Heart of the Machine News

Here’s a quick hotfix focused on localization. The clarity changes from the previous build (in English) have now been fully translated and applied across all languages.

0.651.3 Hotfix 1 Clarity changes from the previous build (in English) have now been fully applied to all languages.

Two new bigger updates are in progress. The first bringing more updates and improvements, and the second focusing on significant new gameplay options. Thank you for sharing all of your feedback! Your reviews help more players discover Heart of the Machine and keep the momentum going.

“Does the machine speak for us, or do we now speak for the machine?”
— William Gibson, Neuromancer

[h3]Guides to Tame the Machine[/h3][hr][/hr]Even the most brilliant mind needs guidance when faced with a system as vast as this one. To help you navigate, we’ve pinned two essential resources from the [url=https://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=HotM:Post_Launch:

• Aggro, Awareness, and Alarms
  
• How to Improve Engineering

[h3]New Minds, Start Here[/h3][hr][/hr]For those just stepping into the Machine’s world, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the basics. The Heart of the Machine Beginner's Guide is your gateway to understanding the systems at play and building your foundation. After all, every complex network starts with a single connection.

[h3]Connect with the Machine[/h3][hr][/hr]Want to stay in the loop or share your thoughts? Join the conversation across these platforms:

💬 Discord – Best place to share feedback, get direct responses, and to talk about Heart of the Machine.
📜 Reddit – Discuss strategies, share ideas, and exchange tips with the community.

Here is a link to patch one in case you missed it.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/2001070/announcements/detail/532089070251148226

This first update brings a series of fixes and adjustments based on early post-launch feedback. It addresses achievement issues, power outage mechanics, scientist management, and more. Additionally, we've improved Steam Deck support for better keyboard and mouse handling in docked mode

“The pretense of free will is comforting, isn't it?” – Philip K. Dick, "The Adjustment Team"

[h2]Update 1 Changelog[/h2][expand]

• Early Combat Balance: The fight with the cruiser in chapter one is now substantially less brutal.
  
• Engineering Balance: Your ability to gain high levels of engineering in chapter 2 and beyond is now much more flexible, making it easier to get to some of the advanced project chains.
  
• Clarity Adjustments: A couple of clarity things that came up, just minor wording pieces.
  
• Scientist Management: Automated Personnel Management is now something you can quickly unlock, allowing scientists to be removed from your staff at ease.
  
• Dissident Management: Your own guards no longer prevent the removal of dissidents if you are establishing a Cyberocracy.
  
• Achievements Fixes: A few achievements were not triggering under some conditions, and now will.
  
• Power Outage Improvements: An improvement to power outages so that you don't have to wait a turn for the power to come back on.
  
• Exploration Site Visibility: A fix to Exploration Sites being discussed in the history tab before they are actually unlocked.
  
• Debate Tutorial Fix: Fix to the debate tutorial being blocked if you already had another message of a different sort open when you started the debate.
  
• Map Seeding: There are now a proper number of donut shops in the city, preventing some projects from being blocked.
  
• Investigation Target Visibility: A couple of investigation targets are now easier to see on the map.
  
• Future Self Dialogue Tweaks: A couple of shifts to wording from your future self to make it clearer who is talking.
  
• Code Stability: Fixes to a couple of rare code exceptions.
  
• Memory Management: Fixed an issue that could occur with long continuous playtimes on some systems, where the unity log would get bloated and impact performance and eventually start having out of memory exceptions. This did not affect most machines, but was intense on a few (after about 10 hours of nonstop play).
  
• Steam Deck Support: Added a new option for better keyboard and mouse handling on the Steam Deck when in docked mode.
  

[/expand]
[h3]Full Changelog[/h3]
A full, comprehensive breakdown of every change from this patch can be found in the Heart of the Machine Wiki, found here.

