Hello everyone 👋
First and foremost, I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has downloaded the demo so far. Seeing you play and enjoy this little diorama world has been absolutely incredible.
I have been reading through all of your feedback, suggestions, and bug reports. Please keep them coming. As a solo developer, your insights are invaluable. I have implemented a batch of fixes and quality of life improvements today. There are still a few larger suggestions and bugs that I am actively working on, so if your specific feedback isn't in this patch, don't worry, it just needs a little more time in the oven.
Here is what is new and improved in today's update:
Quality of Life & Polish
Massive File Size Reduction: The demo installation size has been shrunk from a hefty 1.67GB down to a tiny 431MB (Developer confession: I accidentally left some heavy background debugging folders in the first upload. Steam will automatically delete the old bulky files when you download this update).
Faster Pacing: Reduced the wait times for skipping the tutorial (FTUE) and the opening cutscenes so you can jump straight into building the neighborhood faster.
Lighting Tweaks: Polished the lighting during the opening scene to make it feel extra warm and cozy.
ESC Key Support: You can now instantly trigger the Options menu by pressing the ESC key on your keyboard.
Bug Fixes & Story Updates
Traffic Control: Fixed a NavMesh issue where villagers were awkwardly colliding and getting stuck on each other while walking around the block.
Lore Update: Changed the doctor's name from Dr. Arthur to Dr. Evi. This is a very special nod to the real life moment who inspired this game's backstory
Supporting the Game
Wishlist Buttons: I have added a few polite, unobtrusive Wishlist buttons (on the Main Menu, at the end of the demo, and on the Quit screen). If you are enjoying your time in the neighborhood, clicking that button is the absolute best way to support the continued development of this project
Thank you again for all your support, and I can't wait to share even more updates as we get closer to Steam Next Fest in June.
Happy building 💛
Relis Studio