Hey everybody! You've probably noticed a quick download if you play on Steam! We got a new hotfix done and it is live NOW on Steam! Not a lot but here are the changes:
Fixed an issue where sometimes after Dust Storms, rockets won't be able to launch from Mars
Fixed an issue with some buildings not getting any workers
Patch Notes (Spirit Update)
Major Changes Science Institute renamed to Hawking Institute in tribute to Stephen Hawking
Added Birth Control Policy in domes. You can now set births to allowed or forbidden (Ctrl + LMB sets birth control policy in all domes)
Increased max zoom out distance
Optimized the way colonists pick workplaces. Colonists should now pick the best workplace for their specialization correctly and much faster
Added "Reassign All" button to drones which reassigns all drones from this commander or orphaned drones in the area
Colonists will no longer try to walk kilometers on foot to resettle resulting in them dying from lack of oxygen
Rover Command AI tech now removes the batteries of all rovers
Added a keybinding (default: i) that hides/shows resource & anomaly icons on the map
Rovers are more likely to effectively use tunnels
Rovers pathfinding improved
Added free camera option in Photo Mode
Press Ctrl + F1 and you will open an in-game bug reporter
Mods Published most of the game code for reference purposes
Added cheats menu to mod editor
Mod editor now loads a map with a prebuilt colony
Enabled a Lua console on the mod editing map
Localization tables from mods can now localize the main menu
Mod documentation fixes
Allowed renaming of mods
Added support for PNG files in mod cover images
Easier way of adding technologies, research points and applicants from mission sponsor and commander profile mods
UI modding: templates
Infopanel modding: all templates in groups InfopanelHeader and InfopanelContent
Added list of technologies to documentation
Added autoattaches and night lighting objects to modding documentation
Gameplay Extended the range rovers need to be in to recharge from cables. The RC Transport looks for cables in the start and ending point of transport routes automatically
Lowered the chance for idiot flaw to appear in the colony and applicant pool
Space Rehabilitation tech removes flaws before newly arrived colonists decide in which dome to settle
Fixed an issue where shuttles could fail to pick up a colonist for resettlement
Fixed an issue where some buildings connected to a very large power network failed to get power
Reserved residence slots are released if the colonist can't reach the dome during resettlement
Salvaging a rocket without its cargo unloaded should no longer leads to stuck drones
Colonists that fail to reach a dome won't constantly try to reach it again and again
Dome Streamlining tech now affects the Geoscape Dome
Construction Nanites no longer construct sites that are turned off
Renegades and rogue drones no longer target construction sites
Superconducting Computing now provides less research points
General Training tech now has flavor text
Fuel Refinery now has the Factory AI upgrade
Colonists are now immune to Earthsick when playing with IMM sponsor
Colonists no longer reserve residential slots in faraway domes if shuttle hubs are not operational (e.g. during a dust storm)
Triboelectric Scrubber no longer scrubs buildings inside domes
Colonists can now be manually assigned to training (School, University, Sanatorium)
It is no longer possible to select the same trait multiple times in Schools
Construction of building upgrades is now serviced by more drones
Fixed a bug with calculations of modifiers and small amounts of research points
Fixed an exploit that allowed the construction of buildings via keybindings without the necessary tech
Fixes for the mystery log of the Spheres mystery
Fixed an issue which caused colonists to eat less food. Boosted production of farms slightly to compensate for the increased consumption.
