Folks!!!

While we are hard at work on the original Doomer game, we invite you to join the retro Doomer movement with our spin-off project to the original game called Neon Doomer 85.

Featuring retro-futuristic aesthetics, meditative gameplay, and an amazing retrowave soundtrack. It is already scheduled to be released in October. Free of charge.

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/3081180/Neon_Doomer_85/

It's not a reason to panic, however! On a contrary!

The development of the original Doomer will not be affected in any way, since a very talented third-party developer 70`Strike was engaged to bring this project to life. As well as the publisher's humble efforts

Hurry up and watch the trailer. Add the game to your wishlist and we'll see you soon!

Join the Discord[discord.gg] server!

Greetings from the Doomer development team!

We apologize for the long absence of any news and game updates since the announcement of our roadmap. As is often the case, everything that could go wrong went wrong. As we built all the processes and implemented what we promised, it took more time than expected.

Now that the time has come, we are pleased to present you with the first content update, which is quite significant in scope, but represents only a small part of what's planned.

Let's talk about future plans before we get into the details of the update. From now on, we'll release updates more frequently. We can't reveal the content or dates yet, but there won't be such long breaks between updates anymore. In the next step, we'll rework the technical foundation of the game, optimize everything that's "under the hood", and then start developing game mechanics.

And yes, you read that right, Doomer will feature game mechanics and a clearly defined gameplay cycle. And naturally, we will add more nostalgic items, references, and elements that are signature to the time.

Sincerely yours, the Doomer team.

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/1793150/Doomer/

Now for the content update:

• Doomer can now run, jump, and crouch;
  
• When running, the camera wobbles more intensely than when walking;
  
• Removed camera shake with the option to turn it on if you want to;
  
• The phone model has been updated to Pokia :), which is more relevant to the time when the game takes place.
  
  
• The phone interface has been updated with the ability to call, but no one will answer...yet.
  
• The ability to take photos through the phone has been removed, since it does not correspond to the time of the game. We will get back to this and explore ideas of how to do photos and screenshots later. However, it won't be done with the phone camera, that is for sure.
  
• A redesigned item interaction system has been added. For example, the rat isn't a part of your pocket anymore. It lives in the cage. You can get it out and put it back in.
  
• Like any doomer character can now die, there are several ways to do that. Feel free to experiment.
  
  
  2) Doomers apartment:
  • You are able to open and close almost all of the doors and windows in the apartment.
    
    
  • Now, there are switches in all rooms, so lights can be turned on and off.
    
    
  • A gas stove can be lit.
    
    
  • Lots and lots of authentic items that are appropriate for the time the events of the game take place. Brand new models of items made from scratch, including Dendy consoles, cartridges, videotapes, books, Great Dragon and Technics of Youth magazines, as well as video and audio tape recorders. There is no sense to list it all, just explore and enjoy.
    
    
  • It is now possible to pick up and inspect items. At the moment, not all of the items are eligible for that, but we will be gradually adding the ability to inspect them all.
    
    
  • You can now watch TV
    
    
  • The apartment has a telephone now, you should expect a call.
    
    
  • There has been a change in the apartment's furnishings. Now that Doomer has a new table, he has rearranged some stuff around the apartment.
    
    
  3) Other:
  • The apartment building has the entrance now, you can access it from the doomers apartment. It allows you to go out onto the street, or access the roof. We attempted to make the entrance as authentic as possible using relevant objects and attributes of the time, writings on the walls, ashtrays, bottles, etc. You can explore, ring your neighbors doorbells and find ways to entertain yourself, maybe getting an achievement or two while you are at it. We'll add more activities over time.
    
    
  • You can access the roof now. There you can walk around, smoke a cigarette and contemplate about your life while looking at the surrounding landscape from above. That, and all other sorts of activities you can think of.
    
    
  • The lighting has been updated, smoothly transitioning to dynamic lighting;
    
  • A variety of ambient sounds, clocks, birds outside the window, street noise, computer startup, and others have been added;
    
  • Picked bottles can be thrown anywhere if you click the left mouse button after picking them up. Give it a try, experiment with it...
    
  • The railroad in the area is now fully operational. Watch the departing train doomer and think about life...
    
    
  • There are many hidden activities now. We won't reveal them, but we are sure you'll enjoy finding them. Don't be afraid to explore the neighborhood and the apartment, something interesting is surely waiting for you there.
    
  • Lines 97 is now installed on the computer.
    
    
  • Several parked cars appeared on the streets.
    
    
  • The apartment buildings themselves were embellished with authentic external elements.
    
    
  • Old achievements have been remade to match the spirit of the game and the changes we've made. You'll find new secret achievements as well, look for ways to unlock them and just have fun.
  
  
  Enjoy the game!!!
  
  https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/1793150/Doomer/

We now have a homepage on Steam that lists all our games and news announcements: https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/dev/simprose
Please visit and join to follow us!
Derek

I wanted to address a few recent reviews that have (suddenly) surfaced, after 6 positive reviews and 200+ people emailing me, playing and enjoying the game just fine. They have colorful tag lines like "avoid!" and all of that sort of stuff. These are inaccurate, uninformed reviews that is one of the main reasons why Steam changed the review system in the first place.

Now, technical issues are a part of every PC game, at least most of them. A few systems will have issues running some games. Star Merchant may very rarely have issues with video cards with odd settings going on (the option to play 4:3 stretched on some Nvidia cards without changing resolution may cause occasional issues) or apps that force windowed mode on fullscreen apps. These may cause the game to not work or display right.

