Alpha 0.14 is now available for testing! Alpha 0.14 brings a host of new additions including new crops, crafting recipes, rooms, objects and more!

Click below for information about what the Test Build branch is and how to access it:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/3/2381701715712468002/

For more information about this version, including the full release notes, check out the Alpha 0.14 Test Build discussion:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/3/3211505894128980215/

Features

Bio-Lab
The Bio-Lab room has been added and can be populated with Algae Farms, Aeroponics Farms and Aquariums for growing new crop types. The Aeroponics Farm allows for faster growth and greater output for existing plant crops.

Research
The research interface has been completely rebuilt as a visual tech tree. New research projects have also been added to unlock some of the new recipes/machines.

Meals
9 new food/meal recipes have been added. The food processor is required for processing some raw food ingredients into usable items for cooking. Meals no longer completely deplete the hunger meter, but is now based on nutrition and satiation values. More information added to in game guide under Needs.

Roster Management
Various production machines now have a colonist roster which allows players to manage what colonists can operate that machine. Colonists will only work at machines with an empty roster or a machine that has their name on the roster.

Alpha 0.14 has a lot more additions/changes and fixes. For more information and the full release notes check out the Test Build Discussion:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/3/3211505894128980215/

Alpha 0.13a is now available on Steam. This is a minor, but critical, update to resolve crashing issues for Mac users. There are a few additional tweaks and fixes included as well.

Release Notes

• Added: Robot charge pad now has a particle effect when in use.
• Changed: Additional aspect ratios now supported under resolution options
• Changed: Game no longer defaults to full screen when opening for the first time
• Changed: Game now available in both 32 bit and 64 bit for Windows.
• Changed: Mac version now requires 64-bit CPU/OS
• Changed: Windows version no longer supports DirectX 9.
• Changed: Migrated code/assets to latest version of the Unity engine.
• Changed: Object blueprint build info now has a progress bar and item grid to show needed vs. supplied resources.
• Changed: Build info window now shows it’s build position number in the build queue.
• Fixed: Game crashing at startup on Mac.
• Fixed: Unable to place floor tile next to objects that use empty tiles in its footprint. This is most noticeable if trying to place a different floor tile other than bedroom floor to the left/right of the head of a bed.
• Fixed: Colonists walking around with zero health

I’m super excited to announce that Alpha 0.13 is now available on Steam! A lot of work has been put in to this update and there are many great content additions, changes and fixes.

Important Notes

While existing save games will still load, much of the new content will only appear when starting a new game.

Due to changes in how the settings file is stored, existing settings will reset to defaults.

Map Generation

When you start a new game, you will see that map generation now includes the ruined remains of the Mercury Facility. These existing facility rooms can be deconstructed for materials or re-purposed.

Item chests have been added that can be opened for additional materials as well as discovery items. Starting supply items are no longer contained in the elevator, but are in a supply chest next to the elevator that will need to be opened. Additionally, the power generator will contain some fuel when starting the game.

Discovery System

Discoveries are unique items that the player can find in item chests. These items are used to expand the story and some items are required for certain research projects. This is only the beginning of the discovery system and more discovery items will be added in future updates.

Story Content

Discover new information about the Mercury Facility and uncover the story of the missing colonist by finding data logs in item chests.

UI Improvements

Changes to the user interface also include a new notification system. Notices still appear at the top right, but are now icon buttons that can be hovered over for additional information. Notices will stay for much longer and can be dismissed by right clicking them.

Other interface changes include the replacement of text percentage with progress bars, Colonist Management has been renamed to Facility Management, and the update also fixes typos, optimizes UI performance, adds a discovery interface and more.

Performance Improvements

This release also improved performance when there are many colonists in the facility. Colonist planning logic was a bottleneck in previous versions, but it’s been revamped and in testing,  over 100 colonists had a minimal impact on performance.

There are a lot of great additions, fixes and changes. Check out the full list below.

Release Notes

Features

• Updated notification system. Notifications now appear as icon buttons at top right. Hovering over them will show more information. Notices stay for much longer and can be dismissed by right clicking them.
• Discovery items which can be found in item chests. Discoveries are unique items that are used in various ways such as story content and blueprints.
  Item chests scattered around the map that contain various resources including discovery items.
• Changed map generation to include the ruined remains of the Mercury Facility. New generated facility rooms can be deconstructed for materials or re-purposed. These ruined rooms are also a good place to find item chests.
• Discover lost data logs to uncover the story of the missing colonist
• AI decision logic now operates in a separate thread for improved performance when having many colonists in facility.

