Mercury Fallen

Howdy Folks!

A huge thank you for all of the feedback and reports on the experimental branch. Update 1.19 fixes up several issues, including a nasty crash bug that was introduced in 1.18.

Additions

A couple of minor additions are also included such as a quit to desktop option from the in-game menu and a new slider for for the surface side mining platforms.

The new Auto Collect At % slider for mining platforms allows you to set a minimum inventory amount percentage. Resource Transports will now only collect from mining platforms whose inventory amount is at or above this percentage.

Release Notes

Added additional checks to reduce memory overhead when returning to main menu
Game Saved text now appears in the lower middle of the screen when the game is saved.
Game menu now includes buttons for return to main menu and quit. Quit will now quit the desktop.
Mining platform now has an “Auto Collect At %” slider. Resource Transports will now only collect from mining platforms whose inventory amount is at or above this percentage.
Surface resource visuals render distance increased
Reduced system memory generation when looking up sprites for UI elements
Reduced system memory generation for systems that use conditional Lua expressions
Fixed: Deconstruct button visible in construction queue even if object doesn’t allow for deconstruction. This is mainly to fix an issue where the player could remove a Terraformer Regulator and be unable to complete the related mission.
Fixed: Wall lights not contributing to room lighting value in some cases.
Fixed: Attribute data not cleared correctly in some instances
Fixed: CDecorProvider updating data when returning to main menu which can cause a crash in some cases
Fixed: Colonist portrait data not cleaned up correctly in some instances
Fixed: Colonists are stuck performing an action if that action is removed by changing job roles in some instances.
Fixed: Crash can occur when returning to main menu if fish have been spawned in a aquarium
Fixed: Trader faction reputation still shows 4 stars even when maxed out

Howdy Folks!

Patch Update 1.19 is now on the experimental branch on Steam and aims to resolve game crashes that can occur during auto saves and extended play periods.

If you’re experiencing poor performance or the game crashing after playing for a couple of hours, please give this experimental branch a try and let me know if it improves your experience.

This has been a hard issue to resolve as I’ve not been able to reproduce the behavior in my testing environments. I am working on further optimizations, but I wanted to get feedback on the optimizations so far.

Thanks everyone for the great feedback and let me know if you’re still experiencing this issue. As it doesn’t affect everyone I’m trying to get a general sense of how many users are affected by these issues.

What is the Experimental Branch and how do I access it?

Please let me know in the below Steam thread, or in the experimental channel on Discord, if you encounter any issues while using update 1.19 on the experimental branch.

Patch Update 1.19 Experimental Info & Patch Notes

Howdy Folks!

Patch Update 1.18 is now available. This update fixes various issues including a game breaking bug where you could deconstruct something critical to progressing in the main mission.

Thank you for the great feedback on the experimental branch. There are still some issues that are being looked into, but I wanted to get these fixes out the door. Check out the release notes below for the full list of fixes.

Release Notes

Optimized various UI elements to reduce memory usage
Reduced memory overhead when returning back to the main menu. This should result in less time taken to return to the main menu as well as reduce instances of the game freezing.
“Game Saved” text now appears in the lower middle of the screen when the game is saved.
Fixed: Unable to assign object display objects in info panel in some instances
Fixed: Able to deconstruct Terraformer Regulator structure from construction queue.
Fixed: Colonists are stuck performing an action if that action is removed by changing job roles in some instances.
Fixed: Threading issue related to colonists collecting items on the floor. This could lead to various unexpected behaviors.
Fixed: Job action data not clearing correctly when changing job roles.
Fixed: Colonist action data not correctly cleaned up after certain actions are performed. This can cause performance issues over extended play times.
Fixed: Internal error can occur if clicking through story choices too quickly.
Fixed: Wall lights not contributing to room lighting value in some cases.

Howdy Folks!

I recently released Patch 1.18 and, unfortunately, had to roll back to update 1.17 due to various reported issues. After making some extensive code changes I’m re-releasing Patch Update 1.18 on to the experimental branch on Steam for testing. This update includes what was previously included as well as some new fixes and tweaks.

Why Is It On the Experimental Branch?

In addition to fixing the issues with the first release of 1.18, I made some extensive code changes to reduce memory overhead and resolve longer play times causing the game to become unstable. While I’m pretty sure I’ve worked out the kinks, I want your help to track down any lingering issues before pushing it out to the main branch.

What is the Experimental Branch and how do I access it?

Please let me know in the below Steam thread, or in the experimental channel on Discord, if you encounter any issues while using update 1.18 on the experimental branch.

Patch Update 1.18 Experimental Info & Patch Notes

Howdy Folks!

