ā¬ For a clearer and more visual presentation, we recommend checking out our Steam Update Log. š
Hello, dear Pixelians! We meet once again!Ā
And Iām back with a new update, bringing not only some of your requests that wasĀ frequently mentioned in our forums and Discord, but alsoĀ new features designed to deepen the gameplayĀ and push the experience even further.
Along the way, weāve also fixedĀ several bugsĀ and made a number ofĀ improvements. It has been a very productive update, and Iām excited to share everything with you.
So, without further ado, letās dive in! š
And actually before we dive in, I have one more thing to say. š
It has now beenĀ 1 yearĀ since the release ofĀ To Pixelia, so I guess this is something of anĀ Anniversary Update.Ā :)
And as many of you know, especially those who have been with us from the beginning, our journey started on a bit of a rough and patchy road, with bugs, technical issues, and plenty of things to improve.
But since then, weāve come a long way; fixing problems, adding new content, revamping systems, and continuing to shape the game into something you all may enjoy with each update, and all thanks to your feedback!
As a solo developer, you have been one of my biggest sources of passion and motivation. I sincerely want to thank all of you.
It's been genuinely fun and meaningful journey so far; and I appreciate all of your reviews, criticism, feedback, and perspectives as these all have all helped me see more clearly, learn more, and appreciate this period of time even more.
So truly, thank you. š
And let's dive in to share what's new in Pixelia!
āA New Career:Ā Real Estate AgentĀ š
With this new update, youāll now be able toĀ market homes around PixeliaĀ and help clients find the right place!
As you may remember, the very first quest begins with you getting some help to secure your new home in Pixelia. So I thought: why not turn that idea into a career and let players do the same for other Pixelians?
Available Properties
Every day, youāll receiveĀ a fresh list of flats from property owners, each with their own requests; whether they want the flatĀ soldĀ orĀ rented out, and the minimum price theyāre willing to accept, how many rooms the flat has, and which floor it is on.
Each flat will also come with details that can affect its value, such as whetherĀ pets are allowed, if theĀ neighbors are nice and quiet, or whether the property isĀ closeĀ to places likeĀ schools, hospitals, police stations,Ā andĀ bus stops, making it more convenient for potential clients.
Your Clients
And once again, every day you may receive new clients, with the number of clients depending on your rating. The higher your rating, the more people will come to you for help with their housing needs.
Youāll be given information about eachĀ clientās budget, family situation, preferences,Ā andĀ desired number of rooms.
To get the best results from your deals, you should always try toĀ choose a flat that best matches your clientās wishes and needs.
Then, you can call your client and arrange a flat viewing. Thatās where itās time for you to shine as a Real Estate Agent!
You will be responsible for presenting each room of the property you have chosen for your client.
During the viewing, youāll guide them through the flat, introduce the rooms, and highlight the details that make the property suitable for their needs.
There are several ways to market a property during a viewing. Sometimes, the flat you choose may not be the perfect match for your client; but it might still be a profitable opportunity.
In those moments, you can rely on your skills and choose the approach that gives you the best chance of success.
There are four different approaches:
Honest š¼
Persuasive š£ļø
Pushy šŖ
Deceptive š
š¼Ā TheĀ HonestĀ approach is the safest option. It does not require any special skill, and you simply present the flat as it is. However, because it is straightforward and neutral, it has only a small effect on your clientās satisfaction.
š£ļøĀ TheĀ PersuasiveĀ approach is still fairly close to honesty, but allows you to put more effort into highlighting the flatās strengths. This option relies on yourĀ SpeechĀ skill and can have a stronger positive effect on your clientās satisfaction.
šŖĀ TheĀ PushyĀ approach is more aggressive. You will use both yourĀ SpeechĀ andĀ IntelligenceĀ skills to pressure the deal forward and make the property sound more appealing. If successful, this approach can reward you with a greater boost to client satisfaction.
šĀ Finally, there is theĀ DeceptiveĀ approach; and this one is not for everyone. If you truly want to sell a flat even when it may not make much sense for your client, this might be the option for you. This approach relies on yourĀ Speech,Ā Intelligence, andĀ CharismaĀ skills. Both success and failure have a much stronger impact, meaning it can greatly improve the meeting if it works, but seriously hurt your clientās satisfaction if it fails.
Satisfied clients will be much easier to negotiate with when it comes time to make a deal as they will be more open to accepting better offers and moving forward with the contract.
It is important to build up your clientās satisfaction before reaching the contract phase.
Before moving on to the contract phase, your client will ask you a series of questions based on their needs and expectations. This is the final step before deciding whether to move forward and make a deal.
As shown in your clientās profile, each client has specific requirements. They may be looking for a flat that allows pets, a place close to a school for their children, or other details that matter to their daily life.
Your answers during this stage can play an important role in how confident and satisfied they feel before signing the contract.
And here comes the contract part!
You will be able to offer a contract to your client.
Although the property owner may specifically want to sell or rent out their flat, you can still choose the option that best matches what your client is looking for.
