I hope there is more content, and a Steam version.
The problems I've had so far are as follows:
1. during the stamp organizing process, I performed an unsure action that caused the stamp organizing to get stuck and a parcel to become always selected. There are only a few stamps left on the screen that can be manipulated, most of the stamps cannot be manipulated, and moving certain components may cause the animation of the stamp sorting to continue, or it may cause the component itself to become inoperable. I managed to complete the level, but one of the stamps remains on the screen and inactive for the rest of the process.
2. You can only purchase a maximum of two packs of Mystery Stamps. Please hide the purchase option when the limit is reached, or just remove the limit.
3. the result of the stamp sorting is random, it would be better if the mystery stamps can be sorted to the bottom.
4. the values may need to be balanced further, mailing a $0.25 parcel that I can earn $2 from is a strange thing when you think about it.
5. the game currently goes back to august 1st after august 31st even though I tried to get to september 1st in endless mode.
Appreciate the feedback, you bring up some great points!
1. That's a weird new bug for sure. What was the unsure action you performed that caused the stamp to get stuck? Is this something you can reliably replicate?
2. That's not intentional, potentially a bug? Are you opening the mystery stamp packs every day (i.e. could this be related to transferring unopened stamp packs to the next day) or is it just preventing you from purchasing more than 2 per run regardless?
3. True, sounds like a good shop upgrade to me
4. Very much yes, variable earnings based on parcel size are in the works
5. Honestly, we didn't expect anyone to play long enough to notice the looping month, so thanks? This was a temporary solution to squeeze the calendar into the last update, congrats on revealing this dirty secret :D
1. I restarted the game with a new game and using only the Start pack of stamps did not reproduce the glitch, so I'm not sure what happened then. Given that it only happened once in a long game, perhaps it would take a large number of stamps to reproduce the glitch.
2. because of the sequencing issue in (3), I tend to open Mystery only if I must, so I would leave the unopened Mystery pack on the desktop, but this pack would only last for two at a time. Purchasing the third pack still results in only two packs, but I have paid for that.
Thanks for the report, does it resolve by flipping through *any* dog-eared corner or is it specifically the map/book etc? Did you alt-tab back into the game at any point? There's a similar bug after alt-tabbing, fixed by hitting ctrl. If you've found a specific way of reproducing the issue, please let us know!
i love this game! really lovely concept and execution. i would love to see some of the player suggestions taken as inspiration, particularly the ability to store leftover packages in a shelf or drawer. also, i was disappointed i couldn't use the extra space you get from the desk upgrade to store anything - the stamps would fit perfectly up there next to the sorter :)
i also had a few crashes but can't identify why/when. there was one play session ruining bug i had where a 50 cent stamp got stuck on the scale, so the scale was measuring the $ amount, but it wouldn't come off, so i could no longer weigh any packages.
also... i may just be missing it, but where is the "quit game" button...?
Thanks! Package storage will likely make it into the next big update, and definitely agree on the desk upgrade gripes -- it's on the to-do list :)
Thanks for the bug reports, there's a lot of weird edge cases to consider. If you ever reproduce them, let us know/send screenshots. We'll look into the postage issue, the scale has been a particularly lovely treasure trove of bugs. Wahoo.
The quit game button is on the last page of the rulebook, as of 10min ago :D
Thanks for playing! You can return the package to the customer. Or, you can keep the package on the desk and send it out on a later day. Chartering an extra route will help with clearing out the parcel backlog.
The game is really nice, but the prices are often 5 euros and 25 euros, I can't play like that. It happens that I can just underprice everything but that's not fun. Please fix it, I would love to play the game completely.
Thanks for the bug report! Does this happen with specifically "overweight" parcels or any parcel? If you could post a screenshot of the mistake preview when this happens, that'd be really helpful -- we've been trying to catch this bug for a while, but haven't been able to replicate it. In terms of game balance, did you unlock the stamp pack upgrade and purchase mystery stamp packs? If it's not possible to price everything correctly with the upgrades purchased, we'll definitely have to tweak the pricing balance as well.
That is the book for day one and it says for Gardonia & Verbois 5 euros and for New Simone 25 euros. Sometimes I can get the price right on the 5 euros but definitely not on the 25 one's. I tried this time to only put 25 cent on the 25 euros packages.
Here is the resultThere were 2 packages for New Simone and both of them are underpaid, because I put the 25 cents on the package.
When the weight is also important on day 2, the prices for the light packages are sometimes higher than for the other ones. And I don't think I have enough for 35 euros for one package. I think that just the prices need to be taken care of.
I'm having a problem with the prices, I believe the ones that should be 25 cents are 25 euros instead. And the 50 cents are 5 euros, if I really have to pay all that, I don't think I have enough postage :) But a really great game ngl! Congrats
Thanks for the bug report! Does this happen with specifically "overweight" parcels or any parcel? If you could post a screenshot of the mistake preview when this happens, that'd be really helpful -- we've been trying to catch this bug for a while, but haven't been able to replicate it.
In terms of game balance, did you unlock the stamp pack upgrade and purchase mystery stamp packs? If it's not possible to price everything correctly with the upgrades purchased, we'll definitely have to tweak the pricing balance as well.
That price chart looks wrong, many of the numbers are 100 times larger than they should be. Comparing your screenshot with the spreadsheet helped me figure it out.
Under the hood, the game reads the chart from a CSV file where 25 cents is represented as “0.25”. However, it looks like your system’s locale/language settings probably assume that the decimal separator is a comma, not a period, and so it reads “0.25” as 25 dollars not 25 cents. I had no clue that the system locale could change how numbers are parsed in C#.
I’ll post a new build with a fix as soon as I can.
This is the full pricechart and it happens whenever I launch the game(I use the browser), using the gilded postage I can still send them with the right price. But else it'll say that it got underpaid.
I also had another bug where with some packages I needed to pay 1.75 for postage, but I couldn't find it anywhere where it said that I had to pay that. Couldn't recreate that bug though!
And maybe it is fun to include for example postage collectors, who will buy postages from you for the amount that they are worth(so the very big ones for 4 and the small cube ones for 25 cents!
The gilded stamp working makes sense, as it essentially tells the game to pretend that the package has the right price, no matter what other stamps are attached.
