Hydro News

Based off your feedback and after further play-testing, I have implemented further updates and fixes to the Demo build, taking it to v0.27e.

You can find the version listed at the bottom of the Main Menu when you launch the game.

Overall, the focus has been on quality of life (QoL) improvements this time around such as how interaction with certain components work. I have also slowed the speed of the sun to allow for more 'reasonable' length daylight. And I have made some tweaks to the fatigue accrual, meaning that overall, you should be getting slightly more time on each level before you need to rest-up.

I have also tweaked the Reputation model so it's not so harsh when/if you fail Township Demands and made a tweak to one of the Township Demands themselves (reward and unit power required amounts).

Here is the full change log:

• Slowed the speed of the sun by almost 15%. This should give more 'daylight' during the day shift and avoid having the sun speed through the sky like it used to
  
• Reduced the movement fatigue by around 30% when moving normally
  
• Halved the additional movement fatigue incrementing amount when carrying an oil can
  
• Reduced delay for operating Generator RPM Governor lever so it's much more responsive when the river goes a bit crazy; you can now 'spam' the Q/E keys and get the lever moving quickly when you need to make those fast RPM changes
  
• Reduced the Reputation loss amount when a Township Demand fails. Previously, when you failed a Township Demand, you could lose up to 15 Reputation points! This has been greatly reduced now
  
• Reduced the Reputation loss when a noise complaint is received (note this is still a variable range, but it still has been reduced both min and max)
  
• Increased the time interval between river speed changes slightly so it's not changing so fast. This is a variable time range so it wont always change at the same time. Note that whenever the river speed changes it should be accompanied by 'waves crashing' sound effect(s) to help you know that the river speed change is happening - now that the RPM lever responds faster, you should get way less 'RPM trips' from the Generator as you can respond faster
  
• In light of recent balance changes in v0.27d and now this update (per details above re: day length and fatigue accrual reduction), I have had to do a slight tweak to the Mayor Press Conference Township Demand at least in the Demo to keep things 'on balance' and not too easy! So I have increased power demand units required from 30 units to 40. I also reduced max payment possible from $500 to $300. Note this is still the highest paying Township Demand in the Demo!
  

The following are purely 'cosmetic' changes:

• Added an actual DC Rheostat coil, wiper and mounts 3d meshes onto the side of the DC Rheostat and setup animated 'wiper' part based on the charge rate selection
  
• Animated the filing cabinet drawer when saving the game and gave it a better texture and remapped the UV texture mapping
  

Hydro is an ongoing 'passion project' for me, and I really hope the game is further 'balanced' now, but not overly 'easy' as well. I still want to retain that challenge. Running a vintage power station should not be easy 😅 - but I want to allow some room for error and avoid making players too-stressed! I always welcome feedback on the Discussion boards regardless.

I hope you enjoy these latest updates. Note that I still have more updates on my to-do list (even for this Demo build), but they are a bit more involved, so have kept them out of this mini-update for now (no spoilers, all will be revealed in time!).

During this upcoming weekend I hope to get stuck-into these and hope to have another update released before next week begins.

Have fun and keep that machinery running!

This is a 'hotfix' update addressing some player feedback (as well as other minor bugs) post-Demo release.

This takes the Demo build version up to v0.27d. You can verify you have it by checking the version listed at the bottom of the screen on the main menu.

The focus has been on the more pressing game play aspects such as balance, i.e. with regards to supply costs and starting supplies. You should now find that keeping yourself financially 'afloat' isn't as difficult as before! I have also addressed the grid sync process and made some other minor quality of life improvements and bug fixes.

I've validated the below balance changes and found in my experience so far that you are able to keep your Funds in the 'green' much more comfortably now! I tested by creating a brand new save and found my Funds $$$ status after over 10 in-game days was much healthier than before. I also reloaded an older save prior to this version (where I was 'struggling' in some debt at around the 25 day mark) and found that with careful attentiveness, I was actually able to 'recover' my situation over time.

I'm confident that these balance changes actually allow for a reasonable amount of operational 'mistakes' to be made and more easily recovered-from, enhancing the game play experience further.

I am happy to make these updates to the Demo build as it will help shape the foundation for the full release version of Hydro, which is planned for release later in 2025 (official release date for full game is TBC).

Here is the changelog for v0.27d:

• Added two oil cans to spawn-in on initial game-load when there is no save game file already present. This is to assist the player and help them along as they start the game
  
• Reduced the cost of the oil can from between $35 - $55 to between $25 - $45
  
• Reduced the cost of the Generator Grid Fuse from between $40 - $70 to between $35 - $55
  
• Reduced the cost of the accumulator (battery) fluid from between $45 - $55 to between $25 - $40
  
• Smoothed-out the animation for the Sync Needle so that it more closely 'mimics' real-life operation. It should now reach a 'mid range' of operation where it almost slows to a halt (signifying the generator is almost 'in-sync'), allowing the player to then hit 'R' to close the Grid Relay and more reliably obtain a sync to the grid. Note that this process is not meant to be 100% true-to-life...but instead function as more of a 'mini-game', providing a bit of a challenge whilst also not being too 'annoying'
  
• Reduced chances of calm river shift from 1 in 4 to 1 in 5. This is because previously it seemed the calm river levels would load slightly too frequently...
  
