Hello Players!

We are thrilled to announce that our game has been nominated for the prestigious Sit Back and Relax category in this year's Steam Awards!

This nomination means a lot to us, as it celebrates games that have been continuously supported and improved over time. We couldn't have achieved this without the incredible support from our community. Thank you for being with us on this journey! If you think The Shadow Goverment Simulator deserves this award, you can vote for us! Let's make this happen together! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281190/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator/

Also grab 70% discount in Steam Autumn Sale!

You can also check out our other games on sale - we prepared some massive discounts on other games!

See you soon, The Shadow Goverment Simulator Team

[ 2024-11-27 18:00:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Dear Players!

Our entire team would like to wish you Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Wed like to thank all of you for being there with us and supporting us throughout the year 2023. We cant wait to face what the year 2024 has in store for us and we hope youll be a part of our journey.

As always wed like to invite you to join our discord community

Have a wonderful Christmas and see you soon The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2023-12-23 14:00:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Lets celebrate the Steam Winter Sale!

We are a part of the Winter Sale and are cooling down our price!

Thanks to that you can buy The Shadow Goverment Simulator with 55% discount!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281190/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator/

Winter Sale runs Dec 22nd, 2022 - Jan 5th, 2023 at 10am Pacific.

Check out all our games on discount

https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/GamesIncubator Happy Steam Winter Sale! Games Incubator Team

[ 2023-12-21 18:00:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello Players!

We are pleased to announce that The Shadow Government Simulator is included in this year's Steam Awards and is nominated in the "Labor of Love" category!

About this category - This game has been out for a while. The team is well past the debut of their creative baby, but being the good parents they are, these devs continue to nurture and support their creation. This game, to this day, is still getting new content after all these years.

This is a great honor for us and if you think The Shadow Government Simulator deserves this award, you can vote now!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281190/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator/

Also grab 55% OFF in Steam Autumn Sale!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281190/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator/

You can also check out our other games on sale - we prepared some massive discounts on other games!

See you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2023-11-21 18:00:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Players!

We are pleased to announce that The Shadow Government Simulator takes part in 2023 Steam Strategy Fest! Take control of the course of history and lead humankind to their destiny (whatever you feel like it is). Obtain absolute control over every single aspect of the civilization and become the supreme leader deciding everything from the shadows! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281190/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator/
The event takes place until September 4th 2023 so make sure to join us and conquer the world! If youd like to give us your suggestions and feedback after the gameplay, please join our discord where we await all of you and gladly answer all the questions
See you soon Shadow Government Team

[ 2023-08-28 17:00:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello Players!

We are happy to welcome all of you to our first Publisher Sale!

What if the conspiracy theories are real and there really is someone ruling the world from behind the scenes? Our publisher sale gives you a perfect opportunity to become such a person. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281190/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator/ For the next two weeks The Shadow Government Simulators price is cut in half! Take the lead and guide the world towards the future. All from your cozy room.

For 14 days, from August 12 until August 26, 2023, we have prepared huge discounts on our games and also you can try our demos and prologues!

https://store.steampowered.com/sale/GamesIncubatorPublisherSale

What can you expect from the Games Incubator Publisher Sale?

Huge discounts! This is the opportunity you've been waiting for! Take advantage of amazing promotions of up to 85% OFF. Don't miss the chance to enrich your game collection with the titles you have been waiting for! Exclusive demo and prologues feel like a tester of the latest productions! Play upcoming games with special demos and prologues that will give you a taste of whats to come. [previewyoutube=ia2ik187B3E;full][/previewyoutube] The Games Incubator Publisher Sale is also a great opportunity to meet other players, share your impressions, and exchange insights about your favorite games and upcoming ones. Discover unique, creative, and unconventional indie games that will give you hours of fun! Get ready for an unforgettable experience at the Games Incubator Publisher Sale! Visit our dedicated Steam page and enjoy a 14-day of emotions, games, and unique promotions. Do not forget to follow our social profiles to stay up to date with the latest information and announcements of the event.
Get ready for gaming ecstasy! Games Incubator Team

[ 2023-08-12 17:00:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

If you are the mastermind of every single trip in your family, why not face another challenge? Grab The Shadow Government Simulator and to help you cool your head in during this hot Summer, we offer you a 45% discount during Steam Summer Sale! Buy now and lead your secret faction to world dominance in this turn-based strategy game! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281190/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator/
We are happy to announce our game takes part in the 2023 Steam Summer Sale! Cool yourself with all the amazing discounts that were prepared this year! Keep in mind the offer is time-limited and ends on July 13th 2023. Waste no time and seize the opportunity!

[ 2023-06-29 17:01:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Do you feel it? Mysterious whispers that echo in the darkness?

This means that The Shadow Government Simulator is now available on the Steam Spring Sale with a 35% discount!

Enter a world of conspiracies, intrigues, and politics. You will have the opportunity to become a silent player who controls the backstage of power and manipulates events from the shadows. Do not hesitate and enter our game today to learn the secrets behind the scenes of power and the true face of politics! Limited time offer: Starts: Thursday, March 16 10 GMT-7 (18 CET) Ends: Thursday, March 23 10 GMT-7 (18 CET)

See you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2023-03-16 18:00:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello Co-Conspirators!

