[h3]Greetings, esteemed colleagues![/h3] Strap on your flippers, [b]Crush Depth is now LIVE![/b] [previewyoutube=3amLNBSMP8k;full][/previewyoutube] Crush Depth is our first major roadmap milestone since releasing into Early Access back in May and it is jam packed with new content for your scientific brains to explore! As such, we’ll try to keep this short and relatively spoiler-free so you can get out there with untainted minds. And if you’re not in the reading mood (worn out from getting all those PhDs no doubt) Community Manager Criss has new informative vlog ready for your viewing eyeballs: [previewyoutube=AfDwX_-lK08;full][/previewyoutube] [h1]NEW UPDATE - 0.9.0 - "Crush Depth"[/h1] [h2]Beyond The Labs[/h2] The story continues in the GATE Cascade Research Facility - first with a bold journey into the dark gauntlet of Security Sector and then a big splash in the watery Hydroplant! Each locale - and other worlds beyond - contain new resources, enemies, and [REDACTED]! For obvious reasons, that is pretty much ALL we will say about the new locations. We want you to experience and explore at your own pace and without any preconceived notions about what to do, where to go, or how to conduct your scientific progress. And yes, you can continue your existing saves if you want - though you might find a few changes throughout the early game too, especially with the new boon of Fishing and whatnot. We hope you enjoy exploring these new Sectors and portal worlds as much as we enjoyed building them. And don’t forget to bring a flashlight. [h2]Fishing[/h2] Need a break from the day-to-day mad science? Tired of the same old Pest-burger? Grab some office supplies, cobble together a Makeshift Fishing Rod and cast your line! The new Fishing skill can be leveled to unlock fishing-related recipes and increase your general skill in acquiring those feisty fish. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43009981/2e7bf3c1ffed5093a8fe5305e9facb58b189fb68.gif[/img] With fishing also comes a whole new bait system (simply hold your Reload key to add bait to a rod) and many new ways to get certain resources - and a few new things you may not expect. And you better believe that Reload feature is a sign of things to come. One thing you can expect is [b]fish.[/b] You will get fish when fishing. Usually. Different fish can be caught in different types of water, and there’s even a few sneaky variants that may lurk below. As with most things in the GATE Cascade Research Facility, we’ll leave the thinking [i]up to you.[/i] [h2]Water, Water Everywhere[/h2] Well, not everywhere, but a lot of it, to be sure! We’ve even added a couple new spots to swim and fish about! The swimming system has been updated a bit for better navigation, and some new items lay in store to help you where you might need it. We won’t say more on this topic, because we feel we’ve said just the right amount. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43009981/bb528fc066a03773251bec00d300b7896b5ddcd6.gif[/img] [h2]Savory Sushi with the Chef’s Counter[/h2] Food is now exclusively crafted at a new early-stage bench, and the right-hand side specifically enables the butchering of fish. To procure the meat and other resources from fish, you’ll need a powered-up Chef’s Counter in whatever hovel you’ve decided to call home. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43009981/3cfc4282744697cb150def4f681b139bf65f009c.gif[/img] [h2]New Feature: Temperature[/h2] The Temperature System has been completely reworked from the ground up to require a little planning, but much better feedback and easy solutions, if you know where to look. As you increase cold and heat resistance, your temperature gauge will change to reflect your tolerances, and you’ll now have much better on-screen feedback when it comes to the ambient weather. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43009981/87a6410bff24fe5903b9d953ea04760aad2f9fc7.gif[/img] Equipment will indicate if it’s going to give you a nice bonus one way or the other. There’s a lot more nuance here, and once again - use that big brain to solve those big problems. [h2]New Deployables[/h2] There’s a bunch of new scientific deployables for you to invent which should fill out the missing spots in your base. [list] [*] Auto-Salvager [*] Moisture Teleporter [*] Carbon Bridges [*] Carbon Barricade [*] Carbon Storage Crates [*] The radiation-neutralizing Neutrino Emitter?! [*] THE PORTAL TOILET? [*] This is nonsense, absolute nonsense. And this isn’t even a full list! [/list][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43009981/126135d98c43cd9d5eab3c5e5148d1ff7d24f4a2.gif[/img] [h2]Lock n’ Lasers[/h2] The Laser System has been expanded and there are now several new laser-based and laser-powered deployables. And some weapons, or so we’ve heard. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43009981/1a74a985a482b3db09c2072fcb4fb38ea7ac2aba.gif[/img] [h2]New Weapons, Armor and Enemies[/h2] We could not begin to enumerate the threats and theories you’ll uncover (nor do we want to spoil your adventure), but we can give you a handy breakdown of a few new technologies we feel you’ll be clamoring for in no time. [list][*] At least one new armor set, but probably more like three [*] New goggles, of both the swimming and night vision variety [*] The scoped Magbow [*] Several new craftable Heavy Weapons, and major buffs to Heavy Weapons in general [*] A couple new military-grade weapons, and [i]Biomimic[/i] Armwraps [*] A jetpack? [*] That thing on the Exor’s arm?? [*] You can drive the SUV now!? [*] The rest of this list is far too long, my fingers hurt![/list]We feel these weapons and armor will help you against the threats that lay ahead. But that’s just a feeling. [h2]Skill Rank 15[/h2] You can now level your skills all the way to Rank 15. That’s a high number (but not the highest we have planned.) Maybe there’s a few new perks along the way! (There are. There are a few new perks along the way.) [h2]Bench Upgrades[/h2] Two new bench upgrades have found their way into the Crafting Bench; the Metabolic Field and the Spontaneous Matter Synthesizer. We feel the names speak for themselves. [h2]Warren: Man of the People[/h2] Warren has followed through on his threats and finally opened a small trading post. You can give Warren (or rather, his trading terminal) a bunch of different items, and more will unlock as you progress! He might have a few handy things for sale, including staplers. He also said something about strange dreams with orange skies, and reckoned he’d trade us a GATE Security Crate key if we could help him sleep a bit better. Weird. Maybe you can sort that out for him. [h2]Fixating on Fog[/h2] Dr. Thule tells us he’s spoken with several scientist passer-bys that claim the [spoiler]foggy Facility weather[/spoiler] is too dang foggy. We got him a few cups of coffee and he spent a bit of time tinkering around and upgrading the Facility ventilation systems. We’re happy to report that it worked. The Facility now has two [i]sensible[/i] locations for [spoiler]venting weather, both Fog and Radiation Leaks.