A new patch has been released, the game should automatically prompt you to download next time you run it.
v0.40.04 - bug fixes
Patch notes:
- Fixed Atomic Sequencer
- Plot costs are correctly reset between games
- Regulation Business’ scenario fixed. Loading an old save game should result in instant completion.
- Added Q and E to rotate
- Fixed float text bug
- Added ‘Run in background’ toggle to options
- Added scrollbars to dropdown menus
- Rearranged machines on basic toolbar
- Fixed tutorial sprite leaking outside window at some resolutions
- Fixed machine dropdowns at low resolutions
- Fixed upgrade tooltip scaling at low resolutions
- Fixed malaria events
- Reworded Female Contraceptive cure rating counter
- Products no longer sold are now hidden on cures tab info panel
- Nerfed tuberculosis cure slightly
- Company logo splash screens are now skippable with any button press
This patch is all about fixing the most critical and game-breaking bugs. I also added a few features which were quick to implement, unlikely to introduce bugs and in high demand.
This is the first live patch so please let me know if you have any problems getting it. Also if any of the listed fixes are, in fact, not fixed. Please let me know by creating a bug report thread in the Pharma Support forum.
The next patch will focus on optimisation.
PS This topic is locked so it can be kept as a concise summary of what is included in each update.
The new patch is live!
v0.41.00 - optimisation and bug fixes
Bug fixes:
- Significant performance optimisations
- Machines can no longer butt right up next to one another
- Added resolutions 1600x1200, 2560x1600
- Added hotkeys for speed controls 1, 2, 3 and space
- Save thumbs are now deleted with save files
- New save games include challenge and scenario name
- Save games are now ordered by creation date
- Ingredient saturation now reported correctly
- Fixed combined value tooltip
- T-belt animations match game speed
- Steam animations match game speed
Balance changes:
- Creamer process cost increased to $30
- Generally reduced value of high value cures
- Reduced saturation thresholds a little
I spent most of the last week optimising because I felt that was the thing that was getting in the way of most people’s enjoyment of the game. I also implemented a number of bug fixes, balance changes and playability improvements that I considered “quick wins”.
I’m interested to hear how the performance of the game holds up since the new optimisations. If you are still suffering from bad performance, please post about it here: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=11288
The next patch will focus more on playability stuff from this forum, rather than bugs from the other forum. I’m also planning to create a poll so you guys can vote on what you’d like to see next in Big Pharma. Stay tuned!
v0.41.03 - Hot fix!
Bug fixes:
- Added fail safes to avoid errors introduced in v0.41.00
- Speed hotkeys no longer function when naming products
v0.41.05 - Hot fix take two!
Bug fixes:
- Fixed errors introduced by performance enchancements in v0.41.00
v0.42.00 - Control and quality of life
New features:
- Rebindable keys
- New product naming options
- Middle click equipment to ‘clone’
- Additional control options
- New context menu on machine right-click to make it harder to sell things by accident
- Cancel move now returns machine to original position instead of selling
- Company name and CEO are auto-populated from last game
Bug fixes:
- Tweaked some product names
- Starting loan is reset correctly between games on “Crippling Debt” scenario
- Challenges involving multiple products no longer count products with multiple cures twice
- Clicking on a t-belt with the belt tool no longer replaces it
This patch was heavily based on your feedback. I’ve tried to tackle the issues that were hindering people’s enjoyment of the game the most.
It will probably be a couple of weeks before the next update, which will give me time to add some new gameplay features. The next update will focus on improving the existing gameplay based on your feedback. I will release additional details some time next week once I have a good idea of what will be in the update.
As usual, please let me know if there you notice any bugs (new or old) and feel free to give me feedback on the new features. Hopefully they are to your liking.
v0.43.00 - Crossroads, new ranking system and AI
New features:
- Added 4-way belt.
- New ranking system for some challenges based on attainment rather than time.
- Improved AI.
- AI can now start with different ingredients to player. Pool of ingredients is still shared.
- Added manual belt placing key binding.