• Reduced cost of the billable noise complaint in this Demo from $100 down to $70 - note that in the full game, many more noise complaints will be available with differing costs associated. I felt that for the Demo, $100 was a bit steep however
  
• Previously, the minimum Generator Grid Fuse life could be as low as 40 (and as high as 550) when the player replaced it. The lower value was intended to simulate a 'dud' replacement fuse however, this value was arguably still too low. So I have raised the min life value to 100
  
• Fixed a bug whereby if you placed supplies like oil cans beneath a window frame on the outside of the building, it could trigger the window pane's on-screen 'tooltip' to appear on next game load after saving the game
  
• Increased the starting 'life' of the Generator Grid Fuse when the game is first started with no save game present (from 550 to 750). This should help players brand new to the game and sync process to learn the ropes a give more 'buffer' for mistakes before the fuse blows up. Note that replacement fuses life will still be clamped at the same max as before (550)
  
• Fixed a bug where if the player ran over to the filing cabinet and saved immediately after 'waking up' to the beginning of a day shift when it's 'morning') then exited the game and reloaded, the sun position of the morning was not saved correctly
  

NOTE: I also have a rolling list of further changes and additions I'd like to make based off feedback so far, however I will look to roll these perhaps into a future v0.28 Demo update over the coming days. In the meantime I wanted to get this 'hotfix' out ASAP so players could benefit from it right away.

Enjoy!

Hi everyone, I'm super thrilled to announce that the Hydro demo is ready to play!!!

I've been working on this game for almost 6 months now and I know that doesn't sound like very long, but it's definitely been a journey for me so far (and it still is!), developing this game from scratch from just a seed-idea and having to also learn a brand new game engine at the same time!

It's inspired by Nucleares and to an extent, Infra, but I think you'll agree that it carries with it it's very own charm. I wanted to make a power station simulation game first and foremost, but I dislike modern gadgets and do-dads! I wanted an 'antique' / 'vintage' feel to everything. I wanted the player to experience bringing an old hydro-electric power station back to life and making it roar again.

Hopefully as you play the Demo, it will convey to you the feeling of re-discovering an vintage power station as you help make it 'sing' once again. All is not roses though...there is a lot of 'work' you will need to do as the player to up-keep the power station! It was previously run by many employees before it was abandoned...and now you're having to do everything yourself!

The journey doesn't end here though. This Demo is intended to convey just a minimalist 'cross-section' of the much larger set of content that will be included in the full release of Hydro which I plan to complete hopefully by end of 2025. So whatever you see in this Demo, imagine the full game to have 'more of everything' that you see.

In any case I will try not to spoil anything here! Please play the Demo and I hope you enjoy it as much as much as I loved creating it.

All the best,
Fred @ Harman Motor Works

Hey folks! I'm delighted to announce that play-testing for Hydro's Demo build is well-underway and has been ongoing for the past two weeks!

This is a big milestone and it brings us ONE STEP CLOSER to public Demo release!

So far I have been receiving some great feedback from play-testers and I've already been implementing not only bug fixes and optimizations, but also new features and game play mechanics!

A super-quick teaser of the latest additions include:

- A Generator RPM and river flow speed variation mechanic; you will need to adjust the governor speed control during game play, to keep your Generator RPMs in-check so that power output is not interrupted; you'll get visual and aural indications of how fast the river is flowing, along with 'cinematic' crashing of waves audio effects to signify when the river is up to no-good...

- An updated Generator Temperature model; now, the temps will 'plateau' when they get to a certain point if you've reduced the power output setting of the Generator (or synced to the Power Grid at lower frequencies).

- Addition of a brand new 'Local Power Fusebox' which houses a number of different fuses (e.g. for interior lighting, marker light(s), accumulator charging) that will wear-out and 'blow' when you least expect them to... (you can repair these using the newly-added Fuse Repair Workbench).

- Addition of a 'Reputation' rating for the player. This starts off at 100 (percent). Based on your actions in the Hydro world, (e.g. if you generate too many noise complaints from running the power station poorly, or if you fail to meet the Township's demands for power), your Reputation will gradually deteriorate and if you let it deplete too low, you'll find that the Township will stop sending you some of the 'high-prestige' Township Demands, meaning that you'll end-up working harder to generate less overall funding. Thankfully, it is possible to restore your Reputation rating gradually, by operating the power station correctly!

- Get that sponge bucket! Addition of a 'cleaning' mechanic for the power station; I plan to add more 'maintenance' and 'upkeep' mechanics as time goes on as well.

- A heap of performance optimizations and bug fixes!

All combined, these changes should go a long way to adding to the realism and engagement you feel whilst playing Hydro and needless to say, they will all be included in the public Demo build.

To learn more about these latest developments and see them in action, view my brand-new video (linked below) on my YouTube channel.

My laser-focused goal right now is to complete the finishing touches to the Demo build over the coming weeks and get it released publicly for you all! (inside scoop: I may try and squeeze a few more new mechanics/features into the Demo before its release, if I get the chance...)

Watch this space as things continue to develop and thank you so much for your ongoing support!

https://youtu.be/Q7NTooG3p7A