A Huge Optimization Update Has Landed! This update includes optimizations across the board - these touch on multiple elements of the game. From improvements to performance in specific areas of the world, to upgrades with large mining setups. You should see a significant increase
A Huge Optimization Update Has Landed!
This update includes optimizations across the board - these touch on multiple elements of the game. From improvements to performance in specific areas of the world, to upgrades with large mining setups. You should see a significant increase in performance with certain scenarios.
We've also reworked a lot of errors with localization across all languages.
As some of you may know after we finished Hydroneer in April 2024 we've been hard at work on our next game, Die Trying. Since we're a tiny team, even whilst working on Hydroneer we didn't have enough man-power to simultaneously work on the console port ourselves, and with how busy we are on the next game, we definitely don't have time right now! This has led us to partnering up with PlayEveryWare, console development pros that have worked with the teams behind "Among Us", "Fall Guys", "Valorant for Consoles", "Dispatch", and many other successful quality games on consoles. We chose them because they're the best of the best.
Whilst the console version (Xbox Series X|S + PlayStation 5) is going to be an almost exact copy of what PC players enjoy, their expert engineers have revealed some opportunities for more optimisation on Hydroneer. We've decided it would be a really nice to bring some of these optimisations to the original PC version!
Even though Hydroneer is a finished title, we want to continue to support the game with optimizations and bug fixes.
TL;DR at the bottom! As some of you may know after we finished Hydroneer in April 2024 we've been hard at work on our next game, Die Trying . Since we're a tiny team, even whilst working on Hydroneer we didn't have enough man-power to simultaneously work on the console port ourse
TL;DR at the bottom!
As some of you may know after we finished Hydroneer in April 2024 we've been hard at work on our next game, Die Trying. Since we're a tiny team, even whilst working on Hydroneer we didn't have enough man-power to simultaneously work on the console port ourselves, and with how busy we are on the next game, we definitely don't have time right now! This has led us to partnering up with PlayEveryWare, console development pros that have worked with the teams behind "Among Us", "Fall Guys", "Valorant for Consoles", "Dispatch", and many other successful quality games on consoles. We chose them because they're the best of the best.
Whilst the console version (Xbox Series X|S + PlayStation 5) is going to be an almost exact copy of what PC players enjoy, their expert engineers have revealed some opportunities for more optimisation on Hydroneer. We've decided it would be a really nice to bring some of these optimisations to the original PC version!
Both Hydroneer and the Journey to Volcalidus (DLC) are set to launch on Xbox Series X|S and PS5 on May 8th, 2026, as well as the optimisation patch for PC! (Which is actually Hydroneer's SIXTH birthday!)
We also believe in keeping things fair, so the price on consoles will stay the same as it is on Steam:
Hydroneer: $15
Journey to Volcalidus (DLC): $10
TL;DR
- Hydroneer coming to Xbox Series X|S & PS5 on May 8th 2026.
- PC players will benefit from a new optimisation patch.
- Priced the same as on Steam.
Xbox StorePlaystation Store*We are aware of an issue on the Xbox store which lists the game as Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The game will only be available on Series X and S.
You can Wishlist our next title 'Die Trying' here: [dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/2898770/Die_Trying"][/dynamiclink]
We've always been interested in helping indie games, giving up-and-coming titles advice and support throughout their development, so when we learnt about GhostJam Games (Creators of 'Backseat Drivers') were looking for funding to help them over the finish line, it was a no-braine
We've always been interested in helping indie games, giving up-and-coming titles advice and support throughout their development, so when we learnt about GhostJam Games (Creators of 'Backseat Drivers') were looking for funding to help them over the finish line, it was a no-brainer for us to start up....
In short, we're aiming to help developers avoid predatory publishers and give indies incredibly fair deals to help them over the finish line. We do this by:
- Giving developers a big chunk of money, and only requesting money back in return; so no predatory revenue-sharing models!
- Only offering money and advice; to keep us focused on our current developments, and so these indies can develop their games their way.
Read more about our developer fund here: https://www.foulballhangover.com/developer-fund.html
If you haven't already got this incredibly fun game on your wishlist yet (or played the demo!), here's a handy link to their storepage:
Thank you for ONE MILLION HYDRONEERS! From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! When I started developing Hydroneer as a solo developer back in 2019, I never imagined this project would grow to such a wide audience. I could never imagine five years
Thank you for ONE MILLION HYDRONEERS!
From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!
When I started developing Hydroneer as a solo developer back in 2019, I never imagined this project would grow to such a wide audience. I could never imagine five years later I'd be sat here looking at our player numbers hit 1,000,000, let alone grow my one-man-band into a team of developers I'm lucky enough to also call friends, or be apart of an incredible community that has come together over the enjoyment of digging virtual holes and selling virtual shiny rocks.
