Hi Miners! ⛏️
Phase 0 Part 2 is now live! With this update, we are completing Phase 0 from our roadmap.
This means we are wrapping up the first wave of feedback-focused improvements and finishing an important step before moving toward bigger new content updates.
Thank you again for all your feedback. Many of the changes in this update were shaped directly by what you shared with us.
Here’s what’s included in today’s update:
🚜 Mini Excavator
The Mini Excavator has finally arrived! It may not replace your shovel, but it definitely looks cooler at the dig site
After unlocking the Excavator License from Upgrades, you can purchase the vehicle, bring it to a dig site, and start digging.
We tried to keep the control scheme simple and easy to understand, so we hope you can get used to it quickly and start having fun with it.
A quick note about this feature: Ore Factory Squad was originally built around manual hand-tool digging, and most dig sites were designed mainly for vertical gameplay. Because of that, the Excavator is not intended to become the ultimate mining solution. We added it because it was highly requested, and because we liked the idea of seeing multiple Excavators working around a dig site. We see it more as a fun extra tool rather than the core way to play. We also do not expect its physics to compete with games fully built around heavy machinery simulation. That said, we are still working on it, and we are looking forward to your feedback. |
🏢 Mobile Office
The Mobile Office has been added as a new upgrade.
After unlocking it from Upgrades, a mobile office container will be added to your dig sites.
You can quickly access the computer even when you are outside the factory.
You can also drink free coffee from the coffee machine to work longer during the night.
🎰 Casino Roulette
The Casino just got riskier. Roulette has arrived!
Up to 4 players can play at the same time. Bets use shared money, but each player’s chips appear in a different color, so everyone can see exactly where the company money is going.
Casino spending and winning limits have also been tripled with this update.
🧠 Smart Filter Rework
Smart Filters are now actually smarter. We know, bold claim.
Smart Filters now use a toggle-based system, allowing you to select multiple materials and decide whether those items are allowed or blocked.
Filter behavior has also been improved across Splitter Belts and Pallet Drop Zones.
When a specific filter exists, unfiltered outputs should no longer be treated as the primary option.
Robots should now prioritize filtered Drop Zones more correctly when placing pallets.
📦 Elevated Belts & Buffer Belt
New conveyor belts have been added to make factory layouts more flexible.
Elevated Belts allow you to build belts over other belts and create open spaces underneath for Warehouse Robots to pass through.
Buffer Belt works like temporary storage, basically a small “please wait” zone for resources when situations gets messy. If the pallet placed in front of it is full, it stores incoming resources and starts the flow again when a pallet is available.
Belt Line Mode has been added. While using the hammer or belt mode, you can now see belt flow direction and connection status.
🛗 Mining Lift Improvements
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Mining Lift has received a new extension part and vehicle integration options.
Added a new horizontal Mining Lift part that allows the lift to extend sideways instead of only vertically.
The new horizontal part can rotate 360 degrees, giving you more freedom while building underground transport routes.
Mining Lift Head can now detect nearby vehicle beds, move upward automatically, turn on its lights, and place resources coming from the lift directly into the vehicle.
You can see the spinning lights when you position your vehicle bed closer to the lift.
🔩 Bronze, Steel & Production Changes
Bronze and Steel production has been adjusted to feel more logical, because yes, we also had thoughts about “Steel Ore.”
Bronze now starts from Tin as a raw material. Tin + Copper can now be processed in the Smelting Furnace to produce Bronze Ingot.
Steel now starts from High-Grade Iron. When combined with Crushed Coal in the Smelting Furnace, it produces Steel Ingot.
Steel Safe, Valve, and Glass have been re-integrated into production. You can now produce these items again and see more contracts related to them.
📋 Contract Balance Rework #2
Contracts have received another update, especially for players who have reached the later stages of the game.
Added 30+ new contracts to improve contract variety, balance, and production goals.
End-game players should now see a wider variety of contracts.
Contract generation should now better reflect the player’s actual progression, while still offering some progression-limited contracts when appropriate.
🛠 Other Changes, Fixes & Improvements
Increased the amount of Coal gained from Ore Nodes, so you should now be able to collect more Coal while mining.
Added many new categories and information pages to the Info Book app on the computer.
Added new permissions to the Role System, including dynamite usage, casino access, stock sell management and vehicle purchases.
Added several missing keybindings to the settings menu.
Added a toggle key to fully hide the UI. Default key: F3
Fixed an issue that could cause the Pallet Dispenser to spawn pallets inside each other.
Fixed several crash-related issues to improve overall stability.
Fixed some issues that could prevent saved games from loading correctly.
Fixed the position of some unbreakable boundary rocks that were blocking parts of certain dig sites.
Fixed an issue that could cause resources to spawn in unreachable underground areas on some maps.
Fixed several localization issues across different languages.
Fixed an issue where the Warehouse Robot would sometimes fail to pick the pallet back up for loading after packaging.
Improved Text Chat ordering so messages appear in a more consistent order.
Limited Item Notifications to reduce notification spam. The game will now show around 6-7 active item notifications at the same time.
Fixed several smaller bugs and inconsistencies reported by the community.
The changes we made during Phase 0 are still open to feedback! Just like with the Smart Filter system, we’ll keep improving these features based on your thoughts.
We also mentioned Gameplay Modifiers in the roadmap. Since that idea was mainly related to the night energy system, and that side of the game has already received several improvements, we decided not to rush a smaller version right now.
Instead, we’re planning how to bring Gameplay Modifiers in a broader and more meaningful way in the future, potentially with something like a Sandbox Mode.
Thank you again for all your support, feedback, and patience while we continue improving Ore Factory Squad. See you in the factory! 💙
💬 Feel free to join our Discord to report issues, share feedback, or follow development more closely.
