[h2]Good day, Newsbearers![/h2] The staff is ready, their skills polished, and the [b]Employee of the Month[/b] update has arrived, bringing exciting new traits to your newsroom! Following a successful community test phase, we’re eager to share these new features with you! Your feedback was instrumental in perfecting this update, and now it’s time to watch your newsroom and your employees thrive. [i](PS: pssst, there's a 'special thanks' at the end of this blog post for all community testers!)[/i] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40684736/c9bd0c01cf08de17006addef48d84df8d25fc408.jpg[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40684736/77a068ee6a5ce6beb79403a42ca57c37e16abf6d.png[/img] [h2]What's included in this 'Employee of the Month' update?[/h2] [list][*][b]Employee Traits System[/b]: In this new update we wanted to bring some personality to your employees, and at the same time bring a skillful twist to existing pillar mechanics of News Tower. [*][b]Monthly Calendar[/b]: We added this calendar to unlock rewards in a cool new and interactive way. Our goal has long been to introduce something more connected to the yearly cycle, complementing the existing weekly and monthly gameplay. This Calendar is part of the perception bar system and adds this extra layer to it that it really missed. [*][b]Prestige System[/b]: Employees who now reach the max base level of 5 become senior and require Prestige to gain an extra bonus boost. Prestige works almost like comfort but requires different objects that make these employees' surroundings more prestigious. [*][b]New in-game year[/b]: There is also a whole new in-game year: 1934! This should give you plenty of time to enjoy all the new features we've included in this update. [*][b]Optimization[/b]: We've optimized the game by reducing loading times, improving performance for larger towers, and lowering memory usage by trimming oversized assets.[/list] These new features are thoroughly listed below in the changelog, and will be explained in detail by the devs themselves in the upcoming series of Dev Diaries! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40684736/a6ae5d7c08f064e5ceee816ff64ca0f6da1f4ee4.png[/img] [h2]Should I start a new game?[/h2] We highly recommend starting a new game with the introduction to fully experience the latest additions. If you continue with an existing save, you might miss out on important changes, such as trait assignments and managing employee prestige needs. Starting fresh will allow the tutorials to guide you step-by-step, ensuring you make the most of these new features! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40684736/985c1899b032d37b66e620c3bbd14b4363edd0f0.png[/img] [h2]KEY ADDITIONS[/h2] [h3]EMPLOYEE TRAITS[/h3] [list][*]Employees now possess Traits that can enhance your tower's performance beyond their basic levels. Here are just three examples of the many traits available: [list][*][b]Yearly Peaker[/b]: Gains a 2% speed increase on tasks every month, but resets in January. [*][b]Musical[/b]: Likes to sing and counters noise. [*][b]Perfect Angle[/b]: 50% chance of taking the perfect shot and adding one quality star to a photo.[/list][*]Traits are categorized into two types: Personality Traits and Trainable Traits. [list][*][b]Personality Traits[/b] are inherent to employees, adding complexity to the hiring process. [*][b]Trainable Traits[/b] can be unlocked through a calendar event or purchased at one of the Colleges and then taught to an employee of your choosing.[/list][*]Personality Traits are introduced in March 1930 when playing with the intro. Trainable Traits are unlocked when you first encounter one in the monthly calendar or when you purchase one at the Universities.[/list] [h3]MONTHLY CALENDAR EVENTS[/h3] [list][*]We’re introducing a Monthly Calendar that offers rewards to seize and risks to avoid. [*]Rewards include Trainable Traits, objects, Influence Points and money. [*]The Monthly Calendar Event unlocks in January 1931.[/list] [h3]PRESTIGE[/h3] [list][*]Employees who reach the maximum base level of 5 become senior and require prestige to unlock an additional bonus boost. [*]Prestige functions similarly to comfort but requires specific objects that enhance the prestige of the employees' surroundings. [*]Some of your older objects may need to be replaced with more prestigious variants. Prestige objects can be bought at shops and unlocked through the monthly calendar.[/list] [h3]1934[/h3] [list][*]We added a year of news items, breaking news and calendar events for you to enjoy![/list] [h3]OPTIMIZATION[/h3] [list][*]Loading times for starting a new game and loading existing games have been reduced. [*]Performance has been improved for larger towers. [*]Reduced memory overhead for some unnecessarily huge assets.[/list] [h2]IMPROVEMENTS & CHANGES[/h2] [list][*] Skill levelling speed has been reduced and may be further adjusted during the community test. [*] Hempstead district no longer has a photo chain lockout, allowing access to the Trait University that lies behind it without first unlocking the photo chain. [*] The Mirror now needs to be unlocked at the Ritz Theater. [*] Numerous bugs have been fixed.[/list] [h2]OTHER[/h2] [list][*] Although saves from previous versions are compatible with this update, we strongly recommend starting a new game with the intro to fully experience and understand the new features.[/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40684736/b617523ae5eb083a95807e232123a1b5b396f406.png[/img] [h2]SPECIAL THANKS[/h2] We want to send a warm, heartfelt thank you to all of you Newsbearers who participated in our Community Test and shared your feedback. Your insights were incredibly valuable and helped us make this update as good as it today! We’re so grateful for your support and thought you'd like to see the specifics of the changes you helped bring to life- you can find these below! [b]YOUR CHANGES, NEWSBEARERS![/b] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40684736/2bbebf9bce1a16bf9f68bbf234e5b3eb6a718e89.png[/img] [h3]FIXES[/h3] [list][*]Economist trait typo [*]Fix golden mirror not being exclusive and not having diminishing returns [*]Fix Full House trait not working [*]Hanging plant also selectable in prestige view mode [*]Morse code hang bug hopefully patched [*]Perception arrow tooltip displays the max steps it can take [*]Hicksville shifted to the left a little bit to prevent overlap with drawer [*]Employee drawer refreshes completely after every situation change in the newsbook [*]No more “ping” on loadgame related to some (!) unseen indicator on the HUD[/list] [h3]BALANCING[/h3] [list][*]Reverted production AI where they will transport chain items to others if they don't have work lined up [*] Rebalanced caps for quest sales requirements and chances of production employees preferring transport items when they have work are near zero [*] Repair and resupply have a much lower chance of prioritizing toilet or nutrition (10%) [*] Rebalance skill up hours and printer paper (salesPerUnit from 150 to 400)[/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40684736/bc77014ebb42ab9982afbda9a400c0648c7f145d.png[/img] And if by some twist of fate you were to find bugs or have more feedback to share with us, head on over to our [url=https://discord.gg/EX5YHAJaVK]Discord[/url] so we can keep fixing and improving News Tower!