Instruments of Destruction News

Version 0.235 has a lot of stuff, and I'm trying to go fast this time. To change things up, I'm going to go over the entire changelist in sections.

SIGNIFICANT NEW PARTS Added new part: Shock Blaster - Instant blast/push with multiple adjustable options
Added new part: Power Socket - 4-way socket joint control
Added 2 new parts: Fixed Swivel and Fixed Pivot (like Flex Swivel/Pivot, but no joint used)

The Shock Blaster lets you create a small explosion or instant push on the player vehicle. Lots of parameters to tweak. The Power Socket is a 4-way joint controller to make some types of vehicles/machines easier to create. It's pretty straight forward to use. The Fixed Swivel and Fixed Pivot are similar to the Flex Swivel/Pivot, but with one key difference: They do not use joints, so they are completely stiff. No extra rigidbodies are added from wanting to create a custom angle in your creations from now on.

VERY IMPORTANT USABILITY IMPROVEMENTS Added way to select all parts of a type (Shift+click on part type in library)
Added new function to shift selected part logic inputs/outputs to unused inputs outputs (Ctrl+L)

The first makes it easier to select a part that's buried inside other parts (or search for a part in a complex creation). It will select resized parts as well. The second function makes it WAY easier to make complex logic-based creations that need multiple sets of logic. Select all the parts you want to use separate logic then press Control+L. Those parts will change all their logic inputs/outputs to use new slots.

WAVE GENERATOR IMPROVEMENTS Made wave editor wider and use 2 decimal places
Added some vertical grid lines to wave editor BG
Added phase offset for wave generator (as a multiple of time)
Added reverse inputs for Wave Generator
Added Copy button for waves (from other active wave)
Changed [Y] functionality to be a lot better/clearer
Added small dot for nodes in wave editor
Made wave editor wider and use 2 decimal places
Fixed disabled Reset On Release still resetting the outputs on release
Fixed loop flag not working correctly 1st spawn


A lot of small changes that add up to the Wave Generator being a lot easier to use and edit. Combined with the Logic IO remapping above, creating walkers with legs is now a lot less tedious.

MORE CABS AND RESIZABLE PARTS Added 5 new cabs - Just for visual variety/etc
Added 12 new S parts: 4-way Shield, Side Offset, Spike, Angle 45, Y-Split 45, Y-Split 120, 5-Way 120, Overdrive, Turbine Vacuum, Repulsor Drive, Hover Drive, and Accumulator
Added XXL version of Propeller
6-Way now contracts to 6-Way S (and 6-Way S removed from part list)
Power Pivot now contracts to Power Pivot S (and PPS removed from list)

The 5 new cabs are for visual/connection variety. The S parts lets you build more varied small vehicles, and I wanted an even larger Propeller for a vehicle so now there's an XXL version. A couple parts may appear to have disappeared, but they just got changed to an S version of a similar part. Wanted to do this for a while, and finally made a code change to how things can line up.

LOGIC AND ADVANCED OPTION IMPROVEMENTS Added XNOR+NAND to logic gates
Added 3 advanced options for Arcing aiming laser
Added inputs to propellers/wings/aeroflaps, used as multipliers in force calculations (if no inputs are assigned, there's no change from before)
Added Magnets advanced options: Range, Applies To, and No Effects
Changed Hover to use input strength to affect hover height
Added Hover filter for Sea Level
Increased Hover height range to 128
Reduced min flex panel/triangle Length/Width to 0.5
Added NONE as an option for the vortex/turbine filter
Changed the output labels on the Camera Translator logic part (and Fast Rotation => Linear Turning)
Added dot product limits for movement and turning (Camera Translator)

Just a variety of improvements to advanced part editing. Some of these I needed for new campaign vehicles, while others were player requests.

