Hello shopkeepers! We are excited to announce that Early Access launch is within the hour! With this launch we have a few other announcements to make, so let's get started!
Working On The Next Update!
We are already working on the first update! The main feature that many people have requested, an Improved Tutorial, is currently in the works and will be part of the first update. We don't have a specific date but we will be structuring the development in order to be able to release updates periodically, every 2-4 weeks, depending on the amount of content.
Here are some other features that will be coming in the first update:
Tooltips when hovering things like Categories, Sorting options, and Menu buttons
A System button on the bottom-right Menu panel
The ability to place Wall & Floor furniture
New Wall & Furniture items
Most of these features are partially implemented, but we're still undergoing final testing and improvements.
Starting Tips
Since we are still working on the tutorial system, here are a few useful tips to start!
Clients won't pay more than 10% markup at the start of the game. Your shop needs more Prestige!
You may be tempted to list your most expensive items at the start. Make sure you also list cheaper items. Clients have a Rarity just like items, and it determines their wallet size among other things. So, not every client can afford that item worth 1g, but it will eventually sell...
Clients have larger wallet size with higher Prestige, and their wallet size gets a buff when they admire items on Display Tables. Try displaying at least one item on a Display Table to benefit from this!
Once you have expanded the shop enough to have windows, try clicking them...
The First Specialization
In one of our previous announcements, we mentioned the specialization system and that we would be discussing the first specialization that we will be working on. Well, we have decided and that specialization will be the Guild Hall!
If you ever watched anime like KonoSuba, you probably have noticed the Adventurer Guild trope, where adventurers take quests from a quest board. We will be implementing this type of Shop Specialization into Loot Shop Simulator!
Our goal is for players to run their own guild, recruit adventurers, gear them up with equipment and send them out on quests! But be aware, other guilds exist and are out to complete those quests before you! Will your guild climb the rankings and become number 1?
As development continues, we'll be releasing more info about the Guild Hall specialization, so follow and stay tuned! We post small updates on X and we're available throughout the week if you have any questions!
Dev Notes v0.2.0
Here are the changes from the demo version that was launched during the Next Fest.
New Content:
-It is now possible to unlock furniture blueprints from loot caches
-Added Wares Table B and Wares Table C to the Dragon set loot pool
-Witch set is now available after shop day 6
-Added Display Stand to Build Menu
-Added AI logic for browsing items on display tables
-Items on display tables now boost npc's wallet size (preference + high rarity = 40% boost, just preferences = 20% boost, otherwise 10% boost)
Adjustments:
-Customers of 'Common' rarity now have wallet sizes ranging from 5-20 copper (up from 2-20)
-Doubled base chance for clients to spawn and number of clients per day
Note: Number of clients per day is a threshold parameter that controls flow
It increases with Shop Expansion and Shop Prestige
-NPCs will now shop from above a table if it is placed in the bottom row of the shop
-NPCs are now more likely to have at least one item preference when visiting the shop (from 20% -> 25%)
This translates to more customers entering the shop
-Furniture remaining selected after placement in the Build Menu is now enabled by default (this can be toggled in the Settings menu)
-Inventory menu Category no longer resets when closing/opening the menu
-Inventory menu Sorting no longer resets when closing/opening the menu
-Quest income is displayed as part of the sales revenues (we are considering separating this at a later time)
-Added a warning popup; player can no longer place furniture on tiles 132, 133 (for pathfinding reasons)
-Reduced exp gained from opening loot caches from 10 -> 4
-Scene 2 requirement changed from shop level 3 to any level 3 or higher (in case a level is skipped somehow)
-Scene 2 requirement changed from shop level 3 or higher, to shop level 2 or higher
-Sprites no longer fade when appearing
This will be added again later, once a rendering issue has been studied & resolved
Bug Fixes:
-Fixed a crash when crates were placed in the bottom row of the shop
-Day change will now clear quest NPC if they were the next checkout client
-Fixed a bug where checkout line was not clearing when day was over, leading to NPCs standing behind invisible NPCs
-Fixed a bug where expanding from Expansion Level T3 to Expansion Level 1 was costing the maximum amount and setting player gold to -1000
-Loot caches can no longer roll multiple unique (i.e. blueprints, floors, walls) items in the same cache
These items are unlocked once obtained and cannot drop again after that, so they shouldn't roll duplicates within the same loot cache
-Fixed a bug where NPCs could walk from one entrance tile to another, triggering the 'leaving' status prematurely
-Fixed a bug where selling furniture with an item Not Stocked Yet would lock the item in the inventory, preventing it from being placed again
-Fixed a bug where selling furniture with a Stocked item would duplicate the item and lock it in the inventory, preventing it from being placed again
-Fixed a crash related to 3rd row of items in the inventory not loading properly
-Fixed a bug where Corwin's data remained after the 2nd cutscene, leading to an invisible NPC shopping the next day
-Added a safeguard for NPCs that lose track of where they are going
This solves rare cases where NPCs roll a null path and start walking in place
-Added a safeguard to price setting screen to disable it if the item, for any reason, doesn't have the correct data
-Added an additional safeguard for checkout clients to ensure they move to the checkout counter even if it has been repositioned
-Added a safeguard to prevent duplicates in the checkout line
Thank you for checking out Loot Shop Simulator! We hope you join us on this adventure to create the best Loot Shop game out there!
See you on the sales floor! ːsteamhappyː