This month we're taking a closer look at some of the new buildings available in Factory Town 2. These aren't all of the new buildings - I just picked a few that have some interesting properties.
Windmill
This is a special building that produces Rotational Power. While Rotational Power existed in Factory Town 1, it can now travel down Drive Shafts (just like fluids move through pipes) and can run water pumps, provide speed bonuses for production buildings, or move a turbine that produces electricity.
Once weather effects are added, the Windmill's output may go up or down based on the current wind speed.
Water Wheel
This building also produces Rotational Power. The catch is it must be placed in a Water Trench, and there must be water flowing through the trench. The weather may get dry at times though, so again make sure you have a backup and some buffers throughout your supply chain!
Like a few other special buildings, the water wheel can transfer its inventory directly to a building that it is facing. So you can attach them directly to production buildings (like the picture above), or use Drive Shafts to transfer the Rotational Power across longer distances.
Catapult
This building provides a fun and flexible transportation option. You can fling any item directly to any other building within a certain radius. This can be a huge convenience if you don't have room in your town to fit another conveyor belt, caravan route, or train track. It is large though, and its throughput is a little slow, so it works best for high-end items that are consumed every few seconds as opposed to those demanded in very high quantities.
Solar Panel
Near the top of the Tech Tree is this handy building. It provides a free and renewable source of electric power. Electric Power can be sent around the town using Power Poles, and is required for some recipes like making Ice, and can also run electric motors that can power pumps or speed up production.
Again though, this is affected by the weather - at nighttime or on cloudy days it won't be as effective!
Reservoir
This is a large tank that can store water. Its display will change based on how much water is currently in it. Water is used in a huge amount of recipes and you can never have enough - but as mentioned before, sometimes resource production is interrupted by weather and time of day. So, having lots of reservoirs will smooth out these production bumps and allow your townspeople to stay happy and productive.
Dessert Shop
This is a production building that produces fancy desserts. You'll have access to cocoa, vanilla, cream, various fruits, sugar, and ice - and there are tons of combinations of these that produce tasty treats for your villagers. It's a great way to earn coins, and also satisfies your villagers' need for luxury items.
Restaurant
The Restaurant is in the highest tier of production buildings, and is necessary to make the most valuable food items. This includes various stews and sandwiches plus burgers, waffles, sushi, spaghetti, and pizza. Your villagers will love to visit Restaurants, and will pay very high prices to buy things made there. The Volcano will happily consume these items too!
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In development news, I've been playtesting the game with a small group of brave and dedicated testers, and I have lots of feedback to implement. I'm also going to be working on a new trailer that shows more gameplay, as the other one is really just a teaser and the game has come a long way since I made it. I hope to publish that in the next few weeks.
Cheers!
Erik