The 1.75 bug is likely caused by the same locale issue as the price chart.
There is a bug that is saying that i'm underpricing the shipping. Things that were suppoused to be $1.75 and says that i shoul be charging $175.00. The game is really cool though, there is a lot of potencial.
I could play this game for hours if not for the bugs. Some of them are small enough to play around, but sometimes the screen turns black or I am unable to drag anything and I have to refresh and start over.
lovely game and I love the art but I cant read the smaller writing that is on the 7th page of the book I was just wondering if that's intentional or not
Thanks! It's intentionally a little harder to read, but illegible was not the intended goal x) It reads: "This page was rudely torn out and stolen by Cpt. J.Kyd on 03/04/70 in an outrage at the increase in postage costs. It was kindly retrieved by D. Bacon, however, the damage still remains"
So, I had to create an Itch.io account just to comment on this game.
I loved this game. I wish there was a full version with a longer primary game mode (something like a 12-week run, where each week has its own challenges, such as the first week being pay off your debt, week two being to generate a certain amount of profit, etc.) where you can get permanent upgrades and more gameplay elements are introduced (i.e. - a second map with new routes, larger stamps for heavier packages, etc.).
Compliments:
Gorgeous art and gameplay cohesion. Looks like it's modelled off of Papers, Please! which has a very similar gameplay loop, but this one feels much more cozy (rather than choosing whether or not to feed my family or give grandma medication by accepting bribes at the border, I can instead simply worry about whether or not I over- or under-charged someone for shipping a parcel). Music could use a bit of variation, but I understand this was made in a short time and is being developed to something longer/larger.
The gameplay loop is very satisfying. All of the necessary information is right there in front of the player, needing no more than a simple turn of the page (for the more-detailed routes info or the extra surcharge info) to see everything.
The 'booster pack' aspect of getting more stamps is quite fun, as they can be randomized and you never know if you'll get what you need for the day. Keeps up the randomization.
This seems like the perfect game for a rogue-like-'esque' style of gameplay, where the primary game only need to last a certain number of days/weeks (such as 4, 8, or 12 weeks, like a summer job), then you reach the end, and can start over again.
Critique/Suggestions (Priority):
(High) Someone already mentioned colorblind mode, and I think this would be a great addition to the game (by adding symbols/crests to particular routes). I'm not colorblind, but even I found that certain colors were very close to one another (in particular, blue and purple routes), and being able to see a symbol/crest for each route and the same symbol/crest on the shipping panels would make it much easier to feel comfort that I'm sending the package on the correct route.
(Medium) One significant frustration I had the longer that I played the game involved the lack of adequate desk space. While games like this want the player to find a layout that works best for them, it became cumbersome to have to sort the stamps (onto the desk) every day, retrieve the 75-cent from beneath the scale every day, try and manage any extra packages by finding a spot to pile them on the desk, etc. I think there are a few modifications that would make this immensely easier on the player:
• Create sorting trays/drawers for the stamps in the black-space area beneath the shipping drop-down menu in the top-middle/top-right, just above the desk. These could be improvements bought from the shop or something the player starts with, but being able to click-and-drop each stamp into its appropriate tray (depending on its denomination) would free up clutter on the desk and make it easier to apply the stamps to packages. Plus, organizing is satisfying!
• Once the 75-cent stamp has been found, simply include it in the Starting Pack of stamps the player receives every day (and maybe add it to roster of possible stamps the player can buy from the Booster Packs? Or that could be a reward for beating the first week or something).
• Perhaps consider introducing a 'Lock' button for the player that adheres elements to the desk (in particular, the 'Route Map', the 'Player Book/Manual/Price List' book, and the 'Scale'). Being able to press 'L' (or some other key bind) to 'lock' things to the desk would make it much easier to move stamps and packages around. One frustration I kept running into was trying to pick up a particular package from my pile of packages and accidentally picking up the map, which 'dropped' all of my packages beneath the map, so I now had to move the map out of the way to access them and rearrange everything. If I could just press 'L' to lock the map down (thereby popping all of my packages to the top of the map), it would alleviate a lot of frustration.
(Medium) Is there something that can be done about all of the packages that might end up on the desk? Perhaps the player can purchase a 'Storage' upgrade that adds a slide-out drawer/bin that stores a certain number of overflow packages (that could even be upgraded further in the shop)? This would remove some of the clutter and make it easier to store packages that can't be sent out on the current day. Additionally, a rule could be added from the company that charges the player money if they fail to send packages out within a certain amount of time (maybe 3 days or 7 days).
(Low) Perhaps the game could have multiple different modes of difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert, etc.), as I found the goal of simply paying off the $25 loan way too simple, but I understand the game was made in only 72 hours without a real 'end goal' in mind, so that makes sense. Not a big deal, as I'm sure the expanded game will have more significant goals/milestones.
(Low) On that note, personal opinion, but I don't think the player should be allowed to 'reject' a package. We are, after all, a company designed to send out everyone's packages. If we don't have the correct stamps available or the available space for shipping we should be required to keep the package until we send it out (and suffer a penalty if the package is not sent out within X days or insufficient storage is available).
(Low) An unnecessary addition, but I think a cool little feature would be if the player could 'stamp' packages with a highlighter or particular color. For example, if I'm accepting a package that can currently go on today's red or green route, it'd be nice if I could quickly apply a dot of red and green to that package to help me remember which routes it can go out on today. Could even be an optional upgrade.
(Low) While I enjoyed the flexibility of the shop, it almost felt a little too easy being able to i) get a bunch of extra customers, ii) buy more stamps, iii) purchase 1 additional route, and iv) purchase 2 more additional routes, allowing me to essentially send out a lot more packages and make a lot more money. Basically, you'd be a fool not to buy all of these things from the shop every single day. If the game is designed in gameplay loops of, say, 7 days at a time, then maybe these things have base costs that increase by $X dollars every time they are used? This way, you could also allow the player to always see the 'Forecast' for the next day's route (as I think it's unnecessary to hide that from the player--this allows them to always plan ahead during the current day's packages).
