Dear Stormworkers,

It is almost time! Trains and microprocessors are dropping on Wednesday at 5PM UTC.

There is no minor update this week as we are putting the final touches on to the major update.

Here is a reminder of what is coming on Wednesday:

New Locations



The Donkk Island Keys are 5 new islands, connected with road and rail links from the main island all the way to the new purchasable train yard and shipping terminal.

This is the first step in creating our new rail network as we expand the world of Stormworks. We have big plans, and more will be announced after this major update.

Trains



The new train line comes with a new component - train wheels! You can build trains using all of the usual parts and use them on the rail line between the two player bases, both equiped with workbenches on the train tracks.

Build your locomotive engines, cars, shunt your cargo, and use the signals to change tracks.

Microprocessors



You can now build your own logic gates with the new microprocessor component!

Modularize your logic, and share on the workshop with the new logical controller editor. This can be used from replacing a couple of simple gates to building an "autopilot" block, to... well... we don't know what is possible and are looking forward to you showing us!

This includes the new composite connection that can carry 32 numbers and 32 on/off signals along a single logic link for inter-microprocessor communication.

This minaturization of logic is going to make loads of new features that we have planned make much more sense and more info will follow after this major update.

We are really excited to share this update with you next week, and thank you for all the support, feedback and creations you have shared with us.

Much love <3

The Stormworks Developers

Dear Stormworkers,

You can now buy crude oil from oil rigs, sell it at refineries, and buy diesel and jet fuel from refineries and sell them at various locations around the world. This feature is part of the limited fuel mode.

You can now make money in career buying low and selling high. It pays to build effective fluid handling vehicles, and is very expensive to have an incident with a full cargo.

This comes along with a long list of changes and fixes through the week.

We are working on the final changes to the major update and hope to release this very soon :-)

Much Love <3

The Stormworkers Developers


Patch Notes

v0.4.51

Feature - added fluid buying and selling between oil rigs, refinery, airport, fishing village
Fix - railings removed from creative island
Fix - fixed flipped distance sensor
Fix - pipes only connect in AV mode, fluid and torque logic links in normal mode
Fix - fixed fluid flow with fluid ports
Fix - increased engine starter electric consumption
Fix - buttons work until <1% electric power in AV
Fix - limited fuel turned off means fuel is free at fuel selling points
Fix - workshop fix for win32
Fix - propellers spin in correct direction when flipped in AV
Fix - loading game no longer resets components

v0.4.43-50

Fix - reworked fluid mechanics to fix negative pressure issues
Fix - reworked radiators to work better with the new fluid mechanics
Fix - nuclear island cargo no longer spawns inside the fuel tank
Fix - resolved crash when uploading to workshop
Fix - resolved missing cursor in fullscreen with cursor trails turned on
Fix - resolved vehicle damage not rendering on MacOS
Fix - resolved workshop missions not spawning on MacOS
Fix - pressure fix for water cannon
Fix - handle force increased to help pick up the fuel connectors
Fix - reduced rate at which engines temperature increases
Fix - large hose winch cable now retracts to correct length
Fix - fluid meter now outputs height above water when not in a compartment
Fix - generator rebalance to reduce mechanical resistance
Fix - jet engines only damaged when submerged when rotation speed > 0.5
Fix - improved jet engine audio effects
Fix - corrected typo on new game screen

Dear Stormworkers,

We have just added 2 new game mode options to the game:

Limited Fuel

With this mode, vehicles will spawn without fuel and require fueling at the fuel stores at base. These stores contain 13,500 litres of diesel, and are found on all player islands. They will not refill themselves, but you can buy fuel from the oil refinery island in the dock area. This mode requires players to build their own fuel infrastructure as they progress further into their career games, as well as carefully manage their fuel resources.

Perma-death

The new perma-death mode means you only have a single life and are unable to respawn in your game. Saving is limited to only a single file, which is deleted on death, meaning you cannot return to a checkpoint. The stakes have been raised and death is no longer an option as you struggle to survive the many threats in your Stormworks career.