UI Updates

• Added: New notification when a colonist increases in a job level
• Added: Discovery interface under Facility Management.
• Added: Object/Colonist window open/close animation
• Changed: Research interface no longer references research progress in time. It is now just in generic research points as time was not an accurate measure anyway.
• Changed: Research prerequisites now show if a discovery item is also required
• Changed: Colonist Management button icon changed and tooltip renamed to Facility Management
• Changed: UI Scale setting defaults to medium instead of Large
• Changed: Clone Chamber interface now shows progress bar instead of text for clone progress
• Changed: Optimized UI Icon loading for improved performance
• Changed: Updated crop field object icon
• Changed: Crop Field interface now shows if it’s waiting for a colonist to plant the crop.
• Changed: Crop Field now shows progress bar instead of just percent text
• Changed: Research progress bar in research station interface now shows percentage
• Fixed: Wrong icon for MedBay Floor in object list
• Fixed: Blurry game speed icons
• Fixed: Job name shows multiple times when changing recipe from drop down in craft queue.
• Fixed: Various typos

World Generation Updates

• Added: Various types of item chests that can be found and opened for additional items and possible discoveries.
• Changed: Item chest next to elevator now contains starting supplies. Elevator no longer has an inventory
• Changed: New game starts with some fuel already in the power generator.

Changes

• Added: Selected colonists now show a path to their destination
• Added: New quirks related to the muscles attribute
• Added: When selected, power/Water generators now highlight the objects they are actively delivering their resource to.
• Added: When selected, machines will now highlight the power/water generator they are receiving their power/water from.
• Changed: Power/Water check happens as resources are flowing through the conduit. This results in some initial flickering over devices as power/water generators make connections to consumers. This was changed for fast connection time of power/water consumers.
• Changed: Colonist will now pause before picking up items on floor. Pause time determined by work speed and hauler job level.
• Changed: Colonist will now take time to refuel a generator. Action time determined by work speed and hauler job level.
• Changed: Colonist will now replan walk path if path becomes blocked after planning a walk path
• Changed: Colonists will now reference more surrounding tiles when trying to become unstuck if an object is placed on top of them.
• Changed: Constructed Robot age is now 1 instead of a random age
• Changed: Haul job role renamed to Hauler
• Changed: Data Recovery now referenced as Research Projects
• Changed: Computer Station renamed to Research Station. Description/references also updated.
• Changed: Various changes to research times.
• Changed: Some research projects now require a blueprint to be discovered before they can be researched
• Changed: Missing colonist stasis capsules and inactive robots are now more evenly spaced out during map generation.
• Changed: Clear construction action is now a builder action instead of a hauler action
• Changed: Ailment notifications now provide information on the cause of the ailment
• Changed: Optimized management systems for improved over all performance
• Changed. Game settings now in same root folder as saved games. Settings will be reset to defaults the first time the new update is played.
• Changed: Can not build floors on tiles selected for deep mining
• Changed: Objects/colonists now remain highlighted if their info window is open
• Changed: Assembly Floor moved to Tech Printing research project
• Changed: Basic Robots now requires Tech Printing instead of metallurgy
• Changed: Placed objects that generate or require power no longer auto create conduits. Conduits need to be placed after creating an object.

Fixes

• Fixed: Tutorial task complete sound is heard repeatedly even after completing a task.
• Fixed: Colonist not moving or performing other tasks if hungry and no food is available.
• Fixed: Colonists sleeping standing up
• Fixed: Colonist can receive ailment more than once
• Fixed: Haul to generator action not giving haul job experience
• Fixed: Colonist not picking up items on ground if some of the items don’t have a place to be stored.
• Fixed: Colonist attempting to move food items to fridge even if fridge is not powered.
• Fixed: Colonist stuck in bed after loading a saved game.
• Fixed: Multiple colonists attempting to haul same items to storage in some instances
• Fixed: Object placement graphic not showing after cancelling build while dragging.
• Fixed: Jobs not being performed at all if priority set to lowest (10)
• Fixed: Can select tiles for deep mining that have a floor or other structure
• Fixed: Water conduits unable to be selected in water overlay
• Fixed: Power generator still providing power after being deconstructed.
• Fixed: Colonist stuck clearing construction area if they can’t get to item on floor
• Fixed: Crop Field enable/disable button removed as it did not serve a purpose.
• Fixed: Objects receiving power/water when there isn’t enough power/water available in some instances.
• Fixed: Some objects not staying highlighted when moused over
• Fixed: Doctor can no longer starve to death while treating a patient

Alpha 0.13 is now available for testing on Steam. A lot of great new features including new world generation, discoveries, new notification system, performance improvements and a lot more!

