Luck vs. Skill in Game Design: How to Strike a Balance

There’s a constant debate in the gaming world: should games be all about skill, or is a little bit of luck a good thing? Chess is the ultimate test of pure strategy—there’s no randomness, just you and your opponent thinking several moves ahead. But let’s be honest, that can make it really frustrating if you’re playing against someone who’s way better than you. If you're new to chess, you’re probably going to lose. A lot. And if you're playing against the same people over and over (like your friends or family), the outcome can start to feel pretty predictable. That’s not much fun for either player.

With Sylvan Tactics, we wanted to shake things up a bit. We took the deep, strategic core of chess and mixed in some extra layers—like a card system and multiple-move turns—to keep every game feeling fresh while still rewarding smart play.

Breaking Free from Chess Fatigue

Since Sylvan Tactics is played on a chessboard, it still has that familiar tactical feel. But unlike regular chess, you’re not just stuck following the same opening strategies and memorized play patterns. The introduction of cards means that every match unfolds a little differently, and experienced players can’t just rely on memorization of optimal strategies to dominate every game. Even if you’re playing against a chess master, a well-timed card play or an unexpected tactical move can completely change the flow of the game. This helps level the playing field while still encouraging strategic thinking.

The Role of Controlled Randomness

Now, don’t worry—we didn’t just throw in a bunch of random dice rolls to shake things up. We wanted to introduce just enough randomness to make things exciting, without taking away from the importance of skill. That’s why we designed our card system with a few key features:

• The Draft Row – Instead of being stuck with whatever card you blindly draw, you get to choose from a selection of 5 face up cards that form the draft row. If none of the options in the draft row fit your current strategy you can instead draw from the randomized draw deck. This makes drawing a random card a gamble. “Will I draw something better than the available 5 cards in the draft row?” If you take that gamble and get a “bad” card, now you feel like you made a poor strategic choice rather than feeling like the game is just punishing you randomly.

• Mulligans – Nobody likes getting stuck with a terrible starting hand. That’s why you can redo your opening draw once for free, so you never feel like you lost before the game even started.

• Alternate Uses – Every card in your hand has value. If you don’t like a particular card’s effect, you can turn it into a Sigil (a resource) to power up other plays. No dead draws. No wasted turns.

• Non-Card Actions – Every action in the game costs the same resource (Sigils), so if you don’t feel like you have the right cards to play during your turn, you can instead use your resources to move, attack, or play a new Pawn to the board. Then you can hope for a better card draw (or pick something from the draft row) during your next turn. Your resources are never wasted.

These mechanics keep the game engaging without making it feel unfair. You still need to plan ahead, but you’re not completely doomed by bad luck.

Dynamic Decision-Making: More Than Just One Move at a Time

Another way Sylvan Tactics keeps things interesting is by letting you make multiple moves per turn—a huge departure from classic chess. This means you can chain together actions, reposition pieces in unexpected ways, and create big momentum swings that keep both players engaged.

For experienced players, this means more opportunities for clever plays and mind games. For newer players, it provides more ways to turn the tide of battle, even against a stronger opponent. The result? A game where both players are constantly thinking on their feet, instead of just watching a slow, inevitable defeat play out.

Of course this is balanced by the resource system. Since moves and attacks cost the same resource as playing new cards, you will have less to spend on powerful cards during your turn if you choose to move and attack aggressively.

A Game That Stays Fresh

At its core, Sylvan Tactics is about keeping strategy exciting. Chess purists can still enjoy the familiar movement rules, while fans of card games will love the ever-changing possibilities introduced by the deck. In our playtesting we usually only get through about half of the 90+ unique cards, so you might play some games without seeing the same cards twice. The mix of skill and controlled randomness means every match feels different, and no one is locked into a predetermined outcome before the game even starts.

So, whether you're a tactical mastermind or just someone who wants a more engaging way to play on a chessboard, Sylvan Tactics was designed for you.

