IdleBank Alpha - From Zero to Hero.pdf
1.2 MB
The guide is here!
Feel free to comment on the Google Doc if you find that some parts need clarification or are badly written
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12KXovjqH88FlxFeKAAZ3hN--_JCU59g1Bg5jzAMK5ao/edit?usp=sharing
There is useful information for everyone!
Feel free to comment on the Google Doc if you find that some parts need clarification or are badly written
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12KXovjqH88FlxFeKAAZ3hN--_JCU59g1Bg5jzAMK5ao/edit?usp=sharing
There is useful information for everyone!
Hello hello, how is it going? 😁
IB Beta is progressing a bit, I really wish to give you a working online version to try out before January, so I'm trying to step things up
Meanwhile, I am thinking of updates to Alpha. Something inspired to financial markets on some kind of asset(s). I'm still not sure of where to put it.
In the past I tried to focus on some kind of stock market, but I didn't like the designs so nothing came out of that.
In IB Beta, the whole game will be based on obtainable assets, and all of them will have value because of the different progression rules, as they will substitute Alpha's Blocks and bank levels will be much more meaningful.
In Alpha it's hard to create assets the same way. One big issue is ofc that we can't have a realistic market because of the small playerbase.
Perhaps I can think of something with gears, so that we also tackle that currently slow progression, somehow 🤔
Have fun as it is for now!
IB Beta is progressing a bit, I really wish to give you a working online version to try out before January, so I'm trying to step things up
Meanwhile, I am thinking of updates to Alpha. Something inspired to financial markets on some kind of asset(s). I'm still not sure of where to put it.
In the past I tried to focus on some kind of stock market, but I didn't like the designs so nothing came out of that.
In IB Beta, the whole game will be based on obtainable assets, and all of them will have value because of the different progression rules, as they will substitute Alpha's Blocks and bank levels will be much more meaningful.
In Alpha it's hard to create assets the same way. One big issue is ofc that we can't have a realistic market because of the small playerbase.
Perhaps I can think of something with gears, so that we also tackle that currently slow progression, somehow 🤔
Have fun as it is for now!
Hello again!
I have decided not to go for a "big" update to IdleBank Alpha, for two main reasons: I do believe future efforts towards Alpha should go to developing a web version, and right now I should focus on Beta.
That said, as mentioned a few times now, I do acknowledge Alpha has become pretty stale, and actions are definitely feeling pointless now, especially for challenges like reaching high gears. It is basically impossible to change factions right now if you have a fairly high gear.
I decided to try something to potentially change that, and it revolves around one simple change in Global Steel Road Factories: factory degradation.
Old rules: all factories degrade pretty fast, based on the current moment inside the season, so early in the season all factories go down heavily, while closer to the end of the season they do not degrade much, leading to higher overall dividends.
New rules: factories degrade based on their "letter". Specifically, the S factory does not degrade at all (except for a monthly variation that just degrades by a static 10, which is nothing for a high level factory), the A factory only degrades 1% per go, the B factory 3%, the C factory 7%, D 15%, E 31%, F 63%.
Which means that the S factories for all 42 cities now indeed function as a sort of prestige system, especially since taking over somebody else's factory requires many times the blocks used by the old owner.
A and B factories are also prestigious, while the others degrade faster to let lower players always have a say even if we were to have more than 7 constant live players!
This is a small change that can lead to a huge buff to GSRF, but it also revives the value of blocks, as they are very important to acquire and improve factories.
Dividends also increase a lot thanks to this change, but I did nerf them a little by making dividends increase with time, from 10% than normal at the start of a season, to 100% at the end.
So, I repeat: grab blocks and get your S, A and B factories, as from now on they are there to stay and they will give you an important edge both for the seasonal challenge and for overall growth.
Let's see how this shuffles things up!
Cya!
I have decided not to go for a "big" update to IdleBank Alpha, for two main reasons: I do believe future efforts towards Alpha should go to developing a web version, and right now I should focus on Beta.