(Low) Maybe there should always be a minimum number of routes (i.e. - always 2 beyond the first day, maybe always 3 later in the week?). Or maybe a neat gameplay mechanic would be the player being told restrictions at the start, such as 'the Yellow route will only be available on Friday this week,' or 'the Green route will only run on Monday/Thursday this week,' or 'no shipments will be made to E. Zed until Saturday/Day 7' for storing/rejecting packages?
(Low) Would love it if there were small aesthetic/decorative awards/milestones for completing portions of the game, such as getting to choose a new picture for different denominations of stamps for completing X number of days/weeks.
(Low) To keep up replayability, I think it might be a good idea to randomize or occasionally change the prices (maybe even weekly, i.e. - every 7 days during a run) to keep the player on their toes. This could even involve changing/adding surcharges to certain weight limits (even those already in the rulebook). Maybe even later on in longer runs, certain modes of transportation could also cost more money (i.e. - boat vs train/locomotive). Could also introduce a 'quick shipping' option that can be used with a special stamp where the package will be sent via courier (plane) without needing to be placed onto a mode of shipping.
(Low) Finally, just a consideration: I found it a little frustrating that I would 'lose' any remaining stamps I had at the end of the day. I guess this might be a balancing mechanic so the player simply doesn't have too many stamps, but I think the loop of simply applying the correct stamps (and having them on-hand and available) is much more satisfying than the risk of not having the necessary stamps to add to packages. Plus, it rewards the player for being smart with their stamp usage. Maybe this could be counter-balanced by charging the player for every stamp they keep (say, $0.50) or maybe for the number of stamps they keep (0 stamps = $0.00 charge; 1-3 stamps = $1.00 charge, 4-6 stamps = $2.00 charge, etc.)? Could also be an upgrade. Just a thought.
Anyway, most of these suggestions are simply wishful thinking by me. I understand that adding/changing anything in development is a time-consuming process and some/most of these might not even be feasible, but I wanted to add some considerations, just in case!
Can't wait to see the final version of this game. It can easily overtake Papers, Please! in that area of gameplay provided it offers enough replayability and mission variety. The addition of upgrades, Booster Pack variety/randomness, and weekly goals/missions would be enough, I think. Especially if beating the game unlocked harder modes that increased the amount of debt you had to pay off or amount of profit/packages you had to successfully achieve/send.
Wow, thank you so much! These are some great ideas and critiques, we really appreciate it and we'll definitely be referencing this as we work out the next tasks to-do :)
In the original concept sketches, we actually had drawers on the front side of the desk (bottom of the screen) for storing packages, but putting them above the desk would definitely be a better fit both visually and mechanically.
I could see the "lock" button concept visually indicated with push pins holding the item in question down. Currently you can't lock an item in place, but holding L-shift will preserve the current layering of any held object, and holding L-CTRL will push the held object to the furthest layer. That should solve the map layering issue for now!
The 75-cent stamp was only intended to spawn until the player finds/uses it, so that's definitely a bug that it keeps re-appearing every day. I really like the idea of adding it to the roster of stamps available for purchase, or that using it unlocks a different special stamp collection/pack.
You make a good point about not hiding the forecasted route from the player, potentially it could be a one time upgrade (i.e. a calendar or a marine radio). Maybe there could be a Forecast II upgrade where the player additionally gets more info for the week like you mentioned (i.e. "the Yellow route will only be available on Friday this week"). Love the idea of coloured markers as a tool for the player to mark parcels. We've had the art for wooden handled rubber stamps and ink pads done for about...oh geez, almost a year now...but the implementation had a bunch of kinks to work out with the behaviour/mouse-controls and accounting for all the edge-cases depending on what the player would choose to stamp.
I'm so down for small decorative awards for milestones, maybe the starter pack could evolve visually as different milestones are met. After all this testing, I feel like I have the same 13 images burned into my retinas xD
In terms stamps disappearing, the inconsistency of the unused starter stamp pack's postage all disappearing at the end of the day while the purchasable stamp pack's postage remains, doesn't sit well with us. We'll have to workshop this more in the future, as like you said, if they don't refresh at the end of the day, the player would end up with way too many stamps. For now, we'll probably adjust the balance of the stamps you get in the starter pack (more little denominations) and tweak the spawning rules, which should make it a little easier to have the correct amount of postage on hand.
The shop is not well balanced, items should probably be gate-kept, we threw it together as a last minute addition and it definitely needs some love. Same thing with the routes, but we definitely intend to expand on everything: more complex/dynamic rules, more unique shipping options, more parcel variety, NPCs, quests, etc...
...and we also have a bunch of bigger picture ideas we'd love to implement that we think would definitely round out the game. Thanks again for your lovely comment, it means a lot to us that someone took the time to give us such detailed feedback! Glad you enjoyed playing
Howdy, this is such a lovely game! It's very nice and calming, I only have a few suggestions as of this moment.
A colorblind mode/aid could be very useful, I didn't even realize the routes were different colors until I got a discrepancy for it. Maybe each route could have it's own unique symbol?
This isn't a bug, but for the story mode at least, I've found the stamps you get are rather unbalanced in what the packs give you. I never used the bigger ones, I personally never encountered a package that took more than 200 to send, but I consistently ran out of 25s and 50s even if I still had the space in the cargo for the packages. On the last day of story mode, I had three packages I simply couldn't send because I didn't have the stamps for them, despite having purchased an extra stamp pack. Maybe you could alter the packs so that you get more little stamps and less big ones? Or did I just get. really bad luck with that
Thanks for the comment! Colorblind mode is a great idea, we’ll add a unique symbol for each route. You’re spot on with the stamp balance issues, we'll be tweaking the balance as we add new mechanics/upgrades. Currently in the story mode, overweight packages are only possible after day 3, and even then it’s a low chance(10% per package) that one will spawn. We’ll be reworking how that works in a future update – we’ll likely move the large stamps into a stamp pack upgrade, and increase the number of small stamps into the starter pack.
