Dev Log 10
As more people are getting the chance to playtest, tons of great feedback continues to come in about the systems and gameplay. Thanks again to everyone that has been kind enough to participate in playtesting while providing their feedback.
Over the past week, I have implemented a lot of changes, a lot of new items, and a lot of performance tweaks to the engine. As usual, we'll look at the new stuff first.
Environment
Additional environment pieces are also being worked on and some have been added to the playtesting version of the game, as shown:
Home Base Drill
This is the entire reason that you were sent on this mission. Be the first to establish an operational drill for the mining colony to claim its rightful place on Mars. (picture in the header image)
The player will be responsible for slowly building up the drill over the course of the game. The completion of The Drill is going to be the target end goal of the game. Progress will be done through collecting various resources, researching new technologies, and unlocking items.
Weapon Upgrade Station
I have also been working on the environment quite a bit. The models for area debris from previous attempts by humanity to land someone on the surface, which always ended in disaster. But luckily for you, their ships and scrap parts are still left behind to salvage. You can find materials, weapons, tech, and some other surprises in their cargo containers.
Quickview Popup Window
I've added a new popup window for machines that automatically shows up when you are near the object. This hopefully will make it easier to see what a machine is currently making, how many items are queued up, and how many items have already been made, all without going into the menu!
It will also allow the player to pull items out or restock a machine without going into the menu.
UI Updates
With feedback and bugs coming in, I'm continuously working to fix and clean up any parts of the game that might be confusing for the player. A lot of the texts have been changed and hud elements re-arranged to better suit the initial tutorial phase.
I've also finished up on the harvester menu, which has been added into the playtesting build. This shows what each assigned Harvester Bot is doing and how far away they have wandered to get resources. You will be able to call them back in the middle of their harvesting activities if you need more of a resource.
Remember to join the Discord channel if you are interested in playtesting as I will continue to bring more and more people into playtesting as it gets more stable. I want to get all of the obvious bugs out of the way before more people get access so they don't have to worry about the common stuff.
Take care,
Jake