- There was a bug that caused the interaction information not to disappear, but it indicated that there was no possibility to interact (red circle). - There was a bug that caused a customer's price to be calculated incorrectly at the checkout, causing (the automatic) checkout to not work if the customer had an amount ending in 0 cents. - It was possible to lose products in the shop inventory if you no longer had any of the product in your inventory and then wanted to put it back into your inventory from the shelf.
(Full announcement post tomorrow, but here's the changelist) STRUCTURES Added new type of block for structures: Wedge Removed right-angle restrictions to blocks/rotation Improved tools to make structure creation easier/faster Added painted block support to structures Added support for custom structure palettes per island Increased hitpoints for blocks so structures are a little harder to destroy
ISLANDS Added support for custom meshes in Layout: Ground mode Import/move/rotate/scale custom meshes Added support for grass/rocks on custom meshes (all types except Upper) Added palette editing for islands (affects structures) Sped up camera in layout editor (hold CTRL to go faster) Added ability to create Normal/Challenge/Expert objectives for a custom island Added list buttons for selecting an island in Sandbox mode Added ability to turn off water for islands (height ceiling still active, but can go down really far) Added Editor region as an option for islands (mostly for the grid-matching dust effects)
STEAM WORKSHOP Added uploading/downloading structures thru Steam Workshop Added Steam Workshop structure support to Island editor Added uploading/downloading islands thru Steam Workshop Added auto-downloading of Workshop structures on Workshop islands Added support for playing workshop islands from sandbox mode, play mode, and more
VEHICLES/GAMEPLAY Added variable max strength for part types Increased max strength of many part types (things that spin or extend) Made power wheels go faster/apply more force at higher strength values (can make faster vehicles) Added reverse-cycling for strength (Hold SHIFT and press S or the button) Added fine-tuning for advanced mode sliders (Hold SHIFT) Allow disabling of effects for mini-thruster Fixed collision with bullets and triggers, and collision with attachers + triggers Reduced atmosphere falloff to be weaker, made balloon have way more buoyancy underwater Changed map grid/dashed line drawing to speed it up
I'm a little amazed at how well I'm keeping to this whole "One episode a month" thing but here we are! This episode introduces my favorite character, Eugene! I think this is a great introduction, but we've really only scratched the surface on his character arc and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
This episode also features Hydrocity, another track from the wonderful Halc. Please go check out his other works, they're all terrific!
I didn't publish a new version on Steam since a while due to summer holidays and Tobujam #1.
However, coding continue, as well as the Monday Dev Stream on https://www.twitch.tv/tobugis If you want to join us live, the stream is at 8 PM GMT+1 (CEST) every Monday
So? What is in this updated alpha?
New Error Dialog
A new error dialog give in game detail about exceptions. This should make it more clear when something goes wrong. If you see this dialog in-game, it may not prevent you to keep playing, but do let me know!
New Random Number Generator
This may seems technical and obscure but every game needs a way to generate random numbers. The previous random number generator used in Gate Builder was not very random.
Tutorial improvement
The tutorial will now remember the steps you already completed in case of save and reload.
Step to implement AI
The AI caused the game to freeze between turn in the previous Alpha. "This should be solved" - said the developer while crossing his fingers
A new Debug UI was also added to the game and can display what is happening in the brain of the AI. A setting is available in the option menu to turn it on or off.
Better Audio Sliders
The volume control in the Option Menu are now more logical for human ears. Thanks Wheffle!
Twitch integration
Last few stream, we worked on a Twitch Chat Integration to allow twitch viewers to participate in the game.
Twitch viewer are now able to be hired as Citizen and join the Homeword of a streamer. They will get a salary every turn if they are working in a station or if they are present in Chat. (With a bonus for subscribers)
In this alpha, viewer can not do anything with this salary yet. More will come soon.
The list of implemented commands is:
!jobs: display a list of valid jobs
!hireme <job_name>: add the viewer in the homeworld imigration queue
!bal / !balance: show the viewer wallet balance
!modgive[s] <viewer_name> <amount>: only for mods, add credits to a viewer wallet
Viewer name, online status and balance are displayed in game on a name plate over the viewer's citizen.
What's next?
I will probably work one or two more stream max on the Twitch Chat Integration, as it's a fun things to do with the community.
In the mean time, I plan to resume a more steady development cycle now that the summer holidays are over.
And don't forget, I need you! Let me know if you have any feedback on the game so far! Comment greatly help!
The Season 2 update will go live on September 23rd and will feature new Levels, entirely new customizable ships and new features! But before we go into more Season 2 details, we are happy to announce that
Vacuum Pilot goes Free to Play
That's right! Starting with Season 2 on September 23rd, Vacuum Pilot will be available for free, forever!
Why Free to Play?
A competitive game like Vacuum Pilot needs a healthy amount of active users to populate the leaderboards and online lobbies. With our current business model, we did not reach enough users. Lobbies were empty and the leaderboards did not change often. By going Free to Play, we hope to increase user activity and end up with an actual competitive environment. Additionally, going free to play means more potential feedback to improve our game during Early Access!
Will there be "pay to win"?
No. The current plan is to only allow the purchase of visual elements, like new ships or ship parts. They do not and will not change the behaviour of the ship.
Are there any bonuses for people that have already bought Vacuum Pilot?
Yes. People that have bought or will buy Vacuum Pilot before September 23rd will receive every single microtransaction that will ever be in the game for free.
Season 2
New Levels
Season 2 will introduce 10 new cave and jungle themed levels, with more to come in future updates.
Here's a preview
New Ships
Season 2 will introduce entirely new ships with their own unique customization options. Users that have bought Vacuum Pilot before September 23rd will be able to use the new ships with no additional costs! Free to play users will be able to purchase each ship for $1.99.
New Ghost and Replay System
Until now, the game would download and display every ghost of the currently selected leaderboard. This made it impossible to actually compete against a specific ghost, and filled the screen with a lot of ghosts, making it harder to see and focus on the level.
For Season 2, we have rebuilt the ghost system from the ground up. It's now possible to download and compete against specific ghosts, and additionally you can also watch downloaded ghosts as a replay.
The eye symbol indicates if a ghost is downloaded and displayed. Click it to toggle the visibility of the corresponding ghost. The "Replay" symbol can be clicked to watch the downloaded ghost as a replay. Season 2 also includes a ton of smaller quality of life changes and bug fixes! We will go into more detail once the official Patch Notes drop! We hope you are looking forward to Season 2 and we can't wait to see what you think! Send us your feedback and suggestions!
The best way to reach and talk to us is through our Discord Server. Here, we will create polls based on the suggestions we receive so our player base can actively take part in the direction our development is taking.