This event is a digital festival of independent games. Indie Cup features awards for developers, an online showcase of indie games.

We are really happy that we can be a part of this amazing event. India Cup Celebration 2023 runs until February 22, 2023. Special thanks to the organizers, great job!

Not a member of our Discord community yet? Join now!

See you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2023-02-16 11:33:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Co-Conspirators!

Dear Players, the past year was extremely important to us and will forever be remembered by us, because in the passing of 2022, we released our game.

In this special Christmas time, we would like to thank you once again for being with us from the very beginning, for all your suggestions and ideas, we create an amazing community. Thank you. At the same time, we would like to wish you health, wealth, happiness, and the fulfillment of your plans in the coming 2023. We hope that you are spending this special time with your family.
Again, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-12-24 09:00:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Co-Conspirators we just cool down our price on the game!

If you haven't decided to start your adventure in The Shadow Government Simulator yet, you can buy the game with a 25% discount!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281190/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator/

Winter Sale runs Dec 22nd, 2022 - Jan 5th, 2023 at 10am Pacific.

Right now we are celebreting Steam Winter Sale, and thanks to this you can purchase the game with the biggest discount so far!

Any questions? Write to us on our Discord!

Regards, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-12-22 18:00:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello Co-Conspirators!

We are really proud of the fact that our game is a part of Turn-Based Fest!

So this festival is a five-day online fest celebrating turn-based video games. It is delivered to you by the team behind TurnBasedThursday. Thanks to this unique festival we are celebrating everyone who makes, plays, and loves turn-based video games.

To celebrate this event our game is now on a 25% discount!

We wish the whole team all the best, and to keep continue developing this fantastic event - thank you for being a part of this festival.

See you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-12-08 18:01:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

HELLO CO-CONSPIRATORS!

It's been exactly 1 month, 5 days 2 hours since the release of our game, we would like to thank everyone who supports us, especially for the feedback - thank you for that! We are pleased to announce that The Shadow Government Simulator is included in this year's Steam Awards and is nominated in the Most Innovative Gameplay category. About Most Innovative Gameplay: The designers of this game are at the front lines of creative experimentation, bringing a fresh perspective and brain-breaking surprises. This game delighted, inspired and entertained with newness never played before.

So if you think The Shadow Government Simulator belongs to this category, you can vote right now!

Wait wait wait... that's not all!

Grab 20% OFF in Autumn Sale!

Right now you can buy The Shadow Government Simulator with a 20% discount! Starts: Tuesday, November 22 10 GMT-8 (19 CET) Ends: Tuesday, November 29 10 GMT-8 (19 CET) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281190/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator/

Remember to leave your vote!

See you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team.

[ 2022-11-22 18:00:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello co-conspirators! v1.0.7 of the game is now live! It includes: Fix for the ability view staying open on top of the end game screen Fixed a bug in which starter units had 3 connections at higher levels Overall smaller bug fixes and polish. Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2022-11-10 14:47:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello Co-conspirators! This quick patch includes some minor bug fixes and polish for the game as well fixing a larger bug where enemy factions would appear in early levels. Happy Conspiring, Rafa

[ 2022-11-05 17:28:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello co-conspirators! v1.0.4 of the game is now live on Steam! It includes some minor bug fixes and polish that were found after the release. Changes include: 'Test' dificulty modifier should no longer appear. Quit message no longer calls the game a beta. Stat view will now appear correctly when a new unit is discovered while in that view. The pool of surnames for all regions has been doubled. Russian and Chinese achievement localizations should now display correctly. Minor localization and bug fixes. Any more issues you find or if you just have thoughts on the game, please let me know on discord. Happy Conspiring! Rafa

[ 2022-10-27 14:05:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

CO-CONSPIRATORS!

IT IS THAT TIME!

Right now, you can purchase the The Shadow Government Simulator!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281190/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator/ There is nothing left for us to invite you to buy a The Shadow Government Simulator and enjoy several hours of amazing gameplay. We also thank you for the whole community that was with us during this period. Right now the game is available with a 10% launch discount, also, you can increase this discount by buying The Shadow Government Simulator in one of the bundles we prepared with our partners. SUGGESTIONS & FEEDBACK BUGS & PROBLEMS [previewyoutube=ExaVFWFKVkg;full][/previewyoutube]

One more time, THANK YOU!

Do you have more questions? Join us on Discord!

See you soon! The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-10-17 15:06:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

HELLO CO-CONSPIRATORS!

The game is now available to buy with a 10% launch discount and if you want to increase the discount we also prepared bundles with our friends, the whole list you can find below!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28244/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator__911_Operator/ https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28245/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator__112_Operator/ https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28359/Shadow_Raiders/ https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28358/Shadow_Government__Deadwater_Saloon/ https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28356/Age_of_Shadow_Government/ https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28357/Gladiator_Shadow_Government/ https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28521/Animal_Shadow/ https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28522/Shadow_in_Detailing/ https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28523/Shadow_Ship/ https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28524/Police_work_in_Shadow/ [previewyoutube=ExaVFWFKVkg;full][/previewyoutube] Do you have any questions? Join us on Discord
Regards, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-10-17 14:58:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello Players,

We are pleased to announce that The Shadow Government Simulator is part of the Dreamhack Beyond Indie Showcase, which runs from 10/14-23/2022.

