Vignettes 0.3

Apologies my end on how long this update is taking, there are big overhauls to the tycoon systems in the game along with a lot of polish and art replacements. These things, they take time.

Meet your Rival

In 0.3, I'll be adding a corporate rival to the game, the Hanchō Corporation. Previous references to this corporation were written as Honcho, but have now been changed to reflect the intended narrative.

The Hanchō Corporation is a conglomerate with dealings ranging from vending machines to the coffee industry and the banking system. The first vehicle purchased by Keiko will require a loan from their bank, with rates that are rather aggressive.

Upon entering each town in Honcho, players will notice that the Hanchō Corporation owns a percentage of the vending machine locations found there. The spots they own are usually the most desired and therefore the most profitable. Keiko will either need to pay a hefty buyout fee to control these spots, or resort to "guerilla" tactics in order to lower the spot's value.

With the goal for Keiko to control the vending machine territory in each town, adding a rival operator through the presence of Hanchō Corporation should strengthen Keiko's resolve to succeed.

Vending Damage & Rust

Vending Machines now simulate damage and rust. Both play into the consumer desirability of the machine, which ultimately determines the amount of sales a machine is likely to make. Machines can be repaired the same as the player's vehicle, through general maintenance with lubricants and wax, or sourcing repair parts to fix mechanical issues.

The repair components table for vending machines is as follows:

• Assembly : Screws, Nuts & Bolts

• Core : Wiring, Plastics

• Function : Filter Element, Bearings, Gears, Coils

• Operation: Panelling, Sensors, Springs, Door Handle, Glass Panel

Much like the truck components, vending machines can also be taped to keep them working a little longer.

The new visual effects also include glass shattering and mesh deformation, so when the 0.3 build drops you may want to try swinging Keiko's bat against one to see for yourself, perhaps not your own though...

Vending Improvements

There's been even more attention and love given to the vending machines. When installed, the machines internals light up, so customers can clearly see the goods for sale. Labels on empty slots will now show a range of messages other than just "つめた〜い". Keiko will prepare her finger before pressing the vending buttons to better show the availability of the button interaction. Installation particles add weight to finally installing that first machine. Destroyed machines will fall and tip out of their installation spot for easier retrieval. LOD systems improve overall performance. Machine internals are hidden when closing the door.

Vending Management

As players begin to control more vending points, the need to manage each one can be quite a task. A new UI menu has been added to Keiko's bedroom office, the Operations Page.

This page provides Keiko an overview of all vending machine locations for each region. Here she can better see her overall market control, the Hanchō Corporation's market control and the availability, cost and desirability of each location.

Furthermore, she can view the performance of each installed machine at these locations.

Eventually, as the game expands, I'll be looking to add the ability to hire workers to help manage each machine. *Keep in mind that this isn't a promise of a feature, just a desire for one. I think the late-game would really benefit from Keiko off-loading busy work to some hired workers while she spends her time customising old trucks - as any rich person does.

Happy Mart Changes

Happy Mart has had a (period-appropriate) rework, along with new staff.

The original Happy Mart was based on the 1992 brand redesign of the store chain Family Mart. A kind internet user sent me a reference for the Shōwa-era stores and I was able to rework them to look more of the time. I'm still not happy with the ATM being built into the wall, and will change this as soon as I can get a hold of a decent reference for freestanding ATMs of the period.

Along with the renovation comes a new character. Gone is the default placeholder guy and in his place stands Tomoko, the cashier! Tomoko is currently a first draft attempt, and I intend to continue working on her animations to bring her more to life.

Funny Soda

As previously introduced, coffee can provide Keiko with a short burst of energy. Drinking alcoholic based drinks will now make her drunk. Drunkenness is reduced through the passage of time and sleeping.

Issues that I'm Attending To

The dumpster outside the house doesn't make sense for the setting. I do eventually want to add "trash runs", whereby players will need to collect their junk and drive to the local community collection point to get rid of it.

The Auto Dealerships look too similar to the Auto Parts Shops. I'll likely rework the look of the Auto Parts Shop a little to help with this. They both need their own vendor character models too.

An option to bulk buy goods. I have some ideas, from Tomoko offering to sell you bulk orders to market events. I'm not entirely sure which way I'll land on this one yet, but I'm aware there needs to be a way to deal with large orders for your vending machines.

Baseball bat should probably be part of the tool bag, as it's use gets expanded upon.

The coffee brand in the game is owned by the Hanchō Corporation. There needs to be a local alternative to further stick it to the man.

Thanks again all for your continued support and patience. With the bump in interest from the viral tweet, we're creeping towards a hopeful launch. We're currently sat at just over 49,000 wishlists. With both Jalopy and Landlord's Super launching with about 10,000 wishlists, this is the most I've ever had before a launch. It's really, really endearing. Thank you.