I’m happy to announce that Update 23 is now available on the Test Build branch. If you’re interested in helping test the latest and greatest content then check out the information below.
The Test Build branch is a bit more experimental this time around and I’m looking for feedback on the various new mechanics and early game progression. There is still more that is being added/updated before this update 23 is released on the main 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.
In the previous dev log I mentioned that I planned to have a Test Build available this week. Some of the content has taken a bit longer than planned, though, so the Test Build has been pushed back. Let’s take a look at what’s taking so long.
Power Generation
One piece of content that needs to be in place for the new starting conditions is a change to electrical power generation. I had originally thought I could put in a temporary setup using the existing systems and re-work the power system later in the planned utilities update. This turned out not to be the case and led to working on a new power system now.
The existing electrical power system has a few issues, but primarily the existing system was not very performance-friendly and didn’t allow for the content that I’d planned for.
The Old System
In the previous system, a power generator created power packets that were sent through conduits and consumed by machines that need power. Since a generator provides these packets at a constant rate, to improve performance I slowed down how fast packets traveled through the network. As more generators and conduits are added, it takes longer and longer to get power to machines in need.
This system also doesn’t support power storage, or sending/receiving power on the planet’s surface.
The New System
The new power system makes use of power networks. A power network is a collection of connectors (conduits), consumers, creators and storage objects. The backbone of a power network is made up of connectors. As connectors, or conduits, are placed, they get added to an existing adjacent network, or start a new network.
In this system, electric creators, or generators, no longer deliver power at all. The power network has an update cycle which handles delivering the power to the consumers and electrical storage in the following way:
Get the total amount of available power generated from creators on the network
Loop over all consumers and provide power. Deducting the consumed amount from the total available.
Any remaining power on the network is then delivered to power storage (Batteries) or lost if storage is full or doesn’t exist.
The update cycle is much faster than the old system and far simpler to calculate. This allows machines to get the power they need almost immediately.
In the old system, all machines that needed power were considered “always on” and consumed power even if not actively in use. In the new system machines will only consume power when actively being used. A research station, for example, will only consume power when a colonist is actively researching on it.
The new power system is also designed to function between the facility and the surface. The elevator and the main facility on the surface act as special power connector types that will allow for a power network that connects from the facility to the surface.
The system is mostly complete, but I’m still running internal tests and various UI elements are being updated to better present the new power system.
A New Start
So what does all this mean for the new starting conditions? World generation has been changed, and, when starting a new game, you will no longer have an elevator, bio-refiner, coal generator and recharge station. The surface side facility now has a built in solar panel and, in order to get initial power, you’ll need to build the elevator.
Solar power from the surface facility will only provide power during the daylight hours. Batteries have been added that can store extra power for later use.
Additional research projects have been added to unlock power storage and power production objects.
New Colonists
The new colonist models will also be in the upcoming Test Build. The colonist models have been completely redone including new animations, textures and hair models.
Underground Plants
As part of the new world generation there will be naturally spawning underground plants that can be harvested by colonists. These native plants will spread over time and can be useful for early game food.
TL;DR
Test Build delayed. More information coming. The following will be included in the Test Build branch when it is available.
New power generation system
New colonist models
New starting conditions and game balance
New naturally occurring underground plants that can be harvested
New research branch added for power objects
Thank you all for the great feedback on the game here and via the Feedback Survey. I had really hoped to get the Test Build out this week, but things definitely took longer than planned. I’m super excited about the new content and hope to push an experimental version on to the Test Build branch soon.
Happy New Year to everyone and thank you for the amazing support in 2019. Your support and feedback has helped make Mercury Fallen what it is today and there is a lot more to come in 2020.
Progress
Development slowed down a bit over the last month due to the holiday season, but I’ve still made some good progress on the next content update. I had hoped to split the planned content into smaller releases, but some of the content in development relies on additional systems already being in place.
The next content update makes some big changes to world generation and I, ideally, only want to have to do that once. I had hoped to be able to do the core re-balancing and early game content in separate updates, but that would require making changes to early game progression twice in a row which is not ideal. To avoid that I’m developing the additional content needed to properly update game balance and the early game progression.
