Heart of the Machine News

Big systems come online in Update 13, expanding how you grow your timeline and shape your strategy. From new long-term upgrades to stronger rewards and better early-game tools, this update brings momentum.

Scientific Research is now active—and with it, the first functional tab of the VR Pod. Every staffed science building now contributes to a new strategic resource, which you can spend to generate inspirations across ten upgrade categories. That means more direct control, faster development, and a clear new role for your scientists beyond their original use.

Update 13 also adds three new daemon types to the hacking grid, including the Bomb and Greater Wanderer, each with distinct movement and threat patterns. Full hacks now yield tangible rewards like Tungsten Scraps and Human Biodata, linking short-term tactics to long-term outcomes.

Beyond that, you’ll find over a dozen new upgrades, deeper customization through expanded choice pools, clearer infiltration visibility, and streamlined setups for timelines beyond the first.

“The future is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed.” — Pattern Recognition, William Gibson

[h3]To the Community[/h3][hr][/hr]The Machine If you’ve been playing this build—or any part of the game lately—I’d appreciate hearing what’s clicking and what isn’t. Steam reviews are a big help, both for visibility and for seeing what people are connecting with when I’m too deep in the guts of things to notice.

Whether it’s a sentence, a story, or something you just want to flag, it helps me keep perspective.

[h2]Update 13 Changelog[/h2][hr][/hr][expand][h3]Clarity[/h3]

• Attack From Vehicles: A new handbook entry is available starting in chapter 2, explaining that androids can fire from the open doors of flying vehicles and highlighting the tactical value of this.
  
• Infiltration Visibility: Infiltrations now display separately from Investigations in the task stack, with additional explanatory text that clarifies how the system works; a new handbook entry also appears the first time you complete an infiltration.
  
• Counterattack Preview: When constructing a building that will trigger a counterattack, the task stack now shows a clear warning ahead of time, and a related handbook entry titled "Counterattacks Against You" opens the first time it applies.
  
• Task Stack Icons: The task stack now includes more distinct icons, making it easier to visually scan and understand individual entries.
  
• Minor Wording Changes: Several small edits have been made throughout the game for better clarity and consistency.
  

[h3]Scientific Research and the VR Pod[/h3]

• Strategic Resource Generation: Staffed science buildings now generate a new strategic resource called Scientific Research, giving long-term value to science facilities and making their benefits more visible.
  
• VR Pod Menu: The VR Pod screen now includes a four-section menu; only one tab is functional for now, while the remaining three display “coming soon” notices to preview future functionality.
  
• Generate Inspiration: The first VR Pod tab lets you spend Scientific Research across 10 categories—including Small Arms Research, Android Optimization, and Structural Improvement—giving more direct control over your strategic progression.
  

[h3]Hacking Minigame Improvements[/h3]

• New Daemon – Bomb: This new daemon moves like a Gnath but detonates in a ring of destruction when killed, clearing adjacent cells.
  
• New Daemons – Greater and Lesser Wanderers: These add unpredictable movement to hacking encounters, with the Greater version appearing in more difficult hacks.
  
• Removed Inspiration Farming: The old method of farming inspiration through repeated hacking has been removed to reduce grind and confusion.
  
• New Hack Rewards: Full hacks now reward you with Tungsten Scraps, Human Biodata, or both depending on the hacked unit; this gives hacking an ongoing reward while avoiding the previous grind loop.
  
• Tungsten Methylator Structure: Gained when you obtain Tungsten Scraps, this structure allows you to convert them into Prismatic Tungsten, offering a side benefit to hacking without encouraging farming.
  
• Human Biodata Sales: Human Biodata can now be sold for Wealth at casinos—not the most efficient income method, but a useful bonus nonetheless.
  

[h3]Upgrades[/h3]

• New Upgrade Types: Fourteen new upgrades have been added across Procurement Efficacy, Vehicle Development, Android Optimization, and Martial Expansion, expanding available build paths.
  
• Expanded Choice Pools: Structural Improvement now offers six choices (up from four), and additional options such as increased mech capacity and 18cm Spiders have been added to existing upgrade pools.
  
• Targeted Research Spending: With Scientific Research now available, players can directly pursue desired upgrades through strategic investment.
  

