Devlog #15 – Polishing Toward the Full Release

Post news Report RSS Devlog #15 – Polishing Toward the Full Release

The public demo for Ghost Receipt is now available, and development has moved fully into the next phase. With the demo stable and the main gameplay loop in place, I am now focusing on completing, connecting, testing and polishing the systems intended for the full release. Rather than adding large new mechanics, the current work is about making the existing game deeper, clearer and more accessible.

Posted by KistlerStudios on Sep 14th, 2026

The public demo for Ghost Receipt is now available, and development has moved fully into the next phase.

With the demo stable and the main gameplay loop in place, I am now focusing on completing, connecting, testing and polishing the systems intended for the full release.

Rather than adding large new mechanics, the current work is about making the existing game deeper, clearer and more accessible.

Expanding the Pawn Item Pool

One of the largest recent tasks has been expanding and polishing the pawn item pool.

Each pawn item needs more than just a model. Values, categories, examination data and other gameplay information all need to work together before an item is ready to appear during normal gameplay.

The current focus is on finishing these remaining details and making sure the larger item pool works correctly throughout the pawn system. And the goal is for the release version over 100 unique items.

The goal is simple:

More variety at the pawn counter, fewer repetitive items, and better consistency across the entire system.

Factions and Reputation

Faction progression is another major area currently being connected more closely to the world.

Different factions already play a role in the items and customer models available throughout the game.

The next step is making reputation increasingly visible outside of menus.

Depending on faction relationships, players can encounter different NPC models, different pawn items and small changes throughout the city of neo haven.

The aim is for Neo Haven and the shop to gradually reflect the relationships the player builds through normal gameplay as each transtion can have an impact on faction relationships.

Black Market Requests

Work has also continued on the Black Market Terminal and its request system.

Requests provide additional opportunities connected to different factions and give players another reason to think carefully about which items they acquire and what they choose to do with them.

The core request system is now in place, polished and filled with content.

The current focus is testing its integration with the rest of the game and continuing to balance the requests, rewards and consequences.

Mini-Games and Decryption

The three mini-games used for item decryption are now implemented.

The next step is less visible, but just as important: testing them as part of normal gameplay.

That means making sure they work correctly with their associated items, controller input and the surrounding game flow rather than only testing them individually.

Players can also bring certain items to experts for decryption, giving them another way to approach these items.

Expert Polish

The experts are also receiving another dedicated polish pass.

The focus is currently on improving their presentation rather than redesigning how they work.

This includes:

• dialogue polish for Kane,

• animation polish for Dr. Vale,

• and final presentation and placement work for Juno.

The goal is to make each expert feel like a proper character within Neo Haven rather than simply another gameplay function.

Preparing the Full Build

At this stage, development is increasingly about connecting everything together.

Items need to fit correctly with factions.

Faction decisions need to influence the available item pool and world.

Requests need to produce the correct rewards and consequences.

Experts need to work correctly with the items brought to them.

And all of these systems need to survive normal play, saving and loading without breaking the player's progression.

That integration work is now one of the main priorities.

A system working correctly on its own is no longer enough. It also needs to work when several other systems are interacting with it at the same time.

What Comes Next

The next development steps are focused on:

• finishing and testing the remaining pawn items,

• testing and balancing Black Market requests,

• polishing the experts,

• testing all three mini-games during normal gameplay,

• continuing faction and reputation integration,

• and continuing full-game testing and balancing.

The public demo will continue to provide useful feedback while development on the full game moves forward.

There is still plenty of polish ahead, but the focus has shifted considerably.

The individual systems are built.

Now the work is about making them feel like one complete game.

Ghost Receipt is a cyberpunk grocery store and pawn shop simulator where players manage their business, negotiate pawn deals and examine unusual items.

The public demo is available now on Steam.

Wishlist Ghost Receipt and follow development for future updates.

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