Author Topic: Version 1.014  (Read 10556 times)

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Hyper

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Version 1.014
« on: October 20, 2015, 07:49:38 PM »
In final test now, should have the crash under control, or at least better from the reports
Base upgrades work properly
Rovers will allow you to Ride with someone else
Multiple solar units
Other minor fixes

Hope to post this version to Steam by the weekend

rditto48801

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2015, 09:46:24 PM »
I noticed on the Steam announcement for 1.04 it mentioned a Missing Person now paying out.

My immediate reaction was "What missing person?"
I never found them when I had the event occur once (back in 1.00)
Only had an abandoned rover end up parked forever not far West from the NE base, with no sign of anyone anywhere nearby. (searched most of an in game day, used up maybe 2/3 of rover's fuel). I eventually gave up and figured the event didn't spawn any actual NPC or body.
Is that an old bug fixed in 1.02 or 1.04, or just bad luck on my part with having never found the missing person at the time?
Boldly going forward, 'cause I can't find reverse.

Doctor Watson; Proving that being wrong means being one step closer to being right.

Crow

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2015, 11:08:44 AM »
Missing is the key word there I think. Going to investigate gets the payoff, there is no mention of finding.
I was in test and this event will be part of the story, prelude to a mystery it seems

Psyhn

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2015, 12:40:31 PM »
I've noticed that sometimes I lose the ability to select/use equipment at my base, ie planters, seed storage, toilet or rover etc. This gets resolved by turning to some other object like the doors and clicking them then turning back to the object. This can can reoccur each time i attempt to drain the waste storage next to the toilet. By the way , has that object (the toilet waste storage bin) been disabled in MCF? Does it automatically fill the compost bin now?
Yes disabled, automatic and this bug should be fixed for next version
Also, where are the fuel containers? I ran out of gas out in the field and had to walk back to the main base only to find that none of the NPC's sell these items. Checked all around the garage as well, mine and the main base, but nothing. Had to purchase another rover. Would have been pretty cool if i could tow my original rover back to either base. Logging back in the next day (RL) my out of gas rover was half parked in my base garage through the wall. Thought that was pretty funny, and my second rover is now missing. I should also mention that I accidentally clicked on the close window button in the upper right corner instead of exiting out. So it saved some game play but objects purchased (mining equipment) ended back at the main base by the Mining NPC waiting beside it.
Fuel cans removed, forces you to keep track of fuel status. Will add NPC help here in future version.
Other minor issues was when i first purchased the game earlier this week I ran into an interesting problem. My character kept dying after a radiation storm even though I was inside the main base with or without my gear on. All vitals and needs were met and good. took meds and ate even more but nothing. Kept exiting the game and starting back up but this changed nothing as well. This hasnt happend since the first night of gameplay but thought i would mention it anyway.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2015, 09:40:45 AM by Hyper »

Psyhn

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2015, 12:43:38 PM »
I took some screenshots of some of the issues but files are too large.
Some of these issues have been addressed for next version due out soon. Exit with the windows X will put the game in unknown state and running out of fuel... would you take off down the freeway in your car with no gas in the tank? Player has to keep aware of things.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2015, 09:43:34 AM by Hyper »

rditto48801

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2015, 07:29:48 PM »
One thing that gets to me.
Quote
Fuel cans removed, forces you to keep track of fuel status.
Call it a pet peeve, but anything involving fake/artificial difficulty bugs the heck out of me.
So you would take off in your car with an empty tank?
So hearing there will be an NPC to fix such an issue is good to hear.
How does 250 sound for a fee to either transport the player to rover and refill it, or to otherwise transport the rover back to the main base and refill it? Maybe just refill the rover halfway?
Kind of like calling a tow truck to a get refill, or a tow to a gas station, which can be done, it just isn't cheap.