Want to see how it plays for yourself? Follow us on Bluesky, Instagram, and Discord for updates, development insights, and upcoming opportunities to try out Sylvan Tactics!

Board Game Rapid Prototyping with Dynamic Playing Card Templates

Let’s be real: designing physical games is not always smooth sailing. If your game relies on custom cards, the process of making, remaking, and tweaking those cards can feel like an endless chore. That’s where dynamic card templates make the difference. There are many tools that let you focus on making your game fun rather than spending hours updating stats or layouts by hand.

Early on in the development of Sylvan Tactics I leaned heavily on Photoshop’s scripting tools to generate my cards dynamically. It was a lifesaver for someone who’s both a perfectionist and on a tight timeline. But I get it—Photoshop isn’t everyone’s jam. I have a degree in graphic design and I’m now a professional software programmer, so it’s just what I know. I have almost 20 years of experience with Photoshop and with my scripting skills I can get it to automate almost anything. If you don’t have that level of comfort with Photoshop, thankfully there are plenty of other options out there that don’t cost a dime (or close to it), and they’re perfect for game designers at any level.

Why Speed Matters in Prototyping

Quick prototyping isn’t just about saving time—it’s about unlocking creativity and improving your game. The faster you can create a playable version, the sooner you can test mechanics, tweak balance, and refine your ideas. Games don’t get better by sitting in your head or your notebook; they get better through feedback and iteration. Dynamic templates streamline that process, letting you adjust card stats, abilities, or even visuals on the fly. This way, you can focus on the stuff that really matters: making your game fun and engaging.

Tools to Make Prototyping a Breeze

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for every designer, but here are some tools that have the most widespread adoption and support within the community. Whether you’re a coding wizard or prefer drag-and-drop simplicity, there’s something here for you.

1. Photoshop (With Scripting)

• URL: Photoshop

• Why It’s Great: Photoshop gives you total control over every pixel, and with scripting, you can automate the tedious parts. Need to generate 50 cards with different stats? Done in minutes.

• Downsides: It’s subscription-based and can feel intimidating if you’re new to it.

• Who It’s For: Designers who are already comfortable with Adobe tools and want pro-level output.

2. Card Maker

• URL: Card Maker on GitHub

• Why It’s Great: Free, open-source, and lightweight. It reads from spreadsheets or text files, so you can quickly plug in your data and crank out cards.

• Downsides: The interface is bare-bones, so it might feel a bit clunky.

• Who It’s For: Indie creators or hobbyists looking for a no-cost, no-frills option.

3. NanDeck

• URL: NanDeck

• Why It’s Great: It’s free and lets you script your card layouts in a way that’s highly customizable. Plus, it’s built specifically for card games.

• Downsides: Learning the scripting language takes time, and there’s no GUI to fall back on.

• Who It’s For: Designers who don’t mind rolling up their sleeves and learning a bit of code.

4. Component Studio 2

• URL: Component Studio 2

• Why It’s Great: It’s web-based and super user-friendly. You can drag and drop elements, link your designs to a Google Sheet, and see updates in real time.

• Downsides: It’s subscription-based, so there’s a recurring cost.

• Who It’s For: Designers who want a polished interface and don’t mind paying for convenience.

5. GIMP (With Plugins)

• URL: GIMP

• Why It’s Great: Free and open-source. With plugins, you can automate certain tasks and create dynamic designs.

• Downsides: It’s not as robust as Photoshop, and the interface can feel a bit dated.

• Who It’s For: Budget-conscious designers who need a Photoshop alternative.

6. Squib

• URL: Squib on GitHub

• Why It’s Great: A Ruby-based framework that’s perfect for programmatically generating cards. It’s open-source and endlessly customizable.

• Downsides: You need to know Ruby (or be willing to learn it).

• Who It’s For: Coders who want maximum flexibility and don’t need a graphical interface.

Pro Tips for Prototyping

1. Start Simple: Don’t get caught up in making your first prototype pretty. Placeholder art and simple layouts are fine in the early stages—what matters most is testing your mechanics.

