While working on a 0.3.2.1 patch, I decided to release a quick hotfix update, which fixes the issue where vehicle panels stay after save reload. Sorry for that, this bug had been overlooked during our internal testing xD
Fixed
Vehicle panels stay after save reload
Medium solar panels require electricity to work (lol)
2 same tasks in Steel Factory (Have X Martians)
The bigger patch (0.3.2.1) should be released this week! There are quite a few things to improve/change, thank you for the massive amount of feedback during this weekend! We have never seen anything like that. Each line of your valuable feedback will make this game better, as we know what to focus on!
EarthX 0.3.2
Hey,
It's been a while. Rykllan and I had some problems in our private life, that's why there was a slight delay of the 0.3.2 update.
The Boca Chica update is probably the largest one I ever released. I'm still continuing to improve the core gameplay mechanics and performance.
What's new?
Research
This reworked feature is a big step forward in terms of balance, freedom, and replayability. You can choose your path, you can choose if you want to unlock/upgrade something now or later (or not at all). It will be easier for me to add new vehicles and missions in the future.
Upgrades
Now instead of unlocking modules and creating new vehicle projects... you just have to upgrade the project itself. No more annoying vehicle creation every time you unlock something. Projects will create automatically as you unlock them.
Testing Facilities
SpaceX currently tests its Starships in Boca Chica. I wanted to add this to the game since the beginning of this year. And here we have it. In order to unlock Spaceships, Reusability, or even some of the vehicles, you will have to go through Prototype testing.
Static Fire
The static fire was a thing in earlier versions of the game. I removed it in the Mars Update. The reason for that is because it wasn't cool enough. It didn't make any sense. With this update, static fire is being added again, but in a completely different form!
Droneships
Up until now, droneships were more for decoration. From now, they will be mandatory if you want to recover the booster after the GEO mission, or if the fairing was 85% full. Droneships have now gotten their own window tab and animations.
Refurbishment
As I promised, I reworked the unlogical "repair" system and replaced it with the refreshed "refurbishment" system. You will now have to refurbish every reused booster (build fairings, second stage, etc.). Spaceships & Superheavy rockets won't need so much refurbishment. Now catching the fairings will be somehow valuable, as it will have you some millions ;)
Vehicle Finance Data
You will now be able to see, if a booster still makes money and see how much money did a rocket project made vs how much did you spend on it (upgrades, flights, refurbishments, etc.)
Tutorial
Do I have to say anything more about this? :D Karolina did an excellent job of voice-covering the sequences. She will do more with the upcoming updates, stay tuned.
Production Window
After a lot of feedback from EarthX's players, I finally moved the hated "gigafactory menu" to a separate UI Window, where everything should be easier to manage. The selected units to save now in the save file! :D
Other Important Improvements
Improved Optimization during Late-Game
Added Hard Mode
Reworked Explosions
Added In-Window-Camera for Static Fire/Prototype Testing
Added Droneship camera to the Webcasts.
Improved LinkLink
Added Slider to Employee Amount Selection
Improved Graphs
Added Option to disable Mouse Light
Added LabPadre Tower
Small Improvements
Make Mega Launchpad cheaper ($350M) and Mars buildings more expensive
Martians will now share their DNA with other Martians more often (Reproducing)
Removed fake +25% store capacity on Mars resources
Fairing catch chance increase over time
Add "Land now" button to launch panel
Hide Money/Skill Points in Sandbox
Make second stage flight longer
Add instant build after vehicle creation
ESC exits build mode
Disable Bankrupt on Sandbox
If a window isn't on top, clicking on its icon will appear it, not close
Removed amazing amounts Vehicle window refresh animations when refreshing
Add a reason when the "Launch" button is blocked
Cancel placing current building when the player moves with the mouse
Change vehicle type colors
Building buildings on sandbox will be free
Optimize vehicle/contracts lists load
Add tooltip to CompanyWindow->Other
Bug Fixes
BUG: You can't open the main menu if the not_close window is open
BUG: You can't open Cinematic Camera if windows are open
BUG: After focused mission mouse light disappears
BUG: Fix settings scroll
BUG: Rocket sound is looping when in the main menu
BUG: Clicking on vehicle/contract panels does not reveal the current window
BUG: When accepting input fields with the "enter", the camera does not work
BUG: Changing employees amount in a factory while constructing stops the building for a while
BUG: You can select landing zone when the rocket is expandable
BUG: Doubleclick does not work on refurbish
BUG: Mouse light stops on buildings and mountains
BUG: There's visible grass in the medium hangar model
BUG: Company graph is too small
BUG: You could open cinematic camera while first Mars transition
Special Thanks
Karolina Dekałjo -> for voice-covering EarthX Brock Keeble -> for carefully testing EarthX 0.3.2 before public release Juan "Grimidk" Mendez -> for improving Spanish language Péran Capouillez -> for translationg EarthX to French Discord Community -> for your support while developing EarthX
EarthX on Digital Dragons 2020 - free demo and 25% discount!
