We’ve hit the one-week mark! A massive thank you to everyone who has jumped in so far. Your feedback is already helping us prioritize our next moves and clean up the rougher edges. Today’s update is the first of many, focusing on the bugs and balance issues you’ve identified this week.
Bug Fixes & UX Enhancements: Multiple bugs have been resolved, and overall user experience has been refined.
Improved mouse cursors (shapes and sizes)
Changed yield bonuses which should help with (high risk) missions taking too long
Resource-related sidequests now appear earlier during a mission
Increased damage output for default SMG weapon
Lowered damage output for default Shotgun weapon
Reduced amount of health (and damage) for larger enemies to make them less bullet-spongy
Changed behavior for "hidden" type enemy so they telegraph their attacks clearer
Fixed a problem where enemies would stop spawning during a mission
Fixed a problem where hive-enemies would spawn when a boss was killed
Fixed a problem with the hitbox of the worm-enemy, making it easier to hit
Inventory Management: Players can now sell items, resulting in better control over your inventory.
Climate Update: Updated climate system for planets, better lighting, wind effects and VFX influenced by it.
Planet-Specific Enemies: Creatures are now assigned in groups per planet, so that each planet has a unique feel.
Starting Weapons & Class Progression: We've adjusted the starting weapons and unlocks to increase early-game challenge (encouraging players to upgrade their loadout) and balanced previously overpowered weapons.
And because we know people like looking at pictures better than reading a bunch of text, a couple of nice things that you might notice in this update ...
The above image shows how we've now curated specific lighting conditions to work for each of our three environment types. Everything looks great and works really well with the weather effects as well. And, another cool thing that you'll see in this update ...
That's right, particles are influenced by the wind direction and weather effects. We think this will really help with immersion, plus it's just nice to look at :-)
We’re building Rockhounds alongside you, and there are three ways you can help us scale the operation:
Wishlist on Steam: This is the single most important thing you can do to help our visibility.
Squad Up: Remember, your Playtest key includes 3 extra invites. Bring your crew in. Rockhounds is meant to be played as a team.
Spread the Word: If you have a favorite streamer who loves extraction games, let them know we’re live.
New Recruits Incoming: We’ve just sent out the next batch of Playtest invites! If you’re one of the new arrivals, welcome. Jump into our Discord to find a squad, report bugs, or give us your raw feedback.