Hi all,
I hope you're enjoying Hydro. Here's a quick update to bring the game to v1.20 (confirm the version from the Main Menu).
This version delivers a number of quality of life and bug fixes:
During the gear oil refilling process, the camera is now much more 'focused' and it's no longer possible to move your head all around the place whilst being frozen in place (note: this only affects those players who have the 'Low viscosity gear oil' difficulty setting disabled). This should help increase the realism factor for this procedure (in the future I may look at implementing this camera focus for other processes such as applying upgrades, cleaning various items, etc, too).
Bug fix: previously, if the Accumulator charge level was zero and the player saved and then reloaded the game, the Accumulator low charge 'buzzer' would play on game load - this was not realistic as the buzzer cannot sound if the charge level is zero (the buzzer technically uses the Accumulator charge to sound). Fixed.
In the Difficulty Settings dialog box, if you change a setting, red text now displays advising you to save the game otherwise the settings will not be preserved (the red text disappears once the game is saved).
Mitigated some minor issues with cleaning the gauges on the Grid Summary Panel.
A brand new Difficulty Setting has been implemented "Additional on-screen messages" (enabled by default). By disabling the setting, this allows you to turn off some of the less critical on-screen messages for a more immersive experience. This is only recommended once you have played the game for some time and are familiar with the game play. Messages that can be hidden by disabling this option include:
"Township Demand failed" / Township Demand met!" messages
"Boat passage failed / success!" messages
"Audit card delivered" message
"Game saved!" message
"Telegram Send/Receive Failed!" messages
"Reputation Low! High Rep Quests Locked-out!" messages
"Cleaning,.,." messages
"Refilling Gear Oil..." messages
Note that some of the less frequent (more useful?) messages such as "Applying Upgrade...", "Building Upgrade Kit", "Repairing Fuse(s)...", "Cleaning Sponge Required" and a few other save error messages will not be affected by this setting.
As always, I'm happy to take feedback on this new difficulty option (whether you think it suppresses too many messages or not enough). Please provide any feedback on the Steam Discussion boards.
Thanks as always for your ongoing support!
Until next time, happy generating! ⚡