Jul 2, 2020

Cooking Simulator - tommy

Hello Chefs!
This is yet update for Cooking Simulator containing the highly anticipated Chaos Tool in it's beta state plus a number of improvements and fixes for Cakes and Cookies.

How to get the Chaos Tool?🔫
The Chaos Tool is available on the beta branch. To access it, follow the steps below:
1. Go to your Steam Library and right-click on Cooking Simulator
2. Click on Properties
3. Chose BETAS tab
4. From the drop down list choose 'beta'
5. Close the window in the bottom right corner
6. Wait for the game to update

The Chaos tool will be available in the boxes (Smartphone for Cakes and Cookies).
Please note that the Chaos Tool is still in beta mode. We'll still adding some features and polishing the tool, so make sure to leave us some feedback :thumb:

New stuff in Cakes and Cookies!🧁
There are also some improvements for Cakes and Cookies: improved cake visuals (from now on your cakes and cookies based on recipes will look just like on the images!), even more figurines plus a number of fixes.

Changelog🔧:
- Added imploded cake visuals. The cakes will now resemble the images from the recipes.
- Added 5 new figurines bundles
- Added subtle visual variation of frosting/icing materials and generic cake materials
- Added the minimum distance needed to pick up the parcel from the door
- Added a new hint and an icon for transfering dough into the cake pans
- Added a few improvements to "Pastry Express" app
- Added safety checks for bugs caused by certain languages

- Fixed bug: wrong hover text for pouring contexts in the Polish language
- Fixed bug: during day summary, player rank change is displayed in wrong way (colors, arrows, minus)
- Fixed bug: during day summary, in some languages texts are not fitting properly ("Summary Day X", "Total BakeBucks", etc.)
- Fixed bug: Big Pot model being invisible after game save & load
- Fixed phone UI cursor for gamepad support
- Fixed phone UI back action for gamepad support
- Fixed bug: player losing controls after entering context with spices using decorating tool

- Dough can no longer be inserted or taken out of cake pans laying upside-down
- Additional cake layers can no longer be stacked, if there are figurines on the previous layer
- Cinnamon spawner has been moved from the fridge to the shelves, decreased maximum spawner size for this product

Remember to check out the Chaos Tool on the beta branch and don't forget to let us know how you like the new toy!
If you're playing Cakes and Cookies, let us know how you like the new cake visuals and the figurines.

Embrace the Chaos!

Jun 25, 2020

Cakes and Cookies decorating update! 🧁🎨

Cooking Simulator - tommy

Hi Chefs!
Here's another promised update for Cakes and Cookies.
We wanted to give you more ways to unleash your creativity and also streamline the decorating process a little more.

This new update contains 84 new figurines divided into 7 sets: Bats and clubs, Holiday Bundle, Cars Bundle, Home Pets Bundle, Oceans Bundle, Leaves Bundle, One-wheelers Bundle. To grab them, aim at the drawer and press E. The new figurines can be found at the bottom of the list.

Additionally, we've improved the icing/frosting mechanics. From now on the spatula contains more portions of the chosen product, allowing you to decorate up to 4 cookies or 1 cake.

There's also a new icing/frosting container with 20 portions capacity which can be moved around the confectionery.

You've been also asking us to make it easier to carry smaller pastries around. To improve that part of the game we've added bake trays which can be used to transport multiple cookies or cakes at the same time!

Also, make sure to check out Tutori - a brand new app in the smartphone which gives you instant access to all the ingame tutorials!

Below you can find the full list of the new features, fixes and improvements:

Added:
- Added Frosting Container, which allows for carrying up to 20 icing/frosting portions
- Added Baking Tray for carrying multiple cakes and cookies at the same time
- Increased Confectionery Spatula capacity. From now on, when fully filled, it allows for spreading icing/frosting on up to 4 cookies or 1 cake
- Added 7 new figurine bundles containing 84 new figurines: Bats and clubs, Holiday Bundle, Cars Bundle, Home Pets Bundle, Oceans Bundle, Leaves Bundle, One-wheelers Bundle
- Added new Smartphone app with all the tutorials
- Added support for adding cookies to kneading machine container
- Added loose products handling for cake forms

