- Patch Notes v0.10 - 21 February 2023
Hey everyone, It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to put a pause to the development of City Block Builder. We had ambitious updates in the works but we have decided to learn some hard lessons and move to a fresh project for now. We hope to share more with you in the future for CBB. Thank you so much for playing with us! Here are the few items we have worked on. Notes Prop preview windows now scale and zoom based on the object size. An alternative camera mode has been added. Open the pause menu to access. Financial data is now saved. Deleting saves now has a confirmation. Guests should be more responsive to restaurant seat openings. Fixed several issues with staff AI breaking.
- Patch Notes v0.09 - 17 December 2022
Hey everyone, We’re still working on some sizable content updates, and hope to have that in your hands for play soon. However, we’ll be taking a hiatus for the winter holidays and will be resuming updates in January. We hope you have a wonderful rest of the year. Looking forward to coming back strong in 2023! Notes We’ve received multiple reports of crashes from users and have added in-game back tracing in order to receive automatic error message reports which will hopefully help us identify what’s causing problems for some users. These reports will only be sent if you’re connected to the Internet, and we do not gather any other information about you or your machine whatsoever. We value your privacy. Individual staff UI has been implemented. Right-click staff to access. Added a delete button to save files.
- Patch Notes v0.08 - 2 December 2022
Hello everyone, this is an interim patch attempting to fix some crash issues some users are experiencing trying to load the game. Notes Made several changes that may have resolved certain crashing issues, but we are not fully certain it has covered everything. If you are still unable to start the game or make it past the first loading screen, it would be extremely helpful to provide the automatically generated log file and send it to us (preferably on Discord). Thank you so much! The log file location is C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Tentworks Interactive\CityBlockBuilder\Player.log
- Patch Notes v0.07 - 16 November 2022
Hello everyone! Here are some details about the new patch: UI Guest overview UI has been implemented, and its corresponding button at the bottom of play mode bar has been enabled. Individual guest UI has been implemented. This new UI will expose new data about preferences, stats, and activities for each guest. Some of this data in these new UI has not yet been implemented fully yet, and actionable gameplay is planned for a future marketing update. Improved text visibility of incoming transactions (can be found at the bottom-right of the screen). Audio The radio now starts and is present in the main menu, and the song + radio station persists after starting a new game or loading a save file. Flavor More guest formations have been added. Performance Certain parts of the UI should be a little more performant.
- Patch Notes v0.06 - 23 October 2022
Hey everyone, We’ve still got a lot cooking but wanted to provide an update in anticipation of more in-depth staff AI behavior. Staff + UI Staff UI has been updated to reflect some current stats. New UI for hiring staff and viewing current employees. Added a hireable staff talent pool. When the game starts, there are a limited number of staff that you can hire from each category (security is still not implemented yet). There are varying qualities of staff determined by two new stats: mobility and efficiency. Mobility affects how fast staff can walk and efficiency affects how fast tasks are completed such as cooking, cleaning, and repairing. Staff now have daily wages, and their overall quality affects how much they have to be paid, with some variance. Hire costs are also affected by this. The talent pool is refreshed every day at midnight. Staff from previous saves will have default val…
- Patch Notes v0.05 (17 September 2022) - 17 September 2022
Hey everyone, We’re currently working on multiple fronts in terms of features that aren’t quite ready to release yet (related to guest and staff UI and associated behavior and gameplay effects as well as localization). For this update, we’re adding the following: Lighting and Environment The moon, moonlight, and a starry sky has been added to the game. Night time is now no longer pitch black but instead a pleasant twilight blue. Performance Celestial bodies (sun and moon) now operate on their own thread. Resolved some occlusion culling issues. AI Added slight randomness to group walking formation positioning. Different types of formations still to come.