2. Use a Spreadsheet: Link your card generator to a spreadsheet for easy updates. This lets you tweak values or text in one place and instantly apply changes across all your cards.

3. Get Feedback Fast: The sooner you can test your game with real players, the faster you’ll spot what works and what doesn’t. Rapid prototyping tools make this much easier.

4. Leverage Community Resources: Many tools have active user communities where you can find templates, tutorials, and advice. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or inspiration.

My Workflow for Sylvan Tactics

For Sylvan Tactics, I used Photoshop scripts to automate my card designs. It was a literal game-changer. Whenever I needed to tweak stats or adjust layouts, I could update my data file and let the script handle the rest. This meant I could spend less time fiddling with design details and more time playtesting. I actually spend more time cutting out the printed cards to slip into sleeves than I do editing them for printing.

That said, no single tool is perfect for everyone. Whether you go with a free option like NanDeck or splurge on something like Component Studio 2, the key is finding a tool that fits your workflow and lets you iterate quickly.

Tips and Tricks

Here are some things that really helped us to streamline the process and prevent errors.

Create an ID number for each card

You don’t want your cards to be identified solely by their name or title, because those things will change over time as you iterate through your design. ID numbers allow you to track changes to a card over time and if you prefix your filenames with the ID numbers it’s easier to see if anything was missed in the export.

Use text replacement signifiers

Let’s say you have a mechanic in your game called “Use” and it’s referenced on several cards in your game. Then, two months down the road you decide to change the mechanic’s name to “Deplete”. Well, now you have to find every instance of the word on your cards and replace it with the new term. Instead, when using special terms on your cards surround them with brackets like {Use} or [Use] and then have your script replace those terms with a constant value across all cards. You can also use this to insert the card’s name into the rules text on the card. For our game, Sylvan Tactics, we have used this technique to allow for name changes seamlessly during development. The card rule text in our original spreadsheet for the card below reads as: “Shadow Sneak - As long as {Name} is not invoked, it cannot be targeted by attacks while standing on a black space.”

Save yourself trouble and headaches with {bracketed} text replacement. No one wants to type “Swiftpaw Scavenger” multiple times…

Final Thoughts

Prototyping is the heart of great game design. The faster and easier it is to make changes, the more room you have to experiment, iterate, and discover the magic that makes your game special. So pick a tool, dive in, and start turning your ideas into something playable. Who knows? Your next prototype might just be the next big hit at game night.

Follow us on Bluesky or Instagram to learn more about our upcoming chess card battling game, Sylvan Tactics.

Addressing Sustainability in the Tabletop and Board Gaming Community

The tabletop and board gaming community is thriving, with an ever-growing library of beautifully designed games that boast intricate components, stunning artwork, and sprawling play spaces. However, there’s a problem that surprisingly few are willing to address… It’s becoming increasingly clear that our community has a sustainability problem.

Oh no…

A significant driver of this issue is the “collector” mentality. Many players build massive collections of bespoke games, each housed in large, elaborately designed boxes. Yet, for all the excitement a new game generates, many of these boxes end up gathering dust after just a few play sessions. There’s always another shiny, new game on the horizon, and the cycle of consumption continues.

This trend not only impacts the environment through the manufacturing and shipping of heavy, resource-intensive products but also creates a lack of focus on replayability. The question we should be asking is: how can we as a community embrace sustainable practices while still fostering innovation and creativity in game design? When this topic does come up a lot of focus is put on “green” manufacturing processes and shipping efficiencies, but perhaps there’s another way…

A Shift Toward Reusable Components

One potential solution lies in designing games that make use of shared, reusable components. Dice, for example, are a staple in many games and don’t need to be unique to a single game to be effective or enjoyable. Expanding this idea could lead to a new wave of game designs that focus on modularity and reusability.

