Hi everyone,
We are now in November and here's the first update for the month. This is v1.23 (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game).
Let's jump into what's new with this update!
'Instrument Sensor' mechanic
This is a brand new game play mechanic: "instrument sensors". These new sensors behave similar to the fuses, but have new functions in that they send 'signals' from devices to certain instruments or gauges in the power station.
Like fuses, sensors will 'wear down' and degrade over time, before failing completely. They can be removed by the player and will appear in the player's Pocket Inventory. From there, the player can take the sensors to the existing Workbench in the Sleeping Quarters for their repair.
The first two sensors to be implemented are for the Generator. These are located on the left side of the Generator on a brand new 'Generator Sensor Panel'.
Speed sensor - this sensor gets speed information from the Generator and sends it to the RPM gauge. It also controls the 'overspeed' warning lamp and 'overspeed alarm'. If this sensor fails (or is removed), the RPM gauge, 'Overspeed' lamp and 'overspeed alarm' will fail to work. Note that in the case of the overspeed alarm failing to work, this can actually have an advantage in that you might get less Noise Complaints with the overspeed alarm disabled...
Temperature sensor - this sensor gets heat information from the Generator and sends it to the Temperature gauge. If this sensor fails (or is removed), the temperature gauge will no longer work.
If any of the sensors above fail (or are removed), a new 'Sensor Fault' warning lamp will soon light-up on the Generator Status Panel (note however that this lamp only works if the Generator is spinning as the lamp itself is powered by the Generator like the other lamps on this panel). Also note that the 'Sensor Fault' lamp can take some time to react to either a sensor failing/going missing, or an existing failed/missing sensor being replaced. Just give it some time and it should soon update appropriately. :)
Note that the Generator can operate just fine (continuing to output to either the Accumulator or the grid) with these two sensors either failed or missing, however you will lose some level of 'monitoring' over the Generator. You can still control the RPM with the speed sensor missing, but the RPM gauge will not function. You can however still 'listen' for the Generator's whining and 'guess' its speed. Similarly, if the temperature sensor is failed/missing, you can still 'gauge' the temperature of the Generator by cues such as smoke emanating from it, or from the 'ticking' sounds that emit from it when you shut it down when it's hot.
Overall, these new sensors and their maintenance introduce yet another dimension to the game play of Hydro and will mean you have another set of devices to maintain/troubleshoot!
Game play balancing changes
Because of the recent changes (since v1.22) to the telegraph units being more unreliable (until upgraded) and thus resulting in players potentially missing-out on receiving Township Demands (through no fault of their own), I've made some balance changes to the Reputation loss that results from certain actions in the game, namely around Noise Complaints and failures to complete Township Demands.
Now, you should find that your Reputation doesn't 'tank' and drop like a rock if you receive Noise Complaints or fail Township Demands (including if you fail these because the telegraph machine didn't work). Note, these rep changes do not change the rep loss if you reject a Township Demand...those remain unchanged are decently higher than what I have shown below.
Here are the rep changes arriving with this update, in detail:
Township Demands failures which previously had rep loss min-max of 6-10 are now 5-8
Township Demands failures which previously had rep loss min-max of 10-14 are now 9-12
Township Demands failures which previously had rep loss min-max of 14-20 are now 13-16
Noise Complaints which previously had rep loss min-max of 6-18 are now 2-14
Noise Complaints which previously had rep loss min-max of 7-13 are now 3-9
Noise Complaints which previously had rep loss min-max of 7-18 are now 3-11
Noise Complaints which previously had rep loss min-max of 8-22 are now 4-15
Noise Complaints which previously had rep loss min-max of 9-22 are now 5-15
Noise Complaints which previously had rep loss min-max of 10-22 are now 6-15
Also, previously there was a Reputation threshold at which greatly reduced rep loss (of between only 2-4 points) would apply if a player received a Noise Complaint. This threshold was set to <40 Rep points, now it's set to <55. So the reduced rep loss takes effect sooner for Noise Complaints, meaning that if your Reputation is less than 55 and you receive a Noise Complaint, a greatly reduced rep loss min-max applies (also now changed from 2-4 to 1-3).
Rest assured that all the above changes should mean your Reputation remains more 'robust' than before and shouldn't drop as fast as it used to.
I will continue to review the balance of the game on an ongoing basis with the objective of ensuring the 'default' difficulty results in a 'decent' level of challenge for the player whilst hopefully not being overly difficult. However note that there are always the Difficulty Option crutches that you can apply to make things a bit easier if needed.
Other balance changes revolve around the unreliability of the default, un-upgraded telegraphs. Now, there is less chance of not receiving a Township Demand than before (around 50% less chance of telegraph receiving unit failing to receive a Township Demand).
Other feature/quality updates
A whole slew of additional fixes and new features are included with v1.23! Check them out below:
The cleaning process for the Generator Air Filter and the Power Pole Insulators has been improved! Now, when you clean these items, visible airborne 'dirt' will fill the immediate area around the item. Once the item you are interacting with is mostly clean, the airborne dirt will cease. This gives you more of a visual indication of dirt levels for these items
The Generator clutch lever now 'burns' properly when the Generator is destroyed (burn texture added)
A bunch of information updates have been added to the 'Help' screens in-game
For the Generator temperature read-out widget which displays the temperature when the player hovers over the temperature gauge with the interact dot, the threshold for the text turning red has been raised from 105 degrees to 110 to match the 'red zone' on the actual temperature gauge (this new 110c threshold also affects when the 'Overheat' lamp turns-on (on the Generator Status Panel), too)
The 'Power Station Tutorial' has had some updated info added to it, and now looks visually more like a 'handbook' (both the in-game object and the interactive on-screen 'pages')
Bug fix: improved the interaction of the Marker Light Panel levers when the player moves the interact dot across the levers from the left or right side of the panel (previously, the levers were difficult to interact with and would instead show a different widget message pertaining to the main panel itself - this bug was introduced with recent update v1.22)
Bug fix: when the recently-added Local Power Fuse no. 7 was held, the Pocket Inventory indication would not turn yellow on-screen
Animated the vice on the Repair Workbench in the Sleeping Quarters! The vice jaws will now also show a cosmetic prop of a fuse or sensor depending on what is being repaired. This is a purely cosmetic change
I hope you enjoy this update! There is more to come and check out this YouTube video I made which talks a bit more about this update below!
View game pageAs always, until next time, happy generating! ⚡