This week I've been working on various aspects of the game for the next content update and I wanted to report on the progress so far. Robots are currently free labor as they can't die and don't have any needs to fulfill. It has always been the plan to have more requirements for robots as well as the ability for robot construction.
Robot Recharging
Robots requiring power is currently being worked on for the 0.11 update. Robots will need to be recharged at charging pads, similar to how colonists need to sleep. If a robot get's below 5% power it will get a speed reduction and no longer perform any job actions. Charge pads will be another branch of data recovery and the plan is to add one charge pad to the facility at world generation.
Robot Construction
The Robot Assembler is being added which will allow colonists to construct new robot workers. I'm still tinkering on the details on what control the player has over the quality of the robot output. This may be something that is added more simply at first and built on to over time. I am also working on a new type of robot which will allow players to mine floor tiles for additional resources.
Notice Icons
There is also more work going to into reporting information to the player and in that vein I'm adding in hovering notification/warning icons. These hover icons will show on top of objects to notify the player to issues such as an object having no power, no water, not enabled and more. This is a great way to see the status of objects at a glance.
The next update is shaping up very nicely and will have some great new content. What are your thoughts on some of the new features?