BONUS UPDATE: Scrapman has created a video highlighting all the new features, so please check it out to get a better idea of what's new:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Last week I mentioned taking a break from editor work to add some new parts or otherwise improve the game side of things. I was just planning on adding a few cool new parts, but the first day of work in that area didn't go as planned. The parts I initially looked into were old ones that I hadn't worked on in a while, and each had some little problems that weren't obvious how to address.
The next day I decided to work on something else instead: Adding the ability to set a starting position for the various pistons, swivels, and pivots in the game. It took a while to work out all the issues, but it become obvious that the possibility space for vehicle and machine designs would be drastically increased.
It was also obvious some new parts would be needed, and the Locked Connector become the Flex Swivel, the Flex Pivot was added, and I began work on the variable length beams (now called Flex Beam and Flex Beam Heavy), something I hadn't planned to add for a while. These new beams allow you to create nearly-arbitrary beams in your vehicles, and they complement the variable angles that are now available from other parts. They reside in the Rope category for now, but they only vaguely work like ropes on the game side of things.
With those two difficult tasks handled, I returned to the parts I'd put to the side, and decided to tackle the previously-named Suction Cup. I ended up going with an extending hook and calling the piece Attacher since that's what it does. You can attach to almost anything, including other parts of your vehicle, the ground, objects like containers, and of course buildings. Attaching to buildings is probably the least useful of those, because you're just as likely to attach to the structure you're aiming for as you are to destroy part of it. The controls for the Attacher are still a work in progress, so expect additional modes and tweaks soon.
That's a good amount of stuff for a big update, but I had to add more thing...
I've never coded a laser weapon before, despite having worked on a lot of action games. I've created a ton of projectile-based weapons, but nothing that instant hits. It wasn't as scary or difficult as I feared it might be, though I did manage to launch the initial version with a bug that would crash the game if you used more than 2 lasers at once. Lasers are not cheap (performance-wise or budget-wise), and they aren't unlocked in the campaign 'til you reach level 20. But they are also pretty unique and very fun to use without requiring high-level vehicle building skills.
So between the Red Laser, Attacher, Flex Beams, and improved functionality/design space for jointed parts, there's a lot more to play with for your vehicle building adventures.
I'll still have one more medium-sized update to do to 0.118 before moving back to island editor work, but I'm anxious to get the editor suite finished so I can focus on expanding the game's content some more. That will mostly consist on new islands, but I expect to add other new features/content to make the Play Mode gameplay more exciting/challenging.