UI “Research complete” notification now shows the tech description in question on rollover
Added option to rename buildings
Shuttle Hub now shows information about shuttle load across the colony
Botanists & Geologists have new icons
Changed dome quarantine button to Immigration Policy control
Merged the "Assign Workplace", "Assign Residence" buttons for colonists into a single button "Assign to Building"
Added an indicator which traits are selected in schools and sanatoriums when selecting traits
Keybindings for rover commands now work correctly
Fungal Farm Automation upgrade now uses correct icon
Allowed rebinding of camera zoom in/out and camera tilt keybindings
Seniors are no longer considered "outside the workforce" after researching Forever Young
Drone workload information added to RC Rover
Fixed a bug where rocket fuel was not displayed in certain cases
Rocket pins no longer blink ready during dust storms
Selecting a building while the build menu is open no longer causes the building's AOE visuals to break
Hints for game speed, camera controls and orbital probes now display bound keys correctly
Added an error message when trying to overwrite a save during upload to cloud
Added confirmation prompt when closing the Filter UI
Exports notification now shows accumulated funding if multiple rockets arrive on Earth consecutively
Added salvage button to the info panel of pipes, valves and switches
Excess fuel caused by Advanced Martian Engines is now unloaded from rockets before take off
"Daily Production" changed to "Production per Sol"; "hourly production" changed to "production"
Renamed a control hint to "Queue on top" in the research UI
Added new icons for Construct Drone and Dismantle Drone button
Vacant residential slots text in domes no longer includes slots from nurseries
Officers are no longer called "security" in filter UI
Cargo rocket UI now shows the number of resources in the colony on rollover of a given resource
Depots resource icon is no longer mirrored
Colonists can no longer be manually assigned while they are in the process of resettling
Autonomous Drone Hubs and Sensor Towers no longer display an empty power consumption section in their info panel
Implemented tutorial hint for building upgrades
Updated credits
Other Domes no longer get constantly dusted. Only domes that are turned off or not working are dusted.
Children now play around in the school (visualization only)
Fixed some issues in the trajectory of shuttles
Glass decals are removed when the dome is destroyed
Domes no longer leave grass behind when destroyed
Recharge stations no longer turn their light off when a drone visits them
More precise slider for time of day in Photo Mode
All adult colonists now have the same walking speed
Cargo shuttles return to the hub when it's being destroyed
Increased number of lights at night
Photo Mode night lights of building match in-game lights
Photo Mode particle effects fixed
Various performance optimizations
Various stability improvements
Various sound FX tweaks
CO2 geysers only erupt sporadically, as intended
Have you played any of the Mysteries yet?
If so - what was your favourite?
Dev Diary 8: Modding! By Ivan-Assen Ivanov from Haemimont Games
The new frontier... The perils of the unknown... The great difficulties and the great hope for the next generation? No, I'm not talking about colonizing Mars. I'm talking about the greatest technical risk we took on with Surviving Mars: building the game for modding support.
Haemimont Games has shipped a cool 15 games on various platforms, but not one of them has had official modding support. And modding was something Paradox wanted from the very beginning of the project. Games that welcome the players to join in the creation are loved more, played more, and live more, they said. What's the point of partnering with a well-respected experienced publisher if you don't heed what they say?
The bad news was that over the previous several games, the data loading process of our engine had been optimized in the opposite direction, to be as monolithic and economical as possible, to allow for minimal loading times. This had to be reversed, and many types of data can now be loaded in pieces, or late after the game has started, to allow for asset authoring and tested.
The good and much more important news was that our games are written in a mixture of two programming languages: C++ to handle the low-level stuff like graphics, audio and talking to the underlying hardware; Lua. Which allowed us to implement virtually everything you think of as "game", from the simulation logic of the colonists on Mars to the user interface that allows the player to control them. And Lua is not only much easier for modders to learn - it's also easy to be loaded from different places, even when the game is running. We knew that we needed to give modders this ultimate power, to modify and add new Lua code to the game.
The overarching goal of the mod support is, in the words of Alan Kay, simple things should be simple, and complex things should be possible. For the simple part, we identified a handful of small but impactful changes to the game that can be implemented by anyone who's not afraid of their computer. Mission Logos, for example, let you leave your imprint on every building of your colony. You only need to supply a simple, transparent PNG file
New fixes! Check out the full patch notes below. And as ever, please keep reporting your bugs in the Surviving Mars bug forum.
