Greetings, Martian farmers! 🌱🚀
Welcome to our second devlog! We're equal parts excited and a little scared to share our latest progress with you. But hey, if indie teams weren’t strong of heart, they’d have starved long ago, right? Well, we’ve got snacks, so we’re good! 😅
Your support by adding AGRONOM to your wishlist is literally our lifeline 🧡
Visual
We’ve continued working on updated concepts for key buildings to align them with our established visual style.
But the real stars of the show? Our robots! The previous designs had some mixed reactions — some found them cute and harmless, while others thought they looked like little spiders (yikes!). But that’s all in the past! We’ve completely revamped them, and we’re excited to share the new designs, which are already being turned into 3D models.
We NEED your opinion about robot-assistant and robot-worker!
Are they winning your heart, or giving you the heebie-jeebies? Drop down into the comments and let us know, or join our Discord to chat with us directly. Your feedback matters and could shape the final designs!
Last devlog, we mentioned the work we did on the greenhouse and its surroundings. This month, besides the robots, we also worked on concept art for important buildings like the Multicooker, Seed Extractor, and Furnace. And we even worked on some character concepts for our story! But we’ll share those with you a little later 😉
Gameplay
This month, our game designers and programmers have been hard at work improving the automation system. As a quick reminder, automation in AGRONOM revolves around robots — Mars farming bots, essentially. With their help, you can automate everything: from resource extraction to food production, pickling, and even hot meals. Who knew survival on Mars could be so gourmet? 😋
Starting a farm from scratch on Mars is no walk in the park. You’ll have to mine ores, build greenhouses, plant seeds, and manage water and electricity. Seems like a lot for one person, right? Especially when you’re scaling up! Watching over one tomato plant is manageable, but what if you’ve got a dozen? And then throw in strawberries, potatoes, beets, and sunflowers. Soon, you’ll have mini-farms, not to mention multiple greenhouses. That’s where the robots come to the rescue!
So why robots and not conveyor belts, like in Satisfactory or Factorio?
Good question! Mars is all about dust storms and scattered debris — your resources would fly all over the place, and those conveyor belts would break down faster than you could say “rust!”. On the other hand, robots can handle rough terrain, and they'll even seek shelter in your greenhouses during a thunderstorm. They're pretty clever, aren't they? 😉
This month, we gave you more control over your robot helpers. Now you can manage their tasks and priorities through the hub. Here’s what you can do:
- View all surrounding buildings and see your bots scurrying around.
- Check what each bot is working on.
- Assign tasks to bots, like mining 10 units of iron ore or producing 2 units of plastic. You can even prioritize tasks based on what’s most important to you.
Environment
Level design is in full swing! Here’s what we’ve been working on:
- Terrain adjustments: Ensuring players and robots can easily navigate, with plenty of space for large buildings like greenhouses.
- Stylization: We’re going for a realistic yet stylized look. We’ve been studying the latest Mars rover photos to match our map’s colors and textures with the real thing.
- Texture improvements: Balancing high-detail textures with performance, so everything runs smoothly.
- Environment work: Mars may be mostly sand and rocks, but we’re using these limited tools to create an engaging landscape that draws the eye.
- Resource balance: Placing ores around the map, balancing progression so you can access resources as you advance.
Story
This month, we dove deeper into the game’s narrative, expanding on the lore behind Rusty — the farming robot you’ll be playing as — and writing the dramatic backstory of Uncle Makar. He’s your trusty guide and main narrative character. Uncle Makar’s no-nonsense, but don’t let that fool you — he’s got a heart somewhere under that stern look. Just don’t ask him to smile! 😅
We’ve also been developing the in-game shop, where you’ll be able to trade with other Martians, buy schematics, seeds, and accessories to customize your experience. We’re also mapping out unique quest items to spice things up.
Coming Soon 😏
Each month, we push ourselves with bigger, more complex goals to make AGRONOM not only a fun and beautiful game but also one with a vibrant fanbase. We’re working hard to improve both gameplay mechanics and visuals. Oh, and we’ve started working on a new trailer! Fingers crossed we can surprise you with it by the end of the year.
In the coming month, we’ll be refining the automation system, finalizing robot 3D models and animations, and enhancing AI. We’re adding new buildings and refining existing ones. On the narrative side, we’ll integrate the quest system and continue fleshing out the story. We’ve also started working on making the Martian sky more realistic. Soon, you’ll see the moons Phobos and Deimos floating above your colony!
As always, we LOVE hearing from you! Tell us what you think about the new robots, share your thoughts on Discord, or drop a comment below. Your feedback really makes a difference and could even influence the final game! 😊
Stay cozy, stay curious on Mars! 🚜✨
To support us, please Wishlist a piece of our hearts!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2893250/AGRONOM/
With love,
The AGRONOM team 🧡