great game! i would love if there were permanent upgrades on the infinite mode (more customers, more trade routes, more stamps etc). also not sure if im doing something wrong or if its a bug but a couple of my packages disappear at the end of the day (not all of them, like 2/3rds maybe), even if ive made sure i havent shipped them and theyre just waiting on the desk. its a very relaxing game and i love sorting all of the packages :)
love this game, it's like if Papers, Please loved you. are there any plans to add a save function to the endless mode? i'd like to keep a run going long-term, i think it'd be fun
also, maybe permanent upgrades like an upgradable stamp printer, stamp remover, stuff like that
That's a great tagline: "it's like if Papers, Please loved you" xD
Yes, a save function is up there on to-do list, no promises on when it'll be implemented though, and we're currently working on a couple permanent upgrades for the next update. Thanks for the upgrade ideas, we'll add them to the list!
hey - just played again, new update is awesome! only bug i've consistently seen is that sometimes you just.. can't grab stuff for whatever reason, it fixes itself whenever you flip a dog-eared page
oh yeah and another suggestion that might be dumb but might not be - pay to charter a "golden line" that can ship anything anywhere, *but* you can only ship things with golden stamps on them, visually it'd be a line going everywhere with a shimmer effect like the golden postage - jus something i thought might be cool :3
I keep getting the "underpay" thing, even tho I read the "Up to g" chart correctly. It's weird, yeh. I'll be waiting for the update to look at it again. Thanks for sharing the game, it's awesome ^^
Yeah, that bug's been eluding us for a while, but I think we finally caught it. We've added a "discrepancy log" in the last update, so it should be easier for us to tackle these sorts of nasty bugs in the future with screenshots of the unjust fines. Thanks for playing!
Still one of my favorite game on itch.io, I sometimes come back playing it again when I need to keep my mind busy for a while in a calming way.
The bugs I used to have are gone since the last update, and the zooming of the label is really useful ! I just want to signal a new bug I've been encountering when I keep packages for the next day.
The first time I kept one to be shipped the following day, the package turned into a 75 cents postage that was hidden under the balance.
The second time, the two packages were invisible until I toggle the cargo menu, then they appeared and stayed there normally.
The third time, the same thing happened, except that only one of the two packages reappared. I checked under everything on the desk, reopen the cargo menu multiple times, and I think it's completely gone. The end of the day 7 didn't mention anything about that package either, so it truly completely vanished.
Those small bugs didn't happened more than those 3 times for now, and luckily they are not too bothering, especially since the game doesn't give me any penalty for those packages, so there's no emergency to it !
P.S: I also just noticed the mouse clicker tunrning into a middle finger when giving a package back to someone, and I find it pretty funny X)
Thanks so much! Glad to hear the bugs are dwindling down, and the easter eggs are being found :'D
We fixed a couple adjacent problems to what you're describing in the last update, where the scripts for returning parcels flung off the desk and the logic for parcels/postage kept overnight just didn't work as intended. Hopefully that'll address your bug report as well, but let us know if it's still an issue and we'll look into it!
I love this game :) Although I have no problem playing the English version, if there is a multilingual version (Chinese? German? Spanish? French?), this game will attract more players.
One question: Could you create an option for stamps to be automatically sorted and placed? Otherwise, I have to manually drag stamps to the corner of the table at the beginning of everyday and sort them by price. (It's rather dull for me) Just an option, since not everyone wants stamps to be automatically sorted.
More game features and content can be added: e.g.
Expedited post: must be sent out on the same day
Fragile post: cannot be pressed underneath other parcels, or cannot be placed upside down on the cabin
Special events/situation: due to storms or other reasons, the possibility of delayed delivery or even loss of post (the post office itself pays extra money to bear the loss of customers)
Regular customers: there are additional requirements or the kind of bargaining
The kiosk functions: with snacks and stationery at the counter
Multiple endings for the storyline: Accepting or Refusing to ship contraband (with the customer paying a much higher price) leads to a different outcome-->
Accepting the shipment and getting caught at the end
Accepting the shipment and not being caught at the end
Rejecting the request (and perhaps retaliation from the customer)
etc.
I can't wait to see the day this game goes live on Steam! ;)
Definitely agree, we intend to do localization eventually, when the game is a lot closer to being done. We’re open to doing that sooner if there is enough interest.
Automatically sorted stamps is a great idea – How would you feel about that being a purchasable upgrade in the shop?
Wow, you outlined pretty much exactly the direction we want to take the game – a good number of these are already in the works. This might just be the motivation we needed to push for the next update :D
I think the idea of a purchasable upgrade in the shop is very good. You can set up automatically sorted stamps to be a full buyout or just an upgrade that can be purchased everyday. It's all up to you :)
The game looks good but it's seem that I can't play it for some reason. I don't have the costumers, Next is non clickable. When I open the inventory with tab, the inventory is stuck with no way to remove it. I really want de test this game, so I'm a bit dissapointed :/
Thats unfortunate! Are you playing on the web? If so, do you see any errors in the developer console or would you be able to post a screenshot of it? You can open it with the dev console with CTRL + SHIFT + J (Windows/Linux) or ⇧⌘J (Mac).
I don't see anything here that looks like a game error here (mostly networks stuff and the game does not do any of that). Would you be able to send another screenshot where you have the scroll bar all the way down?
Great game. Absolutely love it. I did notice one bug though. I played the 7 day story mode and beat it after 4 days so I went on to the endless mode. When I went to open the cargo menu on day 1 of endless, I still had 2 packages in storage from the 7 day mode. Was even able to send them off on day 2 of endless and make money from them.
Unfortunately, not at the moment, the game is still a work in progress. We intend to release the full game on Steam once it's complete and would love to have it localized at that point.
However, if there's enough interest now, and someone volunteers to translate (neither of us devs speak Chinese unfortunately), we're open to adding language support sooner.
I adored this game, it's so calm and the probably the best thing is that there is no timer so you can take your time and arrange everything how you like. The only thing is that I keep getting "underpaid" postage despite following the instructions on the game (and comment that I've seen from someone with the same problem).
Setting that issue aside, it's lovely and I would appreciate it if there was a saving system. (Unless there's already one and I just haven't seen it). <3
Absolutely lovely game! The only issue that I'm having is that I keep getting my pay docked because of "underpaid" postage. Am I missing something in the rulebook about the stamps?
Thanks for the feedback, if you are consistently underpaying, chances are that going down a row on the price chart will solve your problem. The chart is a bit confusing and we'll be updating it soon.
