Hey folks, we've got a new update ready for ya. This update is largely about tying up loose ends in the various gameplay systems and cleaning things up as we get closer to release. The high points are a re-worked melee system, improved ore refining, chemistry, and an expanded food and cooking system. We also put a good bit of time into various quality of life features that we'd been putting off, including the ability to scale the entire game for folks with very high resolution monitors.

One of the things we've been wanting to do for a long time was to add more depth to the melee combat, so we've done a pretty significant rework. We added combo attacks, running attacks, aerial attacks and charged heavy attacks to almost every weapon. We also added some new weapon types that we'll be expanding over time.

• Combo Attacks - Every weapon has a string of 3 combo attacks that are triggered by using the primary attack button (left click by default) shortly after hitting a creature. If you just hold down the attack button, it will pretty much act like it used to and just loop the first attack of the combo.
  
• Running and Aerial attacks - If you're running or in the air and you tap the alternate attack button (right click by default) then you'll do the relevant attack. Each weapon has different running and aerial attacks so they all have a bit of a distinct feel.
  
• Charged heavy attacks - If you hold the alternate attack button then you'll charge a heavy attack. Partial charge will result in a weaker attack. While charging or holding a charged attack you will walk slower.
  
• The platinum weapon tier has been renamed to "Piezo-Electric" and instead of being made mostly of platinum, they are now built primarily with steel and they use platinum for the electronic components which enable the weapon to have a built-in Static Capacitor that add 25% extra damage with a 3 second cooldown.
  
• We also added Dagger, Greatsword, Warhammer and Skillet weapon types, although there are still only a few of them as we're still fleshing out their various tiers.

• Curved Dagger - Iron Ingot + Stick
  
• Combat Knife - Steel Ingot + Plastic (Requires Steel Anvil)
  
• Scalpel - Steel Ingot + Plastic (Requires Steel Anvil)

• Copper Club - 4x Copper Ingots (Requires Hammer)
  
• Iron Club - 4x Iron Ingots (Requires Iron Anvil)
  
• Bronze Club - 4x Bronze Ingots (Requires Iron Anvil)
  
• Silver Club - 4x Silver Ingots (Requires Steel Anvil)
  
• Steel Club - 4x Steel Ingots (Requires Steel Anvil)
  
• Jewel Club - 2x Bornite Ingots + 4 Refined Rose Quartz (Requires Steel Anvil)

Prior to this update, the metal refining and cooking has been kind of messy. In this update we've split cooking and refining into their own devices, and added a tech tier that lets you refine metals and cook using batteries instead of fuel. All of the basic refining devices have also been made into structures rather than items because they are just too big and awkward to be items, but we also added some portable options.

• Campfire now can cook any single ingredient food and can be used to make bricks
  
• Replaced the "Basic Smelter" with a clay Draft Furnace, that can refine Copper, Iron, Lead and Tin
  
• Replaced the "Advanced Smelter" with a Blast Furnace that can refine Bronze, Steel, Aluminum, Bornite and Silver
  
• Added the Induction Furnace that is powered by batteries rather than fuel and can refine Platinum, Titanium and Energite
  
• Removed firestarter requirement from all refiners
  
• Added a Steel Anvil and a Drop Hammer as requirements for various recipes

While reworking the refining systems we realized that we needed dedicated devices for chemistry processes.

• Mortar and Pestle - Can process chemistry recipes that require up to 2 ingedients. Portable.
  
• Chemistry Bench - Can process chemistry recipes that require up to 3 ingredients.
  
• Chemistry Lab - Can process chemistry recipes that require up to 4 ingredients.

• Ammonia - Lye + 10x Dirt + Empty Glass Bottle
  
• Antiparasitic Medicine - 3x Pumpkin, Bana or Delicious Seeds
  
• Chunky Nut Butter - Buttery Nut
  
• Cornmeal - Corn
  
• Glycerol - Fat (Tallow, Plant Oil, etc) + Lye + Empty Glass Bottle
  
• Ipecac Medicine - Ipecac Herb
  
• Lye - Charcoal
  
• Nutmeal - Hard Nut or Spray Nut
  
• Organic Acid - Citrica Fruit or Spitter Gland + Empty Glass Bottle
  
• Organic Black Powder - 2 Bust Nuts
  
• Plant Oil - Nutmeal, Cornmeal, or Nut Butter + Empty Glass Bottle
  
• Poison - 3 Cooked Grey Mushrooms + Empty Glass Bottle
  
• Saltpeter - Animal Waste + Charcoal
  
• Smooth Nut Butter - Chunky Nut Butter
  
• Stimulant Medicine - 3x Sweety Fruit Seed
  
• Sugar - 3 of the same Fruit
  
• Sulfuric Acid - Sulphur + Saltpeter + Empty Glass Bottle
  
• Wheat Flour - Wheat
  
• Yeast - Wheat Flour + Sugar

For a long time we've had a functional cooking system, but it was pretty thin and wasn't very interesting, so we've reworked it considerably. Like the rest of our game, we've come up with a fun mix of procedural and hand-crafted foods. You'll be able to make straightforward foods like hot dogs, sandwiches and sweet rolls, but you'll also be able to make custom meals that let you combine different ingredients with stacking effects. You can make a Plated Meal with egg and bacon, or a Big Salad with raw crawler meat and buttery nuts. That last one will probably give you parasites though.

• Added the Brick Oven that can cook any food with 2 ingredients
  
• Added the Iron Stove that can cook any food with 3 ingredients
  
• Added the Kitchenette that can cook any food with 4 ingredients
  
• The Iron Grill now works like the Iron Stove, but it has 1 slot instead of 3 and it is portable.
  
• The "Portable Tech Grill" has been renamed to the Portable Electric Stove, and it works like a portable Kitchenette but it has 2 slots instead of 4. It runs on batteries.
  
• Added a Blue Cooler for organizing cooked food

Up to 2 ingredients, and can be cooked in a Brick Oven, Iron Stove, or Kitchenette

• Roasted Nuts - Any Nut
  
• Bread - Dough
  
• Bread Loaf - Dough + Dough
  
• Sweet Bread - Sweet Dough
  
• Honey Glazed Meat - Honey + Any Meat
  
• Plated Snack - Clay Plate + Any Raw Ingredient

Up to 3 ingredients, and can be cooked in an Iron Stove or Kitchenette

• Cornbread - Cornmeal + Egg + Any Fat (Tallow, Plant Oil)
  
• Pancakes - Batter + Egg + Any Fat (Tallow, Plant Oil)
  
• Plated Meal - Clay Plate + Any Raw Ingredient + Any Raw Ingredient
  
• Pie - Sweet Dough + Any Fat + Any Raw Ingredient

• Feast - Clay Plate + Any Raw Ingredient + Any Raw Ingredient + Any Raw Ingredient
  
• Cake - Batter + Any Fat + Sugar + Salt
  
• Baklava - Honeycomb + Wheat Flour + Any Fat + Any Nut
  
• Artisanal Pie - Sweet Dough + Any Fat + Any Raw Ingredient + Any Raw Ingredient

These are recipes that do not require cooking, and they can be made in your inventory through the crafting menu.

