Dear retailers,
Now that summer has arrived, as promised, I’ve got a new update for King of Retail 2 that is playable right now! We’ve got the build mode overhauls, new product lines, destruction of the radial wheel, and other much sought-after tweaks and improvements.
So let’s dive right in.
BUILD MOVE OVERHAUL, PART 1
Build Mode is seeing a large overhaul in this update, and it will serve as just the first part of the major changes I have planned for the mode at this time.
The way you design your building has fundamentally changed. Originally, you would use the Outer Structures segment of the Radial Menu (more on this later) to build the shell of your store. Although this would do the job, I wanted to expand this much further, switching from simply building walls to building Area Blocks.
Area Blocks now form the basis of a unit of “store,” with their own walls tweaked individually. This means that it’s a lot easier to plot out your store and create both outer and internal walls for the layout. No more worrying about creating loops with your wall setup. So, for all of those who’ve been begging for their own Storage Rooms: you’re all set!
The UI in Build Mode has also been overhauled, stripping out the Radial Menu entirely in favour of the Toolbar at the top.
You can also now create multiple floors within your stores, however, I do want to stress that these floors won’t be fully functional yet. That's part 2 of the Build Mode update, where you will be able to operate beyond the ground level; I split this update into multiple chunks as delivering it all in one go would be quite risky due to how it will interact with many other elements of the game.
I’ll continue working away on this and will keep you posted as things progress.
As this overhaul to Build Mode is so substantial, it will make its way to the demo in the near future!
RADIAL MENU REMOVAL
We’ve also taken in lots of feedback from players across the Steam discussion forums and in our Discord regarding the Radial Menu. Generally, the feedback was that the Radial Menu added a lot of unnecessary menu management to the game, burying your essentials behind a menu that you needed to open and close frequently, and sometimes leaving players confused on how an interactable could be interacted with.
So I obliterated it, in favour of the new Overlap Menu and updated Toolbars!
The Overlap Menu will now appear above any interactable that you’re within range of, as shown above. This way, you’ll be able to find and click directly on the action you want to take, without needing to open any additional menus.
Want to restock a shelf? Do so in a single click.
Looking to land a hard sell on a customer? No problem!
Is that display in the wrong place? Not anymore.
I think this new menu system massively streamlines the UI and how you interact with King of Retail 2, both when in your store, and when crafting perfection in Build Mode.
Also, as with Build Mode, the new, wheel-less UI will also be present in the demo later down the line.
INTRODUCING: SLIPPERS AND BEAUTY
Two new product ranges have arrived in update 0.2.0.0.
First up, we’ve got the Slippers range, serving as a broader extension of the footwear category that will continue to see expansion as development continues. With Summer now in full swing, I thought there was no better time to introduce some comfy footwear for your customers to take on their trips to the beach.
And there’s more! You want your customers to be stylish, of course, but you’ll also want them to be able to focus on their health and beautification. Introducing; a brand new article type with Health & Beauty products! This range includes a variety of beauty-related products to further kit out your stores and expand your repertoire. You can expect hand creams, face creams, soaps, shampoos, and much more.
With those highlights in place, here’s what the entirety of update 0.2.0.0 has in-store!
MAJOR
Completely removed the Radial Menu.
Added a new Overlap Menu that shows up as soon as you approach any interactable, majorly reducing the number of required clicks, and streamlining the overall UI experience.
Reworked build mode to let you define your Store by adding area blocks, as opposed to just walls.
Remaining features previously tied to the Radial Wheel have been moved to the toolbar at the top of the HUD.
You can now add and remove floors inside each area block.
You can now add and remove walls inside each area block, creating internal rooms.
Reduced/removed the blue bar from the bottom side menus.
Replaced the build mode camera with a full "free move" camera.
Replaced display designer mode camera with a "free move" camera.
MINOR
Pressing ‘E’ while overlapping an interactable now activates its primary menu.
Added conversions of old save games to the new building setup.
The camera moves up and down with floor level changes.
Increased the maximum camera offset in build mode.
Reduced max camera zoom distance in build mode.
Updated the building rules to fit the new system.
Updated the default building to fit the new system.
Doors can now be placed in walls above ground level.
Removed Open Radial Menu from keybinds.
Separated product and general decorations into two categories.
Removed defunct product selection filters.
Replaced category names with icons in the product finder.
Added a Z-axis clamp to camera movement.
Reworked the Place Inventory movement screen.
Added movement tips to build mode.
Added a color icon to the Cash Register overlap menu to show the state of a Cash Register.
Adjusted the tooltip menu.
Updated the main menu to have information on the latest update.
Added movement info to the Display Designer.
All cash registers close automatically after each day.
Added a marker for an out-of-place decoration.
Added a filter and visual cue showing the state of a cash register.
BUGS
You can no longer see under the level.
Decorations now show their proper location state when clicked on.
In-store music is now also based on the general music volume.
BALANCING
Increased overall refilling efficiency.
Decreased the display refill timer lockout.
CONTENT
Added slippers!
Added more custom displays.
Added a brand new Beauty category featuring face creams.
Added 2 clothed mannequins as decorations.
And there we have it!
Jump into the game, let me know how you’re feeling about this update, and please keep the feedback coming! A bunch of changes made in this update are in response to player feedback, so thank you to everyone who’s made their voices heard thus far. Your comments are much appreciated.
Have a wonderful rest of your day, and until next time…
Happy selling!
Daniel