Also, remember that the premiere of the full version of the game is coming next week! We are launching at 8 am PDT, add the game to your wishlist, to don't miss the premiere!

[previewyoutube=ExaVFWFKVkg;full][/previewyoutube] Regards, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-10-14 12:53:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

HELLO CO-CONSPIRATORS!

We are launching on OCTOBER 17, 2022 at 8 am PDT!

GET READY TO DOMINATE THE WORLD!

If you haven't seen the latest release trailer yet, check it out now! [previewyoutube=ExaVFWFKVkg;full][/previewyoutube] You received the game's Prologue very well, we really thank you for your commitment and feedback, it was extremely important for us when refining the full version of the game. We realize that many of you have been waiting to play the game. We are really delighted that you will be able to play The Shadow Government Simulator on October 17, 2022. We can't wait for your opinions. Thank you for your support.

Don't miss the premiere and add the game to your wishlist and press the follow button, you will help us a lot!

Do you have more questions? Join us on Discord!

See you soon! The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-10-06 08:59:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

At first there was the demo and from there we got the game's release candidate. Now it has been unleashed into the world as a free Prologue and the results......
This is super exciting! Not only are people loving the game; we've had so many downloads it actually cracked the charts on Steam's main page!!!
This is way beyond my expectations. Who knew there was this much pent up demand for world domination \_()_/ (of course YOU knew. If you didn't suspect it, you wouldn't be part of this conspiracy, haha) It's been a hectic week, fielding questions from players, recieving and processing feedback and fixing bugs as they pop up. The response was so high that it crashed my analytics system and the auto-bug reporter overloaded gmail! After some last minute elbow grease however, we got it all under control ;) I want to give a huge shoutout to the discord community who has been key in welcoming newcomers and finding hard bugs. Extra special thanks to the discord Inquisitors (@AI & @GermanPantoffel) and to @SomeoneUnknown for their help. If you want to learn more what happens in our community, join us! https://discord.gg/MswsPFHt4Q So if the prologue was the second step, what comes next? Well full launch of course Right now I'm fielding bugs and integrating steam achievements, but that is it. The response was so positive that we feel pretty confident in launching the game soon. There's no date yet, but when it exists, you'll be the first to know. Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2022-09-13 01:53:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Shadow Government Simulator: Prologue is NOW available to play for free!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2025750/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator_Prologue/
This is only part of the upcoming full version of the game, so some of the features are not available yet, we count on your suggestions and ideas, write to us on the Steam Community Hub and on the dedicated Discord! [previewyoutube=RfiIRYFulAs;full][/previewyoutube]

If you have any questions, write to us on Discord

Back to work, see you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-09-07 15:07:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

HELLO CO-CONSPIRATORS!

The prologue will be available from

September 7, 2022 at 8:00 am PDT

The prologue of the game will be available completely for free and you can get into the world game before the full version is lunch! Check out the latest trailer! [previewyoutube=RfiIRYFulAs;full][/previewyoutube]

Some of you are surely wondering what a prologue is?

So The Shadow Government Simulator: Prologue is a part of the full version of the Shadow Government Simulator and is completely free. The most important is that prologue allows you to get into the world of Shadow Government Simulator so you will be fully ready before the final product release! We are really excited and can't wait for your feedback!

We encourage you to consider adding the game to your Steam wishlist so you don't miss the premiere!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2025750/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator_Prologue/

Join our community on Discord!

We are going back to work, see you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-09-02 09:04:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

Hello fellow co-conspirators! We can finally see the light at the end! In my hands I currently have the first Release Candidate version of the game. What is an RC you ask? This is the first version of the game that has all features, all content, the proper balance, and has passed all the internal bug tests!
The next step is one final large playtest with new players from around the world. This is mostly a sanity check for our internal QA (Because nothing can defeat the concentrated power of a hundred gamers!) If there's no major bugs, crashes or feedback. Then this release candidate will evolve into the gold version and from there.... it's go time!

Beta Update

v0.2.60 is now up on steam on the beta channel. Contrary to expectations, this is not yet the release candidate; that's just how fresh the news above is :P I haven't opened it up to the beta yet, haha. v0.2.60 includes: A new tutorial button in the main menu Fixed Intel not being reduced with the "Making connections costs Intel" difficulty modifier Fixed the intel bar sometimes being the wrong size and overflowing Fixed bug with the reward "Captire region in 5 turns or less" not recognizing if you captured it in exactly 5 turns Fixed issue with game not saving v-sync and window preferences correctly Added backend support for traditional and simplified chinese Smaller bug fixes and improvements The fact these are all smaller bugs, just goes to show you how close we are to the final release Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2022-08-15 03:40:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