• Simple Salad - Clay Bowl + Lettuce
  
• Topped Salad - Clay Bowl + Lettuce + Pretty much any ingredient
  
• Big Salad - Clay Bowl + Lettuce + Pretty much any ingredient + Pretty much any ingredient
  
• Dough - Wheat Flour + Yeast + Any Fat + Salt
  
• Sweet Dough - Dough + Sugar
  
• Batter - Wheat Flour + Egg + Any Fat
  
• Sandwich - Bread + Any Cooked Meat + Lettuce
  
• Big Sandwich - Bread Loaf + 2x Any Cooked Meat + 2x Lettuce
  
• Sweet Roll - Sweet Bread + Any Fat + Sugar
  
• Hot Dog - Bread + Any Meat

For awhile now there have been 8 alien temples scattered around worlds that allow you to unlock abilities of the Strange Alien Gadget. In the last update, we expanded on the "Spacetime" temple that always generates under the mining base, and in this update we expanded on the "Heat" temple. There is a new boss, and a new dungeon to explore.

• Added an AGIS assisted automatic journal that records "important" things that happen during gameplay. The intention here is to strike a balance where we can give folks something to reference if they get lost or stuck, without just blatantly telling the player what to do in the form of an explicit quest objective. This is something that we'll be fleshing out over time, and we're very much open to suggestions about places where we could add additional entries.
  
• If you have a refiner open and you are looking at a relevant refiner recipe in your crafting menu, you can now click a "Transfer" button to put the items in the appropriate slot in the refiner with one click.
  
• Added an option to scale the entire game up in 25% increments. This should help folks that have trouble with the tiny UI on high resolution monitors.
  
• Complete overhaul of recipes and their organization
  
• Added a Change Ammo Type keybind (C by default) that will cycle through the valid ammo types for your weapon.
  
• You can now hide items from the Automatic Item Slots in the HUD by clicking the "hide" icon in the item details in your inventory.

• Adjusted tutorial asteroid boss fight - It was brought to our attention that it was pretty darn irritating that the very first thing we give you to fight is immune to damage from the player, so we added a first phase to that encounter where you get to beat up on a weird tentacle creature. After dealing enough damage, the boss creature will wake and engage the player. We also made the destructible block in that boss area more obvious.
  
• Creatures will now only spawn on natural blocks (dirt, mud, etc)
  
• A bunch of small changes to various structures in the world to fix a variety of issues.

We added an ipecac herb and made it so you can turn it into medicine. When consumed, it... clears you of status effects and empties your uh... fullness meter.


Our immediate goal is to do a slight revamp of the intro/tutorial areas to make them flow a bit better and to file off some of the rough edges. After that, we're mostly going to be working on one of the last story related areas of the game deep underground on the planet.

This update was primarily about tying up the loose ends with the basic systems of the game, and now we need to do the same with the story content. Right now the story content just sorta ends abruptly, and nothing is really resolved, but hopefully we'll fix that in the not too distant future.

This update ended up having us touch just about every part of the game from top to bottom, so it is entirely likely that there are some issues we haven't caught and I encourage you to let us know if you run into any issues or have any suggestions. As always, we would love to hear from you, so feel free to comment on this post, get in touch through the Steam Forums, join the Official Discord Server, or email us at playsignsoflife@gmail.com.

Hey folks, we have a new update ready to go. The main goal with this update was to add a new area to explore, and to do a better job of introducing some of the mechanics related to the intelligent aliens.

I've added spoiler tags to some of these update notes because the intention is for folks to discover these things for themselves, but you do you.

You will need to generate a new world to see most of the new content, which is primarily located in the area underneath the Mining Base.

Reworked Mining Base - Expanded the area beneath the mining base in order to expand on the mechanics and lore of the intelligent aliens

• New Boss - Xenostone Colossus, found in the area underneath the mining base.
  
• New enemies:
  
  • Xenostone Artillery - Throws explosive rocks at players
    
  • Xenite Crawler - Crawler that seems to be infused with xenite crystals
    
  • Xenoid Hound - Quadruped creature that will try to run down the player and gore them with his tusks
    
• Energy Plate Armor Set - A set of armor based on a new material introduced in this update called Energite. This armor has a set bonus that gives you a recharging energy shield that can block physical damage.
  
  
• Titanium Armor Set - A set of high-tier armor made from the strong and light metal Titanium.
  
  
• Mining Light Helmet - A helmet you can wear that projects a light in the direction that you're looking.
  
  
• Titanium Weapons
  
  
  • Titanium Sword
    
  • Titanium Pick
    
  • Titanium Spear
    
  • Titanium Club
    
  • Titanium Bow
    
  • Titanium Crossbow
    
  • Titanium Shield
• Xenoid Repulsor - This structure is able to pull asteroids out of space and cause them to crash into the planet. The meteors can be cracked open to find mineral deposits. Right now, the meteors can contain Platinum, a new mineral called Energite, and [redacted]. We plan to expand on this system in the future. It can be found along the bottom of the planet.
  
• Industrial Mining Laser - A large, hand-held mining laser that can rapidly dig through tiles.
  
  
• Strange Energy Leecher - A device that can leech alien energy out of the strange stalks with the glowing tips.
  
• Craftable Thatch Tile Set
  
  
• Energite Capacitor - Increases maximum Capacitor Charge by 250

• Titanium Armor Set
  
  • Titanium Helmet - 3x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Titanium Torso - 5x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Titanium Arms - 4x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Titanium Leggings - 4x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Titanium Gloves - 2x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Titanium Boots - 2x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Titanium Shield - 6x Titanium Ingot, 1 Strap (Requires Material Printer)
    
• Energy Plate Armor Set
  
  • Energy Plate Helmet - 2x Energite Rod, 2x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Energy Plate Torso - 5x Energite Rod, 5x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Energy Plate Arms - 3x Energite Rod, 3x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Energy Plate Leggings - 4x Energite Rod, 4x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Energy Plate Gloves - 2x Energite Rod, 2x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Energy Plate Boots - 2x Energite Rod, 2x Titanium Ingot, 2 Straps, 1 Buckle (Requires Material Printer)
    
• Steel Combat Armor
  
  • Steel Combat Helmet - 2x Steel Ingot, 2x Plastic, 1x Buckle
    
  • Steel Plate Carrier - 5x Steel Ingot, 5x Plastic, 2x Buckles
    
  • Steel Combat Boots - 2x Steel Ingot, 2x Plastic, 1x Buckle
    
  • Riot Shield - 2x Steel Ingot, 6x Plastic, 1x Buckle
    
• Carbon Fiber Spindle (x3) - 1x Plastic, 1x Sulfur (Requires Smelting Furnace)
  
• Titanium Bow - 4x Titanium Ingot, 1x Carbon Nanotube (Requires Material Printer)
  
• Titanium Crossbow - 4x Titanium Ingot, 1x Carbon Nanotube (Requires Material Printer)
  
• Titanium Arrows (x5) - 2x Titanium Ingot, 1x Carbon Fiber Spindle, 2x Plastic
  
• Titanium Bolts (x5) - 1x Titanium Ingot, 1x Carbon Fiber Spindle, 1x Plastic
  
• Titanium Sword - 4x Titanium Ingots, 1x Carbon Nanotube (Requires Material Printer)
  
• Titanium Pick - 4x Titanium Ingots, 1x Carbon Nanotube (Requires Material Printer)
  
• Titanium Spear - 4x Titanium Ingots, 1x Carbon Nanotube (Requires Material Printer)
  
• Titanium Club - 4x Titanium Ingots, 1x Carbon Nanotube (Requires Material Printer)
  
• Energite Capacitor - 1x Energite Rod, 1x Platinum Ingot, 1x Carbon Fiber Spindle, 1x Advanced Launcher Parts
  
• Industrial Mining Laser - 1x Advanced Rifle Part, 1x Standard Lens, 1x Rough Ruby, 1x Microchip (Requires Material Printer) (Must be found in-world before you will get the recipe. It is located in a cave left of the lowest part of the Mining Base. It is accessible after getting some items within the new expanded area under the Mining Base.

