Hey guys!

Here's another update with fixes and quality of life updates, a lot of them come from the community (you!) actually.

I took a bit of a break after the wires update since that was really a huge update, but I really like working on shapez, so be prepared for a few upcoming updates! (For the roadmap check the last post).

This update includes:


Well, this one was a bit annoying to track down, but belt readers (and basically every other building) could actually slow down a belt under certain circumstances.

This should fix the throughput issue, however there are some other issues left which I am aware of, for example the double painter being *just a tad* too slow. I'm working on that!



This should be a huge QoL - since before, you would have to destroy and re-place the signal!



This is pretty easy to show within an image:





Markers now remember in which layer they were created, and also restore to that layer when clicking it.
They also have a different icon now:





- Allow to cycle backwards in the toolbar with SHIFT + Tab (idea by EmeraldBlock)
- Allow to cycle variants backwards with SHIFT + T
- Upgrade numbers now use roman numerals until tier 50 (by LeopoldTal)
- Add button to unpin shapes from the left side (by artemisSystem)
- Fix middle mouse button also placing blueprints (by Eiim)
- Hide wires grid when using the 'Disable Grid' setting (by EmeraldBlock)
- Fix UI using multiple different save icons


Looking forward to your feedback!

Hey guys!

This isn't a huge update and contains mostly community fixes and translations.

However, I thought this would also be a nice spot to talk about future (big updates):

My roadmap looks roughly like this:

- Puzzle Mode (E.g. have a fixed amount of space to produce an item, etc.)
- Blueprint library
- Steam Achievements
- More Game Modes (e.g. Sandbox) and customizable map generation
- (Maybe?) a Minimap
- Mods (This will take a while though)

I can't promise when the next big update will happen, but it is planned and I'll keep you updated!

PS: There is a speedrun challenge running in the discord which ends this evening - be sure to check it out! :)

Have a nice Halloween!
~Tobias

I'm excited to announce that after several months of work, the Wires update is FINALLY ready!

Besides an impressive amount of new content, the update also brings significant performance improvements and a lot of Quality-Of-Life features.

Since the update is really HUGE, I created an an extra page for it, which summarizes all changes - I highly recommend to read it before playing the update, it will (hopefully! :D) answer most of your questions:

http://shapez.io/wires?sp

You can download the update now - it should update automatically. If it doesn't try restarting Steam!

Thanks to everybody who has supported me for this update, be it testing, contributing or giving feedback!

Stay Safe, and I'm really excited towards your feedback! ❤️

I have awesome news, the wires update will be released on October 9th, 10 AM CEST!

All information can be found here:

https://shapez.io/wires/

PS: It's super cool! :D

Looking forward to your feedback!

The wires update will be coming very soon and I'll announce an exact date later this week!

In the meantime, here's a spoiler (Don't mind the gif compression):



(PS: The core gameplay actually won't change. This is all optional lategame content. And it's not as complicated as it might look)

Hey guys!


First of all, I apologize again for no devlogs the past month, but I have been super busy again. However I have a lot of cool new stuff to show!

Disclaimer: All this stuff is not final, meaning it can change until the release. Also a lot of artwork ist still dummy artwork!

PS: All content in this post is already available to be tested in the alpha! If you are interested in trying it out - Join the {LINK REMOVED}discord server!

Alright, let's get to the content!


For those who haven't read the past devlogs: The wires update is a huge update coming to shapez.io soon. It adds an additional "wires" layer which you can switch to and allows you to build logic gates, filters, and much more! It is additional content, meaning it will be unlocked after finishing level 18. However, the requirements to reach level 18 will be lowered.

Read this post to find out more about the update. Warning: Spoilers!



I have decided to split the update into two parts. I felt like the energy part didn't really fit into the game so far, so I will wait with that. Instead, I will focus on the logic wires entirely for the update.

So, what can you do with logic wires?




A signal can either be a shape, color or a boolean value (0 / 1). They look differently on the map, which you can see in the screenshots below.


This one is simple: You input a shape, color or boolean value when placing it, and it will emit this value.




