Surprise, surprise! Today we deliver our biggest update yet and with it a chance to find true love in the early 1800s London! Not to mention over a dozen fixes and a heap of additions and quality of life improvements. Quite a revelation!
To celebrate the season 3 finale of the beloved Bridgerton series we present the new in-game theme for the actors and movie sets: "Regency" š
So grab your mouse and start working on a new gossip-worthy TV or movie production that I am sure Lady Whistledown would approve!
This update is another labor of love fueled by the constant engagement of our most beloved and most supportive playerbase. Know that you are seen, you are loved, and we could not do it without you! š«¶
Also - just in case you missed it - we have previously dropped a few smaller updates that addressed some of your most pressing feedback and added more content to the game. Read about them here, here, and here.
Find the full changelog for the Regency Update below šļø
Changelog for the 1.7.16.1 version:
- new theme "Regency", inspired by Bridgerton, including costumes, set designer objects, and build mode objects - new visuals for all set equipment cameras/lights/mics of 1950-2000 - optimize thumbnail generation for Build Mode, Set Designer, Set Equipment, which should reduce lag spikes significantly - add one default filming set per theme to always have available sets for any theme without having to make them in Set Designer - progressively increased difficulty in achieving high movie score as decades progress - add sound for notifications, togglable in Settings - fix windowed mode not always working - make not-yet-available research grayed out instead of hidden, so you can always see when the next research will arrive - set default FPS limiter to 60 (configurable in Settings) to avoid GPU overheat - fix Researchers always working even when they have to attend education - fix room info & filming set info windows getting auto-closed every time you enter build mode - fix some actor animations that were looping even though they shouldn't - limit max fame level of available-for-hire employees to level 1 - research for medium & high quality food is now available from the beginning of the game - the studio fences and gate get renovated after 1950 and after 1980 - the cinema next to the studio gets renovated after 1980 - company money is now limited to max 999 billion - company fans, product fans and product ticket sales are now limited to max 999 million - product hype is now limited to max 9999 - reduce fame increase rate by 50% - fix filming set's camera resetting to cheapest camera when relocating - fix overflow when calculating product revenue that caused the revenue to become negative - fix room type icon not showing above a premade room when it is placed in build mode - actors in Set Designer can now be placed anywhere even if they clip into objects - added buttons for deleting files in the open/save file dialog in Set Designer and Import Character menus - allow getting loans even if company money is below 0 - fix bug in TV show episodes after first episode that showed incorrect scene rating and prevented reshooting scenes - fix VFX/SFX designer tasks in Product Creation (post-production tab) not being cleared when starting a new product - fix employee type filter in Hire Employees menu getting reset when hiring an employee - added decorated versions of premade rooms in Build Mode - added subcategory buttons in Build Mode for premade rooms (simple/decorated) and filming sets (default/local/steam) - added decade intro sequence shown when reaching new decade
Update 1.7.15 - new actor animations, various fixes
- 80+ new actor animations and stunts, available in Direct Scene menu - added search box in animations/costumes/stunts tabs in Direct Scene menu - show notification when SFX/VFX designers are not assigned to an office - fix bug where reshooting a scene in some tutorials would prevent tutorial completion - fix bug that prevented completing the "PR Pusher" mission - fix bug that sometimes made desks and other objects unreachable by employees - fix "Learn the ropes" Steam achievement not being awarded - increased duration of SFX/VFX designer tasks and other filming tasks
Developer statement on post-launch plans
Hello Movie Makers š„
Thank you for the valuable feedback youāve provided those last few days. Rest assured, we are dedicated to improving your experience with Blockbuster Inc. by developing hotfixes approximately twice a week.
Almost a week after the release and two hotfix patches later (and more already being tested), we would like to address the most common issues and important questions you have for us.
We understand that some of you are frustrated with some of the mid-game+ balance issues and the overall management aspect of the game that in the long run proved to be trickier than we had initially thought. While we managed to deliver the scope of the game that together with the publisher we had planned, we see that there are still things left to do before we can move on with our initial post-launch plans.
In hindsight, it seems clear now that we had underestimated the time we would need to balance all our game features and fix performance issues during the final sprint. Naturally, we remained optimistic about the release as we knew that many great content updates were planned for Blockbuster Inc. right after the launch, but it in retrospect it is very clear and reasonable that most people were skeptical about our commitment to improving the game post release and raising concern that if that was our initial intention we should have launched the game as Early Access.
Initially, we planned to show you our roadmap for upcoming months shortly after the release, but currently we are re-evaluating it to make sure all the changes and new features meet your expectations. We will get back to you soon, presenting all the content we wanted to add to the game further, but at the same time readjusting some things that may be considered lacking in the current gameplay.