In this update we added a new set of alien spells based around the idea of being able to summon a helpful totem. You can acquire the first totem spell at the end of the new area.

• White Totem: Once deployed, you can use the homeward spell on creatures in order to teleport them to the totem.
  
• Red Totem - Heals in an area around the totem
  
• Black Totem - Repeatedly fires a chaotic, powerful projectile
  
• Orange Totem - Emits a moving flame wall that can set creatures on fire that are caught in items
  
• Blue Totem - Emits a freezing beam that will slow the movement of hostile creatures
  
• Purple Totem - Emits a damaging beam of energy that harms any hostile creatures
  
• Green Totem - Fires bolts that calm hostile creatures for a few seconds
  
• Yellow Totem - Increases the growth rate of nearby plants

• Added a search button to containers, which will let you search through them for any items that match a search term.
  
  
• Fixed some issues related to the item details on quick slots, including issues with changing ammo types.

• Arrows and bolts now do more damage the faster they are moving when they strike the target. This also involved a bit of a rebalance of arrows. Arrows should do more damage overall now.
  
• We've removed the crossbow alternate fire with the fan of bolts, and have instead made the crossbow fire more like a semi-automatic gun once it is loaded with bolts.
  
  
• We've renamed the Steel Armor Set to the Carbon Steel Armor Set, and added a carbon nanotube to the recipe for the components. Originally steel was one of the highest tier materials, but over time we've made steel ingots easier to craft, so we feel like this puts steel in a better place in terms of the overall gear progression.
  
• Increased the amount of sulfur deposits and added sulfur to the drop table for ants. The goal here is to make it less annoying to get the raw materials for gunpowder.

• We recently changed the way picks work in order to make them more generally useful. In the past, picks would either break or damage one block at a time, no matter how strong the pick was. Now, picks can slice through multiple blocks per swing depending on how strong the pick is and how weak the material you're digging through is.
  
  
• Fixed some slope tile collision issues. You shouldn't hit your head on overhead slopes anymore
  
• Fixed some issues with ladders.
  
• Improved damage calculations for explosions to be more consistent
  
• Material grinder will grind more natural tile types, including dirt, mud, and tiles associated with ants and crawlers. Let us know if you notice any other tiles that aren't grindable and should be.
  
• Added a map ping for the GPS device that tracks the Hypercapacitor
  
• Added female graphic option for the background of the Equip window and the Cybernetics window
  
• Updated container graphics for the side-pouches of the inventory
  
• Fixed some graphical inconsistency with the various gems
  
• Added new SFX to Material Golems and Xenite Remnants
  
• Made most of the structures in the Pioneer Station and the Mining Base breakable if you have the highest tier lens installed in your MEG tool.
  
• Fixed a bunch of miscellaneous bugs not worth mentioning specifically.

With this update, we're pretty happy with the amount of content on the surface and near-surface of the planet, so we're going to go deeper. Our next goal is to make the bottom of the planet more interesting as well as start to tie up the story content progression. We're just a couple content updates away from finishing the base story content now, and once that is done we'll be pretty close to ready to leave Early Access.

As always, we very much want to hear what you folks think of our new update. Let us know if you see balance problems, bugs, or if you just have suggestions for cool stuff to add by responding on this event, on the Steam Discussion forums, the official Discord server, or you can email us directly at playsignsoflife@gmail.com.

Heya folks, we've got a new pretty significant update ready. Our intention with this update is to improve on a lot of the foundational parts of the game, improve the ease of use of various mechanics and systems, and add some new fun progression mechanics. Also we made it so when you eat raw meat you have a chance of getting a parasite that will gestate inside your guts and consume some of your digesting food until it grows big enough to burst out.


We decided to add cybernetics because we felt like the game needed more fun choices with regards to character progression. Cybernetics lets us add certain kinds of specialization or trade-offs that are rooted in something physical rather than just an abstract skill or stat. Maybe your character is better at melee combat because he equipped big beefy Behemoth cybernetic arms, or maybe you've got Sleek cybernetic arms that improve your ranged accuracy. Most cybernetics have an energy cost, either over time or when used, and all cybernetics can be toggled on and off within the Cybernetics window, which can now be accessed by clicking the button on the top right of the Character menu. When toggled off, cybernetics will still function as basic limbs/organs, but they will lose any of their beneficial properties as well as their associated energy costs.



Cybernetics arms and legs will have the most direct impact on minute to minute gameplay, as they will have the most impact on your defenses, movement abilities and weapon handling. Cybernetic legs will be able to adjust things like your run speed, encumbrance, jump height, etc while cybernetic arms will be able to adjust things like ranged accuracy and melee damage. All cybernetic limbs will have some additional defense, although the tradeoff is a slight reduction in blood volume (max health). Some cybernetic limbs are "Bulky", which means they cannot be worn under armor, but the rest can be combined with armor.

• Stripped
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 1 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Low Profile
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 2 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 2 Platinum Ingots
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Sleek
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 2 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 4 Plastic
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Ratchet (Bulky)
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 1 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 4 Copper Ingots
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Junker (Bulky)
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 2 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 4 Bronze Ingots
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Heavy (Bulky)
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 2 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 6 D6 Polymer
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Behemoth (Bulky)
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 3 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 6 Lead Ingots
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]

Some cybernetics also have special abilities, that are equipped and used like weapons. Once installed, these abilities are accessible from the Cybernetics Menu, and can be found in the appropriate slot in the hotbar (Guns in the gun slot etc).

Cybernetic Arms with Abilities

• Autocannon
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 3 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 1 Steel SMG Parts
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Bolt Driver
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 3 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 1 Steel Launcher Parts
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Forgeblade
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 3 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 2 Platinum Ingots
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]

• Stripped
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 1 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Low Profile
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 2 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 4 Platinum Ingots
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Sleek
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 2 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 4 Plastic
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Ratchet (Bulky)
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 1 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 6 Copper Ingots
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Junker (Bulky)
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 2 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 6 Bronze Ingots
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Heavy (Bulky)
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 2 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 6 D6 Polymer
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Behemoth (Bulky)
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 3 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 6 Lead Ingots
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Jet (Bulky)
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 3 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 4 Platinum Ingots
    
  • 1 Jumpjet Core
    
  • 2 Microchips
  [/expand]

• Synthetic Heart
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 1 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 1 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Partially Synthetic Heart
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 1 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 1 Human Heart
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 1 Microchips
  [/expand]

• Synthetic Lungs
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 1 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 1 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Partially Synthetic Lungs
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 1 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 1 set of Human Lungs
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 1 Microchips
  [/expand]

• Synthetic Stomach
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 1 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 1 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Metabolic Accelerator Stomach
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 2 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 1 Standard Capacitor
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 1 Microchips
  [/expand]
  
• Bioreactor Stomach
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 1 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 2 Biofuel
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 1 Microchips
  [/expand]

• Synthetic Eyes
  [expand type=details]
  [h4]Recipe[/h4]
  
  • 1 Carbon Nanotube
    
  • 2 Standard Lenses
    
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 1 Microchips
  [/expand]

I want to stress that most of our time spent on the cybernetics has gone into implementing this system, and we very much need feedback on how to balance it well. We want your feedback on how the cybernetics feel, as well as what you'd like to see added. We already have plans for eye lasers and a cybernetic stomach that turns any food contents into an acid that you vomit, but if you guys can think of anything else then let us know!

