Learning Factory News

The 256th day of the year is also celebrated as World Programmer's Day. Since Luden.io specializes at developing games related to coding, automation and data, we've decided this holiday is definitely worth throwing a party!

We have invited a bunch of likely-spirited games, that will help you develop an engineer's mindset and feel like a true coding wizard:

[h3]Browse Programmer's Day Sale[/h3]

Naturally, our games have awesome discounts as well. Like Learning Factory:

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

The celebration will last until September 19. Hello, world!

That was a nasty one, but it finally looks dead for good! That bug that made your Drills stop all of a sudden after loading a saved game - is no more!

Rejoice, update, go build a factory!

Hello everyone! We heard a rumor that you are enjoying recently released Zeppelins and literally sending your logistics to the sky. Alright, that's perfect! Now it's time to make it even more personal by changing the color of Zeppelins. Better look, easier to navigate. And also new Cargo Dock (which is much bigger) is waiting for new high-load challenges from your cat-satisfying factory.



[h3]v0.12.83 Released![/h3]

• Now you can change the color of the Zeppelins;
  
• New building: Big Cargo Dock supports two types of goods and can store a lot;
  
• Logistics Balance tuning: In all Docks, storage for incoming goods is now twice bigger than storage for outgoing goods. This is how we reduced the load on the logistics lines;
  
• Zeppelins are now shown at the minimap (actually, do you know that you can click on the minimap a number of times to make it bigger each time?);
  
• In case a Dock's name is already taken there will be a warning message;
  
• Define how often you want autosave to happen in the Settings menu;
  
• Tons of bug fixes and usability improvements.
  

Also, we have great news about shadows. Since this update, each building we touched will be updated with the shadowed version. I know I know, it's 2022 and shadows are not big deal. But there was some dark magic to be done in Blender (the 3D design program we work with to create buildings) and now we have shadows.



And here is the new Cargo Dock. Also with shadows (oh boy I am so happy that we finally worked out the shadows!).



Hey, let's discuss how you like all this stuff, shall we? Drop a comment below or write us a line:

• Twitter
• Discord

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

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

[h3]How to get more involved in the development[/h3]
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!

[h3]Get a Promo Cat and let us put your name into the credits[/h3]
Learning Factory is always looking for feedback, it's vital for us as developers. Record 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!

This day of Mars history will be remembered in the centuries to come! Thanks to the genius of Dr. Katz and our tireless engineers, the industry of cat service on the planet is thriving. In fact, it's booming so much, that traditional Transporters are sometimes just not enough to support the growing logistics, especially when it comes to delivering goods from distant regions in the north and the south.

It all changes today, as the first (of many!) Cat Zeppelins are floating in the skies, silently and steadily delivering payload between Cargo Docks. Solar-powered and robot-piloted, they're here to revolutionize the way we think of transportation, bringing us one step (nay, leap!) closer to Catopia!



"I iz so proud! Zeppelinz naemd aftear my father'z old Freund, Ferdinand von Zeppelin! He uzed to be maiking zeppelinz too!", - Dr. Katz said in an official, yet personal, statement.

What a lovely day! Glory to Science! Glory to KOTOVOD!

[h3]v0.12.82 Released![/h3]

• Cat Zeppelins (Beta!) - this time it's 1 type of Zeppelin and 1 type of Cargo Dock, more types to be added later on
  
• New item: Fertilizer boosts the growth of immature or recently harvested plants of Mars
  
• Science points are randomly given out when satisfying a loyal cat customers
  
• When gaining Science points from a Cat Knowledge archive or from a cat, progress bar of a research project that benefits from received points turns yellow
  
• New upgrade: Long Manipulator operating speed can be increased by 1 tick (default speed is 5 ticks)
  
• Neural Networks are automatically assigned to Cat Stores (same way cat researchers are automatically placed into Labs)
  
• Neural Networks optimization
  
• Reduced time of saving and loading a game
  
• Added possibility of moving buildings without resetting their stats (as with machine learning Models, Data Storages etc.), the default keyboard shortcut is 'V'
  
• Added possibility of limiting the amount of auto saves on disk
  
• Improved Twitch integration
  

Hey, let's discuss how you like all this stuff, shall we? Drop us a line:

• Twitter
• Discord

And 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

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Hey there! As we've mentioned in the previous edition of our developer diaries, the team was mostly enjoying their vacations in the past 4 weeks. But we were taking turns, which allowed us to make progress with the game!

(A friendly hint: Learning Factory is 30% off on Steam until August 15!)

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

One thing Sergei the artist was quite busy with, is updated terrain looks. Last time it was just the grass and underground tiles, but now the transformation is complete, and the whole game looks different, default terrain and both biomes included! Rate the scale of changes yourself:







And some more:






Aaaaaand more;






[h3]Reverse Splitter: Natural Heartbreaker[/h3]


Another building tool in your logistics kit! Reverse Splitter divides an incoming stream of items on your Transporter and splits them into two, sending one forwarnd and the other one backwards. An example of how this can be applied is shown below, but we're sure that you'll find a thousand ways to put that Splitter into good use:



[h3]Cat Zeppelins: Almost There[/h3]

In the previous edition of developer diaries we've already explained how Cat Zeppelins work. It's real simple: they pick up goods in Cargo Docks and then deliver them to other Cargo Docks of your selection. Currently, they require no toll or fuel: just a relaxing, steady way for transferring goods around the map. However, since that last time, zeppelins got modelled and animated:



Our plan is to deliver them to you by the end of August!



[h3]New Looks, New Style[/h3]


Our discussions of Learning Factory's style and presentation has led us to interesting thoughts: we've noticed that some players (judging by Steam reviews and videos we've watched) are considering the game to be too casual and childish. While we value our laid back and peaceful gameplay and children do enjoy it, serious business is happening under the cape of Learning Factory: with real life machine learning models, data science, let alone the ability to build huge and complex factories both on the surface of Mars and below!

That all led to changing the looks and game description on our Steam page, along with adjusting the art style in story comics! You can see glorious new image of our game's heroes in our new trailer:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Up Next: Full Speed Ahead![/h3]
What else to be said? Summer is coming to an end and we're getting ready to push Learning Factory even closer to full release, with lots of awesome new features, tweaks, fixes and updates to be headed your way! Have some fun in the sun, while you still can: this fall and onwards will be full of irresistably cool gameplay to keep you indoors!

• Twitter
• Discord

P.S. If you want to keep an eye our progress closer, don't forget to follow Learning Factory on our Steam page and never miss an update again!




[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