We’re really, really close to the launch of Techtonica’s Base Building update. Yes, we’re still slated to launch it next week. We’re working hard to make sure you have something new to enjoy in our game over the holiday break.
This will be the largest update we’ve dropped to-date, and it adds new narrative, intermediates, base building pieces, caves to explore, abandoned facilities and… the focus of this post… two new machines.
These dudes are explosive.
Ready to meet two new machines? Let’s dig in.
Say hello to the Blast Smelter and Blast Drill
*Slaps roof of the Blast Smelter* This baby can fit so many explosives.
The Blast Smelter and Blast Drill join the ranks with the Base Building update! These two new machines yield access to new intermediates and gameplay loops that we’ll discuss in today’s update.
But first? Some GIFs of each machine in action.
We’ll start with the Blast Smelter.
And now for the Blast Drill.
A strategic approach to fuel with consequences
As their names imply, both the Blast Smelter and Blast Drill utilize explosives in order to fire and harvest or create outputs. The Blast Drill, for example, is the primary machine for harvesting Iron, Copper, and Atlantum Chunks, a new intermediate that arrives with Base Building.
The funny thing about explosives? They blow things up. Groundbreakers will find a warning when they inspect both machines that indicates that, once the cooldown cycle is complete, these machines consume all explosive fuel in their queue to fire off.
If you don’t efficiently time your fuel supply lines for these machines, you will waste a lot of Mining Charges. To compensate for wasted explosives, we’ve made them cheaper and easier to make.
With the threat of consequence, we also introduce reward. Once upgraded, the Blast Drill will provide more raw resources per cycle as long as you’ve timed up your fuel lines correctly. The Blast Smelter can be upgraded, too, to produce more outputs per explosion cycle. However, you’ll need to make sure you’re timing your Mining Charges to match the listed cadence. Be careful, Groundbreaker!
The Blast Loop™️ is also a rewarding resource sink
Do we have plans for resource sinks? Yes! And they will be introduced as factory systems in Techtonica evolve through Early Access.
The Blast Machines and base building components arrive as two excellent resource sinks. You’ll make use of that limestone for base building parts with this update, and you’ll have a great dump for your Kindlevine and Shiverthorn farm surplus with the Blast machines.
These machines consume Mining Charges, and Mining Charges are an endless sink if you have the right farm system set up. We’ve found through our internal sessions that both systems have been a great sink for stuff we didn’t have much of a use for in v0.1.
This doesn’t mean that we’re skipping providing a more traditional resource sink in Techtonica. We have plans for that down the line, too; but, you should find your overwhelming piles of limestone and plant products alleviated with these new machines and loops.
The concept art for the Blast machines kinda rules
When Andrii, one of our designers, approached our art team about the Blast Drill, their immediate response was fantastic.
That evolved, of course, into some really cool drawings of how the Blast machines would function and look.
The Blast Drill would fire gnarly bits into the wall with explosive force.
The Blast Smelter would fire, simmer, and cool with smoke stacks and an exhaust on its top to keep from completely exploding.
That’s it for this week’s news! We’re still on pace to deliver the Base Building update during the week of December 18th (next week!). We’ll have the patch preview first, of course, and then we’ll deliver the update alongside a trailer showcasing a ton of what’s coming.
In the meantime, come join our Discord and hang out!