Hello fellow co-conspirators! This week is a week of several BIG news. For starters The Shadow Government Simulator was a finalist in the innovation category of the Brazilian Indie Games Fest (BIG)!!
This is pretty awesome; the fest is the largest gaming competition in Latin America, and to be considered next to such crazy good games as Peglin is mind blowing. We didn't win, the awesome One Hand Clapping got the honor, but just being in the running is really encouraging. Next time though, we'll floor the competition In other big news, the game just crossed 10,000 wishlists this week! This is a huge deal. If I may go into 'how the sausage is made' territory for a bit, Steam uses wishlists (amongst other stats) to determine how much visibility it gives games on its store and it's associated subsections (like 'New and Upcoming'). Now, Valve doesn't tell exactly how the algorithm works, but the indie developer community, by pooling it's knowledge, has figured out bits of it. It seems that at 10k wishlists Steam stops considering you a "hobby game" and starts to see you as a "legit game", making it more likely to show it to more people. It's no guarantee of success, but more players will get a chance to know about your game The final big news is that the latest beta build is a final balance candidate! In a nutshell, it's the first version of the game to be said to have a complete balance from easy to hard and from the first region to the last. What does this mean for the game launch? Well, it depends on the feedback we get. For all I know testers might still think of this when playing the game:
But I'm hoping it's improved in the year since I was sent that image. We'll be starting a playtest soon; but kickstarter backers with Beta access can check it out now \o/ If you do, please fill up this survey so I know how it plays.

Beta Update

v0.2.56 is now up on steam on the beta channel. Changes include: New game balance for Regular and Hard mode New abilities that round up the units Difficulty modifiers are added on victory as default Added several new Difficulty Modifiers to help keep the game interesting in the mid to late campaign Fixed a crash with units sometimes not initializing correctly Fixed a crash that would occur if you played a second campaign after winning without closing the game A slew of minor bug fixes Next week, I'll be focussed on gathering beta player's thoughts on the balance and adjusting it accordingly. I'll also start laying the groundwork for the playtest and the expected influx of juicy, juicy feedback. Exciting times! Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2022-07-18 02:18:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello!

Thank you for being with us at Steam Next Fest June 2022 Edition!

Especially for your feedback and bugs report, this is extremely valuable information for us! The demo will be available for some time after the festival! Now we are preparing a Prologue for you! So if you don't want to miss the premiere then you can consider adding The Shadow Government Simulator: Prologue to your Steam wishlist and press follow button. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2025750/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator_Prologue/

Join our community on Discord!

We are going back to work, see you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-06-21 09:37:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

You can still play our demo! Steam Next Fest June 2022 Edition is still on!

Play the Demo of The Shadow Government Simulator for free. This is a great opportunity to gather your opinions about the game and make the final product even better. Just visit the The Shadow Government Simulator Steam page now and there is a green banner with the ability to play our demo! Have fun!

We invite you to join our community on Discord!

We are going back to work, see you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-06-18 11:00:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

WE ARE A PART OF STEAM NEXT FEST JUNE 2022 EDITION!

WE ARE LAUNCHING OUR DEMO: June 13-20, 2022; 10AM Pacific

During this period you will be able to play our Demo! This will be a great opportunity to gather your opinions about the game and make the final product even better. All you have to do is visit the The Shadow Government Simulator Steam page during the festival and there will be a green banner with the ability to play our demo!

We invite you to join our community on Discord!

We are going back to work, see you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-06-13 16:38:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

WE ARE A PART OF STEAM NEXT FEST JUNE 2022 EDITION!

WE ARE LAUNCHING OUR DEMO: June 13-20, 2022; 10AM Pacific

During this period you will be able to play our Demo! This will be a great opportunity to gather your opinions about the game and make the final product even better. All you have to do is visit the The Shadow Government Simulator Steam page during the festival and there will be a green banner with the ability to play our demo!

We invite you to join our community on Discord!

We are going back to work, see you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-06-09 16:12:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Signup for our Playtest starts today!

HOW TO JOIN PLAYTEST?

It is very simple. You must be logged into your Steam account. Then go to the Shadow Government Simulator Steam page, scroll a little lower and see a banner like this below and click the green button "Request Access"
Now, wait for the invitation! Playtest will start very soon, so if you want to be up to date with the latest news you can do two simple steps: Add the game to your Steam wishlist and press follow button Join our Discord community

Become the game tester, and most important be part of the game! We are waiting for you! Sign up for a PLAYTEST right now!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281190/The_Shadow_Government_Simulator/

In the meantime, we invite you to join our community on Discord!

We are going back to work, see you soon, The Shadow Government Simulator Team

[ 2022-05-27 13:08:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

I have some really juicy news for you. Chupacabrahas allied itself with a publisher to help market and distribute the game! Introducing Games Incubator, a subsidiary of PlayWay, a game publisher that specializes in startegy and simulation games. They have helped dozens of developers reach wider audiences (Check them out... my perosnal fave is 911 Opertaor). Now they'll be bringing their expertiese to bear helping out Shadow Government Simulator. \o/ Our conspiracy grows!!!
In practice this means there are a few changes to the upcoming road map. The biggest one is that we won't go into early access, but instead we'll launch 1.0. To whet people's appetitie (and add more players to our cult), we'll be launching a prologue and a demo in the coming weeks, so those who haven't played it can see how it has evolved! For you Kickstarter & Indiegogo backers, this changes nothing. You're rewards are safe and sound; it just means it'll have better QA before you get it ;) On the development side, things are still progressing with major bug fixes in the end game screen (which would say you'd lose even after conquering the world) and overall increasing the stability of the game. We also found a bug specifically on low resolution monitors that would blow up certain screens:
Ugh! Well that's fixed now. Next week I want to focus on balancing the mid and late game, because one of our testers sent me this
And well....that makes the final levels a cake walk. WE CANNOT LET THIS STAND! Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2022-05-15 17:53:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