Fuel cans would be nice to have.
Make them pricey, maybe 250, have them hold enough to fill a rover to 25% capacity, and start empty. Stash it in the rear of the rover for emergencies.
Also open up the possibility to sell excess fuel to the main base. Maybe something like the old mobile life support thing (that was the size of the auger), have the art assets reused as a portable fuel container. Setup remote fuel stations if someone ends up working in the corner of the map opposite of the base. Expensive to buy, but not needing to make more frequent (and pricy) trips to refill at the base, or fuel wasted going all the way to the player base and back.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2015, 07:50:34 PM by Hyper »
Boldly going forward, 'cause I can't find reverse.

Doctor Watson; Proving that being wrong means being one step closer to being right.

Psyhn

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #6 on: November 23, 2015, 04:50:43 PM »
Cool! I'm really looking forward to some of the new issues being addressed in the next update. Ive been playing almost every moment I get and I must say, outstanding job!!! I really am enjoying a lot of the new features and improvements. Especially with the attention paid to the little details while driving around in the rover in third person view. Very nice!!!  The ability to delete the doors, using water from the EVA suit as opposed to the water cans, the list goes on! Way to go!!!
Below is a few issues I thought I'd mention. If the following have been addressed in the to-be-released update then please disregard:

-Sometimes the dialog box just completely stops updating with new messages(This is actually my chief complaint by far) I have to exit the game and restart it, and even after doing so sometimes it stops updating again after a couple of minutes
Not sure which dialog you mean. PDA ?
-I encountered that 'Death Cycle' issue again where my character keeps dying for no apparent reason. Since it happened before, and I am fairly over the 'New Game' fever, I was prepared to pay attention to every little detail this time. All needs met, (inside the main base only this time) all readings from the scrubber and heater are at habitable limits. l am completely full and hydrated, no raw foods consumed. No human waste to get rid of. No sickness reported after diagnostics at the medical bed. Dialog window kept reading "you feel sick". So what the heck, I took some propodine any way. Nothing. Took more of the same when I could a bit later and waited for it to take effect. Could see the health bar raise a bit, but then it started deteriorating again. Stopped playing for about 20 minutes while I let the game progress on. Dude's still face planting himself. Screen flashing red. On to any other medication, wait for a bit but nothing. Exiting game and restarting it didn’t resolved the issue, so I started a new game, deleting all previous progress. The first time the same exact issue happened, I finally got rid of the death cycle and flashing red screen by transporting to Death place, during a storm no less. This put me under the building. Glitch???? Cant move now, but at least I'm not dying anymore, hahaha! Manage to get out of being stuck under the life support module and on with the game by accidentally pressing the space bar. Hey! You guys gave the character the jumping ability, how about that! Nice.
This is probably due to the Virus that gets loose in the colony. I tested the sickness and it should clear after a death, does here at any rate, will have another look at it

-There is a brief moment (10-15 seconds) of immobility after attempting to take a surface sample where samples can't be taken. You can turn, but not move in any direction.

-Certain sounds are too low. i.e. the alert comms (for missing persons, severe storms etc.)can barely be heard (with the master volume on both the speakers and windows OS at max)
Try using XAudio if you are not already, system likes to switch back to direct sound for some computers.

-Items in the rover or in my characters hand appear to be floating upon logging back in. i.e. porta light, tote box
Dont log out with anything in your hand... should have been fixed in that version

The following are not bugs but features I believe are essential.

-Please add a 'sell all' and 'sell type' button when selling items to the NPCs at the main base. Also an 'add all' and add type' button for storage like adding raw food to the freezer and other similar actions. I love the tote box idea, can carry a lot more, but dragging each item individually is giving me carpal tunnel. Even the ability to click the items(as you do when getting them from the ore storage would be preferable)

-Missing persons or other spontaneous missions/alerts should be sent to the PDA (maybe an alert tab?) so they can be reviewed at a later time (1-5 min). When I got the amber alert for the missing person the last time, I was a little preoccupied with this green chick at the Mars Exotic Entertainment Club. So I forgot what was said over the comms. Im thinking maybe that random green dot that appeared on the map maybe??? (Man that green chick had some tig ol' bitties!)
We have added a quest / story dialog next version will have the first story line in.