[h3]Conveniences for Timelines Beyond the First[/h3]

• Improved Starting Resources: New timelines begin with 20k Wealth, 6k Prismatic Tungsten, 9.4k Bovine Tissue Cells, and 6.2k Vegetable Seeds, reducing startup friction.
  
• Keanu Unlocked: Keanu now begins unlocked, though the pollinator event that usually precedes him still requires an in-game choice.
  
• Black Market Setup Skipped: The three early black market interactions are marked as completed, and players receive the associated items automatically.
  
• Science Roster Recognition: If you’ve previously unlocked the Complete Science Roster, you now automatically receive Automated Personnel Management.
  
• Reduced Setup Time: These changes reduce repeated early-game steps from 10–15 minutes down to about 5, focusing attention on new decisions rather than repeated busywork.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Mining POI Correction: Fixed an issue where one mining point of interest lacked any mineshafts; this fix applies to timelines generated in this build or later.
  
• Territory Flag Timing: Fixed a regression from the prior build where territory control flags unlocked too early, which prevented related structures from functioning properly due to deterrence not being enabled.
  
• Repair Spider Reliability: Fixed an issue where sometimes repair spiders were not unlocked the first time your structures took damage during chapter one.
  

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

[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 Heart of the Machine wiki:

• Aggro, Awareness, and Alarms
  
• How to Improve Engineering
• Should I Restart If I Skipped to the Final Doom?

[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.

We've recently released the Heart of the Machine Hacking Guide as well! Knowledge is power. Guard it well.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3422241019

[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 prior recent patches in case you missed them.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2001070/view/521959859806013752?l=english
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2001070/view/521959859806013348?l=english
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2001070/announcements/detail/510700142275332360

[h3]Screenshots[/h3][hr][/hr]

The Machine recalibrates, and this time, the changes hit deep. Hacking now plays faster and more strategically—Triswarms no longer stall progress, daemons stop shoving each other into lethal chaos, and Run allows for better positioning instead of trapping your shards. When the last hostile daemon falls, objectives clear properly, removing unnecessary steps.

Clarity takes priority elsewhere. The Hack Breaker feat now explains its function clearly, AGI Researchers have a defined role, and difficulty settings display more prominently, even across timelines. Meanwhile, bug fixes clean up hacker feats, correct UI spacing, and eliminate a rare but persistent savegame issue.

The Machine shifts again, and as always, your feedback decides where it moves next.

“A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it.” — Dune, Frank Herbert

[h3]Thank you for your feedback![/h3][hr][/hr]The Machine moves forward, but the direction is never predetermined. Every recalibration, every shift, and every unexpected consequence comes from the signals you send.

Have you seen the difference in hacking? Felt the weight of a well-placed daemon? Noticed the world reacting just a little more sharply to your actions? Let us know!

The Machine listens. The question is, what will you tell it?

[h2]Update 12 Changelog[/h2][hr][/hr][expand][h3]Hacking Improvements[/h3]

• Blocked Cells Reduction: In extreme scenarios, the number of blocked cells has been significantly reduced.
  
• Triswarm Fragments Adjustment: These now cannot move until the turn after they are spawned and only get one move before they expire, removing the tedium of them.
  
• Daemon Behavior Fix: Daemons can no longer jump on or bump each other into adjacent cells, preventing unintended deaths for advanced hackers.
  
• Clearing Objectives: When all hostile daemons are destroyed, the board now automatically clears around objectives, such as mech pilot cradles, ensuring objectives remain accessible.
  
• Run Action Adjustments: The hacking rules for Run are now more forgiving—allowing movement past numbers higher than your shard and stopping on numbers up to 20 higher than your shard. This makes Jump more powerful by proxy, and allows for better shard regrouping.
  
• Code Priest Adjustments: Code Priests no longer have any chance of creating copies of themselves when they corrupt your shards. Instead, they only create Gnaths or Triswarms, and in the next update, they will also create Bombs.
  
• Threat Visualization Update: When hovering over a daemon, it now hides the fiery threat tiles from all other daemons, making it easier to see individual enemy attack zones in crowded scenarios.
  
• Daemon Seed Count Reduction: Four daemons now have lower initial max seed counts, making early encounters less overwhelming.
  

[h3]Clarity and Convenience[/h3]

• Hack Breaker Feat: Now provides clearer details on how and why it functions as it does.
  