That said, as mentioned a few times now, I do acknowledge Alpha has become pretty stale, and actions are definitely feeling pointless now, especially for challenges like reaching high gears. It is basically impossible to change factions right now if you have a fairly high gear.
I decided to try something to potentially change that, and it revolves around one simple change in Global Steel Road Factories: factory degradation.
Old rules: all factories degrade pretty fast, based on the current moment inside the season, so early in the season all factories go down heavily, while closer to the end of the season they do not degrade much, leading to higher overall dividends.
New rules: factories degrade based on their "letter". Specifically, the S factory does not degrade at all (except for a monthly variation that just degrades by a static 10, which is nothing for a high level factory), the A factory only degrades 1% per go, the B factory 3%, the C factory 7%, D 15%, E 31%, F 63%.
Which means that the S factories for all 42 cities now indeed function as a sort of prestige system, especially since taking over somebody else's factory requires many times the blocks used by the old owner.
A and B factories are also prestigious, while the others degrade faster to let lower players always have a say even if we were to have more than 7 constant live players!
This is a small change that can lead to a huge buff to GSRF, but it also revives the value of blocks, as they are very important to acquire and improve factories.
Dividends also increase a lot thanks to this change, but I did nerf them a little by making dividends increase with time, from 10% than normal at the start of a season, to 100% at the end.
So, I repeat: grab blocks and get your S, A and B factories, as from now on they are there to stay and they will give you an important edge both for the seasonal challenge and for overall growth.
Let's see how this shuffles things up!
Cya!
Hello!
Valves are back, but they have been completely redesigned!
In the previous game, we introduced valves as a way to gain levels more easily for players who had billions of levels. Since that's no longer the case, as the economy is not as explosive as before, I decided to remove that feature entirely.
But I then re-used the "valve" concept as an item only available on the Flea Market.
The price starts very high, but it decreases automatically by 5% every day, until somebody buys one.
By using valves, gearing up requires and consumes less levels!
Both the price and the effect are made to create advantages to lower players and factions with less players.
As a secondary use, if you buy at a low enough price, you can instantly re-sell the valve at half the maximum price, to gain a lot of profit. The price halves about every 2 weeks.
Finally, all money spent on buying valves is not lost, it is divided between market stocks and coinopoly's stocked cash!
Will this create a more dynamic gear race?
Valves are back, but they have been completely redesigned!
In the previous game, we introduced valves as a way to gain levels more easily for players who had billions of levels. Since that's no longer the case, as the economy is not as explosive as before, I decided to remove that feature entirely.
But I then re-used the "valve" concept as an item only available on the Flea Market.
The price starts very high, but it decreases automatically by 5% every day, until somebody buys one.
By using valves, gearing up requires and consumes less levels!
Both the price and the effect are made to create advantages to lower players and factions with less players.
As a secondary use, if you buy at a low enough price, you can instantly re-sell the valve at half the maximum price, to gain a lot of profit. The price halves about every 2 weeks.
Finally, all money spent on buying valves is not lost, it is divided between market stocks and coinopoly's stocked cash!
Will this create a more dynamic gear race?
Hello
Here is the current plan for IdleBank Beta.
I recently designed systems that look like our IBAlpha minigames, as I felt my previous plans would rely too much on markets and waiting. They are referred to as "Earning games" here.
I also decided that in IBBeta assets will not be spent, you will need them to upgrade banks sometimes, but only as property. Thus, assets created do not vanish at all, differently to IBAlpha blocks.
I'm getting more curious to start this game!
I still need to design a few things while I develop. Hopefully during 2026, with the game released, I will be more active.
The plan is to publish the game on itch.io
My main concern is my ability to design a decent UI, but I don't want that to slow me further.
Here is the current plan for IdleBank Beta.
I recently designed systems that look like our IBAlpha minigames, as I felt my previous plans would rely too much on markets and waiting. They are referred to as "Earning games" here.
