Hello Space builders! In this iteration, our primary goal was to inject fresh progression elements into the game while fine-tuning existing features. We've embarked on a journey to enhance resource transportation and overhaul our overlays for a smoother gameplay experience. However, this update took longer than anticipated, as we navigated through vacation time and grappled with various illnesses over the past months.

New Resource Types

To enrich the gameplay experience, we've introduced a plethora of new resource types. From essential "Raw Materials" such as Iron, Copper, Silicon, Lithium, and Sand, to more advanced resources like Plastic, Mechanical Parts, and both simple and advanced circuits, there's now a diverse array of resources to discover and utilize on your cosmic journey.

Expanded Crafting Options

Crafting capabilities have received a significant boost with the addition of new resources and workbenches, offering players more flexibility and depth in their construction endeavors.

Basic Workbench

The trusty Basic Workbench remains a staple in your crafting arsenal, available from the outset of your journey. While it excels at producing fundamental interior items crucial for life support maintenance, its versatility extends to crafting tools and other essentials. However, its efficiency pales in comparison to more specialized counterparts.

Chemistry Workbench

Enter the Chemistry Workbench, a dedicated station for mastering chemical reactions and crafting materials like plastic. Acting as a simplified version of the purification plant, it requires a skilled chemist to operate and boasts a longer crafting time compared to more advanced alternatives.

Advanced Workbench

Evolved from the Construction Workbench, the Advanced Workbench reigns supreme as the pinnacle of crafting proficiency. With its comprehensive functionality, it remains capable of crafting all interior items, offering a glimpse of potential future advancements.

3D Printer

Harnessing the power of automation, the 3D Printer emerges as a vital addition to your crafting arsenal. Capable of autonomously crafting simple items and tools, it allows your crew to divert their attention to other pressing matters. This diverse array of crafting options empowers players to navigate the complexities of resource management and construction with newfound creativity and efficiency.

Resource Type Details

To provide players with a clearer understanding of resource management, I've implemented several categories for different resource types. These categories outline where resources can be ordered, harvested, crafted, or consumed within the game's various interior items. This organizational feature aims to offer new players a step-by-step overview, facilitating smoother navigation through the intricacies of resource utilization.

Improved Transport Mechanism

In this update, I've also revamped the transport logic to enhance clarity and efficiency. Gone are the days of needing reserved boxes in storage units for automation. Instead, all automated tasks are now conveniently accessible through a configuration button located next to each resource type. From there, you can easily set up auto-pick targets with the simple click of a button.
Additionally, I've introduced the ability to adjust reserved amounts directly within this new automation popup or via quick drag-and-drop actions on the resource type itself.

Player Transport Tasks

Furthermore, a new feature allows for the seamless creation of paths between interior items. By simply right-clicking on a potential target, you can access the PiMenu to establish a connection between the selected items, streamlining player transport tasks like never before.

New Overlay

The overlays have received a significant polish too to enhance user experience. A new Overlay button or panel is now consistently visible in the lower right corner of the screen, providing easy access to the current overlay or the option to add a new overlay.
Furthermore, all overlays have undergone refinement: The Resource Holders overlay has been enhanced to display more detailed and visually appealing information.
Similarly, the Container User overlay, which indicates entities utilizing resources such as the ship's energy or those emitting CO into the atmosphere, has been redesigned. Additionally, these overlays now scale seamlessly with the UI for improved integration.
Moreover, the Path visualization feature, initially designed for transport tasks, has been expanded to include non-transport tasks such as maintenance. This enhancement allows for the visualization of paths taken by crew members when performing various actions within the game.