Imagine reusing the board from a classic game like chess. Chess is one of the oldest and most widely recognized games in the world, and its simple grid layout and versatile pieces offer endless design opportunities. By leveraging existing components, designers could create entirely new gaming experiences without the need for large, specialized production runs.

Exploring the Possibilities

What could this look like in practice? Let’s consider the potential for creating games that incorporate existing components in innovative ways. By reimagining how these components interact, we could design games that:

1. Encourage Replayability: Players could engage with the same set of components in different ways depending on the rules or scenarios introduced.

2. Reduce Environmental Impact: Fewer bespoke components mean less material waste and smaller carbon footprints.

3. Lower Costs: Games designed to use widely available or generic components could be sold at a lower price point, making tabletop gaming more accessible to a wider audience.

4. Save Space: Both on retail shelves and in our homes, board games take up a substantial amount of space. Smaller box sizes would allow us to be more efficient with our storage.

A Practical Example: Sylvan Tactics

This concept is at the heart of our game, Sylvan Tactics. It uses a standard chess board and all its pieces but transforms them into a new gaming experience with the addition of a small custom deck of cards.

In Sylvan Tactics, players utilize the familiar chess pieces as units in a strategic, card-driven battle. The game layers additional complexity and tactical decision-making onto the straightforward movement rules of chess. Each piece retains its iconic movement patterns, but their roles and abilities are determined by the cards players choose to play. This allows for deep, engaging gameplay without the need for expansive new components.

A box size comparison between a modern classic and a prototype of our game, Sylvan Tactics. Of course it’s not a completely fair comparison, because Sylvan Tactics also requires a chess board and pieces. But imagine if more games utilized shared components to save space and materials.

The result is a game that’s easy to learn yet rich in strategy, compact enough to fit into a small box, and inherently sustainable. By using the chess board and pieces many players already own, the game significantly reduces its environmental footprint while still offering a fresh and exciting experience.

Moving Toward a Sustainable Future

If we want the tabletop gaming community to thrive for generations to come, we need to rethink how games are designed, produced, and consumed. By focusing on shared components, modularity, and replayability, we can create a more sustainable future for our hobby.

Imagine a gaming ecosystem where a single set of components can unlock a world of possibilities. Let’s move away from the collector mentality and toward a culture of creativity, innovation, and sustainability. Sylvan Tactics is just one step in this direction—what steps will you take?

Together, we can build a future where every new game is not just another box on the shelf but a meaningful addition to the games we already love.

Follow us on Bluesky or Instagram to learn more about our upcoming game designed for sustainability, Sylvan Tactics.

Embracing Constraints: Designing Tabletop Games with Limitations

Game design is an art that thrives on creativity, and one of the most effective ways to foster that creativity is by imposing limitations. These restrictions can be an incredibly powerful tool for generating innovative ideas and will often push you to “find the fun” within a condensed play space. Recently, we’ve taken on the challenge to design a series of tabletop games that only involve adding a deck of cards to existing classic games like chess or dominoes. Here’s how and why embracing limitations has transformed our approach.

The Value of Constraints in Game Design

Limitations force you to focus. When you’re working within a smaller set of resources or rules, your creative energy is channeled into making the most of what you have. Instead of being overwhelmed by infinite possibilities, you’re given a clear framework within which to innovate. Constraints can also:

• Encourage Resourcefulness: When you’re restricted in the materials, mechanics, or themes you can use, you’re compelled to think outside the box.

• Streamline Development: Limitations provide boundaries that help keep scope manageable, making it easier to prototype, iterate, and test.

• Drive Innovation: By narrowing the field, you’re more likely to come up with novel ideas that wouldn’t arise in a completely open-ended process.

• Build Unique Experiences: Games designed under constraints often feel distinct and memorable because they’re shaped by unusual combinations of elements.

Designing Games Around Classic Boards

One of our current projects involves creating a series of games that add a custom deck of cards to classic board games, transforming them into entirely new experiences. (And yes, we are still developing video games. Go check out the Steam page for LIMYN.) For example, we are reimagining chess with a card-battling twist in a game called Sylvan Tactics: each piece on the board represents a unit with unique abilities and stats derived from its corresponding card.