Fret not, we will continue to work on the game and answer your comments daily! ā”ļøš¦
Thank you, Ancient Forge & Super Sly Fox
Update 1.7.14 - new animations/costumes, improvements & fixes
- multiple new actor animations & costumes in Direct Scene menus - added option to disable pausing the game when the window loses focus - added Shift + Right Mouse Button drag as an alternative way to rotate the view - added "open saves folder" button in save menu - disabled "employee liked/disliked the food" notifications - fix bug where the bus would be stuck at the studio gate if the game was saved & loaded right after the bus dropped off the passengers - fix a crash that happened at random times during high memory usage - fix sounds of award ceremony not respecting the master volume setting
v1.7.13
- fix bug where the filming set mics & lights didn't contribute to the product score - fix bug where actor animations on filming set were not playing upon loading a saved game - fix award ceremony sounds not respecting the master volume setting - add "supported the devs" achievement - add "report a bug" button in main menu and pause menu
3... 2... 1... Blockbuster Inc. Is Available Now!
3ā¦ 2ā¦ 1ā¦ Action!
This is it! After many years full of passion and dedication, we made it to the release day!
Standing here right at the precipe of launching our game, we want to thank each and every one of you for being with us since the first gameplay reveal. For trying out the first demo, and then helping us tweak the game even further with the free prologue. For sharing all the feedback, all the positive comments and motivation to bring you the best possible experience.
As a small team of three core members, we are fully aware of what comes next. The work is not done yet, we will be pushing and striving to fix all the issues you report, and to keep releasing new content that will allow you to create even better, more engaging movies!
''Years of dedication and passion poured into our project has finally led us to the release. We are beyond happy to share our efforts and project with our players but even more excited to see what the future brings for our company and the game itself. We will not stop adding content and improving things any time soon, Blockbuster Inc. still has untapped potential and with the help of our strong community we are more than ready to explore that. So grab your director's chairs, sit tightly and join us into this brand new adventure of the movie industry. We appreciate you all." - Panos Tzimas, Founder of Super Sly Fox
We keep a close eye on our Discord server and Steam forum. We read your feedback under influencers content and we closely investigate what journalists have written in their reviews. We are prepared for the days to come! And we couldn't be happier than now when you can finally play and share your precious feedback with us!
Some time ago, we were awarded multiple NYX Game Awards, and right now we are waiting for our metacritic score to unlock, with 3 reviews over 80%! But we are not going to slow down. Soon there will be a post-launch development roadmap released on our socials and here, and we will present our plans for upcoming months. First, we would like to include your initial feedback from the release and adjust this roadmap accordingly to your needs. So stay tuned!
More news is coming, and for now, we wish you a great time with the game. And donāt forget to write a review!
Now Go! Make Your Dream Movies! Panos, Alkis, Kostas and Ancient Forge team
NPC creator and 7 new languages in Blockbuster Inc.
Hello, Cameronsā and Tarantinosā of gaming!!
We are getting closer and closer to the release, so itās time to show you some new things!
There is a brand new, cool video for you. Trust us. Watch it.
Create your own Daya Zen in our new charactersā creator!
With the new feature, you can create the team of professionals, top tier actors, or simply workers you would like to hire immediately! Combine the perfect traits for every job, or pick available workers from the list. You can always try to steal a star signed to... someone's else movie!
Building too much star power early on has its drawbacks! Hiring several five-star actors and dealing with their rental houses can be costly for an up-and-coming studio. Hiring top-level workers with only the best traits and skills will end your budget sooner than you think.
Donāt say we didnāt warn you!
But thatās not the end of good news!
You can build a star-studded empire in the bustling city of Los Ricos with support for multiple languages including EN, ES, PL, RU, CN, NL, DE, and FR.
It doesnāt mean that we wonāt present more languages in the future though.*
PLAYTESTERS NEEDED!
Blockbuster Inc. is made by a studio of 3, so even with our best efforts, we donāt speak so many languages! As we presented the new localization versions, we could really use your help in playtesting.
If you are a native speaker of one of the languages presented (EN, ES, PL, RU, CN, NL, DE, and FR) and you are available to help us test it out, feel free to contact us at blockbuster@ancientforgestudio.com. We will be happy to work with you to make our localization as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
*With the release, we will present a roadmap of our post-launch support plan including lots of content and features. If you want to see your language there, let us know in the comments!
We're ready to present our plans for the coming year, including the full release of Glorious Companions, an anniversary sale, and a mysterious new project that we are going to announce this June during the PC Gaming Show.
But, what's more important, we are ready for the release of Blockbuster Inc. on June 6th!
More info about Blockbuster Inc. coming soon!
Blockbuster Inc is coming to Steam on June 6th! āØ
Blockbuster Inc is coming to Steam on June 6th! āØ
Yesterday we had a great pleasure to be part of the Future Games Show! š„³
On that occasion, we are very excited to announce the release date for our game!
Get ready for June 6th āØ and if you can't wait try our free Prologue now!
If you have any questions join our Discord community!