Thanks for all the great feedback and support! Patch Update 1.18 addresses a few reported issues. Be sure to check out the release notes below for a list of fixes.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I have been working on a new video game project. I’ve made a good bit of progress, but have been slowed down somewhat due to switching from Unity to the Unreal game engine. Stay tuned for more info regarding that project, as well as Mercury Fallen patches, and if you want to help support future projects be sure to become a patron.

Release Notes

Fixed: Threading issue related to colonists collecting items on the floor. This could lead to various unexpected behaviors.
Fixed: Job action data not clearing correctly when changing job roles.
Fixed: Colonist action data not correctly cleaned up after certain actions are performed. This can cause performance issues over extended play times.
Fixed: Internal error can occur if clicking through story choices too quickly.
Fixed: Wall lights not contributing to room lighting value in some cases.

Howdy Folks!

Patch 1.17 is a small patch to address some reported issues. Keep all that feedback coming! It’s great to hear what you like and what you don’t.

Wiki

I’ve been working to get a wiki up and running for some time, but I’m often extended in different directions. @darkfoxprime has been a major resource in filling in a majority of the wiki pages and, while it’s not totally complete, it’s ready enough for people to take a look.

Mercury Fallen Wiki

I’ll be working to update more of the wiki moving forward. If you have any experiencing managing wikis and want to help then certainly reach out to me.

Release Notes

Changes

Fish food recipe now accepts fish chunks as in ingredient

Modding

Mercury Facility default name now defined by uidefault.facility.name in lang.xml
Crop items now use proper tags for fruit/grain/vegetable

Fixes

Fixed: Incorrect description for whale miner vehicle
Fixed: Unable to move any objects after attempting to move the aquarium with fish stocked
Fixed: Xeno Alloy recipe requires 5 Titanium Billet or 5 Rutile Ore. This should be 1 Titanium Billet or 5 Rutile Ore.
Fixed: Colonists eating unallowed foods if that food is in the same container as an allowed food.

Howdy Folks!

Hope everyone is doing well and having a great time out there in the wilds of the world. I’m happy to announce a new patch for Mercury Fallen that fixes up some issues and adds few helpful quality of life improvements.

Robot Craft Queue

You can now queue up to 3 robots to be constructed in the robot assembler. This works similar to the vehicle bay and improves the robot crafting experience.

Material Delivery

Both the robot assembler and the vehicle bay required all materials to be available before being delivered for construction. This is no longer the case and colonists will now bring materials as they become available, similar to object construction.

Steam Autumn Sale

The Steam Autumn sale is upon us and Mercury Fallen is currently 35% off for a limited time. It’s a great time to pickup up copy or snag one for a friend.

Thanks for all the great feedback and support. For those in the US, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Release Notes

Changes

Colonists will now deliver materials to the vehicle bay incrementally instead of waiting for all materials to be available.
Colonists will now deliver materials to the robot assembler incrementally instead of waiting for all materials to be available.
Can now queue up to 3 robots to be constructed in the robot assembler.
Vehicle bay craft queue item now shows required/acquired values below ingredient items.
Minor decrease in robot construction times
Minor change to how new game settings are organized in the list.

Modding

Added “robot_recipe” tag to robot recipe data. This is now required for robot recipes to appear in the robot chooser window in the robot assembly station.
“View On Workshop” button in the mod manager window is now always shown below other buttons.

Fixes

Fixed: Upload mod window says to click Ok, but the expected button to continue is not labeled Ok.
Fixed: Number of missing stasis capsules and inactive robots doesn’t reflect values applied from custom scenario settings.
Fixed: Rooms not generated correctly until a save/reload. This mostly affected large rooms.
Fixed: Vehicle bay craft queue item not showing required materials if another vehicle in queue is currently being crafted.
Fixed: Colonist removing items from the receiving container before it’s finished being constructed.
Fixed: HUD inventory item counts incorrect for items that are in the receiving storage container.

Howdy Folks!

The Mercury Fallen launch has been great! Thank you to everyone who showed up at the release live stream event. The feedback has been amazing and it’s great to see so many people enjoying my game.

I just wanted to push out a small patch update to resolve a couple of reported issues. See the release notes below. Thanks everyone!

Release Notes

Added Target Framerate setting which defaults to 60fps. This should reduce instances of the game generating high GPU/CPU usage.
Fixed: Terraformer Regulator can be deconstructed.
Fixed: Toggle HUD inventory button not hiding/showing inventory list
Fixed: Job Role implant blueprints not purchasable from tech trader

Howdy Folks!

I’m super excited to announce that Mercury Fallen is no longer in Early Access and the 1.0 version is now available. It’s been a long road as a solo developer, but I couldn’t have done it without the amazing feedback and support from all of you.

A huge thank you to all the testers, supporters and everyone who has provided feedback along the way. Mercury Fallen is only as good as the amazing feedback and support. Thank you!

It is exciting to watch so many people play and enjoy my game. The Planetary Repairs update has a lot of new content. Let’s take a look at some of the additions and changes.