This building can be placed on the regular or the wires layer and will emit an 1 when pressed and 0 otherwise:




The hub has a special connector which allows to read the currently required shape. This will allow to make an "automated make-everything machine"!




All storages now have two pins: One which returns if the storage is full, and the other returns which item is currently stored:




This building is still in progress, but it will be a 1x1 building where you can put an item in and it will emit that item on the wires layer. It will also pass through the item on the regular layer, so you can just place it somewhere on a belt.



There are multiple logic gates already available: AND, OR, NOT, XOR and a transistor-style building.






This is still in progress. However, you will be able to virtually:

• (Un-)stack a shape
  
• Cut a shape
  
• Rotate a shape
  
• Read the color and shape type of a given quadrant
  
• Maybe: Paint a shape
  
• Maybe: Mix colors

With this options, you can for example analyze the currently required shape (Coming from the hub) and configure your make-everything machine with that!


If you are a fan of mixed belts, you'll love this! This building accepts one input and splits it into two: The items which match the given shape, and the others.

You can pass the filter shape or color on the wires layer. If you don't pass a shape, the filter will block everything. You can also use 0/1 to use the filter like a gate.




The display can be placed on the regular layer and accepts all types of items on the wires layer!

If you input a color, it will shine in that color. If you input a shape, it will present the shape. If you input a 1, it will shine in white.



(Notice how the wires layer shines through when placing a building - I think that's pretty cool!)

And yes, people have already made a programmable 7 segment display (video) with that!




Instead of having tunnels, there are two types of insulation: A regular one and a crossing. By default, wires connect to everything arround them (Just like redstone). If you don't like that, use insulation:





So far there are only two different use cases, but I'm still trying to find more! For me it is important that they fit into the game.

- Build a make-everything machine which automatically produces the required shape
- Build logic circuits (For example displays, calculators, even computers)

I'm considering to add a new building which randomly corrupts an item so it can contain black on certain quadrants - You'd then have to filter the item to produce a fully black item for example. This is still just an idea!



When is the update going to come out?

There are a few parts missing which need to be done:

• Shape processing with wires
  
• Migration of old savegames
  
• Re-Balancing the upgrades
  
• New levels
  
• Performance improvements
  
• Testing!

Once I have all of these finished, I can prepare the release of the update. So, it's quite hard to tell an exact date! Instead of giving you a date this time and disappointing you, I'll make an announcement arround 1-2 weeks before the update will go live.

Will the wires update also be available on the web version?

Nope! The web version will be limited to it's current state and receive no major new features.


What comes after the wires update?

I have a lot planned! Be sure to check out the Roadmap.
To mention a few: Blueprint Library, Puzzle Mode, Minimap, etc, etc ...

Will my old savegames still work?

Yes! Don't get confused, they won't work on the alpha. That is because I still have to write the migration.



I'd like to say huge thanks to all the testers who are constantly testing this content and building super cool stuff! Also the input has helped me a lot and I have based a lot of decisions on player feedback!

I think the wires update will be super cool, and I'm looking forward to your opinion!

Hey guys!

I'm sorry for not writing a devlog for about two weeks, I have been super busy in real life because I'm currently moving and also have a lot to do on my main job!


I have been working on changing the way to provide feedback, since I got overwhelmed by the amount of suggestions and feedback (I get like 300 messages a day ...).

So, here is how I ask you to provide feedback, report bugs, submit suggestions etc etc.

I kindly ask you to start from the top and work through to the bottom, without skipping steps.

1. Ask in #bugs / #feedback / #questions on the discord server first, if you are uncertain if it is really a bug or an issue or your side, or if you want to gather the feedback of other players first for a suggestion.
   
2. Visit the Trello Board
   
3. Check if your suggestion, bug, etc is already there - If so, vote for it - Don't worry, I will see it :) (You have to be signed in on trello).
   
4. If not, check if it's already reported on the GitHub issues page
   
5. If it's not reported there, create a new issue here
   
6. I will then have a look (This can take days or weeks) and convert it to trello, and comment with the link. You can then vote there ;)

I hope this makes it easier for both sides! It might sound confusing at first, but it saves me a lot of work! :)

PS: You can of course still submit feedback etc. on the steam discussion board. Just notice that I check that very irregulary and it might take some time for me to respond, if at all.


