Mars First Logistics News

Hello!

This is a fairly big update with a whole new area, new parts, new cargo and more!

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[h2]New area[/h2]



We've added a new area with 5 new hand-crafted main contracts. The new contracts have you restoring power to a fair for the martians, using a new tool: the grappling hook!

The fair is in a particularly windy part of Mars where tornadoes are common. Keep an eye out or you might get blown away! (The fair needed to be in a windy area so the wind turbines that power it could generate enough electricity.)

[h2]Fuel[/h2]

Rockets now use fuel. Unlock fuel tanks to extend their range by completing side jobs. Refuel by simply visiting any station or transmitter.

My intent with this change is to keep some of the challenge of navigating the terrain after unlocking the rockets. If you prefer to just fly around without worrying about fuel, you can change that in the new gameplay settings (see below).

[h2]New parts[/h2]

Six new parts have been added.

• The grappling hook can be fired at most static objects and allows you to get to many hard-to-reach places. It's unlocked via a new blueprint.
  
• Light, medium and heavy torsion springs have been added. Torsion springs store rotational energy and act like a hinge that wants to always return to its starting point. They can be unlocked by completing side jobs.
  
• Large and small fuel tanks. These can extend the rocket's range. Beware that fuel adds weight, so the more fuel tanks you use the heavier your vehicle will be when fully fueled!
  

[h2]New side job cargo[/h2]



[h2]New gameplay settings[/h2]

A new tab has been added to the settings menu where you can adjust various gameplay settings. Creative mode is now a preset in this menu and has been removed from the main menu. Note that these settings apply only to the current game and are not global for all games.

[h2]Anything else?[/h2]

We've also made numerous tweaks and fixes including improved performance for vehicles with many wheels and improvements to the camera.



After a little break, I'm going to focus on some oft requested features and quality of life improvements, fix some long-standing bugs, and finish up some new parts I started working on but didn't finish in time for this release.

As always please let me know if you have any feedback or bug reports using the Steam forums, the official Discord or with the in-game feedback form.

I hope you enjoy the update!

Ian.

• Maximum channels has been increased to 20 (from 9).
  
• Channels are now not reassigned when copy-pasting sub-assemblies.
  
• In the editor, you can now middle-click to pick a part already on the vehicle.
  
• Parts are now added to the recent tray when selected, rather than when they are attached.
  
• Pressing left and right wheel turn buttons at the same time now results in no steer rather than turning left.
  
• Fix a visual glitch with long chains of ball joints.
  
• Fix a potential issue with generating copied part icon.
  

Thanks for the feedback and bug reports!

A few quick fixes:

• Hopefully fix an issue with workshop preview images getting messed up. You will need to re-upload your items to fix the preview image - sorry about that!
  
• Fix an issue with not being able to navigate to the last row of the saved vehicle list using a gamepad.
  

Hello,

As part of the Melbourne International Games Week Steam event, I'll be live-streaming some of your designs submitted using the new Steam Workshop feature. Please submit your builds and let me know in the comments! I'll try play as many as I can.

I'll also be talking about the game in general and answering your questions about our plans for the game.

The stream will start Sunday 24 Sept 10am AEST / Saturday 23 Sept 5pm PDT.

Hope to see you there!

Ian.