M4 Patch Notes (1969-2783)

Patch Notes

Version: 2783

Release Date: 23.11.2022

New Features

Given the breadth of the new features being introduced to the Mars4 3D game, a quick summary will be listed here regarding the major changes to help players easily familiarise themselves with the new content.

New Vehicle: The Karkanda Exo-Transport is a new vehicle that can be deployed from your NFT inventory. It is a transport vehicle able to ferry additional colonists and the planned mining exo-suits to and from sites with ease.

Power Grids: Use the new energy-generating machines to provide power for your bases.

Wiring Systems: Harness the energy generated by your new machines by connecting them in circuits to the various other machines in your bases. Water Gathering and Processing: Gather and process water for use in industry or as a drink for your colonists. The water processing and gathering mechanics currently only restore your health, but will be included into the survival mechanics via thirst in future updates.

Crafting & Processing Tiers: Crafting tables and reprocessing machines now feature tiered versions with cheaper, smaller machines providing an easier start up for colonists and higher tier, more industrial machines able to fill the needs of growing bases more efficiently.

Storage Space: We’ve introduced storage units to allow players to sort their inventories more efficiently inside their bases. Turn your bases into neatly organised spaces… or don’t. You’re equally welcome to turn every square inch of the interior of your base into a quagmire of storage units.

Unreal Engine 5: The game now runs on UE5!

Game Optimisations: The team has optimised the game file size from 24Gb to 3.5Gb! This should allow updates and patches to progress extremely fast compared to before. In addition, the optimisations should see a notable increase in FPS.

Further details will continue below!

New Vehicle: Karkanda ET

This update sees the release of the second of Mars4’s driveable vehicles, the Karkanda E.T. This Exo-transport is able to ferry not just the driver, but also a crew of colonists alongside Exo-suits to and from mining sites. This additional versatility pairs it up well with exploration vehicles in the future of the full 3D multiplayer game. The Karkanda also has an additional benefit via the use of the MCC as the asset can be used both in the 3D game and as a mining vehicle through the Mars Control Center.

To find out more about the Karkanda ET, its uses in-game and in the Mars Control Center, take a look at our vehicle page.

Power Grids

The power grid is a system that uses energy-generating machines to provide electricity to other machines via the wiring system. Colonists can build and place several different varieties of energy-generating machines which each have their own pros and cons. Some might be obvious at first glance (have you ever tried using a solar-powered torch at night?)

The list of energy-producing machines added in this update include:

• Wind turbines (in 3 variations)

• Solar panels (in 2 variations)

• Vibration turbines

• Hydrogen-burning generators

With more to come in future updates.

Wiring System

This is a mechanic that allows players to create electricity circuits by connecting energy-generating machines to the machines that draw power. This change introduces a logistics system for the delivery and usage of power and enables colonists to organise their bases in differing manners according to the power systems they are using. Alongside the introduction of the core wiring system comes several tools and constructables to assist the player as they power up their colony on Mars.

• Wiring Tool - A tool used to connect wires from point A to point B

• Splitters (in three different sizes) that are required to connect multiple machines to one circuit

  • Splitter with 4 sockets

  • Splitter with 6 sockets

  • Splitter with 8 sockets

• Transformers (in two variations) - Used to connect long distance wires, making them good to use outdoors.

  • There are 2 types of transformers

    • Wall attachable

    • Pole

• Switch - Turns connected circuit points on or off, allowing colonists to save power or simply to use portions of their bases at a time more efficiently.

• Power display panel - Displays the circuit’s maximum available power and the currently consumed power. A useful diagnostic tool to check a base’s energy efficiency.

Water Gathering and Processing

Water gathering and processing is a production chain that helps establish and set up the survival mechanics of the Mars4 game. In this current implementation, colonists can drink the water they produce to restore their health. However, the implementation itself sets the groundwork for establishing further related production chains as well as the game’s survival mechanics. Water will see uses in agriculture, power generation, and colonist survival needs.

The current water gathering and processing systems include:

• Water gatherers - Machines that slowly gather unfiltered water from the atmosphere.