For more information, including the full release notes, check out the Alpha 0.13 Test Build discussion:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/3/1693788384130133420/

Features

New World Generation
World generation when starting a new game has been changed to include the ruined remains of the facility rooms. Existing facility rooms can be deconstructed for materials or re-purposed.

Item chests are another new addition that can be opened for additional materials as well as discovery items.

Discoveries
Discoveries are unique items that the player can find in item chests. These items are used to expand the story and some items are required for certain research projects. This is only the beginning of the discovery system and more discovery items will be added in future updates.

Notification System
The notification system has had a face lift. Notifications now appear as icon buttons that can be moused over for additional information. New notification types have also been added.

Performance Improvements
The AI logic system has been updated to allow for a lot more colonists. Performance issues were generally common when population raised over 30 colonists. The new system shows great performance stability with over 100 colonists.

Additional performance enhancements have also been added to improve game performance on various systems.

For more information, including the full release notes, check out the Alpha 0.13 Test Build discussion:

http://steamcommunity.com/app/704510/discussions/3/1693788384130133420/

Alpha 0.13 will be available on the main branch once testing is concluded.

Another minor patch is now available on Steam to fix up a few additional issues. With these resolved I will now resume focus on the next major content release.

Also, Mercury Fallen is now available for purchase in all currencies that Steam supports.

As always a big thank you to those that have helped test this latest update.

Release Notes

• Fixed: Colonist stuck / possible game crash if colonist is unable to find a location to clear items from construction site
• Fixed: Attribute affects connected to work speed working in reverse. Work speed affects should now properly positively or negatively affect work speed.
• Fixed: Clear from construction action not giving job experience
• Fixed: Colonist not stopping or looking at fridge when getting food item to eat

Alpha 0.12a is now available to address some of the more critical issues found in the 0.12 update.

About Decor

There was an issue with the decor system that caused decor values to not be calculated correctly. This has been resolved, but means that colonists will now generate more stress on average. To balance this out colonists will no longer stop working at max stress. Colonists, instead, will now receive a reduction to work speed at higher stress levels.

There are still some lingering issues that are being resolved, but I wanted to push an update to get some of these core issues fixed up. Thanks to everyone who has provided feedback and helped to make Mercury Fallen even better. 🙂

Updates

• Changed: Colonists no longer stop working at max stress
• Changed: Colonists now receive work speed reduction at higher stress levels
• Fixed: Colonist stopping when passing a door even if they aren’t walking through it
• Fixed: Unable to place some types of floor in green tiles of an object  
• Fixed: Objects with avoid tiles can be placed on top of each other
• Fixed: Decor not properly updating. This also meant colonists were not properly affected by decor. Higher stress average is expected
• Fixed: Colonists unable to find a path to a chair/bench, to relax, which would cause them to stand in place

I’m super duper excited to announce that Alpha 0.12 is now available on Steam! This update is packed with new content, updates and lots of fixes. While the priority system was certainly a focus for this update there is a lot of additional content that has gone in to this update.

Important Note

Existing save games from 0.11 will not load properly in 0.12. Please start a new game in 0.12.

Priority System

The new job priority system allows you to set the priority order of job roles per colonist. This is visible in both the colonist info window and colonist management screen. Higher priority jobs will be performed before lower priority jobs.
This is just the start. Additional priority options will be coming in future updates

Object Placement

Object placement has been overhauled and a new visible footprint is shown when placing down objects. This new system helps to enforce proper walk areas for colonists as well as stopping colonists from walking through objects. More information about building objects can now be found in the in-game manual.

Manual

A new in-game manual has been added that can be access by opening the facility management screen and selecting manual from the top button bar. The manual is not content complete, but is a great starting point for new and existing players.

New Objects

The Tech Printer machine has been added which is used, by the engineer, to create tech items such as electronics and mechanical parts. The smelter has been re-designed and a new storage container option makes it’s way in to the game.

More Audio Effects

I’ve added many sound effects for various actions/machines to help liven the game up a bit. There is still more to add, but this is a good first step towards a more audible environment.

Alpha 0.12 has a lot of great new additions, changes and bug fixes. Let me know what you think.

