This is getting pretty close to what I expect to release for Early Access - I'm planning on adding music, seaweed, asteroids falling on the surface, and some icons (plus any more bugfixes), but this is starting to feel pretty stable!
Changelog
Increased indirect lighting range in high quality mode (no longer dark patches)
Performance optimizations
Various bugfixes/minor improvements.
This update itself is mostly invisible/under the hood changes, but I think some of you will appreciate the performance boost. If you're not set to high quality, you might want to try increasing the quality and see if it will run!
Update 0.1.28 - More small improvements
Mostly checking things off my TODO list and fixing bugs. Getting closer to the early access launch version - I want to add better mod support and a few more visual stuff to the surface. Maybe add the distress beacon quest if I have time.
Changelog:
Updated logo
Added NPC snippets
Added more PAI help
Added ability to sit in chairs - also allows you to roll under low ceilings (this looks cursed in multiplayer as there is no sitting animation)
Fixed water rendering issues on integrated graphics
Replaced vending machine and desk debris placeholders
Other minor bugfixes and improvements
Update 0.1.26 - Minor improvements.
This is update adds some smaller improvements, tweaks and bugfixes.
Changelog:
Added achievements (for old saves, some of these might be unobtainable without cheats).
Repaired cryopods now let you advance time when sealed inside.
Improved NPC pathfinding - they can now use teleportals (but will not change the destination of them).
Turrets will no longer target friendly drones.
Surface buildings are now initially flooded even if they have no holes - but FRIEND's floor is water-free.
Drone subs nerfed a bit and a sonar ping added when they target you.
Bugfixes/minor improvements.
Update 0.1.25 - To the Surface!
This is a pretty major update, and is close to what I plan to release content wise in Early Access early 2024. It includes vehicles, the surface, and a lot of new stuff!
Changelog:
Added Surface
Adjusted questlines
Added surface shadows
Improved water rendering
Added several structures, including a Vending Machine.
Added Drain (item)
PAI can perform an emergency teleport to the starting location if you get stuck
Various improvements I don't want to spoil.
For those of you using old saves, I have some notes:
Professor no longer gives the turret blueprint - you have to destroy or touch an enemy turret to gain it (some will spawn in the subways in new saves, but in old saves you'll have to search the surface for a turret)
You can no longer print particle accelerator blueprints - you have to find a particle accelerator and this is part of the surface questline. If you already have a particle accelerator, this questline will be strange.
New things will spawn in the subway - if you've already mined out the subway, that might look strange, but I figured that was better than not spawning them.
I hope you enjoy - let me know what you think of the surface questline! I'll be wanting lots of feedback for improvements to the game before we release in Early Access (and I also have some smaller changes/notes/improvements myself).
Update 0.1.14 - Lots of progress, but next area unfinished
In some ways, this is a very big update with a lot of exciting new things. But, because the next area is not ready yet, the majority of those new things are only accessible with cheats. But, since there had been a lot of other improvements and bugfixes, I decided to update anyways.
Changelog
Added vehicles - unfortunately you'll need to use cheats to access them (and this might break saves for later updates).
Edited character textures
Added particle accelerator model
Added turret model
NPCs will now fire laser guns if they have them in their inventory to shoot enemies
Improved water rendering
Improved selection rendering
Bunkers will now request food from storehouses
Bunkers now produce oxygen (if placed underwater)
Bugfixes
The cheat to unlock vehicles is (the fabricator builds them): unlockBlueprints(state, state.players[0], ["sub_blueprint", "boring_blueprint"]); This code will unlock crafting torpedoes in the assembler: unlockRecipes(state.localPlayers[0], "basic", state.storage, ["craft_torpedo"], "craft");
As you might guess from the sub, the next area will be mostly underwater - I hope you're looking forward to it! However there's quite a few models needed to make it work, so it could be a while until I'm ready to share it.
Update 0.1.12 - Subways, Water and More
The second section of the game - the subways - is now complete! Since I had time while models were being finished up, I also added water. Water doesn't play a big role yet in the game, but if you start a new game, you can find an underground river (they wont spawn in an old save, although the subways will)!
