The following post is taken from our blog. For previous updates, please visit our website.
May
Landlord’s Super has left Early Access.
This month we review the development and release of Landlord’s Super. We also take time to consider what’s next for our studio.
LANDLORD’S SUPER RELEASE
Firstly, Thanks to everyone who purchased Landlord’s Super. Whether you supported us during the Early Access period, waited for release or maybe couldn’t afford a copy but gave us a retweet anyway. We’re a micro studio of 2 people and getting a game to launch is both an emotional struggle and a financial one, so having people value our work really is everything for us. This is especially impactful during a cost-of living crisis. So thank you.
Also, big thanks to the Yogscast for taking a chance on the game way back in the end of 2018 when it was just a rough prototype of bricks and cement. The game would have never turned into a fully fledge life sim without their unwavering patience, trust and support.
Landlord’s Super can comfortable be called niche. A simulation game framed around a piece of 1980s legislation. Available on one platform and currently only translated into 1 language (ignoring American). Landlord’s Super is also an incredibly self-indulgent creation. Drawing from Greg’s time working up and down the country as a concrete (and later steel) erector. All the while presenting itself in the style of Peter Mitchell’s oft forgotten photography.
It’d be easy then, with the game taking such a long time to produce, and it not being in a current trendy genre, to say the game isn’t a hit. Critically and commercially it’s not set the world on fire. But it has paid for it’s own development cycle which is more than most games, and more than it probably has any right to.
REPAIRING RELATIONSHIPS
Before release, we’d reached out to Excalibur, the publisher of Jalopy, asking for a number to purchase the distribution rights from them. They responded and the number was fair. We now had a best case scenario goal for Landlord’s release. If we could hit a specific number, we’d be in a position to purchase these rights, and could get to work on a rerelease of Jalopy.
We’re nowhere near that number, but if we’re honest we expected that anyway. As mentioned, Landlord’s is niche and it paying for itself to exist is a win in of itself. But even without the capital the Jalopy dream needn’t be dead in the water.
We’re in civil discussion with Excalibur once again, which is a step in the right direction. Discussion based around how work on Jalopy can be continued. The current worry from our side is taking on the risk of producing a content update, only for them to use it to promote another game ala Guangdong. We’re not financially secure enough to take that risk at this time.
SO WHAT’S NEXT?
Support will continue for Landlord’s Super in the form of bug fixes and quality of life updates and we’ll continue rebuilding the relationship with Excalibur. Though major content updates for either game shouldn’t be expected anytime soon.
We’re not yet in a position to reveal what the next game is, but we’re working on it now and fans of Jalopy should be pleased. It’s enjoyable work, and the theme and setting are interesting to me. I think it should also progress the CarPG genre forward in ways other games have yet to try.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The lesson’s learnt during the development were nothing revolutionary. Development was too long, the project was too self-indulgent, design wasn’t simple enough. But when players send us their saves and we explore their worlds, it still gives us a special feeling.
So please, continue to play and share your thoughts and we’ll continue improving the game. We’ll be going quiet for a few months whilst we work on something new, but updates will still come and feedback will still be read.
All the best, Greg
0.1.03
1.0.03
Fixed Darby dialogue from “wondered” to “wandered”.
Fixed missing german string “Prepared by”
Fixed Soft-Lock caused by urinating on police officer
Fixed Mitchell catalogue roof UI being open
Fixed string “Ratchet has been added to your toolbet” to “Spanner has been added to your toolbelt”
Tamsin will no longer remember to be mad at you for breaking her wall upon loading into the game
Tamsin will no longer notice players damaging her wall while she’s working in the food truck
Post-Mortem on release coming soon.
Please, if you are leaving a review stating the game is buggy can you please write down what the bug is so I can fix it. I understand there's a lot of upset players but I can't fix an issue if I'm not aware of it.
Cheers, Greg
Landlord's Super 1.0 is out now! - With a 30% Launch discount
The day is finally here - The Landlord's Super 1.0 launch! - If you have yet to pick up Landlord's super now is the best time to pick it up - feature complete and with a 30% discount!
