Constructor Plus news & patch notes

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35057003/6945fb998d1928a0842db1288f68d7f23975df3f.jpg Well Constructor Plus fans, it is that time of year again when the Slob is busy trying to get the ice off his chip cooker, and the Professor is at it trying to invent a new more efficient method for heating his home. A time when we tell ourselves we are not going to eat our weight in Christmas food, but do so anyway because it is just too enticing. Oh, and of course that also means a time when the Steam Winter Sale is in full swing. That means for the duration of the sale we are happy to say that you may purchase Constructor Plus at 50% off its original price! Why not give the gift of hoodlums and mask-wearing psychopaths? Use the handy widget below to get started! https://store.steampowered.com/app/898800/Constructor_Plus/ We have to say to all our fans that we appreciate the reception we have received for Constructor Plus across each platform we support. It has been an immensely busy year for us folk at System 3 as we rolled out each version of the game. For some platforms this meant more time taken (Xbox One certification *grumble grumble*) but in the end we believe the proof is in the Christmas pudding as the saying goes… So thank you for your continued support, and most of all thank you for your patience and wonderful feedback. On the topic of feedback what good would this be without a new update for the game? We are happy to say that we do in fact have a new update for everyone to try out but unlike our earlier update we will be trialling it as a public beta branch. This means that whilst we believe there are no serious issues, we do not want to leave you with an unplayable build just before the holiday period! We would also greatly appreciate feedback on the changes. You will need to opt-in to this branch by following these steps: 1. Right-click Constructor Plus in your Steam Library. A pop-up should appear. 2. Click “Properties”. A new window will open. 3. In the new window look at the top and you will see several tabs. Look for the tab that says “BETAS” and click on it. You will open the tab in the same window. 4. Look for a drop-down box and click on it. The drop-down should contain a new branch called s3public_beta. Click on it and your Steam client should begin downloading the new update. 5. If you wish to revert to the previous build repeat the above steps up until Step 4. In Step 4 instead of selecting s3public_beta please select “NONE – Opt out of all beta programs”. The previous build should begin downloading. If there are any fans who speak other languages and wish to translate the above steps to their language please do so. In addition, we must make clear one point regarding multiplayer: The public beta build is NOT compatible with the default public release so if you opt-in and want to play with your friends please copy the above instructions on how to access the public beta and show it to them. Otherwise, if they attempt to join your lobby with the wrong build they will be rejected, and that is not very festive now is it? {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35057003/9213632bc7f971e3199d33f78494059654940c51.png

What will the update do for me?

In our latest update we wanted to address as many concerns as possible without making too many knee-jerk reactions regarding certain other things such as multiplayer balance. The reason for this is that in this update we will be trialling several different changes related to multiplayer. Below we will quickly outline some of these changes. a. The host may now save a multiplayer game in progress. This game may then be loaded as a custom game. If a player is no longer able to play the game but the others wish to continue, they may do so, and an AI will handle the unfilled slot. There is always the option to load the save at a later date if a player that was not present is now present. Network games are also automatically saved based on the host's autosave frequency but the host may also initiate a quick save by pressing J. The shortcut for quick-saving can be remapped in key configuration. Town Designer saves may also be loaded. This means that the host player can design towns for each player (try to make them balanced and not so one-sided!) and then load that saved design as a custom level. This particular feature we believe works well but there may be intermittent issues and hence if you encounter issues with the saving or loading of games please let us know. Finally, we must explain briefly how this will work. When the host starts a multiplayer game and they want to load a saved game they will need to click “Custom game”. They will then be shown a list of Network or Designer saves that they may pick. Once they pick a save the lobby will be created and other people may join or be invited by the host depending on the lobby privacy settings. Once everyone is in the lobby, the game can be started by the host and the process of transmitting the relevant data will begin. The host will load into the game but there will be a delay as other players are loaded in and initialised. If the game looks frozen do not be alarmed this is part of the process. Once everyone is loaded in the game will begin and you can have at each other. After you have had enough, the host may save the game for another time. b. Host options in the GAMEPLAY options menu will be transmitted to other players and set. These cannot be modified during the game. However, if the host changes the settings and loads the save these will be set to the new values. Remember: The host must go to the options menu and set these values before creating a lobby. Currently, we transmit the following settings: 1. Attack AI Teams – Toggles AI between attacking only human teams or attacking both human and AI teams. 2. Council Mission Status – Toggles whether or not Council Missions will ever appear. Useful if you want to play a different multiplayer mode other than War Mode, but do not want to have to deal with council missions. 3. AI Build Speed – Decides how quickly the AI places new buildings and the effectiveness of their work teams. This may be set from 50% up to 600%. 4. Build on Enemy Estates – Sets whether or not the AI will build on enemy estates as well as its own. c. Right-click pop-up now displays the player’s currently set Steam profile username. For example, if you were to right-click on a building owned by Constructor Plus, it would display Constructor Plus. Once again we must point out that these changes may have quirks or other unforeseen issues so please let us know if something does not seem correct. Please note that we are aware of an issue where if the host player is behind other players in terms of resource unlocks, that when the new game is loaded the players who are ahead may have certain items locked again. This should correct itself by simply building something else. We must investigate this further as to how we can resolve it without breaking something else so please bear with us. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35057003/464da5bc0b3ccb4389c20ae63de39a5fcb0455a1.png

What else is new?