We got some feedback regarding the overall tech progression that led us to adding a new crafting material, Carbon Nanotubes. They're used in all of the cybernetics crafting, and we will also be updating some old recipes to include carbon nanotubes over time. Carbon nanotubes are grown in a Carbon Nanotube Processor, and require a charged battery as well as a rich source of carbon such as coal, anthracite or charcoal.


You'll be able to find a carbon nanotube processor in Dr. Hahn's lab in the Pioneer Station, and once you've scanned it you should get the recipe.

In this update, we've basically completely re-written the world generation code as well as reduced memory usage to the point that we could support much larger maps. The most immediately obvious change is that newly generated worlds will be bigger, and we've added slopes to all naturally generated tiles like dirt and stone, which really makes the world look and play a lot better. In general, worlds should also generate a bit less messy - things on the surface will more cleanly mesh with the ground, tunnels underground will connect to locations better, etc.

The biggest change isn't really exposed to players directly, but opens a lot of doors, and that is that we've now got the world generating based on data files instead of being hard-coded. This means that it is now much, much easier for us to add new things to the world generator (new bases, new materials, etc), but it also means that, at least in principle, folks can tinker around with those data files and make custom worlds. We haven't really exposed that stuff cleanly through Steam Workshop yet, but that is very much our intention in the not too distant future.

One thing we will need help with is dialing in the proper ore and resource density with the new world generator. We tried to match it pretty closely to what it was before, but we need you folks to get your hands on it and let us know how it feels. There are probably still some other issues as well, so let us know if you see any general weirdness with the world generator.


You can now zoom in and out in the world by using the Up and Down arrow keys by default. We are also working on making it so you can scale the UI and containers/menus, but that is not quite ready yet.

We've replaced the existing fonts with some more readable, bigger fonts. We've also gone through most of the UI elements in the game to make sure that all sizes of fonts fit and look right. There are a handful of exceptions, notably the MEG tool menu, which is slated for a full re-work in the not-too distant future. The changes we made to the font systems also means that we're a step closer to supporting other languages.

Having only the base colors for clothing and armor was pretty limiting, so we decided to add dyeing. You can use Dye Pigments on Dye Basins which will bring up the Dye color picking menu. Once you've dyed a Dye Basin, you can use the basin to dye armor and clothing. You can then later use a Dye Cleaning Rag to clean off any dye.



From now on, when you die with item drop on death enabled you will drop a convenient backpack rather than spewing out your items. When you right click on that backpack it will re-equip you with whatever you had when you died. Your dropped backpack will also show up on the minimap and GPS Device Map.

We've struggled with the balance problems inherent in a game like this for awhile, and we want to try something different for the way blocks are placed in the world. We don't want to make creatures that can simply move or attack through walls, but the ability to just place blocks instantly anywhere you want really makes it easy to trivialize almost any fight in the game. The solution we want to try is a new system that delays block building by a short time in a way that shouldn't slow down the creative side of building. It works like this:

Blocks will be printed out over time, and any creature that passes through will cancel the building process of that block. You can queue up many blocks to build at once, so ideally it isn't too intrusive when you just want to build, while still making it a bit harder to just wall up any creature you come across.

Try it out and see what you think. If you hate it, this change can be disabled by going to the settings menu and setting "Instant Block Placement" to "on".

We've never been particularly happy with the way the Scan Laser functioned in the game so in this update we've reworked it pretty significantly. Now, the primary function of the Scan Laser will scan creatures, structures, and it will also periodically send out a pulse of ground-penetrating particles that bounce off of any detected ores or other buried resources.



Our goal here is primarily to reduce the amount of random digging you need to do, while still leaving some ambiguity about what you're detecting. The scan laser is great for finding pockets of resources, but you'll need to dig your way there to find out what the resource actually is. Give it a shot and see how it feels.

We've overhauled the Codex a bit. Previously you could only scan creatures, but in this update the codex will also track scanned structures in the world and any datapads you find will be automatically downloaded to your codex.

We wanted to add craftable corn dogs but we hadn't actually added corn to the game yet. Each corn seed will grow 2 cobs, and a cob can be put in the grinder to separate out some seeds.

• Cybernetics Station
  [expand type=details]
  
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 1 Carbon Nanotubes
    
  • 4 Platinum Ingots
    
  • 1 Microchip
  [/expand]
  
• Carbon Nanotube Processor
  [expand type=details]
  
  • 1 Steel Machine Parts
    
  • 4 Platinum Ingots
    
  • 1 Microchip
  [/expand]
  
• Corndogs
  [expand type=details]
  
  • 3 Shucked Corn
    
  • 3 Raw Red Meat
    
  • 1 Wood Board
  Requires a heat source and makes 3 corndogs per recipe.[/expand]

• Fixed various graphical issues with the Minimap
  
• Revamped the GPS Device Map

• Creature spawning has been changed pretty significantly, let us know if you think it is better or worse
  
• Slopes should work better now. They're still not perfect, but they should be a lot less janky than they were previously.
  
• Status effects are now saved when you exit the game

Apparently the creatures on the planet are infected with some kind of parasitic lifeform, so you should make sure to cook any raw meat before eating it.

We've been working on new story content simultaneously with all of this other stuff in this update, so our plan is to finish some of that up next. We're actually pretty far along on the next story content update, so it shouldn't take us all that long to get finished. We've got a handful of story updates planned that should give more context to the world (and it's inhabitants...) and have a satisfying conclusion, so finishing that story content will be our primary objective for awhile.

As always, we very much want to hear your thoughts about the new changes, and just the game in general. Tell us what you think in the comments, the Steam forums, official Discord server, or you can email us at playsignsoflife@gmail.com

Hey folks, it's been a bit since our last update and I know we can be kinda quiet when we're busy behind the curtain, so we wanted to give you an idea about the stuff we're working on.

We're somewhat close to finishing this up, as we have most of the new mechanics, creatures and assets finished. We still need to finish up the new boss, build out the levels and tie everything together.

The current worlds are too small, and use up too much memory so we're fixing the glitch. The next update will allow for larger worlds, and those larger worlds are really going to let us play around with making the surface of the planet more interesting.

We're adding the ability to zoom in and out in the world. We also plan on doing UI scaling before leaving Early Access, but this is the first step in future-proofing the game for different screens and resolutions.


The current ore scanning has always felt functional but really janky to me, so we're re-doing it completely. Our main goal is to create a system that helps you find ore so it doesn't feel like you're just digging randomly, without simply pointing out the ore on your screen. The new system will show you the projected density of ore overlayed on tiles in the world, and if you find a bright enough spot then you'll find ore.


Um, we decided to add cybernetics to the game. I can't fathom what inspired it, but here we are.



The current in-game codex only tracks creatures, but we want to make it more of a generic data storage device. To that end, we're adding the ability to scan structures in the world, and the codex will also track any datapads you find and read.

