Voice chat - talk to other players using in-game voice chat
Promotions - employees can now receive promotion opportunities while working
Promotion notifications - promotion offers can now appear through the in-game phone
Department Manager - added an additional supermarket career progression tier
Employee cover - NPC staff can temporarily cover jobs when players are unavailable
Bakery employment - new characters can now begin their career at the bakery
Pool - added pool tables and new downtime activities
Pedestrians - street pedestrians can now stop and rest on public benches
Furniture - added more detailed furniture and additional bed models
Radiators - added new detailed radiator models
Phone shop - added new furniture and product displays
Clothing store - added improved clothing displays, materials and garment geometry
West Depot - added the West Depot and surrounding area
East Millbank - expanded the visible neighbourhood around the eastern edge of Millbank
Pavement signs - added new signs around Millbank
Vegetation - added new grass, flowers, trees and waterside plants
Rural roads - added proper shoulders to rural roads
Road repairs - added varied asphalt patches and road repairs
Interiors - improved apartment furniture placement and layouts
Bathrooms - improved bathroom layouts and wall joins
Windows - improved clearance around apartment windows and radiators
Shop fronts - improved and optimised the bakery and supermarket fronts
Clothing store - improved materials and presentation throughout the store
Neighbourhood - improved the overall layout and appearance of Millbank
Greenspaces - improved parks and green areas with more natural vegetation
West Meadow - improved grass and vegetation throughout the meadow
Terrain - improved terrain materials and environmental detail
West Depot - improved surfaces, collision and surrounding scenery
Roads - improved road shapes and generated geometry
Terrain blending - roads now follow the surrounding terrain more naturally
Junctions - improved the appearance and construction of road junctions
Road markings - improved road markings with more natural wear
Pedestrians - pedestrians now use more of the authored paths around Millbank
Greenspaces - pedestrians can now navigate through park and gravel paths
Footpaths - improved connections around the depot and construction areas
Carrying - improved animations while carrying baskets, boxes and other objects
Stock boxes - characters now hold stock boxes more naturally
Hand placement - improved hand and finger positioning when interacting with objects
Character poses - improved body and arm positioning during interactions
Roulette - improved dealer animations and marker movement
Slot machines - improved seating and character positioning at slot machines
Casino models - improved several casino models and environment assets
Rain - replaced the old rain ambience with a more natural looping sound
Startup - reduced waiting during startup by overlapping the intro with navigation preparation
Businesses - improved performance when businesses have large numbers of staff and customers
Bakery - improved bakery NPC and queue performance
Supermarket - improved stock and checkout performance
Pedestrians - improved pedestrian movement and navigation performance
Stock - reduced the performance cost of stock cases
Vegetation - improved rendering performance in areas with large amounts of vegetation
Trees - reduced rendering overhead from repeated tree meshes
Closing time - players now correctly finish work when their workplace closes
NPC closing - NPC employees now correctly leave businesses at closing time
Business doors - doors now correctly lock when businesses close
Closing animations - fixed staff continuing carrying animations after finishing work
Promotions - improved feedback when a promotion position is already occupied
Expansion walls - fixed misaligned walls between the bakery and supermarket expansions
Retail shelves - fixed incorrect shelf placement in the supermarket
Clothing doors - fixed collision on the clothing store's sliding doors
Bakery lighting - fixed unwanted fixture glow and staff lighting behaviour
Junction gap - fixed a visible gap in one of the Millbank junctions
Road surfaces - fixed several incorrect or overlapping road and yard surfaces
Coffee court - fixed pavement and collision around the coffee court
Basket carrying - fixed incorrect one-handed basket carrying
Stock box grips - fixed incorrect hand placement while carrying stock boxes
Kitchen poses - fixed unnatural character poses during kitchen interactions
Character anatomy - fixed several unnatural arm and hand positions
Dealer clothing - fixed casino dealer clothing occasionally not appearing
Slot animations - fixed slot machine animations during multiplayer
Casino shadows - fixed some casino materials not casting shadows
Roulette dealer - fixed excessive bending during roulette interactions
Roulette tables - fixed roulette tables after the casino mesh changes
Blackjack - interrupted blackjack games now settle correctly after a restart
Blackjack - inactive players can no longer hold a blackjack round indefinitely
Stockroom stairs - fixed employees being unable to use the shared stockroom stairs
Navigation - fixed NPCs attempting to use blocked or invalid routes
Pedestrians - fixed distant pedestrians disappearing or using incorrect viewing information
Store manager - fixed the seated store manager moving away from their chair
Doors - fixed some home doors not working correctly
Door prompts - simplified duplicate home door interaction prompts
Cargo - fixed some rotated stock cases being packed incorrectly inside delivery vehicles
Interrupted deliveries - stock cases now recover correctly when delivery work is interrupted
Recycled cases - recycled delivery cases no longer remain unnecessarily in world and save state
Takeaway bags - takeaway bags can now be replenished through deliveries
Opening stock - fixed sold bakery stock returning after loading a save
Orders - packed goods and completed sales now survive restarts correctly
Cancelled orders - fixed products being lost or reused incorrectly when takeaway orders are cancelled
Payment props - fixed cash and card props not following customers' hands correctly
Receipts - bakery receipts can now be placed on counters before being attached to takeaway bags
Save recovery - local saves can now recover from previously validated save generations
Player position - fixed saved player positions being corrupted by some regional number formats
World saving - player saves no longer unnecessarily delay world checkpoints
Persistence - fixed owned furniture not always restoring correctly on dedicated servers
Placement - fixed furniture placement continuing while other interfaces are open
Validation - improved server-side validation when moving furniture
Joining - fixed controls being taken before the server accepts a pool game
Pool tables - fixed pool tables being incorrectly treated as static
Paid drinks - paid drink collection now survives save and restart
Abandoned orders - abandoned coffee orders no longer block the counter indefinitely
Menus - Escape now works correctly when navigating menu sub-pages
Localization - improved translated inventory and leisure interaction text
Phone - fixed the phone incorrectly restoring controls used by pool
Revenue - fixed supermarket revenue totals not updating correctly for clients
Legacy meshes - removed old casino geometry that has been replaced by newer models
Unused models - removed unused and outdated environment models
First Steps tutorial - removed the old introductory tutorial
Promotion positions - senior positions may remain occupied by offline employees until the position becomes available
Supermarket and casino gameplay now run more smoothly for connected players.
