the new Experimental patch has convinced me that the devs are ready and willing to make broad sweeping changes to the game in order to make it the best it can be.
prime example being: in the last update, they added a new modifier, that makes it so Expenite (the mineral you mine to get XP for level ups) no longer spawns in veins in walls, but instead is dropped from enemies. being a modifier, this only had a chance to happen per level, but players (and the devs!) loved it so much that theyre putting it in as a vanilla feature. this not only changes your priorities during gameplay, but also affects the Timer mechanic, seeing as you will now get expenite from simply defending yourself rather than needing to set aside safe moments for you to go and grab expenite from the walls. (to clarify, expenite veins still spawn, just rarer.)
of course, i know that the mining is still part of the game's identity and i agree it should still be a part of the game loop, but expenite is so valuable for both survivability and fun-factor that it's a pretty bad idea to ever ignore a single vein. they're bound to add more minerals later on but im digressing, the main idea is i love that they are open to gameplaywide changes like this.
ive been saying since the game came out, it was EARLY PROOF OF CONCEPT. complaints about lack of content, shallow gameplay loops, etc, were due to the game not even being close to finished. this started as basically a tech test... and of course, they really can't balance or tech test without actually giving it to everyone first.
Early Access has become so misused that people dont even look at or think about the phrase anymore. THIS is the definition of an Early Access game. and i believe the devs have shown they are nowhere near finished. this is the BONES of a game, and i mean that in a good way - leave if you're looking for a full fledged ultra deep game to sink months into, stay if you're an enthusiast excited to watch and help the game develop.
