Hello Ambitioneers
The time is nearly upon us for the Big Ambitions 1.0 release! Thank you all for your support during our early access period as we've developed and tweaked Big Ambitions with your encouragement and feedback!
And don't worry - this isn't the end! We are still planning more updates, content releases and eventually a couple DLCs! The adventure will continue!
Let's take a sneak peek at the amazing things coming in 1.0!
Hamptons - New Neighborhood
New small retail area
The Hamptons is mostly a residential area, but it still has a fancy retail strip as well!
In addition to some new spots for you to run your businesses, you will also find a few new luxury stores!
Hamptons Mansions
Have you outgrown your penthouse suite in Manhattan? Do you have a few million dollars to spend? Then come buy a home in the Hamptons.
Some of these homes already belong to a few familiar names from the city. Uncle Fred and his golf nemesis Richard have homes in the area, and you'll also find the homes of your special rivals - unless you've already driven them out of the city!
But scattered through the Hamptons are homes you can buy for yourself! And if you're feeling super fancy - be sure to get a home in a gated community with a private dock!
Private Driver
The very highly requested Private Driver has arrived and is waiting for you at Onyx Luxury Chauffeurs.
First, you'll need a ride. You can use any vehicle, from Uncle Fred's cheap Honza, to the luxury Anselmo. Or maybe grab the fancy, new Onyx-exclusive Limo. It's up to you - this is your ride, after all!
Next, set up a contract with Onyx Luxury Chauffeurs, and drop your vehicle off in their garage. Now you can summon your driver to your side whenever you need a quick ride!
Speedy Bites Food Delivery
We've heard you - you want food delivered right to your home or business.
Well now you can! Call up Speedy Bites and get food delivered fast!
And if you need to make some quick cash, make some Speedy Bites deliveries yourself!
Banking Revamp
The Banking system got a few upgrades as well!
Negative Interest
Bye! While negative interest is real, it's not very common, and we decided it was time to get rid of it!
It's your money - use it how you'd like!
Loans
Loans now require more income to qualify and carry higher interest rates and minimum daily payments.
But you can now get a larger maximum loan from Vantander Bank and can make partial payments on your loans!
Investments
Investments now support daily auto-investing and show more detailed growth information.
And you can now partially withdrawal your funds without closing the entire account!
Taxes
Taxes have been rebalanced with more deductions to encourage yearly growth and help offset your taxes owed. Late taxes now carry a 10% fee, but you can make partial payments on your taxes if you cannot pay the full amount!
Taxes are also now included in the Econoview panel, showing if you currently owe anything, and giving an estimate for next year's taxes.
Minigames
We have three new options to pass some time in-game while waiting to set up your next business.
Brick Breaker - Computer Game
First up - now you can actually play a computer game on your home computers. Of course, you can still just "skip time" if you want, or you can also play "Brick Breaker" to pass some time!
Halcyon Fairway - Golf Driving Range
Next up - once you've purchased a home in the Hamptons, it's time to hit the driving Range.
Land your ball inside targets to earn points!
A Racket of Love - Tennis Court
And finally - another exclusive for Hamptons homeowners: the tennis court.
Defeat your opponents on the courts just like your smash your rivals in business!
HQ Pricing Manager Employee
We have one more highly requested feature to show off - the new Pricing Manager!
With this new employee, you can update prices of all items in an entire neighborhood at once. Higher-skilled employees will also suggest the best prices each day!
QoL / UI
Energy has been revamped to burn faster when hunger and happiness is lower. As long as you eat a couple times a day and keep your happiness half-filled, you should be good!
Clicking on the nightclub dance floor will bring up the dancing options, which will also boost your happiness!
Exporting goods now impacts the import index, so if you export too much, it will drop the import/export price of that item for the rest of that week, so make sure you're not overproducing!
Items at the store now tell you their customer capacity as well as if they have any requirements (like being placed on a cabinet)
Inventory is more evenly distributed in your stores.
