Devlog: The Pulse of the Market

Hello everyone! It’s been a busy few weeks of development. The core focus of this update was moving away from static gameplay and toward a Living Economy. I want the player to feel the weight of every financial decision, influenced by a world that changes around them.

📊 The Dynamic Market Engine

The biggest addition is the new Procedural Market Graph. This isn't just a visual fluke—it’s the "brain" of the game's economy.

• Real-Time Tracking: The graph now tracks price history over months and years.

• Interactive UI: You can now zoom, pan, and hover over specific data points to see exactly what the Market Rate was in Year / Month format.

• Market Panning & Scaling: The UI is now fully customizable. You can move and resize the graph window, and it will save your layout for the next time you play.

🏠 Real Estate Volatility

The housing market is no longer a fixed list.

• Supply & Demand: Using a new "Market Heat" algorithm, houses will now fluctuate in value.

• NPC Buyers: If a good deal stays on the market too long, an NPC might snatch it up!

• Foreclosures: During market crashes, you’ll see more houses hit the market at "fire sale" prices. Keep your cash ready!

🏦 Smart Loan System & Credit Repair

The banking app on your in-game phone just got a massive upgrade.

• Dynamic Interest Rates: Rates are now tied directly to the Market. If the economy is booming, borrowing gets expensive. If it's crashing, rates drop—but banks might be too scared to lend to you!

• Payment Previews: You can now see your Estimated Monthly Payment before taking a loan. If the payment exceeds your current income, the UI will warn you in red.

• Credit Repair: Hit with a bad credit score after a string of missed payments? You can now invest in "Credit Repair" services to boost your score and unlock better rates.

🛠️ Technical Refinements (Godot/GDScript)

• Save/Load Persistence: Everything from your graph's position to your complex loan history is now serialized and saved.

• Optimized UI: Moved hover displays to a dedicated CanvasLayer to ensure they never get lost behind other windows.

• Bresenham's Integration: Rewrote the graph drawing logic using the Bresenham line algorithm for pixel-perfect performance.