The Department Detail screen has been rebuilt to make station management denser, clearer, and easier to read.
The new layout gives more space to important information, upgrade costs and effects are easier to understand, and upcoming specializations are now visible before you reach the decision point.
A More Balanced Layout
The Department Detail screen now uses a balanced two-column layout on desktop.
Current Capabilities sits alongside Next Upgrade, giving both sections enough space without leaving large empty areas or cramping important information.
Typography has also been increased throughout the page, making department names, tiers, stats, and section headers easier to read at normal desktop sizes.
The content is now centered and capped at 1600px, keeping the interface dense even on larger monitors.
Clearer Current Capabilities
Tier I departments no longer look like they have "nothing" active.
Instead of an empty effect list, Current Capabilities now uses compact stat modules grouped by:
Reach
Audience
Revenue
Efficiency
Each module displays its current value along with a descriptive state such as Baseline, Standard, or None.
Even an entry-level department now clearly communicates what it provides.
Upgrades Put Front & Center
The Next Upgrade panel is now the main focus of the page.
It clearly shows:
The next department tier
Upgrade cost
Projected daily upkeep change
Before → after effect values
Any station-level requirements
If you can't afford an upgrade, the available cash is shown directly on the upgrade button.
The button itself is now compact rather than stretching across the entire panel, keeping the interface focused on the information rather than the CTA.
See Your Future Specialization
Once a department reaches Tier III, you'll now see an Upcoming Specializations preview.
The preview shows all three Tier IV paths, including their names and primary focus, so you can start planning before reaching the specialization choice.
The actual specialization selection still happens at Tier IV, with its full effects, costs, and switching rules.
The Newsroom also gets its own preview for:
Breaking News
Trusted Journalism
Live Coverage
A Clearer Progression Path
The department progression indicator has been enlarged and made more prominent.
All five stages are now easier to follow, with the Tier IV specialization represented as a dedicated step in the progression.
A compact Cost Summary also appears when an upgrade increases daily upkeep, showing the current and projected daily cost in one place.
Better Build States
Unbuilt departments have received a visual cleanup as well.
Instead of looking disabled or broken, they now use a neutral presentation with a clear Establish action and the required build cost.
The Newsroom's unbuilt state also shows the available news-type lead-in bonuses directly, without repeating unnecessary information.
Fixed: Studio Production Quality
A display issue affecting the Studio has also been fixed.
The Studio's production quality upgrade was previously displayed as +500% instead of the intended +5%.
The value now correctly appears as +5%.
No actual Studio mechanics or bonuses were changed — this was purely a display issue.
Cleaner Station Overview
The Department overview cards on the main Station screen have also been refined.
They now feature:
Larger, more readable typography
Clearer department and tier information
More visible primary effects
Build costs and Establish actions for unbuilt departments
A cleaner Newsroom layout
The Station Header and Expansion panel have also been tightened up so they take less vertical space and let the department interface appear sooner.
Why Rebuild the Department Detail?
The Department screen is one of the most frequently used management interfaces, so it needs to communicate a lot of information without becoming difficult to read.
This V2.1 pass focuses on hierarchy and clarity: capabilities are easier to understand, upgrades clearly show their costs and benefits, progression is more visible, and future specializations are no longer a surprise.
The underlying mechanics, costs, requirements, and specialization rules remain unchanged.
This is a cleaner interface for managing the same departments you already know — just with much better information at a glance.