The "up to weight (g)" column should be more clear with the ranges: the "10 g" cell should read 0 -10 g, "20 g" should read 10.1 - 20 g, etc. So for example, a package weighing 25 g going to Tator Isles would fall in the row marked "100 g" since it's over 20 g and fits in the "up to 100 g" range, and it'd need $0.50 postage to ship.
You can use the scale to do the stamp math :D -- hope that helps!
The game is sooooo cute, but i had the same problem. Although I did all the things right(according to the introductions), there're still a lot of underpaid packages. Is there any basic fees for the post or something else? It will be rly nice if I can know which part I did wrong in the game.
Hmm... we're currently working on a visual overview in the score screen detailing any incorrectly shipped packages for the next build, hopefully that'll help us catch the bug(s)! Thanks for playing and the feedback :)
Even if the route for horse-drawn carriage delivery is increased, the destination will be wrong; why did the 7-day trial still fail to pay off the loan? Can a successful ending be designed?
Couldn't replicate the incorrect destination issue you described, but the game doesn't (yet) explain how that system works either. The colour of the flag in the top left corner of the blueprints denote which shipping route that particular ship/train/etc. is going on -- you can flip through all the current blueprints with the dog-eared button on the bottom right of the shipping menu to find the right route for a particular parcel. Hope that helps!
Successful ending should be possible now! We bugged it out when implementing endless mode :(
i love this game??? it's so cute and i love that you can take your time to figure it out. only thing is, occassionally it'll freeze up to where you can't drag things around and you get stuck. so good, i'm excited for how it's going
not sure if a bug or an easter egg, but sometimes when I alt tab to another application and then alt tab back, the cursor hand throws up the middle finger
Hi, love the game, but encountered a couple of issues
On day 2 (or 3?) I bought an extra pack of stamps for that level. The following day I didn't get any upgrades, but there was a second stamp kit on the table anyway which had the spinny animation, but was not clickable/moveable and stayed there for the rest of the game.
Also, on the final day I got the extra customer boost, but at some point when I clicked the next button, no customer would appear (but the next button was still available to click on). No "End Day" sign spawned either, but I also didn't realise until after I quit the game that you can press A to end the day. Maybe it would be nice to add those extra controls in the info book as well?
Other than that, can't wait for more story! Love the audio and ambience, fits really well in setting the mood i think :)
It turns out we broke more things than we originally thought – just uploaded a new build with fixes for both of these issues. Thanks for the bug report!
hello! the game looks lovely but i literally cant play it: i have no clue how to get any postage stamps. i found one under the weighing scale but there doesnt seem to be a menu or any hint on how to get more? am i doing something wrong??? i feel as if im going mad clicking around
whoops! We accidentally deleted the starting postage pack in the new build -- should be fixed now :) and nice! I thought it'd take a little longer for someone to find that easter egg, but I guess I'll just have to make the next one a little trickier...
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very confussing. i dont understand how much each package needs.
This game is very fun and addictive.
I hope there is more content, and a Steam version.
The problems I've had so far are as follows:
1. during the stamp organizing process, I performed an unsure action that caused the stamp organizing to get stuck and a parcel to become always selected. There are only a few stamps left on the screen that can be manipulated, most of the stamps cannot be manipulated, and moving certain components may cause the animation of the stamp sorting to continue, or it may cause the component itself to become inoperable. I managed to complete the level, but one of the stamps remains on the screen and inactive for the rest of the process.
2. You can only purchase a maximum of two packs of Mystery Stamps. Please hide the purchase option when the limit is reached, or just remove the limit.
3. the result of the stamp sorting is random, it would be better if the mystery stamps can be sorted to the bottom.
4. the values may need to be balanced further, mailing a $0.25 parcel that I can earn $2 from is a strange thing when you think about it.
5. the game currently goes back to august 1st after august 31st even though I tried to get to september 1st in endless mode.
Appreciate the feedback, you bring up some great points!
1. That's a weird new bug for sure. What was the unsure action you performed that caused the stamp to get stuck? Is this something you can reliably replicate?
2. That's not intentional, potentially a bug? Are you opening the mystery stamp packs every day (i.e. could this be related to transferring unopened stamp packs to the next day) or is it just preventing you from purchasing more than 2 per run regardless?
3. True, sounds like a good shop upgrade to me
4. Very much yes, variable earnings based on parcel size are in the works
5. Honestly, we didn't expect anyone to play long enough to notice the looping month, so thanks? This was a temporary solution to squeeze the calendar into the last update, congrats on revealing this dirty secret :D
1. I restarted the game with a new game and using only the Start pack of stamps did not reproduce the glitch, so I'm not sure what happened then. Given that it only happened once in a long game, perhaps it would take a large number of stamps to reproduce the glitch.
2. because of the sequencing issue in (3), I tend to open Mystery only if I must, so I would leave the unopened Mystery pack on the desktop, but this pack would only last for two at a time. Purchasing the third pack still results in only two packs, but I have paid for that.
Thanks, that's super helpful -- think we can fix 'em in the next build
the game keeps randomly deciding to not allow me to pick up/move items, it resolves on its own after a little bit of waiting
after playing more and i figured out its fixed by flipping through one of the corners, cant figure out whats causing it tho
Thanks for the report, does it resolve by flipping through *any* dog-eared corner or is it specifically the map/book etc? Did you alt-tab back into the game at any point? There's a similar bug after alt-tabbing, fixed by hitting ctrl. If you've found a specific way of reproducing the issue, please let us know!
a restart day option would be nice but I love it otherwise
i love this game, i just wish there's saved progress in the downloaded version
Thanks, a save-system is in the works!
i love this game! really lovely concept and execution. i would love to see some of the player suggestions taken as inspiration, particularly the ability to store leftover packages in a shelf or drawer. also, i was disappointed i couldn't use the extra space you get from the desk upgrade to store anything - the stamps would fit perfectly up there next to the sorter :)
i also had a few crashes but can't identify why/when.
there was one play session ruining bug i had where a 50 cent stamp got stuck on the scale, so the scale was measuring the $ amount, but it wouldn't come off, so i could no longer weigh any packages.
also... i may just be missing it, but where is the "quit game" button...?
