Rebots News

This patch updates the past 2 and a half months of progress for the Rebots Demo to play for free for all players. Enjoy :)

Feature Highlights from the March & April Update

• Job & Asteroid Field Generation Rework
  
• New Supervisor Interaction Paradigm
  
• 3 New Supervisors - Sorter, Dispatcher & Combiner
  
• Storage Hauler
  
• Codex & Multiple Clients
  

Click on the links below for the patch notes for those updates:
March Update April Update


[h2]Dynamic Objective UI[/h2]
In Rebots, all jobs are procedurally generated, which means when accepting a job, the player should be aware of what kind of job they are accepting. The dynamic objective UI now adds each objective to the UI while the conversation is happening, so that players can be more informed about the job they are about to take.
[h2]Recycling Rebots Rework[/h2]
Before this update, if a player wanted to spawn a new worker or supervisor, they would use the crew tool. In order to recycle them, they would have to move it behind the ship where they would be terminated. We wanted to streamline the spawning/recycling process, so we moved the recycling functionality into the crew

[h2]Partial Controller Support[/h2]
We have added controller support to various places in the game - we specifically focused on the asteroid selection, shops, menus where possible and the codex when configuring supervisors. There are still improvements to be made on this front, which we will be addressing in a later update, but for now the game should be playable with a controller.

• Improved the AI of all rebots - supervisors, workers and the storage hauler - to accommodate the new supervisors and mechanics
  
• Added a new model for the codex and it can be viewed on the asteroid selection screen as well
  
• Added new UI elements and animations for the Switchboard UI which shows up when connecting supervisors together
  
• Improved the navigation on the menus to avoid incorrect selections
  
• Reworked the 2nd tutorial level to accommodate the new way of recycling rebots
  
• Reworked the circle of influences of supervisor to accommodate the new supervisors like the combiner and the hauler which have multiple inputs and outputs
  
• Added scanning information for various flowers
  
• Replaced the light green hologram with a white outline for rebots before they are spawned
  
• Fixed a bug where connections would not go into the antenna of the dispatcher supervisor
  
• Fixed a bug where the combiners face would show merryberries with no recipes selected
  
• Fixed a bug where the combiner would collide with the ramp when in the hiring garage and would not disappear after hiring it into the crew
  
• Fixed a bug where the Switchboard UI would show up behind the green pollution gas
  
• Fixed a bug where the Trevor alien would spawn before the ship arrived through the portal
  
• Fixed a bug where the player could not buy the scanner from Sybastian during the tutorial
  
• Fixed a bug where the text highlighting would stop working after the 2nd tutorial level
  
• Fixed a bug where starting a new game would disable some audio events
  
• Fixed a bug with text breaks in the crew tool’s wheel selection
  
• Fixed a bug where pressing Tab would not close the codex
  
• Fixed a bug where hiring the new supervisors would trigger the wrong conversation
  
• Fixed a bug where ship upgrades 3 and 4 were missing from the shop
  
• Other misc. Fixes
  

DISCLAIMER: Saving & loading is not integrated yet into the new job generation. This means that once the player quits to the main menu/desktop, the state of the game will not be (entirely) saved. We are still working on this to have it integrated as soon as possible.

If you have feedback, let us know here on the Steam Forum or on our Discord Server.

Rebots Devs / @FlatPonies

In the last release (March Update) we introduced a variety of new features such as the storage haulers, the codex, multiple clients and more. A month later, we have another update and this one is really exciting because it sets up lots of possibilities for Rebots future. Let’s dig in!

Note: This Update is only available on the “rebotsplaytime” beta branch right now

[h2]New Features[/h2]
[h3]Job & Asteroid Field Generation Rework[/h3]
Based on the feedback on the previous release, we knew that we needed to improve how the jobs and asteroid field are generated - so that’s what we did. The first part of this process was to create constellations. Constellations are collections of asteroids. They are the neighbourhoods for the aliens. We’ll be expanding on these constellations in future updates. The second part was making our job generation smarter. This is very important because we want to make sure that the jobs are interesting, varied and challenging depending on where the players are in the game. Additionally, we needed to reduce the possibility of “soft locks” - where the player would get stuck with a job that is not completable with the available asteroids.

• Added new constellations to the asteroid selection increasing the total of available asteroids to around 20
  
• Created new job generation algorithms to ensure better variety and challenges
  

[h3]New Supervisors & Interaction Paradigm[/h3]
Supervisors are one of the most important elements of Rebots. In this update, we are introducing 3 brand new supervisors to play with as well as we are updating the storage hauler from the previous release with a brand new model. With the introduction of these new supervisors, we needed to also adjust the interaction paradigm across the board.