Fixed:
- Fixed Advanced Buying lesson in the Cooking School. Avocado Oil can now be purchased
- Fixed bug, which caused the display of wrong temperatures for certain doughs (e.g. 140C instead of 150C)
- Fixed bug related to wrong work behavior of oven when repaired after save & load. Occasionally it was heating with the doors unlocked, and not heating with the doors closed
- Fixed possible hashtags conflicts in special orders (eg. Nut and Nut-Free hashtags in single order)
- Fixed ug: player losing input after throwing out products from the containers into trash
- Fixed bug: cake layer is still highlighted after picking it up from a stack of cakes
- Fixed animation bug: when filling the measuring cup, the fill level starts around half height and drops slightly before going up again
- Fixed bug: clicking on dispenser with measuring cup instantly fills it with 25g of nothing (next attempt to fill measuring cup fills it to 50g with selected product)
- Fluid inside a mixer container is displayed properly when it's more than ~50% full
- Fixed bug: meltable products were occasionally disappearing after skipping the time
- Fixed not moving forms and kneading machine tools placed inside the drawers after load the game
- Fixed bug: occasionally disappearing objects in the Kneading Machine Container
- Fixed bug: purchase button and cart value don't react to changes in shop cart and total player money
- Fixed bug: receiving package from the door doesn't lower notifications counter value
- Doughnuts can be now picked up with a container from the deep fryer without increasing the pick range first
- Fixed bug: extra dough that doesn’t fit in the Dough Dispenser disappears
- Kneading machine stand fixes when trying to knead egg shells. Occasionally it was not responding to the player’s actions
- Cake pans will work properly when filled with dough by clicking on the pans’ sides

Changed:
- Improved freshly kneaded cake scale. It was too big compared to its volume
- Rotated all the figurines, so that they will be facing the player when picked up
- Improved fluid behavior in cake forms
- Disabled money UI, which was shown when purchasing loose products and frostings/icings in Sandbox mode
- Adjusted properties for special orders generator - changed the probability of certain requirements or hashtags in the orders
- Dough dispenser hover UI and dough hover UI show dough volume quantity asThe UI will now display 'x g' instead of 'x ml' when hovering over dough and the Dough Dispenser
- Changed maximum volume of Dough Dispenser from 1000ml to 5000ml
- Changed visual scaling of raw cake dough (now the difference is visible between 0g-4000ml, previously 0g-300ml)

Stay tuned for more updates!
Happy baking!

Jun 18, 2020

Cakes and Cookies Sandbox Mode AVAILABLE NOW🍰

Cooking Simulator - tommy

Hi Chefs!

This is the first update for Cakes and Cookies containing a new Sandbox mode plus a number of various bug fixes and improvements. Thanks for supporting the game by leaving us feedback, suggestions and reporting bugs. There are more updates on the way in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!

Patch 3.2.3 changelog:
Please note that some fixes won't work on saves and require starting a new game!

Added Sandbox Mode for Cakes and Cookies
Dough name in Dough dispenser will be now displayed properly
Added missing garlic to the base game
Fixed issue: text "Welcome to [Cakes&Cookies]" not fitting in designated area in Spanish language
Fixed issue: text "Welcome to [Cakes&Cookies]" not being warped along the background shape
Removed car horns and other loud sound effects
Fixed issue: wrong '?' placing when baking temperature is not specified (because of different values for cookies in the form)
Fixed issue: duplicated ingredients are displayed in some recipes in ingredients panel
Fixed issue: recipes view opens slower with each time it’s being opened by the player
Fixed wrongly handled exceptions in INIParser. Now every exception when loading config file will force default settings (safety reasons)
Fixed issue: phone control is not possible after opening the phone view while a push notification is visible
Fixed issue: wrong button hints displayed for some actions
Removed the option to switch off context controls mode from the game. Context controls mode has been enabled for everyone
Fixed issue: wrong pouring sound with empty containers
Fixed issue: liquids taken from the pot using the ladle would occasionally turn black
Fixed issue: mixing items like carton of milk, bottle of juice, knives, etc. with other [normal] products in kneading machine to create a cake dough causes buggy behaviour of kneading machine bowl.
Filled all but 2 drawers with figurines
Added Cake Flour to the dispenser by default
Added Strawberries instead of Pears in the small fridge
Added Sour Cream in the big fridge
Added more cake pans available by default in the confectionery
Added sponge by the sink
All frying baskets and Food Processor Containers will be now available in the correct version in every kitchen
Fixed issues related to changing the game language
Fixed issue: not all hashtags are displayed in special order details
Adjusted text fitting in special order details
Added special handling of complexity hashtag requirement
Added option to setup figurine decoration item group id
Special order decoration item requirement update to compare decoration item group instead of pure IDs
Fixed: Special Orders asked for decoration that player can't buy
Fixed: Special Orders properly identify decoration type
Balance: Icings' and frostings' hashtag intensity lowered
Decreased the hashtag intensity for icings and frostings
Temporarily unavailable decorations can be no longer requested in the special order
Improved figurine detection in special orders

Thanks for your support! If you have some more feedback to share, feel free to join our discord: discord.gg/cookingsimulator

Happy Baking!

