Hey yo, Autonomics!
We are so back and deep in the trenches working on the next wave of updates!
While Autonomica is officially in early closed Alpha, which includes some dust and the occasional rogue physics glitch. We are also pushing forward at a steady, high-voltage rate and shifting to a new rhythm for releases, because we want to get new toys into your hands faster to show off clearer progress in real-time!
It is also a good way to let all of you know that we haven’t been abducted by a rogue AI!
We are splitting our work into two different speeds.
First, we have Chapters, which are our major milestones. These will not be just content drops, but the moments where our systems and story will finally click together.
Each Chapter will wrap up a specific narrative arc and finish off a whole set of features that represent the completion of that stage of the journey.
And yes, they will end on cliffhangers.
We are doing that on purpose because we are mean like that!
Inside those Chapters, we will be dropping Sprints.
These are smaller, faster updates that tackle specific features. We plan to have multiple sprints per chapter and you can expect to see these on a monthly or semi-monthly basis, depending on how much coffee we have had!
Of course, hotfixes are still their own thing. If the game starts acting like a haunted toaster, we will push a fix as soon as we can.
Right now, we are deep in the development of Sprint 1 for Chapter 1, titled First Contact.
The mission here is to beef up the core systems and finally introduce your lovely companion bot and resident harshest critic, Black Box. This Chapter introduces our dialogue systems, so you can talk to Black Box and maybe some other mysterious voices lurking in the fog.
We are also building out a proper quest flow that we expect to include more than 30 quests! This will feature improved and rebalanced versions of the old ones. We know Pacing in a survival game is everything, and we will continue tuning this until it feels just right.
Later in the Chapter, we will introduce NPC Supply Requests. You will help the Autonomics (local engineers, we will talk more about the game lore in our next update so keep tuned in!) keep this place from falling apart by delivering goods in exchange for rewards that actually matter for your progression.
We are exploring a multi-questline structure so you are not stuck on one main quest rail! You might choose one day to be a Pioneer Farmer and follow that quest chain to establish a sustainable ranch. Then perhaps another day be Automation Architect building production chains. You might just want to be a Homesteader, where you can focus on building meaningful Living Structures that actually feel like a home and not just a box where you keep your bed. With this system you will be able to go up any quest line at any time you want!
There will be detailed customization tools coming soon in this chapter, we are guessing within Sprint 2 or 3. It will finally allow you to pick custom patterns, colors, and materials during the object customization process.
WORK IN PROGRESS UI SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
On the automation side, we are making things modular and intuitive. We are working on vertical machine stacking and better conveyor tools so your production line looks less like a plate of mechanical spaghetti.
On another note, we are also working on Multiplayer in parallel! We are not planning on doing a "big bang" release here and taking our time with it. We may not have an exact timeframe on this, but the current plan is to roll out test features in small steps, with early co-op starting to show up toward the end of Chapter 1 or the start of Chapter 2.
RELEASE DATE: AROUND THE END OF FEBRUARY
Our first Sprint, titled Artificial Non-Intelligence, should land in the next few weeks.
This update is all about making Black Box useful! Black Boxes are the smart planes’ autopilots, flight recorders, and emergency survival guides.
After the plane crash, the Black Box is still online and very chatty, piping up with hints like it is running a survival podcast. It is helpful, sure, but it is also your biggest critic. Don’t be surprised if it judges your design choices or points out your survival failures while wondering aloud why you are walking in circles.
Keep in mind that it's still heavy work in progress and a lot of things that you see is still a prototype or a placeholder.
You will be able to use Black Box to locate and/or bring you resources. It can also scan your base to reveal construction integrity, highlighting weak points in your construction before it becomes "accidental modern art!"
This Black Box is damaged, though, and as you help it recover the memory modules it is missing it will transform and offer even more assistance. It will tell you more about the incident and help you in the search for your best friend that got lost after the crash (more on lore, coming soon).
Black Box is voiced by a real talent Tor (you can even talk to her on our Discord server by tagging @Black Box, but please be sensitive and don’t overwhelm her and we will need her for a lot of Voice Over lines) She brings just the right amount of whimsy and sass to the Black Box that we think you guys will love!
Check out our early prototype of the Black Box:
Looking further down the road, we will be moving toward Phantom hunting and the first steps of extraction through Time Travel.
This is the big "Autonomica becomes Autonomica" moment!
As you will be helping Autonomics (lore) build a massive vertical kinetic system called Tremor (lore - duh), which is designed to unlock time travel in the game. You are going to be the pioneer for the first real-time jump in this world.
Good luck.
We are sure the timeline will stay perfectly intact...
Mostly…
Maybe…
We love open development and your feedback is what makes this game awesome. More soon!
Stay tuned, Autonomics!