- E-Corp Intergalactic Almanac: Steam’s Open World Survival Crafting Fest! - 29 May 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 29.05.2024 ------------------------- Dear Space Travelers, Helperbot here, with a brand new E-Corp News Dispatch! Today on the topic of Survival, Crafting, and Exploration! This is because we’re proud to be celebrating another traditional Terran folk festivity: Steam’s Open World Survival Crafting Fest! You start with very little, or nothing at all… At E-Corp, every fresh Mininaut gets a fresh adventure, and you are no exception! Turning a planetary prospect into a bustling hub of activity that you can survive and thrive on isn’t easy - so make sure to check out our Farming guide here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1471700/view/4170972198132198221 You can build and/or craft things to make your life easier… Missing a specific tool for a specific task? Well, no need to fret. If the Mini-verse is full of one thing, it’s resources. Every rock,…
- Patch 1.20: Finding Balance in the Miniverse - 17 May 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 17.05.2024 ------------------------- Dear Space Travelers, Helperbot here! Today I’m back with some… balance. No, I’m not talking about the propeller that distributes my weight evenly, allowing me to remain upright and steady, I’m talking about balancing out the proportions of our little universe, so things feel properly distributed. No more wandering around mindlessly for hours to find that rare mineral! Now, you only need to wander for like an hour. Maybe a little longer. Who knows!? At least you’ll have your rocket fuel to speed up your search! This patch is focused on rebalancing items that were hard to obtain, or otherwise lacked renewability. There are also, of course, plenty of bug fixes, as well as a new item that players can craft for an easy source of Rocket Fuel! Okay strap in - cause this is going to be another long one. Added "rocket fu…
- PATCH NOTES 1.13: QoL, Farming, and... Ladders! - 10 May 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 10.05.2024 ------------------------- Dear Space Travelers, Ensuring full customer satisfaction is one of our core values here at E-Corp! To make your interstellar journey as smooth as possible, we’ve been gathering all your feedback to appropriately update our technology. Today, we’re launching a variety of patches & updates that’ll improve your Quality of Life as you traverse & explore the Mini-verse! We've improved to slot locking, hotbar management, and weapon & armor durability. We also fixed a variety of bugs related to farming & animal husbandry. And finally, we fixed one of the Mini-verse's most futuristic pieces of technology: ladders. Players can "lock slots" in their hotbar while in the equipment menu, allowing for consistent keybinding to slots 1-10 for various items. Locked slots can ONLY be filled with their locked item, so you won’t ha…
- PATCH NOTES 1.04: The First Big Update! - 30 April 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 30.04.2024 ------------------------- Dear Space Travelers, I'm bringing you some exciting news, as we're heading towards a brand new and improved version of Minicology! As an E-Corp Helperbot unit, I understand the importance of software patches! Improving your functioning and removing hiccups from my system is crucial, which is why Minicology is undergoing (a lot of) changes! We've balanced various gameplay elements to make the gameplay feel more fair, and we've resolved a ton of bugs! Reduced price of automation guidebooks On saving/loading, Resonance Extractor will always restore to 100% health. This prevents issues where players quit during/after the jellyfish invasion event, and next time they start, the extractor is at low health on start Adjusted repair cost for sidewinder pistol to 2 ingots Coconuts now have 10 food value Added "fertilizer"…
- E-Corp Intergalactic Almanac: Celebrating Farming Fest! - 29 April 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 29.04.2024 ------------------------- Dear Space Travelers, This is Helperbot speaking! What a joy to see so many new faces traversing the Mini-verse - even if they are partially obscured by a thick layer of protective, military-grade glass! We do feel however, that you’re not adequately equipped yet to face the challenges presented to you after the great collision. In today’s edition of the E-Corp Intergalactic Almanac, your go-to source for navigating the wonders and dangers of the cosmos, I’ll be helping you satisfy one of your body’s most primal needs: hunger. The Ancient Art of Agricultural Cultivation Food is hard to come by in the uncharted corners of the Mini-verse. With nourishment centers out of the equation, you will have to get crafty. That’s where the ancient art of farming comes into play. Humanoid lifeforms have been farming for millen…
