Texplore news & patch notes

Dynamic Controller Glyphs

• Added a full graphical button glyph system replacing all text-based controller prompts (e.g. "\", "\") with actual button icon sprites

• Integrated Xelu's Controller & Keyboard Prompt sprite pack with support for Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and Steam Deck controller styles

• Glyphs update dynamically — switching between keyboard/mouse and any controller type instantly updates all on-screen prompts

• Added GlyphProvider system that detects your controller type and loads the matching button art (or falls back to keyboard key sprites)

Building Interaction Prompts

• All 18 interactive buildings across Earth, Moon, and Deep Earth now display graphical glyph prompts instead of text

  • Includes: Shop, Auto Miner, Factory, Launch Pad, Upgrade Building, Elevator, Smelter, Blacksmith, Arena, Portal, Deep Earth Shop, Deep Earth Chest, and Moon variants

• "Press \ to Enter" prompts automatically switch between keyboard key art and controller button art based on your active input device

Tutorial

• Tutorial task descriptions now show inline graphical glyphs next to each action (e.g. a Space bar sprite next to "Double Jump / Jetpack")

• Fixed tutorial skip button conflict on controller — gamepad users previously couldn't complete tutorial tasks because the skip button was auto-focused and consumed A-button presses

  • Controller skip is now mapped to a dedicated button (Select/Back/View) to prevent accidental skips

  • Skip UI dynamically shows a clickable button for keyboard or a label prompt for gamepad

• Fixed oversized Space key glyph in the tutorial that was covering the dialogue box — wide key sprites now scale proportionally

UI Panels

• Upgrade Stats panel close hint now shows a graphical glyph

• Upgrade Building description now uses an inline glyph for "see current mods"

• Bonus Display footer close prompt now uses a graphical glyph

• Cutscene skip label now uses a graphical glyph

Skill Tree

• Controls legend (bottom-right panel) now uses dynamic graphical glyphs instead of generic icons with text

  • Gamepad: shows actual Left Stick, LB/RB, D-Pad, A, and B button sprites matching your controller

  • Keyboard/Mouse: shows RMB and scroll wheel sprites

  • All sprites update automatically when switching controller types

• Legend refreshes when glyph style changes (e.g. plugging in a different controller brand)

Options Menu

• Fixed LB/RB bumper tab switching not working correctly when using a controller

  • Root cause: Godot's default input mapping sent bumper presses to the ScrollContainer as page-scroll events before the tab-switch code could process them

  • Bumper handling now fires first in the input pipeline, consuming the event before anything else can intercept it

• Added PageUp/PageDown keyboard support for tab switching

• Tab buttons now show LB/RB glyph indicators when a gamepad is active, so players know which bumper switches which tab

  • LB glyph appears on the left side of "VIDEO & AUDIO"

  • RB glyph appears on the right side of "CONTROLS"

  • Glyphs hide automatically when using keyboard/mouse

  • Glyph art matches your controller type (Xbox LB/RB, PlayStation L1/R1, Nintendo L/R, Steam Deck L1/R1)

• Tab buttons now use toggle_mode for correct active/inactive visual state

• Tab switch focus now uses call_deferred to prevent focus landing on nothing during layout transitions

⚒️ NEW BUILDING: Lunar Smelter

8 New Smelting Recipes

Bar

Materials

Notes

Olivine Bar

Olivine ×30

Base-tier lunar bar

Pyroxene Bar

Pyroxene ×30

Base-tier lunar bar

Garnet Bar

Garnet ×25

Mid-tier lunar bar

Ilmenite Bar

Ilmenite ×25

Mid-tier lunar bar

Magnesium Bar

Magnesium ×20

Advanced lunar bar

Platinum Bar

Platinum ×15

Rare lunar bar

Titanium Bar

Titanium ×10

Premium lunar bar

Lunarite Bar

Titanium Bar ×4 + Platinum Bar ×8

🔥 Ultimate alloy — forged from bars, not raw ore

Smelter Features

• Batch Smelting — Queue up to 99 bars at once with the quantity spinner and "Max" button

• Speed Boost — Sacrifice 100 HP and 10,000 coins to smelt 70% faster on any active job

