Update 1.8.0 Preview

Hola everyone!

Well, a certain someone jumped the gun and shared out a few things early in the week, but she's cute, so I guess we'll forgive her. It's time for preview season! 1.8.0 has been a treat for Luciana and I , with an opportunity to really re-evaluate every part of Paradise Heights and take the time to adjust and apply polish. As a result, 1.8.0 is our most wide-ranging update thus far, with almost every part of the game being touched, adjusted, or shined up in some way or another. 

We're thrilled to get this out to you, but with the new comes a little bad that I want to lead with. We've done a good job of preserving save compatibility here in Paradise Heights, but this update proved a bridge too far. Too many systems and variables are changed, recalculated, or moved within the file for us to rebuild. As a result, Older Saves Will Not Be Compatible With 1.8.0. However, we do still have the 'Skip Intro' and 'Skip to Chapter 2' functions to help you get going. With all the new features though, if you've been planning a replay, this would be a wonderful time to do it. We have every intent to maintain compatibility for future updates, but unfortunately this one will demand a new file.

We've got a few more weeks before release and we may find the time to squeeze in a few more additions, but I wanted to give you an overview of what we've got coming down the pipe. We've got a lot to cover, so lets get going!


Energy Rebalancing and Building Redesign

When 1.8.0 was voted in, I instantly knew what was at the top of my list. The 'game' in Paradise Heights had always been pretty simple. You build locations primarily to meet new characters and advance the plot, and they pay for themselves within an in-game week most of the time. As a result, maximizing your money is simply a matter of buying as much as possible as early as possible, without a lot of choices. There was also a numerical issue. With the only things to buy producing more energy in perpetuity, the amount of energy we had to charge to make it noteworthy was increasing exponentially. If we ever got to chapter 3, new buildings would have to cost 20,000 energy to even register for players.

Yet, at the same time, not everyone is here for the gameplay, so while the system should be interesting enough for those who pay attention, it should also work -okay- for those who just want to hunt goth sissies in the food court. After some thought and iteration, I think the new system accomplishes just that.

First, you'll notice energy gains (and costs) have been downsized across the board. This should hopefully make it easier to track what is going on with your tower. Next, buildings are much less static. In paradise, some visitors are worth more than others in teaching the tower new tricks and, after some time of gathering information, the tower will be ready to level up its game.  For a small expenditure of energy, you'll raise its base energy per day, providing greater returns as your buildings level up!

But if that's just the 'base' energy, how do we get it higher? That's where you come in. Each building in Paradise now has a management modifier. To start with, this modifier can be as low as 75% or as high as 150%, and it will go up each time you work in that location! Getting distracted with an 'intimate' encounter might only raise it a little, but will also attract some extra visitors that day, while remaining focused will increase the value a whole lot more. Of course, over time things will quickly decline back to the minimum values, but you might be able to find a few ways to slow down that process.

But that's not all! Each building now also has a 'mode' of operation you can select, each of which gets more powerful with every level gained. By default, every location is run in the 'Basic Management' mode, which increases that location's energy production. However, the other two modes may be more powerful for particular builds, because they apply to the entire tower! Do you want to slow down your beautiful management modifier's decay? Turn on 'Eye In The Sky' in the Security Office and keep those employees moving! Want to get a bonus blip of energy any time you engage in a bit of dominance? Turn on 'Big Breeder Energy' in Shakes 'n Sundaes!

All this means that the buildings will no longer be static, but part of a grand strategy all your own. Which segues nicely to...

Special Abilities

At the start of chapter 2, Lazren teaches you how to utilize a soul gem's power to teach yourself a new trick, granting you the option of changing your character's coloration. However, you've already gathered many soul gems in the course of your activities, so what about those? Well, starting in this update, you've got options!

Each ability you want to buy will cost not only a bit of energy but also one of your hard won soul gems (don't worry, they still count toward chapter advancement). As a result, these are some of your most precious spends, and almost anything mechanical can be adjusted to your taste. You'll advance through lovely tier 1 abilities, pick up some powerful tier 2 abilities, and finally top things off with one of the super potent tier 3s!

Not really into all this management stuff? Go the Lazren route and get a little lazy. Raise all your locations minimum management modifier sky high, add a modifier to your daily energy gain, and maybe throw in an energy bonus whenever you enjoy one of your employees. Your locations will be all but operating perfectly without you lifting a finger!

Want to take a more active role? No problem! Raise your maximum management modifier to the moon, slow down the rate of decay, and increase the modifier gained each time you visit. After a week, all your locations will be making double their normal output and you'll be sitting pretty!

The choice will be yours. Find your own combinations of building modes and abilities to make the game exactly what you're after...or don't! 'Base Management' will be perfectly functional and will retain a lot of that classic Paradise Heights charm, so you won't be forced to engage with the parts of the system you don't like.

We still aren't done!

New Faces

Okay, Okay, we said this one wasn't going to have any new art, but we just couldn't resist. New options means new locations, and new locations means some new employees to help you manage them.

Joining you at the start of chapter 1, Selene will be a trustworthy companion throughout the game. This Naga woman serves as your vault, a storage unit for the energy you've got coming in the tower. She can only take so much, though, and you might be forced to make a few 'expansions' over time to increase her capacity. Don't worry, I'm sure you can think of one or two things you'd like to enlarge for her!

Meanwhile, after Lazren's visit in Chapter 2, you'll be picking up a pair of new hires. Munokho and Kagar are a couple of lean, green, training machines, and they'll be whipping you into shape to help you master your new special abilities. As a married couple, they come as a package deal, so be sure not to bite off more than you can chew!

All three new characters will be introduced in 1.8.0 and available for expansion in future updates (Think Mason or Mammon as to their current implementation).

But we're STILL not done.

Cheevos, Employee Files, and Quality of Life Improvements

Getting into the innards of Paradise has also given us the time to add in all sorts of things we've been longing for. You'll notice a lot of slick new adjustments to our sidebar, and a couple of new toys and buttons to help make the new management options easy to keep track of. Things are shinier, prettier, and we're super happy with the improvements.

We've also added a delightful employee database page keeping track of the personal stories of all your favorite hires, bosses, and guest stars. Can't remember how a date went? Check your files and remember exactly how it went down. Special props to Luciana on these, because I think they look amazing.

And finally, big news, we're adding achievements to the game! For those of you who like to see absolutely everything, we've got some fun little carrots to offer you. See if you can collect them all and really make Lazren proud!

Whew, and that's it, at least for now! We hope you're as excited for this update as we are! We'll have another post coming next week where we look ahead to update 1.9.0 and our first Dealer's Choice selection. Then it'll be run up time to release and watching you all enjoy (and break) all our new systems!

Happy Hunting!

Cambion and Luciana