Thanks! Package storage will likely make it into the next big update, and definitely agree on the desk upgrade gripes -- it's on the to-do list :)
Thanks for the bug reports, there's a lot of weird edge cases to consider. If you ever reproduce them, let us know/send screenshots. We'll look into the postage issue, the scale has been a particularly lovely treasure trove of bugs. Wahoo.
The quit game button is on the last page of the rulebook, as of 10min ago :D
excellent and cozy game, I hope the game will be eventually available to download on Mac!
Done :)
I really enjoyed this game! I played through the 7-day story mode twice and had no issues. I hope there will be more story modes in the future.
love the game! however what am i meant to be doing when i have way too many parcels to fit the shipping boat??????????
Thanks for playing! You can return the package to the customer. Or, you can keep the package on the desk and send it out on a later day. Chartering an extra route will help with clearing out the parcel backlog.
The game is really nice, but the prices are often 5 euros and 25 euros, I can't play like that. It happens that I can just underprice everything but that's not fun. Please fix it, I would love to play the game completely.
Thanks for the bug report! Does this happen with specifically "overweight" parcels or any parcel? If you could post a screenshot of the mistake preview when this happens, that'd be really helpful -- we've been trying to catch this bug for a while, but haven't been able to replicate it.
In terms of game balance, did you unlock the stamp pack upgrade and purchase mystery stamp packs? If it's not possible to price everything correctly with the upgrades purchased, we'll definitely have to tweak the pricing balance as well.
Here is the result
There were 2 packages for New Simone and both of them are underpaid, because I put the 25 cents on the package.
Thanks! Turns out that system locale can change how numbers are parsed in C# -- should be fixed now
I'm having a problem with the prices, I believe the ones that should be 25 cents are 25 euros instead. And the 50 cents are 5 euros, if I really have to pay all that, I don't think I have enough postage :) But a really great game ngl! Congrats
Thanks for the bug report! Does this happen with specifically "overweight" parcels or any parcel? If you could post a screenshot of the mistake preview when this happens, that'd be really helpful -- we've been trying to catch this bug for a while, but haven't been able to replicate it.
In terms of game balance, did you unlock the stamp pack upgrade and purchase mystery stamp packs? If it's not possible to price everything correctly with the upgrades purchased, we'll definitely have to tweak the pricing balance as well.
A picture is worth a thousand words – Thank you!
That price chart looks wrong, many of the numbers are 100 times larger than they should be. Comparing your screenshot with the spreadsheet helped me figure it out.
Under the hood, the game reads the chart from a CSV file where 25 cents is represented as “0.25”. However, it looks like your system’s locale/language settings probably assume that the decimal separator is a comma, not a period, and so it reads “0.25” as 25 dollars not 25 cents. I had no clue that the system locale could change how numbers are parsed in C#.
I’ll post a new build with a fix as soon as I can.
This is the full pricechart and it happens whenever I launch the game(I use the browser), using the gilded postage I can still send them with the right price. But else it'll say that it got underpaid.
I also had another bug where with some packages I needed to pay 1.75 for postage, but I couldn't find it anywhere where it said that I had to pay that. Couldn't recreate that bug though!
And maybe it is fun to include for example postage collectors, who will buy postages from you for the amount that they are worth(so the very big ones for 4 and the small cube ones for 25 cents!
Postage collectors are a great idea!
The gilded stamp working makes sense, as it essentially tells the game to pretend that the package has the right price, no matter what other stamps are attached.
The 1.75 bug is likely caused by the same locale issue as the price chart.
Should be fixed now!
Characters, lowkey kinda freak me out. But 110% would be my new favorite gam.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a more toned down version of Papers Please, and I like that. No time limit for customers which is great! Great game, would recommend.
browser version is not working, im download windows version, also half of controls not working, zero clients, piece of shit.
Can you provide more details: Which browser? Is it up to date? Is hardware acceleration turned on? Do you have a dedicated graphics card?
Maybe for this game, literally "papers, please" clone, i need buy a supercomputer and use only darkweb browser?
great game the endless gives me a black screen though <3
Is the lighthouse based on peggy's cove it looks really similar to it.
Yeah, it is!
There is a bug that is saying that i'm underpricing the shipping. Things that were suppoused to be $1.75 and says that i shoul be charging $175.00. The game is really cool though, there is a lot of potencial.
I could play this game for hours if not for the bugs. Some of them are small enough to play around, but sometimes the screen turns black or I am unable to drag anything and I have to refresh and start over.
lovely game and I love the art but I cant read the smaller writing that is on the 7th page of the book I was just wondering if that's intentional or not
Thanks! It's intentionally a little harder to read, but illegible was not the intended goal x) It reads: "This page was rudely torn out and stolen by Cpt. J.Kyd on 03/04/70 in an outrage at the increase in postage costs. It was kindly retrieved by D. Bacon, however, the damage still remains"
So, I had to create an Itch.io account just to comment on this game.
I loved this game. I wish there was a full version with a longer primary game mode (something like a 12-week run, where each week has its own challenges, such as the first week being pay off your debt, week two being to generate a certain amount of profit, etc.) where you can get permanent upgrades and more gameplay elements are introduced (i.e. - a second map with new routes, larger stamps for heavier packages, etc.).
Compliments:
Critique/Suggestions (Priority):
Anyway, most of these suggestions are simply wishful thinking by me. I understand that adding/changing anything in development is a time-consuming process and some/most of these might not even be feasible, but I wanted to add some considerations, just in case!
Can't wait to see the final version of this game. It can easily overtake Papers, Please! in that area of gameplay provided it offers enough replayability and mission variety. The addition of upgrades, Booster Pack variety/randomness, and weekly goals/missions would be enough, I think. Especially if beating the game unlocked harder modes that increased the amount of debt you had to pay off or amount of profit/packages you had to successfully achieve/send.
Excellent job!
Wow, thank you so much! These are some great ideas and critiques, we really appreciate it and we'll definitely be referencing this as we work out the next tasks to-do :)
In the original concept sketches, we actually had drawers on the front side of the desk (bottom of the screen) for storing packages, but putting them above the desk would definitely be a better fit both visually and mechanically.
