In the previous announcement I showed I was working on moving platforms. Well, it turns out they were not quite working, lol. The thing is now it was personal and I really wanted to add moving platforms because that can add an extra layer of dynamism to the game to make interesting puzzles, so I had to make it work.
After lots of days of fixing and testing, I finally got it to work.
I have been working on other things too. I am making a first version of the "first basement" (what you have in the demo is part of the "second basement" of the castle). I am checking the story of The Rats in The Walls to figure out how this first basement should look like, and I think I have an idea. We'll see how it works.
For this part I plan to have some "lore sections" where you can find stuff for the story. Just like the demo basement, I want this basement to feel big, to make it feel like the impossibility of this huge basement actually being under the castle (english is not my first language so I don't even know if what I said made sense, but well).
For this basement I also want some traps that kill you instantly. I got some ideas from Classic/Legend Tomb Raider for these "crushing pillars" traps that I will put in the hallways in some areas to make the game feel more like a Tomb Raider (but the old ones, because I really don't like the reboot series).
And lastly, sorry for the delay in the next update. I have to balance work and personal stuff but I will have this next update up soon!
September 19 is coming closer every day, and today, I would like to talk a bit more about the Early Access itself - why I've decided for this type of release a year ago, and how I plan to use it.
There are 2 main reasons - to give you the ability to play the game during it's development, and to provide additional funding for the game, which would mean that I can continue working on it full time to release frequent updates.
Without beating around the bush - the reason why I'm talking about Early Access, is that I've suggested (and I should probably use the word promised) that the game will contain the Management features by September 19. All throughout August, I was slowly coming to the realization of the fact that that probably won't be the case. I've underestimated the time needed to implement those features to the level of quality that I would find release-worthy.
With that, I'm now facing 3 possible scenarios:
Release the game with Management features that are half broken, half missing.
Continue working on the Management during Early Access and release the game with Building and Customization available.
Delay the Early Access launch (possibly into the Q1 2024).
The decision
Mall Craze will release on September 19, 2023 as a creative sandbox game, with the roadmap to implement Management features during early stages of Early Access.
I will provide a full roadmap later this month, as well as a detailed patch notes for the Early Access version. I will also update the Steam page in the following days to reflect this change.
Now, what are these things that I've been working on? Some of them will be available on launch, and some of the them will be added later.
Main Menu (available on launch day)
The game now has a proper Main Menu that, apart from the usual options, will also include a 'News' section for the latest updates.
Level Selector (available on launch day)
Gone will be the days of only starting on an empty map. You will now be able to start a new game with one of the pre-build malls as well. You can then expand and transform them to your liking.
Product Detail Panel (available on launch day)
This one was quite a grind, but every single product or product table/rack/wall now has all of its products listed inside the Product Detail Panel. With the current implementation, you can see their names and discover some interesting facts about them :)
New Graphical Options (available on launch day)
Depth of Field, Field of View, and more options to dynamically control the environment.
New Objects and Shop Designs (available on launch day)
To give you more options to creatively decorate and stylize your mall. All designed with a modular philosophy in mind, allowing for some interesting combinations.
New Design Picker (available on launch day)
Memorizing if 'Design 4' is a brick or wooden wall wasn't very convenient. Every shop object that can change it's visual design will now have the new Design Picker instead (floor, walls, windows, entrances, and cashier tables).
Product Detail Panel - Finances (to be added during Early Access)
The Product Detail Panel will also have a second tab. This one will contain an overview and details of the sales for the particular product.
Mall Dashboard Window (to be added during Early Access)
Similar to Shop Dashboard - your mall will also have it's dashboard with useful stats and options. Most mall-level management will take place here and inside it's tabs.
New Research Tree (to be added during Early Access)
If you've played the old Demo based on UE4, you may remember that the Research was Product-based. For every single shop, you had roughly 40% of products available and the rest was behind research. That was the case for every single shop, even if you've already build the same shop type before. After some time, it felt more like a chore than anything else.
The new Research Tree is Shop-based, meaning that instead of Products, you'll be researching new Shops and other things from the game like new decorations or utilities.
I do realize that the Management postponement is a bit of a letdown, and I'm sorry for it, but I'm still fully committed to the game.
As I always say at the end of these updates - it is time for me to get back to work! Even with only a little more than two weeks to go, there's still a lot that needs to be done!
Thank you all for your support, and I'll see you later! - Milan, developer
The development of version 0.13 continues and has been done since then:
1. added the 'strength' parameter for static space station blocks 2. when the strength of the static block of the space station is reduced to 0, it is destroyed 3. installing and moving objects in the colony no longer puts the game on pause 4. new models of floors and ceilings in the premises have been added 5. meteorites can shoot down shuttles taking off and landing and they fall on the colony
After the development of the version is completed, it will be available first in the Beta branch.
