Happy Holidays everyone. Here’s the a0.9 build. It’s about a year late, and we are truly sorry for that, but sometimes, a major rewrite is needed (in retrospect, it’s up for debate). For players updating from a0.87, this is pretty much a new game. Everything has been changed over the last year. This build is a bit rushed, so we expect there to be bugs. We’ll straighten these out over the next two weeks. From now on, we’ll be updating directly to the release build instead of the beta. We will be releasing a new demo based on the a0.9 build within the next two weeks as well.

A0.9 Changelist
Fixed turrets not firing at enemies sometimes
Fixed turrets not firing when not hit by an enemy
Fixed jetpack animation
Fixed NPCs not returning after chasing an enemy
Fixed grenade projectile motion
Fixed giant robot enemy weapons projectile motion
Fixed ISOs disappearing after entering model scene
Fixed Paja creation error in the desert
Fixed world map not displaying anything in Adventure Mode
Fixed turrets filling up durability after being picked up
Fixed multiple colony UI bugs
Fixed herbs adding full HP
Fixed NPC spawning twice in camp
Fixed repair machines not using resources
Fixed kicking out NPC from colony and having the NPC disappear
Fixed issue where some scripts can’t be learned
Fixed issue of being able to pick up the ladder while on it
Fixed problems with bird projectiles
Fixed issue with NPCs not stopping for conversation in Adventure Mode
Fixed fertilizer gun projectile
Fixed issue with andhera not being scared of light
Fixed issues with respawning a follower
Fixed issue with NPCs waiting for food at the colony warehouse
Fixed issue with follower’s HP not being full at the start
Fixed issue with not being able to assign NPCs to some colony functions
Fixed multiple coop Story mode bugs
Changed the arrow hit effect
Changed comfort level lowering speed
Changed custom axe orientation
Changed the range of looting for follow player camera mode
Changed grenade throwing animations
Tweaked weapons collision
Tweaked vehicle driving controls
Tweaked animal attack timing
Tweaked shield sizes for colony
Tweaked some story missions for better presentation
Tweaked number of herds spawning
Added animal area attacks hurting over animals nearby
Added Puja camps to Adventure Mode
Added new medicines
Added a new prompt when trying to learn scripts that’s already been learned
Added NPCs putting weapons away when out of ammo
Added random color to NPC hair
Added random color for NPC skin
Added UI element for picking droppings
Added new story missions
Added a new story scene
Added randomized animal sizes
Added the Trade Post for colony in Story Mode
Added diplomacy to Story Mode
Added playable single player custom maps
Added scenario editor to the World Editor
Added ability to plant any object and AI in the World Editor
Added new missions in Adventure Mode

We’re in the final stretch for a0.9, with this build we’ve added in a couple more key elements of that build, which are Story mode coop and the completion of all colony buildings. Right now we’re waiting on the completion of multiplayer custom maps and world editor story editing features, as well as several art assets for the story. Alien, Animal, and NPC behavior and animation will also see a significant upgrade before a0.9 comes out.

A0.89 Changelist

Fixed issue with bury dead mission
Fixed issue with NPCs wondering off and disappearing
Fixed issue with NPCs falling into the ground
Fixed issue with NPCs not responding right away when attacked
Fixed issue with the replicator not being able to replicate multiple objects
Fixed issue with AI position inconsistency in mutiplayer
Fixed issue with player position inconsistency in mutiplayer
Fixed issue with Repair Machine display
Fixed issue with player equipment UI tearing
Fixed issue with digging effects not displaying
Fixed issue with NPCs appearing in water in Adventure Mode
Fixed issue with andhera effect
Changed the amount of NPCs appearing in Adventure Mode
Changed the distance bosses appear in Adventure Mode
Changed NPC shooting accuracy to less than 100%
Changed NPC behavior so that they don’t just rush large bosses
Changed the pixel light count to a max of 50 in options
Changed mineral display colors in the scanner
Changed camera mode to F5, continue to press to change modes
Changed water fog to a lower level
Optimized NPC creation
Added ability to change hotkeys
Added new custom armor specs for materials
Added new custom parts for bow, laser rifle, and ax
Added coop for story mode (with bugs)
Added custom armor to multiplayer
Added robot enemies in GRV mission with new attacks and animation
Added robot enemies to other missions with new attacks and animation
Added UI display for picking things up and talking to NPCs
Added the drill
Added new story missions that extends beyond what’s in a0.87
Added food and sleep affecting HP, stamina, and comfort
Added durability for items
Added Training Facility to colony (able to train soldiers now)
Added new bird animations
Added new animals with new behavior and new animations
Added damage to building blocks and terrain from enemies
Added invincibility when getting up
Added new buff icons