A prototype card for our board game, Sylvan Tactics, which is limited to a chess board, chess pieces, and a single deck of custom cards.

This approach leverages the familiarity of classic games while adding fresh layers of strategy and depth. By limiting ourselves to using existing boards and pieces, we can focus our energy on crafting mechanics and card interactions that feel both intuitive and innovative. These limitations also make the games more accessible, as players already understand the base rules of the classic board game and likely already have access to the board and pieces. All that is needed is a small deck of cards to transform the play experience.

As a side effect, this also makes playtesting and iteration extremely simple. We know there are some components of our game that are immovable. We can’t change the board or pieces of chess, but in many ways that is a positive thing for playtesting. We only ever need to change the text or symbols on a limited set of playing cards that we can print at home. Everything else can sit in a box ready for the next round of playtesting.

Types of Constraints to Consider

When designing a board or card game with limitations, you can define constraints in several ways:

1. Component-Based: Limit yourself to a specific set of physical components, such as a standard deck of cards, a chess board, or a handful of dice. For our series, this means focusing on the classic boards and augmenting them with a deck of cards.

2. Theme-Based: Choose a narrowly defined theme and build your mechanics around it. For instance, designing a game where players role-play as woodland animals in a tactical battle forces you to align mechanics with thematic storytelling. (This is part of the theming for our remix of chess that we will cover in a future post).

3. Mechanic-Based: Focus on a particular type of interaction, such as area control, deck building, or resource management, and explore it in depth.

4. Time-Based: Create a game with a strict time limit for development or gameplay, such as a game that can be played in 15 minutes or one designed in 48 hours. This one helps a lot in getting you to playtesting faster. Testing and iteration are key to finding the fun. You want to “fail fast”.

5. Audience-Based: Design for a specific audience or player group, such as children, educators, or hardcore strategists. This narrows the tone, complexity, and accessibility of your game.

Case Study: Chess with Cards

Let’s dive a little deeper into some examples from Sylvan Tactics.

One of the earliest challenges we ran into was with health tracking. Sylvan Tactics shares some general mechanics with games like Magic the Gathering where players have to track their health and the status of several other cards that are in play. Dice, counters, and tokens are very common in Magic. If we wanted our game to have player health, how could we do that without dice or resorting to pen and paper? Cards, of course! If you are familiar with card games like Regime or Star Realms you might have seen a similar solution.

Point trackers in Regime

Point trackers in Star Realms

We don’t have a finalized design for what our card health trackers will look like, but they will likely be similar to the solutions found in these games.

But what about card states or damage to individual cards? Again, similar to Magic, we can use rotation/position of the cards. Either 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or even face down to indicate specific states.

We also have the chess pieces themselves to work with. In Sylvan Tactics you place Rooks, Bishops, or Knights in pairs. One of those piece types is placed on the chess board, and the other matching piece is placed directly on the card that it represents. Now, the position of the piece on the card can be used to represent state or we can even lay the piece down sideways to make the state easier to identify. In my case, a piece laying sideways on a card indicates a “wounded” character.

With these limited mechanics we are able to create a fairly large possibility space without complicated extra components or a cluttered game board.

Tips for Designing with Limitations

The first prototype for Sylvan Tactics

1. Start Small: Begin with a simple, well-defined limitation and expand only if necessary.

2. Prototype Quickly: Use paper, pencils, and other simple tools to test ideas without committing to expensive or time-consuming components. Our first few playtests were with hand-cut cards from cardstock.

3. Iterate Often: Playtest frequently to see how your ideas work within the constraints and refine based on feedback.

4. Embrace Imperfection: Not every idea will work, but every failure is a chance to learn and improve.

5. Think Thematically: Align your mechanics with the limitations to create a cohesive and immersive experience.

What are you waiting for?

