Temporarily removed 2 tracks from the soundtrack that were being claimed on YouTube and Twitch. We're investigating the issue and will add the tracks back as soon as we can.
Bug Fixes
Fixed: The dollar sign is missing in menus of Laundering Buildings and Smuggling Points.
Fixed: Destroying the university locks all the researched buildings and upgrades the university was used for.
Fixed: Tier III of Research is unavailable if one of the multiple Universities.
Fixed: "Make a Deal" with Lyova Fainherz was using an incorrect drug.
Fixed: In-game music turns off after loading a save made in Tutorial.
Fixed: City Building menu isn't locked
Fixed: After-death screen for Cesar doesn't show any money or drug types.
Fixed: Technical text shown in some Event dialogues.
Fixed: Incorrect pronouns for female Capos used on some occasions.
Fixed: Non-existent Capos are shown on the Starting Capos screen.
Fixed: Incorrect text shown in Enemy Gang leader menus. They're not actually managing any farms.
Fixed: Players get Addam Gomez as Starting Capo instead of Armando Cruz
More fixes are coming this Tuesday! Have a good day, Capos ːcartel_loveː
Hotfix is coming soon.
Hola Capos!
So the release has been a blast. We've beaten our most concurrent players record... every day in a row now. We're trending on Steam, and are on the Top Sellers list since the 1.0 Release ːsummersunː
Thank you all for that! ːcartel_loveː
It doesn't mean we're just celebrating. With your help, we identified some nasty bugs that found their way into the 1.0 Release. And are working on fixing them ASAP.
We aim to release a hotfix on Tuesday to address the nastiest ones.
Meanwhile, we'll continue providing you with the workarounds we found for some of the bugs before they're fully fixed.
Thank you, Capos! Enjoy the game, and know we're working on making it even better!
Cartel Tycoon - Soundtrack Vol. II is available for purchase!
An official Cumbia / Latin Psychedelia soundtrack Vol. II contains 28 original tracks by Candeleros, C.A.M.P.O.S., Tribilin Sound, Meridian Brothers, CUMBIASOUND, DJ Farrapo, Ghetto Kumbe, and Son Rompe Pera.
Cartel Tycoon 1.0 is here! Download the latest patch and enjoy the full release!
Watch the gameplay trailer now!
PATCH NOTES:
ːcartel_sadː Your old saves won't work with this update
Major changes
ːcartel_loveː Special Buildings are in the game: Prison, Airport, Indigenous Territory, Guerillas, and Military Base have been activated, and now you can use them! Each Building introduces new quests, new mechanics, and unique characters!
ːcartel_loveː Loyalty Scale Rework: Bonuses added to Loyalty Scale. Loyalty now lowers with time; if it reaches zero - your Capo will die! Each playthrough starts with a positive Loyalty level.
ːcartel_loveː Unique Mayor Quests: Each city now has a pool of unique quests.
ːcartel_loveː Global Unlocks Rework: Now any Lieutenant that becomes a Capo in your game will become a Starting Capo. But some still have unique quests! We’ve also changed unlock conditions for Collectors Residence and River Pier upgrades!
ːcartel_loveː Multiple changes to the region visuals. Now Neutral and Enemy Regions have different colors and look prettier than ever.
ːcartel_loveː Enemy Gangs. Each gang has a leader. You can talk to leaders, make agreements to buy or sell products and safely transport Dirty Money through their cities without giving them a cut. Enemy Gangs will react to players' actions across the regions. Players will have multiple ways of defeating a gang.
ːcartel_loveː New Resources: Dried Opium, Sauce, Quinoa, Avocado, Dog Food.
ːcartel_loveː New Illegal Resource - Heroin. It’s an end-game drug made from Dried Opium.
ːcartel_loveː New Building - Food Factory.
ːcartel_loveː Added Quest Panel. You can now pin quests or hide them from the screen.
ːcartel_loveː Updated Research. Research Center renamed to University. You can Research Tiers I and II without a University. University is required to research Tier III buildings.
ːcartel_loveː You can now reroll Lieutenants available for recruitment.
ːcartel_loveː Resource Finder that helps to quickly locate and visualize resources and dirty money in your buildings.
ːcartel_loveː Fully voiced tutorial objectives and dialogues(English only)
ːcartel_loveː Steam Cloud Saves
ːcartel_loveː Added Time speed x5, for those who can’t wait!
