Terminal Colony Deep Core News

[p]After a ton of feedback and reviews, I decided to ship a major update that reworks the game overall. The mid and endgame pacing felt off, so I adjusted progression and balance. The early game is now a bit slower, but the overall experience is smoother and the reported issues have been fixed or rebalanced.[/p][p]The UI has been cleaned up, and I’ll be adding a “How to Play” video soon to help new players get started.[/p][p]I also fixed several localization bugs (missing keys and incorrect strings) and expanded localization to 17 languages.[/p][p]Finally, I added two new events that make Plasma more useful and open up some nice synergy builds.[/p][p]The Engineer Worker has also been adjusted: it’s weaker early on, but scales much better as the game progresses.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you for all the feedback and the support![/p][p][/p][h2]What’s new / biggest changes in v1.3[/h2]

• [p]In-game WIKI documentation (press W) with sections for Technologies, Workers, Resources, Shortcuts, Events, and Bosses (localized across supported languages). (Steam Community)[/p]
• [p]Events Hub consolidation: uranium/plasma/random events/boss log (and later nuclear/reactor) are unified under one Events tab with sub-tabs. (Steam Community)[/p]
• [p]QoL: faster worker assignment controls (multi-assign like -10, -1, ALL, +1, +10, MAX). (Steam Community)[/p]
• [p]UI cleanup: tech tree tab removed (moved to WIKI), fewer floating popups, Command Center panels simplified. (Steam Community)[/p]

[h2]Major fixes (stability + economy)[/h2]

• [p]Reactor stability fixes (stop button reliability, no restart loops, correct standby fuel behavior, correct prestige reset). (Steam Community)[/p]
• [p]Uranium “drain spiral” addressed (auto-refuel behavior fixed, fuel-efficiency math corrected, analyst consumption reduced, event spam reduced, deposit events triggering fixed). (Steam Community)[/p]
• [p]Prestige correctness (no “free depth” on reset; quantum bits + automation units reset properly). (Steam Community)[/p]
• [p]Boss persistence (boss HP/fight state survives reloads). (Steam Community)[/p]

[h2]Balance / pacing highlights[/h2]

• [p]Engineer rework refinements: engineers scale proportionally at low energy (soft threshold), have reduced runaway max output, gain depth-based scaling, and add global regen synergy; plasma “infinite energy” loops were tightened. (Steam Community)[/p]
• [p]Upgrade tuning: Deep Drilling and Worker Specialization toned down; plus a new Reactor Fuel Efficiency upgrade that reduces reactor uranium consumption. (Steam Community)[/p]

[h2]Localization & compatibility[/h2]

• [p]Language support streamlined to 19 with broader UI translations. (Steam Community)[/p]
• [p]Save compatibility: all saves from v1.1.6+ remain compatible with no migration. (Steam Community)[/p]

[h2]Bigger picture across v1.1.7 → v1.3[/h2][p]Across these releases, the dev also highlights: rebalanced/extended progression, deeper endgame layers up to 100,000,000m, a completed tool special-ability system, expanded plasma systems, significant UI reorganization, and 50+ critical bug fixes overall. (Steam Community)[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Hey miners, this update is all about stability and worker sanity. I tightened up worker assignment so presets stop pulling in locked roles, added stronger recovery so workers don’t get stuck doing the classic “stare at a wall forever” routine, and improved idle/wander behavior so they keep moving even when the mine runs dry. Late game balance also got a major tune up at level 17+: uranium drain spirals are now much harder to trigger thanks to reserve protection, passive uranium fallback, and a new reactor efficiency upgrade.

