Thank you for the great feedback on the New Horizons Update. Work has already started on the next content update, but before focusing entirely on that I wanted to get some smaller tweaks and fixes done.
Patch Update 25.2 fixes up a couple of reported issues and also includes a starting location marker when starting a new game.
Keep that feedback coming and let me know what you like, what you don't and where you're stuck.
New game screen now marks starting position on map
Colonists will now deliver multiple items of fuel to the solid fuel generator
Optimization to colonist path movement logic to increase game performance
Fixed: Colonists receive starving affect too soon after hunger meter is full
Fixed: Colonist tile position calculated incorrectly which caused doors not to function correctly in some instances
Patch Update 25.1
Howdy Folks!
Thanks for all the great feedback on Update 25 :: New Horizons. Before starting on the next content update, I'm working on some smaller tweaks and fixes. Update 25.1 includes some of these changes/fixes.
Research points, tech fragments and bio-sample quantity display now shortened when above 1000
Water meter on game HUD now formatted correctly for values over 1000
Optimized several objects to improve rendering performance
Minor change to how save games are loaded to improve loading time
Fixed: Game becomes unresponsive/crashes when converting a surface miner to a mining platform
Fixed: Expedition Supplies category removed
Fixed: Selection collider on Mining Platform
New Horizons Hot Fix
Howdy Folks!
Thank you for the feedback on Update 25 :: New Horizons. This a tiny little hot fix to address issues with save games created in Update 24 not loading. Keep those reports coming and let me know what you like and what you don't in Update 25 :: New Horizons.
Fixed: Saves created in Update 25 not loading due to changes related to colonist accessory items
New Horizons Now Live!
Howdy Folks!
Update 25 :: New Horizons is now live and includes an overhauled tech tree, new decoration research, improved expedition mechanics and a whole lot of tweaks, changes and fixes.
Updated Game Progression
The tech tree has been re-worked completely to provide a clearer path of progression. To accommodate some of these changes, I’ve also made changes to the early game progression.
The elevator no longer provides power and is constructed later in the game. The new E.M.G., or Emergency Mechanical Generator, has been added to provide early game power.
The water trap no longer requires bait, but will use bait if it’s available. Bait will increase the operation speed. A new cave-dwelling fish can now be captured in the water trap.
Improved Expedition Mechanics
Expeditions were meant to be a means of exploring the surface, making new discoveries and gathering resources for the facility. While this did happen, I received a lot of feedback that it required more micromanagement than it really needed.
With this update, expeditions are far easier to manage. Now, to create an expedition, you select destinations along with supplies and passengers. Once the expedition team has been selected they will automatically travel to each POI, and then head back to dock at the facility. The POI interaction screen will appear when they arrive at a destination.
Additionally, the vehicle dock action no longer requires that the vehicle be adjacent to the facility. Vehicles will return to the facility and dock from the tile they are on.
Points Of Interest
Points Of Interest on the surface map are no longer generated via the Comm Station. Instead, they will appear automatically as the surface area is revealed.
New points of interest have been added and some existing POI interactions have been updated. Additional POIs will continue to be added in future updates.
The Comm Station can no longer be researched or used, but will return with a new use in a future update.
Surface Visuals
Rivers have been visually updated to be more, well, river-like. Water colors have also been updated.
Colonist Accessories
Colonists now have a chance to spawn with random accessory items such as glasses or facial hair.
And More…
A new decorations section has been added to the research screen. Here, you can unlock new and existing decoration items. This will form the foundation of more content to come.
The existing Coal Generator has been visually updated and renamed to the Solid Fuel Generator. The Solid Fuel Generator now requires water to operate.
I had more planned for Update 25 that didn’t make it in. The next content update will continue the improvements and additions to planet surface content.
Check out the release notes below for the full list of changes, fixes and additions.
Massive re-work of technology tree to improve progression
Updated getting started tasks to reflect new starting progression
Power Management
Added EMG. Replaces elevator as early game power.
Elevator no longer provides power when constructed.
Renamed coal generator to Solid Fuel Generator
Solid Fuel Generator now requires water
Increased fuel consumption rate of coal generator
Updated the look of the Solid Fuel Generator and footprint size. Already constructed Solid Fuel Generator will still use the old model due to the change in footprint size.
Minor increase to fuel amount provided by anthracite
Solid Fuel Generator fuel percent now has a tooltip to show fuel percent and total amount stored
Solid Fuel Generator now has greater negative decor impact
Increased construction cost of Solid Fuel Generator
Decreased power output of Geothermal Generator
Fuel Item shows fuel amount in item tooltip
Reduced power requirement of research bench from 125 to 100
Power generators now show power output amount in build menu info
Power storage objects now show power storage amount in build menu info
Expeditions
Added new POI types
Updated look of Create Expedition window
Destination POIs must now be chosen when creating an expedition
Once an expedition is created it will automatically travel to the selected POI locations and interact with each POI in turn. Once all POI locations are visited the expedition will automatically return to the facility and dock.