In regard to the event, that is only online this year, we have prepared a free demo for you, that will be available to download between 14th and 19th September. And if you feel hungry... then we have a 25% discount for you! The discount will be available for the next week (from 14th to 21st September).
For the Indie Showcase contest, the jury chose 66 games from 38 countries. The results will be announced on September 18, 2020, during the Digital Dragons Awards gala. The first three places in the Best Indie Games category are going to be awarded. There will also be a Community Award for the best game chosen by the players. If you know what I mean :) :3 :D :3 ;) :) ;) :D hehe
That's it for now! EarthX 0.3.2 is still being developed, there was a 2-week break in September, as I was fixing stuff with my school. I got full-time homeschooling for the rest of this year, so I will probably have more time for this project. As always, contact me on Discord if you want to ask something ^^
August Devlog
Hey,
Today I have a lot of COOL news to share. Let's get right into it!
What do I do now? I still work on 0.3.2 Update, it's extremely hard and time-consuming, as I'm literally rewriting about ~30% of the game. Why? Because this is the right thing.
Research
Today (0.3.1) player progress works like that: *do something* *next level* *do something* *next level*, you really have no choice what you want to do. You have to complete capsule tasks, you have to complete Heavy rocket, you just have to.
What if it can be done differently? Yes, Exactly. This is what 0.3.2 will be all about. To give you a choice. You will be able to completely ignore capsules and even Heavy rocket. It will be up to you what and when you want to research. Take a look at this little tech-tree sneak peeks.
As you see, there are no modules now. Modules in EarthX were kinda hard for new players and it was annoying to create anything. In 0.3.2 there are going to be some hard-coded rockets, which you can unlock and upgrade!
Upgrading rockets/capsules/spaceships will look like this:
Tutorial
Yes! EarthX is finally getting a tutorial! That's so amazing! During EarthX's life, I got SOO MANY requests about the tutorial. I couldn't make it because hiring a professional voice actor is expensive as f**k, and EarthX kinda didn't have any content until Mars Update. Now that Mars is released, I was able to hire my very good friend Karolina (~aka .carolaine), so she could record a few dozens of lines I gave her. Her voice is amazing and it does fit EarthX so good!
Take a look at the demonstration I made last week on my Twitter: https://twitter.com/EarthxGame/status/1297940600969474050 [Note: These were RAW files, still good but without any effects and improvements. Now after a week since this recording, I improved her voice a lot!]
Droneships
The droneships will get their own mechanics, you will be able to buy them, name them, and move them around the world (from launchpad to launchpad obviously).
I have rewritten their core, so they are now independent of any launchpad, this means that I can make a very cute swimming animation :D Take a look: https://twitter.com/EarthxGame/status/1298276520469897217
Other
I added more info to the company window:
You will now be able to build stuff in the Production Window (instead of each Giga Factory) + Things you build will now save and load!
rykllan is still working on Boca Chica model (and many others):
Digital Dragons
EarthX got accepted to the finals of Digital Dragons this year! We will compete with 65 different games, that's why we will run a discount and a free DEMO of EarthX in mid-September. The demo will be available only for the duration of the sale.
