Main Focus:
In this first part, we focus on making it easier to explore and expand into the underground earlier on while also making the Asteroid Lander and Elevator easier to use. We also start making Below and Beyond content more beneficial for your main colony by introducing a few upgrades that cost Exotic Minerals.
- Elevator Grid resource transfer: The elevator now transfers excess power, water, and oxygen between the Martian Surface and Underground. This enables you to start expanding in the underground while relying on your production on the surface.
- Elevator Auto mode: You can now set a minimum amount of resources you want on the Surface and Underground. While the elevator is in auto mode it will automatically request resources when under this minimum. You can also still manually request resources. - Requesting resources for the Elevator is now done on the side where you need the resources, instead of where you send them from. With arrows indicating from where to where the resources will be transported.
- Reworked cave-ins: Cave-ins no longer require a specific tech to clear, and blocked tunnels that required the landscaping tool are also removed. To still maintain an element of gradual exploration, we introduce the new Collapsed Tunnels which do still require the tech to be cleared. - Increased room for exploration in the underground, greatly reduced the number of tunnels blocked while the new Collapsed tunnels are placed such that they lead to larger new areas to explore or extra anomalies to find. We also increased the number of anomalies in the underground.
- Exotic Minerals upgrades: We introduced a few upgrades to surface buildings that cost Exotic Minerals; - Improved Photovoltaics; doubles power production for solar panels - Exotic Mineral Treatment; greatly increases health and sanity recovery from Infirmaries (and Medical Posts if you have In-dome Building Pack).
Gameplay Improvements:
- Added clear warnings to the lander rocket for why it cannot depart yet, so you can take action.
- Added a "Depart Now" button to the Asteroid Lander, which allows you to launch the lander before the requested payload is loaded, as long as it has enough fuel.
- Disabled the “visit asteroid” button, if there is no Asteroid to go to.
- Removed the Micro-G Vehicles tech, RC Vehicles can now always be brought to Asteroids.
- Elevators can now recharge drones, just like drone hubs.
- Improve requested payload feedback on the elevator.
- Added 1 drone to terraforming initiative default loadout to fill out the cargo space.
- After map switching once, all switches afterwards have a fade instead of a loading screen, which shortens the loading times significantly.
Balance changes:
- Halved research costs for the Recon & Expansion tech tree.
- Reduced Exotic Minerals costs for underground domes.
- Added an anomaly close to elevators which gives some Exotic Minerals, to get you started.
- Rebalanced Drone Hub Extender to cost less Exotic Minerals.
- Increased success chance of Jumbo Cave events.
- Increased time players have on asteroids.
- Adjusted the tech tree order; moving Low-G Excavation Permits and Low-G Tunnel Supports down while moving Underground Dome Construction and Micro-G Mining up.
Bug Fixes:
- Asteroid Lander now gives correct feedback when requiring maintenance.
- Fixed an issue with lander rocket showing payload when landing, instead of requested payload.
- Fixed an issue with the elevator panel not removing colonists already transported to the other side.
- Fixed the lander info panel showing an incorrect status when there aren't enough prefabs.
- Fixed the lander showing an incorrect status after canceling the trip.
- Fixed the First Rainfall milestone not being achieved after reaching all requirements
- Fixed disasters running back to back.
- Fixed Lander rocket not taking off if RC Vehicles required for take-off are in the cargo of another rocket.
- Fixed Mirror Sphere mystery never-ending, the counter however remains on screen in existing saves.
- Fixed an issue with suffocating colonists continuing to suffocate when they get out of the Elevator.
- Fixed an issue with colonists suffocating while trying to reach micro-g habitat.
- Fixed an issue with drones needing several takes on a single cave-in to clear it.
- Fixed an issue with vehicle navigation when collapsed tunnels are cleared.
- Fixed Electrolyzer continuing to consume water when turned off.
- Fixed Drone Hub Extenders not receiving the extra range of 15 hexes.
- Fixed Drone Hub Extender active range not being redrawn immediately after researching the Signal Boosters.
- Fixed an issue with the “Unknown” status of drones and rovers while using the Elevator.
- Fixed empty tooltip and building panel of the Forestation plant when the language is set to Turkish.
- Fixed drones facing the wrong side while gathering Metals or Exotic Minerals.
- Fixed an issue with the lander rocket’s color being different before and after construction for some sponsors.
- Fixed an issue with colonists not occupying the last (14th) slot of the Micro-G Habitat.
- Fixed tooltip for the Micro-G Habitat colonist filter referring to a dome instead of habitat.
- Fixed the Jumbo Cave experiment pop-ups showing incorrect cost cuts.
- Fixed Cave-ins and Collapsed Tunnels not having a texture in the quick bar.
New game only bug fixes:
- Fixed Alien Artifact Anomalies spawning underground in the Dredgers Mystery.
- Fixed an issue with Mystery3Counter notification triggered by Countdown Sphere Unknown Event being stuck.
- Fixed an issue with numbers going into the negative on countdown timers.
