Hi people!

So, this is the last large content update for the 0.7 branch (minor bug fixing patches will still be released as need be). I will be moving toward 0.8 which will focus on procedural generation, the worldmap, and the game outside of the base building part proper.

In any case, this last update both redesign and add tons of content all over an expanded tech tree. I will go over the main changes in this article, but for a complete list, please refer to the changelog at the end of this article.

Recycling and Weaponry Repairs

Modern weapon and armor repairs/building has been completely overhauled. To repair a weapon (or armor) you no longer need 2 damaged ones. Instead you need one + gun or armor parts. Armor parts, like gun parts, can be acquired through looting and trading.



Additionally, a Recycling Bench has been added to the game. It can be used to recycle armors and weapons (damaged or not) into components, which in turn can be used to repair damaged weaponry.

As such, t is slightly easier to produce/repair modern equipement as a damaged G36 can be repaired from parts scavenged from other guns. Depending on how things go, i might tweak rarity and break rate accordingly.

Turret Overhaul

Both the associated tech tree and the turrets themselves have been completely overhauled.

Basic turrets can be researched a bit earlier than before (power + pipe weapons). Those turrets will use artisanal ammo and will need to be fueled by gasoline manually. With electronics and another rank in turrets you'll unlock more modern versions. Those can be connected to your electrical grid, require proper ammo (rifle ammo for rifle turret...), but are more resilient and do a lot more damage. By raiding a military base, you'll find research documents to build another military tier level of turrets which use electricty as ammo.



Additionally, turrets are built from generic "turret parts" (built at tinkering station) instead of having to build specific instances of each. And they have their own menu detailing the turret's HP, ammo and weaponry now.

All in all, turrets can be accessed earlier, but are more difficult to maintain (ammo, fuel). They can make for a decent early game defense (when you go through the pipe weapon branch instead of rushing tech) and it incentivize city map exploration in the late game. The ammo requirement also makes kill zones slightly more difficult to maintain.

Drones

This is still a tad experimental, but all in all it's working well enough to be added.



With advanced electronics, and later, robotics, you can build drones at your tinkering station from gun and turret parts. Drones behave like adoptable creatures. They can be assigned to one of your soldiers, will follow them around, actively hunt hostiles in range, and can be directly controled in combat mode. Menu-wise, they are handled exactly like pets (and might be still be referenced as animals left and right, I will be fixing that soon).

Balance Pass

Many price inconsistencies between items and their components have been fixed. A very low tier bed (wood + plant) has been added, recipes and features have been tweaked to make both the early and the end game more meaty. High caliber rifle ammo has been added as well, it is used by sniper rifles, and 30cal machine guns. As a result, ammo related techs have been slightly tweaked to accomodate for the new ammo type. I also made expeditions travel 2 times faster, because the default speed was definitely too slow.

Illnesses

Simply put, traits can be contagious now. For instance, the bad cough trait can be transmitted through conversations between your settlers and can evolve either in a benign common cold or a slightly more annoying flu.

Shamblers and tribals are infected by the newly introduced Pandemonium virus, succesful attacks from them might transmit the disease to your settlers, which in turn can transmit it during brawls. It is difficult to detect, even manually, and getting a cure (and toxin) will force you to explore nearby hospitals. Of course, this is just an introduction, more 'multi stage' ilnesses an afflictions will be progressively added.

Prisoners

You can now contact the raiders by radio and request prisoner traders. Additionally, if for a reason or another, you "happen" to detain prisoners from another major faction, it's possible to ransom them through the diplomatic screen.

User Interface

I put a lot of effort into standardizing the menus (title formating, item placement...), and making most of them more clear and informative. Same goes with item descriptions, tooltips, help-screens and the tutorial.



The first thing you'll notice is that the build and zone menus have been merged. Having two separate menus for zones and buildings didn't make much sense to begin with, and the recently improved build menu had more than enough room to accomodate the new category. As such the main game menu has been reorganized a bit, nothing major.



The depot menu has been clarified, detailed filter buttons are always visible, categories are color coded, and numbers have been added to represent the amount of items in each category. To access a depot's inventory, simply click on the cargo space gauge at the top.



The crafting menu has been cleaned up as well. Single recipe crafting stations (tanner, water purifiers, well..) got a simplified single screen version of it. The recipe selection sub menu is a tad different than before but functionality wise it's virtually identical.



The world map was slightly improved as well. Points of interest have icons showing if there are enemies and if it's a production center. It's also possible to switch between different filters (normal, map ownership, hostility, loot left).

The list is way too long to go over, but the goal was to make a more consistent UI while updating all tooltips and menu items to "current days".

Modder's Corner

Old turret format is now deprecated and will be phased out in 0.8. CattleAI is deprecated and will be phased out in 0.8. Please update your mods.

