Patch Notes (20 May 2017)

We're shipping a great general release patch today, numerous updates including substantially-improved Passenger AI, initial Steam Workshop support, and a number of new objects, tools, and other new and updated gameplay elements, and of course a number of fixes as well. Check out the change log below for the full rundown!

Next Round Kickoff We'll be kicking off the next round of updates on the 'experimental' branch very soon, and as usual we'll continue shipping fixes, updates, improvements and additions just as quickly as we can. We've got some great stuff in store for the next round, and we're excited to get this one out to you all & be able to really focus on digging into the next stuff and starting to roll it out to experimental -- we're so incredibly excited about what the future has in store for SimAirport!

'''Feedback, Please! SimAirport Survey''' As you may be aware, we try our best to be very actively involved with the community and we're always looking for your feedback, suggestions, and ideas. As part of that, and in an effort to ensure we're staying focused on the right things that you're most interested in, we've created a brief survey that we'd ask you to take a few minutes and fill out for us.

All fields are optional, so if you'd prefer to just answer a few items that's fine, but the more you can fill out the better you can help us as far as prioritizing our future efforts -- by participating in the survey you'll be playing an important role in guiding the future of SimAirport, so we really appreciate those of you that are able to take the time to fill it out and help to make the game the best tycoon-style management game that it can be.

Take the Survey Now! Take the SimAirport Survey -- Guide the future of SimAirport Development

Thank You for your Support We want to thank those of you who have been active participants on the experimental branch & in the experimental forum throughout this round of updates. Your bug reports, save submissions, attention to detail -- and, of course, your patience -- have been absolutely instrumental in allowing us to ship the way we have been able to. We sincerely appreciate it, and we thank you very much for your continued support; we truly couldn't do it without you.

NEW FEATURES
 * Passenger AI Improvements — passengers are now constantly assessing their environment, even when already engaged with a behavior. You’ll see better queue distribution, new line hopping, fewer pax missing flights, and other improvements. Numerous tuning adjustments made as well.
 * Steam Workshop Support - Initial support implemented! Share your maps with the community on Steam Workshop! Look for "Airport Sharing" in the game's Main Menu and the Workshop tab on Steam
 * Added 'Small Retail Bar' — complete with 2 bartenders! Will be further improved in future.
 * Added 'Windows' -- currently function like walls, with different sprites.
 * Full 'Security Wings' support -- fully implemented, works for Lifecycle & other needs
 * Added 'Profit & Loss' Report -- accessible only when CFO is hired with office. Hotkey: P
 * Added A320 aircraft model -- added to several airlines
 * Added a 'Storage' zone -- workmen will move leftover piles to it
 * Added 'Area Sell' tool -- allows you to mass-sell supply boxes that are eligible for sale
 * Added 'Male Restroom' and 'Female Restroom' zones -- removed generic/unisex 'Restroom'
 * Added 'Urinal' object -- for Male Restrooms (Known: does not yet have back view)
 * Added 'Bank Loans II' Research -- increases max loan amount
 * Added 'Lower Interest Rate' Research -- decreases loan interest rate
 * Added 'Highlight Passengers' button to Aircraft -- Green = Departures, Red = Arrivals.

GAMEPLAY CHANGES, UPDATES & IMPROVEMENTS
 * The in-game clock speed has been reduced 25%, while the simulation speed is the same — making the time scale more realistic (e.g. simulated walking speed)
 * Bag/Body/Metal scanners now all require staff to work
 * Enabled hourly infrastructure costs (ATC Tower, Baggage Carousel, Baggage Routing Station)
 * Workmen will now handle the indoor luggage (golf cart) duties
 * Numerous Passenger AI tweaks and object effect tweaks; Passengers also tuned to make them more likely to try catching their flight if running behind, even if their other needs are very high
 * Numerous small tweaks to timings & object effects
 * Cash registers and misc. other bulky objects will now count towards enclosed space zone validations
 * More restrictive Aircraft Gate and Runway dismantle validations to help prevent stuck aircraft
 * Prohibit passengers from using objects in Office zones
 * Storage Shelf can now be placed indoors
 * Fixed a bug that caused airlines to offer too many larger vs smaller aircraft contracts
 * Revised Vehicle parking spots (better ‘pull far ahead’ and ‘close enough’ targets)
 * Passengers will avoid cutting through Kitchen zones, if alternative routes exist
 * Passengers will now wait nearby for Toilets (if in use)— helps prevent oscillation against the 2nd highest need
 * ATM & Electronic Vending machine now working & usable, and revenue-generating
 * Foundation tool near existing walls/foundations will now dismantle walls (free) vs consuming valuable Concrete supplies for those positions
 * Road placement will now show the correct cost when available inventory exists
 * Zones can now be edited under pending construction, in limited circumstances (i.e. not walls)
 * Ticketing objects now require non-secure area to function
 * Adds a new text indicator where vehicles spawn to show the (hidden) queue size, when roads are backlogged

