Shields Up! - Development Log #433

In this week's devlog we talk about upcoming changes to ship shields and more motion components.

Michi (molp)

I continued to work on motion components this week. The last two motion components necessary to cover all the functionality a governor was able to do before are setting population infrastructure levels and workforce programs.

Setting the population infrastructure levels is something most players aren't even aware of. For governors, it can be an important tool to manage the required upkeep of a certain infrastructure. The higher the infrastructure levels are the higher the benefit for the planet's population. The upkeep also increases with higher levels, so in some cases it might be beneficial to reduce the effective level of a population infrastructure. This is exactly what this motion component is for. The levels can be set from 0 to the built maximum. The "max" setting will always set the active level to the available maximum, which is very handy when the infrastructure level increases: in that case no additional setting is necessary.

I also created a motion component form for starting workforce programs. These programs are for example used to attract new workforces to the planet, or increase the rate with which they level up to higher workforce tiers. Unfortunately the server side is a bit complicated, which is why I wasn't able to finish that part yet.

Also, the monthly economic report for April is out:

Click the image for the full report

Fabian (Counterpoint)

We've heard your concerns surrounding ship shields and repair costs, so we decided to make some changes as part of an upcoming maintenance patch (no final date yet though). Namely, we will reduce the weight of higher-level hull plates, so they will mainly differ in production cost (and of course their resistance). Basic and lightweight plates will be adjusted as well, but this should make the more expensive ones more viable in comparison. Shield recipes will become less expensive overall as well. On top of that, applying shields to your ship will reduce the amount of hull plate materials you have to provide. The more and higher-tier shields your ship blueprint has, the more hull plates will be deducted from your repair bill, so shields will not just reduce the rate of deterioration but also save on other required repair materials. This should make using (especially higher-tier) shields more of an actually viable choice.

As always: we'd love to hear what you think: join us on Discord or the forums!

Happy trading!