Yes its true! after all these years, Democracy has finally returned to steam! Democracy 4 is now in Early Access, and your people are eagerly awaiting (or dreading!) your leadership! So far the game supports English-language only on PC (but more languages are coming soon), and we have the following coutrnies in need of governing: The USA! The UK! France! Germany! Canada! Democracy 4 already has steam achievements and steam workshop support, and a full modding guide is available.
If you have ever found yourself getting angry in online debates about what the government should do, now is your chance to prove conclusively that you could do a better job. Its actually way harder than it sounds, especially if you think you will be able to stick to your principles AND win re-election over multiple terms... What will people think when you legalize LSD? when you double alcohol tax? when you give the police machineguns? when you force everybody to sing the national anthem? Will they be happy you introduced Universal Basic Income? Democracy 4 is $26.99 Go grab a copy and take control of the country :D https://store.steampowered.com/app/1410710/Democracy_4/

[ 2020-10-07 18:30:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Exciting times! Not only does today mark the first Presidential election debate in the US, its just a week away from the launch into early access of our political strategy game Democracy 4. If you want to try your hand at implementing Universal Basic Income, or maybe you want to ban teaching evolution in schools, perhaps build a border wall, or legalize heroin, or go crazy with the money printer with some helicopter money or quantitative easing... these are all options available to you in Democracy 4. Currently the game features the USA, UK, Germany and France, and we expect to add Canada before Early Access starts, with a list of other countries coming after that as we continue to work on the game in response to player feedback. Here is the official trailer: https://youtu.be/kuJGiYC4cyg I also just added a new steam guide that explains how people can create mods for the game, which we support through steam workshop: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2242250360 ...and we will add a steam guide for basic gameplay soon too (although this is also built in to the game just by hitting F1...). I'm also doing developer videos on youtube every other week to go over whats been added to the game where you can see how it plays, and you will already find some youtube lets play videos of early builds of the game. If you are thinking of getting the game (its $26.99 BTW), then please add to your wishlist now and help us get more visibility on the store :D https://store.steampowered.com/app/1410710

[ 2020-09-29 09:53:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Great news fellow citizens! The latest installment in the geeky-but-popular political strategy game 'Democracy' series is coming to steam very soon, in a US election year no less. Just imagine how calm and peaceful our forums will be :D Its been 7, yes SEVEN years since the release of Democracy 3, and global politics has changed a lot. Democracy 4 takes the series into the modern age with new features like coalition governments, media reports, Quantitative Easing & Helicopter money, Fake news and Social Media. Here is the trailer: https://youtu.be/kuJGiYC4cyg Democracy 4 will be released soon on steam, so please check out the store page and add it to your wishlist to keep up to date with developments. We will be coming to early access, so will have plenty of opportunity to get feedback from players on how to best balance the game, and what cool new policies to add. Before you start typing, YES, Universal Basic Income is a policy in the game :D And yes, we are modelling cryptocurrencies too :D As well as updating what the game covers, D4 has a revamped user-interface using slick vector graphics to dynamically resize the main screen icons based on a number of factors, and allow for infinite modding potential. We also have a palletized color system so you can play in dark mode (and soon...colorblind modes). Without a doubt D4 is the very best version of the game, and we are very excited to share it with steam players soon.
By the way, most of the features and policies from all the Democracy 3 expansions are rolled into Democracy 4 base game, so we have all the electioneering features, and policies from extremism (plus some new policies that go further, like border walls), social engineering and clones & drones. Plus there are some new screens and visualisations that are completely new for this game, like the voter distribution screens and the disposable income breakdown.
Anyway... we are very excited about releasing this game, and if you are interested in playing, go ahead and bash that wishlist button :D https://store.steampowered.com/app/1410710/Democracy_4/?beta=0

