Hi everyone,
I'm so grateful for the reception that the Empire Water Works demo has received so far only just over 24 hours since its release!
Thanks so much!
With the support and feedback that you've been providing in this thread, it has helped me push a small (but mighty) update to the demo build today, which has a number of nifty quality-of-life (QoL) improvements and bug fixes!
This updates the Demo to build 20260620 (confirm this from the main menu of the game).
The changes included with this update are listed below:
Bug fix: Fixed the tool icon symbols occasionally going 'missing' even when they were enabled (note that you can hit the 'T' key once or twice to refresh these icons if you ever need to, as well).
Bug fix: previously if the phone was ringing and the player answered it, if they hit 'E' again whilst an incoming call dialog box was already displaying, the new call/contact list would display over the top of the current call and cause some UI overlap/dialog sticking issues. This has been resolved!
QoL: sound effect attenuation has been greatly improved for a significant number of sound effects. What this means is that when you walk away from the pumping station, the sound effects should more realistically fade as you get further away. I will keep testing this in case I missed applying this enhancement to any sound effects (there's a lot of them!), but keen to get your feedback as well. Previously the steam engine and other sounds could persist from quite some distance away rather unrealistically.
QoL: when placing a supply order (e.g. for coal or steam oil), the confirmation text now (more usefully) displays the exact day number when the delivery will occur rather than just saying "next day" as it did previously.
QoL: Changed the interaction tooltip when hovering over the Water Valve Output Gage, so that when the Gatehouse is changing the valve, the text displays in yellow (to indicate that pumping with the engine now, will have no positive effect on pumping to any reservoir). If you were running the engine when you requested a valve change via the Gatehouse, the tooltip will now go red (to help indicate that the valve is changing-over slowly).
QoL: in a similar vein to above, I noticed some players would request a Gatehouse valve change and then stop the engine and often this was too late, and caused the Gatehouse to struggle to change the valve over at the optimum speed. To mitigate this, I have increased the time delay before the Gatehouse actually initiates the valve changeover after you give the command by a few extra seconds. This means if you give the command and hangup the phone, you should have a few more seconds to run and stop the steam engine before the Gatehouse starts changing the valve. The actual amount of seconds is still variable in a range though, so the recommendation is still to STOP the engine before you request a valve change.
QoL: Increased effectiveness of the Boiler Water Tank Supply Pump downstairs in the basement. Mitigated the critical nature of its associated pipe bolt (Water Tank Supply Pump Bolt). Now, no longer will its associated bolt being fully loose cause the Water Tank outside to be drained with each pump stroke. It will ALWAYS positively pump some amount of water no matter how loose it is (but pump much more effectively when the bolt is tight). Note: ensure the boiler feed valve and water tank check valves are closed when using the Boiler Water Tank Supply Pump for maximum pumping efficiency.
Rare bug fix: I noticed this on a YouTube stream earlier today: previously, if a new player approached the doorstep of the pumping station for the first time and they were offered the Starting Tutorial via the dialog, if they left the dialog up for a decent amount of time, the telephone could erroneously ring (all phone calls should be suppressed until the player either completes the Starting Tutorial or rejects it in the first instance).
That's it for now, but I hope you enjoy these enhancements and continue enjoying the game!
Before I go - I have seen a few players query about the 'challenge' the game provides, and that they are unable to pump against the demand of the reservoirs; Empire Water Works was designed to be a challenge! But just to reiterate, you have excellent control over the actual demand placed on the reservoirs by the town, even per-reservoir and down to the time of day!
Simply pause the game with the Esc key, and hit 'Game Options'. Here in this dialog you can reduce the sliders for each of the reservoirs so that they are not drained as quickly by the township's different subscribers (whether Residential, Municipal or Industrial).
In this way, you can customize the gameplay experience to your taste! If you want a 'chill' experience just running the steam engine, you can have it! And for those masochists out there who like that sort of thing, you can increase the sliders below, instead. 😅
Thanks again for your support!
Please keep the feedback and good vibes coming!
Until next time, enjoy!