Hi everyone! I know it's been quiet for a minute, but the whole campaign needed to be scrapped and rebuilt from the ground up and that takes time. However! It's now time to reveal some more details about the new campaign mode for uFactory!
A Whole New World
First off, say goodbye to the old blocky planets and hello to the new hi-def smooth ones! These planets are much more fitting with uFactory's existing aesthetic.
uFactory's new planets take quite a while to generate, so a new one will *not* be generated for each new campaign game. The game will ship with a couple different worlds to try out, and there will be a menu if you want to take on the time and CPU crunching of generating a new one yourself:
Starting a Campaign
When you start a new campaign, all locations and roads are drawn randomly on the planet you've chosen.
You're then presented with a choice of where to found your company's headquarters. Each city provides its own special bonuses:
You'll then be provided with an option for your preferred tutorial level, something the previous iteration of uFactory's campaign sorely missed:
If you choose the first option, you'll be provided with a tutorial mission by the mayor of your home city:
Building Your Empire
Once you've chosen where to place your HQ, you're ready to start building your manufacturing empire. To get started, you'll need to find an appropriate building to build a factory in. These buildings are located in industrial districts of cities. So, choose the city you want to build in, and you'll get a list of spaces that are up for rent:
Some of the larger spaces require you to have a better credit rating before you can rent them. You can improve your credit rating by paying your obligations on-time!
Once you have your factory space, you'll need to build out the interior and then set up the logistics, which is extra easy with uFactory's new Factory management window:
This window will allow you, for each of your factories, to set a target efficiency (i.e. production multiplier), view your current production and stock levels, review and establish new orders, and set up automatic overstock rules.
Once you've got your factories set up, you'll be able to review their profitability in the P&L tab:
A Face To The Name
Finally, the last surprise for this devlog update... as you may have noticed in the mail screenshot above, uFactory now has person avatars for the people in the game simulation... including your CEO! You'll be able to design your own character and put a face to the names of the business leaders and government officials you'll be interacting with in the campaign!
A lot of the interfaces and features presented here still need a lot of tweaking and love, but the pieces are definitely starting to come together! There are more surprises to come as progress is made on the campaign mode... No release date yet, but we'll let you know as soon as we do. Stay tuned for more updates!
Community Translation Records Patched
Un-numbered Patch has been released to the community translation website.
Changes:
Added 269 new translation entries for interface elements
If you'd like to help with our community translation initiative, please visit https://translate.ufactorygame.com/
LSG Supports Ukraine
Lucid Silence Games stands with the world against Russia's unprovoked war of aggression on Ukraine.
While most of us in America feel bound and helpless, the very least we can do is make our voices heard across the world and stand for self-governance over violent oppression.
Glory to the Ukrainians defending their homeland. May their bravery and sacrifice send a decisive message to the Russian occupiers.
Patch 0.6.5.3 Released
Patch 0.6.5.3 has been released to the main branch.
Changes:
Fixed bug for missing machine in Pigmentation scenario
Patch 0.6.5.2 Released
Patch 0.6.5.2 has been released to the main branch.
Changes:
Fixed broken Tutorial 5
Made several in-factory menu windows draggable
Added Textile machine group
Added descriptions to all resource gatherers
Fixed default starting cash label
Prevented campaign welcome panel from auto-closing when campaign is finished loading
Redesigned tutorial menu to have a vertical scroll
Corrected text in Tutorial T0-10
Added wood steamer to papermaking machine group
Updated chocolate bar wrapper graphics to visually represent whether they've been printed or not
Fixed finance P&L window to pre-select player company from drop-down
Added process diagram for lye production
Fixed text overflow cutoff on assembler machine detail panel
Added decoration build group to all non-tutorial scenarios
Improved campaign HUD layout for narrower screens
Added option to disable planetary spin to help with users experiencing motion sickness
Patch 0.6.5.1 Released
Patch 0.6.5.1 has been released to the main branch.
Changes:
Fixed a bug that caused standalone scenarios to persist after exiting through the tablet menu
uFactory Community Translation Initiative
Lucid Silence Games is starting a community translation initiative. We're asking anyone who's fluent in English and another language to help us translate our database of mechanical engineering and chemistry terminology that comprise the massive uFactory manufacturing world.
If you'd like to help out, please visit: https://translate.ufactorygame.com
In a future update, we'll start integrating the new translation data into the game for all to use!
Also, we want to give a big thanks to the players on our Discord server who are already getting the process started and helping to test our translation system!
Endgame Update Released
Version 0.6.5.0 (the Endgame Update) has been released.
This brings the Campaign Mode nearly out of beta! Every major feature is now implemented (other than electricity and freight variety, which will come later). We'll be releasing a number of balance changes and bug fixes over the next couple weeks, and we can use all the feedback you can give us!
