Containcorp News

Originally posted by Friday

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Forensic Friday 69! It's been a while since our last update, but we've been hard at work making some big improvements to the game. We've focused on better pipes, enhancing structural integrity, and introducing underground floors. Let me walk you through what we've been working on.

Fluid Pipes: Dillan has been tackling our fluid system, which has been a challenge for years. We finally found a solution by switching from a cellular automata-based model to a data-centric approach. This makes the system more memory-efficient and faster, allowing for more intuitive fluid transfers. Now, we can handle smaller fluid increments and transfer multiple types of fluids simultaneously. This update also lets us add new properties like viscosity and temperature, making pumps, showers, and water purification more effective.

Multi-Floor Fluid Flow: We also addressed the challenge of connecting pipes between floors. Fluids now flow more naturally between floors, influenced by gravity, and pumps can move fluids upward without issues.

Structural Integrity: David has been overhauling our structural integrity system. The old system was unrealistic, so we switched to a cellular automata system that simulates structural integrity in real time. This new system is more realistic and allows for dynamic loads and the need for proper foundations when building tall structures.

Underground Floors: We’ve introduced underground floors, which work well with the new structural integrity system. Building foundations is now crucial for distributing stress and preventing collapses. The ground absorbs stress better with larger foundation surfaces, allowing for taller buildings.

We've also made progress on the underground floors, which generate when you issue excavation orders. These floors consist of different types of rocks, clays, and dirt, with plans to make these materials affect mining time and stress dissipation in the future. We've added a "fog of war" system, so only the ground you've excavated is visible, and we're considering adding caves, underground reservoirs, heat, and gases in future updates.

We’ve introduced a new "Orders" feature in the architect menu, starting with excavation. NPCs can now dig down, revealing two levels underground, and we’ve added progress bars to show their digging progress. We've also fixed some issues like NPCs blocking themselves off or getting injured from falls. Fall damage is now exponential, but we'll tweak it for better balance.

NPCs can now path between floors, making multi-level construction possible. We’ve also added a new logistics view to help manage fluid and electrical layouts, especially with the new three-dimensional aspect. We’ve included new electrical cables, pipes, and transformers to connect multiple power networks.

We made some minor updates too, like showing fluid bars correctly between floors and allowing NPCs to be swapped in the hierarchy tree. Thanks for your patience as we continue developing the game, and we're excited to see our multi-floor concept taking shape. We’ll have more updates soon!
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Originally posted by Friday

Welcome to Forensic Friday 68! We've shifted to a fortnightly schedule, and boy, has it been a busy couple of weeks. We've been tying up loose ends with category C intake, introducing new art assets, and sorting out staff hiring. Fashioncorp is back in action with a focus on managing clothes for NPCs. Category C onboarding is now a thing, complete with a complex workflow involving processing, erasure, and alignment. We've also got new art assets like medical equipment and communication consoles, all in our signature retro-future style. Gangs now have a proper place in the game, and we're revamping the traits system to add more depth. Plus, we're working on implementing a staff hierarchy and sprucing up our Patreon rewards. It's been a whirlwind, but progress is definitely being made. Stay tuned for more updates!

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Originally posted by Friday

Hey everyone,
This week's been quite a ride! We've been diving deep into NPC behaviour, making some significant strides in how they interact with their environment. First off, we've implemented a traffic system where vehicles actually follow the rules of the road. It was a Herculean effort involving machine learning and some creative task delegation, but we got there.

On the NPC front, they now have the ability to head home when they're tired. It's a small detail but adds a touch of realism to their routines. The real meat of our NPC development, though, is the introduction of memory mechanics. This ties into our Category C Onboarding system and the mental system, allowing NPCs to create and recall memories based on their experiences. It's a fascinating mechanic that could lead to some truly emergent storytelling.

In addition to all this, I've been working on refining our anomaly classification system, making sure our case files are up to date with the latest changes.

Overall, progress is steady, if not a bit slower than anticipated. Development always throws curveballs, but we're adapting and pushing forward. Until next time!

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Originally posted by Friday

Hey readers! David here with another Forensic Friday, this time coming to you a bit later than usual – Forensic Sunday, Forensic Monday? You know the drill! This week, we're keeping it short and sweet because we hit a small roadblock, or as I like to call it, a redirection. It turns out, the initial vehicle implementation wasn't up to par, leading us to spend a week on a complicated solution before realizing a simpler refactor was needed. This setback has slowed us down, but it's all in the name of improvement!

Currently, I'm guiding a new developer, which means my time isn't solely dedicated to blazing through features. It's an investment that will pay off, but as with any learning curve, it takes time. On the bright side, we've seen a significant speed-up in UI implementation, a task well-suited for parallelized work.

Here's what I've been up to this week:

Existing Category C Menu:
I've been working on giving Category Cs their own menu, packed with information about cycling. This process involves wiping and restoring memories, creating cycles. Through the UI, players can decide when to cycle them, introducing a unique element to the game.

Sprites for Pumps:
Pumps finally have sprites! After two years of being represented by beds, they're getting the artistic love they deserve. There are some graphical issues with the pipes that need addressing, but they're on their way to their final form.

Case Closed:
This case file might be a bit light and a tad late, but development is a slow and steady race now. Between mentoring the new dev and other commitments, the focus is on persistent and continual work. Containcorp is a long-term project, and even after the initial release, we anticipate 5+ years of development. It's not about fixed release windows or sales milestones; it's about the grand scheme and where the game is headed.

Thanks to our readers, the journey becomes a bit smoother. So, thank you! Time to file this case away, have a great week, and catch you in the Discord server on Monday for Mythological Mondays, and next Friday for the next Forensic Friday. Hopefully, the shuttle bus hurdle is behind us!
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Originally posted by Friday

Hey there, readers! David here, a bit late, but that's the Plasmarc Studios way! We've had a mix of good and not-so-good news this week. On the bright side, we're making progress with the Hiring NPCs and Category C Onboarding features. However, we've got a few tickets left after our second two-week sprint of the year, but fear not – we're unofficially working on weekends to catch up.

Let's dive into what's been cooking this week:

Saving and Loading:
I've spent most of the week revamping the game's save and load feature. It's not entirely perfect yet, but the underlying architecture is solid. Now, the game auto-saves, and you'll see a nifty icon indicating it.

New Manager Architecture:
For the tech-savvy folks, I refactored the Manager architecture, giving them a defined lifecycle to avoid race conditions or weird dependencies. This might sound a bit technical, but it ensures a smoother ride for development.

Shuttle Bus Advances:
The shuttle bus feature has been a bit challenging but is making great progress. We even have a new sprite for the shuttle bus – feedback is welcome! The final touch is getting NPCs to actually use the bus.

Category C Onboarding:
This is part of Batch 3 development, and this week I worked on the Intake menu. You can now intake volunteers (Category C) based on your daily intake size. It's a neat addition that adds some simplicity to the game.

New Road Design:
Not the most thrilling news, but we've updated the road design. The road markings now feature a solid straight line, and we think it looks better.

That's a wrap for this week! It might not be the longest blog, but that's the weekly drill. We're aiming to finish Batch 3 by the end of January, so stay tuned. Join our Discord server if you haven't already to keep up with our roadmap. Time to close this case and see you in the next one!
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