Our big December content update is just a few weeks away but in the meantime, here's what we've been focusing on this week!
Gameplay Help Pages
We have added a few web pages to help explain some of the core concepts in GenExile:
https://sonderluststudios.notion.site/generation-exile-help-pages
In the long term, we want GenExile to be self-contained as much as possible in terms of explaining all the what/how/why of playing the game within the game itself. However, during Early Access, keeping robust onboarding up to date can be a bit challenging, as we're frequently revising and iterating on systems. And as onboarding is the part of the game that perhaps requires more playtesting than anything else, we don't want to accidentally slow down progress on the current Road Map targets by returning too frequently to those onboarding portions.
We'll of course continue to refine and improve some of the core "teaching" portions of GenExile, but these help pages can also help serve as a contingency measure in the meantime.
Are there any things you wish had been explained more clearly that we could add to these pages (and then eventually fold into the onboarding itself)? Let us know over in Discord! https://discord.gg/dKaCuJm3M6
Structure Function Graph UI
This is not in patch v0.5.4b, but as a preview for part of what will be coming in the December update, here's something we're working on to improve some of the core gameplay UI/UX. As we've mentioned in a couple prior updates, making the answer to the question, "Wait- why isn't this structure working?" extremely clear is an important goal now that we have received a bunch of hands-on feedback from Early Access players. We're going to be adding a responsive "structure function graph" UI panel that will appear when any structure is selected.
This UI panel will show the "flow" of any given structure- what resources it requires and what it creates. And when a structure isn't functioning, whatever part(s) of that "chain" aren't working will be highlighted, allowing players to more quickly diagnose what part of the production flow has gone off the rails and address them.
Patch v0.5.4b
Full Patch Notes
Improved feedback for task resolution effects that advance Crisis/Fortune tracker
Fixed a few crashes originating in narrative events
Additional performance improvements in certain 3D vignette scenes
Various other small bug fixes