Hi there!
We've been more quiet than usual since we're working really hard on the 1.0 update of the game right now!
I have to admit that with all the workload, I haven't found enough time to keep up the devlogs at a more regular pace. However, I have some ideas that might vastly improve this, but that's something for the next devlog.
Anyways, I wanted to give you an update how things are progressing and what you can expect for 1.0!
Right now, the team is 120% focused on the 1.0 release of shapez 2. We're making really good progress, so I'm hopeful we can give more updates on it soon-ish! The 1.0 update, especially with the new game mode, grew way more than we initially planned, which is why it also took much longer than expected. Some of the improvements you can already find in this devlog :)
After the 1.0 release, shapez 2 will move into a "Live-Ops" mode, where we will provide regular updates and also have some ideas for DLCs - the first one being a shapez 2 adaption of the puzzle DLC (this time with more built-in puzzles though - sorry again for that!).
In parallel, we're also sketching out some ideas for a potential future project, another factory game, which will be less abstract than shapez 2 and a bit more ambitious. So there will be 2 teams in the company - one working on shapez 2, and one prototyping this new project. Which brings me to the next point:
We're currently hiring for 3 new positions, and more in the future - If you'd like to work with us (why wouldn't you! right?) this is your opportunity!
Game Designer: https://8bitplay.com/jobs/game-designer/
Executive Producer: https://8bitplay.com/jobs/executive-producer/
Senior Technical Artist: https://8bitplay.com/jobs/senior-technical-artist/
Even if those don't fit you, if you are generally interested I recommend to follow our Company LinkedIn Page to get notified when new positions arise!
The now-called manufacture mode is progressing nicely and we've started to do some really early testing with our patrons already. However there are still a lot of issues and it's not fully playable yet. Once we make more progress, we'll slowly move towards closed beta tests, and then an experimental branch on Steam.
The key change of the manufacture mode is the introduction of 'converters', which require one specific shape and give you another shape that you can not produce. We have a specific devlog planned for just the manufacture mode, so I won't go too much into detail here. However, I have a few spoilers for you at least:
We already added most planned achievements to the game, so these will be in for 1.0!
We started with the more simple achievements, so these are the ones we have currently implemented: Spoiler: ...........
On top of that, we hope we can add a few more unique achievements if our dev team has some time left!
Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments about anything that seems off or missing, or numbers that don't match!
The modding support now is almost finished, and Lorenzo is working on the last bits so we can finalize it - we'll follow up once a beta is available, to give early access to interested modders!
Modding will use the steam workshop, as after our testing with mod.io we weren't really satisfied with the integration. We've also learned from feedback in shapez 1, so the modding system is a lot more elaborate, supporting dependencies between mods for example.
Be sure to join the shapez 2 discord if you want to get notified once we're ready! Work in progress screenshots:
Dimitri is working on restructuring the onboarding so it works for both the manufacture and classic mode - and so far it looks very promising in our playtests!
The new onboarding gets you into action much quicker, and instead of throwing a lot of videos and tooltips in your face, you get contextual hints that you can access on demand:
We are also currently restructuring the knowledge panel into categories, to make it easier to find articles and content (the content is a placeholder - but you get the idea). Especially for newer players we've noticed that otherwise it can be really hard to find what you are looking for.
We're also experimenting a bit with introducing windows to the game:
However, we've run into a few technical challenges with them, which means we might not be able to get this actually sorted out for 1.0. Be sure to share your thoughts though, on whether you think this would be a good feature we should invest time in!
Dimitri is currently working with Noah on some improvements on the Space Floor Building. One of my favourite experiments is automatically switching the space layer while zooming towards a platform:
This is still quite experimental, so let's see if we can make it work!
Max, Nigel and Natane are working hard on replacing all of the placeholder assets, and their recent changes included the fluid launchers! They now finally are on par with the other visuals in the game:
They are also working on other stuff in the meantime - including a space pipe visual rework and generally improvements to the visual fidelity - but more on that in a future devlog!
To set expectations though: Unfortunately we ran out of time to rework the space pipe mechanics, so for now they will have to work with just a visual rework instead of a functional change (i.e. consistent liquid flow). However we'll make sure they at least look different enough from space belts and try to make them look more fluid-ish.
Max started to make some drafts for new visuals for the wire buildings - but those are still WIP and we are not really certain we can get them reworked before 1.0 still. Anyways, I wanted to give a little teaser:
We're also experimenting a bit with the map generation - for example:
We don't know if this is fun to play, but we'll keep experimenting! Starting from 1.0, this will be an option in the map generation as well:
That's it for today! Unfortunately I can not give any release date for 1.0 yet, but I can say that with all the work remaining, it will definitely not be this year anymore - we want to make sure the 1.0 release is really great and meets your expectations!
~Tobias
Thanks to Avernar on Discord for the shot used in the cover art!
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