• Real-Time Tracking — Watch your jobs tick down with per-bar and total time remaining

• Collect When Ready — Finished bars wait safely for pickup; collect all with one click

• Animated Smelter — The building plays a forging animation while your bars cook

🔨 NEW BUILDING: Lunar Forge (Moon Blacksmith)

Forge Features

• Speed Boost — Spend 100 HP + 10,000 coins to forge 75% faster

• Progress Tracking — Real-time progress bar and countdown timer per item

• Tooltip System — Hover any recipe to see full stats and your current material counts

• Persistent State — All forging progress is saved between sessions

🔫 2 NEW WEAPONS

⚡ Pulse Rifle

• Crafted at: Lunar Forge — Magnesium Bar ×4 + Ilmenite Bar ×3

• Fire Rate: 0.33s — one of the fastest weapons in the game

• Lunar Charge Mechanic: Every hit on the same enemy stacks a glowing cyan charge ring. At 5 stacks, the target erupts in a massive 250% damage AoE burst that damages and knocks back all enemies within range

• Gentle Homing: Bolts subtly curve toward nearby enemies within 250px

• Energy VFX: Pulsing cyan-white projectile glow, GPU particle trails, point light, and an expanding ring burst effect on detonation

• Upgradeable with scaling damage per level

🌀 Graviton Launcher

• Crafted at: Lunar Forge — Lunarite Bar ×3 + Garnet Bar ×3

• Fire Rate: 2.0s — slow but devastating

• Gravity Vortex: On contact with any enemy or surface, the orb anchors and creates a 2.5-second vortex that drags all nearby enemies into an accelerating spiral orbit

• Vortex Damage Ticks: Enemies caught in the pull take 25% base damage every 0.4 seconds while being held

• Final Explosion: When the vortex collapses, it detonates for 300% base damage to all enemies in the radius

• 200px Pull Radius — controls entire rooms of enemies

• Upgradeable with scaling damage per level

🛡️ 3 NEW ARMOR SETS

🌿 Selenweave Armor

• Cost: Olivine Bar ×4 + Pyroxene Bar ×3

• 5% Damage Reduction

• 15% Speed Boost

• 50% reduced Fire damage and duration

• 15% improved Jetpack fuel efficiency

• Best for: Speed runners and explorers who want mobility with fire protection

❄️ Cryoplate Armor

• Cost: Ilmenite Bar ×4 + Garnet Bar ×3

• 15% Damage Reduction

• Complete Frost Immunity ❄️

• Best for: Tanking frost-heavy encounters — never be slowed again

🏰 Titanium Bulwark

• Cost: Platinum Bar ×4 + Titanium Bar ×3

• 20% Damage Reduction — the highest of any Moon armor

• 50% reduced Frost duration

• 50% reduced Fire damage and duration

• 25% Knockback Resistance

• Best for: Frontline combat — the ultimate all-around defensive armor

📋 QUALITY OF LIFE

• Full save/load support for Lunar Smelter jobs, pending bars, Lunar Forge progress, and all crafted Moon gear

• Moon bars are properly tracked in bar inventory alongside Deep Earth and Earth bars

• Weapons integrate into the full weapon hotbar, drill selector, and arm pivot system

• Armor integrates with existing inventory equip system and appears in inventory

• Gamepad prompt support for both Lunar Smelter and Lunar Forge interactions

🎰 Lucky Roller UI Overhaul

• Complete visual redesign with engaging animations and clearer feedback

• Improved reward display with better icons and rarity indicators

• Smoother rollout animations and satisfying sound integration

• Enhanced UI flow that makes each roll feel impactful

🔨 New Crafting System: Earth Blacksmith

• Build the Blacksmith in your base to unlock advanced crafting

• Forge powerful Earth weapons from smelted bars:

  • Arrow Gun — Precision weapon with 60% lifesteal

  • 5 Arrow Types — Normal, Explosive, Frost, Poison, Lightning arrows

• Craft specialized Earth armor sets with unique bonuses:

  • Ironhide Armor — 15% damage reduction + 50% SEISMIC knockback reduction

  • Rubyvein Armor — 5% damage reduction + 15% speed boost + SHOCK immunity

  • Obsidian Bulwark — 10% damage reduction + ACID/FIRE resistance (halves duration)

⚡ Elemental Damage System

• 6 damage types now bring tactical depth to combat:

  • ACID — WeakEnemy acid spit corrodes your armor (15% effectiveness loss)

  • FIRE — Burn damage over time from Moon enemies

  • FROST — Slows movement and jetpack power

  • SEISMIC — Rocky enemies knock you back with earthquake force

  • SHOCK — Bato/Medium enemies stun you briefly (0.6s input lock)

  • PHYSICAL — Standard damage

• Visual feedback — Color-coded damage numbers and status effect indicators

• Strategic armor choices — Each armor set counters specific elemental threats

🎯 Combat Enhancements

• Projectile improvements — Enemy projectiles now originate from enemy body centers (no more high misses!)

• Strong homing behavior — All enemy projectiles aggressively track the player for more dynamic combat

• Status effect resistances — Armor sets provide meaningful protection against elemental debuffs

🌙 Coming Soon: Moon Blacksmith & Advanced Crafting

• Moon Blacksmith building — Unlock lunar crafting with exotic materials

• Advanced Moon weapons — Forge powerful gear from lunar resources

• Enhanced armor sets — New defensive options for the harsh lunar environment

• Moon-specific recipes — Unique items that complement the lunar gameplay experience

🛠️ Quality of Life

• Enhanced inventory UI — Armor and weapon icons now display correctly

• Updated HUD — Equipped armor names and icons show properly

• Better combat flow — More predictable projectile behavior with engaging homing mechanics

🏟️ PATCH NOTES — The Arena Update

NEW: Arena Combat Mode (Full Game Exclusive — Not Available in Demo)

• Interact with the Arena building on the surface to enter

• Fight through 80 waves of increasingly dangerous enemies

• Survive as long as you can — earn XP based on how far you get

• Die or conquer all 80 waves, then return to Earth with your rewards

• Enemies cycle through 4 types across 20 difficulty tiers

• Enemy level scales from 5 to 100 as you push deeper

• Enemy count per wave increases from 3 to 20

• Each tier brings a new challenge — adapt or die

• XP is heavily back-loaded — later waves are worth dramatically more

• Dying early still earns meaningful XP for a few Lucky Roller spins

• Clearing all 80 waves earns a massive payout

• XP is saved and applied to your bank when you return to Earth

• Custom arena environment with unique background and walled arena

• Passive jetpack fuel regeneration while not thrusting

• Zoomed-out camera for better battlefield awareness

• Weapons cannot destroy arena tiles

• Forfeit option available at any time (but you lose all earned XP!)

• Death summary screen shows waves cleared and XP earned

• 7 new original combat tracks with dark post-apocalyptic vibes

• Tracks play in random order during arena runs

• Earth music pauses on entry and resumes on return

• Added "Neon Coliseum" to the Earth gameplay playlist

Hey everybody! Super happy to see all the recent feedback for the game. It seems its catching a target audience finally. I am in the process of developing the deep earth expansion. This update requires you to beat the moon boss. Right now there are new enemies, resources, loot, buildings, and a new weapon! If you are interested in adding some input for this next expansion I will provide a special test environment for you to experience the content early and offer valuable feedback to help concrete the future of this newest expansion. If you would like to join in on the fun and help shape the new expansion please join the discord on the steam page and submit a inquiry to Dev on the discord page! Here are some of the stuff you can expect in deep earth

This massive update brings Texplore fully into the Steam ecosystem with Cloud Saves, Global Leaderboards, and Achievements! Alongside these major additions, we are introducing new rewards to the Lucky Roller, a visual refresh to the Upgrade Stats menu, and a comprehensive rebalance to the AutoMiner system.

☁️ Steam Integration

Texplore is now fully connected to Steam! This update brings several highly requested features to enhance your mining experience and let you compete with miners worldwide.

Cloud Saves

• Your progress now automatically syncs to the Steam Cloud.