-Maybe the ability to log/bookmark locations or jot notes (like coordinate already attempted)would be a nice add-in some time in the distant future. I'm always using pen and paper when hunting for high density drill sites from GPR locations. If im going about this the wrong way, I'm all ears. None of the forums or videos really indicate best practices for this.

As for the fuel issue, my bad, but when I'm playing games, I'm relaxing to get away from the rigors of real life. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the realism in this simulator, and no I don't run out of gas on the freeway in RL (not lately anyhow). However, when I'm so busy trying to find out which mineral I should mine in order to obtain iodine so that I can produce my own medicine, sue me, but I lost track. Actually I believe in RL that some type of beeping/flashing notification would catch an astronauts attention (maybe it does beep in-game but the volume for it is too low???)when something is wrong or their equipment, vehicles or habitats are low on something like Oxygen, or fuel.

One of the things I really like about this simulator, is you are pretty much on your own, and need to not only pay attention to, but keep track of certain things while at the same time figure other things out. This simulator definitely does not spoon-feed the players. I had to watch some YouTube vids to get started with MC Challenge. With the ingredients/recipes however, you may want to consider adding iodine and the mineral it can be extracted from to mineral list window (F1 Menu). Call me silly but I actually did some research on how to obtain iodine on Google. Some of the hits that I got listed fish as a source. So, guess what I took to the chem-table and tried to make??? Still no joy. I won't go into all the details like trying algae, nutrient and other things I tried to populate that iodine slot with. After some more game play, I see now that its procured from the ore processor. 

That's it for my findings. I'm sure there are other things, but they either don't annoy me much or I have already figured it out. I'm sure I'll stumble across the mineral needed to procure iodine some time in the near future.
« Last Edit: November 23, 2015, 10:15:15 PM by Hyper »

Psyhn

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #7 on: November 24, 2015, 06:56:03 PM »
The dialogue box in the upper left corner of the HUD. Not the PDA.

rditto48801

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #8 on: November 25, 2015, 01:13:05 PM »
One thing of note, I don't drive.
Do I check the fuel before I go for a trip in the rover.

People I know who do drive will at least partially fill the tank when it gets low, or top it off if they expect to take a long trip.
Otherwise, they are not going to stop and top off the tank every time they pass by their gas station of choice.
I am similar in games where fuel is a factor. One of said games makes things far easier by NOT keeping fuel topped off, because of there being other things in game that need fuel also, so having a spare fuel can with a little spare fuel is handy. Otherwise one has to waste time (and possibly fuel) looking for extra fuel can with fuel for some plot object.

Sometimes guestimating how long the fuel will last is not accurate, and a mistake is made.
People do make mistakes (It's not so much 'if', but 'when'.), to punish them for making such a mistake is a poor choice, IMHO.
More so when such 'punishment' involves removing something that was in previous game, which in turn affects realism/immersion.

Mistakes should not be met with punishment, but with the option to correct them. So it is a learning experience, to learn to from that mistake and be able to avoid it in the future, rather than being driven to avoid it out of fear.
(to quote something from the movie "Dune", "Fear is the mind killer.")

Also, did I miss something, or is the portable repair kit also not in MC:F?

To loosely quote something I saw in a movie once...
"It is best to have a thing, and not need it, then to need a thing, and not have it."

I could also quote stuff said by the narrator in the opening to 'The Sims Medieval', or the little speech about people Agent K gives to Will Smith's character early in the movie 'Men in Black'... but I won't...
Basically, people are people, and are not perfect, they will make mistakes, and some people will be more prone to making mistakes than others, be it due to just being more prone to make them, or due to lack of foresight, judgement, patience, etc.

