Devlog - Exo Idle Miner: UI, Feedback & Gameplay Enhancements!

Hello, everyone!

Development on the Exo Idle Miner prototype is moving at full speed. In our recent work sessions, the focus has been on polishing the player experience (UX), adding crucial visual feedback, and refining the core gameplay loop. I’m very excited about the progress!

Here’s a summary of what’s new:

Gameplay & Pacing Improvements

• Clicker Functionality: Players can now actively click on planets to generate resources faster than the passive extraction rate. This adds a layer of interaction for those who want to speed up their progress!
• Initial Balancing: I’ve started balancing the first world (Home World), adjusting extraction rates, costs, and rewards to create an enjoyable and challenging progression curve. The initial game pacing is taking shape!
• Dynamic Colonization Time: No more instant travel! The time required to colonize a new planet is now calculated based on its distance from your home world, making expansion across the solar system more strategic and immersive.

Visual Feedback & UX

• Planet Click Pulse Effect: When you click on a planet, a beautiful pulse effect is generated, growing and changing color. It’s a small detail, but it makes the interaction much more satisfying.
• “Warehouse Full” Feedback: Tried to mine with a full planet warehouse? Now, a floating text “Warehouse Full!” appears, clearly informing the player why their action isn’t generating resources.
• Improved Space Station Floating Text: The numbers that pop up when delivering resources to the space station have been fine-tuned! They now appear closer to the station, with a vibrant green color and a black outline, making them easier to read and identify.
• Locked Manager Info: Not sure how to unlock a manager? Problem solved! Clicking on a manager with a “Locked” status now opens a dialog panel detailing all the necessary requirements, such as planets to discover, other managers to hire, and the cost in gold.
• Dialog Panel Opacity: The dialog panel, used for confirmations and to display requirements, now has a nearly opaque background, drastically improving text legibility.

User Interface (UI) News

• Cargo Bars for Transporters: Transport ships now display small progress bars that visually show the type and amount of ore they are carrying in real-time.
• Renaming Planets: Add a personal touch to your empire! It is now possible to rename planets, a much-requested feature for those who love to organize and customize their exploration.
• Manager Names with Quality Colors: The name of the manager assigned to a planet is now displayed in a color that represents their rarity (White for Common, Green for Uncommon, Blue for Rare, and Purple for Epic), providing immediate visual feedback on their potential.
• Hangar Panel Translation: The text in the “Hangar & Fleets” panel has been extracted and prepared for translation, another step toward making the game accessible to more players.
• Debug Panel (For the Dev!): I’ve added a discreet debug panel in the corner of the screen, allowing me to add colony ships with a single click. This immensely speeds up gameplay testing and balancing.

The game is becoming more complete and fun to interact with. The next step is to continue balancing and start thinking about more complex systems, like smelting alloys and manufacturing.

Thanks for following along!