Supervisor Interaction Paradigm and Configuring Supervisors

• In order to support the new and future supervisors, we redesigned how the supervisors function from the ground up and we have created the following principles:
  
• Each head of a supervisor is an input
  
• A head can have multiple incoming connections
  
• Some heads have multiple outputs. This requires 2 steps of interaction from the player and is solved by a brand new Switchboard UI
  
• Players can configure supervisors by walking up to a supervisor by pressing [E]
  

All this new functionality streamlines how players interact with supervisors in Rebots and this modular approach allows us to iterate faster and create new supervisors faster going forward. Now let’s take a look at the new supervisors (and the upgrade hauler model)

Sorter
The Sorter (originally called resource splitter) has an important function - it sorts workers based on the resource they carry. This supervisor supports 2 output connections and the true connection can be configured with the codex by pressing [E]

Dispatcher
The Dispatcher (originally called the even odd splitter) opens up the automation aspects of Rebots. This supervisor supports 4 (yes four!) output connections and all its connections can be set up with the switchboard UI. Really handy when you want to send every n-th worker to a different direction and create a maze of connections.

Combiner
The Combiner (as the name suggests) takes a variety of resources and combines them into brand new ones. It has 3 heads - 2 inputs and 1 output. It can be configured via the codex by pressing [E].

Storage Hauler Model Upgrade
The Storage Hauler got a major facelift for this release - the feedback from the previous release was quite positive, so while the models have changed, the functionality is the same. Use it to transport resources between different asteroids. We are also moving the tutorial for the hauler earlier in the game to after completing the first generated job, so players get access to this crucial gameplay element as soon as possible.

[h2]Improvements & Fixes[/h2]

• Added new icons for the rebots in the crew tools wheel selection, the move flags and the tool description UI (bottom left of the screen when a rebot is selected)
  
• Added white outline holograms for all rebots when replicating with the crew tool which replaces the old green hologram
  
• Added a “Test Game” button for skipping the tutorial, so players that have already played through the tutorial can immediately get to the generated content
  
• Shopkeepers now turn towards the player when the camera is grabbed in shop view
  
• Added a feature where resources dynamically drop from the flora
  
• Increased the stock of resources to 999 in resource shops to avoid soft locks
  
• Fixed a bug where workers did not always put down resources around the PutDown supervisor
  
• Fixed bugs with some decals of the rebot move flags and the delivery zone
  
• Fixed a bug with the outline of the mintbush and the Trevor alien
  
• Fixed a bug where returning to the main menu changed the color of the ground
  
• Other misc. Fixes
  

Disclaimer: Saving & loading is not integrated yet into the new job generation. This means that once the player quits to the main menu/desktop, the state of the game will not be (entirely) saved. We are currently working on this to have it integrated as soon as possible.

If you'd like to give it a try let us know here on the Steam Forum or on our Discord Server.

Rebots Devs / @FlatPonies

PS. Here's a screenshot of a cute worker stuck on an orango tree ;) How did it get up there?

About a month ago we took part in the Winter Steam Games Festival and we got a lot of awesome feedback and we have been busy little workers working on some cool new stuff. We are very happy to share an update. Let’s jump into what’s new, improved and fixed in the update.

Note: only available on the “rebotsplaytime” beta branch right now!


[h2]Storage Haulers[/h2]
Storage Haulers is a feature that was a long time coming into Rebots. Haulers are meant to store different kinds of resources - merryberries, mintnuts, etc - and they can be used to transport these resources around the galaxy. This means that storage haulers open up a bunch of new possibilities in Rebots - complete jobs by transporting the necessary resources from one asteroid to another, buy/sell resources in the spaceport and more.

• Added a prototype hauler model
  
• Added a system for managing how many haulers a player has
  
• Implemented hauler persistence across different planets and jobs
  
• Added the hauler shop and animations to the shopkeeper and the imp turning the crank
  
• Implemented tow strength functionality that can be upgraded for the player’s ship in the ship upgrades shop to unlock more haulers down the line
  
• Implemented save integration of haulers and their content
  
• Created a tutorial introducing the hauler
  
• Players can now buy and sell resources in shops if they have a hauler to deposit/withdraw resources from
  

[h2]Codex & Multiple Clients[/h2]
The other large feature in this update is the codex - an information repository that we have plans to use a lot in the future for Rebots. In this first iteration, we have implemented the possibility of getting jobs from multiple clients (2 for now) and these jobs can be seen in the codex (press Tab after getting your first 2 jobs to open it). You can also set which jobs are active on the fly - in the spaceport or on the asteroids. We have further plans for what the codex can be used for down the line, but we’ll talk about those in another update.

