v2.2.3 patch

A small patch with a few bug fixes.

Changelog

- Fixed bug - cashflow was appearing garbled when PC culture set to French.
- Fixed bug - breeding animal numbers incrementing additional times.
- Fixed bug - animation blending was not working in multithreaded rendering mode.
- Fixed bug - custom menu categories were not searchable.
- Fixed bug - when placing a rotated object, sometimes it would appear in non-rotated position for a split second before being placed - this issue may only have occurred in multithreaded rendering mode.

v2.2.4 patch

A small patch with a few bug fixes.

Changelog

- Fixed bug - couldn't click anything after offering incorrect trade item.
- Improved robustness of simulation with additional error catching.

Megaquarium: Architect's Collection out now!

Megaquarium: Architect's Collection is out now. What are you waiting for? Go get it!

I hope you enjoy it!

New achievements

To celebrate the launch of the Architect's Collection, I've added three new achievements to the game:

Decorator - Have 1500 Prestige income from decorations and paint.
Sell sell sell! - 4000 daily revenue from food, drink and gift shop sales.
Helpful - Complete 30 side objectives.

All three achievements can be completed whether you own the new expansion or not. However, I have designed them around the themes of the expansion and the update that comes out alongside it.

Update
As you're probably aware, the game has also got a huge update alongside the launch of the expansion.

If you missed them, here are some blog posts I wrote about the major features:
Sandbox improvements
New mechanics

For a full list of the changes see below.

Tim Twice Circled

Changelog

- Feature: Decorations can be placed outside of tanks.
- Feature: Paints generate prestige.
- Feature: Added one-way gate.
- Feature: Improved arrow behaviour.
- Feature: Guests will actually steal from gift shop supply boxes now. ;)
- Feature: You can place guests and staff at different heights e.g. platforms, bridges (AC).
- Feature: 1st person mode respects height. But you can still walk through walls.
- Feature: Added 3 new objectives.
- Sandbox: Improved opportunity variety
- Sandbox: Animal rarity affects animals which are excluded/unlocked
- Sandbox: Max objectives = 6.
- Sandbox: Added abandonment of objectives.
- Sandbox: All messages can be deleted after you have finished interacting with them.
- Sandbox: Increased starting money.
- Balance: Staff talks now have difficulty levels. Low skilled staff will find high difficulty talks very time-consuming. Guests will wander off if a talk is too long and you will receive only partial point income.
- Balance: High value food and drink dispensers and massage chairs can break down.
- Balance: Decreased breakdown rate increase on higher difficulties. (hard:10%, brutal:25% faster breakdowns).
- Balance: Food, drink and gift shop default margins are now 200% (increased revenue from these sources). The highest value food and drink base values were decreased though.
- Balance: Added negative thoughts when a guest cannot reach the exit and when an unfulfilled need is making them want to go home.
- Balance: Larger decorations have a much greater prestige enjoy chance (internal and external)
- Balance: Decoration prestige enjoy change affects cost.
- Balance: Increased prestige difference between ranks to allow for increased prestige gain from decorations and paint.
- Balance: Guest entrance rate is now constant for a given prestige value, even if distance between ranks is modified by DLC or campaign level.
- Balance: Increased prestige from feeding tank (FF).
- Balance: Slightly increased entrance ticket rates at ranks 1-6.
- Balance: Slightly reduced prestige value of biggest decorations and increased cost.
- Balance: Tweaked some animals sizes.
- Balance: Gift shop shelves now arrive empty. But they cost less.
- Balance: Higher value gift shop items have a lower chance of attracting guests, you need to keep guests near them longer to get the sale!
- Balance: Tool dispensers sell for 0 if they are empty.
- UI: Split disallowed skill levels into different roles.
- UI: Added hotkey to 'copy object'.
- UI: Added hotkey to 'copy paint'.
- UI: Added tooltip to prestige value on prestige window. Tells you your current base prestige.
- UI: Added build menu category to all objects when you hover over the (i) or the portrait on its individual window.
- UI: Improved message formatting.
- UI: Added many additional icons to non-animal game objects to better describe their behaviour.
- UI: Added thousand separators to many numbers.
- UI: Objects in the build menu always have the default blue theme.
- Graphics: People smoothly transition between different floor heights.
- Graphics: People show the object they are holding when you pick them up.
- Fixed bug: Poster not updating when animals are added to attached tank.
- Fixed bug: 'Floating stuff'
- Fixed bug: entrance flag waving.
- Fixed bug: sound load paths are escaped so any path can be valid.
- Fixed bug: delete bench with guest on it, guest animation resets and item follows guest.
- Fixed bug: dislikes food competitors requirement was always met for growing up purposes.
- Fixed bug: FF aquascaping types were not increasing costs. FF aquascaping has therefore become more expensive.
- Stability: Check for missing staff members on load to avoid error.
- Stability: Clamp staff talents and skills at 50 (even via modding).
- Optimisation: Improved loading time of staff manage tab.
- Optimisation: Spread out objective checking code.

v3.0.4 patch

A few bug fixes. Thank you for the reports. :)

Glad to see everybody enjoying the new expansion!

