It's here, it's finally here! Check out the new content, changes, bug fixes, and find information about our updated Road Map at the end!
We've been elbow-deep in the gears to bring this update to you, our community, and we are beyond excited to open up our barn doors and show our harvest! ⬇️
🚀 New Content
- Added a modular building and integrity system
- Added Exofarmer tools (H.O.E, Watering Can, Seed Bag, Repair Tool)
- Added Types to Crops and Mounds with various effects when they interact to encourage crop rotation
- Added drones to automate the watering process, accessed by building a Watering Drone Station
- Added Mech and Exofarmer health
- Damage can be scaled for each in the Settings menu
- Added the Mech needing fuel to operate
- Fuel consumption rate can be scaled in the Settings menu
- Added Home Area system to streamline various home-related systems like crafting from storage, Coziness, and fast travel
- Added the ability for Exofarmer to pick up resources, instantly moving them to the Mech's inventory
- Overhauled core progression with a new crop delivery system, accessed via the Delivery Cannon
- Added inspection points that players can interact with to get information about things in the world
- Added loadout functionality to make it easier to quickly swap parts and tools on the Mech
- Added "Queue Max" accelerator button to timed crafting Constructs, instantly queues as many of a resource as possible
- Added an indicator to show new recipes and Constructs
- Added "Quick Deposit" accelerator in storage Construct menus
- Exofarmers can now cycle between equipped tools on unpiloted mechs by interacting with the equipped tool
- Constructs can now be recycled with a shortcut while in build mode
- Added "Auto-hide HUD" setting
- Added new Exofarmer emotes
- Added several events and hazards to the game world
- Added new lore text unlocked by finding artifacts
- Added "Day Length" setting
- Added additional Decorations
- Added new minerals to the game world
- Added snow and gravel materials to the landscape
- Added more artifacts in various places in the world
🔁 Changes
- Improved Exofarmer animations
- Made physics simulation, including Mech movement, start slowing down when below 19 FPS rather than 30 FPS
- A Mech colliding with an object can now deal damage to that object
- Items placed directly into storage now count towards discovering new recipes
- Storage constructs can now be relocated without having to empty them first
- Available items will now be automatically contributed to a construct when placing it
- Overhauled Mech animations and effects
- Changed build mode controls to allow full movement capabilities
- Many larger objects will now appear to break apart when destroyed, e.g., trees and large bushes
- Split resource nodes between respawnable and one-time nodes, with new art to distinguish the two
- Overhauled Mech customization to allow for easier and expanded control over parts appearance and colors
- Recoloring is now done via a menu instead of via the Exofarmer’s Paint Gun
- Removed Paint Gun’s secondary color mode
- Overhauled game world
- Overhauled fertilizer to make it easier to get and apply with a new transform mode
- Overhauled scale of game world objects and constructs to be more suitable for the exofarmer and properly convey the mech's size
- Overhauled the Irrigation Hose's secondary ability to make it more viable for larger fields
- Overhauled the Artifact system to unlock lore texts and rewards over time
- Split the Field Plow and Harvester into two separate Transform Modes
- Changed the third-person camera for Exofarmer
- Added distance blend to cliff materials, leading to sharper textures up close
- Overhauled narrative and game introduction
- The mech can now absorb water simply by standing in it
- Updated the world map, including a more granular fog that clears as you explore
- Changed the shape of respawning resource bases so that dropped resources are easier to retrieve
- Updated and added many Mech and Exofarmer sounds
- Completely rebuilt crop systems to support much larger fields
- Removed hazardous events that occurred on your farm (Slime Bubbles, Noxious Weeds)
- Increased the render distance of player-made paths
- Exofarmers can now be submerged deeper in water before getting teleported back into the Mech
- Increased Mech acceleration and turning speed
- The Vacuum Harvester can no longer be used to harvest crops
- Renamed to “Resource Vacuum”
- Adjusted achievements to fit the new progression and world
- Made the Mech stick better to the ground when running at high speeds
- Drastically reduces the frequency of situations where the Mech stops running on slopes
- Overhauled tutorial missions
