We are pleased to announce the opening of Elin's store page on Steam! After 3 years of development (almost 7 years if you include prior projects), we are finally one step closer to a public release. I would like to thank all of you who have been following Elin's progress thus far.

First, let's talk about the Early Access phase. The first release during this period will be version Alpha, which will be about as complete as the initial stages of Elona's development back in 2006. For those who weren't around back then, this means that version Alpha will be of generally barebones quality compared to the level of polish intended for Elin's full release. Rest assured, I will be hard at work throughout the Early Access phase in order to bring the game's content up to the same point as Elona's in about a year.

If you're interested in enjoying the full experience of Elin without spoilers, please note that purchasing the game during Early Access (and especially during earlier stages) isn't something I would currently recommend. Though labeled as "Early Access", it would be more accurate to describe the current game as being a "Paid Alpha" in that buying in will mostly allow players to send bug reports, feedback and further support towards the development of the game as it continues to grow.

The initial Alpha version is currently slated for release towards the end of the year (at earliest), after the first few hours of the game have been deemed playable.

With that said, a game with the scope of Elin is quite a large scale and long term project for a single developer to undertake. Even with my time being solely dedicated to the game's development, a game with far greater complexity than the original Elona (which itself took almost 5 years to complete following its initial release) is going to take no small amount of time to fully refine.

Also, unlike back when I was developing Elona, indie games are now the strongest they've ever been, with faster release cycles and libraries of amazing games to choose from. I've asked myself many times in the past whether or not it would be worth making a game like Elin in an environment like this, given the amount of time and effort required and the niche audience it would be competing for. In the end though, I wanted to give my all into properly pursuing the story of Ylva, the world born from Elona, and although I had to put the game into Early Access for various reasons, I hope you understand that it will still take a long time before it is completed.

Of course, I still plan on updating the game even after its completion since I'm ultimately aiming to build a world far larger than the original Elona's ever was. Looking even further forward, I'm also hoping for the opportunity to create the final volume (Part III) of Elona's saga one of these days.

Finally, I'd like to thank you all again for your support in this endeavor!

- Noa

(Special thanks to JellyVermicelli for proofreading this English text)

修复错误：
1.修复空服食栏位Tips有时没有文字的BUG
2.修复操作复数物品时，道具的数量可能显示异常的BUG
3.修复玩家移动路线的点位偏移的BUG
4.修复在战斗中逃跑后，玩家位置与路线与显示的不一致的BUG
5.修复太吾传剑时事件报错的BUG
6.修复被失心人击杀后触发传剑的立场事件报错的BUG
7.修复入魔传剑后原太吾的技艺造诣被清空的BUG
8.修复活死人进入乱葬岗会中毒的BUG
9.修复天下武林盟会转点失败后未触发龙语茯剧情的BUG
10.修复因装备复制失败导致出神之地与心魔战斗报错的BUG
11.修复异性NPC不会穿太吾送的衣装的BUG
12.修复返回主界面以后再次进入奇遇，触发的菜单按钮出现报错的BUG
13.修复变招命中加成会影响功法攻击的BUG
14.修复混元一气功、金刚护体神功受到心神攻击时报错的BUG
15.修复服食了活死药以后依然会因为寿命耗尽而死亡的BUG
16.修复以伏虞剑柄救治入魔人的唯我选项没有增加地区恩义的BUG
17.修复读档处理仓库数据时可能报错的BUG
18.修复连续制造食物在引子消耗完后报错的BUG
19.修复装备某类运功栏位最后一格时会清空下一类运功栏位第一格的BUG
20.修复打开人物界面时偶尔发生报错的BUG
21.修复门派功法界面中正逆特效有时不显示的BUG
22.修复固定Tips时偶尔发生报错的BUG
23.修复关闭音乐、音效后打开交易界面仍然会有音效出现的BUG
24.修复天府规略中需要依赖采集建筑增长的资源不会增长规模的BUG
25.修复梳头修面结果显示错误的BUG
26.修复秘闻中未显示秘闻来源者和秘闻发生地点的BUG
27.修复在地图上移动时，移动消耗显示没有及时刷新的BUG
28.修复突破成功弹窗时偶尔报错的BUG
29.修复在产业地图选择要建造的建筑后，取消又重新进入建造界面，筛选排序错误的BUG
30.修复功法修习度提升至100%时游戏偶尔报错的BUG
31.修复频繁开关突破界面游戏偶尔报错的BUG
32.修复玩家关押人物后，秘闻中显示玩家被人物关押的BUG
33.修复好感度变化只在好感程度发生变化时才显示的BUG
34.修复玩家把仓库中的蛐蛐存入蛐蛐罐报错的BUG
35.修复爱慕、表白、求婚成功率异常的BUG

