Learning Factory News

Hey engineers,

This new update extends the game campaign, facilitates customization items' unlocks, and brings tons of usability improvements! Update and rejoice!

[h2]v0.23.150 Released![/h2]

[h3]Visuals, Sounds, New Content[/h3]

• HALLOWEEN IS HERE + 3 new themed items for cats
  
• An alternative map for campaign: more intricate landscape, less reources, available to those who started playing the main campaign at least once
  
• Decreased prices for most customization items, some items can be unlocked for triggering certain in-game events
  
• New customization item: Shiny Down jacket, unlocked for mining Gold
  
• New customization item: Dr. Katz's friends fan club hat, unlcoked for satisfying 'Friendly cats' legendary cat
  
• Made it easier to notice that a new customization item was unlocked
  
• New music track for Jungle biome
  
• New music track for Tundra biome
  
• New Legendary cat
  
• Re-rendered Yarn Ball Maker
  
• Minor terraforming visuals upgrade
  
• Parts of holiday decorations can be toggled on and off in the settings (suggested by Trichouette)
  

[h3]Buildings && Upgrades[/h3]

• 2 upgrades for the Enriched Soil Silo, increasing the crafting limit (suggested by Евгений Ры́марев)
  
• New upgrade for Soil Silo, allowing automatic crafting of Concrete Flooring
  
• New upgrade for the Roadside Boutique, adding an extra slot for goods
  
• Roadside Boutique logics redesigned: a connected machine learning model will always be working, and it is always possible to switch to your own price or sales mode
  
• A new recipe for the Milk Drill, one of the older recipes modified (suggested by Ksetrat)
  
• Crafting limit for Compost Machone increased from 500 to 5000
  
• Faster Concrete production in the desert requires 1 unit of Catnip Juice instead of 2
  

[h3]New Hotkeys && Instruments[/h3]

• Added a hotkey for crafting a copy of a building when mouse cursor is over it ('U' by default); pressing 'Ctrl' + 'U' results in crafting up to 100 copies;
  
• Pressing 'Ctrl' + 'U' or 'Ctrl' + click when hovering over a building on the building panel in the bottom part of the screen (suggested by MarcusZ)
  
• Pressing 'Ctrl' + 'open Backpack' while hovering over a building on the building panel opens the tab containing this building and select it, if possible (suggested by MarcusZ)
  
• Opening the Wiki while hovering over a building on the building panel opens the tab containing this building and select it, if possible
  
• Pipette tool can now work with the building panel
  
• Pressing 'Ctrl' + pipette hotkey on the building panel creates a Blueprint
  

[h3]QoL && Interface[/h3]

• Picking up all the Blueprints doesn't result in picking up all objects from the map anymore
  
• Added a timer indicating the time left before the next event starts
  
• Wiki articles show optimal biomes for growing plants (suggested by Евгений Ры́марев)
  
• Added an option to sort recipes in the Wiki (suggested by MarcusZ)
  
• It is no longer ppossible to change water tiles to ground tiles under Trade Routes
  
• Improved tutorial
  
• UI/UX fixes
  

[h3]Techie Stuff[/h3]

• Performance optimization
  
• Performance optimization in zoomed out view
  
• Bug fixes (via Евгений Ры́марев, LoadRunner, Ksetrat, MarcusZ)
  

[h2]Re: Factory[/h2]
We're planning to continue answering the question you send our way through the in-game feedback form!

Q: 'pressingg tab to go to the underworld will let me pass the barrier and let me walk on water, from what I have tested it needs to have cotton next to a slope and for some reason tabs puts me in the underworld water side.' -Deadvite A: This is a known bug, and a mighty hard to fix one, too. Since it doesn't break the game, we have no immediate plans in looking into it, not before we finish tasks with higher priority

The next batch of questions is from our friend MarcusZ

Q: 'Missing german translation of "microchip" inside the wiki. Btw it is "Mikrochip".'
A: Most of our current translations are community-based, you are very welcome to help us by making contributions to Learning Factory's Crowdin Project.

Q: 'I often use the map to find rare deposits like gold, milky iceberg and cactuses. Although color coded, these are difficult to see.
It would be helpful to:
- make Map a fullscreen window
- highlight choosable type of resource on the map (i.e flashing color)
- place/delete user defined marker(s)'
A: When we were working on the map, we didn't think that we'll need to add as many features suggested by our players. We might add some lenses in the future, and most likely will, but probably not all of those listed. In the meantime, you can enlarge the map to almost fill the screen, by pressing 'M' button twice.

Q: 'My logarithmic learning model does not get training data, although it is connected. I already deleted/rebuild it. (See attached save where i am standing)'
A: Logistic Regression is a dedicated ML model for Roadside Boutiqes, and must be connected to one in order to start collecting data.

Q: 'Is the "Graphic Card Assembler" a scientific building by accident? It is a production building so I would expect it to be in the production category.'
A: It's listed in both categories.

