Thank you so much for your support and trust. With your feedback we were able (and still are) to expand Highrise City further and improve it as well. Thanks to the countless feedback we have quite a few plans on what else to add and we’ll share some insights soon.
For now, right before the holidays, we’ve got something very special for you. The very first expansion for Highrise City is here, called Metro & Planes. The DLC introduces metro lines for your cities which can easily be integrated into your current cities. It is a new option for your public transport routes and it also affects the way costs of your citizens. The all new airport allows you to expand on your trading options.
Already during the Early Access we already said that if we did paid expansions, we’d make sure that they would be priced fairly. And we stand by our word. We don’t believe in greed. We don’t believe in overpricing content. That’s why Metro & Planes is available for 2,99$. At the same time, we’ve set up a bundle which will give you an additional 10% Discount if you already own the main game.
Of course, the announcement of the Metro & Planes DLC is not all we have for you today. Work on the main game continues in the background and we have some news to share with you. Your population's satisfaction can now be increased to over 100%! Keep an eye out for this new feature, as it will have a significant impact on your rental income. There have also been some improvements to the graphics, as you can see from the new animations, as well as the water and beach areas. We have also been able - helped by your feedback ❤️ - to iron out a number of bugs and make the game even better.
Enjoy these and other changes with today's update to the main game!
Full Changelog
Improvements to water and beach areas
New traffic lights with hoods
Air conditioning with animation
People are slightly less tolerant of longer journeys to work
When unemployment is high, fewer people move to the city
Companies need more offices
Number of unemployed is calculated correctly for large cities
Improved path calculation
Satisfaction of your population can now be increased above 100%
Improved display of satisfaction and resulting financial bonuses
Adjustments to rental income and basic costs for apartments and offices
A new research mission and a new research related to happiness above 100%
We wish you all a merry christmas. Enjoy flying around and taking the metro!
A new update is rising!
Greetings Builders!
Has the time come? The time has come! A fresh update for Highrise City is ready. And this update includes quite some massive improvements for the performance of the game. During the last weeks we’ve been working really hard on the game and managed to improve the overall performance especially for really big cities. We managed to improve the performance by around 10 to 15 times which should bring you more joy when you are going for multi million citizen cities.
Besides that we’ve been working on other things as well. Thanks to your feedback we were able to fix some smaller and bigger issues. But we’ve also beautified some buildings and added a new Level 5 office.
And we’ve also included a small easter egg for the christmas season. Also: As a small spoiler, this was not the last update for this year. More on that soon…
Changelog
Performance massively improved
Lags for terraforming close to trees have been reduced
Lags reduced when building or demolishing buildings
Lags reduced when building streets
Persons are now correct placed in buildings
Buildings spawn with 2 times as many persons (visually)
Editor Fix: persons with 100% spawn rate will be displayed correctly
Adjusted some translations
Updated Building Descriptions to make it easier to understand that color can only be bought through trading
Achievement “FishFriday“ triggers correctly now
Improved how unemployment is displayed for longer distances
Improved how Garbage as a resource is displayed in the Building Editor
Smoke for new spawned buildings is displayed correctly
Beautified the fusion power plant
Beautified the jewelry
Added a new 2x1 Office Building Level 5
Improved the colors of persons for some industry buildings
Lags for terraforming close to trees have been reduced
Improved the requirements for the “EnergyChange” Achievement
Improved how upgrades are displayed for buildings
A small easter egg for the christmas season can be found in the game
If you are using a weaker system or don’t have enough RAM we recommend in the options to activate “Reduced Assets”. We’ve included this option for a while now and it brings a massive performance boost. Especially on weaker systems. Or if you are aiming to create a city with more than 20 Million inhabitants.
What's Next?
Greetings Builders!
We've been silent for a while. Time to change that. And give you a small update. Yes, we are still working on performance improvements and fixes for reported issues. We also got a bunch of StackTrace files to figure out certain crashes on some machines. We're looking into that.
Besides that, today, we'd like to tease a bit.
We also have some plans for additional product chains and some quality of life updates down the road. Since we're a small team, bigger changes always take some time. And yet: They'll come. More on that soon.