This week was mostly a time for plumbing (i.e. doing all those things that are not gameplay (booo), but which are important for the game to run smoothly). On top of improving localization and optimizing the game, some friends of mine noticed that the game had no settings for v-sync, anti-aliaising, etc... I want our conspiracy to be as inclusive as possible (you know...for subversion purposes), and for that, we need to make sure the game works in a wide variety of configurations. So I decided to do something about it.
Not all are fully functional and tested yet, but I've advanced quite a bit on them. Unfortunatley a few nasty new bugs that were discoved stopped me from finishing all of this. And these are NASTY ones, one of them stopped players from finishing the tutorial, but only after you've completed it. Another one was so powerful, it stopped the game engine! :O Some of the bugs have been squashed, but as of this writting, the battle continues. However, not all progress has been stopped on it's tracks by those buggers. We've also been working on new art. Each faction will get it's own loading screen. Now, it's not finished, but I wanted to show you the first iteration for the Freemasons:
Pretty sweet right? I want to make one for each faction to use for interstitial screens (loading screens, backgrounds, etc...) I hope to have the final version and the next two factions next week. Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2022-04-25 03:36:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

Last time I mentioned we were laser focused on tutorial bugs; but with those mostly out of the way , I've spent the last pummeling through the backlog of bugs related to the Save and AI systems. Now, ask any programmer, and they'll tell you these are particular systems are some of the worst to troubleshoot.
Pictured: A programmer after being asked that question. The former is a pain because generally you don't find a bug until AFTER loading a save game (so not actually when the error ocurrs), making them hard to track down. The latter is a pain becuase the issue with giving something the ability to think, is then trying to convince it to do so again time and time again.
Pictured: Templars being jerks and capturing a unit they shouldn't be able to Fortunatley, many of these bugs were found and subsequently squelshed. Some were kinda benign.
Some gave them an unfair advantage:
I also added a few light features, like the mush requested sleeper cell view, which allows you to see which abilities sleeper cells have access to without going through the activation menu and new automated feedback system that sends me an email everytime the game crashes. (v1.0 had an error that would send me 35 emails a second!)

Beta Update

v0.2.40 is now up on steam on the beta channel. Changes include: New background error reporting system - it silently sends me an email if there's a crash Sleeper cell view - you can now see all sleeper cell potential abilities at a glance A huge bunch of bugs and fixes, including: HQ will no longer resist localization when in cyrilic AI will not earn cooldowns when taking over units Units will no longer remian visible if surveillance expiresI feel there are still more bugs lurking in the shadows of the AI and save systems, so I'll be spending some more time looking at them. I'll keep you posted on any other weirdness I find. Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2022-03-28 04:31:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

Now that the tutorial has been live for a bit, I've been getting a whole bunch of feedback on what works and what doesn't. Last week I took care of over 35 (!) bugs, issues and suggestions on how to improve it.Just look at what my bug tracker used to look like:
Issues ranged from the general quality of life (like showing locked buttons in the ability select screen to show that you'll eventually unlock more):
passing to the game breaking (like making sure that a wrong step doesn't end your game):
To the "this should be simple, but in reality it take a lot of work to get it right" (like allowing players to click through a mask and into a country):
Trust me, as simple as it looks, this last one was a nightmare. I'll be continuing on the hunt for bugs and patching them as I find them. Its not the most glamorous part of game development, but we want to make sure we don't release with any terrible, obvious bugs. Join our discord to learn more on the game's progress! And in the meantime: Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2022-02-28 15:01:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

Guess what guys! I'm on the internet \o/ Josh from Game Wisdom did an interview on Chupacabra, indie game development and game design. It was tons of fun and we went deep into the nuts and bolts of planning a game. Josh has done multiple interesting analysis and opinion pieces on industry sites like Gamasutra, so it was really cool to have a chat with him. If you're interested in what we had to say on 'behind-the-scenes' game development, take a look below! [previewyoutube=i6nMPlcZaDo;full][/previewyoutube] But tiny internet fame has not stopped me from working on the game. After a month and a half of work, the new tutorial is now live! On my end I've been testing the 'happy path', which is how the game responds when the player does what the instructions tell them. However, we all know how much players like to read tutorials, so I'll be spending the next few weeks testing the 'unhappy paths', where we basically pretend to be drunk and/or illiterate and play through the game that way.