Given these are some larger changes to the game over all I plan to release Update 23 onto the Test Build branch before I normally would. The Test Build branch is usually used to provide feedback and help test the final version before it goes live. The Test Build will, this time around, be a bit more on the experimental side to get initial feedback on some of the new content as it continues to get developed. With your feedback I’ll know what is working and what may need some additional attention.
I plan to have a Test Build version available sometime next week which will include some of the changes coming in Update 23. The Test Build branch will continue to get updated based on feedback. More information regarding exactly what is included will be available when the Test Build is released.
Survey
If you have a few minutes to spare I would love to hear what you think of Mercury Fallen. The below survey will let me know what you like, what you don’t like and what you’re excited to see next.
The Holiday season has descended upon us. For some the season can bring much joy and for others it can bring such sorrow, but I do hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, that you have a happy and healthy seasonal experience.
Winter Sale
With the winter season upon us, at least in the northern hemisphere, with it comes the Steam Winter Sale. Mercury Fallen is now 25% off. It’s a great time to grab a copy, or give the gift of colony management to a friend.
Thank You
A huge thank you to everyone who has played Mercury Fallen. Your feedback means a great deal to me. As a solo developer it’s great to hear that you’re enjoying the game. It’s also very helpful to know what you don’t like and what isn’t working. There is a lot in store for Mercury Fallen. Thank you!
In the previous dev log I went over the various features currently in development and what is planned for future updates. Below are some the things to expect in the next update.
Harvestables
Harvest-able underground plants are being added to offer more early game food variation. Currently these are existing plants that will be obtainable underground instead of only surface side, but I am looking into adding some new harvest-able products as well.
A new harvest mechanic is being added that works in a similar way to mining and deconstruction. Select naturally occurring plants to be harvested by the botanist.
World Generation
The addition of naturally occurring underground plants means changes to world generation, but there are some larger changes than just that. I’ve completely reworked world generation to offer new starting conditions and map variation.
I have three core goals for world generation changes.
Firstly I wanted to update world generation to make the maps a bit more visually interesting and better reflect the aged facility that the player starts in. This includes adding more structure such as rooms connected by hallways, doors and an improved look to aged walls and other parts.
Secondly there will be far less available resources than in the currently generated maps. This is not meant to drastically increase early game difficulty, but to better balance available materials and off more interesting game progression.
Finally, early game progression is being reworked. Something I generally enjoy in this genre of game, is starting with little to nothing and building up from there. In that vein I’ve taken out the starting elevator, power and bio-refiner. Initial structure resin will come from deconstructing the aged facility. Early game power generation is still being worked on, but I have a few ideas in mind that I’m currently testing out.
These changes will first come to the test build branch. Additional changes/tweaks will occur based on feedback.
Updated Colonists
Something that has been on the to-do list for a while now is updating the look of colonists. This is something I’ve tinkered with on and off, but didn’t like the progression or direction it was taking, until now.
New artwork for the male and female colonists is coming. The base models and outfits are just about done. The characters are being finalized and animations are in progress.
Thank you to everyone playing Mercury Fallen and for the amazing feedback.
Patch Update 22.6
Howdy Folks,
Progress goes well on the next content update, but in the mean time here is another tiny patch update. Patch Update 22.6 addresses a couple of reported issues.
A huge thank you to those playing Mercury Fallen and for the great feedback.
Fixed: Save game not loading if game was saved with an active on foot expedition
Fixed: Conduits not aligned to mouse when being placed
Patch Update 22.5
Howdy Folks!
Patch time again. Patch update 22.5 addresses a few reported issues. Check the release notes below for what's fixed and what's changed. Thank you all for playing Mercury Fallen and the amazing feedback.
Changed the look of the decor overlay for more clarity
Minor change to the look of selection highlight graphics for mining/deconstruction
Wall Debris renamed to Damaged Wall
Fixed: Planet map build menu won’t open if closed by pressing escape.
Fixed: Surface map tiles stop displaying hover info in some instances
Fixed: Missing icon and tooltip for remove craft queue item button
Fixed: Missing icon and tooltip for cancel expedition button
Fixed: Vehicles not recharging their power in some instances
Test Build :: Patch Update 22.5
Patch update 22.5 is now available on the Test Build branch. While this is a small patch update, it is being put on the Test Build branch first to ensure the fixes in the release notes work as intended. Thanks for the feedback and please let me know if you experience any additional issues or if this resolves an issue you were having.
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.