I also decided that in IBBeta assets will not be spent, you will need them to upgrade banks sometimes, but only as property. Thus, assets created do not vanish at all, differently to IBAlpha blocks.
I'm getting more curious to start this game!
I still need to design a few things while I develop. Hopefully during 2026, with the game released, I will be more active.
The plan is to publish the game on itch.io
My main concern is my ability to design a decent UI, but I don't want that to slow me further.
Hello!
IdleBank Beta development is progressing! I have recently moved to the server side code for the early stage.
The most interesting feature for this stage will probably be the new market system.
Each of your Banks will be able to buy assets from the market of its macrostate, but also from markets of nearby macrostates!
This somewhat allows asset transfers, indeed...
However, there is a catch! There are 30 macrostates, but 17 different currencies! While some confining macrostates share currencies, many exchanges will require converting currencies!
This will all happen under the hood, it does not add complexity to the player. Although, the effects will be visible as asset prices will reflect the conversion rates!
Expert players might end up buying and selling assets to make a profit off such conversion rates. I hope I'll be able to design a UI that clearly shows prices for all options available to your bank.
Of course this sounds fun in theory, we will see how things go in practice and as always I'll look forward for your feedback, once the early stage is released.
I really need to find a better name for these "macrostates"...
Thats all! Bye!
IdleBank Beta development is progressing! I have recently moved to the server side code for the early stage.
The most interesting feature for this stage will probably be the new market system.
Each of your Banks will be able to buy assets from the market of its macrostate, but also from markets of nearby macrostates!
This somewhat allows asset transfers, indeed...
However, there is a catch! There are 30 macrostates, but 17 different currencies! While some confining macrostates share currencies, many exchanges will require converting currencies!
This will all happen under the hood, it does not add complexity to the player. Although, the effects will be visible as asset prices will reflect the conversion rates!
Expert players might end up buying and selling assets to make a profit off such conversion rates. I hope I'll be able to design a UI that clearly shows prices for all options available to your bank.
Of course this sounds fun in theory, we will see how things go in practice and as always I'll look forward for your feedback, once the early stage is released.
I really need to find a better name for these "macrostates"...
Thats all! Bye!
Hi!
I made a small update to the minimal game of IB alpha.
You know how when you put a request for blocks to put money in the market, waiting for somebody to sell a block and get that money.
Now the money currently in the market doesn't stay still: everyone can take a loan out of it!
Your debt is going to be displayed on the main menu.
This should get pretty interesting.
Of course these loans have interests. Every time you take a new loan, all your debt increases by 1%.
Debt also increases by 1% every 8 hours.
How to repay the debt? Well you don't need to do much, just sell shards. It's automatic.
You also pay it back when gearing up.
Just be sure not to take too much debt! I haven't put any limits to it, let's see how it goes!
Ofc there might be bugs, I hope nothing terrible eheh
Bye!
I made a small update to the minimal game of IB alpha.
You know how when you put a request for blocks to put money in the market, waiting for somebody to sell a block and get that money.
Now the money currently in the market doesn't stay still: everyone can take a loan out of it!
Your debt is going to be displayed on the main menu.
This should get pretty interesting.
Of course these loans have interests. Every time you take a new loan, all your debt increases by 1%.
Debt also increases by 1% every 8 hours.
How to repay the debt? Well you don't need to do much, just sell shards. It's automatic.
You also pay it back when gearing up.
Just be sure not to take too much debt! I haven't put any limits to it, let's see how it goes!
Ofc there might be bugs, I hope nothing terrible eheh
Bye!
IdleBank Increverse
Hello Here is the current plan for IdleBank Beta. I recently designed systems that look like our IBAlpha minigames, as I felt my previous plans would rely too much on markets and waiting. They are referred to as "Earning games" here. I also decided that in…
Hello!
Work on IB Beta is going steady, I'm positive I'll be able to release the "Early Stage" version within 2, maybe 3, weeks.
I've started integrating the app with the server, and I made a decision about player accounts for these early stages.