One of the persistent balance problems we've had with the game was that it was too easy to just take a stack of blocks and wall in any creature you come across. In the next update, we've added a small delay to block building, that can be interrupted if any creature moves through it while it is building in the world.


Anyway, that's what we've been working on. We don't really have a firm ETA for you folks on when it'll make it into the game, but I'd be surprised if it took us more than a month or two to finish this stuff up.

Hope everyone has a great 2021!

As always, if you have any suggestions, criticisms or just want to say hi then feel free to post a comment on this announcement, make a post in the Steam discussions, or join us at the official Discord Server.

Nights on the surface of the planet have become spookier and more ominous, and there seems to be a strange red comet in the sky. On the plus side, the red comet seems to be emitting some kind of radiation that is increasing the speed of plant growth.

• New Creature - Ominous Bulb
  
  
• New Seed - Ominous Seed()
  
• New Flora - Ominous Tree (with 4 color variations)
  
  
• Ominous Wood()
  
• Ominous Crystal ()
  
• New Weapon - Ominous Wand
  

• Base stamina reduced from 200 to 100, but the Well Fed buff now also gives +100 Max Stamina
  
• Sweet fruit now gives you a buff with +50 max stamina
  
• Expanded modding API to support scripted projectiles and flora
  
• Added a setting that enables walking up one block inclines

This was a fun distraction for us, but rest assured that we're still hard at work on the next story content update and we're super excited to get it into your hands soon :)

As always, if you have any suggestions, criticisms or just want to say hi then feel free to post a comment on this announcement, make a post in the Steam discussions, or join us at the official Discord Server.

Hey folks, we've got another update for ya. As we get closer to finishing the story content for the 1.0 release of the game (more on that later), we're going through our existing systems to make sure that we finish up some of the things we had planned but never got around to. To that end, we've significantly revamped the battery/energy system, added a new stamina mechanic and we now have basic Steam Workshop support implemented.

Prior to this update, batteries were very simple and didn't actually hold a charge. You would craft one once and it would run forever. No more! As of this update, batteries must be charged to function. This includes the battery equipped in your MEG tool. We've also added a craftable Capacitor which can be installed in your MEG tool. The capacitor now determines how much available energy you have (Basically it is the old energy bar) while the equipped battery now influences the total pool of power which is displayed underneath the capacitor's energy on the top left of your HUD.



With no capacitor installed and no (or an uncharged) battery installed, you will have only 25 energy available and the charge time of the capacitor's energy will be slow. With a standard capacitor (+75 capacitor charge), then you would have 100 energy (same as prior to this update) and as long as you have a battery equipped with any amount of charge, your capacitor's energy regeneration speed will be faster than what it was prior to this update.

• Small Battery - [5000 Capacity] [1x Copper Wire, 1x Lead Ingot, 1x Spitter Extract, 1x Rubber]
  
• Medium Battery - [10,000 Capacity] [2x Small Battery, 1x Copper Wire]
  
• Large Battery - [25,000 Capacity] [2x Medium Battery, 1x Copper Wire]

• Makeshift Capacitor - [+25 Capacitor Charge] [1x Copper Wire, 1x Copper Ingot, 1x Beeswax]
  
• Standard Capacitor - [+75 Capacitor Charge] [1x Copper Wire, 1x Aluminum Ingot, 1x Plastic]
  
• Advanced Capacitor - [+175 Capacitor Charge] [1x Copper Wire, 1x Silver Ingot, 1x D6 Polymer]

In addition, we have adjusted many powered structures so that they require charged batteries to function, and they consume power as they do their functions. For example, the Teleporter now requires a battery and uses a small amount of power each time you teleport.

• Solar Charging Station - Slowly trickle charges a battery as long as it is daytime and there are no blocks above it. You should be able to find one on newly generated worlds near the Pioneer Station on the right side.
  
• Powered Charging Station - A quicker battery charger that will only function if you are on a map that has an activated Pioneer Station Generator.
  
• Magnetic Inductor - The magnetic inductor (shake weight) will now slowly charge your equipped battery.

The following structures now require a battery to function. They also have an on/off switch that is accessible by right clicking on the battery port.

• Iris Port Bot Spawner
  
• Material Printer
  
• Personal Medbay
  
• Teleporter

This is the absolute baseline for this system, and these changes should also let us do some fun things down the line such as batteries or capacitors with special or unique properties.

In this update, we've added a stamina system. This is something that has been a long time coming, because it took us awhile to come up with a system that gets in the way as little as possible, while adding some more meaningful decisions that have to be made during combat. Dodge rolls, back-jumps, running, jumping and melee attacks all have a melee cost now, and when you completely run out of stamina you will get exhausted for short time which prevents running and slows you down a bit.



While stamina is a thing you'll need to take into account now, it also means we'll be able to use stamina for things like new power attacks, and it will allow us to differentiate the weapons more. We could make clubs heavy, high stamina, slow weapons that do appropriately high damage for example. We want this mechanic to make the game *more* fun, not *less* fun, so let us know how you feel about it after playing with it for a bit. All of the stamina costs, regen values etc are very easy for us to tweak (and even moddable!) so your feedback will help us nail down a system that encourages more thoughtful combat without being annoying.

Earlier this year we started working on mod support, and adding Steam Workshop support was the next obvious step. We've always thought it was very important to support Steam Workshop because of how convenient it makes it for folks to subscribe and search through mods. We've put a few Example Mods on the workshop, and if you would like to make mods you can check out the Modding and the Steam Workshop pages on the Official Wiki.

We've also added several mods related to this latest update:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2209316957
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2209316784
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2209317132

Everything about the mod support is still a work in progress, so bare with us as we fix issues that crop up and continue to expand the documentation. If you have any trouble or confusing documentation, we're more than willing to help out. We're usually reachable from the official Discord Server if you run into any issues either using or making mods.

One of the neat things about this workshop support is that we can use it to let folks test out some mechanics that are still a bit of a work in progress. Along with these other changes, we've been tinkering around with some changes to both melee and ranged weapons. To that end, we put out an optional mod on the Workshop that adds a "Test Iron Sword" and a "Test 9mm Pistol"

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2237032351

One of the mechanics that we're considering is adding combos and charged power attacks to melee weapons. The "Test Iron Sword" has the ability to progress through a 3 hit combo by clicking the attack button shortly after hitting a creature, and if you hold the attack button after progressing to the third attack in the combo it will do a flurry attack that attacks very quickly until you run out of stamina. The goal here is to add options for more involved combat in a way that can be pretty much ignored if you don't want to engage with it.

The "Test 9mm Pistol" uses a hipfire by default, and a focus fire with a higher accuracy and rate of fire when the right mouse button is held.

Try these out, and let us know if you think we should apply these mechanics to the rest of the weapons in the game.

Sometimes beehives now form on trees. If this happens, try to avoid pissing off the bees, and definitely don't huck them like a crude organic grenade.

This update includes some of the systems and mechanics that we've been working on since the last content update, but we've also been working on story content that isn't quite ready to release. The next story update will include new story elements, alien ruins, new creatures, a new boss and a revamped mining base in the world. That update is about half finished at this point, and we're hoping to get it out before the end of November.

