Hi everyone! A quick update before we add swedish translation and translations for the new in-game playerguide. Hope you like these fixes and improvements to the game:

[version 1.67]
1) [Bug] Fixed building zone unlock costs all being zero.
2) [GUI] Conveyor placement now cancels if it would make the player bankrupt
3) [GUI] Changed R&D screen to ensure connections to items not currently on screen are still visible to avoid confusion.
4) [Feature] Added a new in-game player guide (F1 or ? button) to explain game to new players. Also launchable from the main menu.



5) [GUI] Some extra tutorial windows have been added to explain demolishing items and the canceling of the resource conveyor placement tool.
6) [Bug] Fixed display-only bug where the component cost of vehicles with some options (like red leather seats) was miscalculated on the car design screen.
7) [Feature] new icon at top right of a slots window allows you to reposition that slot at no cost.



8) [GUI] New button with a car icon on the features window lets you re-launch the post-research screen to assign features to designs.



9) [GFX] The rear window is now applied visually to the vehicle when the other windows are fitted now, instead of when the windscreen gets fitter.
10) [Feature] Camera controls can be remapped using a new option on the options screen.


Hope you like these changes. We have now raised the price to $24.99, as we get closer towards the release out of early access. We also plan to add a few more remappable keys, and maybe improve some aspoects of the GUI before release, please vote on the priorities from within the game.
Thanks for your support, it is much appreciated!
BTW the latest developer video blog showing off some of these features can be found here:

https://youtu.be/JpK6Egzs148

Cheers

Hi everyone. This new update marks us declaring that the game is now BETA. That means we are not planning any more major new features pre-release (although we are very likely to continue updating the game post-release).
This also means we will be shifting direction more towards bug fixes, tweaks and improvements to stuff like the tutorial.

PLUS WE ARE PLANNING ON RAISING THE PRICE. (We cannot do this until 12th Feb, which is when it will go to $24.95).

Here are the changes in the new version released today:

version[1.66]
1) [Bug] Fixed some graphical glitches with overhead conveyors appearing behind things they were in front of, and vice versa.
2) [Feature] Added new 'world events' to the game which start in the late game and affect prices / demand / features etc.



3) [GUI] Research queue names are now cropped to elipsis (...) rather than word wrapped, which caused issues in German.
4) [Feature] cars now open their hood/bonnet (or trunk/boot for sports cars) to have engines worked on.



5) [Bug] Fixed some mixing or badly translated text in various locations.
6) [Bug] Doubled memory pool for routes to prevent this error: "Too many Path Objects requested!"
7) [Bug] You can no longer change the floor texture of floors 'outside' the factory zones.
8) [Content] Potential, unbuilt export slots now show a shuttered slot rather than just a gap.
9) [Content] New researchable 'type 2' resource importer speeds up resource importing by 20% (also stacks with general speed upgrade research).
10) [Bug] Fixed rare crash bug on launching the production manager screen.
11) [Content] Lots more wall texture options!



12) [Content] New wall-clocks for sales dept, world map for shipping department and animated CNC milling machine for engine block manufacture slot.





Hope you like these new changes. Don't forget to tell your friends who may be thinking of getting the game that the price goes up soon!
If you have any feedback on this update please let me know. Like I say, we are mostly looking to tweak, balance and improve the tutorial at this point.

Thanks to everyone who continue to support the game, it is much appreciated, this game would not be as good as it is without the supportive community here and on our website, reddit etc.
BTW our latest developer video blog is here:

https://youtu.be/1ckjeT2fJaQ

Hi all. I just made the unstable build the new default build, with a bunch of improvements. Here are the changes:

1) [GUI] Some improvements to the interface for the map editor.



2) [GUI] Component efficiency window now displays a dash '-' for production in cases where there is no option to produce a resource locally.
3) [Feature] You can now click and drag to edit the wall graphics just like floor tiles in the cosmetic editing feature now.