Release Notes

Features

• Job Role Priority system that allows priority control per job role. Jobs at a higher priority will be done before jobs with a lower priority. 1 = High Priority, 10 = Low Priority.
  Job Role priority controls in Management screen and colonist info window
• Game manual now available as a section under the Facility Management interface. Press [Tab] to open and select manual at top. Manual is not complete and will be expanded with future updates.
• New object placement system. Visual footprint now shows when building objects. Objects enforce a walkable area colored in green. Non-walkable areas are colored in red. The object footprint overlay shows during placement as well as when an object is selected.

Updates

• Added: Colonists will now move item containers from a construction area before building objects.
• Added: Tech Printer machine which is used to create technology components.
• Added: Electronics recipe
• Added: Mechanical Parts item and recipe
• Added: New research to unlock the Tech Printer
• Added: Audio/Visual effects to power generator
• Added: Audio/Visual effects to computer station
• Added: Robot Assembler audio
• Added: Door Open/Close audio
• Added: Deconstruction audio
• Added: Vertical storage container
• Added: Mining filter button row above mining button to toggle multi-select for normal and deep mining
• Changed: Deconstruction filter window now shows as button group above deconstruct button
• Changed: Stasis Capsules and inactive robots are now embedded in dirt tiles instead of replacing them. They must be mined out before use.
• Changed: Objects now have forced non-walkable tiles which should resolve colonists walking through objects.
• Changed: Updated objects to use the new footprint system which results in objects placed in existing saved games no longer loading properly.
• Changed: Improved colonist detection for closest interaction tile from current position. Colonists will prefer to use the closest green walkable tile for an object or closest bordering tile when applicable.
• Changed: Colonists can no longer walk through objects that are not finished being built
• Changed: New smelter model
• Changed: Elevator no longer shows inventory quantity. Elevator is only for starter items and not used for general storage.
• Changed: Fridge now requires power. Colonists will not store food items in unpowered fridges.
• Changed: Cloning Chamber now requires electronics as a build material
• Changed: Points spent in Smarts via the Robot Assembler now uses electronics at higher levels.
• Changed: Points spent in Athletics via the Robot Assembler now uses mechanical parts at higher levels.
• Changed: Starting missing colonists and inventory now exposed to XML files
• Changed: Removed doppler effect from audio sources to fix audio distortion when rotating/moving the camera.
• Changed: Robot Assembler window now shows the materials it is waiting for before construction can begin

Fixes

• Fixed: Botanist job role not spelled correctly
• Fixed: Hover icons showing over main HUD UI
• Fixed: Skip button not appearing during opening story text when starting a second game from the main menu
• Fixed: Colonists building while standing in another object to be built which results in colonists getting stuck in other objects.
• Fixed: Some audio sources still being heard further away than they should have been.
• Fixed: HUD UI becomes unresponsive if closing the crop field window while the crop type drop down is open
• Fixed: Crop field drop down callback not being cleared when window is closed leading to memory build up and possible game crash.
• Fixed: Power Generator still providing power when it runs out of fuel
• Fixed: Engineer not dropping off all required materials to robot assembler
• Fixed: Clone Chamber still functioning if power/water is not available. Clone progress now paused until power/water is restored.
• Fixed: Robot Assembler still continues construction if it has no power or is disabled. Construction is paused until power is restored.
• Fixed: Engineer not working at Tech Printer
• Fixed: Ailments/Quirks related to move speed not working or being loaded
• Fixed: Random Game crash when colonist is being treated at medi-bed
• Fixed: Object placement not canceled when clicking Mine or Deconstruct buttons
• Fixed: Possible game crash when colonists generate a path to construct an object
• Fixed: Power still magically generated for machines after generator is removed
• Fixed: Robot Assembler not saving construction state correctly leading to save game crash upon load
• Fixed: Various code optimizations/modifications to improve game performance and stability

This update took longer than initially planned, but it’s packed with various new content, tweaks and fixes. I’m super excited to announce that Alpha 0.11 is now available on Steam.

Important Note:

Existing Save Games are not supported. Strongly advised to start a new game in Alpha 0.11.

Robot Construction

Colonists have figured out how to make their very own robots. Robots can be constructed using the new Robot Assembler, after the required research is complete. When constructing a robot you can apply points to increase the robots starting Smarts, Muscles & Athletics. With additional research you can increase the amount of points you can spend each time you construct a robot.

Robot Power Need

Robots will now require recharging, which works in a similar way to colonists requiring sleep. The new recharge pad is where robots will go to recharge their power need.

Deep Driller Bot

The new Deep Driller bot can be constructed at the Robot Assembler and is the only machine capable of mining the remaining ore in the floor. Floor ore tiles can be marked for deep drilling by selecting them and clicking the new Enable Deep Mining button. Ore floor tiles will be replaced with dirt after they are finished being mined.

