Rebots News

This patch is mostly improvements and fixes to already existing features, but there are some nice small new features here and there, so check them out ;)


[h2]New Progression System - Hiring Supervisors[/h2]
We have implemented a new system for hiring supervisors before specific missions to introduce the first system for progression in Rebots. The glibs (currency) earned from completing jobs can now be used to hire supervisors on the spaceport before flying to new and exciting adventures.

• Added hiring supervisors into the progression of the currently available 5 levels
  
• Added glib cost for hiring supervisors on the hangar doors above
  
• Added failsafe to restrict players flying to the next mission unless they have the right supervisors in their crew
  

[h2]New Sounds[/h2]
We have a lot of new sounds in this patch across every aspect of the game - the tools, aliens, speech, ambient sounds in the spaceport and more.

• Percussion is now added to the music, when a full connection loop is made between all currently available supervisors, to signify max efficiency.
  
• Added sounds for the tools (Logistics, Crew, Scanner)
  
• Added sounds for the aliens while talking to them (Poople, Trevor, Shopkeeper Imp)
  
• Added sounds for the alien landings (Poople and Trevor)
  
• Added dynamic sounds for the Musiker supervisor based on what resource it processes
  
• Added sounds on the spaceport in the hangar and the canteen.
  
• Added footstep sounds for all rebots - workers, supervisors, companions
  
• Added sounds to Grumpy Volcano
  
• Various other misc. sound changes
  

[h2]Tools[/h2]
The tools from the previous prototype now have cool looking new models, animations and sounds and many more usability improvements.

• Logistics - Clicking on connection lines between two supervisors will highlight them and remove those connections.
  
• Crew (renamed from HR tool) - Spawning distance has been capped as well as the selection menu was redesigned for better usability
  
• Scanner (renamed from R&D tool)
  

[h2]Levels[/h2]

• Mushroom Garden: Fixed a bug where the alien landing would trigger after 1 of the goals was completed.
  
• Mushroom Garden: Added a landmark on the level
  
• Mushroom Garden: Added a new putdown area for one of the objectives
  
• Frozen Splitter: Added tutorial event for the splitter to explain how it works
  
• Frozen Splitter: Fixed a bug where a custom placed tree trunk would have floating snow on top of it.
  
• Grumpy Volcano: Fixed Suckafly behavior so they are attracted to the Musiker’s workings, therefore making the completing of the level easier
  
• Grumpy Volcano: Fixed a bug where the volcano would not constantly increase pollution on the level
  
• Grumpy Volcano: Changed the color of the gas coming out of the volcano to black to distinguish it more from the normal pollution effects
  
• Grumpy Volcano: Added suckafly nests for the suckafly eggs, from where they multiply
  

[h2]Spaceport[/h2]

• Added Basil, the bartender to the canteen
  
• Added shopkeeper Imp for the supervisor hiring process
  
• Energy counter (from levels) are no longer visible on the spaceport
  
• Extendo legs is disabled on the spaceport to avoid becoming one with the roof
  
• Added new members to the Poople and Trevor alien factions for different missions
  

[h2]Other Improvements[/h2]

• Added loading screen between spaceport and level loads
  
• Added a new completed job icon to the job descriptions on the dashboard
  
• Added already hired supervisors to stand behind the ship on the spaceport and move there after being hired
  
• Players can only interact with the launch button on the spaceship from inside the ship to prevent clicking it by accident from far away
  
• Replaced the goals on the C.A.T. face to show percentage for both temperature and pollution change
  
• Redesigned Mintnut resources to better distinguish it from Woolyphant poop
  
• Creating a connection to a supervisor now highlights the whole supervisor, not just its head. Connecting is still only possible to the head.
  

[h2]Squashed Bugs[/h2]

• Fixed a bug with highlights visible through walls on the spaceport and on the spaceship
  
• Fixed a bug with the procedural spawning process to prevent a certain resource from spawning in a given area
  
• Fixed a bug so conversation pop ups will now hide tutorial text while the conversation lasts
  
• Fixed a bug where soapear cacti would highlight with the Logistics tool equipped
  
• Fixed a bug where changing a tool while being facehugged by the cat would not allow players to progress
  
• Fixed a bug where the head of the MoveTo supervisor is interactable when getting the job for the Frozen Splitter
  
• Fixed some UI texts updating properly after aliens landing across all levels
  
• Fixed a bug where the radial menu of the Crew (was HR) tool describes supervisors with programmer language. Designers looked at it as promised and renamed them.
  
• Fixed a bug where the Scanner (was R&D) tool scans the soapear cacti and not the soapear resources themselves.
  
• Fixed a bug where there were two Pooples in the Cantina after the tutorial level if the player talks with the poople after Alien landing.
  
• Fixed a bug where loading back into the spaceport sometimes pushes the player to the corner of the spaceship
  
• Added many more small improvements and fixed issues with animations, AI and sounds
  

[h2]Known Bug[/h2]

• Pressing the “New Game” button disables some sound effects in the game. We are investigating this issue as it is related to some engine problem. If you would like to play from the top
  Windows: Go to C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\LocalLow\FlatPonies\Rebots and delete the “Save” file in that folder.
  Mac: Go to /Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/FlatPonies/Rebots and delete the "Save file in that folder.
  

