Quite a lot to digest on this one, so let's just dig into it.
Major things for you guys is now you get a stronger save system (it even does 2 backups, not just 1) and some major buffs to staff.
Also, there is a new menu with some nice QOLs that we noticed you guys asking for (and even creating mods for it, so special thanks to the mod community for the extra inspiration to get us to create these.)
Improvements in pathfinding for visitors and staff
"Wishlist now" button removed from main menu (yes, we all missed it for over a week)
Made it impossible to build anything on the street level (outside of the park)
Fixed an issue that would cause janitors to get stuck
Fixed a bug that in some situations could make visitors' clothes...well... disappear
Major improvements (almost a rework to be honest) in the saving system to make it even more sturdy and less likely to corrupt
Added new instructions messages in case something is wrong with the save file
Buffed the precision of staff
Made the efficiency % of staff more logical for their levels (which means they got buffed)
Raised the minimum % efficiency from 45 to 75 % for level 1 employees (max 100)
Improved messages in case of staff failing a task
Decoration points improved in many items
Many task list requirements were reworked and improved for the player
Improved hunger and thirst levels of visitors
Reduced prices of restocks
The ice-cream stand's price has been reduced
Increased probability of Smelly guests spawning
Changed "the bigger they are" achievement to be easier to obtain
New Accessibility menu, which allows players to disable ragdoll on double jump, disable running VFX, and less slipping on puddles for the player
Added Tarvis (the name of our studio CEO) as a possible employee (yes, you can boss them around now)
Working on Rich presence for Discord status (first version, but you can already show your friends what you are doing in-game via Discord status) Special mention to QXRR since they beat us to it with their mod
EXTRA NOTE - As we wrote this, we discovered some vials from the smart guy were spawning under the floor. The task mission is still possible, but we will patch this as soon as possible
We are already working on not only fixing some issues mentioned by you all, but also adding new features. So stay tuned.
Thanks for all the support, and remember, if you have an idea, feedback, or bug you want to share, feel free to use our Steam community hub or Discord. We are always there to listen and chat with you. https://steamcommunity.com/app/3293260/discussions/
NOTICE - We sometimes might release very small updates to solve 1 or 2 more urgent issues that appeared and not release a patch note for those immediately but add them to bigger update patch notes on following updates
While playing in the forest, you may now stumble across unusual piles of dirt. If you dig up these piles, you may find treasure chests, rare golden treats, angry stone crabs, or even a golden stone crab that will drop rare materials and a guaranteed Unique item!
Meelu now has a Stash in his bedroom where he can store extra gear and consumables.
You can now mark gear as Locked or Junk. Locked gear cannot be salvaged or dropped.
Added a Salvage All option for all Junk gear, which is selected by default.
Added tooltips for Alteration Stats, Game Difficulty option, and a few other places.
You can use the Unstuck button in Options -> Misc if you find yourself trapped somewhere.
Fixed a pathfinding issue for monsters in some tower configurations.
Fixed issue with Special Abilities associated with Unique items disappearing from your Hotbar.
Fixed weapon remaining in Swap Slot when points are taken out of Weapon Swap Mastery.
Fix for sometimes appearing in a black screen when falling asleep in the forest.
And additional minor fixes.
Welcome to Community Patch #2!
Thank you all for your feedback — it helped us shape this update.
Visuals: improved post-processing and a colder (gray) palette where weapons, enemies, and interactive objects stand out.
Perks: reworked system — each vending machine now has its own perk. There are 4 machines, so 4 perks.
UI (QoL): added hints showing which perks can stack (be used repeatedly) and which cannot.
Maps: expanded to give you more space, plus a progression system for unlocking parts of the map with money.
Fix: resolved a bug that affected how enemies inside interiors were displayed.
Developing Eternity has been an amazing ride. Creating a strategy game, even a small one like this, has been a long-standing dream, and seeing it come to life has been a real privilege.
And then there’s all the great input from you: players who enjoy strategic, emotionally engaging games where conscience plays a role alongside planning skills. So far, the discussions have been insightful and constructive. You’ve pointed out issues, opportunities, and perspectives we never would have considered on our own. For that, we give you our deepest thanks, for your support and for taking the time to share your feedback!
Building a game like this is a real challenge, even at the “indie” scale. There are countless systems, mechanics, content pieces, artwork, and more to add, test, validate, redo, and then… redo again.
That being said, we thought it would be interesting to share the current state of the project and give you a realistic glimpse of what’s coming
Let's start with the past. What is done and playable right now?
Linked Resources for Life Support. Oxygen consumes water to generate, water consumes oxygen, and food consumes both. Power keeps the generators running. An automatic system redistributes resources across the fleet to the ships that need them most.
Mining. The game spawns asteroid fields with resources on them. They are finite. Some resources can be mined right at game start, others require tech unlock to be harvestable.
