Greetings, Platform Managers!
The Drill Core Inc. Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Drill Core is out now!
Please consult the full changelog at the conclusion of this memo for an overview of all the changes, or simply update your game now to experience them firsthand. As always, Drill Core Inc. would like to remind all Platform Managers that the company is in no way liable for, or sympathetic to, resulting loss of life or damages.
Swarnids Join Drill Core Inc.
To combat the extraneous food, sleep, and sanitation costs of both human and Dwarven workers, the Board of Directors sanctioned the creation of a temporary Minimally Demanding Bioform Search Committee, who were able to find ‘Swarnids’, a species that hatch from larvae, and importantly, are legally classified as non-sentient, to assist with all mining operations.
Platform Managers will now be able to unlock the Swarnid Platform from the main Upgrade console, which will allow you to utilize this new species.
The starting buildings for the Swarnid Platform include:
Swarnid Nest: Produces Larvae which can then be incubated to specific Worker types
Laboratory
Laser Turret
Swarnid Watchtower: Fires flies around itself every so often that latch onto targets and cause damage
The Swarnid Platform also boasts an additional 20% damage to Night Enemies, owing to their superior experience of living in near-total darkness.
Three types of Workers will be available to select from the Swarnid Nest; upon selection, Larvae will fly to a random Block, where they’ll incubate for a short period of time before emerging as a fully operational Swarnid.
Each of these Workers count as 0.5 of your Worker allocation, and these Worker types include:
Swarnid Gnawlers: Dig earth with their teeth to extract resources
Swarnid Lumpers: Carry resources back to the platform
Swarnid Wardens: Defend the Swarm from attacks
We look forward to the increased profits as you utilize this new species for your contracts, Platform Managers!
Turret Innovations
The R’n’D Department has been hard at work during their mandated overtime to provide various upgrades to Turret technology; all Platform Managers will have the option to select the Improved Turret Assembly upgrade in the main upgrade console, which will permit the installation of upgrade modules on all Turrets.
These upgrade modules will provide you with access to an individual upgrade tree for each Turret, and will vary based on the type of Turret, but may include a boost to shooting speed, attack radius, or even double damage chance!
There are multiple levels to each of these upgrades, each offering an increase in percentage for their designated stat.
Platform Managers will also notice a new Turret Focus Priority available for each turret. This new setting will allow you to select the priority for each individual turret’s defensive actions, and will allow you to target various attributes of alien species, including those closest or furthest from the turret, those with the lowest or highest health within range, and those closest or furthest from the core itself.
Finally, you’ll notice that all turrets now show basic parameters before building, allowing for more visibility on the impact each turret will have before spending those precious resources on building it.
We look forward to seeing how you utilize these new innovations in turret management to optimize success on each contract, Platform Managers!
Management Optimizations and Quality of Life Changes
Drill Core Inc., under the advisement of legal representatives, is introducing a range of new features designed to make Platform Management more streamlined.
Firstly, Platform Managers will note that there are new Resource Management options available during contracts; these will allow you to prioritize specific resources for your Workers to collect. Whether you’re looking to upgrade your turrets, or need a specific resource for an upgrade, you’ll be able to globally assign a resource to be prioritized - or de-prioritized - as needed, letting your Workers know where to best use their time.
There are now 10 new qualifications available to unlock during contracts for the most diligent of managers, which include:
Blocker: Active daytime ability. Select an empty area where a foam Block will be created.
Swarnid Incubator Turret: Incubates Swarnubs during the day and releases them to fly around the Mine.
Solaris Lens: Active daytime ability. Select a Block zone at which lasers will shoot over a period of time, damaging both Enemies and Blocks.
Spot an unfamiliar Block or Enemy? Now managing those threats is easier than ever, as Platform Managers will have access to the Drill Core Wiki entries for all Blocks and Aliens they encounter during a contract; simply holding the ‘ctrl’ button and hovering over the Block or Alien will bring up the relevant Wiki entry, giving you a quick insight into any necessary changes in strategy.
You’ll now be able to see the impact your defenses are having on keeping Aliens at bay with the option to Show Damage Numbers making its way into this update. Gain valuable insights into which turrets and abilities are making the most significant impacts, so you can best-optimize your strategy during your contracts.
Platform Managers will now have the option to ban certain buildings from the Technology pool for the duration of a contract, allowing you to preserve your precious Technology Rerolls if there’s a Building you don’t feel will be useful for the particular contract you’re completing.
However, be careful with this option, Platform Managers - once a Building has been banned, you won’t be able to use it for the duration of the contract!
Of course, there are plenty of additional Quality of Life improvements incorporated into the update, including improved gamepad controls to make both adding orders and moving the camera easier, and new gameplay tips on the main menu. For the full list of all improvements, the complete Changelog is below.
As a sign of appreciation from the Drill Core Inc. Board of Directors to those who joined our workforce during Early Access, you’ll be able to download a small free DLC of cosmetic items, the Shareholder Pack, which showcases our gratitude, including a unique Testing Unit Platform Skin for the Earthcrusher platform, and a badge showing the Platform Manager’s nickname and avatar on the main menu.
We have also added a unique new Cyberpunk Platform Skin as an additional bonus to our Supporters Pack, which will be available there for all previous and new owners forever.
We hope this effectively communicates the value we place on your early contributions to our profit margins.
That brings us to the end of the topline overview of everything that’s included in the 1.0 Release; for those Platform Managers who are particularly diligent, you may review the full Changelog at the end of this post.
As always, we strongly encourage all Platform Managers to follow the corporate TikTok and Twitter accounts for a clear line of communication with Drill Core Inc., and also to take part in company-wide conversations on the corporate Discord server.
Rarely warm regards,
The Drill Core Inc. Board of Directors
Changelog:
Added the Swarnid Platform, which includes:
The unique Swarnid Watchtower building (available only to Swarnids).
A unique Swarnid larva mechanic.
10 unique Swarnid Platform upgrades, including the upgrade that allows you to move turrets.
Added the ability to change turret target focus.
Each turret now has between 3 and 15 upgrades, including unique ones.
Turrets now display more detailed stats (including damage, rate of fire, firing range, etc.).
Added a global ore-priority setting for couriers.
Added an upgrade that lets you ban technologies so they won’t appear again until the end of the contract.
Added 10 new qualifications, which include new turrets and abilities.
Improved gamepad controls: giving orders is now easier, and camera control has been enhanced.
Added in-game wiki. You can hover any block or enemy to get information about it.
Added gameplay tips to the main menu.
Division statistics window added to the main menu. This allows you to compare your division performance with others.
Initial maximum number of orders increased from 15 to 20.
Cave Biome chance of spawning two cracks is greatly reduced.
Last Bastion building redesigned. Now each such building reduces the damage received by the core by 7%.
Dwarves orders now can be given in the block even if it is not potentially destroyed. In this case two orders will be added.
Dwarves orders that has no potential damage are automatically deleted.
New settings were added:
Screen distortion.
Camera shake.
Camera edge-scrolling.
Show damage numbers.
For players who purchased the game during Early Access, in the 'Shareholder Pack':
A badge showing the player’s nickname and avatar as a shareholder has been added to the main menu.
A unique Testing Unit platform skin for the Earthcrusher platform has been added.