Balance (Level 17+ Endgame Stability)[/p][p]Changed[/p]

• [p]Quantum Analyst uranium consumption reduced: 0.15 → 0.05 uranium/sec per worker (-66%)[/p]
• [p]Quantum Analyst Qbit generation increased: 0.02 → 0.025/sec[/p]
• [p]Engineer energy consumption hysteresis: requires a 20% energy buffer before consuming to reduce active/idle oscillation[/p]

[p]Added[/p]

• [p]Uranium reserve protection for Quantum Analysts: maintains a 5.0 uranium minimum reserve and pauses before dropping below threshold[/p]
• [p]Passive uranium trickle (DarkMiners): 0.001 uranium/sec per worker after uranium prospecting is researched[/p]
• [p]New upgrade: Reactor Fuel Efficiency[/p]
  • [p]Reduces reactor uranium consumption by 40%[/p]
  • [p]Cost: 30,000 ore, 150 crystals, 50 uranium[/p]
  • [p]Unlock: 1000m depth + Nuclear Power research[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]Worker Systems and Behavior[/p][p]Fixed[/p]

• [p]Worker presets now validate unlock status before assigning worker types (skips locked types, notifies player, prevents early game energy drain)[/p]
• [p]Resting workers now always recover energy (8% per second) and exit Resting above 60% energy[/p]
• [p]Worker theft recovery: hire cost and mine field visuals now update to match remaining workforce (prevents ghost workers and inflated costs)[/p]

[p]Added[/p]

• [p]Worker stuck detection and recovery (5 second movement tracking; escalation: reset state → nudge → teleport)[/p]
• [p]Block claim timeout: claims expire after 12 seconds to prevent deadlocks[/p]
• [p]Wander behavior: workers pick random exploration positions when no blocks exist[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]UI and Layout[/p][p]Added[/p]

• [p]Worker preset lock status indicators:[/p]
  • [p]Green: all workers available[/p]
  • [p]Yellow with warning icon: some workers locked (will be skipped)[/p]
  • [p]Dark gray with lock icon: all workers locked[/p]
• [p]Preset tooltips now show unlocked vs locked worker types, locked type count, and actual assignable workers[/p]
• [p]Language specific panel ratios:[/p]
  • [p]Russian/Ukrainian: 58% world / 42% control[/p]
  • [p]Arabic: 65% world / 35% control[/p]
  • [p]Other languages: 67% world / 33% control[/p]

[p]Changed[/p]

• [p]Quick Templates layout updated to a 2x3 grid (Early, Mid, Late/End, Research T1, Research T2)[/p]
• [p]Energy UI now shows effective regen (prestige scaled) with base reference and “At max” hint; concise resource row restored (debug overlay still includes net energy/drain/cap)[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]Graphics and Rendering[/p][p]Added[/p]

• [p]OpenGL backend support as a tertiary fallback for legacy hardware, virtual machines, and remote desktop environments[/p]

[p]Changed[/p]

• [p]Automatic backend fallback chain: Vulkan (primary) → DirectX 12 (fallback) → OpenGL (tertiary fallback)[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]Platform/Build[/p][p]Changed[/p]

• [p]Windows release builds now hide the console window for a cleaner user experience[/p]

