Instruments of Destruction News

Lots of small tweaks and bug fixes in this update:

Increased max island blocks + decals to 6000
Increased maximum detail debris settings (Medium is the old High setting)
Added option to change how much large debris is present (Medium is closest to old behavior on most islands)
Added checkbox for Low FPS smoothing (enabled by default aka no change)
Fixed magnets/pistons having reverse controls when placed on opposite sides
Fixed beam placement with PLACE ON HOLD disabled
Lowered volume of attachers (when more than 1)
Lowered volume of laser fire start (when more than 1)
Reduce camera shake from multiple parts creating shakes at the same time
Fixed Mirror mode lasers don't get range set (and delay on bombs/release connectors)
Added advanced option to adjust bomb aerial timer
Added FOV save/load
Locked mouse cursor to the game window
Make power explosions not affect launcher/cannon blast
Make launcher/cannon blast weaker
Fixed disabling shadows removing dust/etc particles
Kinda fixed undo showing controls for beams/ropes
Fixed parts showing as $0 after Undo (and mass/cost totals not being right)
Fixed setting start angle on pivot 90 rotates connector incorrectly
Improved vehicle flipping so it's less crazy (have to push the button more, but it's better overall)
Started changing how island ground data is saved/generated

Improved Attacher/Laser:
* Changed Attacher controls/modes
-- Toggle is the default, works like you'd expect (better version of previous)
-- Normal is available, hold to use the attacher
* Reduced Attacher collision/damage to structures
* Limited range option on lasers (0 = unlimited)

Bug fixes
* Remove unfinished flex beams + ropes if you start doing something else
* Fixed lighting crash (with lots of explosions/etc)
* Removed Laser shadows
* Maybe fxied Undo with beams
* Don't show "controls" for beams/ropes

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.

Fixes/updates to clean up 0.118 changes:
* Use raycasts instead of spherecasts for laser (faster, barely changes behavior)
* Fix beam collisions not working
* Fixed part rotation on axis-aligned connectors
* Created default max range for range-of-motion parts
* Fixed rendering of steering wheels with flashing (picking up crystals)
* Saved vehicles now render flex beams
* Saved vehicles now render something for ropes (newly saved vehicles only)
* Added some new tutorial messages:
-- When you first start playing: Here are the controls
-- Map after playing level 1: Challenge mode unlocked
-- Level 2: Can use the same vehicle again
* Localization updates to French and Chinese Simplified

(New video/announcement covering the major features coming tomorrow)
* Major new part: Red Laser - Overpowered and over-priced
* Major new part: Attacher - Grab anything, including the ground, and hold on
* Major new parts: Flex Beam and Flex Beam Heavy - Connect ANY two connectors with a solid piece (in the Rope Category for now)
* Major new parts: Flex Pivot and Flex Swivel - Adjust the range of motion and starting angles (see next item)
* Major new Advanced Mode feature: Starting position/angle added to most multi-piece parts
* New advanced mode feature: Adjustable range of motion on some multi-piece parts
* Added Recent Parts category: Click on any part to add it to the recent list, remembers up to 16 parts at a time
* Improved player water physics: You can now make hacky boats behave better
* Made it more obvious when you destroy an objective structure
* Reduced issues with too many blocks (very apparent with Sandbox Resort and very destructive vehicles)
* Reduced number of decals that break off when collapses start
* Changed how most destruction sounds were calculated (was a bug in multiple places) - sounds will be louder in general, will continue to tweak over time
* Clear explosions on level start (prevents some exploits/bugs)

SOON-TO-BE FIXED ISSUES:
* Rendering of steering wheels' highlight when collecting crystals is wrong
* Rendering of saved vehicles doesn't show flex beams (or ropes)