Changelog

- Fixed bug: you could place Jetty and Bridge tanks over bridges.
- Fixed bug: Tanks not being visited under certain conditions.
- Balance: In Full Unlock mode in Sandbox, objective difficulty is tied to your rank even though you have access to everything.

v3.0.5 patch

Some more bug fixes and some balance changes for Sandbox. Thank you for all your feedback. :)

Lots of small, inconsequential sounding things in this list, but when they add together they really do make a difference. Sandbox is now playing better than ever!

If anybody is enjoying the new expansion and would like to help out, please feel free to leave a review. This can be done directly on the store page.

Changelog

- Fixed bug: If sandbox reward animal is a breeder it was overriding the minimum number of animals to 2, even if it was a shoaler or group spawner which has a higher requirement.
- Fixed bug: Greek Arch and Acropolis can no longer be placed under bridge/jetty tanks platforms.
- Fixed bug: Sunken wreck can no longer be placed under roofs, archways and bridges.
- Fixed bug: Science poster now says Pairs Only instead of Dither Fish
- Fixed bug: Science points cannot be offered as a reward in sandbox before rank 3.
- Fixed bug: Adorned Decorator Crab counts as a Decorator Crab for objective and count purposes.
- Fixed bug: Science tank version of 'Donation' objective had not been updated in the last patch. It now requires a lower science total, the same as the ecology version of the same objective.
- Balance: Added an addition trade rarity range (3 total) so that trade rewards match trade requirements more closely. Rarity (prestige) 1-8 trades up to 9-12 which trades to 13-16 which trades to 17-20.
- Balance: Trade objectives offer more appropriate animal numbers based on size. More small animals, less big animals. Exception: minimum requirements for shoaling or breeding.
- Balance: Added additional trades which give a supply of an animal instead of a finite number for more variety.
- Balance: Reduced rarity of animals available from merchants. Trades and objectives are required for best stuff.
- Balance: 'Sponsored exhibit' objective in sandbox is now easier and only targets theme decorations. The science and ecology point totals will only be updated in the objective tracker if the tank already matches the 'x different animals' requirement. This will hopefully reduce the occurrences of multiple tank contributing to the same objectives.
- Balance: Trades which unlock animals are added to reward tracker so that you don't get offered the same animal again from another opportunity.
- Balance: Sandbox 'Rehouse' objective, animal is counted as a reward as well as an objective so you won't be offered the same animal as a reward for another opportunity.
- Balance: Sandbox 'Display using X?' objective, decoration is counted as a reward as well as an objective so you won't be offered the same decoration as a reward for another opportunity.
- Balance: Reduced difficulty and increased frequency of FF poster objectives.
- Balance: Paints are added to objective tracker so you won't be offered the same paint objective more than once.
- Balance: Bridge, poster and archway objectives will only be offered once even if you decline and never build any of those objects.
- Balance: Multisize decorations cannot be offered by merchants or objectives. The only example of this is Acropolis.
- Localisation: various strings improved.
- Modding: Removed requirement for attractions to occupy layer 0.
- Modding: Fixed bug where hyphen in mod name was causing standalone custom maps not to work.

Mostly bug fixes this time around. Thank you for all your feedback. :)

A special welcome to all the new players. I hope you're enjoying your time with the game. If you're enjoying the game and feel like helping out, please feel free to leave a review for Megaquarium and/or its 2 expansions. This can be done directly on each of the store pages.

Changelog
UX: Decorations can now be placed even where there are no viewable locations.
Fixed bug: Mods with non-capitalised folder names were not being read correctly on Linux OS.
Fixed bug: Could not place underground tunnel in a position where walls would be against the middle edges, at some angles.
UX: Slightly tweaked code for positioning decorations in tanks with raised or lowered substrates.
Modding: Container 'adjust bounds' variables no longer apply to land-based animals when they are on land.
Modding: Added hosting.childLayerConverter to allow tanks to adjust the occupation layers of incoming decorations. This is required for tanks which occupy layer -1 or 1 but not 0.

v3.0.7 Changelog

- Fixed bug: 'Reptiles' category was not localised into non-English languages correctly unless FF DLC was installed.

v3.0.8 Changelog

- Increased stability when encountering errors contained within mods on save game load.