And it's all because of you, the players!
Cheers!
Max
Oh, and we recently announced our next title!
Die Trying is a light-hearted co-op multiplayer sandbox shooter set in a fictional 90s/00s America.
It's packed with lots of progression, interesting enemies, a huge and very detailed world, and unique game mechanics. It's a totally different genre to Hydroneer, but if you've enjoyed our unique approach to game design, you might also be interested in this! If you're interested to find out more, add it to your wishlist!
In April 2024, we released 'Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus' DLC to mark us finishing Hydroneer. We spent four years since it's 2020 launch updating it with free major updates, a complete rewrite of the entire codebase of the game, as well as a big DLC. Since finishing the game,
In April 2024, we released 'Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus' DLC to mark us finishing Hydroneer. We spent four years since it's 2020 launch updating it with free major updates, a complete rewrite of the entire codebase of the game, as well as a big DLC.
Since finishing the game, we've been working on our new title: 'Die Trying'!
Die Trying is a light-hearted co-op multiplayer extraction shooter set in a fictional 90s/00s America.
It's packed with lots of progression, interesting enemies, a huge and very detailed world, and unique game mechanics. If you're interested to find out more, here's some handy links:
We've been facing a problem for a long time now where in extremely rare circumstances some players have their save file corrupted. This has been a very hard bug to fix as it is impossible to reproduce the issue, and with no correlation between affected players, we could not see h
We've been facing a problem for a long time now where in extremely rare circumstances some players have their save file corrupted. This has been a very hard bug to fix as it is impossible to reproduce the issue, and with no correlation between affected players, we could not see how to approach the issue.
It seems like some anti-virus programs would prevent Hydroneer from saving, amongst other things.
Despite our efforts, that bug has defeated us time and time again.
until today!
We are deploying this new patch to fix this issue! Instead of corrupting the save file, the game will crash to desktop and give you an error telling you the save file was about to be corrupted. Now you'll be able to use the previous auto-save to load your game back up.
We hope you're enjoying Hydroneer :)
--- Changes - Logic Content Reader now reads the quantity of uses the Logic Spanner Hurling Unit contains. - Logic Content Reader now reads the total weight of shard bar(s) in a pressure tank. - Sickle can now be used by holding down left mouse button. - The save file browser now
--- Changes
- Logic Content Reader now reads the quantity of uses the Logic Spanner Hurling Unit contains.
- Logic Content Reader now reads the total weight of shard bar(s) in a pressure tank.
- Sickle can now be used by holding down left mouse button.
- The save file browser now lists the date of when each file was saved.
- Diamond / Diamond jewelry is added to villager requests pool in Volcalidus.
- Removed an exploit with cooking boots.
- Mod uploader QoL addition. When updating a mod, it'll now auto-fill the details.
- Russian / Spanish localisation improvements.
--- Fixes - Drop Target now appears under the item you're "freeplacing"/"precision placing". - Fixed issue where drills with speed buffs would actually output less than their slower counterparts. - Boosted output of Heavy Drills. - Adjusted animations of Heavy Drills to sync up w
--- Fixes
- Drop Target now appears under the item you're "freeplacing"/"precision placing".
- Fixed issue where drills with speed buffs would actually output less than their slower counterparts.
- Boosted output of Heavy Drills.
- Adjusted animations of Heavy Drills to sync up with speed buffs applied to them.
- Left Ctrl can now be bound in the keybind menu.
- Fixed issue with Hand Sorters keeping their split item preferences sometimes.
- Fixed issue with items being locked as they enter the storage zone of the Quad / Bike.
- Logic Mini Nukes now work in Icehelm dig site.
- Adjusted New Glade vehicle recall point.
- Improved readability when continuing a save, if that save will be marked as 'dirty' for Steam Achievements.
- Removed issue where sometimes coins would duplicate while purchasing vehicles.
- Removed issue with Forge Marks not being saved while inserted into the masterwork forge in Volcalidus.
- Uncovering Relics with the HydroThaw will no longer (very rarely) cause the Relics to not be uncovered.
- Grocers now have 'c' instead of 't' when displaying how much they're purchasing goods for.
- Reduced max size of Cut Beetroot to prevent it getting stuck in the Logic Saw Hook.
- NPCs will no longer whistle when being turned into roadkill.
--- Fixes - Removed issue where sometimes the DLC will fail to install correctly. - Improved reliability with hand sorters while sorting items. - Fixed issue where NPCs no longer walk around. - Fixed issue where NPCs could no longer be victims of vehicular collisions. - Fixed iss
--- Fixes
- Removed issue where sometimes the DLC will fail to install correctly.
