Updated to 1.54. Discounts, Fixes, GUI changes, Bigger map
Here is the complete changelist for todays update:
[version 1.54]
1) [Bug] Fixed bug where AI research could sometimes skip a rung in the research tree and not research the parent tech.
2) [GUI] Fixed flickering of tooltips on the slot details screen.
3) [Bug] Sound effects volume slider now works again!
4) [Content] New mission map: Detroit (216% bigger than previous largest map).
5) [GUI] Changed the 'New!' text so it no longer flashes but is drawn vertically on the slot selector instead, so it is less irritating.
6) [Bug] Fixed bug where sometimes the backs of company logo signs were flipped.
7) [GUI] Research link button on the design studio details window now links directly to the car designs tab in research screen.
8) [GUI] Reorganised the research tree slightly with some more pre-requisites required for certain techs.
9) [Balance] Increased the research output of the research center, increased price of both research facilities, and increased research cost of some late game items.
10) [GUI] Added new floating notice that informs the player when resources are refunded from a stockpile if seemingly not needed any more.
11) [GUI] Hovering over a building zone 'unlock' icon now shows as a highlight the area that is contained within that zone.
12) [Bug] Fixed bug where in some circumstances cars would not sell.
13) [Bug] Fixed bug where custom map delete button was not working.
14) [GUI] Added icon to tech tree entries to indicate when they are already in the research queue.
15) [Feature] New discount scheme feature added to the showroom.
16) [Bug] Fixed bug where the 'defects' vehicle sign could be stuck at the export slot after exported car was sold.
17) [Bug] Fixed crash bug involving using commas in car design names. Commas can now longer be entered in the naming window for car designs.
18) [Optimisation] Reduced size of save game files.
19) [GUI] Slot picker mouseover now shows the number of each item that is created for manufacturing slots.
20) [Languages] Added community-provided Slovenian language translation.
Hope you like these improvements. We have a bunch of small fixes, balance changes etc to do next before we think about marketing campaigns for models, and maybe reliability and machinery breakdowns.
Don't forget to vote on your priorities!
Battery production, more SFX and GUI improvements. build 1.53
Hi again everyone! This is another update to the game with a list of varied improvements and tweaks. We fixed some stockpile bugs which will be a relief to people with large factories, introduced a few GUI improvements, and added a new battery-production pipeline for electric cars, new SFX and more. Full list:
1) [Feature] Added screenshot and new post-card mode screenshot buttons to the top of screen button GUI.
2) [SFX] Added a whole bunch of new sound effects in the factory.
3) [Bug] Extra text on the vehicle warning 'slot requirements not met' is now correctly displayed.
4) [Content] New scenario added for the giant map.
5) [GUI] Vehicle notices now have a mini-vehicle rendered next to the text to make it clear they are specific to that vehicle.
6) [GUI] Scenario objectives window now pops up whenever one of the objectives is met.
7) [GUI] Vehicles and slots now have different shaped icons for warnings and errors when zoomed out.
8) [Sounds] Improvements to the code for factory sounds that makes them much more positionally sensible.
9) [Bug] Fixed bug where supply stockpiles might not order items that were second or later on their list in certain specific circumstances.
10) [Balance] Increased purchase cost of research facilities of both types by 10%.
11) [Balance] Reduced the delay at a game start before AI competition arrives.
12) [GUI] Enhanced the 'waiting for resources' notice so that it now shows icons for what resources are missing.
13) [GUI] Save game dialog now defaults to a save name with date, time and company name in it.
14) [GUI] Prices screen on the finance window now shows current wage and power costs and wage pressure history over time.
15) [GUI] Fixed graphical bug where some modal tutorial windows would prevent scrolling but not zooming, resulting in graphical corruption on map.
16) [Content] New battery production slots and research!
Hope you like these changes, and dont forget to vote on your priorities for the next update from the games main menu. If you like the game, we really appreciate a steam review, or if you tweet about the game, or mention it to your friends. Thanks :D
Updated to 1.52 (Friday 8th June)
Hello again! Here is the latest update, some bug fixes, some new slots to build and also modding support:
[version 1.52]
1) [GUI] Moved the car body design tech tree inside the main R&D screen to make it more obvious how to research new cars.
2) [Bug] Fixed crash bug when buying a placed-already blueprint for a supply stockpile or research facility (or other facility).
3) [Feature] Added slots that require research which produce vents, arches and bumpers.
4) [Balance] Door panels, exhausts and roofs now take slightly longer to produce and cost more to construct the slots. Added employees to make exhaust slot.
