Hear ye, hear ye!
The wait is over: Update Two for The Crust is now live!
We're excited to announce the release of the Update 2 for The Crust, as well as the biggest discount for the winter sale — 45% off!
The update, dubbed “Update Two,” adds a whole new level of strategic depth. Learn more about the new gas system, auto trading, colonist upgrades, interplanetary flights, and other innovations in this news article.
Update Two Highlights
New gas harvesting system and gas-based production recipes
5 new production resources (in addition to 3 new gases)
Auto-trade mode for the Flight Control Center
New modules: Sagan Telescope, Medical Center, Launch Pad, sports and entertainment modules
Comfort, education, entertainment, and medical systems for colonists
Refactoring the colonist system, resulting in a significant increase in FPS
Hoverboards for colonists that speed up their movement outside the living area
New feature that allows you to choose where your colonists work
Loan system
Statistics system
New Big Truck
Ability to purchase complete modules on the market
Interplanetary contracts and missions
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Before you dive in, we’d like to highlight a few new features that weren’t included in the dev diary - we’re sure we’ve got something that will surprise you!
First, let’s take a look at the features we did announce previously but haven’t shown in action yet:
The Launch Station
Interplanetary contracts and missions are added to the game, for which you will need to build your own rockets, as well as maintain and refuel them at the Launch Station. In addition, the Launch Station can operate in an alternative mode—as a refueling station for rockets from other organizations.
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Autotrade mode for the Flight Control Center
Now, trading in produced resources can be fully automated—connect the conveyor to the control center, place your offer on the market, and sell goods at the best prices. No more need to track market prices.
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Gases
You’ll be able to extract gases not only at outposts! We’ve added gas deposits directly on your base’s surface. You can place a special extractor on them and then transport the collected gas through pipes to your storages and modules, for both the upper and lower levels.
Loan System
The bank loan system turns The Crust into a real business simulator. Now you can attract additional financing for your Moon factory. But choose your loan terms wisely, as late payments can lead to dire consequences.
Hoverboards for colonists
We’ve decided to teach colonists cosmic skateboarding outside the living area, helping them move faster to any work spot located beyond it. And of course, no more wasting precious oxygen on long walks to work!
Speaking of colonists, they’ve also learned to use entertainment modules - chairs, sofas, and more.
Medical Center
The medical center module now performs its direct function—it treats colonists and issues them portions of soma neurostimulants. Doctors and medicines are required for the module to operate.
A new module, the pharmaceutical laboratory, is now responsible for the production of medicines. Neurostimulants are also produced there, and pharmacists work there.
You already know that colonists get a boost to their learning speed after using fitness equipment, right? In addition, training on the Exercise Bike, Hoverboard Trainer, and Elliptical Trainer will give them the “Burst of Energy” effect, which increases their movement speed by 15–20% for 10 days.
Training colonists
We’ve also mentioned that colonists will be able to advance their qualifications in the Training Center and unlock special perks. But how does it look in action, you may ask?
Colonists gain experience by working in a specific profession, and once they’ve earned enough to level up their qualification, they’ll want to visit the Training Center. You’ll be able to choose a special perk for a colonist in their interface once they reach levels 5 and 10 in any profession.
Each colonist has their own bed
We’ve mentioned that colonists will claim their own bed, and here’s one more detail about this feature: if a colonist leaves on an expedition or travels to an outpost, their claimed bed will become available for others to use.
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Assigning colonists to jobs
We’ve already announced several QoL features in our recent dev diary - but wait, there’s more!
Many players have been asking, “How can I assign a colonist to a module?” or “Why isn’t this feature in the game yet?”
Your wishes have been heard, and we’re glad to announce that in the update you’ll be able to manually assign colonists to specific modules! It’s a small change that will give you much more control over your colonists - something many of you have been waiting for!
Other QoL improvements
Another colonists-related improvement is the ability to expand the window of Colonists Assignment to full screen. We also added an expanded tooltip for hovering over any colonist.
The Priority Mode is now easier to manage: when you enter it, you’ll see the priority levels of all your modules, and hovering your cursor over any of them will show how its priority will change when clicked.
Upgrading conveyors became even smarter! When selecting sections to upgrade while holding Shift, only conveyors of the same level will be upgraded. This means that if you have sections with different conveyor levels, the upgrade won’t affect them.
Broken modules will now have highlighted borders, making them easier to spot.
A small, yet handy new feature, is the highlight for locked storages that’ll help you to recognise them easier.
The Update Two also brings plenty of balance changes and fixes. Discover everything new in The Crust now!
