Stormworks: Build and Rescue News

Dear Stormworkers,

This week is minor update week! We are branding this update as the "critical fix" update, as we have fixed a crash issue that was the most common crash for most players. We expect this update to greatly reduce crashes in Stormworks for many.



We have also improved the physics sensor with extra output data. After releasing the physics sensor, some players asked for output in a slightly different format, so we have now added this to help with making certain microprocessors. This format relates to how angles are measured.

Otherwise, this update includes a series of other fixes which are mostly minor.



Thanks to everyone who gave feedback to last weeks announcement. We have read all this feedback and it is really useful to hear players thoughts.

We hope these fixes help, and we continue working on more minor updates, as well as all the other stuff we wrote about last week.

Much love
The Stormworks Developers



Patch Notes

v1.8.4-5

Fix - Added protective code to address recent crashing issues related to oil spill data
Rework - #18678 Physics sensor angular velocity calculation updated and added additional tilt/compass outputs
Fix - #17556 Crash when teleported by an addon while in the workbench
Fix - #18474 getVehiclePos and addDamage now work with sub-bodies and returns the correct voxel transform
Fix - #18673 Chaff clouds not spawning in multiplayer
Fix - #18683 Flashlight rendering in photo-mode
Fix - #18846 - Updated Hyanen garage mission zone survivor transform
Rework - #19327 Disabled broken blue van mission location

Dear Stormworkers,

Last week was minor update week, so this week is announcement week! In this announcement, we will discuss the plans and strategies we have for game development over the next few years.

Stormworks

We continue our support and maintenance plans, with minor updates planned every 2 weeks, major updates planned every 4 to 5 months. We also have a new DLC planned for the end of this year.

Stormworks first launched its closed Beta almost 6 years ago, and we are still having loads of fun developing it. We have as many players as ever, and we plan to keep these updates going for a long time.

Minor Updates

The issue tracker is driving most of the content in the minor updates, as we work towards tackling the remaining bugs there. Of the remaining reported bugs, some are fixed and undergoing testing, while many are planned and their work scheduled. We are making steady progress and are usually solving at least 10 issues each minor update.

While bugs and the overall quality of player experience are our main concern, we are trying to introduce the occasional feature as an interest point for players. This can sometimes be a friction point with the community where some players feel that 100% of effort should go into resolving all issues. For this reason, we are thinking about dedicating most minor updates to bugs and quality, and keeping features for the major updates. As always, this is subject to player feedback. What do you think?



Major Updates

We have major updates planned and are currently working on content for 2024. We typically announce major updates with 3 weeks to go before their release.

DLC

We are working on one new DLC to be released at the end of this year. We can't wait to announce this! Exactly how and when we make this announcement, we don't know yet. We want to get a bit more development done but will share info as soon as we can.

Not Stormworks 2

As previously mentioned, we are also working separately on a new game! This new game doesn't affect Stormworks development and is a separate title.

This game is super early in development and is mostly ideas, prototypes, technology tests, designs and discussions. Its a very long way from any release.

Our goal is to make an awesome new building game, inspired by Stormworks, but also inspired by player creations, many other games, and our own new ideas. We plan to make far fewer features, but to a higher quality, with a greater level of finish.

Until we have a final name for this new game, we are calling it "Not Stormworks 2". The point is that while we love Stormworks, there is no point cloning our own game. Most of the features from Stormworks won't be in the new game, but that's OK because it allows the new game to be it's own thing, and allows us to be creative and introduce new ideas!

There are a lot of expectations around a Stormworks sequel, and this is something we have thought a lot about. It is best we focus those expectations on improving Stormworks itself. "Not Stormworks 2" is an ambitious building game, but it's a different thing and isn't intended to meet the expectations of a sequel. It isn't Stormworks 2!

Something we are very interested in for a new game is full modding support. We have been researching and developing some really cool technology that is aimed at a new approach to modding that gives full control and access to mod makers.



Player feedback is super important to us so please let us know if you have any thoughts on any of the above! We look forward to your feedback.


Much love
The Stormworks Developers

Dear Stormworkers,

This week is minor update week. This weeks update includes several fixes and improvements in response to player feedback on the support tracker.

For Industrial Frontier DLC owners, there are also new predator animals!