ːcartel_loveː You can now finish building construction started with dirty money by paying legal money instead
Other Updates & Changes
Added new hotkey: “Tab” - quest panel
Added new hotkey: “U”- screenshot mode, hides all the UI panels. Need to be enabled in the Settings.
Removed the Terror requirements when hiring Lieutenants.
10+ New Lieutenants are added to the game including a special Ivan Mario lieutenant (ma417rio ːcartel_loveː)
Your Lieutenants' Allegiance is now tied to the Loyalty level - If Loyalty is at maximum, their Allegiance will rise.
Indigenous Territory has a subregion that is initially locked for player construction.
Added a Lieutenant Ability “Peace Maker” - Loyalty slightly rises when the Lieutenant with this Ability is in the city.
When Capo crosses a police cordon, you can bribe the Police to let him through.
The Events are presented not only with a marker but in the Phone Menu too for easier interaction
Added 10+ new Events
Changed Mayor Event that involved hiring lieutenants - player now can choose whatever lieutenant he wants.
You can return Loan Favor money to Mayors or journalists at any time using their Event markers.
Text about Capo’s death is now displayed in the Cartel WIndow. It’s only displayed with the first Capo death in the Cartel.
Messages in the Event Log now disappear faster.
Change starting dates in different Modes.
You can now exit the Lieutenant profile with an [X] button.
Production Buildings now have Uptime instead of Efficiency.
The ground now has Soil Quality instead of Efficiency.
Changed conditions for Events from Lieutenants in Prison. The Events will occur when Lieutenants are in Prison, regardless of whether the player owns the Prison or not. More dialogue options will be available if the player owns the Prison.
Money Delivery Mayor Quests for acquiring the city now have a marker and additional dialogue.
Multiple changes and additions in the Tutorial.
Multiple changes and additions in the Manual.
Added new mechanics to Seaports and Border Checkpoints. Temporarily, selling certain legal goods will boost loyalty, while others will boost Terror and might be confiscated on the border!
Added SFX: War started
Added and Updated SFX: City Buildings, Planes, Abilities, Lieutenant voices
Improved Music player
Added negative Events activation condition
Changed difficulty of the Survival Mode accounting for Enemy Gangs and Law enforcer attacks
Changed cutscene for a Capo death (max. terror and max. loyalty versions)
Added animated opening header for a Tutorial scenario
Added introduction events and dialogues for the Mayors and Gang Leaders
Added visual indicator for city lost while outside of camera view
Added Enemy Gangs settings in Advanced Settings for the Sandbox mode
Changed “Needs and Fears“ first quests
Special Skin (visuals only) for a River Pier tier III is added to Global Unlocks. Can be switched back to regular skin.
Added more information to the Economy screen - Enemy Gang Agreements, Yearly minimum resource prices, New resources, Finishing construction using legal money
Removed screen resolution options: 1024x768 and 1152x864
You can now cancel any lieutenant personal quest using the “Personal Quest” button
Save slot is pre-selected when starting a new game
Added Growing zones setting to the Sandbox Mode Advanced Settings
Added Pre Constructed buildings setting to the Sandbox Mode Advanced Settings (4 presets)
Added Credits screen
Balance
Improved Research Tree progression between different Tiers of buildings.
Added additional cars to all the tiers of Residencies.
More storage is added with Farms and Plantations upgrades.
Added slots upgrades for Aerodromes instead of delivery time upgrades.
Bonuses for Seaport, Checkpoint and River Pier added to Research Tree.
Changed progression values for Seaport, Checkpoint, and River Pier upgrades.
Area Depo now costs less.
Increased cooldown for “Assassination” Ability.
Lieutenants now move Precursor, Methylamine, and Hydrochloric Acid in the same capacity as the Warehouse. (S, M, L)
Loyalty Increases when Mayor debts are paid and journalists are bribed.
Money players need to return to Mayors increases with each Mayor Favor.
Attention Star changes: Police arrest overflowing or suspicious buildings, Federales place Cordons, CIA chases down Lieutenants, US Army blows up buildings. DEA no longer confiscates
Removed penalty for driving with Dirty Money and Illegal Products through Neutral Cities
Resources in City Buildings removed in Sandbox and Survival Modes
River Pier now has more slots but lower capacity
Increased money reward and terror penalty for Robbery and Kidnapping lieutenant abilities
Increased terror penalty for refusing to pay the journalist
Visual
The main menu now has multiple animated background sceneries for your enjoyment
Updated visuals and animations for Residences, Workshops, Driers, Farms, Aerodromes, Сity buildings (Cathedral, Salsa club), city favelas, Villages, and Special Buildings
Updated visuals for Military Trucks and DEA cars.