[/spoiler] Along with that change, the fog itself seems to have been reduced in intensity, just a bit. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43009981/8b6f31078c16ee9421dee211574bf7e16827f1fd.png[/img] As we parted ways with Thule, he gave us a small bite of something he said he “fished up.” He called it [spoiler]Fogiri[/spoiler], and when we ate it, we could swear [spoiler]the Fog[/spoiler] came swirling in just the next day! Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe. [h2]Holy **** They Might Have Optimized Something[/h2] Now now, don’t get [i]too[/i] excited. We can’t promise we fixed [i]all[/i] of the optimization issues some scientists have experienced, but we can guarantee one thing: we gave it a pretty good shot! We tore apart some of the Sectors and put them back together in a way that allows smaller chunks of the areas to load. The most affected sectors are the Laboratory areas - you know the one - and the new Sectors also benefit greatly from this. We’d like to do this with more sectors over time, but it does take time and a lot of care. We hope you enjoy these changes and we can say personally - we felt the difference. [h2]Honorable Mentions[/h2] Various micro (and some macro) improvements have been made all throughout the Facility. Let’s just run down another (incomplete) list, shall we? [list][*] Holding interact on Charging Stations will now bring up a radial wheel allowing you to place any low-battery items. [*] Holding the Flashlight toggle button will now bring up a radial wheel featuring all your available flashlight, weapon, or headlamp illumination options. [*] Ovens do a ringy dingy now. [*] There are a handful of new plants, and we’ve even added some new ways to get things that were previously one-offs. Keep an eye out for things that grow. A lot of food recipes are hiding just behind a suspicious leaf, if you get our meaning. [*] A lot of food-related items have been rebalanced. See the full patch notes (linked below) for a more detailed breakdown. [*] Widened some roadways (or hallways) in a few key spots for better vehicular travel, something we’ll keep an eye on. [*] We’ve made improvements to the recipe substitute system, allowing more varieties of resources to be used in certain recipes. We’ve also looked at resources that were difficult to get and improved the rate you might encounter them. [*] Certain cabinets have had their space expanded (such as Med Kits) but now only allow a specific item type. This can be disabled in Sandbox Settings, but we feel this balances out some of the overuse of high-capacity refrigerators for things that aren’t strictly food. [*] The Compendium now shows when something new is unlocked, and what that something is. Look for an orange dot! [*] We heard The Order has given [spoiler]Ornate Keycards[/spoiler] to more of their troops. The reasoning for this is unknown, but it can only help us science folk. [*] There has been an increase in sightings of IS-0407 in Flathill. [*] There’s so much more we could list, but we simply can’t cover it all here. See patch notes (linked below) for a more detailed look at the changes.[/list]Keep in mind the patch notes will NOT include new content, for the most part, as we feel discovery is a major part of the experience. Thank you for your understanding. [h2]Achievements[/h2] A good handful of achievements have been added - many will be obtained by visiting (for the first time or by returning) to your favorite portal worlds, as well as a couple new sneaky ones. Speaking of sneaky ones - let us know when you find the Hydroplant uniform. [h2]Bugs Bugging You?[/h2] We’ve also made some changes to the [url=https://form.jotform.com/242078313437051]in-game bug report form[/url] to make it easier for you to submit your bugs. It now has bug type categories to choose from, cutting down on the amount of information we’re asking you to type in. Quick and easy! That’s how all great science gets done. With your help, we will continue making Abiotic Factor the best it can be. Be safe out there, scientists. [h3]This has been a taste of the major highlights, if you're looking for the [url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/427410/discussions/7/4521137097808570800/][b]FULL PATCH NOTES[/b][/url], click the link to the left and explore the full list on your favorite dial up modem.[/h3] Be sure to update your dedicated servers and as always, please keep submitting your bugs through the in-game links so we can keep working on improvements. [h2]The Road Ahead[/h2] While Dark Energy is indeed our next major, major update, we have a couple more things in store between then and now. A September Community Update? Maybe! A Halloween Special? Who knows! The potential is unlimited, but we are human, so we’ll have to narrow it down. We’ll let you know when we’re ready to spill the beans. And yes, we’re also looking into more robust Difficulty settings, because we know some of you just can’t get enough pain. Alright, that’s enough reading outta you lot, let’s get in there and explore! [b]Thank you for all your work in the GATE Cascade Research Facility![/b] [b]Onward -- to science.[/b] [h2]Join the Scientific Community![/h2] [list] [*] [url=https://discord.gg/deepfield][b]Discord[/b][/url] [*] [url=abioticfactor.com][b]Newsletter[/b][/url] [*] [url=https://youtube.com/@DeepFieldGames][b]YouTube[/b][/url] [*] [url=https://twitter.com/ABFGame][b]Twitter[/b][/url] [/list] [h3]Join the Research Division Today![/h3] https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Factor/