After a successful year in Steam Early Access, tons of community driven updates, and a host of new features (including multiplayer), new areas and new content, Aground Zero is ready for players to get the full experience! We'll be leaving Early Access in one month - on April 4th 2025, and to celebrate we've made a new launch trailer: [previewyoutube=2gHgCtvtSLs;full][/previewyoutube] We've also been making a video every week showcasing a different part of Aground Zero, and will continue to do so until our launch. Check our Youtube Channel for them all, and here's last week's video: [previewyoutube=x0pWnlaVbRQ;full][/previewyoutube] We've also localizing the game into 6 languages: French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Russian and Spanish. All of the localizations should be ready by the launch date. Finally, the minor update today was mainly for language support, fixing a bug with font loading. It also fixed a bug with the auto-builder not completing quests. I hope you're looking forward to the full launch, and keep an eye on our Youtube Channel as we'll be continuing to post weekly videos this month!

This is another small update with some bugfixes and minor improvements. Changelog:

• Added Large Generator (get blueprint from the printer after unlocking the interstellar drive)
• Changed icons for com device, locator, mass miner
• Edges of the map will show a red forcefield when you hit them (so you know you can't go through them)
• Fixed block of flood next to glass bug
• Fixed memory leak
• Fixed issue where you could ride dragon through teleportal into a vehicle

There's nothing exciting here, but I did fix a bug that greatly increases performance if your world has a large number of items laying on the ground. Changelog:

• Optimized for areas with large numbers of items
• Added option to disable warnings on structures
• Added warning when get the dishonored one quest that it locks the science path ending (if you haven't already done so)

The Magic Path ending is here, and it includes the only planned boss battle in Aground Zero! I hope you bring lots of burgers! [previewyoutube=Nr-oW24-H3o;full][/previewyoutube] The Dishonored One was one of the more disappointing boss fights in the original Aground. He was from the race of original magic users (who taught the enemy everything they knew), and after a big setup, the fight itself was pretty easy. So, for Aground Zero's magic path, I wanted to give him another chance! You can complete the Magic Path ending after the Science Path one, but not the other way around. However, the dialogue and feel of the ending changes if you complete the Magic Path ending first.
This is the last major planned content update (although we'll continue to make bugfix and quality of life updates), which is really exciting. We also set a date for our full launch:

We'll be transitioning out of Early Access on April 4th, 2025!

• Added Magic Path ending
• You can now land on Seuden 999b
• Added achievements
• Mass Miners can now be upgraded to use less power per block
• Changed bedrock between layers on Earth to a mineable (but hard) material. This does allow you to flood your base, or let Wyrms fall into it, but hopefully by the time you unlock enough mine power, you know what you're doing.
• When placing lots of forcefields/glass, it'll refill the selected stack with other stacks in your inventory (if available).
• Added option to disable to prompt asking if you want to dismantle structures
• Added power to CaptAIn's Colony after upgrading the teleportal (so it doesn't run out)
• Increased pause menu open speed

While I'm still waiting for the assets needed for the final ending, I thought it was a good time to do some quality of life updates. Some of these are quite nice, including an overpriced, but super powerful mass miner tool! Changelog:

• Added Mass Miner tool - buy in the vending machine for an outrageous amount (it's worth it).
• Added Bank structure (can sell items sent to it, and allows you to transfer credits between players).
• Added Block of Flood (craft in Magic Lab, endlessly floods water)
• Added Com Bot side quest on CaptAIn's Station
• Added achievements
• Can now revive Bats from meat, and Wyrms from dragonblood
• Allowed crafting of nutrient bars before assembler quest
• Increased gold ore generated around starting area for new games
• Fixed auto builder bug

Right now, I'm waiting for the final assets needed for the second ending - I'm hoping they will be done soon. But in the meantime, there's still bugfixes, minor improvements and quality of life changes to add! Changelog:

• Added skip tutorial quests option (for those starting lots of new games)
• PAI will now give the interstellar drive quest if the peacemaker has left and you still haven't gotten it
• Added limit of 100 ships dispatched into Seuden Orbit
• Stacks of boring machine blueprints now unlock the correct amount.
• You can now buy boring machine blueprints in the vending machine if you missed them in the subways.
• Labelled the feed slot so it's more clear.
• Auto builders wont both try to build the same blueprint anymore (this caused both of them to request ingredients for the blueprint, and ended up with some resources left unused in the auto builder).
• Transmutation now clears water from blocks (so no accidental infinite water spawners are made).
• Turrets now heal slowly over time when powered - so they don't slowly lose health in battle until they die (they can theoretically win a battle and heal before the next one).
• Incinerators will no longer accept items from belts with priority none (it wouldn't request them, but could still destroy items if they were forced that way).
• Enemies now die if they fall off the edge of the world.
• When setting priority/accepted food, it now shows all craftable and seen items, not just seen items (as you might want to set priority of items you are going to craft, or have never been in your inventory or storehouse).

