v0.7.5.0.75 (pt)

Hello! ːsteamhappyː

I released an update to the public test branch yesterday, but it was around 11 PM here and I was pretty exhausted. So I’m writing this log now in the morning here in Bangkok. I’ve decided to turn this into a full public test branch update log after two smaller patches. I’ve mostly been quiet on the daily quick devlogs, only chatting on Discord, the Steam Community Hub, and in bug report discussions. That time has been spent moving forward with the plans we’ve already talked about in earlier update logs and devlogs for this final polishing phase of the update, which at this point feels almost like a second early access launch. 

This update brings in previously missing items that were only listed in the item menu, more polished AI behaviors, UI improvements, final tweaks before we start the real money and documents balancing, and, of course, some important fixes, like the massive save file sizes in mid to late game and the long saving times caused by large financial data. Working on these issues also led me to improve the entire loading and game startup systems. 

Here are some highlights from this update, followed by the full changelog:

Missing Items and AI Behaviors 

Added the previously missing new vending items that were only listed in the items menu but were nonfunctional and unresearcheable. These include the pipe vending stand, lighter vending stand, condom vending machine, and period product vending machine, along with their related inventory items for buying and storing. I also added the research options for these items and reintroduced the benches to the research tree. Their AI usage has also been implemented, these are the first batch of polish-like AI behaviors and animations I mentioned last week. There are still more to complete, which I plan to finish this week. 

The condom and period product vending machines are now required for prestige-level items in restrooms, while the pipe and lighter vending stands are now prestige-level needs in cigar lounges. I’ve added these items now since they were already planned and I was already working on implementing them. All room prestige-level requirements and bonuses will get some love this week, and any missing ones will be completed. 

UI and QOL Changes and Improvements 

I’ve made some progress on UI polishing and quality-of-life improvements. I updated the design and tab system logic across the side information menus for items, customers, employees, and rooms. Now all side tab buttons are fully incorporated into the menus and serve both as info displays and toggles for more detailed information. 

I also made some edits to the leisure research tree while implementing the missing polish-like side items. The event and meeting room research options are temporarily removed. They will be added back with the Nightlife update as part of its new calendar and organization/events features. 

Startup & Loading System 

Last week, Nil and some community players mentioned that save times were long, and I noticed some bloated financial data. I refactored and improved the system, which massively reduced the data size. I also shortened the number of collected days from 15 to 7, which also makes the financial data graphs cleaner and easier to understand. 

As the game is becoming a proper simulation and with even more features coming, I decided to improve the save loading and startup systems as well. Now, when the game starts, it only loads one save per casino resort you have. Later, when you navigate the saved games menu, the other saves load asynchronously, so you don’t have to wait for all the casino saves to load before the menu opens. 

I’ll also be polishing the UI design of it while finishing up the remaining main menu work.

Employees & Balancing 

We will start working on the proper balance of the economy, both money and administrative documents, especially on the transportation side tomorrow. That said, I have been making small adjustments to the balancing system as planned. 

One key change is how employee quitting works. Instead of recalculating the chance to quit every day, it now accumulates over time: 

• Unhappy workers slowly build up their quit chance each day.  • Happy workers gradually reduce their accumulated quit chance.  • Employees only start considering quitting once their chance reaches 40 percent. 

• Formula (for the curious):  chanceToQuit = chanceToQuit + (10 - 2.5f * jobHappiness) 

• Examples:  jobHappiness = 0 → 10  jobHappiness = 4 → 0  jobHappiness = 6 → -5  jobHappiness = 8 → -10  jobHappiness = 10 → -15 (plus the HR manager boost) 

In short, the happier your employees are, the more their quit chance heals over time. 

Some Other News 

Since we’re back to frequent mid-sized updates and patches, there aren’t long silences between updates anymore like there used to be during the early beta testing days of this rework. With that, I want to adjust how I handle posts and logs again. Quick short devlogs were great, but when I’m buried in heavy work, they eat up a lot of time. And since I don’t want to flood the Steam news feed, I try to sneak them in creatively here and there :) 

Here’s what I’m planning for communication going forward: 

• On Steam  I’ll be posting dev news in update logs like this, now that updates are coming every one to two weeks again. Patch notes will stay as simple changelogs, and more detailed future plans will go into the Community Gazette alongside major update logs. 

