City Game Studio News

Hello everyone!

I hope you're all doing well! This week I've been hard at work on City Game Studio 2, and as always when I work on the sequel, I end up fixing bugs in the original. Let me tell you all about it.

[h3]This Week's Recap[/h3]
City Game Studio is built with Godot 2.1, which came out back in 2017, a few years ago now. And I've decided to start from City Game Studio 1's codebase to build the sequel. I explained why in a previous post, but the short version is: to avoid rewriting everything from scratch. A lot of the logic will be shared between both games, but many things are going to change. The entire interface will be redesigned, and the views (studios and cities) will be merged into a single 3D view where you can zoom in and out.

I wanted to keep this brief so I'll spare you the other details, but to get back to why porting City Game Studio to Godot 4.5 helps me fix bugs. Since Godot version 3.x, a static code analyzer was added. And with Godot 4.x this static code analyzer has been improved. As a result, it finds bugs and potential crashes where Godot 2.1 finds nothing at all and just crashes instead.

So I make the fixes for the sequel, but I also backport them to the original. And that's how you're going to end up with an even more stable game.

[h3]What's Coming Next[/h3]
As you might guess, I'm going to keep fixing bugs as I encounter them, and also keep working on City Game Studio 2. And for those wondering if they could play City Game Studio 1 in the Godot 4.5 version, just know that the Godot 4.5 version has no interface (no studio or city views for example), because these are elements that will be completely redesigned. You get it, it's not possible to play City Game Studio 1 on Godot 4.5. I do have a version that was ported to Godot 3.6, which is more or less complete (this is v1.24.1 and not v1.25.0), but quite a few things are broken in that version too.

Anyway, you get the picture, I'm waiting for your feedback to fill up the roadmap for v1.26.0 (which is already pretty full), and in the meantime I'm working on City Game Studio 2.

That's it, thanks for reading, catch you very soon.
Take care of yourselves in the meantime.
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 - rc9[/h2]
[h3]Bugfix[/h3]

• 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

[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

[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

Hey everyone!

Version 1.25.0 is around the corner, and it's shaping up to be the most polished version of City Game Studio yet. This update packs stabilization improvements, major UX enhancements, brand new features, it's going to be huge. But I'm not going to talk about all that today, instead let me tell you what went down this week.

[h3]This Week's Recap[/h3]
The Studio Director, or at least its configuration interface, has been overhauled and improved to give you better control. You can now explicitly tell the Studio Director to only make games, or only make updates, or even only make game ports. Or you can tell them to do everything! And the cherry on top, the interface updates dynamically based on what you tell it to do. There you have it, I think the Studio Director is now one of City Game Studio's finest features.

On the interface front, I've made another small change. Some players complained they weren't making any money. Don't worry, you're still gaining/losing money at the end of each month. It was just a visual bug with your wallet display. It's a small detail, but I understand why some players were shocked not seeing the exact amount of gains/losses. It's fixed, it's visible, and it's for the best.

Other bugs have been squashed too. First, a crash. When listing past Game of the Year winners, City Game Studio could crash. And that's not cool, even though the fix was relatively simple, it took a few weeks to get it implemented. Thanks for reporting this crash and sorry for the delay.

Another bug has been fixed, it came from contracts and game speed settings. When you create your game, you can choose the pace, ranging from normal to very slow. In very slow mode, when you had 12 weeks to complete a contract, you actually only had 4 weeks. So yeah, I've fixed this issue, and now contracts work perfectly at all game speed configurations.

[h3]What's Coming Up[/h3]
Right now, I'm waiting for your bug reports and ideas, because I think v1.25.0 is ready and I could almost release it today. But here's the thing, I'll spend the remaining few days fixing bugs, but also working on City Game Studio 2.

That said, don't hesitate to post your ideas for City Game Studio 1, I'd love to discuss them with you!

Well, that's it for this devlog, thanks for reading, catch you next week.

Until then, take care
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 - rc8[/h2]
[h3]Studio Director[/h3]

• Reworked interface to allow players to choose whether the studio director makes only updates, games, or game ports, or everything

[h3]Interface[/h3]

• End of month now shows how much you've earned (in the currency menu at the bottom of the screen)

[h3]Bugfix[/h3]

• Fixed a crash when listing past Game of the Year winners
  
• Fixed contract durations being miscalculated when game speed changes

[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

[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

[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.

Hello everyone,

What a fantastic week that just wrapped up! I've been working my tail off, and I think you're going to love the Studio Director. I managed to get everything I wanted done for this v1.25.0. But before diving deeper, it's time for the weekly recap!

[h3]This Week's Recap[/h3]
I won't beat around the bush, I've completely overhauled the Studio Director. Visually, configuring the Studio Director is now much more pleasant. Honestly, I don't know how you managed to keep using that old interface which was, to put it mildly, not exactly easy on the eyes.

The Studio Director page is clean, elegant even, and now you can port games to other consoles. And that's no small feat. Naturally, I had to add more configuration options, which I think you'll appreciate. You can now set the compatibility rate for ports, as well as which games to port. I believe this will completely eliminate micro-management from the game. Obviously, the Studio Director will now take their cut from game ports. That's only fair.

Speaking of micro-management, well, with the Studio Director now able to create games, update them, and now port them, all that's left for you are the cool tasks. By that I mean console creation, digital store development, game engine maintenance, negotiations with console manufacturers, competitor relations... and the list goes on. Truth is, you still have plenty to manage, but at least now you can focus on being a good CEO (yes, they do exist).

[h3]What's Next[/h3]
I still have a few tweaks to make to the Studio Director. Actually, I'd like you to be able to tell them, via checkboxes, whether they should create games, make updates, or port games. I think that'll make things easier to manage. I'm not sure yet what it'll look like, but I know it'll work out great.

Otherwise, I'm all ears for your feedback and any bugs you might encounter, because we're cutting it dangerously close to the update release date! No room for mistakes now!

Since this update is approaching publication, I want to start talking about the next one, which should focus on game updates. And as a bonus, I'd like to revisit employee training and building construction. In my view, these two features are getting a bit long in the tooth and could use a fresh coat of paint. What do you think?

Drop your ideas in the comments, I always read them.
See you next week,
Take care of yourselves
Xavier aka Binogure