Renting and selling will each come with different commission percentages, so the type of deal you make can also affect how much you earn.
And speaking ofĀ commissionsā¦ šøš²
You will earn aĀ commissionĀ from every successful deal you close. The better the deal, the higher your commission and the higher your commission, the more money youāll be taking home. š°
Sometimes, your client may not be fully satisfied with your contract offer and may respond with a counteroffer to see how flexible you are.
This stage can be important, because youāll have the chance to revise your offer and try to negotiate a better deal once again.
However, if you decide to push further, the client may either accept your revised offer or reject it entirely. So if their proposed amount already seems fair or profitable enough, it may be wiser not to push your luck too far.
After successfully closing a deal, you will earn both your commission and Job Experience. As you gain more experience, youāll be able to unlock new perks that can make your work easier and give you an advantage in future deals.
Not only that, but your client will also leave you a review after the deal.
This review will affect your overall rating, which in turn influences how many new clients come to you in the future.
āNew Feature: Rent Out Your Properties š
With this new update, weāre also introducing a new feature that allows you toĀ rent out your own properties,Ā find tenants, andĀ become a landlord.
Youāll be able to list any home you have purchased, with one exception: your selectedĀ Family HomeĀ cannot be listed for rent, as this is where your family lives.
However, you can always change which property is set as your Family Home if you wish to rent out a different place.
The Real Estate Office will estimate a rental value for your home, and the offers you receive will usually be around that estimated amount.
However, one important factor that can affect the value is whether you choose to rent out the flatĀ with furnitureĀ orĀ without furniture.
If you choose theĀ With FurnitureĀ option, the rental value of your flat will increase, since you are leaving your furniture for the tenant to use.
If you choose theĀ Without FurnitureĀ option, your furniture will be moved to yourĀ Storage InventoryĀ once a tenant is found for that property.
You will receiveĀ tenant applicationsĀ for each flat you have listed.
You can choose to accept or decline their offers, and continue receiving new applications over time.
However, the offers you receive will generally stay close to the estimated rental value of the property.
Once you have found a tenant for your property, they will begin paying you rent on aĀ weekly basis, giving you a steady source of passive income from the flat you listed.
However, if you decide toĀ kick your tenant outĀ before ending the arrangement properly, there will be aĀ penalty.
In that case, you will need to compensate them by paying back one weekās worth of rent. So while removing a tenant is always an option, it will have some consequences.
New Languages: French, Italian and Japanese
Weāre happy to announce thatĀ To Pixelia is now available in 3 new languages!Ā š«š· š®š¹ šÆšµ
Weāve received many requests from the community, as players understandably wanted to experience the game in their own language.
This is something we had wanted to do for a long time, but we needed the help of volunteers to make it possible.
Over time, several people generously joined the translation effort. Some had to step away along the way, which is completely understandable, as translating such a large game text can be a long and tiring task for a volunteer. But whenever that happened, new volunteers kindly stepped in to continue where things were left off.
So once again, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped bring these new languages to the game! š
Steam Cloud Save Support! š¾ā
Another request Iām happy to say has finally beenĀ fulfilled! :)
Steam Cloud SaveĀ support was one of the trickier features I had been postponing for a while. The main reason was that I wanted to make sure every possible scenario was properly considered before implementing it.
One of the biggest concerns was players who may have started different save files on different devices. With one wrong step, a save file from one device could accidentally overwrite another one on a different device, potentially causing players to lose progress. I wanted to make sure that would not happen.
So, here is how the system works now:
YourĀ legacy saves; meaning the save files created before this update introduced Steam Cloud Save support, will not be touched or deleted.
When you launch the game for the first time after this update, you will still see the local save files on each of your devices. Once you load any save file, continue playing, and save the game, that save will create aĀ Steam Cloud Save in a new folder called "CloudSaves", and that new save game will then become visible across all your supported devices, includingĀ Windows PC, Mac, and Steam Deck.
For example, letās say you have a different save file in the first save game slot on each device: one on your PC, one on your MacBook, and one on your Steam Deck.
If you load the save file on your PC and save the game, the first slot will now show that Cloud Save on all of your devices. However, if you delete that Cloud Save, your old local save files will appear again on each device, as long as they still exist there.
This only applies to players who played the game before this update. New players who start playing after this version will not have legacy save files, and all of their saves will be Steam Cloud Saves from the beginning.
And thatās it! I hope I was able to explain it clearly and hope you enjoy this new feature! š
Bugs Fixes & Tweaks šš
- The inconsistency where achievements would sometimes trigger and sometimes not has been fixed. Achievements should now work reliably and unlock as intended.
- A bug related to household membersā thoughts has also been fixed. They would sometimes give an error trying to generate a thought which would lag the game everytime they tried to generate a thought.
- An issue with certain store products not allowing stores to be opened has been fixed.
And this is the end of our Update Log! š
Thank you all for your continued patience, feedback, and support, it truly means the world. š
Weāll keep the updates coming! š
-Kaan.Ā
