Update v0.2.0 | Available on Experimental

Hello everyone!

I am happy to finally announce that as of today, v0.2.0 is ready to begin testing on the experimental branch with its initial testing rollout!

IMPORTANT: This update is huge, and because of that I am rolling it out in portions so that I can more easily collect, analyze, and action your feedback. Trying to dump the entire thing onto experimental all at once would make fixing bugs & addressing smaller direct feedback a nightmare for me.

You can use the above graph as a general breakdown of what to expect. I know doing it this was is a bit unorthodox, but it will help streamline the deployment of this update on my end drastically.

[h3]How to opt into experimental:[/h3]

Locate Vectorio in your Steam library
Right click and go to "properties"
Find the "betas" branch
Using the dropdown, select "Experimental"

[h3]Experimental Info:[/h3]

Testing Cycle: ~2 weeks
Experimental Saves: Enabled
Backwards Compatible: No
Update Type: Major Patch
Contains Spoilers: Yes

[h2]v0.2.0 Patch Notes[/h2]
[h3](not including 0.2.1 or 0.2.2)[/h3]

The following is a list of changes pushed to the experimental branch. While changes are usually tested beforehand, please note that some may require further testing to validate.

Please note, this list is definitely NOT inclusive of all the changes in this update.

[h3]Core Tech:[/h3]

Complete refactor of the database & library system in the game. This will drastically improve initial loads into the game, as well as reduce load times going into saves. Will also improve general performance on library access calls. (i.e. whenever an entity is created, which happens a lot)
New world generation algorithm, using advanced generation functions to create biomes that influence how a region spawns. This is still heavily work in progress and requires feedback.
Improvements to the entity model constructor, that will make it vastly more efficient.

[h3]General Improvements:[/h3]

Improved simulation stack, with higher entity performance across the board.
Predictive aiming for turrets, letting them lead shots to be far more accurate on moving targets.
Refactor of the resource storage & management system, removing resource restrictions in place of a locally shared repositories. This is still being tested, but I am looking for feedback on it now!
Removed resource tier restrictions from the game, letting any tier resource be stored anywhere.
New model accent system, for applying custom colors & material values. Utilized heavily by the resource and faction system, making it extremely modular.
New model animation system, for defining animation groups which can be interacted with from each entities script. Currently used by turrets, and will be expanded on in upcoming versions.
Cargo drone distance prioritization, improving the overall efficiency and reliability of cargo drones.
Drone route connection previewing, showing the specific route a drone will take.
New sound system, creating more localized sound instances & interactivity by utilizing a simulated 3D environment based on spatial blending.
Wall connection key improvements, for more efficient connection changes.
Redesigns on most of the UI, for better clarity & more intuitive navigation.
Updated how categories are defined and created in the inventory. Allows for dynamic categorization of entities at runtime, instead of categories needing to be predefined.
Numerous shader improvements that will help overall clarity, notably on regional boosters.
Many small improvements to the tile grid and tile selector system, making them more efficient & modular for upcoming expansions on these systems (i.e. copy + paste)
Tucked away the info popup behind a keybind. Holding left control will now pop the window up.
New resource query system & internal storage improvements, enabling the following changes...
Burner generators can now take multiple resources, and the burner will always choose the resource with the highest power value to burn next.
Labs will now prioritize converting the resource it has the most stored of. If multiple resources have the same storage amount, it will then priotize the resource closest to being finished.
Crafters no longer need to have a specific recipe set. Just dump the resources into them and if the resources match an unlocked recipe it will be automatically crafted!

[h3]Bug Fixes:[/h3]

Fixed decryption finished event tripping the bug manager to pop up.
Fixed unreadable text on some of the info popups do to coloring constraints.
Fixed shader error on region boosters, which would make the shader extremely bright.
Fixed damage numbers getting frozen in world in some instances.
Fixed force closing UI's getting frozen on screen in some instances.
Variety of other bugs fixed indirectly by numerous core system improvements. Please let me know if certain bugs carried over from v0.1.4, as I will priotize fixing these first.

The initial rollout of v0.2.0 is focused on the improvements made to the pre-existing game. Multiplayer has been kept out so that I can ensure the new library & database system are working flawlessly, alongside all these other notable improvements made over the last few months.

The content portion of this update will release once everything (including multiplayer) has been tested and marked as stable enough for live. This will let everyone enjoy the new region & other content additions on a stable build, without annoying networking or game breaking bugs getting in the way!

If you have any further questions, please do let me know. This update has been quite the undertaking, but was an extremely important step in Vectorio's development.

Discord: https://discord.gg/vectorio