This is a big one, with new features, lots of small UI improvements, bug fixes and even a new quest! The new quest is called 'Refuel Enceladus' and starts out as a simple request from Horst. You can choose to simply follow his instructions or go down another path. This was a late-game, end of 2078 quest cut from the game to be part of an expansion. The expansion is shaping up to be a completely separate entity, though, so part of the threads that were left open for expansion content will make their way into the base game. It's a short quest with three paths and the ability to obliterate an entire faction. It's short, but two paths have major repercussions, a lot of reactivity and tie up loose ends if you work against the Chinese. That's a convoluted way of saying there's free new content. Current players take note: The redundant sleep screen is gone. Fatigue level and sleep deficit are now shown in timelapse panel. Again, thanks to everyone for the continued feedback.

Changelog

New features and improvements

• 'Refuel Enceladus' quest added.
• New ending slide for complete destruction of Helene.
• New achievement for destroying Helene.
• Helene can now be destroyed to complete Mass Murder Alibi without Yat-Sen's help. Or for people who want to kill everyone.
• Can now talk to Ling through the comms channel for menial things like asking about Jingpo Lacus or the Satellite feed. He will refuse to discuss delicate affairs remotely, however.
• Chinese quests move to complete (failure) if you kill them.
• You can 'rest while tired' when in the rover.
• Asking Ling about Jingpo Lacus is more forgiving.
• Can't request access to Chinese satellite from Helene without requesting permission from Ling first.
• Daxia and Louam will respond to your transgressions against the Chinese. You can convince Louam to stay with Poker Face or Charisma 10, but Daxia will just sneak out.
• Set of 5 girders buildable item added.
• Tutorial reworked to accomodate getting rid of the sleep screen.
• Morale loss for staying in rover reduced slightly.

UI improvements

• The sleep screen is gone. Fatigue level and sleep deficit are now shown in timelapse panel. It was clunky, redundant and confusing to new players. Clicking on a bed now shows your sleep deficit.
• Timeline clock icon improved.
• Mission Log now has checkboxes, checkmarks and status colors.
• Mission Log description headers are now a little offset.
• Mission Log now uses the correct amber color.
• Mission Log more consistent interpunction. (Only on new playthroughs because descriptions are stored in the savegame)
• Failed or subverted quest entries are now shown as red.
• Vnern Lacus Group title no longer overflows in the 'entering location' panel.
• Player driven timed special events now show up in timeline. For example, the Herschel nexus arriving.
• Base modules can no longer be placed by right click. (used for scrolling, this prevents accidental placement)
• Dates for mission log and 'shipment due' are now consistently formatted.
• Available Channels List is updated when you open the panel, not when you enter the command center.
• Scrolling through savegame buttons with mouse wheel is faster.
• Remaining food display in inventory Stock Panel is split into two lines, food days remaining turns red when you have less than five days of food.
• Mission log blocks camera scrolling.
• Character names within 2 characters of the character limit no longer overflow the save/load name tags.
• Email message headers wider.

Fixes

• Searchable area in Vnern Lacus Group now has missing tier 2 item.
• Fungal Growth dropbox state in the Roster panel is now saved.
• Daxia wasn't clickable on some systems, interactable spot increased.
• Daxia no longer sometimes appears at Tuxing Liu when she's at the Outpost.
• Val no longer sometimes appears in the Cave when she's at the Outpost.
• The elvator room in the base builder view no longer shows an interactable cursor.
• Melt/Excavate cursor no longer occasionally disappears on systems that don't support changing the size of the hardware cursor.
• Basement computer room size reduced so character doesn't get stuck.
• Fixed bug where Karen would keep getting angry about the misappropriated satellite materials if you tell her "It was Karl's idea".
• Orbital navigator Herschel Station list button works (you could only select it using the prev/next buttons)
• Negotiation Panel now correctly blocks hotkeys.
• Missing audio line fixed for Daxia.
• Daxia dialogue dead end fixed.
• 'Applied Physics' perk exploit fixed.
• Drone upgrade 'not enough polymers' color fixed.
• Daxia and Louam's corpses will no longer appear at Tuxing Liu if everybody dies there if they are at the Outpost.

Known Issues

• Someone reported a disappearing toolbar, but we haven't been able to reproduce this after the latest fix. Getting rid of the sleep screen removes a lot of pitfalls regarding this, so hopefully resolving that issue is a beneficial side effect.
• Drones AI is still erratic on very rare occasions.
• People really want a rover-to-outpost button so that may make it in.
• The negotiation system could be clearer on what's going on.
• General Help still references sleep screen.
• Tutorial Layout a little wide for optimal reading on some screens.

What's next?

First off, as more people start playing the game, different decisions on different systems yield different results, so there are probably a few more fixes on the horizon. As for content. It's still not a final decision, but the way it's shaping up right now, one more quest from the planned expansion is going to either make it into the base game or become (likely) free DLC. It's a bigger one, with some new items, new research and new buildables as well. The quest is not tied to one of the current main storylines so don't worry about missing out if you want to play the game now. The rest of the planned expansion will become the base for an entirely new game, but it's too early to make an announcement on that.

[ 2020-05-03 17:29:34 CET ] [ Original post ]