• On Reddit  I plan to unpin the devlog thread and start posting update logs, Community Gazettes, and major updates as standalone posts. Smaller patch notes and quick devlog-style updates will go into the comments of those posts on Steam. I also found out I can enable images in comments through the mod tools, which I thought wasn’t possible because the subreddit is new. I’m still learning subreddit management, so thank you for bearing with me. 

• On Discord  I use announcements to share every link I post to Steam, but I only ping everyone for major news. If you want to catch everything, you’ll need to keep an eye on it. I also post smaller work-in-progress notes in the devlog channel, and these update logs will go there too. As always, I keep an eye on feedback and bug reports and respond when I can. 

Outside of that, as you probably know if you’ve been following the development closely, I’m always around to chat and bounce ideas on the CRT Subreddit, Steam Community Hub, and Discord channels.

The Changelog

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the changed number of contracted delivery people wasn’t being sent by the delivery company until the next delivery time.

• Fixed an issue where some customers could book rooms without paying.

• Fixed gumball and keychain machines not consuming the related inventory items.

• Fixed an issue where people standing in item lines weren’t saved correctly, causing them to leave after loading.

• Fixed a rare issue where customers could leave the café while their order was still being prepared.

• Fixed an issue where the CEO sometimes wouldn’t show up to work or would leave immediately.

• Fixed an issue where some abandoned cars weren’t marked as abandoned, keeping their driver data in the vehicle information menu and causing issues.

• Fixed an issue where builders would leave after finishing their work, leaving one behind. When a new job arrived, they wouldn’t return because one was still counted as active and the truck didn’t depart.

• Fixed an issue where the tow truck could get stuck at the entrance, causing the system to keep spawning cars and tow trucks just outside the map, leading to lag near the edge of the map.

• Fixed an issue where passengers wouldn’t board a bus for a long time, causing delays for others and the bus itself.

• Fixed an issue where save files wouldn’t load if they contained a driver unable to reach their car due to a pathfinding problem.

• Fixed an issue where worker trucks displayed "getting towed" information in the vehicle information menu incorrectly.

• Fixed an issue where guests could line up for casino game items disabled by the player.

• Fixed an issue where detained suspects spawned on the elevator entrance floor if the game was saved while they were in the elevator with an officer.

• Fixed an issue where suspects would escape if the game was saved while they were on the stairs with an officer.

• Fixed an issue where some police officers left without apprehending a suspect, causing suspects to leave the detention cell.

• Fixed an issue where keychain machines didn’t generate demand for keychains in the inventory menu.

• Fixed an issue where the employee side info menu didn’t sync break schedules after closing the assignment pop-up menu.

• Fixed an issue where suspects continued their walking animations on escalators while under arrest.

• Fixed rendering issues with some subway train parts on the map.

• Fixed an issue where inventory items weren’t displayed correctly on storage shelves after loading.

• Fixed room menu financial reports not syncing correctly.

• Fixed the favorites box not showing the customer service icon.

Changes & Additions

• Added benches back to the research tree under Recreational 2.

• Removed the meeting room and added lighter vending, pipe vending, and personal care research to the Leisure research tree.

• Redesigned the side information menus for customers, employees, workers, items, and rooms.

• Bookshelves can now be lined up.

• Public intoxication crimes are now only committed by people who have used bars or restaurants.

• People will no longer commit crimes on the first day of a casino resort.

• People will not commit vandalism in the first few days.

• Added new lawsuit texts.

• Adjusted the employee quitting probability formula.

• Added new items: lighter vending stand, pipe vending stand, condom vending machine, pipe vending machine.

• Candy and gumball machines can now be marked as favorite items for employee break rooms.

• Reduced the maximum number of save files per casino to 25.

• Reduced graph history from 15 days to 8 days.

• Added a financial report sub-menu to items (similar to the one in rooms).

• Improved save/load system performance.

• Improved pathfinding performance.

Warnings

• Hotel rooms will be unbooked and reset on the first load.

• Room and item financial data will reset, but the main financial data on graphs will remain.

• Suspects may reset and be released on the first load.

As always, thank you all for your support!

I’ll see you soon!ːsteamhappyː