Here is one of the creatures that will be in the next update:



After that, our plan is to start working on our plans for the endgame. We've got some *really* cool plans for the endgame section of the game, and we're really looking forward to making it our main priority. Lots of cool stuff ahead, so stay tuned =)

As always, we really appreciate any feedback you have. We're inching our way towards finishing the 1.0 version of the game, but we're still very much able and willing to change things based on feedback so don't be shy. Feel free to post a comment on this announcement, make a post in the Steam discussions, or join us at the official Discord Server.

Heya folks, we've got some new stuff for ya. In the last update we re-worked the plant system, but we didn't really use it for much more than better versions of existing plants, so we wanted to take some time to add some brand new cool and weird plants. We also figured that we could kill two birds with one stone by adding some new related early game combat options in the form of various nuts and nut based technology.

• Hard Nut Tree
  
  
• Spray Nut Stalk
  
  
• Buttery Nut Tree
  
  
• Pod Fruit Tree
  
  
• Bust Nut Bush
  

• Hard Nut - A hard nut that does damage when thrown at stuff
  
• Bust Nut - A volatile nut that explodes when it strikes something with sufficient force
  
• Spray Nut - A volatile nut that sprays shrapnel when it moves too quickly
  
• Buttery Nut - A volatile nut does medium damage and splits into additional projectils when it strikes something with sufficient force

If you load up the game sometime in the next week or so, you'll find a free bag with 30 of each of the new seeds.

Pod fruit is also something that we added.

• Slingshot - It flings seeds, nuts and rocks.
  
  
• Nut Chucker - A farming tool that allows you to rapidly propel and launch seeds and nuts.
  

Our next update will expand the story content, which will involve a significant revamp of the Mining Base (to the right of the Pioneer Station), a new boss, new mechanics and new content related to the intelligent aliens on the planet.

As always, we would love to hear from you about what you like and don't like about the update, as well as any issues you run into or suggestions you have. Feel free to post on this announcement, on the forums, or join our official Discord server. The eventual quality of the game is going to largely depend on the feedback we get from players, so don't be shy!

Heya folks, we've got a new update ready for ya. Our goal with this update was primarily to improve some mostly cosmetic areas of Signs of Life, as well as to lay the groundwork for future content. The high points are: Improved tile drawing on crafted tiles, an improved Equip menu, and a revamped plant system that should allow us to add all sorts of weird and interesting plants.

Prior to this update, nearly every crafted tile in the game had an outline around it which resulted in really blocky looking buildings. With this update, we've gone through and added the ability for tiles to connect with each other in a way that looks a heck of a lot better. All crafted tile types (steel, wood, etc) now have a "wall" tile that can seamlessly stretch in any direction, as well as floor, ceiling and roof tiles that will stretch in a line. We also dramatically improved the visual quality of ores that you find on tiles in the world.

Here is what it looks like in action:


As we get (a bit) closer to the 1.0 version of Signs of Life, we've been going through and expanding on some of the elements that weren't very fleshed out. One of the things that has been on our list for a long time was adding more doors, so we did just that. We finally have more than 1 boring wooden door!

Here is what they look like in action:


We've added the following doors in this update:

• Wood Door
  
• Ramshackle Door
  
• Stone Door
  
• Iron Door
  
• Steel Door
  
• Granite Door
  
• Marble Door
  
• Tech Door

One of the things that has needed work for quite awhile is the equipment menu. We've remade it from the ground up to be larger and more user friendly. It's now a lot less cramped, and it has a panel on the side that lists all of the effects currently active on the player. We also increased the number of equippable accessories to 5.


For a long time we've wanted to add a bunch of new plants, but the plant system we were using wasn't very flexible or dynamic. It got the job done, but it really made it difficult for us to add any new types of plants. So - we ripped it out and re-did it completely. Now plants can be animated, they grow more smoothly, and most importantly it is dramatically easier to add just about any kind of plant that we can imagine. We also built the system from the ground up to be moddable. This update mostly just replaces the existing plants with updated versions, but very soon we'll be adding a whole bunch of new plants, fruits and nuts.

You can punch trees (but make sure you wear gloves or it's going to hurt!) which causes the fruits to drop as well as occasionally causes some tree materials to drop out out. In this way, you can gather tree materials without destroying them by whackin' them every now and then.


And you can cut them down, now with fancy animations.

• Fixed an issue that would cause grid containers to not display all the items that they contain
  
• Fixed an issue that could result in your escape pod storage or equipment getting mixed up between characters.
  
• Fixed several crashes
  
• A bunch of little things not really worth mentioning, but just know that we love you.

In the very near future we'll continue adding some new plants, as well as some new early-game weapon options that utilize nuts for some nut-based combat. This update will come very shortly (within a week or two). After that, we're going full-steam ahead on the next major content update which will include a significant expansion of the Mining base, as well as a bunch of new mechanics, gadgets, and story content related to the intelligent aliens on the planet.

As always, we would love to hear from you about what you like and don't like about the update, as well as any issues you run into or suggestions you have. Feel free to post on this announcement, on the forums, or join our official Discord server. The eventual quality of the game is going to largely depend on the feedback we get from players, so don't be shy!

Hey folks, we've got a new story update ready for ya to try out. The primary goal with this update was to expand the gameplay and story content related to the crew of the Hermes, who set up their residence in the Pioneer Station before you land on the planet. We've dramatically redesigned the Pioneer Station with the intention of making it more interesting to explore, as well as less hospitable. Aside from the story content, we've also added a new platinum material tier, a bunch of new weapons and gadgets and made quite a few quality of life changes.

You will need to create a new character or a new world for your existing character if you want to experience much of the new content.

This is where most of the new content is in this update. We've dramatically expanded and redesigned the Pioneer Station to be much more interesting to explore and more fulfilling in terms of story content and mechanics. When you first reach the Pioneer Station the power will be out, and you will need to find a way inside and get the generator working before you'll be able to fully explore the station. There are new weapons and gadgets to find and craft, new creatures and a new boss fight with a certain fowl creature...

We realized that the early game experience can be a bit unforgiving for new players because of the lack of decent heal options, so we revamped the potion systems pretty significantly. Now potions should be accessible much earlier in the overall "tech" progression, and the heal potions do a better job of quickly healing you. Instead of being single use, potions now have a number of charges, and one charge is consumed by each chug of the potion. You can also hold down the drink button to chug the whole potion if you wish. There are 3 tiers of vessels that can hold potions: A glass vessel that holds 3 charges, a standard vessel that holds 4 charges, and a reinforced vessel that can hold 5.


We added platinum ore to the world generator, and added a platinum armor set as well as a sword, spear, axe, pick, club, bow and crossbow. The armor is heavy with high defense, and its set bonus increases your melee damage.


As part of the revamp of the Pioneer Station, we ended up also reworking the way elevators work and have made them craftable by players. Right now there are 2 elevator types, a small "personnel" elevator that is 3 tiles wide, and a large "freight" elevator that is 9 tiles wide. An elevator can travel up and down a track made out of elevator shaft and elevator floor tiles. The elevators will stop automatically at the top and bottom of the shaft as well as any of the elevator floor tiles.


