TOOLS AND WEAPONS REFACTOR
We changed almost all the tools and weapons to a new underlying system of code that allows the PQRV changes to occur (see the next section for details on PQRV). This allows us to make changes and improvements in the future much more easily than before, but it also lets us get rid of most of the “TAB to switch modes” gameplay that confuses new players so much.
Because of this, a bunch of tools have been broken down into multiple tools.
Terraformer is now three tools:
Terraformer: Extracts minerals and actively scans for resources.
Depositor: Takes resources from your inventory and puts them into the world.
Chronophaser: Has the heat beam, and also erodes/lithifies.
Harvester is broken up into two tools:
Harvester: Harvests plants and plants bushes, flowers, and mushrooms.
Pruning Shears: Force grows plants, and lets you prune and stunt trees on your Homestead.
The other tools still exist as the forms you knew, but their functionalities have changed to avoid TAB switching. These include: Xyloslicer, Trailblazer, Pathfinder, Fabricator, Instaformer and Paver.
All the weapons have been converted also, but functionality is the same.
All F1 screens have been updated with details for each tool and weapon, so be sure to check those out for more details on how to use the new versions!
CRAFTING PQRV STATS MATTER NOW!
When you are crafting an item, you should stay very aware of the PQRV stats of the resources being used. Why? Because when you make the item:
We compare the stats for all resources involved, individually for each stat.
We throw out the lowest one.
We average the other stats together.
That average (for each individual stat) is the final PQRV for the item you’ve created.
The end product you’ve created may have characteristics that are influenced by the PQRV stats. For example, many items have their battery characteristics influenced by Potential and Resilience. The number of nodes in the Ring Node special for the Companions Orbs is affected by Potential. Etc. You can see what is affected in the Crafting interface when you’re making the tool or weapons.
NOTE: We’ve just started adding PQRV ramifications. There will be many more additions and changes in the future.
Potential, Quality, Resilience, and Versatility. (In case you were wondering what PQRV stands for. The window in the upper, right of the Crafting interface will show you what, if any, characteristics of the item you’re making are affected by PQRV and which ones they are.
NEW SHOPS
There are two new ways to spend the Klaatus you earn by doing missions!
We have also moved around where the various kiosks are located within the starbase. The three types of Shops are in the marketplace area of the Starbase and the Mission Kiosks are at the top of the balcony stairs in the central chamber of the Starbase.
BASIC TOOL SHOP
If you have a Profession that doesn’t have access to all the tools, then you can buy a stripped-down, very basic version of critical tools like the Harvester, Terraformer, Xyloslicer, and Pathfinder here. However, those basic tools don’t have any specials in them and they are at base-line PQRV stats. You’ll want to upgrade them when you can.
Because we now have these basic tools available, many of the “nonsense” flora drops we added last update to shore up the lack of being able to accumulate different kinds of resources have been removed.
HOMESTEADER SHOP
Once you unlock the ability to place Homesteads (in the Architect skill tree), you can purchase a Homesteader object in this shop. Once you have a Homesteader, you can go out into the world to a location you want to claim, right-click on the Homesteader in your inventory, and then place the Homestead like you would a Camp. Once placed, the Homestead acts like what you’re used to in the world.
HOMESTEADING
As mentioned above, Homesteading has been moved out of the Ranger skill tree and is now part of the Architect skill tree, as originally intended. Unlock the skill nodes there, purchase a Homesteader from the shop in the TPL Starbase, and place it in the world.
Homesteaders are not refunded to you if you disband your Homestead later on. You’ll need to purchase a new one.
RESOURCE SELECTION
When you are doing Resource Scanning (Terraformer) or selecting what resource to deposit with the Depositor, you now open a resource selection menu by hitting TAB. This shows all the resources available for you to scan/place and you choose it by left-clicking on the resource.
This also applies when planting seeds with the Xyloslicer or Harvester, and will be used with any future tool where selection from multiple resources is necessary.
LONG-RANGE SCANNING
At long last (!!!!) there is now a way to prospect at long range. Equip your Terraformer, hit TAB and select a resource to search for, and then hit the “E” key to emit a scanning pulse.
If you are far away from the nearest resource deposit, you’ll see an arc appear that gives you the general direction you need to travel to get there.
Once you get close enough, the long-range scanning will automatically switch to close-range scanning and you’ll begin seeing the resource cube outlines to indicate where you should dig (usually below you, but if you’re underground already or near a tall mountain, it might be above you).
You should find it much easier to find resources now. If not, please let us know! (And be aware that this is the first draft. We will be improving it soon!)
MISCELLANEOUS IMPROVEMENTS
Lots of changes. Enjoy!
AUDIO
There is now an audio cue you’ll hear when creatures aggro on you.
Audio in space is improved.
There are audio cues when crates are rezzed in by the Servitor during the FTUE Hallway experience.
COMBAT
Creatures now properly regenerate health again after they no longer have aggro on a player.