Full ChangeLog

Fixes

• Preconfigured items have no broken Container Tooltip anymore
• Fixed crafting the wrong amount in some special cases
• Fixed error when canceling a room when its close to be inflated
• Rare exception with Resource Container Tooltip
• Fixed style for empty Value labels
• Fixed Sound of Engines to loop nicer
• Fixed missing click sound on some buttons
• Fixed Shuttles were not removed when the shuttlebay was removed
• Rooms were not shown in multi selections
• Possible nullpointer in storage UI
• Fixed Done Primary objective could be added to the ui
• Added missing click sound when changing the choose buttons (like priority)
• Image for Key 9 is now correct
• Error when try to report something with 2 games open at the same time
• Fixed wrong error message related to Hygiene
• Fixed Display Problem with history when values get out of clamped values
• Fixed memory leak in new rules engine
• Reenable Burst mode for x10 performance
• Fixed Mission have a fixed priority for their containers.
• Having a connection from dock to a constructionsite, that is abort was not remove the connection
• Removed wrong shown error related to an empty container
• Fixed endless simulation loop in a special situation.
• Fixed Help Tooltip was moving due to the animated button
• Only show Overlays in the regular Camera (not e.g. in overview camera or free flight)
• Fixed missing HighTemperature events
• Fixed warning for Fire creation
• Fixed some warnings when a fire has been extinguished
• Fixed some Help Interactions
• Fixed errors with empty containers in special situations
• 3D Printer was not working anymore
• Default Quality is now on Ultra.
• Fixed Crafting showing an empty bar without need
• Canceling Workbench causing problems
• Fixed some World Elements were flashing in the upper right in the first frame
• Fixed bad performance for OverlayPanel in the sidemenu
• Fixed Darkness Achievement firing at the start of the game in special cases
• Fix Warnings when an interior item is finished
• Fixed some Errors in Dismantle Interior Items
• Fixed layout of ErrorWarning Panel
• Fixed duplicate Low Condition markers for interior items with activities
• Fixed some error loggings related to finishing constuctions in special cases
• Person keep doing a canceled transport task even if he don't need to
• Changing priority changes tasks that should not be changed for storages
• Showing too many resourceTypes in Storage add reserve Tooltip
• Resource Icons for PiMenu Groups were not shown correctly
• Adding an interior to a private room now also makes that activity private
• MainMenu Background not get blured when grahic is set to very low
• Fixed Overview Camera wobble around when ship is spinning on high game speed
• Interior Item Condition Problem was not shown for <20% condition.
• Fixed tasks were not updated when changing accessability in a special case
• Rare Exception when SupplyShip is empty
• Fixed rare situation where some container events were not fired correctly
• Serializion of Achievement Icons
• Fixed rare race conditions in Achievement system
• Mitigation of Empty-Container
• Removed Warning when arriving at a waypoint
• Delta Values for GaugeElements more resistent to low delta values
• Fixed showing wrong Recipe in Pimenu selected when no recipe is set
• Performance Improvement, due to not needed UI Check. Heavy impact on the Craft Queue Popup
• Fixed emptying a shelf not let person drop it to the same shelf again.
• Fixed Warning when a room got finished at updating the Thermal effect
• Fixed warning for Quality related Input Resources in special cases
• Fixed error when placing Shuttlebay in a not finished room

Added

• Added new Chemistry Workbench, to do basic chemical things like creating plastic
• Added Orderable with price and current to order boxes to the ResourceType
• Added Help button to Storage Panel
• Added CraftableAt and ingredients also to the interior item buildmenu
• Added new basic Workbench to build tools and other basic interior items
• Added a hint when the Lifesupport is not enough tor the new crew members
• Added several new Resources
• Update Mechanism for new Game Versions for user stored blueprints
• Test for missing Images in Translations
• Show also transport tasks located in other interior items with it as target
• Possible Task Overlay when a Person is selected
• Added Highlight Colors for Section overlays
• Added Overlay for all ShipSections
• Added new AddOverlay button with categories and search filters
• Added Overlay Popup, organised in Tabs and search feature.
• Click on GaugePanel (e.g. energy, or humidity) now sets the Main Overlay, so it keep showing when moving away with the mouse.
• New Overlay Button and Panel in the lower right above the persons
• Showing Person Path for other Task types like Maintenance
• Added new Transport Tutorial including the new mechanisms.
• Clone also clones the Players Task setup
• Make Auto Tasks of other interior items toggleable
• Target Icon to Task Elements
• Added PiMenu for connecting 2 interior Items with transport tasks
• Target Image to PiMenu Center Icon
• Shortcut for enable Cheats sith ctrl+shift+alt+c
• More Achievements: Bad AI, Firefighter
• Achievement Popup in Mainmenu and store to see the reached Achievements
• New Achievement System
• Make Storage Configurable while in construction state
• Interior Item Overlays for all Items
• EmergencyCabinet that stores O2 and CO2 for o2mask and FireExtinguishers
• Added Battery
• Cheat resources with mousebuttons (where it works also with mousewheel)
• Readded Auto-Focus TextBoxes after found a workaround for the unity bug
• Added Environmental Effects and Factors to the Interior Item Preview

