Hello Tinkerers & Tycoons,
Since Good Company's last big update in summer, v0.7 "Work Smart", we have continuously improved the game in regards to accessibility, while also expanding the gameplay. Your emails, posts, and let's plays greatly contributed to this progression and we'd like to thank you all!
During the past week, we have been intensely polishing Good Company v0.8, and today we are very excited to announce the upcoming Beta Test to our community! Don't miss the opportunity to check out new features and improvements coming with our big autumn update "Develop Your Company" and keep on supporting our Early Access.
As usual, you need to switch your game version to the branch "_latest_beta". We highly recommend you check out our post about General Update Information. Furthermore, please find some details about how to report issues and bugs here.
To give you an overview of what's new and what's better in your Good Company, check out the changelog. We're already super-curious as to what you think. Let us know via the Steam Forums, our Official Discord, on Reddit, or write to [email protected]
Thank you for being on board and stay safe!
All the best,
Your Chasing Carrots
Good Company v0.8 – Beta changelog
Company Goals
Access the Company Goals panel by pressing F9 and find a variety of Company Goals available for you to take on. Accomplish up to 3 goals at a time before the deadline hits and earn Success Points and unlock Passive Effects, such as Increased Assembly Speed.
Business Development
The BizDev Tree, as we call it, opens with F10 and gives you access to a wide range of development nodes, which cover specific aspects of your production. Unlock these nodes by spending Discovery Points and Research Data to gain access to better equipment and Policies.
Policies
Another step for deeper gameplay is the addition of Policies. Once unlocked, you can assign up to 3 Policies per Work Zone, in order to change its work performance. For instance, you can increase Crafting Speed or Research Speed. However, advantages can come with disadvantages.
Toy Robot
In three cute model variations, we are introducing the Toy Robot which joins Good Company's early products, Pocket Computer and Game Device.
Farm Map
To match the season, please welcome "Golden Acres", the third and new Freeplay Map. With 3,464 m² and 17 buildings, there is more colorful space for your business to thrive in – not including the henhouse, that is.
Ambient Sounds
We have started implementing an Ambiance Sound System for Good Company. By controlling various sound layers, it will be reflecting the acoustic atmosphere based on the camera view, inside and outside your production facilities. Basic outdoor and indoor layers for the Freeplay Maps are already active.
Markets
- Display a preview of the market parameter changes for the next phase by hovering over the progress button.
- Markets can now be discovered via the Market Tree by spending Discovery Points.
- Market balancing has been improved in order to match recent gameplay changes.
Freeplay
- We have changed the Milestones to improve the progress flow.
- New equipment will be unlocked in the Business Development tree from now on.
- The Noise Modifier option in the Freeplay settings has been removed for now.
- The Freeplay system balancing got updated to take into account new features.
Interface
- The game's main panels, such as Markets Overview or Blueprint Designer, are now displayed in 'full-screen' view.
- Success Points, Research Data, and Discovery Points are now displayed right next to your Account Balance.
Blueprint Designer
- We have redesigned parts of the GUI for improved usability.
- You can now use a random name generator for your designs.
- The process workflow for designing a product has been improved.
- We have added more QoL updates to the Blueprint Designer.
Company Statistics
- Statistics now include company-wide passive effects as well as those resulting from Policies.
- In addition, figures in Company Statistics are now more accurate.
Research
- We have removed Tier requirements for Research Projects.
- There is now a research queue available to process several projects more easily.
- Research Projects have been split into distinct categories and are now vertically browsable.
- You can now display tooltips containing module information when hovering over a Research Project.
Courier Pallet and Automatic Logistics
- We have removed automatically adding Item Rules on Courier Pallets. Your feedback helped us realize that the automatic approach did more harm than good. Adding Item Rules on pallets works manually now: you have full control over what gets placed on a pallet, while the rest of the logistics still gets connected automatically.
- Automatic Logistics is now compatible with machines and Conveyor Belt setups. An example: Previously, Automated Logistics would directly try to take items from a machine, even though the machine was connected to a Conveyor Belt. Now Automatic Logistics will 'follow' the Conveyor Belt setup to its end and take the items from there.
Conveyor Belts
- Conveyor Belts can now also start or end in a curve segment.
- The start/end direction will automatically snap to a tile when there is a respective pushing or receiving entity.
- It is also possible to build Conveyor Belts that are just one tile long. This is especially useful for those tight machine setups you keep amazing us with.