Hey there, Georgii from Luden.io here! Lots of new stuff has been introduced to Learning Factory since the last time we presented these humble Dev Diaries to you. With no further ado, let's get to all the awesome things you can play around with right now!
Blimp My Ride!
Cat Zeppelins is a feature we're particularly proud of because it was suggested by our community. Our awesome players are legitimately participating in the development, submitting ideas, and partaking in many creative brainstorms on our Discord server and in Steam discussions. But let's get back to those Cat Zeppelins!
In short, those elegant, AI-driven airships provide an alternative means of transferring items between different parts of your Factory. They operate a bit slower than regular Transporters (although there's a speed-increasing upgrade for them), but they are not restricted by landscape obstacles (and, you know, spaghetti-styled Transporter layouts). They can work like a miracle in the late stages of the game when you need to transfer crafting resources between different biomes on the opposite edges of the map.
There are Zeppelins carrying a single item or two types of items at once. They travel between dedicated Docks and you can create all kinds of routes and subroutine profiles in the Monument. Oh, and you know what? You can research a special kind of Zeppelin to work under the ground. Because, seriously, why not!?
It's All About Nature
A rather surprising thing we've noticed about our players: cultivating plants is fascinating in Learning Factory! Picking up growing plants, putting them into the ground next to each other to shape neat harvestable fields - apparently, some of our players turned out to be rather committed gardeners! The only problem was the growth rate: although Martian plants grow way faster than their earthling kin, it still takes dozens of minutes (especially if you plant them in the wrong biome or soil type). Enter the Fertilizer! It significantly boosts the growth rate, allowing you to start shaping your personal garden on Mars very early on in the game. And when you establish the production of some basic resources, make sure to research and build a Compost Machine, that will produce Fertilizers automatically:
Exit Through The Cat Gate
Where do cats come from when they emerge on your Factory? Where do they go after they have finished their business? Science fails to answer this question as of now - mainly because of the well-known fact, that cats are liquid. Do they go to Earth? To another galaxy? To a parallel dimension? Take a pick, any option is highly likely to be true (and none of them is your business, according to the I.L.L.U.M.I.N.A.T.I. official statement).
Anyway, there now is an option to safely (and automatically) remove certain cats from the Factory: just make sure to research an Exit Cat Gate upgrade! If you don't need cats of particular consumption habits, you can just send them back to… well, wherever they came from. Just take notice that this will decrease the overall Hype levels: because cats do not forgive. Also, keep an eye on your slippers in case someone, you know, soils them. Purely accidentally.
Quality Control!
Another important feature probably does not look like a game changer for now, but it surely will do soon enough! Quality of items is one of the important mechanics that we had in mind from the very beginning. The idea is that some items will behave differently when sold to cats or used otherwise. One example that we have already introduced in the latest update is Wood. From now on, Fir Trees give Wood of better quality. When sold to a cat, it increases the probability that this cat will tell their friends about your Factory, thus increasing the overall attendance. Of course, you can use it for regular crafting, but that would probably be a waste of fine Wood.
Later on, higher quality products will be used in alternate crafting recipes to make the game deeper.
Re: Style
Last time it was just the key art and some quick fixes in the trailer, but by now, Sergei the artist has finished his magnificent work, which makes the game look more adventurous. Here're some old vs. new pieces:
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We can't possibly cover all the changes in the game in one humble post: there are new upgrades, 2 new Splitters, and Halloween decorations… If you're following our Steam updates closely, you probably know all about them. But if not… That might just turn out even better for you: simply load Learning Factory and you'll see a whole new game, deeper, enriched with new mechanics, and better than ever before! And the future only looks brighter for Learning Factory engineers. Until we meet again! Glory to science!
P.S. If you want to keep an eye our progress closer, don't forget to follow Learning Factory on our Steam page and never miss an update again!
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How to Get More Involved
Going to Early Access is but the first step to glory (and eternal cat happiness). Wanna be part of what happens next? Head to this blog post and learn how to help make the game even more awesome!
Share Your Gameplay and Become Part of KOTOVOD History
Learning Factory needs your help! Record a 10 or more minutes of you playing the game, share a video using any way you see fit, write your name into Learning Factory credits and get a promo cat! Make history here