Story Content

A new opening back story has been added to the game. In additional to this a new stasis capsule has appeared when starting a new game. This is the initial introduction of the planned story content for the Mercury Fallen. There is a lot more to come.

Note-able Changes

• Power/Water No Longer Limited By Distance
• Object Placement Is Now From Object Center vs. Object Corner
• Tiles Marked For Mining Are Saved And Still Selected Upon Reload
• Warning Icons Over Objects That Are Missing Power/Water Or Are Disabled

Release Notes

Features

• Added Robot Assembler for constructing new robots.
• Added: New Assembly Lab Floor
• Added Robot power need
• Added Charge Pad for recharging robots
• Added new Driller Bot which has the one job of mining floor ore tiles.
• Added warning icons over objects that are disabled, missing power/water
• Added 6 new data recovery projects to unlock robot construction, deep driller and attribute points.
• One robot charge pad included in starting facility
• Enable deep mining on a floor ore tile by selecting it and activating deep mining
• Ore tiles in the floor will become dirt after resources are mined by a deep driller bot

Changes

• Added: Lock Cursor To Window option which will confine the cursor to the game window when running in windowed mode.
• Added: Game intro story text
• Added: Mysterious opened stasis capsule
• Removed power/water conduit distance limit. Objects can now receive water/power at any distance as long as there is enough being generated.
• Added: Screen border and PAUSED text at top middle when game is paused
• Added: Tooltip info to attributes in colonist info window
• Changed: Engineering floor now called Refinery floor
• Changed: tutorial task font size to reduce screen clutter
• Changed: Mining tutorial task to include info on how to deselect tiles
• Changed: Various changes to tooltip text
• Changed: Object placement/rotation now based on object center and not object corner. Objects in existing save games may be missing or offset from original placed location.
• Changed: Colonists will now drop mined resources as they are mining instead of dropping all resources when mining is complete.
• Changed: Mining action will now be interrupted if colonist has a more pressing need
• Changed:Starting job performance has been decreased. Higher job level should now have more of a noticeable impact on job performance. Job performance is based on time between actions so higher levels should do the job more quickly.
• Updated: Tiles selected for mining should now save and reload.
• Updated: Different colonist types (Human/robots) now have different base movement speeds
• If robot power is less than 15% they will no longer work and seek out an available charge pad.
• If robot power is less than 5% they will receive the low power effect which will reduce movement speed by 25%

Fixes

• Fixed: Colonist getting stuck collecting items if only applicable location is blocked.
• Fixed: Colonists working at stations even if station doesn’t have power.
• Fixed: Data Recovery unlock tooltip text extending outside of frame
• Fixed: Tutorial text cut off on some resolutions
• Fixed: Colonist using incorrect items to craft with in some instances
• Fixed: Colonist actions getting incorrect setting data in some instances which lead to various misbehavior
• Fixed: Power generator providing power to a machine even if that would bring it over it’s max power output
• Fixed: Walls not updating when removing a door

It’s taken longer than originally planned, but the test build for Alpha 0.11 is now available to check out on Steam. There have been various changes under and above the hood so this test build could be a bumpy ride. I’ll need your help to ensure everything works, and feels, right.

Robot charge pads and robot construction are the biggest new features, but there has been various changes and re-balancing across the board.

If you’re interested in helping test the latest, greatest, and possibly buggiest, version of the game then head on over to Steam and check it out.

After receiving some great feedback and bug reports I was able to track down and fix several pesky issues. 0.10a is a minor patch release to address some of these bugs and add a couple of smaller features. Check out the release notes below for a full break down of changes and fixes.

Release Notes

Updates

• Added global inventory display at top left
• Global Inventory button now toggles display of on screen inventory display
• Added Disable refuel button to power generator interface
• Added Show Info Panel button to colonist management screen
• Reduced negative decor effect of Wall Debris
• Additional resolutions for different aspect ratios now in settings
• Added sound effect for placing objects

Fixes

• Fixed incorrect gender icon for robots in colonist management screen
• Fixed a pathfinding issue that would randomly cause colonists to get stuck/run in place when generating a new path
• Fixed issue with light material color reverting to white when loading a save game or light source loses/regains power
• Fixed issue with miner becoming stuck if mining a tile on the edge of the map
• Resources dropped when mining should now appear on the floor of the tile that was mined instead of next to it
• Fixed issue with starting tutorial text not showing correctly on some resolutions
• Migrated hard coded text to language xml file