Before we go over the latest patch notes we want to address some concerns regarding our continued work on the game, which we have always been 100% committed to.
Some of you may have read that we are working towards a new code base for the game and haven’t been given more information than that.
Now, we are happy to say that through February and onwards we will be showing you the first in a series of small updates on our progress; you will get to see exactly what we’ve been working on over these last few months.
We hope that you’ll be pleased with what you see as we have spent time going through everyone’s feedback, both positive and negative, and using that to make the game better.
So until then, here’s the changes in the latest patch update.
HAB
Improved building descriptions in the CPV.
Fixed an exploit where the buying and selling of buildings refunds the player more than expected.
A number of craftable items now have their own models when they are being crafted through the crafting bench. More items will have their own models to come.
Inventory
Fixed instances where resources would disappear when attempting to enter large amounts of them into the 3D printers.
Players can use “Shift + LMB” to transfers items between inventories and when using the 3D Printer.
A number of fixes to issues regarding inventory transfer of items.
New general “transfer all” arrow icons in the inventory display.
“Transfer All” button in the 3D Printer display has been removed as functionality has been placed on the new general transfer arrow icons.
Others
Improvements to the compass marker: general UI changes and fixes, and player marker has also been changed.
Fixed mission markers, for instances where they remained on screen after mission completion.
Fixed issues with the Tutorial - where the tutorial wouldn’t progress if you had entered the vehicle before the respective prompt.
Atomicom Team.
Patch 17.11.10.1r
Happy Weekend Pioneers,
We have a patch that fixes the inventory transfer issue, the tech tree issues, vehicle repair issues, and many more things...
It also addresses the recent Hab/O2 Generator change; as promised, the O2 generator now feeds the Hab O2.
Tech Trees
Tech Trees should no longer stall.
Flickering/glitch issues should no longer occur.
HAB
As requested by the community, the O2 Generator now recharges the Hab's O2 supply once it is connected. So after connecting the O2 Generator, the player can receive an amount of O2 upon entering the HAB.
Vehicle Repairs
The Crawler and Pitspade are now be repairable with the Repair Rifle.
Map
Added a vehicle marker to the map.
Leaderboard
The Leaderboard has been extended and now shows more than 100 players.
Inventory Fixes
Fixed the bug that prevented a player from interacting with a vehicle inventory from another vehicle. NOTE - To open another building/vehicle/crate inventory use the Toggle Other Inventory key.
The Toggle Other Inventory (Default 'F' key) can be reassigned in the options menu. Note, this option now toggles the inventory both on and off.
Audio
Voice over audio overlapping has been fixed.
Added voice over to warn the player that their suit or vehicle is vulnerable to storm damage has been added.
Balance Fixes & Miscellaneous
Advanced Panelling mission [Solar Panel Lvl 2]. The mission requirement of "Create Pure Copper" to "Collect Pure Copper".
Other missions that involved Raw Gold are now fixed.
Mission Objectives and the 3D printer requirements have been made consistent; this has been done for the Solar Array level 2 and the Recycling Centre.
Moved the location of the O2 and repair ammo crates. Due to the O2 crate's collision with the Hab's 3D printers.
Fixed a collision on the rock bridge (which was causing vehicle damage) near the major Aluminium resource pool.
Consumables icons now fit into the consumables bar a little better.
A Dust Storm warning will only appear if the storm is heading towards the player.
Control Change - The flashlight is now mapped to 'G', by default. Note, the defaults won't affect saved games.
Known Issues
Pressing [F] (Toggle Other Inventory) on the Expedition End Screen breaks the game. The only option is to ALT-F4.
The Open Building Inventory prompt is always visible in the Hab.
The Hab's Building Info Popup shows O2 ready to charge before an O2 Generator is built. However, this is incorrect. The player won't receive any O2 until after the O2 Generator is built and connected to the Hab.
In Progress
Normal Mode – An easier mode that doesn’t reset building progression.
Improved Load/Save.
Vehicle handling for the Crawler and Pitspade.
Building decay rates – was hoping it would be part of this build but has been deferred until the next one due to test time.
New Patch 1.05r
Can you survive on Mars this Halloween?
This Halloween, attempt to survive on Mars and measure your progress against fellow Pioneers with the all-new leaderboard. To access it, select the Information Screen (Default: Escape) and choose the Rankings tab. In addtion, we've tweaked gameplay to prevent leaderboard exploits. So, let's see who tops the leaderboard this Halloween.
