This update is mainly lots of bug fixing and code cleanup behind the scenes. I also did a smaller v0.5.2.14 update that I didn't make an update post for earlier, which improved CPU performance.

The specifics:

2015-12 - 0.5.2.15
- Added heavy armour part
- Better support for XBox 360 controller on Mac and Linux. Separate default key bindings keep actual inputs the same on all platforms
- Engine sounds with multiple of the same engine work together better
- Removed an annoying ridge in the RiverRift terrain
- Added some subtle fades between scenes
Bug Fixes:
- Fixed occasionally coming back from testing vehicles to the build screen and your vehicle has flown off into space somewhere
- Removed more false positives and not-really-bad words from the swear filter
- "Open save folder" button now working on Linux
- Fixed the loading screen getting stuck if your vehicle spawned in right as a round ended
- Fixed visual glitch between light beams and edge wall glass
- Fixed screen staying white if your vehicle was destroyed right at the moment of evac completion
- Fixed game modifiers (low gravity) not being unapplied on connected clients if the server shut down
- Fixed SkinnedMeshRenderer errors being generated in-game (in the background) if a vehicle had no moving parts
- Lots of refactoring and fixing issues with chassis, propulsion systems and their hit points and other values
- Tooltips for chassis select now include the extra HP gained from the wheels (so they show the actual full chassis HP now)

2015-12 - 0.5.2.14
- CPU performance improvements due to physics and rendering optimisation work
- Tweaks to the RiverRift map layout
- Swedish translation update

Have a good Christmas everyone. I won't be able to join the Weekly Game tomorrow. Thanks everyone who reported bugs that are fixed here.

This update is mainly lots of bug fixing and code cleanup behind the scenes. I also did a smaller v0.5.2.14 update that I didn't make an update post for earlier, which improved CPU performance.

The specifics:

2015-12 - 0.5.2.15
- Added heavy armour part
- Better support for XBox 360 controller on Mac and Linux. Separate default key bindings keep actual inputs the same on all platforms
- Engine sounds with multiple of the same engine work together better
- Removed an annoying ridge in the RiverRift terrain
- Added some subtle fades between scenes
Bug Fixes:
- Fixed occasionally coming back from testing vehicles to the build screen and your vehicle has flown off into space somewhere
- Removed more false positives and not-really-bad words from the swear filter
- "Open save folder" button now working on Linux
- Fixed the loading screen getting stuck if your vehicle spawned in right as a round ended
- Fixed visual glitch between light beams and edge wall glass
- Fixed screen staying white if your vehicle was destroyed right at the moment of evac completion
- Fixed game modifiers (low gravity) not being unapplied on connected clients if the server shut down
- Fixed SkinnedMeshRenderer errors being generated in-game (in the background) if a vehicle had no moving parts
- Lots of refactoring and fixing issues with chassis, propulsion systems and their hit points and other values
- Tooltips for chassis select now include the extra HP gained from the wheels (so they show the actual full chassis HP now)

2015-12 - 0.5.2.14
- CPU performance improvements due to physics and rendering optimisation work
- Tweaks to the RiverRift map layout
- Swedish translation update

Have a good Christmas everyone. I won't be able to join the Weekly Game tomorrow. Thanks everyone who reported bugs that are fixed here.

A while ago a few people organised an unofficial "Weekly Game" where people would try to come onto Scraps multiplayer at the same time to play together. These have been going on for a while now and they're sometimes more popular than others, but if you're looking for people to play against, coming on at one of these times is probably your best bet:

• The main one is at midnight Saturday UTC. That linked Steam event will automatically adjust its timezone to match the region you have set in Steam if you're logged in.
  
• If that doesn't work for you, there's an alternate time 12 hours earlier at midday Saturday UTC.

There's no official server to join - either people join one of my official ones or they create their own with custom settings. Again these are just unofficial things - no guarantees of attendance - but it's been good fun in the past.

A while ago a few people organised an unofficial "Weekly Game" where people would try to come onto Scraps multiplayer at the same time to play together. These have been going on for a while now and they're sometimes more popular than others, but if you're looking for people to play against, coming on at one of these times is probably your best bet:

• The main one is at midnight Saturday UTC. That linked Steam event will automatically adjust its timezone to match the region you have set in Steam if you're logged in.
  
• If that doesn't work for you, there's an alternate time 12 hours earlier at midday Saturday UTC.

There's no official server to join - either people join one of my official ones or they create their own with custom settings. Again these are just unofficial things - no guarantees of attendance - but it's been good fun in the past.

Smallish update today:

2015-11 - 0.5.2.13
- AI is much, much less likely to follow you off a cliff
- Added top speed guess to the Build screen stats
- Performance: More efficient terrain rendering
- Reduced HP on Medium and Heavy cockpits
- Made heavy vehicles a little faster

You can now see a reasonable estimate of your vehicle's top speed in the build screen stats:



It'll show up in mph if you have that set instead.

