📅 April 22, 2026
Hi everyone,
Update v0.5.1 is now live, bringing new systems, major performance improvements, and several gameplay and quality-of-life updates.
✨ New Features
Added a Player Inventory system:
Store and quickly switch between items like the broom, baseball bat, and baskets.
Scroll between items without needing to drop them.
Picking up a basket while already holding one will now transfer items automatically.
Added a Thief Focus Camera (HUD assist):
Briefly highlights suspicious thief behavior for new players.
Appears only a limited number of times to help players learn the system.
Added a hardware compatibility check on startup:
Automatically adjusts graphics settings if required GPU features are not supported.
🚀 Performance Improvements
Added a culling system for shop buildings:
Objects are culled based on distance and view quality settings to improve performance.
Added low-resolution crowd NPCs for distant characters:
Far-away NPCs now use lightweight vertex animation instead of full character rigs.
Nearby NPCs remain high-quality for visual fidelity.
Updated tree meshes to Nanite-supported versions:
Improves rendering performance and visual quality, especially at distance.
🔄 Improvements & Changes
Updated the tutorial for new players with clearer guidance and additional tips.
Improved basket item transfer:
Items now transfer all at once instead of requiring multiple clicks.
Added a new road exit out of town to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion.
Improved thief interaction balance:
Reduced the number of hits required for thieves to drop stolen items.
🐞 Fixes
Fixed a bug where the floor would not display correctly.
Fixed an issue where the world could become too dark near the end of the day.
Fixed minor issues in the traffic system.
Fixed startup performance hitches when starting or loading a game.
Thanks again for all the feedback and support, it continues to help improve the game step by step. ❤️
More improvements and optimizations are already in progress.