Well, it seems like we didn't forget anything, so it’s time to dive into the new journey, don’t you think?
We wish you a smooth launch and unforgettable adventures!
Full Changelog
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Added
Argon, Methane, and Neon — gases that can be extracted at outposts using a Gas Extractor when a corresponding deposit is available.
Gas extraction from veins on the base, along with a dedicated Gas Extractor.
Unified gas storage network on your base.
Pipeline system for transporting gases across your base.
New research options for alternative production recipes that use gases.
5 new production resources: Plasteel, Transparent Aluminum, Neurostimulator, Supercapacitor, and Quantum Computer. Used in construction, trading, fulfilling contracts, as well as by colonists on the base and in story missions.
Manual colonist assignment to modules.
Colonist comfort system: they now claim a bed, prefer bedrooms and lounges separated from production areas, and feel better in rooms with plants and when using entertainment modules.
Colonists now lose comfort when eating while standing and gain less satiety, reduced from 7 to 5 per second.
Room beauty system with a visualization mode.
Kitchens, Cafés, and Bars now employ cooks who prepare food and drinks. The Café gives visitors a mood boost that lasts through the entire workday, and the Bar is a great place for relaxation and boosting team spirit.
A small chance of food poisoning for colonists while eating.
Additional food access slots for colonists in the Refrigerator and Vending Machine.
Colonists now use fitness equipment to boost learning speed, with the effect lasting 3–4 days.
Training on the Exercise Bike, Hoverboard Trainer, and Elliptical Trainer grants colonists the “Burst of Energy” effect, increasing movement speed by 15–20% for 10 days.
Hoverboard Trainer — a new training device for colonists that teaches them how to fly on a board.
Training Center — a module for further improving colonist qualifications and gaining special perks.
Pharmaceutical Factory — a module where colonists produce Medicine and Neurostimulators.
Medical Center — a module for treating colonists and using neurostimulators to increase work efficiency and relieve nervous breakdowns. "A gramme is better than a damn" :)
Hoverboards for colonists, used for moving outside the living area, significantly increase their movement speed.
Colonists can now use entertainment modules such as fitness equipment, computer desks, VR centers, sofas, and chairs.
Added a chance for colonists to get injured if a module breaks while they are working in it.
Monitoring and Statistics — a section with detailed charts for Credits, resources, buildings, CPUs, transport, and overall base capitalization.
3 new achievements.
Sagan Telescope — a large observatory where colonists generate all three types of Science Points.
Launch Pad — a module that works as a refueling station for rockets from other organizations, allowing automatic sales of fuel and energy cells. (Interplanetary contracts will be introduced in the next patch).
New Flight Control Center mode — Auto-Trade. This mode allows you to automate the sale of products delivered via conveyor lines. The success rate of deals depends on the price, offer volume, and your global reputation.
Truck with a trailer — a new vehicle with increased capacity, at the cost of lower speed and higher fuel consumption.
Market module purchase. Allows you to buy ready-made modules even if they haven’t been researched yet, and assemble a starting set of modules in sandbox mode with custom settings.
Loan system. A bank has been added to the game, offering loans with various terms depending on the player’s global reputation.
Mk.2 upgrades that double module recipes (Multi-Regolith Refinery, Rolling Mill, Smelting Furnace, Rare Earth Mineral Refinery, Carbon Fiber Plant, Smart Concrete Plant).
Improved Priority Mode. It now highlights all modules with high and low priorities, and when hovering over a module or resources on the ground, it shows their current priority and how it will change after clicking.
Smart conveyor upgrade: when selecting conveyor sections while holding Shift, only conveyors of the same level will be upgraded.
Quest Points of Interest now have a dedicated button that takes you directly to the target.
Tooltip when hovering over anomalies on the Orbital Map.
New research: rover scan upgrade that allows detection of anomalies.
New research options: increased Transport Cannon range, Truck with Trailer upgrades, +10% standard drone speed, +15% hauler drone speed, increased drone battery capacity, reduced fuel consumption for all truck types, increased efficiency of the Biogenerator and laboratories, upgrades for the Electrolysis Plant and Pharmaceutical Factory, and conversion of Science Points into Credits, upgrades to science labs and kitchens. Research that unlocks new features such as hoverboards, gas equipment, large trucks, etc.
The amount of resources required for Laser Cannon construction now depends on the selected difficulty.
Energy cells and new resources are now required to build the Laser Cannon.
Laser Cannon construction stages are now numbered in the quest title and at the beginning of the Point of Interest description.
Warning message before starting the Laser Cannon construction quest.
Broken module highlighting.
Single Regolith Refinery color change when selecting a recipe, similar to the Smelter.