Patch Update 22.5 Test Build Info & Release Notes https://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/3/1740008902397989619/
For information about accessing the Test Build branch click the link below: http://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/3/2381701715712468002/
Dev Log #52 :: Roadmap
Howdy Folks,
While recent updates have focused on bug fixes and smaller tweaks, I wanted to talk a bit about what is in development moving forward.
I’ve divided up planned content into smaller separate updates. The game balance update is what is currently being worked on, but the rest of the content listed below is in no particular order.
Some of this content may get merged together or split into separate updates depending on what happens as it gets developed. Many of these updates are subject to change during development.
I would like to hear your thoughts regarding what is in development and what you are most excited about.
Game Balance Update
The game is currently filled with an over abundance of raw resources. This leads to little reason for surface side material gathering other than materials that are only available surface side. The material amounts currently available were setup long before surface or deep mining was available in the game and was never properly reviewed and updated.
The balance update will focus on tweaking existing data, updating world generation and adding some new mechanics in an effort to improve balance as well as game progression.
Addition of harvest-able underground plants for early game food variation
Changes to world generation
Review and re-balance amount of raw materials acquired from mining/farming
Review and re-balance recipe/construction material requirements
Review and re-balance construction times
Review and re-balance research costs
Farming Update
The farming update is an extension to game balance changes. These changes may be included in the balance update or separated into their own update.
Crops would require seeds in order to be planted
Seeds would be acquired through new harvest mechanics and POI locations
Crops harvested from a crop field or aeroponics farm would guarantee a seed drop with a chance of additional seed(s). The chance of gaining additional seeds would be based on botanist level/success chance of the colonist performing the harvest.
Crop amount harvested would no longer be fixed, but based on botanist level. Harvest amount would be further boosted by fertilizer(s)
Surface Exploitation Update
A further extension to game balance is adjusting surface side resource gathering and building construction. This is still very much in the design phase, but the goal is to change how buildings are constructed and resources are generated to provide better progression.
Surface Construction The only construct-able building at the moment is the vehicle bay. Additional structures, like the mining platform, are limited to converting vehicles into structures. I’m working to re-design these mechanics to support more options for surface side buildings. This is an important change to support other planned content.
Surface Resources Resources on the surface are currently infinite. This was always a somewhat temporary solution until more mechanics were in place. This update will allow the comm station to scan for resource deposits in addition to existing POI locations. These found deposits could then be harvested by a miner vehicle. Similar to underground mining there would be a surface deposit that, when depleted, would reveal a deeper vein of resources. The deeper vein would require the placement of a building in order to be harvested.
Rooms Update
There is currently no functional benefit to room creation. This has been on my improvement list for some time. This update will focus on making rooms a functional element of the game.
Player will only have access to one type of available flooring
Player would construct floor/walls/door and zone an area as a specific room type
Flooring visual would change based on designated zone
Rooms would have specific conditions for min/max size, walls, door and specific objects to be considered functional.
Rooms would have a decor score instead of decor being per tile. (Per tile decor may still be the same for areas outside of rooms)
Rooms impact effectiveness of machines placed inside. Additional decoration/utility objects could be placed in a room to boost machine/colonist effectiveness.
Utilities Update
Improvements to power and water systems are in development that will offer some new mechanics and objects.
Re-work power and water generation
New power generation options
New power and water storage
Water tiles can be consumed and water is a finite
Improved usage/handling of power/water resources
Objectives Update
The objectives system will replace and expand upon the current Getting Started tutorial. Objectives will offer player direction in the form of smaller optional objectives as well as longer term campaign objectives.
New objectives system with both optional and campaign specific objectives
Story campaign
New objective specific POI’s
New mechanics that will generate optional objectives
Starting Guide tutorial replaced with new objectives system
Other Content
Here is a list of some of the other content that hasn’t been grouped into an update. This includes smaller content that will be sprinkled into other updates and content that is still in the planning phase.
Additional depth and options to cloning and robot construction
I have not been great at keeping the road map updated on Trello. The above content is being migrated on to Trello and I will improve upon updating the road map as content develop.
I’m super excited about the new things in development and would love to hear your thoughts.
Patch Update 22.4
Howdy Folks,
Thanks for all the great feedback and reports. Patch update 22.4 addresses a few more reported issues. See the release notes below for all the fixes/changes.