MINOR TWEAKS/FIXES Made F1 hide majority of custom drawing (and connectors) in build mode
Changed how 0 volume parts work a little (they no longer interfere with sound from other parts)
Changed some parts to be more flexible with variable + combined input strength (free swivel, free piston, vortex/turbine, and magnet)
Fixed a couple default values for Camera Translator
Fixed Undo forcing the camera to focus on the selected part (even with "focus on part" disabled)
Fixed problem with input strength being read as 0 when firing a weapon (not a perfect fix, but good enough)
Fixed Vacuum/Turbne being full volume with low input values
Fixed Min Clamp UI range on Output Modifier
Removed debug message for hovering over water

Just fixing things, making them work a little better, etc.

That's it for today. I'm nearing 30 campaign vehicles, and working on them is helping refine advanced part options and keeping my motivation up, so I'll probably keep doing them for longer than I expected.

Let's start with the changelist this time (version 0.230) since there are a lot of things to go over:

• Added 12 new showcase vehicles (will be renamed/improved/used in upcoming campaign revisions)
  
• Added new part: Accumulator - Makes building debris stick to your vehicle
  
• - Multiple accumulators have no extra effects, recommend using a vehicle with 1 rigidbody
  
• Added new logic part: Wave Generator - Edit 2 curves and use them to sync up curves across multiple part types
  
• - NOTE: Outputs work a little different than other logic (Ideal for walkers/vehicles with complex motion requirements)
  
• Added new logic part: Logic Math - Apply math functions with up to 4 inputs (add, subtract, multiply, min, max, and average)
  
• - NOTE: Subtract takes away the 2nd/3rd/4th inputs from the 1st (all others are obvious)
  
• Added Sound Override option for a lot of parts
  
• Vortex/Turbine: Added Applies To, No Effects, and separate Range advanced options
  
• Added 3 new mini parts: Vortex, Gyroscope, and Attacher
  
• Added gyroscope Move Dampen advanced option (acts like additional drag on the vehicle)
  
• Added Sound Volume option for nearly all parts that make sound
  
• Added two new advanced options to Output Smoothing logic part (Mapping and Scaling)
  
• Added sound to Pusher
  
• Added Momentum Cam option for cabs (for vehicles where the cab rotates a lot and makes the default follow cam bad)
  
• Reduced pull on player from Blocks/Structures/Objects when using Vortex/Turbine
  
• Added drawing of same-index flex connection lines in advanced mode
  
• Increased linkages/channels to 16 (from 11) for various parts (32 for Flex Connection)
  
• Increased damage from cannon balls/boulders to destroyable objects
  
• Increased damage to smoking cars
  
• Fixed thrusters ignoring the strength of the input
  
• Fixed thrusters making a distortion effect when No Effects was selected
  

I'll cover the 12 new vehicles below. There are 3 major new parts this time (and 3 new mini-versions of some others). The first new part is the Accumulator, which lets you create a debris ball:



There's a new Showcase vehicle that uses the part (along with some other newer parts). With the Accumulator, you should only use 1 of them, and you'll probably want to keep your vehicle as simple as possible (physics-wise) because of how it functions. It's really only designed to do one thing, and while I might make improvements to it for future vehicles to make the Accumulator more flexible in its use, I don't have plans to at the moment.

The other two parts are the Wave Generator, and the Logic Math part. The Logic Math part is fairly straightforward, though Subtract function is a little different than the rest (it subtracts the last 3 inputs from the first). With the Math part, if an input it connected, it is always used in the calculations.

The Wave Generator lets you create 2 curves (as a loop or one-shot) and use those curves to control other parts. It's especially useful for doing complex motion, but it can be used to turn a normally continuous part into more of a one-shot function. It's probably one of the most powerful parts in terms of vehicle/control refinement, and I'm looking forward to using it more and seeing how you guys use it.

Side note: The Output Smoothing part also got some improvements to make it more useful/customizable, including a global scaling factor. The scaling factor is also in the Wave Generator, and both parts can scale their outputs by 3x. Some parts (including the just-fixed thruster) can use the additional input value to go beyond the normal limits. I have not tested many parts with 3x scale, so use with caution (and let me know if something ignores values above 1x and you wish they wouldn't).