4) [Balance] Tweaked difficulty slightly easier by adjusting a number of parameters, especially relating to competition and AI research.
5) [Bug] Fixed a few places in the GUI where resource icons like the paint-tin were drawn wrong.
6) [Bug] Fixed a bunch of z-order bugs that drew things weirdly in the factory.



7) [Bug] Fixed occasionally corrupt text on repay loan button.
8) [Bug] Fixed bug where load game screen is stil open if you use the load icons instead of double clicking.
9) [GUI] Changed market screen height so it never obscures the speed buttons.
10) [GUI] Changed production schedule UI so it never spills off the screen bottom on really low res monitors.
11) [Bug] Fixed bug where some robots would not animate at the right times.
12) [Feature] Cars now go up and down on platforms when getting wheels,tyres fitted etc.



13) [GUI] New stats window in the efficiency screen now shows more factory-wide data.





Hope you like these. I do plan to (at last!) start working on world events soon That will include stuff like regulatory changes affecting seatbelts & airbags, increased demand for electric & hybrid vehicles (or changes to resource prices due to global events) and so on...

Hi all!
Here is the complete list of changes in todays 1.64 build:

[version 1.64]
1) [Balance] Job creator achievement requires an extra 200 employees (now 1,200).
2) [Balance] Production at scale achievement now requires 6,000 not 5,000.
3) [Bug] Deleting a save game from the load game dialog now works.
4) [Bug] Fixed bug where sometimes you could not toggle off the advice on certain types of advice dialog.
5) [GUI] Clicking the research icon on the top menu when it is flashing green (for no design research) now auto-switches to the design tab of the R&D screen.
6) [GUI] When the research screen is launched to show a specific unresearched item, the screen now temporarily highlights that item to make finding it easier.
7) [Content] New researchable upgrade for some slots: Liquid-Cooled Welding. (5% faster. All welding slots are 2.5% slower now before this upgrade).
8) [Bug] Fixed occasional crash bug on some maps when switching to blueprint mode.
9) [GUI] New rotate buttons now allow you to preview vehicle designs in all four directions.



10) [Feature] New cosmetic placer on the slot menu lets you change the floor textures (drag place) or place down a few cosmetic items.



11) [Bug] If you run out of money, and the only available loan will not cover the financial shortfall, it is not made available now.


The liquid cooled welding, rotatable previews and the new customisation options for factory floors etc are likely the most important changes in this build.
I've also started work on improvements to the usability of the level editor, which will be in the next patch at the start of next year.

Please let me know if this update causes problems or introduces any new bugs etc. Also thanks to everyone buying the game for your support over the last year, and many thanks to everyone who likes or tweets our developer blogs, and tell their friends about the game, its much appreciated!

Time for the roll out of a new update. Here is the list of changes in this build:

[version 1.63]
1) [Bug] Fixed crash bug when deleting a facility that is displaying a details window.
2) [GUI] Vehicle details window now shows the correct sale price of the vehicle when finished, assuming no components are missed and no defects found.
3) [Feature] A system of advisers give helpful pop-up window hints now during the game.
4) [Bug] Processing order of slots now regularly randomised to prevent bottlenecks happening where production lines converge.
5) [GUI] In R&D screen where an upgrade is applicable to multiple slots, its shown as researchable if only the easiest (highest in the hierarchy) slot has been unlocked.
6) [Bug] Fixed crash bug when going from main menu to new game then back to main menu then selecting mods.
7) [GUI] Main menu interface redesigned. Thanks to Perseco.



8) [Bug] Fixed crash bug under certain circumstances relating to large numbers of component manufacturing slots and multithreading.
9) [Bug] Fixed bug where researching electric powertrain made the post-research GUI think you had locked the same upgrade twice.
10) [GUI] Support for new changelist update window on main menu.



