We have updated Testing Build to version 1.23.4. If you are on Default Build and would like to try it, you can find directions on how to switch here: http://ventdev.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=2594 We need your help! If you are fluent in another language besides English and would like to help translate GearCity please contribute: http://translator.ventdev.com

So what’s new?

v1.23.4 focused on minor gameplay adjustments, small features, and some GUI and bug fixes. Of major note, Vehicle popularity values have been adjusted to meet their starting historical values. Vehicle popularity growth rates were added into the map’s turn events files. Be sure to check the body popularity ratings. For example, Pickup Trucks are significantly less popular at the start of the game in North America. But they will grow extremely popular by the end of the game. Other notable features, Hard and Nightmare now have an importation tax system. This is to counteract placing your factories/HQ in cities with low tax rates. A Random Vehicle Popularity advance game setting was also added. I have also increased the penalty for making designs with a bunch of sliders set to 0%. Cheap is good, too cheap is bad.

What’s Next?

GearCity is now feature frozen. This means that no new features will be added to the game unless it’s currently on the ticketing system or on my notepad. (Some minor exceptions when needed.) I will begin work on v1.24. I plan to release v1.24 in 3 parts. We will have 2 release candidates for testing build players. Then the v1.24 released to Default build users. RC1 should have the Base maps 100% completed. It will also have some integrated Steam features such as trading cards, achievements, and workshop. There should also be some improvements done to the mod tools and possibly a couple of video tutorials made for the most common modifications. RC2 should have the remaining maps currently in the game finished, several bug fixes, gameplay tweaks, and fixes to any issues that pop up with RC1. We will also start hosting a submit your own car designs for the premades. v1.24 will be a clean up of all of the above. After v1.24, there is only 1 more major build before release. The tentative plan is to have 2 testing builds with everything else left in the ticketing systems, and then 2 more minor builds of polishing out little issues everywhere. After which the game goes into LTS and I start updating the game engine for future proofing. It’s been a long journey, but we’re almost there!

Complete Change Log:

-Bugfix: Fixed bugs with material costs in reports and manufacturing costs in branch distribution window after you won a contract with Auto Production enabled. -Bugfix: Fixed Limited Branches exploit when using Build Branches in District. -Gameplay: Many older established AI no longer immediately go bankrupt. -Gameplay: Reduced population effect on branch monthly costs when Dynamic Branch Costs is enabled. -Gameplay: Created a setting for Auto-GUI Position Save and Disable Window Centering. For players who like to adjust the sizes and positions of their windows and does not want the game to automatically remember the locations and never automatically center the windows. -GUI: User selected units and measurements. -GUI: Only show user selected unit types for various specs. No more displaying SAE and SI units for the same thing. You pick what you want to see. -Gameplay: Import tax system. Every city/territory has a minimum tax rate of 2% of vehicle sales price if the vehicle is not produced in the same country it is sold. If you import vehicles from low tax cities to high tax cities, additional rates will be charged based on your HQ city tax rate. This feature is automatically enabled for Hard and Nightmare settings. It can be disabled in the new game options. -GUI: The City Information Window displays the Import Tax rates if the feature is enabled. -Gameplay: Fuel Popularity will now greatly increase (at 5% per year) if the fuel has a large marketshare but is low in popularity. -Gameplay: Bonds can not be paid back before 2 years. Thus fixing a free money exploit. -Bugfix: Fixed IPO exploit that resulted in double income from buying back your own shares. -Gameplay: Player can now cancel component selection when using the prototyping system. -Gameplay: The game will now automatically sell shares when you've been out of cash for a couple of months. This prevents players from investing all their cash into a company and then not going bankrupt because they have liquid assets (stocks). Gotta be able to pay your bills/employees! ;) -Gameplay: Using many low sliders while designing will now directly reduce vehicle's buyer rating. -Bugfix: Fixed bug that showed outsourced vehicles in the Autoproduction model restriction lists. -Maps and Mods: Moved Regional Names to the map.xml files. So that regional maps such as Europe, won't have North America, Asia, etc listed. -Gameplay: Added "World" to the Districting system. So players can select the entire game world if they want to. -GUI: Added up and down arrows to Branch Distribution Sales Price text box. They increase or decrease the price by $50. -Mod Tools: Implemented Regional Names to the Map Data Tool. -Settings Editor: Added Autosave GUI and Unit Types. -Settings Editor: Fixed clear cache bug that deletes the GPU shader Cache folder, thus causing the game to crash. -Bugfix: Fixed bug in Autoproduction system that could cause production pace to be 100% toward quantity. -GUI: Rename component textbox will have the old component's name automatically entered. -GUI: Component modification system will automatically increment the an ending number by 1 in the name of a component being redesigned. Example: Engine-1 will be automatically named Engine-2 (If no other engines are named Engine-2) . -GUI: Factory Expense reports now show a Production Capacity amount. This value multiplies the percentage of factory lines you use with the average position of your quality/quantity sliders. Thus giving you a rough idea of how close you are to full production. Production Line Capacity data also remains. -Bugfix Fixed chassis outsourcing filtering. -Bugfix Fixed bug in Autoproduction system that would not produce vehicles for contracts when the player had no branches. -Gameplay: About 5% improvement to turn times. (Might be able to squeeze out a little bit more, just thought of something I could try. :) ) -GUI: Fixed inconsistent close button sizes. -GUI: All windows should have titles in the title bar. -GUI: Fixed Mega Menu Clipping of really long names -GUI: Added horizontal scrolls to several lists, including the side panel. -GUI: Dynamically adjust list and drop down boxes's scroll button amounts. One click should now be close to one scroll page. (Bottom of the list becomes the top of the list and you see the rest of the items below.) -GUI: Newspaper stocks now show 2 decimal places. -GUI: Added fuel type information to several view engine and view vehicle windows that were missing it. -GUI: Added some missing information from the Auto Commands Mega Menu Help Buttons. -GUI: Licensing List show now refresh after you make changes. -GUI: Fixed World Map/Mega Menu charts that were showing revenues instead of units sold. -GUI: Fixed several graphs and buttons in the showroom. -GUI: Most window titles should be centered in the window now. (Some windows may not be, due to size constraints.) -GUI: Decimal places were fixed in line charts. Other chart types will be fixed when we upgrade the web browser after full release. -GUI: Some charts now have digit grouping. Other chart types will have digit grouping when we upgrade the web browser after full release. -GUI: Fixed several overlapping text issues when playing the game with large font. -Bugfix: Fixed bug in racing competition view, that did not show player's race team if they were not using default team name. -Gameplay: Adjusted Random History's inflation rates. There is now less time with negative inflation/growth rates. -Gameplay: Readjusted base vehicle popularity values to how popular a vehicle type is at introduction time. -Gameplay: TurnEvents.xml popularity changes are now multiplied into the popularity values instead of added. -Maps: Added Static Vehicle Popularity growth rates for all vehicle types. -Mod Tools: Added an importer system to Vehicle Popularity and Newspaper tools in the Turn Events Editor. -Gameplay: Disable Static Popularity Growth advanced game option. This disables the popularity growths in the TurnEvents.xml file. Vehicles will start with popularity values between 2% and higher based on the starting popularity of the vehicle type in the components.xml file. -Gameplay: Random Vehicle Popularity advanced game option. This randomizes the starting popularity of vehicle types. -Gameplay: Adjusted the dynamic vehicle popularity growth. Growth rates are less, but effect all vehicle types instead of just the top and bottom vehicle types. -Bugfix: Fixed exploit that allowed a player to use in construction factories to produce war munitions. -Bugfix: Possible fix for low definition textures and showroom crashing for extremely low powered GPUs. -Bugfix: Fixed buffer overflow when purchasing a company with over 4billion shares issued. -Bugfix: Fixed issue where consolidating companies does not transfer over the target company stocks and leaves them orphaned. -Bugfix: Fixed late game bug that was causing R&D estimated GearBox unit costs to be higher than the designed price. -Bugfix: Fixed an issue causing tax refunds not to be issued if you over paid. (Think you can fool us GCIRS?!) -Bugfix: Fixed a bug that could leave vehicles unlisted in factories if you used the replace and discontinue system, then discontinue the in development replacement vehicle. -Bugfix: Fixed bug causing Auto Production not to update production quantity after factory reconditioning. -Gameplay: RnD->Mod->Vehicle will now show a list of discontinued vehicles if you have no active vehicles. If you have no vehicles what so ever, it will then display an error message. -GUI: Added growth trends arrows to Body and Fuel demand charts. -Maps: Ported Newspaper articles to all maps except Classic Map. -Media: 1970 Premades

Hotfix #1:

-Bugfix: Fixed unable to start a new game with German Translation file.

Hotfix #2:

-Bugfix: Fixed issue with Random History growth rates. -Bugfix: Possible bug fix to manually controlled production lines being cleared when player wins a contract.

Hotfix #3:

-Bugfix: Fixed unicode support in translation program. -Bugfix: Fixed issues with unicode in several translations.