Hello all!

The day is finally here. After nearly 6 years of development, Final Factory has been released in Early Access!

It's been my life's dream to release a game, and it is utterly surreal as a developer to have finally reached this goal. Building Final Factory brought me to the very edge of my sanity and my ability as a developer and artist; it has been, by far, the hardest thing I've ever done. But game dev is my true passion in life, and it has brought me great fulfillment to build the game, despite the relentless nature of the work and grind.

Final Factory development began in 2018 after playing Factorio for countless hours and thus becoming indoctrinated into the automation genre. For the next 4 years, I toiled away in my spare time before finally quitting my software dev job in 2022 to pursue development full time, once I felt like I had something real on my hands.


Shot of Final Factory (then called Astero) in 2019

Final Factory would not have been possible without my wife, who agreed to support us as I pursued this dream. My gratefulness to her cannot be overstated. She has been endlessly patient and supportive, even as I've put in many 90 work hour weeks.

My best friend Ches joined me late in 2022 to help playtest. Eventually, he came on part time to help with development and game design. He's largely responsible for the tutorial and localization in the game, both of which are essential to the game's health and success.

Another close friend, Lothsahn, joined in 2023 part time to help with development as well. His contributions include refining the modding pipeline and massively improving the performance of the game, which, as we all know, is critical to an automation game. He's also fixed countless bugs and improved the quality of the codebase immensely.

Zayn Mufti came on as the composer in late 2022 as well, and has crafted an absolutely beautiful score that captures the soul of the game as I always imagined it.

And of course, I must mention my wonderful Discord community. Building this community has been one of the great joys of game development. We've cultivated a community of dedicated automation game lovers and sci-fi nerds that I couldn't be happier about.

I wanted to also make a special mention of one of our most important community members: Gherik. Gherik joined the playtest early last year and made huge contributions to feedback and bug fixing. He then became the game's first modder and was integral to the development and testing of the modding pipeline. Currently, he has many very useful mods available on the workshop!

There are so many other incredible playtesters that are listed in the game's credits as well. I love you all and cannot thank you guys enough.

Finally, I want to make one last acknowledgement to my friend Joe Bzdek, who worked with me for awhile early in the project and is a talented graphics engineer who created the Fog of War effect that we all love. He also helped develop the art-content pipeline, map generation, the player model, and the fleet logic.

Anyway, I've gone on long enough! Today, a dream is realized, and the factory must now grow.

/Slims

Almost two weeks ago we introduced you to the "A New Beginning" update and after a couple of days of your feedback and suggestions, we decided to temporarily revert it to give ourselves time to work on some of the more crucial changes. Since then we focused on the main points brought to us by the community, tested these changes in the public alpha, gathered more feedback and we are now ready to bring the update back once again!



Since this is a bit of an atypical situation, in this announcement you will find the full list of changes of this update in comparison to the first release of the "New Beginning" update, however, we do recommend you also take a look at the original announcement of the "New Beginning" update if you haven't already. You can access it here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2066020/view/4121429431236805606

• XP formula has been reverted back to what it was prior to the update;
  
• Both Curse and Endless scaling have been reverted to what they were prior to the update. Curses are still optional and use the new reward system. Overlord still works as in the original update, but with adjusted scaling to be similar to the old system;
  
• Removed block chance for Lords of the Void and Elites from curses, but increased the health and armor values to compensate;
  
• Lords of the Void still spawn one at a time, but the new Council of Lords curse works slightly different from before. Now it increases the number of active bosses by 1, and has 3 instances spread out across different tiers, so you can always have "all bosses enabled" regardless of the curse tier you are in;
  
• Curse Tier 7 now requires 6 curse intensity to be complete, making Ethereal Lords officially optional;
  
• Endless and Overlord still have limited scaling on Attack Speed and Movement Speed, and reduced the effects of Armor Penetration considerably as well;
  
• The central skill tree now gives you 10 rerolls/banishes/locks, up from 5;
  
• Dash cooldown reverted from 2.5 to 2 seconds. Movement speed is unchanged (as it was unchanged before as well);
  
• Most Summon skills have been buffed as they were performing worse than intended especially in higher curses;
  
• Removed distance based power ups from the pool, due to the challenge of informing exactly how they work;
  
• Added option to disable the new Death Effect;
  
• Changed how the Quality Standards rune works under the hood, it now gives you better chances of finding rare, epic and legendary power ups than without it;
  
• Fixed multiple issues regarding the "More Details" option on tooltips, which could be showing the incorrect scaling for multiple things like negative effects, buffs and what not in certain situations;
  
• Fixed an issue where entering a portal while mounted on the Panther and using the Ascended skin would soft-lock the game;
  
• Fixed an issue where the Matches tab of the Profile screen would not work for some players;
  
• Fixed an issue where Ethereal Bosses would not be removed in high Endless/Overlord cycles;
  
• Fixed an issue where certain ascension objects (like the Spellblade activation portal, or Beastmaster's tracks) could spawn inside a rock in the Scorching Valley;
  
• Fixed an issue where the Assassin's mission could take longer to be given to the player than intended;
  
