As mentioned in the last update, I felt that it was important to improve the chef efficiency to allow for new features and generally improve the gameplay. To achieve this, I spent this week rewriting the AI system.
Old system
In the old system, the chef would sometimes pick a fryer and cutting board that are far away from the storage rack. This is obviously inefficient.
New system
The new system fixes this by selecting the closest cutting board and fryer, and minimizing the time needed to perform an action.
This showcase is just one example, but the game was full of these inefficiencies caused by the staff system. The new system is not perfect yet, but I believe that it is a huge improvement.
Performance
The biggest challenge was to make the AI smarter, without it having a negative impact on performance. I spend a lot of time on this problem and I think that the new AI system is actually more performant than the old one. But my own testing has been limited, so if you are experiencing any performance issues, please let me know.
Devblog 20
This update was delayed a bit. I aimed to release a dev blog every week, and obviously failed this time. I will do my best to get back on schedule.
Bankruptcy
The game had no way to handle being in deep debt, which sometimes led to frustration. I added a bankruptcy mechanic to combat this issue. When you are in debt for 1.5 months, you will get a bankruptcy popup that offers to restore your bank balance to 500 coins.
Storage options
I added more options to storage. The cabinets now also have options for what you want to store in them.
On top of that, I also added a fill priority option. This way you can control what storage gets filled first. This should help with creating better kitchen layouts.
Cutting board rework
I reworked the cutting board a little bit. Both visually and functionally. The cutting board should now auto-rotate towards the most optimal cutting position for the chef that is trying to use it.
Work in progress
One reason that this update was delayed is that I struggled with implementing a new feature that didn’t make it into this update, but will be added in later updates. This is the option to limit where chefs can walk.
It might seem like a small feature, but I that it believe can have a big impact on the game. It would allow for multiple kitchens and more creative and elaborate kitchen layouts.
The reason that I struggled with this feature is because it turned out to be really overpowered. I figured that improving the default efficiency of chefs would make this feature less powerful in comparison. But improving the pathfinding is a really tough problem. I did make some good progress in figuring out solutions, but it will require some more time.
Bugs, Balance and QOL
Switched zombie and las vegas scenario order
Fixed color panel sometimes selecting wrong color by default
Fixed musicians being naked
Fixed accidently selecting objects while placing staff
Fixed escape button deselect not working in some instances
Made some chef pathfinding optimisations
Fixed date not being saved
Fixed “Quality” spelling error
Reduced decor radius
Decreased curtain decor
Decreased flower pot decor
Increased candle decor and price
Decreased cheap table decor
Devblog 19
New staff menu’s
Staff options now use the new object menu system introduced in the last update. You can open the menu by either clicking on an employee, or by clicking the gear icon in the staff window.
Task settings
This update reintroduces the options to control what jobs staff do and don’t do. At the moment, this option is only available for waiters. Please let me know if you have any feedback on this new system.
Name settings
I also improved the staff naming, it should be a lot less buggy to enter staff names now.
Color settings
You can now change the color of your employees clothes.
Bugs, balance and QOL
Fixed placing 2 dartboards in a corner resulting in corrupted save.
Fixed immovable lantern
Made potatoes cost 2 coins instead of 1
Made potatoes cost 2 coins instead of 1
Replaced construction tab icon
Rebalanced dish unlocks
Fixed object menu not opening
Fixed object menu not opening
Devblog 18
New Object Menu
I want to add a bit more micro management to the game to make it more interesting. One way I'm planning to do this is by giving the player more control over certain items. This required that I first reworked the object menu's to be a bit more dynamic.
More colors
This new object menu system allows me to add a lot more options to objects, and the first way I utilized this, is by adding more colors to the color pallete. Please let me know if there are any colors that you would like to see added/removed/changed.
Food Quallity
The biggest change in terms of gameplay this update, is that there is a new stat that influences guest happiness: food quality. You can change the food quality with the settings on most kitchen items. You can for example reduce the mixing speed to increase the dough quality.
This system is not finished and will become more elaborate as time goes on, but I think that this is a good start.
Balance and bug fixes
Happiness window updates when it's closed.
Increased Chef wage from 100 to 150.
Increased Waiter wage from 25 to 100.
Reduced guest spawn rate.
Made route 66 scenario slightly easier.
Increased starting budget by 200.
Doubled price of most kitchen equipment.
Devblog 17
This was a bit of a slow week, and I hope to have a bigger update next week.
Creative mode
With the addition of the new menu systems last week, some people pointed out that they would like to have the option to have everything unlocked from the start. I added creative mode to hopefully meet this need. In addition to having everything unlocked, creative mode also gives you infinte money.
Staff idle indicators
I added indicator icons for idle staff.
Bugs fixes and QOL
Improved menu unlock order
Reworked construction and item window
Dish unlocked popup
Delayed “No items on menu” popup
Staff complaining messages issue fixed
Not enough cabinet space issue fixed
Staff turning into dealer issue fixed
Devblog 16
Update cycle
I have decided to start doing weekly updates again. This decision is mainly because the casino update took 2 months to make, and I feel that working on an update for that long without community feedback makes it more difficult to improve TasteMaker.
The downside of weekly updates is that there’s only so much that I can get done in a week. This means that the updates will be smaller.
New Menu system
I believe that the sandbox mode felt a bit dull to a lot of people because there is no real goal or progression. This update will introduce a new menu system that will hopefully tackle this issue.
The new menu looks more like a techtree. You can unlock dishes by serving other dishes. For example: To unlock burgers, you must serve a total of 500 pieces of bread and 500 steak.
I hope that this system makes the game more fun and I’m looking forward to your feedback.
The new menu system
Price change reintroduced
Reading the feedback on the casino update. Most people were not very happy with the removal of changeable prices. After giving it some thought, I agree with this criticism and I have decided to add it back in.
Bug fixes
Fixed inability to fire cats
Small patch
Hopefully this is the last small patch before another real update
Fixed staff placement visual bug
Fixed cats jumping through walls
Fixed all cats chasing the same rat
Fixed issue where stuff gets stuck in pan
Added warning to stoved without pan
Small patch
- Fixed cat placement bug - Staff now won't complain when the restaurant is closed - Ingredient piles on floor limited to 10 piles - Pause warning bug fixed - Slotmachines fixed
Another small patch
- Fixed failed save bug - Added "Restaurant closed" warning