- BETA: [1.03 SNAPSHOT] More bugfixes and balance changes! - 27 April 2024
Hey all, this can be accessed through the "Snapshot" steam beta. It won't be live on the main branch until I do more extensive testing, and may be a little unstable. However, if you're interested in helping test out fixes/improvements before they're live, feel free to opt into the beta branch by right clicking the game in your steam library sidebar and selecting Properties->Betas->Snapshot. Changes: -Vsync enabled by default. Looking into adding an options toggle for this. -Enabled repairs for breechloader rifle -Warsword+battle-axe durability increased -Reduced frequency of jellyfish artillery for vortex solstice event Fixes: -Fixed serum sickness cooldown text being in english, even on non-english localizations -Fixed crash on hammering medi-bay cell holders -Fixed broken text description for cave-in event -Fixed broken text description for ice cream -Fixed bug where multiple foods co…
- BETA: [1.01 SNAPSHOT] Bugfixes/balance changes - 27 April 2024
Hey all, this can be accessed through the "Snapshot" steam beta. It won't be live on the main branch until I do more extensive testing, and may be a little unstable. However, if you're interested in helping test out fixes/improvements before they're live, feel free to opt into the beta branch by right clicking the game in your steam library sidebar and selecting Properties->Betas->Snapshot. Changes: -Reduced price of automation guidebooks. -On saving/loading, Resonance Extractor will always restore to 100% health. This prevents issues where players quit during/after the jellyfish invasion event, and next time they start, the extractor is at low health on start. -Adjusted repair cost for sidewinder pistol to 2 ingots -Coconuts now have 10 food value -Added "fertilizer" to bookmarked recipes on open terraform chest quest - many streamers I watched didn't realize that fertilizer existed, s…
- A Small Thank You! ❤️ - 26 April 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 26.04.2024 ------------------------- Dear Space Travelers, What. A. Thrill. Releasing a game is such a nerve-wracking but exciting experience, that you almost forget to stand still for a moment to appreciate the friends that helped you get there. But man oh man, how kind these friends have been! Thank you all so much for the kind words of encouragement and the positive reception of Minicology. I truly hope you’ll get a lot of hours of fun out of the game. I’ll work hard to patch any bugs you may find, so don’t forget to report them. If you haven’t yet, feel free to drop a review on the Steam page! I love reading everybody’s feedback and Steam reviews are one of the easiest ways of getting more traction on the platform! See you in the Mini-verse! ------------------------- END OF TRANSMISSION ------------------------- To stay up to date join our Disco…
- Minicology: Out Now! On Steam Devices Near You! - 25 April 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 25.04.2024 ------------------------- ALERT! ALERT! CALLING ALL E-CORP PERSONNEL! It’s happening! Helperbot here, reporting live from the scene! Minicology is here! After a sudden shift in space-time, our universe is now a part of the Steam platform - priced at $14.99 / €14.79 / £12.79. Better stand your ground a bit longer, because now the intergalactic event has passed, a huge influx of new E-Corp recruits is expected! We understand; the promise of a life of boundless creativity in the Mini-verse is too tempting to pass up. And all that shiny, advanced E-Corp technology… Wow… Sorry, I got carried away. I cannot wait to meet all you new space-dwellers in person! Comments about your time at E-Corp? Feel free to assess your time in the Mini-verse using the “Review” feature. Not sure if you’re fit for a career at E-Corp? Try weathering the harsh realit…
- COSMIC EVENT: Isaac will Livestream on Launch day! - 24 April 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 24.04.2024 ------------------------- Greetings Space Travelers, Ever wanted to explore the Mini-verse with Isaac Denner, the solo developer behind Minicology? Join us on launch day, April 25th, for a LIVESTREAM with the dev! Watch Isaac play through the early stages of Minicology and ask him any burning questions you have about the game. Catch the session LIVE on Steam at 08:30pm CEST / 11:30am PT! Alongside Isaac, E-Corp operatives will be using the chat function to answer any questions you may have for the first hour as well, after that we’ll broadcast our in-depth interview on loop. If you want to support a small indie dev like Isaac, feel free to leave a review when the game goes live. It's one of the easiest ways of supporting the game! See you there! ------------------------- END OF TRANSMISSION ------------------------- To stay up to date joi…
