It has been a long time since we last posted about the development. Actually, last time we posted the school year was about to end and now it's starting again. So to those that are going back to class we wish you the best of luck!
So far this update has been in development for way longer than the previous updates, and we are very sorry about that. Our goal is still to have an update every month/month and a half maximum. Current development got prolonged by several factors such as vacations and newborn family member that required lots of changes when it comes to time management. As things are finally settling down, the working schedule is getting back to normal. Now let's talk about the new stuff!
Automation and Module Control
This update is focused on Drillship automation systems allowing you to build assembly lines and improved control over all drillship systems. As you advance through the island depths, you get access to more advanced devices allowing higher control over ship production, module setups, and item flows. All the pictures you see, are still work-in-progress that are missing textures or something else.
New Interior Building Options
Since there is going to be a huge amount of devices, we had to come up with new ways players can build drillship interiors and combine objects together. This is how the mounted devices were born, allowing you to place objects into places that were not accessible before. Finally, all the unused space in corridors and on the walls will have some use.
Also, a mounted object does not block space on the ground, so you can combine it with another object. A good example is a combination of mounted chest and the newly improved worktable.
Some objects can even be mounted on the exterior of a drillship, such as lights, displays or panels. This helps with checking the amount of most vital items each time you walk through the door.
In general, new devices usually have three versions. Low stand, high stand, and mounted version. All these versions are in one item, so if you decide to switch things around, just deconstruct the device and place it someplace else (similar to how you can deconstruct a storage module on the wall and place it on the roof).
Device Types
Hub station will allow you to set six items that will be frequently produced to a set amount. An example would be, that you want 20 grenades to always be ready in storage. The hub station will check the storage boxes, and if the number is below 20, new grenades will be made. Each production type (production, refinery, research, scrap) has its own hub. This allows you to make a complete assembly line, where you only care about input and output.
Panels show important data about the usage of energy and core slots. They work as more detailed stats panel, with a new visual style. You can choose panel that shows overall info about consumption, or panel showing just info regarding consumption of refinery modules. Panels come in three sizes and are often combined with controllers.
Controllers are an advanced version of the State Selector. Each module category has a controller that sets a number of opened modules. Levers allow you to increase, decrease or close all open modules of a specific type. When combined with panels, you can tweak power and core slot consumption to get the most optimized module setup.
Displays show the amount of items in the storage. The tracked items and order is set by the player. This way, you can have a perfect overview of how the production line is working, and if all works as expected. A small icon will show if the item is assigned for production or not. Displays come in many different sizes so that you can place them anywhere needed. Including the exterior of the ship and corridors between ship segments.
Lights are now part of the interior too. There's no more preset light in the drillships you will have to set it up yourself by placing lights around. This applies even to the ship exterior, which may help with finding the door in dark caves, or give an extra atmospheric feel to your drillship when it lands on the surface during the post-eruption state.
Other Improvements
Apart from all the above, there are many more devices that can be mounted on the walls. Also, other parts of the game got improved as well but we will save the info for the final announcement once the update is done and ready to go.
Artwork Section
Amongst many other platforms, we also started posting development pictures in the
Artwork section. Check it out once in a while if you'd like to see what is being worked on. It often has a short description to give you an idea of what to expect in the upcoming update.
Preview Branch
Please if you would like to get notified by a Steam message once a new preview branch for testing is ready, subscribe to
this discussion.
If you don't know what the Preview Branch is, it contains early versions of the upcoming update with unfinished features and placeholders that we publicly share for players to test if they want to.
Stay Updated
- Get development news and sneak peeks on Twitter or Facebook
- Participate in contests and chat with the development team on Discord
- Receive development updates through Email
- See upcoming features on Trello
- Watch new trailers and tutorials on YouTube
- See highlights from the office and story specific content on Instagram
If you have any questions drop them in the comments below or on our social media.
Thank you for your patience, we're doing our best to bring you the new update as soon as we can!
~ Volcanoids Dev Squad