Staff gate added to Architect's Collection!
Hello aquarium architects. I hope you've had a great start to the year. I've been working on a little update for you guys. Let's take a look.

Staff gate added to Architect's Collection
Shortly after the Architect's Collection DLC launch, a suggestion was made to me. With the addition of all the new "dividers" (a selection of low wall-like objects which block movement but not visibility), was it possible to add a divider which only staff could pass through?

I'm very happy to announce that the all-new Staff Gate has been added to the Architect's Collection with this update.

This object is essentially a cross between the Staff Door and the One-Way Gate which was added to the base game last November. Like the Staff Door, only employees can use the Staff Gate, but it has the nice low aesthetic associated with the One-Way Gate that makes it look good paired with the dividers added with the Architect's Collection.

Like almost everything else in the Architect's Collection, the Staff Gate is paintable so you can customise it to your liking. What will you use it for?

Changelog
Along with the Staff Gate there are bunch of bug fixes and improvements included with this update:
Feature: Added Staff Gate to Architect's Collection.
Fixed bug: Double clicking trade button very fast would cause multiple animals to be traded away while filing only a single trade slot.
Fixed bug: Impossible "Biodiversity" objective offered in sandbox mode.
Fixed bug: Floating plants in Feeding Platform Tank appeared at the wrong height (FF).
Fixed bug: Fixed occasionally bugged UI with guppy breeding (FF).
Fixed bug: Sand eel appears in wrong place when staff carrying it and a tool belt does a fixing task.
UX: Fixed UI positioning in save and load menus in non-English languages.
Optimisation: Sped up message log loading.
Modding: If only English strings are present, these will be used even when the selected language is not English.

Megaquarium: Deep Freeze is out now! (Plus v4.0 update)

The latest expansion for Megaquarium: Deep Freeze, is out now!

I've tried to pull out all the stops on this one. I really hope you enjoy it!

If you're a day-1 buyer, please consider leaving a review on the DLC's store page, once you've had a chance to check it out.

DLCs don't tend to get many reviews and it can be really helpful for prospective players to hear other players' thoughts on them.

One final request: The game has gone through rigorous testing but if you notice any bugs while playing, please let me know via the Steam forums.

New achievements

To celebrate the launch, I've added two new sandbox achievements to the game:

Sandbox Trials - Limited Veteran - In Sandbox mode, have 80 different species of animals in your aquarium using the Limited Supply preset on hard difficulty or higher.

Sandbox Trials - Quick Start Veteran - In Sandbox mode, reach 10,000 Prestige using the Quick Start preset on hard difficulty or higher.

The theme of this pair of achievements is to give veteran players something to reach for in Sandbox mode especially when playing with one or more DLCs. Good luck!

v4.0 Update

The game has also got a significant update alongside the launch of the expansion. For a more in-depth look at some of the new features check out last week's post.

This time around I have a full changelog to share with you (see below). This is of course in addition to all the brand new mechanics and features within Deep Freeze itself!

Thanks and enjoy!