But Star Merchant has:
A. Hundreds of people playing it i've heard from and talked to and it works fine.
B. Over a dozen YouTube videos with it running and displaying fine, on a wide range of systems.
C. I had 22 beta testers with a variety of systems old and new, and all ran the game fine (1 had an issue relating to the Nvidia setting I described above, which fixed it when changed).

These facts should indicate the game is not "broken" in any way. It does use an older resolution, yes. But assuming your system/monitor is capable of displaying 1024x768 and your system is set to the proper font size (indicated clearly at the top of the Store listing), it more than likely will run just fine.

Users should ALWAYS read the system requirements before buying any game, on Steam or anywhere else. This may prevent game developers from aging prematurely, and save you a lot of headache if it ends being a game you can't run for some reason or another.

If you think I might be able to help with your issue...i'm always here! Friend me on Steam or email me: simprosestudios@gmail.com

Thank you for listening and happy gaming! ːsteamhappyː
Derek

General bug fixing and maintenance patch.
FIX: Corrected some mouseover texts on the Main Menu.
FIX: Fixed a crash issue if you tried to buy an item and your 15 inventory slots were full.
FIX: Fixed a crash bug if you try to type in a huge number in text fields. Now it limits the player to 5-8 characters (depending on the box).
FIX: Cleaned up a visual bug where the yellow arrows on the stock screen stay after returning from buying or selling.
FIX: Closed an exploit loophole by not allowing stocks to be purchased with loans anymore; you must have the credits on hand.
FIX: Made the mouseover for buying fleet ships clearer to prevent confusion.
FIX: Fixed a exploit bug if you repaired your ship or bought a weapon at the Shipyard and then it may sometimes allow you to buy fleet ships
without having the money.

Have fun!
Derek

New patch dropping with a new feature and more balance adjustments. Old save games are NOT compatible, it should be noted, due to file changes.

- NEW FEATURE: Missions! Randomly generated missions appear during the game and you can explore certain planets to find unique items for credit rewards.
- TWEAK: Greatly scaled up the stats of the generated ships in the Shipyard to make them more competitive with upgraded ships, along with a slight increase in cost as well.
- TWEAK: Adjusted passenger average amounts (now starting at half your max passenger cap as a minimum instead of just 1) and earnings up another 20% on average.
- TWEAK: Increased ship durability damage suffered after losing to pirates by 20-40%.
- TWEAK: Adjusted pirate fleet leader strength upwards slightly as you progress in the game. Later in the game, players were finding combats too easy if they focused on damage upgrades. Noticeable especially past Staryear 100 and 200.

Enjoy!
Derek

More fixes and tweaks as promised, mainly to fix winning game bug and closing a few loopholes pointed out by users.

Changelist:
FIX: Corrected some rare issues with winning the game not working properly. Made the check for winning happen both
when you choose a planet AND when you exit a planet.
TWEAK: Tweaked breaking down and running out of gas to be more penalizing if your ship has higher stats on these
and they run out, making it so it isn't far cheaper to just break down or run out of gas vs. keeping them up.
TWEAK: If you run out of gas, you only get refilled up to HALF your maximum instead of maximum.
TWEAK: Made it so that loan interest cannot go below 3% if you have more than 50,000 in loans. This discourages
taking out a bunch of money if the loan interest dips to 1% for a period of time.
TWEAK: Made it clearer in the mouseover that buying a ship in the Shipyard replaces your current one.
TWEAK: Purchased shipyard vessels now have special abilities twice as often, making them more desirable. Added
5 new ship abilities.
TWEAK: Savings and loan interest rates change slightly more frequently.
TWEAK: Refactored some sections of code to increase speed by 3%-5%.

More major additions in next patch. Enjoy!
Derek

This new version fixes and changes a number of things based on player feedback:

- FEATURE: Added a 'Fill Stock' button to enable you to buy enough of an item to fill your cargo hold with one click.
- FIX: Fixed a rare lockup/crash when entering a planet involving the Rogue Merchant.
- FIX: Fixed a rare lockup if you die or win the game and start a new game right away, clicking a ship caused a lockup.
- TWEAK: Changed the random event where you lose all of your savings to losing just HALF instead.
- TWEAK: Changed the planet economic algorhythm so that demand and economic conditions change a little more frequently than before, eliminating long stagnant
periods of shuttling between 2-3 planets hopefully.
- TWEAK: Altered stock price algorhythm so that they increase or decrease more often, making them potentially more viable as a strategy.
- TWEAK: Increased passenger revenue 30%, making it more viable as a strategy as well.
- TWEAK: Added an indicator of your current weapon underneath the offered weapon on the shipyard so you can compare them to see which is better.
- TWEAK: Reduced the chance of dying after combat and after using Suicide Volley by 50%.

Have fun!
Derek

Hello strategy fans,
Star Merchant has been released to Steam! Just a few notes:

- The game requires 100% 'Normal' or 'Small' fonts (Win 7) in order to play properly. Otherwise, the game will look odd or "run off" the screen. Most machines are set to this by default.

- The game will set itself to 1024x768 full screen resolution when started, and return your desktop to its former res upon exiting. The language used to create it is older and doesn't have built-in (or easy to access or very reliable) support for multiple resolutions.

- There's lots of help with the Help buttons and by mousing over stuff. Between those two, it tells you pretty exactly what everything does.

- Any bugs, crashes, issues or whatever WILL be promptly fixed, as I have done for the past 2 years and 5 games i've developed on Steam.
If you have an issue, please let me know via the forums or my email: simprosestudios@gmail.com -- I kindly request you do not leave negative reviews over this sort of thing.

Thanks and enjoy!
Derek