Designing games with limitations is not just a creative exercise—it’s a powerful method for advancing your skills as a designer. By working within constraints, you’re forced to make deliberate, meaningful choices that can lead to innovative and elegant mechanics. If you’re looking for inspiration, consider taking on the challenge of reimagining a classic game by adding a custom deck of cards. Or even just changing the rules. No new components or cards required! What will you come up with?

In the coming months we will be sharing more insights into our design process for our chess card-battling game, Sylvan Tactics. Follow us on Bluesky or Instagram.

Lacuna Passage - Devlog #84 - The Power System Rework Update

v0.61 focuses on a complete update of the power management system for exterior habitat modules, but a bunch of bug fixes are included as well. Check the change log below.

Change Log

• Fixed incorrect east hab map marker location.
• Fixed datapad UI navigation issue that would discard inputs that were entered too quickly.
• Fixed bug that prevented you from strafing while auto-walking.
• Fixed bug that caused dust storm effects to be visible and charging with portable solar panel to be possible while inside east hab airlock.
• Made change to WayStat discovery view colliders so that they hopefully trigger more reliably.
• Made change to mouse sensitivity range (this may require you to adjust your sensitivity in the control options menu).
• Fixed bug causing the minimum solar charge during a dust storm to go lower than intended.
• Game performance should be slightly improved after doing a recent optimization pass of several game systems.
• Reworked the entire power supply system for the habitat exterior modules. Read below for details.

If you want a TL;DR of the new power system: We have moved from power percentages to power units. As long as you maintain 100 power units worth of solar panels/RTGs connected to each exterior module you should see very little difference to how the system worked previously. If you want a more in-depth rundown of the new system then keep reading.

Here’s how the new power units are generated with RTGs and solar panels:

RTGs generate 50 units, day and night (used to be 100% power).
Large Solar Panels generate 50 units during the day (used to be 50% power).
Small Solar Panels generate 30 units during the day.
Portable Solar Panels generate 20 units during the day.

There are still only the 5 solar panel slots and one RTG slot for each module, but now they all contribute directly to the reserve battery so long as the electrical module is operational. However, now there is a maximum of 100 charge units from any set of module slots. That means the most you can generate during the day would be 400 units from all four modules.

Then, all the modules also incur a general cost that pulls from the reserve battery in order to operate.

Water Reclaimer

• 50 unit cost to produce water.
• 40 unit cost to keep water running if tanks are full.
• If at least 50 units are being supplied by solar panels/RTG directly connected to this module then water production is more efficient.

Reoxygenator

• 50 unit cost to produce oxygen.
• 40 unit cost to keep running if tanks are full.
• If at least 50 units are being supplied by solar panels/RTG directly connected to this module then oxygen production is more efficient.

Heater

• 50 unit cost to heat up interior to normal temp.
• 40 unit cost to keep running if at stable temp.
• If at least 50 units are being supplied by solar panels/RTG directly connected to this module then temp will increase faster if below normal temp.

Electrical

• 25 unit cost to keep all electrical systems running (lights, crafting, etc).

From the above requirements, the highest possible unit cost to keep all systems running would be 175 units, but if all oxygen and water tanks are full and the interior temp is stable then the cost would only be 145 units. This means that you should be banking between 225 and 255 units if you have the full 400 units of solar panels connected to your modules during the day. That banked amount should then be more than enough to cover the cost of all modules over the night and leave you with extra to transfer to your EVA suit when you go out to explore.

Because of this new system, all modules now produce at the same rate during the night as they do during the day. This is a change from before when the Reoxygenator and Water Reclaimer would produce at a drastically reduced rate at night. To balance for the increased amount being produced around the clock, both of these modules now produce at about 60% of their previous maximum production rate.

Many of these changes were prioritized based on feedback provided by players on our Feedback Forum[lacunapassage.userecho.com]. Help me determine future development priorities by posting your ideas, suggestions, and bug reports there. A special thanks to Mr. Fusion on the feedback forum for all his help and suggestions related to the power system rework.

