Hello everyone!
Here we are again to give you a fresh summary of what we’ve been up to during this week.
1- Health window
So far, fellow players, you haven’t had much to worry about your colonists. Here it is the first of many things you’ll have to be aware of from now on: diseases.
The Health Panel will show you the medical status of your colony. Providing information such as how many colonists are sick, what is the level of danger of their sickness and how many resources your Care Centers are producing to solve those problems. Everything you need to deal with this new feature.
Here you can take a peek at the window. And remember, you’ll have to be alert from now on!
2- Creation kit and modders
The Creation Kit will be the main modding tool for Project Aura. Inside it you will find the Quest Kit, the tool players will use to create their own breathtaking stories through a series of quests.
With it you’ll be able to create variables, choose the rewards and objectives of the mission, and perform various actions: such as giving the player items, money or even activating user-made quest items or productions.
Since today, we have opened a new specific forum for modding on Steam!
3- Colonists re-thinking
We want you to be able to track every colonist and make of him/her a deeper resource, and there are some changes toward this goal:
Awakening colonists will be now more expensive, on the other hand, the amount of workers required per lane is going to be reduced.
Colonists, once reached level 10, won't auto-promote to a higher rank, instead you will have to do it yourself with a cost in influence docs (diplomacy).
Colonists will now improve their skills based on their activity, up to a value limited by their rank. To keep improving their skills, you will need to promote the char.
Once we publish our next patch, you will be able to test these changes by enabling the “test” mode inside the game.
Here it’s explained how to do that.
Coming soon:More buildings are being made, bugs fixed here and there and, last but not least, we’re happy to announce that we’re developing a feature that’s been requested a lot: a short campaign that will serve as a tutorial.
That’s all we have to say. Remember to stay tuned every Friday for more info and have a happy Halloween!
Thanks for the interest in Project Aura ;)
--
Pixel Quality Games
http://www.projectaura.com
Twitter: @ProjectAuraGame Facebook: ProjectAuraGame
October Development Update 1
Hello everyone!
We are closing in to the Beta 3 release date, and from now on we'll be doing a weekly recap of everything we're currently working on!
1- New energy window
We've been developing a new energy window that open (even) more micro-management features to play with! Boosting the generators or redirecting more juice to some platforms are some of the new features that will be available in the upcoming updates. But, as always, be careful with your colony management! Every choice has its benefits and payoffs :P
2- Working on lore
Yes! Finally! We are moving forward with this topic. Soon a solid and rich background will be available, so we can start on making the campaigns and creating a compelling story for the game! We bet most of you wonder about what is left in the new world after the climate disaster and what's about all those corporations around.
3- Quest Kit
And, related to what I mentioned above, in order to work on the quests we'll be needing: The Quest Kit! (use with caution). This modding tool will let us develop the missions for Project Aura, so we can craft exactly how those play and feel during the game. And guess what? It will be available to the modders to use!! It will be the first of many, many choices we'll implement for the modder community: items, corporations, technology...
Coming soon:
So, what's next? We'll be working later on: new entertainment buildings, the Care Center features, the diseases system,...and much more, as always! There's always stuff to improve and things to be done until Beta 3!
That's all. Remember to stay tuned every Friday for more info! Have a nice weekend!
Thanks for the interest in Project Aura ;)
--
Pixel Quality Games
http://www.projectaura.com
Twitter: @ProjectAuraGame Facebook: ProjectAuraGame
Project Aura 2.77 version
In this new patch we have redesigned the management bars which have been merged with the log panel to make the interface a bit more clear.
A new full-screen mode has been implemented to avoid alt-tabbing issues and, finally, you will find a fully working log.
Please, keep reading for more details:
Log fully implemented
Log panel is now interactive and a bit more verbose. Its main features:
• Interactive messages:
You may find some parts of the messages are in square brackets. Click on them to access its related content. Clicking on:
A building will open its Org chart
An item will open inventory
A char will open the char sheet
A char no longer in colony, will open the Org chart he/she worked.
etc.
*If the information is related to an element in the world like a building, hold shift and click to go to it.
• Filter messages per category:
Citizenship
Corps and Quests
Climate & Energy
Production
Supplies
• Filter messages per message gravity:
none, used to hide messages (text in grey)
low (text in white)
med (text in yellow)
high, will display an on screen popup (text in red)
• You can assign a message gravity yourself: Right click on a message in the log and choose.
• When a log message includes a reference to an item or a char, it will take a color related to their tier: green, blue, violet, orange.
• There have been added 3 new options to the setup window (Options->Game). There you can disable the popup window and log text colors. Hover mouse on the available options for more info.
Alt-Tabbing
Alt Tabbing shouldn't be an issue any more.
Management bars redesigned
They now sit on top of the log and have been merged.
*We have added a new button(disabled) in the management bar to access Govern Panel, this feature is still under development.
Production
Auto sell option will only sell default production items, if a blueprint with the option set produces something unexpected it will be notified in the log and not sold by default.
Bugs and fixes
• Solved an issue where some ATI video cards users were having a crash after launching game.
