You better grab your aprons, equip your homemade gas guns, and start working up an appetite, because it’s time for another update!
In this update, we’ll be revisiting the barren deserts of Cyclonia, talking about the weather (everyone’s favorite topic), and introducing a few new mechanics that we’re sure will make your transition to an interstellar lifestyle even smoother.
Over the summer, we’ve been cooking up a storm (Quite literally. We don't recommend bringing an umbrella). Here’s the cosmic scoop on what we’ve achieved in the past two months.
Of Maps, Monsters, and Meteor Craters
Cyclonia has gone through a lot of changes and innovations since our original Kickstarter demo, which we’re very excited to share with you!
The full planet map has now been implemented, but will be shrouded in a fog of war. Or should we say a fog of please-explore? (Nailed it).
Every step you take, every move you make…will be tracked by unknown cosmic forces and result in a Location Discovered pop-up. Every time you find a new location, you’ll earn precious XP! That XP will automatically be sprinkled onto your Exploration skill, so you’ll be a well-seasoned space-traveler in no time.
But all of this exploration would be nothing without strange and horrifying alien creatures to meet with (and possibly make meat out of)!
From sentient cacti to two-headed snakes, Cyclonia is now rich with life. All of the local wildlife has now been added to the planet, so you’ll never be short of creatures to study, hunt, and run away from.
Each creature has its own unique behaviors, with some being nocturnal and some being diurnal. That’s a very fancy way of saying that some come out at night and others come out during the day. Don’t even ask us what crepuscular means.
We’ve also added a feature where special and legendary creatures will only spawn once you’ve reached a certain level, so you’ll have to up your game if you want to take down big game.
Alongside the biodiversity, we wanted to really spice up the terrain on Cyclonia, so we’ve dotted meteor craters, hot springs, natural bridges, and spaceship wrecks to give you that added sense of life-endangerment.
It’ll also allow you to climb to higher parts of the map, where you’ll find the Hornagle and their notoriously delicious eggs. We’ve heard they make an omelet worth dying for (which we’re sure will make for a comforting final thought when the Hornagle mother is eviscerating you).
From Gas Planets to Windy Planets, a History of Far Out Flatulence
Remember when we made that joke earlier about “literally” cooking up a storm?
It’s finally time for the punchline!
From calm skies to raging sandstorms, we’ve introduced a weather system to Cyclonia. After all, everyone knows that the real key to developing a chef’s delicate palette is to constantly have a mouth full of sand. Certain areas of the map will also feature strong winds, which will challenge your navigational skills (and leave you wondering what kind of diet the locals have adopted to produce such an…explosive breeze).
Not in Your Element
You might think that rigid and dogmatic Health & Safety laws wouldn’t apply in the vast expanse of space.
And you’d be wrong!
Introducing our new elemental warning system. These handy symbols are designed to let you know key things about your current environment, such as when you’re overheating or when you’ve found yourself in a space station that has no oxygen. In retrospect, we realize that last one might be somewhat redundant, since by the time you’ve seen the no oxygen warning you’d already have, you know, suffocated…
Whenever the player enters an area with elemental hazards, the warning symbol will start to fill up. If you leave it for too long, it will begin flashing in a way that’s totally not stressful or anxiety inducing. Once the symbol is full, the player will start losing health and stamina. The only way to combat this is to either leave the area, which will result in the symbol slowly disappearing, or through the medium of…
Fashion!
Who needs to worry about subzero temperatures when you’ve got a nice coat?
Over time, you’ll be able to unlock elemental wearables, such as the Explorer’s Hat that will shield you from the blazing Cyclonian heat. This won’t remove the danger entirely, but will help you to withstand these elemental hazards for longer. If your budget doesn’t extend to the season’s latest trends, there will also be perishable items you can use to help with your weather woes. For example, eating Frostberries will cool you down (and have the added bonus of giving you perpetual brain freeze so you’ll have no energy left to think about how overheated you are).
If you’re fashion-less and Frostberry-less, however, there’s no need to panic. You’ll still be able to use food items to restore any health that you’ve lost as a result of elemental hazards. That being said, the last thing you want to do is end up munching all of the ingredients you risked your life to harvest!
