Alpha 6.2 has just been released. It fixes are couple of nasty bugs, there still might be some left, but I have improved error reporting to help me out with this. Pathfinding has also been added, which took a while, so employees should no longer walk through stuff. If you still find that they do, please send me a save file.
I have a list of things I still need to finish before I release the final version of Alpha 6:
Fix meeting table grouping code
Optimize employee paths
Redo building tutorial
AI should release better quality software on average
Newer computers should be faster
*All of the secrets*
Other changes in this version:
Selecting a room might select a piece of furniture on a lower floor instead
Deleting basements with employees in would break the employees
Saving over an old broken save would not immediately update its corrupt status
Splitting a room with more walls than the room contained would break the game
Alpha 6.2 has just been released. It fixes are couple of nasty bugs, there still might be some left, but I have improved error reporting to help me out with this. Pathfinding has also been added, which took a while, so employees should no longer walk through stuff. If you still find that they do, please send me a save file.
I have a list of things I still need to finish before I release the final version of Alpha 6:
Fix meeting table grouping code
Optimize employee paths
Redo building tutorial
AI should release better quality software on average
Newer computers should be faster
*All of the secrets*
Other changes in this version:
Selecting a room might select a piece of furniture on a lower floor instead
Deleting basements with employees in would break the employees
Saving over an old broken save would not immediately update its corrupt status
Splitting a room with more walls than the room contained would break the game
Please note that pathfinding is broken and I'll be working on implementing a new pathfinding system as of now.
Unity has broken resolution options in their latest version, so changing resolutions and changing between fullscreen will break the game. You might need to force close the game. You can reset resolution settings by editing the "settings.txt" file in the game's root folder.
When you clone rooms, you can rotate them by pressing the period and comma buttons, this can be changed in the settings window. Please note that holding control while pressing these buttons will mirror the rooms you are cloning, this feature is not fully supported, since asymmetric furniture will not get cloned properly(e.g. tables with chairs and computers).
If you want to get on the beta branch, right click the game in your Steam library and click properties, no password needed.
Other changes: Fixed windows becoming zero size Huge optimizations for computers and bookshelves Highlighted things can be seen through walls Cars no longer hold for employees that are inside buildings
Please note that pathfinding is broken and I'll be working on implementing a new pathfinding system as of now.
Unity has broken resolution options in their latest version, so changing resolutions and changing between fullscreen will break the game. You might need to force close the game. You can reset resolution settings by editing the "settings.txt" file in the game's root folder.
When you clone rooms, you can rotate them by pressing the period and comma buttons, this can be changed in the settings window. Please note that holding control while pressing these buttons will mirror the rooms you are cloning, this feature is not fully supported, since asymmetric furniture will not get cloned properly(e.g. tables with chairs and computers).
If you want to get on the beta branch, right click the game in your Steam library and click properties, no password needed.
Other changes: Fixed windows becoming zero size Huge optimizations for computers and bookshelves Highlighted things can be seen through walls Cars no longer hold for employees that are inside buildings
New build system means you can build rooms in any shape
Next official update might take a couple of months, beta probably within a month
Game will cost $14 when next official update releases
All the juicy details
You might recall from the latest patch notes that I would try revamping the build system, and if you’ve followed me on twitter ( https://twitter.com/SoftwareIncGame ), you will know that my attempt has been successful.
I have finished a working prototype and I will be spending the next weeks replacing the current build system in Software Inc. with the new system. There is a lot of code to replace and a lot of stuff will no longer work, like the dirt system, so it might take a while.
The biggest hurdle, however, will be completely re-implementing pathfinding. To get it out of the door and get it tested as quickly as possible, I will release a version on the beta branch with broken pathfinding, which means everything will work, but employees will go straight to their destination through furniture and in some cases through walls. This way you can try it out and I might get some bugs fixed, while I finish the pathfinding system up. I expect the first release to happen in about 2-6 weeks.