Since there will be no minor updates until the big wires update, I'll give you a bit of a spoiler what features besides of the new content will also be in!

Notice that not all of them are already implemented (Just a few)- It's just a summary on what I plan for the update.

If you want to test some of them, you can become a beta tester by joining the discord server and checking out the #auto-roles channel.


The current balancer has a compact variant, which has two inputs and one output. This is very handy for merging outputs, but there is no equivalent for the splitter. I plan to change it from:

- Balancer (2 inputs, 2 outputs)
- Compact Balancer (2 inputs, 1 output)
- Mirrored Compact Balancer (2 inputs, 1 output)

To:

- Balancer (2 inputs, 2 outputs)
- 1x1 compact Merger (3 inputs, 1 output)
- 1x1 compact Splitter (1 input, 3 outputs)

I feel this makes more sense. I'll have to figure out how to migrate old savegames though (But I can do that! :P)


The current tier 7 upgrades are just way too fast and cause a lot of problems:
- You can not really see which items are on the belt anymore
- They can look like they go backward
- They introduce precision issues because the game can't tick that fast, so buildings and belts actually work slower than they should

So what I am planning is to scale everything down, so that the tier 7 upgrades give like a x8 speedup only or even less (Instead of x15). Obviously this would also reduce the amount of shapes required, but it should also make the whole game more balanced since you are not that heavily dependent on the upgrades (While they still are quite useful). Let me know what you think in the discord server!


This is something I can implement in an hour or less, and will hopefully provide a huge quality of live improvement. You will be able to name your savegame in the main menu then by clicking an edit button.


The stacker currently behaves buggy when creating the level 18 shape. I'll not go into details to avoid spoilers, but if you ran into any issues while creating the shapes, it should be solved then.
Notice that this has the potential to break existing factories though!


I have a lot of smaller improvements and additions on buildings which I want to get in:

- 180 degrees rotater
- Synchronize outputs of quad painter with quad cutter
- Mark preferred input on storage visually
- [Not certain yet] Maybe an unstacker building
- Building or mechanic to measure items / second on a belt
- Switching from items / minute to items / second everywhere (For example on the statistics)
- And a lot more!

You can see the whole roadmap on the Trello Board as mentioned above.

Looking forward to your feedback, and huge thanks for all the support from you ❤️!

Hey guys!

Since there was no announcement or update since a week, I thought it'd be time for a new devlog!

There are currently no updates because I am working on the huge wires update, which changes the game in a way that I can't make any minor updates until I release it. I plan to release the wires update mid/end July but that is just a rough guess!

So, I thought this post would be a good opportunity to show you what I am currently working on!

The wires update will be split into two parts: Energy and Logic. Let me go through both of them:


There will be an energy generator which produces energy from a given shape. The shapes most likely will get more complex the more generators you place - or something similar (I haven't figured out all details yet):




After supplying shapes, the energy generator will produce energy on a secondary layer, the wires layer (WIP Artwork):




There will then be multiple use cases, for now I stuck to one new building (There will come more!). The new building inverts all colors of the given shape. This gives you the ability to produce black!

Here is how the color inverter looks in a regular layer:



As you can see, there is a small battery icon, showing how much energy the building currently has stored. Currently one energy is enough to invert 4 shapes (All numbers subject to change).

Notice that every energy consumed also produces waste. You will have to feed that waste back into the energy generator, otherwise the building will stall.

Here is how a setup producing black items could look like:




There is a lot more stuff planned:

- Splitters / mergers / tunnels for wires (They'll work a bit different than the regular ones)
- Different artwork for the waste
- More buildings using power (I have a lot of ideas, stay tuned!)

Notice that this won't change the existing gameplay. It will kick in past level 18 only (You will slowly start to unlock wires after level 18, although the requirements for level 18 will be lowered).


