This is a quick hotfix update for reported bugs including:

• Dumpster not coming back after emptying
  
• Fuses not showing the correct art when blown
  
• Some parts missing parts on the car not available in the garage
  
• Engine block couldn't be picked up

There is still a bug where flexible parts do not spawn correctly for everyone. This is intermittent and not all users. It will take time to figure out why it is happening. Saving and reloading the game should fix this when it happens.

Today’s update is a big step forward for Wrench. For the first time, players can turn the key and start their cars. The engine starting and running is operating off of a series of simulations, not all of which are functioning or complete yet but even in this state it is already engaging and not something people will have experienced in other games. The fuel and air simulation systems are unfinished and the internal ECU and combustion simulation is not complete.

We are working on building an automotive sim game where the entire car functions as a series of simulations that operate through the entire part chain and react accordingly. No canned symptoms where “If part X is broken report symptom X.” We are focused on building observable behaviors so players can diagnose what is happening based on audible and visual feedback with some additional assistance from tools. This all needs to happen dynamically while the engine is running and support whatever oddball choices the player makes.

We are moving this update to the main branch because the existing main branch game is now so far removed from what we want players to see from us. This new build does not come close to reflecting the full game loop we are building but it does give the players a first look at diagnosis and problem solving and we think it is time for everyone to see where Wrench is headed. The legacy wrench build will live on in a new branch called “legacy” and players can continue to play by opting into the legacy branch.

3 years ago we decided that our plan for Wrench 1.0 was never going to be the game we wanted it to be. We made a big pivot, rewrote nearly all of the game code, and started building something much larger and more complex. The work we are putting in now for running condition and engine operation will also translate directly into letting us simulate performance modifications and engine tuning. Wrench will continue to be about performance and motorsports but we have to walk before we can run.

This beta branch update is a major step forward for Wrench and the first release of our electrical solver simulation. The Lighting and horn circuits for the car are fully functional and nearly all of the wiring for the car is present and functional. A lot had to happen to get here and this is a big step towards making the car start and run as a complete dynamic simulation.

The biggest new interaction for players are the new flexible parts and multi ended installation objects. The new wire and hose interactions are really engaging and add a lot to the assembly process. In a future update we will polish the wire physics by adding collision for the wires and improve stiffness/damping behavior.

The electrical system is not a simple continuity check. It's a real time solver with voltage, amperage, resistance as a whole dynamic system. Fuses, relays, battery discharge curves are all represented. There is no hand waving magic to make a component work. Example: Cluster lights get voltage along the correct conductor/schematic path from whatever component is related, grounds behave as expected, components consume accurate amperage, fuses blow when amperage gets too high. The art is similarly detailed. This is our main fusebox running in engine using a translucent material to show off internal details:

Patch Notes (Build 156)

Due to internal changes, save files from previous builds are not supported. See the Roadmap for more information about what to expect with future save resets.

Add first pass interactable wiring and electrical systems to hatchback chassis with detailed connectors and ~70 interactable connections.

Features present and interactable with electrical functionality:

• Lights: Headlights, turn signals, side lights, tail lights, etc

• Light & turn signal controls

• Horn and horn button

• Gauge cluster (partial)

• Battery

• Fuse box & fuses

• Relays & flasher unit

• Chassis grounding attachments

Features present and interactable but with no electrical functionality at this time:

• ECU

• Fuel injectors

• Plug wires (two-ended flexible wires)

• Engine sensors and accessories

• Wiper controls

Add two-ended flexible vacuum hoses

Hatchback:

• Improvements and tweaks to the chassis, bumpers, and hatch to support wiring and lighting

• New art content related to electrical components noted above (wiring, lights, fuses, etc)

• Add gauge cluster

• Add radio (not functional ... yet)

• Improvements to dashboard models and materials

• Improvements to carpet models and materials

• Adjustments to hatchback carpet and materials

• Adjustments to collision on various parts to improve gameplay

Add JIS screwdriver & several JIS screws as part of new assembly.