• Infiltration Action: The action text now specifies that high agility is crucial for infiltrators.
  
• AGI Terminology Updates: The term "AGI" (Artificial General Intelligence) is now explicitly defined in two locations, making AGI Researchers more clearly understood. A new Vorsiber AGI Authority cohort has also been introduced.
  
• Difficulty Visibility: Your current difficulty setting is now easier to find, and in The End of Time, difficulty settings for other timelines are now visible (after entering and exiting those timelines at least once).
  
• Internal Robotics Convenience: If you have filtered the build sidebar by internal robotics, you can now right-click that dropdown to instantly reset it to the default.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Anti-Hacker Feat Fix: Fixed an issue where the "Weaken Enemy Hacker" feat was preventing regular and morale damage when attacking hackers that do not damage infiltrators.
  
• End of Time Tooltip Fixes: Player notes now have proper line spacing, and extra-large spacing in the difficulty tooltip has been corrected.
  
• Savegame Exception Fix: Fixed a rare exception on load, introduced in the previous build. While this issue did not break anything, it occurred in about 1 out of 70 cases at random and was annoying.
  
• Territory Control Sites: If you scrap one, it will always come back now, whereas in chapter one sometimes it would not. Additionally, the sites are now consistent during a timeline after you create and scrap them, rather than shuffling every time you do so.
  

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

[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 Heart of the Machine wiki:

• Aggro, Awareness, and Alarms
  
• How to Improve Engineering
• Should I Restart If I Skipped to the Final Doom?

[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.

We've recently released the Heart of the Machine Hacking Guide as well! Knowledge is power. Guard it well.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3422241019

[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 prior recent patches in case you missed them.
https://steamcommunity.com/ogg/2001070/announcements/detail/521959859806013349
https://steamcommunity.com/ogg/2001070/announcements/detail/510700142275332360
https://steamcommunity.com/ogg/2001070/announcements/detail/524210308312468720

The Machine is no longer keeping you on a tight leash. This update introduces new StreetSense events in the prologue, letting players start going off-road much earlier—whether that means responding to an apartment fire, dealing with a water theft, or getting involved in a parking dispute at a motel. These aren’t just tutorial diversions; they’re the first steps toward a less linear early game, where side content starts shaping your timeline from the beginning.

For those who prefer more direct intervention, new break-in actions allow players to steal or leave behind valuables in citizen homes, but push your luck too far and humans will wise up, upgrading their security. Meanwhile, personality-based resources can now be obtained earlier, resource tracking has been improved across multiple lenses, and combat units now respect their positioning better when targeting buildings.

Also, for those concerned about firefighter survival rates, know that if you make a habit of killing them, they’ll start working with SecForce and laying traps. Actions have consequences, after all.

Here’s what’s changed.

“There is no justice in the laws of nature, no term for fairness in the equations of motion. The universe is neither evil, nor good, it simply does not care.” — The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal

[h2]Building the Machine – Your Feedback Shapes What Comes Next[/h2][hr][/hr]The Machine shifts and recalibrates thanks to you. Every adjustment, from smarter targeting to rebalanced enemies to the appropriate amount of existential dread, comes from the feedback you provide.

If you haven’t yet, leave a Steam review—whether it’s praise, critique, or a warning about what happens when the wrong systems gain control, your words help shape what comes next.

Keep sharing your thoughts, and if you haven’t yet, leave a Steam review—your words help determine what this world becomes.

[h2]Update 11 Changelog[/h2][hr][/hr][expand][h2]Expanded Early-Game Exploration[/h2]

• Early StreetSense Additions: Starting in the prologue, after you've learned that humans are not a source of safety, a trio of new StreetSense events are available: Apartment Fire, LostGen Water Theft, and Citizen Parking at Motel. These new options allow for early off-roading, and more will be added in future updates.
  
• Apartment Fire: Available even in Chapter 2 and beyond, this event allows you to gain Compassion or Cruelty with minimal effort. If you kill too many firefighters, they will begin laying traps for you alongside SecForce in that timeline.
  
• LostGen Water Theft: A recurring event that offers a choice between Compassion, Apathy, or Cruelty. This decision does not affect your future relationship with the LostGen rebel group.
  
