v0.5.25 - Supply Racks, Hand Forklift and More QoL Improvements

[p]Hi everyone, 😄[/p][p]This week, we focused on quality of life improvements for production flow and adding new tools that support different playstyles. The goal is to give you more direct control over speed, storage, and employee behavior, while making some systems easier to understand and manage in moment-to-moment gameplay.[/p][p][/p][p]Here are the main changes in this week update.[/p][h2]Main Updates[/h2][h3]1. Speed Control for Every Machine[/h3][p]We heard your requests to control machine speed more directly across the factory.[/p]

• [p]All machines, including conveyors and utility machines, now support speed control.[/p]
• [p]Unlike machines with monitors, you change the speed by hovering over the machine and pressing G (default keyboard).[/p]
• [p]Current speed options are: Slow, Medium, and Fast, matching the main machine speeds.[/p]
• [p]As of now you need to change speed one at a time for each machines, and there will be LED indicating the speed selection in each machine.[/p]

[p]This system also opens up room for future upgrades where higher speed tiers can be unlocked later in progression.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]2. New Supply Rack[/h3][p]Based on community requests and different playstyles, we added a new equipment type: Supply Rack.[/p][p]Supply Rack is designed primarily for supplies rather than finished products:[/p]

• [p]It can be placed more flexibly in both Production Areas and Cold Storage.[/p]
• [p]Unlike Cold Storage Racks, which focus on finished products, Supply Racks are meant for commodities, packaging, and labels.[/p]
• [p]Racks still support configuration so employees can organize them according to your storage preferences.[/p]

[p]Key details:[/p]

• [p]Each Supply Rack can be configured to focus on Commodity, Packaging, or Label.[/p]
• [p]There are three different sizes, unlocked at different Tiers.[/p]
• [p]Each rack has its own display showing the number of items stored in that rack only.[/p]
  • [p]We found this local rack based information fits better with how players spread supplies around the factory, rather than centralizing everything into one global stock UI.[/p]
• [p]Production Assistants and Loading Operators now have an extra role in their priority list called Supply Rack Stocker.[/p]
  • [p]By default, Loading Operators gain this new priority slot, giving them three total priority slots.[/p]
• [p]Production Assistants, which previously could not walk into Cold Storage, can now enter Cold Storage to reach Supply Racks placed there.[/p]

[carousel][/carousel][p][/p][carousel][/carousel][hr][/hr][h3]3. Hand Forklift[/h3][p]Many players asked to use some kind of forklift indoors. To address this, we developed a new equipment type: Hand Forklift.[/p]

• [p]Hand Forklift lets the player lift and move pallets inside indoor areas and can also be used outdoors.[/p]
• [p]It is currently player only equipment. Employees do not use it and do not have special behavior for it yet.[/p]
• [p]This will be available to buy on Tier 12 alongside Forklift and Pallet, you can buy it from Menu -> Equipment.[/p]

[p]Alongside this:[/p]

• [p]The process for taking pallets has been updated so it is less strict about exact positioning, making it easier to pick up pallets with both the normal forklift and Hand Forklift.[/p]

[p]This also opens design space for future features that may involve moving large quantities of goods in more specialized ways.[/p][p][/p][carousel][/carousel][hr][/hr][h3]4. Project Offer Update[/h3][p]We have adjusted how Project Offers are generated to better match how players are actually choosing and scheduling projects.[/p][p]After Tier 4:[/p]

• [p]Previously, the chance per offer was 50 percent Quick Project and 50 percent Contract Project.[/p]
• [p]Now it is 60 percent Quick Project and 40 percent Contract Project.[/p]
• [p]The rule that each new day automatically generates 2 Project Offers remains the same:[/p]
  • [p]1 Quick Project[/p]
  • [p]1 Contract Project[/p]

[p]After unlocking Project Expansion 1 (Tier 15):[/p]

• [p]The maximum number of stored Project Offers increases from 10 to 15.[/p]
• [p]The number of automatically generated Project Offers per day increases from 2 to 4, with the following spread:[/p]
  • [p]1 Quick Project[/p]
  • [p]1 Contract Project[/p]
  • [p]2 Random, with a 70:30 ratio in favor of Quick Projects.[/p]

[p]We hope these changes make the daily decision of picking projects feel more satisfying and less restrictive.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]5. Label Display Update[/h3][p]The Label Display on Product Labelling Machines has been improved for better clarity.[/p]

• [p]The display will now continue to show the last product label used, even if the label stock has run out.[/p]
• [p]It also shows how many labels remain inside the machine.[/p]

[p]This should make the machine’s state more transparent so you can see which label is intended for that machine and notice more easily when label stock has been depleted.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]6. Delivery Loader Assignment Panel[/h3][p]To give you more precise control over Loading Operator behavior and to avoid them all doing the same job in the same place, we added a Delivery Loader Assignment Panel.[/p]

