Techtonica v0.1.1 – QoL #1 Patch Notes

August 30, 2023

Welcome, Groundbreakers, to the official patch notes for v0.1.1 of Techtonica.

This marks the first of two planned Quality of Life updates. Virtually all changes made in this patch were based on player feedback, so thank you for sharing your thoughts while playing Techtonica.

It’s our intention to ensure these patch notes are both easy to digest and as enjoyable to read as possible. We grouped the marquee changes in a featured section up top, and then we roll into the full patch notes. Items from the featured section will repeat in brief forms in the full patch notes section because they are so nice we hoped you’d read them twice.

Sorry for the bad jokes, but they’re just as much for you as they are for us.

Miss the Patch Preview video earlier this week? Here it is.

Let’s dig into the details and complete notes for v0.1.1.

Featured updates

In-game Metrics, recipe updates, and machine balance

Perhaps the largest batch of changes comes with what we’ve done for the oft-requested in-game metrics. First, you’ll find that metrics will appear for built and placed machines in the bottom-left corner of the screen as you’re looking at said machines. We know getting these metrics in-game is a huge win for players, and it will improve over time as we enhance the UI. Until then, get optimizing!

To further help with optimization and your math (mental or paper-based), we’ve adjusted all recipes and all machine speeds to feature much friendlier numbers. You might need to take off your shoes to count in the double-digits, but at least it’ll be easier.

We also buffed the speeds for the MKI and MKII Conveyor Belts. The MKI, for instance, now moves items at 240 per minute. Whoa. Nelly.

Initial Core and Core Composer changes

We’ve heard loud and clear that Groundbreakers want changes made to the Cores and Core Composer. We won’t address all points of feedback because they sometimes stand in contrast with Techtonica’s core (heh, get it?) design. The changes in v0.1.1 are a great start for what we have planned over the long term.

To start, we’ve reduced the costs of all Tech Tree unlocks significantly. Groundbreakers will only need approximately 6,500 Cores to unlock everything in the current progression, down more than half of what’s needed now.

We’ve removed the Core Composer height limit so that Groundbreakers won’t need to build as many Core Composers. If you throw them down in a space with a high ceiling (explore more, these exist), you’ll only need two or three towers total. These towers also no longer mushroom cap when they reach a certain level. They just shoot straight up.

We also removed the giant red X from Core Composers that are full but no longer placing Cores. Instead, Core Composers will finish placing and simply hold onto 10 Cores that you can remove via Mass Collect or with Inserters.

Finally, the in-game description for Core Clustering has been rewritten for enhanced clarity.

Also. Yes! Cores were affecting performance, but not because of their animations. It was because of their sound. We’ve improved sound optimization for all machines with v0.1.1, so the Cores won’t cause big frame drops.

That said, we did receive some feedback from Groundbreakers that lots of Cores doing their worble worbles in a big tower caused motion sickness. We’re sorry about that! We’ve added a toggle in the settings menu to remove Research Core motion.

The M.O.L.E.™️: Now featuring digging down!

Digging down has been, to be honest, a pain. You either need Mining Charges or a Pickaxe and lots of patience. The M.O.L.E. has been overhauled to dig down by simply… looking… down? It works.

In fact! We covered this extensively in a recent blog post. Find a GIF of it in action below, or dig into the full post for yourself.

Machine, power, and fuel updates

Let’s start with Threshers! We’ve changed the clearance pattern for Threshers from their massive scale to only 1m. That means you’ll be able to hook Threshers and other machines up with a single Inserter. Combine that with the sped-up Conveyors and you may have a fuel-balancing solution on your hands.

Speaking of fuel, we’ve moved Biobrick Technology up two tiers in PT VICTOR. Why? Groundbreakers hit this fuel source way before they actually needed it, and that led to a ton of confusion and resource mismanagement. We admit it, we went for the Biobricks early, too, but new Groundbreakers cited this as a big barrier for automation. Our bad, new Groundbreakers. Our bad.

In terms of power generation by other means, we fixed the issue that showed up when Groundbreakers combined MKI and MKII Crank Generators in the same chain. They will now provide the correct amount of combined power without telling bold-faced lies in the UI.

