Stormworks: Build and Rescue News

v1.9.20

Fix - Resolved crash when deleting vehicle from vehicle editor

Dear Stormworkers,

It is update week! This week we have one small feature - end effectors can now cut ropes!

We have also replaced grass with snow for the xmas event, which has been frequently requested, and was in such high demand that one player (briish) even managed to mod this into the game themselves! Very impressive.



During the xmas event each year, some decorations will appear at bases, rain will render as snow, NPCs will often dress up in seasonal outfits, and now the grass and trees will appear with snow. This event is locked based on the date.

Otherwise, this update is mostly bug fixes and improvements. Please see below for the full list of changes.



Behind the scenes, we have finished the framework for the vehicle unit testing system, and are now working on creating the unit test vehicles.

As we discussed last week, we have a big list of stuff to work through and will be releasing minor updates with fixes every 2 weeks as normal.



We look forward to your thoughts and feedback on the new update!

Much love
The Stormworks Developers



Patch Notes

v1.9.19

Feature - End effectors now cut ropes (#19287 #18207 #12104)
Feature - #6069 Changed grass to snow for Xmas
Balance - Updated heat rate based on volume for heaters inside compartments
Rework - Identical notifications now stack
Fix - Debuff icon rendering stacking
Fix - Map center revealing on game start
Fix - #21808 Fluid cannon pressure issues
Fix - #21628 Fluid hoses clogging
Fix - #22878 Fixed server side workbench interation for static vehicles
Fix - #22856 #23334 Fixed static behaviour for addon spawned groups
Fix - #21872 Jet engine turbojets applying force in space
Fix - #22811 Steam pistons now base their power on steam pressure instead of volume

Dear Stormworkers,

This week is announcement week, with minor updates planned for next week 8th December, and also every two weeks following as normal.

Next week is mostly fixes and improvements, but does include a minor new feature. While we are using the majority of our time for fixes, we are reserving a small amount of time to introduce smaller new features, and plan to add something new on average every 4 weeks.



We are also planning the usual free major updates, and next year should bring 4 of these. We are carefully listening to players, and next years majors will be highly requested features. We have plenty of work to do here, but we are really excited and expect they will make a huge difference to players.

We are not currently planning more DLC for Stormworks in 2024. Our focus will be on quality improvements and highly requested features.



Work continues on 'Not Stormworks 2'. If you are not familiar, 'Not Stormworks 2' is a new game that we are working on. Only one thing is known for sure: it is NOT a sequel to Stormworks! Stormworks will continue for a long time, and isn't affected by this other game. We will announce more info in 2024.

Much love
The Stormworks Developers

Dear Stormworkers,

This week's minor update brings many fixes and improvements to Stormworks!

These are important fixes that players have requested on the issue tracker. Many thanks to all the players who shared their feedback!

In a couple of months, we are planning to merge the dedicated server into the main game installation rather than having a separate Steam product. This simply means that server.exe and server64.exe will be installed with Stormworks, rather than the separate Steam App where they currently exist.

To help server communities, there will be a long transition period and we will be listening to their feedback. As we understand, it should be a simple process to make minor changes to their install scripts. We will let you know when the transition period starts with more info on what to do if you run a server.



The reason for this change is to ensure that the server and the game updates at the same time, removing the risk of an error where the game and the server may have different versions for some period of time.

The other reason is that Valve have released some new security measures requiring 2FA via SMS to update the game on Steam. This means that automated pipelines can no longer push updates, and a person with the right permissions must be standing by with the phone to confirm each release for each app.



I am not convinced this makes any sense. The SMS confirmation isn't required for beta branches or workshop uploads which can also go live directly to players, and its broadly agreed that automated release processes are less prone to errors than those involving humans. However, we love Valve and we appreciate they are just trying to make Steam as safe as they reasonably can.

Please see the patch notes below for full details on this update!

Much love
The Stormworks Developers



Patch Notes

v1.9.18

Balance/Rework - Wide scale adjustments to fluid pressure and flow through doors
Balance - Rebalanced water jet energy conversion to better match old behaviour
Balance - Reduced air scoop reaction to wind and velocity
Balance - #23038 Rebalanced engine cooling and heat
Balance - #22867 #22872 Reduced large firebox and diesel burner coolant capacity and reworked heat transfer to be higher in larger boilers
Fix - #22752 Improved flow in restricted scenarios, apply flow limiting after resolving fluid islands
Fix - Crash when attempting to offset the physics position of a group where not all vehicles were loaded
Fix - Turbojets no longer apply force in space
Fix - #22917 Weapons AI autocannon tanks not firing
Fix - #22510 #23023 Updated weapons AI boats and fixed AI captain raycasts colliding with character physics
Fix - #22191 Resolved default disaster siren not containing a battery (running out of electric)
Fix - #21163 Fixed sharks dragging characters through thin walls
Fix - #20947 Ordnance type default value
Fix - #23109 Keep active block functionality for vehicle groups
Fix - Flush addon script deferred events immediately before triggering initial autosave after onCreate
(Some addon data based on onVehicleSpawn callbacks missing if load initial autosave of a game)

Dear Stormworkers,

Next week we will be releasing another minor update focused on fixes and improvements.

Fixes will be included for the following topics:

Trading add-on, keep active blocks, enemy AI, large fire box, diesel burner, water jets, underwater doors, air scoop, turbo props.

We remain determined to clean up all these issues for good, and there is plenty of other stuff that we are also getting to, that players have reported on the tracker.



Thank you to everyone who have reported issues and helped us resolve these problems!

If you are experiencing an issue with a component not listed above, have not reported it yet, and have a simple example, please do get in touch via the in-game "report a bug" button. We want to make sure we are aware of all remaining issues so we can get them resolved as soon as possible.

With the above said, we have made huge progress, fixed the majority of problems, and fixes are for increasingly rare issues.

We are also working on the unit test system and should have this integrated into our process in the next few weeks.



Fixes and improvements remain the priority, but further ahead we are planning some great new content and features which are highly requested. 2024 should be a great year for updates!

Much love
The Stormworks Developers