This is the first of several development updates I will be making concerning 6.0, the next major update for Mindustry. While the information below is not a comprehensive list, you'll see highlights of what I've been working on for the past few months.
Current Progress
Planets & The Campaign
Instead of taking place on a few preset areas, the campaign will now take place on sectors of planets. While most of these sectors will have procedurally generated terrain and bases, a few will consist of handmade maps - these will be edited versions of the old campaign maps.
The mechanics of sectors are currently under heavy development, but the basic idea is that each region can be conquered and used to generate resources. These resources can then be distributed to other sectors, for use in research or in building additional bases to attack the enemy from.
Units
Control
Instead of being ordered indirectly by command centers, units will be able to move under the direct command of players - either individually, or as a formation around a commander unit.
"Mech pads" will no longer exist as a concept, since players can build and control units instead.
The player is able to take control of any unit or turret on their team. When not controlled by a player, a unit will revert to normal AI behavior, like moving toward and/or attacking nearby targets.
Certain units have the ability to command groups of other units in formation. All units in the formation will attempt to stay in the same position relative to the leader, and shoot at the same target. Currently, a player can command a formation by switching to specific unit type and pressing a "command" key.
Note that the formation system is still in its very early stages, and far from finished,
Production
In 6.0, individual unit types will no longer require dedicated blocks. Instead, unit factories are split into 2-3 blocks by type (air, ground, etc). These factories can produce several different "tier one" units, selectable by the player.
To produce higher tier units, factories must move their units into Reconstructors, which can upgrade units to higher tier types. For example, a Dagger unit made in a Ground factory can be put into a specific reconstructor to upgrade it to a Fortress unit.
Shown here is the chain of reconstructors required to upgrade a Wraith unit into a Reaper (boss-level) unit.
New Unit Mechanics
Some new unit types will be introduced. These include:
Carrier units, which can pick up and drop units (and perhaps even blocks);
Walker units, which posses multiple legs and can damage buildings by walking over them;
Note that the unit shown is just a prototype that uses the Eradicator body.
Naval units are being considered as well, but it's not clear if they'll be coming in this update yet.
Basic AI
When enabled in the rules, drones of the enemy team(s) will be able to build basic defenses in Attack mode. This AI works by utilizing a database of schematics and placing structures in locations that fit certain requirements.
It does not try to collect resources into the core like the player - while all its turrets and production blocks do need resources to function, it "cheats" by ignoring block build costs. This may be changed in the future, but for now, making a true AI that could play a competitive game with a player without cheating is simply too difficult to implement.
QoL Features
Transport blocks now display the flow rate of items/liquids passing through them.
A toggleable overlay displays the state of machines (operational, missing resources, or blocked).
Core colors now reflect their team color.
Schematics save message block and power node state.
New Content
Plastanium Conveyors
These conveyors transport items in stacks, resulting in very high throughput.
Most of the code and sprites for Plastanium conveyors was contributed by Quezler on Github.
Point Defense Turrets
These turrets damage and destroy incoming projectiles. Energy weapons (such as lasers) are ignored.
Various Upgraded Blocks
Also coming in 6.0 are upgraded versions of the Overdrive Projector, Silicon Smelter and Separator.
Release Date?
While many of the features mentioned here are already usable, 6.0 is very far from being complete or playable. There is still much to implement, including a logic system, new research mechanics and a full implementation of the planet sector system.
There is no deadline set for release - with the amount of features to be added, final release of 6.0 may take up to a year.
Keep in mind that all of the features shown here are subject to significant change before final release.