5) [Feature] The game now backs up the previous autosave before autosaving the game, to enable recovery should saving a game fail.
6) [GUI] Important status issues like no export room, no resources or no route for resources are now highlighted by flashing yellow/red strips on slot details windows.
7) [Translations] Updated a bunch of missing translations.
8) [Bug] Fixed crash bug when leaving details window for a car open a while after its been exported. (Window now auto-closes on export).
9) [Bug] Fixed bug where compact and other small body styles with 2 doors still used 4 servos for electric windows.
10) [Bug] Fixed main menu bug where achievement icons spilled out of the window on certain resolutions.
11) [Mods] Modding support added.
Hope you like these changes. I'll be looking at battery production soon, along with other things. Expect a proper development roadmap to be available soon as well. We have plans to add more scenarios for the later maps, and also we have plans to add a new vehicle type. I hope you are enjoying the game, and please leave us a steam review if you are :D
Updated to 1.51. Followcam + more
Complete changelist:
[version 1.51]
1) [Gfx] New graphical changes, robots etc for when you upgrade visual inspection.
2) [Bug] Fixed crash bug when deleting large areas of the map, especially importers.
3) [Bug] Fixed crash bug relating to placing down a conveyor belt for cars (seemingly random).
4) [Bug] Possible fix for crash on startup relating to sounds not being found.
5) [Bug] Fix for 'SIM_SupplyStockpile.cpp' crash.
6) [Bug] Fixed bug where a placed and then bought blueprint would permanently block other blueprints from being placed on those tiles.
7) [GUI] Changed layout of component window scrolling so its LHS column then RHS column and not alternating.
8) [Gfx] Changed laser scanner animation so its less strobe-effect.
9) [Bug] Fixed crash when clicking a placed blueprint for a facility.
10) [Bug] Fixed bug where blueprints got duplicated when saving and loading the same game.
11) [GFX] Paint nozzle upgrade now adds extra cannisters to the top of the paint room.
12) [Bug] Fixed various glitches with display of the area delete tool.
13) [GUI] Shift-click to repeat place now also works on blueprints.
14) [Bug] Fixed smart junction UI crash bug.
15) [GFX] QA update now retains a partial inspection structure and qa robots and scanners are improved.
16) [GUI] Placing down an office-only facility will now only highlight unlocked and thus viable office zones.
17) [Feature] Cars will now happily go through a slot that carries out tasks they do not need, if this is the only direction they can go in.
18) [Bug] Prevent loading in or placing of duplicate resource conveyors, and fixed bug when area delete does not seem to remove all conveyors.
19) [Bug] Fixed crash relating to expenses pie charts in some unusual circumstances.
20) [Bug] Visual Inspection, Smart Junctions, and performance and emissions checks no longer cause existing defects to worsen.
21) [Bug] Doubled the resource object limit, for people who want insanely big custom factories :D
22) [Bug] Added a new texture atlasing system that can re-atlas the files and allow the game to run on older video cards that only support 2048 textures.
23) [Bug] UI for mini supply stockpiles now shows correct range for the slider.
24) [Bug] Fixed corrupt save game bug (very rare) happening if a save game happens between a vehicle selling and being removed from the vehicle list.
25) [Bug} fixed bug relating to heated steering wheel production.
26) [Feature] UI for vehicle details now has a crosshair icon that toggles a followcam on or off.
Steam workshop support coming soon(ish)
Updated to build 1.50 (8th may)
Hi again! another update, with a variety of GUI tweaks and bug fixes:
1) [GUI] Cars with defects now have a warning icon on them in the showroom.
2) [GUI] Improved company logo/name picker.
3) [GUI] Imports & Upgrades tabs now hidden in slot details window if not needed.
4) [GUI] Tooltips added to the readouts on the top of the marketing and sales matrix screens.
5) [Modding] Increased by a factor of 4 the maximum size of the path finding system to allow for bigger maps.
6) [Performance] Approximately 50% speed boost to loading times and new game times.
7) [Features] New upgrades for visual inspection and rework slots to boost detection rate and fix rate. These need to be researched.
8) [GUI] Added tooltips showing prices for each component to the component tab of the efficiency window.
9) [GUI] Delete key now works like the backspace key when editing text.
10) [GUI] < and > keys no longer accepted as text input due to causing crash bugs...
11) [GUI] Warning icons on vehicle design window LHS now update if price changes alter a cars price-range.
12) [GUI] The list of resource imports on the slot details window is now the complete list regardless which car is currently being worked on.
13) [Features] New area delete support. select the bulldozer from the slot picker then drag select to clear an entire area of the factory.
