Since the last major update - which replaced micromanagement with a Staff A.I. system like Rimworld - I have been working hard on Quality of Life improvements.
This has included a large number of fixes, both small and large, to make the general experience of building and running your metro stations more pleasant. They are all based on your feedback and requests.
Headline features include a new file system with nameable save games, the ability to build ceiling objects above any solid object, the ability to point stairs to exits and platforms simultaneously, yes/no dialogue boxes to avoid accidental actions and many more tweaks that make the game both more flexible, more forgiving and more balanced.
If you have any other specific Quality of Life requests, let me know and I'll look to implement them in a further update! Finally, a big thanks to everyone who has taken the time to drop us a review or even just to tag the game with useful labels (i.e. Management, Simulation, Building) all of which really help the game find it's right place on Steam.
Here's the total change log for stable build 174, listing all the changes implemented since the last major update:
-Build ceiling objects wherever you want! Yes, it's maybe the second or third most requested change, and I finally implemented it. It feels much much better. You can build ceiling objects anywhere now, over tracks, above benches. It frees up platforms and improves the game.
-Yes/No confirmation dialogue box for firing staff, selling tracks and aborting missions.
-Adds a cool new file system for sandbox save/load! Name and save any number of sandbox, campaign and Commute of the day games. Type in the name of the save game at the point of save for full control over your sandbox games. Have multiple named campaigns and Commute of the day saves.
-turnstiles and stairs can point to entrance and exit in same direction. This really frees you up to make more creative commuter flows if you need to.
-added call train fail safe. If you don't call a train for 4 minutes after it is ready, the game will call it for you, regardless of whether you have unlocked the signal relay.
-Fixed possible crash when taking bins out if never built a wheelie bin
-added a minimum level to activity threshold (0.01). This prevents exploits by setting thresholds to 0 to and autolevelling your staff by emptying bins already empty.
-added text label appearing on staff when they need a wheelie or fuel to carry out a priority, but do have one (or cannot path to it)
-fixed some tabs and labels not being translated -fixed annoying clicking sound at night (caused by train fail safe triggering noise in error)
-fixed autorest thresholds working correctly when leaving staff room and needs met (previously had remained hardcoded at 20% for leaving)
-fixed staff standing still correctly if no task (no longer stuck mid walk cycle) -fixed newlines in Chinese tutorial
-fixed possible glitch/crash with placing tunnels when the platform edges were wrong level.
-fixed staff do not use megaphones in rooms through walls, but are able to gauge a need to use a megaphone via staff AI when in a room
-Balance - crime events have been moved to zone 3/tech gate 3, along with crime desk.
-refines the Threshold page to better explain what value does and improves presentation.
-Staff will now always stay in room until needs are reduced to < 10%. This prevents staff going back and forth the staff room about the rest threshold.
-improves display of attribues in staff window for priorities and breaks
-correctly reset "need more wheelie text"
-Fixed tech trees to correctly unlock when correct number of bonds unlocked.
-Fixes to Korean font sizes.
-Updated rat behaviour. Rats now breed more effectively and faster.
-rat event has chance to spawn more rats.
-Alarm now unlocks at tech gate 2/aka zone 4. Use the alarm to evacuate your station near problem areas.
-Arcade machine and other amenity audio does not loop on pause
-Can build staff-only zones outside room doors.
-cannot sell floor outside room doors.
-Take staff offshift if somehow stuck on walls or not on floor (eg. you sold it while they were walking over it)
-Fixed times above schedule on Staff window
-close staff file if taken off shift via staff windows
-fix to prevent false solid grid values
-rat poison doesn't make bogus waypoint
-Selling chicken shop correctly removes all waypoints so can build over it again.
-fixed possible crash loading commuters falling.
-staff wont freeze when chasing moving targets occasionally (eg thieves boarding train)
-staff and commuters will not walk into solid areas and get stuck as much
-staff will go offshift if on track or rock erroneously
-hired staff will only enter station through open doors. If all doors are closed you need to open one to allow them to spawn. This is to stop situation when staff go on shift in wrong area of station. (thanks for the suggestion in the bug form!)