I could see the "lock" button concept visually indicated with push pins holding the item in question down. Currently you can't lock an item in place, but holding L-shift will preserve the current layering of any held object, and holding L-CTRL will push the held object to the furthest layer. That should solve the map layering issue for now!
The 75-cent stamp was only intended to spawn until the player finds/uses it, so that's definitely a bug that it keeps re-appearing every day. I really like the idea of adding it to the roster of stamps available for purchase, or that using it unlocks a different special stamp collection/pack.
You make a good point about not hiding the forecasted route from the player, potentially it could be a one time upgrade (i.e. a calendar or a marine radio). Maybe there could be a Forecast II upgrade where the player additionally gets more info for the week like you mentioned (i.e. "the Yellow route will only be available on Friday this week"). Love the idea of coloured markers as a tool for the player to mark parcels. We've had the art for wooden handled rubber stamps and ink pads done for about...oh geez, almost a year now...but the implementation had a bunch of kinks to work out with the behaviour/mouse-controls and accounting for all the edge-cases depending on what the player would choose to stamp.
I'm so down for small decorative awards for milestones, maybe the starter pack could evolve visually as different milestones are met. After all this testing, I feel like I have the same 13 images burned into my retinas xD
In terms stamps disappearing, the inconsistency of the unused starter stamp pack's postage all disappearing at the end of the day while the purchasable stamp pack's postage remains, doesn't sit well with us. We'll have to workshop this more in the future, as like you said, if they don't refresh at the end of the day, the player would end up with way too many stamps. For now, we'll probably adjust the balance of the stamps you get in the starter pack (more little denominations) and tweak the spawning rules, which should make it a little easier to have the correct amount of postage on hand.
The shop is not well balanced, items should probably be gate-kept, we threw it together as a last minute addition and it definitely needs some love. Same thing with the routes, but we definitely intend to expand on everything: more complex/dynamic rules, more unique shipping options, more parcel variety, NPCs, quests, etc...
...and we also have a bunch of bigger picture ideas we'd love to implement that we think would definitely round out the game. Thanks again for your lovely comment, it means a lot to us that someone took the time to give us such detailed feedback! Glad you enjoyed playing
Howdy, this is such a lovely game! It's very nice and calming, I only have a few suggestions as of this moment.
Thanks for the comment! Colorblind mode is a great idea, we’ll add a unique symbol for each route. You’re spot on with the stamp balance issues, we'll be tweaking the balance as we add new mechanics/upgrades. Currently in the story mode, overweight packages are only possible after day 3, and even then it’s a low chance(10% per package) that one will spawn. We’ll be reworking how that works in a future update – we’ll likely move the large stamps into a stamp pack upgrade, and increase the number of small stamps into the starter pack.
great game! i would love if there were permanent upgrades on the infinite mode (more customers, more trade routes, more stamps etc). also not sure if im doing something wrong or if its a bug but a couple of my packages disappear at the end of the day (not all of them, like 2/3rds maybe), even if ive made sure i havent shipped them and theyre just waiting on the desk. its a very relaxing game and i love sorting all of the packages :)
Thanks! We'll definitely be adding some permanent upgrades in the next update, and I'm pretty sure that's a bug -- we'll look into it
love this game, it's like if Papers, Please loved you. are there any plans to add a save function to the endless mode? i'd like to keep a run going long-term, i think it'd be fun
also, maybe permanent upgrades like an upgradable stamp printer, stamp remover, stuff like that
That's a great tagline: "it's like if Papers, Please loved you" xD
Yes, a save function is up there on to-do list, no promises on when it'll be implemented though, and we're currently working on a couple permanent upgrades for the next update. Thanks for the upgrade ideas, we'll add them to the list!
hey - just played again, new update is awesome! only bug i've consistently seen is that sometimes you just.. can't grab stuff for whatever reason, it fixes itself whenever you flip a dog-eared page
oh yeah and another suggestion that might be dumb but might not be - pay to charter a "golden line" that can ship anything anywhere, *but* you can only ship things with golden stamps on them, visually it'd be a line going everywhere with a shimmer effect like the golden postage - jus something i thought might be cool :3
Thanks! Added to the bug list :) Ooh, very cool idea... that shimmer shader would look pretty good on a shipping line
I keep getting the "underpay" thing, even tho I read the "Up to g" chart correctly. It's weird, yeh.
I'll be waiting for the update to look at it again. Thanks for sharing the game, it's awesome ^^
Yeah, that bug's been eluding us for a while, but I think we finally caught it. We've added a "discrepancy log" in the last update, so it should be easier for us to tackle these sorts of nasty bugs in the future with screenshots of the unjust fines. Thanks for playing!
Still one of my favorite game on itch.io, I sometimes come back playing it again when I need to keep my mind busy for a while in a calming way.
The bugs I used to have are gone since the last update, and the zooming of the label is really useful ! I just want to signal a new bug I've been encountering when I keep packages for the next day.
The first time I kept one to be shipped the following day, the package turned into a 75 cents postage that was hidden under the balance.
The second time, the two packages were invisible until I toggle the cargo menu, then they appeared and stayed there normally.
The third time, the same thing happened, except that only one of the two packages reappared. I checked under everything on the desk, reopen the cargo menu multiple times, and I think it's completely gone. The end of the day 7 didn't mention anything about that package either, so it truly completely vanished.
Those small bugs didn't happened more than those 3 times for now, and luckily they are not too bothering, especially since the game doesn't give me any penalty for those packages, so there's no emergency to it !
P.S: I also just noticed the mouse clicker tunrning into a middle finger when giving a package back to someone, and I find it pretty funny X)
Thanks so much! Glad to hear the bugs are dwindling down, and the easter eggs are being found :'D
We fixed a couple adjacent problems to what you're describing in the last update, where the scripts for returning parcels flung off the desk and the logic for parcels/postage kept overnight just didn't work as intended. Hopefully that'll address your bug report as well, but let us know if it's still an issue and we'll look into it!
I love this game :) Although I have no problem playing the English version, if there is a multilingual version (Chinese? German? Spanish? French?), this game will attract more players.
One question: Could you create an option for stamps to be automatically sorted and placed? Otherwise, I have to manually drag stamps to the corner of the table at the beginning of everyday and sort them by price. (It's rather dull for me) Just an option, since not everyone wants stamps to be automatically sorted.