[ 2020-09-03 11:29:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi there! We are releasing our second expansion to Production Line: Car Factory simulation on the 23rd October! This expansion is a cosmetic-only change to double (yes DOUBLE) the variety of car design styles in the game! You can now pick from 2 different looks for every car design in the base game (Sedan,SUV,Sports,Compact,Offroad,Pickup & Small van). Mini trailer showing the new designs: https://youtu.be/LkRcorWhNcc Here is the store page so you can add the DLC to your wishlist :D https://store.steampowered.com/app/1174730/Production_Line__Design_Variety_Pack/ Plus if you have not checked out the game for a while, please do as we have released a whole bunch of updates over the last few months that massively improve the playability, performance and stability of the game, mostly in response to player feedback, which has been excellent. Oh and if you enjoy the game but have not got around to reviewing it, leaving a positive review is REALLY appreciated :D Oh and if you bought the game way, way back when it first entered early access...you will not be aware that we already released one expansion for the game, which added both a supercar design and the silly doors on the cars of millionaires and billionaires, appropriately titled 'doors that go like this', which you will find here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1067630/Doors_that_go_like_this/ How can you run a sprawling car factory without gull wing doors? :D BTW we keep this forum thread up to date to tell people what changes we make to the game, so you can see if an idea you have for the game is already being worked on: https://steamcommunity.com/app/591370/discussions/0/1290690926863304299/ Thanks for all your support. production Line has over 100,000 happy steam players and that makes us very very proud (and pays for food for 3, yes THREE cats). :D

[ 2019-10-15 15:06:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Changelog

• Switch OSX version to 64bit-only rather than universal (32+64bit) to avoid warning on OSX Catalina.
• Fixed bug which freezes game if you do a clinical trial on a drug with no cure (M&M DLC only)

[ 2019-10-12 14:20:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey guys, small patch with a couple of features to keep the game up-to-date and running in tip-top condition.

• Updated OSX version to 64bit to comply with latest Apple guidelines.
• Added official 4K support.

[ 2019-03-05 12:05:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

From the creator of Big Pharma comes a brand new economic simulation game. Megaquarium follows in the footsteps of classic theme park management tycoon games and adds an aquatic spin!

A living simulation

Starting with just a few tanks and the most basic of livestock, you’ll grow your aquarium to a thronging metropolis filled with hundreds of guests, tens of staff and a multitude of different aquatic lifeforms, each with their own unique care requirements. For more information check out the Megaquarium store page. https://store.steampowered.com/app/600480/Megaquarium/

[ 2018-09-13 10:16:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mini patch. There seemed to be some issues with how the game tried to select the correct language the first time the game was run. This patch makes the game default to the language Steam is currently running in. You can still manually change the language in the in-game options like before, but hopefully this will make the game's first guess right most of the time. Any unforeseen issues, let me know! Tim

[ 2018-05-25 12:59:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Exciting news! From today Big Pharma is now available in Simplified Chinese, opening up the game to millions of new people. I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome all the new players. If you run into any problems with the translation, please let me know via the Discussions page here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/344850/discussions/ EDIT: Or email me at support@twicecircled.com

[ 2018-05-01 14:32:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another mini patch. Turns out there was a strange resolution bug which has been in the game for quite some time. steamfacepalm Should be all fixed now! If anyone experiences any strange side-effects to do with screen resolutions please let me know via a new topic in the Discussion board. Thanks.

[ 2018-02-07 12:02:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another mini patch. Turns out there was a strange resolution bug which has been in the game for quite some time. ːsteamfacepalmː Should be all fixed now! If anyone experiences any strange side-effects to do with screen resolutions please let me know via a new topic in the Discussion board. Thanks.

[ 2018-02-07 12:02:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mini patch! In the last update I introduced a bug which made some mods incompatible. All fixed now. steamhappy

[ 2018-01-02 10:44:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mini patch! In the last update I introduced a bug which made some mods incompatible. All fixed now. ːsteamhappyː

[ 2018-01-02 10:44:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Here's a little holiday gift! This update contains a number of small bug fixes and requests I've received over the last few months. There's nothing major but I thought this would be a nice time of year to say thank you to everybody who is playing the game and to demonstrate my commitment to keep it updated and running as smoothly as your ingeniously designed production lines! Enjoy! steamhappy

Changelog

• Added a dropdown menu to Packer so that you can choose to pack less than the maximum.
• Added note to mod manager saying that achievements are disabled when mods are active.
• Updated description on Megalines challenge so that it says "treating different cures" when you hover over.
• Added requirements for Expert and Master for 'The One and Only'.
• Fixed bug where medals that were just unlocked would disappear if you went to the menu and back.
• Fixed bug when modding where strings in MM/string-xx.data were ignored.

