Archive 2.0: A new look & updated content

The word “archive” sometimes evokes images of dusty old books of little interest. But in a post-apocalyptic world, when nearly all knowledge got lost, an archive is a treasure-trove of precious wisdom! The Tau Station archive is a key part of your CORETECHS, expanding with new data as you progress in the game. Best of all, this vital feature is now getting a digital makeover with a new interface, and a big content rework…

The April update introduced new status icons; showing your current status for VISA, VIP, and Bodyguard protection at a glance. The forthcoming archive update is another part of our major round of polishing work, again based on citizens’ Community feedback. We’re also working on further improvements and comfort features, such as a rework for the Side Jobs and your entire CORETECHS. For now, let’s have a closer look at the Archive 2.0.

Content Review

First, the team started with a significant reorganization of the info contained in your archive. Some topic headings will remain the same, such as affiliations or genotypes, but with newly updated content. There will also be plenty of brand new topics introduced for the first time. The sneak peek of the main menu below reveals one such new category. Do you spot it?

So far, these changes amount to around 10,000 words worth of content which has either been edited or newly created, spread across 10 (so far) main categories of knowledge. Entries are now longer and more detailed, but also better organized. Our narrative team is super excited to share all this new and updated lore with you!

The new desktop UI

The biggest UI change for all versions (desktop, tablet, mobile) is that your archive will use the “full screen” mode that was first introduced  with the combat changes in the major December update.

The new layout will use card-style navigation, similar to what you already know from The Market or Port. We hope you like the combination of pictures and texts for a more intuitive navigation.

Desktop UI of the new archive. The amber-colored headline states Archive at the very top, and digital ornaments of the same color at the top and the bottom create a frame around 9 oblong topic cards which show a representative picture for each main archive topic and the title in blue color. With 3 cards in a row, the selection matrix shows the following topics: affiliation, history, and technology; medical, corporation, and survival; genotype, travel, and space.

The new UI for mid resolutions

For mid resolution devices like tablets, the “cards” indicating main topics will be smaller; but of course you’ll still have full access to the same information.

Similar to the desktop UI, we have the a matrix of 3x3 pictures with the same category names. Instead of an oblong shape, the selection cards are squared and the titles are shown below the representative pictures; for example, "survival" is symbolized with a ration pack.

New Layout for all Topics

Once you select a main topic via the card menu shown above, you’ll dive into the updated content, organized across various sub-entries. This experience is improved by a new interface with a comfy navigation, reworked structure and additional art.

UI of a topic chosen. The archive's main category navigation is on the left, a big bullet point indicates that the main topic "Affiliation" is selected. The upper part of the screen contains the headline "CORETECHS", again amber-colored with the digital ornament.  Below is is blue line with the according sub-topics: General, Consortium, Gaule (amber-colored, because it's displayed), Independent, Freebooter. The content display takes around 75% of the screen in the middle. On the left is a huge picture with an NPC wearing a red robe, in front of the red Gaule flag, next is the text with details and background information about this affiliation.

The main topics can be toggled on the left while at the top of the screen you can see sub-entries for the current topic.

Another example, similar to the picture before, but this time, the main topic "Medical" is chosen in the main navigation. At the top, we have three sub-topics: Medical Introduction, Clones, and Stims. The amber-colored text indicates that "Clones" is selected. Therefore, we have a big picture of a cloning pod while the according detail information is next to it.

The new mobile UI

Last but not least, also mobile users will get an updated UI for the archive, encouraging everyone to learn more about what happened in Tau Station.

The mobile UIs are more compact, but still with the color code: amber -colored headline and ornaments. But instead of the blue navigation at the top, all sub-topics are listed like a list below each other, similar to what you know e.g. from CORETECHS list on mobile devices. Every topic can be collapsed with a click, also showing a picture and the text details. On mid-screens, it's a floating picture together with the text. On small screens, the picture is displayed above the text.

And, as mentioned earlier, there’s still more to come! We hope you will enjoy this (upcoming) update for the archive.