Aground Zero News

It's been a year since Aground Zero entered Early Access, and after a lot of updates and changes, I am happy to announce the first ending of the game has been added!

The quest for this ending will automatically start shortly after completing the "Humanity's Survival" quest (10,000 colonists), and will seem a little straightforward at first, but stick around for the after credits scene, where the first major twist is revealed.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Originally, I was thinking you'd have to load a save or start a new game to get all the endings, but after all the work players have put into their worlds and bases, I decided it should be possible to get the other ending after completing this ending - so there will be more in later updates!

Changelog:

• Added Science Path ending
  
• Trees and seaweed now give off some oxygen (like oxygen generators)
  
• Beetle Explorer will now auto-aim at enemies within a firing angle
  
• Added Set Accepted Foods option to bunkers - they will only request food from storehouses of checked foods (although NPCs can grab food of any type regardless of their bunker)
  
• Fixed issue where you couldn't complete the interstellar drive quest after meeting the Peacemaker (using a dragon ship)
  
• Fixed issue with splitters on ramps
  
• Added general shootBlock function (can be set per area) for modding
  

I still can't believe it's already 2025, but we came a long way in 2024 - including some pretty exciting updates if you missed them:

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1795570/announcements/detail/4177725694945421628?snr=2___
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1795570/announcements/detail/4334235929165117786?snr=2___
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1795570/announcements/detail/4246418273499169070?snr=2___
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1795570/announcements/detail/4677640474213904468?snr=2___
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1795570/announcements/detail/4543660921258876971?snr=2___
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1795570/announcements/detail/530959530157148072?snr=2___

I hope you had a good 2024, and are looking forward to our launch this year! I have the magic path to finish (along with the second ending), and I'm sure there will be many other small improvements and quality of life updates like usual!

The final assets needed for Mars are complete - get ready to continue the magic path, meet the exiled, complete a few quests and discover a few secrets there! You'll even be able to right a past wrong (if you were one of those who drained the oceans on mars in the original Aground). Speaking of which, I should probably add a way to auto-cast the book of splash for quickly flooding larger areas...

Here's a short video showcasing some of the things you can do on Mars:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
If you look closely, you may even see some of the secrets!

Changelog:

• Added Mars - this includes a lot of changes, but I don't want to spoil them all here!
  
• Fixed explosive attacks (like book of stone) so it can't damage structures in the colony world.
  

I'm getting close to finishing the ending on the science path too - so look forward to that in the coming weeks. I hope you have a great new year, and are looking forward to the launch of Aground Zero in 2025!

This update includes a lot of quality of life improvements, but no new content changes (I'm still waiting on one last asset for Mars).

Changelog:

• Added Anomaly track
  
• Added Mega Storehouses and Signs (can obtain them in the blueprint printer)
  
• Added Locator item, which can show your current position
  
• Dragon ships can now auto-fire like dragons, and be summoned
  
• Vehicles (including the dragon) can no longer be summoned while being piloted
  
• Can now feed lots of blood gems to dragons by holding the feed button
  
• Added floating blocks upgrade to materializer
  
• Added mass placement upgrade to painter tool
  
• Added Free Flight difficulty option
  
• Added chromium mining blueprint to blueprint printer after timeskip (in case you missed the chest)
  
• Can no longer request items through storehouses with priority = none (caused the item to get stuck)
  
• You can now set priority per item, not just type. The list can be searched, and click a type to filter the list by that type.
  
• Added tooltip to show whether bulk placing walls or floors
  
• If auto-eat is enabled, it will automatically eat if you fail to cast a spell due to being hungry (after releasing the cast button)
  
• Item counts are now shown when requesting items (so you know how many total you have connected via belts when requesting). It still requests up to 99 (1 stack) per request.
  
• Added setting to adjust padding of UI relative to edges (more padding for ultra wide)
  

As you can see, this update adds a lot of changes, although many of them are kind of small.

The main addition of this update is the Dragon Spaceship - something I was quite excited to add! You can now complete the evolution gem quest with the Anomaly, and doing so will unlock the blueprint. I wanted the Dragon Ships to be very distinct from the Beetle Explorer, so I made them small, fast and deadly. They aren't a mobile base, but they can maneuver in tight spaces/underground and they make an excellent fighter.

You can watch a video of me building and flying the dragon ship here:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

I also wanted to show off the engine effect, which I thought was really cool but you can't see it while piloting the ship, so I made this short: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2mubN50jI-Q


Changelog:

• Added Dragon Spaceship
  
• Added Mass Materialization upgrade to the Materializer (using upgrade chips) - allows bulk block placement.
  
• Added PVP option (defaults false, change in difficulty settings)
  
• Allowed completion of evolution gem quest
  

The mass materializer is a long awaited QoL improvement too - I hope you enjoy. I'm still waiting on some assets for the mars update, but I might add some more QoL updates in the meantime. I hope you're looking forward to the next update!

This update includes a lot of quality of life features and improvements while waiting for the last models for the next magic path quest.

Our main modeler was sick last month (thankfully, he's recovered now), so that puts us a little behind where I wanted to be on the magic path. But, while waiting, I've added a bunch of improvements you can see below:

Changelog:

• Added Difficulty Settings. While there are 3 preset modes (Survival, Creative and 1 Hit Knockout), in Options -> Difficulty Settings you'll see a bunch of individual settings you can enable and disable to customize the game as you wish. You can change this at any time, and it is set per player, per save file.
  
• Added Auto Builder. This structure builds blueprints in range and is quite convenient. It unlocks after completing the first quest on the magic path (and will auto-unlock if you already have when loading a save).
  
• Added a search bar to many of the scrolling lists. It's now easier to find what you are looking for.
  
• Added hairstyles. Our character animator made these while we wait for the next character to be finished, and I think they came out nicely. This is probably our final set of improved hairstyles.
  
• Added Cleaner (tool). This was based on a suggestion, and it'll only mine cables/belts/ladders.
  
• Added more NPC Snippets (if you revive them, summon them, or move them to a space station).
  
• Added ocean transition at horizon
  
• Lessened line strength at far distances (this was causing far away land to look too dark)
  
• Increased Water Vaporizor speed and added a fourth upgrade level
  
• Balanced/changed recipe time including reducing time to mine ores in rig