It's been a whole week since the release of 1.0 and I just want to say thank you for all the amazing feedback so far. It's awesome seeing people enjoying the game that I created.
It's also been great that you've been letting me know what is and isn't working. In that vein, here is another patch update to address reported issues.
See the release notes below for a list of the changes/fixes.
Minor update to the look of icons for natural walls (dirt, stone, ore etc.)
Text for button on trade window changed from “Buy” to “Confirm Trade”
Fixed: Shift + Click eye dropper tool still works even when over another UI element. This mostly affected the ore/crop manager ability to Shift + Click to increment/decrement amounts by 10.
Fixed: Missing icon for sand floor
Fixed: Clicking a notification for cave-in or xeno mold doesn’t deselect the current target. This caused the camera to snap back to the object/colonist that was selected instead of correctly moving the camera to the event location.
Fixed: Currency not incremented after successfully selling items via a trader in some instances
Fixed: Temperature Unit setting not staying applied in settings
Patch 1.01 Now Available
Howdy Folks!
The Mercury Fallen launch has been great! Thank you to everyone who showed up at the release live stream event. The feedback has been amazing and it’s great to see so many people enjoying my game.
I just wanted to push out a small patch update to resolve a couple of reported issues. See the release notes below. Thanks everyone!
Added Target Framerate setting which defaults to 60fps. This should reduce instances of the game generating high GPU/CPU usage.
Fixed: Terraformer Regulator can be deconstructed.
Fixed: Toggle HUD inventory button not hiding/showing inventory list
Fixed: Job Role implant blueprints not purchasable from tech trader
Mercury Fallen 1.0 Now Available!
Howdy Folks!
I’m super excited to announce that Mercury Fallen is no longer in Early Access and the 1.0 version is now available. It’s been a long road as a solo developer, but I couldn’t have done it without the amazing feedback and support from all of you.
A huge thank you to all the testers, supporters and everyone who has provided feedback along the way. Mercury Fallen is only as good as the amazing feedback and support. Thank you!
It is exciting to watch so many people play and enjoy my game. The Planetary Repairs update has a lot of new content. Let’s take a look at some of the additions and changes.
Story Campaign
The conclusion of the primary campaign is now available and has several new missions and POI locations that will lead to the final goal of the game.
New Resources & Production Machines
A new resource, surface building and production machines have been added. This includes new research and discoveries.
Alex Kenner Data Logs
The final chapter of Alex Kenner data logs are now available for purchase from passing traders.
Planet Map UI Improvements
The plant map has been updated and now has an inventory list, mission specific icons and a new filter for mission specific POIs.
Achievements
18 in-game achievements have been added and can be viewed from the in-game menu. These achievements can also be earned on Steam.
Decorations
Several new decorative objects can be unlocked including the new windowed wall. Windowed walls do not provide any additional decor bonus over regular walls, but can be used to spruce up various spaces.
Decorative display objects such as plants, holograms and items in the new display case have their own decor bonus in addition to the display container. Discover what objects provide the best decor.
Resource Management
The crop and ore management stations were added in the previous update. In this update I’ve added more feedback for colonists and vehicles when they aren’t performing their duties due to assigned resource limits.
You can now only place one of each resource management station and if they are unpowered or disabled, then their defined limits are no long in affect.
Notifications
Notifications have been visually overhauled and several new notifications have been added to provide more in-game feedback. Non-critical notifications now stay on screen for less time, but have new animations for when they appear and disappear.
Added final chapter missions. If you have the wait for reply mission then the follow-up story mission will appear 12-24 in-game hours after loading up your save game.
Added xeno processing research.
Added xeno fabrication research.
Added excavation center surface structure.
Added ancient ruins surface resource. Requires an excavation center to extract resources.
Added 10 new Alex Kenner logs that can be purchased from traders.
Added notification when trader arrives at trade platform.
New icons for mission-specific POIs.
New map display filter for mission POIs.
Added pop icon over colonists when they level up (in addition to other existing visuals).
Added credits button to main menu screen.
Achievements
Added achievement system with 18 in-game and Steam achievements.
Added achievements window that can be accessed via the game menu.
New Items
Added xeno scrap item.
Added xeno alloy item + recipe.
Added quantum processor item + recipe.
Added 12 new colonist equipment items that boost job levels. Related blueprint discoveries to unlock recipe research are available from the tech trader.
Added Display Case. Additional display objects unlocked via research/discoveries.