Any issues with the latest patch, please let me know! Also, in case anybody is interested, my latest game which is still in development, Megaquarium, is now available to wishlist! Due out mid 2018. http://store.steampowered.com/app/600480/Megaquarium/

[ 2017-12-13 11:09:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Here's a little holiday gift! This update contains a number of small bug fixes and requests I've received over the last few months. There's nothing major but I thought this would be a nice time of year to say thank you to everybody who is playing the game and to demonstrate my commitment to keep it updated and running as smoothly as your ingeniously designed production lines! Enjoy! ːsteamhappyː

Changelog

• Added a dropdown menu to Packer so that you can choose to pack less than the maximum.
• Added note to mod manager saying that achievements are disabled when mods are active.
• Updated description on Megalines challenge so that it says "treating different cures" when you hover over.
• Added requirements for Expert and Master for 'The One and Only'.
• Fixed bug where medals that were just unlocked would disappear if you went to the menu and back.
• Fixed bug when modding where strings in MM/string-xx.data were ignored.

Any issues with the latest patch, please let me know! Also, in case anybody is interested, my latest game which is still in development, Megaquarium, is now available to wishlist! Due out mid 2018. http://store.steampowered.com/app/600480/Megaquarium/

[ 2017-12-13 11:09:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone, I've just released the latest patch for Big Pharma. There are no major new features but I've fixed a few bugs and added a couple of small things that get requested every now and again and were easy for me to add. Here's the changelog: ːsteamhappyː

Changelog

• Added a count for the "maker" (Pill Printer, Creamer etc.) upgrades on the research tab.
• Added option to disable upgrade point indicators in video settings.
• Fixed a bug where if you clicked on the analyzer directly after loading up a game you could cause a weird graphical issue.
• Fixed bug where hover-over details on cures, on the cure tab would get hidden if you changed tabs while hovering over them.
• Fixed bug where if two ingredients randomly generated the same name they would cause graphical error on ingredients tab (kinda embarrassed by this one, let's just say I'm a much better programmer than I was two years ago ːsteamfacepalmː).

I've also attempted to fix the relatively common issue where the game does not shut down properly on some Windows 10 machines. The current fix for this is to run the game in compatibility mode but I'm hoping the change I've made might stop the problem. It's a bit of a shot in the dark because I can't reproduce the bug at my end. If anyone with this issue could try the game with compatibility mode off and let me know if it has helped, I would be very appreciative. Tim

[ 2017-04-07 13:15:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone, I've just released the latest patch for Big Pharma. There are no major new features but I've fixed a few bugs and added a couple of small things that get requested every now and again and were easy for me to add. Here's the changelog: steamhappy

Changelog

• Added a count for the "maker" (Pill Printer, Creamer etc.) upgrades on the research tab.
• Added option to disable upgrade point indicators in video settings.
• Fixed a bug where if you clicked on the analyzer directly after loading up a game you could cause a weird graphical issue.
• Fixed bug where hover-over details on cures, on the cure tab would get hidden if you changed tabs while hovering over them.
• Fixed bug where if two ingredients randomly generated the same name they would cause graphical error on ingredients tab (kinda embarrassed by this one, let's just say I'm a much better programmer than I was two years ago steamfacepalm).

I've also attempted to fix the relatively common issue where the game does not shut down properly on some Windows 10 machines. The current fix for this is to run the game in compatibility mode but I'm hoping the change I've made might stop the problem. It's a bit of a shot in the dark because I can't reproduce the bug at my end. If anyone with this issue could try the game with compatibility mode off and let me know if it has helped, I would be very appreciative. Tim

[ 2017-04-07 13:14:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just pushed out v1.07.10. There were a couple of bugs introduced in the last patch which this one fixes.

Changelog

• Fixed bug where you could no longer export products with boosters in them ːsteamfacepalmː
• Fixed bug where scrollbar on company tab no longer showed

Thank you to those that let me know about these bugs and please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused. Please let me know if you see anything else off. :)

[ 2016-12-17 18:03:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just pushed out v1.07.10. There were a couple of bugs introduced in the last patch which this one fixes.

