This update brings a fundamental change to the song structure which affects almost everything in the game - apologies for the update download size; this should be a one off!
Songwriting overhaul
- Added a new Experimentalism scale for songs and albums.
- More experimental music can achieve bigger successes, but also carries greater risk of failure.
- Experimental singles are particularly risky compared with experimenting across an album.
- Experimental albums can now create genre crossover, including movement into neighbouring genres.
- Songwriting is no longer dominated entirely by an act's main writers.
- Other capable members can now contribute songs occasionally.
- Musicians who are poor traditional songwriters but highly flexible can sometimes create their own reinterpretations of existing songs.
Deeper musician morale and creativity
- Added a much deeper Creative Satisfaction system.
- Musicians now care more about whether the act's musical direction suits them personally.
- How experimental the act becomes, whether musicians are meaningfully involved, and their relationships with other members can all affect satisfaction.
- Long periods without meaningful creative involvement can now create problems.
- Morale and act dynamics should now give clearer warning signs before serious disputes or departures.
Career development and aspirations
- Added Early, Mid and Late career stages.
- Acts and musicians can develop changing aspirations as their careers progress.
- Aspirations can be completed at different achievement levels and provide bonuses.
- Career goals can change over time rather than remaining fixed forever.
- Quarterly Act Reviews now bring together career progress, member changes, aspirations, morale, finances, contracts and other important developments.
- Serious unresolved problems can progress into crisis meetings.
Fan engagement and loyalty
- Expanded the audience system beyond temporary Hype.
- Acts can now build longer-term Fan Engagement and Fan Loyalty.
- Strong releases, gigs and other career activity can build a more durable audience.
- Engagement gradually falls when an act becomes inactive, while loyal fans provide a more stable base.
- Long periods without strong new releases can gradually weaken loyalty.
Touring and PR stunts
- Touring now has a much deeper publicity system.
- Gigs can generate PR resources which can be spent during a tour.
- Repeating the same promotional activities becomes progressively more expensive.
- Tours can now include one major PR stunt.
- There are 20 different stunt concepts, with their own requirements based on things such as era, venue size and location.
- Success can depend on the personalities of the musicians involved and the act's relationship with its fans.
- Stunts can result in Major Success, Minor Success, Minor Failure or Major Failure.
Localisation and UI improvements
- Added a large batch of new translations for the expanded PR and touring systems.
- Added localisation for the new Experimentalism mechanics.
- Expanded testing for translated text that does not fit correctly inside the interface.
- Continued improvements based on feedback from non-English playtesters, particularly around text fitting and translation quality.