Beta Update

v0.2.37 is now up on steam on the beta channel. Changes include: New tutorial level focused on connections Modified other tutorials to make them easier to understand Potential fix for load crash found by discord user @Laaaarrryyyy A fancy new background image for the main menu A whole bunch of minor fixes Tutorials are always finicky and sensitive;.if a new player finds a bug in a tutorial, they'll just quit the game. To those who have access to the beta, it would really help me if you guys could go through it and let me know if anything is amiss. I want to dedicate the next few weeks to fixing any bugs that might crop up. Join our discord to stay up to date on the game's progress! Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2022-02-15 14:35:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

Regular readers will have probably noticed that I mention testers a lot in these emails. It makes sense though, it's honestly thanks to them that the game is shaping up to be what it is. Testing a game in progress is not always fun; the game is incomplete, buggy and hard to understand. Tester tears are constantly shed. Usually, little by little though, it gets better. But this time is a bit different. I've been tackling one of the main tester complaints, and this time we're aiming for a big jump in quality I'm talking of course about the tutorial. This is an image of just a fraction of the tutorial improvements I've been asked for:
And slowly, but surely, I've been tackling them. So far:

• I've created a new tutorial level that focuses more on connections
• streamlined the objectives so they are more visible
• simplified language
• will change the last level to focus more on turns and abilities.

The tutorial is a bit longer, but information should flow better
There's still work to do, but it's really shaping up. I hope to have it ready by next week. For all you co-conspirators that haven't played the game yet; when you do, pour one out for the testers who suffered to give you a better experience. Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2022-01-31 18:05:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

Last time around, I showed you the first implementation of the quest-reward system; with players able to complete their side objectives and get bonuses out of it. After playing it a couple of times however, I felt it was missing a little something...choice. Sure, you could use the quests to inform which region to invade next, but once you were IN the region, the quests didn't have as much influence as I wanted. So I made some changes. First, I expanded the system to have three quests per region instead of one:
But crucially, I also changed the reward system so you had to choose a bonus after victory. Now, within a level players will have to choose which quests to focus on. Even if they complete all of them, however, they can only take one reward back home; making the desicions all the more juicy.
Next up..... a break! Because even chupacabras need to hibernate for a bit I'll be taking a small break over the holidays, but we'll be back with more conspiracy-laden updates in 2022!

Discord Challenge

Last week we had a literary challenge, where our cult members had to come up with their very own christmas conspiracy fanfic! It was awesome to see the variety and quality of the submissions,ranging from poems to noir. At the end of the day Templar CheesusCrust won the competition with his poem the Elfinati Plot. It's a long one, so won't copy the whole thing, but here's a taste: The hidden group of Illuminati Made a branch of Elfinatti Their methods always quite sloppy Jolly saint nick they now tried to copy Spread out on that night in December You never quite know whose a member From Auburn to Rome Sneakin in your home A year of surveil Ready to prevail The good they maintain The bad they go tame You can read the rest of it on discord . This week we're getting into the christmas spirit and doing a secret santa!! Join our server to participate Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2021-12-13 15:04:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

One of the ideas that excites me the most about Shadow Government Simulator is the fact that you can control nations as well as individuals with equal ease. I mean, you know you've made it as a secret society when both nation and kings bow before you. I've always wanted the game to reflect that and for you to be able to gain abilities from the countries you conquer. Believe it or not, that already exists in the game! However, it's complex and hard to see, much less remember what powers you've already acquired. I'm revamping the whole system, but one of the more important things is also the simplest: badges.
That top ribbon collects a badge for each power/update/ability you unlock. These are aquired by completing quests (check out our last newsletter to hear ALL about those!) and conquering nations, They practically represent your expanding power as you take over society. So, for example, completing the quest "Control Western Africa's military" will give all your units +1 bravery for the rest of the game (and a cool badge). Right now they are simple stuff: "give +1 charm to your HQ" or "get +5 funds each turn"; but I want to expand them quite a bit. There's a lof work left to do, from making a screen where players can choose the abilities, to getting in more complex effects. It'll take me a while, but the infrastructure is there and I'm ready!

Discord Challenge

Last week our @AI swooped in and rescued the challenge by proposing we try our hand at the hardest game on the internet Notpron. This collection of puzzles is infamosuly obtuse but, amazing everybody, the Illuminati managed to get all the way to level 50 (You can try it yourself, but be warned) A new challenge will start on Monday; and if you like cars and crime, you'll like this one. Join our discord to check it out! Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2021-11-15 03:31:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

First things first.... FELIZ DIA DE LOS MUERTOS!!
My fave holiday of the year! Have a good one everybody About SGS stuff, for the most part, the objective of our game is quite simple: capture the leader-> capture the region -> capture the world -> profit? (honestly who knows why secret societies want the world...) This makes the game pretty straightforward at a high level, but it also limits how the game plays. If players are always trying to get the same thing, they'll always behave the same way.
Now I do have more game objectives planned: (i.e. Capture the military in x turns, etc..), but that is kicking the can down the road. What the game really needs to spice things up is...... secondary goals! So this week I focussed on precisely that, and created Quests!
They are still very much WIP and I don't love the name Quests (send any alternate names you can think of to our discord! ), but they work great. Basically each level will have up to 3 side objectives, which players can try to complete during their run of the level. Thought they are not obligatory, you'll have to be very cautious when playing in order to get them. this will force you to try our new strategies. Why would you want to risk your neck to do this? Well, because if you complete the quests, you earn the right to use the nation's power to affect others! That's right, I'm reworking the national ability system because it's confusing and not getting any playtime. It'll take me a couple of months, but this is the first step there

Discord Challenge

I had a discord challenge all lined up this week and then:
Well..... that's unexpected :/ Thankfully our very own @AI came up with a devious plan to save the challenge week. Check out what she planned by going to discord and joining the challenge! Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2021-11-02 03:49:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