[h2]Tools Prototype[/h2]
The largest feature in the build this week, the tools prototype is a new way of interacting with the supervisors and the world in Rebots. This prototype is very experimental, so we would love to hear your thoughts on how this works to interact with the game.

We have three tools available in the prototype (we might change their names in the future and their visuals will also get updated if the functionality works):

• Logistics - Use this tool to move supervisors around and establish connections between them (Already in use in the Tutorial level)
  
• HR - Use this tool to spawn the necessary supervisors to solve the challenges of the job (Introduced in Mushroom Garden Level)
  
• R&D - Use this tool to scan resources, critters and supervisors in the world to gain more information about them (Introduced in Frozen Splitter level)
  

Note: the rest of the features are all work in progress, so any feedback is welcome on them.

[h2]2 New Levels - Mushroom Garden & Grumpy Volcano[/h2]

Mushroom Garden: We added a new level (2) between the tutorial and the Frozen Splitter levels, to introduce the HR tool and the PutDown Supervisor.

Known Bug: The alien landing happens when you complete one of the goals on the level, but finish both goals to ensure you can continue playing the other levels.

Grumpy Volcano (very WIP) - We added another level (4) between the Frozen Splitter and Woolyphant Orchard levels to introduce the Musiker Supervisor and Suckaflies. Will be polished in another update.

[h2]New Critter - Suckaflies[/h2]
We are (re)adding suckafiles to Rebots. A new type of critter that flies around the place, lays eggs for various purposes and well as the name implies, sucks up various gases. Scan them at the Grumpy Volcano level with your R&D tool.

[h2]New Dashboard for showing information about the active job[/h2]

We heard the feedback about having to choose planets on the dashboard being difficult and an extra step with the new gameplay loop, so we have replaced that system.
When you are going into the ship, you’ll see your currently active job on a bulletin board and you just have to press the big red button to get started on the job.

[h2]Aliens Landing[/h2]
After you complete jobs, we’d like you to reap the rewards of your labour. Therefore, once jobs that you get from various aliens in the spaceport are completed, they will land on the asteroid and get themselves comfortable. It’s their home now.

[h2]New Sounds[/h2]

• Workers, supervisors and aliens now have sounds for when they are walking (the workers are the cutest)
  
• Sounds for the Alien Landing sequences
  
• Ambient sounds in the insides of spaceport buildings (Edit: from the sound designer: They add reverb now, but there isn't actually any new sounds in the spaceport buildings yet).
  

Known bug: Pressing “New Game” button disables some sound effects in the game (alternatively to using the new game button, you can wipe your saves in C:/Users/USERNAME/AppData/LocalLow/FlatPonies/Rebots by deleting the “Save” file in that folder)

• Spaceport: Explore the new layout and check out some new buildings such as the market or the Rebots Corporate office
  
• Reworked Tutorial and Frozen Splitter levels to align with the new tools prototype and aliens landing
  
• Aliens in the spaceport and after landing are a bit smarter because they got AI chips implemented
  
• Climaforming: the lerping of the colors between the different temperature now works across the board (and it looks stunning)
  
• Fixed some colliders and raycast issues on the spaceport so you can’t interact with stuff through the walls (although that was pretty cool - also Julie cannot get behind the bar anymore through “conventional methods”)
  
• Removed black shutters on the spaceship while flying
  

• The head of the Frozen Splitter level job giver is interactable, so click the body instead. You won't regret it.
  
• Mushroom Garden: Alien landing happens after one of the goals is completed and the job description on the pinboard says deliver 10 mushrooms 3 times. UI programming is a thankless job.
  
• Some UI texts are not updated after aliens landing, so it just repeats the job description. UI programming is (again) a thankless job.
  
• The radial menu of the HR tool describes supervisors with programmer language. Sorry, we’ll have a designer look at those. Also, icons are not updated for all supervisors yet.
  
• The R&D tool scans the soapear cacti and not the soapear resources themselves. Needs to be adjusted.
  
• There are two pooples in the Cantina after the tutorial level if the player talks with the poople after Alien landing. They are like amoebas. One of them has a hat though.
  
• You are still able to interact with some stuff through the walls on the spaceport. Unity layers are playing tricks on us.
  
• Clicking the cat when there are multiple goals shows the recipe and not the goals. Silly cat.
  
• The tutorial job giver poople is a bit shy, so it’ll take 5-6 seconds for them to look at you.
  
• Loading back into the spaceport sometimes pushes the player to the corner of the spaceship
  
• The job descriptions update simultaneously the “Urgent” and “Completed” messages when new jobs are completed on the first 2 levels
  
  

Regö/@FlatPonies

Lovely players! So happy for your feedback so far - please keep it coming
Today's update includes more elaborate tutorial text such as focus on the ReBeeBot and much more:


And we have also fixed the connection to the PickUpRebot as that was a taaaad wobbly:


AND we somehow encountered mushroom in the Frozen level...and we know that's no good, so we fixed that too :D mushroom and ice don't go well together...we have been told...

Cannot wait to hear from you again! Post here on the Steam forums or join our Discord and chats with us there: http://discord.gg/ZVVZQyB

Much Love!

Julie/@FlatPonies

You lovelies told us that especially C.A.T. was hard to catch (kinda like my own kitty), so Jake tweaked both C.A.T. and D.O.G. so they stick around for longer and don't run away (that much) when you approach them to look at their screens. Tell us what you think/feel!


Much Love,

Julie/@FlatPonies