Patch update 31.3 is now live! This is a smaller update that includes balance tweaks, some changes and a few bug fixes.
Game Balance
It has been expressed to me from many users that they struggle to have enough material to reach the planet surface. This is primarily due to a lack of steel. Unfortunately this is not always consistent due to the procedural nature of the maps. It does happen often enough that I wanted to tweak this a bit.
While users were struggling to produce enough steel, they had an abundance of mineral compound for making structure resin. In this update I’ve added a new item called hardened structure resin. This new item, made in the smelter, requires 5 structure resin and 1 hematite. Steel usage, for surface progression, has been decreased in favor of hardened structure resin. I’ve also increased the structure resin usage for most of the objects in the game.
Thanks for the feedback during the experimental branch. Certainly let me know what you think of the new changes. Check the release notes below for the full list of changes and fixes.
Added Hardened Structure Resin item, recipe and research
Updated many object build requirements to use additional structure resin
Updated several object build requirements to use hardened structure resin in place of regular structure resin
Updated several object build requirements to use less steel
Worker and Driller bot recipes now require iron ingots
Increased surface resource scanner speed
Misc. Changes
Updated the icons for advanced and superior scanner equipment to make them more visibility different
Batteries will no longer be added into the power meter and total stored value if disabled
Improved performance for colonist path validation
Exploration vehicle exploration behavior has been changed so that multiple vehicles won’t follow along the same paths.
Fixes
Fixed: Batteries still providing power even when disabled
Fixed: Surface tile scan overlay not updating without toggling it off and back on again
Fixed: Performance issue if exploration vehicle no longer has any tiles left to explore
Fixed: Error that can occur if Xeno Mold event attempts to spawn at the edge of the map
Fixed: Aquarium has incorrect selection collider
Patch Update 31.3 Now On Experimental Branch
Howdy Folks!
Patch Update 31.3 is now available on the experimental branch on Steam! While this is a smaller update, it does contain quite a few game balance changes that need some testing and feedback.
If you’re interested in checking it out and providing you’re feedback then be sure to check out the experimental branch.
Hope everyone had a great holiday and an awesome new year so far. So far my year is off to a good start and I’ve got a lot of things planned for Mercury Fallen. Below I’ll go over the short term and long term plans for Mercury Fallen.
Removing Test Build Branch
Larger content releases have traditionally started in the experimental branch for initial feedback and then transitioned over to the Test Build branch for final testing before being released for everyone on the main branch. I’ve generally found that most of the feedback and bug fixing tends to come from the experimental branch. Having the two steps of testing hasn’t been largely beneficial, so for future updates I’ll no long be using the Test Build branch.
The Experimental Branch will continue to be used for new content that requires feedback and testing. Once ready updates will go from the Experimental Branch directly to the main branch for everyone.
Update 31.3
A smaller content update will be available on the experimental branch within the next couple of days. This update will focus on some bug fixes, but will also include some tweaks and game balance changes.
Energized Update Feedback Survey
It’s survey time again! If you have a couple of minutes your feedback would be most appreciated.
The above roadmap outlines the next three content updates. While this is the intended order of updates, I don’t have a specific timeline of when they will become available. I will say that a lot of the content for the Phone Home update has already been developed.
While these outline the primary content in each update, there will be additional tweaks and changes in each update as well. I’ll have more information regarding the next update in the next developer log.
Let me know what you think of the upcoming updates and thanks for all the great feedback and support!
This is a tiny patch fix update to address an issue with selection colliders. The version number is still 31.2, but the build number has been updated to 1220.
Fixed: Objects with particle systems generating a selection collider that is way too large. This caused an issue where clicking on objects would select the wrong object.
Update 31.2
Howdy Folks!
Just in time for Christmas is Patch update 31.2. This is another small update with some tweaks, changes and fixes. Let’s see what we’ve got.
Global Inventory
There are further tweaks and changes to the global inventory display including a new header, category quantities and category sorting. Additional items and categories with zero quantity will now show grayed out. Item categories will no longer show if there are zero items and show zero quantities is disabled.
Item Containers
Item containers have had a face lift. Instead of a single container graphic to represent items on the ground, there are now separate container visuals per item category. These new item category containers are also used for their respective icon in the global inventory list.
Colonists will now carry a category container based on the category with the highest amount of items for that category in their inventory. Item containers are now more visually interesting as well as provide better visual feedback.
UI Tweaks
Pinned items and colonists count on the HUD now have a cleaner appearance. Planet map display modes have been removed from the left section tab and are now shown as toggle buttons above the mini-map.
As the year comes to a close I just want to let you all know how incredibly grateful I am for all of you. Hope everyone has a fantastic holiday and an awesome new year!