It's been a year since Aground Zero entered Early Access, and after a lot of updates and changes, I am happy to announce the first ending of the game has been added! The quest for this ending will automatically start shortly after completing the "Humanity's Survival" quest (10,000 colonists), and will seem a little straightforward at first, but stick around for the after credits scene, where the first major twist is revealed. [previewyoutube=Zt6FdhFcyNA;full][/previewyoutube] Originally, I was thinking you'd have to load a save or start a new game to get all the endings, but after all the work players have put into their worlds and bases, I decided it should be possible to get the other ending after completing this ending - so there will be more in later updates! Changelog:

• Added Science Path ending
• Trees and seaweed now give off some oxygen (like oxygen generators)
• Beetle Explorer will now auto-aim at enemies within a firing angle
• Added Set Accepted Foods option to bunkers - they will only request food from storehouses of checked foods (although NPCs can grab food of any type regardless of their bunker)
• Fixed issue where you couldn't complete the interstellar drive quest after meeting the Peacemaker (using a dragon ship)
• Fixed issue with splitters on ramps
• Added general shootBlock function (can be set per area) for modding

The final assets needed for Mars are complete - get ready to continue the magic path, meet the exiled, complete a few quests and discover a few secrets there! You'll even be able to right a past wrong (if you were one of those who drained the oceans on mars in the original Aground). Speaking of which, I should probably add a way to auto-cast the book of splash for quickly flooding larger areas... Here's a short video showcasing some of the things you can do on Mars: [previewyoutube=T9UF76yj1hg;full][/previewyoutube] If you look closely, you may even see some of the secrets! Changelog:

• Added Mars - this includes a lot of changes, but I don't want to spoil them all here!
• Fixed explosive attacks (like book of stone) so it can't damage structures in the colony world.

This update includes a lot of quality of life improvements, but no new content changes (I'm still waiting on one last asset for Mars). Changelog:

• Added Anomaly track
• Added Mega Storehouses and Signs (can obtain them in the blueprint printer)
• Added Locator item, which can show your current position
• Dragon ships can now auto-fire like dragons, and be summoned
• Vehicles (including the dragon) can no longer be summoned while being piloted
• Can now feed lots of blood gems to dragons by holding the feed button
• Added floating blocks upgrade to materializer
• Added mass placement upgrade to painter tool
• Added Free Flight difficulty option
• Added chromium mining blueprint to blueprint printer after timeskip (in case you missed the chest)
• Can no longer request items through storehouses with priority = none (caused the item to get stuck)
• You can now set priority per item, not just type. The list can be searched, and click a type to filter the list by that type.
• Added tooltip to show whether bulk placing walls or floors
• If auto-eat is enabled, it will automatically eat if you fail to cast a spell due to being hungry (after releasing the cast button)
• Item counts are now shown when requesting items (so you know how many total you have connected via belts when requesting). It still requests up to 99 (1 stack) per request.
• Added setting to adjust padding of UI relative to edges (more padding for ultra wide)

The main addition of this update is the Dragon Spaceship - something I was quite excited to add! You can now complete the evolution gem quest with the Anomaly, and doing so will unlock the blueprint. I wanted the Dragon Ships to be very distinct from the Beetle Explorer, so I made them small, fast and deadly. They aren't a mobile base, but they can maneuver in tight spaces/underground and they make an excellent fighter. You can watch a video of me building and flying the dragon ship here: [previewyoutube=Xx8ftjajXiY;full][/previewyoutube] I also wanted to show off the engine effect, which I thought was really cool but you can't see it while piloting the ship, so I made this short: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2mubN50jI-Q Changelog:

• Added Dragon Spaceship
• Added Mass Materialization upgrade to the Materializer (using upgrade chips) - allows bulk block placement.
• Added PVP option (defaults false, change in difficulty settings)
• Allowed completion of evolution gem quest

This update includes a lot of quality of life features and improvements while waiting for the last models for the next magic path quest. Our main modeler was sick last month (thankfully, he's recovered now), so that puts us a little behind where I wanted to be on the magic path. But, while waiting, I've added a bunch of improvements you can see below: Changelog:

• Added Difficulty Settings. While there are 3 preset modes (Survival, Creative and 1 Hit Knockout), in Options -> Difficulty Settings you'll see a bunch of individual settings you can enable and disable to customize the game as you wish. You can change this at any time, and it is set per player, per save file.
  
