Hello there, Landlords!
Today's the day, and we couldn't be more excited! As we mentioned in the teaser, we've been working on the new district for almost a year, and in the end, we're really happy with how it turned out and can't wait to see you all try it. It's both three times the size of the Slums or Suburbs and an order of magnitude denser in detail and content than the other two.
The Manhattan Update doesn't just end with the new district itself; in fact, we've managed to build a few brand-new and exciting features to go along with it. As it is the last major update in The Tenants Early Access before the 1.0 release slated for later this year, we wanted to use this opportunity and shake up some of the core gameplay aspects. We're adding a whole new secondary progression system in the form of the Target Cards and encouraging players to explore Wondersville up close by scattering a host of new pickups and collectibles in all three districts.
Another big change is the Apartment Upgrades & Subscriptions system, which changes the way basic utilities work in properties. Don't be surprised that upon loading up your old save file, you'll have to install the Water upgrade in all your units and configure all three of the core upgrades. We hope that the reworked and expanded system will introduce more depth into planning out your apartments along with more interactive options to make it more interesting.
Get your own Uncle Steve Plush!
Together with Makeship we're proud to present you with the official Uncle Steve plushie! Doesn't he look cute? Just look at that lil' cap!
The campaign will last for 21 days starting from today. During this time, you'll be able to order your own Uncle Steve Plush in all his tiny glory. Don't own the game yet, or have a friend you'd like to get into it? You'll be happy to hear that with each order of the Uncle Steve Plush, you'll also receive a Steam key for The Tenants!
For more information, head over to the Makeship campaign page: Uncle Steve Plush
Manhattan district
The crown jewel of the update itself, the third district, is officially open as of now! Available to those who have finished all their main story missions in both the Slums and the Suburbs. Once you buy the property mentioned in the last Suburbs mission, you'll be prompted by Uncle Steve, who will get the keys to Manhattan for you. Keep in mind, though, that you can always use Creative Mode to reach the new district faster!
Apart from the new environment itself, accompanied by new flats to buy and do jobs in, we wanted Manhattan to feel special in comparison to the other two districts. After all, it's the late-game area in which players who "finish" the game (reach the final mission) spend most of their time.
One of the main features that the last district introduces is the property classification system, which splits apartments into two types: residential and business. The former are your regular apartments that you can rent out to tenants. The latter opens up the possibility to rent your properties to whole companies that will then bring their employees along and start using your apartment as a new office. Business properties require a different set of items to host an open house, and each company type (there are 5 different types at the moment) requires a different set of workstations.
Office spaces will also come with their own set of events (ever dreamed of solving a missing yogurt case?), a new tenant archetype (say hello to the Politician!), and apartment subscriptions. Ah yes, the subscriptions. More on that later.
Target Cards
With the Manhattan Update, we're adding a new type of progression system, in which you'll receive random Target Cards that you can complete at your own pace. The first set will be fully randomized, but then when you complete a card, you'll be able to choose one of the three new random cards for your next target. The system becomes available at the same time as you receive the cash flow goal.
These cards will range from signing a particular type of tenant into one of your apartments to performing a given number of sabotages on unsuspecting tenants. On completion, they'll either give you plain cash, Landlord Points, new items, a random gift/service/sabotage, or the brand new Tenant Solver Token, which allows you to solve a chosen apartment event without your intervention.
City Pickups
With the new and beautiful district of Manhattan, we wanted to entice players to explore Wondersville from up close, instead of just jumping from one apartment to the other. With the release of the new update, we advise you to start looking under those bridges and into the chimneys scattered across the city. You might end up finding one of the two kinds of pickups we've implemented in the game.
Respawning pickups - simpler items that can be found in various parts of the town, on pickup will grant either money, Landlord Points, Tenant Hearts, and occasionally a rare epic item that will go straight to your player storage.
