MoteMancer News

Quality of Life

• Echoflare now drains much less Power per Structure placed.
  
• Paths and Lights no longer block Open-Air
  
• Slipstream allows all Logistics Structures rather than air/water specifically
  
• Runeshroom and Entropic Alembic now show an area for the tiles they affect.
  

Bugs & Perf

• Grippers (including omni gripper) could pick up null entities from an empty ichor slick. (this was causing them to not save and not be harvestable.)
  
• If an altar completely loses power, it will no longer block its active research from other altars. This will lead to "wasted" items when it is then powered again but we don't really have a way to refund and we don't want to block research indefinitely.
  
• Improve lava barrier blueprint edge cases.
  
• Fix grippers being buildable on chasms.
  
• Fix for Action Bar Buttons to not overflow text in other languages
  
• Cloudspring Fountain hovertip fixed
  
• Fix for Mana Flare missing spell tip window references
  
• Fix for music sometimes cutting off after lingering in menus.
  
• Fix for Gripper visuals being wonky when Nudged.
  
• Improve performance of many overgrowth pillars running at the same time.
  

This will likely be the last small patch before the upcoming Major update, If you want to test changes for that branch, you can opt in by going to Experimental in beta builds. I'll be changing a handful of recipes and research positions in that build very shortly, so be aware!

Thanks for all the reports everyone!

Happy 2026 fellow Mancers!

Today I want to share a nuanced take on what the short, medium, and long term plans are for MoteMancer now that I've had a few weeks to step away and see it from the outside. You know it's a good break when you catch yourself trying to start working halfway through it.



[h3]First Things First[/h3]
Thank you to everyone who played MoteMancer over Winter Break, there were lots of great feedback posts and a few nuanced bugs that fell out of that play time, as well as a handful of easy quality of life suggestions. The next week or two will be dedicated to shoring up the build and knocking out said easy wins.

Here are a few small but meaningful improvements focused on clarity, consistency, and reducing friction:

• Structures with range should show a range preview for themselves and any matching neighboring Structures. This is already true for most of them, but it's a good moment to standardize the behavior rather than all the one-off behaviors that exist where some can fall through the cracks.
  
• Umbral Waygates need a way to tag and name the destinations for easier travel
  
• Pipette works on things in the world, but could also be used in a variety of interface and in-world places to 'smartly' grab what you need
  
• Runeshroom placements should be able to flip through available ritual previews on placement.
  
• Tutorials that require research can teleport the player to the node required for more clarity.
  

[h3]Affixes and progression[/h3]
The Affix feature is still the next major task on the docket. Not only will Affixes begin with a few dozen unique options (and therefore countless combinations of them) but I'm also planning on adding an option for the tutorial to start on Fire or Life. Affixes are going to give you a difficulty preview while you are selecting them, and Fire has a different set of challenges from Life, but both are good introductions to the game. I think giving players that fantasy or mechanical agency should help break some barriers to entry down. More on that later.

For pacing, there are a few significant changes coming as well:

• Echoflare will be moving to the entropy tree and Echotracer is going to be removed from Shadow. Blueprints living in Entropy fits very well flavor-wise, but more importantly, it means that the unlock timing of blueprint tools will be consistent regardless of the plane you start on. I think Echotracer comes a little too late on Life and a little too early on Fire, this should make the pacing feel just right.
  
• Synthesis research recipes will change to require ingredients other than prisms. I've gotten a lot of feedback that all the planar research feels too samey, and I think that using prisms for everything falls a little flat. This will both encourage you to automate the useful synthesis tools for each combination, and also give you a puzzle to solve while doing so.
  
• The Ultimate Structures for each combo are going to come sooner in progression. There are a variety of ways to achieve this and I haven't settled on the exact details yet, but stay tuned. Either way, they are super fun to play with and I think it's a bit too laborious to unlock them at the moment.
  
• Shadow needs a new spell to replace Echotracer, and Wavedash needs a better spell replacement as well. I have some plans, but better to reveal them when they are more finalized.
  

[h3]The Alchemists Journal[/h3]
This is the ambitious one. MoteMancer's biggest problem is still the first few hours of the game, where there is a tremendous amount of information to ingest. I think I've chipped away at it, but I also think so far it hasn't been enough and I need to take a bigger swing at it. I really like the idea that you the player are learning alongside the alchemist avatar you control, and that the world needs to be solved with experimentation, but some things can still feel more obtuse than they need to.

To that end - I've had a back-pocket idea for a long time to have a journal of insights that can be learned along your journey. This can start with simple tutorial tip reminders, but also show key structural truths about the game that only really click after many hours that could be better explained with imagery. A good example is showing that Motes can be passed through a grindstone and used as a binding reagent for an adjacent Element, or elevated into the full Elemental form. It will also serve as a pursuit in its own right, giving you something to chase while you build your factory. It's ambitious and nebulous, but I do think it's a key piece that is missing.



[h3]1.0 When?[/h3]
MoteMancer was originally planned to launch in July of this year. I think that goal is attainable, but not at the cost of clarity. The biggest thing I've learned in the last few months is that I should take more time and care with areas of the game that can lead to confusion or information overload. Therefore I don't think I should claim completion in advance this time. I have a good sense for long it takes to make features and art for given parts of the game, but feedback is going to be the only way for me to properly assess the health and approachability of the early game, and so for that portion of development I think it's more correct to be in a 'done when it is done' stance.

MoteMancer will enter its 'thousands of hours of gameplay' mode very shortly through the addition of affixes, but I don't think 1.0 will be a worthy moniker until early-game approachability meets a high bar. Another note is that controller support is still a priority for me, but I also think the Alchemists Journal is more important to get in first, and can be improved while working on controller support and any remaining quality of life additions.

