Ad Fundum News

[h2]Hey dieselminers![/h2]

It's been a while since the last Ad Fundum update was released. That is because this would be the final major update for the game and I wanted to include as many improvements and fixes as possible - and some of these required significant changes to the game's code.

[h2]So, what’s new in 1.2.1?[/h2]

[h3]Major improvements:[/h3]

• The game's performance has been significantly improved, with an average increase in FPS of approximately 20-40% depending on the device;
  
• The game over screen now includes contextual hints about what killed the player and how they can find a counter-measure to this threat;
  
• Thanks to Tangcuzhuzhu’s efforts, a Chinese translator, the Chinese localization of the game has been improved.
  

[h3]Other improvements:[/h3]

• The loading screen now correctly displays the progress of the game loading, so it no longer feels like the game has frozen;
  
• The visual design of buttons to access backup saves has been revised. They now look similar to other buttons, making it easier to locate and use them;
  
• Colors for walls and dirt on level 7 have been adjusted to make them easier to distinguish from empty spaces (thanks to Gauche for the feedback).
  

[h3]Balance changes:[/h3]

• Seismic Charge now has no cooldown, but falling rocks during an earthquake will not drop ore piles if the player has not waited for a "natural" earthquake before using Seismic Charge again (thanks to Gauche for the feedback);
  
• The mining speed after running out of fuel (with “Running out of fuel leads to game over” option turned off) is now significantly lower.
  

[h3]Bug fixes:[/h3]

• Fixed an issue with "People's Person" achievement being unobtainable in NG+ (thanks to Pistachio, Besl, and J M for their reports and save files that helped me track down this problem);
  
• Fixed a bug where several NG+ exclusive special upgrades could be destroyed by explosives (thanks to Hemorrhage for bringing this to my attention);
  
• Fixed a bug where using Quantum phasing and Harmonized recovery system could result in infinite phasing despite having 0 fuel (thanks to BadSniper for their multiple reports);
  
• Addressed an issue with the Object 62-0's beacon appearing too far away from the player in one of the game endings;
  
• Fixed an issue with dirt tiles sometimes displaying incorrectly in the level 5;
  
• Eliminated a bug where a player's mech could keep moving after fuel ran out and the game was over;
  
• Fixed a bug where Laser defense system would shoot at chemotrophic plant seeds that were already destroyed;
  
• Fixed a bug where the cannons of Object 62-0 sometimes wouldn’t rotate during the fight.
  

As I mentioned previously, this will unfortunately be the last major update for Ad Fundum. However, I may still release additional hotfixes in the future if any new bugs are reported. This has been a great experience for me, but at this point, I really need to move on to other projects.

That said, the journey of Ad Fundum is not over. Stay tuned for news about the release of Ad Fundum on other platforms!

[h3]Bug fixes:[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where players could load a save game file in which they had already completed the game by pressing the "Continue" button (thanks to Robbe for the report);
  
• Main menu buttons can no longer be pressed when a message about unlocking New Game + appears.
  

[h3]Balance adjustments:[/h3]

• Energy conservation module now also reduces the amount of fuel received, except for refueling at a maintenance station. This was done in order to prevent the "cheese", where players could combine several special upgrades to achieve infinite fuel (thanks to BadSniper for bringing this to my attention).
  

[h3]Bug fixes:[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where the player's mech could become stuck in ground textures while mining a tile at the end of an earthquake (thanks to Pico and vivan for their reports);
  
• Addressed a problem where ore could not be added to inventory if it exceeded available cargo storage capacity and the player had the Cargo Cleanse Protocol upgrade installed (thanks to SandBag for the report);
  
• Fixed an issue with one of the boss dialogue lines being displayed incorrectly in English localization (thanks to supaserrin for noticing);
  
• Resolved a glitch where several control bindings in the gamepad settings were overlapping each other (thanks to vivan for the report);
  
• Fixed a bug with Elevator sometimes getting -100% discount even though the player hadn't acquired that discount yet (thanks to SocialModo and Robbe for their help tracking down this problem);
  
• An issue with ore piles occasionally clipping through the ground has been fixed;
  
• Fixed a bug in the Ore processing facility menu where selling one piece of ore would cause the ore price bonus to be displayed in each row instead of just the top row.
  

[h3]Other changes:[/h3]

• A space to the left from the boss has been filled with rocks.
  

[h2]Hey dieselminers![/h2]
Great news! New Game+ is finally available in the main version of the game!

[h2]So, what does Update 1.2.0 include?[/h2]

[h3]New Game+ features[/h3]
New Game+ is aimed to make Ad Fundum endlessly replayable, so it includes:

1. Endless restarts. After completing New Game+, you can start again in New Game++ and New Game +3 and so on. There is no limit to how many times you can restart, and the game adjusts tile hardness, ore prices and boss damage to keep up with your progress. Moreover, starting from New Game++, ore prices will randomly change providing a new challenge for you - to find ores that will yield maximum profits.
   
   Of course, theoretically, at some point beyond NG+50, numbers in the game might break... but no one can reach that far, right?
   
   
   
   
2. Infinite upgrades. In New Game+, you will unlock infinite upgrades for your mech. The mining speed, fuel regeneration rate, anti-gravity effect duration, and 9 other parameters of your mech can all be upgraded indefinitely. These upgrades will allow you to become the ultimate mining god!
   
   
   
   
3. New special upgrades. Also, in New Game+, you can discover new special upgrades with game-changing (or even game-breaking) effects.
   
   
   
   
4. New achievements. New Game+ comes with several new achievements, some of which require skill to unlock. Sorry, folks with 100% achievements, but you can't rest on your laurels!
   

