Learning Factory News

Hey engineers! And congratulations to you, as this update marks Early Access Stage 4 as complete! We've been really focused on updating the visuals in the past couple of monts, so this update is something new.

On one hand, we've pushed it hard to make some of the game's mechanics more comprehensive. On the other hand, we've made crafting more complex and challenging for more intense brain stimulation!

[h2]v0.24.151 Released! [/h2]

[h3]Visuals[/h3]

• New story comics - the origin story of how our nameless protagonist met their cat (named Cat), under rather rainy circumstances. Hopefully, this story will motivate you to care about cats (in-game, or real-life) even more
  
• New theme for the main menu
  

[h3]Gameplay[/h3]

• Global crafting rebalancing (see below)
  
• Added a whole new Wiki section explaining complicated in-game mechanics: Loyalty, Mass purchases, Upselling, Machine Learning, Data Quality, Research, Hype, Satisfaction Pyramid, and Legendary cats
  
• Legendary cats request Quality (+) or better items from now on
  
• Legendary cats are now classified as Cats with lvl 3 Loyalty
  
• Cats with Loytalty lvl 5+ now request High Quality (++) items
  
• Cats with Loyalty lvl 3-4 now request Quality (+) items
  
• Improved tutorial
  
• Square Cardboard Space Signal Emitter research project now provides a higher chance of summoning a legendary cat
  
• During Shopaholic Invasion, cats with higher Loyalty levels may arrive, depending on Hype
  
• Shopaholic Invasion duration increases along with your Hype level
  
• New events, aimed to give the players better control over the Factory
  
• Increased cat knowledge points reward for fulfilling Dr Katz's requests
  
• Increased bonus cat knowledge points for serving legendary cats
  
• 3 new perks for cat researchers
  
• New perk for Dr Katz
  
• Random cats can get generated with the 'Genius' perk (fromerly available only to Dr Katz)
  
• Research efficiency calculating mechanics for cat researchers slightly changed (may result in altered research time for hired researchers in existing saved games)
  
• Selling items of quality gives a bigger boost to Loyalty
  
• Upgrading Loom increases its' speed by 5 ticks instead of 2
  

[h3]QoL & Interface[/h3]

• Added stats showing tips left by each cat type
  
• Added stats showing sales income from each cat type
  
• Added stats showing total income from each cat type
  
• Approximate research cost now shown under each research project
  
• Added an option to clear cache in the settings, in case your minimap seems to be displayed incorrectly
  
• Map name is now displayed for every saved game (starting from this version)
  
• Choosing to involve incompetent researches into research projects results in 4x experience boost for those researchers
  
• Upper panel now displays the amount of money spent on research and ads
  
• Added an option to disable tutorial and instantly get a starting pack of buildings, if campaign is not launched for the first time
  
• Machine learning models now display a warning if there's no Store/Boutique connected to a cluster
  
• If your system language is not officially supported by the game, you'll get a warning and a suggestion to switch into English, when launching the game for the first time
  
• Added partial translation into the German language by ChatGPT (community translation is still there, too)
  
• Improved tooltips
  
• Improved, more stable Twitch integration
  
• New achievement
  

[h3]Techie Stuff[/h3]

• Updated credits
  
• UI/UX fixes
  
• Bug fixes (kudos to CheeseAndChocolate, MarcusZ, squibbons, bloom16night)
  

[h3]Rebalancing Crafting Costs[/h3]
Previously, most buildings would require regular quality items for crafting. With this update, more complex items will be required for crafting, as you progress through the resarch tree:

• Crafting T-shaped Splitters requires Quality (+) Iron
  
• Crafting Quad Splitter requires Quality (+) Iron
  
• Crafting Awesome Golden Statue requires Quality (+) Gold
  
• Crafting Eco Dynamite requires Quality (+) Catnip Algae
  
• Crafting Hard Rock Dynamite requires Quality (+) Catnip Juice
  
• Crafting all kinds of Long conditional Manipulators (except for Cat Manipulator) require Quality (+) Iron and Quality (+) Copper
  
• Crafting Long Quality Manipulator requires Quality (+) Concrete instead of Copper
  