Finally, we simplified the introductory Monorail quests so that Groundbreakers can actually complete it and get it off of their Task lists for good (this one bugged me, too!).

AZERTY Support, Settings and UI changes

Hello, AZERTY users! You can now switch to the AZERTY layout in Techtonica. Please report any layout bugs you encounter with this one.

We’ve added some additional Audio Sliders to the Audio menu. You’ll be able to control the volume for specific stuff like UI SFX and how often music plays (whether that’s a lot or very rarely).

We found that Groundbreakers were unintentionally quitting the game during saves, especially with later factories that take more than a couple of seconds to save. Now, we have a save indicator that plays in the bottom right corner of the screen during saves. Do not quit while this indicator is playing.

We were also lying to you about game progress in multiplayer games. When you hit the escape menu, we used to tell you that progress was stopped while paused. That was never true for multiplayer. We lied, and we’re sorry.

The last of the featured updates? We’ve added a toggle for Antialising. You might see some minor perf gains or maybe you enjoy the crispy environment. Give it a tick or untick to check it out.

The Complete v0.1.1 Patch Notes

Okay, here’s the full list of every player-facing change we made to Techtonica with v0.1.1.

World Changes

Moved some of the Thresher fragments to the first floor of the Warehouse facility. Groundbreakers were previously missing the big dudes during exploration.
Added 3 more Assembler fragments on the path to the Warehouse, so Groundbreakers are more likely to scan them and get Assemblers on time.
Swapped out temporary material on the HVC fragment model. Don’t get too excited, the fragment model itself is still temporary.
Fixed some protection zones which were colliding with the player, which was rude of them.
Fixed an issue with the escape vent protection zone at the Excalibur Bridge. So, like, stop trying to clip out of the map… or don’t, I’m not your Sparks.
Adjusted small chests to no longer allow MassCollect interactions. Got ‘em.
Added layer of bedrock boundary to avoid digging through the top/bottom of the level. *Unless the player had already dug near the top/bottom previously in the save.

Balance Changes

Adjusted all recipes to have friendly, integer throughput numbers that play nicely with other recipe numbers. Happy mathing.
Adjusted all machine speeds to have friendly, integer throughput numbers. Happy mathing, again!
Adjusted Thresher recipes that enabled an exploit where Groundbreakers could get infinite ingots. Aw, RIP.
Buffed MKI and MKII Conveyor Belt speeds. Zoom zoom.
Removed Core Composer Core Limit so Groundbreakers do not need to build nearly as many Core Composers. Just find, like, a tall cave. Or make one, we dare you.
Removed Core Composer Mushroom Cap so Core Composers look more visually pleasing and take up less horizontal space in the level. If we’re being honest, we thought they were pretty as mushrooms, but we get it. We’re not crying, you’re crying.
Reduced costs of all Tech Tree technologies. Groundbreakers will need ~1500 Purple Cores and ~5000 Blue Cores to completely unlock all technology presently available in the game.
Biobrick Technology has been moved up two tiers in PT Victor to avoid tempting Groundbreakers into automating a late-game fuel source very early in the game. Don’t be deceived by its tricks, Groundbreaker.
Threshers now have a Clearance of 1m, allowing for Groundbreakers to connect Threshers to Threshers via Inserters.

Mechanics and Feature Changes

In-game Metrics added for all of the glorious factory nerds among us. Balance! Optimize!
Digging down with the M.O.L.E. added.
Removed Core Composer Height Limit, making the sky the limit. *Note: The sky is not the limit. The cavern ceilings are the limit.
Changed Core Composer to build straight up instead of mushrooming out at a certain level.
Disabled red X on Core Composer.
Restricted Inserters from loading Core Composers when they have 10 pending Cores to place.