Updated visuals for US Army attack circle.
Updated visuals and animations for the Seaport
Updated visuals for different stages (active/inactive) of Lieutenant Abilities.
All the City buildings in the same city are now displayed on the same tab of the Building Menu.
Added animation to display that new lieutenants are available for hire.
New animations are displayed when taking control of the city, enemy buildings, or a Special Building.
The amount of money the player is taking is now displayed in the Mayor Favor description.
Updated visuals for Research Tree upgrades displayed on the buildings.
The price of the research is now displayed on the “Research” button in Research Tree.
Capo and Enemy Gang leaders now have a special background during a dialogues
Sandbox Settings show Special Building located in the selected region details
Building Construction menu tooltip now shows costs and additional information for all the tiers
Hotkeys list is updated in Settings>Controls and Manual>Controls
Updated visuals for River Pier Tier III
Added ability progress bar above lieutenant marker for the abilities - Concert, Robbery, Kidnapping, Preaching
Changed construction menu design
Bug Fixes (From players)
Fixed: Lieutenant panel shows technical text during delivery action [FR] (François)
Fixed: Hotel and Residences do not deliver dirty money to the Jail for Mayor quest (Jin Rah)
Fixed: Transport company does not deliver resources to the city required for the Mayor Quest (Jin Rah)
Fixed: Hotel and Residences do not deliver dirty money to the Residence (Xellos)
Fixed: Mayor condition can’t be completed after loading a saved game (Xellos)
Fixed: City lost marker is visible while city isn’t lost due to the Loyalty bonus (casasa viruz)
Fixed: “Cash is king“ cash objective counter is reset after loading a saved game (Zipprian)
Fixed: Game crashes after loyalty increases if there are no lieutenants in the pool (Cantora)
Fixed: Loyalty bonus “Loyal citizen“ doesn’t work in city Soledoso in Survival mode (CamaradeOurs)
Fixed: “Emergency ration“ quest is auto-completes after loading a saved game (Slacker)
Fixed: Buildings ineffectively use the available trucks during a high load (casasa viruz)
Fixed: Law enforcement does not move after saving the game during a terror start addition (MazzoPowah)
Fixed: Half of the money from the last transported batch from the Gang Leader Agreement is lost (Jin Rah)
Fixed: Cerro Tacarina Mayor Quest mentions the city name twice (Jin Rah)
Fixed: Quest cancel button tooltip has a typo (Guardinger)
Fixed: Terror Stars do not disappear after re-appearing and removal by Mayor Favor (Hawke)
Fixed: Wrong cause of Capo death if burned in the building (Rouhmann)
Fixed: Gang subjugated animated pop-up has a typo and text overlap (Rouhmann)
Fixed: Confiscation is applied to the legal resource which wasn’t used as a drugs container (Rouhmann)
Fixed: Avocado price drops to zero after selling it for a long period of time (Xellos)
Fixed: Changing language doesn’t always change the texts in some places (Rouhmann)
Fixed: Incorrect Terror Stars descriptions in Advanced Settings for Sandbox Mode (ma417rio)
Fixed: Quest “When The Party’s Over” didn’t count the buildings that were built before the quest started. (Xellos)
Fixed: Event "Research And Development" didn’t count the construction of Tier III buildings. (Xellos)
Fixed: Incorrect quantity of Cocaine is displayed in the “Expectancy Theory” Quest dialogue (AlekcZX)
Fixed: Product price doesn’t change after certain bonuses. (AlekcZX)
Fixed: Government forces bug out if you save during the Attention Star activation (MazzoPowah)
Fixed: Capo gets lost and stuck on isolated roads. We saved him! (Rackbox)
Fixed: Using your Capos "Make a Deal" Ability starts a dialogue with no character portrait… Spooky! (Mr. Noodle)
Fixed: After loading a save, progress in “Cash is King” Quest resets (Zipprian)
Fixed: Transport Company II with bonuses was better than Transport Company III with bonuses (syra10)
Fixed: Mission "Community Outreach" wasn’t working correctly when capturing Amado (thank you, Xellos)
Fixed: Mission “Clearing the Runway (Foscani)” wasn’t working correctly if the Aerodrome was captured or destroyed before accepting the mission (thanks, MaximumEagle).
Fixed: Mission "In Their Own House" wasn’t correctly if the Residence was captured before accepting the mission (thank you, Eskild).