Update: Winner, Winner Chicken & Cake
Greetings Builders!
Once again we would like to thank you all for playing Highrise City and for providing us with tons of feedback. After leaving Early Access we did not stop working on the game and started throwing around ideas on how to extend the game even further while also fixing reported issues and improving the performance of the game.
Today we would like to introduce a new product for your citizens: Cake. The bakery now becomes a building with a switchable resource. The bakery is now either a bakery or a pastry shop. To produce cake you will also need a new resource: Eggs. Which can be produced with a chicken farm:
We have also updated the building menu slightly, giving it a better structure and making it clearer and easier to understand. As a small tease here: We are currently reworking the icons in general and will introduce a fresh building menu later this year.
Something we’ve also been working on is the overall performance of the game. And yes, we will keep working on it to improve it even further - one of the most important aspects in the end for a city builder is the performance, especially when creating cities with millions and millions of inhabitants.
Besides general performance improvements underneath we’ve also introduced a new video option called “Reduced Assets” which can save several gigabytes of RAM in the lategame as it removes unneeded assets. This will allow also weaker machines to create even bigger cities.
Now also available (this was a function available in the Beta Branch for a few days now): If you are among the players hit by freezes, we’ve implemented a tool to figure out where exactly in the code they happen. If freezes happen, the game will generate a StackTrace file within 60 seconds, even if the game permanently freezes (it can take up to 60 seconds). The file will be stored under "C:\Users\USER\AppData\Local\CityNext\Saved\Config". It can tell us where exactly in the code the freeze happened. Thanks to people using the Beta Branch we already identified two errors which could cause a freeze and fixed these.
Full Changelog:
Building Menu only shows categories of buildings which can be build
Some Achievement conditions were adjusted (we know that two are still not working properly, that’s next on our list)
New Video Option “Reduced Assets” can be activated. Especially in bigger cities players can save a few gigabytes of RAM with this option
General performance improvements
Fixed two errors which could cause freezes
Added a StackTrace creation tool to identify issues if the game freezes
Fixed a display error when many resources were traded
New building: Chicken Farm (produces Eggs)
Neu Product Chain: Cake
Updated Credits of the game
Slightly adjusted the satisfaction level of consumer goods
Adjusted milestones so that they can be achieved quicker
Improved public transport so that the game now should properly save the amount of vehicles and not reset them to 1 anymore
Fixed smaller issues and bugs
Increased way costs for workers on “Middle” and “Hard” a bit
What’s Next? We will keep updating the game. That’s for sure. We have some ideas to add some additional complexity to the game over the coming months. We have also started working on some additional content. We’ll keep you posted on that very soon.
Beta Branch Updated
Greetings Builders,
We have updated the Beta Branch which you can freely pick in Steam. Usually we don't post changes made in the Beta Branch but this time it's a different situation. We are reading all the posts in the forums and on Discord and some players are still affected by regular crashes.
We were able to implement a tool to be able to analyze the freezes. If freezes happen, the game will generate a StackTrace file within 60 seconds, even if the game permanently freezes (it can take up to 60 seconds). The file will be stored under "C:\Users\USER\AppData\Local\CityNext\Saved\Config". It can tell us where exactly in the code the freeze happened.
We'd be thankful if you could provide us the StackTrace files if you are having these crashes.
Patch 1.2.0 20230921 Released
Hello dear Mayors!