We’ve also taken the time to add in some new changes that we hope improves the feel of the game for all our fans. Of note is the addition of a much-wanted option to disable council complaints. This option functions in multiplayer as stated above and will use the host’s own value. In single-player this may be toggled on and off during the game and you can use it to decide when you want more missions from the council. Please note that this will only affect classic mode, and the final six mission types in the “Play Game” missions. Council missions are not present in any other type of mission. Other quality of life improvements include the addition of more information to the right-click status display when right-clicking on homes, greater visibility on unlocks and many other useful changes. See patch notes below for the entire list of changes. We are also happy to announce that the Simplified Chinese localisation is also live in this update. We thank the fans who were patiently waiting for this localisation. Do let us know if there any issues with the translation and we will correct them in a future update. Right, well, with the festivities in motion and the weekend almost upon us we do not want to keep you here too long. We’d like to finish by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holiday, and a very Constructor-y new year!

Constructor Plus Christmas Update Notes

QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS

- Constructor Plus now supports Simplified Chinese text and trophies have been updated accordingly for fans using this localisation. - Host may now save multiplayer games in progress. - Host may autosave games in progress in a multiplayer game. Press J (default shortcut but may also be remapped) to initiate an autosave. Network saves made this way are located in the Autonetwork category of saves when starting a custom game. - Host settings from Gameplay Options for Attack AI Teams, Build Speed, Build on Enemy Estates, and Council missions now apply to multiplayer games and will be transmitted to other players. - Players may now issue attack orders for an entire work team with only the foreman selected rather than needing to select an entire team. - Added player name to house info in multiplayer. - Added team name to right-click status of houses. - Added option to disable council missions during classic modes. This is found in options menu. - Added F11 and F12 group key presses. - Added tenant level info to right-click house info if not ideal tenant. - Added display of installed gadgets to right-click house info display. This displays the remaining strength of the internal gadget and if it is set to be automatically replaced (requires computer installed) then the number will display in green. This follows a similar convention to room upgrades. - If a tenant is set to auto-replace, his name is shown in green in the info popup. - Added L/R neighbour buttons to HQ, Edit Gadgets, Gadget factory & Undes screens to designate that players may use < and > (default key bind) to switch between properties without leaving the screen. - Allow visibility of non-residential buildings yet to be unlocked in Estate agent. - Added Skyscraper info display when selecting buildings. - Added Monument info display when selecting buildings - Right-clicking will select and scroll to an undesirable rather than the building in Undesirable View mode. - Left-clicking will instead scroll to the undesirable building in Undesirable View mode. - Player now receives appropriate warning if trying to convert workers to tenants if only one worker is present in the headquarters. - Shortcut keys are now displayed for changing house types on Estate Agent screen. - Added flashing text during network game initialisation so that player's know the game is still connecting everyone.

MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES AND FIXES

- Fixed custom game level variable initialisation in client machines. - Fixed instance where certain external gadgets would not correctly be refunded if demolished before being delivered. - Fixed retail units giving monthly rent once taken over in Chump Change. - Fixed crash when selecting your own undesirable just as he finishes his task. - Fixed right click when no Undesirable houses exist in Undesirable screen. - Fixed French text for maison Tudor. - Corrected French translation of Russian Connection. - Game no longer crashes when re-selecting other characters during foreman building destroy. - Selecting a different character whilst performing a character specific action will now correctly exit the mode or cancel the action. - Too many garden objects in queue no longer cause overflow and prevent delivery of previously designated gadgets. - Menu now slides completely off screen after load menu. - Only one tenant will return to HQ to be counted after house sold if more than one tenant from same house is out in the world. - Thief stealing weapon locks on to gangster even if he is dancing. Handy if you want to steal a weapon from a gangster whilst he is distracted. - Stealing a gangster's weapon no longer interferes with knocked out or arrested state causing the gangster to become frozen in place. - All save types are now visible on Load Game screen rather than requiring end user to click to scroll through list of save types. - Shortcut keys are now displayed for changing house types on Estate Agent screen. - Replaced Homebase movie. - Replaced Nero's Palace, Corn Palace, White House, Aliiolani Hale & Philadelphia City Hall sprites. - Improved unlock logic for network games upon loading a custom game. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35057003/d9f72b4bc54b59da8d88c2b47584d299abecda34.png We will evaluate all feedback regarding this build and if no serious issues are detected internally or by our fans we will then make this build live on the public branch. The public beta branch will be removed at this point, and when we are ready to trial a new update that might have far-reaching consequences for which we cannot hope to test all situations, we will gladly organise a new public beta branch. - System 3 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35057003/4c48613f541fec3a1b259b864f9ad049e7ad7a62.png

Thank you for your all your support. This event has now concluded.

