Game Dev Studio
Update #14
- added new game project type - MMOs:
* it is a new game project type that will require more preparation than regular game projects
* MMOs will use up Server Capacity, which can be increased by purchasing Server racks for your offices, or renting them out, the latter requiring you to pay a monthly fee
* each subscriber will also add increase customer support by 1 point, which you will need to increase as more and more people start playing
* in order to be able to develop a MMO game project, you'll need to research "Massively Multiplayer Online" first, which becomes available in September of 1996
* you will need to set a monthly subscription fee right before release
* the lifetime of these projects depends on multiple factors, and can be extended by expansion packs, but releasing too many will make players feel like you're nickel-and-diming them, causing them to buy the recently released expansion pack(s) at a lower rate
* these projects are even tougher to get right, so don't be surprised if your first several MMOs fail!
- added the ability to select between easy and normal difficulty at the beginning of a playthrough (all playthroughs that were started prior to this will default to the "normal" difficulty setting), the game will default to the "Easy" difficulty in the New Game window until the Tutorial has been completed
- added buttons for switching between constrution/demolition mode in office expansion mode
- changed how expansion pack content variation penalty is evaluated to not go crazy when large content amounts are involved
- low employee skill/hardware level notification is now on a cooldown, so that it doesn't spam the event box too much with a lot of employees/tasks related notifications
- clicking on the "noone has hardware capable to work on " event box element will now provide you the option to upgrade all workplaces
- can now click on the sale display element in the upper right corner of the screen to show various project interaction options
- the option to upgrade all workplaces is now always present (even if you don't have enough money), when possible
- amount of people that can leave an office due to frustration reduced to 2 max per month, as opposed to every single person
- clicking on the monthly expenses element in the event box now creates an option to open the finances report popup
- enabling auto-organization of team-building activities will now skip the chance roll for attempting a schedule
- lowered minimum employees required for auto-organization of team building activities to 2 (was 6)
- fixed incorrect frustration values config for microtransactions, resulting in platform users becoming frustrated with microtransactions after 1 game being made, and never becoming unfrustrated
- fixed bad clearing of books in bookshelves, resulting in UI issues under certain circumstances
- fixed invalidity display being present when entering expansion mode, moving camera away from the object in question, exiting expansion mode and moving back into the visibility are of the object
- fixed various drive affector text not being displayed when asking employees whether there is anything you can do to improve their working conditions
- various german translation fixes
- various UI tweaks and adjustments
If you encounter any bugs or crashes, please report them here.
Please allow up to an hour for the game to update, alternatively you can restart Steam to instantly queue up an update for Game Dev Studio.
Progress report #4
Keep in mind that savegames saved on the 'develop' branch will not be compatible with the current stable release of the game, until Update #14 hits the default branch, since it has new content that the non-develop branch doesn't.
To opt-in to the 'develop' branch, right-click on Game Dev Studio in your Steam library, click on 'Properties', switch to the 'BETAS' tab, and choose 'develop' in the drop-down list of betas.
Keep in mind that MMOs were designed to be an even greater risk with an even greater reward than regular games when done right, so don't be surprised if your first few MMOs do badly in terms of overall success!
With the right build the game's window should say "1.0.2.0 DEV", so if you opt-in to the 'develop' branch and it still says 1.0.1.6, give Steam an hour to update everything or restart it to instantly queue up the latest update.
If you decide to try out this branch and have feedback that you wish to share, please post it here.
And lastly, if you have a friend that would like to play the game, but they have no means of acquiring it, then check out my brother's browser strategy MMO, the top 20 players will receive a key for the game! It's completely free to play, long-time players have no advantage over newcomers except for their greater knowledge of the game, and to make it fair, the game world has just been reset. Follow this link if you're interested: http://www.kingdomborders.com
Thank you for reading!
Progress report #3
The purpose of this game project type is to provide players with more ways to progress their studios, as well as something to sink their money into when in late game. Unlike regular game projects, MMOs will require more preparation. First of all, in order to launch a MMO, you'll need to either setup a server room in one of your offices, or rent servers.
Both have their ups and downs, for example, setting up your own server room will cost you less in the long run, but it will be using up that precious office space, which could be used to have more workplaces. On the contrary, renting servers will use up no office space, but you'll have to pay rent each month, and the more servers you rent, the higher the rent will be. Additionally, the more complex the MMO is, the more server capacity will be required for each player, meaning that you'll have to expand your servers to keep up with the player count.
When setting up the MMO project, there will be unique tasks for it, of which 3 categories will be mandatory to pick. Each MMO-specific task matches together with each genre, and selecting tasks which don't work well with the specific genre you've picked for the MMO will shorten its lifespan. Conversely, picking tasks that match well with the selected genre, will extend its lifetime. Even if you make a great game, if the selected tasks don't match well with the genre, it will die off earlier.
Right before releasing a MMO, you'll need to select the monthly subscription fee that your players will have to pay to keep playing. Selecting a fee that's too high will result in less people buying the game, and the MMO dying off earlier in general. On the other hand, selecting a low fee will ensure your MMO stays alive for longer, but it might not cover the server expenses if it's too low, and in that case you'll be operating at a loss.
There are a lot of other various factors that take part in affecting the game sales and subscriptions, and I think if I spoil everything here, it won't be as fun for you to discover everything once this new game project type is ready and released.
Thank you for reading, see you in the next progress report!
Update #13
- fixed issue presence notification popup not appearing
- fixed sale boost from making a sequel not caring much about the quality of either games (meaning you could make terrible, 1/10 games, and as long as there was a large enough time gap between them, it would yield you 100% bonus to sales)
- lowered max. sale boost from sequel timing to 50% (was 100%)
- issues will now have a greater effect on game sales (aside from the game rating itself)
If you encounter any bugs or crashes, please report them here.
Please allow up to an hour for the game to update, alternatively you can restart Steam to instantly queue up an update for Game Dev Studio.
Update #12
- reputation now provides a more direct boost to game sales
- fixed the main skill not being highlighted in the brief employee info display (ie. when employees are asking for a raise)
- employee vacation request cooldown now randomized between 3 to 4 months (was 1 month)
If you encounter any bugs or crashes, please report them here.
Please allow up to an hour for the game to update, alternatively you can restart Steam to instantly queue up an update for Game Dev Studio.
Update #11
- reviews now provide a lot more popularity to game projects
- the popularity gain from reviews now also depends on how close your game is to the maximum game scale (further away = less popularity gained)
- fixed a crash which occured when the player managed to scrap a game project that was currently being actively presented at a game convention
If you encounter any bugs or crashes, please report them here.
Please allow up to an hour for the game to update, alternatively you can restart Steam to instantly queue up an update for Game Dev Studio.