Addictions are partly implemented, refer to data/addictions (and alcohol items) for examples. Traits can now morph entities (and morphed entities can be attributed a new faction). Please refer to the sickness_pandemonium_tribal trait for example. Traits can be transmitted through conversation (only for now, I'll be adding more options soon), see sickness_cough for an example. RaceData files contain more details: PetRange (distance vs owner), PetProtectOwner (true/false), PetMourning (true/false), Aggressive (true/false), DirectControl (set if player get direct control of it during combat).

Finally, mods adding/altering languages, sounds and themes can now be added to the game. LUA integration got a facelift with a bunch of fixes and improvements.

Savegame Compatibility

This version should be compatible with saves dating back from 0.7.2 and over. Of course, the more recent the savegame the better, but generally speaking, it should work without too many problems.

One big exception, if you have turrets placed already: they *might* behave incorrectly until they get replaced by the new ones.

Closing Words

So, this was the last large 0.7x update. I still have some non-critical / rare bugs and issues to fix, which I'll go over through small patches, but all things considered I think the game is in a good place to transition to the next branch of development.

Next week, I will publish an article detailing the major features and improvements I'll be working on. Generally speaking, we'll be focusing on map generation, world map interactions and start up scenarios.

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this update :)

Full Changelog

[list]

AI: People will fetch all items they can before delivering them to a crafting station (like with constructions), reducing back and forth a lot.

Balance: Recipes to repair damaged armors use the new "armor parts" and 1 instance instead of 2 instances of the same item

Balance: Recipes to repair damaged weapons use gun parts and 1 instance instead of 2 instances of the same item

Balance: Most turrets require a steady supply of ammo now

Balance: Reorganized top part of the tech tree a bit

Balance: Doubled scavenging expedition base traveling speed

Balance: Ammo making technologies has 3 different tiers: basic (gun/shotgun), rifle (rifle/high caliber) and explosive (rockets/flamer/grenade rounds)

Balance: Cows give animal hides when butchered

Balance: Fixed "damaged" vs non damaged weapon and armor price and weight inconsistencies

Balance: Misc minor changes

Content: Added "Research Paper: Military Laser" scavenging only tech (found in military bases). Unlocks high tier weapon turrets.

Content: Added new and edited existing turrets

Content: Added "Turret parts" item, built at the tinkering station, used as a generic construction item for turrets

Content: Added "Armor parts" item, found while recycling damaged/existing high tier armors

Content: Added high caliber bullets (+ recipes), which are used with most sniper rifles and high cal machine guns

Content: Added recycling bench (under Electronics tech), used to disassemble items into lower tier components (damaged rifle -> gun parts + metal)

Content: Added powered ammo stations, can make high grade ammo and no longer need charcoal

Content: Added medical lab, requires power, can make serums and other advanced substances the medical station no longer can

Content: Added electric water purifier: can automatically converts dirty water from adjacent depots (same tech as electric kitchen)

Content: Added cheap tribal bed (mood penalty). Removed mood penalty from sleeping bags

Content: Added artisanal mines (pipe weapons tech, for now)

Content: You can buy and sell prisoners from/to the new random prisoner trader (random event)

Content: Added option in the dialogs with other main factions to ask for a ransom (assuming you have prisoners from the selected faction)

Content: Added option to request a prisoner trader when talking with the raiders

Content: Added recipes to produce booze in larger quantities

Content: New addiction mechanism: some consumable can be addictive, causing people to consume them independantly of settings and giving side effects when not available

Content: Beer and vodka are now addictive substances

Content: Added small (1x1, low production) and large (2x2 large production) variants to the still

Content: Added 'Nuky weed' seed/plant, used to produce slightly addictive consumables used for recreational purposes

Content: Added ability to build combat drones from turret and gun parts with the Advanced Electronics technology

Content: Added ability to build tesla drones from turret and gun parts with the Robotics technology

Content: Combat drones behave like aggressive "pets" for your survivors, and can be controlled directly in combat mode

Content: Bad cough is now a contagious trait, it spreads through conversations between npc and can lead to common cold (benign) or flu (slightly annoying)

Content: Added Pandemonium virus: transmitted by attacks from infected peoples, shamblers and tribals

Content: Added "Research Paper: Pandemonium" scavenging only tech (always found in hospitals). Leads, with Pharmacy, to...

Content: Added "Pandemonium Virus" technology: unlocks recipes in the medical station to cure and infect people with the Pandemonium virus.

Content: Added "Bones" (generated by butchering cattle): used to make bone statues at the crafting station, can also be used to make bow and crossbow ammo.

