The Crust
Thank you for playing our demo!
The festival is over and we are closing the demo version, in order to get back to implementing the planned features and working on the bugs we found.
Soon we will post a new dev blog where we will describe how the development is going and show some details of the new mechanics =)
Patch Notes Demo v0.87.16
- Modules in the rooms can no longer be connected by wires
- Updated the volume (careful with the reset settings button)
- Added display of priority outputs and improved lights on conveyor splitters
- Fixed wall planning tool visibility when hovering over the floor
- Small notifications no longer disappear
- Rescued colonists now attend jobs correctly
- Truck can no longer be unloaded an infinite number of times after returning to the base with resources from the MDR
- Fixed a bug where modules inside rooms were not receiving electricity
- Pre-built modules are correctly transferred to the player at the right moment
- Fixed a bug where the game would freeze after completing the initial training
- Fixed a bug where it was impossible to build a conveyor line branch in place of a deleted one
- Fixed a bug where deleting a conveyor caused a crash in certain cases
- Localization
Added:
- Updated models of the Ice Smelter, Smelting Furnace, Single resource type storage and Large single resource storage
- Updated regolith, metal oxide and slag models, they now look more natural looking
- Quest Timer will be highlighted for a while when it first appears
- The color of the small notification icons now fits the color of the notification instead of just being white.
- Added infamous Paid lab, where you can spend credits for science points with a rover
- A bar in the module interface showing how many points per day a science module generates
- Fixed conveyor and conveyor exit textures on the Melting Furnace and Pressing module.
- Conveyor exits have been shortened for the models, it became more convenient to improve sections if the modules are built in close proximity
DEV DIARY №20 - Optimization, interface and new units.
Good day everyone, The Crust is back with you!
It's been more than a month since Steam Next Fest and we're back with an update to show you what we're currently working on and tell you about our future plans.
At the very moment, we are focused on a few key areas:
- Optimization: we are working on the technical aspect of the project to achieve better performance results and to avoid all the possible game crashes as well;
- User Interface: working on improving the current interface and adding new elements to it to make it as user-friendly and information-oriented as possible;
- Colonists: further development and troubleshooting of the content related to colonists and the living quarters system;
- Storyline content: re-work of existing story quest chains and continued development of the main storyline - Chapter 2 of Company Mode;
- Creating new units.
Our future plans
First of all, the most important news: the next time you will be able to try the new version of The Crust will be January 8, 2024 as part of the next festival on Steam - Festival of Capitalism and Economy, which will be held from January 8 to January 15. In this version, you will be able to try out colonists and other new mechanics. However, keep in mind that it will be smaller and shorter overall than the Steam Next Fest version from October this year. If you want more, there's a solution for you!
Kickstarter
The campaign on Kickstarter will launch around the same time as the January festival and will allow you to get involved in the deeper development of the project. What kind of slots will be available?
- First up, exclusive access to the closed test — all backers enjoy unrestricted entry to explore the latest and greatest version of The Crust whenever they please!
- Extra perks like an exclusive rover, a colonist bearing your name, and the chance to introduce your own quests and characters into the game, along with other bonuses, will be unveiled closer to the campaign launch.
Conveyor System and Resource Movement Refactor
We've optimized the way resource movement on the conveyor belt is calculated.
Now, instead of calculating in each section,
we do it in a straight line up to the nearest distributor. This change enhances efficiency in resource transportation.
This and several other architectural improvements have resulted in more than double the performance increase when player has a lot of conveyor belts. The architecture changes have also added flexibility to the future development of the conveyor system.
User Interface
We're continually enhancing the game interface to seamlessly guide players through every aspect of gameplay, offering maximum information while maintaining a minimalistic and tidy design. Here are the key updates:
New Notifications
New notifications continue to roll out in the game for all occasions, providing even more information about what's happening in your base and beyond.
Drones additional tooltips
Drones now feature an extended visual notification system that more accurately shows the drone's current status
Mining drones now have a dedicated indicator that shows the status of the oxide extraction cycle from the vein:
The resources that are moved by the robot have been added to the tooltip
This may not be as important for the drones you're already familiar with, but for a future Hauling drone, it will be an extremely useful feature.
New block of minor notifications
A new type of notification is being created that will be responsible for time-based events and quests:
In-game Encyclopedia rework
The pages are no longer duplicated, the system for adding new pages has been improved, and the overall mechanism of the th Encyclopedia has been improved. Now the it is a useful tool where the player can find information about resources and modules, find gameplay tips or re-watch tutorial videos.
Pop-up screens rework
The pop-up screens and their interaction with each other have been completely redesigned. Now you will not get into softlocks when the desired dialog box failed to appear. Also, the they do not interfere with each other and will wait while the player is in different interface modes.
Electricity, Water and Oxygen System Re-work
Crash fixes
Thanks to a lot of community input, we identified a problem in the Energy system that was causing a crash under certain circumstances. We have adjusted these three systems and managed to fix them to further improve performance and stability.