• Citizen Parking at Motel: Lets you trade Consumer Goods for Compassion, gain a cache of Apathy, or farm a small amount of Cruelty.
  
• New Chapter One StreetSense Actions: After unlocking electricity generation, a new set of four StreetSense actions allow you to break into homes and either steal valuables or leave unexpected gifts. Depending on the level of citizen housing, you can steal Wealth, Consumer Goods, Fine Goods, or Furniture. These actions can also generate Creativity, one of their most useful applications. However, breaking in too many times will cause humans to adapt, issuing a security patch to reinforce their doors.
  

[h2]Gameplay & Balance Adjustments[/h2]

• Early Personality Resource Notifications: Now that some personality-based resources can be obtained earlier in the prologue, the game will inform players about them sooner than before.
  
• Player Unit Targeting Improvement: Player units were already prioritizing landing on buildings when moving in close (for melee or otherwise), but now they will do a better job of that when the building is near the edge of a cell. Previously, they would sometimes fail to respect that positioning.
  
• NPC Unit Targeting Improvements: There are three major sets of NPC targeting logic improvements. These focus on a lot of the background conflicts, or ongoing side-beefs between NPC factions, or invaders from outside the city. These different groups all now behave more sensibly, and others behave more sensibly in regard to them. The biggest takeaway is that everyone is a lot less interested in shooting you when they seemingly should be more about shooting each other.
  

[h2]Bug Fixes & Optimizations[/h2]

• Fixed a bug that required keeping a dragon around to start Contact an ExoCorp, Question Wastelanders, Uterine Replicators, and Homo Obscurus. This made these options much harder to access for players who are (for some reason) not dragon enthusiasts.
  
• Fixed Wind Turbine Visual Bug: Turbines were missing their actual turbines—they now spin as intended.
  
• Fixed a bug where suppressing fire was not working as advertised, but only hitting the target itself.
  
• Removed outdated metadata that was visible in Inspect Mode for buildings but was not actually used.
  
• Suppressing Fire now works as intended, debuffing all enemies within the attack range of your unit, rather than just the target.
  
• Exception Fixes: A couple of fairly rare exceptions that people were reporting since the last update have now been fixed. They were harmless, but annoying.
  
• Bulk Clarity: High-Density Rounds and Format Optimization are now much more clear that they don't work on the bulk versions of those units, but only on the elites.
  
• Savegame Performance Boost: Micro-optimizations to Arcen's custom data serializer have improved save speeds by about 57% savings. Further optimizations for minor background objects have reduced savegame sizes to 53% of their previous size. This benefits GOG cloud saves in particular, but is frankly nice for everyone.
  
• Autosave Defaults: The game now defaults to 10 autosaves per profile, rather than 15, to again ease the load on cloud saves for everyone. You can of course change this to be much higher or lower if you prefer.
  

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

[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 Heart of the Machine wiki:

• Aggro, Awareness, and Alarms
  
• How to Improve Engineering
• Should I Restart If I Skipped to the Final Doom?

[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.

We've recently released the Heart of the Machine Hacking Guide as well! Knowledge is power. Guard it well.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3422241019

[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 prior recent patches in case you missed them.
https://steamcommunity.com/ogg/2001070/announcements/detail/510700142275332360
https://steamcommunity.com/ogg/2001070/announcements/detail/524210308312468720

Save 20% on Heart of the Machine during the Hooded Horse Spring Sale.

Hooded Horse Spring Publisher Sale 2025

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

The Hooded Horse Spring Sale is live, with Heart of the Machine at 20% off, alongside discounts on other games. Check it out on Steam.

Hooded Horse Spring Publisher Sale 2025

[h3]Building the Machine[/h3][hr][/hr]The Machine continues to evolve. Update 10 takes the first steps toward a less linear early game, giving players more side content and greater freedom to shape their approach. Unit badges introduce a new layer of strategic depth, letting you enhance individual androids—until their destruction, of course. Meanwhile, Android Torpor ensures your best assets can be stored for later use, preventing costly losses.

Beyond these additions, StreetSense and Scavenging Site filters improve resource tracking, debates with the wealthy have been rebalanced, and Dual Handguns now deliver the firepower they were always meant to. With more changes on the horizon, where the Machine goes next is up to you.

Read more about it here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/2001070/announcements/detail/510700142275332360?snr=1_2108_9__2107

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