• Added the codex (Tab) and adjusted the job generation algorithms to support multiple clients at the same time
  
• Created a tutorial introducing the codex and how to manage jobs with multiple clients
  
• Implemented UI to support branching dialogues
  
• Implemented a system for managing who the player is talking to in a dialogue and show that in the UI
  
• Players can now accept and refuse jobs when talking to potential clients
  
• Set default and consistent font size for text in dialogues
  
• Disabled "click to continue" prompt when player has options in a branching dialogue
  

• Improved the asteroid generation algorithms to solve various issues with terrain generation, elevation, spawning of entities and more
  
• Improved the job generation algorithms to make haulers necessary and to create more varied asteroids by using new models (various flowers) and a new resource (orango)
  
• Adjusted the economy in the game with haulers and resource trading in mind
  
• Workers will now dance when a mission is completed
  
• Workers and supervisors will bop their head to the beat of the music when all connections are setup
  
• Adjusted the text in the shops to fit better into the UI
  
• When leaving a shop, keep the camera locked until the transition is back to the player position
  
• Adjusted where multiple clients are spawning for jobs
  
• Added versioning to save files to keep track of changes
  
• Fixed a bug where UI selection can jump to off-screen UI elements in shops
  
• Fixed a bug where connection could be deleted between pickup and putdown by right clicking on them in tutorial level 2
  
• Fixed various bugs with highlights for objectives and interactables
  
• Fixed a bug where woolyphants could spawn in the ship
  
• Fixed a bug where the transaction UI shows an extra 0 artifact in the top of the screen
  
• Fixed a bug where asteroid selection loses inhabitant data when fully quitting the game
  
• Fixed a bug where clicking a lot on buy/sell/switch buttons and switching between different buyables in the shops increases the UI’s size
  
• Fixed a bug where the player should only get 10k glibs at the end of the 2nd tutorial mission
  
• Fixed a bug where shop transactions wouldn’t be displayed/act on the shop UI purse
  
• Fixed a bug where the objective list would not be properly ordered
  
• Other misc. Fixes
  

DISCLAIMER: There are ways to break the game in the update due to the economy and the player being allowed to make poor financial decisions. We have tried to account for most of these situations but it is still possible to end up in a situation in which you cannot progress. We will be able to avoid this by implementing features for the next update. Please do report these situations if you come across them - we’d love to hear about it.

If you'd like to give it a try let us know here on the Steam Forum or on our Discord Server.

Rebots Devs / @FlatPonies

Even though the Winter Steam Games Festival is over, we have another fix before continuing the work producing new content for Rebots. This one is hopefully going to help new and experienced players alike.



Added 2 new UI elements when the different tools are equipped to help players understand what kind of interactions are possible:

Tool Description UI (bottom left of the screen) shows information about selected items:

• Logistics tool: Shows the name and type of the currently selected Rebot
  
• Scanner tool: Shows the icon of the currently scanned entity (supervisor, resource, resource spawner, critters)
  

Tool Action UI (bottom right of the screen) shows possible interaction possibilities with each tool:

• Logistics tool: Dynamically shows the controls depending if 1) nothing is selected, 2) the body of a supervisor (or worker) is selected or the 3) head of a supervisor is selected.
  
  
  
  
• Crew tool: 1) spawn selected Rebot and 2) open crew wheel
  
  
  
  
• Scanner tool: 1) scan the object and 2) deselect the scanning
  
  
  
  

• Extended the tutorial module for scanning to better teach different things that are scannable
  
• Limited the climaforming objective completing before the player spawns the extra workers
  
• Suppress any tools until Sybastian gives them to the player in the beginning of the tutorial
  
• Increased the radius of the spacebus landing zone slightly on generated planets to ensure the recycling area is flat
  
• Updated the 2D visuals for Sybastian when you are in a conversation with him or when he is giving you an objective
  
• Fixed a bug where the pickup supervisor could not be spawned near the edges of the highlighted area in the first tutorial level
  
• Fixed a bug where the woolyphant and suckafly would stop animating on the main menu screen
  

Enjoy and let us know what you think here on the Steam Forum or on our Discord Server.

Rebots Devs / @FlatPonies

It's Tuesday and another update for the Rebots Demo - this time it's some balancing updates to some missions based on the feedback we've already received to better ease new players in + a couple of fixes here and there.

• Updated the visuals for the dialogue UI to be more aligned with the rest of the UI in the game
  
• Added animations to the sun on the asteroid selection screen so now it’s really pretty
  
• Reduced the size of the lines & warning signs on the asteroid selection screen for less clutter
  
• Updated the text for some objectives to better explain what is supposed to be done
  
• Adjusted the jobs available to make them a bit easier for better progression
  
• Updated some scannable items to better explain what they are/do
  
• Updated the second level of the tutorial to prevent a disconnection to assist new players
  
• Added various objective highlight on the second level of the tutorial for better guidance throughout
  
• Added new behaviour to Sybastian during the spaceport tutorial for better guidance
  
• Fixed a rare bug where in the spaceport tutorial, Sybastian would sometimes stop walking towards the canteen
  
• Fixed a bug where soapears would sometimes float if put down by workers
  
• Fixed a bug with colliders of the imps on the spaceport
  
• Fixed a bug where soapears would not align with the ground and sometimes be underground
  
• Fixed a bug where the decals (e.g. supervisor move flag and circle) would overlay on various objects (e.g. trees)
  
  

Enjoy ;)

Rebots Devs / @FlatPonies