Craftomation Dev Diaries, May 2023: It's Organic!
Craftomation Dev Diaries, May 2023: It's Organic!
Hey mates!
Craftomation 101 was always a game about terraforming a frozen planet. However, up until recently, there wasn't much… well, terraforming in the game. The ice was melting, the grass was growing - those who made it far enough in the demo would even plant a couple of lonely trees. And that was about it.
But you didn't think we'll leave it that way, did you? Because the updates of both the past and the upcoming month are all about organic stuff! And some robot drinks, too.
Back to the Source
Sulfur Source (not the final name, but you got the idea), formerly known as Hot Springs is already implemented in the game for internal testing. As we mentioned last time, it works like the Command Center does, warming some ground around it and providing a substrate for growing plants.
However, the ground around Sulfur Sources is now rather unique: certain plants - like Moss and Mushrooms - can only grow on Sulfur-rich tiles. Moss is a plant that borrows its mechanics from Trees and Mushrooms: it gives you a lot of resources to harvest (like a Tree does), but only for a very short period (like Mushrooms do).
In turn, Trees now can only be grown on earth tiles with grass on them. Please remember that these mechanics may change at some point in development: we have lots of experiments and balancing ahead of us. What do you think of it, by the way? Maybe you have some other ideas on how Mushrooms, Trees, and Moss should work? Don't hesitate to let us know:
Additionally, certain climate changes are expected in the game (and we refuse to apologize for this clearly awful pun): for instance, the warmer the soil, the faster the plants will grow on it, BUT they will also require more water to maintain their wellbeing.
Oh, and another important new feature: we've added a 'Skip Tutorial’ button. For players who seek to live a dangerous life.
We Have to Brew
The new mechanics of plants and other flora calls for at least one new command for Craftomates: it will be similar to the existing ‘Is_Empty’ command but will allow your bots to check whether a plant is watered. We will also probably set the limit for hydrating the plants to 1 unit of water at a time.
If and when you master the art of growing organics on a nameless planet, you will find yourself with a surplus of plant materials. We got you covered: a Brewery was planned in the game from the very beginning and formally introduced in the previous issue of our Dev Diaries. Here's a summary of how it's planned to work.
The Brewery will craft beverages for your Craftomates, temporarily boosting their parameters. Each brew has a base and a key ingredient, and the two must be mixed in the brewery together.
There are currently 2 types of base: a good ol’ boiling water, and water with some minerals (maybe). It can be mixed with any type of organics, but only two types of brews are scheduled to be added to the game in the upcoming month: one will boost a Craftomate's speed, while the second one will increase its battery capacity.
As for the base, it will influence the duration of the effect of the resulting beverage and the shape of the bottle.
Command Ça Va?
In other important news: there's a new Command Center in town:
Fun fact: in 2023, it's hard to restrain from referring to AIs for various creative reasons. This new Command Center design was inspired by the work of Midjourney. Here're references that Alex the artist managed to generate and get inspired with:
The Brewery and the new Command Center will make their way to the actual build in the next month because Ivan the coder is currently on academic leave to prepare his thesis (we wish him the best of luck, and you should, too!).
That means new screenshots are to be expected in the next issue of Dev Diaries. Some limited playtests are also likely to happen. In the meantime, here's a quick reminder of what you can do in the meantime:
Add the game to your wishlist on Steam
Let us know about your favorite influencers on YouTube/Twitch/Other who are playing games like Craftomation 101
If you feel like it - maybe even write a comment to one of the aforementioned influencers to let them know Craftomation 101 is worth checking out
You can even scribe yourself into the game's credits: most of our games’ localizations are community-made, and we now have a spreadsheet for those who are willing to help us translate the game into their native language
Buy the supporter pack to gain access to exclusive WIP stuff and full-time access to the devs’ ears and minds
And of course, play the free demo on itch.io or Steam, leave us a comment, or come to Discord and discuss your experience with us
We'll be back in a month with more juicy details on Craftomation 101! Shall we talk about the Early Access release date? The answer is: maybe! Stay tuned, and please share your thoughts about the game in the comments! Until we meet again.