Added several new display object decoration discoveries that can be found via surface expeditions.
UI Tweaks/Changes
Crop Field, Aeroponics Bay, Algae Farm and Aquarium now show notice text if the crop is at or above the resource limit defined in the crop manager.
Colonist job role buttons will show a warning icon if an action related to that job role can’t be performed due to resource limits set in the crop or ore manager. Tooltip provides additional details.
Mining vehicles will show warning text in the info section of their info panel if unable to mine selected target due to resource limits set in the ore manager.
Transport vehicles will show warning text in the info section of their info panel if unable to collect resources due to resource limits set in the ore manager.
Minor change to the look of vehicle list items in the vehicle list interface to improve readability.
HUD inventory now visible on map screen.
HUD inventory settings saved data stored via the inventory manager instead of the hud inventory itself. Upon loading a save game from the previous version, your settings will reset to default until your next save/load.
Surface resources info panel now shows what it can be harvested by.
Changed trade window buy/sell header text to provide more clarity.
Reviewed and removed usage of older text rendering system to improve text clarity in various interfaces.
Research project info window will now show costs in red if research is not currently affordable.
Updated the look of notifications that appear on the right side of the screen.
Reduced the amount of time notifications stay in the notification list before disappearing.
Updated the look of many object icons.
Updated the look of the colonist level notification icon.
Opening the construction queue no longer changes camera overlay mode back to default.
Hologram emitter interface now uses icons to set hologram instead of a drop down. This is consistent with other objects that use a similar selection process.
Misc Changes
Reduced biome scan audio volume and range.
Planet map camera zoom gradually gets faster as you zoom out instead of being the same speed regardless of distance. This results in a smoother zoom when closer to the planet’s surface.
Tweaked visuals for the main menu background.
Adjusted job role experience gain to better balance progression for less utilized job roles.
Mouse cursor is now a different color depending on selection modes such as harvest, mine and deconstruction.
Decreased load time of new and saved games by ~30%.
Updated the look of all visual effects when a mining tile is destroyed.
Tweaks and changes to various item/object descriptions.
Updated the look of the hologram emitter material effect.
Display objects such as plants in the plant pot and holograms for the hologram emitter provide their own decor bonus in addition to the display container. The base decor of the plant pots and hologram display have been rebalanced.
Colonists are more likely to use recreation items during scheduled recreation time.
Colonist stress change rate now paused while stress.
Surface power line connection lines are now thicker when zoomed out to increase their visibility.
Drop Off Items vehicle action will now automatically move the vehicle to the facility or nearest resource depot instead of having to be directly adjacent. Action tooltip also updated to reflect the change.
Fish chunks recipe now unlocked with food processor research.
Can now only construct a maximum of one ore manager.
Can now only construct a maximum of one crop manager.
Crop and ore managers resource limits are disabled if the relevant machine is disabled or unpowered.
Modding/Data Changes
CSurfaceHarvestable component now has a harvestable_by tag which is used to determine what buildings/vehicles can harvest the surface resource.
Added CObjectDisplay component which replaces CPlanter and CHologramEmitter components. CObjectDisplay component can only display EDisplayObject type by matching tags.
Fixes :: Vehicles
Fixed: Vehicle biome scan visual effect not always showing.
Fixed: Vehicle biome scanning visual and audio continues even after canceling the vehicles related action.
Fixed: Vehicle preview path not showing when hovering over a valid mining target for mining vehicle mining action selection.
Fixed: Vehicle preview path for expeditions and mining vehicles not showing after selecting destination without having to deselect and re-select the vehicle.
Fixed: Vehicle inventory contents not reflected in HUD inventory counts.
Fixed: Mining vehicle stuck in mining animation if mining action is canceled while the game is paused.
Fixed: Soft lock if clicking vehicle mine action multiple times without setting a mining target.
Fixed: Embarked surface vehicles loaded from save game not appearing on minimap in some instances.
Fixed: Vehicle actions not correctly reaching their destination when arriving from an adjacent tile of a different height in some instances. This causes the action to re-plan its movement and will eventually ping-pong between two points repeatedly.
Fixed :: UI & Language
Fixed: Spelling mistakes.
Fixed: Resource amount number in mining platform UI incorrectly formatted.
Fixed: Incorrect icons for some missions.
Fixed: Incorrect tooltip text for trade window buy/sell items.
Fixed: Missing display name for Fetid Knob plant.