Also, we’ve finally added the much-needed warnings for Dust Storms. So, get to safety when you see this message.
Plus, there’s plenty more to enjoy in this new build. A rundown of the added features is presented below:
Rankings We've added a "living" leaderboard? So, you can now see how long you have survived compared to other Pioneers. It’s updated each time you Save. To refresh the Leaderboard, go back to gameplay and re-enter the Information Screen.
Save Buttons (at last) One of the most requested features has been added. You'll notice in the Information Screen->Map tab you can now save at any time; alternatively, you can 'Save & Quit'.
Inventory Transfer Issues The transfer issues between multiple vehicles and certain useable buildings has been resolved.
Tech Trees and the Suit Tech Tree The Suit Tech Tree is now functional, so upgrade the suit to become stronger! Despite the Tech Tree functioning we still have some work to do here, and we've decided based upon your feedback to design a new improved upgrade system. Expect more details to be released as part of the next few updates. However, feel free to continue leaving your suggestions in the Discussions area.
Tweaks to the Hab and Garage The HAB and the Garage will no longer freeze O2 consumption, as this is an exploit/bug. Instead use found and craft-able O2 bottles.
The Garage now replenishes O2 & Power once a vehicle has left and its doors are closed. So to fully refuel and recharge a vehicle, enter the Garage when O2 and Power is shown as fully replenished in the building information box.
NOTE - Once an O2 bottle is used, it will remain in your Inventory as empty, and ready to be refilled. However, in the future we do not want O2 bottles to be re-used infinitely, and would prefer them to degrade over time or with each use. So enjoy infinitely refillable O2 bottles while they last!
NOTE 2 - Regarding the Hab's air supply, we'll add base upgrades to allow you to add an O2 supply to the Hab, but this will be part of a forthcoming update.
Dust Storm Warnings Another one of the most requested features has been Dust Storm warnings, so we’ve added this signage. Tip: Head to the nearest Cave, Garage or Hab to avoid damage from the Dust Storm.
World We found some issues with the landscape, especially one or two holes, so we've removed these.
Dynamic Weather Balancing The Martian world is slightly more calm at the starting location.
Known Issues During test, we noticed that you may receive an incorrect message when attempting to refill an O2 bottle at the O2 Generator, it'll say something along the lines of ‘no available canister’, even if you have an Empty O2 Canister in the suit inventory. This is an incorrect message because if you wait and let the O2 Generator replenish its O2 supply, and try again, it will refill. We are investigating this issue further. However, any reproduction steps will be beneficial.
We’ve noticed that there is an intermittent flickering glitch in some Tech Tree screens, if this happens when you’ve highlighted a Tech Tree entry, be patient as it seems to stop after a while. We are currently investigating this issue too.
The Garage recharge times are way too fast.
Rather than wait to fix the above 3 issues, we thought we'd release this patch to you as it fixes a few more major issues.
Happy Halloween,
Atomicom Team
Patch 1.04r
Happy Friday 13th Pioneers, we’ve delayed this update to try and fix problems with the Suit Tech Tree. The good news is that the Suit Tech Tree is usable without corruption, but there is still one issue remaining. Despite this issue, we felt it was important to push the other fixes. Hence this update. A hot fix will follow in the coming days.
Dynamic Weather Fixes / Less killer Dust Storm
We were so excited with dynamic weather two weeks ago that we released it to our Early Access community, perhaps a bit too early. We soon realised this particular weather was too aggressive. So, we’ve tuned the dynamic weather and its calculations. In short, the Dust Storm is spawned with much less ferocity.
NOTE - We’re still waiting on one engineer to fix the Dust Storm warnings. Expect a fix early next week.
Suit Tech Tree Issues
The suit tech tree should no longer corrupt while you’re upgrading. Each level has been renamed too. Be warned, there is a known issue which can occur after an upgrade is applied, however, there is a workaround. If you upgrade and it is still giving you the opportunity to apply the same upgrade for a 2nd time, exit the Tech Tree screen and re-enter it. We should have a fix in the next few days.
Map
We’ve added an improved map image to the map screen UI, it should be clearer than what was there previously. The UI still requires improving but it’s way more usable.
Waypoints
The Waypoint markers are no longer transparent.
Balance Changes
You’re now able to craft Simple Plastic in the Hab.