This update includes:
Added quests - talk to the professor to begin
Added the subways (and an enemy for it I won't mention here)
Added the scavenger NPC
Added water and an underground river
Added worker bots
Added several structures (although the turret and particle accelerator have placeholder models)
Added buckets - they work, but have placeholder art
Added footstep sounds
Added a clear option to the painter to remove paint
You can now climb ladders from any direction (even if the ladder is behind you)
Adjusted the shield so it no longer works with 0 power
Other adjustments and minor improvements
This is a pretty decent sized update, and I'm curious to know what you think of the new questlines! I also recently shared a video of the worker bots you can watch here:
Update 0.1.9
Most of what I'm working on isn't ready to share (too many missing assets/placeholders), but I did do a bunch of quality of life improvements to the demo content, and so I decided to update the playtest. This includes:
Added story snippets to NPCs
Structure icons now animate on hover
Added quest indicators to npcs
NPCs will now collect items needed for their workplace from storehouses and the ground (if they aren't dispatched automatically)
Increased item cap to 99 per stack
Improved outline rendering
Added contrast option
Added save compression
Fixed drag and drop saves while in fullscreen
Hopefully the next update will include the subways, but it will probably still have some placeholders. I also streamed a little of adding the NPC snippets - if you want to watch, I uploaded a recording of the stream here: https://youtu.be/7gBOwhK6Mpc
Update 0.1.6 - Local Co-op And More!
This includes all the changes for the Steam Next Fest demo, along with a bunch of improvements from feedback from the festival. It also includes one new major feature - split screen co-op - you can now play with up to 4 players. I haven't tried Steam Remote Play, but theoretically that'd allow online multiplayer co-op, although eventually I do plan to add real online multiplayer (all of the needed multiplayer logic is in for the co-op, it just needs the actual netcode and sync).
Changelog:
Added split screen co-op
Splitters will now rotate to redirect items to factories directly from rigs/producers
Assembler can now queue multiple of the same item
Now shows how many remaining items needed for structure while building
Added notifications and reminders if you cannot do something
Now shows power cost and size (4x4x3 etc) in structure hover info
Smoothed out jumps - they now increase height if you hold jump key longer
Added invert y axis option
Minor improvements and bugfixes
I might add one secret area for fun, but the next thing on my list is the subways. I still need a lot of assets for it, and while I'm okay with some placeholders in the playtest, it might take a bit before I'm ready to upload it.
Update 0.0.98 - Character Customization and More!
Still waiting on character animations, and there's a normal mapping issue on the player character's hair, but all character and textures are in - including character customization! I also added a lot of smaller improvements and quality of life stuff.
Added character customization - you can change it at any time in a bunker.
Added toggle-able locators to find known bases, NPCs and teleportals in the teleportal quest.
NPCs can climb ladders now.
Improved intro cutscene
Added Opal's texture
Added floor 2 music
Added auto eat option
Talk button switched from space/y on gamepad (jump) to x/b on gamepad (cancel)
Added option to show small reticule when using laser gun
Add notifications to history (like NPC dead).
Added option to enable/disable pickup of moving items (disabled by default)
Make placing belts on top of belts more visible so you can see the changed direction
Storehouses now connect power, although it doesn't need or use any power (although the lights/screen only work when powered)
Minor bugfixes
Update 0.0.96
Other than the player character, customization, and the missing NPC animations/textures (all of which are waiting on our modeler, but will be finished in time for the next fest), this is now getting close to the final demo build for the festival, with my TODO list getting pretty small.
Here's the changelog:
Allow shovel changing material and placing ramps.
Added shield animation
Added Painter tool
Addded quest to get bunker blueprint - this will break old saves that have not yet unlocked the bunker (but new saves are fine).
Added end of laser gun and pizza quests
Added achievements
Added bloom (can modify/remove in settings)
Added sort inventory button
Added PAI help
Can dismantle bats with Fabricator to defeat them before laser gun (but it's tough).
Added checkbox to storehouse that enables/disables NPC taking food from it.
I might throw a few secrets into the game and improve modding support while I wait for those models, but definitely let me know what you think and if there are any other changes you'd like to see!