For now, you will not be prompted to create an account, everything will happen automatically, the app will store your player id and a token in a file, and the token will be used as a password.
This will allow you to bring your game to a new device, even playing from multiple devices, by copying this file.
Before the final release I want to implement a better method, I just have not decided which yet. Plus, if this temporary method proves to be sufficiently safe, I will keep it as a "guest" option.
I believe this method will also help attract players from itch.io, as the game will feel less troublesome to start playing.
I'm open to ideas!
Cya
Work on IB Beta is going steady, I'm positive I'll be able to release the "Early Stage" version within 2, maybe 3, weeks.
I've started integrating the app with the server, and I made a decision about player accounts for these early stages.
For now, you will not be prompted to create an account, everything will happen automatically, the app will store your player id and a token in a file, and the token will be used as a password.
This will allow you to bring your game to a new device, even playing from multiple devices, by copying this file.
Before the final release I want to implement a better method, I just have not decided which yet. Plus, if this temporary method proves to be sufficiently safe, I will keep it as a "guest" option.
I believe this method will also help attract players from itch.io, as the game will feel less troublesome to start playing.
I'm open to ideas!
Cya
IdleBank Increverse
Hello Here is the current plan for IdleBank Beta. I recently designed systems that look like our IBAlpha minigames, as I felt my previous plans would rely too much on markets and waiting. They are referred to as "Earning games" here. I also decided that in…
Hello!
A first version of the game is almost ready!
What I have implemented in the last few weeks:
- player data and account is now managed by the server
- upgrading a bank production level, working fine app & server
- server functions for market management and interaction with player (buying, selling, even with currency exchange)
Todo before release:
- App interface for market data and interactions, connecting to server
- Server controlling the creation of new banks through expansion passes, and app connecting to it
- Early Stage rules: Seasonal level-halving system and sporadic spawning of assets in the markets
- Testing a bit
I'm committed to a first release in less than 10 days
A first version of the game is almost ready!
What I have implemented in the last few weeks:
- player data and account is now managed by the server
- upgrading a bank production level, working fine app & server
- server functions for market management and interaction with player (buying, selling, even with currency exchange)
Todo before release:
- App interface for market data and interactions, connecting to server
- Server controlling the creation of new banks through expansion passes, and app connecting to it
- Early Stage rules: Seasonal level-halving system and sporadic spawning of assets in the markets
- Testing a bit
I'm committed to a first release in less than 10 days
Should we move to a new channel or rename this one?
Anonymous Poll
0%
Create a new channel for the IdleBank Increverse, and keep this one about Alpha
83%
Rename this channel to IdleBank Increverse and put updates for both Alpha and Beta
17%
No preference / see results
3 2 1... Start!
First public test of the app!
Notes:
- Android only, HTML5 will follow for everybody else
- Early UI, it will change eventually
- No guide or info
- Very early gameplay
Current game rules:
- You start from a random macrostate
- You can upgrade your bank for money
- You can sell your assets to get money, on the market
- But if you want to upgrade the bank over the current highest level, you will need Assets. The Assets view will let you know if you need assets in the next few levels
- You can buy and sell from and to nearby macrostates
- Once your bank reaches level 100, you can expand to a nearby macrostate
Known issue: the start screen is small
First public test of the app!
Notes:
- Android only, HTML5 will follow for everybody else
- Early UI, it will change eventually
- No guide or info
- Very early gameplay
Current game rules:
- You start from a random macrostate
- You can upgrade your bank for money
- You can sell your assets to get money, on the market
- But if you want to upgrade the bank over the current highest level, you will need Assets. The Assets view will let you know if you need assets in the next few levels
- You can buy and sell from and to nearby macrostates
- Once your bank reaches level 100, you can expand to a nearby macrostate
Known issue: the start screen is small
🔥2
Hello!
While I work on improving IBBeta, I will do a few tweaks to IBAlpha too
Today it comes to Coinopoly. Now if you have a lot of crypto coins, and you want to build, you will be able to increase the house level many times.
