v0.3.0 "Pathogenesis" is here, with a new tutorial and UI! (WIP)

major update

Substrate: Emergence Demo · build 23353878 · published

On SteamNotes only · this build shipped before we watched the app

Hey everyone! It's been exactly a month since the last update, and there is a lot to share. Most of the feedback has been from playtesters who are confused, so I have been working on a new tutorial to hopefully help out with that! I also have been working on streamlining the UI and improving clarity wherever I can. This is still a work in progress, but it's enough of an improvement over the last build that I've decided to release it so that I can start getting feedback. The tutorial is definitely not finished, but the start should be much, much better than what was there before. The new UI is a much different style than the old one: I'm especially fond of the New Culture screen: There are also a bunch of new features to discover, and a glossary that I've been drafting!

Unfortunately, older saves will likely be broken. I recommend deleting all labs, cultures and saved strains, and then running reset-all from the debug console (opened with ` ). This commands resets all of the tutorials and hints. You can also just run the command without wiping your saves, just know that there might be some bugs and/or save corruption.

Please keep in mind that this is a very rough build, and I expect to be releasing many hot fixes.

Thank you all for playtesting and sharing feedback! Changelog: v0.3.0:

* Complete UI overhaul and streamlining for improved clarity

* New culture panel allows direct placement of cells and crystals

* Lineage tree view and improved strain identification

* Tutorial improvements and consolidated objectives/controls/guide panel

* Contract completion now has a claim reward prompt instead of silently completing

* Behavior networks overhauled. Improved inputs, outputs, and an extra middle layer allows for more behavioral depth

* Microbiomes: viruses, bacteria, immune cells

* Rebalanced mutations for stronger speciation

* Lineage control is now accessible at any time in a culture

* Economy conflicting sources of truth fixed. Cells now have more accurate values, although the economy is still unbalanced

* Fixed plasmodia branching. Branches are no longer exclusively linear and can split

* Fixed mitosis readiness mismatch

* Quality of Life improvements:

- Camera tracking keybinding separation: TAB to cycle all cells, or Q to cycle selected

- Consolidated F1 and H, now just one key: F1 to hide the entire HUD

- Added blip indicators for key binding toggle states

- F2 cursor hints work with cursor visible

- Tooltip always reopens with [T]

- Removed typing animation entirely
* New selector modes (toggled with 1, 2 3)

* Improved performance options

* Added WIP glossary with drafted information panels

* Added some SFX, more to come

* Visual tweaks and improvements

* Music continues during pause

* Other various bug fixes