7.0, an update that has been in development for more than 1.5 years, is finally here.
As with earlier major updates, there are too many changes to list in a single post - these are just the highlights.
The Erekir Campaign
- An entirely new planet, with its own tech tree, units and blocks
- 100+ new blocks to research
- Significantly more streamlined and linear then the Serpulo campaign
- No procedural sectors, only 17 larger hand-made maps, with optional sectors to be added later
- Attack fully functional enemy bases with smarter, dynamic unit AI
New Units
- 15 new units to research and construct on Erekir; 5 new naval support units on Serpulo
- A new payload-based unit construction system for higher tiers
- A new class of tank units
- A new variant of insectoid walkers
- Hovercraft units with unique weapons and abilities
New Production Blocks & Turrets
- 10 new turrets on Erekir
- Missile launchers, lasers and artillery with unique firing patterns and animations
- A new heat system for powering or boosting certain blocks
- An entirely new resource production tree
- Power production utilizing new liquids, items and terrain
- Two new reactors with their own "meltdown" mechanics
New Transportation
- Ducts, a higher-throughput transport block
- Directional bridges with no configuration
- Routers with 3 output directions, no backflow, and sorting capabilities
- Drone item transport for long-distance delivery
- Payload mass drivers for shooting units or containers across points
- Orthogonal beam nodes as a different way of transferring power
New Unit Controls
- Units can now be selected and commanded to positions or enemy targets, similarly to other RTS games
- Formations have been removed - simply select units instead
- Command centers have been removed - as a replacement, select all factories (shift+h) or all units (shift+g) to command them all to a point
- Serpulo support units now have several "modes" depending on capabilities - repair, mining, rebuilding, and player following/assisting
- While this system is still quite primitive, more features (hotkeys, waypoints, etc) may be added later
Conclusion & the Future of Mindustry
Overall, this has been - in terms of raw new content and mechanics - the largest update in Mindustry history. It has taken more than a year to complete, and turned into quite the ordeal.
I'll be blunt: This game has been under development for more than 5 years now, with the updates getting bigger and bigger every time. I am feeling rather burnt out after this update, and I don't think I will be able to implement anything beyond "maintenance" for a while - a few months, at least.
I will still be interested in providing bugfixes and minor QoL changes to Mindustry. I do not plan on "ending updates" anytime soon, but right now, I need a break from any sort of significant content development.
There are still a few loose ends in the Erekir content. Those of you who have dug through the game files will know that there are several unused liquids, items, blocks and units. These may be expanded upon with future updates... eventually. I can't give any timeframe for when this will happen.
In the meantime, there is still plenty of community content in the form of new side-maps that can be inserted into the campaign.
Special thanks to the community members who helped create maps for use in the campaign:
- Mechanicalfish
- ThatOneBepis
- hhhi17