We added quite a few new ambient songs that play while you're exploring the world. The songs are:

• Daylight by Andrew kn
  
• Sphere by Andrew kn
  
• Surreal Ambient Mix by Andrew kn
  
• Drops by Andrew kn
  
• Road in the Forest by Andrew kn
  
• Thing II by Night Note
  
• Friday 13. Night meditation by Night Note
  
• Sunday moved to Monday by Night Note
  
• Landscape of Dreams by Night Note
  
• On a smooth surface by Night Note
  
• I don't have to get up early on the weekend by Night Note
  
• Away at sea by Night Note
  
• The way to the constellation Andromeda by Night Note

We've also started exploring mod support. We're still fairly early in the process, but we have gotten it far enough that you can already do some pretty cool stuff with it. We're still figuring things out, so expect things to change and your mods may break as we nail down exactly how it all needs to work.

So far, you can mod in the following stuff:

• Basic items - Simple items that just have a sprite, name, description etc. Examples include things like metal ingots, wood sticks and toilet paper.
  
• Containers - Any kind of item that holds other items.
  
• Consumables - Potion vessels, potion types, and food.
  
• Melee Weapons - You can add simple melee weapons fairly easily, and we've also got some basic lua support working as well for more complicated melee weapons.
  
• Recipes - You can add new recipes that will be used in the crafting window.

I'd like to get it set up so you can mod in guns and armor soon, and we'll go from there.

Right now mods can be distributed as zip files, and are placed in a new "Mods" folder in your Documents/My Games/Signs of Life directory. For the most part the mods should work in multiplayer as long as everyone has the same mods. In the future we're planning on setting up Steam Workshop support.

There is very little documentation right now, but we're starting to fill out the Wiki with information about how do get started with modding.

If you need help or just want to talk about modding, feel free to make a post in the modding section of the forum or in our official Discord server.

This update took us a heck of a long time to get done, partially because we were re-working a lot of stuff behind the scenes that we've been meaning to do for a long time. On top of the new content that we added, we integrated a new, better animation tool (Spriter), fixed a bunch of issues with our particle effect system and started integrating mod support. These things took us awhile to get working, but they're already paying off in a big way. Long story short, we're really happy with the way things are coming together, and hopefully a lot of the time we invested will result in quicker updates from here on out.


Our primary goal is to continue working on the story content. Our next bit of story content is going to involve a rework of the mining station similar to what we did with the Pioneer Station. As part of that update, we'll be expanding the story and mechanics related to the aliens. There are just a handful of content updates left to finish the story we have planned for the 1.0 release, so we're getting there!

Signs of Life is a work in progress, and we always want to hear your feedback about the current state of the game, so let us know what you like and don't like. Tell us what you think in the comments, the Steam Forums, or our official Discord server.

Hey folks, we have a brand new update for ya. We're not quite done with the next chunk of story content, but we decided we should go ahead and release the non-story stuff we've been working on. The main goal with this update is to fill in some of the gameplay gaps and improve various quality of life aspects.

One change we made is that we've pretty significantly improved the way gun accuracy works. Previously any given gun just had a set accuracy for every shot, but now the accuracy is dependent on what you're doing as well as the statistics of the gun. If you're standing still and fire a single round from an SMG then the shot will be pretty accurate, but if you're running while spraying bullets then your accuracy will be very low. When aiming a gun, your crosshairs are now dynamic and reflect how accurate your gun will be when fired.



We also added a whole bunch of new guns.



In addition, we've taken a new approach to handling the recipes for various guns. The recipes for guns all now include some type of "gun part", and many guns only require that part. The main goal here is to make unlocking the recipes more straightforward, while avoiding overwhelming folks with new recipes all at once. We now have crude, steel and advanced gun parts for the various weapon types. Hopefully this makes the gun crafting progression feel a little more like a tech tree.

Another change in this update is that we added some hostile bots and spawners to the Pioneer Station. The intention is for the bots to discourage folks from just moving into the Pioneer Station as a home, and when they are killed they drop various useful components. There is no way to disable the spawners for the bots right now, but the next update will add a way to disable them.



We also added ladders! We've needed a new way of doing vertical movement for awhile. These are still a bit of a work in progress, but they seem to mostly work. Definitely let us know if/when you run into bugs with them.


The base inventory now has two additional compartments, a section for crafting materials and one for blocks. Any items picked up with the grab laser will be auto-sorted into those containers. We also significantly improved the size of the gridless inventory option.


Another late addition to this update was a couple of new settings related to picking up items. We've noticed that it was pretty easy to accidentally pick up items during combat, so we added an option that makes it so you can't pick up items while a weapon is equipped (this one is on by default for now), and another option that only lets you pick up items when your inventory is open. This only applies to items that you pick up by clicking and dragging, so the grab laser is unaffected. Try these out and tell us what you think. We may end up changing the default behavior based on player feedback.

Oh yeah, and Happy Halloween!

• Improved Gun Aiming
  
  • Accuracy when using guns is now dynamic based on what you're doing and the statistics of different weapons.
    
  • Walking and running will decrease accuracy, and crouching will increase accuracy.
    
  • Added Handling and Recoil statistics to guns.
• Adjusted gun damage
  
  • Most guns have had their damage numbers adjusted.
    
  • Damage is now based on the ammo type as well as the gun type.
• Updated Pioneer Station
  
  • Tweaked the layout of the Pioneer Station a bit. This is an interim step, and the next update should dramatically expand the Pioneer Station.
    
  • Added hostile bot spawners.
    
  • Steel, Silver and Bornite can now only be smelted in the Smelting Furnace.

• Updated gridless player inventory
  
  • Increased the size
    
  • Added crafting and block pouches to the sides that automatically collects relevant items
• Added an option in the Settings Menu to only allow click and drag to pick up items from the world if you do not have weapons equipped. On by default.
  
• Added an option in the Settings Menu to only allow you to pick up items while your inventory is open. Off by default.

• New Creatures
  
  • Kinetic Bot
    
    • Fires 9mm rounds.
      
    • Can drop ball bearings, a microchip and 9mm ammo.
      
  • Gauss Bot
    
    • Fires iron projectiles at an extremely fast speed.
      
    • Can drop ball bearings, copper wire, a microchip and a small battery.
      
  • Explosive Bot
    
    • Explodes if it gets close to you.
      
    • Can drop ball bearings, a microchip and an explosive charge (if you don't set it off).
      
  • Tesla Bot
    
    • Zaps you with electricity if you get close.
      
    • Can drop ball bearings, copper wire, a microchip and a small battery.
      
• New Guns
  
  • Handguns - C96, Derringer, MK3, Parabellum, Marksman Pistol, Machine Pistol, Wasp 57, M1911, Energy Pistol
    
  • SMGs - Lanchester, Combat SMG, P90, Energy Repeater
    
  • Shotguns - Lupara, Break Barrel Shotgun, Arnie's Gun, Combat Shotgun
    
  • Rifles - Small Game Rifle, Lever Action Rifle, Hunting Rifle, Marksman Rifle, Rex 700, Subsonic Rifle, Energy Rifle
• New Ammo - .22LR Rounds, .45 ACP Rounds, .357 Rounds, .308 Rounds, .700 Rounds
  
• Ammunition Press - Allows you to break ammunition down into it's constituent parts.
  
• Explosive Charge - Drops from explosive bots. Can be thrown, and will detonate when shot. It can also optionally be used to craft rockets or grenades.
  
• Ladders - Added wood and iron ladders. Can be placed like blocks.