  
• Added Auto Builder. This structure builds blueprints in range and is quite convenient. It unlocks after completing the first quest on the magic path (and will auto-unlock if you already have when loading a save).
• Added a search bar to many of the scrolling lists. It's now easier to find what you are looking for.
• Added hairstyles. Our character animator made these while we wait for the next character to be finished, and I think they came out nicely. This is probably our final set of improved hairstyles.
• Added Cleaner (tool). This was based on a suggestion, and it'll only mine cables/belts/ladders.
• Added more NPC Snippets (if you revive them, summon them, or move them to a space station).
• Added ocean transition at horizon
• Lessened line strength at far distances (this was causing far away land to look too dark)
• Increased Water Vaporizor speed and added a fourth upgrade level
• Balanced/changed recipe time including reducing time to mine ores in rig

This is a small patch - it does add some progress on mars, but you cannot access it without cheats (and doing so is a bad idea, it might cause problems with your save later). Changelog

• Added elemental damage system (same as original Aground). It'll be used for elemental spellbooks later, and mods can use it now.
• Added toggle all option to select structure window (com station/device)
• Fixed a splitscreen controls bug, and a few other minor fixes.

This is a small update that has some minor improvements and bugfixes. I've mostly been working on Mars, and while that's not ready to upload, I did decide to make a sneak peek video for it: [previewyoutube=SLAGGocYoyA;full][/previewyoutube] Changelog:

• Doors now auto-close when mount beetle explorer
• Transfer all now ignores the top row of player inventories if there is more than one row.
• Optimized oxygen so that it doesn't hang when filling very large areas
• Game now keeps track of items collected
• When the cryopod crashes at the beginning of the game, you now lose health
• Chromium is now mined faster at rigs

Today's update adds the surface to CaptAIn's Colony! It's a single island that you can develop however you want and even invite colonists to help out! The island also adds grass and trees, which you can move to other planets (even the moon, as long as you make a greenhouse and place an oxygen generator inside). I made a quick video showcasing the new island (and the space station, which I've never made a video of before): [previewyoutube=fI8zw65JUYA;full][/previewyoutube] The full changelog is as follows:

• Added colony surface
• Added interstellar teleportals (unlocks on reaching colony surface)
• Added dirt blocks that grow grass on top on planets with oxygen
• Added trees - can be found on the colony surface, or revived from coal
• Shovel and painter now show all sides of block properly (but it still shows the wrong offset and rotation for ramps)
• Painter can now paint glass blocks
• Glass ramps are now created using glass items (instead of shovel)
• Added option to auto-eat from largest food stack
• Added deferredInit which makes the infoInit block run AFTER all mods are loaded (for modding)

This week's update is not a big one, but I've been working on spellbooks that will unlock on Mars, and have plans for allowing you to descend to the colony world in a future update as well! The full changelog is as follows:

• Added bombardment shield (talk to anomaly to unlock) - you can finally stop meteors from falling!
• Added a new hairstyle, and improved the ponytail and bowl hairstyles
• Added incinerator structure that permanently destroys items (unlock in blueprint printer)
• Allowed renaming vehicles
• Fixed requesting items through teleportals with multiple belts leading to the same teleportal
• For modders, added dropLoot function to enemies, and allowed stackable="number" for custom-sized item stacks
• Help I'm stuck will now return you to the start even if you somehow end up in an undefined location.

After the colony update, I switched back to the magic path. I'm currently working on adding Mars, but it is not done yet. However, all of the utility spellbooks are done, so I decided to post an update so you can play around with them! Here's a video of me using all the new spellbooks: [previewyoutube=ty8IW7iTRwU;full][/previewyoutube] You may notice that you can no longer craft the book of summoning in the magic lab - it unlocks with the rest of the spellbooks. Simply talk to the anomaly, and you'll either get a quest, or they'll immediately unlock spellbooks depending on your progress. Changelog:

• Added 5 utility spellbooks
• Added quest to Anomaly to unlock them
• Added mars orbit (the planet itself will come later)
• Items can now be requested through teleportals
• Added feed slot to dragon - works like the trash slot and accepts shift+click (much easier than the feed button, and you can leave food in the slot for it to eat automatically when hungry)
• Added rename worker bot button
• The Next/Prev Tool keys will now switch tabs in the structure selection window

