We have begun testing the version of Trailmakers that will eventually become the Early Access game available for purchase on Steam. This is the first update we have sent out since the Alpha Demo from April, and A LOT of things have happened to the game. Check out some (most?) of the changes below.

If you want to help us test Trailmakers before it is released on Steam Early Access, head over to http://www.playtrailmakers.com and sign up. Have patience with us. We send out invites every week, but still at a small scale until the game is more stable. If you want to chat with the developers or the testers, head over to our Official Discord.

• You can now hold down right click to control the camera, and zoom in and out with the scroll wheel.
  
• Pressing [TAB] now opens a map. The fog of war conceals where you haven’t yet been.
  
• We have removed the mini map.
  
• Character Customization is now available. Choose name, gender and main/off colors for your character.
  
• Physics have been tweaked. This includes aerodynamics and water physics.

We have added a separate Multiplayer game mode that is accessible from the Main Menu. The objective is to hold on to the Crown for the longest amount of time, whilst trying your best to fend off attackers. Up to 4 players can join the same game. We have a lot of plans concerning new multiplayer game modes.

We also plan on making the Expedition/Sandbox world multiplayer ready at a later stage.

• Environment - We have completely rebuilt the Expedition world compared to the Alpha Demo. It is a lot larger, more detailed, and has a lot more areas to explore.
  
• Animals - Be careful around the new wildlife in Trailmakers.
  
  
• We have removed the feature where you had to drag a block into a green beam to unlock a teleport station.
  
• There are now two kinds of checkpoints - ones that just save your progress, and ones that save your progress and acts as fast travel points. You activate them by driving into them.
  
• You can teleport to fast travel points by opening the map (TAB) and clicking on the point.

We have removed the concept of ‘Substance’ from the game as we felt that it did not add to the overall enjoyment of the Expedition. Having to “farm” Substance quickly turned into a punishing grind if you were stuck on a certain hurdle. To limit the vehicle power level in Expedition we have introduced ‘Power Cores’. See “Builder Features” below for more info.

• (Changed) Seat and engines are now explosive. If they suffer an impact, they will explode and the explosions can trigger other engines/seats.
  
• (NEW) Small Modular Wing - A smaller version of the regular Modular Wing.
  
• (NEW) Bulldawg Engine - Replaces the basic engine, and is now 2x2x1 instead of 2x2x2.
  
• (NEW) Raw Engine - A more powerful engine than the Bulldawg Engine, but it weighs a lot.
  
• (NEW) Dragon Engine - A very fast, but fragile engine.
  
• (NEW) Hover Block - A lift engine that generates an air cushion under your vehicle.
  
• (NEW) Raw Jet Engine - A new jet engine that is bulky, powerful and overheats. Good for rocket-boosted cars.
  
• (NEW) Dragon Jet Engine - Replaces the old jet engine. This jet does not overheat and is a good choice for flight.
  
• (NEW) Mini-Thruster - Provides a small amount of thrust.
  
• (NEW) Gimbal Jet - A jet that fires downwards.
  
• (NEW) Propeller - Provides propulsive power.
  
• (NEW) Tailfin - Provides drag and direction stability.
  
• (NEW) Cannon - The first weapon to be added to the game. It fires ballistic projectiles that explode on impact.
  
  
• (NEW) Small Cannon - A version of the Cannon that shoots faster with smaller projectiles.
  
• (NEW) Trailer Hinge - A ball hinge with two attachment points.
  
• (NEW) Helicopter Servo - This block is easier to use than the old spinning block when building a helicopter.
  
• (NEW) Large Hinge - A hinge that is two blocks wide.
  
• (NEW) Racing Wheel - These wheels are slick and good for drifting.
  
• (NEW) Monster Truck Wheel - A much bigger wheel with good traction.
  
• (NEW) Vanity Blocks - A few new vanity blocks were added, and many more are to come.

• Power Cores - Having a limit on how big you can build in the Expedition is crucial to making the environment challenging. Power Cores act as the way to limit the power of your vehicles. The Power Cores you collect stay with you the entire Expedition, but every engine you put on your vehicle reserves some of the Power Cores. If you remove the engine, the Power Core is freed up again. Check the Power Core cost of the engines in the builder menu.
  
