1. Techtonica
  2. News
  3. The Techtonica Alpha Begins This Month

The Techtonica Alpha Begins This Month

Hello, Groundbreakers!

The time is almost upon us. The Techtonica Alpha will begin this month as the first wave hits players. We haven’t announced a start date yet, but the rough window is late July.

You can sign up for the Alpha right here.



We have a couple of other tidbits to share for this update, too.

[h3]June / July Developer AMA Complete![/h3]

First, we hosted our monthly Developer AMA on Discord, and we've selected a few questions and answers for you to peruse.

What does progression look like in Techtonica? -What are we unlocking, upgrading, manufacturing? Is the environment changing or are we impacting the environment in any way? (Similar to Factorio) Why are we doing this? Is there a story with it?

Lots of questions about progression here!

We want progression in Techtonica to feel deliberate, and we’re working on making sure the player feels both challenged to grow and empowered by growth as they build their factories and explore Calyx. And, yes, there’s a narrative involved in Techtonica, but you won't see that story in the Alpha.

You will have a Tech Tree to manage, but you’ll also need to find and scan aging technology in order to advance the Tech Tree’s available capabilities. Progression doesn’t stop there as you’ll need to build and power Research Cores in order to officially unlock tech.

This might seem a bit confusing written out, but it all makes sense when you play (we hope). Testing out progression and hearing feedback from fans is one of the main things we’re hoping to get out of the Alpha!

How amazingly beautiful is the lighting going to be? I assume there will be ambient light from the bioluminescent plants, but what happens when we collect them / mine what they are connected to? Can we build our own lighting system?

What a fantastic question. Without getting too technical, we are spending a ton of time and energy on this to get it right. The bioluminescent lighting is super intentional, and the plants we make all contribute to the atmosphere and mood.

If you harvest a plant then that does remove the lighting attached to it, so the caves do in fact get a bit darker if you destroy too many plants. But don’t worry - you’ll be able to place work lights of your own, though they have more of an industrial, human glow than the native plants on Calyx.



[h3]
Finally, We're Now on TikTok.[/h3]

If short-form video is your thing, you’ll find Fire Hose Games showcasing tidbits about Techtonica on TikTok.

We’re answering questions, sharing gameplay, and providing feature updates as development moves.

If you’re not on TikTok, no sweat. We’ve found that some folks are, and some folks aren’t. You won’t miss any marquee announcements by skipping our TikTok account.

More like TikTonica.

That's it for this update. Wishlist Techtonica, sign up for the Alpha, tell your friends. Cheers!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1457320/Techtonica/