Greetings Pilgrims;
This is the third part of improving the game's visuals and overall presentation with various models, VFX, SFX, and tweaks.
There are quite a few visual and sound changes in this update, and I am not going to list them all. If you have played previously, you will see what is new. If you haven't played before, then the game will just be that much better when you do decide to try it out.
My current aim is to finalize everything related to the early game that is included in the demo as I am planning to join the upcoming "Steam Next Fest" with the demo build. However, some late-game aspects have already had changes as well. Some of these were done for the new trailer on the store page, and some were done just because it made logical sense to do so at the time. Ideally, when the demo is complete we will move on to finalizing the late-game visuals. Most of the late-game facilities are still just using placeholder visuals, but we will get there. I am targeting May 2, 2025, for release, and I believe we can hit that mark largely due to an amazing group of beta players helping out.
There are a few fixes and tweaks in this patch based on small issues found by beta players, a huge shout-out to all of you for your amazing work. The game's quality would be far worse without your ongoing help. There were no major issues found, but there were many small issues such as the wrong pre-placed visuals, incorrect tooltips, and some incorrect indexing of items. These have all been fixed.
On top of the fixes and changes, we have added some new content and items as well.
There were 16 new decorations added to the decoration constructor. These include a variety of wall posters, signage, and some plants that you can place around your base (they do not produce oxygen).
I considered some other types of decorations such as rugs and chairs, but it felt clunky and I pulled them out. If anyone has feedback on what other sort of decorations would suit the game, please let me know I am very much open to any ideas.
Another small but awesome change was the completion of the dynamic main menu. This is something the majority of players will never even notice, but I think it is super cool. In essence, as you terraform Ceres in your save the main menu also reflects these changes with nine different visual stages based on your progression. I put together a short YouTube video showcasing these stages if you are interested you can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiA2atCR91A
It is a small detail that many will never see, but I love small details that add up to an amazing game in general. So, we did it.
I expect to drop one or two more updates to the demo before the next fest begins. There are still some elements that need to be reworked and improved. If you would like to join the beta and help guide the future of the game, join the discord and request a key.
Thank you for your ongoing support, and I can not wait for players to experience the finished version of the game later this year.