• Some players were experiencing screen flickers on game launch due to a bad setup built by the application. We are preventing this now!
• Solved an issue in the Colony Expansion panel where it was no possible to select platforms 1, 2, 11, and 12 on Ring 3.
• Text generation process has been optimized, now it is faster and requires less memory.
• Other minor issues and typos corrected.
Thanks for your interest in Project Aura. Many cool news to come! :)
Project Aura 2.76 version
This new patch is mostly about technical improvements and application stability.
64 bits version
• The 64 bits version will avoid memory issues leading to a crash (and the reported by community VC++ error message).
Play with your own music
• Now you can also listen to your own music while playing Project Aura by adding your favorite songs to: (your docs folder)/Project Aura/MyMusic/
*By default your music will play randomly merged with the game soundtrack, but it is possible to enable or disable it through the options menu-audio. You will find 3 new checkboxes to activate or deactivate the different soundtracks:
-Game's default soundtrack.
-Stellardrone composer's default soundtrack.
-Your own music.
Buildings visual improvements
• Investigation and Computing labs have been redone with a new sci fi look :).
• Buttons for buildings, in the search window, has been redone to help identify the building they correspond.
Steam stats and achievement
• Steam stats are working and a first achievement is available, you will obtain it after completing the 4 tutorials. Many more to come.
Minor bugs and fixes
• Setup files were not being saved properly in some cases for Russian players so all the user options configuration was reseted after game loading.
• Sometimes hovering mouse over info elements were not triggering their contextual help.
• Medicine Q3 - Core crafting was wrongly set to cost maintenance.
• Some typos corrected.
Thank you for reading and interest in Project Aura ;)
Project Aura 2.75 version
2.75 version is mostly about performance tweaks and Steam features we need to test before adding the next 2.8 version.
Performance improvements
•Improved launcher speed.
•We have worked deep on performance improvements and, after 2.75 version, there is a reasonable fps increase. Still more to come!
Steam
We have added Steam stats, achievements and communication with Steam Workshop to work in the background still for testing. They will be open soon.
Buildings visual improvements
•Added new floors and decals to buildings.
•Added lights to Corporation buildings to show activity inside.
•Residential buildings windows lightning improved to be more realistic.
GUI
•Residential Panel has been tweaked to make it more intuitive (this window is used to assign residences to colonists). For more info, just click on it and press F1.
Minor Bugs and fixes
•Delta Ship wasn't doing its light effect on landing/taking-off.
•Solved an issue where mouse pointer disappeared after accessing Org Chart in some cases.
•Tomato concentrate recipe was missing in the Juicer blueprint.
•Awakening a citizen won't ask for confirmation any longer.
*Remember it is possible to avoid most message confirmations by holding shift key while performing the operation.
Project Aura 2.72 version
What is new panel
For each major update, a news panel will appear displaying information about the main features included and updated info about our roadmap.
*While the panel will be shown once, you can recheck it again in-game at Options menu ->News.
Auto save feature
Check Autosave at the Setup menu and your game will be automatically saved each 5 days.
Residential buildings
• Service-level morale factor has been removed, so their blueprints will just produce now fertilizer, keeping all buildings the basic morale gain (as if services would be 100%) but still allowing you to gain extra morale via comfort items.
• Added visual effect to help identifying level of occupancy.
Miscel
• Texture Quality
Before this update, textures were being displayed always in high res. Selecting between low and high (in setup menu) will work properly now.
*Note you will need to restart game in order to changes take effect.
• Morale calculations in the char sheet:
Full info about how it is calculated the new morale in the char context help added.
• Other minor fixes.
Project Aura 2.71 version.
2.71 version is mostly about tweaks and fixes introduced with the previous major update 2.7.
Visuals
• Improved the look of Greenhouses.
• Added visuals to Drug Manufacturing, Canteen and Botany Lab to help identifying their activity inside.
• Added a visual effect to indicate selected or mouse-over buildings.
Key binding
• Added for laptop users: Hold right mouse button on an organization chart to drag it around. (same functionality than mid-button).
Market
• Seaweed is again available at market: Eco/Organics.
• Circuitry is no longer available at market, instead you can find Memory Devices: Cosmos/Tech.
Fixes
• We have worked mostly in memory optimization and stability to avoid VC++ crash (still in progress).
• Blocked residential modules were wrongly calculated not allowing new colonists to arrive.
• Organization Chart window now will update properly facility's name after clicking on different buildings while open.
• Lot of minor issues solved.
Patch 2.7 RC1
Project Aura 2.7 RC1 version.
While there are tons of new features and items, for the 2.7 version we keep focusing in the sandbox. Lore, quests, game goals and incentives... is something to expect in later versions, after we end with a robust and stable -bug free- core.
We want to remark the new residential, morale and maintenance systems and, in our path to open development to community, our first preinstalled "Colony Ranks" mod already functional.
Six new buildings are available and the amount of items has been almost doubled.
Continue reading for a detailed list of changes:
Core changes
• New morale system
• New maintenance system
• New entertainment system
*While intuitive for experienced players, steam guides will be available ASAP.
