You remember how we told you that this year is going to be super intensive for Learning Factory? Well, here we are today, with a new building, and some very important QoL improvements. Speaking of which:
v0.17.118 Released!
New building: Furnace is here to help you smelt Metals into higher quality Metals!
New building: Geothermal Furnace: Upgrades Metals in an even better way, but under the ground
New building: Box Office - allows your catstomers test drive Boxes before buying
Smoother items rolling out from Tunnels
Buildings stick to the cursor line while dragging upon placement; for Transporters - only works while alternative layout mode is on. Sticking threshhold can be tuned in Settings
Automatical ML model switching altered: switching happens upon comparing the average of latest prediction results. E.g. if one model is trained worse than the other one, but accidentally gets a lower error rate in a batch, switching won't happen
Added an option to downgrade items in Docks
Added an option to delete all Zeppelin routes altogether
Zeppelins return to the Backpack when their route is deleted in the Zeppelin Routes section (via Евгений Ры́марев)
Added an ability to reset keyboard layout to AZERTY (for players with the French keyboard layout)
And don't forget to follow Learning Factory on Steam to get the news about new updates as soon as they're out there
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How to Get More Involved
Going to Early Access is but the first step to glory (and eternal cat happiness). Wanna be part of what happens next? Head to this blog post and learn how to help make the game even more awesome!
Share Your Gameplay and Become Part of KOTOVOD History
Learning Factory needs your help! Record a 10 or more minutes of you playing the game, share a video using any way you see fit, write your name into Learning Factory credits and get a promo cat! Make history here
New Update: Fish & Apple Chips
Hey everyone! Good to see you again!
In this first update in 2023, we're continuing to enrich Learning Factory's visuals! This time, you'll find new Fish and Apples on your Factory. But it's not just that! Some important improvements were made for better handling the Zeppelins, along with other QoL improvements:
v0.17.117 Released!
Updated art for Fish
Updated art for Apple Boxes
Base speed of Zeppelins slightly increased
Speed upgrades for Zeppelins provide 30% of boost (instead of 10%)
Improved Tutorial
Added an option to copy & paste Zeppelin settings
Added an option to copy & paste Dock settings
Added an option to duplicate routes and profiles on Zeppelin route settings screen (via RyanD)
Routes and profiles are now highlighted with colors when selecting a Dock in a Zeppelin's settings
Added an option to copy & paste Advertising Cat Gate settings
Added an option to copy & paste Trade Port settings
Crafting buildings do not switch to lower quality recipes if there's an option to craft a higher quality recipe but the output is blocked (via Евгений Ры́марев)
Added an option to disable interface windows closing when interacting with a building that does not open additional windows (via Евгений Ры́марев)
Wiki now displays throughput parameters for logistic buildings
And don't forget to follow Learning Factory on Steam to get the news about new updates as soon as they're out there
----------------------
How to Get More Involved
Going to Early Access is but the first step to glory (and eternal cat happiness). Wanna be part of what happens next? Head to this blog post and learn how to help make the game even more awesome!
Share Your Gameplay and Become Part of KOTOVOD History
Learning Factory needs your help! Record a 10 or more minutes of you playing the game, share a video using any way you see fit, write your name into Learning Factory credits and get a promo cat! Make history here
Winter Has Come! Learning Factory Is 33% Off!
That magical time of the year is here again! Time for hot cocoa, marshmallows and sweet, sweet games!
And don't forget to land on Learning Factory to make sure your cats have some milk to celebrate. Just a reminder: it's harvested from Milky Glaciers in the north of the map:
Don't forget to get a copy of Learning Factory with 33% off the price for you and/or your significant ones! Next year is the release year of our game! That means, it will be turning more awesome each month, but the best deals of the year are NOW:
New Update: QoL Improvements & Cool New Manipulators
Welcome to this year's last content update! It might not look too gorgeous in terms of new stuff and such, but we have made a lot of little tweaks to make your never-ending work at Learning Factory significantly more comfortable!
But first, may we fancy you with this brand new trailer of ours:
v0.17.114 Released
New visuals for Manipulators
New Upgrade: increases the operating speed for regular Manipulators
Cacti now grow faster and provide High Quality Catnip Juice
Gameplay Options section added in the Settings
In-game wiki shows the speed of plants' regrowing under perfect conditions (suggested by Евгений Ры́марев)
Added an option to prevent items to fall off Transporters when they reach the end of a line (suggested by Евгений Ры́марев)
Added an option to remove items from the Backpack (suggested by Евгений Ры́марев) - hover mouse pointer over the item and press 'Backspace' or 'Delete' (by default)
Added an option for quick Blueprint creation (press 'Ctrl+Q' with your mouse pointed over target building)
Added an option for mass selecting and deleting Blueprints (press and hold 'Ctrl', and drag your mouse over target Blueprints)
Added an option to setup outputs for outputs of Splitters and Manipulators
Buildings placed over the Blueprints include the settings selected for those Blueprints
Added an option to toggle notifications from Data Storages on and off (suggested by aCDRph3rr3t_Is_RunningAmok)
Added an option to set the zooming distance limit
Added an option to mute the game when its window is inactive
Improved Pause indicator
Added an option to hide big warning when Blueprint mode or Pause are turned on
And don't forget to follow Learning Factory on Steam to get the news about new updates as soon as they're out there
----------------------
How to Get More Involved
Going to Early Access is but the first step to glory (and eternal cat happiness). Wanna be part of what happens next? Head to this blog post and learn how to help make the game even more awesome!