[h3]Improvements since Open Beta[/h3]
Compared to 1.2.0.beta.6, Update 1.2.0 includes the following improvements:

• Fixed a bug with the Cargo Cleanse protocol working inconsistently (thanks to Wylab and Sandbag for their help in tracking down the issue);
  
• Ore minimap colors when using the Ore Detector have been adjusted to make them more distinguishable;
  
• An issue where returning to the save slots menu after New Game+ settings menu would make the save slots not interactable has been fixed;
  
• A problem with aggressive plants at level 5 randomly turning off when the player leaves their attack range has been resolved (thanks to Pico for the report).
  

Open Beta version of the game will be discontinued today, as it is no longer required. Steam should automatically change the version of your game to the main branch.

[h2]What's next?[/h2]
Unfortunately, this is the last content update for Ad Fundum. There are still things in the game that I want to improve and bugs to fix, so there will be 1 or 2 more updates aimed at increasing the game's performance and adding some small QoL features, but that would be it.

After that, however, I will focus on bringing Ad Fundum to other platforms. Right now, I cannot say exactly which platforms Ad Fundum will visit, as this depends on a publisher that I have not found yet. However, I can assure you that I will aim for as many platforms as I can.

[h2]Hey dieselminers![/h2]

Today's update includes many bug fixes and improvements, but the most significant one is that New Game+ has reached its final form. Based on your feedback from the Open Beta, I have significantly rebalanced the progression in New Game+, and I think the new version is much improved. I even believe New Game+ is now ready to be integrated into the main game, but I have decided to keep it in the Open Beta for another few days just to be sure.

[h2]So, regarding the update. Update 1.1.4 includes:[/h2]

[h3]New features & improvements:[/h3]

• It is now possible to collect more than one piece of ore using the Cargo Cleanse protocol when the cargo storage is full (thanks to SandBag for the suggestion);
  
• To make it clearer how to access the vaults, a new feature has been added. Now, the first earthquake occurs after the player receives a call from Nathaniel Forge near one of the vaults;
  
• The automated refueller now has a higher priority when the game decides what to use to fuel the mech when the fuel level drops to zero. Additionally, a message is displayed whenever Ignitium is used to restore the fuel level, and the amount of fuel restored has been doubled.
  

[h3]Bug fixes:[/h3]

• Explosives can no longer be used in the boss area before the start of the boss fight (thanks to beazermyst for letting me know this was possible);
  
• A bug has been fixed where teleporting from the final level while affected by metal spikes could cause the mech to slow down on the surface;
  
• Another bug has also been fixed, where the elevator would sometimes deliver the player to the wrong platform if they hadn't found one of the upper platforms (thanks to Robbe for reporting it);
  
• Fixed a bug where consumable items could accidentally be used multiple times if the player entered a dialogue while holding the item button;
  
• Fixed a bug where player sometimes didn't take damage when falling onto closed gates;
  
• Fixed a bug that caused players to take damage during earthquakes while mining through tiles with falling stones spawned inside;
  
• Drills are nolonger slowly moving away from their original position due to incorrect animation resets (thanks again to SandBag for reporting this);
  
• Fixed an issue where exploding multiple mines at the same time on level 4 could cause the game to crash (thanks to Pico for the report);
  
• The magnetic field inverter now shuts off whenever an earthquake begins (thanks to Pico for noticing the problem);
  
• ENDGAME SPOILER WARNING: I made an attempt to fix a bug where the "Slay that monster" button appeared not interactive despite meeting all the requirements for the "secret" ending. However, as I have not managed to reproduce this issue, I cannot guarantee that it has been fixed. Please let me know if you experience this bug again.

[h2]Beta update 1.2.0.beta.5 includes all the features of Update 1.1.4, as well as the following:[/h2]

[h3]New Game+ rebalance:[/h3]
New Game+ has been significantly rebalanced. Here are the main changes:

• The price of infinite upgrades has been doubled, and they progress geometrically. The effects of most infinite upgrades, except for those increasing additional ore chances and hull strength, have also been doubled. Overall, this means that the price of upgrades grows faster but the value of each upgrade is much higher;
  
• The effect of the infinite drill upgrade on the mining rate has increased, while the progression of tiles hardness between new games has been adjusted. Now, players will feel like their mech is mining a little bit faster with each new game;
  
• Ore prices in NG++ and beyond now grow in geometric progression, and ores in these games will receive random buffs and debuffs to their prices for the entire playthrough, adding a new challenge for players to find the most profitable ore;
  
• Boss fights in NG+ have become harder, and the hit points and damage of boss modules now grow faster with each new game.
  

[h3]Other improvements:[/h3]

• Increased regeneration effect of the Alien metal hull from 2 to 5 HP per second;
  
• Prices of some NG+ exclusive special upgrades have been increased;
  
• The combined ore enrichment system bonus for additional ore chance has been reduced from 10% to 5% per mined tile. However, you now have 2 seconds to keep the combo instead of 1. Also, the current combo bonus is now displayed in the ore message;
  
• Buying infinite upgrades that increase the maximum fuel amount/hit points now fully refuels/repairs the mech.
  

[h3]Bug fixes:[/h3]

• Mines at level 4 will no longer produce ore piles after explosion if the player has the Industrial explosive charges special upgrade installed;
  
• Fixed an issue with the names of Alien ore and Experimental alloys being displayed as "???" in the Statistics and Ore detector menus in New Game + (thanks to Pico and SandBag for their reports).
  

Also, a few hours after beta.5 was released, beta.6 was released to fix an issue with the inventory not working properly when loading an old save from NG++ and later.