The first interstellar planet - CaptAIn's Colony, is ready to visit! There's a short questline there, and several easter eggs, and I think it came out really cool in the end! While I might eventually allow landing on the surface of the planet, everything currently takes place in the space station in orbit around CaptAIn's Colony - let me know if you're interested in some sandbox building on the surface!
Changelog:

• Added colony world orbit - the planet's appearance will change as the colony grows too!
• Added transitions for moving between planets
• Added pomp hairstyle (we're planning more, as well as edits to the original hairstyles)
• Added transfer station, storage and gravity generator
• Added trash slot to inventory window - lets you quickly drop items. Shift+click auto-moves items to trash slot
• Allowed dismantling of moon lab debris
• Added alloyed steel (craft in assembler or factory)
• Jump must be pressed mid-air to fly (holding it will now do a normal jump, you have to hit jump twice to fly)
• Book of summoning now sorts objects
• Added place limits to orbit so that a ship never gets stuck on placed blocks immediately after entering orbit (existing blocks will remain and can be mined, but not replaced).

You can finally complete the Interstellar Drive quest! The first interstellar planet isn't done yet, but I'm getting close (hopefully next week), and this update includes a lot of other improvements as well! Changelog:

• Interstellar Drive questline complete
• Kitchen and factory mounts added
• Added spellbook model+animation
• Allowed transfer directly between vehicles and storehouses - simply select a storehouse while riding vehicle,
• Added transfer all buttons - will transfer all items into/out of storehouses (excluding none priority items)
• Changed the default controller mapping, and allowed setting a separate menu select and in game select (so bumpers could be used to mine, while A is still used in menus).
• Added deadzone option - increase as needed to stop controller drift
• Added controller vibration - can be removed in settings
• Fixed oxygen bug

Remember that Evolve Dragon button you couldn't press before? You now can and evolve your own dragon to follow you or ride it! I also added the Book of Summoning (the first spellbook) so you can move your dragons (and caught wyrms), as well as NPCs! To celebrate this update, I decided to make a video where I fly a dragon around the surface, and to space (because why not?): [previewyoutube=rZBzHsZscfo;full][/previewyoutube] Changelog:

• Added dragon evolution
• Added book of summoning (plus paper and ink to craft it)
• Added ceiling lights (check blueprint printer)
• Painter can now paint numbers on walls
• Added glass ramps - old saves will have to buy the ramp blueprint again to obtain it
• Manned crafting structures will now collect items from belts even if NPC is away
• Added medium priority to storehouses
• Increased o2 generator to 330 blocks per unit
• Wyrms can now free captured wyrms if they attack wyrm traps
• Sorting items will now sort by item id if they are the same type

The magic path is underway, and while a pure-magic run will not be possible (you start the game with relatively high science), it adds a lot of abilities that compliment the science path nicely. Changelog:

• Added the Anomaly - check the wyrms tunnels around the old bunker, this is where you'll get quests for the magic path.
• Added first few magic path quests and achievements.
• Wyrms now respawn in those tunnels.

Online Multiplayer is now out of beta! You can now play with your friends, completing all quests together or just mess around, building a cool world or a large automated factory. You can even ride around in each other's spaceships - although it can be a bumpy ride!
The beta is still available, but no longer up to date - if you tried the beta and want to keep your beta saves, I'd recommend exporting them from the beta version and importing them in the default branch.
Multiplayer works by one player hosting a save, allowing other players to join that save. You do this by hitting Host Save and Join Game in the multiplayer menu. The name at the bottom of the menu determines what character you load the game as (or the name displayed in the games list if you are hosting), and defaults to your steam username. If you only want friends to be able to join the game, uncheck add to joinable games list when selecting a save to host.
The enter key opens the chat, which includes similar commands to the original Aground - including the ability to ban players if needed. Type /help in the chat window to see a list of commands. Hosted games will autosave on the host's computer, and the host can choose to save the world to a specific slot - but players who join the game cannot save - so if they mess up your world, you can ban them and load without saving. There are no restrictions on progression or completing quests for any player. Make sure to communicate with the players if you want to impose house rules!
There may not be a lot of public saves during Early Access - so I recommend setting up a game with someone among your friends or in our discord server! In addition to online multiplayer, this update also includes the following quality of life changes:

• Added surface music track
• Added oxygen generator model
• Oxygen generators no longer animate if they can't produce enough oxygen (but they still light up if powered).
• Right clicking a structure when the fabricator is selected will select that blueprint (if not already selected).
• You can now enrage (enable) and befriend (disable) bots in the com station.
• Placing fuel in the generator will automatically switch the fuel type (if necessary).
• Doors now trap water/oxygen when closed (but, will let both through when open unless a forcefield is placed).
• Ores (when selected on the toolbar) can now be placed back into walls for decoration - be warned, if you place them on an unmineable block, the ore will not be retrievable!
• Worker bots now disable instead of die when they run out of power - you can then dismantle them or recharge them from your batteries.
• Raised worker bot cap to 30.
• Added low oxygen warning sfx.
• Added notification if flight is disabled.
• Increased torpedo damage.
• Removed bright frames from mining animation.

It took longer than I hoped, partly due to real life events, but the multiplayer beta is now feature complete! That means you can complete all the current single player quests with friends, build and ride vehicles, and test out all the features. If you haven't heard about the multiplayer beta, or want to know how to access it, check out this news post: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1795570/view/4174354971165516277 There are currently no known bugs or issues with the multiplayer beta, although I've only tested it two player with a fellow dev. If you find any bugs, definitely report it! Assuming there are no major bugs, I plan to push this build to the default branch in about a week, so everyone can try it out. I'll keep the beta branch available so you can access your beta saves (as the beta has a different saves list than default), but once multiplayer goes live, the beta branch will not be kept up to date. As for what's next, I have a growing list of minor improvements and quality of life changes that I've been putting off while I finished multiplayer, so the next update will probably be a quality of life one. But after that, I think I'm going to start the magic path! I've already gotten a lot of models done for it, like the baby dragon below:
I hope you enjoy multiplayer, and are looking forward to the next updates!

As you might have seen from our previous two dev streams, we've been making good progress on online multiplayer, and decided to make an open beta for those who want to try it out. Before you jump right in, there are a few things you should know: [olist]

We'll be hosting another multiplayer test stream on our normal update day, Tuesday. This stream will mostly be checking that all the bugs from the previous stream are fixed. If you missed the previous stream, you can see it here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1795570/announcements/detail/4170975369408068892?snr=2___

I haven't posted an update in a while, but that's because I've been hard at work adding online multiplayer to Aground Zero. Multiplayer is always a large amount of work, and there's not much to share during it's development, but it's halfway complete and I hope to release online multiplayer by the end of June (with a beta available before that). Earlier today, I streamed the first test of online multiplayer, with a fellow developer, which you can watch below: [previewyoutube=tIhXzu4LnB4;full][/previewyoutube] I hope you're looking forward to online multiplayer, and I'm starting to accumulate new 3D models for the next section of the game I will start on after it is complete. There probably won't be another update until the multiplayer beta test, but rest assured progress is being made!

This update adds some optimizations for large bases, mounts to the beetle explorer (although some cannot be unlocked yet), and fixes some bugs. It's a small update, but the mounts are fun to play with and the optimizations make a huge difference in some of the crazy saves I've been sent! To add mounts to the beetle explorer, select the mounting wall and it'll show all mount blueprints you know. For mounts that don't take up the full height, select the wall above the mount, and you can often squeeze in a storage mount above it. Changelog:

• Optimized performance for large bases
• Added mounts to beetle explorer
• Fixed lighting on moon
• Fixed memory leak

This is a very small update that's mostly for some bugfixes with the cryopod/timeskip quest (along with another one no one else noticed where icons would sometimes look greenish). It also has two QOL features:

• No longer pauses the game in multiplayer if you open the menu (you are invincible/immobile, but the other player can still act).
• Door forcefields removed when dismantle door

A new weekly update, and this one's a big one! You might've seen the in-progress videos of the moon and beetle explorer, but those are now both in game, along with new quests to obtain them! [previewyoutube=ic7r197uf7M;full][/previewyoutube] Changelog:

• Added Beetle Explorer (spaceship)
• Added the Moon
• Added the Timeskip (questline) - you might want to check in with the professor afterwards
• Added the ability for Com Stations to manage workers and structures.
• Added a com device that lets you access com stations in orbit (from anywhere) - check the vending machine.
• Added a repair button the to vehicle inventory window (hit X while riding a vehicle)
• Generators wont accept more than 1 exotic matter in exotic matter mode.
• Improved transparent object rendering
• Minor improvements and bugfixes