System jumps. When the fleet or a self-sustaining ship reaches a Jump Gate, it activates and provides the list for linked solar systems. Each system jump has a Hyperdrive Fuel cost.
Fleet movement. Ships move around, avoid obstacles, dock in planetary orbits, can be deployed in “cinematic” mode (zoomed in, detailed) or normal.
Life Support Shortage Consequences. Having zero of a resource and not being able to restock from the fleet, leads to dramatic consequences for your ships and crew.
Ship Modules. In Eternity, everything a ship does is thanks to a specific module that has been installed. So, it is possible to add, remove or research new modules to add to ships.
Crew Management. Players can transfer crew between ships or they can allocate them to operating ship modules.
Debris Salvage. Any debris from ships, stations or of unknown origin can be searched for salvage, enabling players to retrieve precious Refined and Fabricated Materials. This is done using a Salvage ship, for which we haven’t completed the final asset yet, so, a placeholder is in the game.
R&D. The tech unlock system is fully functional. Techs are available for research, unlocking new Functionalities, Systems, Ship Modules or Upgrades for existing ones. The current layout is placeholder, but the final one is being worked on.
Next is what is currently being worked on:
Producing the final Tech Tree screen. It will accommodate all the tech categories and more technologies to unlock, as well as some new surprises.
Adding more Techs (unlocks, upgrades, blueprints) and Ship Component Blueprints, to the game. The goal is to allow mining more Raw Resources, more Refining Recipes, more Fabrication Blueprints and Starting ship components in the category of Life Support and Scanners.
Adding the final asset for the Salvage ship. While the 3D model is the definitive one, it is still missing textures and VFX.
Producing the final Cargo Hold Management screen. Each ship has its own cargo hold, which can store any resource in the game. Resources can be transferred among ships and they stack automatically. While this system has been operational for a while, it lacks a polished UI and integration with the rest of the management interface. Working on it ;)
Producing the final Management Screen. This interface groups all the functionalities to manage the fleet as whole and ships in particular, from adjusting life-support production, to transferring crewmen between ships, adding new modules, etc. While these functionalities have also been available for a while, the time has come to set them in the final structure for that interface.
Producing the final Production Screen. This interface allows switching between Refinery and Factory ships, check what recipes are available to each one, initiate refining of resources, manufacturing items and managing those processes (start, pause, cancel). This system is also functioning for a while, but the screen was a blockout. About high time to move it to a new design!
Finally, this is what the Near Future holds:
Solar System Exploration. Solar Systems will have three states; Explored (everything is visible, all data is known), Identified (some chunks are visible, some data is known) and Unknown (nothing is known). Players will deploy probes, move the fleet and deploy System Scanners (for celestial bodies), Mineral Scanners (asteroid fields) and Ship Transponder Scanners (debris and wrecks) to map solar systems.
Exploration. Planets, space stations and ship wrecks can be explored for resources ,lore, new ships, blueprints, maps or even people. Each also has randomly assigned Hazards (that make sense for their context) that will hinder player’s efforts. In return, players will set away crews, gear them up to face any hazards and deploy them for some time. The longer the away team stays (up to a limit), the larger and better the rewards, if it stays to end, the player takes full-control of whatever he was exploring.
Random and Narrative Events phase 1. Players will be presented with decisions, their choices will start shaping the course of their own story, unforeseen predicaments will prompt for some tough calls. This iteration will focus around Ethical Survival Choices, Cosmic Events, Maintenance Events (boons and banes) and some Aspects of Narrative.
Content pass 2 and 3: Add more blueprints, unlockable technologies, ship components and ships into the game. These two passes will occur at different times and essentially expand the breadth of what the player can do in the game.
Fleet Politics. With the advent of Ethical Survival Choices and some Aspects of Narrative, it will be possible to introduce a number of features concerning the day-to-day life of the fleet. It starts with Laws of Governance, where players can issue regulations that shape the way their fleet society works. This leads to random Fleet Factions (like Unions, Authoritarian, Religious, Democratic, etc.) forming and random Faction Leaders arising. Players will be able to mute the importance of some of these elements (or maybe even disable them?), if they prefer to focus on other aspects of the game.
Diplomacy/Combat. With Military ships and military ship components (like reinforced hull armor and weapons that can be mounted on civilian ships), players will be able to transform their fleets into a fierce combat force that can be used for self-defense or as a band of space marauders. Attacks from pirate and raider fleets will be a hazard. There are also other “mixed” fleets seeking survival, such as the player’s. However, with the introduction of Diplomacy, there are plenty of alternatives to combat in the game. Players will be able to convince other survivors to join their fleets or to do entire playthroughs without firing a single shot. They can also use tech upgrades to avoid enemy fleets altogether.
This is where we stand right now. It’s an exciting journey, and we can’t wait to share more of Eternity with all of you!
Stay frosty!
