I’m super excited to announce the release of the Open Market update. This update has a whole bunch of stuff including performance optimizations, additional POIs, new object placement animations, a brand new trading system and, of course, some bug fixes. Thank you for all the great feedback and bug reports during the experimental branch.
Surface Trading
New research has been added to unlock the trade platform. The trade platform is a surface structure, that once constructed, will allow passing ships to stop by. The trade platform will provide information on when the next trader will arrive. You can have multiple trade platforms, but you must launch a communications satellite for each trade platform you want to have.
Every trader is part of a faction. You can improve your reputation with these factions by selling a trader their favorite items. Favorite items are marked with a star in the traders list of items they are selling. Increasing your reputation will do the following:
Increase the number of items a trader is willing to purchase from you
Increase the number of items a trader has available
Improve the sell/buy prices
A new new section has been added to the in game guide for more information.
Object Placement Animations
New animations have been added when moving, rotating and placing objects. Why? Cause it looks neat.
Planetary Lore
Several new POI locations have been added to the planet map. These new locations provide discovery data containing information regarding the downfall of the race that once habited the planet.
These new POI locations will automatically get added to any existing save game so there is no need to start over to be able to access them.
Performance Tweaks
The inventory list on the main HUD was a big performance drain, especially once you have a lot of different types of items. A couple of different changes/fixes to this should now greatly improve over all game performance.
When placing down walls there is a check per wall to see if a new room has been created. This caused a bit of a lag spike when dragging out and placing several walls. While the room check still occurs, it has been spread out over multiple frames instead of all at once. This greatly improves performance when dragging out and placing a bunch of walls.
Other Changes & Fixes
The Open Market update has a bunch of changes and fixes. The more notable fix is related to objects not showing has consuming power when they are moved or placed on top of existing power conduits. There was also an issue where objects would randomly not be connected to the right power network when moved.
Some machines don’t consume power until they are in use, such as crafting stations. The tooltip shown when hovering over the power meter, on the main toolbar at the bottom, has been updated to show current consumption and potential consumption information.
To avoid confusion the HUD inventory list no longer lists items that can’t be reached by colonists. This is also reflected in objects that require items as they will no longer show items as being available if they can’t actually be reached.
Patreon
A huge thank you to the patreon subscribers who help to support development of Mercury Fallen as well as future projects that I work on. As the solo developer of Mercury Fallen it’s amazing to see your support and feedback. For as little as $1 a month you too can be an awesome supporter of Mercury Fallen. There are some great rewards for higher subscription tiers so be sure to check it out.
30% Off
To celebrate the release of the Open Market Update, Mercury Fallen will be 30% off until April 24th. It’s a great time to get a copy of Mercury Fallen as we get closer to the final release.
Can now buy/sell items via a trader at the trade platform
Added Trading section to game guide
Added tier 3 equipment items. These items cannot be crafted, but can be purchased from a trader.
New visuals and animations when placing objects for construction
Added sound effect for invalid object placement
Changes
Updated the look of various equipment item icons for better consistency between tiers
Updated some equipment recipe requirements for more consistency between equipment recipes
HUD inventory list no longer includes items that colonists can’t reach
Improved performance of how inventory data is processed
Improved performance related to how the user interface is rendered
Minor update to the look of the number input fields
Changed construction material requirements for launch platform
Hardened Structure resin research now requires the discovery of hematite and not sand
Spawning items via the debug menu no longer spawns them next to the elevator. After pressing the amount to spawn you must click on the ground/floor where you want the items to appear.
Updated game intro text screen text and button to use updated visuals. Button also now says continue instead of skip.
Power meter tooltip now includes info regarding total potential power consumed as well as current power consumed
Resolution setting drop down no longer includes many lower resolution options
Fixes
Fixed: Only one item results in loot table when using item type even if num rounds is greater than one
Fixed: Able to equip multiple storage expanders to a vehicle
Fixed: Able to equip multiple storage expansions on buildings
Fixed: Extra space in transformer building equipment name
Fixed: Water trap effective area highlight not updated during object placement if you rotate the water trap without moving it.
Fixed: Vehicles in invalid tiles when loading a save game in some instances
Fixed: Expedition vehicle not showing waiting for passengers/waiting for items info state in vehicle list item.
Fixed: Objects not showing as consuming power if placed on top of existing power conduits in some instances
Fixed: Objects not disconnecting or reconnecting to power networks when moved in some instances
Fixed: Lag spike when placing several walls at once
Fixed: Current seed count not shown when selecting seeds, spores or eggs for planting
Fixed: Missing missing language data for some map POIs
Fixed: Planet map build menu list can be scrolled horizontally
Open Market Update Now On Experimental Branch
Howdy Folks!
Hope everyone is doing well. I've been hammering away at the next content update and I'm super excited to announce it's now available on the experimental branch. This update adds a new surface structure which allows you to buy and sell items to passing alien ships. The update isn't feature complete yet, but if you want to help test the latest features, then be sure to check out the experimental branch!
Check out the experimental branch if you would like to help provide feedback and bug reports on the latest content.
According to steam it’s spring time and in the spirit of spring Mercury Fallen is having it’s steepest discount to date. From now until March 23rd Mercury Fallen is 45% off during the Steam Spring Sale! That’s a whole lot of percents off. If you’ve been eyeing Mercury Fallen and have wanted to check it out then it’s a great time to do so!