We are really excited about the impact this weeks minor update has on your experiences playing the game, and hope you enjoy the new game modes.

We are continuing work on the major update which is getting close, and have some great minor updates planned for you in the mean time.

Much Love <3

The Stormworkers Developers


Patch Notes

v0.4.42

Feature - "Permadeath" difficulty option (replaces "rogue mode" difficulty option. For hardcore players. One save file with backups disabled. Save file is permanently deleted upon death)
Feature - "Limited Fuel" difficulty option (vehicles no longer spawn with fuel in their tanks and require manual refuelling from tanks on islands)
Feature - Added fuel tanks to player base islands
Feature - Added fuel tank to oil refinery with unlimited diesel that can be purchased

Fix - Fixed not being able to place blocks on large vehicles after loading without using move tool
Fix - Fixed missions with ocean locations failing to spawn when a large amount of the map had been uncovered
Fix - Fixed inventory logic node information not always displaying in/out connections correctly
Fix - Sharks now track players much more rapidly
Fix - Exhaust components now unlocked at the start in advanced career mode
Fix - Fixed pressure issues with fluid system that made refuelling vehicles difficult/impossible in some setups
Fix - Renamed "rogue mode" difficulty option to "permadeath"
Fix - Particles don't separate from their spawner at high velocity
Fix - Resolved infinite electric feedback loops
Fix - Updated fluid nozzle and cannon logic node descriptions
Fix - Updated speed sensor description to shows units
Fix - Fixed workshop upload sometimes failing to detect upload failure
Fix - Fixed static vehicles sometimes spawning as regular vehicles

Dear Stormworkers,

Today we are announcing what to expect in the 4th Stormworks Major Update arriving in December.

Microprocessors

This is one of the most community-requested features for Stormworks. You will be able to use a new visual editor to create your own logic processors that can miniaturise logic into a single component, create more advanced and compact systems, and simplify your vehicle's wiring. You can then share these modules on the workshop and download other modules for use in your vehicles.

We are also adding composite data connections - these are a new logic type that combine many number and on/off signals into a single link. This is very useful for easily and tidily connecting microprocessors together, and opens the door for new compact components with many data links, allowing further miniaturisation of small vehicles.

This feature is also the first step towards big updates next year, providing the foundation for other frequently-requested features such as radio transmission and advanced modular parts.

Trains

As the Stormworks world is expanding, and with our plans to grow logistics gameplay, we are introducing 12km of rail track along a "Florida Keys" style string of islands with a shipping container terminal at each end.

The introduction of a train yard will allow you to create heavy freight vehicles to efficiently move across some areas of the map, as well as introduce potential new mission types.

Along the side of much of the rail line is a 2-lane road, extending opportunities to use land-based vehicles as well.

Pricing

As you probably know, we have a strict no-Steam-sale policy. We will be keeping the cost unchanged for this major update and through to the end of the year, but it will probably go up next year with another big update we have planned.

Thank you for all your feedback that is guiding our development. We are super excited to share this next update with you and can't wait to see what the community will create and share on the Workshop with the new features!

Much Love <3

The Stormworkers Developers

Dear Stormworkers,

This week you can now deliver important cargo from the air!

We have added a vehicle parachute block, allowing you to deploy a parachute, to gently lower cargo to the ground, help slow your aircraft on the runway, or provide propulsion in high winds!

We have also added a sliding track and track gripper, so you can connect vehicles together in a way where they can move in 1 direction.

We are really looking forward to see what uses players find for these new components, but we think they could be very versatile and allow for many new really cool ideas.

We are still some way off from releasing the next major update, but we want to tell you about our plans for it soon, so keep an eye out here.