• Block Count - You can now view the total block count of your vehicle in the top left corner
  
• Total Weight - You can now view the total weight of your vehicle in the top left corner
  
• Tinting - You now have the option to color some blocks. Click them and click the paint bucket tool to change the color. You can select multiple blocks and color them together.
  
  
• Rotation - You can now rotate a block by holding down [ALT] and clicking the rotation bar.
  
• Configurations - We have added a few new configurations to mechanical blocks.
  
• Toggle - In the keybindings menu, you can now put a checkmark under the keybinding if you want the key to toggle the mechanical block on/off instead of holding it down.
  
• Delay - You can input a number of seconds delay before the mechanical block activates.
  
• Repeat - You can input a number of seconds after which the activation repeats.
  
• Speed - The speed at which the mechanical block activates can be adjusted on some blocks.
  
• Multi-select - You can select more than one block by clicking and dragging with the mouse or by holding down [CTRL] and clicking multiple blocks.
  
• Multi-select configurations - When you have more than one block selected, if they are configurable you can “bulk configure” them. For example: You can select 4 hinges and change the key binding on all 4 at the same time.
  
• Build bubble - We have added an invisible bubble that limits how far from your character you can build, and how big a vehicle you can build. This is mostly a measure to stop players from building into walls, scenery and other players. If you find the bubble to be too small, do let us know.
  
• Transformation - Experimental feature that allows you to transform your vehicle into another vehicle when you are airborne. Check out the Transformation menu for more details.
  
• Blueprint History - If you forgot to save your vehicle, you can find the last versions you exited the builder with in the “History” tab.
  
• Import Blueprint - You can share your vehicles with other players by sending them the blueprint. The blueprint is saved as a .png picture with the save data stored in the picture! The “Import” button lets you browse your computer for blueprints and import them into your game. By default, your blueprints are saved in your “Documents”.
  
• Vehicles will no longer break on impact with the ground when you exit the builder.

We have added two collectibles to the Expedition - Bolts and Secrets. They are optional collectibles meant to give you a reason to explore the world. Some of them are very tricky to collect, and will require weird vehicles or insane stunts. We are still working on a reward for players who catch... them all.

We have begun testing the version of Trailmakers that will eventually become the Early Access game available for purchase on Steam. This is the first update we have sent out since the Alpha Demo from April, and A LOT of things have happened to the game. Check out some (most?) of the changes below.

If you want to help us test Trailmakers before it is released on Steam Early Access, head over to http://www.playtrailmakers.com and sign up. Have patience with us. We send out invites every week, but still at a small scale until the game is more stable. If you want to chat with the developers or the testers, head over to our Official Discord.

• You can now hold down right click to control the camera, and zoom in and out with the scroll wheel.
  
• Pressing [TAB] now opens a map. The fog of war conceals where you haven’t yet been.
  
• We have removed the mini map.
  
• Character Customization is now available. Choose name, gender and main/off colors for your character.
  
• Physics have been tweaked. This includes aerodynamics and water physics.

We have added a separate Multiplayer game mode that is accessible from the Main Menu. The objective is to hold on to the Crown for the longest amount of time, whilst trying your best to fend off attackers. Up to 4 players can join the same game. We have a lot of plans concerning new multiplayer game modes.

We also plan on making the Expedition/Sandbox world multiplayer ready at a later stage.

• Environment - We have completely rebuilt the Expedition world compared to the Alpha Demo. It is a lot larger, more detailed, and has a lot more areas to explore.
  
• Animals - Be careful around the new wildlife in Trailmakers.
  
  
• We have removed the feature where you had to drag a block into a green beam to unlock a teleport station.
  
• There are now two kinds of checkpoints - ones that just save your progress, and ones that save your progress and acts as fast travel points. You activate them by driving into them.
  
• You can teleport to fast travel points by opening the map (TAB) and clicking on the point.

We have removed the concept of ‘Substance’ from the game as we felt that it did not add to the overall enjoyment of the Expedition. Having to “farm” Substance quickly turned into a punishing grind if you were stuck on a certain hurdle. To limit the vehicle power level in Expedition we have introduced ‘Power Cores’. See “Builder Features” below for more info.

• (Changed) Seat and engines are now explosive. If they suffer an impact, they will explode and the explosions can trigger other engines/seats.
  