- Improved reliability with hand sorters while sorting items.
- Fixed issue where NPCs no longer walk around.
- Fixed issue where NPCs could no longer be victims of vehicular collisions.
- Fixed issue with Lava Hauler not storing small items.
- Improved collision in Lava Hauler.
- Heavy Drill now has collision on its upper portion when placed.
- Heavy harvesters now correctly spawn water when placed, no longer requiring a re-load.
- Hydrobike no longer pulls left while going straight.
- Fixed issue where the bucket could sometimes spawn an Ice chunk in Bastion.
- Fixed some localisation issues.
- Construction crates in New Glade now show their contents correctly when game is loaded if already has contents.
- Lever sound now correctly applies to its sound slider.
- Updated Shard/Shard Bar description when in volcalidus to include "lava".
- Fixed bug with racetrack Steam achievements being triggered.
- Uncut gems descriptions updated as previously they mentioned they can be sold at the stocks when they cannot.
- New Glade sign missing collision added.
--- Changes
- Overhaul on coin text display. Now displays in splitscreen, unique colours for each type, separated text into grouping: ex. "1,420,690"
- Gold / Cloutium melted liquid colour changed to help distinguish each type in smelters.
--- Fixes - 'Save Raw Resources' toggle in gameplay settings no longer affects Hardstone Blocks. - Removed issue with steam cloud not saving correctly for DLC save files. - Crafting a T1 Ice Shovel no longer creates a T1 Dirt Shovel. - Added keybind for "Vehicle Mode" in vehicles
--- Fixes
- 'Save Raw Resources' toggle in gameplay settings no longer affects Hardstone Blocks.
- Removed issue with steam cloud not saving correctly for DLC save files.
- Crafting a T1 Ice Shovel no longer creates a T1 Dirt Shovel.
- Added keybind for "Vehicle Mode" in vehicles. (Default 'F')
- Removed issue with Hand Sorters forgetting what they're splitting when they're lifted and placed down whilst having an item on the pedestal.
- Limited the amount of sounds effects to occur with the gem compressor.
- Removed ability to spam-click drills to produce more resources.
- Improved graphical performance of trees in Volcalidus.
- Removed issue with bones not having a particle effect on LOW settings.
- Resized the Construction Store / Ore Miner requirement text so it doesn't clip through the board.
- Fixed issue with delivery crate drop sound.
- Lowered the lava at Shattered Breach slightly so its no longer clipping with built items.
- Fixed issue with item prices not appearing in Burnscroft store.
- Player no longer sometimes spawns outside of the vehicle when loading back into a vehicle.
- Duplicating logic TNT on Volcalidus now works as intended.
- T2 and T3 stores now have the 't' displaying correctly when showing how much the total cost is on the buy platform.
- Removed issue with an invisible space when a certain clothing combination is made on the character editor page.
- Adjusted the height of the Volcalidus Peak trophy so when placed down it sits at the bottom of the grid square.
- Removed issue with carts and store interactions.
- Timetrial Steam achievements should now trigger properly.
- Streaming in discord will now show the new Hydroneer icon.
- Removed issue with using the gravity wand in trucks.
We're continuing our mission to put out smaller patches effecting the most common/problematic issues. - Ore Mines and Construction Stores no longer have a rounding error causing them not to be built even if the board appears to have all their required materials. - Infinite Filter
We're continuing our mission to put out smaller patches effecting the most common/problematic issues.
- Ore Mines and Construction Stores no longer have a rounding error causing them not to be built even if the board appears to have all their required materials.
- Infinite Filter (a creative mode item) now hooks onto lava pipes in all orientations.
- Fixed issue where items stored in a truck that would pass by the scrapyard burn zone would not be removed from the list of items from the scrapyard to burn when the truck moved out of the burn zone.
- 'Clear all Dirt Chunks' in the ESC menu now reads 'Clear all Ice / Frost Rock' while on Volcalidus.
- 'Toggle Save Dirt Chunk's in the gameplay settings menu now reads 'Toggle Save Ice / Frost Rock / Dirt' while on Volcalidus.
Released in 2020, crafting, base-building, and mining sandbox Hydroneer has been an indie success story that sold upwards of 500,000 copies as of 2022. Now it has a full expansion, Journey to Volcalidus, that dumps a huge new environment to mine and profit from: The island of Vol
Released in 2020, crafting, base-building, and mining sandbox Hydroneer has been an indie success story that sold upwards of 500,000 copies as of 2022. Now it has a full expansion, Journey to Volcalidus, that dumps a huge new environment to mine and profit from: The island of Volcalidus, which is "over 6 times the size of the original island" and comes complete with a town to rebuild...
