Hope everyone is having a great time at or watching E3! Some great stuff is being announced. In Mercury Fallen news, I’ve been working hard on the implementation of planetary exploration and resource gathering.
Planetary Resources
In the previous developer log, I covered the procedural generation that creates the planet’s surface. The surface map also contains many resources, such as ores, flora and fauna, and there will be new resources found only in certain biomes on the map, in varying degrees of abundance.
The initial focus on the surface will, of course, be to explore your surroundings to find and analyze resource nodes. While icons will show the basic resource type, you’ll need to analyze resources to find out specifically what they are and how much is there.
Exploration
Exploration on the surface is done using vehicles. Vehicles will require colonists to operate, but are directly controlled by the player. New biomes, areas and resources will need to be uncovered before they can be used. Different types of vehicles will be required to navigate some areas such as oceans and mountains.
I’m developing the foundation of planetary exploration, which means that when planetary exploration is released it is only the start of even more content to come. There are various features I I have planned for surface and underground game play that are too big to pack into a single update, so I’m working to divide up the new content in manageable releases, as I’ve done with previous updates.
Vehicle Construction
Vehicle construction is performed in the assembly room with the new vehicle assembler, coupled with a surface-level vehicle bay used to assign colonists to vehicles and where vehicles must return to be upgraded.
You’ll be able to choose the vehicle type and the equipment that goes in it. Vehicle slots will allow you to customize cargo space, seats, engine, utilities and more. The vehicle type will determine the basic look and attributes, as well as what, and how many, slots it has.
Mercury Fallen Discord Server
For those that are interested, I’ve set up a Discord server where players can meet to chat about Mercury Fallen. There are some great people already there, and I’ll be there, when I’m not busy creating new content. ;)