WIP fluid improvements

• Track fluid mixture in containers and streams (relative amounts of different fluid types with wear)

• Improvements to behavior of tube-attached objects

• The engine oil and coolant bottle caps are now individual screw-on caps

• Some visual effects have an incorrect color - will fix later

• Some fluid bottles and interactions may not work right now

Multiplayer: Fix a bug causing the VR hand transform to be incorrect when using a Controller Type option other than RiftS on a remote client.
Fix a bug allowing physics objects to pass through the car chassis collision.
Fix a bug with the location of a nut at the OEM exhaust manifold to downpipe connection.
Desktop: Fix a bug causing the part install indicator to show the wrong install location when the target socket changes in a single frame.
Desktop: Fix a bug causing a part to install immediately when clicking to pick up an object while looking at a valid install location.

• Changes to assembly system to support objects with multiple assembly pieces (wiring harness, two-ended wires, etc)

  - interactions
  - assembly generation
  - physics constraints
  - saving
  - multiplayer / replication

• Expand flexible tube simulation component to support spline meshes for wire bundles

• Migrate majority of assembly system game logic from blueprint to C++

• Flexible tubes & wires now go to sleep when end points are not moving to save CPU usage.

• Many other core code changes. Some old bugs may be gone and some new bugs will be present.

A new update (Build 152) is now on the Steam beta branch.

Added creeper object to enable desktop and VR users to work under the car.

• Interact with the creeper head rest to use the creeper.
  
• Move using normal inputs (slower than normal, and VR teleport is disabled).
  
• Desktop: Rotate creeper with creeper turn inputs (default left/right angle brackets).
  
• Desktop: Exit creeper by standing up (default space bar).
  
• VR: Exit the creeper by adjusting crouch/stand height (see below).

VR:

• Allow VR players to crouch/stand, enabling better play for seated users.
  
• Hold forward on the right thumbstick/pad to enter crouch/stand adjust mode.
  
• While in crouch/stand adjust mode, use the left thumbstick/pad forward/back to adjust standing height.
  
• While in crouch/stand adjust mode, press the use button to reset standing height.
  
• Automatically reset location and crouch/stand height under some conditions (e.g. putting head through wall/floor)

Desktop:

• Restrict minimum crouch height.

Add missing 29mm socket to impact socket kit.
Minor tweaks and bugfixes.

We decided there were too many little bugs to leave unfixed so we are releasing another update primarily focused on bugs. We also re-enabled physics in VR for held objects so you can slam things together again.


VR:
- Added on screen object information under some conditions.
- Added on screen action information for some context sensitive interactions.
- Adjusted movement to work better with environment collision.
- Added teleport indicator visuals.
- Added handling for attempting to walk through or put head through wall collision. (e.g. in room-scale VR)
- Fixed bugs allowing player to climb walls in certain places.
- Most objects are now physics-enabled when picked up. (note: only large objects for multiplayer clients)
- Added functionality to adjust tool settings with VR finger touches.
- Fixed bug preventing installation of parts after switching hands.
Desktop:
- Added "Field of View" user setting.
- Fixed bug causing "Sprint Mode" user setting to not work.
VR/Desktop Player: Added gravity and ability to step up small collision differences such as curbs.
Torque Wrenches: Added touch interaction points for adjusting in VR.
Flashlight:
- Added multiplayer support.
- Fixed general functionality.
Radio:
- Added multiplayer support.
- Improved knob interactions.
Boxes & Pallets: Added physics-based destruction. Slam your old boxes against walls to break them down into smaller objects!
Floor/Wall-Mounted Objects:
- Desktop: Adjusted inputs to be closer to normal object manipulation.
- Desktop: Added support for switching between snapping or freeform placement.
- VR: Improved general behavior.
- Added collision checks to prevent them from being placed overlapping other objects or walls.
- Fixed bugs allowing objects to get onto high collision such as roofs, power lines, etc.
- Fixed bugs causing unmounted wall objects (pegboards, tire rack) to float in the air.
Improved collision environment in the residential garage to be closer to the visuals.
Added physics impact sounds.
Minor bugfixes and tweaks.

