Hi Everyone,
We have another exciting update to share with you all that takes us two steps closer to completing our 2022 Roadmap.
New Contract Type
To show off the new contract type we must first show the Cargo Unit Mailing Gun:
This piece of equipment accelerates special Cargo Units to liquefying speeds before releasing them along programmable vectors to arrive at their destinations quickly, but not economically. For the new contracts that just cannot wait for the “traditional” methods or require a… “high impact”… delivery.
This is all unlocked via the “Special Contracts”.
Memory Modules and Vectors
This update brings the very versatile addition of Memory Bay and Memory Drives.These come in two variants, The Raw Memory Bay and The Vector Memory Bay. The Raw Memory Bay lets you read or write up to 1024 different 16 bit values to a single drive. The Vector Memory Bay lets you read or write up to 128 different vectors to a single drive.
With the Cargo Unit Mailing Gun you will need to set outbound vectors for the Cargo Units. To do this you download the contract vectors onto a drive using the memory bay next to the main computer and then insert the drive into a Vector Memory Bay to read the values directly into the direction vector of the Cargo Unit Mailing Gun control box.
You could use the Vector Memory Bay to store your ships position, and feed it back into the custom target of your ships navigation to use as a waypoint/beacon system. The possibilities are endless, let us know what you end up making with these new modules.
These Modules are unlocked and rewarded as part of the Special Contracts.
New Space Hazard
For the companies that care more about economical (and cheap) delivery the standard Cargo Units are fitted with a micro thruster. Their short burn away from the station sets them to drift out of the belt to the waiting Cargo Unit Collectors for transport to their final destinations. While wonderful, these Cargo Units do not have collision sensors and even though their outbound vectors were clear on departure you do not want to find yourself in the way of these moving space hazards!
Updated Radiation Damage
We’ve revised the radiation damage system so that only components which are actively powered can be damaged by radiation/high energy particles. This allows you to be more creative in how you mitigate incoming damage and we’ve also added two new modules, the Large Redundant Power Supply and the Small Redundant Power Supply. These radiation shielded modules allow you to set up backup power routes for your critical modules and ship systems.
These modules are unlocked via the “Special Contracts” and combined with the unlockable plans for upgrading your Magnetosphere will allow you to push out into the richer parts of the belt.
Community Feedback
We have been listening intently to the feedback the community has been giving. Below is the full changelog but before we go we want to say a big thankyou to everyone who submitted their feedback.
Until Our next update, stay warm out there!
I Fetch Rocks Team
Changelog
- Rebalanced contract reward pricing
- Revised damage system so that only powered components are damaged by radiation
- Reduced hull damage caused by radiation
- Added self delivery cargo mechanic to processing plant
- Added rapid cargo delivery mechanic with the Cargo Unit Mailing gun
- Added new cargo delivery missions
- Added new Memory Bay and Drive modules
- Added new Shielded Small and Large Redundant Power Supplies
- Added new single button device
- Added new single switch device
- Updated the 3 button device to have 4 buttons
- Added new lock mode options
- Added radiation death explanation with hints about using the magnetosphere
- Fix PAD error when attempting to view technical manual of certain devices
- Fix keyboard buttons sometimes staying highlighted
- Added notification to pad when rewards are given for completing contracts.