More game features and content can be added: e.g.
etc.
I can't wait to see the day this game goes live on Steam! ;)
Thank you for the lovely comment!
Definitely agree, we intend to do localization eventually, when the game is a lot closer to being done. We’re open to doing that sooner if there is enough interest.
Automatically sorted stamps is a great idea – How would you feel about that being a purchasable upgrade in the shop?
Wow, you outlined pretty much exactly the direction we want to take the game – a good number of these are already in the works. This might just be the motivation we needed to push for the next update :D
I think the idea of a purchasable upgrade in the shop is very good. You can set up automatically sorted stamps to be a full buyout or just an upgrade that can be purchased everyday. It's all up to you :)
The game looks good but it's seem that I can't play it for some reason.
I don't have the costumers, Next is non clickable. When I open the inventory with tab, the inventory is stuck with no way to remove it.
I really want de test this game, so I'm a bit dissapointed :/
Thats unfortunate! Are you playing on the web? If so, do you see any errors in the developer console or would you be able to post a screenshot of it? You can open it with the dev console with CTRL + SHIFT + J (Windows/Linux) or ⇧⌘J (Mac).
Here what I have. Hope it's help
another one
I don't see anything here that looks like a game error here (mostly networks stuff and the game does not do any of that). Would you be able to send another screenshot where you have the scroll bar all the way down?
I make a record of my experience so far with the game :
Great game. Absolutely love it. I did notice one bug though. I played the 7 day story mode and beat it after 4 days so I went on to the endless mode. When I went to open the cargo menu on day 1 of endless, I still had 2 packages in storage from the 7 day mode. Was even able to send them off on day 2 of endless and make money from them.
XD Congratulations on your savvy business skills! We'll patch this in the next update. Thanks for the bug report!
Is there any language adjustment? Is there Chinese language?
Unfortunately, not at the moment, the game is still a work in progress. We intend to release the full game on Steam once it's complete and would love to have it localized at that point.
However, if there's enough interest now, and someone volunteers to translate (neither of us devs speak Chinese unfortunately), we're open to adding language support sooner.
I adored this game, it's so calm and the probably the best thing is that there is no timer so you can take your time and arrange everything how you like. The only thing is that I keep getting "underpaid" postage despite following the instructions on the game (and comment that I've seen from someone with the same problem).
Setting that issue aside, it's lovely and I would appreciate it if there was a saving system. (Unless there's already one and I just haven't seen it). <3
Thanks for the comment! We'll add a local save system to the to-do list for the next build.
Absolutely lovely game! The only issue that I'm having is that I keep getting my pay docked because of "underpaid" postage. Am I missing something in the rulebook about the stamps?
Thanks for the feedback, if you are consistently underpaying, chances are that going down a row on the price chart will solve your problem. The chart is a bit confusing and we'll be updating it soon.
The "up to weight (g)" column should be more clear with the ranges: the "10 g" cell should read 0 -10 g, "20 g" should read 10.1 - 20 g, etc. So for example, a package weighing 25 g going to Tator Isles would fall in the row marked "100 g" since it's over 20 g and fits in the "up to 100 g" range, and it'd need $0.50 postage to ship.
You can use the scale to do the stamp math :D -- hope that helps!
The game is sooooo cute, but i had the same problem. Although I did all the things right(according to the introductions), there're still a lot of underpaid packages. Is there any basic fees for the post or something else? It will be rly nice if I can know which part I did wrong in the game.
Hmm... we're currently working on a visual overview in the score screen detailing any incorrectly shipped packages for the next build, hopefully that'll help us catch the bug(s)! Thanks for playing and the feedback :)
Even if the route for horse-drawn carriage delivery is increased, the destination will be wrong; why did the 7-day trial still fail to pay off the loan? Can a successful ending be designed?
Couldn't replicate the incorrect destination issue you described, but the game doesn't (yet) explain how that system works either. The colour of the flag in the top left corner of the blueprints denote which shipping route that particular ship/train/etc. is going on -- you can flip through all the current blueprints with the dog-eared button on the bottom right of the shipping menu to find the right route for a particular parcel. Hope that helps!
Successful ending should be possible now! We bugged it out when implementing endless mode :(
i love this game??? it's so cute and i love that you can take your time to figure it out. only thing is, occassionally it'll freeze up to where you can't drag things around and you get stuck. so good, i'm excited for how it's going
The occasional freezing should not be happening, and we couldn't reproduce the issue on our end. Would you be able to provide any more info?
not sure if a bug or an easter egg, but sometimes when I alt tab to another application and then alt tab back, the cursor hand throws up the middle finger
I believe you've found a bugged easter egg XD -- congrats!
Took a minute to get the hang of it but so fun
Hi, love the game, but encountered a couple of issues
On day 2 (or 3?) I bought an extra pack of stamps for that level. The following day I didn't get any upgrades, but there was a second stamp kit on the table anyway which had the spinny animation, but was not clickable/moveable and stayed there for the rest of the game.
Also, on the final day I got the extra customer boost, but at some point when I clicked the next button, no customer would appear (but the next button was still available to click on). No "End Day" sign spawned either, but I also didn't realise until after I quit the game that you can press A to end the day. Maybe it would be nice to add those extra controls in the info book as well?
Other than that, can't wait for more story! Love the audio and ambience, fits really well in setting the mood i think :)
It turns out we broke more things than we originally thought – just uploaded a new build with fixes for both of these issues. Thanks for the bug report!
thank you so much for calling that new update "inedible text" as per another commenter xD
hello! the game looks lovely but i literally cant play it: i have no clue how to get any postage stamps. i found one under the weighing scale but there doesnt seem to be a menu or any hint on how to get more? am i doing something wrong??? i feel as if im going mad clicking around
whoops! We accidentally deleted the starting postage pack in the new build -- should be fixed now :) and nice! I thought it'd take a little longer for someone to find that easter egg, but I guess I'll just have to make the next one a little trickier...
Fun
Text little inedible
Sorting stamps yes
illegible* but I guess it is also inedible
Fun game, but I wish some of the smaller text was easier to read lol
Um, I paid of the debt but I still got the bad ending