The Kharvix flocking is now fixed so they won’t eternally circle you without attacking. Beware! The same fix was made to Deer variants.
Creature spawners:
We dropped the lowest form of each creature from the game. They typically just ran away and were so trivial to kill that they only added clutter instead of useful gameplay.
World spawner limits were adjusted and the number of creatures spawned per encounter group were adjusted. You should see smaller groups now (eight’ish in some camps instead of sixteen’ish).
There was a bug with world limits that was spawning WAY too many super-low threat creatures. That has been fixed.
Spawners mature from one threat to the next at a slower pace now, and the more dangerous they are, the slower they mature to the next level.
Kill missions no longer select the highest-threat creatures.
Combat XP has been boosted significantly, in preparation for changes that are coming in the next update after this one.
The Frozen and Electrified durations caused by creatures have been reduced to two seconds (instead of 3 or 5). Immunity to those effects now only lasts four seconds instead of five.
Heat and Cold immunities were removed from creatures. However, immunities for bosses are more robust now. (Again, in preparation for the combat changes in the next update.)
Consumables can now be used if you are under a status effect that freezes your movement.
We put in a fix for overcharge timing, where it was sometimes taking much longer than expected.
OTHER GAMEPLAY
You can now trade Klaatus!
You no longer drop Gravel out of your Terraformer hopper. Instead, you drop “Tailings” which are worthless remnants of the mining process. If you extract Tailings, all you do is fill up your Hopper. If you leave the Tailings alone in the world, then they will eventually turn into dirt that is appropriate for the world you’re on.
You should never again receive an “Incomplete Item” if you leave the Basic Crafting screen without hitting “Collect”. It will now autocomplete for you instead.
Public event weighting was changed so that some types of meteor shower (like Antigravium) are rare now, and bosses don’t spawn as often (to make them more of an event when they occur).
Players receive five of each of the basic Medicines when they start instead of three.
XP cost on skill nodes that grant sets were adjusted to reflect the number of items within those sets. (Sets with fewer items cost less to unlock than those with greater numbers.)
The Toolmaking skill tree no longer unlocks the Basic Set of Fabricator pieces. That was an error and they are unlocked through the Architect tree.
Data issues with the Brimming Bonnet, Blushing Bonnet, Goji Berry and Emberbloom Torch were fixed.
If you are in a safe zone (like a portal platform), you cannot place a Camp.
Starting professions have been refined further.
The Ice Fall meteors no longer occur in space (to prevent them from creating “ice armor” on the asteroids).
Ice Fall meteors no longer deposit ice. (The water spreading from them was deemed to be too negative on gameplay.)
Skill trees have been revisited. This mostly affected the Architect and Toolmaker skill trees, but many were lightly touched.
The Settler profession now unlocks the Basic Set (for Fabricator) and the Stone Block Set (for Instaformer).
All professions now start with low-end PQRV value tools. You are now properly incentivized to get better weapons and tools. NOTE: If you have a character that was made in previous tests then your weapons and tools have been replaced with low-PQRV items. (Sorry for the switch, but everyone starts on the same footing here.)
Fungusamugus is no longer a candidate for healing missions. (Granted, that was amusing…but so wrong.)
The portals to other planets have been moved out into space away from the Starbase.
USER INTERFACE
The entire HUD has been reconstructed. This is not finished. There is some temporary artwork still there and the placement of assets aren’t final. It shouldl be completed before the next update.
The FTUE screens you see during character creation have a nicer font now.
Announcement text that appears in the upper, center of the screen has been improved and motion added to make it more obvious.
There is a Sorting pulldown menu on the Crafting and Inventory interfaces to let you more easily sort by Name and PQRV stats.
The skill node descriptions have been greatly improved upon to make it more obvious what you receive when you unlock the skill. This is a particular improvement for anything that unlocks sets, like Stone Block Set, or Walls and Windows.
Decimal points were removed from the stacks in the inventory pane.
The first time you use a new tool or weapon after entering the Starbase as a new character, you’ll get a first-time dialog to explain a bit about that weapon. Additional detail is in the Help screens.
All Help screens have been updated to match new functionality.
A series of fixes were made to the game camera, and it should be a lot better in tight spaces. It shouldn’t get stuck thrashing anymore. You should also be able to zoom in a little more.
Waypoints now clear properly if you abandon a mission.
OTHER
Night is slightly brighter and lighting colors were tweaked – hence the name Twilight Update. After much feedback, night should be slightly less dark.
We’ve added a few more names to the Hall of Heroes plaques in the main room of the TPL Starbase. They should all be there now!
Corrected an issue with Roof and Arch A recipes not being granted with the skill unlock
We put in a fix for beams from tools getting stuck on due to changing positions while firing.
We have put in place some tighter limits on character names and use of punctuation in the names.
KNOWN ISSUES
You can’t currently shut off the HUD with F4 because it’s in a state of transition.