11) [GUI] Update notification for non-steam builds also now shows nicer color-categorised and sorted list of changes.
12) [Bug] Fixed bug where on 1280x1024 res monitors some of the speed buttons could not always be clicked.
13) [Bug] Fixed bug where the selected features for smart junctions in feature mode were not properly saved and re-loaded.
14) [Balance] Rework is now researchable earlier and at lower cost.
15) [Bug] Fixed bug where some resources, like directional xenon lights, did not have resource importer strategy options.
16) [Feature] Custom maps are now embedded in save games, so you can edit custom maps and not have them wreck existing save games based on that map.
17) [Feature] New production manager GUI.



The big changes are probably the new adviser popups and production manager although you will also notice changes to the layout of the main menu, and hopefully a bunch of small gui tweaks and improvements, plus a lot of fairly obscure bug fixes. Fix #4 is also quite significant I think as it will lead to fare better flow of cars where multiple lines converge.

Thanks to everyone who playtested some of these features in the unstable build as that was good feedback on the advisers, which are now less annoying!

All feedback and suggestions are most welcome!

Hi all! I just pushed build 1.62 out to everyone! here are the changes:

[version 1.62]
1) [Feature] All car colors are now unlocked in freeplay modes.
2) [GUI] ou can now click and drag around the Research screen in both axis with the left mouse button held down. You can also use middle mouse to do that annoying autoscroll thing too :D.
3) [Content] New feature (researchable): Active spoilers for sedan & sports cars. (powered spoilers requiring sensors and servos).
4) [Content] New upgrade: preventative maintenance. needs researching and can be carried out at each maintenance facility to reduce breakdown chance by 50% in inner radius, 25% in outer radius.



5) [Bug] Fixed visual anomaly where setting a car design colors to chrome, then removing that option could mean some cars changed color when zooming in or out.
6) [Bug] Fixed crash bug (assertion error) when deleting some resource importers.
7) [GUI] Clicking an un-researched upgrade at a slot now takes you automatically to the research screen to show where the research item is.
8) [GUI] Yellow and red warning icons now also show in car design screen on categories where an item (of greater value) in that category has become universal or common.
9) [GUI] Manufacturing slots now show an error message if the export stockpile is not connected, and they will not run until this is corrected.
10) [Bug] Fixed crash bug on some occasions when leaving the slot details window open for a long time on a manufacturing slot.
11) [GUI] Valve and Engine block manufacture now depend on the research of engine assembly manufacture.
12) [GUI] A whole bunch of windows that could not be dragged around can now be dragged. Also icons added to facility/slot details title bars.
13) [GUI] Upgrade strips on the slot details window now show icons for each upgrade instead of pointless *cash* icon.



14) [GUI] Some pie chart and other chart colors adjusted.
15) [Content] New researchable manufacturing facility and resource: Silicon and Chip manufacturing / Ai chip manufacturing. Adds new employee type.



16) [GUI] Game will no longer allow you to rename or name designs so two designs are exactly the same (caused chaos!).
17) [Bug] Fixed a bug where sometimes applying a tech on the post-research screen did not seem to work.
18) [Feature] Smart Junctions now have side and 3 exit variations. Art not final. New 'default' option simplifies assigning designs.
19) [Balance] When deleting a manufacturing slot you also now get a refund for the value of any stock in the export-stockpile for that slot.
20) [GUI] On the imports tab for slot windows, there are no longer misleading import strategy buttons for raw materials that cannot be made locally.
21) [Feature] Red and White leather seats can now be researched in the design studio and installed in the sedan and sports car.



Hope you like the new stuff. Advisers coming soon. As ever, all feedback is welcome, don't forget to vote on our priorities from the main menu, and if you really like the game, a steam review is always welcome and a tweet, Facebook or Reddit post is always super-welcome too!

Loads of cool stuff this time :D


[version 1.61]
1) [Feature] Loans can now be re-paid early, assuming you have the funds, at a penalty of 12 hours interest.