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35057003/b076245e46e59141fc33039d83868b2ca9929ddd.png Dear Constructor Fans, As a certain foreman once said, all good things must come to an end eventually. Of course, that was shortly before he gave his demolition plunger the ol’ plunge, as it were, and sent the Major’s house tumbling down into rubble and ruin. Therefore we thought it only right let you know in advance that next Friday the loyalty bundle pack will be ending. As many of you may recall, the loyalty bundle was our way of giving existing owners of Constructor HD, a way to purchase Constructor Plus at a reduced price. In short, it was our way of thanking our loyal fans for their ongoing support. Originally we said this bundle would only run for one month, but we decided to give fans additional time to make the decision and hence it has been live since the release of Constructor Plus back in May. As we move forward with our plans for Constructor Plus we have evaluated the necessity of the bundle and believe that previous owners who wanted to upgrade to Constructor Plus have long since done so. Therefore, we have decided to discontinue the bundle. Of course, we understand that there may be fans who originally never received the news, and we wouldn’t want them to miss out. Therefore, we are extending the offer for one final week until next Friday. If you've not already heard the word and don't know where to go, we've included a handy link direct to the bundle down below. Please note that this bundle is only for existing owners of Constructor HD who have not yet purchased Constructor Plus. We would like to extend our greatest thanks to the fans who have continued to support our work and we wish you a happy weekend. -System 3

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/4d6e85f8cd64532a51516ed8ee4ce9e4f365dc03.jpg Dear Constructor fans, We would like to thank all the fans who have purchased Constructor Plus. We very much hope that the game has been an enjoyable experience for everyone thus far. We are working through the feedback we have received and where possible are making adjustments based on the feedback provided to us. For fans who are still getting used to the game we will be publishing at a later date a new YouTube channel called Constructor Central with various hints and tips to help improve your understanding of the game. This will supplement the existing tutorials and in-game hints that already exist. More on this at a later date as we are still in the early stages of putting things together. The focus of our first update is to address potential areas of confusion in the game based on the feedback received. The changes range from re-enabling saves in the tutorial to adding in detailed lists in several of the missions that require you to track lots of data. We hope that these changes will help in the long run with fans who are just dipping their toes into the world of Constructor.

Patch Notes

NEW FEATURES & CHANGES

• All fences now visible at the beginning of the game and now show within the UI what unlocks them if not unlocked. • Added house level number to right-click pop-up. • Sloane Family now accept Zirconium and Tiffany Deco railings in place of Iron Railings. • Saving during the Tutorial is now allowed at certain points. • Increased push-scroll speeds whilst still retaining diagonal movement consistent with viewpoint. • Added in new Zombie & Cockroach names from Facebook & Steam suggestions.

GENERAL FIXES

• Gangsters will no longer attempt to fight decommissioned policemen if the gangsters are patrolling a building such as the Police Station. • Shortcuts will no longer trigger phantom button interactions. • Magistrate effects corrected so that prison sentences are affected as expected. • Prevent re-assignment of an undesirable who has recently been taken over until the enemy undesirable has returned home.

MISSION FIXES

• Tutorial no longer becomes stuck if you manufacture trees too quickly before the message telling you to manufacture trees appears. • Gangster's appearance during tutorial to stop takeover now scales with game speed to avoid problems on faster speeds. • Hippy party now lasts until you take over the house in the tutorial. THIS IS A TUTORIAL ONLY EFFECT. • Access is granted to estate manager during the tutorial if you build the cement yard so that it uses up all the available land in case the AI has no available land for you to use. • Fixin' You Up will now pass the appropriate stages if you kill Mr Fixit before he bodges your properties. • German localisation of Greener Pastures now matches English description in referencing goal of three casinos. • Add detailed checklists to mission descripions for Builder's Delight and The Hillbillies. • Increased starting bank balance on Martian Menace.