New buildings
Residential • 3 new residential modules: Residential Block, Apartment Building and Estate. Each one with their respective blueprints and benefits for their tenants.
• Decide where your colonists will live.
• Service & Comfort residential levels.
Entertainment • 1 new module Disco with effects on colony morale.
Care Center Infirmary building has been renamed to Care Center and now includes an extra module:
• Drug Manufacturing
Process active ingredients to obtain supplements and improve your colony's health. Manufacture medicines from Q1 to Core levels.
Juice Squeezer • A new module for the Industrial Kitchen building to produce Juices from fruit and concentrates from vegetables.
New Greenhouse version for fungi • 1 new module Greenhouse for fungi farming.
*Corporation, Botany lab and Hostel buildings improved graphical look.
Food Management window redesigned
• Colony menu now allows up to 6 food and 6 diet supplements.
• Extra information about hydration/nutrition/morale/health benefits and consumption.
Dead
• Your colonists may die if any of their stats (hydration, nutrition, morale or health) reach a value of 0.
*The rest of your colonists won't like their colleagues dying...
Colony Ranks
• Raise your colony levels to become a Influential city! But beware, your colonists will demand better services as long as the colony progress.
* This feature comes as a preinstalled mod.
Tons of new items
• More vegetables, juices and concentrate. Taste a delicious garlic juice :)
• Fruits
• Fruit juices
• Fungi for food or their medical properties.
• Comfort items to improve your residential buildings services.
• Diet supplements and medicines, and the active ingredients to craft them.
• New special items of type "vestige": XXI civilization remains, obtained in very rare cases after recycling processes.
Char sheet redesign
• Char sheets will display residential information and its effect on colonist.
• An action bar with 4 options is available for colonists:
1. Open colonist's organization chart.
2. Open colonist's residence panel.
3. Assign a new type of residence target for a colonist.
4. Expel colonist.
• Char sheet window now will display a helmet with the char's profile (top left) to allow drag & drop operations. E.g.: Drag&drop a char from its char sheet on an Org. chart or a module in the residential panel to move his residence, etc.
Production changes:
Greenhouse and Botany lab have new productions for the new vegetables, fruits and fungi.
You can now send your ships for fungi extraction.
Organic Waste Recycling blueprint disappeared in favor of the new service blueprints for the residential buildings.
Miscel
• Maintenance workshops will pause if the building to maintain is already at 100% level.
• Similar behavior for the Service & Comfort blueprints which will stop if their values are already at 100% level.
• Available colonists icon (left-screen panel) will appear yellow when there are new colonists available to awake that were not checked.
• Added day/cycle info for the Log notifications.
• Blueprint nodes will display now their current production instead of the blueprint name. E.g.: "Tomato Farming" instead of "Farming"
• Removed the limit of 999 for accumulated inno points.
• All Building Floating Menu buttons are now functional (this is the menu appearing when you hold left mouse on a building in the scenario). Residential buildings will display an extra button to access their Residential Panel.
*Right click on a building in scenario to display its Organization Chart.
*Right click on a residential building node to display its Residential Panel.
• Drop and item on the market icon to open the market at the page where that item is available to purchase.
• Market items available have been reduced.
• Blueprint nodes have been resized to display extra information.
• While profile "Director" keeps the same (the vocation to be a director), the profession of being in charge in a building has been renamed from Director to Supervisor.
• The amount introduced in the Food Management to refill your larder represents now the amount of days you want supplies to feed your colony instead of just the amount of items to refill your larder up to. This means, the amount of items in your larder will vary depending on your population.
*Translations are going to be disabled for some days until we re-enable them again via modding.
Patch 2.66 Update 1
GUI
• New Window: Help Window (F1)
This window contains information about game: Key binding, Interface and some tips.
It can work in contextual mode: To access a specific window help directly, click on it and press F1.
• Resource Window:
Now will show Work Points information for the blueprint/production you are checking.
• Org Chart:
It is possible now to rename buildings: 1. click on the building's name 2. Type the new name 3. Hit enter.
• Status Window:
Buttons redesigned.
All its elements show now proper contextual info.
Key Binding
• Press F1 to access in game help.
• Right click on a building in the 3d scenario to open its Org Chart.
Balance
• Super Engineers will be now -much- harder to become available for colonies.
Others
Game loading times has been reduced.
New optimizations for memory consumption.
*3 new residential buildings + an improvement for the morale system are almost ready, so expect a new update very soon.
Patch 2.66:
New features
• Auto transfer food to larder is now possible.
Key binding
• New shortcut: In the scenario, right click on a building to open its Org Chart.
Balancing
• Disassembling gadgets have now a slightly higher ratio to find silver, gold and platinum scraps.
• Refining for all metals raised from 10 to an average of 50
• New production added: Refining Platinum
• Core Accumulators decreased production output.
• Generator components after Q3 may require silver, gold (also platinum ingots for the core level) in the assembly process. Their prices have also increased accordingly:
• Solved an issue where if a building with Auto-search production set was started manually may stop production during its check.
• Sometimes a "ghost" item appeared at inventory, becoming unusable.
Others
- Loading time to launch the game has been reduced.
