Learning Factory Dev Diaries, June 2022: Underground Mushrooms, Cat Knowledge Archives And Cat Zeppelins (Soon!)
Learning Factory Dev Diaries, June 2022: Underground Mushrooms, Cat Knowledge Archives And Cat Zeppelins (Soon!)
After shooting with a grand update last month, we were making small steps, that, however, slowly turn Learning Factory in a very different, more polished and good-looking game. Below is the summary of what we've done within the last 30 days, along with a sneak peek of the next big feature we're currently working on.
Terrain Redesign: Better Grass, Brighter Lava and Blue Mushrooms
It seems that we've just updated a couple of tiles, but it was many hours for Sergei the artist, and it was totally worth it! Default surface biome now looks refreshed and so do underground tiles and lava:
Terrain as of May '22
Terrain now:
Ye olde underground level:
Epic new one:
It's not just the visuals though! The interface is now rich with very satisfying sounds, and there's a new track in the game's playlist. This time it's written by an actual human being (while most of the soundtrack was procedurally generated by Mubert):
Last but not least: last month we've mentioned mysterious holgraphic cubes that emerge here and there on Mars. The prophecies did not lie: the Cat Knowledge Archives (as they are formally known today) are now available to anyone upon starting new game. They are divided into 5 types, 1 per each research category (Logistics, Production, Science, Terraforming & Upgrades). Upon activation, an Archive adds certain amount of research points to any available or ongoing research project in respective category. But most importantly, they're very satisfying to activate:
That's not all Cat Archives serve for: in the future, they will play an important role in the game progression. Follow our updates to be the first one to know!
Up Next: Zeppelins!
This idea was born rather spontaneously, as a result of our friendly chat with players on Discord. We were talking about how it sometimes gets tiresome to build so many Transporter belts on a big map. The solution? Cat Zeppelins! They're not carrying cats around, but they sure help deliver goods between cargo docks.
It's not the fastest way (the video below is in 5X speed), but it saves space AND gives the game a somewhat steampunk vibe:
By the way, if you want to influence game development as well, you're very welcome to join our merry Discord bunch. We're discussing features with players all the time and share the latest work-in-progress news:
See You Soon!
Starting next week, most of our team is going away for long-awaited vacations. We're planning to generally stay as far as possible from our PCs, and closer to nature. We hope your summer is going to be tremendous, too! Go out and play, breathe in some fresh air and then come back to play more awesome games!