NPCs carrying items now appear more reliably to other players.
Street lighting has been softened for a more natural night-time atmosphere.
Customers now avoid crowding correctly again.
Customers and staff can navigate shop entrances and exits more reliably.
Bakery trays now recover correctly if an empty tray position becomes stuck.
Roulette no longer shows a duplicate result marker.
An invalid long-hair outfit option has been removed.
No new player-facing known issues have been identified for this update.
Sprinting now drains Energy faster than walking.
Players with no Energy remaining can no longer sprint and must walk until they recover.
Supermarket stock cases now avoid sending unchanged information across the network.
Customer baskets now use fewer repeated stock and content checks.
Bakery orders, food items and kitchen systems now reuse more of their existing state.
Staff visibility updates now perform less unnecessary rendering work.
Casino displays and interaction hints now skip updates when nothing has changed.
Doors now share short lived movement and collision checks more efficiently.
The electricity system now processes registered appliances in a single pass.
Employment schedules and private player state now perform fewer unnecessary updates.
Bakery storage controls are now configured more consistently.
The bakery can now accept staff arriving through the rear entrance.
The tray return area now holds more trays before becoming full.
The preparation guide now responds correctly when the game window changes size.
Food prepared after joining the server now appears correctly.
Customers now spread out more naturally around shop entrances.
Pedestrians and bakery staff now choose more reliable routes when leaving buildings.
Road materials and supporting assets have been reorganised for easier maintenance.
Fixed bakery staff being unable to reach some work areas.
Fixed bakery staff losing their routes during daily routines.
Fixed trays failing to return correctly when the existing return area became full.
Fixed bakery uniforms appearing too dark or incorrectly lit on dedicated clients.
Fixed bakery staff movement animations not appearing correctly for remote players.
Fixed newly prepared food remaining invisible for some players.
Fixed pedestrians and bakery staff attempting to use invalid exit routes.
Fixed missing solid collision on the delivery van doors.
Fixed invalid ambient occlusion textures affecting several clothing materials.
Fixed orders from dedicated server clients not being accepted or acknowledged correctly.
Fixed the kiosk shutter closing during normal gameplay.
Fixed collected drinks being placed too close to the till.
Fixed the barista remaining static for remote players.
Fixed payment prompts and drink prices not using the selected language.
Fixed shoppers building up behind occupied checkouts.
Fixed missing customer baskets taking too long to be detected.
Fixed customers crowding shop entrances.
Fixed customers repeatedly attempting the same route home.
Fixed roulette balls appearing more than once on clients.
Fixed the roulette wheel being included in static casino geometry.
Fixed collision around roulette tables and restored the intended player barriers.
Fixed overlapping rails at the casino entrance.
Fixed incorrect cloth shading on the casino carpet.
Fixed staff routines not appearing correctly for remote players.
Fixed workers remaining visible inside their homes when they were off duty.
Fixed employment information occasionally becoming stale when its values had not changed.
Fixed clothing store entrance doors not appearing correctly on dedicated clients.
Hunger depletion has been temporarily disabled while its balance and gameplay purpose are reviewed.
The Hunger display has been hidden while Hunger depletion is disabled.
Removed obsolete asset auditing, scene consolidation and release staging tools.
Removed completed internal performance reports and experiments that were no longer needed.
Removed stale terrain metadata left behind by older world assets.
Hunger does not currently decrease and will remain hidden until the system is rebalanced.
Energy balance is still provisional and may change following playtesting.
NPCs may still hesitate briefly in especially crowded entrances.
Players joining a busy server may briefly see staff or business objects update into their correct state.
Welcome to the first public alpha of Business as Usual. Build a life in Millbank, find work, earn money, look after yourself and make your apartment feel like home.
Explore the hand-crafted Millbank neighbourhood, filled with homes, shops, workplaces and public spaces.