Read more.
- Coins no longer get stuck inside carts if they're a single coin mesh. - Added icons to store construction boards to aid in readability and prevent mis-communication to languages that use non-english characters. We're currently focusing on applying frequent small patches to addr
- Coins no longer get stuck inside carts if they're a single coin mesh.
- Added icons to store construction boards to aid in readability and prevent mis-communication to languages that use non-english characters.
We're currently focusing on applying frequent small patches to address the biggest issues in the release!
--- Fixes - Purchasing the Lava Bike will now trigger the Steam achievement. - Completing the lap time on Mots island in under 1:11 will now trigger the Steam achievement. - Removed issue where multiple drills could be purchased from the limited drill store in New Glade. - Fixed
--- Fixes
- Purchasing the Lava Bike will now trigger the Steam achievement.
- Completing the lap time on Mots island in under 1:11 will now trigger the Steam achievement.
- Removed issue where multiple drills could be purchased from the limited drill store in New Glade.
- Fixed localisation issue.
- Fixed broken bucket textures in Ironil and Icehelm exit store.
We've created a quick patch in the first hour to remove some issues: --- Fixes - Removed issue where out-dated mods were causing the game to not launch. - Removed issue where players were unable to pick up carts after dropping them. - Removed issue where vegetable basket could no
We've created a quick patch in the first hour to remove some issues:
--- Fixes
- Removed issue where out-dated mods were causing the game to not launch.
- Removed issue where players were unable to pick up carts after dropping them.
- Removed issue where vegetable basket could not be dropped.
Purchase the DLC here! Tip: To get to Volcalidus, take the ship from Bridgepour harbor. You can either start a new game or use an existing save file! Due to the DLC having a whole heap of new mechanics, you won't be able to take items or vehicles to Volcalidus. A quick recap on a
Purchase the DLC here!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2659380/Hydroneer_Journey_to_Volcalidus/
Tip: To get to Volcalidus, take the ship from Bridgepour harbor. You can either start a new game or use an existing save file! Due to the DLC having a whole heap of new mechanics, you won't be able to take items or vehicles to Volcalidus.
A quick recap on a few of the many new features in the DLC
With the launch of the DLC, we're applying a huge patch that'll apply to the base game and DLC.
Tip: If you're using mods, make sure you disable them! They'll cause the game to crash as they'll be outdated until the mod developers update them.
You do not need to own the DLC to get these changes!
--- Changes
- New build-snapping while placing build items.
- Lighting is reworked. Shadows are now brighter, making it easier to see in the dark.
- Magnets now do not effect items in pans/buckets etc.
- Water Pipe and Logic Cable optimizations.
- Skip Save and Return to Menu button added to esc menu.
Vehicle Changes:
- Vehicle handling rework, all vehicles now handle better.
- Hydro Roller torque increased.
- A selection of vehicles now allow you to chose which side you exit on, depending on which way the camera is facing.
- Game now saves if the player is inside the vehicle when re-loading a save file.
Logic Changes:
- Added Logic Content Reader, which outputs the total liquid quantity in a Smelter / Ice Melter.
- Logic explosives and mini nuke slight changes to their voxel destruction, now has a ring around the surface.
Storage Changes:
- Coins/Tokens/Seed Bags/Dirt/Cut Veg now stack whilst they're stored by a Truck/Pan/Bucket/etc.
- Empty Soup Bowls can now be stored in pans/buckets.
- Crucible now no longer destroys resources that are entered into it if its already smelting a different type of resource.
- World Map can now be zoomed in on by pressing right mouse button.
- When 'freeplacing' (hold E while carrying items) and using the scroll wheel will now change the distance the item is from the player.
- Freeplacing a shard bar inside a vertical pressure tank is now easier.
- Carts are now wider to make it easier to store large items.
- Screenshot camera can now move faster.
- 'For the King!' quest now requires a shark, not a lobster.
- Added Angled Decorative Pole
Visual Changes:
- Improved outline highlight when looking at items.
- Reworked signposts around the island.
- Purchasing platforms have had a visual overhaul.
- World Map now indicates which direction the player is facing.
- FPS now defaults to 60 FPS instead of uncapped, which increases performance.
- Remodeled Items: Small Furnace, Camp Bed, Greenhouse Flooring, Brush.
- Retextured Items: Blacksmithing Hammer, Construction Mallet, Magnifying Glass, All Pickaxes, All Shovels, All Rakes, Saw, Decorative Pole, Fish Bucket, Fish Trophy, Grinding Wheel, Planter Box, Smelter, Build Windows, Funnel, Tool Rack, Rod Rack, Fancy Bed, Deer Trophy, Logic Button, Fancy Table, Basic Chair, Toolbag, Wall Lantern.
