Hydro News

[p]Hi all, [/p][p]It's been a busy weekend of updates for Hydro! This is update v1.16 (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game).[/p][p]This mini-patch addresses a few recently-discovered bugs and adds some adjustments and tweaks to the recently-added lightning introduced over the weekend in v1.15.[/p][p]The details of this update are below:[/p]

• [p]Bug fix: previously, if you removed the Accumulator Charge fuse (no. 3) from the fusebox whilst the Accumulator was charging, the Ammeter charge gauge would still read a charge (even though the Accumulator was no longer charging) - this is now resolved (the gauge will read zero as there is no Accumulator charging occurring when the no. 3 fuse is removed)[/p]
• [p]In the Difficulty Settings dialog box, renamed the 'Mouse Sensitivity' and 'Invert Mouse' settings to be more generic 'Camera Sensitivity' and 'Invert Camera Pitch', as these settings also affect game controllers and not just the mouse...[/p]
• [p]Added an additional 'type' of lightning texture for some variety...although you may not notice as they flash so quickly! ⚡[/p]
• [p]Bug fix: previously, when a Township Demand was active and the interior lights were red, switching the 'Rig for Red' light switch to toggle between yellow/red lighting in the power station would fail to change the backlight color of the Grid Frequency Gauge (upgrade component). Also, if the Township Demand succeeded or failed, the backlight for that gauge would remain red and fail to revert back to yellow like all the other gauge lights. This is now fixed.[/p]
• [p]In the lightning spawn profiles, reduced the likelihood of lightning striking the power station or near the power station as this was seemingly a bit too aggressive in v1.15! [/p]

[p]Thanks again for all the support![/p][p]Please feel free to feedback on the lightning spawn and strike likelihoods (if you feel you or the power station are getting 'hit' by lightning too often, or not enough for example). [/p][p]Until next time, happy generating! ⚡[/p][p][/p]

[p]Hello everyone![/p][p]It's time for another update for Hydro - this one is quite substantive and takes the game to v1.15 (confirm the version number from the Main Menu of the game).[/p][p]Here's what v1.15 brings...[/p][h2]LIGHTNING EFFECTS![/h2][p]Brace yourself, the first iteration of lightning effects has landed and is now part of the existing dynamic weather system! Now you're not the only one wielding electricity...Mother Nature has some tricks up her sleeve...[/p][p]This update brings not only visual (and audio) effects of lightning (although those in themselves are pretty cool!), but lightning can also affect game play for those unlucky players. Here's a breakdown of the new effects:[/p]

• [p]Lightning Occurrence: When the weather turns sour, there is a chance of lightning that can accompany the rain; lightning is not guaranteed every time it rains however, so listen out for distant thunder...if you can hear that, you'll likely be seeing lightning too (if you haven't already!). In the absence of hearing any thunder, you'll only get a rain shower...[/p]
• [p]Lightning Strike Likelihood: Lightning has several 'profiles' with which control the 'focus area' of the lightning strikes. The most likely lightning will spawn itself randomly all over the map and the likelihood of it hitting you as the player or the power station is rather low (but not zero). There are however other (less likely) 'profiles' which, if selected by Mother Nature, can mean that lightning has a greater chance of striking nearby or IN the power station (and you). Note that in all cases, lightning will never spawn in an exactly 'scripted' location! Lightning spawn locations are completely dynamic and randomized within ranges of map coordinates[/p]
• [p]What happens if Lightning hits? If you are unlucky enough to be struck by lightning, you will experience the 'standard' incapacitation in the same way you will if you are electrocuted (but note additional info below re: Fatal Electrocution also introduced with this update!). As of v1.15, if lightning should strike the power station, it can blow some fuses and make the radio behave a bit erratically! If however lightning manages to exactly strike the Accumulator banks, it may have a significant effect on its 'condition' rating! It's envisaged that more power station lightning ill-effects will be added in future updates...[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h2]FATAL ELECTROCUTION[/h2][p]With this v1.15 update comes the option to enable fatal electrocution! Electrocution currently occurs if you as the player comes into contact with live wires or the Generator Grid Fuse during grid sync. [/p][p]In the Difficulty Options screen, you will notice a new option 'Immortal Player'. This is ENABLED by default, meaning that 'death' is not possible (as per the current experience). If you disable the option however, there will be a CHANCE that if you electrocute yourself, your player character MAY die. This is a game-ending event! [/p][p]Note: being struck by lightning will also count towards electrocution, so if the 'Immortal Player' setting is DISABLED and you're struck by lightning, you may experience a game-ending event... ⚡[/p][h2]VARIABLE FOG DENSITY[/h2][p]This update also includes variable fog density, which means no longer will the fog be at a set amount. There will be days when you'll notice thick fog and other times when you'll be able to see further to the horizon. This is independent of whether it's raining or not. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]OTHER QUALITY-OF-LIFE ADDITIONS[/h2][p]Other fixes and additions as part of this update include:[/p]

• [p]If your fatigue levels are VERY high and you manage to get close to the bed and pass-out, this will now count as a 'well-rested' rest and you will not be penalized with high fatigue when you wake up. Previously, you had to explicitly hit 'E' beside the bed in order to gain a 'well-rested' energy boost.[/p]
• [p]If you attempt to interact with a line shaft bearing when NOT holding the Hand Oiler, you will now see an on-screen message 'Hand Oiler required'. This is inline with the experience of interacting with power line insulators and the Generator Air Filter when not holding the Cleaning Sponge.[/p]
• [p]Night-time overcast clouds have been darkened slightly as they were previously quite 'bright' and slightly unrealistic given the low-light environment of the night.[/p]