Improved

• Better tooltip for Interior Item icon
• ValueLabels can be highlight
• Resource Tooltip now contains infos about ingredience usages and crafting durations
• Added Escape Key to cancel Permanent Overlays.
• Improved Special Event details, to show problems of energy producing elements on energy depleted
• Improved many Special Event helps to make it more clear, give more hints and add icons
• Small tutorial improvements
• Use real Person Picture for the icon in containerUsers
• Clicking on a Container User in an Overlay now shows the correct user
• Updated Unity to fix an import bug for some audio files
• Created new ContainingResources Settings and converted all interior items to it.
• 3D Printer uses new craft Settings. Tools will be created in bunches.
• PiMenu is now able to show non auto assigned tasks also and pick what makes most sense
• Moved overlay of Photovoltaic Panel and External Radiator above the inner box
• Make Possible Actions Overlay UI elements clickthrough, so the pimenu is working easier.
• Better logging for simulation problems
• Set burst off when its not needed for better logging and still high performance
• Overlay Buttons in AddOverlay Popup now showing a preview (thanks for Ichio)
• Update Unity to newest version
• Fixed Sorting of Resource Container Lists (e.g. storage and Dock)
• Keep showing special connections in the DockingPort, so it's changable
• Allow adding connections from both sides. Prefere than construction sides and interior items to add the task
• Improved UI for items with many connections
• Create Blueprint now shows the old BlueprintName instead of the room name if possible
• Ship Section Overlay bars are centering the target in the center, so its easier to see problems
• Section Overlay now got a better design and autoscales with the zoom level
• Moved ShowOverlay on Selection to Options panel and used now an Overlay for that
• Better overlay for Fire
• Condition Overlay has as very high now transparent, so its better visible whats broken. Also mvoed legend to the new Overlay Panel
• Cooling pipe saturaged got just an info instead of a warning now. High/Low Temperature Event is better described.
• Layout of Container Users also aligned to the auto scale and new design
• Improved Overlay for Resource Holders
• Overlay for ResourceType now shows current connections too.
• Store Player Task setup for Interior Items e.g. for Crafting
• Visualize the autopick target mode (room or whole ship) in the task icon and in task tooltip
• Reserved amount for storages moved to automate settings and to fill bar
• Moved autopick tasks to separate automate popup
• Delete Button in the Translate Popup not effecting the game
• Rules System is able to work on better on multiple Threads

Balancing

• Updated Missions to harvest raw materials instead of steel
• 3D printer can now craft also interior items and don't need a worker anymore
• 3D Printer don't need a worker anymore
• High Priorities also starts at higher percentages, to prevent doing it too often
• Rooms are not anymore automarkes as private when adding Residence to it. Now it can be changed in the room selection panel instead.
• Setup some recipes to use duration instead of normal throughput.

We hope you enjoy these new features and improvements. As always, your feedback is invaluable in shaping the game's development. Stay tuned for more updates, and thank you for your continued support! If you encounter any issues or have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Together, we'll make this game even better!

Want to see more?

I also post the progress and more pictures to our Discord:

Weekly Tester

We have started the weekly tester events. To attend, just join our Discord and get to #-testers-bulletin-board.
And don't forget to wishlist and follow us to keep up to date. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638030/Generation_Ship/

[ 2024-03-20 14:45:03 CET ] [ Original post ]