Adopt-A-Zomroach

We would also like to thank the fans on Facebook and Steam for their suggestions for new Zombie and Cockroach names as part of the Adopt-A-Zomroach event! There were many witty suggestions that we enjoyed reading. Listed below are our favourites which have been added to the game:

Zombie Names

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/474bb2fcf4132788ae8c9871f258b71be78f6366.png • George A Zomero • Munchin' Joe • Brian Nibbler • Johnny Rotten • Mikon Jacksal • Plant Hater • Right Said Dead • Bitey McBiteface • Risen Withnoreason • Rodney Chompface • Barack Embalma • Don Zombiote • Tschakka • Keef Rechardz

Cockroach Names

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/76ee14703483ef62ee8f09e8e3e00582cf9e3d0f.png • Roachafella • Marilyn Monroach • Hal Underfridge • Hot Chocaroach • Scutter • Crunch • Mr.Krabs • Shelly Toughstuff • Gaspar • Jimmy the Legs • Harald • Rad Shell • Squish Me Thank you very much for your continued support. Have a very Constructor-y weekend. System 3

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/33c99f06d8b5e5911694fa89b199d9796bfae6cc.png Blimey! Some o’ those names were a little cheekier than we’d thought. Great suggestions everyone both on Steam and the Facebook group! It’ll take some time for the folks at the morgue to pick out their favourite names but once they’re done, we’ll knock out a new list and add them to the pool of names. I don’t expect you’ll know proper horror until you’re dealing with the likes of Nom Nom Nom the Zombie… Right then, I'm off for a bowl of bra- I mean grains. Yes… that’s what I meant. Wholesome delicious grains that are part of a nutritious breakfast and not brains which unlike grains are not an ideal breakfast item. Sincerely, No Really I Am Definitely Not A Zombie Directing Manager CSCHOGNG P.S. He might be a zombie…

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/17ff1d3e715f90fd22e9539406c87c2f8b199b8b.png Boo! Haha, always gets them… Right, so we at the local “Can’t stop coughin’ house of ghosts ‘n’ ghoulies” have a special offer for you the discerning fan. As the years pass on by, we’re finding ourselves up to our necks in cockroaches and zombies. It’s like they’re dying to get into our cemetery! For the next 24 hours we’re letting loose the crazy lot and we want to give you, the fans, an opportunity to have your specially named cockroach or zombie in the game for everyone else to kill, maim, or just plain tolerate until the sod totters off into the tube site. We encourage fans to come up with creative names, especially pun-related ones that keep with the theme of a cockroach or zombie. As much of a theme as they can possibly have... If you can only think of vulgar names, or insults, please do not suggest anything. We are trying to keep the game family friendly as it were! Well, as friendly as a game with a chainsaw wielding maniac can be! After 24 hours we will no longer accept any suggestions. We will then discuss the names and pick our favourites who will have their cockroach or zombie name (or both!) immortalised in the game as a permanent addition to the random pool of zombie and cockroach names. We accept one zombie name and one cockroach name per person so make them your best! Sincerely, Definitely Not A Zombie Directing Manager CSCHOGNG

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/5842a74c84fec77ad84ae61e003252cde1089aae.png Dear Constructor fans, We are happy to announce that Constructor Plus is now live for your enjoyment! If you already own Constructor HD (2017) then please purchase Constructor Plus using the special loyalty discount bundle to receive your 50% discount via the store page, or using the link below: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/10986/Constructor_Plus_Loyalty_Discount/ If you do not own Constructor HD, please purchase only Constructor Plus. Constructor HD (2017) is not required to play the game, and the bundle would work out to be more expensive for you. Use the widget below or purchase Constructor Plus via the store page. https://store.steampowered.com/app/898800/Constructor_Plus/ Please visit our QA topic for any of your more pressing questions via this link: https://steamcommunity.com/app/898800/discussions/4/3557193237094974654/ We hope you enjoy the game, and we look forward to hearing what everyone thinks about all the new content and the direction in which we are taking the game. We appreciate everyone's support the last two years and we cannot wait to share more with you going forward. All the best, System 3

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/4282436ada98a633b144d9bf2606de86b30ed486.png https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/fdacbd006d4e01f5a88a63f25431e8a90d063686.png https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/4282436ada98a633b144d9bf2606de86b30ed486.png Dear Constructor Plus fans, We will be launching within two weeks (the absolute minimum launch window defined by Steam), but until then we wanted to make clear how the loyalty discount will work for existing owners. Further promotion will begin very soon. If you would like to know more please visit this thread. As you may recall, we said that loyal fans who own the 2017 version of Constructor will receive a discount on Constructor Plus. We had intended for this to be via coupons, but we have been advised by Steam that it is better to do this via the simpler “Loyalty Discount” bundle. This will become available once the game releases so do not fret if you cannot see it yet. Please note that this is ONLY intended for people who already own the 2017 version of Constructor. https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/15403eb89986cee2af7e719a3a1fc6901ce95398.png https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/5087ccf3df941f1a9b74d88802473ce79344384f.png https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35057003/15403eb89986cee2af7e719a3a1fc6901ce95398.png We hope that you are excited for the release of Constructor Plus and we look forward to seeing everyone experience all the new content that is on offer. Please consider adding the game to your wish list using the handy widget below to be notified upon its release! https://store.steampowered.com/app/898800/Constructor_Plus/ Kindest regards, System 3