"FUN" VEHICLES

The Accumulator Ball is one of 12 new Showcase Vehicles (scroll to the end of the list, the last two columns). I chose these 12 because they are pretty varied and can be fun in different situations, and I wanted to use them as examples for the upcoming Fun Factor Featured Vehicle Theme. I wouldn't consider any of these final for the campaign, but some of them are pretty close to what you'll see in the campaign (aside from the names). Every vehicle will have maps/missions designed *specifically* to highlight what the vehicle does well. Some vehicles may show up in more than 1 mission, but currently I'd expect most of them to be in only 1.

I'm going to list each vehicle and talk a little bit about how well (or not) it accomplishes the goal of being fun. Note that I'm focusing on Follow Cam (and using a gamepad) most of the time, but also using a keyboard and Isometric Cam to make sure those work too.

• Turbo MiniDozer: This is possibly the first vehicle the player will use in the game. It is super-simple (9 parts) but is an elegant design, easy to drive and fairly effective against small wooden/rock structures.
  
  
• Shover: This is another fairly simple vehicle, and barely changed (at the moment) from the one seen in the campaign. The visual design of this vehicle is too bland, but in the right scenario, it could be really fun. The scenario in this case: Shoving tires or crates across a gap into large walls. That's not something any of the current maps are designed for, but it's something I've done in previous test maps.
  
  
• Wormy Spiker: This is a more complex vehicle, and would be fun to use in more scenarios than the Shover. It's just a bit different (and satisfying) to drive and see the segments line up. It's also surprisingly good at destroying structures. It works better with low or skinny structures than wide tall ones due to the camera.
  
  
• Bash Buddy Quality: An evolution of the Bash Buddy vehicle from Orion in the current game. This is a relatively simple but polished version of a Wrecking Ball-equipped vehicle. Some vehicles like this one don't need a specific scenario to be fun.
  
  
• Small Excavator: This is quite similar to the Bash Buddy in overall direction. It automates the use of the attacher to make destruction easier, but otherwise serves a similar function of being polished and fun to use in most scenarios. (The amount of wobble will hopefully be reduced in a future version, and it does have an extraneous control currently - [T] is not supposed to be mapped to anything)
  
  
• OctoWalker Dual Laser: This is quite slow on purpose. It's equipped with some very powerful and accurate weapons, so it doesn't need to move fast. The walking motion isn't anything special, but it's satisfying to watch and stable. A mission designed around precise destruction would enhance the enjoyment of using this vehicle (it could probably use limited laser usage for gameplay purposes).
  
  
• Accumulator Ball: This is a vehicle focused on a single part: The Accumulator. The design could be improved a bit, and the balance of the controls might be tweaked. Not sure it's a "fun" example in general, but I've been using it to make sure the Accumulator works, so I decided to include it because of that.
  
  
• Hook Bomber: This has the most complex logic of the example vehicles. But it's not complex for the player. All the logic is to simplify the controls and make it easier to use. It is similar to the OctoWalker in overall function, but they feel different enough and focus on different parts so I don't mind having both. It's possible a mission in the campaign will allow you to choose between two vehicles, such as this and the OctoWalker (after introducing both vehicles separately).
  
  
• Car Killer: The name gives this one away. It's designed to be used on the racing maps (such as Desert Track). The turning controls still need a bit of work, as it turns too fast at low speeds, and the cannon balls should probably fly faster (will change that soon). The design on this one is ok but is lacking something compared to other vehicles on this list.
  
  
• Hover Hornet: This vehicle is difficult to control even though the controls are super-simple. I enjoy using it on Desert Test and Test Island, though neither is quite ideal. I
• think* it could really fun on a wide open map with lots of small/tall things to destroy, particularly with some that you need to slide past while firing. Unlike Car Killer, I think the visual design of this works quite well.
  
  
• Artillery Maybe: This is a more extreme version of the Hook Bomber and OctoWalker. It still needs some work design-wise (especially the front), and I'm not sure about the controls. It's possible I should simplify the controls more so it uses fewer inputs. I like some aspects of this thing, and I think a mission designed around slow methodical destruction would be enjoyable (perhaps one with multiple stages/vehicles). Definitely not a finished product though.
  