Example - If you have two empty cash registers and only 1 box of paper bags, the first empty cash register will only take half of the available inventory
Move Candidate "Recruitment Source" to Candidate pop up with more details on where the employee was recruited from
Collapsible Scheduler Filters
Sit down while reading
Rename workstations from inside the business
Import orders aren't cancelled if your Purchasing Agent is sick
Importers UI now show the box size when ordering
Adjusted a few achievements to be a little more realistic like Aging and the Casino Winnings
You can now call and cancel:
Moving Services
Truck Deliveries
"Delete All Contacts" now only works when selected on a category to prevent accidently deleting ALL your contacts with one click
Business School doors are more visible now, even when walls are hidden
Can hold shift to navigate faster in VoogleMaps
Game pauses after the player passes out and ends up in the hospital
If you click "Call Marketing" for a business' BizMan page, it automatically connects your store to the marketing dialog
Declutter the Purchasing Agent UI tab
Declutter HQ section of BizMan overview to not include "linked businesses" for deliveries
Add large number separators in warehouse inventory page
Default layouts now include lights in the bathrooms
Added decimal points to the employee wages so you can see their exact wages
Cleaned up the MyEmployee / Candidates pages
Made the graph toggle/buttons more obviously clickable for the Rivals and Insights graphs
Increased weekly order limit for popcorn
Can reorder Logistics Manager and Purchasing Agent delivery lists to better control the order things are delivered
Storage Shelves can also be used in warehouses/factories
Added some space between items on the street to help prevent getting stuck after parking your car
Input boxes that pop up (requesting loans, setting a home for sale, etc) should automatically be focused so you can type in your input and hit enter to submit
Made rivals more aggressive in their attacks
Can sit while holding a paper bag
Can eat while seated or watching a show
NPC vehicles use turn signals
27 new achievements
Tutorial Fixes/Updates
Fixed "Buy Fridge" quest doesn't automatically complete if you eat early
Fixed buying a table didn't complete the quest to buy a desk and play games
Updated the quest for hiring employees to be more dynamic. If you have a gym or hairdresser, it will direct you toward those employees
Update "buy an existing business" quest, so even if you shut down the business and start a new one, it completes the following quest to get inventory
Added some more guidance "fingers" to a few sections like the HQ
Bug Fixes
Prevent repeating tracks from playing again right after skipping time
Prevent Food from being lost when a paper bag is put in the fridge
Fixed issue where a headhunter wouldn't find their own replacement before leaving, and no replacement would ever show up
Fixed "Delete broken save" button didn't do anything
Fixed Cash Register capacity wasn't showing up in the Blueprint Creator when creating nightclubs
Fixed exiting underground parking on a scooter sent you to the void
Fixed can get stuck driving during a car wash
Fixed vehicles don't consume fuel while skipping the bridge
Fixed display issue for buildings that cost more than $2 billion
Fixed can't pack up cash register with packing tool
Fixed if you open the mini menu while in VoogleMaps, the game un-pauses
Fixed can get stuck in the entrance of some buildings' exteriors
Fixed DJs and Coat Check employees weren't being counted for customer service score
Fixed errors from eating food while setting up an activity
Fixed can't click Cleaning Station in Interior Designer mode if a hidden wall was between you and the cleaning station
Fixed incorrect building icon when owning a building a riding the subway
Fixed when working at the store register, the last hour of business wouldn't get customers
Fixed the loading point for the yacht was in the wrong location
Fixed items/products weren't being sorted by their localized value in the MarketInsider
Fixed Uncle Fred would repeat his dialog twice if you completely skipped a task
Fixed holding WASD while painting in the Interior Designer mode would continue painting after releasing the mouse
Fixed a few issues when typing in furniture delivery numbers
Fixed bug with selling a table with attachments
Fixed issue with new messages no scrolling all the way down in the Contacts app
Fixed issues where warehouse/factory logistics manager lists weren't updating properly if you switched warehouse business type
Fixed Scheduler UI wouldn't line up properly if you scaled the UI
Fixed issue if you preview a theater while you're in a building where someone is using the toilet
Fixed some issues caused by "using your OS number formatting"
Fixed navigation would get stuck around two of the recycling bins
Fixed pedestrians weren't stopping at the crosswalks
Fixed factories wouldn't produce if there were limited shelves, even if there was some room available.
Fixed camera wouldn't zoom in-game if you had entered the blueprint creator first
Fixed can terminate a contract while you're inside the building if you are doing an activity
Fixed rival would message you after being defeated if you defeated them without triggering the rivalry
Fixed umbrellas weren't showing their custom color after being equipped from an umbrella stand
Fixed old rivals alerts wouldn't clear if the rival attack had already ended
Fixed MyEmployee dropdown freezes for a while after long play sessions
Fixed issue sometimes causing HQs to not be open any days after using the movers
Fixed Casino winnings didn't deduct losses before taxes
Fixed some issues with auto park
Causing you to park on your own cars or scooters
Not allowing you to auto park in the space you just pulled out of
Auto park indicator not disabling properly if you loaded in while in the car
From the very bottom of our hearts, thank you for going on this ambitious journey with us.
Whether you've been following since EA 0.1 (or even before), or whether you joined recently, we appreciate your being part of our community!
And the ambition hasn't peaked yet! We have a few more updates coming over the next several months and then after that, we will have our first DLC! ~ Hovgaard Games, and the Big Ambitions Team