Smallish update today:

2015-11 - 0.5.2.13
- AI is much, much less likely to follow you off a cliff
- Added top speed guess to the Build screen stats
- Performance: More efficient terrain rendering
- Reduced HP on Medium and Heavy cockpits
- Made heavy vehicles a little faster

You can now see a reasonable estimate of your vehicle's top speed in the build screen stats:



It'll show up in mph if you have that set instead.

I've added a new map called RiverRift to the game. It's got jumps as shortcuts, water, and a big rift in the ground that you can shove vehicles in to destroy them.









Skidmarks are finally back (see my post here for a technical writeup on the skidmarks effect).



And leaderboards now show whether other players have their vehicles currently in-game.





Icons are a vehicle on terrain for in-game, a spanner & hammer for build screen, and a dash for no vehicle.

I've also adjusted vehicle speeds a little: Very light vehicles will be a little slower, but heavier vehicles will generally be a bit faster now with the same engine configuration. Mass in general had a little too much effect on speed.

The first time I made the change I set the multiplier too high. Actually so high the frame optimisation ruined this gif I tried to make of it:



You'll also find a little more wreckage drops in general, due to a change of calculation for drop amount from reliant parts (when a part is destroyed that has other parts that are reliant on it for their connection to the vehicle).
2015-11 - 0.5.2.11
- New engine power calc. Very light vehicles are now a little slower, but heavy vehicles are significantly faster.
- Vehicles with a high centre of mass are a bit less prone to tipping over.
- Better wreckage spawn calculation; reliant parts get sorted by cost.
Bug Fixes:
- Fixed SFX volume, which was no longer affecting all sounds.
- Better collision damage calculation in some cases.

2015-11 - 0.5.2.10
- ## New Map - RiverRift.
- ## Skidmarks make a triumphant return, now without the ridiculous garbage generation.
- Minor work on existing terrain FX.
- Improved game camera obstacle avoidance.
- Added icons to leaderboards to show player's vehicle state (none/in-game/building).

A little driving tour of the new map:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqH2CEsbtuo

I've added a new map called RiverRift to the game. It's got jumps as shortcuts, water, and a big rift in the ground that you can shove vehicles in to destroy them.









Skidmarks are finally back (see my post here for a technical writeup on the skidmarks effect).



And leaderboards now show whether other players have their vehicles currently in-game.





Icons are a vehicle on terrain for in-game, a spanner & hammer for build screen, and a dash for no vehicle.

I've also adjusted vehicle speeds a little: Very light vehicles will be a little slower, but heavier vehicles will generally be a bit faster now with the same engine configuration. Mass in general had a little too much effect on speed.

The first time I made the change I set the multiplier too high. Actually so high the frame optimisation ruined this gif I tried to make of it:



You'll also find a little more wreckage drops in general, due to a change of calculation for drop amount from reliant parts (when a part is destroyed that has other parts that are reliant on it for their connection to the vehicle).
2015-11 - 0.5.2.11
- New engine power calc. Very light vehicles are now a little slower, but heavy vehicles are significantly faster.
- Vehicles with a high centre of mass are a bit less prone to tipping over.
- Better wreckage spawn calculation; reliant parts get sorted by cost.
Bug Fixes:
- Fixed SFX volume, which was no longer affecting all sounds.
- Better collision damage calculation in some cases.

2015-11 - 0.5.2.10
- ## New Map - RiverRift.
- ## Skidmarks make a triumphant return, now without the ridiculous garbage generation.
- Minor work on existing terrain FX.
- Improved game camera obstacle avoidance.
- Added icons to leaderboards to show player's vehicle state (none/in-game/building).

A little driving tour of the new map:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqH2CEsbtuo

Apologies or the lateness of this update.  I wasn't able to do Scraps work last week due to some real life events, and this week is going to be the same. Rather than having to push the next update way back, I've managed some time to clean up and release a smaller update today that still has the two major features I mentioned last time, plus a few other things as well.


2015-10 - 0.5.2.9
- ## Added ability to rebuild as well as repair damaged vehicles while in-game.
- ## Wreckage pickup is easier, it kind of "attracts" towards you.
- Some general balance tweaks to wreckage.
- Improved the AI's weapon selection methods.
- Different sounds for each type of vehicle warning.
- Parts now sell for their purchase value, taking any wealth tax into account, so you never lose money.
- Increased steering speed for keyboard controls a little.
- Refreshing the server list clears the old list when it was user-prompted, just so it's more obvious that it's doing something.
- Updated Steamworks.NET and uLink versions.
Bug Fixes:
- Workaround for an issue in Steam where sometimes only the first two lobbies got returned.
- Spawn FX no longer show when creating existing vehicles as a player joins a game that's already in progress.
- Vehicle labels no longer show on top of loading screen dialogs.
- Fixed AI looking as if they repair right before they evac, instead of after.
- Fixed audio screeches and other silliness that sometimes occurred when entering maps.
- Fixed a bug with part costs and wealth tax when ctrl-placing parts.
- Fixed another bug with wealth tax when calculating estimated repair costs.



