Salutations future underwater governors!
Today, we just felt like reaching out and sharing some news from behind the scenes. As you're probably well aware, we're fast approaching the final weeks of development, a crucial month will soon begin, and the pace in general is seriously increasing. And since we're deep in a million things to prepare for release, we feel maybe we're too quiet. The paradox is that the reality is completely the opposite, there are so much things happening every day now, you wouldn't believe it!
But, I'm getting side tracked here, back to the topic :) . First of all, since Aquatico release is coming closer, and the game is getting bigger and bigger, we realized some deeper insight into the game mechanics via short videos could be very handy for many players. So, we'll start with the first one today, and offer some details & tips on how Population works, as well as some tricks to manage it more efficiently.
In the coming weeks, we'll cover more game mechanics like this, and once all of them are public, you'll be able to use them as sort of a quick tutorial guides as well.
Since these videos are recorded by one of our devs, mostly during ongoing testing sessions (hence the lack of "Hollywood level production" :) ), you'll also be able to notice certain parts of the game that weren't yet showcased. Our internal version by now contains some features that weren't in the last Playtest version and aren't part of the current demo version either.
And yes, to immediately answer some of your questions in advance: at this moment we're still on schedule for the announced release date. For the last couple of days we've been setting up defensive buildings and shooting at hostile... stuff near your underwater city. Maybe you've noticed a placeholder for these buildings, but they are now becoming operational. Can't yet go into full details, but the remaining features are now on the table being created or improved.
One more thing being done in parallel is the gradual implementation of dozens of suggestions we received during the last public betatest. It's mostly a slew of smaller corrections, tweaks, additions and modifications, but in combination they really enhance the enjoyment of the game. So, once again we thank everyone that took part in the betatest and helped us populate the lists of these improvements!
To provide the answer to another question we received multiple times: yes, the demo version of Aquatico will be updated at least once again before release. The demo version will remain limited (in playtime hours), but the intention is to have it updated to match the full release version when it arrives.
In any case, that's the quick progress update, more to come in the coming days. Check it out, and don't forget - wishlist the game and stay up-to-date with the incoming details on everything coming in January!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJXGCF4hPoE
Stay safe and watch your oxygen levels!