Version 1.04 has now been moved from the testing branch to the main branch, and is available to everyone!
If you would like to read about the new fixes and features, check out this announcement for details:
http://steamcommunity.com/games/387370/announcements/detail/597102827885627322
A summary of the changes is listed below, copied from the previous announcement:
New features in 1.04
- Geodesic domes have been added. More on this below.
- Community-made translations can now be shared through the Steam Workshop. If you have made a translation you wish to share, you can upload it using the Map Editor.
- A number of AI/pathing improvement relating to finding the most efficient route to a target location. I'm chipping away at this over time, and I think this update should resolve a few more edge cases where units do not perform as expected.
- A few performance improvements were realized. Improved caching of few unit components, may not be noticeable except on mid-range CPUs.
- If independence has been declared, the population will only automatically increase if beds are available. This allows you to have better control over the colony growth post-Earth.
- ... other minor bug fixes.
Geodesic Domes
The idea for the dome had been floating around for a while. It seemed like a quintessential Mars colonization structure, and I finally decided to add it. The Geodesic Dome is very large, requires a lot of resources to build, and can only be constructed once independence has been declared.
I'm pretty happy with the role this building plays in the game. Independence has always been a bit unfocused, with no real objective once the monument has been built. With the dome, the player now needs to maintain a strong production line, probably involving lots of methane, ore mines, and 3D printers.
This is what the dome looks like:
There are four quadrants, and each quardant can have something different. At the moment there are three options: a forest, which prevents the dome from losing oxygen as quickly if power is lost; a living area, which adds beds; and an engineering academy, which reduces the population required to support the colony. In a quadrant a tower can be constructed with up to three buildings. So you could have three living areas, or two and one engineering academy, etc.
The dome takes up a lot of room and you'll probably need to plan ahead from the beginning to support it:
Multiple domes can be built, but colony planning will be very important to make sure there is enough free space! Originally the dome was a bit smaller, since I wanted it to fit on every map. But it ultimately became a huge mega-structure, at the expense of possibly fitting on some of the more tight maps.
I'm excited about the dome because I spent a fair amount of effort building a good base of code. I can easily add more options for structures in a few hours of work. Essentially, I just need to make and texture the 3D model, and it plugs right into the code. I'll likely expand the menu in future updates, a few ideas might be a farm, aquaponics lab, or manufacturing facility (to make heavy machinery). I'm open to other suggestions.
The next update will likely add one or two dome-buildings, and continue the focus on AI and pathfinding improvement.
Thanks for your support!
Sol 0 Team