• Play on any PC and pick up exactly where you left off.

• Local and cloud saves stay in sync—the game will always load your newest version.

Global Leaderboards

Three global leaderboards are now live! Scores upload automatically at the end of each run. You can access them via the new LEADERBOARDS button on the main menu.

• High Score — Compete for the highest total run score.

• Deepest Depth — See who can dig the furthest.

• Most Kills — Prove you're the deadliest miner.

Achievements (30 Total)

• Depth Milestones: 13 achievements tracking your descent from 1m all the way down to 1,000m.

• Resource Discovery: Unlock achievements for finding each ore type, including Moon ores.

• Gameplay Milestones: Badges for your first sell, first upgrade, first enemy kill, AutoMiner unlock, legendary upgrade, boss defeats, and more!

Note: Some achievement icons are still being finalized and will be updated visually in a future patch. However, all achievements are fully functional and will unlock and track correctly right now!

🎲 Lucky Roller: New Upgrades

We’ve added two new highly requested upgrades to the Lucky Roller pool!

• Sell Price Boost: Increases the coin value of items sold in both the Earth and Moon Shops. This bonus stacks additively and updates dynamically in the shop UI.

• Damage Boost: Increases damage dealt to all enemies across every weapon type (Cannon, Laser, Missiles, Bombs, Railgun, and MeteorGun). Note: This stat is capped at a 20% total boost. Once you hit the cap, it will no longer appear in rolls, giving you better odds at other upgrades.

Upgrade Roll Values by Rarity:

Rarity

Sell Price Boost

Damage Boost

Common

+0.01%

+0.10%

Uncommon

+0.02%

+0.15%

Rare

+0.04%

+0.25%

Epic

+0.07%

+0.35%

Legendary

+0.10%

+0.50%

🖥️ UI Improvements

• Redesigned the Upgrade Stats menu (U key) to cleanly accommodate the expanded upgrade roster.

• Compacted stat rows with tighter spacing to prevent visual overlap.

• Added color-coded rows for easier reading: Sell Price Boost is now orange, and Damage Boost is red.

• Added a "MAX (20%) REACHED" indicator for the Damage Boost stat once capped.

• Updated the upgrade description panel to include entries for the new Lucky Roller bonuses.

⚙️ AutoMiner: Anti-AFK Rules & Speed Rebalance

We’ve adjusted how AutoMiners behave while you are away and completely overhauled the speed curve for a smoother progression experience.

Anti-AFK Changes:

• AutoMiners (Earth and Moon) no longer accumulate resources when the game is paused via the Escape menu, Shop, Inventory, or any other UI panel.

• AutoMiners no longer accumulate resources when the game window is minimized or loses focus (alt-tab). The mining timer resets on focus loss to prevent partial-tick exploits.

• Mining continues as normal while viewing the AutoMiner UI panel, so you can still watch your progress bar in real-time.

Speed Rebalance:

• Added 3 new speed upgrade levels (11, 12, and 13) for both Earth and Moon AutoMiners.

• Reduced the maximum mining rate from ~1,600 items/min to ~1,500 items/min at the highest tier and speed.

• Redesigned the speed curve. The new curve uses a smooth, predictable progression where each upgrade adds a steadily increasing amount of items/min, replacing the old system where late upgrades resulted in explosive jumps.

New Speed Upgrade Costs:

Level

Earth AutoMiner

Moon AutoMiner

Speed 11

25,000,000 coins

40,000,000 coins

Speed 12

40,000,000 coins

65,000,000 coins

Speed 13

60,000,000 coins

100,000,000 coins

🌑 Moon AutoMiner: Progression Updates

Anorthosite and Basalt are finally here! These ores were previously mineable on the Moon but missing from the AutoMiner progression. All existing ore costs and mining times have been preserved, and the new tiers slot in naturally.

• Expanded Moon AutoMiner progression to 11 tiers (up from 9).

• Tier 3 (NEW): Anorthosite — 14,000 coins

• Tier 5 (NEW): Basalt — 35,000 coins

• Tier 11 (NEW): Titanium has been moved to the top as the ultimate endgame tier, featuring a faster 15s base interval.