(sorry for the mild rant. As I stated in the previous post, this kind of stuff irks me... it kind of reminds me of bad past experiences.)
Boldly going forward, 'cause I can't find reverse.

Doctor Watson; Proving that being wrong means being one step closer to being right.

Psyhn

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #9 on: November 25, 2015, 03:04:07 PM »
I believe the tool kit/repair tools has been removed.  The character can perform repair without it. I like this modification because now you don't have to waste an inventory slot carrying it. Hand held option included.

 If you angle the camera just right, you may be able to see his/her utility belt. J/k

Hyper

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #10 on: November 25, 2015, 06:34:58 PM »
I will find a solution to the fuel problem. Even if I stop production on the storyline and add a fuel can, if you run out of fuel, you still have to walk to base and get fuel yes? That or waste a slot for fuel can. Do some testing and see how far you can go with current fuel load. If I was on Mars in a rover with limited fuel I would guarantee you I would know how far it would take me. I have never run out of fuel in the 20,000 runs I have made in the game. Of course when I find a solution to magic fix the fuel others will bitch that I "dumbed the game down" yet again so there is no easy answer for me.
The tool kit was removed to save the slot yes. The vehicle would have a tool kit in it much like jack, wrench and spare tire which was I was hammered with on the last project. So again I put it in and get bitched at, take it out and get bitched at.

Psyhn

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #11 on: November 25, 2015, 07:31:23 PM »
Well as the new guy here, I can honestly say that one thing that keeps me playing this game IS the balance between entertainment and injecting as much realism in the game as possible without sacrificing too much. Having said that, what would NASA's safety protocols (or any government agency whose focus on colonizing space for that matter) be in order to keep things to an absolute minimum while at the same time ensuring that their multi-million(or billion)dollar investment is successful enough to continue? Id say whatever that decision is, go in that direction. Regardless if its popular or not. People will over look things they don't like as long the game keeps them involved. Just like those really annoying characters in movies or shows, somehow despite that irritating bit the audience cant wait to see more.

I do know that you are doing a great job at managing that balance so far. I really have no opinion on "to fuel can, or not to fuel can". Maybe a simple alert when you hit a certain threshold would be sufficient. Cars do that in RL right? annoy the living crap out of you when you don't have your seat-belt on or need to refill the tank. Yeah, lets go with that. If they don't refuel after the idiot-alarm goes off, what more can you do besides play the whole damn game for them. Just pitching it out there.

Hyper

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #12 on: November 25, 2015, 08:35:56 PM »
I have to agree with you Psy and the solution will probably be a flashing fuel meter, not sure why it doesnt do that now, code is in. If you know how far the rover can go on say a half tank of fuel, open the map, use the coordinates and calculate the distance, easy stuff really.
Thanks for enjoying the game so far. Been working on adding the template for story line, testing it now and should get into Steam after the holiday.

Psyhn

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #13 on: December 14, 2015, 06:46:26 PM »
Was there a recent update? I just clocked over 100+ hours and made some serious progress. Hadnt played for a few days because of family visiting for the holidays, log back in and pressed "Enter Game" and suddenly I have a new character! All my progress gone.

Also, we need a back to main menu option. Still loving the game, and playing it faithfully. I guess the part the bugs me about losing all my progress the most was that I had 3/4 of the map explored. I was homing in on the iodine.

Psyhn

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Re: Version 1.014
« Reply #14 on: December 14, 2015, 07:04:18 PM »
Was there a recent update? I just clocked over 100+ hours and made some serious progress. Hadnt played for a few days because of family visiting for the holidays, log back in and pressed "Enter Game" and suddenly I have a new character! All my progress gone.

Also, we need a back to main menu option. Still loving the game, and playing it faithfully. I guess the part the bugs me about losing all my progress the most was that I had 3/4 of the map explored. I was homing in on the iodine.

Ah, so there was some updates.