Mercury Fallen News

Howdy Folks!

I had originally planned to work on the next content update which, as mentioned in a developer log, was to focus on colonist training equipment and new starting options. While these things are still in development, I wanted to take some time and focus on some other tweaks, changes and fixes.



While there have been shortcuts for some of the HUD options I wanted to re-work it a bit and make the shortcut keys visible on the buttons themselves. I’ve also added new shortcut keys for the management sections and the construction queue. All of these new shortcuts can be remapped in the keybind settings.


Many of the UI text elements were still using an older method of displaying text. I’ve gone through and updated much of the existing text elements to use a newer text mesh system which results in crisper looking text.

A minor quality of life change is that when setting a placed object to high priority for construction, any of the flooring underneath it that hasn’t been constructed yet will also be set to high priority.

I’ve also worked to fix up some inconsistencies with how closing windows works when pressing the escape key. One annoyance, that was fixed, was that the harvest/deconstruct filter windows didn’t always close when pressing escape.

Thanks all the great feedback and support.

Be sure to check all of the changes in the release notes below.

Follow Mercury Fallen Development On Twitter | Facebook | Website | Discord | Roadmap



[h3]Keybinds[/h3]

• Added Reset Keybinds button to keybinds setting menu. This will reset keybinds back to default values.
  
• Added shortcut keys for management windows.
  
• Added shortcut key for construction queue.
  
• Build category buttons now have individual shortcut keys.
  
• Changed default keybind for harvest/deconstruct modes to ‘G’ and ‘H’ respectively.
  
• Debug menu shortcut changed to F7.
  
• HUD buttons now display a shortcut key if applicable.
  

[h3]Misc[/h3]

• When setting an object’s build priority to high priority, any placed flooring needed for its construction will also have its priority increased.
  
• Updated look of close/apply button in settings menu.
  
• Updated auto collect vehicle action description tooltip. It should now be more clear that vehicles will prioritize targets they are assigned to.
  
• Updated look of info panel on main menu.
  
• Info panel on the main menu now has a patch notes button. This will display the patch notes for the current version.
  
• Updated various UI text elements to text mesh pro for crisper text.
  
• Solid Fuel Generator and EMG now have rosters.
  

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed: Deconstruct/harvest filter buttons not closing when pressing escape.
  
• Fixed: Pinned items in global inventory not showing the correct button state for pinned items after loading a save game.
  
• Fixed: Power meter on HUD not displaying properly.
  
• Fixed: Save/Load window from game menu not closing properly if pressing escape.
  
• Fixed: Various grammatical and spelling mistakes.
  
• Fixed: Missing headers in debug menu.
  
• Fixed: Performance issue when transport vehicle is set to auto collect, but there is nothing to collect.
  
• Fixed: Room info panel shows disable and deconstruct buttons.
  

Howdy Folks!

Another day and another patch. Patch update 28.3 fixes up some reported issues and has a couple of gameplay tweaks. Thanks for the amazing feedback and keep those suggestions and reports coming! :)

Follow Mercury Fallen Development On Twitter | Facebook | Website | Discord | Roadmap

• Updated xeno mold notification so that it references cleaning instead of harvesting
  
• Minor reduction to xeno mold spread chance
  
• Xeno mold now has a reduced chance of spreading through walls.
  
• Fixed: Colonist leaving the dart board generating an internal error that can cause various other issues in some instances
  
• Fixed: Arcade cabinet audio doesn’t stop when object is disabled
  
• Fixed: Arcade cabinet generating an internal error when connected to power before it’s constructed that can cause various other gameplay issues.
  

Howdy Folks!

Thanks for all the great feedback and bug reports. Patch update 28.2 has a few fixes and adds a new quality of life feature.





In the global inventory list you can now pin items and or categories. Pinned items/categories will appear at the bottom of the screen for a quick quantity reference. Up to four items and or categories can be pinned, but can be changed at any time.

Keep those suggestions and bug reports coming. See the release notes below for all of the changes and fixes.

Follow Mercury Fallen Development On Twitter | Facebook | Website | Discord | Roadmap

• Up to four items and/or categories in the global inventory list can now be pinned. Pinned items/categories will appear at the bottom of the screen.
  