So far, this was only possible through the "economy inflation". But now, even without it, you can increase the house level as far as your coins take you, only limited by your gear level.
Which also means that if you invest a lot on crypto coins, the houses you build will be much harder to take back!
Enjoy
While I work on improving IBBeta, I will do a few tweaks to IBAlpha too
Today it comes to Coinopoly. Now if you have a lot of crypto coins, and you want to build, you will be able to increase the house level many times.
So far, this was only possible through the "economy inflation". But now, even without it, you can increase the house level as far as your coins take you, only limited by your gear level.
Which also means that if you invest a lot on crypto coins, the houses you build will be much harder to take back!
Enjoy
Hello again
Second quick tweak to Alpha. This time it's Investment Plan
No more exponential prices, you are now free to invest many times on the same company, especially in instant mode, without diminishing returns
And, the game now does not reset at every round! Once a round ends, investments stay, they are only reduced for companies that were not in a line
Enjoy
Second quick tweak to Alpha. This time it's Investment Plan
No more exponential prices, you are now free to invest many times on the same company, especially in instant mode, without diminishing returns
And, the game now does not reset at every round! Once a round ends, investments stay, they are only reduced for companies that were not in a line
Enjoy
🔥1
Hi!
About Beta, I'm halfway to a new version.
What I did:
- fixed a few visual issues
- made it clear what the two numbers on the bank top line are (level, and macrostate top level, now moved to the right)
- VECTOR ZOOMABLE MAP to zoom in on Europe
- a label showing the top macrostate and its level, to kind of give a global objective
What i want to do before a new apk:
- the first asset generator, for Buildings: since they are not trabsferable between states it's impossibile to buy enough to get over level 239, unless many players join. This locks the game very soon.
What's still needed for a public release:
- info and kind of tutorial, especially on where to take the "missing assets" once level 49 is reached
About Beta, I'm halfway to a new version.
What I did:
- fixed a few visual issues
- made it clear what the two numbers on the bank top line are (level, and macrostate top level, now moved to the right)
- VECTOR ZOOMABLE MAP to zoom in on Europe
- a label showing the top macrostate and its level, to kind of give a global objective
What i want to do before a new apk:
- the first asset generator, for Buildings: since they are not trabsferable between states it's impossibile to buy enough to get over level 239, unless many players join. This locks the game very soon.
What's still needed for a public release:
- info and kind of tutorial, especially on where to take the "missing assets" once level 49 is reached
Helloo
It is almost 5 years since the initial launch of IdleBank Alpha!
To celebrate, I had designed those two tweaks to Coinopoly and Investment Plan that you have seen.
But I had also planned for an update to the Minimal game!
Since I had the time, I coded that update this week, and it's now live on the game, so go to your IB TV and boot up the minimal game to check the new Real Estate investment page!
A long term investment where you can put your unused savings to let them grow exponentially. But beware, once invested, you cannot take them back! What you can do is rent the real estate out, collecting the rent.
Let's see how it goes!
I have also tried the new button colors that Telegram just released for bots. Let me know if you find them useful or distracting. I think they will invite new players to try pressing things
Enjoy!
It is almost 5 years since the initial launch of IdleBank Alpha!
To celebrate, I had designed those two tweaks to Coinopoly and Investment Plan that you have seen.
But I had also planned for an update to the Minimal game!
Since I had the time, I coded that update this week, and it's now live on the game, so go to your IB TV and boot up the minimal game to check the new Real Estate investment page!
A long term investment where you can put your unused savings to let them grow exponentially. But beware, once invested, you cannot take them back! What you can do is rent the real estate out, collecting the rent.
Let's see how it goes!
I have also tried the new button colors that Telegram just released for bots. Let me know if you find them useful or distracting. I think they will invite new players to try pressing things
Enjoy!
Hello!
The game was kindly translated into Russian, and that option is now available in the game!