Changelog

• Fixed bug where you could no longer export products with boosters in them steamfacepalm
• Fixed bug where scrollbar on company tab no longer showed

Thank you to those that let me know about these bugs and please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused. Please let me know if you see anything else off. :)

[ 2016-12-17 18:00:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey guys, Tim here with another patch for Big Pharma. This one contains some nice quality of life improvements for the UI and a series of bug fixes. The standout feature is the addition of socket labels to the factory floor. The labels that appear next to each socket depends on whether it is an import or export socket. For import sockets you'll see the cure name or booster and any catalysts that are present in the ingredient. This should hopefully make it much easier to see at a glance what raw ingredients you have to work with and whether there are any opportunities to split a line of ingredients between multiple products e.g. a booster between two half speed lines. For export sockets you'll see the name of the product, color-coded by the highest level of cure that is active in it. Green for level 1, blue for 2, purple for 3 and so on. Assuming you give your products memorable names, or use the standard names which give a pretty large hint, this should make it much easier to remember what products you are producing where in your factory. You can toggle these new socket labels on and off using the new buttons in the top right corner of the screen. One of them toggles the existing socket bubbles, the other toggles the labels. Hope you like the new feature. Below are all the other bits and bobs I've managed to get in.

Changelog

• Preview on ingredients screen now shows ALL catalysts rather than just the first one.
• Added import count to ingredients on the ingredients screen so it's easier to work out which one to upgrade.
• Fixed a bug where adding additional boosters in a custom game caused an error.
• Changed the code used to quit to the game to potentially solve this issue.
• Fixed bug where unfinished product button appeared when it shouldn't with the drug packer.
• Made it so that drug packers that accept alternating ingredients will maintain a 1-a-day speed. They won't condense the number of drugs at all (drug packers can only pack identical drugs) but at least it won't slow down if you misuse it by accident.
• Updated socket positions in buildings.
• Fixed bug where you could select machines from different menus with hotkeys if the current menu didn't have that number of machines.

As always please let me know if you notice any bugs with this new patch. I am going away from the 20th December and won't be able to do another update until the new year, so if you notice something let me know ASAP. Enjoy and Happy Holidays! :D

[ 2016-12-16 16:18:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey guys, Tim here with another patch for Big Pharma. This one contains some nice quality of life improvements for the UI and a series of bug fixes. The standout feature is the addition of socket labels to the factory floor. The labels that appear next to each socket depends on whether it is an import or export socket. For import sockets you'll see the cure name or booster and any catalysts that are present in the ingredient. This should hopefully make it much easier to see at a glance what raw ingredients you have to work with and whether there are any opportunities to split a line of ingredients between multiple products e.g. a booster between two half speed lines. For export sockets you'll see the name of the product, color-coded by the highest level of cure that is active in it. Green for level 1, blue for 2, purple for 3 and so on. Assuming you give your products memorable names, or use the standard names which give a pretty large hint, this should make it much easier to remember what products you are producing where in your factory. You can toggle these new socket labels on and off using the new buttons in the top right corner of the screen. One of them toggles the existing socket bubbles, the other toggles the labels. Hope you like the new feature. Below are all the other bits and bobs I've managed to get in.

Changelog

• Preview on ingredients screen now shows ALL catalysts rather than just the first one.
• Added import count to ingredients on the ingredients screen so it's easier to work out which one to upgrade.
• Fixed a bug where adding additional boosters in a custom game caused an error.
• Changed the code used to quit to the game to potentially solve this issue.
• Fixed bug where unfinished product button appeared when it shouldn't with the drug packer.
• Made it so that drug packers that accept alternating ingredients will maintain a 1-a-day speed. They won't condense the number of drugs at all (drug packers can only pack identical drugs) but at least it won't slow down if you misuse it by accident.
• Updated socket positions in buildings.
• Fixed bug where you could select machines from different menus with hotkeys if the current menu didn't have that number of machines.

As always please let me know if you notice any bugs with this new patch. I am going away from the 20th December and won't be able to do another update until the new year, so if you notice something let me know ASAP. Enjoy and Happy Holidays! :D

[ 2016-12-16 16:18:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey guys, quite a big patch this one with lots of little UI improvements and bug fixes. Nothing that's really game changing but all of it based on community requests/feedback.

Changelog

• Improved ingredient generation so that there is guaranteed (I really hope this time!) 1 of each 1st level cure in Free Build mode.
• Fixed ingredient generation so that ingredients with boosters can have any starting concentration.
• Fixed multiple cure product sales getting counted twice.
• Price changing buttons in M&M DLC change quicker the longer you hold them.
• Added a leave game button to the tutorial window.
• Fixed typo in first tutorial.
• First right click deletes stock gate only, instead of entire belt.
• Corrected color of fixed direction corner belts.
• Stop AI from adding two boosters of the same type to a product.
• Cannot forget products with trials in progress or complete but not confirmed.
• Cannot dismiss a trial complete message.
• Removed superfluous "Max strength concentration" from boosters - it had no gameplay effect.
• Changed hit box on options menu to stop clicks passing through to the Marketing and Malpractice enable/disable button.
• Added a missing string to the Polish translation.
• Added "icon" tag to research.data so that mods can create new research projects but borrow the icons from official game research projects.

