Version 0.0.51.1 ALPHA is now live on the test branch. Full changelog below:
NOTICE: Version 51 contains major backend changes. We are still testing the new transportation system. Make sure to keep a version 50 save of your favorite cities.
Implemented bus system. To use, open the road tool (2) and select the transit tab (T). Add a new bus line (Q) and select "Add Stops to Line" (F). Then start placing a chain of routes. Select a headway (or frequency) for day and night. Then return to "All Bus Lines" to set the ticket and transfer price.
Implemented a new router which can handle transit routes.
Buses bill the city based on time spent on the road. Passengers pay a player-selectable ticket price and transfer price. Passengers are less likely to take an expensive bus. The city's transit budget is multiplied by 90 to account for the fact that we only simulate 4 days out of 365. Income is further multiplied by 5 to account for the fraction of trips that are not simulated.
Transit View was added to the infoview bar. Transit View now shows lines, stops, passengers waiting, and number of people inside buses.
Adding a Console. Access console by pressing ` (the tick mark or tilde key). Type "help" to get a list of commands. Put a question mark before a command to learn more about it, like so: "?lua". The console is still a work-in-progress.
Added Budget Controls. Player can now reduce spending on specific sectors, but those sectors will be less effective. It is also possible to shut down a sector entirely.\n \n
Budget estimates and Line of Credit are now based on Year+1, for stability.
People who spend more than a day traveling are now sent directly to their destination.
Improved performance of budget, frustum culling. Buildings are updated less frequently, for performance.
Building selection panel now shows the design filename.
Building roofs accumulate snow again.
Improved performance of transit.
Fixed a crash related to pedestrian paths and zoning/buildings.
You can opt in to the Test Branch via the Betas tab, found by right-clicking New Cities in your Steam Library and selecting Properties. Simply click the dropdown under the Betas tab and choose "test - Testing branch." You can return to the current main build via the same dropdown by choosing "NONE - Opt out of all beta programs" instead. Going from one to the other will trigger an update as Steam fetches you the desired branch.
Discuss the update with other mayors on our Discord!
Happy building! -Lone Pine Games
Friday Facts #22: Transit Oriented Development
Hello mayors,
Friday Facts #22 is available (and has been for a few days now) over on lonepine.io. Click through to learn about the progress on Mass Transit, .obj importation, and more: Friday Facts #22: Transit Oriented Development
Happy building! -Lone Pine Games
Update for Test Branch - v0.0.50.15 ALPHA
Hello mayors,
Version 0.0.50.15 ALPHA is now live on the test branch. Full changelog below:
Fixing an issue where some cities would stop developing at population 980.
Fixing shadow acne on land
Adding Police Headquarters
When closing blueprints, messages are reopened
Correct unlocking of First Farm achievement
Correct unlocking of University Minor Schools achievement
Correct unlocking of Eureka achievement
Entire traffic light pole now waves in the wind
There will be no residential demand when unemployment is too high.
Improved the apperance of text, especially on Linux
Buildings can be built up to 250 stories tall.
Fixing a crash when using the bulldozer
People now move into homes immediately, instead of being homeless for a period of time.
Homelessness will be reduced.
Crime will be increased.
Prosperity will be reduced.
Uneducated people will now have a higher unemployment rate.
Fixing a bug where stores with no customers would stay closed indefinitely
Fixing a bug where some people would sleep indefinitely
People will visit stores less and friends and amenities more.
Unemployment now has an effect on the education level of people moving to the city.
Educated people will move to high Value, high Density areas.
You can opt in to the Test Branch via the Betas tab, found by right-clicking New Cities in your Steam Library and selecting Properties. Simply click the dropdown under the Betas tab and choose "test - Testing branch." You can return to the current main build via the same dropdown by choosing "NONE - Opt out of all beta programs" instead. Going from one to the other will trigger an update as Steam fetches you the desired branch.
Discuss the update with other mayors on our Discord!
Happy building! -Lone Pine Games
Update for Test Branch - v0.0.50.14 ALPHA
Hello mayors,
Version 0.0.50.14 ALPHA is now live on the test branch. Full changelog below:
Adding zones view, which allows the player to see the zoning underneath buildings.
Adding toolbar buttons to show heatmaps, underground view, traffic view.
Increased routing traffic awareness.
Railroads and Pedestrian paths are now available in game mode.
Pedestrian paths do not crash in test mode.
Sidebar charts can be minimized to a bar.
Hills will not disappear on the edge of the screen.
Chart minimum values are now more accurate.
Increased demand for retail.
Snow and Rainfall are now less intense.
You can opt in to the Test Branch via the Betas tab, found by right-clicking New Cities in your Steam Library and selecting Properties. Simply click the dropdown under the Betas tab and choose "test - Testing branch." You can return to the current main build via the same dropdown by choosing "NONE - Opt out of all beta programs" instead. Going from one to the other will trigger an update as Steam fetches you the desired branch.
Discuss the update with other mayors on our Discord!
Happy building! -Lone Pine Games
Friday Facts #21 - Consoling
This week, supersoup explains the process behind the creation of New Cities' in-game console.
Version 0.0.50.13 ALPHA is now live on the test branch. Full changelog below:
Introducing tunnels. Build tunnels by pressing tab in the road tool. Visuals are preliminary.
Introducing underground view, for building tunnels and underground infrastructure.
Introducing viaducts. Build viaducts by pressing tab in the road tool.
Above-ground roadways now have support pillars.
Above-ground roadways and bridges now have sidewalks.
Introducing railways and pedestrian paths. They are not functional at this time. Railways cannot be zoned. Pedestrian paths will be zone-able in the future, but are not zone-able in this release, for technical reasons.
Significant performance improvements thanks to better frustum culling.
Water is now transparent, and has a much better appearance.
Shadows, vehicle headlights and building lights are all more intense.
Vehicle headlights flicker on gradually rather than suddenly.
Hard modpack: People will move out and businesses will close in response to bad economic situations. This is a test of recession mechanics and enhanced economic simulation.
People will not move into a city with high unemployment.
There will be more retail and office businesses and buildings. There will be a temporary spike of unemployment in existing cities.
Abandoned buildings are brown in heatmaps.
Updates to About Panel
You can opt in to the Test Branch via the Betas tab, found by right-clicking New Cities in your Steam Library and selecting Properties. Simply click the dropdown under the Betas tab and choose "test - Testing branch." You can return to the current main build via the same dropdown by choosing "NONE - Opt out of all beta programs" instead. Going from one to the other will trigger an update as Steam fetches you the desired branch.
Discuss the update with other mayors on our Discord!
Happy building! -Lone Pine Games
The New Cities IndieGoGo is now live!
It's time for IndieGoGo!
Check out the details over at our campaign page. Your support is critical to making New Cities the best it can be. And we'll make sure you have a few goodies as our own way of saying thanks.
Let's build something New, together.
New Cities Friday Facts #6: Quality
What's a heatmap, how does it affect the balance of gameplay in New Cities, and what about modding? All that and more in this week's Friday Facts! Click through for the post:
This week, we talk about Blueprints—a way to bring the tried-and-true with you between cities so you can focus on more important matters. Click through to read all about them!
This week, the Friday Facts blog is all about Scale. Map scale, city scale, traffic density scale—but how will bigger translate to better for New Cities? Click through to find out!
