Developer Log #49 :: Surface Content

Big changes are coming in the next update that I’m really excited about. While the last update focused on colonists and job roles, the coming update will focus on planet surface content.

Planet Surface Content Expansion

Vehicle construction will now be done after constructing the vehicle bay on the surface. The existing vehicle assembly station will no longer be used.

The next update also adds auto exploration for survey vehicles, along with the ability to convert vehicles into remote surface outposts. Remote outposts will offer new opportunities, but once a vehicle is converted, it is a permanent installation.

Mining vehicles will be convertible into remote mining platforms that mine a range of surrounding tiles, and have more control over what resources are mined. Resource delivery from the mining station can be automated with a new resource transport vehicle.

Survey vehicles can also be converted into remote radar stations. These will add additional area that can be scanned to find points of interest for expeditions.

Expeditions

Colonists will take expeditions to explore points of interest on the surface after scanning the surface to find them.

The scanned planet surface area is expanded by remote radar stations. A POI will only appear in scannable areas.

Once a POI is found on the surface map, an expedition party can be sent out to explore it. There is still a lot of work going into this new feature, and there are bound to be some changes before it’s available.

Research

The coming update will also feature radical changes to the research tree and researching mechanics. Computer stations will no longer research toward a specific project, but will generate research points instead. These research points can then be spent to complete research.

The number of research points you can store will be limited, but you will be able to raise that limit by constructing data servers.

Recipes and crop research have been removed from the tech tree and put under their own sections on the research screen.

In addition to research points, some research items may require tech fragments and/or bio samples. These new items will be found via expeditions on the surface.

Scenarios

Scenarios are being added to the new game interface which, for now, offers difficulty settings. This will affect game mechanics such as the number of starting colonists, world generation, limits on job roles based on attributes, and more.

Modders will have the ability to add their own scenario definitions.

More Changes

Various quality of life features are also being developed. Storage containers will have a select all/none option in the allowed items screen. The research button will show how many research projects are available for unlock.

Storage container priorities will more effectively manage resources. Colonists will drop off items at the highest priority container.

A new “Deliver To Storage” toggle option will be added to the craft queue system. When toggled off, a colonist will drop the produced item on the ground instead of delivering it to a storage container.

I’m super excited about the new content, and greatly appreciate all of your feedback and support. A huge thank you to all of you awesome people.

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