Items on the ground will now show a container for each item type.
Items on ground containers now have a new look per item type
Colonists carrying items will show a container visual based on the highest amount of items of a given item type
Removed planet map display modes section in left panel
Planet map display modes now available as toggles above mini-map
Updated look of pinned items
Updated look of colonist counts on HUD
Global Inventory List
Added header background and text to global inventory
Item category headers now show group quantity
Item categories now hidden if show zero quantity is disabled and the number of items in the group is zero
Item categories now sorted by count or name depending on selected mode
Items and category headers with zero quantity now show grayed out
Tweak to spacing/formatting
Fixes
Fixed: Pinned items not showing tooltip info
Fixed: Allowed fuel items in solid fuel generator not updating when clicking the fuel items header toggle
Fixed: Select ingredient window doesn’t close when deselecting station
Fixed: Collider issue that caused selection collider to be offset for some objects
Happy Holidays!
Howdy Folks!
It’s that time of year again and I want to wish everyone a very happy and or merry holiday season! I am very thankful for all of the support you’ve given me this year.
As the year nears its end, I want to take a look back at some of the content that has been added to Mercury Fallen.
Year In Review
It’s been quite a year for Mercury Fallen. Lots of new content, tweaks, fixes and more.
The Stressed Out update brought the janitor job role as well as a complete re-work to the quirk system. Colonists were finally able to relax with the new arcade machine and dart board.
The Copy & Paste update added a bunch of new selection visuals, quality of life changes and, of course, the ability to copy and paste various settings between machines and colonists.
A brand new room was added and new objects to train attributes. The memory transfer station for transferring job skills, schedules and more were also added in the Training Update.
And finally in the latest release there was a complete overhaul to the planet map visuals and some new surface power generation structures.
What’s Next?
I’m super excited about what comes next for Mercury Fallen. In the short term I have some smaller content updates planned that will add some quality of life features, new artwork and balance tweaks to make progression a bit smoother.
Moving forward there will be further focus on surface content, a new mission system and the campaign storyline that will breathe more life into the world of Mercury Fallen.
These new features will result in additional research, new resources and mechanics. There is some fun stuff in the works and I look forward to bringing it to you all.
Thank you all so much for the amazing support and feedback. Have a wonderful Holiday and New Year!
Thanks for all the great feedback so far on the Energized update. With that update out the door, I’ll be focusing on some smaller updates. These updates will tweak, change and fix various aspects of the game.
The Energized update was originally intended to include the new mission system and the first chapter of story missions. The mission system and the story missions are still being worked on and will be coming in a future update.
UI Tweaks
The section buttons and global inventory have undergone some minor changes to make things a bit more compact. Further tweaks to global inventory are planned in future updates.
This update also contains some additional tweaks and a bunch of fixes. Check out the release notes below for the full list.
Facility management section buttons going down the left side of the screen now show horizontally from the top left corner
Facility management windows now take up the full screen
Minor update to the look of the HUD inventory
HUD inventory now defaults to not showing item categories
HUD inventory now defaults to not showing items with zero quantity
HUD inventory now shows category icons
Bio-refiner renamed to Bio Refiner
Ore Smeltery renamed to Ore Smelter
Arcade Cabinet, Punching Bag, Treadmill and Reading Station now have an equipment slot
Data Server now has an equipment slot
Fixes
Fixed: Game crash when returning to main menu and then attempting to start a new game or load a save game
Fixed: POI locations that aren’t reachable by expedition vehicle are still able to be selected. This causes various issues with expedition logic.
Fixed: Haulers not hauling fuel to generators in some instances
Fixed: Deselecting a tile for mining while a colonist is mining that tile will cause the colonist to become stuck in that action.
Energized Update Now Live!
Howdy Folks!
I’m super excited to announce that the Energized update is now live! This update focuses primarily on surface content with the addition of new visuals, power generation and more. This update also includes various tweaks, balances and bug fixes. A huge thank you to everyone who provided feedback during the Experimental and Test Build versions.
This update took longer than originally planned as updating the planet map visuals was rather time intensive. Moving forward from this update I’ll be focusing on some smaller updates to keep the content flowing. For now, though, let’s take a look at what is included in the Energized update!
Planet Map Visuals
The planet map artwork has been completely overhauled with new visuals for terrain, oceans, rivers, shore lines and flora. The most noticeable change is that the terrain has visual elevation and better blending between tiles. The planet map data has not changed so loading up and existing save file will show the planet map with these new visuals.
Planet Map Power
New power generation and distribution structures can now be researched and constructed. This also means that some surface side buildings now require power to function. Power can flow between your underground facility and the surface by connecting surface side power generators to the primary facility.