We will probably release a new demo every sale in the future, so new players can try out EarthX!
Summary
The team behind EarthX is getting bigger. The game community is getting bigger too. I'm very happy and THANK YOU very much for supporting me, for supporting us! I couldn't ask for better players! <3
And maybe follow EarthX on Twitter (just an idea ok)
Denis
EarthX 0.3.2 Teaser
Hi,
Today I made a short teaser for the next update I'm working on. EarthX 0.3.2 will be focused on improving the in-game research and vehicle mechanics. Also, I want to optimize the game a little bit.
Here's the teaser: [previewyoutube="GnA17pFXDn0;full"]
No exact release date is known yet, but it's coming out in 2020!
Here's one screenshot of the new UI I was working on last week. As you can see, everything should be simpler and more intuitive. I watched about 100 hours of EarthX gameplay during last month and I took many notes about what to improve.
That's it for now, thanks for reading!
EarthX 0.3.1.1
Hey,
Thanks for making me aware of the Mac/Linux issues (can't open the main menu, can't save). I worked all 2 days to find the problems (as I do not own Mac/Linux). Thanks for Grimidk for the help with testing on macOS, and thanks for Jere for testing on the Linux. Also thanks for bami for helping me with the code on these systems.
I also added several other fixes, full changelog:
Fixed the issue with the main menu/saving on Mac/Linux.
Redesigned the spaceships landing code. It should work now at any time.
You could turn Superheavy expendable and then launch a tanker with it.
You could launch Spaceship to Mars without selecting the tanker.
You couldn't click on Mars trackers with problems.
You can now disable launch trackers.
You can now disable game over.
Fixed the issue with random time speedup.
Fixed the issue by focusing on rockets on Mars.
Added a text below the "Run" LinkLink button, which tells you where to build LinkLinks.
Some additional optimizations and smaller fixes.
Remember, that you can ALWAYS report me any issues, and I will try to fix them as soon as possible (if critic) or with the next big update (if small bug).
Denis
EarthX 0.3.1 Part Two
Hey,
After almost 4 months of hard work, countless sleepless nights, and a lot of pizzas, I'm finally ready to show you the long-awaited Mars Update.
Before we get into the changelog, I would like to say BIG thank you for rykllan and the Discord community. Thank you for all the translators as well (Listed at the end of the Changelog). We all did a great job on making this update possible.
Mars Update got its own Trailer on Youtube: [previewyoutube="3SyWpOoUuaw;full"]
Most Important Changes
Mars
Yup. You're reading that right. Mars. That Red Planet. In our Solar System. You can land on it, you can build on it, you can play on it! A long-requested feature is finally here. rykllan made many new buildings, like Hotels, Greenhouses, Resource Factories, and Solar Panels.
Mars City
As said above, you will be able to build buildings on Mars. It will be harder to do, as you will need Materials from Earth. Once you have established an Infrastructure (Oxygen, Water, Food), you can begin with Colonizing the Red Planet. Keep an eye at the Resources, as a shortage can cause thousands of Martians to die and you will have to begin all over.
Mars Terraforming
Mars Update couldn't be Mars Update without Mars Terraforming. You can either struggle with oxygen shortages OR you can nuke the POLES in order to heat up the Mars. Mars Terraforming is now the Endgame Goal of EarthX.
Spaceships
Spaceships have now 3 types: Cargo, Crew, and Tanker. You can now launch normal Payloads with these. (like hundreds of LinkLinks at once). You can also send Resources to Mars, creating large Fleets of Spaceships on the Parking Orbit. All of them will leave every 2 years, sending stuff to Mars, and then land on the Landing Zones.
LinkLink
LinkLink production was moved to inside the GigaFactory Menu. You will now be able to select, how many LinkLinks should be built. x15 and x30 versions were removed, leaving only x60 one. The payload size of x60 is now Medium. You can also see when 30% of your LinkLinks are going to be deorbited. Small Terminal was added (capacity of 15k Customers), as well as the Large Terminal (capacity of 1M Customers).