Puppet Master was always meant to be a hard game. As a gamer I like a bit of a bite in my usual fare; to really get the noggin thinking. So when testers came saying, the game was tough I was all "yup, makes sense" and got on doing smaller adjustements (like last update's shields). However, a couple of playtest and streamer videos last month really opened my eyes that I might have a major problem on my hands. I was seeing vets, not new players, having trouble by the third or fourth region and that was a big issue. To investigate, I made an excel simulation of my game (much easier to modify then the game) and found.... well the game quickly became impossible.
And I'm not talking extraordinarily hard. I meant that if playing hard mode, by level 10-12 you'd be maxing out global exposure. The fact that we hadn't heard of this was because no one had reached that level yet... which should've been the first warning sign. So I speant this week reworking the difficulty balance, which meant I had to rework the difficulty backend. I can talk at length about this, but I won't bore you with the details.... I'll just show you these sexy excel graphs of the result:
Maybe not what you expected in a dev post, but a lot of game design happens on spreadsheets (which gets my designer heart fluttering). Here you can see that we would expect an average player on easy to reach level 4 difficulty and end the game with a global exposure just above 25%; if that player tries on hard mode, they would end up with over 80% exposure, and playing regions of difficulty 11. And if they try insane.....well, the game is still impossible at that point, so that's why I'm not shipping insane difficulty :P This week I'll finish up the difficulty and send it out to testers to give it another go. I'll let y'all know if we get survivors!

Discord Challenge

A new challenge for our community will start soon; join our discord to check it out! Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2021-10-17 22:39:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

Our message is spreading into the unsuspecting minds of podcast listeners! Last week I was interviewed by the good folks at The SWW Show about how our game came to be. It was fun being in a podcast, and if you want to learn more about the original inception of the game you can check it out here! On the development side of things, I've been taking a look at the end game and fortunatley (or maybe I should say unfortunatley) many bugs were found. A lot of them were boring stuff related to how the AI saves their own turns and how data is compiled; but they did take a fair amount of work to solve. However, I did take some time to work on cool visual stuff like shields!
Shields as a concept have existed for a while in the game. There used to be a pretty sucky situation where you'd convert a unit and then the AI would immediatley convert it back. It was really furstrating. So I added the shield trait, to protect your new acquisitions. It wasn't easy to visualize though, hence I added the foce fields seen above. That was the first iteration of it, but after some discussion with the good folks over at Discord (thanks guys!); we decided it was too sci-fi, so we explored ways to make it look more tech-y. This was the final result.
There are still more end game bugs to fix, but while trying to beat the campaign over and over, I realized an important thing...... it is waaaaay too hard. So next week for my sanity and yours, I'll be focussing on a balance pass of the game with the goal to stop making it, in the words of a tester: "every skill level is somewhat masochistic"...

Beta Change Log

v0.2.33 Is live on steam; it includes: An improved audio manager. There shouldn't be any more audio bugs The 'connect' button is now part of the regular ability panel to make it easier to see A new tutorial showing people how the map works (Some folk were confused by that) New activation menu now shows what traits are gained/lost on activation New shield VFX so it's easier to know who is protected from conversion Slightly improved messages when abilities are added/lost A slew of bug fixes and smaller improvements Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2021-10-04 04:35:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

Last time I promissed the bug-ridden audio manager would submit or die, and I have kept my word!! The game's audio has been completely revamped, using a more advanced state machine () in order to keep everything in place. Reports of audio bugs have significanlty lowered, and they will stay that way if they know what's good for them! (ed. please, please stay that way) In other news, I've also tackled one of the UX issues that has plagued the game from the beginning. When activating a unit, it was hard to understand how it affected their traits and what bonuses were going to be gained or lost. It was not transparent, and that confused new players. There were several iterations:
But after a vote from the Kickstarter backers over atDiscord(thanks guys!); we ended up with as the final screen:
Turns out the more information you give players the better! Next week I'll be focussing on the end game. It's a loooong campaign, so it'll be a bit of a grind, but the advantage of being the dev is that you can always cheat

Community

In discord news: Last week we had our first-evercommunity lecture! The idea is for the community to present and discuss interesting topics. We realized we had a lot of very knowledgable and interesting folks in our server, and we're trying to spread the knowledge. The first lecture was "Demystifying Artificial Intelligence" by OWA. It went well and was really interesting to hear from an AI master's degree student how modern AI works. It was a nice experiment and we might be doing that again in the future. If you want to stay up to date with these events, join our community! Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2021-09-20 01:37:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

As mentioned last time, this was a week of bug fixing and polishing the tutorial. Nothing too major, but some tears might have been shed and some cursing might have been carried by the wind. I did focus on visual bugs, so instead of the usual "things that don't work are now working" I can show you some cool gifs:
Notice how non-connected units go to half transparency on unit select. This will be super helpful in small countries (like my personal bane: UK ). However, in between all the bug fixing, I did find time to add something just for fun. I've always felt that the VFX for when a unit is attacked are functional, but not super great. I decided to take some time and see what we can do about it. The result: MORE PARTICLES! MOAR MIST!
Looking juicy Next week bug hunting will continue, this time with special focus on audio bugs. Alpha and Beta testers know that the audio sometimes does weird things, like unexpectedly jump in volume to 100% or loop in bizarre ways. It doesn't happen often so it hasn't been high priority, but enough to be annoying for me to see similar bugs popping up. Well next week it ends. It's smack down time!