- Tables appearing in stores have reworked textures.
- Tooltips dynamically change size depending on its contents to prevent them from going off screen.
- Keybind tips now appear when entering vehicles.
Controller Changes:
- Controller vehicle movement reworked. Now uses triggers for forward/backward and thumbstick for turning.
- Controller remapped for vehicles.
- Added the ability to move the player camera closer/further away whilst in a vehicle and using a controller.
- Added ability to move building items closer/further away whilst placing them by tapping the R/L shoulder buttons on controller. (Like mouse scroll wheel)
- Increased the controller right thumbstick default sensitivity X axis by 2x.
--- Fixes
- Carrying pans / bucket / similar storage items, AND trucks will no longer heavily reduce frame rate when moving large amounts of items.
- Removed issue with tears appearing in diggable terrain.
- Removed issue with saves sometimes taking an extended time to complete.
- Optimizations on drills.
- Logic Saw Hook can now cut bars in both directions as intended, it also hooks properly.
- Items no longer fly in a random direction when removing them from the Hydro Quad (Thanks Roboticaust for finding the cause of this one!)
- When un-successfully stealing an item in the store, it'll no longer still appear in your hand whilst in screenshot camera or on vehicles.
- Logic Keypad will no longer forget what its outputting when its picked up.
- Logic Flip Hook now reads '000000000' as '0', and will flip it accordingly.
- Logic Keypad/Button no longer fails to work after loading if it was purchased on a pallet.
- Construction Hammer and Magnifying Glass no longer clips through the tool rack.
- Flight Cap no longer prevents Magnifying Glass or Gravity Wand from working.
To celebrate the launch of the DLC, we're putting out a mega patch for the base game! It's full of commonly requested quality of life improvements, as well as some bug fixes and changes we feel will improve the game! Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus DLC is also out now! The Patch
To celebrate the launch of the DLC, we're putting out a mega patch for the base game! It's full of commonly requested quality of life improvements, as well as some bug fixes and changes we feel will improve the game!
Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus DLC is also out now!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2659380/Hydroneer_Journey_to_Volcalidus/
The Patch Notes
These changes apply to both the base game and DLC.
You do not need to purchase the DLC for these changes!Tip: If you're using mods, make sure you disable them! They'll cause the game to crash as they'll be outdated until the mod developers update them.
--- Changes
- New build-snapping while placing build items.
- Lighting is reworked. Shadows are now brighter, making it easier to see in the dark.
- Magnets now do not effect items in pans/buckets etc.
- Water Pipe and Logic Cable optimizations.
- Skip Save and Return to Menu button added to esc menu.
Vehicle Changes:
- Vehicle handling rework, all vehicles now handle better.
- Hydro Roller torque increased.
- A selection of vehicles now allow you to chose which side you exit on, depending on which way the camera is facing.
- Game now saves if the player is inside the vehicle when re-loading a save file.
Logic Changes:
- Added Logic Content Reader, which outputs the total liquid quantity in a Smelter / Ice Melter.
- Logic explosives and mini nuke slight changes to their voxel destruction, now has a ring around the surface.
Storage Changes:
- Coins/Tokens/Seed Bags/Dirt/Cut Veg now stack whilst they're stored by a Truck/Pan/Bucket/etc.
- Empty Soup Bowls can now be stored in pans/buckets.
- Crucible now no longer destroys resources that are entered into it if its already smelting a different type of resource.
- World Map can now be zoomed in on by pressing right mouse button.
- When 'freeplacing' (hold E while carrying items) and using the scroll wheel will now change the distance the item is from the player.
- Freeplacing a shard bar inside a vertical pressure tank is now easier.
- Carts are now wider to make it easier to store large items.
- Screenshot camera can now move faster.
- 'For the King!' quest now requires a shark, not a lobster.
- Added Angled Decorative Pole
Visual Changes:
- Improved outline highlight when looking at items.
- Reworked signposts around the island.
- Purchasing platforms have had a visual overhaul.
- World Map now indicates which direction the player is facing.
- FPS now defaults to 60 FPS instead of uncapped, which increases performance.
- Remodeled Items: Small Furnace, Camp Bed, Greenhouse Flooring, Brush.
- Retextured Items: Blacksmithing Hammer, Construction Mallet, Magnifying Glass, All Pickaxes, All Shovels, All Rakes, Saw, Decorative Pole, Fish Bucket, Fish Trophy, Grinding Wheel, Planter Box, Smelter, Build Windows, Funnel, Tool Rack, Rod Rack, Fancy Bed, Deer Trophy, Logic Button, Fancy Table, Basic Chair, Toolbag, Wall Lantern.
