Surviving Ceres News

Greetings Pilgrims;

This update features a variety of fixes, changes, additions, optimization changes, and QoL changes. We have received great feedback from content creators, streamers, demo players, and testers. This update takes their hard work and uses it to improve the game as we head towards the May 2nd launch. A huge thank you to everyone who has helped support the game through feedback and kind words.

[h3]Patch Notes[/h3]

• We have added a confirmation when deconstructing the wireless power facility. This ensures players know this will disrupt their base power and that it must be replaced and reset.
  
  
• Changed research done in the research center to remember where you are on the scrollbar when unlocking technologies.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where colonists could consume full stacks of food and water items.
  
  
• Reduced a variety of recipes for parts and goods to streamline progression and keep things from being too much of a grind.
  
  
• Changed a few tips to ensure clarity and that enough valuable information is being given to the player at different game stages.
  
  
• Fixed an issue found when deconstructing the research center.
  
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause colonists to get stuck trying to eat when they failed to find a seat at a table.
  
  
• We have added a blocking volume to deny placing machines into the dirt on farms. This would break machines when they tried to grow the machine like a plant, causing issues.
  
  
• Changed the text on the starter rocket to better inform new players that taking nothing is a good option when you don't know what you need, and let them know they can call for supplies with that same funding later when they have a specific need.
  
  
• Fixed an issue where the power display showed KW instead of MW
  
  
• Fixed a minor issue with hydropower converters not showing the correct visual when operating.
  
  
• We reduced Storage space by four, lowering it to 20 slots. However, we added three research unlocks, each with five additional slots for storage containers. We effectively added 11 slots, but you must unlock them through research.
  
  
• We fixed an exploit where you could remove rocket fuel from a rocket after launching it, and it would still launch. Now, when you hit launch, you can no longer interact with the rocket inventory.
  
  
• Fixed an issue when deconstructing the parts machine.
  
  
• Increase EXP gains on advanced facilities and machines.
  
  
• Fixed and tweaked all display screens to have 100% synchronicity with the mission control room and deny access if you remove your mission control room.
  
  
• Increased the flashlight's power and radius to help better navigate the darkness
  

I expect to push one more patch ahead of launch and, at that time, also patch the demo to match the launch version of the game. To maximize development time, I have left the demo back a few patches, but that will change ahead of launch. Thank you for your support. I can't wait to get players into the game and start looking towards the future and post-launch content updates.

Greetings Pilgrims,

We have had some great creators dive deep into the game lately, which has brought a variety of great feedback, bugs, and suggestions. This patch adds many of these things to the game and many minor fixes based on beta play testing.

[h3]Changes, Tweaks, Additions[/h3]

• Fixed an issue related to deconstructing the operated aerial turret.
  
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause colonists to be a head without a body when at work.
  
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause oxygen loss when exiting water in a world past 50% terraforming with an atmosphere.
  
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented killbots from attacking correctly.
  
  
• Fixed an issue that could break quick slot items occasionally.
  
  
• We added a blocking volume to the landing pad to prevent buildings from being built above it, causing rockets to clip through the floor above.
  
  
• Fixed a stacking issue that could occur with potatoes.
  
  
• I changed some wording on a few HUDS to be more concise and clear.
  
  
• Fixed an issue with colonists and military production / aerial turret assignment that could allow you to double assign to one job when you didn't have enough spots for that job built.
  
  
• Changed some supply pod loot to benefit better players who clear pods.
  
  
• I changed the materials and goods tips to include where they are created.
  
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause your power to turn off when returning from an expedition.
  
  
• Changed some supply chest contents.
  
  
• Changed the machine function button color to make it pop out to players more easily.
  
  
• I added a few new posters for some creators to the game.
  
  
• I changed the technology unlocked text in the RND to not hide descriptions of unlocked items, in case players need to read them.
  
  
• I changed a few recipes to be more in line with what I feel they should cost based on when you can create them. This includes things like food, expedition facilities, lights, and more.
  
  
• Fixed an issue that could crash the game if you attempted to sort an empty machine.
  
  
• We fixed a DUPE issue that was found by dropping items from the last slot of your inventory. Then, without moving the mouse, you press the drop key again to drop additional versions of that item.
  
  
• Fixed some quick slot issues regarding items you hand to facilities, such as ballistic payloads and terraforming upgrades.
  

That does it for this patch. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be aggressively testing the game, looking for any issues or friction in the balance of the game, while also looking to optimize things for the future. We are well on track for release, and I can't wait for players to try the whole game. It is in a great state, and there are tons of ideas that we can bring to the game in the future post-launch. I will make a roadmap before release to cover some of these plans. Thank you, and see you in the game soon.