This will of course push back what I had planned for alpha 6 to alpha 7. It’s important to note that this is an increase in the scope of the game, I will not slack off on the management aspect of the game. This addition will add to the development time of Software Inc., not take away from it. This also means that the final price of Software Inc. will go up $2, and it will increase to $14 when the new build system is released publically. This is in addition to the price increase I already had panned, which means it might go up to $16 when alpha 7 is done.
Some details about the new build system:
You can now place walls individually, instead of a rectangle at a time, but walls have to be connected, you can’t have walls to nowhere like the Sims
The grid is no longer forced, you can build however you want, I’ve put in some constraints on angles and sizes so it doesn’t break completely, like paper thin rooms
Furniture can be placed anywhere and have any size and shape
Doors and windows can be placed anywhere, as it slides along the wall when you place it, and it can now have any size, which allows for stuff like double doors
You can split rooms by simply drawing a wall through them
New build system means you can build rooms in any shape
Next official update might take a couple of months, beta probably within a month
Game will cost $14 when next official update releases
All the juicy details
You might recall from the latest patch notes that I would try revamping the build system, and if you’ve followed me on twitter ( https://twitter.com/SoftwareIncGame ), you will know that my attempt has been successful.
I have finished a working prototype and I will be spending the next weeks replacing the current build system in Software Inc. with the new system. There is a lot of code to replace and a lot of stuff will no longer work, like the dirt system, so it might take a while.
The biggest hurdle, however, will be completely re-implementing pathfinding. To get it out of the door and get it tested as quickly as possible, I will release a version on the beta branch with broken pathfinding, which means everything will work, but employees will go straight to their destination through furniture and in some cases through walls. This way you can try it out and I might get some bugs fixed, while I finish the pathfinding system up. I expect the first release to happen in about 2-6 weeks.
This will of course push back what I had planned for alpha 6 to alpha 7. It’s important to note that this is an increase in the scope of the game, I will not slack off on the management aspect of the game. This addition will add to the development time of Software Inc., not take away from it. This also means that the final price of Software Inc. will go up $2, and it will increase to $14 when the new build system is released publically. This is in addition to the price increase I already had panned, which means it might go up to $16 when alpha 7 is done.
Some details about the new build system:
You can now place walls individually, instead of a rectangle at a time, but walls have to be connected, you can’t have walls to nowhere like the Sims
The grid is no longer forced, you can build however you want, I’ve put in some constraints on angles and sizes so it doesn’t break completely, like paper thin rooms
Furniture can be placed anywhere and have any size and shape
Doors and windows can be placed anywhere, as it slides along the wall when you place it, and it can now have any size, which allows for stuff like double doors
You can split rooms by simply drawing a wall through them
The official release of alpha 5.4 fixes some common problems and crashes.
I've noticed there is a small chance that the mac build will crash on launch. I've narrowed it down to a bug in the Steam overlay, so I'll try updating it when I get the chance. There is not much else I can do, as it's seemingly a random occurrence, some race condition, I assume.
The next update will be small and wrap up alpha 5. I will begin work on alpha 6, which will have a lot of save breaking updates, so the first update might be delayed such that I can get all save breaking changes in at once.
I'm also planning on researching ways to revamp the room building system, so rooms can have any shape. It might not work, so don't get your hopes up, but if it does, alpha 6 will be delayed. I will keep you posted on Twitter, @softwareincgame .
The official release of alpha 5.4 fixes some common problems and crashes.
I've noticed there is a small chance that the mac build will crash on launch. I've narrowed it down to a bug in the Steam overlay, so I'll try updating it when I get the chance. There is not much else I can do, as it's seemingly a random occurrence, some race condition, I assume.
The next update will be small and wrap up alpha 5. I will begin work on alpha 6, which will have a lot of save breaking updates, so the first update might be delayed such that I can get all save breaking changes in at once.
I'm also planning on researching ways to revamp the room building system, so rooms can have any shape. It might not work, so don't get your hopes up, but if it does, alpha 6 will be delayed. I will keep you posted on Twitter, @softwareincgame .