- Tables appearing in stores have reworked textures.
- Tooltips dynamically change size depending on its contents to prevent them from going off screen.
- Keybind tips now appear when entering vehicles.
Controller Changes:
- Controller vehicle movement reworked. Now uses triggers for forward/backward and thumbstick for turning.
- Controller remapped for vehicles.
- Added the ability to move the player camera closer/further away whilst in a vehicle and using a controller.
- Added ability to move building items closer/further away whilst placing them by tapping the R/L shoulder buttons on controller. (Like mouse scroll wheel)
- Increased the controller right thumbstick default sensitivity X axis by 2x.
--- Fixes
- Carrying pans / bucket / similar storage items, AND trucks will no longer heavily reduce frame rate when moving large amounts of items.
- Removed issue with tears appearing in diggable terrain.
- Removed issue with saves sometimes taking an extended time to complete.
- Optimizations on drills.
- Logic Saw Hook can now cut bars in both directions as intended, it also hooks properly.
- Items no longer fly in a random direction when removing them from the Hydro Quad (Thanks Roboticaust for finding the cause of this one!)
- When un-successfully stealing an item in the store, it'll no longer still appear in your hand whilst in screenshot camera or on vehicles.
- Logic Keypad will no longer forget what its outputting when its picked up.
- Logic Flip Hook now reads '000000000' as '0', and will flip it accordingly.
- Logic Keypad/Button no longer fails to work after loading if it was purchased on a pallet.
- Construction Hammer and Magnifying Glass no longer clips through the tool rack.
- Flight Cap no longer prevents Magnifying Glass or Gravity Wand from working.
More quality of life additions to come! Since its clear from our last Steam news post that players are really interested in some quality of life additions coming to the base game with our launch of the DLC, Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus, I wanted to feature some more of them i
More quality of life additions to come!
Since its clear from our last Steam news post that players are really interested in some quality of life additions coming to the base game with our launch of the DLC, Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus, I wanted to feature some more of them in today's vlog. There are many many quality of life changes and fixes coming to the base game on April 5th, but I've listed some more of our favorite things that we've been working on. Below is the dev vlog, with a full write up of everything I mention in the video below. Enjoy!
[previewyoutube=ULAjY-ZJoQ4;full][/previewyoutube]
Before I get into the content of the video, I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone who messaged with their support in the last news post here, we're a small team and making video games is hard. Seeing players excited about our work is a great feeling and something we really love to see.
Video Contents
Contains video spoilers - if watching videos if your thing, consider clicking the video above before reading this.
Intro
Add the DLC to your wishlist! Adding the DLC to your wishlist really helps us out as it tells Steam that people are interested in it, and it'll be pushed higher in the algorithm.
Quality of Life Changes
When the DLC launches on April 5th there will be a large patch that'll include these quality of life fixes and changes. This is on the base game and will be free regardless if you own the DLC or not. The following is a small selection of things that weren't previously mentioned. The patch itself contains lots more stuff.
Moving around with a pan full of thousands of resources will no longer lag.
Yep! We've done it. After some careful engineering we've found a way to remove the lag when carrying around thousands of resources.
*There may still be a tiny hitch when picking up the pan, and a larger hitch when pouring it out.
Moving around with a truck full of thousands of items will no longer lag.
Just like with the pan, if you're hauling an entire base worth of items, the game will no longer drop FPS while moving these in a truck.
Crucible no longer destroys ore of one type when melting a different type.
This one is a little tricky to word correctly, but picture this... If you've got a crucible full of melted gold and you pour iron ore in to it, instead of that iron ore being deleted, now the iron ore will just fall into the crucible and not delete. No more expensive mistakes!
Magnets no longer pull items that are stored in a pan/bucket.
If you're trying to clear up some mess with the Magnet-on-a-stick, when you're depositing items into a pan, they'll stick to that pan and not be attracted back to the magnet.
Freeplacing improvements!
Holding down the pickup/drop button while carrying an item (E by default), the item goes into freeplacing mode. We've improved this feature for this update with some un-janking. If you've ever placed a Shard bar into a vertical Pressure Tank, you'll struggle due to the collisions. This new improvement solves that problem! In addition to this, you can now use your mouse scroll wheel to move the item closer/further to you.
Vehicle Handling Improvements
We've reworked the handling for all vehicles in the game to improve their mobility. Less likely to roll over and easier to drive!
Dynamic Truck Exiting
When you're exiting a truck, you're now able to dynamically decide which way to exit. If you're looking to the right, you'll exit on the right, if you look to the left, you guessed it... You'll exit on the left!
