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Something NEEDS to be changed about the coordinate towers. I've completely given up on my current playthrough because of them, and I won't be touching this version until they're fixed (or at the very least, fix the setting that lets you disable coordinate tower decay).

First off, the tower repair minigame is atrocious. I didn't mind most of the other new minigames, they felt appropriately clunky for the janky old technology that we're working with, but the tower minigame is a pain in the ass and feels totally arbitrary. But, at least you can turn it off.

More importantly, the decay rate is absolutely ABSURD, to the point where I wonder if it's bugged and decaying faster than intended. There were multiple occasions where I'd fix a tower, only for it to be broken again by the time I got back to the base. Kerfur can't fix them, there's no way to upgrade their stability, fuses are expensive (and basically pointless with how quickly they break), you can't maintain their "health" like you can with transformers, and having one break completely halts your progress until you run across the map and play patty-cake with the goddamn tower for five minutes.

but aside from that...
I really do like the update overall. It's definitely got some kinks to iron out, but other than the coordinate towers, most of the changes are pretty positive.
The visual updates are great and I (mostly) like the more immersive minigames and upgrades, particularly the zip drives and all the new stuff for the ATV. (other than the battery issues, but there's a whole thread about that so I won't go into it)

I honestly don't have any strong opinions about the new controls one way or the other, but one thing I DO really like is being able to shift-click to store held items onto the drone. I'd love it if that functionality got added to other containers as well, it would save so much headache if I could just shove an item directly into a box without having to do a bunch of inventory-juggling first.

The pacing and difficulty of early game is definitely a bit much, I think this update really wants to lean into the idea that Dr. Kel is single-handedly running a base that's meant to have like a dozen employees, with extremely outdated and poorly-maintained equipment. Which is fine and all, but I've got a good amount of VotV playthroughs under my belt and I was still struggling to get daily tasks done consistently until around my third week, even after getting a fairly early KerfurO. I can only imagine how much more stressful it would be to a new player who doesn't know any tricks to make the early game easier.

The forced tutorial is a little annoying, but I'm hoping it's just a band-aid fix and tutorialization will be improved later down the line. Although it is funny to see DrNose's increasingly unhinged attempts at making people actually learn to play the game, instead of ignoring the tutorial and hints and then complaining that they don't know what to do.

There's a piece of paper right next to the drone box thing that tells you to shift-click to load stuff onto the drone.

It's maybe not super intuitive considering it's literally the only container that works that way afaik, but the game DOES tell you about it.

you have to upgrade signal processing more to get them above level 1

iirc the ingame help menu tells you where to put them, but the files go into C:/Users/(you)/AppData/Local/VotV/Assets

The AppData folder is hidden by default on windows, so if it's not there go to 'View' at the top and check 'Hidden items'

You are raising the processing level, NOT the computer power, right?

It's pretty unintuitive, you have to scroll down to the bottom of the upgrade list to find the processing upgrade, even though it's literally the most important upgrade in the game.

the default door code is always 1111, there's a piece of paper right next to the door telling you that.

It's a Windows issue. Go to C:/users/(you), hit the 'view' tab at the top and check "show hidden items", the appdata folder should appear.

yeah, gotta stay on top of broken servers until you get a Kerfus to do it for you. Don't forget to sd.calall occasionally too, uncalibrated satellites can be almost as slow as broken ones.

Some tips on conserving time and resources, if you want:
1. Try to coast as much as possible on the ATV. Any time you're going downhill, let go of the pedal and let gravity do the work- you can cover a ton of distance without using any fuel. Save the ATV for longer trips too, if a server is near your base you can just run over to it on foot.

2. Similar idea with the flashlight, flick it on and off in short bursts so you can see what's around you but aren't leaving it on all the time. Or buy a glowstick, they're not as bright but they last forever.

3. After buying necessities like processing upgrades, I'd recommend saving up for a Kerfus next, it's pricey but easily pays for itself with how much time it saves.

4. Explore the map often, there are a few spots around the map with extra tools and supplies.

5. Doing server reports should be your first priority every day, and fix any broken servers along the way. Once you get back you should still have time to farm some signals. Stockpiling a bunch of drives early will make things go much more smoothly later on.

6. Don't forget to sd.calall occasionally, uncalibrated satellites can be almost as slow as broken ones. You can also make downloads faster by turning off other systems, like coordinates and playback.

7. Seriously, get a Kerfus, if you haven't already. You can thank me later.

I tend to be really stingy with supplies, so not all of these things are totally necessary to make it through the game (except Kerfus), but they'll help stretch your resources much, much further.

The codes do change if you save and quit, and at the start of each day when your new tasks are sent in.
Also, when you write down the code, make sure you're not getting 1's and L's mixed up. That's messed me up a few times since they look pretty similar in the console's font.

You need to upgrade signal processing level. They'll only accept level 0 drives if it's part of a daily task, otherwise you need to process them to at least level 1 in order to get paid.