Techtonica News

As you may have heard, Techtonica is participating in Steam Next Fest this week. We’re so excited to present our demo along side lots of other really cool games. We’ve gotten a lot of feedback so far about how much you guys are enjoying Techtonica, which has been great.

Let's kick this quick recap off.

First, TotalXclipse shared 14+ Starter Tips for those of you trying the Techtonica demo for the first time. It may even have some tips for some of you Techtonica pro’s out there!

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As a reminder, anyone can play the Techtonica demo… right now! Head over to our Steam page to download the demo, and don’t forget the wishlist if you haven’t already. While you’re on our Steam page, check out our rolling pre-recorded content from Relyen to learn more about how to optimize your own factories.

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

We held our first Next Fest Stream today over on the Techtonica Steam Page as well. We hung out with some of our regulars from Discord and Twitch, and also welcomed many new faces to Techtonica. We started with the very beginning of the demo, and made our way to Terminal Victor. We’ll be continuing where we left off on Thursday at 12 PM EST, so be sure to come chat with Techtonica’s meme dream team, Jas and Joey.

We’re also running daily contests during Next Fest where you can win a release copy of Techtonica at Early Access launch! Let’s take a look at some of the really awesome entries we’ve seen so far…

Next Fest Contest #1 Best Multi-Story Factory by Tillmar, “Like a glove" - Starting area, starting factory. Completely automated demo to finish run. Without using crank ability”









Next Fest Contest #2 Worst (Best?) Spaghetti Mess by gnarlyCrone, “I am a 74 year old woman who is really loving this game. I seem to struggle with orderly building so this category is perfect for me.”









We have even more awesome entries we’ll be sharing throughout the week. Come back tomorrow for another recap!

The Techtonica demo officially launched on September 20th, 2022. Today marks the start of Steam Next Fest. We’re proud to be a part of the pack of developers showcasing their upcoming work. Play our demo, play their demos, play all demos!

With that said, welcome to all the new Groundbreakers! We hope you find Calyx hospitable, the M.O.L.E. destructive, and the factories fun to build.

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We wanted to roll out the red, bioluminescent carpet to Calyx with a few handy tips that sprung up over the last few weeks as players played. Here we go!

[h3]#1 - Scan all the things![/h3]

Once you complete the first Production Terminal upgrade, a Scanner will rise from the innards of PT Lima. That Scanner is essential for unlocking new tech.

Our advice? Take a few minutes to search the area and scan everything around you. You’ll unlock new tech for research, yes, but you’ll also get back some handy intermediates that’ll make crafting go by that much faster.

[h3]#2 - Dump excess ore into Smelters immediately[/h3]

Once you have your Smelters built and rolling, the best thing you can do is dump all the ore into them straight away. Why?

In Techtonica, we don’t ask that you craft intermediates to reach final products. For instance, you’ll need Iron Components and Mechanical Components for some machines. Rather than having you craft those things before you can build the next stage, we do the work for you in your inventory by crafting straight from raw materials.

Our crafting system is super convenient when making one or two things. When crafting a lot of stuff, it’s slow. Smelting by hand takes forever, so get rid of the ore and handcraft things using ingot.

[h3]#3 - Meet the Research Cores and your Tech Tree[/h3]

The Research Core system will evolve throughout Techtonica’s development; however, what stands today is pretty friendly for newer players once you learn how to use it.

Each item on the Tech Tree requires a specific amount of Research Cores to unlock (after scanning the item, in most cases). You’ll need to craft and place Research Cores to unlock the required technology.

But! If you are running short and need an item immediately, you can hold-right-click on an activated tech to deactivate it and get your Research Cores back. This is super handy in the first couple of hours of play.



[h3]#4 - Two Planters, Two Threshers[/h3]

Ready to get fuel automated for machines? You’ll want Planters and Threshers.

We’ve found that the magic number is two of each. Build two Planters, and stack them with seeds. Build two Threshers; one to complete the plant loop by threshing for stems and seeds, and the other to thresh stems into plantmatter fibre and extract.

This loop will keep any demo factory fueled super, super well.