  
• Stick And Turn: Like the Artillery, this one is about potential. It has a unique mechanic in the stick-and-turn element, and maybe that aspect is good enough to build a (single) mission around. Wanted to include this as an example of another "concept" vehicle that is close but is lacking in a couple areas.
  

I think I've rambled on even longer than usual, and I'm anxious to get back to building more vehicles and few new parts (more cabs are the main parts I still want), so that's all for this week.

The winners and honorable mentions for the latest Featured Vehicle contest (Excavators) are featured in the video below:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Here are the winners in text form:

FEATURED VEHICLES

• Overhead Deconstructor - Kitten
  
• Crabcavator - St. Nicolas
  
• Long Reach Excavator - PyroTeknikid
  
• Digamatron 3000000 - Jonny_Arson
  
• Heavy Walking Excavator - Stranger
  
• ACCT Dionaea - Arad
  
• ACMT T-R-X - Arad
  
• Excavator Crusher - Stranger
  
• Articulated Excavator - PyroTeknikid
  
• Mammoth Excavator - Zombie Ninja
  
• Heavy-Duty Excavator - St. Nicolas
  
• Modern Excavator - Phynnix
  

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• Liebherr R9800 Excavator - Rosli.Othman
  
• Excavator - TimeMaster111
  
• Excavator - Agent McNeil
  
• ACMT Hydra - Arad
  
• Liebherr R 9800 Excavator - TurtleBravo85
  
• X-Cavator - [Arch] B_Glo
  
• X-cavator - Stranger
  
• ACMT D-E-U-X V.2 - Arad
  
• Apexcavator - Stranger
  
• Tyrexcavator - Stranger
  
• Bagger 293 - Neo_Runner
  
• 14T Excavator - Stranger
  
• X-Crab-Scavator 2.0 - Mastersubliminal
  
• Cool-Scavator 2.1- Mastersubliminal
  
• Bucket Wheel Excavator - BlueSky2011
  
• TAC-495 - Stranger
  
• 2013 Excavator Pro - Jonny_Arson
  

There were a good number of entries, and the engineering/design was very impressive as usual. The Articulated Excavator in particular had custom treads that were both relatively efficient and excellent at turning. It's obvious I need to add custom treads as a single part at some point soon, as a number of entries had custom treads that were too slow even on my 13th gen i9 CPU.

NEXT THEME: FUN FACTOR
DEADLINE: MAY 17th

For the next theme we're going to shift the focus to something different. Instead of a specific vehicle theme, I want to see vehicles that are just fun to drive and use (and aren't too big). "Use" can mean many different things in this context; that could be making it as fun as possible to destroy a building, a fast vehicle with weapons that are ideal for blowing up racing cars, or something that's great at picking up containers and moving them around with ease (or anything else you find fun).

The key things I'm looking for are easy-to-use controls in a compact and attractive design. You can add notes about which map it's best to use the vehicle, but it should only take a few seconds for me to figure out the vehicle controls and start having fun. Don't add all possible options/weapons to a vehicle. Just make it do 1 or 2 things really well.

BUILDING FUN AND ATTRACTIVE VEHICLES

Part of the reason I'm focusing on these elements now is because of the upcoming campaign changes. I've spent a couple days recently trying to make vehicles that are easy and fun to control. While there will be a few familiar vehicles from the current Showcase Vehicles, most of them just don't cut it because they aren't particularly interesting or visually distinct enough. As I've been creating this new batch of vehicles, it's apparent to me now that we need more advanced controls over some parts to make them feel like fully-finished vehicles.

It's also become obvious that advanced vehicle builders (aka you guys) have been using impressive workarounds to get things to fit just right, particularly in smaller vehicles. For this problem in particular, version 0.227's big new feature is a new part: The Flex Connection. I've seen requests for something similar to it in various forms (particularly since the Flex Beams were added), but I didn't fully appreciate the need for something like it until now.

The Flex Connection basically removes the need to use workarounds to connect parts in unusual ways. Instead you just use as many Flex Connection parts as you want, and all the parts of the same Linkage index will be joined together (invisibly). This means you can build physically impossible shapes like things floating in mid-air, but that's not something I've worried about for a while.

Rather than ramble on any more, here's the full changelist for 0.227:

• Added new part: Flex Connection (Decorative) - Creates a solid but invisible connection between all Flex Connections of the same Linkage
  
• - NOTE: Creating a connection between rigidbodies that are connected in other ways will give the "Connected to Itself" warning/error
  
• Added adjustable spread for rockets and missile pods
  
• Changed damage/speed to be separate values for rockets/missile pods
  
• Added Default camera option
  
• Changed how hover drive calculates forces (should be less jumpy, more consistent)
  
• Added damage to plants from entity collisions
  
• Changed how isometric camera updates its offset while rotating
  
• Increased death timer of missiles pods/rockets by 5x (12.5/25 seconds)
  
• Fixed free and spring pivot collision (couldn't actually go 90 degrees)
  
• Fixed attacher ignoring alt input (Normal mode)
  
• Added 2 shift all structure buttons to the layout editor and fixed Compound buildings
  
• Fixed Control + MMB/Wheel only working in certain modes
  
• Fixed mirrored rotation for hooks
  
• Fixed Shift + click in build mode still colliding with connectors and letting you add a part
  

That's all for now.

Added Car damage models + explosions
- NOTE: The amount of damage taken by cars will likely be adjusted based on future maps/missions/etc
Rockets/missiles are now affected by gravity (new option in advanced mode)
Overdrive now affect rockets/missiles (speed and explosions)
Changed Follow camera to be the default
Made some improvements to Follow camera
Changed Normal camera name to Orbit
Re-enabled Normal/Orbit camera for play mode
Fixed/Changed right-stick behavior for camera on gamepad (lots of changes)
Fixed cars often becoming slow/etc after falling in water and getting back out
Adjusted Follow cam to not roll sideways
Reduced firing spread on missile pod (and a little bit on rockets)
Changed depth of field to be LOW by default (won't affect anyone who played the game previously)

The changelist for version 0.225 is listed towards the end of this post. Instead of focusing on the changes, I'm going to skip right into how the campaign plans for Instruments of Destruction have shifted in the past week or two.

MIND-BLOWING PHYSICS?

Recently, Instruments of Destruction was listed as the #2 game with the most mind-blowing physics effects by GameRanx:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

It was a pleasant surprise to say the least, and wishlist numbers have seen a nice spike because of that video. But I have to admit I don't really want the attention on the game, at least not yet. As I've been working on adding the object destruction, improving explosions, and doing other related tasks, I've been watching a lot of videos about what made Red Faction Guerrilla fun, as well as playing some Blast Corps for the first time (thanks to Rare Replay on GamePass). Both of those games come up time and time again as destruction-centric games that people remember fondly, and I needed to better understand why.

[Note: I worked on RFG for 5 years, but I don't remember everything we did, nor which parts turned out to be fun vs. those that didn't.]

At the same time I've been thinking a lot about how to make Instruments more fun and enjoyable. The game has enormous potential because of the destruction and physics, as well as the vehicle building possibilities. But seeing the footage in the GameRanx video really reinforced one idea that I've been obsessing about: Instruments is not close to realizing its potential. The gameplay they showed looked boring, especially compared to the RFG highlights. And playing Blast Corps, despite there being so much jank in the game, I have to say the fun factor in that game is undeniable.

A CAMPAIGN SHIFT

All this comes to a couple core philosophies for the campaign:

1) Make it as easy as possible for the player to have fun (aka more like Blast Corps).
2) Make the most of what Instruments of Destruction can do (aka more like RFG).

#1 means less friction for the player being able to jump in and have fun. And getting rid of unnecessary elements that don't improve the experience in a meaningful way. #2 means having as much cool/fun stuff to do in the game as possible.

To achieve both of these goals, the campaign will be expanded significantly while streamlining the user experience, and vehicle building will become completely optional. It may sound crazy that vehicle building will become a bonus feature for the campaign, but the main reason is this:

It is *difficult* to design and build fun vehicles. And Instruments has something else that is *very easy* to enjoy: Destruction (and physics). Vehicle building is not just difficult to do because it's hard to teach, but coming up with fun vehicle ideas and executing them is hard even for people who know what they're doing.

There are *SO* many fun vehicles possible in Instruments of Destruction, and there are many that would be fun *in the right circumstances* that are simply not worth building now because the maps and objectives have to be fairly generic in the current campaign structure. By relying on the player to design and build vehicles, and having maps/missions where the problems/solutions can't be too interesting (because they require very specific designs/parts/etc), the game is reduced to a bland version of RFG/Blast Corps/etc. Maybe it could be a more satisfying version of Besiege, but Besiege has cool stuff that Instruments doesn't (sheep, archers, etc) and I'd rather focus on what makes Instruments special.

I think what makes the game special is the *combination* of insane vehicles, destruction, and physics. Every vehicle in the campaign will be designed to be as fun as possible, and every map/mission will be made with a *specific* vehicle in mind. Rather than having 3 missions, maps will have at most 2, with the second mission also designed with a different specific vehicle in mind. [I expect all maps will have 2 missions, but won't force it in cases where it doesn't make sense.]

Vehicle building will not be going away, it will just not be what the campaign focuses on. It will still be the default in Sandbox, and it will unlock in the campaign after you beat a mission (like Challenge mode currently, but with simpler UI). From this point on, any new vehicle-building features will be either part of the big build UI revision, or focused on letting me build/tune vehicles to be as fun as possible. Most of these will be advanced options, and I'll be adding tooltips to many of the advanced options, but there will also be new parts (like today's new rockets/missiles).

I'll go over all the mission types in a future post, because this is getting too long. Just know that the current missions will be streamlined/improved significantly (or removed), combat missions vs. robots/drones will still be coming (but no more roguelike stuff), and racing will be a smaller set of missions. I want to have at least 60 islands in the campaign by late summer.

For vehicles, I'm compiling a list of what kinds will be in the game and which parts need to be featured in multiple vehicles (such as the Hook Launcher, weapons, etc). I'll be looking through past vehicle competitions for inspiration in addition to all the games mentioned above. Fun, unique, and easy to control (in that order) are the primary characteristics I'm looking for. As I said before, I expect the majority of the mission ideas to start with "here's a bad-ass vehicle, how can we show it off in a fun/challenging way?"

Ok, I've rambled on too long, and I haven't even mentioned the camera changes below (follow cam and isometric are the ONLY choices, except Sandbox mode) or the new object destruction system (try shooting up a cargo container). In case you can't tell, I'm super-excited about the shift in focus. I've always said this game has so much potential, and this feels like the best way to make the most of it.

0.225 CHANGELIST:

• Added new part: Rocket Launcher - fires medium-sized rockets (intended to use Single Shot)
  
• Added new part: Missile Pod - fires small missiles (intended to use Automatic)
  
• Changed Play Mode to only allow Isometric and Follow Camera
  
• Added optional camera filter to Sandbox mode (makes it act like play mode)
  
• Improved follow camera behavior in multiple ways
  
• Added vehicle-specific follow camera tuning options (Cab - advanced mode)
  
• Added isometric tuning options as well
  
• Improved how explosions affect certain objects (plants and crystals)
  
• Added object destruction system (it's on many metal objects, particularly cargo containers, but not cars yet)
  
• Added "Attach To" option for filtering what the Attacher/Hook Launcher attach to
  
• Added "Hover Over" option for the Hover Drive
  
• Added some new AI behavior to help them get unstuck
  
• Reduced the high speed camera wobble
  
• Fixed changing part color not working correctly
  
• Fixed Floppy and Breakable not working
  
• Fixed Pisces not showing up in Sandbox mode