Launch All Rockets At Once
Do you feel it? You setup 10 rockets of yours on the launch pads. What would you do then? You would launch them one by one. The probability of you breaking your finger by doing so is pretty high. To protect me from you fulling a lawsuit against me, I made a feature, where you can launch ALL your rockets on the launchpads AT ONCE. Forget about Mars, you can launch ROCKETS!!
3 New Missions
Show to a Flathearther, what the Earth really looks like. Everyone knows it's flat... Right? Pff, they won't believe anyway, as there is a lot of Evidence on Youtube. (These videos with yellow caption).
Help SPATE to promote his Prologue EP by sending a copy of it to the ISS. The astronauts there will have a very good space-party, which no neighbor can complain about. Unless we aren't alone.
Save Matt and his potatoes from Mars! He needs our help. He needs YOUR help. Go play and save him!
Major UI Redesign
The edges roundings have been changed from 15px to 5px. I also removed unnecessary margins, backgrounds, and spaces. Everything now looks just better. Think of it as a Samsung Galaxy S6 (old UI) vs Samsung Note 10 (new UI)
New Main Menu
Remember that old Main Menu which showed my face for 0.3 seconds every time you opened it? It's gone. I removed it. I dragged it over the Windows Bin and dropped it there. I then started to create a new Main Menu, with new Settings, with new Game Creator, with new Game Loader, where you can have unlimited saves now (no more 7 slots!). The new Main Menu is just better than the whole game altogether. I love it, you will love it, even your cat will dream about it.
Other Changes
There are a lot of balance changes, a lot of fixes, a lot of small improvements. I decided to no more post these in changelogs, as it's not that needed.
Thanks to the translators you got: - German Language (by MCE_23) - Turkish Language (by Mehmet Tandoğanfrom from https://turkceoyunmerkezi.com/) - A part of Hungarian Language (by Zsolt Brechler) - Spanish Language (by Daniel Yah & Juan "Grimidk" Mendez) - French Language (by Paola Sanchez & Clovis Chateau)
Not all translations are fully finished, these guys are doing it on GitHub in their free time. Everyone can participate: https://github.com/earthxgame/languages
EarthX Mars Update Trailer
Hey,
I made this little trailer for the upcoming Mars Update. It will be available in July, no exact date is known yet.
I hope you will like it ^^ [previewyoutube="3SyWpOoUuaw;full"]
Also, EarthX is on Summer Sale now.
Denis
Mid-June Devlog
Hey,
I wanted to share some info about the progress I made in the last 2 weeks. Mars Update is still planned for the end of July.
After finishing the Mars code architecture, I was able to work on the graphics design. Not all are finished yet, but some visible progress is already there and you can see it on the screenshots below.
--- Mars Update will get a new game trailer, available to watch on Youtube. The Trailer will premiere itself on 27th June! --- [previewyoutube="3SyWpOoUuaw;full"]
This screenshot shows how Spaceships can land on Mars. Rykllan did an amazing job on the models, again. Personally, I love the connection between building colors and Mars colors (+ the rocks). What do you think?
You will be able to terraform Mars!
[previewyoutube="k2x9dcfd8cE;full"]
And here's how it looks like from gameplay camera view:
Lucas on Discord already launched 80 Spaceships from Earth to Mars (and back). He surely was very bored. (xD)
That's it for the announcement. You can always reach out to me on Discord or here in the comments :)
Have a very good day!
Denis
May Devlog
Hey,
first of all, I wanted to inform you that 0.3.1 Part Two (Mars Update) has been delayed. I don't know when it will be available, but I think it's around 2 months. Adding Mars is harder than I expected!
I talk about stuff in the newest Devlog!
[previewyoutube="t0JPXACofmA;full"]
A few screenshots from EarthX 0.3.1 Part Two (Mars Update)
