Hey Explorers,
The Monthly Summary for August is here!
I managed to make solid progress this month, even if things were a bit lighter than usual between some summer vacation and preparing for and attending Gamescom.
August was all about finishing the ore distribution system, implementing little ore signs aaand adding the Geologist! 🙂
Before we can build mines on the mountains to gather ore, we need to know where it is hidden.
This month, the main focus was implementing the new Geologist Class. You can now recruit Geologists directly from the global menu.
To make sure you can easily spot them running around your settlement, I gave them distinct character visuals, with a backpack and a helmet.
Their mechanics are now fully operational: they start searching from an initial search location, find the next possible ore deposit and move there.
Once they examine a deposit, they mark it with an Ore Sign, complete with the classic "Yippee!" celebration.
Keep them protected, though, as Geologists have very low attack and health stats.
To make the Geologist's job possible, the backend terrain and procedural generation needed significant updates. I have now successfully distributed ore over all the mountains on the map.
To keep level design flexible, I implemented a Vein Override system for tailored placement. The mountain base actors now have an ore config and any mountain overlaps are intelligently handled via priority settings. Meanwhile, the Geologist's logic is powered efficiently by a new, robust StateTree Trait.
TFE Development Summary - August 2026
Monthly Summary
The Geologist Implementation
🛠️ Implemented Geologist Class & StateTree Trait
🛠️ Geologists can be recruited from the global menu
🛠️ Character Visuals with backpack & helmet
🛠️ Search starts from initial Search Location
🛠️ Geologist searches for next possible ore deposit location and moves there
🛠️ Geologist examine and mark deposit with ore sign incl. Yippee!
🛠️ Geologist has low attack & health stats
🛠️ Fixed a bug, that Geologists can't be converted back into carriers
Mountains & Ore Distribution
🛠️ Distribute ore over all mountains on map LakeFalls
🛠️ Mountain Overlaps are handled via priority
🛠️ Add ore config to mountain base actor and set in the component via construction script
🛠️ Implement Vein Override for tailored level design
Ore Signs & Minor Stuff
🛠️ Ore ISM Signs placed in the world
🪟 Improvement – Show Ore Sign tooltip when hovering a sign
🔄 Shared how the Patreon performed since May (Patreon)
🔄 Announced the #2 Live QA Session for Tribunus Supporters for Friday, September 11th (Patreon)
📀 Pre-Alpha August game update deployed to all Patreons with Praefectus Level or higher (Patreon)
✨ Secrets
You can already get your hands on the game today by becoming a Patreon at the Praefectus level or higher!
Each month, the playable Pre-Alpha build is updated directly with the latest feature additions, improvements, and fixes.
Next pre-alpha game update is scheduled for September 18th.
See you next time!
Best,
Sebastian 🙂