Known Issues
Tier 3 research is not available if any number of multiple Universities is demolished (Xellos)
Sandbox Advanced Settings doesn't have an option for researching buiding upgrades (thor)
The wrong pronoun used for female Capo death screen (Xellos)
The game manual has errors in Recipes section
Lyova Fainherz offers to make a Methamphetamine deal, but his profile contains only a Cocaine deal
The wrong portrait is shown for Gerardo Batista during a 3rd “small talk” dialogue
Jail becomes neutral after the death of Capo
All the ongoing research is lost if University is demolished
The Death Info screen for Ceasar does not show money earned and drugs sold
The Radial delivery menu shows that Lieutenant can deliver 0 resources
Only one Lieutenant's upkeep will increase if multiple Lieutenants are selected
Los Grandes roads leading to the Aerodrome disappear if Pre Constructed buildings setting is set to None in Sandbox Settings
The Music stops playing after loading a saved Tutorial game
Lieutenant Nickname does not update in the list of Lieutenants
Multiple “New Lieutenant” animations play at once if reroll is used multiple times
Attention Starts are shown incorrectly after loading a saved Tutorial game
Some missing localization and typos here and there, will be fixed soon!
Destination connection does not reset if Lieutenant became Valatile
Ability “Cultivator“ is highlighted if the area does not have any Opium farms/plantations
The helicopter model overlaps the ground after landing
Constructing Building while Buring has the same visuals as if it’s completed
Building menu warning icons list overflows off screen
Gang and Law enforcer cars overlap Buildings during a War animation
Gang and Law enforcer cars are sometimes placed on water surfaces during a War animation
Gang cars overlap with the Indigenous Territory buildings
Choose a new Capo screen shows two silhouettes of the Mauricio
Thank you for being on this journey with us! We're not done! - Moon Moose
Tons of new features, hundreds of Quality of Life changes, and reworks are packed in Cartel Tycoon 1.0! Learn more about them in this devlog!
Prefer the written word? We've got you covered. The full transcript is available below:
July 26 is right around the corner. This is it, huh? After 3 years of development, we have finally reached the full release of Cartel Tycoon. Well, almost. Once again, my name is Andrey, and I’m the community manager of Cartel Tycoon. Welcome to Devlog 21, and welcome to Cartel Tycoon 1.0. Let’s begin.
Today I will tell you all about what’s coming to Cartel Tycoon with the 1.0 Release. There’s a lot to cover so let’s get down to business. But if you want to take a trip down memory lane first - you can find the post titled “Road from Early Access to 1.0” on all our socials.
1.0 Release is full of new features - some of them our community on Discord has been testing since Spring, and some of them will be new for everyone. First of all, fully functioning Special Buildings with lots of unique features - Prison, Airport, Military Base, Guerilla Camp, and Indigenous Territory are in the game. They’ve been developed with your needs, feedback, and wants in mind, and they are useful from the early game to the end game, changing the balance of the regions quite drastically. If you want to know more about them - check out this Devlog right here.
Another feature that changes the balance are Enemy Gangs. They know have faces, needs, fears, and personalities, and their actions are affected by yours. We have a special devlog about Gangs too, check it out right here.
A new drug is also coming to the game - Heroin. It’s one of the most difficult to produce, but it also brings the most money. The introduction of heroin overhauls the end game and gives a new purpose to the starting drug - Opium, which wasn’t very useful after the first few hours of the gameplay before. Along with a new illegal product, we’re bringing two new legal ones that you can grow - Avocado and Quinoa, which are quite expensive on their own - new contenders for your family-friendly empire, but also offer more variety in packaging for your sneaky needs!
Also, we’re introducing a new building called the Food Factory - it can produce dog food and sauces, so now you have another option of producing legal products - not only growing or buying!
As for more QoL changes, we’ve made a new filter called “Resource Finder” - you can use it to check what product is located where on a grand scale. This feature will help locate not only products but Dirty Money too - no more searching through your property for cash - just click a button and see where it is!
We’ve also got another major rework - Global Unlocks. We’ve been tweaking the system for a while now, to make the process more natural, reworking the objectives players needed to complete. But there was still a major problem - River Piers. Completing the “That Sinking Feeling” campaign and getting that sweet-sweet [REDACTED] as a reward is pretty good, but locking players out of the upgrades if they don’t want to play Story Mode - is not. River Pier upgrades will be open to everyone, but those who complete the campaign will still get that sweet-sweet [REDACTED], as a skin for River Pier III.