New contracts for Rare Earth Elements, Control Units, and new resources.
Colonist management menu can now be expanded to full screen.
Extended colonist tooltip in the management menu.
Notification when the Mobile Drilling Rig is full.
Red indicator light for closed storage exits.
Button to enable or disable a profession for all colonists at once.
The depleted vein notification now moves the camera to it when clicked.
Added new images for the drone sale Point of Interest and the Orbital Station Crash quest.
New icons for outpost modifiers.
Evacuation confirmation message when recalling colonists from an outpost.
Color indication in module panels if an input resource is overfilled.
Added an option in the game settings to enable light around the cursor.
Added organization logos.
“Insufficient funds” tooltip added to Science Points and Transport purchase sections.
Tooltip for late-game events in sandbox mode with custom settings.
New loading screen images.
Encyclopedia hints on the loading screen.
Added a display of active contract flights in the Flight Control Center and Landing Platform interfaces.
Laboratories now generate Science Points based on colonist efficiency, which is determined by their condition and skill level. - Tooltip showing resources stored in the intermediate storage of the Flight Control Center and the Expedition Center.
Light indicators for the inputs of the Flight Control Center.
Tooltip indicating that a storage is locked when the minimum stock is set to maximum.
A quest related to the Gas Extractor and a small quest about purchasing ready-made modules.
Subtle highlighting for resources on conveyor belts.
Tooltip showing the conveyor level when clicking on it.
Market dynamics: as the player’s base develops and the number and volume of operations increase, market volume and prices change, competition intensifies, and margins decrease.
Fixed
Fixed a bug that prevented building light and heavy vehicles, as well as probes.
Fixed a bug where resources obtained from dismantling modules could not be transported from outposts.
New points of interest are no longer generated, territory probes cannot be launched, and expeditions cannot be sent while the Repeater is offline.
Finally filled the hole under the Repeater on the crater hill in the tutorial mode.
Fixed a bug where an idle truck could not be assigned to a route.
Fixed the conveyor connection tile in the Rare Elements Processor, making conveyor connections more convenient.
Fixed Spanish and Polish localizations.
Fixed a bug where save-load resets truck routes.
Fixed a bug where demolishing an outpost Living Block without colonists still triggered a rescue capsule.
If an outpost has no sources of Science Points, it will no longer be possible to build a Science module there.
Fixed a bug where switching between surface and underground levels caused the monthly report notification to reappear.
Fixed a bug where removing module holograms could result in negative CPU values.
Fixed a bug where selecting a broken module displayed the upgrade button from the previously selected module.
Fixed a bug where global reputation was not awarded after completing a contract.
Fixed a bug where the Transport Cannon did not launch a probe until you looked at it.
Fixed an issue where the quest interface overlapped with the probe launch interface.
Fixed colonist face rendering.
Fixed regolith wall rendering.
Fixed a bug preventing Ice Harvesters from being selected after returning to base.
Fixed an issue related to colonist evacuation from outposts.
Fixed a bug where Distributor direction arrows could highlight incorrectly.
Fixed a visual bug on large capsule engines.
Optimization
Refactoring of the colonist system, which significantly improved FPS when there are large numbers of personnel on the base.
Changed
Removed unused professions from the colonist management menu.
Adjusted sizes of the holographic table and cabinet.
Updated description of the drone sale Point of Interest and slightly changed its position.
Updated descriptions and icons for several modifiers.
Removed foundations from some living-area modules.
Improved models of the Training Center and the Pharmaceutical Factory (formerly the Medical Block).
Changed sorting when selecting a recipe in the Regolith Refinery.
Adjusted starting mining module placement in underground story mode.
Improved general flat storages, added new resources.
Changed output positions for the Multi-Regolith Refinery.
Improved visibility of outpost scanning effects.
Matched modifier icon colors with anomaly colors.
Adjusted anomaly colors on the Orbital Map.
Added color indication when a module’s input is overfilled.
When assigning an empty truck to an outpost via right-click, the outpost now becomes the starting point, not the destination.
Changed the outline color of the mining drone in excavation mode.
Reduced payment received sound volume.
Removed capsule arrival sound from sandbox mode with custom settings.
Laboratories now generate science points based on the efficiency of the colonists working there, which depends on their condition and skill level. Previously, each colonist produced a fixed amount of science.
Changed the shape of the tiles in the Modular Terminals Factory.
Adjusted the transparency of probes queued for production in the Transport Cannon.
Slowed down the animation of credit gains and spending.
Updated the main menu appearance.
Dining tables are now unlocked with the Kitchen research.