-Contextual tutorials pop ups don't appear until level is loaded
-toggling autosave off now stops autosave
-prevent crash when alt tabbing in main home menu
-key rebind supports comma, smeicolon, apostrophe, left and right brace
-missing Korean glyph updated
-Korean tool tips use line breaks
-capacitors are 50x stronger than before. It's now more feasible to use capacitors to tide over your power network when out of fuel for longer periods.
-rat poison no longer acts as a capacitor!
-tech tree is not gated in sandbox mode, whatever zone setting you start at.
-rain sfx doesn't sound if sfx are off
-fixed possible glitch with train readgy GUI signs at night
-commuters do not board broken down or powerless trains
-Tweaks to commuter AI. Commuters should perform better "milling" in small areas, especially if there is literally no concourse (just turnstyle and stair arrows), or on platforms only one cell wide.
-Prevent commuters with status (eg Drunk) from losing status in very small areas at spawn.
-Show commuter status/event alerts when they enter station (not before)
-Commuters enter station even if someone is standing in the way. This will make the game slightly harder. Previously this was a sort of natural flow cap when very it was so busy the entrance was blocked. Now they will actually keep piling in.
-fixed a rare bug where reloaded saves would hard crash when you hovered over a track that fails to load correctly.
-Loading campaign and sandbox games now have a time stamp
-Construction costs accounted for before opening
-Fixed bug selling power gen while being used
-Fixed moving arcade machine
-fixed clicking on build icons/build menu when mid moving object cancels moving correctly
-Refuse spend saved between games in income summary
-Hiring is included in report staff costs in income summary
-Start money is included in grant rewards in income summary
-dead plant upsets commuters
-fixes minor spacing issues on to do list
-corrected fuel costs reporting in outgoings station budget reports
-Way out ticket costs are accounted for in commuter spend in station budget report
-Moving ceiling object, saving and loading does not duplicate ceiling objects
-fix sell button crash (beta 162)
-minor fix on 4k scaling with locked cursor on
-wheelies and bins restock costs corrected
-wheelies and bins restock only give one alert at day break
-save/load min tunnels and max carriages correctly in sandbox mode and commute of the day
-corrected missing spaces in some done items in to do list
-autorest and activity change values are larger increments on slider
-cannot hire more than 10 staff (as was intended)
-changing price of product changes price across all shops
-sculpt floor mode reveals reserved track tiles beyond concourse, as edit floor and build already does
-clocks and indicators corrected as ceiling objects
-do not get dynamic build objectives in sandbox mode if all tech unlocked ticked
-resets more sandbox parameters between sessions
-corrects spaces in done list, and wheelie typo
-wheelie and bin restocks correctly only have one alert
-save/load min tunnels and max carriage in Commute of the day and sandbox
-Set starting money as reward in sandbox reports
-corrected text label error in opening checklist
-when building staff amenities, after placing one amenity, the next item will face that same way correctly like other objects
-Chinese font is minimum size 10
-HUD for Commuters shifted and money scales to fit available space and should not overlap HUD background
-staff fire fixed (build 168 hotfix)
-do not set tunnels required to 1 incorrectly from old saves if campaign (build 168 hotfix)
-Commute of the Day file system
-when you change paths, flow finder now says "computing..."
-when building or selling floor, cursor tip shows dimensions of area zoned (X x Y)
-toggling on exit only stairs correctly sets arrow
-Prices in new shops match global prices set in existing shops
-Changed level to which staff tend to needs before they leave to prevent being trapped in staffroom on autorest
-save and load escalator condition
-ensure escaltors sell at cost value if not used, like everything else
-entrances will now always sell at cost price (like floor, currently), so they are cost neutral to aid in experimenting with planned expansion
-fixed potential rare crash with temperature calculations for ticket machines
-fixed flow finder so that it now works correctly in certain more complex layouts and also checks its state more frequently to update after building/selling objects/floor
-The resale price of objects does not drop until it has been used. This is to save you cash if you build a platform or stairs (or anything else) but then immediatly change you mind. Like building floor, it would be neutral.