Another important feature coming with 1.0 is Steam Cloud Saves! Yay, now you don’t have to keep your save files on you every time you want to play Cartel Tycoon away from your PC - they’re in the clouds now!
Also, our awesome artists from around the globe have been working on the new OST for the game! We’ve got lots of new songs from the artists we’ve worked with in Early Access, and from the new ones - who joined us in the Full Release. For example, this song right now!
And, of course, what’s a full release of the game without achievements! We’ve got easy ones, we’ve got hard ones, we’ve got funny ones - we’ve got them all. Completionists, rejoice! You now can 100% Cartel Tycoon!
As always, we’ve got a lot of smaller changes we’ll be bringing to the game. For example, we’ve improved our transportation logic a bit, so your trucks will be using their full potential when delivering goods! Many more changes are coming, and we’ll share them in the Patch Notes!
We also wanted to thank those of you, who’ve been with us since the Early Access, so if you own Cartel Tycoon already, you’ll be getting special cartel emblems to use in-game. Everyone who got the game in Early Access and made their tinyBuild account will get them, so if you don’t have the game yet, you can get them too if you purchase the game before the 1.0 hits!
All of us in Moon Moose would like to, once again, thank all of you for being on this journey with us. Cartel Tycoon wouldn’t be what it is today without your feedback, thoughts, and suggestions.
Cartel Tycoon releases on July 26, and we’re so happy to finally be here. But the work doesn’t stop - we’re working on optimizing the game, making it even more beautiful and polished to provide you with the 1.0 Release we can truly call 1.0!
We’re Moon Moose and we thank you for believing in us. See you on July 26, Capos. Goodbye.
So this is it. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. Cartel Tycoon is leaving Early Access in just a couple of days. It’s been a long journey, and today we wanted to reminisce a bit with all of you.
Gather ‘round, Capos… And let’s get back to the beginning….
2019
Some of you probably think that the game was revealed in 2021, but this is not the case. First, we introduced the game long before that - in 2019.
It was pretty bare-bones at this point, but the idea for it all was already in place, and development was in full motion.
2020
And in 2020 we have released our Demo on Steam, and already found some of our awesome audience. The Demo became Survival Mode, by the way, which was our main focus in the early stages of development!
And after the demo, on October 29 of 2020, came the Uncut Earliest Access… As you might’ve guessed from the title - it was a very early version of the game, which we provided to the supporters through our website before our game hit major marketplaces like Steam. We wanted to start working with the community at the earliest possible time!
And a couple of months, after that, in December of 2020 we released our first update - the Dirty Money update. Yep, our earliest version didn’t have one of the now core mechanics of the game! This update also introduced the allegiance of our lieutenants and their rogue behavior!
We’ve started working on bringing even more systems to the game, patching things out, and working closely with the feedback of our earliest supporters… and we had a Steam release date!
2021
Cartel Tycoon hit the shelves of Steam and other digital markets on March 18 of 2021. What a lovely day it has been! With this update, we’ve introduced the “Needs and Fears” story, our first version of the Tutorial, and unique lieutenant quests.
After that, we’ve started releasing a major update to the game each couple of months - each one built on the feedback we’ve received and, of course, experimentation. With each update, Cartel Tycoon got bigger and better (for the most part, we’ve reversed some things, of course, that’s the beauty of developing the game closely with the community), and we didn’t want to stop.
A lot of the systems we’ve introduced weren’t planned from the start, and the game now is quite different from what we’ve envisioned - and that’s a good thing. Because we’ve got a lot of supporters who want the game to succeed as much as we do, we want to once again thank all of them for their passion. ːcartel_loveː
At the end of 2021, we’ve started gearing up for the big thing - the 1.0 Release. We’ve decided that we’ll release the features we’re working on gradually through Betas, so our supporters can experience them before the full game hits the stores!
2022
That’s what we did for the long-awaited Special Buildings update! With the feedback and speculations from the community, we decided to expand the feature and make the buildings truly Special - with questlines and multiple functions.
And after that - Enemy Gangs, an addition that was directly inspired by our community suggestions. We wanted players to put a face to the grunts that try to take down their empires and introduce a system that allows players to choose more peaceful solutions to enemy problems and expand the gameplay loop that way.
And now, 5 days away, we have a full release ahead of us. Special Buildings and Enemy Gangs aren’t the only new thing coming - we’ve got a new type of drug, new building players can build, and new legal resources for those of you who want to play a more family-friendly type of game. New music! Balance changes! Smaller reworks! And Achievements! Everyone loves achievements!
