Achievements Are Coming To Main Street!

(A comprehensive visual diagram of all the new achievements currently planned to come to Main Street.)

For those of you unfamiliar with or new to the game, Main Street is a passion project created by Sonic (Art) and River (Programming). It is currently in very early development and will combine a ton of game elements that we love (business management, tycoon style gameplay, gathering, fishing, treasure hunting, RPG elements like dungeoneering, player housing, pets, and - most of all - a friendly and welcoming community). It's totally free to play for everyone and requires no download (it is playable in a web browser) but if you enjoy the game and would like to support us, we will be adding a monthly premium subscription based off our current Patreon tiers where we will add exciting rewards and cosmetics. To learn more about the game, join our Discord and ask any questions you'd like or check out the blog posts on our official website. This is our first alpha test where we are opening up our alpha testing applications publicly with very little sign-up information required. We typically host alpha tests every two weeks, depending on how much time new feature implementation will take, and we would love for you to join a test any time to try out the game and offer us feedback! If you would like to do so, you can apply here to become an alpha tester. If you are accepted, we will send an e-mail with further instructions about how to play!

(A Main Street logo image with visual examples of Character Customization, Shop Decoration, Pickable Fruit, and Pets.)

Today's alpha test is almost ready and with it are some exciting new changes. Leading up to this alpha test, one of the most received pieces of feedback we've gotten from Main Street's current alpha testers is that the gameplay feels too fast-paced. A diligent or strategic player can progress rapidly during just one play session in the current game. We've discussed slowing progress down for a long time and adding objectives to make progress feel more earned and rewarding, but this alpha test we're bringing that idea to life. Now when you open a new shop, you will be able to pick the theme of your store (Bakery, Pet Store, Wedding Boutique, Taco Shop, or Cafe) and you'll be given the opportunity to choose a specialization for that shop. There are three specializations that we've introduced and each will determine your primary goals, focus, and playstyle: Popular, Profitable, and Bustling. These will largely impact your ability to purchase larger shop buildings, so it is important to choose a specialty you feel fits your playstyle best. Here's a brief explanation of the core focuses of each:

Popular - It's not enough for your store to be just another shop on Main Street. You want everyone to know your business as the most well-liked, sought-after, and admired store around. Your goal is to catch the eye of everyone on Main Street and be more well known than your competitors. Profitable - You're a ruthless business owner with one goal on your mind: Bringing in lumps of cash. You want to live lavishly on piles of your own money and be known as the wealthiest entrepreneur around. Why run a shop if you're not raking in the dough, anyway? You're all about the strategy of making as much cash as you possibly can. Bustling - Chasing after popularity and money never really appealed to you as much as it did to other business owners. You're most interested in keeping your shop busy. You want to run a store that's full of activity, and your focus will be making sure your business always stays energetic and lively. Although your specialty impacts the expansion of your shop, you will still need to complete goals across all specialties (and some objectives that are not related to specialties) in order to unlock certain things. Here are some of the core examples: Popularity - Unlocks new types of store decorations & Wedding Boutique Theme Bustling - Unlocks the ability to hire multiple employees & Taco Shop Theme Profit - Raises the maximum wage you are allowed to pay employees New Store - Building more shop shelves unlocks additional decore objects Selling Stock - Selling items of each stock type will unlock new stock types and shelf upgrades Receivable Wage - Raise your own wage cap by stocking items for other businesses or earning a certain amount of money working for other stores We hope these new changes will add more longevity, meaningfulness, and a bigger sense of accomplishment and overarching progress to Main Street. Our next alpha test is at 12:00 PM (Noon) Eastern Standard Time on 09/12/2020 (Today). Don't forget to sign up here if you'd like to play. Can't wait to hear your feedback! TLDR: For today's alpha, you can choose if you want your shop to be Popular, Profitable, or Bustling and your core achievements/objectives will match that choice. Completing a variety of in-game tasks will reward you with new stock to sell, shop themes, decore objects, and store locations/building sizes.