Introducing (Un)Civil Ships
We’ve made a few tweaks to the various spaceships you can find (for a small fee) throughout the universe, so they all handle slightly differently.
But what about the space-faring public?
You’ll now encounter civilian ships as you navigate through the vacuum of space. Just in case the ship design and engine exhaust doesn’t immediately give it away, you’ll be able to tell which direction they’re going in based on the trails behind them, so you can easily move out of their way (or stalk them, we won’t judge).
If you happen to get in their way, there’s a chance they will honk at you, and they may even make a witty comment as they drive by. If you crash into them, they will certainly have something to say about it, so all the more incentive to collide with your neighbors and see what hilarious commentary they will make as they are engulfed in the fiery wreckage of their beloved spaceship.
Also, as you become more famous, the chances increase that people will actually say something really nice to you.
Don’t Just Pass Gas, Harvest It!
When you’re not busy crashing into the locals of Rusty Town, you’ll probably want to harvest the vast array of delights that space has to offer.
That’s why we’ve added some handy tools, so you can extend mankind’s desire to aggressively sap vital and limited resources into the final frontier!
The drill has been updated, so you can harvest precious rocks and minerals from a total of nine different asteroid types with ease, if you got the right drill that is. We’ve also added the gas skimmer, which will sap various types of gas straight from the atmosphere and into your inventory. It’s a tool that is sure to come in handy, whether you’re traveling through a gas cloud or simply dealing with the fallout of a bean binge.
But why should you want to be all gassed up?
Because gas is a very valuable resource! For example, carbon dioxide will add the fizz to your soft drinks, while propane can be used to fuel your grill. Or guns, but we don't recommend that. Unless you're a very violent person.
Please Don’t Bite the Hand that Feeds
Are you one of those people who could spend hours feeding the ducks at their local park?
Then we’ve got just the mechanic for you!
Except the park is a dangerous otherworldly planet, the food requires hours of strenuous labor to harvest, and the ducks are colossal extraterrestrial creatures with teeth the size of your head.
So why should you be risking your life to give these alien beasts a snack?
While they’re distracted, you’ll be able to harvest valuable ingredients from them, such as the turthats shown on the back of the Turtosaurus (shown above) or the deliciously vague substance known only as “cream.”
Warp-Speed Deliveries: Unlock the Power of The Ring Gates
When you’ve just received an order from the Inner Zone but you’re all the way out in the Far Zone, how are you ever going to make the delivery in 8 minutes or less?
With the help of portals, of course!
These portals will start off disabled, but will be activated as part of a key NPC quest. Once you’ve discovered all 4 portals, you’ll be able to navigate across the galaxy with ease!
Made to Order
To encourage players to serve a wide variety of delicacies, rather than just the same recipes over and over, we’ve added a special order mechanic!
These special orders will be unlocked once you reach a certain level, so you won’t be challenged too early on in your culinary journey. But what makes these orders so special?
The tricky thing is that the special order is always something that you don't have on your menu, you’ll get an extra whole 5 minutes of time, which should allow you to hunt down the new ingredients, cook up the new recipe, and deliver to the hungry customer. Sounds easy right? If you rise to the challenge, you’ll receive twice the reputation and double the amount of money as you would get from a normal order. That’s double the reward, double the fun, and double the increase in blood pressure!
Keep Your Tongue on the Trends
You know what’s so hot right now?
No, no you don’t. But you will, with the help of your handy radio!
Once you get past a certain level, you’ll also unlock tips for all the trendiest treats. Every week, you’ll be informed by a random NPC via radio about that week’s trending food item. Much like Special Orders, if you accept and fulfill orders for that week’s trending recipe, you’ll receive double reputation and double the money. Now you’ll be able to carry on the grand corporate tradition of exploiting customers’ fear-of-missing-out in exchange for cold, hard cash.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this latest update, but there’s still plenty more to come.
Stay tuned on your space radio for our next transmission. In the meantime, we’d like to once again thank all of our backers for their ongoing support and we hope you’ll forgive us for making so many fart-based jokes in this update. We promise we’ll hold them in next time!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1272290/Space_Chef/
Want to keep up-to-date on the latest cosmic cuisine? 🍲
Then don’t forget to mosey on over to our Discord to shoot the breeze with us and follow our exploits on social media at @SpaceChefGame 💬