• (NEW) Small Modular Wing - A smaller version of the regular Modular Wing.
  
• (NEW) Bulldawg Engine - Replaces the basic engine, and is now 2x2x1 instead of 2x2x2.
  
• (NEW) Raw Engine - A more powerful engine than the Bulldawg Engine, but it weighs a lot.
  
• (NEW) Dragon Engine - A very fast, but fragile engine.
  
• (NEW) Hover Block - A lift engine that generates an air cushion under your vehicle.
  
• (NEW) Raw Jet Engine - A new jet engine that is bulky, powerful and overheats. Good for rocket-boosted cars.
  
• (NEW) Dragon Jet Engine - Replaces the old jet engine. This jet does not overheat and is a good choice for flight.
  
• (NEW) Mini-Thruster - Provides a small amount of thrust.
  
• (NEW) Gimbal Jet - A jet that fires downwards.
  
• (NEW) Propeller - Provides propulsive power.
  
• (NEW) Tailfin - Provides drag and direction stability.
  
• (NEW) Cannon - The first weapon to be added to the game. It fires ballistic projectiles that explode on impact.
  
  
• (NEW) Small Cannon - A version of the Cannon that shoots faster with smaller projectiles.
  
• (NEW) Trailer Hinge - A ball hinge with two attachment points.
  
• (NEW) Helicopter Servo - This block is easier to use than the old spinning block when building a helicopter.
  
• (NEW) Large Hinge - A hinge that is two blocks wide.
  
• (NEW) Racing Wheel - These wheels are slick and good for drifting.
  
• (NEW) Monster Truck Wheel - A much bigger wheel with good traction.
  
• (NEW) Vanity Blocks - A few new vanity blocks were added, and many more are to come.

• Power Cores - Having a limit on how big you can build in the Expedition is crucial to making the environment challenging. Power Cores act as the way to limit the power of your vehicles. The Power Cores you collect stay with you the entire Expedition, but every engine you put on your vehicle reserves some of the Power Cores. If you remove the engine, the Power Core is freed up again. Check the Power Core cost of the engines in the builder menu.
  
• Block Count - You can now view the total block count of your vehicle in the top left corner
  
• Total Weight - You can now view the total weight of your vehicle in the top left corner
  
• Tinting - You now have the option to color some blocks. Click them and click the paint bucket tool to change the color. You can select multiple blocks and color them together.
  
  
• Rotation - You can now rotate a block by holding down [ALT] and clicking the rotation bar.
  
• Configurations - We have added a few new configurations to mechanical blocks.
  
• Toggle - In the keybindings menu, you can now put a checkmark under the keybinding if you want the key to toggle the mechanical block on/off instead of holding it down.
  
• Delay - You can input a number of seconds delay before the mechanical block activates.
  
• Repeat - You can input a number of seconds after which the activation repeats.
  
• Speed - The speed at which the mechanical block activates can be adjusted on some blocks.
  
• Multi-select - You can select more than one block by clicking and dragging with the mouse or by holding down [CTRL] and clicking multiple blocks.
  
• Multi-select configurations - When you have more than one block selected, if they are configurable you can “bulk configure” them. For example: You can select 4 hinges and change the key binding on all 4 at the same time.
  
• Build bubble - We have added an invisible bubble that limits how far from your character you can build, and how big a vehicle you can build. This is mostly a measure to stop players from building into walls, scenery and other players. If you find the bubble to be too small, do let us know.
  
• Transformation - Experimental feature that allows you to transform your vehicle into another vehicle when you are airborne. Check out the Transformation menu for more details.
  
• Blueprint History - If you forgot to save your vehicle, you can find the last versions you exited the builder with in the “History” tab.
  
• Import Blueprint - You can share your vehicles with other players by sending them the blueprint. The blueprint is saved as a .png picture with the save data stored in the picture! The “Import” button lets you browse your computer for blueprints and import them into your game. By default, your blueprints are saved in your “Documents”.
  
• Vehicles will no longer break on impact with the ground when you exit the builder.

We have added two collectibles to the Expedition - Bolts and Secrets. They are optional collectibles meant to give you a reason to explore the world. Some of them are very tricky to collect, and will require weird vehicles or insane stunts. We are still working on a reward for players who catch... them all.