优化调整：
1.减少大部分负面名誉的持续时间，调整一部分名誉的参数
2.遗惠界面增空内容图案
3.通用的空内容UI表现调整
4.经营建筑招募人才资质大幅提高
5.选择功法界面的筛选栏改为单选
6.去除邀为同道的复杂限制条件，调整为只要玩家与对方的好感度达到亲密，且符合世界侵袭进度的限制，即可邀为同道
7.提高了双方年龄差距、好感对爱慕、表白、求婚的成功率影响
8.让所有身份高于世界侵袭进度的人物的入魔值不再因为心情原因而在过月时增加

稍作歇息：
1.10月的3、4、5号，我们会稍稍休息一下，到7号会继续恢复更新，还请大家原谅
2.测试分支因涉新的秘闻系统，将在收集到一定的反馈并做出一定的调整后，再更新至正式分支
3.在国庆休息期间，官网仍能正常接收大家的反馈，还请大家多多向官网提交问题或建议，非常感谢

游戏优化更新：

-Chat Size now saves/loads
-Changed Gaetan fury to give 50% Double Attack
-Added Added Attack Speed to Gaetan's Passive Dual Wield
-Reduced Gaetan's ability cooldowns
-Increased Damage bonus to Geomancer's Earthquake skill
-Added weight display to main UI
-Added OreGain Mult to Max Weight Capacity so it doesn't act as a penalty
-Possible fix for duplicate members in guild popping up
-Fixed guild members not moving in guild hall(accidently removed the sync last build)
-Beacon Placement should no longer disable laser
-Crit/Double Attack popup text should now display in the correct location
-Waterfall now supports farm tier
-Fixed issue with Waterfall screwing up your Tier Damage Bonus by not counting the last epic in the Tier
-Added Inventory Item Filter based on 1 or 2 Stats
-Fixed a few bugs with porting
-Fixed Issue with old chunk data not being cleared
-Greatly increased the speed of the mine reset
-Can now obtain quest blocks as long as under 10 your current completion count wont be considered anymore
-Fixed all issues with Recipe vendor giving out the wrong tier recipe
-Fixed a desync issue when removing the last recipe if you only had one left
-Recipe tab now only displays your current progress tier and the tier your and the previous 2 tiers
-Slight Decrease to the Amount of Epic blocks required to progress

• A new unlockable deck has been added to the game! To unlock it, you have to reach level 40 and then win a game without healing! (the healing between sectors doesn't count)
  
  You can use any offerings and any ascension for this challenge! When reaching level 40, there will be a small indicator in the top bar while playing that will remind you of that objective, and if you're on track to complete it. (If you heal, the indicator will disappear).
  
  
• Now cards can't draw themselves! No more casting the same Foresee infinitely when it's the only card left in your draw pile and you have a way to obtain infinite mana. This change has opened some design space for some new cards!
  
• Now cards and trinkets have a small fade in/out animation when showing their descriptions. Much easier on the eyes!
  
• A toggle to display the level 3 tower art instead of the level 1 art in tower cards has been added to the Options menu!
  
• A toggle to enable or disable vsync has been added to the Options menu!
  
• Two trinkets have been added! Say hello to Inflict Fear and Predator Instinct (the trinket that the new deck starts with).
  
• Four new cards have been added! Say hello to Night Crawler, Luck Synthesis, Reckless Search and Divination!
  
  
  
  
• Now you can search cards in every card list through their descriptions and not only through their title!
  
• A toggle that lets you filter basic cards have been added to card lists.
  
• Tower cards now have an additional icon that shows at a glance the damage type that tower deals.
  
• Basic cards now have a small indicator of their basic status on the bottom of the card.
  
• Many balance changes and bug fixes! Check them out below.

All enemies now have an additional 5 speed for each level above 1 they have.

• EMP Bomber
  
  This enemy is too strong on its own compared to the others.
  