Known Issues:
Physics impact sounds are not working for multiplayer clients.

We put out an update to fix the more problematic bugs in our last beta release and also allow players to throw away trash. We are not planning to do another dedicated bug fix update and want to move on to finishing game systems needed for the new game loop and moving to the main branch. We plan to release beta updates with new features as we make progress so expect new things to come to the beta branch relatively quickly.

Build 150 is now on the beta branch. You can now get rid of those pesky pallets and boxes! And we fixed a variety of other issues.

Added a toter (trash bin) and dumpster
Refined desktop input and some default key binds
Client now has access to apps on their UI and can submit orders
Engine stand now works - pick up the engine after removing the securing bolts
Improve quality of catalog preview images.
Fixed a bug causing unstable physics when putting assemblies or tools with attachments in boxes
Fixed a bug allowing objects to be put into closed boxes
Tool batteries and charger now save
Prevent clients from saving (only host can save the game)
Fix bad socket fit messages not reporting to clients
Implement replication for floor tiles
Implement replication for desktop mode headlamp
Disable Ray Tracing in VR (this is causing a crash in the Residential Garage that we need to track down)
Minor part fixes
Catalog bug fixes including adding the socket organizers to the catalog

How to use the toter: Put unwanted items in, close the lid, and put it at the street in the residential garage or near the garage door in the big garage for collection.
How to use the dumpster: Rent one, put unwanted items in, and wait a few minutes for it to be collected. The dumpster is also collected, so fill it up!

Wrench has been in a state of redesign and rewrites for the last 3 years. This beta update includes our first pass at co-op multiplayer support. We do not have enough work finished on the new car starting and symptoms systems to support our new game loop, and we are waiting on a new game loop before we move everything to the main branch. Some progress on things like the new electrical solver with individual wire/pin level continuity simulation here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H5tuUkj_CM

We are aware that we still have polish work to do on multiplayer code and that desktop key binds still need some streamlining. Regardless please report issues that you have. We wanted to share some of our plans for where Wrench is headed in the very near future:

Multiplayer
Multiplayer is not required and we are intentionally building the game to be a single player experience that your friends can join you in. That said, wrench in multiplayer is an extremely cooperative social experience. Players are working on the same car literally handing each other tools, pointing things out, teaching, helping organize and track parts, etc. Few other games have this depth of player to player cooperation.


Living assembly
We are working towards building detailed simulations for each subsystem of the car. Our latest projects have been a new electrical solver that accurately simulates current moving through a circuit and a procedural animation system to handle engine, chassis, and suspension movement. The ultimate goal is to make the car feel fully interactable and not limited to nut, bolt, and part install interactions. Eventually we want suspension arms to move when grabbed, the steering rack to operate, wheels to be free spun when the car is on jackstands, latches to operate correctly, etc. We are also building the car starting/running condition systems so that the car can exist in any number of broken or incomplete states and the player will get natural feedback instead of text statements telling them what the car is doing. Example: Pull a spark plug while the car is running and the system will misfire. Remove the chassis ground and expect sensor noise/failure, etc. Pull an electrical connector or fuse and the correct cascade of events will occur. We also are removing all text based information about the car and the condition will be something players observe through audio, visual, and performance information. The running condition of the car should exist in a gray area where there isn’t necessarily a clear distinction between running well and running poorly. An intermittent misfire from a leaking injector o’ring isn’t going to keep your car from running but it will impact the engine based on the severity. This complexity will all be layered into the game experience so new players can focus on getting the car running and then progressively dig deeper into the car to fix more issues as they become comfortable.