• [p]This panel is located near the doors of Loading Zone 1 and 2.[/p]
• [p]It shows which Loading Operator is assigned to which Loading Zone and offers additional controls.[/p]

[p]The panel lets you:[/p]

• [p]Choose which Loading Zone(s) each Loading Operator should handle.[/p]
  • [p]You can set one operator to focus on a single loading zone, or allow them to handle multiple zones.[/p]
  • [p]You can adjust this anytime to match the current project situation.[/p]
• [p]Configure permission to use pallets and forklifts for each Loading Operator.[/p]
  • [p]You decide whether that operator is allowed to use a forklift and pallets for their delivery work.[/p]
  • [p]This permission was previously set on the forklift itself and has now been moved entirely into this panel. The old forklift side setting has been removed.[/p]

[p]With this system, you can distribute work more efficiently between loading zones or focus some operators more heavily than others. It also gives us a foundation for future improvements to Delivery and Loading Operator behavior.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]Improvements[/h2][h3]1. Repack Machine Improvements[/h3][p]From community feedback and observing playstyles, we saw many players storing huge amounts of items inside machines, which could cause performance problems when repacking because all items would fall out at once.[/p][p]To address this:[/p]

• [p]Repacking a machine still shows how many items are inside, but now:[/p]
  • [p]Any remaining commodities or finished products inside the machine are automatically sold and treated as waste.[/p]
  • [p]Unused labels and packaging are returned to you, up to a maximum of 999 per type. Anything above that is sold.[/p]
• [p]Returned labels and packaging are automatically organized into boxes, based on the returned amounts, so the area around the machine does not become a mess.[/p]

[p]This should make repacking much cleaner for factories that accidentally stacked too many items inside a single machine.[/p][carousel][/carousel][hr][/hr][h3]2. Loading Zone Expansion Information Update[/h3][p]We found that many players did not know how to unlock additional Loading Zones for projects.[/p][p]To improve this:[/p]

• [p]After reaching Tier 15, when the expansion becomes available, the selection screen for choosing a Loading Zone will show the two additional locked Loading Zones along with information on where to go to buy the expansion upgrade.[/p]

[p]The goal is to make it clearer that there is an expansion, where it is, and how to interact with the gate to unlock it.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]3. Machine and Equipment Selling Information[/h3][p]Some players were not sure how to sell machines or equipment they no longer needed.[/p][p]We updated the purchase menu to explain:[/p]

• [p]To resell a machine or equipment, it must first be repacked into a box.[/p]
• [p]Once it is in box form, you can interact with it and press C (default keyboard) to sell it.[/p]
• [p]The item will be sold immediately and the appropriate amount of money will be added to your balance.[/p]

[carousel][/carousel][hr][/hr][h3]4. Mouse Scroll Speed[/h3][p]With help from the community, we identified UI screens where mouse scrolling felt too slow, especially in the Project Menu.[/p]

• [p]Scroll speed has been increased in these menus so browsing lists feels more responsive like the other menu.[/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

1. [p]Truck Submission Spam
   Fixed an issue where submitting to a truck could be detected multiple times if the player spammed the interaction, causing unintended behavior.[/p][p][/p]
2. [p]Pickled Bell Pepper Model
   Fixed the Pickled Bell Pepper item showing the wrong model on conveyors and the labels, where it previously appeared as Pickled Cucumber.[/p]
3. [p]Tomato Cucumber Salad Icon
   Fixed the Tomato Cucumber Salad item showing the wrong icon on the menu, where it previously appeared as Tomato Lettuce Salad.[/p]
4. [p]Corrupted Save Blocking Main Menu
   Fixed an issue where corrupted save data could prevent the game from reaching the main menu correctly.[/p]
5. [p]Gamepad Navigation in Employee Menu
   Fixed gamepad navigation in the Employee Menu so you can correctly move to and select the stats upgrade section.[/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]As always, thank you very much for all the feedback, suggestions, and reports you have shared so far. They are a big part of how we shape Food Processing Simulator and understand what feels good or frustrating in real play.[/p][p]We are also working on several other updates in parallel. Please understand that we need to prioritize changes that are both feasible to implement and impactful for many players, but this does not mean that other ideas or suggestions are being ignored. Many of them are queued for future iterations as we continue to improve the game step by step.[/p][p]If you encounter any issues, bugs, or behavior that feels off, please let us know through the in game Bug Report Menu and/or the Steam Discussions. Every report helps us move closer to a smoother and more enjoyable experience for everyone.[/p][p][/p][p]See you in the next update! 🥗🚚[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]