• Global Inventory list quantities now use shortened values. Ex: 1200 = 1.2k
  
• Minor change to the look of thermal vents
  
• Fixed: Colonist trapped in phantom expedition in some instances after loading a save game
  
• Fixed: Craft Queue not functioning properly due to missing recipe in some instances
  
• Fixed: Objects that can’t be disabled saving in a disabled state in some instances. This resolves issues with janitors not cleaning valid targets.
  

Howdy Folks!

Patch Update 28.1 is now available and includes additional modding support as well as a few tweaks, changes and fixes.





Mods can now support custom artwork including 3D models and icons. There is a new mod tool available for setting up your custom artwork. A new guide covering custom artwork has been added to the Steam guides section.





A few UI tweaks have been added, but the most notable is a rework of the Add Item Order interface for crafting stations. The recipe list is now visible via icons on the left hand side instead of buried in drop downs.

Check out the release notes below for the full list of changes.

Follow Mercury Fallen Development On Twitter | Facebook | Website | Discord | Roadmap



[h2]Modding[/h2]

• Uploading a mod will display a new window where a mod tag can be set before upload.
  
• Updated how models/icons are handled via xml files to allow for modded content
  
• Mod Tools now available on Steam as a separate download under Tools
  
• Added new guides added to Steam guides
  
• Updated existing mod guides
  
• Updated downloadable tutorial mods
  

[h2]UI[/h2]

• Updated look of craft queue Add Item Order window
  
• Added Disable All Mods button to mod manager list
  
• Improved the look of input field text
  
• Improved the look of drop down menu text
  
• Changed look of enable/disable button in info window footer
  
• Removed enable/disable button from colonist info window
  

[h2]Misc[/h2]

• Create Expedition window now includes information stating that setting destinations is an optional step
  
• Can now embark without food items if expedition team only contains robots
  
• Minor update to Surface Resources guide section
  
• Minor update to Rooms guide section to include information on maximum room size
  
• Xeno mold event can now only spawn after day 50 instead of day 25
  
• Change to button click sound effect
  

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed: Resource scanner guide topic button opens POI info instead of resources section
  
• Fixed: Explore POI vehicle action not cancelled if no POI destinations selected
  
• Fixed: Job roles still limited by attributes in challenge mode. This was not intended in update 28.
  
• Fixed: Crop disease not removed correctly after clearing the crop. This caused colonists to not use crop fields that previously had crop disease. Also caused crop disease to spread invisibly to other crop fields.
  
• Fixed: Crop disease visual effect not appearing right away when event is triggered
  
• Fixed: Placed arcade cabinet causing in game menu to not work correctly if construction not finished
  

Howdy Folks!

In the previous Developer Log I covered the new content coming to the game. This included additional mod support, training equipment and new game options. I had originally intended to group all of this content together for the next major update, but I’ve decided to get the additional modding support out the door first as a smaller point release.

I’m also currently considering breaking up some of the other content into smaller incremental updates. This would mean getting smaller content updates out quicker. This is not always possible as some content changes require quite a bit of additional work to support.


Update 28.1 is now available on the Test Build branch. As this is a smaller release I’m skipping the experimental branch. Mods in 28.1 can now support custom 2D and 3D artwork which means modders can now add new objects and icons to the game.

If you’re a modder and want to check out the new modding tools be sure to check out the Test Build branch. Be sure to join the Mercury Fallen discord where you can find the modding text channel to ask questions, report issues or let me know what you think.

Update 28.1 Test Build Info
https://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/3/3079873089690344890/

Modding Documentation
http://www.mercuryfallen.com/modding-guide/

About Test Build Branch
The optional Test Build branch is for testing the latest features before they go live to everyone. As it is a testing version there can be more bugs/issues than in the normal version. If using the Test Build branch, please report any issues you encounter or any feedback on new game play mechanics. Your feedback and/or reports will help to ensure the final version is the best it can be.

Follow Mercury Fallen Development On Twitter | Facebook | Website | Discord | Roadmap