Enhancements in this patch:
Added win state, earned by buying out all competitors
Added Bank AI companies
Added loans to campaign finance window
Changed starting cash grant to part-grant/part-low-interest-loan. The ratio between them is configurable when starting a new campaign
Replaced all achievement icons with new higher-res ones
Added a dozen new achievements, including 4 hidden ones (see below)
Added tablet descriptions to every machine and conversion process in the game
Added tablet descriptions to every liquid in the game
Added placeholder output filter display on mechanical arm machine details menu for when the output is not present or has no options instead of leaving the display entirely blank
Filled in some missing info in factory leases
Fixes in this patch:
Fixed bug calculating difficulty values when starting new campaign
Fixed bug preventing lease renewal dialog from appearing
Fixed bug that caused lapsed-leased factories to continue to appear on HUD
Fixed bug that caused factories to keep old names after switching hands
Fixed missing input connections on steam cracker, pressure cooker, and fractionator
Fixed bug that left active orders and offers for vacated factories
Fixed bug with ethylene carbonate production that asked for ethylene as an ingredient instead of ethylene oxide
Fixed orientation error in liquid and gas exporter ghost tokens while building
Fixed broken rotation on ethylene glycol and polyethylene glycol tokens
Fixed bug that populated extraneous entries in ownership dropdown in buy stock offer window
Fixed bug that prevented campaign saves from loading if the player had recently offered to buy stock before saving
Balance changes in this patch:
Rebalanced the fuel value of several substances and the display in the tablet for that value
Moved the formic acid hydrolysis process from dilution chamber to liquid blender machine
Increased output of polyethylene glycol production
Decreased number of pencil boxes per crate from 50 to 20
Compatibility:
Standalone sessions should be compatible with previous versions.
Campaigns should be compatible with v0.6.x earlier versions.
Here is a shrunk-down preview of the hidden achievement icons:
Don't worry, though, we're not done with uFactory yet! We'll be squashing bugs and working on balance the next couple weeks, then we'll start bringing in new content and features that everybody's been waiting for, like electricity generation, machine mod chips, workshop mod support, trains, boats, and planes, and so so much more.
Ownership Update Released
Version 0.6.0.0 (the Ownership Update) has been released.
Changes in this patch:
Added audio for new campaign log entries
Added valuation of assets to determine proper company net worth
Added stock shares for all companies
Added artificial stock valuation modifier
Added stock market window, with a general listing tab, a detail tab, an active offers tab, and an active auctions tab
Heavily rebalanced AI technique and starting cash to improve stock performance
Added quick-sell stock feature, that allows you to quickly sell any stock you own at below market value
Added stock auctions feature, allowing you to put stock you own up to public auction. The AI will bid on it, usually ending up somewhere around the market value, but it takes several days. The AI can also put its own stock up for auction and you can bid on it.
Added buy offers, allowing you to choose your price and offer to buy stock that the AI owns. You'll be given a general idea about how they might react, but you won't know for sure until a couple days later when they respond to your offer. The AI can also make offers on stock you own, and you can decide if it's worth it or not.
Added force-buy feature, allowing you to force a company to sell you its stock. Right now, this requires you to pay 5x the current market price. The AI can also force-buy your stock, but inflating the value as much as possible will make that harder (on the other hand, the influx of cash from a force-buy may be a blessing in disguise).
Added a failure state for the campaign. If your ownership of your own company falls below 50%, the game will end and you will lose.
Added two new opportunity types related to the stock market. One will trigger as soon as tutorial opportunities are completed, the other will trigger when low on funds.
Please note, this is part 1 of a 2-part major update. Part 2, v0.6.5.0, the Endgame Update, will come before the end of the month.
Chocolatey Opportunity Update Released
Version 0.5.3.0 (the Chocolatey Opportunity Update) has been released.
Changes in this patch:
Added cocoa and sugarcane processing and chocolate manufacture
Added phosphoric acid manufacturing
Added chocolate production scenario
Added "Opportunities" to campaign mode that form a basic bootstrapped tutorial and then some additional optional goals and rewards for players to pursue
Reworked campaign finance window- it should be much more accurate and comprehensive now
Added campaign-mode specific music
Fixed issue loading saved games with gas filters
Increased gas filter throughput
Fixed major bug with liquid/gas filters that caused them to back up
Fixed issue with gas importer orientation
Added log notifications for deliveries
Added filter controls for log notifications to factory details screen in campaign
Fixed bug that granted achievements for scenarios even though main objectives were failed
Fixed slowdown on start campaign bug caused by truck lights
Updated trucks to turn off their headlights during the day
Fixed logistics bug that stunted economic growth during pre-game simulation
Tweaked retail store buying habits to help spark initial demand
Reduced overall populations to help stabilize the economy early on and decrease initial generation simulation wait time
Added equipment costs when building or renovating factories
Changes since last major version
Added the long-awaited copy machine settings tool
Fixed bug preventing entering campaign factories in some configurations
Cleared new save text field when re-opening the page
Added confirmation to tablet save page
Fixed bug that allowed tablet to open in loading screen
Added storage window
Added output full blockage to factories
Improved status feedback for player factories in HUD
Adjusted graphics on loading screens
Made city label in store window a link
Added gas filter machine
Slowed down slowest in-factory time scale
Fixed broken load standalone button in main menu
Added cargo vehicle tooltip
Added cargo vehicle follow-cam
Added auto-morph inputs to factory diagrams
Added autosave to campaign and controls for its frequency to the tablet menu
Added flavor text to several tablet menu pages
Fixed issue with resource tokens remaining after deleting/moving some machines
Prevented tablet from opening on Esc if another window is closed
