Major Optimization Update
This update rebuilds the entire AI navigation system with a smarter, faster one from the ground up — allowing for more overall performance. Focused on some small things as well as the large system just mentioned.
Additions
Hamster Recovery: Hamsters now recover if the ground beneath them is destroyed, moving to the nearest safe spot instead of floating in the air
Placement Preview: Machine placement preview now works on all surfaces, not just terrain
Placement Types: Machines now support placement types: Terrain Only, Any Floor, Wall Mount, and No Restrictions
Material Variants: Block colors now support material variants — each color can have an optional alternate material (e.g., Glass) toggled with V
Drone Destruction: FPV Drone can now destroy machines by holding Q, with the same hold-to-destroy mechanic and combo speed bonus as on foot
Maxed Upgrades: Maxed-out upgrades now show "No More Upgrades" instead of disappearing from the selection screen
Blueprint Achievement: Now retroactively unlocks for players who collected 10+ blueprints before the achievement existed
Optimization / Changes
Batched Navigation: Navigation updates are now batched every ~15 seconds instead of on every block placed or removed
Localized Recalculation: Navigation only recalculates the area around changed blocks instead of rebuilding the entire map like previously
Async Loading: Save loading is now fully asynchronous — objects load in batches instead of all at once, eliminating the freeze on load
Save Protection: Auto-saving is blocked during loading, preventing save corruption mid-load
Quit Safety: Quitting mid-save now waits for any background file writes to finish before performing the final save, preventing data loss
Drone Exit Key: Drone exit key is now Tab
Fixes
Fixed hamsters floating upward due to incorrect ground detection
Fixed block painting only applying the color tint and ignoring the actual material — transparent and specialty materials (e.g., glass) now render correctly when placed
Fixed the sled constantly falling through the map
Fixed wave defense hamsters not properly detecting the ground
Fixed hamsters no longer being spooked by the player
Fixed machine placement preview locking to the last placed position instead of following the crosshair
Fixed trap cages spawning with a hamster already inside
Fixed tubes not cleaning up when their connected machine is destroyed
Fixed tube cleanup not triggering during loading, which previously caused tubes to self-destruct before their machines had spawned
Fixed tubes only clearing one side of their port connection on removal, leaving stale references that blocked new connections
Fixed machines not returning to your inventory when destroyed after loading a save