabled. In fact, there are a lot of changes to these panels, and I invite you to launch the game to check them out.

[h3]Other Changes[/h3]
When you publish a game, if a producer is assigned to the game, they'll be automatically unassigned from the game, allowing you to use them right away. It's no longer possible to assign a producer to an already published game. This is a change that will reduce micro-management.

I've also added some cheat codes allowing you to get servers for free, or to complete all kinds of games and remakes.

On top of all that, the options panel has been reviewed and fixed to make it a bit more readable. Especially for adjusting the game's graphics. A tooltip will indicate what impacts game performance the most, allowing you to have a better gaming experience.

New options have appeared. Notably 120 FPS or windowed fullscreen mode (which works well this time).

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]
There are many, you'd think I only introduce new bugs! So some in-game achievements had no translation. That's fixed. The studio director was selecting game engine features randomly, which led to bad games.

When you sold or destroyed a studio, the furniture wasn't sold, it was destroyed, making you lose a few thousand or even millions in the process, sorry about that.

A fairly rare but annoying bug, some minigames could completely freeze the game. Sorry about that one... I should have caught it sooner.

Contract duration was miscalculated when playing in slow or very slow mode.

A player found a way to port the same game over and over to their own console. This allowed making tons of games and money in minimum time.

Another small bug this time, you could crack the same game multiple times.

This is a non-exhaustive list of changes, and there are many more, but I'll spare you the smallest ones.

V1.26.0 is already in the pipeline, with planned small changes for the save interface, new game creation, but especially updates, DLCs and adding a DRM component to game consoles. I won't say more about these changes, but I think it will greatly change your gaming experiences!

Thank you for reading me, it was like every major update, a wall of text, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have ideas and suggestions, the comments are there for that!

See you very soon
Take care of yourselves
Xavier aka Binogure

Beginner's Guide Available!

Hey everyone!

Today I have a little announcement that will make beginners happy, but also those struggling a bit with CEO mode (yeah, I know, it's not easy!).

[h3]A Guide to Get Started Right[/h3]
I've written a comprehensive guide that explains everything you need to know to start your adventure. Inside, you'll find:
  • The different game sizes (Indie, Normal, Big, AAA) with all the details: how many fans you need, how much it costs, how long it takes
  • How to get a good score for your games (gauges, associations, point production...)
  • The differences between Easy mode and CEO mode


[h3]The Secret Strategy to Beat CEO Mode[/h3]
Okay, "secret" is a bit of an exaggeration, but still! CEO mode is the most difficult mode in City Game Studio, and honestly, at the beginning, it's really hard to survive. So I wrote a three-phase strategy that works really well:
  • How to start well on the Odyssey
  • When and how to create your first game engine
  • How to exploit the arrival of the Atari 2600 to explode your revenue


It's a method I've tested myself several times, and it really puts all the odds in your favor to succeed in CEO mode.

[h3]The Guide is Available Here[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3620069205

Don't hesitate to give me your feedback, share your own strategies in the guide's comments, and most importantly, have fun!

And if you have other questions or want me to add things to the guide, let me know. That's what I'm here for!

Happy gaming everyone!
Xavier aka Binogure

Sales Graph Overhaul & CGS2 Progress Update

Hey everyone!

This week I've been hard at work, even though I haven't pushed any changes to Steam's unstable branch. So v1.25.0 will contain a tiny change that you haven't seen yet, even if you're a regular on the unstable versions!

[h3]This Week's Recap[/h3]
I've made quite a few fixes that will mainly impact GOG players, but also a crash that affects all players this time. And there's a small change in the sales graphs to show you profits rather than just revenue. So if you run a marketing campaign and it doesn't pay off, you'll see it directly in the curves, and I think that's pretty cool.

You've asked me to be able to choose between curves and histograms, I'm thinking of working on that for v1.26.0. This option will be in the game's options panel, because it's not something super simple to implement, and I don't want to clutter the game's interface. I hope you'll understand.

On a completely different note, I've continued my work on City Game Studio 2, and I'm happy to tell you that the game now runs on the latest version of Godot Engine. A crucial milestone has just been reached, and from now on I'll be tackling the new interface design for the game as well as updating the mood board for this new installment. I'll keep you posted as development progresses. Right now I can't share much, but know that bugs detected by Godot 4 are being backported to City Game Studio, making the gaming experience even better!

[h3]What's Coming[/h3]
We're getting terribly close to December 10th, when v1.25 will be released, so you can imagine I'm not going to introduce new content just days before publication. However, I've been working on the roadmap for 1.26 and on the menu we'll have a better interface for managing save files, but also updates and DLCs will be revised and I'd like to overhaul employee training as well as the entire building construction section to make it clearer and more intuitive.

There you have it, I hope you like the program, and if you want to see new things appear in this roadmap, come share them in the comments!

In the meantime, see you on December 10th for the next big update!
Take care
Xavier aka Binogure

Patch v1.25.0-rc10

[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 - rc10[/h2]
[h3]Bugfix[/h3]
    Fixed a bug with the Game of the Year
    Fixed a bug with the options panel
    [h2]Changelog - Previous rc[/h2]
    [h3]Game of the Year[/h3]
    • Reworked the game selection panel
    • Reworked the award-winning game panel
    • Added ability to list all GOTY winners
    • Reworked the GOTY publishing panel
    • Added physical award

    [h3]Optimization[/h3]
    • Studios with more employees now generate fewer visual particles to maintain smooth performance. Larger studios will no longer suffer from performance issues due to their size.