[p]Hey miners, patch 1.1 is the big worker update. I rebuilt how workers behave, how they animate, and how they recover when they get stuck doing the classic “stare at a wall forever” move. I also did a bunch of work on energy and prestige so the numbers on screen match what the game is actually doing.[/p][p][/p][p]Quick highlights
• Workers now spawn with personalities, so they stop feeling like clones
• Way more idle and reaction animations, plus mining looks different on hard blocks
• New nearby worker bonus to reward clustering
• Stuck detection and recovery so workers do not freeze permanently
• Energy and prestige fixes, including clearer regen info and fewer trap situations[/p][p][/p][p]Worker personalities
Every new hire now rolls one personality and keeps it forever. This changes how they move, idle, and perform.[/p][p][/p][p]Personalities in the pool
• Diligent: stays focused, idles less, more consistent mining output
• Lazy: slower and takes more breaks, but tends to use less energy
• Curious: switches things up more often instead of locking onto one job
• Social: normal solo, but gets extra value from the nearby worker bonus
• Perfectionist: slower and methodical, but stronger mining efficiency
• Speedster: very fast and rarely idles, but burns energy harder than others[/p][p][/p][p]Animations got a glow up
Workers now have 11 contextual idle animations. You will see things like waving, chatting, sitting when low energy, yawning when tired, sharpening tools when durability is low, and a bunch more context driven idles.[/p][p][/p][p]Mining animations now react to difficulty
Harder blocks have heavier windup and bigger impact so it actually looks like they are working for it.[/p][p][/p][p]Combos now juice the animation too
Combo tiers from 0 to 4 increase mining animation speed from 1.0x to 1.4x and scale the impact accordingly.[/p][p][/p][p]Movement also has personality now
Tired workers wobble more. Social workers walk with more confidence. Lazy workers shuffle like they just got out of bed and regret everything.[/p][p][/p][p]New social mechanics
Workers now check for teammates within 5 units and gain an efficiency bonus.[/p][p][/p][p]How the bonus works
• +5% efficiency per nearby worker within 5 units[/p][p][/p][p]Social workers will also visibly interact more when grouped, with more waving and chatting so the bonus is not just invisible math.[/p][p][/p][p]Workers can also react to nearby events with 7 reaction types
Notice, Impressed, Startled, Curious, Competitive, Sympathetic, Excited[/p][p]Stuck detection and recovery
I added a proper system to stop workers from getting permanently stuck.[/p][p][/p][p]How it works
• I track movement over a 5 second window
• If a worker has not moved, recovery kicks in[/p][p][/p][p]Recovery has three steps
1 Reset internal state
2 Nudge position slightly
3 Teleport to a random location if they are still stuck[/p][p][/p][p]Also included
• Block claim timeout is now 12 seconds so workers do not wait forever
• If there are no blocks, workers wander to exploration positions instead of freezing[/p][p]Tools and Equipment is now actually discoverable
Tools used to feel like a mystery feature. Now it is clearly research gated and shows up when you earn it.[/p][p][/p][p]Unlock
Complete the Advanced Tooling Facility research node to unlock a new Tools tab.[/p][p]Requirements
• Prereqs: Singularity Theory, Temporal Manipulation, Void Extraction
• Depth gate: 4500m
• Cost: 70,000 ore, 500 dark matter, 250 qbits, 300 uranium, 1,200 crystals, 6,000 energy
• Duration: 420 seconds[/p][p][/p][p]What you get • 8 tool types from Basic Pickaxe up to Singularity Drill • Upgradeable with scaling costs • Upgrade cost display is stabilized with a small caching window so it does not flicker while browsing[/p][p][/p][p]Fixes and improvements[/p][p]Uranium events are easier to see and rewards match the UI
• Uranium deposits surface via a dedicated Events tab once uranium prospecting is unlocked
• Discovery and expiry notifications are clearer
• Survey bonuses now correctly boost uranium block rewards and the “uranium found” notification amounts[/p][p][/p][p]Energy system clarity [/p][p]This was a long running pain point. The UI now tells the truth. • Resource panel shows base regen and effective regen clearly • At max energy state is called out so you know why production is not rising • Debug overlay reports net energy flow and inferred drain and cap info correctly[/p][p][/p][p]VoidMiner energy stability
VoidMiners were causing energy display flicker by trying to drain every frame.
Fix: I added a minimum energy threshold equal to 2 times their cost per operation. If energy is below that, they fully idle so regen can actually recover.[/p][p][/p][p]Engineer energy scaling
Engineer energy consumption now scales logarithmically based on depth, max energy, and upgrades.