Tim Twice Circled

Changelog

• Feature: You can now toggle each DLC individually during Sandbox setup. Rank up levels will be adjusted accordingly.
• Feature: You can toggle on/off care requirements and equipment breakdowns in Sandbox mode.
• Feature: Added 'Passive Mode' preset to Sandbox. (Same as Creator mode but has care requirements and breakdowns switched off)
• Feature: Basic Divider is now available in base game.
• Feature: You can press Page Up/Page Down to levitate in first person mode. You fall back to earth if you move.
• Feature: Added latin names for every official animal. Hover over the (i) or the animal portrait to find it.
• Feature: U-Shaped tank is now extendable.
• Feature: Every object's rank is now shown within it's description (hover over the (i)).
• Balance: Staff start with 15 skill at level 1 and gain 30% every level.
• Balance: Lemon Shark max size reduced to 75
• Balance: Copperband Butterflyfish now eats Live Mysis.
• Balance: Clownfish now worth +2 Prestige if with an anemone.
• Balance: Prestige reduction for animals with large aquascaping/land requirements
• Balance: Prestige increase for combinations of the following factors: large size, greedy, skill required, live food and expensive food.
• Balance: Starfish moved from Other Inverts to Echinoderms
• Balance: Jellyfish moved from Other Inverts to Jellyfish
• Balance: Leopard Clam moved from Anemones, Gorgonians and Clams to Bivalves.
• Balance: Capped positive prestige from cheap vending machine and gift shop sales to 6 prestige points.
• Balance: Improved flexibility of many sandbox objects to work better when playing on 'limited supply' and 'everything available' presets.
• Balance: You are not offered breeding objectives in sandbox if you cannot currently unlock the 'light' required (if any).
• Balance: U-shaped tank is now unlocked when you start Carbon City level.
• Balance: Large tunnel tank can now support lights.
• UI: Level up staff on the management window and their individual staff window.
• UI: Option to disable staff level up messages.
• UI: Schedule multiple talks at single podium.
• UI: Added 'Not in aquarium' toggle which has the same effect of count=0 in the search.
• UI: Added range highlight on hover.
• UI: New 'enclosed' paperclip icon for messages that have objects inside.
• UI: Search by rank, ecology, science and prestige.
• UI: 'Skill required' icon is now incorporated into the task icon.
• UI: Hide warnings now hides all warnings, even deadly ones.
• UI: Reduce maximum search text.
• UI: Stop control characters in input boxes.
• UI: You can now see if a supplement needs doing today (0/1) or has already been given (1/1).
• UI: Breeding parents are stated on Breeder icon at all times.
• Graphics: Added shoaling/grouping behaviour to many animals across base game and all DLCs.
• Graphics: Reduced water wave in 1st person mode.
• Graphics: Improved animals transition between land and water.
• Graphics: Fixed minor issues with sponge, broom and mic headset animations.
• Fixed bug: You cannot set vending machine and gift shop prices negative.
• Fixed bug: Water continued to ripple when paused via entering menu.
• Fixed bug: Highlight flickers when hovering near the edge of an object.
• Fixed bug: Green Pellet Dispenser was called Greens Pellet Dispenser.
• Fixed bug: Hovering over a zone button in the zone menu and pressing escape caused all the zones to remain shown.
• Fixed bug: You are no longer offered tanks as "aquascaping" for breeding purposes by Emmanuel Tosh.
• Fixed bug: Game froze if you removed the last empty tile within 20 tiles of a guest.
• Fixed bug: Podium contribution to ecology/science income estimate is more accurate.
• Fixed bug: OSX resolution changes made by editing global.data take effect first time now.
• Fixed bug: in some resolutions, the main menu would not return to the centre after it moved to the left at least once.
• Fixed bug: if an animal eats another animal when it's been hungry for at least a day, the health loss is not reset correctly.
• Fixed bug: staff portrait would sometimes be invisible in zoning menu.
• Fixed bug: level file name was shown when first saving after starting a new level.
• Optimisation: Animal ledger was updating even when closed under some circumstances.
• Optimisation: Sped up sandbox objective generation.

v4.0.11 patch

v4.0.11 Changelog

• Fixed bug: mod animals outside level's ranks caused a no progress bug.
• Fixed bug: duck egg appeared underground.
• Fixed bug: Sandbox menu went slightly offscreen on Mac.
• Fixed bug: When Architect's Collection is disabled in sandbox mode, some exclusive objectives would still appear.

v4.0.12 Changelog

• Fixed bug: an animal in the final level could be sold stopping a later objective from being completed.

v4.0.13 Changelog

• Fixed bug: when you pick up polar tank with an emperor penguin egg in it where most AC is connected via compressors.
• Fixed bug: Land animals starting on land did not have the right animation for the first frame after place/load.
• Fixed bug: Prevented addition of custom substrate to kreisel tank.

v4.0.14 Changelog

• UI: Improved legibility of temperature icons.
• Tutorial: Added an extra sub-objective to 3. Sulasi, when breeding Adélies to avoid confusion between Pebble Substrate and Pebble Pile.
• Feature: Added latin names to Chinese version of the game.
• Balance: Reduced max size of phantom jelly to 250.
• Fixed bug: Breeding tooltip, information about at what rank a type of aquascaping becomes available was incorrect under certain conditions.
• Fixed bug: Latin name of fish-eating anemone was incorrect.
• Fixed bug: Growth tooltip of Phantom Jelly was incorrect.
• Fixed bug: New message indicator could be incorrect if you levelled up staff from other UI.
• Fixed bug: Staff level up message would not be generated sometimes if you switched the setting mid-game.
• Fixed bug: outlined version of pebble icon was incorrect.
• Fixed bug: flyers now take up half the water capacity in the tank as described in their tooltips.
• Fixed bug: added missing wall to 3. Sulasi

v4.0.15 Changelog

• Fixed bug: Octopus Costume was invisible!