Open Market Update
I had hoped to have the Open Market update available on the experimental branch by now. The development has taken a little longer than expected, but I do hope to make it available for testing on the experimental branch soon. When it does hit the experimental branch it will not be feature complete, but I’m excited to get feedback and reports as it continues to develop.
Patreon
While I am a solo developer I couldn’t have brought Mercury Fallen this far without your support. If you want to help support Mercury Fallen, and help put fresh coffee on my desk, then become a patron for as little as $1 a month.
Want to know more about the new trade system coming in the Open Market update? Become a patron and get access to the latest, and some exclusive, content.
Looking for a new shirt or perhaps a nice mouse pad? Be sure to check some Mercury Fallen merch. Help spread the word about Mercury Fallen.
Thanks everyone for your support. If you have any questions, issues or feedback please let me know. If you haven’t played Mercury Fallen yet then it’s a great time to grab a copy during the Steam Spring Sale!
A huge thanks for all the great feedback, bug reports and support. As a solo developer it’s always a challenge to balance everything that needs to be done to create and finish a game. Mercury Fallen has been an amazing adventure and I’m super excited to be looking towards the final version of the game. There are just two more major content updates until the final release.
My goal, after 1.0, is to continue to support Mercury Fallen while I shift gears to work on a new project.
Open Market Update
The open market update will introduce the trade platform. This will allow passing space ships to drop by and trade various items, discoveries and more. Tech Fragments and Bio Samples will be used as the means of currency during trades.
Additional POI locations on the surface are being added that will contain a new set of data logs. These data logs will provide additional background and lore regarding the planet and its previous inhabitants.
The Open Market update is coming along nicely and should be entering the experimental branch within the next couple of weeks. Keep an eye out if you want to help test the latest and greatest content.
Return To Sender Update
This update will add the final set of missions, research and progression for the primary campaign. Even after completing the campaign you will be able to continue playing.
Both the this update and the previous update will include additional smaller tweaks, fixes and polishing.
While the Return To Sender update will bring Mercury Fallen to version 1.0, there will still be further patches and updates to the game.
Bug Reporting
Thank you to the people who have submitted bug reports. Just a quick reminder that if I don’t know about the problem, I can’t fix the problem. If you spot an issue or a bug please be sure to contact me about it as I may not know it exists. Be sure to check out the bug reporting page and contact me via info@mercuryfallen.com or via the discord server.
Survey Time
If you have a moment and want to give me some feedback then be sure to check out the latest survey!
We've made it through a whole month of 2023. Gratz. In celebration of this momentous event here is a small patch update. :) Thanks for the support everyone!
Patch Notes
When moving an object, you can now place it overlapping it’s existing footprint
Fixed: Object not displaying footprint after being moved
Fixed: Various issues related to power consumers not connected correctly to power networks. This caused an issue where power consumers would appear to have power even though they shouldn’t. After a save/reload, however, the power consumers would correctly show as not having power.
Fixed: Power consumers not connecting to the correct power network when moved in some instances
Fixed: Colonists not going to the closest deconstruct target when deconstructing
Fixed: Receiving notification of a mission complete for a completed mission. This could occur if the optional objective is later completed after the required objectives had been completed.
Patch Update 35.5
Howdy Folks!
Here is another small patch update to address a few reported issues. Thanks for the feedback and reports! :)
Pressing escape will now end construction placement mode
Fixed: Colonist schedule type buttons overlapping
Fixed: Game crash if loading game while an object is in placement mode
Fixed: Equipment attribute effects being applied multiple times after loading a save game in some instances
Fixed: Storage expander equipment being applied incorrectly in some instances
Fixed: Visual effect for very damaged machines showing at the bottom left corner of map after loading a save game
Patch Update 35.4
Howdy Folks!
Thanks for the great feedback and support. Here is another small patch update to address some reported issues.
Patch Notes
Vehicle auto-explore action will now send the vehicle back to the facility if there are no tiles left that it can explore
Colonist cards and passenger list icons now show a skull over the colonist portrait if the colonist is dead
Adjusted the look of the expedition list items to avoid overlapping elements
Fixed: Water conduits not providing water to machines in some instances
Fixed: Game crash if a returning expedition has a dead passenger
Fixed: Expedition list only shows one expedition even though multiple exist
Fixed: Expedition incorrectly stating that it is waiting for supplies
Patch Update 35.3
Another quick hot fix to fix the fix for the fix. Found stasis capsules should now correctly contain colonists. Let me know if that is not the case. :)
Fixed: Unable to open lost stasis capsules after loading a save game in some instances
Patch Update 35.2
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and Holiday. This is just a quick hot fix to address a critical issue.
Fixed: Unable to open found stasis capsules
Patch Update 35.1
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring except for me pushing out a hotfix.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and Holiday. This is a quick hot fix to address a reported issue related to colonists awakening from stasis capsules dead, but not quite dead. I've saved Christmas from zombies!
Anyhoo, check out the patch notes below and I'll be back with more next year. :)
Fixed: Colonist needs are being calculated while in the new game screen. If left long enough this caused those colonists to die when being taken out of the stasis capsule.
Fixed: Colonists that would have been dead in a stasis capsule due to the above issue will now be “correctly” alive when opening the stasis capsule.
Fixed: Starting supply chest no longer has the correct items after saving and reloading