Simplified the math
We have simplified the calculation of module energy consumption when modules are idle - previously modules consumed 20% of their peak value, even in cases where they lacked the resources or energy to start production
Now the module does not consume anything until the production cycle is running:
Optimization
Previously, a portion of the system was scripted in Blueprint, which had some performance limitations but offered flexibility in testing new ideas and balancing the game. Now that the mechanics are finely tuned and balanced, we are overhauling the remaining components of the system in C++, providing performance improvements and more predictable scaling behavior. This applies equally to the water and oxygen distribution systems.
Storyline
The campaign and story play a significant role in The Crust's gameplay, and we're actively addressing this aspect. Our focus is on two main tasks: editing the current content and creating new material.
Upon analyzing your feedback from the festival, we've concluded that the amount of text and dialogues should be reduced in the initial stages. We've already edited the text, retaining educational elements and the most intriguing verbal clashes between characters.
Additionally, we're reorganizing the dialogue trigger system and the integration of dialogues into gameplay to enhance the player's experience without causing interference or distraction. After reviewing numerous hours of gameplay, we've implemented additional ways to activate dialogs and the ability to block them if the player is in interface mode, where distractions are unnecessary.
Bugfixes and minor improvements
Thanks to the active support of the community, we've identified and fixed quite a few bugs, along with implementing numerous improvements based on player suggestions. Thank you, you're incredible!
Here are some of them:
- Fixed lack of building cells in Hangar;
- Vehicle build module now responds correctly to unplugging and lack of power;
- Fixed the ability to send vehicles inside the module with manual control tools;
- When you open the wiring menu, the power laying mode is automatically enabled;
- Cicking on a pole turns on the wiring mode automatically;
- Fixed clicking on vehicles through the module;
- Fixed drone charge reset on loading;
- Fixed missing logo animation on drone charger;
- Fixed a resource tooltip when it was on the ground ;
- Fixed resource tooltip being shown when the resource it self is far gone;
- Fixed resource tooltips on tier 2 and tier 3 Storages after loading;
- Fixed the textures of the FCC model: the correct textures for the ruined material have been set;
- Increased electricity node size by 15%;
- Fixed a bug where it was impossible to select a conveyor segment if TAB was pressed while selecting a conveyor;
- Fixed a bug that allowed to select a conveyor and then delete it, leaving its outline hanging;
- Added correct material visualization for constructing and dismantling the Rare Earth Element refining module;
- Added cargo pod light bulb immisives;
- Fixed battery status after loading;
- Fixed single storage icons after loading - now they correctly display the stored resource;
- Fixed nanotube storage after loading;
- Increased the size of the tooltip for robot mined resources;
- Normal collision has been generated for ruins so they don't interfere with selecting vehicles and modules that are standing next to each other;
- Fixed outline duplication in small solar panel after loading;
- Added correct indicator at the end of a truck's path if it goes to unload a resource on the surface;
- Fixed visual dust bug on the truck;
- Added animation reactions for the Smelter to different smelter states;
- Added Single Regolith Refinery animation reactions for all conditions (speed, off, etc).
In the next diaries we will detail the colonists and show the new units.
Results of the Next Festival
Big thanks to all of you who played The Crust during Steam Next Fest! Your support and feedback rocked our world.
The Crust demo stood out as one of the most successful games at the festival, and we were thrilled with the response! Due to the success of our demo we have decided to keep it available for a while longer! This means that you will be able to keep playing for a few more days.
Your comments and bug reports are gold. Keep 'em coming on our Discord channel. We're listening and already working on some cool changes!
You can also support us in the upcoming campaign on Kickstarter, which will take place very soon. Participants of the campaign will be able to get access to the closed testing of the full version and contribute their own content to the game.
Thanks for being awesome. Let's keep this journey going together!
Cheers,
The Crust Crew
Update | v85.08
85.08 version
- Added hotkey to display UI in free camera mode (ctrl+G)
- Added 10 titanium plates to starting resources
- Added more tooltips in the logistics settings interface.
- Increased minimum speed of a discharged rover
- Now you can't go bankrupt while wiring up the modules
- Fixed crash when adding a conveyor section to which a splitter was connected at the input, that has a resource beforehand
- Fixed an issue with doors getting permanently stuck after loading
- Resolved some expedition-related issues where Cargo Truck got stuck and not going
- Removed pipes from the interface
- Removed Valve module.
- Fixed the issue where the radial menu didn't open with right-click.
- Fixed a bug when changing production recipes in modules caused drone freezing.
- Fixed a bug where fractional resources were dropped on the ground when changing production module recipes to resolve negative resource occurrence
Обновление | Версия 85.08
85.05 version
- Added hotkey to display UI in free camera mode (ctrl+G)
- Added 10 titanium plates to starting resources
- Added more tooltips in the logistics settings interface.
- Increased minimum speed of a discharged rover
- Now you can't go bankrupt while wiring up the modules
- Fixed crash when adding a conveyor section to which a splitter was connected at the input, that has a resource beforehand
- Fixed an issue with doors getting permanently stuck after loading
- Resolved some expedition-related issues where Cargo Truck got stuck and not going
- Removed pipes from the interface
- Removed Valve module.