Experience a shared 60-minute day and night cycle with changing weather, fog and lighting.
Meet residents and customers travelling between their homes and local businesses.
Use your phone to find vacancies and start entry-level work.
Work in the supermarket by replenishing shelves, unloading deliveries, serving customers and operating checkouts.
Work in the bakery by receiving ingredients, preparing products, cooking food and completing customer orders.
Take orders, prepare drinks and serve customers at the coffee shack.
Improve your skills and take on greater responsibilities by completing useful work.
Build up earnings while working and receive your wages when the job is finished.
Return to the same persistent character, home, money, possessions and progress when rejoining a world.
Manage Hunger and Energy by eating food and sleeping at home.
Carry and organise personal items using a visual inventory grid.
Receive your own persistent starter apartment, along with the keys and access rights for it.
Browse and purchase furniture through the Home app on your phone.
Collect purchased furniture from the parcel stack inside your apartment.
Place, rotate, move and store furniture within your assigned home.
Play roulette, blackjack, mechanical slots and prestige slot machines.
Play three original arcade games called The Vault, Frostline Fishing and Skybound.
Share synchronized casino tables, chips, machines and seating with other players.
Play on dedicated multiplayer servers with a shared, persistent world.
Experience businesses, stock, customers, doors, casino games, time and weather that remain synchronized for everyone.
Millbank now includes more street furniture, lighting, crossings, dropped kerbs, gardens and environmental details.
The apartment block now has more detailed interiors, materials, furniture, windows, doors and shared spaces.
The supermarket, bakery, coffee shack, casino and clothing store interiors have received additional detail.
Shops, homes, streets and civic buildings now respond more naturally to the time of day.
Cloud edges have been softened and fog now blends more naturally into the sky.
The casino now has improved lighting, materials, carpets, uniforms and machine presentation.
The contractor yard now has more convincing machinery, materials and working lights.
The player HUD now presents your money, needs, current work, accrued wages, day and time more clearly.
The redesigned phone now includes dedicated Jobs and Home apps.
The inventory now displays native 3D previews of your items.
The HUD now shows useful reminders for opening the phone and inventory.
Checkout payment and action buttons are now larger and easier to understand.
Businesses now follow opening hours, closing routines and more believable staff behaviour.
Customers now move through shopping queues, doorways and local streets more reliably.
The bakery now has expanded staffing, office management, delivery, storage and production workflows.
Supermarket staff workflows, stock labels, product pictures and delivery handling have been improved.
Furniture placement is now more reliable and furniture can be rotated using the mouse wheel.
Level of detail models and distance based detail culling have been added throughout Millbank.
Static scenery has been consolidated and environmental textures have been optimized.
Staff, NPCs, appliances and distant displays now use less processing time.
Dedicated servers no longer load unnecessary visual assets and now provide clearer startup diagnostics.
Fixed pedestrians attempting to enter locked shops or inaccessible construction areas.
Fixed several kerb, road marking and junction alignment problems.
Fixed gaps, overlapping geometry and misplaced details around the apartment block.
Fixed street furniture, signs and lights obstructing doors, roads or parking spaces.
Fixed several exterior and civic lights failing to activate after dusk.
Fixed missing or inconsistent collision on doors, furniture and environmental props.
Fixed cases where world saves or recovery data could become invalid.
Fixed reconnect issues affecting homes, money, needs, employment, inventory and furniture.
Fixed remote players being able to perform invalid or unauthorized actions.
Fixed some businesses and gameplay objects appearing in the wrong state for players who joined late.
Fixed several NPC interactions and movement states failing to synchronize correctly.
Fixed multiplayer state issues affecting casino tables, machines and seating.
Fixed players and NPCs becoming trapped when businesses closed.
Fixed business entrances remaining locked during trading hours.
Fixed bakery staff abandoning active work during closing routines.
Fixed bakery workers losing their assigned targets or failing to reach upper shelves.
Fixed closing stock and empty trays not being returned correctly.
Fixed solo shop assistants being left without a stock worker.
Fixed customers blocking one another in doorways.
Fixed customers remaining inside the supermarket or bakery after closing.
Fixed the bakery work area light not responding to its kitchen switch.
Fixed Escape not consistently cancelling an action or returning to the previous screen.
Fixed the running animation not returning after leaving casino seating.
Fixed several cash, card and checkout state problems.
Fixed furniture purchases and ownership not working correctly on dedicated servers.
Performance may vary in the busiest parts of Millbank, particularly around detailed interiors and large groups of NPCs.
Wages, prices, needs and career progression are provisional and will continue to change during playtesting.
Some menus, prompts and controller interactions still need additional polish.
Brief visual or state differences may occur while a player joins a busy dedicated server.
NPCs may occasionally hesitate or take an unusual route around crowded doorways.
Some distant scenery, lighting transitions and environmental assets remain unfinished.
Personal vehicle ownership and driving are planned for a later release.
All playable businesses are currently owned and operated by NPCs.
Formal shifts, lateness and absence systems are not part of this alpha.
Renting, purchasing and owning multiple homes are not yet available.