For the next patch I'm hoping to get some more notable UI improvements in, again based on suggestions from the community. As always, please let me know if you notice any new bugs after playing with this update. Keep the feedback coming and I hope you continue to enjoy the game. :) Tim

[ 2016-10-21 11:41:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Save 66% on Big Pharma as part of this week's Weekend Deal*!

As the head of your own Pharmaceutical Conglomerate you have this power resting in your hands. Will you use it for good? Being totally altruistic may not be the best business plan. The uncomfortable truth (is there an ointment for that?) is that some remedies are more profitable than others and illness is good for business.

*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2016-09-22 17:07:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey all, just another small patch with a few more bug fixes. Details below.

Changelog

• Fixed bug introduced in the last patch where cures could not be permanently "cured".
• Fixed bug where Genius perk did not affect the ETA on research items with no researchers assigned (did not affect gameplay).
• Fixed bug where AI would incorrectly use player upgrade levels for Pill Maker, Syringe, Creamer and Sachet.

[ 2016-07-26 11:46:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Changelog

• Tweaked ingredient price fluctuation and capped at extreme values to prevent erratic behaviour.
• Fixed bug where ingredients prices would saturate quicker at lower basic demand values, which is the opposite to desired behaviour.
• Fixed bug where tick number would stop increasing in very long games (500 years+!)
• Added alphabetical sort to the active effects column on the company tab.
• Fixed a typo in event text.

[ 2016-07-12 13:57:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Big Pharma v1.07.00 brings with it improved AI, balance improvements and all-round goody goodness. Note: In this update I have added borderless window mode to the Windows version. If you are curently using the "-popupwindow" launch command, you should remove it and switch to borderless window mode via the options panel in-game.

Here are the specifics:

• Added Polish language support for the DLC.
• AI can use the multimixer and shaker more efficiently now. This means that they follow you up the tech tree more effectively. Expect the AI to be hot at your heels for the entire game now.
• Improved AI pricing algorithms in Marketing and Malpractice DLC.
• AIs don't patent things quite as often.
• AIs now have staggered start times so they don't all flood the market at the same time in the early game.
• Reduced the extent to which ingredient prices increase in base game in reaction to oversaturation. It was squeezing low level cures too intensely.
• Increased value of all level 1 and some level 2 cures in base game.
• In the base game, there are now only 2 AIs in Advanced, Quick Start and Room to Maneuver scenarios. This is balanced by the improved AI algorithms mentioned above.
• Fixed bug where hover for "Average Saturation" was shown on the wrong column on the company tab.
• Fixed some typos in event text.
• Machine process times can never go below 1 (was possible before using mods).

To summarise, I've tried to decrease the difficulty in the early game which was caused by all the AIs rushing the market and filling it with level 1 and 2 cures. This is balanced by a more difficult mid and end game because the AI is much more proficient at keeping up with the player as they build higher level cures. These changes affect both the base game and the Marketing and Malpractice DLC. Give it a go and let me know what you think, I think it makes the game a lot more interesting! Tim

[ 2016-06-20 16:09:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Quick patch fixing a bug I introduced in the last patch while improving the custom game generation algorithms.

[ 2016-05-18 13:17:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey all, the latest patch is out for Big Pharma. The majority of the fixes affect the Marketing and Malpractice expansion only, but some of the bug fixes also affect the base game.

Changes:

• Fixed bug where there was a very small chance that a trial with no disqualifications still received bad publicity.
• Trial results now update immediately after a trial is completed
• Executives are not returned until completed trial results are confirmed. This prevents a bug where two trials on the same product could be completed.
• Prevented hack where you could increase price after selling a product to win a "product with price greater than" challenge. You have to sell a product at the required price for it to count now.
• Increased price requirement for Big Money Products challenge slightly but decreased number of products needed for Master.
• Fixed glitch where buttons above sockets would become hoverable when you switched tabs, even when zoomed out.
• Reduced Expert and/or Master level requirements for various challenges: Bottom Line, Game of Margins, Show Me the Money (also reduced time limit), Not for Profit, Regulation Business.
• Added an extra forest ingredient to the following scenarios: Intermediate, Advanced, Crippling Debt, Room to Maneuver, Full Unlock.
• Fixed bug where custom games did not always have 1 of every catalyst requested.