14) [Features] Errors that bring up an error message now get automatically anonymously logged to the server.
15) [Bug] Hopefully a fix for the "Failed to set Save file buffer" error.
16) [Bug] Fixed game hang when trying to place a blueprint outside the map.
17) [Bug] Hopefully fixed the 0 length autosave crash.
18) [GUI] Slot picker outline now turns red when in bulldozer mode.
Hopefully there are some good bug fixes in there. I really do want to eliminate all crashes and bugs before adding anything else to the game. I'm aware of a few problems relating to slots like steering wheels and lights with components being ordered wrong, and I'm looking into it.
Updated to build 1.49 (April 26th)
Hi all! This update is a big one, and includes the new defects system and a lot more:
Changes:
1) [BUG] AI rivals now correctly check they have researched pre-requisites for a tech before researching that tech.
2) [Bug] Marketing achievement now correctly triggers at $5million, not $1million.
3) [Bug] Finance summary screen now ignores the current hour for calculating lifetime results, so it is consistent with reporting in the other columns.
4) [GUI] Left-clicking on a blueprint now brings up a menu allowing you to move, delete or buy that individual blueprint (if unlocked and affordable).
5) [GUI] Blueprint layouts are now saved and loaded within savegames.
6) [GUI] Features & components windows now moved to be part of the general efficiency window, and component chart redesigned so it shows production and consumption more sensibly.
7) [Balance] Customers now have a wider potential price range they are interested in, but base number of customers per hour has been reduced, so you run out of customers more quickly.
8) [Balance] Marketing campaign effects on brand awareness are now not as persistent as before.
9) [GUI] Breakdown of where customers come from now added to tooltip on market screen customers indicator.
10) [GUI] Redesigned main menu screens.
11) [Bug] Fixed crash bug when placing down a smart junction blueprint, converting it to a proper slot, then saving the game.
12) [Feature] New facility: Half size (mini) supply stockpile! 13) [Balance] Major changes to the costs of the different marketing campaigns.
14) [GUI] Marketing campaign progress now shown in marketing menu buttons tooltip.
15) [Balance] Make door panels, roof and steering wheel slots now takes twice as long but outputs 2 at a time, to reduce resource importer requirements.
16) [Balance] Make aircon power costs raised and production line raised, but output doubled.
17) [Balance] Make exhaust production time increased but output doubled.
18) [Balance] Slowed down production rate of make wheels slot, added more employees and boosted power demand.
19) [Balance] Increased build cost and process time of manufacture rollcage slot, but doubled its output.
20) [Balance] Reduced process time of manufacturing airbags.
21) [Balance] Increased construction cost of make exhaust slot and added 4 new employees to the slot.
22) [Content] Added 16 more car company logos to choose from. 23) [GUI] Archived designs no longer show up in the smart junction design GUI.
24) [Feature] New defect system, new rework station (and research requirement). Visual inspection slots can be placed anywhere, defects affect sales probability, based on new perceived brand quality metric.
25) [Bug] Fixed potential crash on car showroom screen.
26) [GUI] Slot picker now shows more sensible information on research office point generation.
Summary
...so! basically we have a lot of improvements to the blueprints system, new researchable mini supply stockpiles, plus a completely new defects system. The defects system needs some GUI improvements, and a tutorial and updates to our steam guide, and I will be working on all that sort of thing over the next week. It will probably require some balancing as well. Also note that we have made a bunch of balance changes to make it much more practical to produce components 'in-house' in this build.
As always let me know what you think, but bug reports are probably best made in the tech support forum.
Updated to build 1.48
Here are the changes.
[version 1.48]
1) [GUI] Entering and leaving slot blueprint mode now pauses and resumes the game.
2) [GUI] Marketing dialog now also shows the current total brand awareness.
3) [Bug] Fixed bug where supply stockpiles did not update their routes correctly.
4) [GUI] You can now place blueprints for locked (unresearched) items, but they appear purple and cannot be immediately placed.
5) [Bug] Fixed bugs relating to resources stockpiles, wrong items being ordered, and also wrong items for the headlights slot when upgraded.
6) [GUI] Office zones now show when in blueprint placing mode, placed blueprints now grey not red, and direction arrows always show for blueprints.
7) [Bug] Fixed bug relating to toggling on and off of upgrades at slots that could cause toggle to be ignored or not checked correctly.
8) [Bug[ Fixed bug where wages for marketing staff were not being paid correctly or categorised correctly.
9) [Graphics] New animated characters: Female scientist (seated and standing). Seated marketing expert, woman with clipboard, employee operating control panel.