Cartel Tycoon 1.0 hits the stores on July 26. Once again, this journey wouldn’t have been possible without your support. We’re so excited to be here, to finally give us our full 1.0 vision. And start working on future updates.
See you on the 1.0 side, Capos. We love you.
- Moon Moose & tinyBuild
Musician Interviews + Soundtrack Vol. 1 - Digital Release
Close your eyes for a second and pretend that you’re in the world of Cartel Tycoon. What do you hear?
Trucks, of course, your lieutenants riding all around the regions and keeping your empire intact, ambient of cities, rivers, docks… But there’s something else, isn’t there? Something that either makes you dance with joy, or prepare your Capo for the worst.
We’re talking about music, of course! Today we wanted to shine some light on the musicians who made the soundtrack of our game and on their creative process! Aaand our soundtrack is getting released on all of the major music platforms! Each and every one of you could (and should) listen to it everywhere you go! We left links at the end of this post. But let’s get to the musicians!
Click the video before proceeding further to set the mood, and enjoys the interviews!
They are - C.A.M.P.O.S, Vicious Seeds, Candeleros, Orkesta Mendoza, Tribilin Sound, Dengue Dengue Dengue & Prisma, and Chico Unicornio! And introducing DJ FARRAPO, who’s working on his tracks for the 1.0 Release right now! With some of them, we’ve been working long before Cartel Tycoon got released - we’ve had our vision for the vibe of the future soundtrack, and these incredible artists perfected it!
We talked to some of them about their music, our game, and their passion for it! But first, some introductions.
Let’s talk about C.A.M.P.O.S first… officially the group is called Cumbias And More Psychedelic Original Sounds and it started as a side project for Joshua Camp, who’s also has a group called Chicha Libre. He’s been in the industry for well over 20 years now both as a performer, playing a fair amount on Broadway and in touring music groups, and as a songwriter/composer for advertising, TV, films, and now, with Cartel Tycoon, video games!
DJ FARRAPO has started his musical activity as a keyboard player more than 30 years ago. But soon his career as a DJ took over and that of music producer was added in 2005. At the moment he’s also the band leader of two different projects!
Triblin Sound aka Alvaro Ernesto is a Peruvian DJ/producer of electronic and fusion music. He started Tribilin Sound 20 years ago djing with cumbia, salsa, regueros stuff. Then he started producing house/tech music for foreign labels and playing dj sets at radio Miraflores.
THE INTERVIEW
Were there any movies or TV series that inspired you while writing for “Cartel Tycoon”?
C.A.M.P.O.S - The composers Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota are massive influences on me when it comes to instrumental/score writing. They were key elements to Sergio Leone’s westerns and Federico Fellini’s early period of film making, respectively, so I’d have to put them at the top of my list. DJ FARRAPO - Surely Narcos! Triblin Sound - TV series like Hawai 5 0, with that special guitar sound from The Ventures. I also get some inspiration in the surf rock sound taken from The Munsters, a tv show from the 60’s and finally the Pulp Fiction theme “Misirlou”, honestly one of the most exciting film intros for sure.
Was it your first foray into the Latin America sound or was is always your passion?
C.A.M.P.O.S - I’ve been listening to music from Latin and Central America since I was a young man, but it wasn’t until I co-founded the band Chicha Libre around 2007-2008 that I really started to dig into specific styles of performing & writing, like Chicha and cumbia. DJ FARRAPO - South American music has always been a great passion of mine and a source of inspiration and research. Till now I've released a Brazilian album and several remixes and singles of Latin American music, like my last one "El Cabron '', an instrumental electrocumbia in which the lead themes are played by a Colombian gaita. Triblin Sound - It is always my passion. I really dig latam folklore. I like to travel in order to discover new instruments, and be in touch of new forms of making music. And collab with artist around America.
Have you ever been to Latin America yourself or do you just have the feeling for it?
C.A.M.P.O.S - Yes I’ve toured and also visited several times to Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Chile, and Puerto Rico. I definitely have tried to make the most of those experiences in terms of learning and listening as much I can. DJ FARRAPO - I've traveled and toured in Brazil several times. Triblin Sound - Sure, Im from Peru so here you can find diversity in all kinds: art, music, food. All those experiences are great in order to make music with a “Latin American” feeling into it.
If your music had words, who is your dream LatAm singer?