• Crafting Two-Item Dock requires Quality (+) Concrete
  
• Crafting Pawssenger Dock now requires Quality (+) Boxes
  
• Crafting Exit Cat Gate now requires Quality (+) Copper
  
• Crafting Inventory Teleport now requires Quality (+) Copper and Concrete
  
• Crafting Teleport now requires Quality (+) Concrete
  
• Crafting Logistics Assembler now requires Quality (+) Iron
  
• Crafting Cable Crafter now requires Quality (+) Iron
  
• Crafting Soil Silo now requires Quality (+) Wood
  
• Crafting Enriched Soil Silo now requires Quality (+) Concrete
  
• Crafting Apple Collector now requires Quality (+) Wood
  
• Crafting Fishing Pier now requires Quality (+) Wood instead of Iron
  
• Crafting Fish Maker now requires Quality (+) Fish
  
• Crafting Algae Harvester now requires Quality (+) Iron and Quality (+) Copper
  
• Crafting Catnip Juice Brewery now requires Quality (+) Wood
  
• Crafting Smoothie Mixer now requires Quality (+) Concrete
  
• Crafting Brew Intensifier now requires Quality (+) Iron
  
• Crafting Awesome Statue now requires Quality (+) Wood, Quality (+) Iron, and Quality (+) Concrete
  
• Crafting Vitamin Maker now requires Quality (+) Copper
  
• Crafting Geothermal Furnace now requires Quality (+) Concrete, and also 2 Drills instead of 2 Furnaces
  
• Crafting Omnimill now requires Quality (+) Concrete and Quality (+) Catnip Juice
  
• Crafting Wohlwill Purifier now requires Batteries and Quality (+) Catnip Juice
  
• Crafting Dredge now requires Quality (+) Concrete
  
• Crafting Cat Food Maker now requires Quality (+) Wood
  
• Crafting Bubble Gum Mixer now requires Quality (+) Copper and Cotton
  
• Crafting Pillow Maker now requires Yarn Balls and Ropes
  
• Crafting Hammock Weaver now requires Quality (+) Rope
  
• Crafting Omniloom now requires Quality (+) Rope, Quality (+) Catnip Juice, Quality (+) Concrete, and High Quality (++) Iron
  
• Crafting Cat House Maker now requires Quality (+) Wood
  
• Crafting Bling Machine now requires Quality (+) Iron, and Gold
  
• Crafting Battery Maker now requires Quality (+) Concrete and Quality (+) Iron
  
• Crafting Tech Overcharger now requires Quality (+) Concrete
  
• Crafting Microchip Maker now requires Quality (+) Concrete, and Manipulators
  
• Crafting Quantum Tech Assembler now requires Quality (+) Concrete, and Quality (+) Lasers
  
• Crafting Schrodinger's Chamber now requires Quality (+) Boxes
  
• Crafting Neural Networks now requires Quality (+) Concrete
  
• Crafting Dynamite now requires Quality (+) Catnip Algae
  
• Crafting Laser Pointer Maker now requires Quality (+) Concrete, Quality (+) Iron and 1 Battery Maker, instead of 2
  
• Crafting Laser Collider now requires Quality (+) Concrete, Quality (+) Laser Pointer, and High Quality (++) Gold
  
• Decreased Cloth amount reauired for crafting Small Cargo Zeppelins
  
• Crafting Cargo Zeppelin now requires Quality (+) Cloth and Quality (+) Ropes
  
• Crafting all promotional/tasting buildings now require Quality (+) items
  
• Crafting Deep Water now requires Quality (+) Fish
  
• Crafting Concrete Flooring now requires Quality (+) Concrete
  
• Crafting Graphic Card Assembler now requires Quality (+) Concrete
  
• Crafting Land Digger now requires Quality (+) Iron
  

So close to Catopia! Check out our EA roadmap:


[h2]Re: Factory[/h2]
Q: "Make mouse grid able to multiselect dimantle or destroy. Would make clearing the map from plants much easier instead of clicking on them individually." -CheeseAndChocolate A: This feature already exists in the game, make sure to research an upgrade for your Multitool!

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,

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/