  
  • Health: (75, 150, 300, 1200) -> (60, 120, 240, 960)
• Infiltrator
  
  When you don't have any way to uncloak this enemy, waiting for it to go away can be painful due to its low speed. Also, it shouldn't be that tanky.
  
  
  • Health: (100, 200, 400, 1600) -> (90, 180, 360, 1440)
    
  • Armor: (8, 16, 32, 48) -> (0, 0, 0, 0)
    
  • Magic Resist: (10, 20, 40, 60) -> (0, 0, 0, 0)
    
  • Speed: (45, 45, 45, 45) -> (70, 75, 80, 85)
• Runner
  
  Its high speed and tankiness can make these a bit unpredictable.
  
  
  • Health: (55, 110, 220, 880) -> (50, 100, 200, 800)
    
  • Speed: (105, 105, 105, 105) -> (100, 105, 110, 115)

Usually when you buy stat upgrades in a forge the changes don't seem too meaningful. These buffs aim to alleviate that issue. The prices of the stats listed below have increased a small bit, but the changes are considered as big buffs overall.

• Max health earned when upgrading: 1 -> 2
  
• Luck earned when upgrading: 1 -> 2
  
• Fire rate multiplier earned when upgrading: 1% -> 3%
  
• Range multiplier earned when upgrading: 1% -> 3%
  
• Flat armor pen earned when upgrading: 3 -> 6
  
• Flat magic pen earned when upgrading: 3 -> 6

The crystals gained by default can make many shops, forges and events useless. Let's give you more crystals!

• Crystals gained after each battle: [18, 26] -> [20, 30]

• Overwhelming Support
  
  As this card can win you the game by itself, you should have to struggle to cast it without the proper setup.
  
  
  • Mana cost: 8 -> 9
• Avid Reading
  
  Too easy to cast since the spell mana changes some patches ago.
  
  
  • Mana cost: 3 -> 4
• Barricade
  
  Lowering a bit the mana cost will make it a bit more flexible to cast, and that's something that this card needs quite a lot.
  
  
  • Mana cost: 6 -> 5
• Mana Potion
  
  No more infinite combos with Foresee. Also, making it dispel allows it to have a mana cost of 1, making it more useful in most scenarios.
  
  
  • Mana cost: 2 -> 1
    
  • Now dispels.

• #56: Increasing the max hand size too much will take too much space on the screen.
  
• #64: The text of the first card sometimes runs over the mana counts.
  
• #66: Dragon Egg sometimes spawns towers in blank tiles and makes them not movable.
  
• #67: The "tower level up progress" popup blocks mouse input.

- Changed Most UI fonts
- Reworked HUD size
- Fixed Slowdown would continue during pause
- Fixed cytodrones not disappearing
- Fixed cytodrones giving money on death

It has been almost six month since the early access release and I should summarize past development and what was accomplished since.

• The first few months after the release was devoted to bug fixing and immediate response to user feedback.
  
• Then I paid great attention to improvements of the help and game tips system. I understand Facteroids is a complex game and it may become overwhelming to players at times. That is why there are several systems of context sensitive tips and hints as well as a comprehensive Facteroids encyklopedia. I still have to add tutorial missions of the new features.
  
• Research and building upgrades features were added.
  
• Many quality of life improvements in bot user interface, building construction, selection and editing, game controls and UI.
  
• Asteroid hopping game mode that enables “endless gameplay”.
  
• New missions
  The big cleanup, Hard labor, Complete annihilation, Remote base and Superbot
  
  
• New buildings
  Electronics factory, machine shop, cistern and pipe bridge.
  

I plan to continuously develop the game and release the full version one year after the early access. Which means April 2023. Don’t take it for granted though. This date is a goal. If it is going to be achieved still remains to be seen…

So what is planned for the full release?
The game is structured in tiers. Both in technology, building construction sequence and campaign progress. What does it mean? You always have a group of buildings and related types of resources. Every tear of technology is dependent on a basic resource. If such a resource is not present on the asteroid, you can not upgrade to the next tier. This enables continuous and controlled campaign progress. Currently the game has three tiers. First: from rock and ice, second: from iron and silicon ores and third: from sulfur. Each tier should add a new game mechanic. I want to avoid simply reskinning buildings and duplicating the gameplay. There will be two or three new tiers, each one with two or three new buildings.
The campaign will be crowned with a final “Big boss” mission.
Steam workshop and achievements will be integrated in the game. I want to improve the user friendliness of the editor and hope to see some awesome game levels from you.