Discussion

After lots of playtesting and based on some feedback from players I decided to add an additional forest ingredient to many of the scenarios. This eases the competitive pressure a little in the early game, especially in the scenarios where you have two opponents. This makes the requirement to go up to Desert exploration a little less pressing (although still highly viable) and enables additional viable strategies such as getting an early Multimixer and going for Level 1 Catalyst cures. In addition I've tweaked a number of the expert/master ranking requirements just based on my own playtesting. Some of these felt overly tedious or dam right impossible to achieve and so I believe the changes I've made should help that. Please feel free to continue to feed your thoughts back to me via the forums.

[ 2016-05-13 11:10:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey all, Latest bug fixes:

• Bribes in free build are now possible.
• Fixed hover on challenge window for operating profit based challenges.
• Fixed graphical issues with ingredient/export bubbles above sockets - turning grey and background disappearing.
• Daily profit includes daily repayment of loan, rather than just interest.
• Stopped AI assigning executives to old products.
• Fixed bug where AI would research the same project multiple times when reloading a game.

Thanks to everybody for reporting bugs, it has been tremendously helpful. Keep it up! Tim

[ 2016-04-29 12:45:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey all, I've just set an update live with the following bug fixes:

• Tweaked the following challenges because the recent reduction in the number of ingredients and addition of booster effects made them impossible to complete on master rating: "Two is the magic number" (renamed to "Three is the magic number" - its original name!), "Good press", "Huge portfolio"
• In challenge "Aiming to please", demand is shown as a decimal per day e.g. (4.0/d) as opposed to as a percentage so that it is consistent with the numbers on the cures tab in M&M DLC.
• Added boosters to Free Build mode
• Added boosters to Custom Game mode. There is a slider which allows you to choose the number.
• Fixed bug where if you start then stop a trial and then start another one and allow it to complete, the game crashes.
• Fixed bug where you could not proceed with gameplay if you have Briber perk and complete a trial with a negative cash balance.
• Reduced time it takes to research Subzero Training and Deep Sea Exploration as reduced number of cures make these necessary for many more challenges than pre-DLC. Some challenges would be too hard without these reductions in research time.

If you spot any more bugs please let me know. I'm also interested in your feedback on balance issues. Tim

[ 2016-04-27 20:25:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Save 40% on Big Pharma during this week's Midweek Madness*!

What if you had it in your power to rid the world of disease, to improve the lives of millions, to ease suffering and cure the sick and earn a tidy profit?

*Offer ends Friday at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2016-04-27 00:01:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

The official expansion for Big Pharma, Marketing and Malpractice is officially out. http://store.steampowered.com/app/458640 Since we announced it a month ago, I have been creating a series of video blogs taking a detailed look at some of the new features. To get an idea of whether you're interested in the expansion you can check them out below:

Big Pharma Vlog #27 - An intro to 'Marketing and Malpractice'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8cFhil23fk

Big Pharma Vlog #28 - Booster Effects and Trials

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhI-vDYjjYI

Big Pharma Vlog #29 - Stock gates and socket transfer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B68vkbifFNA

Big Pharma Vlog #30 - Perks and Disease Awareness Campaigns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUyevPZQDbg If you do decide to pick it up, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think below. :) ːBlueCreamːːBrownBoxːːGreenPillːːPurpleSachetːːRedSyringeːːBlueCreamːːBrownBoxːːGreenPillːːPurpleSachetːːRedSyringeːːBlueCreamːːBrownBoxːːGreenPillːːPurpleSachetːːRedSyringeːːBlueCreamːːBrownBoxːːGreenPillːːPurpleSachetːːRedSyringeːːBlueCreamːːBrownBoxːːGreenPillːːPurpleSachetːːRedSyringeːːBlueCreamːːBrownBoxːːGreenPillːːPurpleSachetːːRedSyringeː

