The first beta is a few days away at this point (provided no new game breaking bugs appear!) so I thought, I would share some details about what is to come, and why your save game won't be compatible after the new patch.
Storylines
In its simplest form, a story is a series of linked events that each present you with a decision to make. Each choice has an immediate effect, like with the random or procedural events already in the game, but what makes stories unique is that they each have 3 different endings. The ending you get, depends on the choices you made. The exact effect on your newspaper depends on the story, and the kind of newspaper you're running.
To get this feature to work requires some additions to the save game data, that simple is not there in old save games. Adding backwards compatibility in this case, is not a feasible task and so, a strategic decision was made ...
But wait, all is not (completely) lost.
Time to Retire
If you want to END your game properly, I suggest you use the Retire feature (find it under Office Management). When you retire a game, the final score will be calculated and saved to both your local high score list and the leaderboards, if enabled.
The screenshot included, is from one of my own retired games. I know, that screen needs a make over. It's on the list. But you can see how the final score is calculated.
Speaking of Leaderboards
With the move from Alpha to Beta, the leaderboards will be renewed as well. The Alpha boards will not be deleted, but you will no longer be able to submit scores to it. This is your last chance, if you want to be at the top FOREVER!
And then, when Beta 1 launches, there will be brand new boards to dominate.
I hope you're as excited for Beta 1, as I am. There are more changes, including new story markers on the map, but I will save the full list for the release notes.