Volcanoids News

Hey everyone!

We got a lot to cover: the release date, preview branch, how the workshop works, and more!

So first things first, the Workshop Update drops...

[h3]October 18, 2021[/h3]

That's less than a week from today!! Phew, we got some work to do.

[h3]Live on Preview Branch[/h3]

That being said the update is now available for testing on the Preview Branch. So if you feel like checking the mods RIGHT NOW, you can! Just see the "How to play with mods" section below.

We created a Workshop forum and a bunch of modding channels in our Discord so feel free to discuss everything workshop related there.

All patch notes will be posted in the Preview Branch forum and our Discord leading up to the official release next Monday.

Lastly, keep in mind that some stuff is not final yet and will be fixed before the update releases.



[h3]Giant Drillhead[/h3]
To keep up with the Spooktober spirit we added a Giant COG with a drill for its head. Used the Pyramid Head from Silent Hill as a reference. Mod link



[h3]Lava Factories[/h3]
New type of building that will can be found around lava pools. Mod link



[h3]Skins[/h3]
A variety of new skins will be available. Mod link



[h3]Submarine Driving[/h3]
Take the submarine for a drive. But don't scratch it! or the Captain will kill you. Mod link



[h3]New Enemy Type[/h3]
Mod link



[h3]COG Armor[/h3]
Apart from being able to take more damage, they will also give the crew buffs such as faster production. Mod link



[h3]Dancing[/h3]
When the eruption drops. Mod link



[h3]And many more...[/h3]



It's really simple. Just follow this guide once and I bet you will remember the steps from then on.

1. First, you need to be on the Preview Branch, the screenshot below shows how to switch branches.



2. Start Volcanoids and click on the "Mods" button in main menu and then the "Open Workshop" button.



3. Steam overlay will open on the workshop page. Here you can browse all the available mods. Easy way to check if the mod is "official", meaning it's made by the dev team, is to see the author. If the author is the Captain, then it's from us and the mod should 100% work (don't quote me on that tho haha).



4. Once you find the mod you want to try, just click on the green "subscribe" button.



5. Then use the SHIFT + TAB combination to hide the Steam overlay and the mod will appear in the mod table. Now you just click the checkbox and click the "Apply Configuration" button.



6. The game will restart and you're good to go. To double check if the mods applied when you start a new game this table with mods should appear telling you which mods are you playing with.





For anyone who would like to start making mods, we put together this guide that goes into more detail on how to set everything up: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2625530587



[h3]Can we play multiplayer with the mods?[/h3]
Yes! The way it works is that the person who creates the server has to choose the mods (as shown above) and then anyone who joins him/her will automatically download those mods without having to do anything.

[h3]Which mods are from the dev team? [/h3]
As mentioned in the guide, the mods that have Captain as the author, are from us. We call those the "official mods" which just means that they should do what's stated in their description, shouldn't break anything in your game, and that we will continue updating them. Check out all the official mods

[h3]Why don't you just add this to the vanilla game?[/h3]
The reason is that with the workshop in place, we have this fast prototyping ground where no idea is too crazy to be done. Anything can be quickly put together and checked out in the game without having to worry about how it will affect the gameplay for everyone. Things are not super polished, and bugs can appear here and there.

This is a huge shortcut in development and a powerful tool that can give us a better idea of what you guys like and want in the game. If a specific mod becomes super popular, you bet we will consider adding it in the vanilla game! We look at it as an opportunity to create a new form of communication between you and us.

[h3]Why adding the workshop now, is the development coming to an end?[/h3]
Not even close haha. The reason why we're adding workshop now is similar to why we added multiplayer so soon as well. Because it's real pain to add it later on in the development when there might be some stuff implemented that didn't take workshop into account etc.



Hope everything is clear! If not drop a question below, harass me on Discord, whatever works for you and I'll try my best to help!

Have a blast with the mods, don't break them too much, and keep an eye out on our socials. I'll be leaking some more stuff and got some giveaways planned too!

Cheers everyone,

- Rich and the team

Join the community on Discord
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more sneak peeks and teasers
Subscribe to our Newsletter to get notified only when there's a new update release or dev log

https://store.steampowered.com/app/951440/Volcanoids/

[h3]Heeello everyone[/h3]

It's good to see you again! Hope you got some rest and enjoyed the summer! We certainly did but we've also been busy with the upcoming update coming next month.

As the title suggests, it's going to be the WORKSHOP UPDATE and once it's out, you'll be able to mod pretty much anything in the game. And I mean ANYTHING.

Don't believe me? Well, let me show you some of the mods we've been working on:

[h3]Character Skins Mod[/h3]

There's a bunch of cool skins that you and your friends will be able to choose from using a wardrobe device in your drillship.



[h3]House Interiors Mod[/h3]

Finally! With this mod, you will be able to enter most of the village houses.



