Dear Retailers!
I know it has been silent from me for far too long. A lot has happened, and i deeply apologize for not keeping you in the loop about the world of King of Retail, and i can understand those of you who feel frustrated or left behind.
I have written a long post explaining why here:
Link to steam post
But other than that I am proud to announce:
Production has been ongoing for some time now, and the game is in an alpha state, which it will be for a while before it is ready to enter Early Access.
But like it was with King of Retail, i would like production to also be community driven making many of the features in the game inspired by your wishes and desires. The community have already been the source of many implementations already now.
Why will King of Retail 2 be different?
The core foundation of King of Retail was built with the knowledge we had at the time when we started making the game, which was not much. Building on that foundation created many limitations down the road, making many implementations hard to do, or completely impossible without redoing major parts of the game. Furthermore the game was built using a outdated software, making many things impossible to modernize without huge, time consuming, changes as well.
So starting a new game from scratch, allows for a much more solid and futureproof foundation. That means many of the things that were missing in the original game, can now be added and improved upon.
- Dynamic gameplay.
Jump in and out of your stores whenever you want during the day. Better simulation will make the stores feel more alive when you are not in them, increasing the dynamics and interactions between your stores. That means more things can happen, allowing higher emphasis on the CEO aspect of the game as well.
- A whole new world.
All buildings in the city are buyable, and have a different composition of customer segments. Place your stores EXACTLY where you want. A shortened year lets you watch the seasons pass, and will require you to adapt to the requirements and the various events. Even the weather will have an influence on how your day will be.
- Multi-level stores.
You will be allowed to make stores with multiple floors. making them bigger than ever.
- More HQ options
Your HQ will be the center of all your operations, letting you manage articles, orders, staff etc. in all stores from one location. Negotiate and earn reputation with your suppliers, unlocking exclusive deals and article lines to be sold at your store.
You will have to design your HQ, place offices and different areas, hire managers and personnel for your managers so they can perform their jobs even better.
- More differentiation.
You customers will be more unique. The Gray segment demands friendly service, but dont care about long queue times. The Blues puts less emphasis on cleanliness and service, as long as they can shop in a hurry. As your customers will be more unique, you will have to be more specific about who will be your main target group.
Articles groups will also be more unique. A grocery store, will be about managing and selling many small items, meaning bigger emphasis on storage management, but less direct sales. Electronics is more about having the right sales personnel, to convince the customers. Clothes will be heavily affected by weather and seasons, and appliances will need a separate checkout for these bulky articles. Each category should provide a new challenge.
Articles will also change in trends, meaning your star product today, is not necessarily your star product next week requiring you to follow along on what is selling, and what is not.
- Staff changes
Staff will be more in depth, having more stats that influence their behavior. They can be organized in "teams", where their internal relationships affect their performance, learning and mood. Staff will age, and have life events happening to them. They will become more like persons, and less like robots working for you.
- More customization.
Use the new display designer to create your own unique displays. In general there will be more possibilities and more options to customize your store.
- Better graphics.
Using the new Unreal Engine, much better, and more realistic graphics will be possible. Better animations and better graphics will increase the immersion of the game.
- ...and many, many other things.
Here are some screenshots of the current game:
In short King of Retail 2 will be more detailed in many of the aspects that were missing in the original game, while still sticking to the roots that made it popular to begin with, mainly being a third person retail store simulator.
If you are interested in following along, and maybe even getting access to the alpha, you can join the discord and the journey of making a new King of Retail here:
You can also preview and wishlist King of Retail 2
That was it for now. I hope you will join in on the development of King of Retail 2, so we can make it the best game it can become.
Thanks for reading, and take care.
Kind regards
Daniel