[ 2016-04-26 16:05:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all, I've done a number of updates to Big Pharma over the last week, the majority of which do not affect the base game, instead they are allowing the base game to interface properly with the Marketing and Malpractice expansion releasing early this week (Tuesday, 26th April). However, one of the tweaks I made to the shared code between the base game and expansion had a knock-on effect and caused a minor bug in the base game, therefore I thought I'd better post some proper patch notes to let you know what's going on. Patch notes:

• Fixed bug where challenge 'Full Unlock - The Big Five' stopped working
• Improved balance of ingredient distributions. There are a few less ingredients in each scenario which will reduce the number of duplicate cures and also force the player to get new location research earlier.
• Added 'Reset Progress' button to options menu. This wipes all challenge progress and save games.

If you're curious about the second bullet point, this is a change I've also made in the new expansion and I find it much better from a gameplay perspective. While fixing the bug I decided it was worth pushing this change into the base game too. :) Tim

[ 2016-04-24 10:44:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Big Pharma v1.04.00 is now live!

With it comes a plethora of bug fixes, UI improvements and balance changes, as well as two significant language based features. Firstly we have noticed, since launch, a budding community of Spanish pharmacists using an unofficial translation created by the community. We're very grateful to all the people involved in the unofficial Spanish translation but we've decided it's time to roll out an official Spanish language version of the game. As if this wasn't enough, we've also added pan-European font support to the game, including the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets plus every accented version of the letters of the latin alphabet. The result is that it should now be possible to create unofficial translations for any European language now. I know there has been special demand for this among Russian speakers.

Here is the full list of changes in the patch:

• Added Spanish language option
• Added Cyrillic/pan-European character support
• Added an extra speed button. 5x speed used to be hidden behind 2x. Now it has its own button.
• Added scenario title to objective window
• Lowered process time of UV Curer, Sequencer, Sachet Maker and Centrifuge to 2
• Analyzer now has a zero process cost and upgrading it increases the speed of analysis
• Daily profit calculation is now more even and less prone to fluctuation
• Two of the same effect in a single drug now get their strengths added together for cure rating purposes
• Fixed a few display issues in German language version
• Fixed a few animation glitches

I'm especially interested to see the effects of the balance changes on the game. Reducing the process times of big bulky machines like the Centrifuge and Sequencer should hopefully give them more utility, where previously they got little or no use. The change to the Analyzer is good too I think. By making the process cost zero, it is now a free way to discard unwanted drugs (such as those created by the Centrifuge) and the increased analysis rate from upgrading should significant gains because it reduces the number of drugs you need to sacrifice to the analyzer - which was always the most expensive part anyway. Let me know what you think below. Enjoy!

[ 2016-02-17 10:53:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's Deal: Save 33% on Big Pharma!*

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2015-10-31 17:00:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello all, Big Pharma v1.03.00 is now live, with it come a number cool new features included a new type of belt, improved UI and balance/bug fixes. ːBlueCreamː ːBrownBoxː ːGreenPillː ːPurpleSachetː ːRedSyringeː ːBlueCreamː ːBrownBoxː ːGreenPillː ːPurpleSachetː ːRedSyringeː ːBlueCreamː ːBrownBoxː ːGreenPillː ːPurpleSachetː ːRedSyringeː ːBlueCreamː ːBrownBoxː ːGreenPillː ːPurpleSachetː ːRedSyringeː ːBlueCreamː ːBrownBoxː ːGreenPillː ːPurpleSachetː ːRedSyringeː ːBlueCreamː ːBrownBoxː

Fixed Belts

In response to requests from users for a way to fine-tune the flow of their production lines, I have now added Fixed Belts. These are accessed from the Auxiliary toolbar and allow you to convert any normal belt (not a T-Belt or Crossroad) into a fixed belt. At the time of creation, you can choose the direction by rotating the tool, but once created, the direction is fixed. This can be helpful for creating more complicated layouts where the default belt logic is not sufficient. Here are a couple of examples of things you can do with fixed belts: Fixed belts use #1 Tweet Fixed belts use #2 Tweet

UI Improvements

There is now a new column under the Company Tab which lists the average cure saturation of a product at a glance. This allows you to easily identify under-saturated markets which you can supply additional products into, as well as over-saturated ones which you might want to maneuver your company out of. Another recent UI improvement is the additional of an indicator on the Cures Tab which shows the starting concentration of a particular cure. This is nice, because it allows you to plan an entire product route from a single tab so it will hopefully reduce the amount of time spent switching between them. This was added in response to a number of people requesting the feature via the Steam forums. Another highly requested feature was a machine count on the Research Tab to make it easier to optimise your choice of upgrades.This has now been added!