Balance:
- Loans get larger over time and interest rate vary based on your debt and operating profit.
- Rebalanced and renamed “Three is the magic number”
- Rebalanced all cure values and saturation rates.
- Tweaked ingredient project sizes.
Bug fixes:
- Improved belt algorithm for maximum efficiency.
- Cure demand can no longer be negative.
- Tweaked some product names.
- Fixed various spelling mistakes.
- Two key bindings were cut off bottom of list, fixed.
- Fixed bugs when selecting machines while paused.
- Fixed bug where socket bubble doesn’t appear sometimes.
- Fixed ‘sticky mouse’ stack overflow error.
Very interested in your feedback on this update regarding balance. Please see separate thread asking for your feedback.
I have got a number of the smaller jobs out of the way now so expect some bigger features in the next update. For one, I’m going to be adding Patents! :D:D:D
v0.44.00 - Custom games and patents
New features:
- Custom game mode
- Patents
- Free build mode
- Options to control which messages you receive
- Changed some message icons to competitor company face
- Added additional 2x1 buildings
- Currency option
- Added scroll sensitivity options
Balance:
- Tweaked some events
- Tweaked cure rating bonuses slightly
- Reduced value of malaria and tuberculosis again
Bug fixes:
- AI process costs now decrease properly when they upgrade their research.
Both of the big new features - custom games and patents - are likely to be a bit buggy/in need of balance. Let me know your thoughts.
v0.45.00 - Drug packer and industrial espionage
New features:
- Drug packer
- Industrial espionage
- Wall decals
- Currency separators
- Advanced delete (hold ctrl to delete drugs only)
- Advanced paint
- Tool instructions
- Upgrade point indicators
- Sort products by column on company tab
- Cure concentration on cure tab
Balance:
- Reduced Male Contraceptive sensitivity
Bug fixes:
- Ingredient item text now scales better with 4:3 screens
- Key and edges scroll work in-game
v1.01.00 - Autosave, x5 speed
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
Balance:
- 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.
v1.02.00 - Optimisation and bug fixes
The latest patch is now live on Steam. Standalone versions on Windows will also auto-update when run. For GOG/Mac/Linux standalone versions, please redownload from the original link.
Bug fixes:
- 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”, “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.
v1.03.00 - Fixed belts, UI improvements and more!
New features:
- Added fixed belts
- Added cure saturation column to company tab
- Added starting concentration indicator to cures tab
Balance/Tweaks:
- Challenge cure positions 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
Bug fixes:
- 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
v1.04.00 - Official Spanish option, pan-European font, UI improvements and balance tweaks
The latest patch is live on all store fronts. If you have the Windows self-patching version of the game, then you can simply run the game to get the latest patch.
New features:
- 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
Balance/Tweaks:
- 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
Bug fixes:
- 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
- It is no longer possible to sell a machine for more than you bought it for, even with upgrades
v1.06.03 - Adds support for Marketing and Malpractice
This is the first version which supports the Marketing and Malpractice DLC. Make sure you have this version of the base game if you want to play with the DLC.
New features:
- Supports Marketing and Malpractice DLC
- Added ‘Reset Progress’ button to options menu
Balance/Tweaks:
- 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.
Bug fixes:
- Fixed bug where challenge ‘Full Unlock - The Big Five’ stopped working
v1.06.07 - Bug fixes and balanced tweaks
Change log:
- 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.
v1.06.11 - Bug fixes and balance changes
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.
v1.07.00 - Borderless windowed mode (Windows), improved AI and bug fixes
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.
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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.
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Improved AI pricing algorithms in Marketing and Malpractice DLC.
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AIs don’t patent things quite as often.
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AIs now have staggered start times so they don’t all flood the market at the same time in the early game.
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Reduced the extent to which ingredient prices increase in base game in reaction to oversaturation. It was squeezing low level cures too intensely.
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Increased value of all level 1 and some level 2 cures in base game.
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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.
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Fixed bug where hover for “Average Saturation” was shown on the wrong column on the company tab.
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Fixed some typos in event text.
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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