Welcome to our 39th Development Status. You can see on what we were working the last three weeks.


For the Main Menu, we are going with a diorama approach. By default, this will be the default scene visible in the Main Menu. We might add more scenes & layouts later on during the development. The design idea of it was to show a diorama of a tank being repaired on a field during or between the battles.




As we work on developing different aspects of the game, one of the important parts is the visuals of how the game is going to be represented. What colors, what logo is going to be used etc. Current colors and logotypes are going to be changed somewhere soon. This includes also improving the Steam Store layout with a new fresh look. Once we will set it all and mark it as ready you will of course be informed about it.



Here is a diorama with work in progress UI mockups screens showing how we are trying to adopt new things. New logotypes will come with a few variants. The main colors used are black/white and red. Keep in mind this is just a prototype and it's not meant to be 100% delivered with a full game. For example LVL. 69 is just a preview - we didn’t yet decide to add or have player progression in the game. If you are familiar with our first game Tank Mechanic Simulator, the camera will be animated/rigged. You should be able to spot some similarities as in there. Below is a screenshot taken from the project itself:



Recorded sample of how this UI works currently:



Currently, we have started prototyping a new look for Main Menu that includes new logotypes and new colors. What do you think?




Another big push was on the first iteration of set dressing of a repair station scene. We have taken a look at terrain materials, improved shading and overall feel of the scene.



Placeholder models started to be replaced by final assets. Layout elements of the scene such as the HQ and ammo stations have been redone with new assets.



The whole scene has gotten a lot of love over the past weeks of work.






Opel Blitz is a German truck, produced from 1930 up to 1975. Blitz, German for "lightning" reflected that not only by the emblem on the grille, but also by the way it paved the way to new, lightning quick German tactics developed during WW2.



In the years before the war, Opel was the biggest truck manufacturer in Germany, and to rearm the country, it helped by producing around 130,00 of those vehicles. It was powered by either a GM Marquette engine for heavier applications, or by Opel's own engine for lighter ones. By 1934, however, the GM engine was replaced by another Opel design, that was so similar to Chevrolet engines, that if any malfunction appeared in the field, it could be repaired using allied vehicles' parts.



When the war started, Wehrmacht started heavily using the 3.6 tonne, 4-wheel drive of the Opel Blitz, seen in this status. To deal with bad road conditions in Russia, a half-track model of the Blitz was created as well, called Maultier.



For our game we made 3 variants of this truck. Two with cargo, one closed and the second one as a more open variant. Third variant is a medical version.




Some new features and improvements in battle levels:

• Configuration of side objective types:
  
  • Conquer
    
  • Defend
    
  • Protect
    
  • Destroy
• Collectibles have been added
  
• Randomization of AI units positions
  
• Optimization of performance: limit amount of AI units active at once
  
• Retreat of friendly and enemy units when they’ve lost objective or their vehicle is broken
  
• Configuration of airstrike events
  
• Randomization of timing in events
  
• Units field of view

Detail blockout:

• Mills
  
• Cemetery
  
• Hives
  
• Road signs
  
• Sawmill
  
• Sets of houses with backyards
  
• Turf mine

Thank you and have a good one!
DeGenerals

Hey there, Georgii from Luden.io here! Lots of new stuff has been introduced to Learning Factory since the last time we presented these humble Dev Diaries to you. With no further ado, let's get to all the awesome things you can play around with right now!



Cat Zeppelins is a feature we're particularly proud of because it was suggested by our community. Our awesome players are legitimately participating in the development, submitting ideas, and partaking in many creative brainstorms on our Discord server and in Steam discussions. But let's get back to those Cat Zeppelins!

In short, those elegant, AI-driven airships provide an alternative means of transferring items between different parts of your Factory. They operate a bit slower than regular Transporters (although there's a speed-increasing upgrade for them), but they are not restricted by landscape obstacles (and, you know, spaghetti-styled Transporter layouts). They can work like a miracle in the late stages of the game when you need to transfer crafting resources between different biomes on the opposite edges of the map.



There are Zeppelins carrying a single item or two types of items at once. They travel between dedicated Docks and you can create all kinds of routes and subroutine profiles in the Monument. Oh, and you know what? You can research a special kind of Zeppelin to work under the ground. Because, seriously, why not!?



A rather surprising thing we've noticed about our players: cultivating plants is fascinating in Learning Factory! Picking up growing plants, putting them into the ground next to each other to shape neat harvestable fields - apparently, some of our players turned out to be rather committed gardeners! The only problem was the growth rate: although Martian plants grow way faster than their earthling kin, it still takes dozens of minutes (especially if you plant them in the wrong biome or soil type). Enter the Fertilizer! It significantly boosts the growth rate, allowing you to start shaping your personal garden on Mars very early on in the game. And when you establish the production of some basic resources, make sure to research and build a Compost Machine, that will produce Fertilizers automatically:




Where do cats come from when they emerge on your Factory? Where do they go after they have finished their business? Science fails to answer this question as of now - mainly because of the well-known fact, that cats are liquid. Do they go to Earth? To another galaxy? To a parallel dimension? Take a pick, any option is highly likely to be true (and none of them is your business, according to the I.L.L.U.M.I.N.A.T.I. official statement).



Anyway, there now is an option to safely (and automatically) remove certain cats from the Factory: just make sure to research an Exit Cat Gate upgrade! If you don't need cats of particular consumption habits, you can just send them back to… well, wherever they came from. Just take notice that this will decrease the overall Hype levels: because cats do not forgive. Also, keep an eye on your slippers in case someone, you know, soils them. Purely accidentally.




Another important feature probably does not look like a game changer for now, but it surely will do soon enough! Quality of items is one of the important mechanics that we had in mind from the very beginning. The idea is that some items will behave differently when sold to cats or used otherwise. One example that we have already introduced in the latest update is Wood. From now on, Fir Trees give Wood of better quality. When sold to a cat, it increases the probability that this cat will tell their friends about your Factory, thus increasing the overall attendance. Of course, you can use it for regular crafting, but that would probably be a waste of fine Wood.

Later on, higher quality products will be used in alternate crafting recipes to make the game deeper.




Last time it was just the key art and some quick fixes in the trailer, but by now, Sergei the artist has finished his magnificent work, which makes the game look more adventurous. Here're some old vs. new pieces:











We can't possibly cover all the changes in the game in one humble post: there are new upgrades, 2 new Splitters, and Halloween decorations… If you're following our Steam updates closely, you probably know all about them. But if not… That might just turn out even better for you: simply load Learning Factory and you'll see a whole new game, deeper, enriched with new mechanics, and better than ever before! And the future only looks brighter for Learning Factory engineers. Until we meet again! Glory to science!

• Twitter
  
• Discord

P.S. If you want to keep an eye our progress closer, don't forget to follow Learning Factory on our Steam page and never miss an update again!




Going to Early Access is but the first step to glory (and eternal cat happiness). Wanna be part of what happens next? Head to this blog post and learn how to help make the game even more awesome!

Learning Factory needs your help! Record a 10 or more minutes of you playing the game, share a video using any way you see fit, write your name into Learning Factory credits and get a promo cat! Make history here

Hey folks,

This one is all about jobs - we've made numerous changes to this feature added just a few days ago and improved the quest tracking, making it much more convenient and user-friendly. The full changelog is below.

• Hamster Jobs balancing
  
• Hamster Jobs bug fixing
  
• Hamster Jobs Improvements
  
• Ability to turn on/off autopause when game is out of focus in game settings 'gameplay' tab
  
• Quest tracking now indicates which mode the quest concerns
  
• Quest tracking now indicates which items and slots in the house the quest concerns
  
• Minor Bug Fixes and Improvements

Hi all,

Proud to present a brand new type of camera control, built specifically for taking pretty pictures of your creations.