As the Early Access release of Trailmakers draws closer and closer, we have begun streaming our progress with the game on Twitch.

If you are super interested in what the game will be like when we launch, if you have a burning question you want answered, or if you just want to hang out with the developers and see what we're working on, this is a great opportunity to do it.

Watch us live stream on Twitch every Friday at 2PM UTC+1 on
http://www.twitch.tv/PlayTrailmakers

You can watch VoDs of the first two streams right here:

VoD 1: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/179132736
VoD 2: https://youtu.be/JNgdpzD4o3Y

As the Early Access release of Trailmakers draws closer and closer, we have begun streaming our progress with the game on Twitch.

If you are super interested in what the game will be like when we launch, if you have a burning question you want answered, or if you just want to hang out with the developers and see what we're working on, this is a great opportunity to do it.

Watch us live stream on Twitch every Friday at 2PM UTC+1 on
http://www.twitch.tv/PlayTrailmakers

You can watch VoDs of the first two streams right here:

VoD 1: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/179132736
VoD 2: https://youtu.be/JNgdpzD4o3Y

Hi everyone! We’re back with another development update, and it’s one we’ve been looking forward to. It’s about multiplayer in Trailmakers.

When we set out to make Trailmakers, a game where you build your own vehicle in a big world with multiplayer, we stumbled on a big technical challenge. Every time a dune buggy crashes into a drag racer at high speed, hundreds of vehicle parts go flying in every direction. Each of these parts have a trajectory that needs to be calculated and shared between players which leads to enormous amounts of calculations to simulate real physics. This takes a real toll on computers. Our programmers have spent many months making this work smoothly, and we are getting there.


This is what a multiplayer collision looks like from both sides

So what will Multiplayer be like when Early Access launches?

When we launch Trailmakers on the Steam Early Access program, the most groundbreaking multiplayer feature will be the real-time physics over network - a feature that lets you and your friends experience some very cool vehicle destruction. To set the scene for crashes, we have created a multiplayer mini game - the first of many to come. The game mode will support up to 4 players and is a ton of fun! What kind of mini game mode is it? More on that when we get closer to launch 😉


Now with dust trails

Anyone can host a multiplayer game and play with their friends, but we do recommend that the person with the fastest computer and internet connection is the host. The game’s physics calculations are done by the host’s PC, and then sent to the other players so everything is completely in sync. The more blocks are in the game, the more physics calculations are needed, and the slower the game will run. If every player decides to build something extremely elaborate, you might experience some performance issues.

During Early Access, we will optimize the open-world Sandbox and Expedition modes to be multiplayer compatible. We also plan on taking full advantage of your feedback during Early Access, so a lot of future multiplayer competitions will depend on your suggestions.
If you have a great idea for a multiplayer game mode, let us know in the comments!

PS. If you want to see the current state of the game or have a burning question you want answered, tune in to our first Dev Stream this Friday (September 29th) at 2PM UTC+1 on www.twitch.tv/PlayTrailmakers - Follow the channel if you want a notification when we go live.

Hi everyone! We’re back with another development update, and it’s one we’ve been looking forward to. It’s about multiplayer in Trailmakers.

When we set out to make Trailmakers, a game where you build your own vehicle in a big world with multiplayer, we stumbled on a big technical challenge. Every time a dune buggy crashes into a drag racer at high speed, hundreds of vehicle parts go flying in every direction. Each of these parts have a trajectory that needs to be calculated and shared between players which leads to enormous amounts of calculations to simulate real physics. This takes a real toll on computers. Our programmers have spent many months making this work smoothly, and we are getting there.


This is what a multiplayer collision looks like from both sides

So what will Multiplayer be like when Early Access launches?

When we launch Trailmakers on the Steam Early Access program, the most groundbreaking multiplayer feature will be the real-time physics over network - a feature that lets you and your friends experience some very cool vehicle destruction. To set the scene for crashes, we have created a multiplayer mini game - the first of many to come. The game mode will support up to 4 players and is a ton of fun! What kind of mini game mode is it? More on that when we get closer to launch 😉


Now with dust trails

Anyone can host a multiplayer game and play with their friends, but we do recommend that the person with the fastest computer and internet connection is the host. The game’s physics calculations are done by the host’s PC, and then sent to the other players so everything is completely in sync. The more blocks are in the game, the more physics calculations are needed, and the slower the game will run. If every player decides to build something extremely elaborate, you might experience some performance issues.

