Hello, Merchants!
This update focuses on making Mad Merchant easier to learn, improving the Travel experience, and eliminating several UI and save/load issues.
A Brand-New Tutorial
We have introduced a completely redesigned tutorial built around real gameplay actions.
New players will now learn how to:
Purchase wagons and build their first train
Install Energy, Storage, and Collector modules
Select a city and choose a route
Use the travel camera
Operate a Collector and complete manual production
Defend the train against drones
Repair damaged modules
Use the Shop and Contracts panels
The tutorial uses the normal game interfaces instead of opening or controlling panels on the player’s behalf. Objectives, highlights, progress counters, and information cards guide the player without interfering with the regular UI flow.
The entire tutorial and its related pop-ups are now localized.
Travel and Production Improvements
Collector modules now use the same production workflow as other production modules. Players can open the Production panel and use the Start Production, Stop Production, and Manual Production controls consistently.
If a journey ends before the Travel tutorial objectives are completed, the remaining Travel steps are automatically skipped so the tutorial cannot become stuck.
Fast Travel Changes
Fast Travel now:
Displays a confirmation pop-up
Requires payment before activation
Grants less experience than completing a journey normally
This keeps Fast Travel convenient without making regular travel obsolete.
Module and Drone Improvements
Module durability indicators now transition from green to red as durability decreases.
The locomotive can no longer be selected as a regular module from the module list.
Drones can now use a randomized skeletal mesh when a wave begins, adding more visual variety to encounters.
UI Improvements
Added fade-to-black transitions between City and Travel sequences.
Corrected the placement of repair, Fast Travel, tutorial, and confirmation pop-ups.
Fixed several cases where overlays could block buttons underneath them.
Improved tutorial target highlighting and interaction permissions.
Fixed incorrect Travel page selection inside the root HUD.
Fixed the Travel HUD disappearing after returning to the main menu and continuing the game.
Save and Continue Fixes
We corrected an issue where returning to the main menu during Travel could leave the game in a partially restored state after pressing Continue.
Travel state, module runtime data, energy calculations, production systems, and the HUD are now rebuilt together when loading a save. Invalid runtime states are also prevented from overwriting a valid save file.
Thank you for your feedback and continued support!