C.A.M.P.O.S - Oh I would definitely go old-school and have ‘El Cantante’ Hector Lavoe on a track! DJ FARRAPO - Difficult question... anyway in this period I would like to do a collaboration with Eva De Marce. Do you know that Wagner Moura, the actor who plays Pablo Escobar in Narcos is also an excellent singer? I played with him about 10 years ago in São Paulo (BR)! Triblin Sound - My favorite singer is Hector Lavoe. Music like “Loco”, “Todo tiene su final” and “El cantante” is all I need for a great party. I also love all the Ruben Blades lyrics. And don’t forget Tengo Calderon.
What should players feel when they hear your music in-game?
C.A.M.P.O.S - Hopefully they will feel fully immersed in the experience and the music will help get them ‘in the zone’ so to speak. DJ FARRAPO - Excitement! Triblin Sound - They must feel the latino thing, those latin vibes, percussions, that misterious mood that brings my tracks. Players must feel tension and fear of what will happen later in the game
A lot of people asked us if there going to be more music on full release… Are you working on something?
C.A.M.P.O.S - Yes indeed! I’m currently working on a new killer track. It’s got groove and attitude in spades. DJ FARRAPO - Of course, I'm always working on new music. I have several projects and upcoming releases of different styles: some electro swing and some urban/latin stuff. Triblin Sound - Sure, I think it is just the beginning in the search of new sounds. Im really excited making some cumbia with that surf rock guitar sound and dub things. I hope Cartel Tycoon gives me the opportunity to send more of my more recently music I’ve made.
Tell us a bit about your creative process. What does it start with?
C.A.M.P.O.S - With this style of music, I always start with finding the perfect groove and feel in terms of the rhythm section and looping. Then I start improvising around those grooves to get the main melodic ideas and then 90 percent of the process in terms of hours spent, is just refining those initial improv ideas until it’s a tight arrangement. DJ FARRAPO - There is no single way, sometimes I start from a melodic idea, other times from a harmonic progression, or even a sample or a bass line. Triblin Sound - It starts with the feeling or emotion I want to be part of all the music. I usually like to make interpolations from other tracks. I like to live on the edge with the music deadline (lol)
Have you worked on any other games soundtracks or maybe other media (TV, Films, etc.)?
C.A.M.P.O.S - This is my first video game I’ve worked on, which is very exciting, but I have had many years writing for film, television and advertising: Tv shows like Weeds, Homeland, On My Block, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Advertisements for Mac Cosmetics, Sephora, Ralph Lauren, and tons more like that. DJ FARRAPO - A long time ago I started a collaboration project with a video game company from my hometown Bologna, but in the end nothing came of it. However I did the soundtrack for several short films, exhibitions, commercials and one of my songs is also included in the soundtrack of the famous TV series Shameless. Triblin Sound - Sure, I’ve made some stuff for some brands here in Peru (Hapag-Lloyd German tracking company, ISM Group (Loa Water). Actually im learning the process of making a soundtracks for a movie.
Do you play video games? What are the latest games you played?
C.A.M.P.O.S - I run hot and cold with video games but I’ve played them all my life. My last obsession was Alto’s Odyssey: The Lost City. The music and sound design are great. DJ FARRAPO - I used to play Asphalt, but now I'm totally absorbed by my job. Triblin Sound - Sure, I like to play Counter Strike. The first videogame I really enjoyed was Half-Life I.
What’s your favorite soundtrack from any other game, film, TV?
C.A.M.P.O.S - Like a lot of people in the industry this past year we’ve all been digging Hans Zimmer’s score to Dune, ridiculously good! The tv show Severance, which I’m currently watching, has a fantastic score by Theodore Shapiro. DJ FARRAPO - There's so many. A very good Latin America soundtrack is that of the movie City Of God. In general I am very passionate about Morricone's soundtracks, which are a source of continuous inspiration for me. Triblin Sound - I love all Ennio Morricone music: the Untouchables, Cinema Paradiso. The music selection from Tarantino’s movies. The Unsolved Mysteries Theme, the San Junipero soundtrack from Black Mirror Netflix series.
Of course, music continues to live and evolve after it gets to us - every song finds its place in the game, and our whole team works with the artists to create the perfect soundtrack to Cartel Tycoon together. If you want to feel the vibes of the game outside of playing you can now get the full soundtrack on all the major platforms! As promised, we’re leaving the links below:
Enemy Gangs are coming to Cartel Tycoon on July 26! Check out our newest devlog!
