NEXT FEST IS LIVE!

Hey, Not Sharks!

The cover is blown... in the best way possible! Shark Mart has officially infiltrated Steam Next Fest and your squad has been cleared for an undercover mission on the ocean floor

Here is your mission briefing:

• PLAY THE DEMO
• LEAVE A REVIEW
• WISHLIST THE GAME

FIELD REPORT: PATCH NOTES

We’ve polished our cover story based on your previous intel. Read the more detailed patch notes for the Updated Demo below

What’s New:

Fishing Rod: Lure fish without raising suspicion (if you’re quick enough!)

Crate Shelves: Organize inventory with highlighted slots & sound cues

New Stock: Chips, chocolate bars & corn flakes

Neon Signs & Lighting: Customize your storefront vibe

Custom Doorbell: Choose who triggers it (or mute it entirely!)

Better Trash Bags: Merge contents & cheaper opening cost (15 SharkCoins)

Tambourine Buff: Speed up nearby calm customers

Building QoL: Dedicated place button + temp rotation hold

Balance & Fixes:

Revised pricing & whale washing payouts

Police heat: Only 2 clues needed for 4-star wanted level

Co-op quotas scaled for -4 players

Critical interaction bugs squashed (no more accidental brick throws!)

Next Fest is a massive opportunity for our small team, and we couldn’t do this without you

Detailed patch notes for the updated Next Fest demo:

SHOP & SCAVENGER UPGRADES

• Fishing Rod: Lure calm fish with a timely tug! The trajectory accounts for obstacles and landing spots. Warning: Scared fish may flee and raise Suspicion Levels.
• Crate Shelves: Three new storage racks with 15 slots each for full/empty boxes. Now featuring shelf highlighting and successful placement audio cues.
• New Inventory: Chips, chocolate bars, and corn flakes are now available for sale.
• Neon Diner Signs: Six new signage options: "Open," Cocktail, Ice Cream, Pizza, Triple Arrow, and "Exit."
• Street Lighting: Added double street lamps, stand-mounted spotlights, and dual spotlights to existing lighting cards.

TOOL & ACTION IMPROVEMENTS

• Tambourine: Now accelerates calm visitors within a 5m radius. Effect respects walls and leaves a visible trail.
• Trash Bags: More versatile! Can now collect empty boxes, bricks, and other bags (merging contents). Opening cost reduced from 20 to 15 SharkCoins.
• Cash Scanner: New model with hand animation and red laser strip. No longer vanishes instantly when looking between items.
• Doorbell: Customizable triggers (Players, Visitors, or Police). Can be fully disabled. Settings save with the shop.
• Building Mode: Dedicated placement button added. Hold to temporarily rotate item toward you; release to revert orientation. Separate keybinds included. Preview display and purchase catalog have been organized.
• UI Polish: Improved text wrapping for long quest names, control labels, and unlock condition displays.
• Quest Hints: Removed hints for locked Doctor quests and future characters. Locked columns remain padlocked.

WORLD INTERACTIONS & BUG FIXES

• Tool Return: Returning tools to the rack no longer accidentally triggers their use or blocks the next input.
• Brick Disposal: Throwing bricks into containers no longer causes accidental hits.
• Box Safety: Boxes cannot be discarded while containing items or pending delivery credit.
• Trash Bag Logic: Fixed duplicate pickup/consumption glitches.
• Hand Priority: Occupied hands now correctly block standard interactions, while box placement, tool return, and cleaning remain accessible.
• End-of-Day Cleanup: Loose bricks outside the play zone are cleared nightly. Bricks held in-hand are preserved.
• Fish Decay: Dead fish now rot overnight and during player transport until the next day begins.
• Visibility: Doorway curtains now properly block line-of-sight for visitors and police. Fixed evidence detection at the tool rack.
• Manual Register: Protected against accidental double-payment completion.
• Network Stability: Delayed hose/spirit commands no longer apply after tool return or state change.

BALANCE ADJUSTMENTS

• Pricing: Wholesale and recommended prices revised. Custom markups recalculated on save load to maintain relative margins.
• Shopping: Buyers now factor in stock quantity when planning purchases.
• Whale Washing: Payouts redistributed across stages.
• Co-op Spawns: Fish/whale spawn intervals increased for 2-4 players. Daily fish quota adjusted to 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 based on player count.
• Police Heat: Reaching 4-star wanted level now requires only 2 distinct clues (previously 3).

CO-OP & SAVE SYSTEMS

• Lobby Management: Public lobby hosts can ban players for the session duration. Disabled in private rooms. Host status clearly marked with clear exclusion messages.
• Invites: Steam invites now verify version compatibility. Incompatible invites won’t disrupt active sessions.
• Shop Name Transfer: Fixed shop name sync when joining or changing hosts.
• Autosave: Initial autosave added for new worlds. Protection against world overwrite after failed loads.
• Save Compatibility: Fully compatible with previous demo saves (including upgrades and unfinished final quest). Box positions on shelves persist correctly. Empty boxes removed via trash bag stay removed after reload.
• Connection Warnings: Clarified and localized connection issue alerts.

Your feedback shaped these improvements, thank you for being part of this operation!