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Devlog #2: Planets & Locations

Hey everyone! In the last devlog I covered mech customization. On Discord I asked what people would like to see and the next most voted subject is the Planets & Locations of Super Mining Mechs, so here we go!

(PS: if you haven't added the game to your wishlist yet, please do so! this way you'll be notified when the game launches)
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Little disclaimer before I start; please keep in mind that this part of the game is still in active development. There are placeholders / missing things in all of the GIFs and everything is subject to change.

[h3]Traveling[/h3]


In Super Mining Mechs, Earth has run out of natural resources and it's up to you to find alternatives. Your expedition will cover three planets, each with multiple locations to explore and dig through. To travel to a new location, you simply go up to your hub and talk to Yumi, who's your hub's pilot. Here you'll be able to travel to any (unlocked) location at any time, together with your co-op crew. Once you unlock the main objective of the map, the next one will unlock


[h3]Planets[/h3]


There are currently three planets:
  • Islandora: an earth-like planet with small islands. This is the first planet you'll explore and also the biggest one.
  • Frostera: a planet in its ice-age with an extremely cold climate. Cold snowstorms make it difficult to find your way around this planet.
  • Vulcanar: a volcanic planet with an extremely hot climate. Digging here is especially difficult because hot lava can boil up from the ground at any point.

I'm not sure about the names for these planets. What do you think? If you have any naming suggestions please feel free to share!



[h3]Locations[/h3]



Each location on each planet has its pros and cons, such as certain resource categories or items being easier to find there, or cons like more rocks and reduced amounts of open spaces. Different locations also vary in depth and contain different resource categories.

Lastly, each location has a main objective and several side objectives, which are related to building mines that generate resources passively. Mines have to be discovered, constructed and connected to a power source to start generating resources. I'll go more in-depth about this in an "objectives" focused devlog.


[h3]Map (re)generation[/h3]
You can travel to any location at any time, however it's important to note that the map will 'reset' when you leave, with the exception of unlocked mines. So even if you return to the same location later, a new map will be procedurally generated - of course always with the same location parameters. On one hand this is a bit of a bummer but the reason I chose to do it like this is because this way you'll be able to replay locations and you'll never run out of resources to find. Of course, any completed map objectives will never reset.


Leaving Islandora:

Arriving in Vulcanar:



Alright, that's all I have to share for now. Want to vote on the next devlog topic, or suggest a feature? Join the Discord or leave a comment below!
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Devlog #1: Mech Customization

Hey everyone! First of all, a huge thank you to all of you for the positive response to the announcement of Super Mining Mechs. The amount of wishlists far exceeded my expectations and it's really motivating to see so many people exited for the game.

(PS: if you haven't added the game to your wishlist yet, please do so! this way you'll be notified when the game launches)
+ Wishlist

Since the announcement, I've received a lot of questions from people wondering what exactly making Super Mining Mechs so Super, so in the coming months I'll regularly be posting small devlogs to highlight new features from the game. In a Discord poll you all voted that I kick this off with a post about Customization, so here we go.

[h3]Modules[/h3]


Let's start with the basics. Mechs consist of 6 different modules, categorized as; chassis, movement, flight, storage, dirt tank and digging. You unlock new parts by completing missions, after which you have to purchase them in order to equip them. I'm currently aiming to have at least 10 parts in each category on launch, which would make for a total of 1.000.000 possible unique mech combinations. PS: The screenshots and GIFs are still lacking in variety, as I'm still in the process of adding more modules to the game.




[h3]Weight[/h3]



Each modules has its own weight and its own stats. Each chassis module has a weight limit, which limits the total amount of weight all the other modules can have. How you distribute this weight is up to you; choosing a heavy drill will help you mine extra fast, or pick a heavy storage container so you can hold out longer.

In the GIF to the left here you can see the yellow weight limit indicator moving when choosing a different chassis module. This new chassis module also impacts the flight speed though!



[h3]Stats[/h3]
Each mech has the following stats:

  • Weight: The chassis module defines the weight limit (yellow line) and the weight of all the other parts combined has to stay within this limit.
  • Mining Power: Determines how fast you can mine. Deeper layers will require more mining power.
  • Flight: How fast you can fly up but also how fast you can fall down. Some flight modules also impact your weight limit.
  • Movement Speed: How fast you can walk / drive around. Similar to flight modules, some movement modules also impact your weight limit.
  • Inventory: Impacts the amount of resources you can carry.
  • Dirt: Impacts the amount of dirt you can carry.
  • Items: Impacts the amount of items you can carry. There is no dedicated category for item modules, but some chassis, inventory or dirt modules impact this stat too.


Alright, that's all I have to share for now. Want to vote on the next devlog topic, or suggest a feature? Join the Discord or leave a comment below!
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