Instruments of Destruction News

(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

Version 0.150 is approaching release, possibly within a week, but before we get to that, let's take a look back at August's Featured Vehicles.

AUGUST'S THEME: WRECKING BALL

There were a lot of great entries, with some very impressive designs and satisfying destruction. Two builders managed to get two winning vehicles this time, with both of them (Stranger and SmokieTheSalmon) having a couple excellent and unique designs. Here's a video showing the winners and honorable mentions, then a text list below that:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

FEATURED VEHICLES

• Cerberus Flail - Kaijp
  
• OG Wrecking Ball - SmokieTheSalmon
  
• Wrecker Crane - SmokieTheSalmon
  
• Willy Wrecken Balls - PaperMachine
  
• Urban Wrecker - Stranger
  
• Wrecking Orb Machine - Neo_Runner
  
• Big Swinger - Zombie Ninja
  
• Wrecking Crane MK4 - OscBear
  
• WalkaMass - Stranger
  
• Octo-Gone - Turbo Jack Flash
  
• Steel Cable Striker - DanoSpark117
  
• Omega Wrecker - PyroTeknikid
  

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• Wrecking Ball Ram - IceCreamMan4254
  
• Ball On A String - ESD
  
• Nauseating Idea - Tatsumesan
  
• Accurate Wrecking Crane - GameMachine_Marco
  
• WreckingBall - Looshin42
  
• Wrekkkking Ball - Jonny_Arson
  
• Duel Ball Wrecker - DangoSpark117
  
• Heavy Wrecking Crane - Stranger
  
• Carousel Crahser - Red Cassette
  
• Wrecking Ball - Destiny
  
• Athena - Aaardvark123
  
• DeployableWrecker - DarkySword
  
• Crashing Tide - Parallel
  

This was a very fun one to judge, and the controls were generally pretty easy to figure out. I still need to figure out a good function to auto-remap QWERTY to AZERTY keyboards and back, as that does affect a few entries, but I'll take a look at it in the post-0.150 support period. Thanks as always to everyone who entered!

SEPTEMBER'S THEME: DUNE BUGGY

One of the less-major changes in version 0.150 is the increased max strength of powered wheels, and the ability for wheels to propel vehicles faster than before. Those changes make the Dune Buggy theme even more exciting than it might appear at first. Along with the new option to disable mini-thruster effects, making fast-moving vehicles is much easier.

But going fast isn't the only thing I'm looking for in next month's vehicles. Handling bumps and uneven terrain is also desirable. I'll be using Aries as the island for trying out the Dune Buggy entries. There's no particular mission I'll be using, and raw speed isn't necessary, but overall driving enjoyment and cool design will be the priority.

Choosing September's theme was a bit difficult. Even though I have over 15 theme ideas written down, many of them will be much better when vehicle parts have more customization and logic. Vehicle part logic will be the one of main focuses of the next big update after 0.150, so it won't be a problem for too much longer.

[UPDATE: Forgot to mention the deadline will be September 21st, so no rush, especially considering you'll want to test with 0.150 before submitting.]

VERSION 0.150 BETA TESTING SOON

Version 0.150 is finally nearing release. Today I'll be working on the last significant feature (importing custom meshes), but that's actually one of the least difficult parts of adding custom ground meshes. Just supporting custom meshes at all, and allowing some editing of their placement/scale/rotation, was completed yesterday, along with letting you place prebuilt meshes like ramps, boxes, and spheres. Workshop support ended up being the biggest task by far this time around, as supporting workshop structures within islands (which can also be on the workshop) was more complex than I first realized.

Anyway, the new version will go into a new Beta branch of the game first. After a couple days of additional testing and likely some fixes, the big 0.150 release is expected late next week. Will do a video highlighting all the new stuff for the launch, and some additional promotional stuff.

After 0.150, I expect to do a week or two of smaller updates based on feedback. I will also be creating some structure and island editing tutorial videos on YouTube that are linked in the game. I'm not super-concerned about making the editors easy to use, but I definitely need to explain them in more detail so it's not as much trail-and-error.

The next big update (0.200 will likely be the version number) will be focused on vehicle building enhancements. That means multi-select, copy and paste, importing multiple vehicles at once, and some level of part logic support. There might be changes that break previous vehicles in some way, and I'd rather get those in sooner than later.

Thanks to the roadmap and some recent brainstorming on where I want to take Play mode, I now have a clearer long-term plan for the game and what version 1.0 will look like. I'm nowhere near the finish line for the game, but it feels good to finally have an idea of what the finish line looks.

As previously discussed, the pace of game updates is changing. The first large update will be focused on Structures and Island creation, with some significant changes and new features all coming at once.

WEDGES, ROTATIONAL FREEDOM, AND PAINTED BLOCKS

The first wave of changes are all in and working, with just a few bugs left to iron out. Previously a structure like this was impossible to build:



I don't know what that is, but it does demonstrate the new structural features. The first thing to note is the blue and red colored blocks are concrete, with all materials except glass being paintable. There are 10 colors to choose from, and you can set the available paint colors per island. This makes it easier for custom islands to have more cohesive color themes without having to create multiple copies of a structure.

The second major change is the addition of wedge blocks, which are a kind of decal block (smaller building pieces that can't be broken down further). Unlike normal box decals, wedges have collision before they break off the structure they're attached to. Combined with the new full rotation controls (instead of only 90 degree increments), you'll be able to create buildings of nearly any shape. It's unlikely the current structures will change too much, but expect future buildings to be less boxy and more colorful.

STEAM WORKSHOP INTERFACE

With those changes working, I recently moved onto making the Steam Workshop interface for structures and islands. Working on UI for my games can be a bit tedious, partly because there's just so much of it, and Instruments is no exception, so it's been a slog for the past few days.

I tried to revise the UI system early in Instruments development to use more data and less code, but it only partially solved the problems and caused more than it solved, so I scrapped the changes and use basically the same UI system I've been using for the past 10 years--define the look of the UI in one code file, and the behaviors of the buttons in another--with a few minor improvements. I'm hoping by writing about the issues, it'll spark an idea/alternative that works better (as sometimes happens), but so far I don't have any new ideas.

Anyway, I'm approaching the point where I'm just hooking things up to the UI and tweaking the look. After Steam Workshop is mostly functional, the final big feature to go in will be custom meshes for islands. I'm still not sure what will happen with materials (or grass/rocks) on these custom meshes, but those are things I'll need to experiment with either way. Beyond that, there will be a lot of testing and refinement.

I'm hopeful the update will be out in early September, but it's a bit too early to say for sure. I expect to create some tutorial videos for the structure and island editors at that time. Once the update hits, it shouldn't take long before we start seeing tons of new islands and structures to play with and destroy.

WRECKING BALL REMINDER

Just a quick reminder to get your Wrecking Ball entries submitted to the Steam Workshop by this weekend. The official deadline is Saturday, but any submitted by the end of Sunday will likely get played as well. I'm really looking forward to trying out all the entries, and as usual there will be a video to highlight the winners and honorable mentions.

One big hack to fix an annoying problem, and a couple other minor fixes:
* HACKED the vehicle spawning code to deal with treads/chainsaws being messed up after they are first placed in build mode.
* Added strength setting the Suspension Swivel.
* Updated part starting positions/angles when copy-settings is used (and fixed cost not updating).

* Added new part: Side Offset (and Side Offset XL) to Frame category
* Updated a few showcase vehicles to have better suspension