Robot passengers no longer affect Estimated Food Supply time in the create expedition window
Expedition vehicles no longer have “move to” and “investigate POI” actions. Expeditions can still be canceled early by clicking the Explore POI action to turn it off and then selecting Dock which will return the expedition to the facility and dock.
Updated Expeditions guide topic
Points Of Interest
POIs are no longer generated using the Comm Station/Radar Towers. POIs will appear automatically as the map is uncovered/explored. There is no limit to the number of visible POIs.
Comm station no longer unlockable in the tech tree. Comm station will return in a future update.
POIs now have a more informative name/description
Updated tooltip info for POIs when hovering over them on the planet map
POIs now show a risk level, recommended job(s) and required gear.
Re-worked how POI stories calculate success chances
POI action success chance no longer based on health/stress
Added POI story action type that allows for a chance based result from the expedition party as a whole instead of choosing a specific colonist.
Game will now pause when interacting with a story
Vehicles
Can now use the Dock vehicle action from anywhere. Vehicles will automatically return to the primary facility and dock.
D.O.G.E. and Wasp vehicles no longer convertible to radar towers as radar towers are no longer used to scan for POIs
Planet Surface Visuals
Change to river generation on the planet surface to avoid rivers being too close together. This change helps rivers to be better distributed and not as clumped together.
Updated look of river biome tiles
Updated the color of water tiles
Mountain tiles with less than two adjacent mountain tiles should no longer appear flat
UI
Added notification when a vehicle docks at the facility if the planet map window is not open
Updated the look of the story interface
Changed the tooltip for Unknown Research projects in research window
Facility Management buttons moved to a new button bar at the left edge of the screen
Updated tooltip text to use a better text generation method to reduce blurry text in some cases
Misc
Primary facility on surface no longer shows vision range when selected
Colonists now have a chance to spawn with random accessories such as glasses or facial hair.
Water trap no longer requires bait to function. Base gathering speed decreased, but can be increased if using bait. Bait brought to the water trap automatically if it’s available.
Water Trap now shows status in info window
Added guide section for Water Trap
Bio-Waste removed from water trap loot table
Blood fish and blood fish egg added to water trap loot table
Bait now unlocked in the recipe research section under the food processor
Added Decoration research section to research interface. Existing decoration research moved to the decoration section.
Added new unlockable decorations via research
Re-organized recipe research section
Updated how research sections are generated
Updated power generation guide topic
Added Blood Fish and blood fish egg items
Updated fish tank interface to be able to change fish type
Fridge and food dispenser no longer have a required room
Bio samples added to organics chest loot
Humans and robots are now different colors on the minimap
Increased research cost of food processor recipes from 25 to 50
Cave salad meal recipe no longer uses Sponge Stalk
Change to how some numeric values are saved to reduce save file size
Modding
Updated loot table processing to be more consistent and allows currencies to be used in any loot table
CItemEdible no longer has values for satiation and nutrition. These values are now under a values tag inside CProperties
CElectricCreatorSolidFuel now has a “fuel_consume_frequency” tag which is the time in seconds one unit of fuel is consumed. A unit of fuel is not the fuel item delivered, but is a unit of “max_fuel_store”.
Fixes
Fixed: Tab no longer works to close management window after saving game in some cases
Fixed: Starting supply chest spawning inside stasis capsule on game start in some cases
Fixed: POI stories not checking “seen before” flag correctly which meant seen before text was not shown in some cases.
Fixed: Arrowhead Mushroom discovery not received when getting a seed from harvesting the wild crop
Fixed: Water pump output amount shows under requirements in build menu.
Fixed: Space between number and percent in some user interfaces
Fixed: Gather from water trap showing wrong description text
Fixed: Twin Fin fish clipping through top of aquarium
Fixed: Colonists on expeditions still count towards being over populated in the facility
Fixed: DOGE/Wasp vehicles stop working during biome scanning
Fixed: Game becomes unresponsive and or crashes due to auto explore vehicle action exploring near map edge
Fixed: Expedition list available if map table is placed, but not finished being constructed
Fixed: Game crashes or becomes unresponsive if surface structure is too close to the edge of the map
Fixed: Objects not updating correctly when placed which causes visual glitches in some cases
Fixed: Attribute tooltips not showing correct value formatting in some instances
Fixed: Vehicle speed showing mph when unit setting is metric
Fixed: Construction Queue remains open when opening facility management screen
Fixed: Colonists spawn with conflicting quirks
Fixed: Recipe not set correctly when updating craft queue item in some instances
Fixed: Unable to scroll research tech tree to access off screen items in some resolutions
Fixed: Ability to set “Repair At” durability slider to 100%. Max is now 95%. Resolves issue with colonists constantly trying to repair an object if slider was set to 100%
Fixed: Item Pickup/drop off audio heard during game load
Fixed: Inventory max quantity not showing updated value when installing an inventory upgrade
Fixed: Missing language strings
Update 25 Now Live On The Test Build Branch!