    [h3]Interface[/h3]
    • Expanded the released games panel
    • Reworked the game charts (removed the fanbase chart)
    • Reworked the platform charts (removed the catalog size chart)
    • Reworked filters in the released games panel for better filtering and sorting
    • Added cost reduction information to custom platforms
    • Added tooltips to greyed-out options in the right panel
    • Reworked the console sale panel (looks cleaner now)
    • Reworked the game sale panel (looks cleaner now)
    • Set revenue color to green for published games
    • Set revenue color to yellow for trade-published games
    • Added tooltips to disabled buttons explaining why they are disabled
    • End of month now shows how much you've earned (in the currency menu at the bottom of the screen)

    [h3]Misc[/h3]
    • When a game is pulled from the market, added clear messaging explaining why it was removed

    [h3]Bugfix[/h3]
    • Fixed right side panel not minimizing when chosen
    • Fixed sorting by profit in the released games panel
    • Fixed missing translations when unlocking secret achievements
    • Fixed studio dire
    • Fixed furniture being destroyed instead of sold when selling a studio
    • Fixed furniture being destroyed instead of sold when demolishing a studio
    • Fixed borderless fullscreen mode on Windows cutting off pixels on the left side of the screen
    • Fixed resolution selector remaining active in fullscreen mode
    • Fixed game window repositioning when changing resolutions
    • Fixed being able to port a game infinitely to your own custom platform when viewing the platform's game catalog
    • Fixed popup blocking clicks when starting a minigame
    • Fixed being able to crack the same game repeatedly
    • Fixed being able to assign a network admin to an offline game
    • Fixed studio director panel not displaying the correct options when first opened
    • Fixed ports getting frozen during the porting process
    • Fixed a crash when listing past Game of the Year winners
    • Fixed contract durations being miscalculated when game speed changes
    • Fixed the game not displaying error messages when creating a mod with bugs
    • Fixed random crash when updating mortgage (Windows only)
    • Fixed random crash when opening the server usage panel (Windows only)
    • Fixed being unable to sort by studio when poaching employees
    • Fixed interface not refreshing correctly when training staff
    • Fixed pagination issue caused by missing signal (it worked but caused degraded performance)
    • Fixed random crashes with sliders (Windows only)
    • Improved popup robustness

    [h3]i18n[/h3]
    • Fixed various Simplified Chinese translations (Thanks to Jack Neksa)

    [h3]Options[/h3]
    • Reworked the interface for a cleaner look
    • Added options for better game control
    • Added tooltips to explain what certain options do
    • Added 60/120 FPS options

    [h3]Cheat Codes[/h3]
    • Added "complete-all-remakes" cheat code for remakes
    • Added "complete-all-games" cheat code for publishing offers
    • Added cheat code to make servers free (rent and monthly maintenance)

    [h3]QOL[/h3]
    • Producers now auto-unassign when a game is released
    • Producers now auto-unassign when a remake is released

    [h3]Studio Director[/h3]
    • Added porting capabilities:
      • You can now set the minimum compatibility between platforms
      • You can choose whether the studio director updates only its games or all available games.
    • Reworked interface to allow players to choose whether the studio director makes only updates, games, or game ports, or everything

    Be a Hero of the Gaming Industry! CCON Stuttgart Sale

    Hey everyone!

    City Game Studio is part of the Be a hero! CCON Stuttgart Sale event and I'm super excited about it!

    [h3]Be a Hero... of the Gaming Industry![/h3]
    Ever dreamed of becoming the hero of your own story? Well in City Game Studio, you ARE the hero! Not the kind who saves the world with a sword, no. You're the hero who starts from scratch in 1976 with just a tiny cramped office and goes on to dominate the entire video game industry.

    You're the hero who:
    • Creates legendary games that everyone will want to play
    • Buys out all your competitors one by one (muahahaha)
    • Creates YOUR own game consoles that will be hits
    • Manages an empire with multiple studios across the entire city
    • Becomes a legend of the gaming industry


    [h3]The CCON Stuttgart Event[/h3]
    To celebrate this event, City Game Studio is on sale! It's the perfect time to jump into this adventure and start YOUR journey as a gaming industry hero.

    Whether you're a new player curious to discover the game, or you've been hesitating for a while, this is really the right time to take the plunge. The game continues to evolve with regular updates every three months, and the community is super active!

    [h3]Why City Game Studio?[/h3]
    Because it's the only management game that combines:
    • Creating and managing video game studios
    • Exploring and building a city
    • The ability to create your own consoles
    • A studio director who automates game creation (so you can focus on strategy)
    • Real competitive AI that will give you a run for your money
    • Twitch integration where your viewers become your employees!


    In short, it's your chance to be the hero of YOUR gaming empire!

    [h3]Bonus[/h3]
    If you buy the game now, you'll discover the latest major update v1.24 which completely changed the game with competitors now creating their own consoles. It's serious stuff, trust me!

    So, ready to become a hero of the gaming industry?

    Have an excellent gaming session!

    Xavier aka Binogure

    P.S: Don't hesitate to join the community on Discord, we're a great bunch and we're always happy to welcome new heroes!