Opt-in to the experimental branch to test out this update early:


Photomode Features:

• A free-roam first person camera, accessible at any time by pressing 'P' by default.
  
• Ground snapping, placing you 170cm (67'') above the ground, letting you walk around/on your vehicle.
  
• Enables a higher quality depth-of-field with control over the aperture.
  
• A quick way to toggle temporal anti-aliasing (TAA). TAA can look blurry while the camera is moving, but results in much higher quality edges while the camera is still.
  
• Filters. To stylize shots e.g. old war photographs.
  
• Control over time, allowing frozen, slow-mo and realtime.

Some pictures taken during testing, all taken in-game with no external editing:

• Fixed knocked out vehicles triggering objectives. e.g. Defence being lost by knocked out enemies rolling across the border.
  
• Fixed camera jitter when moving up or down slopes.
  
• Design auto-loading is now disabled if loading the last auto-loaded design caused an error. Stopping it causing instability each time you load.
  
• Fixed attachment mass not updating on scale changes.
  
• Fixed external fuel tank capacity not updating on scale changes when attached.
  
• Fixed built-in King Tiger's armour layout.
  
• Formation visualization now disabled when the GUI is disabled.
  
• Fixed flickering of rocks on 'No Tank's Land' scenario.
  
• Removed 2 empty keymapping slots in settings.4

• Sprocket/idler traction now takes more power from the roadwheels when in contact with the ground. Increasing sprocket/idler traction.
  
• Game version and FPS counter are now shown/hidden with the GUI.

More improvements to be made to photo-mode over time.
Very excited to see what you all do with this first iteration, have fun!

- Hamish

Dear Players,

In this minor update, we have implemented a few fixes and improvements. This is a small update, but more are to come, and we will share these improvements in stages as we implement and test them.

Thanks to all the players who have reported these issues! We really appreciate your help and feedback.

Much love <3,

The Carrier Command Developers



v1.4.3

Fix - Fixed drydock elevator navmesh not being targetable in VR
Fix - Enemy carriers no longer continue to product fleet ships after being destroyed
Fix - Fixed virus bots triggering a vehicle destroyed notification as well as a retired notification when retiring
Fix - Manta landing gear no longer clips through gear doors when retracted
Fix - Fixed vehicles appearing to be docked when being dropped by the crane even when undocking

It's time for the developers to showcase their latest additions to the game!

---

As you know, I’m very fond of making the universe bend to my will and its beings suffer as much as my superior intellect allows me to.

In my daily brainstorming of new methods and ways to do so, a genius idea came to my mind: “How about making my snail servants ridicule themselves? While I rejoice and watch their futile efforts from afar?

You have until November 4th, 9AM CST to come up with a silly montage/meme for WYS!
Create a montage/meme that puts our one and only Shelly in the most absurd, funniest of settings! You can use Photoshop, Paint, FireAlpaca, or any image editing software for the same purpose.

Post your creation on the #photosnail channel on our Discord server using the command !ps or !photosnail and be prepared to be judged by the supreme meme lord of all.

Here's an example to get your snail brains started:

• One submission per participant. Any additional submission will disqualify the participant;
  
• Use the template available here. You may reposition Shelly and/or resize the canvas, but Shelly’s body shape should remain the same;
  
• Your submission must be created by you, of course;
  
• Your creation should be one picture, and one picture only!
  
• Keep it civil, and respectful!
  
• The submission deadline is November 4th, 9 AM CST;
  
• Submit your creation on the channel #photosnail channel over our Discord server using the command !ps or !photosnail;
  
• The voting period will open after the submission period is done. Vote by reacting to the posts! Your reactions will help with the final judging. You can also talk about the submissions using threads (just like the feedback channels work).

Submissions will be judged by Jonas, the Community Management team, and the Discord Mods. The assets will be critiqued on the following:

• Originality and creativity;
  
• Rules validation;
  
• Reactions to the submission piece (which will be a strong factor in the judging process).

