Production Terminals in Techtonica are meant to feel special. They should give Groundbreakers a sense of awe when discovered, and they should each stand with their own unique tone and definition.
Think of the moment you see PT LIMA as you exit the cryo-chamber at the start of the game. Or, consider when you M.O.L.E. your way from LIMA to PT VICTOR and go from confined tutorial caverns to your first open factory space. Those segments are intentionally crafted to feel really special.
We’re aiming to do it again with the Base Building update and its new Production Terminal.
If you want to wait until you find it for yourself when it’s added to Techtonica with the Base Building update due in December, consider this your spoiler warning. We will reveal PT XRAY in this post and in this week’s video update.
To the Groundbreakers who want to learn more, hello!
Ready to meet PT XRAY? Let’s dig in.
Well hello there…
When the art and design teams started sharing mock-ups and ideas for PT XRAY, it immediately became my new favorite point of interest in
Techtonica. This new terminal and its location on Calyx are an amalgamation of nearby flora and world design, and that makes the space both familiar and hauntingly alien.
Just, look at it!
PT XRAY echoes elements of LIMA and VICTOR with its cantilevered design, presence, and lighting, but it immediately feels like its own distinct place. That comes thanks to its green color scheme and its mix of fungus and dripstone environments.
PT XRAY also features a U-shaped silhouette, a new look for PTs on Calyx, and it includes a garage-like area with embedded Monorail Depots.
Early concept art for your consideration
If you were with us ahead of launch, we typically took some time in these weekly updates to share some concept art for the new environments, machines, and tech we were making for the game.
You can expect that to continue as we move away from Quality of Life updates and into brand new mechanics and features. So! Here’s some of the concept art that helped bring PT XRAY to life.
Why call it “XRAY?”
First of all? It just sounds cool. We won’t hear differently on this one, PT XRAY is a really cool name for a Production Terminal on Calyx.
There’s a narrative-focused reason for the naming of Production Terminals, too, but we won’t tip our collective shadowy hand on that one just yet. Curious Groundbreakers will have to wait for the story to unravel to fully understand that tidbit.
Instead of worrying about the secret narrative, let’s focus on the happy accident pointed out by Will, our narrative lead. X-rays are for bones, and PT XRAY is focused on base building. Bases are the bones of your factories.
See? Perfect.
Of course it comes with tiers of tech
We’re not ready to share the precise suite of upgrades you’ll tap into with PT XRAY, but we can say that you’ll have more to unlock with each PT tier. And that tech also brings a ton of new intermediates.
In the coming weeks leading up to the launch of Base Building, we’ll talk about the machines and intermediates you’ll discover when the new content reaches Techtonica.
Oh, and a note about stairs and power!
The Base Building update will feature different sets of stairs, and we wanted our current stairs to match what’s being added. So, we’ve updated the stair model for the 1×1 stairs.
That’s not all, though, we’re reworking some elements of the power system, and we’ve made it so all stairs now conduct power. No more having to run a pillar of Power Floors behind your stairs to get juice to a second floor. That sweet, sweet electricity will run through the steps.
Why did we talk about this in the post focused on PT XRAY? It’s a small tidbit that we wanted to share but didn’t have room to in other stories. So! It lives here, with PT XRAY. Which is a great home, if you ask me.
By the way, the video update for this week features the stairs, too, but I may have slipped a peek at some Base Building update parts in a small base I built myself. Might be worth a look if you’re interested!
As always, join our Discord and chat with us, like, a lot. https://discord.gg/techtonica.
See you there!