Lacuna Passage - Devlog #83 - The Controller Support Update

v0.6 focuses on making the control options much more flexible. This required a complete rework of the input system in the game to support most PC-compatible controllers and full key remapping options. This continues my current pattern of alternating major updates between gameplay system additions (like the previous pop tent and dust storm updates) and quality-of-life additions (like this one). Check out the full change log below.

Change Log

• Controller support has been added for most dual joystick controller types.
• Keyboard and controller button remapping is now available via the Controls option menu.
• Increased frequency of dust devils.
• Fixed bug that caused hab status panel to display information from a different hab.
• Fixed production levels of oxygen and water modules relative to the impact that broken components should have.
• Changed locomotion settings for moving up and down slopes and while jumping.
• Fixed issue where reserve battery could be charged slightly over 100%.

Many of these changes were prioritized based on feedback provided by players on our Feedback Forum[lacunapassage.userecho.com]. Help me determine future development priorities by posting your ideas, suggestions, and bug reports there.

Lacuna Passage - Devlog #82 - The Pop Tent Update - v0.59

v0.59 now provides a new way for you to escape the elements of Mars. Emergency Pop Tents are now deployable items that you can enter to protect yourself for dust storms, eat while on EVA, and save your progress by sleeping.

The rest of this update is a little lighter on content than usual because I have had to spend a lot of time updating the game code to be compatible with the latest version of Unity. Unity required a security update and I figured it would be a good time to also just update everything to the latest version. I've gone from Unity 5.3.8 to Unity 2017.1. This required a ton of little fixes to ensure everything will work as it did before, and I'm still not entirely sure that everything will be functional. If you find something that seems out of place or inconsistent with how you remember the game working before, please let me know via the official bug reporting and feedback forum

Change Log

• Updated engine to most recent version of Unity for performance and compatibility improvements.
• Numerous bug fixes for issues related to Unity version update.
• Loading of interior and exterior scenes should be faster.
• Habitat interior lightmapping has been improved.
• Terrain dynamic shadows have been improved.
• Fog distance and blending with horizon have been improved.
• Added deployable Emergency Pop Tents that allow you to take shelter from dust storms, eat consumables, and save your game while on an EVA.
• Remote outposts with permanent pop tents are also useable now and they produce their own ambient oxygen so your suit reserves will not deplete while inside.
• Added quick reference panels by interior airlock doors to see the status of your exterior life support modules at a glance while inside a habitat.
• Equipped portable solar panels will no longer charge your suit battery while inside an airlock.
• Dust storms now properly impact exterior module power production based on proximity to the storm’s epicenter.
• Dust storm particle effect visibility due to proximity to storm epicenter has been adjusted.

Many of these changes were prioritized based on feedback provided by players on our Feedback Forum[lacunapassage.userecho.com]. Help me determine future development priorities by posting your ideas, suggestions, and bug reports there.

Lacuna Passage - Devlog #81 - The Dust Storms Update - v0.58

v0.58 marks the major feature addition of randomized dust storms to Lacuna Passage. The best way to quickly experience the new dust storms is to start a new game with the Big Storm scenario detailed below. If you want a quick timelapse of what dust storms look like you can check out this video:

Change Log

• Added randomized dust storms that can slowly move across the map and impact your visibility, mobility, and navigation functions.
• Added a survival sandbox scenario select screen with three currently available options: No Dust Storms Mode, Standard Mode with occasionally spawning dust storms, and Big Storm Mode which will start with a large dust storm hitting Habitat Alpha within the first 3-7 Sols.
• Added small blowing dust clouds over the entire map.
• Added randomly spawning dust devils.
• All habitat interiors now have an airlock exit sign to differentiate the two doors.
• The screen no longer fades completely to black during exterior module repairs. You can now see time pass in your HUD and the cost to your oxygen and battery in accelerated time during the repair.
• Fixed issue with exterior module resource generation when sleeping for long periods.
• Fixed issue with RTGs not generating exterior module resources properly at night.
• Fixed incorrect description of Multitool. Multitools now explicitly mention that they can be used as a Cutting Tool, Building Tool, and Engineering Tool.
• The objective LAT and LONG is now updated while placing a custom objective in the Navigation app.
• Fixed issue with some Drill Rover locations not being added to navigation.
• Fixed incorrect randomization of exterior module component integrity values for the southeastern-most habitat location.
• Scanner is now automatically disabled when entering a habitat to prevent unintended scanner highlights while indoors.
• Fixed issue with incorrect habitat resource values being displayed when accessing the EVA suit management screen between two different habitats.
• Fixed incorrect texture on water reclaimers.
• Fixed incorrect exhaustion recovery value when consuming water.
• Sleeping for 0 hours is now allowed as a way to save without sleeping. Was previously only accessible by cycling the time value in one direction.
• Fixed issue with the starting landing pod changing positions after loading a saved game.
• Fixed a floating rock at a solar panel discovery location.
• Fixed issue where some exterior module components were unable to be removed.

Keep in mind that this now makes the weather monitoring functions of the Waypoint Stations worth maintaining since they can warn you of an incoming dust storm and you can track the visibility at each WayStat location with the function enabled via installed fuses.

Many of these changes were prioritized based on feedback provided by players on our Feedback Forum. Help me determine future development priorities by posting your ideas, suggestions, and bug reports there.

Lacuna Passage - Devlog #80 - The Survival Stats Update - v0.57

Today's update is an attempt to add some new player progression goals to the survival sandbox including achievements and leaderboards. Check the full change log below.

Change Log

• Achievements have been added for a range of survival goals.
• Leaderboards have been added for survival time and distance traveled in a single playthrough.
• A stats screen will now be displayed upon dying which will tell you exactly what you died from along with comparisons to your previous best run.
• Increased scanner detection range for standard containers (blue squares) to 300 meters (this distance is not increased by activating WayStats).
• Crafting an oxygen filled canister now requires 50L of oxygen from your hab reoxygenator tanks.
• Your EVA suit can now be equipped or removed while inside a hab via the EVA preparation screen (accessible from the habitat status consoles).
• Your EVA suit will now only be removed automatically upon entering a hab if the reoxygenator has oxygen in the tanks.
• If the hab reoxygenator is not producing oxygen then you will now more accurately consume oxygen from the reserve tanks while not wearing your EVA suit.
• The accumulated radiation exposure will now be saved properly.
• The photo app should function more reliably when deleting photos.
• The heart rate (stamina indicator) will no longer disappear while jumping.
• Non-electrical components will no longer throw sparks when being replaced in exterior modules.

Many of these changes were prioritized based on feedback provided by players on our Feedback Forum. Help me determine future development priorities by posting your ideas, suggestions, and bug reports there. See if you can keep your spot on the new leaderboards and collect all the achievements!

Lacuna Passage - Devlog #79 - The Balance and Comfort Update - v0.56

Today's update provides a number of user requested changes. The first of many such updates to come.

Change Log

• There will now always be a Multitool found in Hab Beta.
• There will now always be a Haz-Mat Kit found in Hab Gamma.
• There will now always be a Printer Key found in Hab Gamma.
• Survival stats like Oxygen, Battery, Calories, etc will now be depleted 20-30% slower, allowing for longer periods of exploration.
• Habitat storage space has been expanded from a max of 60kg to 80kg.
• Added menu option for Mouse Sensitivity.
• Added menu options to disable Camera Bob and Sway.
• Added menu options to control SFX and Music audio volumes.
• Added keyboard shortcut to toggle auto-walking (~ key).

Many of these changes were prioritized based on feedback provided by players on our Feedback Forum. Help me determine future development priorities by posting your ideas, suggestions, and bug reports there. Try out these new balance and comfort updates and let me know what you think! Have fun exploring!