Solo developer Erik Rempen has released ShantyTown update 1.06.01, expanding the urban diorama builder with more than 70 interior objects across 11 new categories. The September 28 update also changes object collisions, makes missed unlocks easier to trace, fixes several visual and device-specific issues, and refreshes the free demo. ShantyTown launched on Steam for Windows and macOS on April 16, published by Kinephantom Games.
The update is a focused extension of the game’s existing construction rules rather than a new campaign. ShantyTown asks players to assemble dense neighborhoods one object at a time, then photograph completed locations for an in-game dossier. Larger structures develop through decorations, lighting, and utilities instead of a conventional city economy. Version 1.06.01 increases the vocabulary available for that process and reduces some friction around finding and combining pieces.
Interior details become reusable building pieces
Many of the newly available objects previously appeared only inside buildings. Players can now place them freely after unlocking their associated shops, and the items are collected under a Shop Items category in Creative Mode. That turns background dressing into general-purpose construction material: an object designed to communicate what happens inside one business can become street furniture, rooftop clutter, or part of an entirely different scene.
The accompanying collision changes allow more objects to be stacked on one another. This sounds modest, but it directly supports ShantyTown’s central idea of fitting detail into limited space. More permissive stacking can produce richer silhouettes and improvised structures without requiring a new map. The official change list does not say that every object can stack with every other object, and Rempen asks players to report combinations that still fail, so the change should be read as broader compatibility rather than unrestricted placement in all cases.
Unlock guidance and handheld behavior receive practical fixes
Version 1.06.01 now tells players where to find an unlock they missed. That is particularly useful in a creative game whose available palette grows through play: an unexplained gap can otherwise look like a bug or force a search outside the game. The update also adds several item-unlock cheats, updates the list of names, corrects simple colors that were being shown as complex, fixes a wall fan appearing after loading, and removes windowed display modes on handheld devices.
The publisher identifies ShantyTown as Steam Deck Verified, while the storefront lists both Windows and macOS versions. Removing inappropriate window choices on handhelds is therefore a targeted interface cleanup, not an announcement of additional platforms. Players should also distinguish the update’s currently available additions from fall-themed items mentioned in the notes: those seasonal objects are included as preparation but are not yet available to use.
The revised demo offers a cleaner test of the full design
The free Steam demo has been brought forward with post-launch improvements and now includes the Welcome Pier, Shrine, and Lighthouse maps. Together, those spaces let prospective players test object placement, constrained composition, and the atmosphere created by the day-night cycle and adaptive soundtrack. The full game contains 20 distinct locations as well as Creative Mode and a larger Blankspace sandbox, so the demo remains a sample rather than the complete building set.
For players, the sensible trial is not simply to count available objects. Build one compact scene, try stacking details at different heights, complete a structure using lighting, utilities, and decoration, then check whether the camera and dossier flow make finishing a location satisfying. The update’s better unlock messaging matters only after progression begins, while its expanded interior catalog is most visible in Creative Mode after the relevant shops have been unlocked.
For small development teams, this patch illustrates a resource-efficient form of post-launch expansion. Existing decorative assets gain new value when exposed as player tools, while selective collision work enables combinations the original interiors did not require. The tradeoff is a larger testing matrix: every newly movable prop can intersect with surfaces, cameras, saves, and other props in unexpected ways. ShantyTown 1.06.01 does not claim to solve that whole matrix, but it makes a concrete addition, states its boundaries, and gives both current players and demo users an updated route to test it.