Beta Change Log

v0.2.31 Is live on steam; it includes: New difficulty modifier! If a player reaches certain global exposure, the world's nations will start surverillance of communications, meaning creating connections will cost intel! Corrected currency panel sometimes showing wrong value for next turn Units now become transparent when not connected to selected unit Players can now zoom when hovering over a tutorial panel Unit names are now saved/loaded correctly Cinematic bars not appearing during enemy's turns has been fixed Tutorial levels no longer show units in a straight line

Community

In discord news; We'll be soon starting community-led lectures about interesting topics. We realized we had a lot of very knowledgable and interesting folks in our server, and we're trying to spread the knowledge. The first lecture will be "Demystifying Artificial Intelligence". To learn more about the talk and the schedule, join our Discord! Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2021-09-06 02:42:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

As the game gets a bit of more glitz and polish, it is important for it's steam page to look snazzy! It's a bit of a secret outside of indie game dev circles, but for us the most important metric if a game is going to be a success is wishlists. The more wishlists you have before launching your game the more chance of it being a success! Because of this it's important to have a steam page up and running asap....even as the game is still developping! I launched this bad boy in the middle of my first kickstarter campaign; so about a year ago:
I think we can all agree it could use a facelift... I mean the screenshots still said pre-alpha for crying out loud! Well without further ado, here's the new version:
It's still an open question how the wishlist count will change with the update, but I'll be keeping a close eye on it for the next several weeks and to continuously iterate on it. Next week is more bug fixing and I'm considering perhaps another version of the tutorial We'll see how it pans out!

Beta Change Log

v0.2.17 Is live on steam; it includes: Russian has been added to the game (Italian almost made it, but we found some last minute issues) Game should no longer randomly start in spanish Camera saves location after ending a turn and returns to it Currency tooltips now show the correct value of resources Fixed issue with zooming over tutorial panels Added new VFX for units when under attack A brick ton of smaller tutorial bug fixes Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2021-08-23 01:37:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

As promissed last update, this time around I took it a bit easier working on minor bug fixes and updates. A workaholic's version of a vacation The acivation menu's layout was tightened up, warnings were added before you cut a connection, french & portuguese support was fully added to the game. However, in between all this I decided to take on a small feature that, to my surprise, really dug itself into my mind...... the credits.
It's honestly, not the first thing someone thinks of when thinking of games. I think no players really look at it, and I myself left it as one of the last things to do. However, I found the process really revealing and ultimatley very humbling. You see, I'm a lone dev, which means I spend a lot of time inside of a bubble, working by myself on the game. Writing all of the kickstarter backers into the credits, typing every person who has supported SGS during its creation put in perspective that I might be the only one working on it; but I'm definitley not alone in creating it. Honestly, thank you all for this game. I know it sounds cheesy, but I mean it.

Beta Change Log

v0.2.26 will soon be live on steam. It includes: Warnings for cutting a connection that will hurt the player Final localization for potuguese and french added Preliminary localization for german, italian and russian. Fixed bug with tutorial objectives remaining open after level end Miscellaneous bug fixes & improvements Join our Discord to learn more about the game! Happy conspiring! Rafa PS For all you kickstarter/indiegogo backers try spotting yourself in the credits! It's a fun minigame, haha

[ 2021-08-09 03:07:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello fellow co-conspirators!

Last week all soundtrack keys were distributed! \o/ If your kickstarter backer tier includes them, check your email and get into the groooove Soon they'll be available to everybody on steam, so stay tuned ;) In dev news, spanish localization is practically done. All text now changes correctly, but I am finding bugs where the text is too long for the screen. For example this little bugger in the bottom left:
I'll have to hunt those down and add them to my bug list. Speaking of which, I need to spend time to take care of those low level bugs. They're not game breaking, but those tiny annoyances can add up and ruin a players day. I'm going to take the next several weeks to focus on them before preparing for release.

Beta Change Log

v0.2.25 is live on Steam; it includes: Localization backend has been added Fixed issues with mission descriptions Several minor bug fixes

Discord Challenge

Instead of a challenge, I decided to switch it up a bit and, we had a mini-auction for a free game. This week the game in question was Parkitect, a really fun sim game based around making your own theme park! It was a fun experiment and I might do more giveaways and games this way; come join our discord to learn more! Happy conspiring! Rafa

[ 2021-07-29 01:22:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Be the man, behind the man, behind the man

[previewyoutube=lW14IOUO9-A;full][/previewyoutube] Finally our time has arrived! Lead the Illuminati in this turn-based strategy/simulation game where you are the one who controls the strings. Infiltrate nations, discover who wields power and induct them into your society.

Turn-based strategic infiltration

Infiltrate nations around the world!

Evolve your organization

Reshape societies to your will!

Play chess against world's nations...and rival societies

Play the demo! Happy conspiring!

[ 2020-10-07 17:00:59 CET ] [ Original post ]