Hey guys, sorry again for the bugs that were introduced with the DLC launch, here's a patch for a lot of the base game issues! I'll keep coming with more patches until the game is perfect, will have a few more done this week.
The game isn't usually like this, but adding more and content does make it harder to not add more bugs along the way! A real shame our recent review score has been cut in half because of this, and we'll never hit overwhelmingly positive now... but I guess I should have tested more. It'll all be smooth again soon though!
Still got more fixes and a little more content coming up, stay tuned!
Danny
Balancing
Paperwork now affects job success more positively
Base Happiness drain when studying/working decreased
Bug fixes and improvements
Fixed the first building in the middle of the city where you start always generating with the same buildings
Fixed some black screen/crash bugs that could happen when continuing a game
Fixed the ending not loading or causing a crash on low end computers, due to animation frames not being properly compressed and using too much memory (This was a bug from an engine upgrade)
Fixed the minus xp bug, and if you load into the game after this patch with minus xp you’ll get a level up as a sorry!
Fixed happiness loss ticks happening on benches as though you were working
About the recent updates and the ones coming this week
Hey everyone,
So it's obvious that the launch of the DLC has fixed a lot of bugs!
...and introduced a load more.
Thanks to all your feedback and reports, I've got a bunch of hotfixes up in the last week, but I've still got plenty of work to do. It's hard testing every variable in a game with hundreds of perks, items, events and characters that just multiplied all the different variations of a run with the new customisation system even more, when you're only one person.
Still, no excuses, I'm working on more patches and should have everything running smoothly again this week. And then I'll continue to make improvements until I'm satisfied.
As an apology, I've got a little more content to be included in the base game on the way too. ^-^
Back soon with more patches!
Danny
DLC Hotfix patch #4
Got more fixes here, and more coming! You guys are really doing great with all the feedback and critiques. ^-^
Bug fixes and improvements
⦁ (Living City) Fixed time affecting start effects (slow, fast) having swapped effects and doing the opposite of what they say ⦁ (Living City) Fixed some start effects behaving as though they hadn't been unlocked once you equip them, stopping removal ⦁ (Living City) Fixed the welfare office thinking you already have an assigned office at the start ⦁ Fixed main character saying "I don't have any more..." instead of usual day end text at 9pm ⦁ Fixed silver bracelet find popup having the wrong buttons ⦁ Fixed some overlapping UI
DLC Hotfix patch #3
Phew! Alrighty, here's another patch with some much needed fixes, keep the feedback coming and I'll keep making updates. :)
New Features & Big Changes
⦁ (Living City) Welfare office UI updated, so you can see which one is your assigned office. Various popups/texts related to welfare also updated. You also get your welfare card immediately after siging on rather than when you turn up to your first appointment.
Balancing
⦁ Fixed jobs/study/welfare taking more happiness than it should, this is actually more of a bug fix ⦁ (Living City) The hope levels of some stat changes have been updated (hygiene affects it way less for one) ⦁ (Living City) Abandoned doesn't give good directions until you have a slightly better reputation
Bug fixes and improvements
⦁ (Living City) Fixed not being able to remove start effects after adding them ⦁ (Living City) Fixed a bug that could cause gambling in the arcade to pay out too much ⦁ (Living City) Fixed a lot of issues with the Arcade ⦁ (Living City) Fixed various start effects not resetting when starting a new game ⦁ (Living City) Fixed some start effects not activating correctly with certain combos ⦁ (Living City) Fixed being able to change stats even when your hope bar is full or empty, which would let you take it past the min and max ⦁ (Living City) Fixed some silver bracelet rewards showing as a vendor item ⦁ (Living City) Fixed stat changes possibly being set to 160 ⦁ (Living City) Fixed crime increases in the customisation menu increasing hope instead of decreasing it
Dlc Hotfix patch #2
Got a bunch more fixes done this morning, audio and various bugs have been fixed, I'll be back later with another patch! ^-^
DLC Patch hotfix
Well it looks like there were some teething issues for those who downloaded the new patch and dlc within the first few hours of launch, so I've done like 4 hotfix patches since then that fixes... a bunch of stuff.
For anyone having an issue with crackly sound, closing and reopening the game is a short term fix until i have a solution.
Too tired for full patch notes right now, gotta get some sleep, but I'll be back tomorrow with more patches! I hope everyone is having a good time exploring all the new stuff. ^-^
Danny
CHANGE: The Living City DLC has released!
It's time!