- Fixed the issue where the radial menu didn't open with right-click.
- Fixed a bug when changing production recipes in modules caused drone freezing.
- Fixed a bug where fractional resources were dropped on the ground when changing production module recipes to resolve negative resource occurrence
Peace ❤️
Watch Live! Gameplay Stream with the Developers
Join the developer team of The Crust!
We'll review gameplay, mechanics, break down future objectives, and finish off by answering questions submitted by beta testers and people attending the stream.
New concept of the Harvester, guess what it suppose to mine?
Hey there!
Our very own secret science and engineering department is preparing a new vehicle for you- Harvester. But can you guess what is it suppose to mine?
Update | v0.84.97
We've been working hard to bring you a fresh update and bug fixes:
Version 084.97
Balance
.- Increased the completion time for some starting contracts
- Increased reward for early fulfillment of Malachite starting contracts
- Increased consumption of ice in ice melters
Fixed
- Fixed a rare issue occurring when canceling a mending expedition while in progress
- Fixed an issue with excavated oxides appearing on the top level after loading a save
- Increased maximum camera tilt angle
- Reduced the radius of camera rotation with the middle mouse button
Version 084.93
Added
+ Added Saving set language in settings
+ Added a tooltip on the colonists button in the commercial center interface
+ Added tooltips to the conveyor section
+ Resolution setting will now be triggered only once
+ Added Contracts button anchor in the module interface
+ Added automatic resolution setting depending on desktop resolution when logging into the game
Fixed
* Tooltip on the save button is no longer shown
* Fixed contract fulfillment in Aurora
* Fixed a bug loading oxides on the crater from the lower level
* Fixed rover charging state before it enters orbit
First Minute Patch, Version 084.90
Added
+ Added notifications showing priority on the module
+ Added customization of free camera buttons
+ Added customization of additional button for copying module settings
+ Added sounds of capsule landing platform
+ Updated silicon oxide color
+ New broker art
+ In contracts, passed stages are now displayed in pale colors
+ Added priority notifications
+ Added animation of reward window appearance
+ Added blur on conveyor section buttons
+ Connected disconnected and broken modules to battery indication
+ Added a tooltip for credits, with full amount
+ New interface for selecting contracts
+ Some starting contracts can now be discarded
+ Displayed the required resource numbers in the contract button
+ Added additional electricity indication in the resource panel
+ Rover in orbit now uses energy to move and explore points, only charges during sunny hours.
Fixed
* Fixed some problems when exiting to Windows and returning to the game
* Fixed a situation where we expired a contract while we were loading/landing a capsule. Resources now fall to the ground.
* Fixed global reputation affecting money disbursement and faction relations, removed settings
* Fixed incorrect indexing in music player
* Added script that allows robots to get out of a "stuck" state if it is stuck due to a navigation bug
* Fixed errors in saving excavations
* Fixed a bug where regolith with zero impurities would fall to the ground in some situations and reset the impurity content of any stockpile it was brought to to zero
* The truck now correctly, in percentage ratio takes away resources from the MBU, not leaving fractional values <1 there.
* Drones digging the vein now react to the speed of the game
* Added switching between crater and underground level without returning the camera to the elevator, default `Z` - added to settings
* Fixed a bug with POI requiring resources if the game was saved and loaded while transporting to the POI
* Removed developer artifacts on the edge of the map
* All detected voicelines and module sounds that did not obey volume settings now obey volume settings
* Bug fix for contract cancel button in the new offer interface
* Fixed some contract fulfillment conditions
* Aligned and locked some locations on the map
* Fixed module demolition tooltip
* "Spent" column in the energy tooltip is highlighted in white color.
* Fix notifications after loading
* Improvement of contract offer interfaces.
* Correction of rover notifications
* Other resources in multi-cleaner factory
* Fixed drones getting stuck in the multi-cleaning plant.
* Fixes POI loading bug if a save was made while the truck was driving to the exp. center to load up
* Changed the size of the credit icon
* Increased the size of the forward socket
* Fixed sound in start video
* Fixed converter bug in fl resource
* Fixed progress bar visual on contract buttons
* Added contract failure and cancel conditions
* Reworked glossary transit, added different validation conditions.
* Added first video skip block
* Customized contract offer, final
* Changed balance display logic
* Additional construction panel update
* Blocked input at the moment of video.
* Fixed kickstarter button
* Fixed duplication of contracts
* Added transportation discharge indication on orbital level
* Fixed some places in the landscape where robots used to get stuck in the past
Balance
.- Added limit on internal truck volume of 4,000 units, taught the truck properly in the
- Increased time between contracts from Broker
Watch Live! Gameplay Stream with the Developers
Join the developer team of The Crust!
We'll review gameplay, mechanics, break down future objectives, and finish off by answering questions submitted by beta testers and people attending the stream.