Green With Energy has been updated with the following changes.

User interface

• Added new tooltips when hovering over different tools (thanks Filip from the Discord server for the suggestion):
  
  
  
• Added fun speech bubbles to buildings when power is cut
  
  
  
• Doubled the UI scale range to better support 4K displays (thank you ThePiachu for reporting)
  
• Updated the look and feel of UI dropdowns
  

• Added a new music track
  
• Updated localization strings with latest translations
  

Green With Energy has been updated with the following changes.

User Interface

• Fix bug where the active tool wasnt properly highlighted (thank you for the feedback!)
  
• Add right-click to go back in certain tools (everything except Power Lines which already uses right-click)
  
• Add tooltips for top icons showing keybindings (shown below)
  

At the very beginning, we would like to thank each of you for your feedback, Steam opinions, and emails that you write to us - thank you for your commitment after launch, it is invaluable to us.

Full list of changes:

[ BUGS ]

• Fix a bug where level achievements would not unlock properly
  
• Fix a bug where stats would increment twice per simulation run
  
• Update localization files with new translations
  

• Added game logo to splash screen
  
• Now shows current level in Steam friends list
  

[h3]Today is the special day of the release of Green With Energy! [/h3]

[h3]On this occasion, together with our friends, we have prepared a unique bundle for you! Check out the list below and choose something for yourself [/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34697/Green_Adventure/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34699/EnergyCity/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34698/Horror_Energy/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34696/Greenpolis/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34690/Green_Shelter/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34689/Green_Graveyard_2/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34691/Green_Car_Detailer/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34694/Green_Energy_in_Hotel/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34695/Green_Monuments/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34688/Green_Graveyard/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34692/Green_Police/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34693/Shadow_Government_Energy/


Have fun!
GWE Team

We just released Green With Energy!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/890890/Green_With_Energy/

[h2] Become an engineer and work towards a green future! [/h2]

[previewyoutube=p0aPCtE3RNI;full][/previewyoutube]

[h3]We are really happy that the game is finally ready, and everyone can play it. We count on your feedback and suggestions. [/h3]






[h3]Make sure you check the bundles that we prepared with our friends! [/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/890890/view/3689065475847516045




HAVE FUN!
Green With Energy Team

[h2]The premiere coming soon! [/h2]

[h3]You can watch our pre-recorded stream on Steam right now! [/h3]

[h3]The stream shows the first steps in the game, make sure to be with us during the launch. [/h3]

[previewyoutube=p0aPCtE3RNI;full][/previewyoutube]



See you very soon!
Green With Energy Team

We are getting there!

[h2]Only 7 days left till the premiere! [/h2]

[h3]Get ready to become an engineer and work towards a green future. Build self-sufficient power grids for towns and cities and cut out dependence on fossil fuels! [/h3]

[previewyoutube=p0aPCtE3RNI;full][/previewyoutube]



See you very soon!
Green With Energy Team

Premiere - September 14, 2023 at 3:00 PM CEST!



[h3] On September 14, 2023, at 3:00 PM CEST, you will have the opportunity to become an energy engineer and immerse yourself in the relaxing world of designing, testing, and building power grids.[/h3]

Your task will be to find a balance between budget and efficiency by designing power grids in various biomes - the choice is yours!

[h3] Mark the release date on your calendar and see you soon! [/h3]





See you soon!
Green With Energy Team

Building video games is more than designing game rules and logic;. Its critical to make the player feel connected to the experience, and feel their impact on the game world. UX designers have long called this delight and thats the theme of todays DevLog.

Traffic
One of the biggest pieces of feedback weve gotten is to add more life to the world. As well as a compelling puzzle, the player should become immersed into the world. This is where creating delight serves us well as developers, as each detail enhances the experience in an intangible way.

Every road tile is modelled as a set of waypoints, or path segments as theyre called internally.

We had some fun traffic bugs along the way:



When vehicles spawn, we use a well known computer science algorithm called a randomised depth first search to construct a list of waypoints for the vehicle to drive between. When combined with a queue and some vector maths, we have a fully functional pathfinding algorithm for vehicles.

User Interface
Another core piece of feedback is that the user interface is confusing. When building the game initially, we werent sure how it was going to evolve, so the UI was never really designed and simply put together as the need arises.

Going back to the drawing board, we brainstormed a new user interface at a London coworking space for a day. The new design was created from a first principles approach. At each stage of the game (design, iteration, simulation) we asked ourselves:

• "What does the user need (or want) to know at this stage?"
  
• "What actions are available?"
  
• "How can we minimise cognitive overload but still teach the player what we want them to know?
  