Prefer the written word? We've got you covered. The full transcript is available below:
Hey everyone! It’s Andrey here - without a video today - but it’s still me! So, we’ve announced the date of 1.0… Cartel Tycoon will leave Early Access on July 26! Pretty exciting, huh? Today I wanted to focus on one of the features coming with the 1.0 Release - Enemy Gangs, their leaders, and how their introduction will change up the gameplay of Cartel Tycoon! Let’s go!
Some of you have been testing out Enemy Gangs in the Steam Beta, and we’ve gathered your awesome feedback for the 1.0 Release! Thank you for your help! And now, an introduction to Enemy Gangs for everyone else:
What started as an overhaul, became a completely new and enormous feature! Enemy Gangs are here, and you can do A LOT with them. They’re no longer just cars that periodically attack your property! They now have their own leaders, which you can talk to, do business with, and even acquire their territory not just through war but through D… Di… Dip… through Deep Peaceful Dialogues! By bringing more functions to Enemy Gangs we wanted to spice up the gameplay and give the players more strategy options they can choose in any phase of the game.
When you start a new game, enemy gangs won’t be very hostile. You’re a new kid on the block, after all! But your decisions will lead to either the expansion of your relationships with enemy gangs and their leaders or their crumbling demise. For example, seizing the enemy buildings will worsen your relationship with this particular gang, but killing an enemy gang boss will make all the other gangs fear and hate you and your cartel. After all, everyone has a piece of the pie, and they should stick with it, right? On contrary, if you start (and win) fights with government forces, enemy gangs will respect you more, because what can be nobler for a Capo?
But there are, of course, other ways that can affect your relationship with enemy gangs. You can also do that during your talks with Gang Leaders. Each Gang will have a unique Leader, and understanding them will offer you ways to strengthen your relationship. And not only can you trade snarky remarks in dialogues, but you can also trade goods (which will be quite helpful at the start of the game). We think that these changes will introduce more diversity to the gameplay, and we hope that you’ll love them.
But it’s not all fun, trades and games, of course. You’ll still be able to kill the opposing gangs and take all the regions under your command. But there’s more gameplay diversity on that front also. You can annihilate enemy gangs by capturing their cities and killing their leaders or… you can kill them with kindness. Well, not kindness, but empathy and wits. If your relationship with the Gang Leader is good enough he might consider joining you in your crusade! You can just hire him as your lieutenant (of course, if your Cartel is full, someone will need to go, but oh well, what can you do), and leave the city and its mayor for the taking.
After the Beta we’ve tweaked some of these systems and made some new things - Gangs will now attack players who dared to step on the enemy soil and take their buildings. We’ve also made Gang Settings for the Sandbox Mode, so you can play around with their aggressiveness and power. And don’t you worry, we’re working on even more ways of interacting with Enemy Gangs using your feedback!
There are, of course, more complex system changes coming along with Enemy Gangs introduction, but this devlog would turn into a full-motion picture if I list all of them. I hope that all of you are as excited as we are for these upcoming changes!
Another Devlog about the 1.0 Release is coming, so stay tuned for that! We’ll talk about more changes, reworks, and even rewards! We’re nearing the 1.0 Release, and all of us in Moon Moose would like to, once again, thank all of you for being on this journey with us. Cartel Tycoon wouldn’t be what it is today without your feedback, thoughts and suggestions.
As always, write your impressions in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe here, on YouTube, and on our socials! Share your thoughts about the game we’re building together!
As you know already, 1.0 release will be packed with new gameplay features, multiple reworks, and balance updates. But let’s move away from the game itself - what else will be a part of the Full Release?
We’re making an Artbook!
We wanted to highlight our talented artists who are responsible for the glorious 3D and 2D art in the game and surrounding it - Lena, Andrey, Dima, Ildar, and Georgy! This book is a celebration of their part of the whole process because Cartel Tycoon won’t be Cartel Tycoon without their beautiful art!
We’ll also explore how the game has changed from the early builds to the 1.0 release - with thousands of assets, drafts, and early sketches! We’ll, of course, also be exploring our unique character and video art style, and will be sharing how the characters you know and love were creatively born. We want to invite you on the journey from 2019 to 2022, from early sketches to what we have today. It was pretty nostalgic for us (a couple of tears were dropped ngl), and we hope that it will be nostalgic for you too!
For now, our artbook has over 20 pages!Oh wait, that’s wrong…Over 60....OVER 80 pages of juicy content, so we’re so excited to share it with you in full on the 1.0 Release… when it is by the way? Does anyone know? Oh yeah, JULY 26!
Enjoy the snippets of the upcoming artbook and see you on July 26!