There is a feature request section on Facteroids Discord channel. I am open to new ideas and always like to hear feedback from you.

Sincerely, Jan

Utopia Colony has got an update!

We have added more sound effects, improved animations, and improved the loading process. These are a few updates to make the game experience better, based on feedback from players.

Going forward, we have decided to co-develop Utopia Colony with another game we recently launched in Early Access on Steam, called Belt Colony. Co-developing the games is a new strategy or way of thinking, that we are excited about. We think it may help us to develop, and understand, the games from a broader perspective than if we simply develop them one-by-one.. Currently, Utopia Colony and Belt Colony have a similar set of features, concepts, background stories, etc., but, the main content (e.g. 3D models), etc. are different. This is a part of the plan going forward... Different ways of mining, for example, could be used in both games, even though 3D models, etc., are different.. For us as developers, it is also quite helpful to be able to take a step back and see these space miners of the near future from a whole new perspective and to discuss this with another set of user perspectives. We see already now from feedback that this gives us a whole new perspective, especially a broader perspective, on what would be better games...

We made a update video for this purpose, at the launch event for Belt Colony in Las Vegas recently:



The purpose of Early Access on Steam is to enable game developers, like us, to sell the game while it is being developed and to gather input/feedback from users. We have been struggling with reviews lately, and we have got very few new users, and input from new users, as a consequence of this.

We would appreciate it, and it would help us, if more users perhaps could:

• Give us input / feedback in the Community Hub on Steam. The feedback could be anything you like. Things you'd like to see added, see less of, etc. We have a questionnaire that can be filled out. Perhaps also respond to other peoples posts to voice opinions, support them, etc..
  
• Buy Utopia Colony and Belt Colony, if you are interested in the games. There are many who have the game(s) wishlisted, so we guess many are waiting until the game is finished or get further along.
  
• Give us a thumbs up / write a positive review, if you like the game. Reviews are very important on Steam and directly affects new user growth.

Our intent/purpose/goal with these games is simple.. We want to make Utopia Colony and Belt Colony a fun, interesting, and entertaining series of space mining and outpost building sim games. We need help to make this a reality, and we appreciate anything you can do.

We recently made bundles for our games on Steam to make it easier to purchase the games:

• The Miner Bundle consists of Utopia Colony and Belt Colony that are currently being co-developed.
  
• The All Games Bundle consists of all our games.

It is also possible to buy a bundle if you have one or more of the games from before.

Here are links to the bundles:

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28238/Miner_Bundle/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28248/All_Games_Bundle/

Stay tuned. More improvements are coming. We hope to see you on Mars and in the Asteroid Belt!

• The way that points are collected during a chase have been updated to decrease the chances of crashing the game.
  
• Chapter 4 checkpoint not allowing the chapter to progress has been fixed.
  
• Added a hint during Chapter 1 to inform the player that you can cancel Sense Mode.
  
• Added a hint to Chapter 6 to inform the player that the neighbor's dog will only bark at you if you are in the backyard.
  
• Re-made the function that cancels the owner's navigation after a certain amount of time has passed, forcing him to navigate to required points. This reduces the risk of him disappearing without completing his navigation sequence.
  
• Increased the amount of time you have to scare the first hallucination away before your owner comes out of his room in Chapter 3.
  
• Decreased how close your owner has to be to you before he can grab you.
  
• Fixed chase music starting even if a dog (who is trying to start a chase with you in the neighborhood) is too far away.

The original soundtrack for Shooting Game KARI is available on YouTube. Let's recall the memories of fierce battles colored by music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xMToBhrbOM

The Demo will be available from 3 to 10 October!

Heads Will Roll: Downfall tells the story of an ordinary medieval soldier fighting in a war between England ans Scotland. Taking on his role, the player will begin the adventure as a peasant with no military experience and will have to work hard to survive as danger will be waiting around every corner. The story will face you with a lot of difficult choices that will test your moral principles and make you suffer the consequences of your actions.

Heads Will Roll: Downfall acts as a stand-alone prologue for the full version of the game — Heads Will Roll: Reforged.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1903060/Heads_Will_Roll_Downfall/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/687800/Heads_Will_Roll_Reforged/

You are very welcome to join our Discord server to discuss more about the game.