Newly-released modding tools

You can now add new idol portraits and create new random events and substories using a preliminary version of the editor, which we've released as a separate download.  For download links, documentation, and further information, see the thread here in the beta community forums.  If you have any questions about the editor, post there to let us know!

To re-iterate what we've said previously during the Kickstarter campaign, support for stretch goals like mod support ranks behind working on the core game on our list of priorities: we believe that working on core gameplay features and content is our highest priority, and we don't want working on stretch goals to delay the completion of the core project.  As such, some modding features may not come until after the game comes out of beta and is officially released. However, because we already developed the event editor for internal use during the game's development, we're releasing it now so that you have a chance to play around with some of the development tools we've already created while the game is still in beta.

Feel free to ask in the forums if you have any questions about the editor, and you're also welcome to provide your feedback on the editor — just be mindful that we may not have the time to make changes to the publicly released editing tools until after the base game has shipped.

Now, onto the update itself:

Features

Early game rework

A small story event has been added that triggers one week after starting a new game.  This "starting player" event provides a small boost to your group from neighborhood support.  Daily activities receive a 50% bonus for a month after the story event is triggered, and a 30% bonus for the month after that.

Reworked fan system

• Fans now follow individual idols, rather than following the whole group.  Your group's fan count is the sum total of all fans for idols in your group.
• Fans also have opinions of each idol.   An idol's total appeal is equal to the appeal from her stats plus the fan opinion.
• When a scandal happens, some of the affected idol's fans will switch to other idols in the group, while other fans will abandon the group entirely.  Hardcore fans are more likely to switch to a different idol, while casual fans are more likely to leave.
• Similarly, when an idol graduates, some of her fans switch to other idols while others leave completely 
• The first time you load an old save file from a previous version, your group's fans will be distributed between your idols based on their current fame points.

New events

4 new events have been added, including new ways for idols to get in trouble.

Improvements

Interface changes for single creation

When creating a new single, the "release" button will be yellow and display a warning tooltip if less than a month has passed since the previous single release. (Releasing singles too often results in a penalty to sales; this penalty was previously not clearly communicated to the player, leading to many people confused about why their sales were so low after releasing several singles in a short period.)  Also, the "quantity" field is now hidden for digital releases.

Miscellaneous changes:

• Redesigned pop-up for dates/socializing
•  You can now queue daily activities. The max length of the queue depends on your producer's level, with the maximum cap being 7 (up to one week).
• All business contracts now add fans. The fan demographic depends on the parameter of the contract (cute, cool, etc)
• Idols won't trigger a dating scandal with the same partner twice (but can still trigger a new dating scandal if they get a new boyfriend or girlfriend).
• Promotion upgrade path changed: upgrade to level 2 now requires releasing a single, level 3 requires launching an internet show 
• The "choose a dialog" menu (debugging tool/cheat code, accessed by pressing the "~" key) can now also be used to force events as well.  Note that certain events will only start if certain conditions are met.
• Clicking on an empty room with no staffer no longer shows a context menu.
• New popup with SNS messages after random events.  (SNS history can still be viewed via the SNS button on the game's menu.)

Bug fixes

• Fixed: A number of bugs related to a dialogue and an event popup opening simultaneously
• Fixed: Graduated idols could still collect a salary
• Fixed: Idols still attempted to date clique leaders after their graduation, which could lead to a time freeze
• Fixed: Business popup displayed liability for contracts with no liability (Photoshoots and Variety Shows)
• Fixed: Not being able to select idols for concerts, shows and pushes if they were currently attending practice
• Fixed: Duplicate random events triggering again after reloading the game 
• Fixed: Queued random events and dialogues not saving/loading
• Fixed: Two idols graduating on the same day could break the game
• Fixed: Broken layout of the election planning popup on 16:10 resolutions

As always, we look forward to hearing your feedback on the latest update, and if you decide to experiment with the modding tools we've released, be sure to post in the forums to let us know what you think, or to share your creations with other users.  Thank you for supporting Idol Manager!