Mars First Logistics News

Hello everyone!

Thanks for your patience while we worked on this update. I realise this has taken a little longer than the previous updates, but it's also a big new feature!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



This update introduces only one new part, the theodolite:



If you don't know what a theodolite is, you're not alone. I didn't know what it was either until we added it to the game, but you've probably seem one if you've ever seen engineers surveying a building site. They'll often be aiming one at someone holding a measuring stick.



With the theodolite, you can build structures such as roads, monorails, power lines, water pipes and fuel pipes.



A new contract type has been added that tasks you with connecting different stations using various structures. For example you might be asked to build a water pipe between a reservoir and a habitat. You are, however, free to build structures wherever you like.

Transmitters are now also structures that you need to build yourself instead of discovering. They have a small cost and need to have line-of-site to each other, which brings a new dynamic to exploring the landscape.

The theodolite part is unlocked with the new Scout blueprint (pictured above) which replaces the Buggy blueprint.



New road-trip themed parcels have been added:



along with a few more...



Did you know that clouds do sometimes occur on Mars? In the interests of being a 100% totally accurate simulation of Mars, they're now in the game too!





We also fixed and tweaked a few things:

• Increased camera zoom.
  
• The grapple hook now works on terrain by default.
  
• The fair contracts are now unlocked together with the other areas, giving you more options from the start.
  
• More accurate map fog.
  
• Fixed a bug with the wind turbine delivery zone in co-op.
  
• Various other minor fixes and tweaks.
  

I feel like we've just scratched the surface of where this new system could go. For example I'm thinking it might be nice to integrate rocket refueling with the fuel pipe lines. Perhaps you have to connect stations to the fuel grid before you can refuel at them?

I'd love to hear your ideas of what new structures you'd like to see in the game.

The next update will probably be more incremental improvements and features, based on your feedback, followed by something new next year and then we should be getting close to 1.0!

I hope you enjoy the update!

Ian.

It was super nice to see Victoria Tran and Forrest Willard of Innersloth take to the stage of Summer Game Fest. And no, the Among Us creators are not announcing Among Us 2, or 3, or 4. Instead, they announced Outersloth, a new publishing firm with ambitions to bring new indies to more players.

Simply put, Innersloth have money now - as you'd expect given the viral, award-winning hit that Among Us has been - and have decided to invest that money in other developers projects. Nice!

The games announced included Mars First Logistics, Battle Suit Aces, Mossfield Archives, One Btn Bosses, Rogue Eclipse, and Project Dosa from Outerloop Games (Thirsty Suitors). Early Access for Mars First Logistics and a demo for One Btn Bosses are available now, and I don't know about you, but I'm excited to see what some of these are about.

Read more

- Add a fence around the solar farm construction site to draw more attention to the crane.

Hello,

This update is mostly about oft-requested quality of life improvements, but also adds some new parts to play with.

[h2]Mechanical loops[/h2]

The biggest change is to the way parts connect together. Previously each part had exactly one "prong" that would slot into a socket on another part.



This was often a source of confusion, as the prong isn't visible when you're attaching a part. With this update there are no more prongs. Instead any socket can connect to any other socket and you won't end up with small gaps when you try to close a loop. The gap was there to show the parts weren't mechanically linked, but now they are, so no gap is necessary!



The ability to create mechanical loops opens up many more creative and engineering possibilities, such as more sophisticated suspension systems, or the ability to combine multiple servos or pistons for greater lifting power.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Since sockets will now form mechanical linkages with adjacent sockets, some of your saved vehicles may not work as expected. If you find that something is not moving that previously moved, it's likely because two sockets are now linked. You can fix this by separating the sockets or using different parts that do not have a socket in that position. See below for new parts that have been added for this purpose.

[h2]Select pivot point[/h2]

Since parts can now connect via any socket, it made sense to allow you to select the socket when attaching parts.



This feature can also be used to easily flip servos to have them rotate in the opposite direction.

[h2]In-game manual[/h2]

The game now features an "Engineer's Handbook" that can be accessed from the editor. It explains some of the finer points of editing such as copy-pasting, changing channels, etc, that were previously not explained very well. This feature is a work-in-progress and new sections will be added over time.



[h2]Cleaned up part controls UI[/h2]

The part controls display has been cleaned up and it now avoids showing duplicate prompts for the same part type with the same controls. Previously this could be very messy with a lot of controllable parts. It also no longer shows part controls every time you switch channels.



[h2]Grappling hook improvements[/h2]

When aiming the grappling hook, the vehicle will become invisible in a circle around the target. This makes it much easier to aim without your vehicle getting in the way.



We've also fixed some physics issues with the grappling hook.

[h2]New parts[/h2]

A total of 8 new parts have been added:

[h3]Sliders[/h3]

These are free-sliding linear joints and come in 3 lengths.



[h3]New connectors[/h3]

T-connector, X-connector and corner parts have been added. These are particularly useful to avoid unintended linkages, since they have less sockets than the hub part.



[h3]Ribbon[/h3]

Unlock the ribbon by completing the fair.



[h3]Radio[/h3]

Allows you to play music all the time!



[h2]Other changes[/h2]

• The race track now has a lap timer.
  
• The motorised joint part now has a direction arrow.
  
• The dimensions of some parts such as the Telescoping Cylinder, Hinge, Ball Joint, 30 Degree Bend and Angled Connector have been slightly modified to better line up with the other parts. This may cause issues with existing saved vehicles, since the positions of parts might change slightly.
  
• New pivot points have been added to some parts such as the jaws, cone and horn.
  
• The reversed curved panel parts have been removed, since they are no longer necessary as the non-reversed versions can now be used instead by selecting a different pivot.
  
• Controllable parts such as servos and cylinders can now be set to auto-return when no button is pressed. Access this setting in the configure controls tab in the editor.
  
• Editor zoom limit has been increased.
  
• A new setting has been added to disable the input prompts in the bottom-left of the map, editor and menus.
  
• Steam Deck performance has been improved.
  
• Numerous other tweaks and bug fixes.
  

Thanks for the continued feedback and I hope you enjoy the update! The next update will focus on new content.

Hello,

I've just pushed a big change to how the editor and physics work to the beta branch.

The new system allows mechanical loops and selecting the pivot point when attaching parts. This is a major change to how the building works and I'm hoping it will allow more creative possibilities, while still being intuitive and easy to understand.

There are some outstanding usability issues that I talk about in the following video, but on the whole I think this is a very positive change that many of you will enjoy.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Summary of changes:

• Connecting parts in mechanical loops is now supported!
  
• There are no longer small gaps when you try to close a loop, instead the parts will become mechanically bonded if their sockets line up. This may cause issues with some of your existing builds, which may need to be modified to break any undesired connections.
  
• You can now select different pivot points about which to rotate parts, and you can connect them via any free socket.
  
• The editor now includes a work-in-progress "Engineers's Handbook" to help you get the most out of the editor.
  
• Some part dimensions have been standardized to make it easier to link them with other parts. These include the telescoping cylinder, hinge and ball joint. This may break some existing builds.
  
• New pivot points have been added to some parts such as the jaws, cone and horn.
  
• The reversed curved panel parts have been removed, since they are no longer necessary as the non-reversed versions can now be used instead by selecting a different pivot.
  
• New parts: short, medium and large sliders.
  
• More new parts: T-Connector, X-Connector and Corner.
  
• The colliders on some parts have been tightened up.
  
• A few more parts have been added to the starting set.
  
• Fix a bug where parts would slowly separate over time.
  

To access the beta branch, right click on the game and click Properties -> Betas and then select the "beta" Beta.

Please try it out and let me know what you think!

Ian.