Very happy to hear comments around 2026 plans if you have them. As always your feedback and suggestions shape the flow of MoteMancer's development. Looking forward to a great year for MoteMancer, thank you for being along on the journey :)

Back to the lab! 🌿
~CyanAvatar

Releasing the Elemental Mastery Update was a great way to close out the year. Since MoteMancer entered Early Access in July, the game has grown in meaningful and foundational ways, both in content and cohesion. Before looking ahead, it’s worth taking stock of what we've unlocked so far:

• Entropy has evolved from a spatial nuisance into the backbone of an entirely new research tree.
  
• Dozens of new Structures, Spells, and Upgrades have been added, and every element now has a complete, distinct toolkit.
  
• Lighting, animation, and structure FX have seen major improvements, with more polish to come.
  
• Community-driven quality-of-life changes continue to meaningfully shape the game.
  
• And we now have an official community-run Wiki, which has been incredible to see take shape.
  

It’s been a rewarding five months of iteration, and with that foundation in place, this feels like a good moment to revisit the roadmap and where MoteMancer is headed next.



We’re still on track for MoteMancer’s 1.0 launch in July 2026. Roughly half of the original roadmap is now complete: Blueprints, World Seeds, Spells, Music, Runeshroom Rituals, Entropy, and Research Tree refinement are all live and well established. Art, UI/UX, and community requests remain ongoing efforts, but the core pillars are now firmly in place.

And that brings us to the next major update, currently planned for February.



[h3]Affixes[/h3]

The name may change, but the concept is solid: MoteMancer is uniquely suited to structural rule changes that meaningfully alter how the game is played.

In many automation games, removing a core resource or system would simply break the experience. In MoteMancer, the redundancy and overlap between elements creates an interesting problem space when a tool is missing. Combined with the hex-based logistics and spatial puzzles, affixes can reshape gameplay itself rather than acting as simple difficulty modifiers.

There are currently 27 affixes planned, with only a handful being mutually exclusive. Most can be mixed and matched freely, and they will tie directly into the Achievement system. Some may even be gated behind achievements, which is a suggestion that emerged directly from community discussion, and one I’m excited to explore.



[h3]And Beyond[/h3]

April will likely be the final feature-focused update before 1.0, and it feels like the right time to address controller support and additional early-game onboarding tools.

MoteMancer intentionally leans into discovery, but as more players come through Early Access, it’s become clear where the line between mysterious and opaque can blur. An in-game Alchemist’s Journal is something I’ve been considering for a while, and it may be the right tool to preserve the spirit of learning-by-doing while offering better guidance when players need it.

I’m also continuing to explore ways to introduce elemental flavor earlier. The current Salt-forward opening succeeds at easing complexity, but it does delay access to the elemental identity that defines much of the game. Finding a better balance there is very much an active design conversation.



Finally, I want to thank everyone who has chosen to play during Early Access. MoteMancer is a complex game, and the feedback, discussion, and patience from the community have been invaluable in smoothing its rough edges and shaping its direction.

I won’t say “back to the lab” just yet - I’m taking a short break to recharge. I’ll be back on the first Monday of the new year with fresh eyes and renewed energy.

In the meantime, have a relaxing and magical holiday, fellow Mancers 🌿

Thanks all for the reports!

• Locked vs freeform now remembers its state between sessions.
  
• Picking up entities now shows the total you have as well as amount picked up.
  
• Added Vulkan support.
  
  
• The player now sorts in front of most buildings when using Levitate.
  
• Wind FX for Mana Bloom, Arboretum, Greenhouse, Mana Leaf and Mana Canopy.
  
  
• Altar could block itself until returning to idle or starting a new research.
  
• Removing a mana root connected to a bloom through a production structure could break the mana bloom.
  
• Overgrowth Pillars now grow Flora on their own plane rather than the Players current plane.
  
• Fix for planar reliquary mouse over and gripper sprite.
  
• All lights on structures are disabled when in blueprint mode.
  
• Fix for master tier shadow research using prisms instead of keystones.
  
• Fixed collectors desaturating when unpowered while motes were still available.
  
• Fix Titan Grippers bad configuration for one rotation.
  

Thanks so much everyone for sending in suggestions and bug reports. Snuck a bunch of quality of life in while bug fixing, enjoy!


Quality of Life

• Pickup action (F) will now keep picking things up while held down.
  
• Spell Function and Locked vs Freeform placement mode assigned to Z and X respectively (was Ctrl) and are re-bindable.
  
• Gripper arcs are now slightly pointed to show directionality better at a glance
  
• Mana Roots, Gust Funnels, and Fire Wires will now show Power Grid stats when clicked.
  
• Grant 6 of any mushroom when unlocked except Runeshroom.
  
• Paths no long block placing structures (and automatically pickup the Paths to your inventory).
  
• Charged Lodestone window will show the last selected slot for each specific lodestone.
  
• Lava Barriers now show a simple popup tutorial the first time you build with them.
  
• Infusion Altar shows 5 second timer in hover tip.
  

Misc Fixes

• Bismuth and Brimstone now cost 3 of each element again.
  
• Overflow and Gathering Storm nodes in the Research Tree have more appropriate icons.
  
• Fixed Energetic and Persistent mote descriptions in Grindstone
  
• Omni gripper and Titan Gripper now play nicely with extended range in preview mode when their respective upgrades are unlocked.
  
• You can no longer flip a delta without its upgrade. If you have one in your save it will become unflipped on load.
  
• Recharging a mana flare behaves mostly like a spell, cant move, animates.
  
• Collectors were not saving their progress correctly if it was trying to place motes in its inventory.
  
• Torrential underground no longer shows up on the Torrential Streamway research node.
  
• Vortex updates the action bar on collection, and will replenish stacks in hand as well as inventory.