This build a few important additions to the early game with Research, alongside the drill and crusher block.
Common feedback after the survival release was players wanting to be rewarded for mining and discovering wrecks, and deeper early game progression and mechanisms.
This update addresses this in several way!
Ore-flecked stone + Crusher
Ore will now yield ore-flecked stone instead of rocks (on top of the usual raw ore).
This ore-flecked stone can be smashed with the new crusher block and yield 4 small ores.
Use small ores at the furnace to craft ingots: 6 small ores make one ingot.
Wreck Mining
Mining wreck will now yield either scrap or damaged bricks.
Damaged brick can also be fed to the crusher to yield some crafting components.
But most importantly they can be used at research station to unlock new schematics.
Research Station:
Now most schematics are locked being research tiers.
This add a new dimension to the early game, rewarding wreck discovery and scrapping but also helps in making the crafting discovery more digestible.
Craft the research station from the crafting bench, and either pick a research group to research, or dismantle a damaged brick to earn xp.
You can't dismantle normal bricks, also you can't mine your own stuff - otherwise it would be too easy...
Existing save will be granted 2000xp as the start, but new character start at 0.
Drill:
The drill represent a lower tech alternative for mining.
Drill needs a bit of tweaking, it is a bit too snappy atm.
TODO:
Spawn wrecks in deep space!
Gold will move to ore-flecked stone only, to make it a bit higher tier.
=> this will most likely break a few things and require a bit of tweaking, so please tell me!
Improvements:
Opening command configuration windows is a bit faster.
Mining bricks now yields less scrap, but mining is faster (radius is increased).
Clicking to place a block on a destroyed block now tells you to repair it first.
Help message when trying to mine own entity (no longer possible)
Only wrecks can yield scrap / damaged bricks.
Bugfixes:
Gameplay stutters from repeated health HUD and Steam callback work.
Inventory items appearing multiple times after reopening a storage window.
Assembler: tooltips or keyboard focus lingering after hiding the schematic list.
#6372 Destroyed light blocks continuing to emit light.
Creative mode: research station not listing every research tier.
Memory slowly growing while browsing the codex Prefabs tab.
#700 Multiplayer: issue when aiming at a brick after an entity is removed.
#707 Issue when a timer gate fires at a brick that is already gone.
#708 Issue when opening a ship's color list and a stone brick is painted black.
Multiplayer: issue when the entity codex stays open on a ship another player removed.
#630 #631 Load Ship: issue when a ship name contains special characters and its preview image is missing.
#699 Space Battle: issue when selecting a Workshop ship whose title contains special characters.
#561 Issue while piloting a hovercraft when entering it did not finish.
#539 Issue when an outpost thanks you for defending it while the game is loading.
#657 Issue when leaving the game while an NPC ship is flying to a landing pad.
Landing pad staying reserved after a ship stops heading for it.
#639 Issue during loading when leftover moving parts are removed after their ship is already gone.
#638 Issue when the loading screen closes and an item stand still points at a removed entity.
Issue when changing a key bind while a controller axis is not centered.
#570 Issue when loading a very large ship that contains a laser sensor.
#574 Issue when hovering an item in a storage or command window.
#575 Issue when the Link Tool keeps a shipyard selected after it has been removed.
#512 Issue when a logic gate keeps a link to a removed brick.
Rounded arch missed when aiming at it from the side.
Issue when autopilot is docking and a docking port has been removed.
Issue when using the ship target menu Hail action after a rescue.
Issue when a locked ship save file stops the rest of autosave.