Jun 13, 2020

Cakes and Cookies more content upcoming!

Cooking Simulator - tommy

Hi Chefs!

Glad to see you enjoying Cakes and Cookies so much!
Just like with the base game, we'll keep taking good care of the expansion. Thanks to your awesome feedback and many suggestions, we'll be looking for ways to further streamline the gameplay and make it even more fun.

Here are some of the updates planned for the nearest future:

June 18th - Sandbox mode

The Sandbox mode will be available on Thursday, because it still required a few adjustments. We know how much you guys liked this mode in the base game and there's no way we could've skipped that for Cakes and Cookies. In the meanwhile, make sure to check out the basic mode. The expansion provides much more chilled out experience - there are not orders awaiting and virtually no penalties. The daily hashtags are more of a suggestion but it's not required to follow them to sell cakes. Additionally, we've made sure that there's enough sources available right from the start so you can check out everything this DLC has to offer!

June 25th - more figurines

It seems you guys have fallen in love with all the fancy decorations and we'll be more than happy to deliver you more sets of beautiful figurines.

July 2nd - Chaos Tool

That's right! Very soon you'll be able to wreck your kitchen like never before.
THIS FREE UPDATE AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE WHO OWNS THE BASE GAME.

A quick recap of it's features:

Shooting ignited firecrackers. Initially we wanted it to shoot darts but firecrackers sound like more fun!💥🧨
Shooting beams that mess with the gravity of individual objects. Houston, we're about to have a problem!🛰️🌌👨‍🚀
Shooting beams that change the scale of objects. Ever wanted to spend some time in the kitchen with a human-sized banana?🔼🔽🍌
Shooting chosen objects. You pick an item you want to use as ammo and the Chaos Tool can shoot is as much as you want.🍅🥦🥕 🔫
A beam which swapps objects for other random objects. Because why not!🍎⚗️🥩
Shockwave!🌊🌊

Happy Baking!

Jun 11, 2020

Cakes and Cookies now available! Launch discount -20%

Cooking Simulator - tommy

Cakes and Cookies is now available!

To sweeten it up, this new expansion is currently on a -20% launch discount and Cooking Simulator is -35% off. Additionally, we've setup a new Complete the Set bundle containing both Cooking Simulator and Cakes and Cookies at-15%. The deals add up, so there's no better time to start your culinary adventures!💸💸💸

The new expansion gives you an opportunity to run your own confectionery and prepare various pastries, cakes, donuts, and cookies! There are tons of new ingredients, including different types of flour, butter, eggs, chocolate, fillings, icings, and toppings just to name a few! New mechanics allow for kneading, baking, deep frying, filling, stacking cakes, icing/frosting, topping/dusting, and decorating using fruits, figurines, and whipped cream. On top of that, the expansion introduces a brand-new rating system that doesn't require following any strict recipes. Your score will be based on how well your desserts match daily trends, and it's completely up to you to come up with ideas that will make your customers happy.

Thank you for your support and for participating in the wishlist challenge! You guys are the best! Don't forget to share your fancy desserts – we can't wait to see your ideas!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1227350/Cooking_Simulator__Cakes_and_Cookies/

May 27, 2020

Cakes and Cookies available June 11th

Cooking Simulator - tommy

After numerous long evenings of fixing the game and consulting with our publisher’s QA team, we’ve come to the conclusion that Cakes and Cookies still requires some polishing.
We promised you guys to deliver the best cooking experience we possibly can and we intend to keep our promise but we’ll need extra 2 weeks to make sure all the new features are well balanced and work as intended.

It’s not an easy decision. You guys have been showing much love and support for this expansion and we can't wait for the release just as much as you do. However, it’s always been more important for us to deliver quality expansion instead of rushing the release.

Cakes and Cookies will be available on June 11th.🍰 We hope to see you guys baking, icing, topping and decorating your pastries very very soon!
If you'd like to learn more a bit more about what we've been working on so hard for the last couple of months, check out our previous posts about awesome new mechanics coming with Cakes and Cookies:
🎂Awesome new mechanics #1
🧁Awesome new mechanics #2

To sweeten up the last 2 weeks before launch, we'll keep on streaming Cakes and Cookies on Steam.
The next developer stream will be live this Friday at 5PM CEST. See you soon!👋

May 21, 2020

Cakes and Cookies - awesome new mechanics #2🧁

Cooking Simulator - tommy

Hi Chefs!
From the previous post you already know everything about the process of baking and decorating your fancy customised desserts.🎂 This time we'd like to tell you a bit more about the brand-new rating system, which will allow you to sell and receive a score for virtually any pastry you make using a variety of ingredients and decorations.

