Hi,

Hardware Tycoon 0.2.9 is mostly finished. I plan to release a beta version in January (yes, 2021).

What's new in 0.2.9?

I'll quickly go over the more interesting things. if you want to know more, you can check the non-final changelog here.
The images shown below are not representative of the final release. (I realized bankruptcy is spelled with a t).

Main menu
It happened. This allowed me to remove all the dumb buttons used for loading the game from the company creation screen.

Simple custom company logos
Yay, customization. You won't be able to upload your completely own logo yet, but hopefully the presets will be enough. You'll be able to see your logo in news related to your company.

Bankruptcy
You can actually lose the game now. Unbelievable. The accompanying news article will let you know how well you've done up until that point.

A second campaign & other game settings
You will finally be able to mess around with infinite money or play through something a little bit different. This new campaign will let you compete against brand new companies.

Better review window
Now comes with animations, yay.

Clock speeds up to 2.7 GHz
And 5 new PGA sockets to go with them.

Color themes (experimental)
This one won't be available in options like usual just yet. You will have to use the console. When I give it the required polish, you'll be able to adjust every UI component's color. Shown below is the requested dark mode:

What's left and when will it be done?

I have to finish up the most tedious parts, mostly related to game balance (going from 60 MHz to 2.7 GHz broke a lot of stuff) and playtesting.
I don't know how long it's going to take. I'm not too keen on figuring out brand new formulas for everything right now, but as I mentioned, I want to release a beta this January.

Can I play the beta version?

Yes, when it's done. Beta testing will take place through Discord, so if you wish to help, join our Discord server. I will make an announcement there.

That about wraps it up. Thank you for still supporting the game after all the years! See you in 0.2.9.