Robocraft 2 News

Hello Robocrafters,

We’ve been working on ways to improve the feel of the building mechanics in Robocraft 2 and wanted to share some of our progress.

Firstly, some Robocraft players might not be familiar with our scaling system, this feature was first introduced in Gamecraft and used in Techblox. This allowed you to scale primitive shapes to create very detailed builds like this large-scale Gundam created in Gamecraft by Anvilhouse using a bunch of scaled blocks.



In Techblox we improved upon the scaling system in Gamecraft by adding the Bevel rendering system and a tri-planar texturing system which allows for PBR materials to be mapped seamlessly over connected blocks and smooths the sharp edges allowing the lighting to catch the edges in a more realistic way. Here’s a build by RedEagle0705 which shows off the beveling



In Robocraft 2 we’re improving the scaling system yet again with a new more satisfying system where you can:

• Parts that can't be scaled are placed with a single click
  
• 2 clicks to scale in 2D (click, drag, click)
  
• 3 clicks to scale in 3D (click, drag, click, drag, click)
  
• Double-click to scale in Y axis only (double-click, drag, click)
  
• Right-click in the middle of a scale operation to go back to the previous step during any scale sequence
  
• Shift+Click to place a block instantly (without scaling)
  
• We’ve also added a gizmo that helps explain what you’re doing
  
• We’ve also improved the sounds for placing and scaling and made them suit the Robocraft 2 style
  

We think for Robocraft players it won’t take long to get used to. For Techblox players it takes a while to adjust but when you do you start to see the benefits, especially over longer build projects.

We wanted to share how the Gizmo updates based on the systems above. In the image below you can see a single white square, this shows the connection point location.



If you try to build on a vertical surface, the connection point will update too!



Once you’ve left-clicked to choose a connection point, the gizmo will update to show which axis you are currently editing when dragging your mouse.



Another click will lock the scale within that two axis and then update to show the third axis is now scalable. In addition, you’ll also see a hollow square which shows the original connection point and a circle which displays the centre of the scaling.



We believe that this gizmo may take some time to get used to it, but we hope that you’ll all see the benefits of it.

We have two other building features which had been requested by the community and will share them very soon.

This is the Switch Plate, you'll use this hardware at your base to respawn and change robots mid game. More info soon!

We're working on a new test mode and wanted to share some of our progress. Check out this manned stationary turret shooting a destructible tower.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The tower in this video is just one of the destructible objects that you can shoot in test mode. We want to give players an opportunity to test their own weapons and there will be a mixture of stationary and moving objects which you can use for target practice.

The Stationary turret is a powerful weapon which you can to test the Armor plating and structural integrity of your own robot before you take it into battle. Some maps in the future may even have stationary turrets like these which can be used by players.

[h2]CRF2 Functionality[/h2]
We’re working on a new upgraded Community Robot Factory for Robocraft 2 called the CRF2 which will come with some important changes. We've been listening to the discussions around the CRF on the discord. With our design for a CRF2 we wanted to create a new type of CRF which better supports and rewards the constructors.

[h2]KUDOS TO CREATORS[/h2]

[h3]Credits[/h3]
We’ll be crediting, shouting out, and rewarding the original constructors of Robots [in the CRF] wherever we can in-game, such as in Team Lists, Scoreboards, and Leader boards.

[h3]Transparency[/h3]
Crediting the constructors always should add an important level of transparency so it’s always clear who’s playing with CRF2 Robots and who’s playing with self-builds.

[h2]VIRTUAL CURRENCY REVENUE SHARE[/h2]
There will be a pricing scheme for Robots and will be purchasable both with Robits or Galaxy Cash, so they will never be able to be downloaded for 0 Robits. This is because we want to give 50% of all Robits and Galaxy Cash spent on Robots in the CRF to the original creators and want to ensure that they get good rewards for their creations.

The tower in this video is just one of the destructible objects that you can shoot in test mode. We want to give players an opportunity to test their own weapons and there will be a mixture of stationary and moving objects which you can use for target practice.

The Stationary turret is a powerful weapon which you can to test the Armor plating and structural integrity of your own robot before you take it into battle. Some maps in the future may even have stationary turrets like these which can be used by players.