First of all: We would like to thank you. The launch of Highrise City left us without words and we've crawled through your feedback and prepared a first patch - but that's not all. We plan to update the official Trello Roadmap tomorrow so that you know what's coming next. And that's for sure: There will be more. But for today, here are the patchnotes:
Patchnotes
Improved the updating of Bus Stations when upgrading or removing a street
Trading: Single tasks are saved correctly
Trading: Improved inserting texts
Trading: Displaying of Single Tasks has been improved
Trading: Current in-stock gets displayed
Trading: When you insert numbers manually the number will only be taken if you have finished inserting it
MegaTowers do not disappear anymore after upgrading streets
Fixed a bug which caused issues with Bus Stations when upgrading a street (sometimes no new connections were possible anymore)
Improved how production and use of garbage is displayed
Fixed an issue where citizens would produce too much garbage
Noise and polution are removed completely if you move a building or if you destroy it
Farms display the full costs now if resources are missing. Previously the missing resources were displayed
Fixed a bug where Mega Towers would be treated as regular houses and couldn't be moved correctly
That also fixed the issue that they could ignore collision
Fixed a bug which could cause Mega Towers from being build due to missing resources
Set minimum number of Public Transport vehicles to 1
Fixed a bug so that the recommended number of Public Transport vehicles can never be 0
Improved a tooltip while building streets regarding possible collisions
Removing of bus stations when a crossroad gets too close has been made more tolerant
Included the removing of a bus station from the list if it gets removed from the player
Localized the text when quitting the game correctly now
Many small improvements regarding Public Transport
The Resourcelist for trading has been added with customizable slots
This was made so that you can better check how many you have in stock and what might make sense to buy or sell
Fixed a rounding error for productivity of buildings
Fixed a bunch of translation errors
Garbage Powereplants and Recycling have been updated so that they use more garbage
Many smaller errors and bugs which were reported by the community have either been fixed or we improved the current status quo
Added Big Substation
Welcome to Highrise City 1.2!
Hello, dear mayors!
The time has finally come! Highrise City is now available in version 1.2! With this, the game leaves Steam's Early Access program after 18 months of hard work. Before we get to the most important new features in this update, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire community, both on Steam and in the official Highrise City Discord! Without your suggestions, ideas and bug reports, Highrise City would definitely not be what it is today. Thank you so much!
We're also celebrating our special day with a launch discount of 20%, starting today until September 18! So if you've been holding off on Early Access, now is a great time to start your journey as the mayor of your own megacity.
Version 1.2 also adds a whole bunch of new features to the game - and this list is really huge! For example, Highrise City now comes with a storyline and missions that not only tell you a story around your rise as mayor, but also reward you if you complete the challenges. At the end of your journey, there's even a huge mega-project waiting for you: your own spaceport, which has to be built in several stages!
After completing the main story, you'll have the opportunity to jump into the "New Game+" mode! This mode is meant for real professionals and comes with new challenges, a completely new construction mode and much more detailed micromanagement of your workers, where each industrial building requires a certain type of worker.
But that's not all, of course! In addition to a number of new buildings and all-new resources, such as lithium, batteries and electric cars, mayors in Highrise City must now manage their power supply in greater detail. For this purpose, high-voltage cables must now be built and linked to substations in order to be able to supply every corner of your city with energy and to make your city planning even more realistic.
And for friends of public transport, there is now also the possibility to plan bus routes, which can open up new routes for your workers to get to their workplace and, with thoughtful planning, greatly reduce the amount of car traffic in your city!
You can look forward to this and much, much more in Highrise City 1.2! We, the whole team of FourExo Entertainment and Deck13 Spotlight, would like to thank you very much for your support, your criticism, your suggestions for improvement, your ideas and the video and stream content of the whole Highrise City community! Without you, this mammoth project would never have been possible!
Of course, this is not the end of our journey yet! In the coming days and weeks, we'll be working regularly on potential bug fixes as well as other convenience features based on your feedback. We are also already working hard on completely new content and can't wait to tell you more about it!
Full Changelog:
Main Features:
16 new buildings
New energy economy with substations and high-voltage cables
Missions
New multiple upgrading of buildings
Mega project: space port
Bus lines
New resources: lithium, battery, electric cars, paint, hazardous waste
Recycling economy with selectable production goods
New large production chain: electric cars
Supermarkets and shopping malls
Huge skyscrapers
Narrative story set to music
New playable map: Hong Kong
Language Updates: English, German, French, Japanese, Korean, Chinese Simple, Chinese Traditional, Turkish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Spanish, Ukrainian,
New Game+ with new challenges:
New Construction Mode: resources are built by a construction company. This also allows for a Blueprint mode, where the player gives their city more construction contracts than resources are available.
Worker levels: Each industrial building requires a certain type of worker. This increases the complexity of city management enormously and is only something for real professionals in Highrise City.
