Vectorio Classic News

[h3]Hello again![/h3]

It's nearing that time again! With Update 3 nearing completion, I am now able to give everyone a more accurate date of when U3 can be expected to hit the experimental branch, as well as exactly what can be expected to be present in both the experimental phase and early access phase.

I am also excited to share a new feature not previously talked about coming post update 3 that will arguably be Vectorio's most ambitious feature to date.

[h3]Update 3 - Release Date[/h3]

Although there's still some work left to be done with engineering, I can say with almost 100% certainty that Update 3 will be out on November 20th. I know I've been bad with release dates in the past, but I am confident that I can have the early access build ready by that time.

In the case there are any unexpected delays, I will make sure to let everyone know as soon as possible. But I don't see the update being postponed any longer then 24 hours at most.

[h3]Update 3 - Experimental vs. Early Access[/h3]

With the release date out of the way, I can now talk about what's going to be and what's not going to be in the experimental phase of Update 3. For your convenience, I've put them in a list format below. Please keep in mind that some of the features may not be fully implemented at first, and will be expanded on throughout Update 3 with help and feedback from the community.

Experimental Features
- Engineering (turret modification)
- Creative mode (refactor branch)
- New research system (essence pumping)
- Fixer drones and new drone options
- New phantom guardian, The Atlas
- Two new enemies and three new turrets
- Balance changes to heat and power
- Possibly early version of Multiplayer
- and More!

Early Access Features
- Multiplayer (via Steam)
- More new buildings / turrets
- Hub super weapon (border growth)
- All experimental features
- and More!

IMPORTANT: Please keep in mind that Update 3 is running on an entirely new setup. I basically scrapped almost the entirety of Update 2's core mechanics, and redid them. So expect the game to feel a bit "different" at first, as it's basically been redone from the ground up.

[h3]Turret Labs[/h3]

Earlier this week, I released a sneak peek of the in-game menu for Update 3. For those of you that have not yet seen it, here's a picture of it below.



Some people spotted out that the modding tab has been replaced with Labs, and so I think now is a good time to talk about what labs is, and how it's gonna be the most ambitious and arguably most important feature Vectorio will have moving forward.

Essentially, Turret Labs (at it's core) is an in-game modding tool. It allows you to create your own buildings using an extensive in-game editor, and then easily add them to the game to create your own unique Vectorio experience. Here's a VERY early screenshot of it below.



At first, the tool will only support creating turrets, but the plan is to eventually expand it to allow for the creation of new buildings, enemies, and guardians. The goal is to allow for anyone to create their own version of the game without any sort of programming knowledge, and share it with others to play. All of this will be done through the Steam workshop with just a few clicks!

[h3]Vectorio Pricing Update[/h3]

So with all that out of the way, I wanted to loop back around to the very frequently asked question, "What is the game going to cost after Early Access?". This is probably the toughest question to answer as I'm still unsure of it myself, but I think I've come to a decision that best suits the game...

The game will remain free post early access, with Turret Labs being a paid DLC. The reason I think this is the best decision moving forward is it allows anyone to experience the full game for free. None of the main content will be locked behind any sort of paywall, and you can invite your friends to play with you whenever you want without worrying about them not being able to afford it.

For those that really enjoy the main game and want more, however, can purchase Turret Labs and get access to all of it's features, which is essentially just unlimited content fueled by the community.

This decision still isn't final, but it is the one I'm leaning towards. Let me know what you think below!


That's it for now! As per usual, I strongly encourage anyone not in our Discord to come and join it. If you're a fan of the game and want to get more of a glimpse on what's going on behind the scenes, our server is the best place to find all that.

Discord: https://discord.gg/auDgRJqtT9

Thanks for reading!
~ Ben

It's been a few weeks since the last progress update, so I thought now would be a good time to update everyone on where Update 3 is at, and when you can expect it to go live. This is gonna be a bit of a lengthy post, so apologies for those that don't like reading!

As always if you have any questions, feel free to let me know!

[h3]Research Changes[/h3]

I haven't officially talked about the changes coming to the research system in Update 3 yet, so I thought now might be a good time to do so.

I'm replacing the research tree with a new research system called "Essence Pumping". Essentially how it works is you'll have numerous different stats such as drone speed, collection rate, damage boost, etc. You can then use labs to pump essence into these variables and boost their effectiveness.

Now I realize this is a bit of a step down from the research tree, but the reason for this change is due to the addition of engineering. A lot of players have given me feedback on the research system saying each tech should be more unique then just some variable getting a slight boost, and I agree. But since engineering is largely focused on modifying your turrets to have unique characteristics, I feel a research system that also gives turrets unique characteristics would interfere with it.

So, this is my solution to that problem. I was never a huge fan of the research tree as I don't believe it fits Vectorio very well, and I think a system like engineering that gives more control to the player on how they wanna upgrade and modify their turrets is far better. And with that said, the new essence pumping system also isn't without it's benefits - you can now choose exactly what stats you want to boost instead of having to research some other arbitrary techs first, and on top of this I can balance the system by adding heat limitations on how much you can actually boost certain stats.

Let me know what you think of this change down below. Nothing is final yet, and I'd love to hear some feedback on it before I move ahead with the changes.

[h3]Refactor Progress[/h3]

The refactor is now finished! After countless hours of redoing the base of the game, it's now much more stable and modular then before. This will be extremely useful as the game moves forward and starts to introduce more complex features, such as advanced base management, multiplayer, and modding.

[h3]Multiplayer Progress[/h3]

With the refactor finished, work on multiplayer will now truly get underway. I've been experimenting with multiplayer on another project called Automa (https://discord.gg/XuZDADZWtn ), and we recently managed to get it setup through Steamworks. I'll be porting that system over to Vectorio when the time comes, and integrating it to allow people to play with their friends across Steam!

As for public server listings and dedicated servers, I can't give any guarantees on that now. Since I'm currently the only developer working on Vectorio and have limited experience with networking, it will be challenging to get those features supported. With that said though, I will definitely look into it and take some time to study more about multiplayer networking.

[h3]Update 3 Release Date[/h3]

So with all that said, judging where the game is at I expect Update 3 to be out mid November. Originally I had said the Update would be out end of October, and that's still feasible, but after such a long wait I would like to spend a bit more time testing and tweaking the new systems coming in the update. Update 2's experimental phase was a bit of a mess, so I'd like to avoid that for Update 3.

I apologise for the long wait. I know a lot of you are itching for some new content, but rest assured the wait will have been worth it. We're almost there!


That's all for this progress update. As always, I encourage anyone who has Discord to join our server. We have a lot of great discussions on there and it's an awesome community to be a part of.

Discord: https://discord.gg/auDgRJqtT9

Thanks for reading!
~ Ben

This patch fixes the Mac build, as well as a few other minor issues.

Fixes:
- Fixed MacOS version from not running executable
- Fixed enemies sometimes not retargeting towers
- Fixed guardians not getting removed from clear enemies
- Fixed small artilerry sprite (offset still isnt fixed)

Optimizations:
- Slightly optimized bullet collision logic

[h3]The Guardian & Optimization update is here![/h3]

The next creative test environment update is here. In this update, major optimization improvements have been made, as well as the introduction of Carriers, Dropships, and Guardians!

How to access the test environment
1. Right click on Vectorio in Steam
2. Click on properties
3. Navigate to the betas tab
4. Select the "refactor" branch

Next update will introduce enemy variant selection, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

[h3]Patch Notes[/h3]

Additions:
- Added the ability to spawn guardians
- Added variant selection to the spawn menu UI
- Re-Added carriers and dropships
- Re-Added tesla's and added new electric bullet effect

Changes:
- Enemies now take damage when hitting buildings
- Divided spawn menu into four categories

Fixes:
- Fixed turrets firing at enemies outside of range
- Fixed turrets from sometimes randomly rapid firing
- Fixed enemies sometimes completely stopping

Optimizations:
- Greatly reduced enemy physic calculations
- Greatly reduced bullet physic calculations

[h3]Creative - Test Environment | Now available![/h3]
The creative test environment for refactor 3 is now available to play!

How to access the test environment
1. Right click on Vectorio in Steam
2. Click on properties
3. Navigate to the betas tab
4. Select the "refactor" branch

I will only be announcing this on the Discord for now. A steam announcement will be made soon once the last few missing features are implemented. Please also keep in mind, the entire game has been refactored from the ground up. Although everything looks the same, the core systems are completely different. EXPECT BUGS! (and report them!)

What's missing? (coming soon)
- Carrier, dropship, and guardian spawning
- Enemy variant selection in the inventory menu
- Re-implementing custom bullet particles
- Re-implementing turret rotation logic
- New settings menu and keybindings

[h3]Version 0.1.2 - Patch Notes[/h3]
The first version was released yesterday on our Discord. Here are the patch notes for the latest version.

Additions:
- Added ability to freeze time
- Added back the hotbar
- Added back the world border
- Added a confirmation screen when quitting

Changes:
- Improved interface texture quality (WIP)
- Removed enemy placement limit

Fixes:
- Fixed issue with random ghost tiles
- Fixed grid system error caused by artillery tiles
- Fixed being able to place turret out of bounds
- Fixed mute keybind not working

Optimizations:
- Randomized enemy raycast cooldown variable
- Optimized sprite overdraw using custom meshes