It has been a long road through Early Access - and we are excited to finally have launched the 1.0 version!
First we would like to thank all the fans and players who have supported and purchased Landlord's Super during Early Access. You have helped us spread the word of the game and guided the game through many iterations and new content updates along the way, we could not have got this far without you!
A lot has changed since the Early Access launch, so we have put together a short list of some of the key features:
Free Build - build the house of your dreams, brick by brick from the ground up.
3 Tenants to win over and attend to. Including the Lout, Grafter and Yuppie
Painting and Decorating
3 Furniture catalogues to help you decorate the interiors of your homes. Choose from cheap basic furniture in the IQ'ere catalogue. Traditional furniture in the Agoost catalogue. Post-Modern furniture in the Harold's catalogue.
4 Music tapes to unlock with music composed by Jeremy Warmsley.
Power Tools to make constructing your homes faster and easier
Buy all new Consumables and carry them with you. Gamble your earnings away in the pub's fruit machine. Multiple graphical overhauls.
Claim benefits from the Job centre.
Renovate your caravan!
Crime & Punishment.
Crime in the game is now punished. Cheat the benefits, vandalise someone's property or assault another character and risk going to jail.
Achievements, controller support, American localisation
It's knackering grafting away in 1980's Britain, so make sure you head down the Anchor and get yourself a pint!
All the best, Greg
1.0.02 (InDev)
1.0.02 (InDev Only)
Fixed invisible brick in the starter house
Fixed American naming of the Lout to Oaf
Fixed American naming of the Grafter to Labourer
Fixed switches on work light slowly moving down
Fixed issue with player not dropping items correctly when being sent to jail
Fixed Traditional Back Door models not matching the catalogue image
Fixed misspelling of Aluminium
Fixed rounding issue causing loan to not be paid off
Removed Change List on front end
Cheers, Greg
1.0.01 (InDev)
1.0.01 (InDev Only)
Fixed German localisation issue with “days” / “hours” not translated in the notebook
Fixed German localisation issue with “RENOVATE PROPERTY” not translated in the notebook when starting a new game
Fixed an Options title incorrectly displayed as “opt_title_08”
Fixed incorrect ordered tooltip for Jump, Crouch, Sprint
Fixed issue with back button on credits not working
Fixed issue with New game confirm text displaying yes options twice
Fixed issue where Breeze blocks were child of pallets in the world
Fixed missing dialogue strings for American English
Cheers, Greg
Landlord's Super 1.0 Release Date
The following post is taken from our blog. For previous updates, please visit our website.
Landlord's Super 1.0
The game leaves Early Access on May 25th.
While our aim is to launch Landlord's Super as bug free as possible, the game will continue to receive bug fixes where needed.
I'll likely put together a post-mortem next month on what went wrong and what went right during development. If you're adverse to Early Access periods and like building games, May 25th is the time to pick up the game.
The game will launch with support for the following languages: UK English, US English and German.
1.0.00 InDev Update
German and American English languages have been added to the InDev branch, along with a bunch of fixes.
Added German & American English language selections
Removed “union notice” reference from job slips
Yuppie tenant now voiced by Kirsty of the Yogscast
Fixed issue where sofa and bed getting destroyed could soft lock properties with Tenants in them
Fixed time passing whilst browsing the furniture catalogue
Fixed Post-Modern Doors displayed as Traditional Doors in the Q&Q catalogue
Updated visuals for Scaffolding segment of the Q&Q catalogue
Fixed Medium Traditional Glass window visual issue
Fixed Small - Long Curtain colors from Harold’s catalogue selection not being delivered
Fixed minor visual inconsistency in loan payback bubble amounts
Fixed Z-Fighting on generated roofs
Fixed Retirement letter soft-locking the UI on screen
What is InDev?
InDev is a separate branch on Steam that gives players access to updates earlier while they are still in development. It’s a great way to try out new features early whilst also helping to make updates release as polished as possible. Whilst InDev contains the majority of the content available in the upcoming Yuppie update, players who opt-in should expect bugs, performance issues and some missing features.