[h2]CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP[/h2]
One of our ideas is to have a seasonal Constructors Championship as in Formula 1 racing. Each Robot uploaded to the CRF will have its own Elo rating. As players play with your Robots the Elo rating of that Robot will go up and down. We will also factor in how much the Robots are used in battle also (as Robots can be switched mid-battle). The Constructors Championship will reflect the best Robots and therefore the best constructors in the game, with the winners of each season being called out.

[h2]COSMETICALLY EDITABLE[/h2]
To ensure that the creations remain intact “as the constructor intended” and so their Elo’s can remain true, Robots downloaded from the CRF will not be editable, but users who download them will still be able to change them cosmetically:

- For constructors, we will be upgrading the colouring system to provide a full RGB colour picker so constructors can use any colour they want
- For users downloading Robots from the CRF we will be ‘Pallete system’ so that users can unlock palettes and then use them to switch palette on CRF Robots they have downloaded (and on self-built ones) quickly and easily to customise their look.
- This will apply to ‘Material Painting’ also, so users can switch materials to cosmetic variants of the materials for further cosmetic customization.

[h2]OTHER IDEAS[/h2]
- We will give constructors the ability to flag Robots in the CRF2 as ‘friends only’ or ‘clan only’ (or both).
- We also hope to show Constructors stats on how many downloads they are getting, ratings, Elo, etc. as say a YouTuber would see when they look at stats on their videos.
- We plan to add a ‘Try before you buy’ option.
- We plan to improve the sorting and searching options.
- We would love to find a way to allow constructors to convert Galaxy Cash that they had earned from the sale of Robots in the CRF back into real money. This is a complex thing to achieve (tax, IP-rights, contracts, anti-fraud and we would want to AVOID using any technologies like NFTs) so we absolutely cannot promise anything other than to say it would be a goal for us to make this happen and we are actively looking for ways to do this.

Hello Robocrafters!

One of our Jammers brought a Steam Deck into the office. So we thought we’d do a quick test over lunch to see if we could get Robocraft 2 working on it. We were surprised that we could get it running with very little extra work. Check it out below:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Additionally, One of the huge features that we are introducing into Robocraft 2 that was not part of the original game is Logic Blocks. These are very powerful chips which allow you to program a variety of functions into your robot. Check them out below:



Here’s a list of the blocks that will be available:

- AND Gate
- OR Gate
- NOT Gate
- NAND Gate
- NOR Gate
- XOR Gate
- XNOR Gate
- Adder Math Block
- Subtractor Math Block
- Multiplier Math Block
- Divider Math Block
- Sign Math Block
- Average Math Block
- Absolute Math Block
- Min Math Block
- Max Math Block
- Equals Math Block
- Less than Math Block
- Less than or equal Math Block
- Greater than Math Block
- Greater than or equal Math Block
- Constant Block
- Counter Block
- Timer Block
- Bit Block

We’re planning to use these blocks to enhance a test mode that we’re working on for Robocraft 2

Hello everyone,

We have some very important news to share.

As you know we’ve been doing a lot of work on the battling side lately. It has been a ton of fun to develop and it’s shaping up nicely but it is becoming clear that we need to put a lot of work into it. We want to deliver the best game we can and therefore we feel we need to focus.

As we have introduced battling features this has attracted the attention of some Robocraft fans who have asked the fair question “if you’re doing battling, why not make it Robocraft 2?”. We all got together and discussed this point and have decided to evolve Techblox into a full sequel, i.e.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We believe that the Techblox technology we have built will provide an amazing foundation for a new Robocraft 10 years on from Freejam’s first ever game. This includes realistic server-side physics, a new destruction system, characters able to get in and out of vehicles, multi-manned machines, powered joints, structural integrity, environment destruction, battle map features such as drivable payloads and controllable base turrets. Our advanced building system with wires, tweakable stats, scalable shapes, and paintable physical materials are all great features that build upon what Robocraft had 10 years ago.

The dev team is really buzzing about this new direction and focus! We’re now in the process of shaping it into a first playable with a view to releasing it asap.

We hope that many of you will continue to join us on this journey as we transition to Robocraft 2.