Narrative and Quest Changes

The introductory Monorail quest has been simplified down to ‘Build 2 Depots;’ Groundbreakers should now be able to complete the quest without issue. Thank Sparks!
The ‘Build 100 Assemblers’ achievement will now send a partial-progress ping to Groundbreakers only once at the 50 built mark. This used to happen every 10 Assemblers, and that was annoying.
Tutorial Quests added for the Hover Pack and Railrunner. Flying and riding will make more sense now.
Item description text changed for Hover Pack and Rail Runner, also reinforcing how Groundbreakers control them, because we all know Tutorial Quests are the worst. Haha, what a silly thing for us to write!
Databank Knowledge Panels updated to reflect various machine number changes.
‘MassErase’ renamed to ‘MassDeconstruct’ to avoid confusion around its functionality where Groundbreakers thought MassErase would permanently delete the machine along with its resources. We would never do that to you.
Signal unlock quest involving the activation of an ‘Unknown Technology’ changed; the tech required is now ‘Core Clustering.’
In-game description of Core Clustering has been rewritten for clarity. This is still mid/late-game tech, and we plan to offer even more clarity in-game as it develops. To be fair, even some of us were confused about this one.
An onscreen tip now appears after key Door Repair quests become activated which tutorialize how to turn HUD signals related to them on and off.
System Message when interacting with not-yet-activated Freight Elevator expanded to tell Groundbreakers explicitly that they need to continue upgrading PT VICTOR.
System Message line now provides an explicit hint to investigate RD-3215 when mining of Atlantum fails.

Settings, UI, and Performance Changes

Added AZERTY support.
Added an Antialiasing toggle to support crispier Techtonica.
Reworked sound to better prioritize nearby machines, helping with performance for factories with lots of Cores and Belts
Performed a slew of varied audio optimizations to negate the impact sound had on performance.
Added save in progress indicator.
Added Research Core Motion toggle to aid with motion sickness.
Added several new audio sliders for more finite sound control.

Bugfixes

Please note that this list is not exhaustive and does not include all minor bugfixes.

Removed incorrect “PROGRESS IS STOPPED WHILE THE GAME IS PAUSED” notification from pause screen in multiplayer modes. This was a lie.
Fixed bug where errors could cause performance degradation or crashing when language was set to Polish. We’re sorry to all of Poland. This was a weird one!
Fixed multiple bugs where keyboard/controller glyphs did not appear correctly after player rebinds controls.
Fixed multiple bugs where placeholder text appeared in Tasks & Tips descriptions.
Fixed multiple bugs with power generation and consumption ratios.
Fixed bug where title crashed when quitting application via Xbox shell.
Fixed multiple errors that could lead to disconnections during multiplayer modes.
Fixed bug with “Overclocked” Steam achievement not triggering properly.
Fixed bug where “Building a Monorail System” quest did not complete properly.
Fixed bug where too many sound sources from Cores, Belts, or other machines could cause performance degradation, save file corruption, or crashing.
Fixed multiple errors with localized text not appearing in the selected language.
Removed scannable object for SML PowerTrim II tech, which is not available in current game.
Replaced incorrect upgrade icons in Tech Tree.
Fixed bug with world geometry near Warehouse facility that could result in Groundbreaker being ejected from level. Funny to hear about; horrible to experience.
Fixed bug creating power generation issues when MKI and MKII Crank Generators were combined on the same line.

Known Issues

Finally, these are the smaller or more edge-case issues that we know still exist as we bring v0.1.1 online.

We utilized Google Translate for some of the minor text changes in the update, you will likely see some odd translation errors between now and when our localization team takes care of it!
The M.O.L.E. VFX can disappear if Groundbreakers tweak super specific settings while it’s still playing. If this happens to you, reload the save from the main menu.
Our new audio sliders are fancy, but! The Ambience slider does not reduce sounds specifically in facilities.
The Mining Drill Inspector Panel indicates Miners are mining resources when pointed at non-ore veins. This is false, they are not mining those resources. They still dig, though.
Fuel Stats in the Inspector Panel show consumption rates rounded to the nearest integer. We will update this in 0.1.2 to round to the nearest first decimal place.
M.O.L.E. sounds distort during Flatten Mode.
When playing in German, AZERTY is weirdly displayed as asery. Not a show-stopper, still annoying.
If Groundbreakers rebind their keys with special characters, Placeholder keys will show up instead.