[h3]Captain getting his well-deserved rest... Mod[/h3]



[h3]COG Armor Mod[/h3]

Wear the skin of your enemies.



[h3]Gun Mods[/h3]

Bunch of modded guns will be ready at release but we are preparing everything you could possibly need in order to easily create more.



[h3]Turret Mods[/h3]

Same thing I said about the modded guns applies to turrets too.



[h3]Toxic Eruption Mod[/h3]



[h3]Decal Mods[/h3]

Got a bunch of decal package mods ready for you as well but you'll essentially be able to take any picture and import it in the game to use it as a decal.





[h3]And more to be revealed soon...[/h3]



[h3]Update when?[/h3]
As mentioned in the beginning, the update will come sometime in mid-October. We still want to polish the example mods, update Volcanoids mod SDK and create more documentation on how to create your own mods. Will let you know once we set the exact date.

[h3]Why don't you just add this to the vanilla game?[/h3]
The reason is that with the workshop in place, we have this fast prototyping ground where no idea is too crazy to be done. Anything can be quickly put together and checked out in the game without having to worry about how it will affect the gameplay for everyone. Things are not super polished, and bugs can appear here and there.

This is a huge shortcut in development and a powerful tool that can give us a better idea of what you guys like and want in the game. If a specific mod becomes super popular, you bet we will consider adding it in the vanilla game!

[h3]Any features coming to the vanilla game in this update?[/h3]
Very few and mostly related to quality of life. We've decided to postpone some of the other bigger features to focus all our energy on making the workshop as easy to use as possible for anyone who wants to play with mods or create them. But don't worry, all the postponed features will still be added to the game in the coming updates.



Hope that answered your questions! If not, drop them in the comments, as well as your ideas for any other mods that you'd like to see. I will get into more detail about how to use the mods and create your own as we get closer to the release.

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks on our social media since I still have some pretty epic mods up my sleeve that haven't been shown yet.

Thanks for the support everyone and take care!

- Rich and the team

Join the community on Discord
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more sneak peeks and teasers
Subscribe to our Newsletter to get notified only when there's a new update release or dev log

https://store.steampowered.com/app/951440/Volcanoids/

[h3]Hey everyone![/h3]

Got a new dev log for you with bug fixes that went live today and more importantly, our plans for the next major update that revolve heavily around workshop! Let's take a look, shall we?

Version 1.25.338.0

The main fixes were focused on issues with turrets not being able to counter COG attack waves. It got solved by increasing loaded ammo for each turret type, meaning the turrets spend more time shooting and less reloading. Next to that, all COGs with mortars have lowered range by 50% meaning that every turret except shotgun can now reach a unit shooting mortars at it.

The second major issue reported by the community was being stuck in the spectator view above the harbor. It was caused by an issue in save files that were created in the previous version.

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed issue where players got stuck in spectator view above submarine after load
  
• Fixed issue where drillship in save files created in 1.24 did not have the default paint jobs applied
  
• Fixed issue with copy-pasting color values and settings
  
• Fixed missing scrap recipe for the Dispenser device
  
• Fixed scrap recipe for Saw Gauntlet
  

[h3]Changes[/h3]

• COG mortar weapons range lowered by 50%
  
• Increased HP of all default modules by 80%
  
• Increased amount of loaded ammo in all turrets, meaning they can shoot longer before reloading is needed
  

Together with the coldfix update, we would like to announce that we're working on Steam Workshop support!

Development started in parallel with the recent Customization Update, and we got to a point where in order to progress with final implementations, it had to go public on Steam. By announcing the development, we want to avoid confusion where players see it on the Steam page but it has nothing in it yet.

Even tho there is already a lot done, it is still not ready to be fully released. If all goes well, it will be released in the next update as one of the main features.

[h3]Mod Examples[/h3]

To give you an idea of what you can expect from the Workshop, please see the following examples that are already done and being tested. Huge thanks to Alex and Greg from the community for creating them!

Passive Health Regen
- with this mod, your health will passively regenerate at all times (but very slowly)

No Stamina
- there's no stamina, so you can sprint without having to take breaks

Unlimited Core Slots
- your drillship will have unlimited core slots which will allow you to open all your modules at once

The community has often requested a way to remove the core slots and allow to have all modules opened. While we can't officially add it due to performance reasons, with the mod above it will be possible!



The mods will allow you to make minor adjustments to game-play or adding completely new devices, modules, weapons, etc. The decision is up to you!

[h3]Modding Support Assets[/h3]

But this is not all! The goal is to give modders the best tools possible so that they can tweak the game in any way they want. We are still working on guides, example mods, and support game assets to make it as easy as possible for anyone to mod the game.

To again give you an example, see the following pictures that represent shape galleries for weapons. These files will be publicly available, and anyone can use them to create new assets for the game. This way, you don't need to be a professional artist yet still achieve designs that fit the game visual.