We’re getting into the final month before the a0.9 update. Lots of things to do and build, but overall, we’re getting ever closer. In this build, the biggest update is the ability to export custom armor. There are still some small problems here and there, but overall it works pretty well. We’ll be adding in custom armor stats over the next few updates. We’ve also gave aerial enemies a lot more punch. In the next build, we’ll also try to give you a look at co-op story mode, as well as more robot bosses.

Here’s a familiar custom armor made by a player:

Changelist:

Fixed player position consistency in multiplayer
Fixed NPC falling to the ground in cliff mission
Fixed issue with freezing animal group behavior
Fixed disease cool down time issue
Fixed issue with water display
Updated pathfinding programming, allows for differences between small and large animals
Added new bird behavior and animation
Added new Paja robot animation, effects, and behavior
Added building damage
Added the chainsaw and related animation
Added some new animation for first person view
Added NPC wait and run behavior
Added some new AI skills
Added animal droppings
Added custom armor export (single player only)
Story can now proceed all the way to GRV ship

We waited a couple of weeks for Unity to fix a crash bug in 5.2, but it’s still not released yet, so we’ll just go ahead and release the current build rolled back to 5.0. This build added several things that players have been looking forward to, the most important being the first person view. This isn’t complete yet in this build, we’ll still be adding in first person specific animation in future builds. Next we’ve added back in the bird enemies with new behavior and animation, again, this isn’t complete, we have a lot more behavior sets and animations to add. It does give you a pretty good idea where birds will end up. With birds in the game, we’re almost done streamlining the storyline to where we can start adding in new missions and contents. We’re still on course to have a0.9 out by late November.

Changelist:

Fixed issue with NPC skills saving in multiplayer
Fixed issue with multiplayer AbnormalCondition
Fixed issue with IK and effects being at the wrong place
Fixed issue with colony storage and items bag not synchronizing
Fixed issue with NPC original clothing disappearing after putting on new clothing
Fixed issue with NPC not able to change cloth after a few changes of clothing
Fixed issue with not being able to learn new skills in the skill tree
Fixed issue with NPC changing jobs
Fixed issue with colony UI
Changed player attack animation and feel
Changed Items UI icons
Changed Character UI setup
Optimized grass generation, at least 20% faster
Optimized Character UI rendering
Added NPC being able to sleep to regain stamina in colonies
Added NPC skills (go gather, go hunt, etc)
Added NPC in colony jobs being affected by their skill sets
Added first person view, press F3 (no first person animation yet)
Added new aerial enemy behavior and animation
Added the medical facility to the colony
Added random diseases
Added the ability to form teams in multiplayer survival mode

This one took us a while, there were several bugs and efficiency problems forcing our attention. We fixed the cave pathfinding and NPC generation causing frame drops, and there are several more areas that we plan to look at to solve other stuttering issues. One major concern is that our current pathfinding is not only pretty bad, it’s also very resource intensive. We’re going about writing a whole new pathfinding system for our game, we can’t promise it’ll solve all the problems with AI, but it’ll be much better than what’s there now. For our next build, we’ll have new air enemy combat behavior, the medical facility for colony, most of the old animals back in, custom armor, NPC skills, and maybe an early form of first person camera. Also, if you want to see what we have left/are working on for A0.9, look here.