Story Campaign

The conclusion of the primary campaign is now available and has several new missions and POI locations that will lead to the final goal of the game.

New Resources & Production Machines

A new resource, surface building and production machines have been added. This includes new research and discoveries.

Alex Kenner Data Logs

The final chapter of Alex Kenner data logs are now available for purchase from passing traders.

Planet Map UI Improvements

The plant map has been updated and now has an inventory list, mission specific icons and a new filter for mission specific POIs.

Achievements

18 in-game achievements have been added and can be viewed from the in-game menu. These achievements can also be earned on Steam.

Decorations

Several new decorative objects can be unlocked including the new windowed wall. Windowed walls do not provide any additional decor bonus over regular walls, but can be used to spruce up various spaces.

Decorative display objects such as plants, holograms and items in the new display case have their own decor bonus in addition to the display container. Discover what objects provide the best decor.

Resource Management

The crop and ore management stations were added in the previous update. In this update I’ve added more feedback for colonists and vehicles when they aren’t performing their duties due to assigned resource limits.

You can now only place one of each resource management station and if they are unpowered or disabled, then their defined limits are no long in affect.

Notifications

Notifications have been visually overhauled and several new notifications have been added to provide more in-game feedback. Non-critical notifications now stay on screen for less time, but have new animations for when they appear and disappear.

Release Notes

Additions

Added final chapter missions. If you have the wait for reply mission then the follow-up story mission will appear 12-24 in-game hours after loading up your save game.
Added xeno processing research.
Added xeno fabrication research.
Added excavation center surface structure.
Added ancient ruins surface resource. Requires an excavation center to extract resources.
Added 10 new Alex Kenner logs that can be purchased from traders.
Added notification when trader arrives at trade platform.
New icons for mission-specific POIs.
New map display filter for mission POIs.
Added pop icon over colonists when they level up (in addition to other existing visuals).
Added credits button to main menu screen.

Achievements

Added achievement system with 18 in-game and Steam achievements.
Added achievements window that can be accessed via the game menu.

New Items

Added xeno scrap item.
Added xeno alloy item + recipe.
Added quantum processor item + recipe.
Added 12 new colonist equipment items that boost job levels. Related blueprint discoveries to unlock recipe research are available from the tech trader.

New Production Machines

Added xeno refiner.
Added xeno fabricator.

New Decorations

Added tall wall light decoration and research.
Added Windowed Wall + research. Windowed walls connect to existing non-windowed walls.
Added Display Case. Additional display objects unlocked via research/discoveries.
Added several new display object decoration discoveries that can be found via surface expeditions.

UI Tweaks/Changes

Crop Field, Aeroponics Bay, Algae Farm and Aquarium now show notice text if the crop is at or above the resource limit defined in the crop manager.
Colonist job role buttons will show a warning icon if an action related to that job role can’t be performed due to resource limits set in the crop or ore manager. Tooltip provides additional details.
Mining vehicles will show warning text in the info section of their info panel if unable to mine selected target due to resource limits set in the ore manager.
Transport vehicles will show warning text in the info section of their info panel if unable to collect resources due to resource limits set in the ore manager.
Minor change to the look of vehicle list items in the vehicle list interface to improve readability.
HUD inventory now visible on map screen.
HUD inventory settings saved data stored via the inventory manager instead of the hud inventory itself. Upon loading a save game from the previous version, your settings will reset to default until your next save/load.
Surface resources info panel now shows what it can be harvested by.
Changed trade window buy/sell header text to provide more clarity.
Reviewed and removed usage of older text rendering system to improve text clarity in various interfaces.
Research project info window will now show costs in red if research is not currently affordable.
Updated the look of notifications that appear on the right side of the screen.
Reduced the amount of time notifications stay in the notification list before disappearing.
Updated the look of many object icons.
Updated the look of the colonist level notification icon.
Opening the construction queue no longer changes camera overlay mode back to default.
Hologram emitter interface now uses icons to set hologram instead of a drop down. This is consistent with other objects that use a similar selection process.

Misc Changes

Reduced biome scan audio volume and range.
Planet map camera zoom gradually gets faster as you zoom out instead of being the same speed regardless of distance. This results in a smoother zoom when closer to the planet’s surface.
Tweaked visuals for the main menu background.
Adjusted job role experience gain to better balance progression for less utilized job roles.
Mouse cursor is now a different color depending on selection modes such as harvest, mine and deconstruction.
Decreased load time of new and saved games by ~30%.
Updated the look of all visual effects when a mining tile is destroyed.
Tweaks and changes to various item/object descriptions.
Updated the look of the hologram emitter material effect.
Display objects such as plants in the plant pot and holograms for the hologram emitter provide their own decor bonus in addition to the display container. The base decor of the plant pots and hologram display have been rebalanced.
Colonists are more likely to use recreation items during scheduled recreation time.
Colonist stress change rate now paused while stress.
Surface power line connection lines are now thicker when zoomed out to increase their visibility.
Drop Off Items vehicle action will now automatically move the vehicle to the facility or nearest resource depot instead of having to be directly adjacent. Action tooltip also updated to reflect the change.
Fish chunks recipe now unlocked with food processor research.
Can now only construct a maximum of one ore manager.
Can now only construct a maximum of one crop manager.
Crop and ore managers resource limits are disabled if the relevant machine is disabled or unpowered.

