Jun 10, 2022

Vectorio Classic - Vitz

Hello everyone,

This is going to be a bit of a long post. There's lots of stuff to cover, and I'm not going to sugar coat or beat around the bush about anything. I want to be as straightforward as I can be with everyone on what's been going on the last couple months, and what's going to be happening to Vectorio this year. There's some disappointing stuff to cover, but there's also some equally, if not more exciting stuff.

P.S. I've left a TL;DR at the end of the post, but I STRONGLY recommend you still give the whole post a read! There's a lot of important info that's covered that a TL;DR can't capture.

Networking and Core Design issues

So, where to start. Just to rip the bandaid off and get it out of the way, very little progress has been made since the last Steam post in March. I have tried multiple times to refactor networking in a way that will fix not only the desync and disconnect issues present in the current version, but also support the addition of new systems and features. Unfortunately the issue still remains that the core of the game is extremely hard to work with, again due to the fact that many bits of it still exist from when I was learning the Unity engine and C# language.

Just to clarify, when I'm talking about the core of the game I'm not specifically referring to any one component, but rather the setup of the components and how they affect other systems in the game. For example, one of the main issues I've been having is with enemy logic. I wanted to remake the way variants work so that I could better control their stats and how they spawn. However, the moment I started changing the variant data class (scriptable object), many other scripts started breaking, which is fine, that's expected. But, when I started fixing the issues in the other classes, it created a domino effect where another class would break, and than another, and than another.

This obviously shouldn't happen, but it does because the core of the game is such a mess that certain systems are intertwined with each other when really they have absolutely no need to be. This is because like I mentioned above, the design of how these systems interact with each other still exists from when I was learning Unity and C#. Ideally, I would've created test projects first to learn and test new things, but as I've said before Vectorio WAS my test project. It just happened to sort of come together in the end, so I decided to release it. When I did I didn't think anyone would actually take any interest in it, but alas here we are with nearly 70,000 downloads.

So, where do we go from here?

Here lies the hardest part. These issues are technically fixable, it is possible to strip down these systems and rebuild them piece by piece. But, with the sheer amount of time and effort it would take to complete this, I'd be looking at months and months of hard work just to get back to where I started. Also taking into consideration that I'm now working full-time as an indie developer, this unfortunately isn't going to be realistic for me, as I'd need to be able to support myself and make a living off this work. At this point I was thinking it either wasn't going to be possible to finish Vectorio (at least the way I wanted to), or that I mine as well start over and remake the game from the ground up...

Ok so when I was thinking this over I suddenly felt something spike in me that I hadn't felt in a LONG time for Vectorio; A burning passion and craving to all of a sudden work on the game. What if I did remake the game from the ground up? What if I took what I learned and applied it early on in a fresh project? What if I PROPERLY integrated networking in early on rather than shoehorn it in later on? All of a sudden I started getting ideas of how to flesh out the game more, taking what worked well and building on it in a new and improved version of Vectorio. A full remake of the game that would be done properly and not have the same restrictions due to inexperience like it's predecessor.

So needless to say you can see how after months and months of feeling demotivated with the project and dealing with annoying issues I imposed on myself from when I was learning Unity, creating an entirely new version of the game from the ground up was sounding really enticing. So, that's what I've decided I'm going to do...

Introducing the new Vectorio

So, what exactly is going to be in this new remake of Vectorio? Well for one I'll be taking everything that worked well in the original version and expanding on it. This includes things like enemy outposts from Update 1, the research tree from Update 2, border expansion, drone networks, guardians, and more. However these things won't just be added into the new version, they'll be fleshed out and improved upon. As a small example, you'll be able to customize and modify drone deployments in certain areas to maximize your bases efficiency. New drone types will also be added, including the long-awaited repair drone, cargo drones, and the new restock drones.

In addition to fleshing out a lot of these features, I'll also be slightly changing the tone of the game. In the current version, it seems to sort of flip-flop between being a chill base-building game and a stressful nightmare inducing tower defense game. In the new version, I will be leaning a LOT more into the chill base-building side of things. I want Vectorio to just be a relaxed experience where you can sit back, build a cool looking neon base, vibe to some 80s synthwave, and watch enemies get torn apart by your defenses. You'll still be able to customize it so that it's challenging, but I'll be really focusing in on trying to hit more relaxing notes with the game. (there's also going to be new music!)