Q: 'When I search for a blueprint, matching entries get highlighted, non-matching are grayed out. But I still have to scroll through the whole list. This is uncomfortable.
I suggest to implement the filter to remove non-matching blueprints and use an X-Button to remove the filter and restore the list'
A: Thanks for poiting that out, we're now thinking of optimal solution to this situation. Just removing non-matching Blueprints from the list might not be the best way to solve it but, again, we're working on it.

Q: 'I reached a point where some cats have more then 5 wanted goods so that one shop per cat type cannot satisfy the need. I thought about reworking my factory layout to split the cats not by type but by good category. But this is also not working, because often cats want multiple products from multiple categories. Because i want to create an effective factory this is frustrating me.
So I suggest to implement a way to sort cats so that their need can be satisfied. My idea: When a cat wants multiple products they should be of one single category.'
A: There're plenty of ways to satisfy all requests of a cat. Here's a brief list of things you can do:

• Research an upgrade increasing the number of slots for items in Cat Stores
  
• Sort cats by requests using respective Splitter/Manipulator: some cats are looking for multiple items from specific categories (they're called 'Specialized purchases' and can bee seen in the wiki), so it makes sense to separate them from the rest and send to dedicated Stores
  
• Sort cats by types using respective Splitter/Manipulator
  
• Use Specialized Smart Stores
  
• Use Advertising Cat Gates to attract cats of specific types/requests
  

A friendly reminder: you can always chat with us directly on our Discord server. We're using Discord for work, so you'll find many of us there most of the time, don't be a stranger!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1150090/Learning_Factory

Don't forget to follow Learning Factory on Steam to get the news about new updates as soon as they're out there



[h2]How to Get More Involved[/h2]

Going to Early Access is but the first step to glory (and eternal cat happiness). Wanna be part of what happens next? Head to this blog post and learn how to help make the game even more awesome!

[h2]Share Your Gameplay and Become Part of KOTOVOD History[/h2]
Learning Factory needs your help! Record a 10 or more minutes of you playing the game, share a video using any way you see fit, write your name into Learning Factory credits and get a promo cat! Make history here

Hey engineers,

Here's a bit unexpected, but truly festive update: the 256th day of the year is also known as World Programmer's Day, so make sure to play Learning Factory and see cats celebrating the occasion with special outfits and phrases!

[h3]v0.23.149 Released![/h3]

• New phrases for cats, celebrating World Programmer's Day (available on September 12-17)
  
• Updated Halloween art (will be available from September 19)
  
• Bug fixes
  

[h3]Re: Factory[/h3]
Ok, since our in-game feedback form does not allow us to write back to you, answering questions in the patch notes might just become a thing. Today, here's a message from MarcusZ:

Q: I reached a point where some cats have more then 5 wanted goods so that one shop per cat type cannot satisfy the need. I thought about reworking my factory layout to split the cats not by type but by good category. But this is also not working, because often cats want multiple products from multiple categories. Because i want to create an effective factory this is frustrating me.
So I suggest to implement a way to sort cats so that their need can be satisfied. My idea: When a cat wants multiple products they should be of one single category.

A: There're plenty of ways to satisfy all requests of a cat. Here's a brief list of things you can do:

• Research an upgrade increasing the number of slots for items in Cat Stores
  
• Sort cats by requests using respective Splitter/Manipulator: some cats are looking for multiple items from specific categories (they're called 'Specialized purchases' and can bee seen in the wiki), so it makes sense to separate them from the rest and send to dedicated Stores
  
• Sort cats by types using respective Splitter/Manipulator
  
• Use Specialized Smart Stores
  
• Use Advertising Cat Gates to attract cats of specific types/requests
  

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1150090/Learning_Factory

Don't forget to follow Learning Factory on Steam to get the news about new updates as soon as they're out there



[h2]How to Get More Involved[/h2]

Going to Early Access is but the first step to glory (and eternal cat happiness). Wanna be part of what happens next? Head to this blog post and learn how to help make the game even more awesome!

[h2]Share Your Gameplay and Become Part of KOTOVOD History[/h2]
Learning Factory needs your help! Record a 10 or more minutes of you playing the game, share a video using any way you see fit, write your name into Learning Factory credits and get a promo cat! Make history here

Hey engineers,

We're all finally back from all kinds of vacations, hooray! It's business as usual from now on: a shiny new update every 2 weeks. This one brings some new buildings, updated visuals, new music & much more:



[h3]v0.23.148 Released![/h3]

• New building: Tech Overcharger uses geothermal energy of Mars to produce High Quality Batteries and Laser Pointers
  
• New building: Laser Collider uses the power of laser to make Quality and High Quality Gems, and transmutate Iron to Copper, and vise versa
  
• Re-rendered Cotton Trees
  
• Re-rendered Trees & Fir Trees
  
• New music them for the notherrn biome
  
• Pressing 'Ctrl' + click on a building force places a Blueprint
  
• Saved game file size slightly decreased
  
• UI/UX improvements
  
• UI fixes
  
• Placing a Raft & removing it no longer maximizes the tile quality (via Mzato)
  