• Handguns
  
  • C96 - Crude Handgun Parts
    
  • Derringer - Crude Handgun Parts
    
  • MK3 - Crude Handgun Parts
    
  • Parabellum - Crude Handgun Parts
    
  • Marksman Pistol - Crude Handgun Parts
    
  • Machine Pistol - Steel Handgun Parts
    
  • Wasp 57 - Steel Handgun Parts
    
  • M1911 - Steel Handgun Parts
    
  • Energy Pistol - Steel Handgun Parts / Small Battery / Microchip
• SMGs
  
  • Lanchester - Crude SMG Parts
    
  • Combat SMG - Steel SMG Parts
    
  • P90 - Steel SMG Parts
    
  • Energy Repeater - Steel SMG Parts / Medium Battery / Microchip
• Shotguns
  
  • Break Barrel Shotgun - Crude Shotgun Parts
    
  • Combat Shotgun - Steel Shotgun Parts
• Rifles
  
  • Small Game Rifle - Crude Rifle Parts
    
  • Lever Action Rifle - Crude Rifle Parts
    
  • Hunting Rifle - Steel Rifle Parts
    
  • Marksman Rifle - Steel Rifle Parts
    
  • Rex 700 - Steel Rifle Parts
    
  • Subsonic Rifle - Steel Rifle Parts
    
  • Energy Rifle - Steel Rifle Parts / Large Battery / Microchip
• Gun Parts
  
  • Crude Handgun Parts - 4x Iron Ingot / 2x Rubber / 2x Boards
    
  • Crude SMG Parts - 4x Iron Ingot / 2x Rubber / 2x Boards
    
  • Crude Rifle Parts - 4x Iron Ingot / 2x Rubber / 2x Boards
    
  • Crude Shotgun Parts - 4x Iron Ingot / 2x Rubber / 2x Boards
    
  • Steel Handgun Parts - 4x Steel Ingot / 2x Plastic
    
  • Steel SMG Parts - 4x Steel Ingot / 2x Plastic
    
  • Steel Rifle Parts - 4x Steel Ingot / 2x Plastic
    
  • Steel Shotgun Parts - 4x Steel Ingot / 2x Plastic
    
  • Steel Launcher Parts - 4x Steel Ingot / 2x Plastic
    
  • Advanced Handgun Parts - 4x Steel Ingot / 2x D6 Polymer (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Advanced Rifle Parts - 4x Steel Ingot / 2x D6 Polymer (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Advanced Shotgun Parts - 4x Steel Ingot / 2x D6 Polymer (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Advanced Launcher Parts - 4x Steel Ingot / 2x D6 Polymer (Requires Material Printer)
• Tools
  
  • Ammunition Press - 8x Steel Ingots / 4x Plastic
• Ammo
  
  • .22LR Rounds (x16) - Lead Ingot / Black Powder
    
  • .45ACP Rounds (x9) - Lead Ingot / Black Powder
    
  • .357 Rounds (x6) - Lead Ingot / Black Powder
    
  • .308 Rounds (x6) - Lead Ingot / Black Powder
    
  • .700 Rounds (3) - Lead Ingot / Black Powder
    
  • Dismantle 9mm Ammo - 12x 9mm Rounds (Requires Ammunition Press)
    
  • Dismantle .45ACP Ammo - 9x .45ACP Rounds (Requires Ammunition Press)
    
  • Dismantle .357 Ammo - 6x .357 Rounds (Requires Ammunition Press)
    
  • Dismantle 5.56 Ammo - 6x 5.56 Rounds (Requires Ammunition Press)
    
  • Dismantle .308 Ammo - 6x .308 Rounds (Requires Ammunition Press)
    
  • Dismantle .700 Ammo - 3x .700 Rounds (Requires Ammunition Press)
    
  • Dismantle Shotgun Shells - 6x Shotgun Shells (Requires Ammunition Press)
    
  • Dismantle Blunderbuss Shells - 6x Blunderbuss Shells (Requires Ammunition Press)
• Ladders
  
  • Wooden Ladder (4x) - Wooden Board
    
  • Iron Ladder (4x) - Iron Ingot
• Decorations
  
  • Small Wooden Window - 2x Wooden Boards / 1x Rubber
    
  • Large Wooden Window - 4x Wooden Boards / 1x Rubber
    
  • Reinforced Background Viewport - 1x Steel Ingot / 1x Plastic / 1x Glass
    
  • Round Reinforced Window - 1x Steel Ingot / 1x Plastic / 1x Glass
    
  • Square Reinforced Window - 1x Steel Ingot / 1x Plastic / 1x Glass
    
  • Square Reinforced Window 2 - 1x Steel Ingot / 1x Plastic / 1x Glass
    
  • Square Reinforced Window 3 - 1x Steel Ingot / 1x Plastic / 1x Glass

• Handguns
  
  • Flare Gun - Crude Handgun Parts
    
  • 9mm Pistol - Steel Handgun Parts
    
  • Magnum - Steel Handgun Parts
    
  • Python - Steel Handgun Parts
    
  • Thermite Pistol - Steel Handgun Parts
    
  • Energy Slicer - Steel Handgun Parts / Medium Battery / Microchip
    
  • Laser Pistol - Steel Handgun Parts / Standard Lens / Raw Ruby / Microchip
    
  • Laser Pistol Mk2 - Advanced Handgun Parts / Laser Pistol / Rough Sapphire / Precise Lens
• SMGs
  
  • Clobb - Crude SMG Parts
    
  • Micro SMG - Steel SMG Parts
• Shotguns
  
  • Blunderbuss - Crude Shotgun Parts
    
  • Energy Beam Shotgun - Advanced Shotgun Parts / Power Core / Precise Lens / Microchip (Requires Material Printer)
• Rifles
  
  • Assault Rifle - Steel Rifle Parts
    
  • Burst Rifle - Steel Rifle Parts
    
  • Energy Beam Cannon - Advanced Rifle Parts / Power Core / Precise Lens / Microchip (Requires Material Printer)
    
  • Tesla Rifle - Advanced Rifle Parts / Power Core / Precise Lens / Microchip (Requires Material Printer)
• Launchers
  
  • Rocket Launcher - Steel Launcher Parts
    
  • Grenade Launcher - Steel Launcher Parts
    
  • Railgun - Advanced Launcher Parts / Power Core / 4x Copper Wire
    
  • Hybrid Lobber - Advanced Launcher Parts / Xenoid Dynamo / 2x Xenoid Alloy
• Misc Guns
  
  • Sulfure Gas Gun - Gas Bladder / Crude Rifle Parts
    
  • Chitinous Dart Gun - Crawler Medulla / Crude Handgun Parts
    
  • Spitter Pistol - Spitter Gland / Crude Handgun Parts / Xenohide
• Batteries
  
  • Small Battery - Lead Ingot / Spitter Extract / Rubber / 2x Copper Wire
    
  • Medium Battery - 2x Small Battery / 1x Copper Wire
    
  • Large Battery - 2x Medium Battery / 1x Copper Wire
    
  • Power Core - 2x Large Battery / 1x Copper Wire / 2x Plastic (Requires Material Printer)
• Crafting Tools
  
  • Smelting Furnace - 10x Iron Ingots / 5x Lead Ingots / 5x Aluminum Ingots

• Changed the name of "Bauxite" to "Aluminum Ore" to avoid confusion
  
• Fixed an issue that would let friends join your game during the introduction map
  
• Fixed some issues with lighting on the edges of the screen

As always, we very much would love to hear your feedback, so don't be shy. Feel free to leave a message on this post, make a post on the forums, join our Discord community or email us at playsignsoflife@gmail.com.