The translator submitted their work through GitHub, but if anyone wants to help with translations you are welcome to ask me for guidance even outside of GitHub.
Thanks to Danil, the new language is available by going to the settings with /settings
Enjoy!
The game was kindly translated into Russian, and that option is now available in the game!
The translator submitted their work through GitHub, but if anyone wants to help with translations you are welcome to ask me for guidance even outside of GitHub.
Thanks to Danil, the new language is available by going to the settings with /settings
Enjoy!
🔥1
Hi, let me take a moment to spread the word about a major change Google is choosing to pursue regarding Android app development.
So far, the world of mobile app development was split into two different philosophies:
- Android: your device is like a PC, you can install any apps on it using an apk installer, and as a developer you are free to use any tools you want to develop and download apps. Using Google's options is your choice
- iOS: you may only install apps from the App Store, and if you want to develop iOS apps you need to have a macOS PC and sign a paid developer subscription with Apple
The EU was making progress on forcing Apple to allow third-party stores and free app installation, something that Apple decided to label as "side-loading" despite it being the standard way to install apps on the most used PC OS, Windows, for at least 3 decades.
Google is going to the opposite direction, following Apple's footsteps in forcing Android app developers to sign a paid subscription service to Google, and preventing apk installation on Google Android devices.
Unlike iOS users, which need to jailbreak their phone to install apps freely, Android users still keep some options, namely using non-Google flavours of Android, or installing non-Android systems with android app support. But the point is that 90%+ of users will not do it.
Personally, I have no intention of making a subscription with Google to develop apps I wasn't even sure to publish to Google Play Store. This means that:
- my future apps will not appear on Google Play Store ever
- Starting from September 2026, my future apps will not be compatible to virtually any smartphone user, as neither iOS or Google Android will allow "side-loading"
My solution to this is that IB Beta and all my future projects will be designed for browser or PC use. Luckily the kind of games I'm doing should work fine as mobile-friendly websites.
But if any of you is used to emulators or open-source apps, keep in mind many of them will stop being supported by developers starting September 2026, unless Google backs down (they haven't, despite some vague announcements).
Enjoy, while it lasts
So far, the world of mobile app development was split into two different philosophies:
- Android: your device is like a PC, you can install any apps on it using an apk installer, and as a developer you are free to use any tools you want to develop and download apps. Using Google's options is your choice
- iOS: you may only install apps from the App Store, and if you want to develop iOS apps you need to have a macOS PC and sign a paid developer subscription with Apple
The EU was making progress on forcing Apple to allow third-party stores and free app installation, something that Apple decided to label as "side-loading" despite it being the standard way to install apps on the most used PC OS, Windows, for at least 3 decades.
Google is going to the opposite direction, following Apple's footsteps in forcing Android app developers to sign a paid subscription service to Google, and preventing apk installation on Google Android devices.
Unlike iOS users, which need to jailbreak their phone to install apps freely, Android users still keep some options, namely using non-Google flavours of Android, or installing non-Android systems with android app support. But the point is that 90%+ of users will not do it.
Personally, I have no intention of making a subscription with Google to develop apps I wasn't even sure to publish to Google Play Store. This means that:
- my future apps will not appear on Google Play Store ever
- Starting from September 2026, my future apps will not be compatible to virtually any smartphone user, as neither iOS or Google Android will allow "side-loading"
My solution to this is that IB Beta and all my future projects will be designed for browser or PC use. Luckily the kind of games I'm doing should work fine as mobile-friendly websites.
But if any of you is used to emulators or open-source apps, keep in mind many of them will stop being supported by developers starting September 2026, unless Google backs down (they haven't, despite some vague announcements).
Enjoy, while it lasts
Hello
I removed the limits in the market.
You can now buy as many blocks as you can afford, regardless of the market capacity to hold money.
You can also sell blocks even if the market doesn't have space for them.
I removed the limits in the market.
You can now buy as many blocks as you can afford, regardless of the market capacity to hold money.
You can also sell blocks even if the market doesn't have space for them.