Changelist:

Fixed issue with ragdoll bouncing
Fixed issue with NPCs disappearing when logging on/offline
Fixed issue with auto reload
Fixed issue with pathfinding efficiency in caves
Fixed issue with spider web not disappearing
Fixed issue with dialogue not appearing after mission complete
Fixed issue with dialogue not leading to new mission
Fixed issue with Gerdy’s rest position
Fixed issue with mission icon size
Fixed issue with cutscenes generating enemies
Fixed issues created by random maps’ height configuration
Fixed issue with monorail creation
Fixed issue with efficiency
Changed logic for moving items out of bags
Changed vehicle consistency logic for multiplayer
Changed combat collision
Changed the balance of some of the Creation System’s addons
Optimized random NPC generation
Added the ability for players to attack NPCs in multiplayer
Added animals in forest and desert
Added the Processing Facility to the colony buildings (NPCs can now go out and gather for you!)
Added birds (no combat or new animations yet)
Added new gun grips to the Creation Editor
Added in optional skill tree leveling for Adventure Mode
Added in vehicle aiming HUD (press Z/X to lock and fire)
Added in layering for hit detection allowing for different damages to different parts of the body (will allow different damage from different weapons as well once we enter the numbers)
Added custom armor creation in the Creation Editor (cannot export yet)

We tried to get a couple of things into this build but failed, so they’re for the next build. First is the (optional) level up skill tree for Adventure mode, second are several new weapon parts for the Creation Editor. At the end of this build, we ran into a few problems with AI pathfinding optimization, that’s what caused the delay. The problem still persists in the form of frame rate drops when loading AI, we’re going to fix that in the next build.

A lot of players have asked us about when we’re moving forward with the story. Well, we’re actually mainly focused on the story, it’s just that there are so many moving parts and the story mode is the culmination of these parts. Once we have most of the AI and special events written completely, then story will go from start to finish without a hitch. The end part of the story needs new AI systems or they won’t work (you know, the part about befriending or warring against…). Due to the AI being a bottleneck for our game, we’ve already put 3.5 programmers on this task.

For the next build, we’re going to put in more animals, flying AI, better NPC AI, level up skill tree, updated battle/hit system, and perhaps an early form of the custom armor. Speaking of custom armor, here’s a preview:

A0.886 Changelist

Fixed issue with the “complete mission” UI not following the NPC
Fixed issue with not being able to get a mission through a story scene
Fixed issue with NPC getting stuck for rescue Rol mission
Fixed issue with missions where all NPCs need to arrive at a point to continue
Fixed issue with hatred transferring in multiplayer
Fixed issue with AbnormalCondition in multiplayer
Fixed issue with AI spawning in multiplayer
Fixed issue with follower story NPC always attacking an AI
Fixed issue with items disappearing from storage boxes after loading saves
Fixed issue with the town display icon being wrong
Fixed issue with the town display icon being at the wrong place
Fixed issue with pressing ESC causing some UI functions to stop
Fixed issue with cylindrical blocks displaying incorrectly
Fixed issue with F2 display mode where the mouse doesn’t appear after pressing the ESC key
Fixed issue with recovering blocks throwing an error
Fixed issue with player locations not saving on large world map
Fixed issue with world map not centering on player during initialization
Fixed issue with auto turrets not shooting down an incline
Fixed issue with bed UI blocking off other UI after it’s closed
Fixed issues with colony building repair
Fixed issue with colony NPC head display
Fixed issue with enhancing flare, stun, and blaster throwing an error
Fixed issue with mission display
Fixed issue with the NPC being bartered with walking away
Fixed issue with ash box being recognized as an item
Fixed issue with cutscene display time
Changed digging block brightness
Changed the frequency in which random loot appears
Changed the way VTOL and ships control
Changed some of the building UI so that they fulfill skill tree limitations
Changed a couple of animations for female character
Optimized AI Behavior
Added the player oxygen display
Added Trade Post building to colony
Added UI windows location saving
Added cave animals
Added basic cave pathfinding
Added submarine part to Creation Editor (controls like VTOL in reverse)
Added a couple of cutscenes
Added more animations to current animals
Added 8 animals
Added spider web effect to Andhera Queen mission

We had some more bugs last week, causing a slight delay to this build. For the next build, we’re focusing on flying AI, NPC AI, more animals, more prefabs in the Creations Editor, and more colony options. We’re also starting work on the first person mode.

