Retro Gadgets News

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Ready to bring back the desktop widgets? Here comes Retro Gadgets 0.1.6!
Build the most awesome gadget, add it to the launcher and BAM! It's 200X all over again!

This new release is our first step in making gadgets exist outside the game itself.
If you have at least one Gadget selected for the Launcher, you can open it directly from you system tray without having to launch the game first. Your amazing creations will always be just a couple of clicks away!

But there is more! We also added a serial port component, the ability to read files from your system, touch screens, access to render buffers and game localization.

This is a comprehensive list of everything that is new in RG version 0.1.6

• New Launcher that allows you to add Gadgets to your Windows desktop without opening the game. It is also possible to flag them to start at Windows startup
  
• New Serial module to communicate through the PC serial port
  
• The VideoChip now contains an array of RenderBuffers that can be set as a render target
  
• Lua access to RenderBuffers and SpriteSheets content
  
• AudioChip event sent when playback is finished to allow better management of audio channels
  
• AudioSample now contains the metadata of the imported file
  
• The RealityChip can now access files in the My Games/Retro/UserData folder allowing you to load AudioSamples and SpriteSheets at runtime
  
• New RealityChip methods for reading date and time
  
• Screens are now touch, interactions can be read from the connected VideoChip
  
• The game interface is now translated in several languages (check the setting) and better supports different alphabets.
  
• We added new gadgets for you to discover in the tutorials section of the game. These new gadgets are great widgets that you can use out of the box .
  
• Several bug fixes and UI improvements
  

Check the Official Documentation for more info or join our Discord to talk about these new features with the community and the Dev-team!

Hello Gadgeteers! Spring is coming, flowers are blooming, and the long-awaited Steam Spring Sale is finally here!
We're happy to announce that Retro Gadgets is currently 15% off.

Be sure to grab a copy for you and your friends!

We are working hard to bring you a very big update in the near future,
so stick around for more amazing features! (Check our previous post for our current roadmap)

Remember, you can always join our Discord community to share gadgets, ask for help, showcase your creations!

Hello fellow Gadgeteers! You have been with us for a long, long time, especially during our release in Early Access in November.
Now it's time to talk about the future and what we have in store for you, so here's a little roadmap to illustrate what you can look forward to, and what to expect throughout the year.



Bear in mind that there are no visible timeframes: that's because we don't want to set anything in stone for now, especially since our development team closely follows
community feedback and suggestions, and for that reason some features may get priority over others, or get scrapped completely.

If you read correctly (which we know you did), you realized new content is dropping TODAY and it's part of a big series of updates that aim to improve the core of the game.
We want to give you new parts, new components, and tools at your disposal to unleash your creativity and coding capabilities, sandbox-style.
But, we are also aiming to improve the gameplay aspects of Retro Gadgets, and ease new players into the intricacies of gadget-making with a brand-new story mode/tutorial mode.


This is what you get with today's update:
[h2]NEW CODE EDITOR[/h2]

• A new Code Editor, rebuilt from scratch
  
• Much faster and simpler to use
  
• A new, more advanced debugger
  

We heard your feedback, and this is going to be a big game-changer for all of you.
Coding will be faster and less cumbersome, in every possible way (even on lower-spec machines).
We implemented a slew of new features which include:

• The editor now supports nearly infinite lines without slowing down, it will be more reliable and future-proof.
  
• The debugger can now display the value of local variables and allows you to step through the stack-trace. This is also possible for runtime exceptions.
  
• For the nostalgic, an optional VIM editing mode has been added.
  

[h2]MULTITOOL UPGRADES[/h2]

• It is now possible to export PNG and Lua assets.
  
• When importing assets, it is now possible to directly replace any pre-existing ones with the same name, provided that confirmation is given.
  
• Error, Warning and Info messages now will appear in a brand new bar.
  

[h2]SPRITE EDITOR[/h2]

We added several functions to the sprite editor. Our main goal for this update was to improve and simplify the creation of custom fonts and sprites.

• The sprite grid now supports non-power-of-two values This allows non-square, 100% custom for font sizes.
  
• The editor can now display the pixel coordinates, cell coordinates and font index under your mouse cursor.
  
• Using the selection tool you can now flip pixel areas horizontally or vertically.
  
• When an area is selected, the selection button is now highlighted in the interface.
  

[h2]MOTHERBOARD VISIBLE IN LUA[/h2]
Motherboards have been exposed in Lua code:

• Introduced the new Motherboard type, it is a table containing the modules of a specific motherboard. Like gdt, the key is the module name and the value is the Module itself.
  
• gdt.Motherboards contain the array of all Motherboards.
  
• All Modules contain a Type property of type string which contains the name of the type ("CPU", "LedButton", ...)
  
• All Modules contain a Motherboard property of type Motherboard which represents the motherboard they are on.
  

[h2]ENHANCED MAGNETIC CONNECTOR:[/h2]

• MagneticConnector contains a new property AttachedConnector of type MagneticConnector which contains the connector it is connected to.
  
• MagneticConnector raises a new MagneticConnectorEvent when the connection state changes.
  

[h2]FIXES[/h2]

• Images that contained transparency but were not imported correctly have now been fixed.
  
• Several annoying bugs were fixed in the sprite editor.
  
• When the Steam connection is lost an Error message is displayed, while an Info message appears when the connection is back.
  

We just released a hotfix update, this is what we changed:

• Fixed a bug that caused utf8 strings to be truncated truncated in web requests
  
• Fixed a bug that caused missed events in input modules at low TPS
  
• Fixed the "attempt to yield across metamethod/C-call boundary" issue which made it difficult to use metatables or table.sort
  
• Fixed a crash caused by setting the grid height to a number that exceeded the sprite-sheet height in the sprite editor
  
• Fixed the apply button alignment in the sprite editor grid
  

Happy Holidays Gadgeteers!
We know the 25th is coming and we all wish you the best holidays possible, but more importantly, it's time for a new year and a new beginning!
That's why we are inviting you to our Discord Server for this year's last challenge!

Once you join, check the 🏅themed-challenges section for the complete rules!

"It's the final COUNTDOWN"
and we want to end the year with a Bang!

Yes, we want you to make a gadget that can count down. Pretty easy for sure, but what happens at the end. Fireworks? A banner? Music? Apocalyptic Doom? We don't know, but you for sure do!

The prize for 1st place will be a Retro-Gadgety one!

So get to your workbench friends, and may the best contraption win!

Don't feel particularly tech/scripting/welding/or anything Lua related -savy? Don't worry you can still participate with a Customized Mat / or a sticker pack but beware, the quality will have to be plus-ultra.