- Upcoming Direction + Patch Notes v0.04 - 3 September 2022
Upcoming Direction Hello all, in this patch we have some more bug fixes, some based directly off of community feedback so far. We are trying our best to address game-breaking issues first before adding more content to the game, as we believe content would be meaningless without a stable foundation. This brings us to addressing some community concerns. We understand that generally games that label themselves as “early access” misadvertise, overpromise, and fail to deliver, and we apologize for any misconception about that. While it is true we have worked on this game for a few years at this point, it has been a bumpy journey to say the least, with multiple internal reworks, vision changes, and unfortunate but unavoidable turnover in our ranks. However, we’ve soldiered on and are committed to making steady improvements to the game. Some people may not agree with the state of the game as a…
- Patch Notes v0.03 (26 August 2022) - 27 August 2022
Patch Notes v0.03 (26 August 2022) Another weekly update! We deployed a patch last week but didn’t seem to post the notes so it will be posted below just for a historical record. We’d also like to note that as we make patches to the game, we will try our best to preserve backwards compatibility on saves but there’s no guarantee that old saves will work or if everything will work correctly once loaded. We thank you immensely for your patience and will continue to make regular improvements on the game. Build Mode Zone stretching has been temporarily disabled due to a critical bug associated with it. A solution is in the works but is taking much longer than expected. We will re-enable this when it has been fixed. Research Menu size limit research nodes now work correctly. Missions Your current mission and progress will be saved. UI We added a message to the save screen, indicating some fea…
- Dev Byte #14 - 28 June 2022
It's been quite a while since we last posted anything about City Block Builder but that's because we have been hard at work to get you the best early access game possible! We are getting closer and closer to our goal and we should be getting CBB out very soon. Until then, here is a little bit about what our incredible 3D Artists do for the game. Working on City Block Builder, the main difficulty we faced was matching each other's style and working as a unit. Each artist in the team had their own style. However, trying to match each other's styles helped us learn, grow and improve. While constructing the props we had to think as if we were in the player's mind. We had to construct the props according to the money the players spent. More money equals more detail in the props and vice versa. We worked closely with our dev team in order to optimize the game. We have made LODs (level of deta…
- Update and Progress on City Block Builder - 26 February 2022
A quick update on our progress with City Block Builder. We'll be talking about the upgrades we have made to the art side and our AI side of things! Along with that, we will also be talking about our highly anticipated Story Mode! So make sure to be there ːsteamhappyː You can ask us questions on the chat and we'll answer them right there. Make sure you join our Discord server to be a part of the community discussions! Link - https://discord.gg/UPxnDeD4TV We post regular updates on Instagram and Twitter and we have some exciting content planned for the upcoming weeks. Make sure to follow us on both platforms through - https://www.instagram.com/tentworks_interactive/ and @CityBlockBuildr
- CBB Early Access Delay Update - 23 September 2021
Hi Builders, We are sorry to announce that we have decided to postpone the early access launch for City Block Builder. We sincerely apologize for the delay, but we want to ensure that the game releases in a polished, playable state. We realize that this is an inconvenience, but we want to provide our community with the best experience possible. To tide fans over during this wait, we have released an all-new Developer Walkthrough video showcasing how players can construct the Tinseltown empire of their dreams when City Block Builder comes to Steam Early Access later this year: Developer Walkthrough of City Block Builder: https://youtu.be/I8JoM8voSRM We really appreciate your patience, and can’t wait to bring you the best version of City Block Builder we possibly can. Thank you!
- City Block Builder will allow you to become a 1950s business tycoon later this year - 2 September 2021
Allowing you to customize "everything", the tycoon management and building game City Block Builder plans to enter Early Access shortly with a Linux version to come too. Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2021/09/city-block-builder-will-allow-you-to-become-a-1950s-business-tycoon-later-this-year
- Dev Bytes #13 - 2 July 2021
It’s been a few days since the Steam Next Fest has ended but we’re still riding on the post-release high. We would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you who took the time to check out our demo and our Steam Page. Over the course of the Steam festival, we received valuable feedback from players who experienced the demo and each bit goes a long way in creating City Block Builder a flawless experience. Our demo will continue to develop for Steam and may get some more updates to make CBB a fresh first experience for every single player. We are eager to hear more about the game from you and would appreciate any feedback that you can provide. If you’d like to keep track of the progress of CBB, you can follow us on our social media channels to stay close to the action: https://www.instagram.com/tentworks_interactive/ and https://twitter.com/CityBlockBuildr. If you’d like to directl…
- City Block Builder Dev Stream #2 - 21 June 2021