Changelist

Fixed issue with dodging and getting collision damage
Fixed issue with lack of oxygen regen when reviving in water
Fixed issue with AIs dealing damage after death
Fixed issue of digging area and UI area not being consistent
Fixed issue with fertilizer sprayer using bullets
Fixed issue of player sliding on incline
Fixed issue of not being able to walk backwards onto an incline when equipped with a gun
Fixed issue with rain sound effect loudness not being controlled from options
Fixed issue with scripts being allowed to relearn multiple times
Fixed issue with AI spawning that causes crash
Fixed issue with picking up turrets while firing causing an error
Fixed issue with item count for item missions
Fixed issue with “build a communications array” mission
Fixed issue with item count in build missions
Fixed issue with transparency when up close
Fixed issue of not being able to pick up some items after placing them
Fixed error with the solar charger being able to duplicate items
Fixed issue with words extending too far in the Mission Goals UI
Fixed issue of story drops not appearing
Fixed issue of AI leg IK not sticking to the ground
Fixed issue with punching animation under water
Fixed issue of standing half in water and not being able to jump
Fixed issue of water plane being too high when swimming
Fixed issue of items for a NPC not charging when not displayed as equipment
Fixed issue with irregular animation when picking object with weapon in hand
Fixed error when saving an ISO in the build mode
Fixed errors with build mode when selecting shape and material
Fixed issue with the repair machine not being able to fix items
Fixed issue with NPC running out of the mission area sometimes during a story mission
Fixed issue with not knowing if a story NPC has already been recruited into the colony
Changed the amount of minimum distance for jumping and falling even without start speed
Changed the animation for chopping trees
Changed the area and damage from pick axes
Changed the camera when in digging mode so that it doesn’t shake
Changed the default brush in build mode to the selection tool (so you can point, drag, lift)
Changed the lock on and fire for missiles to the Z and X keys
Changed some of the initial equipment for storyline NPCs
Optimized UI code
Added IK effects to using tools or weapons
Added AI GroundIK
Added recoil animation for guns
Added help images to when first using vehicles
Added directional arrows on small map for mission guidance
Added vehicle control tips UI
Added VTOL crafts in the Creation Editor (again with new physics)
Added boats to the Creation Editor
Added being able to revive followers
Added 7 forest animals to Story Mode
Added basic AI herds
Added trade post building to the colony
Added the ability for the flash light to point to where the mouse pointer is
Added damage animation to player
Added the ability to hide some equipment when in a vehicle (such as pick axe)
Added invincibility when performing the dodge animation
Added random treasure boxes to Adventure Mode
Added auto speeches for Story Mode
Added NPC likability settings with over NPCs
Added hotkeys for brush selection in build mode
Added the most used materials to the build mode quickbar

There were too many bugs with last week’s build, by the time we fixed most of the bugs it was Wednesday, so we went ahead and merged it with this week’s build. For the next week, we’re focusing on fixing/adding digging, building (trying to simplify some of the operations), VTOL, forest AI, colony trading post, and UI.

We’ve also started work on Coop Story Mode, which is pretty much one of the most wanted from players. This will take about 2 months (or sooner). We’re also working on using FMOD for all the sound effects, this will take much longer, but from some tests, this will be very good for our game.

