Hey, Players! 👋
Your factory just got even more intuitive and user-friendly because UPDATE II has arrived in Chocolate Factory Simulator! 🏭✨ This time, we focused on enhancing the clarity of various gameplay elements, making managing your chocolate empire smoother and more enjoyable! 🚀
Thanks to your feedback, we’ve refined key aspects of the game to make everything clearer and easier to understand – and this is just the beginning! 💡
Check out what’s new in UPDATE II! 👇
Changes and Additions:
- New level 2 and level 3 pots: Hand-make higher-quality products than it was ever possible with level 1 pot - create recipes that were once exclusive to the Melanger: such as ruby and vegan chocolate! These new pots feature improved heat conduction, allowing them to heat up and cool down faster. They also make it harder to burn ingredients.
- Added new requirements for chocolate in orders: From now on, in medium nad hard orders, there is a chance that the customer will request chocolate bars in a specific shape (like for example hearts or circles).
- Added the ability to use small bowls with the Melanger: From now on, the Melanger can also pour into small bowls.
- Changed the way bowls interact with the Melanger: From now on, it will no longer be possible to pick up bowls from underneath the Melanger while it is still pouring. Previously, the absence of this restriction allowed the player to block the bowl’s interaction, making it, for example, impossible to draw filling from it with a syringe.
- Changes to the order evaluation process: Some requirements are now more important than other. For example factors like chocolate shape of quality are more important than a single decoration of a slight difference in filling amount. So now the orders will be judged by customers in a more real-world fashion, making it more forgiving for small issues at the same time looking closer for major differences in what the client ordered and what they revived.
- Container fill level visualization: Added a fill indicator to dispenser refill bags, so now you can much easier determine whether the refill bag in your inventory is full or empty.
- Changes to the stirring system: The behavior of the spatula when stirring in a pot was adjusted. The core mechanics remain unchanged from a technical standpoint, but visually, it should now look more engaging.
- Improved controls - accessibility (click-to-use): We've added "Smart Interaction" for machine controllers (levers, sliders, valves, etc.), which can now be used in two ways: (1) The familiar method – Approach a machine controller, interact with it, and while holding the button, adjust the value. Releasing the button ends the interaction. (2) New method – Now, you no longer need to hold the mouse or controller button while using a machine controller. A single click starts the interaction, allowing you to release the button and adjust the value using mouse movement, the controller stick, or the WSAD keys (more on that below). Another single click will then confirm and exit the interaction.
- Improved controls - accessibility (alternative controls): Added the ability to operate machine controllers (such as valves and levers), tools (such as the ratchet wrench or spatule) and even pouring things using the keyboard (WSAD by default).
- Improved gamepad controls on design tables: Added missing buttons (Clone and Snap to Grid). Additional Quality of Life improvements, such as the ability to scroll through the decoration list using the scroll wheel without simultaneously zooming in/out on the decoration view.
- UI improvements to the Book - current order improvements: Added a short message with details about the current order to the Recipe page, so you no longer have to constantly close the book to check the blackboard in the Production Hall or switch to the Orders tab to remind yourself which chocolate you've accepted an order for.
- UI improvements to the Book - Recipes page improvements: The "How to make it?" section in the Recipes tab still didn't catch the attention enough, and made the process for preparing ruby and vegan chocolate to problematic. To address this, pulsating "i" icons were added to this section to draw more attention.
- Made the Melanger a little easier to use: We expanded the range in which the game recognizes the Melanger Bowl as being upright. Previously, it had to be perfectly vertical, but now we've added a few degrees of leeway.
- Improved controls - sensitivity: Increased the sensitivity of certain controllers - for example pestle, spatula or Melanger wheel reel - making them easier to operate.
- Improved interactions with drop spots in the Tempering Machine and Dispensers: Colliders should no longer clip through containers placed there.
- Added the ability to disable the throwing out item confirmation window: You can now disable the popup window that asks if you're sure you want to throw something away in the settings.
- First phase of optimization completed: Game optimization is an ongoing process. We have now completed the first phase of optimizations. Some of the changes from this phase were already included in Update 1, and based on player feedback, we can see improvements. The first phase mainly focused on audio-visual aspect of the game, including model and textures optimization as well as proper compression of music and sound effects. This is not our final word on this topic - we are now moving into the next phase, and we will provide updates on further improvements in future game updates.
Bug Fixes:
- Nougat got a little confused... A misleading and unnecessary dialog from Nougat, where he mentioned a topping order during the mission to learn chocolate tempering, has been removed... and Nougat received yet another warning.
- Fixed resolution settings on Steam Deck: Previously on first launch, Steam Deck would automatically set a very low resolution, causing text to scale poorly and become completely unreadable. This issue should no longer occurs, and the game should now function properly on Steam Deck. We will continuing to improve SteamDeck compatibility in future updates.
More improvements are on the way! We’re already working on the next updates to make your chocolate factory even better. Let us know what you think of these changes – your feedback is invaluable! 🎮🍬
See You Soon!
Chocolate Factory Simulator Team