Early game is more accessible and late game stays challenging without becoming impossible.[/p][p][/p][p]Prestige based energy regeneration
Energy regen now scales mildly with your quantum multiplier.
• You gain 25% of your quantum bonus to regen
• Cap is 2x[/p][p][/p][p]Worker theft recovery
Bosses stealing workers no longer leaves ghost workers and weird hire costs. The mine field and costs now correctly reflect your remaining workforce.[/p][p]Prestige upgrade completion gate
Prestige is blocked until every unlocked, non temporarily disabled upgrade is purchased. The Prestige tab lists missing upgrades and explains why the button is greyed out.[/p][p]If you really need to restart early
A new “Prestige Anyway Full Reset” button appears under the warning. This triggers the full reset confirmation and clears everything.[/p][p]Prestige trap prevention and recovery tools
I now detect prestige traps in real time and I added recovery options.
• Warnings call out the bottleneck resource and severity
• Quantum Points can reduce prestige requirements over time
• Prestige bonuses have a guaranteed baseline so each prestige level matters
• Milestones and thresholds standardized so UI matches behavior
• Refund path lets you spend Quantum Points to roll back prestige levels if you overshoot
• Full reset option remains available if you want a clean slate[/p][p]Early prestige pacing levels 1 to 3
• Prestige 1: 750m depth, 45 crystals, reward 6 QP
• Prestige 2: 950m depth, 60 crystals, 75 ore, reward 8 QP
• Prestige 3: 1150m depth, 75 crystals, 150 ore, reward 11 QP[/p][p]First run boosts prestige 0
• Worker research costs have a 25% discount on prestige 0
• Crystal block rewards get a modest early bonus on prestige 0, up 25%[/p][p]Worker pace and cooldowns
Workers are still strong, but less hyperactive early on.
• Efficiency scaled cooldown before retargeting and moving again
• Guaranteed minimum damage per mining cycle for more consistent progress
• Combo bonuses capped so streaks do not snowball into absurd speed
• Base hiring cost increased to slow early worker spam: 11.8 ore, 1.15x scaling[/p][p]UI responsiveness
A bunch of click issues came from handling on mouse down instead of mouse release. I switched buttons and tabs to standard egui clicked behavior, which should make the UI feel way less flaky.[/p][p]Reactor and production math consistency
Bonuses now apply consistently in the simulation, not just in the UI. Reactor bonuses now properly affect max energy, regen, worker efficiency, research speed, and automation output. Multipliers now apply correctly to clicks, block rewards, workers, and automation.[/p][p]Reactor fuel burn balance
Baseline fuel drain is now tuned to 1 uranium per minute before level and overload multipliers.[/p][p]Windows graphics backend selection
Windows builds now support Vulkan first or DirectX 12 first configurations, with automatic fallback if the preferred backend fails.[/p][p]Audio and controls polish
• Added “Subterranean Echoes” as gameplay background music with smooth menu and game transitions
• Fixed keybinding mix ups so toggles open the intended windows and help text matches[/p][p]Research cost rebalance
Upgrades Facility research costs increased to slow mid game acceleration.
• Ore 2500 to 3738
• Blocks 1000 to 1495
• Crystals 50 to 70
• Energy 200 to 290[/p][p]Crystal block rewards
Base crystal reward reduced by 18% from 0.78 to 0.64 per block.[/p][p][/p]

[p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]Martin here 👋 Welcome to Terminal Colony: Deep Core![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Mark your calendars: the full launch is January 20.[/p][p]After my previous projects, I wanted to build something radically different. Something darker and deeper, full of industrial machines, rising pressure, and whatever is waiting down there in the rock.[/p][p]The result is a strange little blend of survival management and incremental strategy.[/p][p]I poured a lot of what I love into it: atmospheric science fiction, messy resource webs, the satisfying hum of old terminals, and those addictive mechanics that go “CLICK CLICK CLICK” as the numbers spiral out of control. This time, it is all tied to real survival tension.[/p][p]What to look forward to:[/p]

• [p]Deep industrial management[/p]
• [p]Cold, atmospheric underground world[/p]
• [p]Minimalist terminal visuals[/p]
• [p]Complex automation and Quantum upgrades[/p]
• [p]Satisfying keyboard shortcuts[/p]
• [p]Rising pressure and failing systems[/p]
• [p]Things waking up in the rock[/p]

[p]As a solo developer, getting to launch has been a journey. You can check out the page right now and get ready for release.[/p][p][/p][p]I hope you have a great time with Terminal Colony: Deep Core ♥️[/p][p][/p][p]Cheers,
[/p][p] Martin Edmaier[/p]