Collectibles - split into different sets that range from 7 to even 20 pieces. Some can be found only in a single district, while others may be scattered around all three. Each set on completion rewards the player with something different. So, for example, when you collect all Uncle Steve cards, you will receive a permanent move speed buff for Uncle Steve, and picking up all the graffitis will reward you with a set of them to use in your own interiors.
Go exploring and let us know which of the collectible sets you liked the most!
Apartment Upgrades & Subscriptions
And now, let's move on to the new apartment Upgrades & Subscriptions systems. We were never quite happy with the old utility system, and we've had various ideas on how to rework it. The rework was originally planned for the Renovation Update, but as we sat down to design it in detail, it only grew in size and scope with each iteration. Eventually, we had to push it back a little to ensure it was fully ready and compatible with the rest of the game before releasing it to the public. Well, it's ready now!
Each apartment has a plethora of various upgrades that can be installed in them, along with a selection of subscriptions that can be turned on and off whenever the player wants to. The three core upgrades that are required to rent a unit out are electricity, heating, and water. Apart from installing them, the player will have to use Uncle Steve to configure each upgrade and place corresponding outlets on the property. Most of the outlets have a limited range in which they work, so it's good to plan ahead where, let's say, the fridge, is going to be placed.
On top of that, there'll be a bunch of additional upgrades that may increase the value of the apartment for some tenants and clients, like the automatic cleaning robot (yay!), dispatch stations, and such. Meanwhile, subscriptions do not require a permanent installation, and they can be switched on and off whenever, although cutting off your tenant's high-speed internet connection will definitely not make them happy.
Reworked furniture colliders
We've gathered the courage and finally overhauled the furniture colliders along with a code rework that held them back. Previously some furniture had these surface slots that could be used to place small decorations and other items in them, and then we had some such as tables or kitchen counters, where you could freely place smaller items on.
From now on, you'll have much greater freedom in decorating your places. On top of the increased grid density when placing surface top items, we've also changed the item colliders and collision detection by getting rid of the old, clunky box colliders. Now you should be able to organize your interiors more fluidly.
New archetype - Politician
We couldn't release a completely new district without a new tenant archetype that'd be unique to it. So here come the Politicians in their sleek suits and impeccable manners!
Apart from a bunch of custom actions that they can perform in your apartments, they also have one (for now at least) unique event that can only appear for Politician tenants. So be prepared when they call you in for a little rehearsal before an important speech.
Door color variants and prestige
This one's been a long-coming feature, but it finally found its way into the game. With the new update, we're now counting door prestige scores when calculating given room appraisals.
Along with many new door designs, we've also implemented a color variant switch option, similar to the one we added in the past for furniture items.
New furniture, wallings, and floorings
It wouldn't be a proper major update if we didn't add a metric ton of new items and categories. This time, however, we're also significantly expanding on the walls and floors roster, essentially doubling it in size.
Design provided by a community member - @Sisquinanamook.
On top of that, we went over some of the older items and added color variants to those that didn't have any to choose from. We can't wait to see the beautiful interiors you'll design with this new batch of items!
Tenant Reactions
Enough about renovations; let's talk tenants. The idea for this feature has been brewing for a long time in our minds, and we agreed that it's the right time to build it. Coming in this update, your tenants will not only react to your actions but also to what other people in their apartments do. This introduces an interplay mechanic between different archetypes, as they will now get along better with selected tenant types and quickly get tired of annoying actions performed by the others. All of which contribute to their overall happiness.
Fresh look for the main menu
Since Manhattan is the last district in the game and it'll take some playing to get to, we wanted you to feel its magic right from the get-go upon loading up the game. That's why we remade the main menu screen from scratch, featuring our very own skyscrapers in the background making for a peaceful city center look.
And more!
But those are only the biggest changes. Alongside them, we're also introducing a big batch of QoL improvements and tweaks. One of the more notable ones is the renovation UI optimization, which should make switching between various design tabs and furniture categories much faster than before. No more lag spikes when accessing your kitchen!