Let's start the list of changes by introducing the smartphone, which replaces the laptop known from the base game.📱 The smartphone allows you to purchase utensils, cake pans and other supplies, browse recipes or take special orders. You can also use it to check on social media to see the trending hashtags, your confectionery popularity and to upload photos of your best desserts to receive some extra exposure. The smartphone can be accessed at any moment by pressing a single button, so checking on it doesn't break the flow of the game!

The best way to start each day is to check what are the 🏷️5 trending daily hashtags. Daily hashtags are randomly chosen from the following categories:

Taste - related to the flavors (#Sweet, #Sour, #Fruity and so on)
Texture - related to the texture of the cake (#Crunchy, #Moist, #Fluffy, etc.)
Ingredient - based on the ingredients used in the cake (#Chocolate, #Cocoa, #Honey and many more)
Diet - they result from the certain combination of used ingredients or the lack of said ingredients (#Sugar-free, #Vegan, #Variety and so on)
Theme hashtags are also applied when you decide to follow a certain recipe, which will result in assigning tags like #Brownie, #Apple pie, #Cheesecake, etc. If you decide to create something unique, your creation will receive a #Homemade tag.
Special - tags assigned to desserts using certain decorations(for example #Birthday, #Wedding, #Halloween)

Additionally, there are 2 hidden categories of hashtags, which cannot be drawn as daily hashtags:

Complexity is used to determine the amount of work you've put in decorating the pastry. There are 5 degrees of complexity from #Simple all the way up to #Masterpiece. The more complex your cake is, the more positive reactions you'll get from selling it!
Shape tags depend on the type of cake pan you'll use. They don't affect the score but might be requested when accepting special orders. Example hashtags could be #Oval, #Star, #Heart and so on.

Daily hashtags help you plan your work for the day and determine what sort of desserts you’re going to make. The more daily hashtags you manage to include in your pastry, the higher are it's chances of being sold and receiving more positive reactions, resulting in increasing your confectionery popularity.
For example, if your daily hashtags are: #Nut-free, #Animals, #Edible pearls, #Fruity, #Chocolate, you could prepare a cake without using any nuts, inject some filling (preferably fruit or chocolate flavored!), add some edible pearls topping and decorate it using animal figurines, various fruits and even chocolate! 🍫🦊🍓

Of course, the more complex your cake is (determined by the number frostings/icings, whipped cream, toppings/dustings, fruits and figurines used), the more reactions it will receive. Cake containing 5/5 daily hashtags will have the highest potential to receive numerous positive reactions. Alternatively, you could prepare a number of less complex pastries containing only a few daily hashtags or even a dozen of donuts or cupcakes with just 1-2 suggested hashtags. There are many ways you can try to make your customers happy and it's up to you to find out which one works best for you!👨‍🍳

To break your daily routine, every once in a while your confectionery might have an opportunity to accept a special order! The more popular you get, the higher the chances for receiving such orders will be. Special orders will require you to prepare a specific cake in a given period of time. There are no penalties for declining such orders but completing them will result in a substantial popularity increase.
An example of such order could be a cake with the following requirements📝:

#Homemade cake
Must include the following hashtags #Fit, #Gluten-free, #Cheesy, #Creamy, #Chocolate
Square-shaped
2 layers: large and medium
2 different colours of frosting/icing
Must be decorated with a Gingerbread Man figurine
The level of complexity must be at least #Advanced

Whether or not you'll participate in any extra activities, by the end of each day you should place your pastries at the display, so they can be sold to the customers. The clients will purchase and rate your cakes and cookies depending on how well they match the daily trends and also how well they've been baked. Underbaked or burnt pastries will receive negative reactions (either a Sad or Angry face) and all the other sold pastries will receive 1 out of 4 positive reactions (Like, Wow, Haha and a Heart). Don't forget that you can also upload a photo of the day with your best cake to receive some extra reactions and further progress in the ranks of top confectioneries!🏆

As you can see, Cakes and Cookies introduces a bunch of fun mechanics and unlocks new levels of almost unlimited creativity. The expansion will be available on May 28th. We can't wait to see you creating your own fancy desserts!🍰

For those of you, who really can't wait to start their sweet adventures, we'll be running another developer stream on Steam this Friday at 6PM CEST. See you there!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1227350/Cooking_Simulator__Cakes_and_Cookies/