Greetings Pilgrims;

First, I have ended the beta ahead of this build. The beta players have been amazing, but I want to keep them out of this last build so they have some surprises for the launch. A huge thank you to everyone for their help with the game; it would not be nearly as bug-free and smooth without your feedback.

On a sadder note, I have decided to pull the translations. I am OK with having machine translations for the beta and the demo. But I am not OK with launching the game with terrible machine translations. I had hoped to get community help to polish translations, but it didn't happen. For that reason, I am temporarily pulling all non-English versions. My previous Steam title, "Game Dev Masters," had machine translations, and around 90% of the total negative reviews were basically "Translations are bad." I want to avoid any negative reviews for Ceres related to poor translations. I am very sorry to any non-English players who had planned to play the game. I can't move forward with bad translations. If the game succeeds, I will re-invest that revenue into getting professional translations, but there are no guarantees of success.

Let's get into the patch notes.

• Added a new sorting option for your inventory to sort items by name.
  
  
• Changed all machines from having a recessed name to an extruded name that is more visible from angles.
  
  
• We have added sounds to the alien lifeforms. They will now make noise when they play animations above the flat plateau. To ensure it isn't annoying to players in their bases, they can only be heard when somewhat close to them.
  
  
• We have added a new sky camera view you can swap to while placing structures. This allows players to get a view from above to ensure the placement of base modules aligns with their plans.
  
  
• We have separated crafting material requirement texts into multiple text lines, allowing recipes to show which materials you have and which are missing. We use green and red texts instead of just making the text red if you have one of the materials but not the others.
  
  
• We added a delay to the sound played when damage is taken. This will prevent the groaning when taking damage rapidly from being too annoying. It will now only play once every 10-15 seconds.
  
  
• We added coffee as a drinkable liquid to the game. This new drink increases colonists' happiness and comfort and gives the player five extra max stamina every time they drink it.
  
  
• I fixed a variety of issues that could occur when deconstructing certain base modules that interact with colonists. These should be mostly fixed, but I will continue to debug this issue to ensure it is fully handled.
  
  
• Based on feedback, we changed the save and exit button locations in the options menu. We had an exit game without saving at the bottom, and a few players were hitting that by accident. So, we have shifted some button locations to alleviate this issue.
  
  
• Fixed some issues related to colonist's jobs and how they were displayed.
  
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause colonists who walked from the inside of the base to the outside to trigger your pilgrim to start losing air as if you went outside.
  
  
• Some upgrades in the research HUD are now hidden by default if they were gated by other unlocks. Some players were unlocking recipes for the Advanced Base Constructor before unlocking the Advanced Base Constructor itself. This leads to players having no funding left when they realize their mistake. To avoid this issue, recipes are hidden until you unlock other things. You can also show all gated recipes to see the complete list.
  
  
• We have added a new text message to the research HUD and the research display that tells you the most recent thing you unlocked or upgraded. This should help any players who unlock something and then forget what they just unlocked.
  
  
• Fixed an issue with deconstructing the wireless power room that would prevent it from getting the correct power production/usage numbers when reconstructed.
  
  
• Changed register storage to name storage as it was confusing.
  
  
• We have changed the size of the decorations, such as plants. They were too small, but now they feel appropriate.
  
  
• We fixed an issue where you could place buildings above the mission control room as the dish spins, allowing players to clip the satellite dish into structures.
  
  
• I have added a new precision rotation key (Default CTRL). Many players wanted machines to snap, but the free-form building system I implemented didn't really allow for that. To fix this issue, I have added the ability to get precise and rotate by flat single degrees. This will enable players to line up machines to their base perfectly.
  
  
• We have made a big proofing pass and improved all the texts in the help menu and item descriptions. We recently redid the data pads and mission tips, but now we have done the rest of the texts and improved them significantly. They are now much more straightforward and concise.
  

There have also been some significant tweaks and changes to the mid-game and late-game, but since players have yet to experience these aspects, I won't bother to list all of these changes.

This patch marks the finalized content for release. The following month focuses on aggressively testing for issues, optimization, and polishing. I still have a list of features and additions that I want to bring to the game, but these will be post-release updates. The amount of success the game finds will affect how much post-launch work we will do with the game, but even if it falls flat, I have at least 6 months to a year's worth of updates planned. Hopefully, it will find an audience, and I will continue to work on the game for many years, but there are no guarantees in game development. Thank you so much for all of your support and help with the game development over the last few years, and I am very excited to get the complete game experience into the hands of players.

