Another busy week of development.
Base Power System
I added the power system to the build over the last week. Most buildings, traps, and turrets require power to operate. They can be powered by Power Distributors or can run off of energy cells that can be placed in the machines. The power distributors give wireless power within a defined proximity of the building. These can be added as you expand your base. Home Base also acts as a power distributor that never runs out of energy. The other power distributors will require energy to operate which can be delivered via automation.
I also included a visualization mode that allows you to see how far the power reach for each power distributor is. Icons will show up above each powered object as well indicating if it is receiving power from the power distributors. This mode can be toggled on or off at any time.
Solar panels are also a good source of power that can be used either to store power and create energy cells or to inject more power into the power distributors for use.
Playtesting Continues
I am continuing to get feedback while moving through development with a few very generous playtesters. The playtest feedback has been positive and already a few big changes have been implemented that I feel are making the start of the game much better.
We also are starting playtesting with those that signed up last week (the ones that scheduled on the calendar).
Tech Tree
Another model that was finished this week was the Research Module Analyzer which allows you to start researching new technologies and unlocking more powerful stuff. It's the tech tree for unlocking Object Module Hacks, Equipment Hacks, Weapon Hacks, and other base object upgrades. More info on those soon.
Rock Node Harvester
The Rock Node Harvester has been implemented into the playtest build allowing for automated rock and material harvesting from resource nodes. So far the build only has rock nodes available for the resource gathering.
As the tech tree opens up and the game progresses, you will need to gather more advanced materials such as Niobium and LIthium. These won't be found only in nodes, but in harvestable fields as well. These fields can be harvested by Harvester Bots or Harvest Buildings.
And More Adjustments
With the playtesting going on, I've spent quite a bit of time fixing the initial round of bugs, crashes, and problems. Some can be found in the Release Notes at the bottom.
Once all of the power system and harvesting is implemented, the next step is the automation bots. Remember, these were already implemented a while ago but since changing the engine to a data-oriented design I have had to migrate those mechanics over. This has caused a lot of time in the development schedule but it has been worth it and there isn't much left to translate.
Check out the release notes below for more info on what has been changed, implemented, and fixed!
Until next week,
Jake
If you want realtime updates on the builds and the playtesting, please join the discord: https://discord.gg/EpmPSmd
v 0.16a - 4/7/21
Bug Fixes:
Fixed enemy attack paths so they do not traverse over extremely rocky areas.
Added:
Added more spawn points for the enemies.
Added Harvester Machine Panel with Automated Harvesting Bot. This is unlocked at Home Base Tier 5.
Add new Uniwheel Bot enemy to Home Base Tier 5 and on.
Added a spawn VFX for enemy spawns so that it is easier to identify where and when enemies spawn.
Added a VFX for Home Base when a transmission is taking place.
Changed:
Changed spawn rate of all enemies.
Changed pathfinding of non RVO enemies such as harvest bots. They now run on their own pathfinding algorithm separate from the enemies.
Changed physics on all enemies. Now they will receive a force with respect to the impact point relative to the center of mass on the object. Previously it only added force with respect to the direction and speed of the projectile.
v 0.18a - 4/9/21
Bug Fixes:
Fixed button icons displaying incorrectly behind button text.
Fixed a bug that caused the Material Processor machine not to upgrade upon loading a saved game.
Fixed a bug that caused the Material Processor machine and Craft Bench not to be powered up until the next wave on a saved game.
Fixed a bug that caused the Vertical and Diagonal ghost walls not to appear
Fixed a bug that caused enemies not to find a target to attack if their path to Home Base was blocked
Fixed a bug that caused the pathfinding graph to separate on a diagonal wall being placed against a vertical wall.
fixed a bug that caused the diagonal wall ECS collider to be incorrectly rotated.
Fixed a bug that caused enemies to run into the wall if no path was found.
Added:
Crash site environment props and pickups near Home Base
Added a particle effect on enemy drops to be more easily seen by the player
Changed:
Changed the mesh of the scrap pickups to be a piece of one of the enemy meshes.
v 0.18b - 4/10/21
Bug Fixes:
Fixed debug mode enabled
Added:
Added visual effect: selection base hologram outline when placing machines and buildings
Changed:
Changed the Energy Cells needed to initiate the second data transform from 10 to 5.
Changed the quantity needed to purchase the laser projectile turret of Servo Moto and Salvaged Wires from 40 to 25 and Iron Plate from 25 to 15.
Changed the quantity needed to purchase the bomb trap of Scrap Metal from 16 to 10 and Energy Cell from 10 to 6.
Changed the time to build item Scrap Metal from 5 seconds to 3 seconds.
Changed starting panels to player build panels