[Update] Beta 5: Now welcoming all Kickstarter backers, Linux support, socializing

The March update for Idol Manager is now live! If you joined the beta program by backing the game through Backerkit or buying the game on itch.io, to manually update you can head over to the game's itch.io page to download the latest version. Kickstarter backers joining the beta this month should find an email containing instructions and a beta access code.

Welcome to the beta!

Let's start with what may be the biggest news of this update for some of you: All Kickstarter backers who pledged to receive a copy of Idol Manager now have access to the ongoing beta. This includes backers who didn't originally select a reward tier that included alpha/beta access. If you were part of the "student" tier, your beta access code should already be waiting for you in your email inbox.  (If you didn't receive it, or have issues with redeeming your code, contact us directly so we can help you out.)

Since we launched the Idol Manager alpha, we've been thrilled with the response that the we've gotten from our alpha and beta players: we're glad to hear from the many of you who are already enjoying the game in its current state, and your feedback has been instrumental in helping us to improve the game by adding new requested features and fixing bugs.

When we announced last year that we would be delaying the release of Idol Manager while maintaining a monthly update schedule for the beta, the overall response we got was positive, and we're glad that so many of you agree with our decision to spend more time working on adding new features, creating more content, and balancing the gameplay. At the same time, we also heard from a number of backers who were disappointed by the delay, because it meant they would have to wait longer to play Idol Manager.  Many people backed the game last year expecting to be able to play it in December, and understand that the delay was a big letdown for some of you.  Although we're happy with the progress we've been making on Idol Manager, in light of the delay, we think it's only fair to allow those Kickstarter backers access to the beta so they can play, too.

What's on the horizon:

While many of the core gameplay systems are in place, the beta in its current state does not represent a complete game. Significant portions of the story are not yet included, and we are still working on new features and content that will be added in future updates.  Over the coming months, we will continue releasing Idol Manager updates on a monthly basis to add new content and features, including:

• Relationships between idols (including bullying and cliques)
• Expanding the idol/player relationship system with dating
• Award shows (a new type of special event)
• Sales charts for singles
• Main story content: a more involved storyline, including some events that will affect gameplay
• Various other content (including increasing the number of possible substories and events as the story expands)

As the game is still in development, in the beta for Idol Manager, you may encounter bugs or performance issues, and future updates may break compatibility with old save files.  All of that being said, we're really happy with the current state of the game, and even if it isn't the full Idol Manager experience, we think that giving you access to the beta so that you can see the features and content we've already released is the next best thing.

If you decide to play the beta, we hope that you'll join the ongoing discussion in our beta community forum where you can let us know what you think about the beta and request features or suggest changes that you think might improve the experience. Thank you all for your patience as we continue to work on Idol Manager, and we hope you enjoy your time with the beta!

Now, onto the new content of the March update itself:

Features

Linux support

Idol Manager is playable on Windows, Mac, and now Linux!  If you encounter any performance issues or other problems with the newly-released Linux build, please visit the beta forum or contact us directly to let us know.

Socializing

You can now socialize with idols. Drag and drop an idol's card into your room to plan a visit with her.  When socializing, you have several different options:

• Casual conversation: learn something about her and improve your relationship.
• Flirt: If an idol is old enough, you can take a chance and try flirting to see how romantically interested she might be. Don't overstep your bounds, though -- there lots of reasons why flirting might not go over well, and repeated unwanted advances could have catastrophic consequences!
• Talk about her wishes: learn about her goals. Idols can wish for things like getting a good rank at elections, hosting their own show, going on hiatus, etc. Fulfilling her wish will improve your relationship and restore mental stamina.
• The options for "Talk about the group" and "talk about graduation" will be added in a future update.

Profile

Click the profile button on an idol's card to bring up a window that includes tabs that show her stats, which activities she's currently engaged in, what jobs she's doing, and other information you've learned about her.

Improvements

Redesigned idol cards: idol cards now have a menu button for actions (like assigning a nickname, putting her on hiatus, or forcing her to graduate early), a profile button (clicking this brings up the profile window show above), and a hand grab icon for drag-and-drop.  (Drag-and-dropping the whole card still works.)

Misc improvements:

• You can now set business proposals type priority for individual staffers 
• Singles, Shows and Special Events tabs now have separate sub-tabs for singles/shows/events that are still in production and those that have already been released.
• Spa activity now has a soft cooldown of 3 days. By default it restores 10 stamina pt, during the next day 2pt, the day after that 5pt. 
• Releasing a single costs 30pt stamina for all idols in the formation (in addition to the stamina cost of marketing activities), and center idol also spends 15pt mental stamina. 
•  You can now select which notifications you want to see (click the notifications envelope and click the "Options" button) 

Bug fixes

• Fixed an issue that prevented you from canceling a show after loading a save file
• Fixed a graphical/interface issue that sometimes appeared when releasing a single or show (the "white rectangles" bug)
• Fixed an issue where fame points earned with variety shows could get "stuck" and upgrading promotions would be impossible
• Fixed an issue where election votes could get "stuck" and upgrading performance would be impossible
• Fixed an issue where canceled shows would still be counted as part of your weekly budget report

Thank you to everyone for your patience as we continue to work on new content for Idol Manager for our monthly updates. We appreciate the many of you who have already taken the time to leave your feedback, bug reports, and suggestions in the beta community forum, and we look forward to seeing many more of you in the coming weeks and months!