Slightly reduced the size of the Flight Control Center.
Improved sorting of the decorations section in the build menu.
Slightly increased the size of all resources by 3–5%.
Changed the operating sound of the Smelting Furnace.
Changed the trigger condition for the Repeater cutscene.
The Data Processing Node has been moved to the engineering research branch.
Balance
Increased the speed at which the hauler drone collects resources from the ground.
The additional fee of the Landing Platform has been adjusted. At the start of the game it is 950 Credits; after building the Flight Control Center, it increases to 1650; and after constructing the Large Vehicle Assembly Facility, it rises to 2950.
Increased Fundamental Science Point requirements for several late-game researches.
Rebalanced colonist salaries, with an average increase of 110–180 Credits.
Reduced colonists’ starting skill levels by an average of 1–2 levels.
Increased the average colonist sleep duration by 15%.
Added new resources required for repairing high-tech modules and to the construction cost of vehicles.
Increased the construction cost of the Flight Control Center and the Expedition Center; Transparent Aluminum and Plasteel have been added to the requirements of the former.
Rebalanced construction costs of the Flight Control Center, Expedition Center, Cargo Dock, Small Vehicle Assembly Facility, and Large Vehicle Assembly Facility by increasing Steel requirements.
Reduced the construction cost of resource probes.
Rebalanced production costs of drones, trucks, anomaly probes, and bunk beds.
Rebalanced costs of probes and drones: Composite has been replaced with Plasteel.
Increased construction time in the Small Vehicle Assembly Facility from 25 to 40, and in the Large Vehicle Assembly Facility from 45 to 50.
Increased base prices of Microcircuits from 1500 to 1550 and Nanotubes from 1150 to 1175.
Reduced base prices of Silicon from 63 to 62 and Carbon Fiber from 800 to 775.
Increased prices of Carbon Fiber from 850 to 900 and Fuel from 400 to 430.
Reduced Fuel weight for capsule transport from 40 to 35.
Reduced market volume for Components from 450 to 400 and Microcircuits from 400 to 375.
Reduced Components weight from 50 to 45.
Increased weight of Modular Terminals from 60 to 65, Control Units from 80 to 100, and Energy Cells from 30 to 50.
Production and large modules now wear out more slowly.
Increased oxide mining speed by drill drones, cycle time 10 -> 8.
Increased drill drone upgrade speeds 8 -> 5 -> 3.
Reduced wear rate of the Components Factory from 0.26 to 0.24 and the Microcircuits Factory from 0.28 to 0.27.
Reduced research costs for Recycling from 6200 to 5400, the Microcircuits Factory from 10800 to 9800, as well as some starting research and upgrades for all storages and bulk storages.
Increased the research cost of the Hi-Tech Factory.
Rebalanced upgrade costs for the Ice Extractor and some research in the social branch.
Rebalanced costs of some research in the fundamental branch, making access to the Cargo Dock, Transport Cannon, and territory probes easier.
Increased starting Credits in Story Mode: Easy 150k -> 200k, Medium 120k -> 150k, Hard 100k -> 120k, Very Hard 80k -> 90k.
Increased starting number of components in Story Mode by 2–3 units.
Increased resource rewards for the “Shard of Hope” and “RW45” Points of Interest.
Increased base standard drone speed 550 -> 600.
Reduced drone speed bonus from Nitinol Wheels research 150 -> 100.
Adjusted vehicle speed balance.
Reduced total anomaly generation 4000 -> 3500 points.
Increased wall and floor construction speed by drones by 15%.
Increased overall module construction speed by 25%.
Reduced Flight Control Center storage capacity 64 -> 16.
Reduced base food capacity at outposts from 300 to 250.
Reduced Large Battery capacity from 500,000 to 400,000.
Reduced base capacity of the Truck from 4000 to 3000 and the Mobile Drilling Rig from 14000 to 12000.
Reduced Refrigerator storage capacity: food from 180 to 120, organics from 360 to 240.
Reduced the amount of water ice in starting veins by approximately 15%.
Rebalanced some contracts.
Reduced capsule delivery times to Earth.
Removed contracts requiring slag delivery to Earth.
Increased capacity and rewards of “Aurora” contracts by 50–100%.
Increased CPU requirements for all units by 1–2.
Increased Repeater power consumption from 30 to 65.
Reduced organic growth time on the Hydroponic Farm from 500 to 450.
Slightly reduced the total number of contracts for all organizations.
Increased inflation of Science Point prices in the CRUST Solutions shop after researching mid- and late-game technologies.
Rebalanced the curve of contract profit reduction based on the player base’s CPU.
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