Much Love <3

The Stormworkers Developers


Patch Notes

v0.4.40

Feature - Added parachute component (deployable parachute for vehicles)
Feature - Added Sliding Connector Gripper and Sliding Connector Track (new kind of connector that acts like a slider, but grippers can slide off the end and attach to tracks on other vehicles)
Feature - Enclosed compartments are now correctly generated for inaccesible spaces (damaging the hull of a boat will cause flooding even if there is no door to access the damaged area)
Feature - Vehicle editor move tool is persistent between spawning and returning to workbench

Fix - Increased efficiency of underwater propellers
Fix - Fluid height pressure no longer affects gases as much
Fix - Fixed second input node on throttle lever continuing to work after being damaged
Fix - Fixed clone character sometimes being visible when reconnecting to a multiplayer game
Fix - Fixed multiple network related bugs causing multiplayer to crash
Fix - Reworked electric system to remove circuit capacitance

v0.4.41

Fix - Resolved issue where electric relay and breaker stopped some vehicles spawning

Patch Notes

v0.4.37

Fix - Fixed battery meshes
Fix - Fixed torque meter output values being swapped
Fix - Fixed network crash when exiting multiplayer game

v0.4.38

Fix - Fixed custom doors causing some vehicles to be stuck infinitely spawning
Fix - Vehicle editor now accepts [alt] + [lmb] to pan camera and [shift] + [lmb] to rotate camera for players with no right and middle mouse buttons
Fix - Updated tutorial to reflect new rotation/panning controls
Fix - [q] and [e] are now used to lower/raise the vehicle editor free mode camera due to clash with [alt] and new rotation/panning controls
Fix - [-]/[+] on the numpad are correctly recognised for zooming the camera as well as [-]/[]
Fix - Fixed centre of mass rendering position innacuracy
Fix - Fixed gyro description
Fix - Parachute outfit now affected by wind when open

v0.4.39

Fix - Can now drag from inventory to hotbar again
Fix - Vehicle editor camera no longer rotates when holding shift to change drag plane
Fix - Throttle lever stops moving if it doesn't have any electric charge (advanced mode)
Fix - Rudders only consume electricity when actuating (advanced mode)
Fix - Distance sensor and GPS now correctly consume electric (advanced mode)

Dear Stormworkers,

This week's minor update brings a new piece of equipment to aid you in your rescue operations!

A new outfit inventory component has been added that will equip you with a parachute. You can deploy the parachute by pressing the "use seat" key when falling at a high enough speed. This will allow you to safely glide down to the ground, reducing the risk of injury. The parachute can then be stored in an empty inventory component to refold for later use.

There have also been several fixes this week spread across a few smaller patches, as well as improvements to the balance of propellers and gearboxes.

As always, a full changelog of this week's changes can be found below. Thanks to everyone in the community who has taken the time to help us track down these issues.

Much Love <3

The Stormworkers Developers


Patch Notes

v0.4.34

Fix - Rebalanced props/rotors with new gearbox mechanics
Fix - Rebalanced pups for new fluid flow rates
Fix - Jet engine torque output is 4x more powerful
Fix - Fix for crash after seasonal content timers expire

v0.4.35

Fix - Player no longer keeps halloween costume after halloween
Fix - Fixed cannons powered by small pumps not working correctly

v0.4.36

Feature - Added parachute inventory item component (press "use seat" key to deploy parachute when falling, parachute will open if falling fast enough)
Feature - Added torque meter component (measures torque and rps in a connected power network)
Feature - Added fluid and torque transfer surfaces to linear track
Feature - Added fluid transfer to pneumatic piston
Feature - Can now zoom third person camera in/out to an extent when not in a vehicle using scrollwheel

Fix - Fixed engine exhaust warning incorrectly showing
Fix - Fixed not being able to switch off omni lights on islands
Fix - Some components now behave differently when inside a sealed compartment:
- Force emitters (rotors/props) are ineffective (advanced mode only)
- Rudders are ineffective (advanced mode only)
- Jet intakes must be on exterior of vehicle
- Lights in sealed compartments have reduced volumetrics in thick fog
Fix - Fixed duplicate island spawning
Fix - Fixed engines that are on fire continuing to work indefinitely (now correctly burning out after ~1.5 minutes)
Fix - Fixed gearboxes and clutch not working as intended
Fix - Components flagged as deprecated should no longer unlock when "unlock all components" is enabled
Fix - Zooming third person vehicle camera in/out is less jerky
Fix - Rebalanced underwater force emitters so less energy is converted