Green With Energy will be hosting a public alpha playtest next week to get feedback on game mechanics and the first levels. To join, go to our store page and click the "Request Access" button.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/890890/Green_With_Energy/



[h2]What can players expect in the playtest version?[/h2]

• About 1/10th of the final content, which includes the first tutorials, plus some larger levels
  
• No support for Puzzle Creator or Steam Workshop
  
• Integrated bug reporting and analytics collection, to learn how players are finding the game
  

Hi-voltage & transformers
In the April DevLog, we shared a preview of the transformer/substation tile. This has finally made it into the game, along with the concept of hi-voltage and lo-voltage.



Some buildings, such as factories or other industry, require a hi-voltage input. This means laying power lines, probably with a substation somewhere to step-up or step-down the voltage.

Diving deeper, voltage has some interesting properties. Hi-voltage lines are much more expensive than lo-voltage lines, in both upfront & maintenance. But on the flip side, hi-voltage lines are more efficient, with only a 5% energy loss. Lo-voltage lines can have as much as 45% energy loss. Depending on the problem you have to solve, the trade-off might be acceptable.

Energy policies
Policies such as impact the choices you have to make in each level. Players can craft effective strategies, as well as challenge them to try others, keeping the game fresh.



[h3]Government subsidies[/h3]
These policies allow you to make trade-offs in return for tax cuts or cheaper prices, if you choose to specialize in a particular technology.

[h3]Smart grid, edge & IoT policies[/h3]
These policies help shape market trends with IoT and smart grid technology, unlocking new power grid design strategies.

A sneak peak... (our new teaser trailer)
You can check it out below on YouTube channel, or over on our store page.
[previewyoutube=rJ0V3dEVH_0;full][/previewyoutube]
So, what's coming next?
We're moving from Pre-Alpha to Alpha. Meaning, core systems and mechanics of the game are implemented. The Alpha phase is about producing content and refining what is already a part of the game.

There's a bunch of stuff we're working on before shipping in Early Access:

• Keep refining the game mechanics through playtesting with our Discord server
  
• More levels across a variety of locations: a forest village, shipping port, town center, etc..
  
• New energy sources like hydropower
  
• New energy policies like EV vehicles & charging stations
  

Welcome to the Spring DevLog for Green With Energy!

To those of you who recently joined the official community on Discord, thank you! If youre new to the game - welcome. Its humbling to have you on board. Please wishlist & follow on Steam if youre interested.

The purpose of these DevLogs is to showcase the ongoing development on Green With Energy, to both the fans as well as the wider gaming community. Hopefully it serves as a line of communication, as feedback is a critical part of evaluating the ongoing work.

As always, the roadmap is public, so feel free to check it out.

Launching the community Discord server


March saw the introduction of an official Discord server to be the home for the Green With Energy community. Exclusive content such as in-development screenshots are regularly shared by Cameron Brown, the designer and programmer building the game.

This server is intended to be the central hub for playtesting, as well as the most important line of communication for feedback on the game.

Refining the core game mechanics
The core game loop is modeled similarly to the real engineering process. Players are given an interesting problem along with sandbox of tools they could use to solve that problem. Programming is also very similar, and has a suitable analogy.

Players can:

If the simulation succeeds, they can continue to the next level. If it fails, or they are interested in improving the design further, they can take what they learned from the simulation and edit their design further.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-IxnXKoP1s

[h2]Settings, Main Menu & Level Gallery[/h2]
In addition to the game itself, there are a couple of critical pieces of the user interface that cannot be overlooked just because the user isn't always interacting with them.

For example, the gallery isn't just a way of selecting what level you wish to play, and we can actually use this to highlight how you did in your previous play-through, relative to the wider community via Steam Leaderboards.



Time has been spent making everything flow beautifully, from menu to game in seconds, as this quick screencast shows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B5lhzRZK0k

More isometric art as the style takes shape!

[h2]Power storage[/h2]
Store energy for smoothing out capacity or even provide full grid power when green power generation (such as wind or solar) is unavailable.



[h2]Power substation/transformer[/h2]
Step voltage up-and-down.



[h2]Wind farm (small)[/h2]
Intended to be similar in cost to the solar farm, but more versatile in it's deployment, wind farms can be operated at any time of the day with the trade-off of predictability.

These obviously work best in windy weather.



Playtesting begins soon, but first...
...we'd like to survey the community about operating systems, opinions on input methods, etc... so that we can craft the most effective playtests for the whole game.

Thank you for reading!

As always, you can wishlist the game on the Steam Store, and join the community Discord server to stay up to date. We also have accounts on Twitter and Facebook.

- The Green With Energy Team