I'm not ready to share the moon yet, but I decided to post a small update as I had some minor improvements and bugfixes I figured should go live. Changelog:

• Worker bays with occupants have green lights on edges
• Worker list is sorted by workers without jobs first, skill second
• Forcefield and glass blocks now use range of your shovel, if you have one
• Added power range to generator info (showing the amount of power needed if all crafting stations are off vs on)
• Added sideways ramps
• Meteors and torpedoes no longer damage objects through blocks or objects - the path to the explosion center must be unobstructed
• If forcefield is selected in inventory and the door does not have a forcefield, the door will give a place forcefield option instead of open/close door to place forcefields in all door blocks at once (consuming the forcefields)

The Beetle Explorer is not done yet - but as some players noticed, the sub can currently be used in space like a spaceship! So, to do some testing, I decided to use the sub as a spaceship and take it to the moon! [previewyoutube=FTjfWfpc_4A;full][/previewyoutube] The Moon is not yet complete, but I did finish the nav window which allows you to travel between planets (as you can see in the video above), and the broken pieces of the moon are quite spectacular! I probably wont add the moon and navigation to the early access build until I add the beetle explorer, but hopefully this gives you a neat sneak peak of what's to come!

No, the spaceship isn't done yet - it is still being modelled (and could take some time for a model that big). However, in preparation, I did add an orbit area as shown in my last update, which you can now try out for yourself! This also includes several smaller improvements and bugfixes. Changelog:

• Added Earth Orbit
• Added placeholder oxygen generator - the model for this isn't done yet, but it is fully functional and you get it the first time you reach orbit. Check PAI's help for details on how to use it.
• Added metal ramps, brick ramps, and truss ramps (check the vending machine for a new blueprint)
• You can build worker bots in orbit - but they move as if there was gravity (because it was simpler that way)
• Items are pulled towards powered belts in orbit so they can travel along them
• Fixed truss water bug
• When mined, glass now returns the item
• Made it clearer which tool is selected
• Added key that enables/disables antigravity pack
• Pauses the game when not focused unless focus paused option is unchecked

While waiting for the Beetle Explorer to be modeled (it could take some time for a ship that big), I decided to start working on Space - as what is a spaceship without Space? [previewyoutube=S1Fk_1Y-fNs;full][/previewyoutube] I probably spent more time than I should have on rendering the Earth and atmosphere, but I think it came out really cool! Plus, I'll be able to reuse that on the Moon (although, the Earth will look smaller in the sky there). You can move around in all 3 dimensions without any restrictions in space - but there's no oxygen, so until the Spaceship is done and I add oxygen generators you can place in space stations you build, it is pretty inhospitable. However, I'll include the orbit area in the next update for you to play around in (later this week, or next Tuesday at the latest), along with a bunch of other fixes! In other news, I added trading cards to Aground Zero! All of the trading cards include original concept art for the game - so check your badge progress and click on the card to view the full concept art. You should've automatically received trading cards based on your playtime if you've already been playing the game.

While we have nothing in game to share this week, we've been hard at work adding the first spaceship to the game - and it is quite the big one! The Beetle Explorer has a control area with a view at the front, a single fixed laser cannon, and an interior with wall mount slots you can use to customize it as a small mobile base. Able to function in the air, space and underwater, it is quite a versatile vehicle! [previewyoutube=KhTdWP2r8Ls;full][/previewyoutube] The Beetle Explorer will not be buildable in game until the next major update, but while you wait, you can check out the amazing concept art made by Jacob Carroll, and imagine how you'll customize it and where you will fly it once you can build it!

This update has a bunch of minor improvements and ways to decorate and improve your base, as well as dealing with water more effectively. You can see a video of some of the changes in the last video update: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1795570/announcements/detail/6664834251009519608?snr=2___ Changelog:

• Added doors (check the blueprint printer)
• Added forcefield and glass blocks, plus a sand item to craft glass
• Drains don't block water, and will continue to drain anything that enters while powered. Forcefields were added to old saves around drains so that water cannot enter the 3 blocks above like before.
• Added water vaporizer.
• Space is now ascend, Shift descend for the sub and anti-gravity pack. You will hover in place once flying until you hold shift to hit the ground.
• You now exit teleportals the same side you enter (can place the back of all of them against walls)
• Added ability to dismantle subways.
• Added surface props and paint blueprints to vending machine
• Click+drag added for bucket until full (can scoop up lots of thin water)
• Added checkbox to allow/disallow NPCs access to teleportal
• if NPCs have nothing to do, they now stay in their bed in the bunker.
• Fixed a bug where you would sometimes collect items on belts
• Added large text accessibility option
• Increased effectiveness of cooked foods
• Added power warning to generators if there's not enough power generation
• Increased bot limit to 20

