Hey everyone!
Another busy month for Hydro updates, and here is yet another 'regular update' which boasts a number of exciting new additions and fixes. This takes Hydro to v1.24 (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game).
Let's jump in to what this update is all about!
New fuse/sensor repair interface: 'Repair Worksheet'
Repairing multiple items was previously getting cumbersome and as more fuses and sensors got added to the game, Hydro desperately needed a way to show/'inspect' for current condition at the Repair Workbench. Then, only OPTIONALLY allowing repair of desired items AS NEEDED, instead of just repairing everything in the player's inventory.
Behold, the new Repair Worksheet! Now, you can inspect and only choose to repair items which have a low repair (condition) value! Save time and optimise your repair process!
Note that you can only inspect/repair what is in your Pocket Inventory at the time. And repair quality still varies with each repair attempt on a given item, but with this new form, thankfully you can always just choose what to repair again if needed!
New upgrade: Generator Air Flow Meter
Another brand new upgrade has now graced the power station...taking the total available upgrades for the power station to 16! This is quite an affordable upgrade and means that you won't need to continually go outside to view the Generator Air FIlter dirt level (or listen out for the 'whoosh' sound of a clogged filter).
By taking note of the reading of this gauge, you will be able to better tell when the filter is starting to get clogged.
NOTE: in future I may add some color zones to the gauge (such as a 'green' or 'red' zone to denote filter optimal/danger zones). In the meantime, a reading anywhere from 40-60 is a reasonable reading. Anything below ~35 is a cause for concern (get that sponge bucket and climb that ladder!)
More balance changes - Reputation robustness part 2
In a recent update, some balance tweaks were made to the Noise Complaint and Township Demand rep loss. In this update, I have evened things out by also tweaking the rep GAIN for Township Demand successes. All these changes are designed to ensure that the total rep range of 0-100 is more 'robust' and not as prone to 'shooting-up' or 'dropping like a rock' in a short time. My aim is to ensure that your rep changes remain more stable and take more events (either good or bad) before it reaches dangerous lows (or dizzying highs).
Here's the details of the Reputation changes for this update:
--For Township Demands whose min rep gain:
Was 5, it is now 4
Was 7, it is now 5
Was 9, it is now 6
For Township Demands whose max rep gain:
Was 10, it is now 8
Was 12, it is now 9
Was 14, it is now 11
Additionally, I have now implemented the same Reputation 'threshold' check that exists for Noise Complaints, to now also apply for Township Demands.
To put it simply: if player rep is <55, and you fail a Township Demand, you will now only be subject a significantly reduced rep loss penalty (of between 3-5 rep points). This is designed to ensure that if a player rep is already approaching midway, then rep loss penalties will tone-down so that rep doesn't continue to 'tank' to almost nothing with just a few further failures.
As always, game play balance is front-of-mind for me I will continue to review this as time goes on. My goal is always to ensure that there is a 'decent challenge' on the default difficulty settings. Note that if you're finding the default difficulty settings to be a bit too challenging, you can always apply some handicaps in the difficulty options, to suit your tastes.
Other tweaks/bug fixes
A bunch of other tweaks and bug fixes arrive with this update. They are listed below:
Bug fix: a recent update changed the Generator 'cooling tick' sound to stop sounding at 110c. This has been relaxed a little bit so that the ticking sound lingers a bit longer (until 95c) for a more immersive effect
The recently-added Upgrade Blueprint page 4 did not respond properly to the 'Esc' key bind to dismiss it. This has been fixed
Renamed power station tutorial to "Power Station Handbook" in the associated widget
Implemented the 'camera focus' feature when cleaning gauge lenses around the power station (same focus as what currently occurs when cleaning windows, etc)
Reduced fatigue gain by 30% when carrying Gear Oil Cans; I figured that since the recently-added Storage Unit is some distance from the power station, it would help to have some player incentive to actually make the trek to it to place oil cans in there, without their fatigue being destroyed in the process!
As always, I greatly appreciate all your support! And constructive feedback is always welcome!
Until next time, happy generating! ⚡⚡