Share Your Gameplay and Become Part of KOTOVOD History
Learning Factory needs your help! Record a 10 or more minutes of you playing the game, share a video using any way you see fit, write your name into Learning Factory credits and get a promo cat! Make history here
New Update: Blueprints & Cat Secrets!
Can we release a major update every two weeks? We sure can. Though this probably won't last - we'll take a break for Holidays - new (and/or revised, or improved) content for Learning Factory will be coming your way more and more often as we approach the game's full release next year!
Anyway, this time we have a whole new Factory planning mode, a rather important gameplay mechanics, 4 new Manipulator thingies and some visual tweaks - along with more stuff:
v0.17.113 Released
Cat Knowledge Archives now required to unlock certain parts on the Research Tree. They still provide bonus for research projects in respective research field, too! Some of the Archives might be found on locked territories, but there's definitely more than enough of them for unlocking all the research projects
Blueprints (beta): Blueprints mode can be turned on the map, allowing you to place virtual buildings for advanced planning. More features will be added to this mode later on
Updated art for selected items: Wood & Boxes, in particular
4 new Manipulators: Loyalty Manipulator (Regular/Long) and Request Category Manipulator (Regular/Long)
Copying and pasting settings now available for Splitters and Manipulators
When a building was copied with a Pipette tool, use 'Ctrl+Click' to place it along with settings from the source building
Transporter layout mode switching button now available on the panel under the mini map
Trade Port menu has an option to toggle displaying territories with Ports on the map
Added an option to remove all the marks from the map
And don't forget to follow Learning Factory on Steam to get the news about new updates as soon as they're out there
----------------------
How to Get More Involved
Going to Early Access is but the first step to glory (and eternal cat happiness). Wanna be part of what happens next? Head to this blog post and learn how to help make the game even more awesome!
Share Your Gameplay and Become Part of KOTOVOD History
Learning Factory needs your help! Record a 10 or more minutes of you playing the game, share a video using any way you see fit, write your name into Learning Factory credits and get a promo cat! Make history here
Hotfix v0.16.111
This hotfix is a peculiar one! Not only it eliminates some bugs and improves some interface elements, but it also adds floating elements on Transporters to the picture!
Our hopes is that this will make look more lively. Did it work? You tell us! Drop a comment or swing by our Discord server, we're there for you!
Hotfix v0.16.109
Another day, another swarm of bugs eradicated by our brave bug-fighting squads. Update and build a Factory already!
Hotfix v0.16.108
Please return to work at Learning Factory. Those pesky bugs you might've heard about are no more!
Regular bug fixes
Text bug fixes
Chinese localization bug fixes
If you see a giant and/or potentially carnivorous bug at Learning Factory, do not hesitate to report them with a special button in the upper left corner of the screen! Safe building, engineers.
New Update: More Underground Stuff, New Tasting Booths, Grand Optimization
Another major update in just a couple of months? Yes, that is correct! And it brings you new buildings, more underground gameplay, epic optimization round and so much more:
v0.16.105 Released
New Building: a Fishing Spot is a smaller version of Fishing Pier, working on shallow water and perfect for placing in the narrow watery spaces, such as rivers
New Building: Hammock Testing Booth works the same way as Scratch-Testing Booth, allowing to try Hammocks before buying
New Building: Napping Booth, same mechanics, but with Pillows. Awesome sauce!
We've switched to a new version of the engine, much optimization happened to celebrate the occasion
Additional art for regular Icebergs
Terrain visuals slightly improved
Underground Gold Veins with quality Gold
Undergroung Gem Deposits with quality Gems, too!
Dynamite can be placed under the ground. To blow up stuff. Finally
Hillraiser Dynamite can destroy the lower level ground itself, creating more lava. You like lava, don't you?