Misc
Three new original music tracks have been added to provide more variation. There have been various tweaks and changes under the hood including updating to Unity Engine version 2019 and migrating to .net 4.x.
The discovery and guide section formatting has been updated to look a bit better and provide better consistency between sections.
There is a lot of additional tweaks, changes and fixes so be sure to check out the release notes below for the complete list.
Mountains no longer have visual height if unexplored
Elevation info refactored to better match new visual tile height
Tile depth info now has a different icon than elevation
Can now zoom in/out using camera zoom keyboard shortcuts
Vehicles will now take shorter paths through planet tiles where applicable
Optimized planet surface camera calculations. This should result in some improved performance.
Planet Map Structures
Added Wind Turbines
Added Solar Panel
Added Power Poles
Added Surface Power research
UI Tweaks
Updated header of discovery section content
Updated header of guide section content
Updated formatting for guide section content
Updated several entries in guide section
Balancing
Reduced build cost of vehicle bay
Standing Lamp and Wall Light power consumption reduced from 5 to 4
Night Stand power consumption reduced from 5 to 2
Improved Power Supply equipment bonus changed from 10% to 20% and recipe ingredients increased slightly
Advanced Power Supply equipment bonus changed from 25% to 40% and recipe ingredients increased slightly
Colonist Pathfinding
Added penalties to facility tiles to improve path finding
Colonists will now prefer to walk over hallway tiles when generating a path
Colonists are less likely to generate a path that goes through a door if applicable
Fixed: Colonist planning next mining target before current mining target tile has become walkable. This resulted in colonists either wandering aimlessly or bouncing between mining targets when attempting to ming a 1 tile wide tunnel.
Misc
Added 3 new original music tracks
Added guide section for surface power
Selecting a room floor a second time will select the underlying floor tile
Migrated Unity Engine to version 2019.4
Migrated to .net 4.x.
Modding
Added spawn_closet_match tag to GDPOI. When the POI is spawned it will attempt to spawn it at the closest matching tile from the facility.
Added spawn_natural tag to GDPOI. If false the POI will not automatically be spawned on the map. This allows for POIs to be spawned from stories and missions.
Updated various language strings including guide data to use CData tags
Language data gstr tags can now use CData tags to avoid having to escape formatting tags
Fixes
Fixed: Mining Platform light appearing in underground facility
Fixed: Robot not showing power hover icon when low or out of power
Fixed: Removing a pinned item/category causes pinned items to stop working in some instances
Fixed: Colonists can walk through Dirt/Ore wall tiles if that tile contains an item chest
Fixed: Sea Turtle vehicle has wrong icon/description when selected
Fixed: Toggle audio playing multiple times when opening craft queue recipe list
Fixed: Machines showing as receiving/having power even when they are not, in some instances
Fixed: POI locations showing enable/disable button
Fixed: Surface resources at deeper depths showing after loading a save game without having previously uncovered them via scanning.
Fixed: Non-expedition vehicles showing cancel expedition button in info panel
Fixed: Opened starting capsule spawning inside another stasis capsule on some seeds
Fixed: Unable to create expedition without setting destinations in create expedition window in some instances
Fixed: Info window for selecting expedition targets appears when selected an expedition that is already enroute in some instances
Fixed: Expeditions don’t automatically travel to destinations selected during expedition creation when expedition is ready
Fixed: Expeditions don’t continue towards destinations after loading a save game
Fixed: Colonists flagged as being on an expedition that doesn’t exist after loading a save game in some instances
Fixed: Colonists only refueling one generator at a time even if there are multiple haulers
Fixed: Colonists not refueling generators at all in some instances
Energized Update Now On Test Build Branch
Howdy Folks!
The Energized update is now ready for the final round of testing on the Test Build branch. A huge thanks for all of the feedback and bug reports from the experimental branch.
Update 31 :: Energized Test Build Info https://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/3/3199241242401096988/
About Test Build Branch The optional Test Build branch is for testing the latest features before they go live to everyone. As it is a testing version there can be more bugs/issues than in the normal version. If using the Test Build branch, please report any issues you encounter or any feedback on new game play mechanics. Your feedback and/or reports will help to ensure the final version is the best it can be.
Energized Update Now On Experimental Branch!
Howdy Folks!
Update 31 :: Energized is now available on the experimental branch! The Energized Update still has more in development, but most of the new features are in place.
This update focuses on overhauling the planet map visuals, surface side power structures, UI tweaks and more. What isn’t currently available is the new mission system and POI locations. While this was intended to be part of this update, the mission system needs more work and I wanted to get these other changes out to you fine people.
Check out the experimental branch if you would like to provide feedback and bug reports on the latest content.