Content: Added "Bone barricade" to defenses

Content: Added farm variant on city map, produces animal food

Content: Tamed Scorpion Queen and Spider Queen can now be directly controled during combat mode

Content: Pastured/tamed giant spiders can produce poison in addition to silk now

Graphic: Updated some sprites. Better looking tanner and crafting station.

Graphic: On many crafting stations, the item produced by the currently active recipe is drawn on top

Modding: Added "Addiction" files (data/addictions)

Modding: Added "Addiction" info to consumables and traits

Modding: Traits, like consumables can morph entities (same syntax + added optional MorphSetFaction field to both)

Modding: Traits can be contagious (conversation only for now)

Modding: Recruit events can be told to give recruits a specific trait (useful for random infected)

Modding: A tech can be set as the "tech reward" for exploring a point of interest. The player will automatically get this tech (+ feedback menu) when returning from expedition.

Modding: Added "PharmacyData" -> "Filter" field to clutter files, allowing to set a filter for a pharmacy type item

Modding: Factories can remove inputs from recipes (like the electric kitchen recycling the basic one's recipes)

Modding: Turrets, in the current data format, can optionally request ammo (or keep infinite ones)

Modding: In RaceData, added: PetRange (distance vs owner), PetProtectOwner (true/false), PetMourning (true/false, Aggressive (true/false), DirectControl (set if player get direct control of it during combat)

Modding: You can make translation mods for the game now (by Alex)

Modding: A lot of LUA additions, fixes and improvement (by Alex)

Modding: Themes, sounds and sounds can be properly overwritten by the modding engine (by Alex)

Modding: Ability to write sprites on the world map (by Alex)

UI: Depot menu redesign (click on 'cargo space' bar to access inventory), proper coloring, filter buttons always visible

UI: Factory/crafting menu full redesign

UI: Single recipe stations (water well, tanner...) get a simplified single menu design

UI: The zone building menu has been integrated in the general build menu

UI: Standardized menus display/content: power generator, storage, relay, depot, crafting, research menus

UI: More useful equipement selection menu (more compact items, show equipment inventory count, proper icons for "unequip" buttons)

UI: Reorganized main bottom menu bar and moved filters to the bottom right, next to messages.

UI: A bunch of tweaks to the world map: icons over hostile and production type point of interest. more legible expedition. spheres of influence. filters.

UI: Added button to world map menu to cycle between different overlays

UI: Added proper menu for turrets

UI: Standardized recipe and item names (in crafting menus/queues)

UI: Standardized colors in game log (npc colored as is: green (you), red (hostile), orange (prisoners), gold (non hostile))

UI: Slightly improved factory and recipe selection menus, with more compact lists

UI: Pressing "[N]ext unit" to cycle units in combat more will show associated menu

UI: Clicking an event in the game log or using the shortcut to go to last event try to open a menu for the event. (new building => menu for building, settler or animal => info panel, ...)

UI: Updated main/important tooltips to be more accurate, slightly standardized text

UI: Replaced deprecated "Menu: Room" shortcut by "Menu: Faction" to open your faction's menu

[*] UI: Added "Menu: Job Priority" shortcut [P]. The associated menu is screen centered and draggable now

UI: Updated tutorial regarding some of the features.

UI: Added addiction info to character screen (below traits)

UI: Changed Floors category in build menu to "Floors and ceiling"

UI: Improved build menu's right click info panel for most objects

UI: A ton of small tweaks and changes to various menus and elements

UI: If a mob has a turret, it's displayed in place of the artifact panel and can be clicked to show details about the turret

Fixed: Can't butcher tamed spiders, crabs, and scorpions

Fixed: After loading a save, expeditions returning home would not remember they were coming back with survivors

Fixed: Some transitions from world map to game map could glitch rendering

Fixed: Mobs and hostiles could get stuck trying to attack someone who left the map (0.7.6 regression bug)

Fixed: Expedition members not automatically unclaiming pets before mission

Fixed: Fixed camera positioning issues when loading a savegame

Fixed: Cancel job shortcut/button wouldn't cancel roof building orders

Fixed: Minor issues with job removals

Fixed: Research info tab wasn't scaled to UI like the menu

Fixed: Generator menu wasn't identifying self powered items (gen power = consumption && gen range = 0) as such

Fixed: Animals who got old while pregnant would never give birth

Fixed: Issue with non firing turrets

Fixed: "Build power generator (charcoal)" recipe was using Forging skill instead of Tinkering

Fixed: "Research completed" and event sound effects were always played at full volume

Fixed: "Select All" shortcut/button when game is paused in combat mode would select animals as well

Fixed: Pressing escape on the city map would incorrectly pause/unpause the game

Fixed: Possible issue where a settler could get stuck after a brawl

Fixed: Corrected a ton of typos, bad translations, outdated info...

[/list]