The new mountain lions and coyotes are similar to the existing wolves and bears. They are quick, aggressive, and very dangerous! Mountain lions can also attack NPCs in the rescue missions.

The new crocodile is a little like a shark in the water, except sharks cannot chase you up the shore onto the land! Crocodiles spawn in water but can also walk on land.



Please check the patch notes below for full details of changes and improvements.

We look forward to hearing your feedback on the new fixes and features!

Much love
The Stormworks Developers



Patch Notes

v1.8.3

Feature - Arid Island Predators

Crocodile
Mountain Lion
Coyote

Arid camp rescue missions can now spawn with a Mountain Lion

Rework - Stormworks crashes now have a submit crash dialog box
Rework - #19184 Always display component costs in editor

Fix - Random small oil patch rendering artefacts
Fix - Old save compatibility with new oil spill missions
Fix - Oil spill message spam on new spill

Fix - #17818 Crash when calling setAudioMood with invalid moods
Fix - #18936 Bullet casing direction for mirrored guns
Fix - #19188 Removed outdated logic popups for power and fluids
Fix - #19232 Fix vehicle thumbnails in save/delete confirm view
Fix - #19300 Updated pivoting and gimbal part descriptions to use turns
Fix - #19393 Removed invisible post physics at rail crossing

We have also added a link to the Geometa merchandise page to the game's main menu

Dear Stormworkers,

In this post, we discuss the upcoming changes to fluid pressure, and new support for compressed gasses. This update isn't planned to release for months, but we have been working hard on these mechanics and there is loads to discuss.

Context

Players have been asking for compressed gasses for years. We recently asked for community feedback regarding if we should rework this mechanic, with the condition that this would mean a change to the way the game works (hopefully of limited effect to existing vehicles). The feedback was overwhelmingly supportive of a rework to add compressed gasses.

The existing mechanics don't allow air to be contained in custom tanks, or be compressed into a smaller container. This isnt realistic but the idea is to make the game simpler. Where a container is already full of air, there is no space for fuel unless you allow air to compress, and also allow back flow, or add some kind of relief valve. The risk is that (like in real plumbed systems) you can get airlock where trapped air can block flow.



A New Approach

Simply adding special compressed air tanks isn't great, because it doesn't make sense that air behaves differently in different containers, and it doesn't match up with the existing simplified fluid flow and pressure mechanics.

So, it is better to rework the existing pressure and flow system to generally allow compression, and for flow and pressure to also consider compression.



Compression and Pressure

We are developing a new system where pressure is in real world units (atmospheres). Pressure directly relates to compression, where gas occupies a tenth the volume at 10atm compared to 1atm. By adding compression, and directly deriving pressure from this compression, you get a simple system that better reflects the real world.

Fluid flows from high pressure to low pressure. The rate of flow is driven by the difference in pressure, and once pressure equalizes, flow stops.

Compartments

Custom tanks and sealed areas can now contain air, and this air can be compressed and flow. This makes resolving flow through doors much more complex but has been interesting to develop. The existing mechanics only allow for fluid to overflow from one compartment through a door to the next. With compressed gasses, now you can have gas blow out or rush in, while fluid still needs to level out. This is quite complex: consider the situation where on one side of a door, there is high water level but low pressure, while on the other, there is lots of highly compressed gas but only a little water. What happens when the door opens, moment by moment?



Delta Height

Within pipe systems, currently delta height equates to pressure. This is a mechanic we plan to remove, because of the complexity it introduces, and how confusing it can be when playing Stormworks, especially with the introduction of compression. By giving compartments a single pressure value, its a lot easier to play and understand, compared to pressure being different based on height inside the compartment.

Airlock

If air can no longer be created or destroyed, this does mean that air can be trapped and build up pressure, or a lack of air can mean that a vacuum resists a tank from emptying fluid. This is the downside of this rework, as while it might be realistic, you may sometimes need to understand a bit about pressure and plumbing. We are adding new gas and liquid relief valves to allow air pressure to escape or be drawn back into vacuums to solve this issue. What do you think? Is this a more powerful fluid system or more difficult to play?

There is loads more to discuss, but this post is already quite long!

We are working on this update, many other new improvements and fixes, as well as major updates and a new unannounced DLC.

We look forward to your thoughts and feedback on this new info!

Much love
The Stormworks Developers

Fix - temporarily removed AI vehicles due to teleport issue