10) [Bug] Fixed bug where achievements triggered outside of steam were not always updated on steam.
11) [Balance] Increased rent by 50% for all non-starting zones.
Also... I screwed up and there was an animation bug., I did a hotfix today and hopefully all is fine now...
The ones I care about most in this list are the stockpile related fixes. I know some people saw the wrong things being ordered, and I found a number of theoretical causes and rewrote that code so hopefully all is fine now.
New company logo choices coming soon!
New version (build 1.47) 11th march
Hi, we just uploaded a new build of the game, here are the major fixes and changes:
1) [Bug] Fixed an issue with fit body where resources would be purged just before they were needed.
2) [Bug] Fixed some translation-related issues with certain special characters, and hacked in a workaround for others. Mainly affects Portuguese.
3) [Bug] Fixed bug, most notable with aluminium body, where even if a resource was not needed for any car, slots would pre-order it (and eventually refund it).
4) [Bug] Fixed bug where cars in showroom might seem invisible if you go straight to the showroom before a car of that body type has been drawn in the main world.
5) [Balance] Increased scientists wages by 25%.
6) [Balance] Doubled the cost of extra robot upgrades.
7) [Bug] Fixed broken customer awareness achievement.
8) [Balance] Quadrupled rubber cost, halved tire manufacture rubber requirements, doubled output and increased production time to make it less resource-hungry.
9) [Bug] Fixed bug where marketing campaigns would persist in future games until the game was restarted.
10) [Bug] Fixed crash bug which eventually resulted from placing a new slot on top of a queued car on an existing conveyor. (Resulted in corrupt saves).
11) [Feature] A new blueprint placement mode allows you to plan a factory without spending any money, and then commit the purchase all at once.
12) [Feature] Factory walls now have signs showing your company logo.
This coming week will be work on smaller footprint supply stockpiles, and then there will be no updates for a week due to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
I hope you like the new stuff, especially the blueprints, let me know if you think they need better explaining or some usability / GUI changes to make them more helpful.
Also expect a new youtube video about the changes coming later today :D
New version uploaded (build 1.46)
Here is what we have added & changed in the game today!
1) [Feature] 8 new achievements.
2) [Balance] Slowed down servo production speed and increased cost of servo production slot.
3) [GUI] Efficiency graph component list now shows consumption in the last whole hour, so its more useful (rather than the current hour!).
4) [Balance] Increased rent of expansion lots on all maps by 50%.
5) [Feature] Expanding the factory now has an additional one-time contract signing cost for each new zone you take over.
6) [Balance] Reduced costs of early multi-task production slots.
7) [Feature] Added Dutch and Polish translations
8) [Feature] Added button to pause/resume production slot progress.
9) [GUI] Changed color scheme of R&D screen so it burns your retinas slightly less.
10) [Bug] Fixed bug where cars could get replaced by white squares if a screensaver kicks in or somehow the app loses focus when fullscreen.
11) [Feature] You can now re-order items in the research queue.
12) [GUI] Slot windows now show total time, plus current task time.
I also added some new icons for the marketing campaigns, new icons to represent different banks which offer you loans, and a bunch of proper icons for choosing from as your company logo.
The next patch is likely to focus on balance and bug fixes rather than features. I'm still building up to starting work on defects and QA/Car quality as well as equipment breakdowns.
I hope you like the new changes, please let me know what you think, and as ever, if you like the game and have not yet left us a quick steam review, please do so as they are really appreciated, and encourage more players to check out the game.
Interim patch to 1.45a
I fixed the save game bug, so rushed this out there. As a result, the 8 new achievements dont have artwork yet...
[version 1.45a]
1) [GUI] New window above each production line-start shows the currently produced car, to draw attention to where the scheduler can be edited.
2) [SFX] Reduced volume of R&D SFX.
3) [Bug] Fixed incorrect warning icon about unselected car features when loading a game.
4) [Bug] Player no longer warned about pre-researched features like visual inspection or emissions checks not being enabled.
5) [Bug] Player no longer warned about missing but incompatible options such as bullbars on a sedan.
6) [GUI] Slot details window bottom tabs now dynamically resize to fit content.
7) [GUI] Some improvements to where the slot error messages appear and what they say.
8) [GUI] Empty office tiles are now highlighted on the map when you try to place an office-only facility.
9) [GUI] Potential import and export slots are now highlighted on the map when you are placing the relevant slot.
10) [Bug] Fixed autosave crash bug, and creation of unloadable autosaves.
11) [GUI] Re-arranged R&D screen so that the top categories are in the same order as the actual production line (chassis first...)