During Early Access, we will optimize the open-world Sandbox and Expedition modes to be multiplayer compatible. We also plan on taking full advantage of your feedback during Early Access, so a lot of future multiplayer competitions will depend on your suggestions.
If you have a great idea for a multiplayer game mode, let us know in the comments!

PS. If you want to see the current state of the game or have a burning question you want answered, tune in to our first Dev Stream this Friday (September 29th) at 2PM UTC+1 on www.twitch.tv/PlayTrailmakers - Follow the channel if you want a notification when we go live.

Hi everyone!

I hope you’ve had a great summer! On the Trailmakers team, we are revving up our engines, and getting ready for a very busy fall. We have even done a bit of hiring over the summer so the team is bigger than ever! Oh, and before you ask: Trailmakers is still planned for Steam Early Access Launch at the end of the year 🚀

The past month we have been showing off Trailmakers at Gamescom in Cologne and at PAX West in Seattle. It was great meeting so many of you at these events, and seeing how excited you are for Trailmakers. We also met some interested journalists which have resulted in a bit of press:

• PC Gamer interviewed our Creative Director, Mikkel Thorsted
  
• Gamecritics called it “an incredible amount of fun”
  
• And TechBuyersGuru said it’s “the essence of why we have video games in the first place”

Click on the gif to see a highlight video from PAX West!

Hi everyone!

I hope you’ve had a great summer! On the Trailmakers team, we are revving up our engines, and getting ready for a very busy fall. We have even done a bit of hiring over the summer so the team is bigger than ever! Oh, and before you ask: Trailmakers is still planned for Steam Early Access Launch at the end of the year 🚀

The past month we have been showing off Trailmakers at Gamescom in Cologne and at PAX West in Seattle. It was great meeting so many of you at these events, and seeing how excited you are for Trailmakers. We also met some interested journalists which have resulted in a bit of press:

• PC Gamer interviewed our Creative Director, Mikkel Thorsted
  
• Gamecritics called it “an incredible amount of fun”
  
• And TechBuyersGuru said it’s “the essence of why we have video games in the first place”

Click on the gif to see a highlight video from PAX West!

Hi everyone! Hope you are enjoying the summer as much as we are. Today I’d like to tell you a bit about how we are designing the world in Trailmakers.

Did you know that with just six 2x4 LEGO bricks you can make 915,103,765 different combinations? A truly staggering number of different constructions with only a few bricks. The problem is, most of them look very similar and none of them are particularly interesting. That’s what happens if you randomly put stuff together, with LEGO or with game development for that matter: Lots to see, not much to do with it.



Couldn’t fit pictures of the remaining 915,103,763

In Trailmakers, our world is not randomly generated, but we are using procedural tools that helps us make new landscapes faster. Tools like the ones in the timelapse gif below where we are first deforming the earth to make an island in the sea, then using another tool to shape some mountains on the island and finally adding vegetation in the form of trees with a third tool. These tools carry an element of randomization without being totally random.


Croissant Island

The way that island was made in just a few minutes is comparable to painting with a big paint brush. It’s quick and effective, but it’s missing the finer details, and it’s the fine details that makes the game fun to play. In Trailmakers, you will do a lot more than just explore the world - we want the environment to challenge you. For that to be certain we need carefully craft the challenges. The big brush can make the mountain, but we will handcraft the roads that lead to the mountain peak to ensure that it is sufficiently challenging.

The same principles apply when you start building vehicles in Trailmakers. We are giving you the different parts and making a few rules about how they can be stuck together. If you put them together randomly they might not function very well, but there are still thousands of possible combinations that will work magnificently.


It’s rainbow road all over again

As development of Trailmakers progresses, we are making more and more tools that makes it easier for us to create new worlds fast. We hope this will pay off in the long run when we can make worlds quicker for the content-hungry Early Access players.

Do you have any cool examples of procedural or random generation? Are you going to spend the summer making all 915,103,765 LEGO combinations?

Till next time!