Fixed: Craft queue inventory item count doesn’t match item count in hud inventory view in some instances.
Fixed: Receiving inventory contents not reflected in HUD inventory quantities.
Fixed: Object placement cursor object appearing in the construction queue.
Fixed: Construction queue list not actually showing items in the queue for construction in some instances. You had one job construction queue!
Fixes :: Misc
Fixed: Game crashes when saving game due to expedition missing vehicle entity in some instances.
Fixed: Expedition data not loading correctly in some instances. Expeditions may still not work correctly in existing saves until the expedition is docked/canceled and embarked again.
Fixed: Unable to move map table object.
Fixed: Mineable underground resources missing visual effect when destroyed.
Fixed: Object move button not available for crop manager object.
Fixed: Object move button not available for ore manager object.
Fixed: Solid rocket fuel recipe research missing research requirements.
Fixed: Object not reachable hover icon not correctly updated if game is paused.
Fixed: Rooms incorrectly including wall objects on the opposite side of an adjacent wall when calculating decor and lighting scores.
Fixed: Trade platform attempting to receive a trader before it’s finished being constructed.
Fixed: Performance issue related to how the decor overlay is updated.
Fixed: Colonist allowed edibles not saving/loading.
Fixed: Able to press input keys for management screens, construction manager etc. while intro text is being displayed.
Fixed: Sand floor is the same minimap color as stone floor.
Fixed: Various animations not playing correctly such as trader ship take-offs, mining vehicle end mining animation, comm station open/close and more.
Fixed: Shift + Click eye dropper construction tool not limited by a structure’s maximum placed value.
Fixed: The Knowers POI generated from the Meet The Knowers mission not disappearing after completing the POI.
Fixed: Power pole connection not showing after its constructed in some instances.
Fixed: Power pole preview connections not showing connections to power poles under construction.
Fixed: Damaged Wall, Damaged Door and stasis capsules dropping more sources than they should on deconstruction.
Mercury Fallen Release Stream
Howdy Folks!
The 1.0 release of Mercury Fallen is hitting Steam on August 22nd at 12pm EST. I'll be in chat with GameTimeUK streaming right here on Steam starting at 12:30pm EST on August 22nd!
Come and watch as GameTimeUK plays the 1.0 version of the game and come chat with the developer... me... Tim Pelham. I'll be on voice hanging out with GameTimeUK and answering your questions or just generally rambling.
There is less than a week to go until Mercury Fallen is released out of Early Access. The 1.0 release of Mercury Fallen is dropping next Tuesday August 22nd.
There will be a minor price increase when the game is released as well as a release day discount. If it's not already, be sure to add the game to your Steam wishlist. If you've played Mercury Fallen already then please leave a review of the game as it helps Mercury Fallen get discovered on Steam.
The latest version is currently available on the Experimental branch. I want to send out a special thanks for all the amazing feedback and support.
Time is ticking by fast and there are just three weeks until the 1.0 release of Mercury Fallen. It’s been a wild ride getting to this point and I couldn’t have made it here without the amazing support and feedback from all of you.
Mercury Fallen will be releasing out of early access August 22nd. As we grow ever closer to that date I wanted to take a look back at the progress that has been made.
Below are some before and after screenshots showing how various aspects of the game have changed and improved over the course of development.
Mercury Fallen has come a long way and it wouldn’t be possible without all of the amazing support. Thanks everyone!
Be sure to tell your friends and neighbors about the upcoming 1.0 release of Mercury Fallen. It’s a great time to grab a copy or add it to your wishlist.
Planetary Repairs Update Now On Experimental Branch
Howdy Folks!
It’s testing time again and this time it’s for the Planetary Repairs update. There is still more content in development for this update, but it’s ready for folks to let me know what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s bad.
The Planetary Repairs update is indeed the 1.0 version of Mercury Fallen that will be available on the public branch on August 22. Check out the experimental branch if you would like to help provide feedback and bug reports on the latest content.
Hope everyone is sitting down because I have some big news. I mean you can stand if you want to, that’s cool. Anyway, come in a bit closer, the big news is that Mercury Fallen will be releasing on August 22, 2023! That’s right around the corner!
I mentioned previously that the 1.0 update was coming soon and now you, and I, know exactly when. That’s some super exciting news and I want to thank everyone for the amazing support regarding the news that Mercury Fallen is leaving early access.
There is a lot packed into this final update and I’ll have more information soon regarding what you can expect to find in the 1.0 release of Mercury Fallen. A version will be coming to the experimental branch soon.