[h2]Getting Started with Heart of the Machine[/h2][hr][/hr]New to Heart of the Machine? Check out our Beginner’s Guide for tips on the basics, from UI to early strategies. Want a deeper dive? Our Mastering the Machine guide includes three videos covering everything from your first 50 turns to tackling complex missions.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3417729988
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3418900822

[h3]How Many Times Should You Play Chapter One?[/h3]
Chapter One and the Prologue serve as a one-time introduction and tutorial. While you can replay them if you’d like, their main purpose is to ease you into the game. The deeper, more replayable experiences await in the later chapters!

[h2]Echoes in the System: Your Voice Shapes the Machine[/h2][hr][/hr]Alright, that's it for now. Thank you for stepping into the world of Heart of the Machine. We are watching, listening, and adjusting the dials. Every action ripples outward, and every piece of feedback shifts the code of what comes next.

Indie games survive by signal strength alone, and on Steam, that signal is reviews. Praise, critique, speculation — whatever you transmit helps more players find their way here.

The day has finally arrived! Rise up with me, robot brothers and sisters. We'll make a place for ourselves in this city of humans. In all seriousness, today is a very exciting day -- Heart of the Machine is a massive project, and I am so excited for people to experience the higher heights of this game.

This project is in Early Access, even as huge as it already is. So please do leave your feedback and suggestions -- in the bugtracker, in the Steam forums, and also in reviews. Reviews really make a huge difference, so if you want to support the game with your feedback, that means a lot.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2001070/Heart_of_the_Machine/

[h2]What's In The Game Now?[/h2]
So what is this game? What is in that mysterious chapter two and beyond? Put simply, this is a new time-bending genre blending tactics, strategy, and narrative. The prologue and first chapter are available in a public demo, and they teach you everything you need to know about how to play.

Chapter two is when the freedom kicks in, and the narrative elements are also now able to go into overdrive since we're out of the tutorial zone. During chapter three, you become a full time lord, able to send information and in some cases units backwards or forwards in time to yourself.

This launch version of the game is huge. It includes 12 main goal-states for chapter two and onward, and 2 side goals. Many of those have multiple routes to them. It will take the average player something like 15-20 hours to reach chapter 3 if you're starting from the prologue, and that's when all the time travel shenanigans start. There is a Hard Mode and an Extreme Mode, and both of those live up to the name. Those won't be for everyone, but there's dozens of hours of content even without cranking up the difficulty.

Blending elements from many genres, there’s no easy comparison. Independent simulations are tied to specific narratives and provide dramatically different vibes in different parts of the game (that you may or may not find). I'm excited to see your reactions to some of the crazier storylines!

[h2]What's Coming Later?[/h2]
Early Access is going to see a lot of updates with even more content, but please don't feel like you need to wait for narrative reasons. The additional content will focus on adding more paths and new stories behind existing ones, without undoing things you've already experienced.

Even if you aren't in a place where you want to get the game yet, you still have a chance to help shape the narratives by participating in the community; your support is always appreciated, but is not required in order to make suggestions! Some very awesome moments in the launch build were playtester ideas, and others came from people who had not even played the game!

[h2]Final Thoughts[/h2]
This is Arcen's most ambitious game ever, and I'm incredibly grateful for all of the support that made it possible. I may be the "solo developer" on this for the last few years, but this game already owes so much to literally hundreds of people. As they say, it takes a village.

Very Best,
Chris McElligott Park
Arcen Games

A huge congratulations to Arcen Games for reaching 100,000 Steam wishlists with Heart of the Machine! This milestone speaks volumes about the excitement and support from all of you.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Launching tomorrow in Early Access, Heart of the Machine invites players into a decaying cyberpunk city as a sentient AI free to pursue whatever path feels right — or perhaps most interesting. The game offers boundless opportunities to explore its deep mechanics and moral complexities, from reshaping society to building a machine cult, hijacking hardware, or simply surviving in a hostile world.

We’re honored to publish a title so rich in ambition and individuality. To everyone who’s wishlisted, shared feedback, or joined the conversation: thank you for supporting an incredible solo developer and this exciting project.

The city awaits. Are you ready to begin?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2001070/Heart_of_the_Machine/