First place:

• Trophy Snail role;
  
• 12000 SquidBot EXP;
  
• 3x Will You Snail? Game Keys.

Second place:

• Trophy Snail role;
  
• 6000 SquidBot EXP;
  
• 2x Will You Snail? Game Keys.

Third place:

• Trophy Snail role;
  
• 3000 SquidBot EXP;
  
• 1x Will You Snail? Game Key.

Join our Discord server and awaken the meme lord that slumbers in you, and may the ones who awake the evil laugh in me win.

The One and Only True Master of the Universe,
Squid

Like rain, snow is also created procedurally. Also, as in the case of rain, it is reproduced as real as possible. However, what distinguishes it from rain is the intensity. You can come across a light dry dust or a real blizzard. Therefore, a shelter should be built for such accidents. It is worth mentioning that the roof will fully protect you. So that it is not boring, snow can be together with rain. Currently, snow is only a visual effect. In the future, we may develop it with new mechanics. Perhaps it will be a separate DLC, who knows.

Dress warmly and see you next time.

Yours,
Desand Game Studios "Dreamhouse: The Game" Team


Join us and talk about the game in the growing community of Architects:

Slice your way to spooktacular prizes with our Pumpkin Carving Contest! Follow the steps below to prove your pumpkin prowess and win prizes fit for a Pumpkin King:

• Take a picture of your pumpkin before you begin!
• Carve a unique jack o'lantern.
• Snap a pic of your creepy creation.
• Post both photos in the Contest Discord Channel before November 6 (23:59 CEST).

Invite your friends to rate your work—every “thumbs up” counts! The final result will be determined by both the ratings and our jury.

The rewards up for grabs for the top three best pumpkins include Sovereigns, Plague Doctor Hero Attire, and Pumpkin Heads.

Make your pumpkin cute, creepy, or chilling—just be careful with the carving knives!

Greetings esteemed wizards,

Today we are going to talk a bit about combat and some of the things we do to make it more interesting.
Turn-based combat is at the heart of our battles and especially for a brand that has so far had real-time strategy at its core, it was important for us to make them turn-based but fast-paced, while at the same time providing a certain tactical depth.

One of the things we did to achieve that is, that while we limit the number of units in battle (you start out with stacks of up to 5 different units, but during the game expand to up to 8), we provide over 60 different hand-crafted battlefields allowing us to make terrain and cover an integral part of many of them. Thinking about where to engage enemies, how to minimize your frontline exposure (to prevent you suffering flanking attacks) or which unit to use to tank means every battlefield is different for you from the outset, setting us apart from more traditional instanced battles where you simply have rows of units being pitted against each other. Add to that the special skills for many of our units (which gain new key skills every 5 Levels as they progress) which can add new tactical options, such as ignoring zones of control, blinding enemies, volley shots and armor piercing or increasing certain damage types from elemental to white or death damage to damage against certain types of enemies, you have quite a mix.



Getting the AI to understand and use a wide range of possible option was one of our challenges – especially with regards to how it uses terrain to its advantage but allows us to make even battles with relatively few units require some thinking from our players. In the below case, the AI defended a village but moved out and up on the elevated position to shoot missile on the player forces. And since the map has an added feature effect called “snipers” damaging attackers every turn, the Ai decided to wait our troops out.



Now the player needs to find solutions beyond simply waltzing up to the enemy and letting loose with the apprentice’s spells. (We got the AI to split forces by smashing the village gate and feinting an attack from the left while baiting the defenders with a weak unit to the right in case you were wondering. Then goblin shaman gave berserker ‘shrooms to everyone so they heal a bit and do some extra damage, meaning they could soak up the defender’s initial volley and then go into melee.)

Another thing that we do slightly differently is our action system that offers more than just a way to tell you how many attacks your units can do and which we are going to take a closer look into next time.
In the meantime, if you have any questions on the game, feel free to hop on the SpellForce discord where we have a sub-channel or let us know here on Steam!