• Fixed an issue where buffs such as Bloodlust would not benefit properly from some multiplicative bonuses such as Adaptive Empowerment rune;
  
• Fixed a couple of issues with gamepad navigation in the Profile screen;
  
• Fixed issue where selecting a power up could move the power up selection when using a controller;
  
• Fixed issue with the Vultures in the Frozen Wasteland, which could cause considerable performance degradation;
  
• Added Brutal to the description of Whirling Defense;
  
• Aelfraed now slows down during his Bladestorm;
  
• Achievements that reward Skins will now appear in the Characters tab;

First of all, we want to THANK YOU for all your support during this time. As a small team, it takes a lot of effort to be able to keep up with the community feedback in all channels, but it is something we have taken as a pillar of our development since the very beginning. It's not an easy task to process all this feedback and align it with our vision for the game, as very often different players will have opposite views on the same subject, but something we strive for at all times.

This update brings changes to a lot of existing systems and skills, and we know that change can be hard. Soulstone Survivors is still in Early Access, and we could just leave things as they are and rush to 1.0, just adding the bare minimum content promised in our original roadmap and call it a day. It would definitely be the safest and easiest path for us and the game would "be done" by now, however, that is not how we want to move the company forward. Since the beginning of Early Access we have put a lot of effort into improving and expanding the existing systems in the game because we want the core, the foundation of the game to be as solid as it can be, and this update is no different.

From here forward, you can expect pretty much all future updates to focus on new content. We are finally ready to look forward, there are still 7 new characters to come with yet another bunch of runes, skills and ascensions, game modes that alter considerably how you play the game, and tons of new challenges to be faced, loads of quality of life improvements... and with your help, Im sure we will get there.

Thank you once again for your support and feedback, we always want to deliver the best possible game and by seeing all the great support you have given us we feel even more motivated to continue our work!

Have a great day!



~Soulstone Steam

We hope this update finds you well! We’ve resolved a handful of softlocks that were causing issues for multiplayer and local games. We also fixed the online issue that was causing the Pass UI to bounce during Dungeon Traps. This update also cleans up a few UI issues that had crept in. Thanks again for everyone reaching out!

• Fixed a softlock that was occurring when defeating the Kraken in adventures that had been started with less than 4 adventurers.
  
• Fixed a softlock during the Kraken fight that would occur when one of the players was being held by a tentacle and the last free combat tile was filled with a summon and the released player had no tile to return to.
  
• Fixed a softlock that could occur when proccing a follower in a dungeon.
  
• Fixed a softlock that could happen if the Farmer proc’d Eager and Last Straw at the start of combat.
  
• Fixed a softlock that could occur if the ESC key was used during a refund focus event.

• Improved error messaging when trying to join a full lobby.
  
• Fixed the issue in trap phase where the Pass option couldn’t be selected and the UI would “bounce”. We also fixed the occurrences for softlocks that could sometimes happen in the next room after the Pass UI bounce.

• Fixed the issue with the Boner appearing in Kraken battles, and that pesky Kraken trying to break out of the sea into other combats.

• Fixed the issue where the Sheeps Taunt VFX weren’t being removed upon the Sheep’s death.
  
• Fixed the issue where proccing Herd in dungeon rest phase could result in riding the sheep.
  
• Cleaned up the combat encounter cam for Jellies.
  
• Improved the Shift More Info behaviour during loot phase.
  
• Improved the Goblin Merchant market flow where players couldn’t navigate players from right to left.
  
• Added back the Thorn Damage modifier icon.

Once you have updated your game with this hotfix, if you experience issues please let us know in the support channel on Discord so we can assist you.

All players will need to have updated to the latest build to play together in multiplayer.

We will continue to hotfix as we improve the game so please stay tuned for further updates.

Thank you for your continued support!

⚔️IronOak Games

Hotfix
Restart the game and steam to pick it up!

Hey Pinball Fans,

The Weekly Sale has reached our horrifying pinball platform!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2660540?utm_source=steamnews

Immerse yourself in the thrilling and suspenseful world of Universal’s 1982 classic film - The Thing Use your pinball skills and battle against the shape-shifting alien through the arctic chill of U.S. Outpost #31, now for 15% off.



Chilling table features:

- Survive the vicious attack of the Dog-Thing by shooting its tentacles.
- It’s Bennings! Watch him transform and torch what he becomes.
- You know you’re human, and some of your crew are still human too. Collect blood samples and shoot the reagent cartridge to reveal the impostor.
- We found something in the ice! Lock, then bust open the balls for BURIED IN ICE multi-ball.
- Rig your TNT to blow up the base and The Thing in a wild Wizard Mode.

Can you trust anyone, even yourself?

From Apr 9-23, Wraith, Wattson, and Ash light up the scene in new Legendary bundles with Legendary skins, matching weapons, and more!

The Witness’s forces swell across Sol in unparalleled numbers. The Vanguard calls upon all fireteams to regroup in the Last City. Join Shaxx and begin your combat training, Guardian. The time has come to stand and fight. 