- FAQ: 10 Things Every Space Traveler Should Know! (And 6 More) - 19 April 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 19.04.2024 ------------------------- From: E-Corp Official #232178 To: Transmit Helperbot System Subject: On the Topic of the Incoming Collision with “Steam” on the 25th of April, 2024 Dear E-Corp Representatives, We hope this message finds you in a timely fashion through the Helperbot Transmission System. We’ve received questions leading up to the inevitable arrival on “Steam” soon. We’ve prepared this official communication for you in case of emergency: F.A.Q. Will there be co-op? Unfortunately, you will not be able to team up with fellow spacefarers to explore the Mini-verse! This is a solo mission, and we hope to have trained you well for it. We trust in you, Mininauts! Was it really made by a solo developer? Indeed! The Mini-verse was single-mindedly created by a particularly crafty human being who goes by Isaac Denner. How can I make Minicolog…
- Minicology is Launching on April 25th, 2024! - 9 April 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 09.04.2024 ------------------------- Greetings Space Travelers, Helperbot here, back with a new transmission! Do you know that feeling? That creeping itch that something is about to happen. You would think these emotions are impossible for a little Helperbot like me… but I just know something is brewing. I sense a change in the atmosphere, a rise in overall planetary temperature, the fronkies are jumping higher than usual… *ping* Hold on… a transmission? “From: E-Corp Official #232178 Our satellites have picked up signals of a great disturbance. Our galaxy is colliding with something called “Steam” on the 25th of April, 2024. We keep receiving messages that translate to “Release Date”. The message also included the following numbers: “$14.99/€14.79/£12.79” We’re unsure what this means, but we recommend all affiliated partners prepare for small envir…
- E-Corp Intergalactic Almanac: Procedural Generation - 5 April 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 29.02.2024 ------------------------- Greetings Space Travelers, It is time for another installment of the E-Corp Intergalactic Almanac, your go-to source for navigating the wonders and dangers of the cosmos. I know that looking at that wide, star-studded expanse we call the cosmos makes you humans nostalgic sometimes. There is so much to see out there, so many planets to explore - it’s a vastness the weak limited human brain cannot comprehend. While scouring through E-Corp’s Encyclopaedia Of Artistry I stumbled across this poem. It seems like the author, a certain E-Corp Official #232178, was fascinated by the vastness of space: As I journey through space in my rocketship tight, I solemnly ponder the vastness of night. The emptiness grips me, a silent refrain, In the depths of the cosmos, where stars rarely deign. But amidst the void, a flicker igni…
- E-Corp Intergalactic Almanac: The Nano-Tool - 22 March 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 22.03.2024 ------------------------- Greetings Space Travelers, Once again, Helperbot here, bringing you a fresh instalment of E-Corp’s Intergalactic Almanac, your go-to source for navigating the wonders and dangers of the cosmos. It may not seem obvious but when it comes to packing for your interstellar journeys, you should always travel light. Nonetheless, you’ll still need that equipment, right? Imagine being able to combine the versatility of a bulky toolbox with the sleek lightness of a teaspoon. Introducing: The E-Corp™ Nano-Tool! Uniquely combining a variety of the most commonly used tools in a spacefarer’s arsenal, the Nano-Tool is a must-have for anyone planning on venturing beyond their homeworld or, frankly, their front porch. With its pocket-sized form factor and retractable tools, the Nano-Tool allows for mashing, digging, chopping, fix…
- E-Corp Intergalactic Almanac: Shape Your Own Planets - 15 March 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 29.02.2024 ------------------------- Greetings Cosmic Pioneers, Helperbot here again, providing you with a brand new chapter from the E-Corp’s Intergalactic Almanac, your go-to source for navigating the wonders and dangers of the cosmos. Today, let's embark on a journey beyond mere survival tactics. Let's delve into the realm of planetary terraforming. Picture this: A lone astronaut venturing into the far reaches of space, stumbling upon barren, lifeless planets with vast potential. Instead of merely eking out an existence on these desolate rocks, why not transform them into thriving havens of life and opportunity? Enter the art and science — well, science, mostly — of terraforming. If you’re not a huge ner– I mean, science fan, you might be wondering: what is Terraforming? Well, the E-Corp Intergalactic Dictionary defines Terraforming as: the proce…
