Hey everyone! Hope you're all doing well :)
In my last post I mentioned I'd take a little break to recharge after months of working nights and weekends to get the game over the finish line. I was more burned out than I thought, so the break took a bit longer than I'd hoped. But I'm fully recharged and back at it, so here's an update on what I've been working on and what's coming up!
Big update
In the rush to get the game over the finish line, a lot of code and systems got rushed too. So I've spent a lot of time reworking and optimizing a big part of the codebase, to make the game faster, more stable and ready for everything I still want to add. The full list of changes is at the end of this post, but let's zoom in on the biggest ones first.
Shop helper bots
The next update adds shop helper bots, bringing a bit of automation to the shopkeeping side of the game. Here they are in action:
There are 2 bots for now. The checkout bot serves the customers waiting in line at your register, and the storage bot carries jewelry from your storage racks to any empty display. Keep in mind that bots don't take the stairs, so design your store tactically!
The bots show up automatically in checkout and storage rooms from level 2, and get faster with every upgrade up to level 5. Customers waiting in line now also show a patience bar, so you can see who's about to give up.
Compendium
Next up is something I think all you collectors and completionists will love: a compendium! It tracks everything you find in the game, from resources and the jewelry you craft to the people you meet, and fills in as you play. Each entry comes with some extra info too, in case you ever forget where to find someone or something.
Any screen, any shape
Playing on an ultrawide, or in a window? Good news: I rebuilt the display system from scratch. The game now fills any screen shape, from 4:3 all the way up to 32:9, or you can pick a fixed shape in the settings. Windows can be resized freely and remember their size and position, and menus no longer get cut off on 16:10 or 4:3 screens. The settings menu got tabs too, with a few new options like VSync and Mute in Background.
Dino Discovery DLC
I'm also excited to announce a new DLC: Dino Discovery! As the name suggests, it's all about discovering dinosaurs. It adds a brand new desert map, where you'll meet Timothe and May and their own side story. You'll also start finding dinosaur skeletons buried in every other map. Dig them up, crack the bones out of the rock at the new fossil table, and show off the complete skeletons on a brand new floor of your shop to draw in more customers!
I'll share more in a dedicated post later, but for now you can check out the Steam page for more info. And please consider adding it to your wishlist so you'll know when it launches!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/5389930/
Full changelog
New
- Shop helper bots in checkout and storage rooms (level 2 and up)
- Compendium (J or the pause menu)
- Patience bar over customers waiting in line
- Bug report button in the main menu and the pause menu
- Settings menu in tabs: Game, Screen and Sound
- New settings: Aspect Ratio, VSync, Mute in Background, and a Reset button per tab
Display
- Works on any screen shape, from 4:3 to 32:9 ultrawide
- Resizable window that remembers its size and position
- No more cut-off panels on 16:10 and 4:3 screens, the travel map included
- No more getting stuck as a small window at start
- FPS limit is remembered; 75 and 100 Hz monitors supported
- GUI size now scales text too
- Smoother camera zoom (no more uneven pixels after zooming)
- The interface no longer shows in the black bars
- Sharp game icon at 125 to 250% Windows scaling
- Your best combo is counted again, and leaderboards and stats send correctly
Performance
- The end-of-day report and the calendar no longer freeze the game
- Loading saves and new mines is about 3x faster
- Smoother mining: digging and bombs cost up to 40% less per frame
- Same feel at 120 and 144 Hz (customers and NPCs no longer move twice as fast)
- Menus and panels only redraw when something changes
Saves
- Your world is saved when you close the game, however you close it
- Clear message for a damaged save instead of a crash
- Your save is backed up before an update converts it
- A world with a missing or damaged mine file loads again
- The Load Game menu's second page loads the right world
- The wardrobe no longer resets your look after loading
Co-op
- Checkout crash fixed
- No more duplicated or lost items when moving or swapping items
- The truck waits until everyone has loaded the mine, and a player who missed it catches up
- Upgrades bought by one player now reach everyone
- Two players buying the same upgrade at once get it once, and pay once
- Mine contracts are paid once (pressing Go twice paid twice)
- A customer served by two players at once pays once
- Clear error messages are back ("Lobby is full", "Host ended the game", "Failed to connect")
- Steam names or chat messages with [ ] no longer crash the game
- Joining players' companions now show up
- Lobby doodles land in the right place on every screen shape
Controls
- Esc and B close only the menu that's open
- R no longer resets your skill points without asking
- Number keys no longer switch items while you're typing
- The mouse wheel scrolls only the inventory under the pointer, and no longer switches your item at the same time
- No more walking off after Alt+Tab: keys and buttons are ignored while the game is in the background
- Correct button prompts for PlayStation and Switch controllers, and for ESDF and AZERTY
- A bumped mouse no longer switches your controller prompts to the keyboard
- The Stuck button now asks before it empties your mech
- Several perks now work as their descriptions say
- The Bee companion's ability has its cooldown again
- Recipes count all their ingredients
- Companion descriptions show the right chance (1 to 5%)
- Iridium, platinum and titanium have their own look at the smelter
- Items dropped on shop floors 2 to 5 no longer fall to the ground floor
- A bomb no longer misses a node it hits
- VIP deadlines and rewards are worked out correctly
- Fixed a crash around day 60 with Lara's events
- Fixed a crash when the wrong item went into the gem setting station
Translations
- Multiple texts that only showed in English are now translated
- Thai: words with tone marks no longer show a "?"
- Lines in the wrong language fixed (some Bulgarian dialogue showed in Thai)
- Lots of translations improved