How to Access InDev?
1. Right Click on your Landlord’s Super install in Steam and select “properties” 2. Click the Betas tab and then select InDev In development access 3. The InDev build should start to download on steam! Note: Steam may require a restart after stage 2 for the InDev to download.
All the best, Greg
0.12.02
Fixed issue where player would wake up with 0 calories
Fixed issue where loading into the game wouldn’t load correct belly size
Calorie burn rates now depend on player weight, rather than current calorie level. This is to make it easier to lose weight when bigger.
At 92kg calorie burn rate is 2.8x
At 76kg+ calorie burn rate is 1.6x
At 57kg and under, burn rate is 0.45x
Calories now burn whilst walking at 92kg+ weight (obese)
Cheers, Greg
0.12.01 (Main Branch) Controller Support
0.12.00 Update
Controller Support, quality of life changes to the tool shed and much needed calorie balancing are the standouts this update. Details below.
- Beta controller support added, support for Xbox and Dualshock pads now supported, please report any issues you find with these
- Added Input option to the controls menu, allowing players to select between “Keyboard & Mouse”, “Gamepad” & “Gamepad ALT”
- This should now fix the character spinning issue for players who have a wheel attached
- Fixed some Front End menu navigation with pad & keyboard input
- Fixed dishwasher job displaying pay as “£4.00”, now correctly shows “£1.50”
- Drop input now works for exiting menus and telephone
- Added input tooltip to bus schedule interaction
- Paint brush input now uses the assigned key from the control options (previously restricted to Left Mouse button)
- Rephrased “You might have a problem” achievement description to better explain the task
- Slight touch up of the Tools catalogue cover art
- Rewrote “Building a Roof” segment of the Notebook to better explain the process
- Building a Roof segment of the Notebook now unlocks after completing No-Fines task
- Player now burns 400 Calories whilst sleeping
- Player will no longer wake up with excess calories (2500 calorie cap)
- Added Jimmy tutorial lines explaining how to unlock the skip
- Calorie burn rates adjusted:
- Higher burn rate threshold lowered from 4000 calories to 3000 calories
- High burn rate lowered from 3000 calories to 2500 calories
- High burn rate increased from x1.5 to x1.6
- Low burn rate decreased from x0.75 to x0.65
- Lowest burn rate decreased from x0.5 to x0.25
- Fixed a bunch of UI interaction issues with Mitchell catalogue
- New UI for pouch consumables, tapes and ciggies
- Pouch UI can now be selected with keyboard navigation and controller navigation
- Fixed “,” being added to the end of the work bubble description when changing work amount
- New side entrance to the tool shed area
- New water point inside the tool shed area
- Fixed Tamsin’s brick wall placement issue
- Fixed being able to place bucket in paint or storage bucket storage ares, causing it to vanish
- Fixed being able to uninstall some starter house roof frames
Cheers, Greg
0.12.01 (InDev Hot Fix)
O.12.01 Important fix for grey screen bug. If you're getting this, please delete the following files from your save folder:
SavedSettings SettingsPatchID
Fixed grey screen caused by settings files not saving / loading correctly
Re-enabled debug inputs for InDev
Cheers, Greg
February Dev Log (Achievements, Beta Controller Support & more)
The following post is taken from our blog. For previous updates, please visit our website.
February
Month 33 of Landlord’s Super Early Access.
Implementing controller support made February feel like the longest month in the year. Fortunately, we persevered and managed to get support out on InDev Branch on Steam for beta testing.
There’s an obesity epidemic in Sheffingham, but thankfully we’ve reworked and rebalanced how calories work, along with a bunch of other fixes.
Oh yeah, the game now has achievements.
Read on for more.
Achievements
We’ve added 25 shiny new achievements to the game. Can you roll a jackpot? Retire before 1984? Become obese? Prove it and share with the world how much of a grafter you are. We’ve even themed them on politcal badges from the period the game is set in. Cor, that’s nice.
Also worth noting that Landlord’s Super now supports Steam cloud saves. Noice.