Not only this, but if you're looking to the rear of the truck, you'll exit in the truck bed.
Lots more!
Be sure to check out the patch notes when the DLC launches on April 5th, there's a ton more quality of life and fixes we're adding to the base game!
Even more coming to the DLC!
Feedback From Testing
For the past few weeks we've been hosting a closed beta for the DLC. We've been using this opportunity to get feedback on balancing, what we could change, and what else to add to the DLC. We've had really good feedback so far with all our testers enjoying themselves. The main feedback take away is that 'It feels like the same game but in a totally new flavor'. We've made changes and additions based on the feedback we got from listening to our players.
Hauler Crane Needed Some Improvements
Testers found that the Lava Hauler (the very large vehicle which has a crane) needed to be buffed, so we made the crane able to extend very low to be able to place the huge heavy mining equipment at the bottom of dig sites.
Speaking of dig sites...
Feedback from players indicated that one more dig site would make the world feel more complete. We have to be careful about how many and how large these dig sites can be, as there's some pretty harsh technical limitations that we have to stick to with the technical side of terrain digging. From our research we have found that players tend to only use a maximum of 3 dig sites, so we feel that 6 is enough! We also didn't want to make dig sites for the sake of making dig sites - each one currently has their own personality, quirks, and benefits. If we were to add more we may lose sight of that. These dig sites are:
- Dawn Rest: The starter claim, think of this as your Ember Cradle of Volcalidus.
- Scoria Chamber: Like Mildews Aquifer. Dig down to get to lava!
- Cinder Footing: Sits proudly at the bottom of the volcano.
- Shattered Breach: Right next to Shattered Outpost, this is very close to the logic store and has a lava-duct running through it!
- Waterside: That's right... it's by the water! (not that you can use water in Volcalidus!), this is my personal favorite dig site as its situated in the middle of a few towns.
- Lumberton Bluff: The latest dig-site to be added to the DLC, this one sits right next to a town and has great views!
Another Goal!
Testers really wanted an expensive item to work towards when they've finished the main quests, steam achievements, and built up their dig sites! The Volcalidus Trophy is perfect for this, selling for a pricey 99,999 Scout Guild Tokens.
THE LAVA THAW!
Did you click on this post because of the cool concept art of the latest lava powered vehicle?! Well here it is, the Lava Thaw! It's a flamethrower wielding vehicle that is used to dig terrain! It has slots on the back for upgrade modules that allow it to dig deeper!
Snowball Fights.
We couldn't make a DLC set in a snowy land without snowballs! Find small piles of snowballs around the world to throw. You can even start snowball fights with NPCs!
Wishlist the DLC! It arrives April 5th for $10(USD)
We really hope you enjoy the QoL fixes to come, and the new DLC :)
- Max
This post is in response to the feedback from our previous announcement post for ‘Hydroneer - Journey to Volcalidus’ found here: Clarification on our recent announcement So it looks like I’ve missed the mark with expectations here. Hydroneer development started five years ago, wi
This post is in response to the feedback from our previous announcement post for ‘Hydroneer - Journey to Volcalidus’ found here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1106840/view/3976182006219913327
Clarification on our recent announcement
So it looks like I’ve missed the mark with expectations here. Hydroneer development started five years ago, with the goal of making an exciting sandbox experience that was unique, and different from other games on the market. I always prided myself on wanting to become a developer that wasn’t seen as “scummy”, and would do well to listen to the community surrounding Hydroneer. I have previously turned down offers from large publishers to take control over Hydroneer too, for the sake of keeping Hydroneer, Hydroneer.
Shortly after the 2.2 Prospecting Update release, I decided the next best route forward is to create a DLC - This was for a few reasons. Firstly, Hydroneer is something I am really passionate about and enjoy playing. I wanted to take the Hydroneer formula and drop it into a different setting, innovating on the systems it already had to create a separate gaming experience. For us to create the DLC, I set our goals to create a large expansion to the main game, and not just a small content update. When pricing the DLC, I decided $10 would fit the current theme of our pricing for Hydroneer ($15), which is to severely under-price Hydroneer. Since our 2020 release, game sales are starting to slow down, and by releasing a DLC we could increase our revenue to grow the team size to continue development on Hydroneer and explore other projects.
Lastly, I’d like to clear the confusion on a point regularly made on the previous Steam announcement: Hydroneer isn’t an early access game. We’ve been supporting it with free updates since its launch in 2020. It has never been listed as an Early Access game and has always primarily been sold as a $15 open-ended mining sandbox game. The 2.2 update was the icing on the top of our extra content releases. We want to continue to support the game with free patches and this DLC is just one way we can do that.