• Pump jacks - Machines that gather unfiltered water from the underground water sources

• Water filterers - Uses electricity and methane in order to filter water into drinkable or potable water

• 3 different tiers of water tanks

  • Small water tank - Small inventory space

  • Water tank - Medium inventory space

  • Large water tank - The largest inventory space

Crafting and Reprocessing Progression

The progression of crafting and reprocessing allows for an easier time for both new and old colonists arriving on Mars. Newer colonists will benefit from smaller crafting costs associated with the new Tier 1 fabricators and furnaces which allow them to establish bases relatively quicker. Colonists who have been on the surface for a while and have well-established bases will benefit from the higher tier fabricators and furnaces that allow a greater volume of production and reprocessing.

New fabricators

• Tier 1 - Portable fabricator - Very first crafting table that provides smallest machinery building options

• Tier 2 - Small fabricator - middle tier crafting table that provides more inventory and more building options

• Tier 3 - Fabricator - best crafting table in the game with the biggest inventory and all available buildings

New processing machinery

• Tier 1 - Portable furnace

• Tier 2 - Furnace

• Tier 3 - Arc Furnace

New machines/constructables

• Two tiers of methane gathering machinery

  • Methane creation machine - Uses perchlorate brines and electrolysis process in order to create methane

  • Improved methane creation machine - produces methane at higher rate

• Added wall heater

• Storage container

• Storage container that is attachable to the wall

• Storage Cabinet

• Storage Cabinet that is attachable to the wall

New items

• Unfiltered water bottle

• Water bottle

• Methane tank

Machinery Changes

• Hydrogen energy cell charger has been reworked into Hydrogen-burning generator

  • This machine burns hydrogen in order to produce electricity

• Heater - Model updated to a new more suitable one

• The following machines have had their power-usage mechanics changed from energy cells to the new power grid:

  • Oxygen Generator

  • Fabricator

  • Arc Furnace

  • Synthetic Manufacturer

  • Electrolysis machine

    • Tier 3 crafting table can craft electrolysis machine that uses power grid

  • Oxygen tank replenisher

    • Tier 3 crafting table can craft electrolysis machine that uses power grid

Vehicles

• Karkanda ET added to NFT inventories and deployable in-game.

• Added beam lights to the vehicles by pressing F key.

• Added vehicles inventory.

• Now vehicles need to be equipped with hydrogen fuel tanks to start the engine and drive.

• Added vehicle UI with fuel consumption, gears and minimap.
  

Improvements

• New set of vehicles tweaks for better driving experience.

• Game performance increase.In some heavy scenes the performance increase reaches 500%. Average performance increase - up to 30%.

• The interaction range of the building plan and structure modifier is extended.

• Added destruction effects to all tiers of furnaces.

• Starry sky is back in the game.

• Game size reduced from 24Gb to 3.5Gb

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug when the character gets an inclination of the horizontal axis when he exits the vehicle.

• Storage crates/chests and a character’s loot don’t show the power connection status anymore.

• Fixed an issue where the deployed vehicle drove away downhill. Brakes adjusted, hand brakes applied.

• Fixed a bug where there was no character walking animation for the first 2 seconds when starting a new game.

• Fixed a cheat/bug when you could get 100% charged energy cells by just starting and cancelling the crafting process in fabricator.

• Fixed an issue where exiting a vehicle on a hill or on a rock makes the character sink into it. We’ve told Mars’ surface to stop playing favourites to vehicles. If it’s ground beneath the wheels, it’s ground beneath your feet too.

• Fixed a bug where saving/loading the game restores suit temperature.

• Fixed a bug where the vehicle's minimap mark showed the wrong direction. The early UN mapping satellites were not 100% accurate, but even the UN knows where North is.

• Dropped objects will no longer occasionally sink through the ground.

• Fixed a bug where some mineable rocks could not be destroyed. The planet has been told to deactivate its infinite health cheats.

• Fixed an issue with floating ores. Gravity is a law, not a suggestion.