Vanguard outposts are under siege. Build formidable defenses to repel waves of the Witness’s forces long enough for your allies to escape. Then turn the tide and take the fight to the enemy. 



Discover upgraded and redesigned icons of power with new perks and limited-edition ornaments to collect. Access to Shaxx’s personal armory of outlawed weaponry has been granted. 



Definitive challenges treasured by all who experience them; now updated with new quests, catalysts, craftable elements, and secrets to uncover. There is much power to wield in the galaxy. But there is none like this. 
April 9, 2024: The Whisper 
May 7, 2024: Zero Hour 



We find ourselves at an inflection point in the universe. Where the gift of time reveals a road lined with fabled missions and thrilling challenges. This road presents itself with the hope that all who travel it will emerge with new friends and unforgettable stories. 
Walk with us, Guardian. 



Claim this coveted shader, adopt a timeless look, and vanish between the stars. 



If history is to be made, let it be made by Guardians who fight in style. 

Time for another exciting installment in our Kickass Cameos collection, this time with Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom - an N64-inspired trippy arcade platformer with advanced moves but no jump button! It’s also our newly published game and a hell of a ride!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2011780/Yellow_Taxi_Goes_Vroom/

To celebrate its big release day, we brought some of Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom’s wackiest characters and visuals to Move or Die!

Yellow Taxi - A little sentient taxi created by Morio to fight against Tosla’s corruption. It goes Vroom!



Morio - The enigmatic creator of Yellow Taxi and a brilliant mechanic. He loves his grandma very much.



Besides the two new characters, we’ve also borrowed some cool cosmetics:

• A death splatter in the shape of a gear. (YTGV main collectible)
  
• A trail that goes Vroooom!
  
• A win-screen confetti featuring Retro Coins, to celebrate in style

To get your hands on this sweet crossover content, all you have to do is play and win online matches between April 9th and April 23rd. It's one item per win so you'll have to come up on top 5 times to get the whole bunch.

We're also offering a 75% discount on Move or Die to celebrate our little taxi's big day.

And because you made it this far, here’s a couple of free codes for your trip. ;)



Be back soon with more goodies!

Lil Gator Game is currently 40% off on Steam!

Climb, swim, glide and slide your way into the hearts of new pals! And save money while doing so! That's gotta be worth a wholesome lil adventure?



To celebrate, we're giving away our LAST EVER Lil Gator Plushie!



All you have to do is enter via Gleam for a chance to win!

Good luck and happy adventures!

Troopers! New developments are on the horizon! It has been highly anticipated and we want all troopers to ready themselves as we announce Update 0.7.0: The New Vanguard is set to launch on Wednesday, April 10th at 10 AM PST!

Keep communications clear and remain vigilant, troopers! Additional details will be disseminated very soon. Although there is a lot more Command has sent here is a summary of what troopers can expect regarding the next update.



Update 0.7.0 will introduce six new classes, replacing the Hunter, Operator, and Bastion. They feature unique abilities, perks, and weaponry both specific to those classes but, with enough time, can be taught to other troopers. With these new classes, we were required to implement an XP wipe although this should be the last time this occurs. We hope you enjoy what Federation R&D has been cooking and that you use it for good in demolishing the Bug menace!

We will be introducing a revamped Mission Selection Menu. We hope this ensures you can enjoy the 16-player experience Starship Troopers: Extermination aims to bring. We are also introducing a new ticket-based Reinforcement system. This comes from high up as the Federation cannot take too many casualties. Protect the Medic and make sure you work as a team so that everyone can make it to the dropship or Command will be forced to call the mission off.

Troopers can now progress their weaponry with Weapon Mastery allowing you to unlock new attachments and skins to show off to fellow comrades. Troopers can also now Re-enlist and serve the Federation once more like how a loyal trooper should. With re-enlistment, if you so choose, the Federation will provide new Custom Loadout Slots, Career Badges, and the ability to prove your mettle by going through the Ranks and Levels once more.

With every mission comes obstacles, and troopers will find in Update 0.7.0 the chance of encountering new Side Missions to aid the Federation's goal. There will also be two new World Events. Keep your eyes on the sky and seek cover if you need to, as plasma has no allegiance. But also be wary of the ground as we have heard rumblings of a Royal Guard wandering the battlefield.

Troopers come from all corners of the world, and we want troopers of all places to experience Starship Troopers: Extermination. With this update will be implementing Localization Support for a few additional languages! Join us today and show us what you got!

───

There is a lot more we'd like to share, and in due time we will. In response to your valuable feedback, we've implemented a plethora of Quality-of-Life changes, general tweaks and improvements to performance. Troopers also won't need to worry about their Federation-issued turret causing issues among the fireteam anymore... but they may need to worry about a new and dangerous foe.

Update 0.7.0 is the biggest update to date for ST:E, and we can't wait for you all to try it. We hope you all explore and become the trooper you wish to be as you join the New Vanguard. These pesky Bugs are none the wiser to what we're bringing to them, and we'll take these planets over from them as one! If you'd like to discuss the update with fellow troopers or us, the devs join us over at the ST:E Community Discord!