Stormworks: Build and Rescue News

Fix - removed accidentally included unfinished components

Dear Stormworkers,

Today we release the new dual-wheels minor update.

Many wheels now have a "dual" option in the properties, adding a second wheel to the hub. This is useful for truck creators who want doubled up wheels on hubs, as can be found on real life rigs.



This update also includes some useful minor fixes. Please see the patch notes below for details.



Over the rest of the year, we are planning 4 more minor updates, as well as a major update (more info in a few weeks!). We are working on some larger minor updates with some exciting new components for next year, as well as more major updates.

Much love
The Stormworks Developers



Patch Notes

v1.12.4

Feature - #4418 Dual Wheels
Dual wheels are now available as a property on advanced wheel components
Fix - #20107 AI Helicopters no longer try to land while unloaded
Fix - #25242 Orbital emergency missions now expire
Fix - #25308 Winch audio now stops when disconnecting a rope
Fix - #25781 Chat triggering radio item sound effect
Fix - #25745 Network connect event ordering now allows for kicking a player in onPlayerJoin
Fix - #25843 Dynamic objects initial network data (Fish/Creature ball at starter base)

Dear Stormworkers,

This update introduces two small but useful logic changes:

Variable Speed Winches

Winches now have a number input to modify their operation speed (additively with respect to the base winch speed, so that 0 input means the speed is unmodified, while -1 would reduce speed and +1 would increase speed).



Handle Output

Handles now have an on/off output to signal if a player is currently holding a handle. This change is generally useful where players can now get things to happen simply by holding a handle. This state could be used to open a door, release a connector, etc.



As well as these changes are some fixes and improvements, please see the patch notes below for details.

Last week we asked for thoughts and advice from players on how we do announcements in the future. We want to say thankyou to the many players who gave their time to help us on this. Many of the responses were very well written, obviously with a great deal of thought and some even with professional experience. We are considering your feedback and are going to think about it for a bit, potentially making changes in the coming months. Thank you for the help!

Much love
The Stormworks Developers



Patch Notes

v1.12.3

Feature - #11450 Winch speed input logic node for medium and larger winches
Feature - #5290 Occupied bool logic node for handles
Fix - Rotor light-grey accents rendering with colour in preview
Fix - #24690 #25665 - Addons not defaulting to mission tag when uploading to workshop without any locations
Fix - #25455 - Fixed positions of various mission zones
Fix - #25721 - Reduced refuel mission fill requirement
Fix - #25763 - Added old save compatibility for creature missions

Dear Stormworkers,

Weekly Announcements

In the development studio, there is always something really exciting going on. Perhaps it's a new minor update that players have been asked for, an important fix, a new major update, or increasingly, something on the new game.

We want to share this excitement and fun with players! However, we are also mindful that the way we share this information has a big impact on how much joy it brings players. For example, if we share info on updates that won't release for a long time, or could be cancelled or changed later on, this can just be frustrating.



Our strategy is to develop the new feature, test it and get it ready to release, and only then, think about telling players about it! If its a smaller update such as a minor update, it seems better to announce it as we release it, or if its a bigger update, then a few weeks warning to get excited seems to work best.

This does leave us in the situation where, despite there being loads of interesting things going on, there is often no specific thing releasing imminently and ready to announce. This results in the occasional waffling announcement with no juicy new info, and this too can cause friction with players who are understandably disappointed with the lack of value in the announcement.



Our strategy isn't the only way, and "roadmaps" are common in other games where developers explain their general ambitions for the future. This does create a risk for these developers of under-delivering if their plans don't work out, but otherwise answers a lot of questions.

We post here every week, as we alternate between update releases and informational posts. We are considering dropping the informational posts when there is no specific info to release, meaning that some weeks there would be no communication.

What are your thoughts on this? Would you prefer less frequent announcements in preference to more valuable info? Is there a better strategy that we should adopt? How should we communicate with players?



A Shout out to the Creators

We are often asked who made the creations from the screenshots! These screenshots are from the #vehicle-showcase channel in the official Discord server. We don't say who created the vehicles because it is very difficult to know. On the Discord channel, we can only see who posted the image. Many images are vehicles that are not released on the workshop. Its common for players to collaborate, meaning a vehicle can have many authors. Many images are also of players experiences in single or multiplayer and the person posting the image isn't the one who made the vehicle in the image. These creations often took a huge amount of work to create, and it would be hurtful to see someone else given credit for your work. As with many things in life, it is best not to say something if you can't be sure that you are correct!

This doesn't mean we don't appreciate the hard work and skill that creators are putting into their vehicles. Thank you to everyone who posts their content in #vehicle-showcase, you are amazing, and an inspiration to us.

Much love
The Stormworks Developers

Dear Stormworkers,

This minor update includes some subtle reworks, as well as some fixes and improvements.

Pumps and valves now have a logic node that provides flow rate information.

Generally this update is small, but the changes will be useful to many players, so its worth checking out the patch notes below.



Join us again in 2 weeks for another minor update with some new minor features, and then again 2 weeks later for a particularly exciting minor update!

We continue to work on our minor updates, major updates, as well as the new game. For Stormworks, there are some great updates on the way, that we expect will be really important positive steps that players will love, and we look forward to sharing these updates over the coming months.

Much love
The Stormworks Developers



Patch Notes

v1.12.2

Feature - Flow rate logic node for pump and valve components
Rework - #2450 Doors are now interactable from a seat
Fix - Regular rx components tagged as DLC only
Fix - #24725 Vehicle editor budget label not updating with undo/redo
Fix - #24899 Reconnecting peer's network id, flashlight and audio data not rebuilt correctly
Fix - #25100 JSI fuel pumps havering above floor
Balance - #25065 Reduced volume and balanced range of fluid pump sfx