I'm starting up weekly Tuesday updates again! If there's not a game update, I'll post a video update like I did before, and since I haven't posted any update in a while, I decided to include all the cool new things I've been working on in this update: [previewyoutube=C4qOwiBwTiQ;full][/previewyoutube] The video includes Glass (made from Sand, it is like a Truss block but blocks water), Forcefields (blocks water, but allows objects to pass through), and Doors (they don't block water, but forcefields can be placed inside like in the video). Drains have been changed and are no longer block water (you need a force field to do that), but that means they can drain a lot more water. Thin water can remain where there are no drains, but the new Water Vaporizer can quickly remove that. I have a few other changes I want to make for this update before uploading, and when that's done I should have everything I need to get started on the next content update, which will be pretty exciting!

This update has a lot of minor improvements and bugfixes. Changelog:

• Added bgm for flooded city.
• Added log list to Pai's help
• Added crafting limits
• Added cancel button on assembler that gives raw materials back
• Laser drill can now kill bats instead of the fabricator (which was tougher/unintuitive)
• Splitters will now rotate to distribute evenly between structures with the same priority.
• Splitters will now prioritize generators and factories that have less of the required material (to try to keep them all balanced).
• Fixed Worker Bots
• NPCs can now take items from bunkers if needed at workplace
• Storehouse can manually request items from other storehouses.
• Added click and drag for belts, drains, cables, ladder, painter
• Fixed Friend Locator if you never get the Cryopod Locator quest.
• On death, if you hit reload, it will restore health and oxygen (to avoid endless death loops).
• Increased defense and damage of turrets (player built and enemy)
• Made it easier to shove NPCs around
• chests can have priority set like storehouse, but defaults to low
• Friend shows quest indicator and has increased health, making it less likely to kill it by accident
• Assembler on update stays on selected item
• Crafting structures now show the required item count below the item (so it doesn't overlap the inventory count).
• Added down arrow on buttons that change recipes/fuel
• survivors get +1 max on their starting skill, so they can reach level 5
• Structures now show how long things take to produce
• Changed deep cave generation - new games will start with more caverns, and bats cannot spawn near start.
• Shift+click for factories put extra resources into the empty slots.
• Enemy subs no longer start spawning until you reach the surface, and they cannot attack you out of water

I wanted to add some last minute polish and improvements before the Early Access launch on Thursday. None of the updates here are major, but many of them are quite nice! Changelog:

• Added Seaweed - you can find it underwater in new saves and collect/place it, but it's purely decorative.
• Added ore detector (you can craft it in the lab) - lets you find nearby ores that you have unlocked in the mining rig.
• Replaced placeholder icons
• Added allow request from storehouse option to crafting structures.
• Added ability to set priority for different items in a storehouse.
• Belts entering teleportals will now go through the teleportal (if it is active) - it will always send items to the same location (see the output arrow when building/dismantling them). However, structures will not request items through teleportals, nor will splitters automatically use teleportals.
• Splitters will now prioritize sending food to bunkers with less food (not closest).
• Adjusted recipes, some items now need cables instead of wires to produce.

• Added subway music
• Added meteors to surface
• Added way to change what kind of ramp to place
• Added language option (only english for now)

Mark your calendars, Aground Zero is launching into Early Access January 18th, 2024! We also made a new launch trailer: [previewyoutube=OyY-Sw9fhKg;full][/previewyoutube] I hope youre as excited as I am - the Early Access launch will bring you from being stranded underground, to building an underground base, ascending to the surface and building vehicles. We have lots more planned for Early Access updates too - like the first spaceship, new areas, and a moon base! Were also going to do a launch stream where we will talk about the game and hit the big release button together: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1795570/view/3896241210503044028 Wishlist the game if you havent already, and definitely let us know if you have any suggestions or feedback!

Aground Zero launches in Early Access January 18th at 2PM EDT! Join us in stream for chatting about game and hitting the big green launch button!

I hope everyone is having a great final week of 2023! There's a lot of news about Aground Zero, so lets get to it!

Early Access

Demo Update 0.2.0

• Performance optimizations
• Edited character textures
• Improved NPC pathfinding - they can now use teleportals (but will not change the destination of them).
• NPCs will now fire laser guns if they have them in their inventory to shoot enemies
• Bunkers will now request food from storehouses
• PAI can perform an emergency teleport to the starting location if you get stuck
• Updated logo
• Repaired cryopods now let you advance time when sealed inside.
• Bugfixes/minor improvements.