Changelog

Fixed Puja attack error
Fixed position of player when in vehicle
Fixed and changed the area of digging
Fixed issue of superspeed when jumping with a jetpack
Fixed issue of climbing animation when reaching the top
Fixed issue where some story NPCs don’t appear
Fixed issue where some ISOs don’t show an UI when clicked
Fixed issue where custom items cannot be picked up
Fixed issue where items get lost when moving from the Colony storage to personal items
Fixed several colony UI bugs
Fixed issue of not being able to talk with NPCs after loading
Changed the distance of scavenging animal bodies
Fixed repair machine and solar charger errors
Fixed issue where a game can be loaded from a blank save
Fixed issue with follower UI
Fixed issue with Adventure Mode shops and currency
Fixed error with pressing B
Fixed issue where loading can get stuck on 100%
Fixed the rotation of the shield handle in the Creation System
Fixed issue where the player pauses for a moment after the turning animation
Changed the attack animation of the player
Changed some calculations to allow the hit rate for the player to be higher
Fixed issue where the muzzle effect is away from the gun when moving
Changed the collision layer of some small animals to allow a greater hit rate
Fixed issue of player movement anomalies after changes to the host server
Fixed issue with fast travel in multiplayer
Fixed issue with server data packets
Fixed issue with random NPC shapes in multiplayer
Got rid of auto reviving after reloading a save where the player’s dead
Fixed issue with turrets not receiving damage
Fixed issue with NPC following the player
Fixed issue with Workshop UI not working correctly
Changed UI location of followers
Fixed sleep UI, can now select length of sleep
Fixed issue with deducting monorail parts in Build Mode
Fixed issue with laser turret energy turning to zero when picked up
Fixed issue with random NPC auto revive time
Fixed issue with guns not having bullets when equipped
Fixed issue of player still able to use items after death
Fixed issue of player falling through the map in multiplayer
Fixed issue with large map in multiplayer
Added turret disappearing after total damage
Optimized Replicator UI, much faster now
Optimized UI display speed
Added mouse button display when mousing over pickable items
Added player draining oxygen in water (still needs UI display)
Added player damage from falling
Added player gaining hp at rest
Added more types of fish
Added long range attacks for Puja aliens
Optimized how aliens are created
Optimized how animals are created
Changed the physics system for vehicles, easier to control
Added NPC shop logos
Added staggered items in shops, players can now buy multiple items at once
Random NPC now have more than just one look
Colony buildings can now come under attack in single player
Colony NPCs can now be selected as followers
Added sound and visual effect to learning a script
Added help windows to Gerdy’s talk at the start of the game
Added new buildings to the Martian Colony in Story Mode
Added energy shield blocking projectiles

To play this, you will need to opt into the beta branch. We have a bunch of animals with new behavior trees ready to go back in, just waiting for some outsourced animations to come back. VTOL and boats are going in next as well, then we can move on to the new stuff in the Creation Editor.

Changelist:

Fixed issue with NPC walking speed and animation not matching
Fixed issue with player hand at wrong position on object
Fixed issue with NPC not getting up after reviving
Fixed issue of not able to dig in Build Mode
Fixed issue of not getting up after reviving if carrying custom weapon
Fixed issues of some Layerback attacks not able to hit
Fixed issue of clock not moving after loading game
Fixed issue with item cool down time
Fixed issue with autosave
Fixed issue with the solar charger and repair machine disappearing after loading
Fixed issue with the mission UI window not positioning right
Changed the currency in Adventure mode
Changed the range where the player can pick up monster drops
Optimized UI windows
Fixed issue where the Replicator displays the wrong numbers
Fixed character head display issues in the UI
Temporarily stopped vehicles from collision damage (due to multiplayer issue)
Fixed issue where some animal attacks were not initiated
Fixed issue where some animals enter attack mode too slowly
Fixed issue with Adventure Mode generating too many random NPCs
Fixed issue with alien camps displaying the wrong texture
Added tool tips to the Build System UI
Changed the transparency of the UI blocks in the Build System
Fixed issue of unlimited materials when clicking undo in the Build System
Fixed issue where pressing ESC exits the Build System
Tweaked the position of player when entering multiplayer
Added NPC revive in multiplayer
Fixed issue with monster drops in multiplayer
Fixed issue with using materials when in the Build System
Fixed issue with displaying uncharted territory
Added doors, beds, lights, and custom objects in the Creation Editor
Added ability to learn mineral scanner scripts
Added some fish types

A small patch.

Changelist:

Added the hotkey “j” for the Creation System
Fixed issue of unable to place colony core in Build mode
Fixed issue of after exiting from Build mode items not tallying correctly in other modes
Fixed issue of NPC movement speed
Fixed issue of player hands on wheels in a vehicle
Fixed issue of unable to talk with NPCs in multiplayer
Fixed issue of NPC dying and popping up the interact window in multiplayer
Fixed issue with gathering items and displaying information