OSX,Linux: Added OpenGL mods' shaders support
Linux: fixed occasional crash when loading savegames
Window: fixed white borders on some UI elements
UI: Research dialog now scrollable with mouse wheel and camera controls, saves last position on close
UI: Colonists with special traits are pinned to the menu bar, only when there are less than 100 colonists in the colony
UI: Voice notification for Pipe leaks/Cable faults disabled for colonies with over 100 colonists
UI: Tourist trait shown in "Review Applicants" UI
UI: Fix for cancelation of change of display settings
UI: Fix for senior colonists workplace display after the research of "Forever Young" tech
UI: Fix for Automation Upgrade Icon (displayed inconsistently in Fungal Farms)
UI: Fix for Custom anomaly icon disappearing from time to time
UI: Fixed missing sounds when some Mods are active
UI: Martian University infopanel now does not show colonists which are not part of the workforce (senior, child, tourist, stressed, etc.)
UI: Rockets have correct (default) skin on game start
Gameplay: Removed exploit for endless export from the Space Elevator
Gameplay: Refugees are now immune to Earthsick condition
Gameplay: New dome fractures should be repaired properly (this unfortunately does not affect already fractured domes from previous saves)
Gameplay: "Vocation-Oriented Society" tech performance bonus now works as intended
Gameplay: Fix for drones not to be abandoned by RC Rover
Gameplay: Fix for maximum drones allowed to work on trade rocket
Gameplay: Resource stockpiles now properly marked as 1-hex large object - should fix drone behavior to move stockpiles adjacent to construction sites rather then underneath them
Gameplay: RP cost of repeatable techs now increase after each research
Gameplay: "Alien Imprints" tech effect reduced
Gameplay: Fix for Fuel Extractor upgrade effect in the Concrete Extractor building (now 30% increase instead of 50%)
Gameplay: Fix for stuck drones when picking up resources from destroyed farm
Gameplay: Fix for resource count when interrupting drone after picking up resource cube from RC Transport
Gameplay: Fix for RC Transport when changing skin while loading resources
Gameplay: Fix to properly treat RC Transport as resource depot when adding new drone controller (Rover/Hub/Rocket) or changing active radius of drone controller
Gameplay: Fix for Rocket take-off in some cases
Gameplay: Fix for RP calculation to allow modifiers to have effect in cases of little RP production
Gameplay: Workers properly select workplace based on their specialty
Gameplay: Fix for workplace and training buildings requiring maintenance when turned off
Gameplay: Easy start now always starts with a Mystery
Gameplay: Scanning que increased
Gameplay: Shielded combination of incompatible traits (e.g. Genius/Idiot combo)
Gameplay: Biorobot gurus no longer create biorobots
Gameplay: Fix for replacing existing techs by using mods
Visuals: Dome glass has correct self illumination
Visuals: Meteorite craters no longer appear over and next to objects
Visuals: NVIDIA 1050s family now loads "High" setting preset
Visuals: Fix for proper positioning of newborn child colonist at spawn
Mac Fixes!
We have made some changes to the MAC build, we hope this improves some of the issues reported by the community:
- Bug addressed: missing huge pieces of the interface on mac OS
- Bug addressed: orange blocky terrain on Windows + pre-GCN Radeons (5700, 5800, etc.)
- Bug addressed: corrupted terrain issues
- Bug addressed: tourists stay on Mars at least 10 sols
Known issues we are currently working on:
Quitting the game causes a hang
Flickering shadows.
Also, just to note, we will have proper names for the patch notes going forward, we are just deciding on the naming order :)
As always, if you come across any bugs or issues - please report it in the Surviving Mars Bug Forum.
We've listened to your feedback! Join us for a special Q&A Stream
Surviving Mars is now out & we have been looking at all your feedback on social, Steam and our Forums! We know you have questions & we want to give you the answers. Join us for a special Q&A stream this Wednesday 21, 17:00 CET: https://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive - We will also be live streaming on Steam as well.