Update Videos

The subways are mostly done now in the playtest, and I also did a lot of quality of life improvements so I decided to update the demo too! While I don't plan to add more content to the demo, I did add a river of water that will spawn in a new save (and shows off the new water mechanic). Changelog that affects the Demo:

• Added water and an underground river
• Added buckets
• Added footstep sounds
• Added a clear option to the painter to remove paint
• You can now climb ladders from any direction (even if the ladder is behind you)
• Adjusted the shield so it no longer works with 0 power
• Other adjustments and minor improvements

It's been a while since our last public update on Aground Zero, so I figured it was time to update everyone! Development progress is going smoothly, the next area (the subways) are mostly complete and I just recently added water (the last major feature of the game). However, when I went through the amount of models left to finish and the rate at which the modeler is making them, I realized we weren't going to be able to release this year. So, we've tentatively postponed the release date to "Early 2024," potentially with an early access release in late 2023. While I am sure many of you are disappointed about this, here is something fun to lighten the blow: [previewyoutube=MxDMVXi1LB8;full][/previewyoutube] Maybe worker bots are exactly what our dev team needs.

I finally finished the split screen co-op I was testing during the Steam Next Fest - you can now play with up to 4 players on the same computer (or remotely with Steam Remote Play)! You can watch the dev stream where I tested co-op for basically the first time here: [previewyoutube=Ub7gLms3akw;full][/previewyoutube] This update also includes a lot of improvements and fixes based on feedback we received during the Next Fest! I hope you enjoy, and definitely let me know if you have more feedback! Changelog:

• Added split screen co-op
• Splitters will now rotate to redirect items to factories directly from rigs/producers
• Assembler can now queue multiple of the same item
• Now shows how many remaining items needed for structure while building
• Added notifications and reminders if you cannot do something
• Now shows power cost and size (4x4x3 etc) in structure hover info
• Smoothed out jumps - they now increase height if you hold jump key longer
• Added invert y axis option
• Minor improvements and bugfixes
• I might have added a secret area to the game (new saves only)

There were a few bugs and issues in the demo, so I decided to post a small update before the Next Fest! Changelog:

• Added locator for teleportals
• Added brightness slider
• Fixed falling through world bug
• Option to turn output arrow on structures (not just blueprints)
• Fixed linux controller bindings
• Fixed bugs with item dispatch
• Minor bugfixes and improvements

Join the devs as we play through Aground Zero and talk about development! This will be an hour long stream during the Steam Next Festival - follow along and try the demo yourself!

Another team playthrough - where we continue from where we left off the day before. Join the devs as we play through Aground Zero and talk about development! This will be an hour long stream during the Steam Next Festival - follow along and try the demo yourself!

It's been about a year since we posted this coming soon page, and in that time we've made a lot of progress! With our Steam Next Fest coming up for Aground Zero, I figured it was time to update everyone. The store page has been revamped with a new logo, screenshots, gifs, description and a new trailer! You can see the trailer here: [previewyoutube=AeJj_MpjQBk;full][/previewyoutube] This trailer show a lot more clearly what you do in Aground Zero - certainly there's mining and voxels, but it's far more about base building and NPC workers. There's also a secret clip at the end of the trailer, after the logos!
The main content for the upcoming demo is already done - including core base structures, 8 recruit-able NPCs and the Professor. There's still some polishing to do and incomplete animations, but we're getting pretty close which is really exciting and I can't wait to see what everyone thinks!
We are running a closed playtest in advance of the Steam Next Fest - if you're interested and okay with unfinished elements, let me (terra0nova) know on our Discord, where we have a private channel to discuss the playtest. Look forward to more updates as we get closer to the Steam Next Fest!

What can you do in Aground Zero?

• Mine ores, gems, and other resources
  
• Build structures
  
• Rescue survivors
  
• Fight enemies and bosses
  
• Explore the ruins of Earth
  
• Upgrade your tools and Protosuit
  
• Craft items and automate factories
  
• Balance power generation and usage
  
• Meet some familiar faces in 3D
  
• Reach the surface, and beyond?

• OS: Any 64-bit
• Processor: 2.0 Ghz Dual CoreMemory: 3 GB RAM
• Memory: 3 GB RAM
• Graphics: OpenGL 3.0+
• Storage: 1 GB available space