Hey hey, Builders! As the Steam Next Fest comes to an end, we are here with our final dev stream of the event. Join us on Tuesday, 22nd June 2021 at 9 AM PDT. Set the reminder and let's build some stuff! Join us here! - https://steamcommunity.com/broadcast/watch/76561198981129860 Make sure you join our Discord server to be a part of the community discussions! Link - https://discord.gg/UPxnDeD4TV We post regular updates on Instagram and Twitter and we have some exciting content planned for the upcoming weeks. Make sure to follow us on both platforms through - https://www.instagram.com/tentworks_interactive/ and @CityBlockBuildr
- City Block Builder Dev Stream - 18 June 2021
Hello Builders! The Steam Next Fest is up and running and we are all set to hold our first dev stream for City Block Builder. Come join us as we sit down and talk shop about all things CBB as we play through the Steam Demo. The event starts on Sunday, 20th June 2021 at 9 AM PDT. So make sure you set a reminder! See you all soon! Make sure you join our Discord server to be a part of the community discussions! Link - https://discord.gg/UPxnDeD4TV We post regular updates on Instagram and Twitter and we have some exciting content planned for the upcoming weeks. Make sure to follow us on both platforms through - https://www.instagram.com/tentworks_interactive/ and https://twitter.com/CityBlockBuildr
- City Block Builder Demo News! - 7 June 2021
It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for! It’s the moment WE’VE been waiting for! The latest edition of the Steam Next Festival is here and this time, we are joining the festivities! The latest Steam Festival is set to commence on June 16th, 2021 and this time, City Block Builder will be making its worldwide debut with our first ever demo going live. Players and fans all over the world will get to experience City Block Builder and its first building blocks. Don’t forget to wishlist us on Steam if you haven’t yet to be notified of all our upcoming news and updates as well as the demo release! Make sure you join our Discord server before the demo drops to be a part of the community discussions! Link - https://discord.gg/UPxnDeD4TV We post regular updates on Instagram and Twitter and we have some exciting content planned for the upcoming weeks. Make sure to follow us on both platforms throu…
- Dev Bytes #12 - 12 May 2021
This edition of Dev Bytes brings happy news! We are pleased to announce the beginning of the Closed Alpha Stage of City Block Builder! Set in 1950s Los Angeles, City Block Builder is a unique blend of business meets domination. Your job is not only to run *a* successful business but in fact, multiple successful businesses. You are offered various disciplines to start your business in and how you conquer each sector is entirely up to you. Start with a cinema and climb your way up the business hierarchy by opening restaurants, cinemas, bars, bowling alleys and much more. But unlike a typical city management game, you just don’t launch businesses, you manage them to the dot as well! Create your very own business empire and watch your conglomerate grow. On the way, conquer every obstacle and challenge thrown towards you and maybe even turn it around. To use the cliché phrase, the world is y…
- Dev Bytes #11 - 6 May 2021
It’s dev update time! Another dev byte comes your way and this time, we will discuss an issue that plagues most game developers. Yup, it’s Scaling and it’s not as bad as it sounds. Scaling is a lesser-known hurdle in the world of game dev. You acknowledge that it exists but you feel hesitant to tackle it. Given the impressive, and exhaustive, range of displays on offer in the current hardware market, Scaling effectively boils down to the resolution a monitor/screen has to offer. Most screens currently offer a 16:9 ratio with 1920x1080 displays. However, with the growing popularity of 4K resolution and wide-screen/curved monitors, it is essential to ensure that a game looks good no matter the display it is running on. For City Block Builder, the game world is easier to scale depending on the display it is using. The UI, on the other hand, is where the scalability really kicks in. The goa…
- Dev Bytes #10 - 1 April 2021
Hey, hey, Builders! Here’s a brand new dev blog, and this time, let’s talk traffic. We know how annoying being stuck in traffic can be. This frustration is further amplified in California as LA traffic in the 1950s wasn’t pleasant even in the slightest. Don’t worry. We have done our best to emulate the traffic from the yesteryears. Programming the traffic AI in City Block Builder was a priority. Lively roads lead to a lively city, and glitchy AI will break the immersion straight away. The idea is not just to have accurate car models from that era but also to make sure that they function efficiently. You can see the result of our plan below. The AI has been trained to follow the lanes and traffic lines throughout the city. Junctions work in the same way, with the only exception being the addition of traffic lights. Normally, crossroads would create chaos but not in Tentwood. The drivers…
- Dev Bytes # 9 - 25 March 2021
Hello! We’ve got an update for you, and it’s one that we’re excited for you to see. If there’s one thing that can make or break a tycoon game, it’s the UI. Clunky or confusing interfaces can make it hard for players to find the fun behind the mess. That’s why we’re making sure our UI is comprehensive, intuitive, and clear. Our previous UI can be seen in this research tree image below: This has been redone and lo and behold, our new UI template! The research tree above is an excellent example of this intuitive interface design. It’s easy to tell which tech tree you’re in, which technologies are researched, what’s available to be researched, and what’s locked. With this type of design, you’ll spend less time wrestling with the interface, meaning you can spend more time on what’s essential: attracting guests and making money. In City Block Builder, there’s a wealth of systems and mechanics…