Patch Notes

v0.4.32

Fix - Decreased jet fuel consumption slightly

v0.4.33

Fix - Fixed medium battery mesh
Fix - Fixed centre of mass of buoyancy volumes calculated incorrectly
Fix - Strip particles line up correctly with regular particles
Fix - Fixed parts of suspension component not rendering
Fix - Jet engine thrust spoiler will now block all thrust at a value of 1
Fix - Updated description for jet engine exhausts
Fix - Added blue editor-only arrows to gearbox indicating placement direction
Fix - Fixed custom fuel tanks having incorrect volume compared to fuel tank components
Fix - Custom fuel tanks and fuel tank components transfer fluid at the same rate
Fix - Fixed player occasionally exiting spawning screen when islands were still loading
Fix - Fixed electrical links between batteries and buttons disappearing when cutting and pasting battery
Fix - Fixed player not going into spawn screen after dying or when fast-travelling vehicles

Dear Stormworkers,

This week's minor update brings a load of fixes, 2 new components, and some spooky surprises...

A new size of helicopter rotor and a new large propeller have been added to help service the ever-expanding diversity of vehicles that the community has been creating. These are a variation of the existing heavy rotor and a smaller replacement for the titan propeller.

We have also updated the creative mode base and the starter base with some decorations to get you in the Halloween spirit, as well as some seasonal clothing options for your character that can be found in the wardrobe. These additions are just for fun and will disappear after the 31st of October, so enjoy the spooky new atmosphere for the next few days!

This patch includes a lot of bug fixes, the full list of which can be found in the changelog below.

Have a scary Halloween <3

The Stormworks Developers


Patch Notes

v0.4.31

Feature - 2 hats and 2 new clothing items equippable from 24th October until the end of Halloween on the 31st (witch hat, pumpkin hat, zombie clothes, skeleton clothes)
Feature - Various spooky decorations on the creative island and starter island
Feature - The NPCs appear to enjoy Halloween as well
Feature - Added thrust spoiler logic input to jet engine exhausts (value from 0 to 1, 0 has no effect and 1 blocks all thrust)
Feature - Added heavy large rotor component (larger variation of the heavy rotor)
Feature - Added giant propeller component (smaller variation of the titan propeller)
Feature - Fluid meter now outputs fluid amount in litres and has a second output to measure the total capacity of an enclosed volume
Feature - Sharks can spawn in different size, from half the existing size to double

