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Shipped in v0.1.2. The curve is now properly geometric (early levels nearly free, late levels expensive) — level 2 went from ~4 minutes to ~6 seconds, and the first hour has fourteen named unlocks instead of a desert. Your XP carried over, so you've likely jumped several levels. There's also now an automated pacing test simulating a full playthrough, so this particular problem can't quietly come back. Genuinely appreciate the nudge — comment #2, patch #2.

Fair hit — the math backs you up: after the first upgrades, the next named unlock is ~3 hours out, which is way too sparse for the first session. The XP curve was shaped wrong (too expensive early, and this genre lives on early momentum). Retuning it now so the first hour has a steady drip of unlocks — patch in a day or two. Thanks for calling it out.

Thanks again for this — you were more right than you knew. The chains existed (drift steel = refined ingot + salvaged scrap, weapons are paid in refined goods), but locked recipes hid their ingredients, so the whole thing was invisible until level 30. Just shipped v0.1.1: every recipe now shows its full chain from minute one, upgrade costs show where materials come from, and the inventory shows what each resource is used in. Would love to hear if it reads better now.

Thanks for playing! Good news: that's actually the core of the design — Drift Steel needs a refined ingot plus scrap from salvaging, and every weapon upgrade is paid in refined goods. Bad news: you clearly couldn't tell, which is really useful to know. Making the chains visible from the start is going straight to the top of my list. Thanks!