BUG FIXES
 * Fixed an issue with placement validations missing some items in scope for auto-Dismantle upon game load
 * Fixed a regression with ‘marker’ placement (Aircraft docking, object placement indicators, etc)
 * Fixed an issue with vehicles still spawning when the roads are fully backed up
 * Fixed an issue getting stuck w/ no path to Flight Info Display
 * Fixed an issue with Outdoor Gate not connecting to walls/fences after game load
 * Fixed an issue with Staff/Vehicle movement speed erroneously getting randomized during pooling
 * [UI] Makes valid TimeBlock drop region in Scheduler be only on arrival time, to show why Night flights cannot be scheduled past 10PM yet
 * Retail Workers can no longer be fired multiple times
 * Fixed an issue with needs calculation cache returning invalid results (“all 1.000”, “2.000” etc)
 * Fixed a bug where passengers could try to use objects in unreachable secure areas
 * Scroll speeds on Windows platforms fixed on majority of UIs
 * Fixes a bug that incorrectly allowed objects to be dismantled while still in use
 * Fixed the bug with conveyor system using non-built positions
 * Fixed an issue that could result in an agent obtaining an invalid path
 * Added more aggressive caching mechanism to conveyor systems
 * Fixed stuck passengers (missed flight, non-secure) trying to go to a secure Pickups zone
 * Fixed COO/Staff wages getting deducted even after being fired
 * Fixed a bug that caused the camera to 'jump' at low framerates
 * Fixed the markers on horizontal Bag Scanner (West; known issue: vertical only goes south, will fix North facing soon!)
 * Vehicle rotation is now serialized
 * Vehicles will no longer drive on Roads and Taxiway that are not yet built
 * Fixed a bug causing vehicles to temporarily get stuck at spawn point or unload prematurely when new roads are being built
 * Fixed a bug causing vehicles to get stuck for a second after loading game
 * Queues: Fixed an issue with large gaps emerging after queues overflowed
 * Queues: Fixed an issue with passengers restarting the same queue after loading game
 * Queues: Fixed a memory leak & optimized performance overhead
 * Few fixes to the assignment user interface (when clicking new ‘source’ objects)
 * Fixed an edge case with IDCheckStand placement at edge of zone that could result in passengers failing to select a bag scanner
 * Fixed an issue with abandoned Golf Cart (when ticketing desks destroyed during task)
 * Fixed aircraft runway lineup position
 * Fixed an issue with idle janitors while work to do
 * Staff now validate the objects the could go to are likely reachable as well as functional
 * Fixed a race condition with agents selecting newly-built objects which may not be functional
 * Fixed a bug that broke the Kitchen reference when un-assigning a queue to a Retail Cash Register
 * Road placement will now correctly de-zone tiles
 * Fixed a bug that could allow drawing off-map Conveyor tiles
 * Fixed an issue with passengers “looping” to the end of a queue (or otherwise reverting progress to an equivalent action), if it had multiple objects attached

MISC
 * Updated the welcome dialog and added a new Help screen
 * Adds hotkey ‘Z’ for toggling the zones overlay display
 * Minor changes to P&L and money changes to further break down source of funds
 * Save & Load Game menus now update the list of saves 'live' without closing & re-opening the menu
 * Executives will now wander a bit in their offices
 * Passenger speed while in queues is now fixed, to prevent later enqueues from arriving to their spot before earlier enqueues