Quality Hammocks
Mass picking upgrade for Multitool: allows mass placement of terraforming tiles and Rafts, also allows mass picking of Rafts (suggested by aCDRph3rr3t_Is_RunningAmok)
If a high loyalty cat appears from a Cat Gate, they might request more items at a Store
Machine Learning models will no longer try to predict optimal prices while gathering initial data
More phrases for legendary cats
Better view of legendary cats in the Wiki
Multithreading is no longer in beta
Optimization while moving to not yet loaded zones, especially if they contain big Storages
Storages optimization
Game loading time reduced
Game saving time reduced
The game no longer creates an exit save if a player saved the game manually before exiting
Right 'Shift', 'Ctrl' and 'Alt' buttons now work the same way as the left ones do
UI/UX improvements
A new bunch of Cat Knowledge Archives will be generated (for future purposes) and everyone gets free science points for this inconvenience
And don't forget to follow Learning Factory on Steam to get the news about new updates as soon as they're out there
----------------------
How to Get More Involved
Going to Early Access is but the first step to glory (and eternal cat happiness). Wanna be part of what happens next? Head to this blog post and learn how to help make the game even more awesome!
Share Your Gameplay and Become Part of KOTOVOD History
Learning Factory needs your help! Record a 10 or more minutes of you playing the game, share a video using any way you see fit, write your name into Learning Factory credits and get a promo cat! Make history here
Developer Diaries, November 2022: Milky Glaciers, Underground Mining & More!
Hey there, Georgii from Luden.io here! Another month, another developer diary! And boy, was that month rich with new features, fruitful discussions, and exciting plans! Here's the juiciest stuff:
Chill Milk
Yeah, Milky Way is cool but have you ever tried Milky Glaciers? Frozen plant-based sources of milk were recently discovered on Mars. Don't even ask us, how we came up with this idea… Because we'll tell you anyway! According to truly accurate scientific facts, milk was secretly being delivered to Mars by the I.L.L.U.M.I.N.A.T.I. throughout the XX and the early XXI century, disguising these operations as ‘scientific expeditions’ (ever heard of ‘unsuccessful Martian missions’? Well, they were not, it was all about delivering milk). It is to be clarified, how this milk turned into icebergs and glaciers (you're welcome to share your thoughts in the comments!). On a more serious side of things, we had two reasons in mind for adding milk to the game. One, we decided we need more resources to play around with in the northern biome. And two: it seemed weird that we haven't added milk before! Cats love milk and it was only too natural to have it on Learning Factory, which was made for the sole reason to provide catisfaction.
Operation Teleportation
Another couple of new buildings are using the magic of teleportation to make players’ lives easier. Normally, teleportation is a tool only available to cats (who are well-known to be able to disappear and emerge in random places), but the I.L.L.U.M.I.N.A.T.I. were generous enough to share some of their wisdom with their human pet servants. Enter the Cable Crafter and the Inventory Teleport! The former automatically produces and delivers Optic Cable to a player's backpack, while the latter simply transfers any kind of items to the inventory. It is possible thanks to swarms of invisible nanobots, that disassemble items into molecules and then build them back right into your pockets. Creepily effective.
The Taste of Scratching
This building was born in a discussion when we were remembering the good old prototyping days for Learning Factory. Back then, the game looked less like a factory-building sim and more like a cat-entertaining tycoon. This concept was later omitted, but we didn't entirely part with the idea of cat entertainment (catertainment?). Hence the concept of Cat-Scratching Booth! It allows your catstomers to test-drive one of your items (Claw Sharpener, in this case), so they could add it to their wishlist and offer a higher price for it in a Store.
More buildings of this kind might appear in the game later - if you, the players, find them fun to play around with them, that is! Kindly let us know how you like them - on our Discord server, maybe?
Approaching Catopia, One Cat at a Time
There were other changes that might seem not as grand, but they're still pieces of the puzzle that, brought together, will make Learning Factory an awesome base-building game one day. We've added more quality items, which increase the loyalty of your catstomers. We've added new upgrades. More trading options for Trade Guilds. Mass pickup of items. We've added optional multithreading (currently in beta) for even greater performance. We've also added an ability to mine metals on the underground level (previously only logistics items could have been placed there)!
We will continue polishing quality items mechanics in an upcoming couple of weeks. At the same time, we'll be making the underground level even more interesting to spend time on. But most importantly: we've had a very fruitful discussion regarding the process of polishing - which means, we have officially started pre-preparations for the full release! The date will be announced as soon as we're sure about that - we will make sure you don't miss it.
Until then - come chat with us on Discord, leave a comment, wishlist it, send us a postcard, send us a raven, in any case - don't be a stranger! See you in the next edition of Learning Factory developer diaries!
P.S. If you want to keep an eye our progress closer, don't forget to follow Learning Factory on our Steam page and never miss an update again!
----------------------
How to Get More Involved
Going to Early Access is but the first step to glory (and eternal cat happiness). Wanna be part of what happens next? Head to this blog post and learn how to help make the game even more awesome!
Share Your Gameplay and Become Part of KOTOVOD History
Learning Factory needs your help! Record a 10 or more minutes of you playing the game, share a video using any way you see fit, write your name into Learning Factory credits and get a promo cat! Make history here
