📈 Devlog: The "Clean UI" & Systems Overhaul

1. The Death of the Popup

The biggest change in this update is the removal of popup. Previously, events like house maintenance or tenant move-outs would freeze the game and demand a click.

• New System: We implemented a Universal Sidebar Notification system.

• Functionality: All financial updates, game events, and skill unlocks now flow into a scrollable history log.

• Actionable Notifications: We created a custom notify_action system. If a tenant moves out, the notification includes a "Relist" button directly in the log, allowing the player to manage properties without ever leaving their current screen.

2. Revamped Event Manager

The event system was rewritten from scratch to be more dynamic and immersive.

• House Specificity: Events now target specific owned properties (e.g., "House 3" or "A House").

• New Event Types:

  • HOA Fines: Small penalties for "Uncut Grass" or "Trash Cans."

  • Squatter Risks: Vacant houses now carry a risk of squatter break-ins, adding urgency to relisting.

  • Market Shifts: Property values now fluctuate based on local economic dips or spikes.

  • Disasters: Rare, high-cost repairs like "Electrical Fires" or "Flooding" to challenge the player's cash reserves.

3. Skill Tree Integration & Visual Polish

The skill tree is now fully connected to the game's "voice."

• Feedback System: Attempting to buy a skill you can't afford or haven't unlocked the requirements for now triggers a color-coded notification (e.g., Crimson for "Not enough points").

• UI Scaling Fixes: We standardized skill nodes to 70x70. This ensures that when a button "pulses" on click, the text and connection lines remain sharp and correctly centered.

• Line Connections: Connection logic was updated to use global coordinates, ensuring that skill branches always point to the exact center of the nodes regardless of parent-child nesting.

4. Technical Stability

We addressed a critical "previously freed" crash occurring when players closed the game while a notification was fading out.

• The Fix: Every UI timer and Tween is now wrapped in is_instance_valid() checks and bound to the node's lifecycle using create_tween() directly on the object. This ensures the engine cleans up memory safely during shutdown.

System Architecture Overview

• Financials: Standard notify (Green/Red).

• Alerts: Action-based notify_action (Orange + Button).

• Progression: Skill-based notify (Gold/Cyan).

Current Progress: The game feel has shifted from a series of interrupted menus to a fluid, "live" management simulation. The player can now stay focused on the world while the sidebar keeps them informed of their growing empire.