We're also finally expanding the soundtrack with 5 brand new chill tracks for you to enjoy while looking for those pesky pickups or renovating your places.
Another small feature worth mentioning is the new ability to discard jobs from the Jobs app (you'll never have to see that train job ever again!). A tiny yet impactful change has been made to the renovation checklist. Now requirements that are not yet complete, but are in progress, will feature a small, yellow dot instead of staying empty until the requirement is fully complete. This should allow you to gauge your work progress at the first glance.
One last thing to mention before we let you get your hands on the game itself, is the new feature to extend a tenant lease without negotiations. We've heard your feedback on how sometimes you might just want to carry on with your current terms without bothering to renegotiate, and, well, now you can! No more haggling just to get the same money.
We can't wait to hear your thoughts on the last Early Access major update in the comments below or on our official Discord server, which can be found here: link. If you encounter any in-game issues, please post them either on our forums, our social media platforms, or using the in-game feedback tool. This is a truly giant update, and we'll do our best to polish it and patch it up whenever anything comes up in the next few weeks. Have fun!
Full changelog
Features
- Implemented apartment upgrades (Electricity, Heating, Water, Monitoring, Cleaning Robots, House Share License).
- Implemented apartment subscriptions (Better Internet, Better TV, Earthquake Insurance, Water Damage Insurance, Extended Appliance Warranty, Cleaning Service, Coaching).
- Implemented Target Cards - a new progression system with 26 unique goals.
- Implemented City Pickups - new discoverable objects on the map with 7 random pickup types and 7 collectible sets.
- Implemented Business properties with the ability to rent them out to Manhattan-based companies.
- Implemented door color variants with over 75 new options for your doors.
- Implemented tenant reactions with each tenant defining over 40 actions they react to with their roommates.
- Implemented the ability to extend a tenant lease without renegotiations.
- Implemented the ability to discard jobs.
- Implemented a new audio slider for Ambience sounds.
- Implemented the ability to set Open House duration.
- Implemented a hint system for all main missions.
- Implemented the ability to sell storage items without entering renovation.
- Completely reworked item collider system to allow for easier placement of objects on top of other surfaces.
- Revised renovation checklist to showcase requirement progress.
Content
- Added a new district: Manhattan.
- Added 34 new residential buildings in Manhattan.
- Added over 120 new jobs in Manhattan.
- Added 7 new Elite Contracts in Manhattan.
- Added 7 new missions in Manhattan.
- Added 2 new missions in the Slums.
- Added a new tenant archetype: Politician.
- Added 3 new tenant events (mostly related to the Politician or to business apartments).
- Added 20 new player levels (max level is now 95).
- Added 3 new skills to increase sockets' maximum range for utilities.
- Added 2 new furniture categories.
- Added over 400 new furniture items.
- Added over 80 new walling and 80 new flooring options.
- Added 5 new tracks to the in-game soundtrack.
- Added tenant archetype information to Uncle Steve's Guidebook.
- Reworked 10 babysitting/open house variants in the Slums to serve as inspiration for your designs.
- Remade the in-game menu featuring the Manhattan environment.
General
- Updated engine version.
- Tweaked how the camera works when navigating to properties.
- Revised the credits screen.
- Optimized renovation item list UI.
- Simplified Properties app UI to show both upcoming and ongoing auctions on the same list.
- Tweaked creative mode game creation UI to be easier to navigate.
- Fixed a number of issues allowing players to move or place items in rooms other than the one being worked on during a tenant request.
- Fixed an issue with items sometimes appearing in incorrect places when reloading the game.
- Fixed an issue with the Happy Tenant main mission not being properly completed when already having a tenant on the specific lease term.
- Fixed a number of furniture issues.
Balance
- Rebalanced prestige values for all items to be more consistent.
- Rebalanced some of the item prices.
- Rebalanced Landlord Point cost and Happiness gain for all gifts and services.
- Made the doors count towards room/apartment prestige scores.
Thank you,
Ancient Forge Studio