Thanks again for all the amazing support. It’s a great time to tell your friends or put it on your wish list, if you haven’t already.
Support The Dev
If you would like to help support me, Mercury Fallen and future projects be sure to tell everyone to grab a copy of Mercury Fallen, grab some Mercury Fallen Merch or support me on Patreon for as little as $1/month. A huge thank you to my Patreon supporters!
A huge thanks for all the great feedback and support. Since the last major content update, I’ve been pushing out a bunch of smaller updates that have added some great new features such a crop/mining management, dragging dimension info as well as various tweaks and fixes.
The next major content update, however, is the big one. It’s the 1.0 release of the game which means Mercury Fallen will be leaving early access. I wanted to cover some of the content coming in 1.0 and what happens moving forward.
Surface Resources
A new surface resource will be added and will be required for late/final game construction. This new xeno salvage will require a special crafting machine to process it into a usable crafting ingredient. Additionally, the resource will require a surface structure to extract salvage from ancient ruin sites.
Story & Missions
The final chapter of the game will include a series of new missions and POI locations. These missions will culminate in a final goal and an “end” game. You will still be able to continue playing your save game even after completion of the final mission.
The final collection of data logs from Alex Kenner will also become discoverable.
Achievements
A whole bunch of in-game achievements are being added to Mercury Fallen as well as a new achievements interface allowing you to easily view your progress in game. These will also connect to Steam achievements as well.
And More…
Additionally there will be new decorations, mechanics and various other smaller additions, tweaks and changes.
What Now?
Even after the 1.0 update, I will continue to support Mercury Fallen with any bug fixes and tweaks. I can’t speak to any further major content releases or possible DLC at this time, but I would like to talk a bit about the development of Mercury Fallen. This is something I’ve never talked about previously and generally feel uncomfortable discussing, but I wanted to show a bit of the reality of indie game development, especially for those who may be interested in indie game development themselves.
Mercury Fallen is listed as being developed and published by Nitrous Butterfly. Nitrous Butterfly, and Mercury Fallen, are owned and created by one person… me… Tim Pelham. I’ve created, developed, or integrated all of the content for Mercury Fallen including programming, artwork, sounds, music, writing, and more.
Mercury Fallen has been largely successful for a small solo-developed game with zero budget, but I’ll be the first to say it’s been in early access for far too long. The scope of Mercury Fallen grew a bit bigger than it should have for a solo project, but I’m very proud of what I’ve created. Mercury Fallen is well-rated, but has not generated enough sales to comfortably sustain such a long development cycle.
Since its initial release in 2017 Mercury Fallen has had 9,780 total sales. Accounting for price changes, discounted sales and Steams cut the game has generated just over $100,000 in sales. That number does not reflect marketing, software purchases, and other business costs. The game has been in development for going on six years now so that’s an average income of roughly $16,500/year. The actual income fluctuates wildly over the course of a year and can be far more or far less than the average. So far this year the total net income has been around $3,500 which has caused a bit of a struggle. I have, however, managed to maintain working full-time on Mercury Fallen throughout its development due to my low overhead and some outside support.
I mention all of this as my goal has always been to work on future projects after the release of Mercury Fallen. Ideally projects with a smaller scope. In fact, I’ve already started prototyping a new game idea, which is a post apocalyptic cleaning simulation game inspired by games such as Viscera Cleanup Detail and PowerWash Simulator. I’m not sure I’ll have the funds to continue its development as it stands currently, but be sure to let me know if it’s the type of game you might be interested in.
The Mercury Fallen 1.0 update is still on track and in active development. Thank you so much for all the amazing support and feedback over the years. It’s been an honor to create an experience that has been enjoyed by so many.
Support The Dev
If you would like to help support me, Mercury Fallen and future projects be sure to tell everyone to grab a copy of Mercury Fallen, grab some Mercury Fallen Merch or support me on Patreon for as little as $1/month. A huge thank you to my Patreon supporters!
Just a small patch update to address a couple of reported issues. Enjoy! :)
Fixed: Expedition data is not removed properly when an expedition party returns to the facility. This caused further expeditions to not function correctly.
Fixed: Explore POI destination selection info not disposed of correctly when finished. This led to the explore poi action not working after the vehicle had been docked and later disembarked.
Fixed: Item Spinner values show an infinity symbol by default on expedition and trade windows when it should show zero.
