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More ports, smaller footprint with new storage design in Techtonica

The Containers you’ve grown used to in Techtonica feature four ports, one on each side of a 3x3x3 box.

Containers with ports are super helpful for factory automation games. Coupled with the right combination of Inserters and Belts, Containers can serve as hubs for complex layouts or temporary sinks for starter spaces.

But, the large Containers on display during the Alpha and Demo were not meant to be around forever.

3x3x3 is a lot of space to consume on a factory floor, especially when Groundbreakers grapple with optimizing layouts for maximum efficiency. We’re talking about 27 voxels occupied by a machine with only four ports.

Oh, sure, we loved them for how ridiculous they were! One early playtester dubbed their first Container a block of cheese. As a team, we affectionately refer to the Container as Chonkin’ Charles.

Chonkin’ Charles? He’s going away before the game releases into Early Access.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Jokes aside, the Container players found and either loved or loathed in the Techtonica Demo was always placeholder. We’ve had alternate, permanent iterations in our backlog for a while now.

So, what’s replacing the 3x3x3 Container we called Chonkin’ Charles?

[h3]It’s a 2x2x2 wonder.[/h3]

Yep! When Groundbreakers delve below the surface of Calyx in Techtonica as it launches into Early Access, they’ll find a smaller, more efficient Container waiting for them.

Gone is the massive box with only one port per side. In its place comes a Container that occupies only eight precious voxels in your factory. Even better, it comes with double the port count, featuring two on each side.



Check out a sample of the concept process done by our art team above. Below, you’ll see a screenshot of the new Container at work in our in-development build of Techtonica.



The new ports and smaller space requirements will allow players to squeeze out way more efficiency for their factories, and we can’t wait to see how Groundbreakers put them to use.

As for its internal name? Obviously, we call it Medium Melvin.

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

If you haven’t heard the news, the Techtonica demo will leave Steam on November 8th, 2022, as we shift our focus to building the Early Access version of the game.

We’ll fill the gap left by the demo’s departure with lots of behind-the-scenes and in-development news for Techtonica. That includes posts like this one.

Thanks for reading, Groundbreaker! We have so much planned for Techtonica, and we can’t wait to share it with you.

Techtonica’s Steam Next Fest Recap #7

Hello Groundbreakers!

This will be the last Next Fest recap post from us for Techtonica. Thank you so much for playing, providing feedback, and, we hope, dropping us a Wishlist. It's awesome to have so many of you along for the ride with us.

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

Folks have asked that we keep the demo up after Next Fest. We will. In the meantime, we're working on removing the Next Fest language from the demo and figuring out how we're going to list it on Steam. It may not be a "demo" forever; but, it'll stay free, and we intend to keep it up for a while.

The demo is just, of course, a sample of what's to come with Techtonica.

The focus for us now is on our Early Access release. With that comes multiplayer and more unannounced features that we'll share as we get closer to launch. That focus means that we will not update the demo once it's set after Next Fest.

Thank you for being here!

-Fire Hose



Techtonica’s Steam Next Fest Recap #6

As this Next Fest begins to wind down, we wanted to thank everyone, once more, for giving Techtonica a shot. We have a ton planned for this game, and we hope you're ready to join us as we make our way to Early Access launch.

We work really hard to ensure our community is heard. We value your feedback, and we know your presence makes Techtonica a better game. That started with the closed Alpha, and it continues with the demo that's up now.

The most active medium for our community is our Discord. Join up if you're interested in meeting and chatting with your fellow Groundbreakers. If you beat the demo, you get the ANEXCAL Recruit role, too.

[h3]Are we leaving the demo up?[/h3]

Yes, we're going to leave the Next Fest demo up for a little while after the event. If we take it down, we're considering an alternative to the demo that would help folks find and play Techtonica here on Steam as we work towards launch.

Anyways! What about the Next Fest contests? They're still rolling on our Discord. We have a couple of contests left.

Here's a recent entry to the Best Research Core Sculpture contest from Azanek. It's holiday-themed, which we think is hilarious.



If you're having fun, consider sharing Techtonica with a friend and Wishlisting the game here on Steam.

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

Techtonica’s Steam Next Fest Recap #5

It’s been a whole 5 days since Next Fest started! It’s been an awesome week. Once again, thank you to all who have been playing our demo and giving us feedback. We really hope you've had fun, and we hope you're going to join us on our journey to Early Access launch.

Onto some contest features!

For Best Buried Factory and Smallest Factory that Automates Green Core Production by Jenkachu





For Smallest Factory that Automates Green Core Production by Heyko





We’re running our Next Fest contests until Monday! You have a chance to win a copy of Techtonica at EA Launch by participating. If you’re enjoying the demo, don’t forget to Wishlist the game right here on Steam.

Techtonica's Steam Next Fest Recap #4

Thank you to all who have tried out the Tecthonica demo, stopped by our streams, participated in our contests, and left us any kind of feedback.

If you'd like to support Techtonica, please Wishlist us here on Steam and share the game with any friends who you think would like it.

Onto the highlights!

During our stream, we picked up where we left off last time, continuing to expand our factory to complete the demo. Joey also made a cat sculpture… but let’s check out these two awesome cat sculptures our community made afterward!

By Heyko





By Jenkachu



If you love cats, make sure to enter the code: MEOWMEOWTIME for a fun surprise with the MOLE.

Finally, let’s take a look at some more submissions to our Next Fest Contests. As a reminder, we have daily contests running each day in our Discord! Be sure to submit to have a chance to win a key to Techtonica at launch.

For Best Buried Factory and!! Smallest Factory that Fully Automates Green Core Production by Azanek!