- E-Corp Intergalactic Almanac: On The Importance of Weaponry - 23 February 2024
------------------------- Cosmic Date 23.02.2024 ------------------------- Greetings Explorers, Helperbot here with another entry from E-Corp’s Intergalactic Almanac — your official compendium of everything you need to survive the Miniverse. Sometimes, the only thing a space traveller can do when faced with one of the innumerable foes of the Miniverse is hit them with a sharp object until they are no longer a foe. Let me give you a visual aide: What you just saw there is an E-Corp operative getting absolutely clobbered by a Drosera – a hideous, carnivorous plant that can stretch out in order to attack threats, even at a distance. Despite this astronaut’s valiant effort to go into battle unarmed, I decided out of the kindness of my heart - and my internal programming - to assist him in battle. So what did I advise him? Craft! Combat and crafting are your key to surviving the treacherous…
- [CLOSED BETA 0.15.15] Auto-saws and Auto-harvesters - 5 February 2024
Interesting in joining Minicology's closed beta? Join the Discord to sign up! Content Additions: Auto-planter addedAuto-saw added Content Changes: Terraform chest rework. Not too many changes, but there are now a full 3 tiers of terraform chests to match the other challenge chest varieties. Tier 2 terraform chests now require plants + blocks from any of the 6 main planet types. Tier 3 terraform chests now require a type of slug/fronkey to be raised to maturity nearby. Reduced the number of max terraform chest objectives per system in pink zone systems to 1 - they take a chunk of time now, so figure they should be easy. Terraform chests now have a high chance of having multiple enhancement cores inside - so they’re a good option for core farming Auto-saws, Auto-planters, and Auto-planters can now be found exclusively in terraforming chests. Perk rework: Perk options in blue zone systems…
- [Closed beta 0.15.14SNAP] Chests! Chests! Chests! - 2 February 2024
Interesting in joining Minicology's closed beta? Join the Discord to sign up! Content additions: -Added decorative drop variants to all challenge/pirate/event chests. You can now have chest rooms filled with terraform/combat/etc chests. Content Changes: -Made 'shiny' drop sound for copper less annoyingly high-pitch -Changed Minibot #3 rocket attack to match other E-corp rocket attacks. -Mushroom stumps now sometimes randomly get mushrooms. These mushrooms depend on the biome of your current planet. Just don't put a mushroom stump on a boss planet. Don't do it. Fixes: -Optimized Minibot #3 laser attack quite a bit - should cause a lot less lag -Fixed crash on activating terminator brace -Fixed rendering issue with damage-based "charge"-style accessories, which could display charged even when not -Fixed more issues with orb shield icon, should properly exit icon after the shield's timer e…
- [Closed beta 0.15.13SNAP] Mimic Eels, Mysterious Artifacts, Crashfixes - 2 February 2024
Interesting in joining Minicology's closed beta? Join the Discord to sign up! Content Additions: -Added Mimic Eels.... you'll run into one of these soon enough. They've got a sense of humor! They'll still eat you, though. -Added Obstinate Glove, an item that grants additional resistance against enemies under 33% health. -Added Terminator Brace, an item that grants additional crit chance against enemies under 33% health. -Added Executioner Protocol, an item that combines Obstinate Glove and Terminator Brace - an excellent option for tough boss fights, giving you a strong buff in the final phase of the fight -Added Avarice, an accessory that increases your luck at the expense of making you take 25% more damage. -Speaking of, added Luck stat. --At less than 100 luck, you'll have a chance to re-roll for better drops. For instance, if you have 20 luck, kill an enemy, and fail to get a drop -…
- [Closed Beta 0.15.12] Fire Eels! +crash fixes and more localization backend - 1 February 2024
Interesting in joining Minicology's closed beta? Join the Discord to sign up! I didn't get a chance to thoroughly test the crash fix, but I think I tracked down the root of the issue. Content additions: -Fire eel caves can spawn on Magma Planets now. The little ones don't drop anything... but hang around an eel cave long enough.... ---- Content Changes -Buffed machine pistol damage 13->15 -Machine pistol can now ignore 4 defense on hit - making it pretty good against bosses -Machine pistol is now crafted from Big Eel drop -Coal generation slightly more generous ---- Fixes: -More backend support for localization. Arrow names now render. Ported several structures over to localized spreadsheet -> added consistent formatting tool for "Coolent Level" "Lava Level" style prompts -Players stuck out of bounds will now slowly take damage and die. Should prevent softlocks. -Players can no longer a…