Howdy Folks!
A huge thank you to everyone that checked out the Update 25 Experimental Branch and provided feedback, suggestions and bug reports. There is a lot packed into Update 25 :: New Horizons and now it's on to the final round of testing and feedback on the Test Build branch. Once "all" of the bugs are worked out it will release on the main branch for everyone.
Update 25 Test Build Info: https://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/3/2447091901848849276/
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.
Experimental Branch Now Available!
Howdy Folks!
There are a lot of changes and additions coming in Update 25 and some of these changes are ready for feedback/testing on the Experimental Branch on Steam!
The Experimental Branch includes some of the changes and additions in development for Update 25. The Experimental Branch will be updated as more content is ready for feedback/testing.
Update 25 Experimental Info https://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/4/2250056952644620721/
What is the Experimental Branch and how do I access it? https://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/4/1869497660774052612/
Hope everyone is healthy and staying safe. Since the release of the Farming & Harming update I’ve been working hard on the next batch of content. The next update will primarily focus on changes to surface content. The first batch of changes will be coming to the Experimental branch soon.
Expeditions
The word on the street is that expeditions require too much micro management and become a bit of a chore. To resolve this, points of interest will be chosen during expedition creation. The expedition team will automatically travel to each POI and back to the facility to dock. A notification will appear each time the expedition team has arrived at a POI with an expedition report.
I’m also experimenting with changing the food requirement to use separate expedition supply items that provide travel rations. The amount of travel rations required would depend on the total travel distance and the amount of passengers.
Points Of Interest
Points Of Interest are getting updated to provide more up front information regarding what is required and a risk assessment. This will allow for better choices when settings up an expedition.
POI generation will no longer use the Comm Station and radar towers, but instead become visible as you uncover the surface.
Surface Resources
Harvest-able surface resources will no longer be infinite or mine-able on any tile. Surface resources can be scanned for and, once detected, will appear in explored areas.
Experimental Branch
I’m working to bring the first batch of changes to the Experimental Branch soon. For those interested, this will be a great way to help test and provide feedback on the many additions and changes.
Update patch 24.3 is now available to address some reported issues. Thanks for all the great feedback.
Development has started on Update 25 which will focus on improvements to various planet surface content including expeditions, construction and points of interest. Keep an eye out for the next developer log where I'll go over some of the changes in development.
Update 24 Feedback Survey Be sure to check out the Update 24 feedback survey, if you haven't already, and let me know what you think of the new content and what is to come. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NXN9QCQ
Green Algae & Blue Twin Fin discoveries now generated if the associated item is caught in the water trap. Seed/egg items are still required in order to plant/place for production.
Exposed several world gen values to xml data in world_generators.xml
Fixed: Drop Harvest On Ground setting not saving loading
Fixed: Multiple biologists delivering bait and harvesting from water trap at the same time
Patch Update 24.2
Howdy Folks!
Thanks for the great feedback on Update 24! I've found a bit of a critical issue with the new game event system that was causing it to stop running events after the first time it attempted to trigger one. This meant that events generally weren't being triggered very much. They would trigger once after starting a game or loading a save game and then never again.
This should now be fixed and events should occur more often. I've also fixed up some notification issues related to available research. Check the release notes for all the changes/fixes.
Update 24 Feedback Survey Be sure to check out the Update 24 feedback survey and let me know what you think of the new content and what is to come. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NXN9QCQ
Research data now pre-loads the items that it unlocks to increase performance when browsing the research window and calculating available research
Fixed: Research button/window showing available research even though the category for the research hasn’t been unlocked yet
Fixed: Research button on main HUD not updating available research count when discoveries are made in some cases
Fixed: Game version info on main menu showing on top of mod manager window in some cases
Fixed: Game events not properly resetting after a run attempt. This caused events to stop occurring after the first attempt. Events should be more common now.
Patch Update 24.1
Howdy Folks!
Thanks for all the great feedback on the Farming & Harming update. This small patch update includes some additions and fixes such as cave worms, conduit highlighting, missing arrowhead fungus seeds and more.
Conduit Highlighting
I’ve added a small, but useful, feature which will show icons for nearby power and water conduits when placing objects.
This is a helpful way to see where your conduits are during placement without having to double check the conduit view mode.