Fix - Fixed docking doors not forming a seal when connected
Fix - Fixed framerate drops with vehicles that have lots of propellers
Fix - Fixed being able to interact with vehicle components when deceased
Fix - Added blue rotation arrows to rotating jet exhaust to conform with other pivots
Fix - Fixed not being able to interact with buttons/keypads when vehicles are moving at high speed
Fix - Fixed taking damage/dying when fast travelling from a moving vehicle
Fix - Fixed disappearing electrical connections when cutting/pasting with selection grid
Fix - Fixed advanced vehicle difficulty setting not always being correctly saved
Fix - Replaced selectors in character editor with drop-down lists for convenience
Fix - Updated nuclear pool gantry to work with current waste barrels
Fix - Reduced jet engine thrust to 60% to behave more realisticly on larger vehicles
Fix - Fixed receiving no money rewards for missions in advanced mode
Fix - Fluid other than water will pass through engine coolant systems instead of blocking them
Fix - Fixed jet engines not producing exhaust particles when many are enabled
Fix - Removed TAA antialiasing option
Fix - Fixed detaching from ladder when crouched causing player to take damage when inside a 3x3 shaft
Fix - Deprecated gearbox component and added new version with mesh facing the correct direction (existing vehicles will still have the old version but it is no longer accessible)
Fix - Deprecated titan propeller
Fix - Fixed pressure and flow of fluid nozzle not behaving correctly
Fix - Fluid port no longer shows water particles when not dispensing fluids
Fix - Fixed gearbox feedback loop when toggled on and off causing engines to increase their RPS uncontrollably
Fix - Added extra surfaces to many components to make it easier to place them without needing to build scaffold/support blocks first
Fix - Fixed missing labels for collapsible headings on properties window for HOTAS pilot seat
Fix - Fixed being able to pump more water into a compartment than there was capacity for
Fix - Filled compartments no longer drain slightly after closing doors in some cases
Fix - Optimised tile loading to reduce stutter/delay when crossing tile boundaries
Fix - Fixed player occasionally exiting the spawning screen before islands have finished loading
Fix - Fixed player drowning whilst wearing diving gear with oxygen if breath meter had already been depleted
Fix - Corrected typos in circuit breaker and relay descriptions
Fix - Tail rotor visibly spins in correct direction
Fix - Updated mesh for large propeller to look more consistent with the giant propeller
Fix - Scaled fluid capacity of enclosed volumes to correctly match up with capacities of placeable fluid tanks
Fix - Reduced electrical consumption of magall
Fix - Fixed engine max power slider not working in normal mode
Fix - Increased jet engine fuel consumption by x10 to make jet engine vehicles less overpowered
Fix - Fixed incorrectly aligned mesh on medium battery component
Fix - Fixed not being able to paint enclosed pipe pieces after placing them
Fix - Camera resets to first person after dying and respawning
Fix - Improved some components such as propellers being difficult to paint after being placed

Dear Stormworkers,

This week's minor update brings a set of new components specifically designed for advanced mode!

The frequently requested jet engines are here! 9 modular jet engine components and 5 duct sections have been added that can be used to build jet engines of varied shape and size. These engines are more complex than regular diesel engines but can produce significantly higher amounts of thrust, making them ideal for larger vehicles. An example jet using the new engine parts can be found in the advanced vehicle preset tab in the vehicle editor load view.

We've also spent a lot of time balancing the way the aerodynamics work to make planes behave more realistically, particularly at lower speeds. This will hopefully be the last major rebalance to the core physics behaviour for the foreseeable future.

A full list of this week's fixes and features can be found below.

We're looking forward to hearing your feedback on the new balancing and particularly the new engine parts. As always, you can report any bugs on the stormworks issue tracker which is accessible using the buttons on the main menu and pause menu in-game.

Much love <3

The Stormworks Developers

P.S
You will need at least one intake, compressor, combustion chamber, turbine and exhaust to build a functioning jet engine. Enjoy!


Patch Notes

v0.4.29

Feature - Added 14 advanced modular jet engine components (advanced mode only)
- Small intake
- Large intake
- Basic exhaust
- Rotating exhaust
- Afterburner exhaust (can consume large amounts of fuel for increased propulsion)
- Small turbine
- Medium turbine
- Compressor
- Combustion chamber
- 5 duct pieces (similar to pipes but used for connecting jet engine parts)
Feature - Added advanced jet example to the presets tab in the vehicle editor (Eurofighter)
Feature - Added RPS limiter slider to engine property panel (from 5 to 100. Engine will ignore throttle when rps goes over the limit)
Feature - Minor QoL improvement - save game dialog will have name of current save by default after loading a game

Fix - Rebalanced engine temperature, propellers and rudders
Fix - Improved the balance of aerodynamics and planes
Fix - PID controller no longer outputs incorrect derivative value on first tick of activation
Fix - Updated loading screen with SW logo
Fix - Fixed immediate crash on startup in the event of corrupted save file
Fix - Resolved some desync issues with advanced vehicles in multiplayer


v0.4.30

Fix - Updated Eurofighter preset with throttle management
Fix - Rebalanced air and water propellers in non-advanced mode
Fix - Fixed large jet intake
Fix - Removed audio on jet compressor when there's no electric
Fix - Increased jet fuel consumption rate