Greetings Pilgrims;

So, the next fest is over, and we got some fantastic feedback. I have been compiling a list of players' requests, and this update brings the more minor but impactful changes into the game. Some of the larger ideas will be worked on this month, with the hope of dropping them in April. A huge shout out to everyone who tried the demo, and especially to those who took the time to give amazing constructive feedback on Steam and Discord.

Here is a list of changes found in this patch;

• We have added an option to allow players to invert mouse Y (up and down) and mouse X (left and right).
  
• We have added an option to use low-flashing VFX. Some players found harvesting at night a bit bright, so this option adds a variant to those VFX that reduces any bright flashes. I also reduced a couple of facility VFX with this option. If any player encounters a VFX they find too bright, let me know, and I will include it in this system of alternate VFX.
  
• We completely reworked mission objective/tip texts and data pad texts, adding critical information and giving all of these texts a serious polish pass for grammar and clarity. We still need to do this for the help texts found in the help wiki, but these critical mission texts have been seriously improved.
  
• We added some names to the colonist name generation pool that players requested in the discord SC_Project channel.
  
• We added a couple of new posters for content creators who have been showing the game some love: DarkSky and Drayus. I am not in a position to offer sponsored videos, but I am happy to reward creators who promote the game through in-game posters.
  
• We have reworked skylighting, light shafts, and lens flares. Overall, the aim was to increase visibility at night in the early game, which we have achieved. This is a tricky aspect that we will continue to examine as we develop, but I am happy with the current lighting and hope that players who found it a bit dark on Ceres feel better about the nighttime visuals.
  
• We added an iron and ice deposit to the starting rocket area. This was a suggestion to help players learn about deposits and push them not to build beside the rocket but to locate the large flat area for the base building. I am not 100% sure how I feel about these nodes being there. I might switch them to rocks or something else that denies placing a HUB beside the rocket, but for now, there are nodes. After players see the new landing spot, I would love to hear feedback on this issue.
  
• We changed Register Storage to Name Storage. It was register due to colonist logisitics, but some of that was pulled back as it added complexity that didn't benefit the game. This new name the storage fits the use better.
  
• Changed the overweight penalty to limit speed in a flat linear way instead of a percentage-based penalty. If you had good moving speed, this penalty was too low; now, it will always slow you down enough for you to care about weight management.
  
• We added an auto-turnoff feature for basic farm irrigation systems. When the water runs, if it senses no active plants growing, it will automatically turn off, saving you ice.
  
• We did a bit of recoloring to the main inventory/player stats HUD. I made the scroll bar black to make it pop out, and I recolored all the stats to match their colors displayed on the primary HUD bottom left panel. I stick to a small color palette of only a few colors I know work together, as my color theory is not expert-level. However, it was suggested that I color the stats, and after doing so, it looks good. Let me know what you think.
  
• There were also a couple of fixes for the beta client that I won't bother to list as this was mainly focused on next fest feedback, but everything that has been reported as an issue in the beta has been sorted out as well.
  

That is it for this patch. Some of the more enormous suggested ideas will be worked on this month, as well as some optimization and anything that arises from Beta feedback. Thank you so much to everyone for their interest and support in the game. The feedback has been very positive, which is the only thing that matters to me. We may never find that many players, but if the players who play the game have fun, I can live happily with that. Stay tuned for more updates as we head towards the 1.0 launch.

Greetings Pilgrims;

This update brings a few small changes and additions to the DEMO build but primarily focuses on the late-game aspects only available in the BETA build.

A new key action was added to remove the player's main HUD. This is by default on the "P" key but has been added to the key-binds section of the options menu for rebinding.

We have added new visuals, animations, VFX, and SFX to all the late-game facilities.

Facilities with colonist workers have had a worker terminal added to them where colonists will sit and work on the machines of that facility.

On top of the facility face lifts many other aspects have been added or reworked. These include such things as;

-Ice walls no longer just disappear when you cross terraforming thresholds. They have multiple states and visuals for multiple phases of melting, eventually ending in just being removed completely. But, this makes it more realistic for the melting process.

-More trees, bushes, and bugs have been added to the later terraforming stages. After doing some experimenting I was able to increase the visual fidelity of the world post terraforming.

-Both expeditions two and three have had finalized levels created for them.

In addition to these major aspects, there have been many smaller additions, tweaks, and changes made mostly aimed at streamlining the end-game and improving the overall game experience.

The DEMO is feeling great, and we are pushing toward "Next Fest". The May 2nd release date is well on track, and I will continue to work and use all your feedback from the demo and beta builds. If you would like to be a part of the game beta please join the games discord and request a key. Thank you so much for all of your support.