Greetings Pilgrims; This major update marks a big milestone for the beta. We now have most of the content and mechanics in place for release. We still have a long way to go before we can consider releasing, but content-wise we are close. This update allows the player to reach 100% terraforming. With the exception of 4 terraforming events that are purely visuals and will be completed in the visual section of development in the future. Part of terraforming the planet will require you to eliminate the alien lifeforms through expeditions and firing missiles at the nests of flying creatures. Doing so will give you materials used in crafting terraforming upgrades. We will go over the specifics below. The majority of the new advanced facilities and structures all have the basic recipe of one copper bar, and one iron bar to make testing easy. The majority of these also have a 0 power cost to make life easy. This will be changing in the next major patch and we will begin to look at the balance and flow of the game. [h2]Terraforming Events[/h2] [h3]35% Lakes[/h3] After you pass this threshold a large lake will begin to appear in the starting area. This water is fully interactive with the ability to swim etc. It will begin to slowly rise as it rains anytime beyond this point in the terraforming. [h3]40% New Areas And Resources[/h3] I previously left the last update at 40% progress, but I had not added the new resource. We have now added platinum to the new area that was unlocked at 40% including the deep deposits and platinum drills. As well as the ability to refine platinum bars and use those to craft the next terraforming upgrade. [h3]50% Atmosphere[/h3] When you reach 50% there is no longer any oxygen loss on Ceres. With the exception of going underwater. If you have oxygen set to none in the difficulty settings it will also stay full underwater. Assuming you have oxygen loss on anything but none you will only lose air when underwater beyond 50% terraforming. [h3]60% Grass Grows[/h3] A short time after passing 60% the landscape will change to a simple grass layered landscape vs the rocky landscape you start with. This is just a visual change it has no real impact on the game, but it does feel good to see the world change. [h3]65% Mutated Scorpion Attacks[/h3] At 65% the mutated scorpions begin their attacks. These lethal creatures will target a lot of different structures, but using expeditions will allow you to end any form of aggression. We will go over that below in the expedition section. [h3]70% Ice Melts[/h3] At 70% the final chunk of ice melts. This new area does not have new materials it just has a couple of supply boxes with some goodies for you to help move your crafting forward. [h3]75% Vegetation Grows[/h3] This is one of the 4 visual updates that does not yet exist but the functionality is in place. When created this will cause basic bushes and other vegetation to scatter the landscape. [h3]80% Simple life forms manifest[/h3] This is one of the 4 visual updates that does not yet exist but the functionality is in place. When created this will cause basic life forms to appear such as insects and other simple life forms. [h3]85% Trees begin to grow[/h3] This is one of the 4 visual updates that does not yet exist but the functionality is in place. When created this will cause trees to sprout up across the landscape. [h3]95% Advanced life forms manifest[/h3] This is one of the 4 visual updates that does not yet exist but the functionality is in place. When created this will cause advanced life forms to begin to come alive. These will include small animals like birds and perhaps rabbits or other small creatures. [h3]100% Terraforming complete[/h3] When you reach 100% you will have a popup victory window that will tell you your terraforming score based on how long it took you to reach 100% as well as posting this score to the terraforming leader board. You can then choose to end the game, continue for fun, or to complete milestones. [h2]Expeditions and Enemy Eliminations.[/h2] [h3]Expeditions[/h3] There are three expeditions you will need to clear. Each expedition when you kill the boss you will gain a special crafting material used in terraforming upgrades. To do an expedition you just need to create an expedition facility and then launch the expedition you wish to clear. Should you somehow lose the special material gained from an expedition you can re-clear that expedition again. The three expeditions have not yet been fully made on the visual side much like everything, but currently, you can go to their maps which have a few eggs and mobs to fight. You can fight them using turrets and the new Killbot 9000 created for this specific purpose. After you kill a set amount of aliens and eggs the boss will spawn. Once you kill the boss you will receive the crafting material and can get in the return pod to go back to base. These expeditions are not meant as a complex and difficult combat event. I don't want the game to be about combat or have you killed. They are instead just another interesting way to use crafting. If you have a few killbots ready to go they will clean up the area quite easily. Each expedition gets harder, but that just means more bots and turrets. You are never in danger of dying and you can leave an expedition at any time. If you place one bot and it gets killed you can head home to craft more and then return. It is meant as an alternate way to make the player craft not a serious combat challenge. [h3]Kill Bot 9000[/h3] The killbot can be used as a defensive unit for your base as well as a killing machine for expeditions. If placed on your base it will patrol the area from where it was placed. When used on an expedition it will patrol an area around the player but continue to stay with you. Bots and turrets used on expeditions can not be dismantled and taken back home, they are locked to that expedition. When used at your base you can pick them back up. [h3]Missile Silo[/h3] The missile silo is your answer to the flying creatures found on the map. You will need to construct a silo and then craft a ballistic payload in the military crafting facility. Once you have a payload you can launch a missile from the silo which will destroy one of the 6 nests found on the map. Each time you fire a missile you will receive radioactive waste which is a material used in crafting the final terraforming upgrade, along with the scorpid venom gained from expedition three. As you remove nests and complete expeditions those enemies will no longer be present in the base as well as their attacks will no longer happen. You will need to clear all three expeditions and all six nests to craft the last two terraforming upgrades needed to reach 100% terraforming. Once again these are not meant to be challenging combat situations, just another interesting means to push crafting forward. [h2]What is next?[/h2] Now that we have the mechanics and systems in place next up is a large patch that will flesh out many existing aspects. Currently, many recipes just call for one iron bar and one copper bar for testing purposes. The next patch will add more parts and finalize recipes while expanding existing systems like milestones, game options, mission objectives, and much more. The next patch will expand all the existing systems while also adding smaller additions such as decorations, signage, and more. There is still a lot to be done but we are making great strides towards an initial release. Once all the systems have been fleshed out we can move on to the modeling and visual side of the game which will bring the game to life. A huge thank you to everyone for their continued support, especially those participating in the beta giving critical feedback around bugs and issues. Soon we will be able to test the game as a whole and tweak balance to ensure progression is smooth and respects the player's time. If you would like to join the beta test pop into the discord and ask for a key to gain immediate access. Thank you, and have fun out there.