Hello to all Widgeteers!

As promised, here's the next update in the Widget Inc. universe. While the previous updates mostly focused on late game progression, this one is more tailored to new players. So if you've been waiting to jump in, or start a new save file, now's the time!

Full update notes are at the bottom of this post, but here's what you need to know:

Vaults Uncovered

All across the world, the sands have been shifting in response to increased seismic activity. As a result, vaults of ancient technology have been emerging from deep within the earth. Hack the puzzle lock that keeps the vault sealed, and claim its contents for yourself!

Glitch Sparks

The destabilizing energy of the Glitched Frame has continued to wreak havoc on the planet - to your benefit, perhaps? Glitch Sparks now spawn intermittently across the world. Interact with them to reset your entropy and fill up your Glitched Widget storage, or discover the location of the Glitched Frame if you haven't done so already.

Prestige Tree Additions

Of course, I haven't forgotten about the long-term players, either. A whole bunch of new Prestige nodes have been added to spice up your future runs.

Aside from the new nodes that improve the Vaults, a new "Void" terrain type has been added to give access to a true sandbox world. There is also the new Interplanetary Cosmodrome prestige node, that will allow your old save games to contribute to your current one.

Once again, I had a lot of fun coming up with new ideas to spice up the existing gameplay. Hopefully, it'll be enough to keep you satisfied until the launch of my next game, Kingdom Inc! Check it out, in case you haven't played the free demo yet!

[dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/4538080/Kingdom_Inc/"][/dynamiclink]

Full update notes and changelog

Added:

• Vaults now appear intermittently on the world map. Keep an eye open! Each Vault is guarded by a puzzle lock that must be hacked in order to gain access to the resources locked inside.
• A whole bunch of new prestige nodes to improve the usefulness of Vaults even further.
• New "Extermination Protocol" glitch ability (prestige node). This ability instantly kills all surface Troglodytes and repairs the damage they caused.
• Glitch Sparks now appear infrequently all over the world. This spark of glitched energy will help you find the Glitched Frame (if you haven't already), and reset your Entropy to zero. Be careful: Using Glitch Sparks will reduce their future spawn rate, making them most suitable for speeding up the early game.
• New Interplanetary Cosmodrome prestige node. Now, the Launch Facilities that you leave behind on your previous planet still contribute to your rocket productivity multiplier.
• Added a small screen shake effect for earthquake effects that were already in the game (cave spawn, napalm, tunnel borer).
• New "Buy available Tech" button, to purchase the first available Tech upgrade (automatically unlocked after first Prestige).
• New "Refund Points" button in the Prestige menu.
• Troglodyte Mobs now drop a bunch of Widgets as loot when you squash them by hand.
• New "Void" terrain type for the Planet Selector and Terraformer (Prestige unlock). Useful for if you want to create a truly organized factory!
• Warehouses on the world map now show an icon for the selected storage tier.
• 11 new achievements for the content added in this patch.

Fixed:

• Loading a saved game while already having a save game loaded once again works properly.
• Loading a saved game that starts in a Frame that has been deleted no longer shows a black screen.
• Prestige tree nodes no longer activate when the mouse cursor is over other UI elements.
• Caves should spawn more regularly, especially at higher Prestige levels.

Changed:

• Glitched Widget locator trail no longer shows up if you're in a cave. Instead, it'll wait until you leave the cave so you can actually track down the Glitched Frame.
• Reshuffled the Prestige tree a bit to make room for the new Vault additions (visual only).
• Activated abilities are no longer shown if they are not relevant in the current context (ie. clicking them would result in an "invalid target" message).
• Cave generation is now enabled by default (can still be disabled while prestiging).
• Troglodytes no longer spawn while you're at Tier 1.
• Troglodytes have a reduced spawn rate while you're below Tier 6.
• Troglodytes have a reduced spawn rate if you haven't prestiged yet.
• The first Troglodyte Mob that spawns now gives a status message warning.
• Troglodyte Mob and individual Troglodytes have a larger hitbox to make them easier to squash while moving.