Environment Update

We felt that environments didn't really convey that the story takes place on Earth, it could have been on any random barren planet since there weren't really any signs of civilization in the foreground.

To create more immersive and genuine environments, Timi and Csabi (our environment designer and art director, respectively) have been busy with enriching the environments with countless props and objects, to really bring home the point that you are on the deserted Earth. Humans lived here not long ago.

Dead trees and plants are scattered across outdoor levels since the Virus only killed organisms that were alive at the time. Various objects are left behind by the humans as well, such as boots and camping gear. Indoor levels are juiced up by countless colorful signs, graffiti and posters.

The level designer AI also got a visual upgrade: it now decorates walls and ledges with little details, resulting in a more organic look. Fresh playtesters trying out the game for the first time could never tell that the levels are not handcrafted, so this wasn't strictly necessary. However, we felt that a little variety won't hurt in this area either.

All in all, we hope that the Environment Update will lead to an even more immersive experience for old and new players alike.

What else is cooking?

We came out with the first mini-DLC slash major update in March: Drone Danger introduced several new ways to die! In the same spirit, we are working on a bunch of new obstacles and yet more ways to blow up in the form of different kinds of Turrets. The fun thing about these is that the level designer AI is throwing these new things next to the old stuff in crazy ways, which results in a lot of surprising situations. Expect the Turret Update to come out during May or early June.

Harsh conditions! (Warning, Turret visuals placeholders. They'll be pretty, I am certain).

And wait until you see the Turret Bots. As usual, foes are also friends; they help you solve certain obstacles. Turrets can be exploited to overcome a bunch of new situations. New puzzles! If you want to give Turrets a try before it's released officially to all players, hop on to our Discord server and we'll let you in on a little secret.

After the Turrets, who knows? Teleporters? Force fields? Moar dakka? Just wait and see. We have enough cash to work on this game until August, so until then you can expect a bunch of crazy things even if we don't sell a single copy. If you'd like to see us keep going for more, go and support us by picking up a copy of Terraforming Earth on Steam and telling all your friends about it too ;)!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1029220/Terraforming_Earth/

PS.: Oh yeah, and also play it with your friends over Steam Remote Play. That's what we do during the lockdown, it's awesome (and safe:). We all need to nurture our social connections extra hard during these isolating times, and playing games together is a great way to enjoy and share one of our greatest passions! Stay home, stay safe and stay connected!