The first update of 2016 is now live! Welcome to the future!

This build has fixed all critical game play issues and also introduces colonist selection, mineral smelting, the manifest screen, as well as a selection of new items and small features.

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Maia 0.52 is now out. The main focus of this build has been bug eradication, AI improvements, and the long awaited first person “possession” modes.

Here’s Simon showing off some of the latest changes:

Skip to the end for a full changelog.

First Person Imp Robot

Experience Maia through the eyes of the IMP Robot, walk around your base doing the tasks the IMPs usually do, explore outside, mine the rock walls for minerals and build Nanofibre Blocks. First person mode introduces a whole new way to observe and interact with the planet Maia. To enter this mode, click/track the object you want to possess and click the new icon that appears at the bottom of the screen.

First Person Utility Robot

In addition to the first person IMP Robots you can also view the world of Maia through Utility Robots. Using it’s repair arm you will be able to repair objects and “accidentally” set colonists on fire.

Turret View

Keep watch of your base by possessing the turrets. The turret view adds a unique way to view Maia.

Colonist Suit Head Cams

Cameras have also been mounted in colonist suits so you can see what they colonists see when they are outside.

First Person Door Control

Take control of the doors around your base. Open and close to allow colonists, pets and robots entry to rooms. This is really great for annoying colonists.

Hydroponic Agriculture

Feed your colonists a varied diet with the addition of potatoes, carrots, kale and broccoli. Each of these plants take a different amount of time to grow, and produce different amounts of energy and micro-nutrients, allowing you to manage your colonies supplies more effectively.

Rendering And Performance Improvements

Lens flares and reflections and general rendering have been improved and game performance has been enhanced by code clean ups and alterations.

Change log:

Construction planning tweaked. Colonists are more aware of complex needs. For instance won’t build more beds than people, prioritize atmosphere generation in rooms more likely to run out of air, and not build more beds than there are people.

• Colonist can now die from dehydration.
• IV drips now work to medicate colonists who are dehydrated or starving.
• A sparkle has been added to the cave system to create the feel of dust.
• A whole host of new sound work have been added to the game and UI such as footsteps, robot movements and other ambient noises.
• When a colonist claims ownership of a blueprint, it will brighten the hologram to show it.
• IMPs are now smarter about picking up minerals. Can carry two at once.
• Most IMP lockups fixed.
• Colonists no longer get enamoured with Voxnocturnus when they are set to interact with them.
  Gaps in some of the info tips on items have been fixed.
  Colonists should no longer risk running outside with their suits off to get minerals.
• Several colonist needs balanced. Socialising will take up less time, colonists are more likely to avoid it if they have an important task.
  Socialising colonists do a lot less spinning around to look at the person they are interacting with.
• Colonists will no longer stare each other to death.
• Balanced base spawning for sandbox missions.
• Screenshots are now working in Steam.
• Colonists path finding to research trees has been improved.
• Colonists empty barrels of water at the correct time.
• A lot of sounds have been added or corrected. This includes email and UI sound effects.
• Flags can now be deleted if you’re not feeling very patriotic.
• Hydroponics priorities have been reduced to stop colonists becoming obsessed with them.
• Turret blueprints can now be removed fully.
• Animation system fixes to stop stuttering and repetition of actions.
• Fix to stop dead colonist’s brains using up processing power.
• Various memory leaks fixed, specifically when repeatedly f9 quickloading.
• Sun no longer rises in The Twilight Zone.
• Plant growth is balanced and more realistic.
• Path finding overhaul, colonists less likely to attempt to build things that are potentially inaccessible.
• Code clean up and optimisation of several subsystems.
• All known game play crashes fixed.

Want to know what’s currently being worked on for the next updates? Here’s a roadmap Simon wrote of his plans.

Update Trailer