There have been many requests on introducing logic into the game, and I also think that's what most of you think when I say "wires". So here's my concept on the logic:

- There will be logic wires, seperate from regular wires
- A logic wire can transport either a Shape, Color or Logical signal (ON/OFF)
- Logic wires are instant

So, what can you do with logic wires? Let me introduce the options you have first:


1. You will be able to place levers in the regular layer, which emit an ON / OFF SIgnal to the wires layer

2. You will be able to place AND/OR/NOT/XOR gates which work with ON / OFF Signals

3. You will be able to extract signals from buildings. For example:

- You can read what is the current required shape by connecting a logic wire to the hub

- You can read which was the last item a balancer or belt left through by connecting a logic wire to it

4. You will be able to feed signals into balancers. There will be a "filter" pin and you can put it on an input slot of a building. As soon as you connect a shape or color signal to this input, it will only accept this given shape.


5. You can work with logic shapes: You can cut, rotate, stack, de-stack, paint and unpaint them.

Example use:

You can retrieve the current required shape from the hub, figure out which shapes and colors the individual quadrants require, and then build a machine which automatically delivers the right shapes!





I am still finalizing the concept but I feel like this could be a super cool addition to the game!

Let me know what you think!

~Tobias

Hey guys!

While I was working on the wires thingy I also did a lot of performance improvements. Originally I planned to release both together, but I figured that it would be cool to already have those improvements out! (Also feels bad to have no update for a week :P)

So, this update adds huge performance improvements to your factories, which have the potential to double your fps!


I don't want to go into details, but I mainly optimized belt and tunnel performance. Previously, every belt was a single entity and managed the items on it. Now, there are belt paths which are much faster to compute since they can move items much more efficient.



As you can see, only the position to the first item on the path (The small purple rectangle) and the distance to the next item (the number shown on the right side of an item) are stored now.

To update a belt path, I can now simply reduce the distance on the last item and continue so until the whole belt has progressed (while reducing the spacing). This is much faster to update!

I also improved the performance of tunnels since I know that many of you switched to them to save performance! They should also be much faster to compute now :)

And to make it even better, rendering of belts should now also be faster due to the new system!



The shapes required until unlocking blueprints have been reduced so that you effectively unlock blueprints earlier. I am trying out those values and will see on how that works, or if further adjustment is required!

Changes:

• Level 8: 1250 -> 1000
  
• Level 9: 1750 -> 1400
  
• Level 10: 2250 -> 1600
  
• Level 11: 3000 -> 1800
  
• Level 12: 4000 -> 2000 (here you get the blueprints)

Looking forward to your feedback!


There is now a 'Copy Key' button when viewing shape information, so you can use that to create a marker from it for example.

You can now also click on a variant (like the counter clockwise rotater) with your mouse to select it.


The FPS of the belt animation has been improved, previously it would look like the belts would go backward on higher belt speeds. It should also be much smoother now :)


You can now press 'Q' over a color/shape patch to select the extractor for placement. (by Gerdon262)


Previously, the last selected rotation would be stored per building. For example. if you place a painter and then select a belt, the belt would have the same rotation initially.

Now, each building stores this rotation individually. If you dislike this behavior, you can turn it off in the settings. (by Magos)


- Fix deconstruct sound being played when right clicking hub
- Update belt placement performance on huge factories (by Phlosioneer)
- Fix duplicate waypoints with a shape not rendering (by hexy)
- Fix smart tunnel placement deleting wrong tunnels (by mordof)
- Added chinese (traditional) translation
- Updated translations



- Wires, wires, wires :D It'll be awesome!

Hey guys!

You might have been wondering why there have been no updates for 4 days (Well, never thought I'd write something like this ... :D) however that's because I am still working on the wires update plus some performance improvements!

Since this will take a while I thought it'd be cool to stream the development, so you can still see whats going on!

So, I will be streaming on https://www.twitch.tv/yorg_io occasionally now!

If you are interested on how this will look, you can also look at todays stream recording.

PS: In this stream I've been working on performance updates which have the potential to double your framerate! If you are interested on how your current savegames will perform with the update, you can already test them on the shapez.io beta (Please note that the beta will be broken regulary though).

Looking forward to meeting you in the stream!

~Tobi