patch · April 15, 2024
Big Ambitions EA 0.5 Preview Build 2444 Adds Rival Counterattacks and Employee Poaching
Big Ambitions preview build 2444 introduces rival counterattacks, employee poaching, candidate salary negotiations, and pricing balance updates.
Hovgaard Games has released preview build 2444 for Big Ambitions EA 0.5. The update adds aggressive tools for dealing with business rivals, along with balance tweaks and bug fixes.
Rival Counterattacks and Employee Poaching
Players can now actively fight back against rivals to lower their weekly income and business valuation. You can manipulate local market prices below market value, open competing stores to drop customer demand, and use the BizMan page to poach rival employees. Stolen workers force rivals to hire inferior replacements, lowering their customer satisfaction. Poached, recruited, or headhunted employees now use a salary negotiation system similar to healthcare pricing.
Item and Pricing Balance
Expensive items, as well as items not listed as primary or secondary goods, now generate lower customer flow. Fruit and vegetables sell for higher prices, while fast food prices have been adjusted downward following an overbuff in the previous patch. Custom games started before EA 0.5 now correctly include rivals, and blueprint versions have been added to prevent newer items from breaking older saves.
UI and Bug Fixes
Wrong default pricing, display issues in BizMan pricing and inventory, and negative number glitches are resolved. Office layouts no longer break when switching types, and HR managers no longer upgrade health insurance when skill is too low. DJ audio controls, radio repetition, street parking at 41 5th Ave, stage light visibility, and low AI business valuations have also been fixed. Softlocks involving handtrucks and box handling are removed.
Market Mechanics
Lowering prices below market value forces neighborhood rivals to drop their prices as well. Opening stores with overlapping inventory reduces demand for those specific items.
Why this patch matters
Build 2444 gives players direct offensive options against computer-controlled rivals while tightening up the game's economic balance and UI bugs.