Moving away from maintenance
Maintenance will always be part of Wrench but we want the focus of the player's time to be spent on car building and creative problem solving - not repeat oil and pad changes. You will still be responsible for maintaining the car but the game is moving away from immediately having the player enter endurance races which will reduce the number of race hours and mechanical wear so there will be less repetitive work. The same systems that feed the running condition of the car also allow for intricate and creative car performance tuning. In our upcoming game loop we will give the players challenges that use a combination of performance targets and constraints. We are building the car systems so that there can be many possible routes to solve a problem. An example might be: Achieve a certain lap time at a track but you must use a specific set of tires and the car must weigh at least x number of lbs. Or build a car capable of a lap time at a specific track using a limited selection of aero parts and a peak horsepower less than x amount. We want players to combine parts and tune their cars for specific goals instead of building unrealistic vehicles that are just faster at everything. Car performance will be an interaction between assembly quality, specific part selection, part condition, and chassis + engine tuning.

Hi Everyone,
We have intentionally been quiet about what we are working on for the last few months. Multiplayer is nearly ready! We think co-op in Wrench is a pretty unique experience. Player to player interaction feels more meaningful than most other games and it is genuinely helpful to have another person work with you, hand you tools, or help organize tasks. It’s an extremely social experience and it adds a whole new dimension to the game and we think you all will really enjoy it.

We are moving from the beta to the main branch in early June. Our move from beta to main branch will include a first pass at our co-op multiplayer support. We will provide more details on the what else is we are working on we are ready but for now enjoy this multiplayer test footage.

Patch Notes (Build 148)

-VR finger threading
-Torque wrench bug fixes
-Desktop: Fix bug preventing placing sockets into organizer while holding tool
-Desktop Fix input priority bugs and place and throw (left v right hand)
-Changes to texture memory pool size at each texture quality setting
-Adjusted denoiser settings for raytraced reflections


Hatchback art improvements:
New materials for car paint and dirt
Engine bay detailing pass including seam filler and spot welds
Rework of front fenders and hood
Added plastic trim pieces into the design
Two tone body work with black lower body line

-Garage art improvements

We have identified a few themes in user feedback from the first beta and we are working on addressing them. This iteration makes some progress on interactions, playability, and also fixes a few major bugs from the last update.

The most consistent feedback we got was from players struggling with tool interactions and socket selection. The game doesn’t provide much feedback about wrong socket sizes and we require players to test out and learn which sockets fit where. This gets made unnecessarily tedious by a clunky system to swap sockets. We would like to improve the feedback players get when testing sockets, and make managing and testing sockets more seamless.

Beta update changes:

Fixed a bug that caused high frame rates (over 200fps) to prevent tools from attaching to fasteners correctly

Fixed a bug that caused right clicking while fastening to enter a context menu state that appeared broken

Fasteners now automatically move to the corner after being loosened.

Fasteners now automatically get finger threaded a few turns on install

These changes are working towards eliminating the state where fasteners float in front of threads but aren’t actually threaded on. It also makes removing fasteners a smoother experience.

Added a socket organizer. Both a mobile and a pegboard variation. Sockets will auto place into the organizers. Note: This hasn’t been discussed but holding the left control key while clicking acts as a small part only filter. This is useful for preventing misclicks when you are removing parts from an assembly that isn’t bolted down. This is really useful for things like the socket organizer as it prevents accidentally grabbing the organizer instead of a socket. The same concept applies to working on any loose subassembly.

Added a hotkey for tool direction changes (x)
Added a hotkey for socket installation and removal (z)
Added a hotkey for tool modes (f)

Improved the message log feedback for socket sizes to be more specific

Added hud information on how held tools are currently set up (socket size, tool direction, power mode)

Improved procedural animations for sockets and tool handling

We plan to do an input key binding pass in the future so keybinds will be improved/changed once all of the interactions are nailed down.

We still have more changes to make to improve tool handling and socket handling.

We are also planning a sound pass. The game is missing a lot of sounds and needs some sounds reworked.