Reduced Randomness

An important but subtle balance change is that cures which form part of a challenge's objectives now occur in the same position(s) each game. This removes the advantage that could be gained by restarting a challenge multiple times until you started with the required cure. As far as I am aware, there is now no reason to restart a challenge looking for favourable conditions. While there are still random elements e.g. starting cure demands, these are all carefully balanced so that the overall difficulty between playthroughs remains constant.

Full list of changes:

• Added fixed belts
• Added cure saturation column to company tab
• Added starting concentration indicator to cures tab
• Sockets now "suck" by default
• Challenge cures position predetermined
• Paint now costs $1
• Increased refund on equipment sell in Beginner scenario to 90%
• Increased effect of plot cost reduction research
• Market size increased slightly on Intermediate, Advanced and Room to Maneuver scenarios
• Changed some company colors
• Fixed 'sticky' issue with delete tool
• Stopped loan dialog being dismissed incorrectly on some scenarios
• Fixed bug where messages did not slide down
• Fixed bugs to do with upgrade accumulator bars

[ 2015-10-30 19:48:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey all, I've just published the latest Big Pharma video blog. In this one I continue my go at a Full Unlock scenario. I also talk about another update planned for the end of the month which will include a few new features. One of these is 'fixed belts' which I talk about during the video while demonstrating some of the use-cases (9:12) This should answer the discussion topic here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/344850/discussions/0/483366528899144214/ Enjoy! https://youtu.be/NXRweOQWQ1c

[ 2015-10-16 17:31:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey all, v1.02.00 is now officially live on Steam. This patch mostly focussed on optimising the game so that it runs at a better framerate with very large factories. To coincide with the update I also recorded a new vlog where I take on a challenge from the Full Unlock. https://youtu.be/Z6bObHtDGbo I'm only just getting started in this video so I'm going to continue the game in another vlog next week. Full patch notes: - General CPU optimisation. - Stopped memory leak occurring when starting many separate games within a single session. - Rebalanced some challenges to make the master levels more attainable "Even mo' money", "Quick draw", "An end to the pill", "Money spinners", "Big bucks" and "Endless possibilities". - Made "Alleviating Alzheimer's" challenge a little harder. - Fixed sync issue with belt junctions between save and load. - Fixed issue when you send the same drug through a crossroad twice in a row. - Fixed graphical issue on renaming dialog on lower resolutions. - Raw costs added up correctly in multimixer. - Stopped game resuming after product patent message is brought up manually. - Fixed graphical issues with various patent dialogs at some resolutions. - Increased diversification leaning of AIs at lower difficulties so they do not flood the markets so much.

[ 2015-10-08 15:44:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

v1.01.00 of Big Pharma brings with it the following changes: New features - Autosave added, change the frequency from the options menu. - Added 'Leave Game' confirmation dialog from in-game menu. - Added x5 game speed. Press fast forward button/hotkey a second time to activate. - Added option to disable animated tab transitions - 3440 x 1440 added to resolution options - Exposed paint cost so it can now be modded Bug fixes - Fixed various bugs on Linux version to do with locale settings - Fixed AI issue with zero-cost plots in custom games - Fixed it so increased research speed in custom games works correctly - Added option to disable dynamic cursor. This should stop issues when running fullscreen on one of two monitors Note on mods Saves are now 'mod-safe' in that they can only be loaded if the same mod is running as when it was created. This is to avoid crashes as the depth of mods increase and more drastic changes are made. I hope you enjoy the changes.

[ 2015-09-08 17:35:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey all, I posted a new video blog which talks about how to add new cures into the game via modding. You can find the video here: https://youtu.be/vInLjEFaI68 I also just want to take this opportunity to say I'm busy working on a patch for the game which should solve a few little bugs add a few new cool quality-of-life features to improve your experience. Look out for another announcement when the patch goes live in around a week's time. I hope you're enjoying the game, Tim (the dev)

[ 2015-09-01 10:35:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Big Pharma is Now Available on Steam and is 20% off!*

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*Offer ends September 3 at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2015-08-29 04:48:00 CET ] [ Original post ]