Side Features:
Many buildings have been greatly improved visually
Upgrade button on the left side of the building menu: Provides a good overview of which buildings are upgradeable and can be improved with one click.
Tutorial adapted
Many new pictures and in-game videos created or revised
The amount of garbage has been increased
New resource: Hazardous waste (only convertible to garbage with the reprocessing plant)
All mines and battery factories produce hazardous waste
New service: "Shopping”
Building: "Space Memorial" raises the satisfaction of the inhabitants in an area.
Delivery mission: Deliver goods with a truck.
Some other buildings, such as the Mayor's Mansion, raise the satisfaction of nearby residents.
Building editor: camera can be moved closer to the ground
Construction of buildings improved for more collision tolerance
New filter: building influence
Targets of milestones slightly simplified.
Blueprint mode possible with new building "Construction Company"" (Available in NewGame+)
When spending all research points, the HUD no longer says 99999 research points
Main menu shows the maximum reached population per region
Plants from farms are placed only in your own farm
The highest difficulty level is unlocked in all settings menus only after you have exposed the satellite.
Income from electricity and water surplus trade slightly reduced
Vehicles and people have shadows (At highest shadow quality level)
In the building menu, when the building info view is displayed, if it is too close to the edge, it is moved more to the center of the screen
Lag reduced when constructing buildings.
Performance in general increased
Lags on computers with less than 8 cores significantly reduced
3 new researches
Building shows more precisely what it is missing. e.g. if electricity is missing or if the power connection to a substation is missing
If you use the filter on a forwarding company, the settings are saved correctly
If you click on a water tower or water points, you can now easily place water pipes
Some of the most powerful researches can be unlocked only after launching a satellite
Zones are correctly made invisible when a building is placed on them
Many much new ingame tips
New voice recordings
UI improvements
UI has new sounds new public transport menu to create and manage bus lines
In the balance menu, local public transport breaks down how the costs are made up when a building is upgraded, the zones underneath remain invisible
Clouds create moving shadows
Buildings upgraded with cubemap details
Maintenance costs of water pipes slightly increased
Construction costs of water pipes are displayed on the mouse pointer Construction company: number of buildings under construction is displayed on the left side of the HUD
When clicking on a water tower or water points, the water filter is displayed correctly
In recycling centers the type of recycling can be selected
Costs of large roads slightly increased
The total number of buildings in the city is displayed at the top right of the city name
When the mouse pointer is over an industrial building, the building level is displayed with stars
Icons above residential buildings for too high air pollution and noise made a bit more tolerant
Added new ways to get more research points
Balancing
Gamescom, Release, Demo, Preview
Greetings Builders!
The official full release for Highrise City is getting closer. As of today, we are fully feature complete. Everything we wanted for the Update is now ready. From public transport with buses, mega skyscrapers, alternate building modes (Anyone ready for a Citybuilder with NG+?), shopping malls and a little secret we won't talk about until release day. And so many more things. We have now entered a stage of fixing, finetuning and polishing.
And with that being said: Highrise City will leave Early Access on 4th September. We're now heading off to gamescom (not everyone obviously, the biggest part of the team is still finishing everything up) where we will have the current build playable at our Booth in the Indie Arena.
If you can't come by to say hello to Michael, feel free to keep an eye on the storepage. Marvin will be streaming a bit of gameplay during the show.
Last but not least, something we've also been working on: Substations and power lines.
A small preview #2
Greetings Builders,
As promised, we're doing another small preview for the upcoming Full Release patch we're currently working on. Due to feedback from the community, we have included a new need for citizens. When Highrise City releases from Early Access, all your citizens will have the desire to go shopping as well. The goods you produce with your economy will be sold in the shopping malls.
A small preview
Greetings Builders,
As promised, we're starting today to show off some things we're currently working on. With the full release later this year, you will get the option to build mega skyscrapers. These special buildings offer living space for A LOT of citizens. Also on the screenshots you can see the shoping mall (a new need of your citizens which will be introduced as well - if you don't spot it, no worries, we'll take a more detailed look very soon) and power lines.
