Mars First Logistics · build 18777163 · published
Before I get into the details of update 5, I have a special announcement: Mars First Logistics will be coming out of Early Access on 26 September 2025! Here's the announcement trailer:
With that out the way, let's get into what's in update 5, which is out today:
Probably the biggest change is that structures like roads and monorails now cost raw materials. Raw materials can be found on rocks and there are new parts for mining them: the drill and mining laser. There is also a scanner for more easily locating raw material deposits.
There is a new main contract to deliver some volatile explosives that unlocks the drill part and introduces raw material mining. The scanner and mining laser can be unlocked by completing side jobs. The other big change is to the order of main contracts. Now the biosphere, rocket launch site and fair areas unlock after completing the resort/sports area. This was done to more gradually introduce raw material mining. Roads also now unlock later in the game - they were maybe a bit OP to unlock so early.
Reaction Control System (RCS): This allows for control of pitch, roll and yaw when flying and is unlocked with a blueprint after completing the main contract to build a road.
Camera: Activate to play in first-person mode! You can attach multiple cameras and switch between the different views too.
Auto-connector: This part can be used to bridge short gaps that otherwise don't line up neatly.
Monster Wheel: A very big wheel!
Spiked Wheel: Provides extra grip.
Electro Magnet: Makes it easier to pit up metal objects or attach to metal surfaces. Only becomes available as a side job reward after completing all main contracts.
Copier: Allows copying other player's designs in co-op.
Heavy Duty Servo: Has very high torque.
And a few more surprises...
The grappling hook also has a new look and it can now be extended as well as retracted.
Most parts can now be made transparent!
Terminals at stations now refuel you instead of the station as a whole. They have their own little fuel pumps and the refuel radius has been reduced.
Procedurally placed stations now all start off as remote outposts which are upgraded to functional buildings, such as a factory or habitat, when a side jobs to the station is completed. I think this change makes it feel more like you're directly contributing to the expansion of the settlement.
Subtle shading has been added to the terrain to better highlight small bumps.
There is now snow on high peaks and the terrain is in general slightly more colourful.
Rare ice or mud lakes may be encountered throughout the world.
Monorail trains can now be summoned at any station with a completed monorail (there is a new button on the station platform for this purpose).
Monorail trains also now travel faster and the shunt has been removed.
There are more monorail stations on the map and they get their own icon indicating their direction.
The above changes should hopefully make monorails more useful!
When binding keys in settings, conflicts are now allowed. Conflicting bindings will simply be unset and a warning will be shown. This should make it less tedious to rebind keys.
A "night mode" setting has been added. This darkens the editor and splash screen backgrounds.
The pitch of structures like roads, pipes and monorails can now be adjusted using the W/S keys (or left stick). Note that, for gamepads, the default binding to rotate structures is now also the left stick so that dpad up/down can remain zoom.
Water pipes are now easier to drive on using the magnetic wheels.
Resetting while flying no longer transports you all the way back down to the ground.
It's now possible to bind the numpad keys separately from the number row keys (although their glyphs are the same).
When resetting, the vehicle is now oriented to the camera direction.
Race wheel handing has been improved.
Magnetic wheel speed has been increased.
The radius where a road or other structure will connect to a station is now shown.
Roads now end further away from stations and have a little on-ramp. You may need to re-create some roads for their end-position to change.
The distance to structure connection points is now shown.
The top speed when flying has been increased.
Your rover now has a little home garage where you start the game.
How side job pickup points are calculated has been overhauled and now pickups can be inside buildings (e.g. a warehouse). Previously they always had to be out in the open. This change also fixes the bug where parcels would sometimes spawn on roads.
Structures are also now always fully refunded if destroyed. The previous behaviour of structures only refunding if they weren't complete was confusing to a lot of players.
The Ore Hauler, Rocket and Grappler blueprints have been updated.
The theodolite now has an aim dot and the way connection points are selected has been tweaked. The aim dot can be disabled in settings.
The high speed motor now has arrows indicating it's forward direction.
The mass of the Weight part has been doubled.
After completing the fair, there is now one whirlwind remaining, in case you want to go for a whirlwind ride.
In co-op, all parts and structures that are unlocked for the host will become unlocked for joining players when they join.
The part inventory in the editor is now divided into sections, with undiscovered parts getting their own section at the end.
Some parts now have a brief description under their title in the editor.
Fixed a bug with incorrect obstruction errors when placing transmitters in co-op.
Many other smaller fixes.
I hope you enjoy the update! The next major update will be version 1.0 on 26 September 2025!