pre-alpha-0.2.9 is out

Since the previous gameplay demo, I added the following:

• Gameplay
  • Introduced the pipes and the liquid flow mechanics: Molding Machines now have an input pipe to receive hot molten plastic, which comes from Heaters (a new unit, that transforms plastic pellets into hot molten plastic). Pipe can fork into multiple outputs, so the same Heater (handling 1 color of plastic pellets) can feed multiple Molding Machines.
  • Introduced the "Delete" feature (to remove units and zones).

• UI
  • Re-organized the UI: moved  "add unit" and "add zone" functionalities to large colorful buttons (with help info bubble on mouseover) on the bottom of the screen.
  • Scaled down UI, so it's actually usable with 1080p resolution.
  • Removed several columns from tables UI, that contained technical information that was probably a bit too confusing for new players. I may re-add them later as an option for more dedicated players.
  • Increased the refresh rate of UI elements, for better response time.
  • Re-designed the mouseover info box (the one that appears in the upper left corner), so it's now consistent with the offer window and overall nicer.

• Behavior
  • Employees now automatically leave work areas when idle, so they don't end up all clumped at the same spot and they're less likely to get blocked between resources.
  • Employees can walk in diagonal on the tiled map (i.e. in 8 directions).

• 3D
  • Improved lighting (the materials).
  • Added some decor around the map with lovely, randomly positioned low-poly trees (made by Sara).

More details in the README file.

Next steps will be

• Conveyor belts and logistic robotics (arms and such)
• Bots that carry crates around
• Start to introduce sound effects and music (right now, it's a mute game)
• Dynamic sell markets (which changes during the game, right now there are just static contracts)
• New units and machines
• ... and many more