- v1.4.020 - the freezes were my fault, and here's what they were - 16 September 2026
Some of you got a game that froze at the logo, or showed the main menu and then locked up on the loading screen, or ran at one frame every ten seconds. One demo review called it horrible. That was a fair word for what you got, and this update is mostly about it. What was actually happening The game ships its shaders pre-compiled so your graphics card doesn't have to do that work the first time the store draws. Except it didn't. For several builds the export reported that step as on, and it was quietly producing nothing. Every single launch on your machines was compiling every shader in the store, live, while you waited: about fifteen seconds in one frozen frame on my PC, and far longer on cards slower than mine. On some machines it never got past the loading screen at all. The embarrassing part is why I didn't catch it. On my PC the graphics driver caches the compiled result after the f…
- A better day behind the counter - 13 September 2026
Hi everyone, I've been working through your recordings and reports. This Demo and Playtest update catches up on the changes since September 6, including fixes that reached the builds between posts. Quick highlights A new first-era computer look, inspired by Windows 2000/XP, with clearer orders and budgets. Better trade-ins and repairs, from grading a copy to opening the Nexus cartridge and using the tools. More natural hands and customers, with improved shelf pickups, basket unloading and payment. Stock you can find, plus clearer skills, shop plans and money tracking. A tidier shop and livelier street, with improved placement, glass, lighting and traffic. The refreshed first-era computer, with live order counts and a clearer budget. Full patch notes The computer and everyday screens Reworked the first-era computer with blue title bars, pale toolbars, white product cards and clearer sele…
- v1.4.014: Catching up on the last ten builds - 7 September 2026
Hey everyone. Last patch notes here were for v1.4.004. I've put out ten builds since then and haven't kept up with writing about them, so there's a fair bit to catch up on. Fixed the game getting stuck at the main menu Some fresh installs couldn't get past the menu at all. It happened with an empty shader cache, which explains why it worked on my machine and then wouldn't even start on yours. Thanks to the playtester who reported it. That's what let me track it down. The menu and store loading were waiting on each other. They now run in order, and the export test launches the game a second time with an empty user folder to help catch this before a build goes out. The roughly five-second freeze when the store first appeared is fixed too. Shaders now compile in the menu, once per build. Furniture placement Furniture now lands where the placement preview shows it. The preview, footprint, p…
- v1.4.004 - Two new languages - 26 August 2026
Two new languages The whole game speaks Português (Brasil) and Español now — menus, tutorials, the register, the Codex, and every line a customer says. Switch it in Settings > Display > Language. It changes instantly, no restart, and it remembers your pick. Anything not translated yet falls back to English, so you never see a blank or a raw code. A few button names (INVENTORY, CODEX, ACCEPT) stay English on purpose — those buttons are not localized yet, so the instructions match what is actually on your screen. This was the most requested thing on the streams. If a line reads badly in your language, say so in the discussions. It is one file, and I can fix it the same day. Fair warning: this is a first pass, and it will read like one in places. I translated it myself rather than paying a localization studio, so expect some stiff phrasing, a line or two that overflows its box, and the odd…
- v1.4.001 — New lighting, and people who move more like people - 23 August 2026
The store is lit like a photograph New tonemapper. Highlights roll off instead of clipping, so the light covers stop rendering as flat white rectangles. The ceiling is lit. It was a cream ceiling that nothing lit, so it read as a black void. Every fixture now throws its upward half too, and the room reads taller. Indirect light: small-scale colour bleed, red shelving onto the carpet, cream wall onto the cubby fronts. Real morning sun through the storefront. It genuinely reaches the floor now. Eye adaptation. Look out at the street and the camera adjusts, the way it would. One tube at the back stutters now and then. It's meant to. Lights are about 10% brighter than the first pass. People move like people Customers start and stop walking properly. The step into a walk and the settle out of it were in the game all along and had never once played. No more frozen legs at the shelf. Reaching…
- Playtest Beta v1.1 - the store builds itself in front of you now - 17 August 2026
Three weeks, 340 changes Last update was the big catch-up post. This one is the opposite - a short cycle, aimed almost entirely at how the game feels minute to minute. Furniture goes exactly where you put it Placement is free-form by default. No grid unless you want one. Pieces snap flush to each other when you push them together, so a run of shelves lines up without fighting a grid. Things stack properly on surfaces - put a rack on a counter. When the game refuses a spot it now names the rule you hit instead of flashing a generic warning. This was the most-reported friction in the last build, and the single most common complaint in this genre generally. Your store stays exactly how you left it Three separate save bugs were quietly rearranging your shop between sessions. Shelf rows were restored by position instead of identity. A shelf could come back holding the previous shelf's stock.…
- Playtest Beta v1.0 - the big one: 477 changes since the first build - 28 July 2026
The First Big Playtest UpdateIt’s been quiet on this page, mostly because I’ve been buried in the game.Since the first playtest build went live, I’ve made 477 changes, including 61 new features. This is the first proper update post, so there’s a lot to cover.Here’s what’s changed.The Store Now Starts EmptyThis is probably the biggest change in the update.You no longer inherit a fully furnished store. Instead, you begin with an empty, lit space and a catalog. From there, the layout is completely up to you.Buy and place every fixture yourself, including shelves, glass cases, counters and racks.There are now four distinct glass display cases instead of four copies of the same one.Fixture prices are based on how much they hold and how well they present your products. Their names are also much clearer.Customize the store with wall paint, wallpaper, slatwall, carpet and ceiling panels inspire…
- Beta v1.0 - the big one: 477 changes since the first build - 28 July 2026
It's been quiet on this page and busy everywhere else. Since the first playtest build went up there have been 477 changes to the game, 61 of them new features. This is the first proper update post, so it's a big one. Here's what actually changed. THE STORE STARTS EMPTY NOW The single biggest change. You no longer inherit a furnished store. You get a lit shell and a catalog, and the floor is yours to build. - Buy and place every fixture yourself: shelves, glass cases, counters, racks. - Four genuinely different glass display cases. They used to be four copies of one. - Fixture prices now reflect real slot count and presentation quality, with honest names instead of guesswork. - Wall paint, wallpaper, slatwall, carpets and ceiling panels, with real 2000s-retail texture packs. - Posters, hanging signage and ceiling banners you can place, move and remove, and it all persists. - Free-look wh…