You can now rebuild lost parts automagically after using evac pads (if you can afford it).

There are several ways this could work. As with my general philosophy for Scraps I've tried to balance functionality against complexity. At the moment it works like this:

• Parts lost in-game count as ones to rebuild. Parts you manually remove on the Build Screen don't.
  
• Removing a part on your vehicle on the Build Screen doesn't clear the rebuild list, but if parts in the rebuild list depended on that removed part, they'll fail to get added back. You won't be charged for those failed parts.
  
• Adding a part to your vehicle on the Build Screen clears the rebuild list and sets the current vehicle as the "base" vehicle that'll be rebuilt to. This means you can build on your saved vehicle during a game and rebuild back to your temporarily improved one after you lose parts in battle, but it does also mean that adding a part when you have parts to rebuild will lose you that rebuild list. It's a compromise because once you start trying to handle these sort of branching trees of vehicle designs the complexity of the system skyrockets.

Just a note on the Scraps community in general: You guys are the best. While other people are complaining about their toxic game communities and "it broke plz fix" bug reports, Scraps players are sending me bug reports with a video of the bug happening. Recently I got a bug report that came with a suggested fix that was actually a good solution! In game dev circles that's usually accompanied by pigs flying.

It was so nice to come back after not being able to check up on the game for a few days to see three new super nice reviews (especially coming not too long after one that began with "honestly the worst game I have ever played..."). It's always especially cool to hear from people that have been following things since the early Builder Demo-only days. I know Scraps dev can be slow so I appreciate the people that keep checking back even more.

Apologies or the lateness of this update.  I wasn't able to do Scraps work last week due to some real life events, and this week is going to be the same. Rather than having to push the next update way back, I've managed some time to clean up and release a smaller update today that still has the two major features I mentioned last time, plus a few other things as well.


2015-10 - 0.5.2.9
- ## Added ability to rebuild as well as repair damaged vehicles while in-game.
- ## Wreckage pickup is easier, it kind of "attracts" towards you.
- Some general balance tweaks to wreckage.
- Improved the AI's weapon selection methods.
- Different sounds for each type of vehicle warning.
- Parts now sell for their purchase value, taking any wealth tax into account, so you never lose money.
- Increased steering speed for keyboard controls a little.
- Refreshing the server list clears the old list when it was user-prompted, just so it's more obvious that it's doing something.
- Updated Steamworks.NET and uLink versions.
Bug Fixes:
- Workaround for an issue in Steam where sometimes only the first two lobbies got returned.
- Spawn FX no longer show when creating existing vehicles as a player joins a game that's already in progress.
- Vehicle labels no longer show on top of loading screen dialogs.
- Fixed AI looking as if they repair right before they evac, instead of after.
- Fixed audio screeches and other silliness that sometimes occurred when entering maps.
- Fixed a bug with part costs and wealth tax when ctrl-placing parts.
- Fixed another bug with wealth tax when calculating estimated repair costs.



You can now rebuild lost parts automagically after using evac pads (if you can afford it).

There are several ways this could work. As with my general philosophy for Scraps I've tried to balance functionality against complexity. At the moment it works like this:

• Parts lost in-game count as ones to rebuild. Parts you manually remove on the Build Screen don't.
  
• Removing a part on your vehicle on the Build Screen doesn't clear the rebuild list, but if parts in the rebuild list depended on that removed part, they'll fail to get added back. You won't be charged for those failed parts.
  
• Adding a part to your vehicle on the Build Screen clears the rebuild list and sets the current vehicle as the "base" vehicle that'll be rebuilt to. This means you can build on your saved vehicle during a game and rebuild back to your temporarily improved one after you lose parts in battle, but it does also mean that adding a part when you have parts to rebuild will lose you that rebuild list. It's a compromise because once you start trying to handle these sort of branching trees of vehicle designs the complexity of the system skyrockets.

Just a note on the Scraps community in general: You guys are the best. While other people are complaining about their toxic game communities and "it broke plz fix" bug reports, Scraps players are sending me bug reports with a video of the bug happening. Recently I got a bug report that came with a suggested fix that was actually a good solution! In game dev circles that's usually accompanied by pigs flying.

It was so nice to come back after not being able to check up on the game for a few days to see three new super nice reviews (especially coming not too long after one that began with "honestly the worst game I have ever played..."). It's always especially cool to hear from people that have been following things since the early Builder Demo-only days. I know Scraps dev can be slow so I appreciate the people that keep checking back even more.