- Updated main menu visuals
- Increased queue size in timed crafting Constructs
- Added amount slider to timed crafting Constructs
- Made trees and other landscape features visible from further away
- Updated item pick-up and discovery HUD notification
- Updated water tank HUD element
- Made the mech heavier - faster falling, more stable, rolls less when falling over, can't be pushed by exofarmers anymore
- Updated water materials for more variety and improved visuals - there are now differences between rivers, ponds, and lakes
- Water now reacts to the Mech and Exofarmer moving through it
- Added and improved various animal animations
- Overhauled various ruins
- The alien-themed music now stops playing when players have found all artifacts in a larger ruin area
- The Mech now assumes a different, slightly crouched pose when unpiloted
- Improved collision on several objects
- The Seed Shooter can now be fired continuously by holding down the shoot button
- Significantly improved Seed Shooter lock-on performance, especially network performance, to allow for more simultaneous targets
- Adjusted Seed Shooter lock-on behavior to make the acquisition of many targets much easier
- Made the Irrigation Hose's primary mode cover more area, requiring less precision aiming
- Rebalanced resource progression and changed nearly all construct costs
- Mech thrusters will now fully recharge in the same amount of time, regardless of duration upgrades
- Recycling a painted construct will now give back the applied paint
- Crops no longer wither 3 days after reaching the mature stage
- Recycling constructs now adds items directly into the Mech's inventory
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🪲 Bug Fixes
- Fixed recycled, or relocated hologram casting a shadow before disappearing
- Fixed players getting stuck attempting to create a new save game with all save slots filled
- Adjusted pop-up message when unable to disembark the Mech
- Farm animals can now experience the "Alone" status if they don't have enough company
- Fixed a rare issue where the player didn't spawn correctly, sometimes leaving them in a blue void
- Potentially fixed issue where some players would lose system audio when entering Multiplayer
- Fixed an issue that could progressively decrease performance and increase memory usage during a play session
- Fixed issues related to movement speed and encumbrance when using a Transform Mode
- Fixed several issues related to the spawning of resources
- Fixed snapping in build mode being too aggressive on the vertical axis
- Fixed most camera clipping in first-person as the Exofarmer when using zero view bobbing
- Fixed player-made paths sometimes being visible where they shouldn't be
- Fixed issues related to the frequency and context of PIP-3R dialogue, which should now happen less frequently and be more relevant
- Fixed controller vibration pausing periodically when using Mech thrusters for longer periods
- Fixed oversized snapping boundaries on Grinder
New Roadmap! 🗺️
Phew, that list was a real wrench-turner! But the machine doesn't stop here.
We have reworked our roadmap format from the ground up in an effort to give you deeper insight into our development process. We want to try to share our plans in a much earlier state than before, even if that means sharing ideas that might not end up in the final game!
The new roadmap contains what we are already working on for future updates, for example, a new biome, ruins, building options, and more! It also contains features we're currently exploring and prototyping as possible additions to the game, like more traversal options.
We wanted to be as transparent with you as possible, so we even added features we're considering, although not ready to commit to, like the much-requested Creative Mode or expanded multiplayer hosting options!. At present, a lot of our focus will also go towards quickly fixing any bugs that may crop up after the latest update, but we plan to actively update the roadmap as we shift more of our effort towards working on the new content.
We're committed to constantly improving and evolving Lightyear Frontier, and the feedback from our community plays a huge role in shaping what comes next. We want to open up the dialogue with you even further than before and hear what you think through all stages of production. What are you most excited for? What do you feel is missing from the roadmap? Join us as the adventure continues, and check it out below!
Share your thoughts and suggestions about the Shifting Gears update and our Roadmap on
Discord!
Thank you for joining us - See you next harvest!
// The FRAME BREAK team
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