[h3]#5 - Meet R and Q[/h3]

Alright, Groundbreaker, these two tips are pretty simple yet easy to overlook, so pay attention.

Press Q to put items away, cancel builds, or cancel back to the last rotation of your Conveyor Belts.

Press R to rotate items before building, rotate items after building, and place turns in Belts mid-build.

[h3]BONUS TIP #6 - Hide the UI for extra good-looking screenshots[/h3]

With the most recent patch for Techtonica, we rolled out a UI hiding feature to make screenshots and capturing a little nicer. Press Right Shift+Right Control+H to hide/unhide the UI. Pressing Escape will also bring the UI back if you start to panic.

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

If you like the demo, be sure to Wishlist us here on Steam! If you’re looking for some other Groundbreakers to talk to, we’re proud to have a fun and active Discord community.

Until next time!

We launched the Techtonica demo on Steam on September 20th, and we’ve seen you Groundbreakers do some pretty fantastic stuff.

With Steam Next Fest starting on October 3rd and the wave of new players experiencing the demo, we thought it’d be fun to hold daily contests throughout the event.

The Fire Hose team will pick the winners for each event, and we’ll announce them the week after Next Fest ends. Each winner will receive a key for the full version of Techtonica when it launches into Early Access.

[h2]Build stuff, send pics, win the game[/h2]

We’ll announce the contests formally each day on our Discord, but we’re giving folks who read this an opportunity to select their desired objectives and have a head start.

So, here’s each challenge and its associated deadline.

• Best Multi-Story Factory -> Due Oct. 4th, 2022, at 9am ET.
  
• Worst (Best?) Spaghetti Mess -> Due Oct. 5th, 2022, at 9am ET.
  
• Best Factory on a Wall -> Due Oct. 6th, 2022, at 9am ET.
  
• Best Research Core Sculpture -> Due Oct. 7th, 2022, at 9am ET.
  
• Best Buried Factory -> Due Oct. 8th, 2022, at 9am ET.
  
• Best Factory WITHOUT Conveyor Belts -> Due Oct. 9th, 2022, at 9am ET.
  
• Smallest Factory that Fully Automates Green Core Production -> Due Oct. 10th, 2022, at 9am ET
  
• Best Conveyor Belt Adventure for Sparks’ Spectral Cube -> Due Oct. 11th, 2022, at 9am ET.
  

The one catch: You’ll need to join our Discord to share your creations. Once there, share any relevant screenshots, GIFs, and videos on the #next-fest-contests channel. You'll find contest submission rules on Discord.

That’s it! Have fun, Groundbreakers. We can’t wait to see what you create.

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

Groundbreaker!

The time has finally come. The Techtonica demo is now available for download right here on Steam.

As we previously announced, the Techtonica demo includes performance updates, voiceover, and a re-tuned progression system that better suits the flow of the demo.

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[h2]Join the Discord! Share your feedback![/h2]

We've already improved the Techtonica demo based on player feedback from the Alpha, and we want your input for our Early Access launch and beyond! Groundbreakers like you offer feedback, suggestions, and ideas that our team considers, and that will continue for the foreseeable future.

So, we encourage you to join our Discord and share your feedback! If and when you beat the demo, make sure to enter your Discord username on the form linked in the popup to be granted a unique role.

[h2]Add Techtonica to your Wishlist and stay in the loop.[/h2]

We hope you enjoy the demo. If you do, consider adding Techtonica to your Wishlist on Steam and follow along as we enter Early Access.

Thanks for playing, Groundbreaker.

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

Greetings Groundbreakers.

Today, the Techtonica Alpha has officially wrapped. The Alpha ran for exactly three months, and we saw Alpha Groundbreakers pour, sometimes, hundreds of hours into their subsurface, Calyxian factories during that time.

The good news? We’ll launch the Techtonica Demo right here on Steam tomorrow, September 20th.

The bad news? The factories our Alpha Groundbreakers constructed will no longer be viable as their saves won’t work with the demo build.

So, we take today to share the news of the Alpha’s end alongside a few select screenshots from the Alpha Groundbreakers who call our Discord home.

These are a small handful of the factories we salute. See you for the demo tomorrow!















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