Modding/Data Changes

CSurfaceHarvestable component now has a harvestable_by tag which is used to determine what buildings/vehicles can harvest the surface resource.
Added CObjectDisplay component which replaces CPlanter and CHologramEmitter components. CObjectDisplay component can only display EDisplayObject type by matching tags.

Fixes :: Vehicles

Fixed: Vehicle biome scan visual effect not always showing.
Fixed: Vehicle biome scanning visual and audio continues even after canceling the vehicles related action.
Fixed: Vehicle preview path not showing when hovering over a valid mining target for mining vehicle mining action selection.
Fixed: Vehicle preview path for expeditions and mining vehicles not showing after selecting destination without having to deselect and re-select the vehicle.
Fixed: Vehicle inventory contents not reflected in HUD inventory counts.
Fixed: Mining vehicle stuck in mining animation if mining action is canceled while the game is paused.
Fixed: Soft lock if clicking vehicle mine action multiple times without setting a mining target.
Fixed: Embarked surface vehicles loaded from save game not appearing on minimap in some instances.
Fixed: Vehicle actions not correctly reaching their destination when arriving from an adjacent tile of a different height in some instances. This causes the action to re-plan its movement and will eventually ping-pong between two points repeatedly.

Fixed :: UI & Language

Fixed: Spelling mistakes.
Fixed: Resource amount number in mining platform UI incorrectly formatted.
Fixed: Incorrect icons for some missions.
Fixed: Incorrect tooltip text for trade window buy/sell items.
Fixed: Missing display name for Fetid Knob plant.
Fixed: Craft queue inventory item count doesn’t match item count in hud inventory view in some instances.
Fixed: Receiving inventory contents not reflected in HUD inventory quantities.
Fixed: Object placement cursor object appearing in the construction queue.
Fixed: Construction queue list not actually showing items in the queue for construction in some instances. You had one job construction queue!

Fixes :: Misc

Fixed: Game crashes when saving game due to expedition missing vehicle entity in some instances.
Fixed: Expedition data not loading correctly in some instances. Expeditions may still not work correctly in existing saves until the expedition is docked/canceled and embarked again.
Fixed: Unable to move map table object.
Fixed: Mineable underground resources missing visual effect when destroyed.
Fixed: Object move button not available for crop manager object.
Fixed: Object move button not available for ore manager object.
Fixed: Solid rocket fuel recipe research missing research requirements.
Fixed: Receiving inventory item duplication glitch.
Fixed: Object not reachable hover icon not correctly updated if game is paused.
Fixed: Rooms incorrectly including wall objects on the opposite side of an adjacent wall when calculating decor and lighting scores.
Fixed: Trade platform attempting to receive a trader before it’s finished being constructed.
Fixed: Performance issue related to how the decor overlay is updated.
Fixed: Colonist allowed edibles not saving/loading.
Fixed: Able to press input keys for management screens, construction manager etc. while intro text is being displayed.
Fixed: Sand floor is the same minimap color as stone floor.
Fixed: Various animations not playing correctly such as trader ship take-offs, mining vehicle end mining animation, comm station open/close and more.
Fixed: Shift + Click eye dropper construction tool not limited by a structure’s maximum placed value.
Fixed: The Knowers POI generated from the Meet The Knowers mission not disappearing after completing the POI.
Fixed: Power pole connection not showing after its constructed in some instances.
Fixed: Power pole preview connections not showing connections to power poles under construction.
Fixed: Damaged Wall, Damaged Door and stasis capsules dropping more sources than they should on deconstruction.

Howdy Folks!

Time is ticking by fast and there are just three weeks until the 1.0 release of Mercury Fallen. It’s been a wild ride getting to this point and I couldn’t have made it here without the amazing support and feedback from all of you.

Mercury Fallen will be releasing out of early access August 22nd. As we grow ever closer to that date I wanted to take a look back at the progress that has been made.

Below are some before and after screenshots showing how various aspects of the game have changed and improved over the course of development.

Mercury Fallen has come a long way and it wouldn’t be possible without all of the amazing support. Thanks everyone!

Be sure to tell you’re friends and neighbors about the upcoming 1.0 release of Mercury Fallen. It’s a great time to grab a copy or add it to your wishlist.

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