Tips & Tricks for beginners (written)
Given that there are a few pitfalls when trying to get into the game, I thought it might be a good idea to give some basic advice for beginners.
(1) Decide how you want to play the game!
The way I look at it, there are two main ways to experience the game. One is to survive and play through the story, taking as much time as you want. The other way is to play score-attack style and trying to get as many points as possible by completing objectives as quickly as possible on as high of a difficulty as possible. Both are perfectly viable ways to play the game, but they require very different strategies. If you are looking for a challenge: My best game so far was ~70k points within 120 Sols at 250% difficulty.
(2) You can build cables and pipes on the same tile!
This might be super obvious to most people, but is actually a thing I didn't immediately realize on my first game - and it caused some major headache when I tried to find a good base layout. So don't make the same mistake - stack them.
(3) Don't create large cable and pipe networks!
The larger a network becomes, the higher the chance for cable and pipe faults. Creating a massive single network for everything will cause frequent leaks, costing you resources and keeping drones needlessly busy. Don't use more cables or pipes than necessary. Also, *I think* you can use buildings and domes to separate your networks by connecting on one side and continuing on another access point.
(4) Make sure to bring a Transport Rover!
There are plenty of surface deposits for Iron (and sometimes Polymers) on the map. They are revealed after scanning a sector and can be collected by a Transport Rover. If you use the CREATE TRANSPORTE ROUTE button (or however it is called now), the rover will even automatically go back and forth between the two selected points and gather all surface deposits within range (until there are none left). Given that manpower is in short supply throughout the early game, this is an excellent method to gather iron during the early game.
(5) A Science Rover will be quite useful!
When scanning sectors you will find plenty of anomalies. Analyzing them will give you extra tech options, free research or other random benefits. Try to bring at least one science rover along if you can - it will make the early game a lot easier.
(6) Build enough depots!
Make sure that you have enough depots to store goods, and make sure that they are spread out through your colony to reduce transport distances. If you have multiple drone hubs, you can place a depot in their overlapping range - this will allow your drones to more evenly distribute materials across the colony.
(7) Make sure you have enough drones!
Once you have your basic infrastructure in place and start to expand your colony, you will need additional drone hubs - and more drones at existing ones.Some indicators for a lack of drones are: goods piling up, extractors stopping to work because stone isn't hauled away, rockets taking a long time to load, unload or refuel and maintenance or repairs taking longer than expected.
(8) You do not have to build dumping sites!
If you do not have any designated dumping sites, your drones will just drop the stones next to the extractors. From what I noticed, this didn't seem to have any effect on performance. So if you hate the site of piles of waste rock - you don't have to suffer through that.
(9) Only build things you actually need!
Buildings deteriorate and require maintenance goods, even when they are disabled or not used. So be VERY careful with what you construct during the early days of your colony - an unnecessary battery during the early game might cost you 5+ Polymers by Sol 20. Build in moderation and do not exceed your requirements (too much).Don't build that Moxxie several Sols before you ferry in first your colonists.
(10) Stirling Generators are awesome!
If you play as a rich sponsor, consider bringing a few Stirling Generators. They are very costly, but a great long-term investment. While closed, they do NOT deteriorate, which means they have no maintenance cost. If you have an energy shortage, you can temporarily open them if necessary. If you are desperately short of maintenance materials, you can also cycle through them before any generator deteriorates to the point where it actually requires maintenance. Later in the game, you will acquire a technology that unlocks a building that removes maintenance cost from anything within range - with that, you can keep your Stirlings open permanently for a massive permanent energy increase.
(11) Scanners stack!
Every scanner provides a massive boost to scan speed for nearby sectors, but on top of that, there are additional stackable effects: Each scanner gives a base +10% scan speed anywhere on the map and it also increases the ahead-of-time warning for disasters. If you are playing on maps with high disaster risk, consider building multiple scanners to get warnings several Sols ahead of time.
(12) Build Clinics!