After a ton of work over many months, The Living City is now available for purchase! Check it out! Or better yet... wishlist or buy it!
As I've mentioned before, this expansion comes with new buildings, 80 new items and perks, new characters, a lofi remix of the soundtrack that can be toggled in the options menu and a massive customisation system that unlocks if you have at least 3 playable characters including poverty.
Also... here's a big update for the base game too! Details on that are further down. I'll be keeping an eye on things like a hark as always and I'm looking forward to hearing your feedback on our massive expansion to CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Expensive!
It's been a hell of a ride and truly humbling to hear all your stories about how our little game has inspired you to care for the homeless... Maybe I'll have some news on the next game next....?
-PEACE- Danny
Changes & new stuff
New music options! You can now choose how often music is played, even on a random loop of the tracks if you like. Various updated UI New “Abandon run” button added to in-game options, drains 100 happiness instantly allowing you to unlock things based on how far you got (ending before your first winter doesn’t give much...)
Balancing
Some special passive items have been increased in price. With all the new ways to earn cash that have been added over the years, some things just make it too easy to fill your pack with every item. Anytime you buy an item from a vending machine, there is now a small chance an extra item will fall down The base perk cap for all categories has been increased by one. Sorry to anyone going for that max perks achievement… I recommend making friends with Bill. Though the perk earn rate at various levels has also been adjusted. Charity events happen slightly less often by default Pedestrian base generosity/begging chances reduced by about 3% Suit pedestrians have a tiny bit more cash on average The granny shows up more rarely and pays out 10% less on average Restaurant prices reduced, some effects give better bonuses Drunk effect lasts for a bit less time (remember you can get sober faster if you sleep on a bench!) Negative work buffs/traits now also cause you to lose a little happiness when you get them, positive ones give happiness when you get them Bus stops spawn more commonly and also drop you closer to where you’re going Clothing street vendors are rarer, and street vendor discounts aren’t quite as good (still much better than shops!) Gaining a positive work trait/buff at a job offsets previous warnings more Water fountains are slightly more common Criminal Record has less effect on paperwork at max Various building generation chances have been better optimized, this will mean that your current run will have a different layout after installing this update! New runs will be fine. Day labour billboards are more common, but base day labour risks increased. Perks that affect day labour are a bit more effective. Asking for less also reduces risk more. Additionally, competing with other homeless for the same job now works more as intended, so you can’t just accept the job when someone undercuts you. Streets are generated more densely packed with buildings on average, and buildings are less likely to show up near others of the same kind. Additionally, bad luck spawns have been mitigated so you won’t have runs with the nearest library/shelter being miles away Slightly increased base busking earnings, but also slightly reduced effectiveness of some busking perks Reputation now decays by 1 per day Police are a tiny bit more likely to be kind The emptier street layouts are much more likely to have street vendors with discounts, vending machines, payphones, etc Bliss addiction takes 2 days longer to get rid of. Other addictions take 1 day longer.
Bug fixes and improvements
Fixed bugs that could occur when using public toilets late in the day Fixed some translation bugs in certain menus for certain languages The flask now has an icon for the drink it contains Fixed study continuing to seem to scale your salary in the ui after you’ve already gained a job Banking withdraw/deposit buttons are more intuitive and less buggy When returning to the main menu from the game, logos are skipped and the transition is faster When using the bus to get to a shelter, this will no longer take you to shelters that are closed down if any are. Fixed paperwork values in the jobs office not updating after working a shift until you exit and re-enter Improved scrolling sensitivity/speed in inventory, perk menus, etc Fixed tooltips that normally show when hovering over things in the bag menu from showing while in the street and not actually hovering over a ui item with a tooltip Fixed a bug that could cause some of the scratchcards you find to count as being paid for when you actually found them in the streets/in trash sometimes, causing happiness debuffs on use when it shouldn’t Fixed library events occurring/showing even when libraries are closed on the first day of summer Fixed various instances where the options in certain night events would bug and both read as “OK” Sped up the transition/timing when using the bus before you can move Improved background building artwork “Love” perk updated, to make it clear it’s more dog related Made more optimisations for faster loading and smoother gameplay Fixed popup title being incorrect when item is confiscated Fixed the one of the homeless you can trade with levitating Fixed a bug that could affect charity day start times with certain perks after changing areas Fixed the “Well prepared” start bonus icon being too small Fixed study bar ui not filling properly until you get some study after loading Improved pedestrian spawn code, so they don’t spawn so close together all the time Improved scrap click collision so you beg accidentally less often Fixed text on mouse mode button not changing to reflect new mouse mode Adjusted pitch bending for the minor fanfare, so it’s less piercing Fixed certain perks/effects that increased the number of items you find when you do find items in trash not triggering 100% of the time Fixed happiness losses possibly occurring with certain perk/item setups while spending time in laundrette, toilets or park Fixed city not always generating correctly with welfare cuts city event at level 2 or higher HAHA! The fountain washing bug is fixed! It was the deodorant’s fault this whole time…
Time to WISHLIST! The Living City DLC store page is live!