The new version will also contain a ton of new content, including new enemies, enemy types, defenses, buildings, resources, drones, and so on. All of this new content will work into the improved systems in the game to create not only a fresh and unique base building experience, but also make this new version of Vectorio feel like an entirely new game, whilst still feeling familiar to the original version. So for those that have been wanting more out of Vectorio, this new version will give it to you.

When will this new version of Vectorio release?

The new version of Vectorio will release on Steam whenever it's ready. I'm not setting any dates, and I'm not even going to try and predict when it'll be ready. I want to really give it my all and create what I intended Vectorio to be the first time around. I also want to do right by all of you who have been waiting far, FAR too long for new content and features to come online. This game is going to be for all of you, and trust me when I say I will do everything I can to make it worth your wait.

In regards to whether or not this new version of Vectorio will be free, it unfortunately will not be. In order to dedicate the amount of time I want to towards this new remake, I need to be able to support myself and make a living off it. My intention here is not to scrape as much money as I can off the game (if it was I would've monetized the original a lot more), but to be able to fully realize Vectorio's potential and bring it to the highest level of quality that I can. With the amount of time and effort this is going to take, keeping it free is unfortunately just not possible anymore, as much as I would like it to be.

I understand this may be a deal-breaker for some, and to that I'm sorry. I know the original being free was a huge part of the draw in for many people, so this may be a bit of a backhand to a lot of you, especially considering the original will never be completed like I intended it too. All I can say is that I will price the new game as low as I can so that it's super affordable, and is just enough for me to be able to make this new version for all of you. I will also do a lot of giveaways on our Discord, so if you're not already a part of it make sure to hop in there.

What will happen to the current version on Steam?

The original version of the game (the only currently on Steam) is going to be renamed to "Vectorio Classic" so as not to cause confusion with this new re-release of the game. I was debating between keeping it as Vectorio and calling this remake "Vectorio 2", since it basically will be, but I don't like the idea of branding it as a sequel to an unfinished game, so I felt just calling the new version "Vectorio" and calling the current version "Vectorio Classic" would be better suited and more accurate.

Vectorio Classic will remain on Steam for free, even after the new version releases. It'll also receive a small update when the new version does release, properly renaming it to "Vectorio Classic" and just fixing a few of the bugs present in the current version, and giving the last Guardian battle a much more fleshed out and rewarding ending to pay tribute to the classic version.

Ending off

TL;DR for those that didn't want to read, or want a summary:

Very little has been done since the last post due to networking and core design issues
Core design issues linger from when I was learning the Unity engine and C# two years back
Been having a hard time getting motivated to work on the project because of these issues
Decided current version is not worth the time and effort needed to fix these issues
This version is being renamed to "Vectorio Classic", and a fresh remake of the game is underway
Remake is being built from the ground up, with emphasis on it being a "chill" base-builder
Remake will focus on what worked well in the classic version, and expand on those mechanics
Remake will contain a bunch of new content and systems to flesh out the experience a lot more
Many lessons have been learned from "Vectorio Classic", and I will not repeat the same mistakes
"Vectorio Classic" will remain available to everyone for free, even after the remake releases
"Vectorio Classic" will receive a small update, tying what's in the game together

Huge thank you to everyone for being patient as I figure these things out. This is not a decision that I've made lightly, and a LOT of thought has been put into it. I understand this may be a deal-breaker for some, and to that I'm sorry, but I see no way forward with the current version as the issues present in it will continue to hinder my ability to flesh out more of the mechanics and content in the game (as well as take too much time to fix, which I can't afford now that I'm treating indie dev as a full-time job)

With that said, I am extremely excited to start work on the remake. I have not been this motivated to
work on Vectorio since the release of Update 2, and taking everything I've learned from the classic version I know I'll be able to create an amazing and unique base building experience, especially as I'm now able to treat it as a full-time job rather than just a hobby and put WAY more time into it.

Thanks to everyone for reading, I know this was a long and hefty post. I'm sure many of you have mixed feelings, so if you have any questions or concerns please let me know either down below or in our Discord server. I've opened a new channel specifically for the remake to ask questions in. I will keep everyone updated on progress, as well as invite private testers in from our Discord, so if you're interested in this new version and possibly want to test it early on and receive a free copy of it, now is the best time to be in our community server. Link to join is below.

Discord: https://discord.gg/auDgRJqtT9

~ Ben