Some Hazards are less likely to spawn in some of the early missions.
Dynamic weather has been tuned. The starting locations should be slightly more playable.
Bug Fixes
Suit Tech Tree corruption issue.
Pressing ESC works reliably after clicking on Rank.
Various UI fixes.
Coming very soon.
In the next few days...
Dust Storm warnings.
Suit Tech Tree 2x update fix.
A Save function.
1.03h
Hey pioneers!
We've completed a small hotfix to the game that should mean that the autosave icon appears when it's supposed to. We've also ensured that the bug that was prematurely closing crates that are left by vehicles and removing buildings don't vanish until they are empty.
Happy exploring...
Patch Notes 1.03r
EGX kept us busy last week, here is the latest patch ready for the weekend. In summary, Mars has become a little more unpredictable, to further simulate a colonization mission.
There will be a hot fix next week to sort out an issue regarding the visibility of the auto-save icon.
New Features
Dynamic weather – The dust storm can ravage your base more than once. All, weather effects will appear dynamically over time. No two games will be the same.
UX Changes
‘Refine All’ – To satisfy a suggestion by the community. The player can refine the maximum possible of a specific type of resource.
A reticule is always present this allows you to focus on objects such as 3D Printers when you are in a vehicle as well as on foot.
Contextual messages appear when you look at any useable object (i.e. a crate) or building.
By default, ‘E’ is the use key. ‘F’ is use the target’s inventory. ‘F’ still toggles flashlight.
Balancing Changes
Zero cost to buildings vital to stage 1 progression, i.e. until you have a landing pad and you can sell goods to JCB.
Sanitation Tablets can now be crafted from 2x Refined Carbon.
Building degradation is slower and more generous.
Large Medikits and Batteries can now be crafted earlier.
Most compounds need less resources.
Cyclical dependency between the Biodome, Combustion Generator and Waste Recycling has now been fixed.
Other Changes
Solid Fuel Generator is now called Combustion Generator
Optimization of LOD and dust effects has occurred which will speed up a majority of users.
Bug Fixes
Invalid Inventory Items bugs.
Resource pools have been tweaked.
Mission resource materials have been corrected.
Combustion Generator begins generation when methane is added to its inventory.
Fixed typos.
New Patch Live
Patch Notes 1.02r
Happy patch day Pioneers! Our team has been working really hard to improve the game for you and make the play experience as good as it can be! Thank you for all your input on making this game the best it can be
UI OPTIMISATIONS:
New interact HUD callouts, making it much easier to see what you can and can’t interact with
Esc key will now back out of most menus in the game
You can drag items from the suit to the vehicle tab in the inventory to swap items between them and vice versa
Interactions between buildings and printers are now highlighted more effectively
Using a building that is upgrading should be much easier - look at the printer to use the printer and the building to use the building
Added descriptions to the different materials that can be crafted and refined in the refine/ craft tab
ART:
New crafting bench asset in the Hab
Added a new 3D Printer asset
Made the starting cave area less confusing
BUG FIXES
Re-added the lost “filling” bars for O2, food and water bottles
Ensured that the correct tab will open in the inventory if you are in the vehicle instead of assuming the suit tab
Tweaks made to game launcher that should alleviate some of the issues that players are having when starting the game
Fixed a bug that was resetting the drag and drop action when players were moving things about quickly
Fixed a loss of mouse pointer when player was pressing esc at certain points
Damage to vehicle should work correctly now where all damage can be repaired by the repair gun - certain damage types were not being fixed correctly
Fix to the gas collectors so they function as a consumable item again
Resource pools reset correctly when the player dies
GAME BALANCING:
Increased the storage slot count for the warehouse
Increased the storage slot count for all vehicles
Tweaks to sale price of all found materials
Removed exploit that was letting players sell the O2 and Repair ammo for vast amounts of profit
Changes made to a lot of building materials for higher up buildings that allow better loading choices for players - Made more of the base level resource so players can now claim bonuses for refining when constructing (eg. Using a refined iron when a building needs just “iron” will count for 5 iron, better bonuses for pure
Tweaks made to the scanning levels for resource pools around the starting area to make them appear more readily
OPTIMISATIONS:
Game map tile loading optimisations should increase game frame rate
KNOWN ISSUES:
The Solid Fuel Generator has some resource generation and drain issues that will be solved in the next patch