A clinic reduces the comfort requirement fo childbirth, which is very important in the early game since your domes usually won't be able to provide all services requested by your colonists. They are especially important if you play a sponsor that have a low amount of applicants (e.g. Europe), but even those with lots of colonists would usually prefer to ferry goods instead of people.
(13) Specialize your domes!
In the early game space within the domes is scarce. Most of the time a dome will only provide enough living space for a farm and one, maybe two production buildings. A good early game layout for Small Domes in my games was: Living Quarters x3, Farm, Clinic, Grocer, Small Park, 1 production building inside + 1 production building/mine outside. If you use a small production building like the Research Lab you can add an extra Grocer and Diner.
(14) Do not use high maintenance service buildings in the early game!
Buildings like the Casino, Art Workshop and Electronics Store will require a lot of advanced materials to maintain. I highly recommend to NOT use them until you have a steady production of these goods.
(15) Make sure to fully staff your production facilities!
Production facilities have high upkeep - make sure you fill them to capacity to get the most out of your inputs. I had some cases where an electronic factory was actually so unproductive that it used more electronics than it produced. If your average sanity is good, feel free to also assign a night shift.
(16) Make use of the Heavy Workload option!
By clicking on the little clock icon next to a shift you can set it has a HEAVY WORKLOAD shift. Workers on heavy duty will slowly lose health (restored by the clinic) and sanity (recovered by sleeping), but on the flipside, their productivity will increase significantly. Early on manpower will be your most limiting factor, and this option allows you to get the most out of your workers when you need it the most.
(17) Inhabitants from different domes can work in the same outdoor building!
While people cannot use services of nearby domes, they can work collaboratively in outdoor buildings. So if you build two domes within range of a Mine, that mine can be staffed by colonists from both domes.
(18) Mines can access multiple deposits and deposits can support multiple mines!
You can have 2 Rare Material Extractors for a single Rare Deposit, and you can have 1 Rare Material Extractor that draws from 2 deposits within range.
(19) Do not hire Idiots if you can avoid it!
No, really. If a colonist with the Idiot trait is working in a factory, they have a chance to cause a breakdown, which will require full maintenance by a drone. Needless to say, that can be VERY costly on a lot of buildings. The trait should be filtered out by default, but double check just to be safe.
(20) Spread out production shifts on your production buildings!
Most production buildings require a lot of electricity and/or water. If you are not planning on running 3 shifts, make sure you spread them out over the day to even out electricity/water demands to match your production - solar panels only work during the day, after all. This is particularly useful for farms since they only have a single shift per day.
(21) Many buildings have multiple skins!
By clicking on the little brush icon on the right-hand side of the UI you can switch freely between these skins, even after construction. That does include domes.
(22) People can migrate between domes!
If a dome becomes overcrowded, colonists can migrate to other domes. If another dome with living space is available in proximity they will go on foot, while long-distance migration requires Shuttles.
(23) The map view shows hints for potential deposits!
When you are zoomed out to the map grid, hovering over a sector will show a tooltip that mentions which resources you are likely to find in said sector. It is not a guarantee, but a good hint where to scan first. You can even try and search for a better initial landing site by scanning a few sectors that show promises of everything if you have brought a few probes.
Have you tried the mods yet? Thoughts and favorites so far?
One of the things that were decided from the get-go with this game, was that modding would be highly encouraged and if you look at the store page you will see that even the devs have been creating a few.
Have you tried any? And if so, what did you think?
Will you be making any of your own?
One of my personal favourites is the Synthetic meat - this will probably be my favourite until someone (or maybe me, as I intend to learn how) does a farm mod so the colonists can eat the real deal!
And just to clarify, in case you are wondering - the mods won't disable achievements :)
Surviving Mars video tutorial by Quill18
Hey everyone,
Quill18 worked together with us to create a video tutorial series for Surviving Mars and I wanted to make sure you all got to see it!
You can watch the first episode below and the rest of the series on his YouTube channel.