• You can no longer get achievements while playing in Guides mode
  
• Bug fixes (kudos to Eugene Rymarev, Mzato)
  

We'd also like to comment on one of the messages we got via the in-game feedback form. This one is from Marcus

Q: "Saving blueprint bug: I want to save a two layer blueprint. My layout extends one row to the south more on sublevel than on surface. If I mark the area correctly (one extra row) on surface and press Ctrl+S the parts of that extra row were cut off. The same happens if I save while sublevel is active. Than the north part of the surface buildings is gone.
It seems, the selection is narrowed down to the visible buildings on active level. But it should contain the buildings inside the selection of both levels!"

A: This is not a bug, we just can't know in advance whether a player wants to capture a blueprint with buildings from another layer inside all selection area or not (for example if it just convenient to select a bigger area). We will add an option for this selection in the future.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1150090/Learning_Factory

Don't forget to follow Learning Factory on Steam to get the news about new updates as soon as they're out there



[h2]How to Get More Involved[/h2]

Going to Early Access is but the first step to glory (and eternal cat happiness). Wanna be part of what happens next? Head to this blog post and learn how to help make the game even more awesome!

[h2]Share Your Gameplay and Become Part of KOTOVOD History[/h2]
Learning Factory needs your help! Record a 10 or more minutes of you playing the game, share a video using any way you see fit, write your name into Learning Factory credits and get a promo cat! Make history here

We hope you had a chance to have some outside time this summer, because fall season is upon us, and you know what that means: sales, events, and more sales & events!

Strategy Fest is particularly awesome for us, because we're all fans of the genre in the studio (duh!)

So don't waste any more time, get Learning Factory 35% off the price before September 4th!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1150090/Learning_Factory/

Hey engineers!

As you probably remember, last month we said our (temporary) goodbyes for the next couple of weeks, since the vacation period was upon us. Was it this time of the year for you, too? Did you manage to catch some rest? Share your stories in the comments!

Our programmer/game designer Ivan rushed into the office straight from a distant forest, where he had been enjoying his hobby of LARPing (this time, he performed as a dunmer from the TES universe).

We were about to release just one update this month, but it grew to epic proportions. So even with almost everything ready - the code, the graphics, the copywriting, etc. - it took us some extra time to test and prepare everything. Of course, it was totally worth the while! Let's review the hottest new content first:



Sergei the artist did a great job, providing us with a whole 3 new buildings, capable of producing top-quality Wood, Gold, and tech stuff. These late-game machines will provide a real challenge for the logistics genius inside you, for you will need to transfer exotic resources back and forth around the map.

Fun fact: Wolhwill Purifier is based on the actual process of refining gold to an amazing level of 99.999% purity. It is usually required for producing very expensive electronics, but if you feel like it, you can even recreate this process at home - if you have some pure gold, appropriate chemical equipment, along a handful of dangerous reagents. Science is fun!



As for the Quantum Tech Assembler, it's just beautiful. And quantum. Quantum makes everything sound more scientific, as is widely known:



And these two interesting subjects below are a product of some of our very productive discussions with the community. Some of you wanted underground floating cotton (is that still cotton at this point?). Sure, why not? And corner-shaped Splitters make total sense if you think about it:



By the way, if you aren't on our Discord server already, you're very welcome to join! Your feedback means an awful lot because that's how we learn how to make our games better!

[h3]The Great Rerender[/h3]

If you played Learning Factory, say, a year ago and decide to come visit it now, you might notice that some buildings have shadows. Some, but not all of them! This is because the process of polishing and rethinking the game's visuals is going on slowly. Steadily. The arrival of the coolest graphics in the world of cat factory-building games is imminent.



Fun fact: with the last update we have finished a rather prolonged process of redesigning items. There were two main reasons for that: one - some items looked visually noisy when the camera was too far away from the ground, and the other one - since we introduced the quality of items, it only made sense to make all the items look unique.

Some other items are getting a facelift as well. Right now we're considering a new art for trees. Here's a work-in-progress screenshot of them:



Several new buildings are in the works, too. We can't talk much about them now but their codenames are ‘Tech Overcharger’ and ‘Laser Infuser’. It is very probable (but not guaranteed) that you will see them in the next update, planned for September 5th:





You can follow our progress by checking out our Early Access Roadmap, which is updated regularly on Learning Factory's Steam page - just scroll down a little bit:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1150090/Learning_Factory/

(And if you haven't done so already, don't forget to add Learning Factory to your wishlist!)

Another month is ahead of us, another bunch of exciting news about Learning Factory will emerge in the next edition of these developer dairies. Stay awesome, and play some awesome games! Until we meet again.

P.S. A little bonus for those whore read it this far: here's a couple of photos of our devs’ cats: