Craftomation 101 News

Hey mates!

Craftomation 101 was always a game about terraforming a frozen planet. However, up until recently, there wasn't much… well, terraforming in the game. The ice was melting, the grass was growing - those who made it far enough in the demo would even plant a couple of lonely trees. And that was it.

But you didn't think we'll leave it that way, did you? Because the updates of both the past and the upcoming month are all about organic stuff! And some robot drinks, too.

[h3]Back to the Source[/h3]



Sulfur Source (not the final name, but you got the idea), formerly known as Hot Springs is already implemented in the game for internal testing. As we mentioned last time, it works like the Command Center does, warming some ground around it and providing a substrate for growing plants.

However, the ground around Sulfur Sources is now rather unique: certain plants - like Moss and Mushrooms - can only grow on Sulfur-rich tiles. Moss is a plant that borrows its mechanics from Trees and Mushrooms: it gives you a lot of resource to harvest (like a Tree does), but only for a very short period (like Mushrooms do).

In turn, Trees now can only be grown on earth tiles with grass on them. Please remember that these mechanics may change at some point in development: we have lots of experiments and balancing ahead of us. What do you think of it, by the way? Maybe you have some other ideas on how Mushrooms, Trees, and Moss should work? Don't hesitate to let us know:

Additionally, certain climate changes are expected in the game (and we refuse to apologize for this clearly awful pun): for instance, the warmer the soil, the faster the plants will grow on it, BUT they will also require more water to maintain their wellbeing.



Oh, and another important new feature: we've added a 'Skip Tutorial’ button. For players who seek to live a dangerous life.

[h3]We Have to Brew[/h3]

The new mechanics of plants and other flora calls for at least one new command for Craftomates: it will be similar to the existing ‘Is_Empty’ command but will allow your bots to check whether a plant is watered. We will also probably set the limit for watering the plants to 1 unit of water at a time.

If and when you master the art of growing organics on a nameless planet, you will find yourself with a surplus of plant materials. We got you covered: a Brewery was planned in the game from the very beginning and formally introduced in the previous issue of our Dev Diaries. Here's a summary of how it's planned to work.

Not an actual gameplay footage


The Brewery will be crafting beverages for your Craftomates, that will temporarily boost their parameters. Each brew has a base and a key ingredient, and the two must be mixed in the brewery together.

There are currently 2 types of base: a good ol’ boiling water, and water with some minerals (maybe). It can be mixed with any type of organics, but only two types of brews are scheduled to be added to the game in the upcoming month: one will boost a Craftomate's speed, while the second one will increase its battery capacity.

As for the base, it will influence the duration of the effect of the resulting beverage and the shape of the bottle.



[h3]Command Ça Va?[/h3]

In other important news: there's a new Command Center in town:



Fun fact: in 2023, it's hard to restrain from referring to AIs for various creative reasons. This new Command Center design was inspired by the work of Midjourney. Here're references that Alex the artist managed to generate and get inspired with:





(Who said 'Star Wars'?)

The Brewery and the new Command Center will make their way to the actual build in the next month because Ivan the coder is currently on academic leave to prepare his thesis (we wish him the best of luck, and you should, too!).

That means new screenshots are to be expected in the next issue of Dev Diaries. Some limited playtests are also likely to happen. In the meantime, here's a quick reminder of what you can do in the meantime:

• Add the game to your wishlist on Steam
  
• Let us know about your favorite influencers on YouTube/Twitch/Other who are playing games like Craftomation 101
  
• If you feel like it - maybe even write a comment to one of the aforementioned influencers to let them know Craftomation 101 is worth checking out
  
• You can even scribe yourself into the game's credits: most of our games’ localizations are community-made, and we now have a spreadsheet for those who are willing to help us translate the game into their native language
  
• Buy the supporter pack to gain access to exclusive WIP stuff and full-time access to the devs’ ears and minds
  
• And of course, play the free demo, leave us a comment, or come to Discord and discuss your experience with us
  

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1724140/Craftomation_101/

We'll be back in a month with more juicy details on Craftomation 101! Shall we talk about the Early Access release date? The answer is: maybe! Stay tuned, and please share your thoughts about the game in the comments! Until we meet again.

If you're familiar with independent games, you probably know that January is the magical month for us developers: the holiday fever is over, the major game releases usually don't happen until early spring… it's the perfect time for cute little projects like Craftomation 101! And this year we did our best to seize the moment.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

You may remember that we have officially frozen the content of our demo, so we could concentrate on preparing the game for Early Access release. That is, with one exception: Base Builder Fest on Steam seemed like the perfect event to show off Craftomation 101, gather feedback from our awesome players, and sync our vision with theirs, so we could ensure that we're developing the game in the right direction.

Tl;dr - it was a great ride!

[h3]Functions At Last[/h3]
Composing programs for each Craftomate individually is a cumbersome task, especially when you've got a bunch of nifty bots to handle. Functions, on the other hand, are pretty much standard in the world of programming. They were on our minds from the very beginning, and introducing them to the game was only a matter of time for us. Well, that time is now!

From now on, you can fit any code into one little node, and use it for any of your bots. But what's even better, is if you change a function, it will immediately affect any Craftomate that has it in its code. A super useful tool for dedicated visual coders!



[h3]New Look[/h3]
Another new thing that does not require a lengthy text introduction: updated graphics! Alex the artist is working very hard on improving his skills (which is twice as spectacular given the fact, that he also holds the position of office manager, and plays in a band in his time of leisure - Alex, you're awesome and we all know it!). And it shows! We've got new snow, new shadows, a glowing effect from heated objects, and new looks for Trees and Mushrooms! Let the screenshots do the talking:



[h3]New Features: Useful & Pretty
[/h3]
Making a game about programming is a strange experience. It is almost like creating a programming language from scratch: sometimes we forget about basic features until we stumble upon the players who insist on us adding them. For us, one of these features was the trashbin. But - thanks to our players - it's here at last:



And just for the sake of eye candy, we now have a heating map mode! This is a useful feature but honestly, the principal reason for adding it was the fact that it looks awesome:



But let's return to basic programming features that are slowly but steadily making it into the game! For instance, right now we're working on introducing a set of rather mighty features: selecting, copying, and pasting nodes.



One of the next big features for us would be to enable Craftomates to interact with each other. The array of their interactions is the main source of current heated discussions at the studio. We'll make sure to tell you more by the time the next edition of these dev diaries comes out. In the meantime, you're always welcome on our Discord server: this is where we share the latest news about game development.

But back to the Base Builder Fest: it was awesome! It brought us a lot of new feedback that allowed us to improve many small aspects of the game. In addition to the aforementioned features, we've modified the ‘Find & Pick’ command so the Craftomates wouldn't steal Fire items from Bonfires all the time. They can still do that, but Bonfires are now lower priority places to look for Fire. It might sound like a little thing but not for those who have to keep a dozen of Bonfires alive at the same time!

We were also humbled by the attention we got from our influencer friends, especially given that we are fans of the work of many of them: if you haven't seen it yet, check out these videos by KatherineOfSky, Hii Channel, and Kokoplays! By the way, let us know who's your favorite content maker! They might not yet be aware of how cool Craftomation 101 is, and this definitely needs to change.

[h3]* * *[/h3]
This January was very exciting but the most exciting events of the year are yet to happen (yes, we mean Early Access for Craftomation)! Stay tuned, drop us a line, hang with us on Discord, and we'll see you again in a month, in the next chapter of Developer Diaries!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1724140/Craftomation_101_Programming__Craft/

Ahoy, Mates!

As you might know, Craftomation 101's demo conent is now forzen, with no new updates expected before we hit Early Access.

With one exception!

Base Builder Fest is held on Steam on January 23-30, and our little game is part of it. What an honor! In fact, we felt so proud, we decided it deserves a big update, so here it is:

[h3]Base Builder Fest Special[/h3]

• Reworked graphics: new snow, new shadows, glowing effect from heated objects, and new looks for Trees and Mushrooms
  
• Functions (AT LAST) - design bits of code, save them and feel free to use them in any Craftomate's program. And should you update a function, all CraftoMates using it will be subject to these changes immediately
  
• Trashcan on the work field - for easier command removal. Simply click and hold your mouse on a Command and drag it to the trash bin icon on the right
  
• Heat map - displays the warmth level from all of your Bonfires, Furnaces, Heaters and the Command Center. Mesmerizing!
  

But there's more! This grand event deserves a new trailer, and here it is:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Also, check out some of our new screenshots:



Just update your demo and enjoy! And please, don't forget to share your impressions on our Discord server!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1724140/Craftomation_101_Programming__Craft/

And don't forget to add Craftomation to your wishlist:



This way, you'll never miss the big news of us going to Early Access later this year!

Come on, we all knew it would happen eventually! We've had great time around with the alpha version, and it helped us push the development forward a great deal. In fact, almost to the brink of Early Access launch - it is expected in the first half of 2023!

And that means that we're heads down in the development and polishing stuff, and doing other release thingies. That means, that free demo content is officially frozen.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

If you have read our Dev Diaries, you probably know what's it all about. If you haven't (though, seriously, why not?), here's a short Q&A:

What does it mean? The demo will still be available to everyone on Steam and itch.io, but there will be no public content updates.

You said ‘public’? Will there be a version with restricted access then? Very likely. More on that later though. Join our Discord server, to make sure you don't miss an opportunity to gain access!

Will there be updates for the free demo again? Why, yes! We're planning to release new content and give everyone access to it as part of celebrating Base Builder Fest on Steam on January 23-30, 2023! Save the dates and come play!



And if you want to keep up with the development process (see the latest updates, screenshots, or just chat casually with the devs), our Discord server is the place to go!

You can also share your feedback in this Google form (1 min).

Apart from that: Happy Holidays! Next year will be big for Craftomation 101, and we're very grateful to have you by our side. If you're reading this, please know: we think you're awesome!

• Play free alpha in your browser: https://ludenio.itch.io/craftomation101
• Share your feedback on Discord: https://discord.gg/ludenio
• Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/craftomation101

We hope we've made you feel a bit nervous with that goodbye-ish headline! Because that would mean that you care about our little game. If so, good news: Craftomation 101 isn't going anywhere. The development, however, goes undercover for a while. So, without further ado, let's get to the big news here.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]The Demo Is Officially Frozen[/h3]
…which is kinda ironic, given the fact that the game is actually about unfreezing stuff! But this will allow us to concentrate on preparing the game for its glorious emergence into the Early Access stage next year. Here's a short list of frequently* asked questions:

*ok, we know you really didn't ask any of those, since we're just announcing this thing. But we thought it's important to let you know anyway!

What does it mean? The demo will still be available to everyone on Steam and itch.io, but there will be no public content updates.

You said ‘public’? Will there be a version with restricted access then? Very likely. More on that later though. Join our Discord server, to make sure you don't miss an opportunity to gain access!

Will there be updates for the free demo again? Why, yes! We're planning to release new content and give everyone access to it as part of celebrating Base Builder Fest on Steam on January 23-30, 2023!

Is there a reason to waste time on these Dev Diaries, then? Of course, there is! We'll continue to keep you informed of the new features we're working on, along with challenges and in-house anecdotes! Speaking of which…

[h3]What's New?[/h3]
One of the cool new things we've introduced last month is the updated looks of the Upgrade Tree. Long story short: it looks better!



New design put aside, we've extended commands’ description to (hopefully) make it more comprehensive. Additionally, you can see a preview of how unlocking a new command will influence the looks of your Craftomates.

Also, all CraftoMates have names now! Say hello to Zoz The Goofy, Bib The Nervous, and, of course…



[h3]What Else?[/h3]
We've had our very own 20-minute adventure (that ended up lasting about a month of work). It all started with Alex the artist not being particularly happy with how our tiles looked; in particular - the inner angles of snowy/icy tiles… Ivan the programmer has drafted a whole new tileset system, which implied that any ground tile would be assembled from 4 independent tile presets. It turned out to be quite elegant programmer-wise, but too complicated artist-wise.

Intense quarreling occured.

We've almost fought.

We were in despair.

There were many experiments with the new system, but the results were below our expectations. Eventually, we decided to roll back to the previous tileset system, but have had it improved along the way. Here's a picture that briefly describes our, ahem-ahem, creative fluctuations:



[h3]Now What?[/h3]
As the development goes on, we keep following the roadmap we drafted months ago. That said, the next big thing for us is functions.

Functions will improve the quality of lives on so many levels! Long story short, they are nodes that allow you create a program for multiple Craftomates, and change its contents on the fly, and apply it to all connected Craftomates simultaneously. You also get to choose how many incoming and outgoing connections there are for a function node:





We're also planning to update eating animation for Craftomates - not only for the sake of visual beauty but also to make it possible for the player to feed Craftomates at any time of their working cycle (even when their hands are busy holding objects!).

We're hoping to share the details of our progress in the next edition of Craftomation 101 dev diaries. And since they're scheduled to be published shortly befor Base Builder Fest is upon us, you'll have an opportunity to try them out soon enough!

Until then… Happy Holidays! See you in January or, even better so, see you every day: you can contact us in the comments or find us at almost any time on the Discord server!

Don't be a stranger. The demo of Craftomation 101 is still available to you on Steam and Itch.io. Until we meet again!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1724140/Craftomation_101_Programming__Craft/