[img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44253482/a4e1fce57a04828611f90ae9e6037d4929f22447.png[/img] [h2]Prepare yourself for Strange Encounters![/h2] Our first major update, Strange Encounters, is piecing together nicely and is coming up on the horizon! Launching into Early Access, Monster Invasions were extremely barebones and based on your feedback we knew they needed a lot of work. While there is a lot of upcoming content that we're itching to get to we thought it was important to put in the work upfront to not only make sure that this aspect of the game is fun, but that it rounds out the core gameplay loop for AutoForge. Factory Building 101- you gotta have solid foundations. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44253482/2996f6aac7a777fa2419a0a86ebbfe89f56de749.png[/img] [h3]Monster Invasions[/h3] Improving Monster Invasions was a broad task, that has had ended up having a lot of implications. It meant more types of monsters, more base defenses, better mechanics, better monster AI and in order flow properly - better mobility for the player (more on this below). There will be over a dozen new technologies to research, new kinds of defenses including (but not limited to) new types of turrets, elemental ammunition AND new kinds of invaders - each with different behaviors to strategize for. Does that sound like a lot? Here's a gif of us trying to navigate all of this - just kidding, here's some debug footage of the new 'intelligent' Monster Pathing (sorry if you really liked tunneling invaders turning the world into swiss cheese). [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44253482/27e4d616948910ee3576d47e20efccdbcb70374e.gif[/img] [h3]Fast Travel[/h3] Sometimes your factory is under attack and you're halfway across the map. With fleshing out Invasions it was immediately apparent we had to push up another much-requested feature: Fast Travel. Now you can get around in no time by teleporting between Mana Conduits and even Apotheos! Between this and another upcoming movement skill we think this is really going help the flow of the game even outside of Invasions. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44253482/c7708742204b86594ddfdb8136654fb7142ee2bc.gif[/img] [h3]Interface Improvements[/h3] All of this is great and all, but we heard you at the back asking about Other Stuff? Well, we're thrilled to say there are also a bunch of minor UI and interaction updates and fixes coming too. There's reworked toolbar interactions, so now clicking on a slot will always select that item - even if you have another item in hand. The inventory itself has received some additional attention, with QoL features like toggleable auto-sorting and functions to quick stack/deposit as well as trash items. Can you spot the other big change? [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44253482/a03cc8c60f99d614709e937905059e21c6677f5c.gif[/img] [h3]Release Date?[/h3] We're not quite ready to announce a release date for Strange Encounters but we hope that this sneak peak has whet your appetite for what we have in store. For those who simply cannot wait for the update's full release we'll be doing a public experimental beta branch in the future and even some closed beta testing. We will post on Steam once the experimental branch is live but if you want to learn more about the closed beta testing then head on over to the [url=https://discord.gg/dBECMZ2mwG]AutoForge Discord server[/url] and keep an eye out for announcements there! [h3]Steam Summer Sale[/h3] AutoForge will be part of the Steam Summer Sale and have a lovely 15% discount. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44253482/07f2943224080010b422fdacd2a001b22bcf09be.gif[/img] [b]Stay tuned for more news and, as always, thank you for your wonderful support![/b]