Hello everyone!
It is with great pleasure that I return today to tell you about this new version of Fortune Avenue.
I know the game isn't out yet, but over 2,000 of you have played the demo, so I've gathered quite a bit of feedback.
Local Multiplayer
This is a feature almost all of you requested: the ability to play with multiple people on the same machine. And it wasn't easy to implement. I had to rewrite a large part of the network code to ensure the game could work offline while managing multiple players.
Managing the offline mode was the most difficult part since the local multiplayer was already handled by Fortune Avenue. Indeed, before adding the network layer that allows online play, I made a prototype that allowed me to play with multiple people on the same machine. And honestly, it works wonderfully. But there were still some things I wanted to improve, including the fluidity of game creation.
In a local game, you all play on the same controller, you can choose your piece, but you can't play the same piece. In online multiplayer, this restriction only exists in local mode. So, to make it work, I named each of the pieces, so you'll find Gunter and others like Van Diesel (a touch of humor doesn't hurt anyone).
So to summarize, you can play offline, but also online, and even play co-op if you want!
More Content
I got the message loud and clear: you wanted more content. So I added 5 new rules that spice up the game. One rule at the beginning of the game distributes hotels to all players, another adds a carbon tax. In short, there's something for everyone, and above all, it makes the game even more chaotic!
But you also asked for more cards. And here I'm going to make you happy, because I've added many cards. Including one that allows you to move another player, or send them to jail, or even remove festivals. I won't reveal everything, but know that these cards give you control and once again add chaos to your game.
Balancing
Some of you reported that the ice floe doesn't cost enough, or that the airplane ticket is practically given away. Rest assured, I've doubled the price to get out of the ice floe and tripled the price of the airplane ticket. And if we combine this with the possibility of melting the ice floe or adding a carbon tax, believe me, the game board won't recover, and neither will you!
Game Release
This was a very big update and it will definitely change the game.
I still have plenty of things to add to Fortune Avenue before its release, I have a few weeks ahead of me, but I also need your help.
To be completely transparent with you, Fortune Avenue has accumulated just under 3,000 wishlists. This is a very respectable number, and I thank everyone who took the time to wishlist the game. However, in the eyes of Steam's algorithm, this number is not big enough. In fact, we would need to reach at least 6,000 wishlists for Steam's algorithm to kick in and start promoting the game.
To put things in perspective, it took 1 year for Fortune Avenue to reach 3,000 wishlists, and it has less than a month to gain 3,000 more.
To reach this goal, I've implemented many strategies: emails, YouTube videos, social media posts, but I don't think I can reach 6,000 wishlists alone. Maybe Fortune Avenue will reach 3,500 wishlists if I'm lucky. But honestly, every wishlist counts, every share counts, and each of you can choose whether or not to wishlist Fortune Avenue.
At launch, Fortune Avenue will have a flash sale of 40%, and I don't think you'll want to miss it. So by wishlisting the game, you'll be informed by Steam about the game's release, and you definitely won't miss the sale.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for your support!
Have a great day
Xavier aka Binogure