Changes and Fixes Coming to the Base Game:
The following is a list of interesting things that’ll be applied to the base game when the DLC launches. You will not need to own the DLC to get these changes. This list is not complete.
New build-snapping while placing build items.
Building items can be pretty annoying in Hydroneer, which is why we have implemented a new snapping system. Whilst placing an item, if you look at another placed item, it’ll offset what you’re placing to the corresponding side.
Lighting is reworked. Shadows are now brighter, making it easier to see in the dark.
Shadows in Hydroneer are quite dark and make it difficult to see when inside caves or at night. We’ve changed the way shadows/shade works in Hydroneer, which was a technical challenge to work flawlessly with the Day/Night cycle, and to not affect daytime brightness.
Water pipe and logic cable optimizations.
We’ve made some optimizations on water and logic cables. We’ve found some edge cases which hindered performance, as well as increased the baseline performance of these objects.
Coins/Tokens combine stack whilst stored.
Previously you were un-able to combine coins/tokens when they were stored in a truck/pan/bucket. This was due to them not having collision and thus not able to hit each other to combine.
Skip save and return to menu.
You guys asked for it, we’re adding it - a button on the ‘esc’ menu which allows you to return to the main menu without saving.
Tooltips dynamically change size depending on its contents to prevent them from going off screen.
Players using translations sometimes find that due to languages with longer words, sometimes names/descriptions trail off screen (We’re looking at you, Germany). This fix dynamically scales the box to fit all the text.
Improved outline highlight when looking at items.
The highlighting effect when looking at items has been reworked and looks crispier.
Keybind tips now appear when entering vehicles.
Some vehicles have multiple actions, these keybind tips appear in the corner of the screen and help players understand what actions require which key inputs.
Shard model reworked.
Shard models are sometimes problematic on conveyor belts. We updated the ‘hitbox’ of the shard to combat this, and figured we’d also remodel the shard.
New signposts.
We've reworked the signposts on the original island (Bastion). These sign posts are larger and easier to read, making traversal around the map a lot easier.
Screenshot camera can now move faster.
When capturing footage for the trailer, we noticed the Screenshot Camera was a bit slow, it can now move faster.
Gamepad controller improvements.
Firstly we calibrated the sensitivity with the controller, thumbsticks will feel better. We also reworked vehicle controller input, you drive using left/right triggers for acceleration and the thumbstick to turn now, which feels a lot better than before.
Logic fixes.
We noticed there were a few issues with logic, mainly the game not believing that 000000000 is the same as 0 when performing logic operations. We’ve fixed that.
This is just a selection of some of the fixes and changes that'll be released on the main version of the game when the DLC drops.
I'd like to finish off this post by thanking everyone for your patience, this has definitely shown me that I need to work on communicating more with the community at large in regards to future plans. I know everyone here wants what is best for the game, its evident to see by the responses we've seen since our last announcement, thank you.
- Max
Watch the Announcement Trailer / Dev Vlog here: Wishlist Now! Video Summary This contains spoilers for the video - New DLC coming to Hydroneer - Video covers a few features coming in the DLC - 6x the map size - $10 - Releasing April 5th - Separate island with its own progression:
This contains spoilers for the video- New DLC coming to Hydroneer
- Video covers a few features coming in the DLC
- 6x the map size
- $10
- Releasing April 5th
- Separate island with its own progression: Cannot take items/vehicles from main game island.
Lava Powered Machines
- Water has to be produced from Ice
- Ice appears towards the top of a claim, so strategy is involved to keep belts moving
- No more tiered drills, tiered stores instead
New Glade
- Large new town covered by a blue dome
- Assist the museum
- Rebuild stores to buy better tools
- Stores act as the main progression
Vehicles
- Vehicles are purchased from Mots Island
- Requires a ticket from the player-built ticket store to access
- Huge Hauler vehicle with a crane
- Picks up heavy items that players can't carry: Machines / Vehicles / Buff Stones
Buff Stones
- Currently un-named, looking for suggestions!
- Refined down to produce a stone for masterwork forging
- Applies random buffs to tools/machines (Pickaxe dig size/speed, Drill output size/speed)
- buffs can also be damaging
Changes to Base Game:
- Better build snapping
- Better visibility at night/in caves
- Game file size reduced
- And more!
Closed Beta
We host our all betas exclusively on Discord. This is due to it being a good platform to receive feedback, report bugs, show bugs to developers via screensharing / video posting / images. These betas are generally full of game-breaking bugs, so if you're not invited to participate, don't worry, you're not missing much! If you'd like to help us squash these bugs, you can join discord here.