[p]As always, thanks for your ongoing support and I will see you in the next update![/p][p]Until then, happy generating! 🌩️🛞⚡[/p]

[p]Hi everyone,[/p][p]I hope you're doing well. Here's another mini-update for Hydro, which takes it to v1.14 (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game).[/p][p]A bunch of cool additions/fixes have arrived in this update: [/p]

• [p]Added mouse sensitivity and invert settings. Access the settings from the Difficulty Settings page in-game (from the Pause menu) - remember to save the game at the Filing Cabinet to preserve any settings changes[/p]
• [p]Added a 'Reset Position' button option to the Pause menu which moves the player to a 'safe' location in case they are stuck. Addresses recent player feedback on forums that they were getting 'stuck' on shoreline[/p]
• [p]Bug fix: previously, if you started the fire suppression pump motor and the Accumulator reached ZERO charge level, the motor would in some circumstances continue running! Fixed - so be more wary of your Accumulator charge from here on...if it hits zero, no more fire suppression is possible...[/p]
• [p]'Burn' marks now appear on the generator body each time it catches fire. This way, you as the player can see roughly how many times the generator has been burnt (and extinguished successfully) - the exact number can be viewed in the Hydro Statistics pages, but this change gives a visual indication now too; think of it as a badge of honor...or a badge of shame? 😅 NOTE: if you manage to completely destroy the Generator, this will still burn the generator entirely and end the game.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Once again, your ongoing feedback is much appreciated and helps make these updates possible, so keep them coming! [/p][p]Aside from these smaller updates, I am planning on adding more 'content' to the game over the coming weeks/months as well; check out the Roadmap thread on the discussion boards for some details on what's on the horizon: https://steamcommunity.com/app/3355830/discussions/0/599660183449291892/[/p][p]Until next time, happy generating! ⚡[/p]

Hi all,

A small update to take Hydro to v1.13 (confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game).

This update contains the following bug fixes/improvements:

• In on-screen forms such as the Player Journal, Supply Order Form, Stats and Upgrade Blueprints, changed the fatigue blur to take effect at 93% fatigue and no longer 85%. This now matches the recent updates to the main on-screen fatigue blur threshold which was changed to take effect at 93%.
  
• Previously, if a player was refilling gear oil just as the Auditor delivered their report card, the on-screen messages denoting these two events would overlap entirely. This has been fixed.
  
• Added a new 'walk mode' (slows movement) which you can toggle on/off with the Caps Lock key. This has no effect on movement speed on ladders or when carrying oil cans however (and movement fatigue accrual rate is unchanged whether walk mode is on/off - I may review the fatigue aspect and reduce it during walk mode in future updates).
  

As always, thanks for your ongoing support and I'll see you next time with more updates!

In the meantime, happy generating! 🌊🛞

[p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]A 'quick' update this time around, which takes Hydro to V1.12 (you can confirm the version from the Main Menu of the game).[/p][p]This update provides some handy improvements to the way that key inputs are 'focused' in menus and dialogs and also enhances game controller support for Hydro, for those of you who wish to use such controllers.[/p][h2]Keyboard Control QoL Enhancements[/h2][p]For the majority of you using the standard keyboard+mouse combo, this update introduces some quality of life (QoL) improvements to the way the keyboard keys now have default 'focus' on menus where there are buttons and other clickable items (such as menu screens and dialogs in-game).[/p][p]For example, on dialog boxes and menu screens, you will note that certain buttons now have 'default focus' (and appear highlighted as such) so you can easily 'arrow up/down-left/right' to navigate and hit the Space bar to quickly press buttons. This means less reliance on using your mouse to click on button elements![/p][h2]Xbox 360 Wired Controller Support[/h2][p]If you have a wired Xbox 360 controller laying around, you will find that you now kick-back and play Hydro using it! The bindings for the Xbox controller are shown below (and you can also view these from a new 'Controls' page' available from the Main Menu in-game).[/p][p][/p][p]For the best experience with your Xbox 360 controller, please ensure that you have the following settings in your Steam app - namely, that the input is using the 'game built-in support' and NOT 'Steam Input' (ensure the latter is disabled): [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]A disclaimer that I have completed the Steam Controller 'Survey' noting that controller-based 'glyphs' (on-screen controller graphical button icons) are not currently supported in-game when interacting with items, hence why Steam classifies the game as being 'mostly playable' with the controller. [/p][p]However in my testing, actual game functionality with the game controller is fully supported: I was able to run the game from the intro cutscene (skipping it as desired), launch from the Main Menu, play the game, and interact with all menus and dialogs successfully (including exiting the game) all through the use of the Xbox 360 wired controller.[/p][p]Note: the only key commands not currently supported by the controller are Time Acceleration (Pg Up/Pg Down keys)...and this is only because I ran out of buttons on the game controller to map this to![/p][h2]That's all for now, more soon![/h2][p]Whilst this update is 'small' and mostly QoL/controller based, I hope you find it useful for enhancing your interaction with the game, whether you're using the keyboard+mouse or a compatible controller.[/p][p]Also, please remember you can always view the 'roadmap' for Hydro to see all the latest developments coming down the pipeline: https://steamcommunity.com/app/3355830/discussions/0/599660183449291892/ (I update this post frequently as updates progress) [/p][p]
Until next time, happy generating! 🌊🛞😀[/p][p][/p][p][/p]