Hey guys!!! It's finally time to reveal the DLC in full!
Without further ado, here is the store page and of course the trailer for The Living City expansion:
Remember to hit the wishlist button! Every time someone wishlists, Steam is a bit nicer to us. ^-^
Almost done with the base game patch too, see you next Friday for release day!
Danny
So we have a new release date...
Hey everyone, apologies for the lack of updates!
So I've been crunching like hell to get everything done to release the game, but due to some internal hiccups we're gonna have to delay "The Living City" DLC expansion once more. And, to be honest, I could really use a little rest from crunching to keep working at a decent quality, and I pretty much do everything. Sorry!
Our new release date is April 29th! ...For sure this time! I hate to break promises to you guys, but I promise the wait'll be worth it! The expansion really does add a ton of new content and variability, plus more ways to play how you want.
In the meantime, as a little gift for being patient with me, I've got that new base game patch landing in the next couple of days that has a little bit of new content and a bunch of other improvements/fixes/feature requests.
Also, here's some preview shots of the DLC!
And with the risk of yet again sounding like a broken record, I'm almost done with the trailer and store page which will be up soon! I'll be back with another announcement when it's all ready for ya.
That's all from me for now, back soon with the new patch and maybe some other stuff. ^-^
Danny
Roadmap for updates and the DLC!
Hey everyone! I'm baaaaaack.
Sorry to keep you waiting, but it's been a little while since I gave a proper update and I wanted to keep you guys in the loop.
The DLC shall be titled "The Living City expansion" , and it includes a ton of new features. More on that below our base game roadmap, I don't want to spoil too much, but lower down you can see a summary of most of the main features.
The store page for The Living City will be live soon! Remember to check back for our new trailer and official release date! Oh, and remember to wishlist! It really helps with the steam algorithm (Oh dear I sound like a youtuber or something...) ^-^
We're almost good to go with everything, first off here's a full list of our remaining plans for CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience:
UPCOMING BASE GAME FEATURES & IMPROVEMENTS
March
Some new night events! including events specific to certain story characters
Ability to call the dealer and find out where he is
Additional music options, so you can play with less silence if you wish
Flask will show what item it has via an icon
And of course some balancing adjustments and bug fixes from all the new content
April/May
Cloud saving
Controller support
Mobile/tablet port
Summer 2022
French, Japanese & polish support (It may not be all 3, it depends on how how much we can afford)
Autumn/Winter 2022
Brazilian Portuguese, Italian and any other remaining languages we've announced that have been left out.
Maaaaaaaybe some other ports (can't confirm anything about this yet)
(New languages and things could come out sooner, but for that to happen we'd need to sell a lot more copies in the short term)
THE LIVING CITY EXPANSION
IF you thought this game had a lot of depth before, you're in for a treat.
Release Date: March 2?th (full date will be on the store page when it's up! Get those wishlists ready!)
FEATURES
A huge run/character customisation system! Balance your "Hope" by choosing your story, starting cash, starting perks, maladies, reputation, etc as well as selecting from a ton of new unique starting effects that are unlocked by completing various objectives. This doesn't offer graphical changes to your character beyond the predefined character looks we already have, just want to be honest about that.
2 New buildings, a welfare office and an arcade! Plus new street layouts and street events
The homeless stories/characters you don't play as, will become unique interactable characters in your run
64 new perks!
14 new items!
9 unique challenge modes for experienced players, can you survive on the streets in "Extreme Weather" or during a "Pandemic"?
LOADS of new npcs and other homeless with unique interactions!
Subway busking!
New street vendor, new vending machine and a bunch of other new unique street interactables
A Lo- fi remix of the soundtrack, that can be toggled in the options!
As for after all this released, it'll be the next game. More on that in... a little while.
Are you as excited as I am? Back soon with a live store page for THE LIVING CITY!