This was widely requested, and I kept putting it off because I felt that it would lead to an unbalancing in the games difficulty, but actually now I’ve tested it for a while I think I’ve got it about right and am glad its in there.

2) [GFX] Conveyors use less obtrusive graphics
3) [GUI] New screen for market analysis to show breakdown of demand, production and sales.



I find this new screen really helpful when playing the game towards the later stages when there is a lot to keep an eye on. I worry its not immediately obvious how it works, but I do think its a usability improvement for managing supply and demand.

4) [Content] New researchable upgrade & feature: large touchscreen.



To make it obvious some cars are tesla-level expensive, and some are more Ford Ka level… :D

5) [GUI] Vehicle design screen now hides categories entirely if there is only a single default option.
6) [Bug] Fixed design research queue bugs where you could adjust first and last items up and down, causing a crash.
7) [Bug] Fixed bug where the second-nearest import bay for each stockpile was sometimes calculated wrong, meaning inefficient routing. Also major route calculation speedup.
8) [Balance] Major increases in the cost and value of electric car batteries (large and small) and touchscreens.
9) [Balance] Increased the power draw and process time for making wheels.
10) [Content] New researchable feature: parking sensors. Now a pre-requisite before reversing camera. Fitted at bumpers.

Amazing we went so far without these, as they are getting so common now. Also handy to be able to add a new feature without requiring yet another resource as ‘sensor’ is already in there. Plus it gives some much needed upgrades to the bumper slots.

11) [GUI] Revamp of the ‘apply options’ screen post-research, which adds price category indicators and selective coloring, and new buttons to apply a feature to a whole category at once.



This makes things much quicker when you have 20+ designs, and you don’t really want to make a more nuanced decision other than ‘add this new widget to my expensive ranges’.

12) [GUI] Music and cruise control are now feature-categories, where the more expensive versions include the resources, value and features of the cheaper ones.
13) [Content] Self-driving! new researchable tech, new resources and feature category for high-end cars.



This is very late-game stuff and requires quite a bit of research, but then you should have expended your factory enough to have a good dozen or two dozen research facilities at this point.

14) [Balance] Boosted the impact on marketing campaigns on showroom visits by 25% to increase total market size possible with current campaigns.
15) [Bug] Fixed bug where sometimes the warning on the design screen about common or universal features missing would be skipped if the feature had a category.
16) [Bug] Fixed bug where changing the color of a car design could lead to duplicating the price slider GUI.
17) [Bug] Fixed bug where the correct price-category adjusted market value of a feature was not being displayed in a number of places.
18) [GUI] Double clicking a car in the showroom now launches the vehicle design screen for that car’s design.
19) [Content] New researchable vehicle body style -> The small van.



20) [Bug] Fixed bug where the car renders in the showroom screen did not use the correct shader.
21) [Feature] Smart Junctions now have a new mode: Feature mode, where they filter cars left or right depending on if they have or do not have a selected feature.
22) [Bug] Fixed bug where the percentage progress on the research center pop-up window did not update in real time.
23) [Bug] Fixed crash bug launching research screen under certain circumstances.
24) [Bug] Fixed bug where tooltips for some conveyor belt resources were wrong.



Hope you like it. Currently discounted in the steam halloween sale so tell your friends to grab a copy (or treat them!) :D

This is an update I've been looking forward to setting live, as it has a bunch of cool stuff in it :D here is the full list:



1) [content] Cars now have a range of different wheel options to be researched upgraded and introduced: matte black, 5-point, turbine, high-tech and gold-plated!
2) [GUI] Certain mandatory included features like emissions checks no longer listed in car design or feature availability list.
3) [Bug] The resource imports tab for slots now also shows options for combination resources such as heated and folding wingmirrors, and crops their name to fit.
4) [GUI] Resources are now 'unlocked' over time by the research that requires them, to limit the huge list of resources otherwise shown during the early part of the game.
5) {Bug] Conveyor belts now don't get 'stuck' visually briefly after exiting the research screen.
6) [Content] New researchable upgrade and feature 'air suspension' which requires 'air suspension bag' resources.
7) [GUI] The research button will now flash green, instead of red, if there are un-researched design items, and no current design item being researched.
8) [Bug] Hang when running a large map on a PC with more than 8 available cores is now fixed, max cores set at 20 and never causes problems even above that.
9) [Performance] Increased responsiveness of load/save game dialog when a number of large save games exist.
10) [Balance] Breakdowns now do not start until later in the game.
11) [GUI] ESC key now brings up quit to main menu dialog.
12) [Feature] New auto-renew feature for marketing campaigns which can be toggled on or off form the marketing screen.
13) [Bug] Fixed Bug where cars stopped counting towards the min spec achievement.
14) [GUI] Added explanatory tooltip to the defects tab of the vehicle defects screen.
15) [Bug] Fixed issue where with some upgrade and powertrain combinations, redundant resources were ordered by certain slots.
16) [GUI] Redesigned the layout of the R&D screen, including a slightly compressed version for very small screen resolutions.
17) [Content] New chrome paint option in the vehicle design screen allows for a polished metal look to the cars.
18) [Balance] Defects do not start to appear now until 50 hours into the game.
19) [GUI] Design tech tree now has its own separate research queue.
20) [GUI] Holding shift when clicking an item in the research screen adds it to the queue (or researches it immediately if no other research is active).



Some of this stuff was specifically requested by players in our forums and the steam forums. I hope you like the new stuff. The new wheel options are just half of the new 'appearance' stuff to go in, as we will have different front vent/grille and light options coming very soon, plus eventually a little mini-van body style to add!

Hi, here are the latest updates (to both master and unstable buids):

[version 1.59]
1) [Balance] Budget cars can now never consider a sunroof to be common.
2) [GUI] Redesign of the showroom car details screen.
3) [GUI] Showroom vehicle icons now have a warning or error icon on them depending if they have defects/missing features (error) or uninstalled features (warning).
4) [GUI] New options added to options screen to toggle the 'no export room' and 'insufficient resources' notices on and off.
5) [GUI] Redesign of the income screen so it shows revenue breakdown as a pie chart by category and by body style
6) [Performance] Reduced size of save games.
7) [GFX] Added new animated battery cell production machine.
8) [Feature] New upgrade for paint-rooms: next-gen paint compressors.
9) [Balance] Make brakes now produces 2 at a time, takes slightly longer, and costs more to place, uses more power.
10) [Balance] Cost of valves doubled, cost of engine assembly +$200. Value of basic car $+200. Production time & power use of manufacture valves increased.
11) [Balance] Value of a stop-start powertrain increased by $500. Cost of component increased by $350.
12) [Balance] Touchscreen component cost increased by $300.
13) [Balance] Cost of wood increased by $200.
14) [Balance] Production time to make servos increased from 3,900 to 4,200.
15) [GUI] New category-based system for the car design window to make toggling between mutually-exclusive options much more obvious.
16) [Content] new researchable powertrain options (also manufacturable): Fast and Super Fast powertrains (ICE/electric variants)
17) [Balance] Loans are now capped at $5million and no loans are offered if bank balance is above $10million.
18) [Performance] Fixed a few memory leaks that could theoretically cause issues with really huge maps over long periods.
19) [Simulation] Car-production slots now re-stock their stockpiles assuming the next car will be the same model as the current one, which should reduce the amount of refunded resources ordered.


You can find the latest developer video blog, which talks about some of these changes here:

https://youtu.be/o6tYr1cMW8w

The upcoming changes in the next build are likely to include some UI improvements, along with the addition of extra wheel and front grille options. We are also experimenting with glossier rendering for the cars. Don't forget to vote on your priorities at the main menu, and thanks to everybody wwho reviews the game.