By combining the shapes, you can quickly and easily create many cool weapons! The goal is to make modding as easy as possible for anyone interested.



And here are pictures from the game, as seen by the player. Behold the four-barrel shotgun!!! Again, all put together from the shape gallery. The same process will be applicable to other things like cosmetic interior devices (not just weapons).



We are still working on Unity engine support so that you can create mods in the same environment as game developers. That should make a lot of things much easier for everyone.

Once the Workshop is out, we will provide several example mods of weapons, devices, modules, and pretty much anything that needs to cover an area of the game. You will be able to use them as a starting point for your mods and get them up and running much faster than if you had to build everything from scratch.

[h3]Sharing Drillship Paintjobs[/h3]

Together with all the above, the drillship customization will also get an update. Based on all the awesome designs you did and shared on Steam and Discord, there will be an option to share anything you create with the community. You will be able to publish your design ideas to Steam workshop, where anyone will be able to download them and use them in their game.

Many new decals are already in production based on community concept art. Such as the dragon and skeleton decals that look super awesome!

Dragon paintjob art creds to Qwasich





Skeleton paint job art creds to lucyrocketdog





That's it for this dev log. As always if you have any questions, feedback, or ideas, let us know below. And stay tuned on our socials for more sneak peeks!

Take care everybody,

- Rich and the team

Join the community on Discord
Follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram for more sneak peeks and updates

https://store.steampowered.com/app/951440/Volcanoids/

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]The time has come...[/h3]

The Customization Update is now live and to celebrate the release Volcanoids is 20% OFF!

Let's take a look at what the update brought this time!



[h3]Color Customization [/h3]

This feature has been requested for a very long time and we're really excited to finally add it! With the addition of paint tool, you can now change the color of the drillship to ANY color you want! Don't want to have the entire drillship in one color? That's cool too, you can change the color of each part (drill, wings, etc.) separately. Or have a blend between two or more colors horizontally or vertically. You can even go as far as having each module in a different color (you lunatic).





Oh, and you can even paint the interior if you want.



[h3]DECALS[/h3]

But wait there's more! Along with colors, you can also add decals with the paint tool and place pretty much anywhere. The decal library offers everything from simple shapes to a freaking steampunk octopus.







[h3]New Drills[/h3]

From now on, each time you install a new drill upgrade, the drill is going to completely change its visual. The laser drill is the tier 4.



And here's the tier 2 (left) and 3 (right).



[h3]Melee Weapons[/h3]

The first two of many melee weapons have been added: The Saw Gauntlet and the COG Pickaxe!





[h3]Gunner Seat[/h3]

This one's reeeeally fun! Just build it anywhere in your drillship and take manual control of any of your turrets. You can easily switch between them with the scroll wheel, close them, open them and even choose which one should be accessed first when you use the gunner seat.



The UI inside the turret gives you all the info you could possibly need such as reload cooldown, turret health, ammo, and a small guide in the top left corner.



[h3]Lingering Fog[/h3]

After the eruptions, the island is now going to be covered in a thick fog for some time reducing your vision significantly.



And for that occasion, we also added the shoulder light that you can deploy with the "N" key.



[h3]New Devices[/h3]

3 new devices will be making it in this update that you can build in the interior as well as on the exterior of the ship.

The dispenser spews out 3 items of your choice from the ship's inventory so you can just quickly grab them on the go.



The medic and armor station will replenish your health/armor instantly after using it. You can use each one 4 times before there's a cooldown.



[h3]Item Dropping[/h3]

Finally, you will be able to drop stuff on the ground. Not a big deal for singleplayer players, huge deal for co-op players!



[h3]Additional Patch Notes[/h3]

• Damaging modules from the inside is going to deal much more damage than from the outside
  
• Shoulder light and drillship remote call hotkeys next to the toolbar - many players has no idea they can call their drillships to nearby landing sites remotely
  
• Remaining module marker - marks the remaining modules on almost destroyed drillships, making it easier to spot that one roof module that is overlooked
  
• Backpack above soil - backpacks now get pushed up, it should no longer get stuck under soil hills when ship leaves a landing site
  
• Water damage over time - water will no longer instakill you, instead will deal low damage
  

I would highly recommend you to consider checking out one of the two paint tool guides below. Even if you just want to learn the basics.

Since we wanted to give you the freedom to create pretty much any paint job you want, the system can seem complex at first. But once you get the hang of it, it's really straight forward and these guides are going to massively help you with that.

Here's a video guide from Tomas with timestamps going from basic to advanced stuff:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

And here's a written guide from TheFireDragon:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2489200340

Really hope you enjoy the new stuff! As always, if you got any questions, feedback or suggestions, don't hesitate to let us know in the comments or on our socials.

Have a blast y'all!

- Rich and the team

Join the community on Discord
Follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram for more sneak peeks and updates

https://store.steampowered.com/app/951440/Volcanoids/