Version 0.190 has a lot of changes, so I'll reverse the recent trend and go over the highlights of it first, then drop the full changelist below.
FLYING PARTS
There are 4 significant new flying parts (5 if you include an XL version), and an updated Vacuum Turbine to be an alternative to Thrusters. Adding flying parts to the game changes the dynamic of the "gameplay" significantly, but so far there's not much to do with flying vehicles in the game, aside build them and fly around 1 map. All the islands in the game don't really feel big enough to fly on, so I created a new procedural ground plane generator, and updated the level editor to support larger maps. And added some new effects to make flying feel better. And created a map that actually feels big enough for flying. There were many worms in the can that is flying parts, and I don't think I'm done figuring out what to do with them all.
Either way, here's where to start: Go into Sandbox mode (now loads Desert Test by default), and load up the Showcase Vehicle: First Flyer (3rd column on the bottom). That's a new vehicle that uses a lot of new parts, including 6 wings. It's not a great flying vehicle, but it introduces some of the basic concepts for the new parts. The thing that's probably the strangest for Instruments of Destruction is how I handle wings/propellers. I made them omni-directional, so it doesn't matter which direction they spin/move through the air. Wherever the top of the wing/blade is, that's where it'll move when it spins/moves through the air. It doesn't make sense for aerodynamics, but it makes building vehicles easier.
RESIZABLE PARTS
After figuring out how to get pistons and suspension to have more variable sizes, there were a number of other parts that made sense to add with variable sizing. Each category has required some pretty specific code changes to get each variation working, but it should be easy to add more resizable parts in the future. There are now Solid Pipes (normal and large) that can be variable length, a Flex Panel that has variable length and width, and a Flex Wheel with variable size. There will be more resizable parts in the future, and I'll probably unify how they are sized to some extent. They kind of remove the need for certain other parts, but I'm not going to worry about that yet...
CAMERA IMPROVEMENTS
I've been putting off camera improvements for a while, but I finally started somewhat down that path thanks to a bug that Scrapman found. It started by fixing that bug, then with some changes to how save/restore points work (one existed before, but it was barely usable), then I finally improved Follow cam so it is no longer completely embarrassing. I also added IKJL as controls to move the camera around with the keyboard.
FLOPPY AND BREAKABLE VEHICLES
I've had requests to make vehicles breakable for a while, though I've resisted because the game is about destroying buildings, and having indestructible/super-tough vehicles is a way to stand out from other games where you always have to worry about whether your vehicle is stable/solid enough to work. But I recently realized I could make a quick and weird version of breakable vehicles by inserting breakable fixed joints between every (solid) part. So that's what I did. It's only available in Sandbox mode (advanced mode, select the cab) and it is NOT a serious feature, because of how wobbly the vehicles get, but it's kind of fun to mess around with. It works better on smaller vehicles than larger ones, and you probably want to turn up Joint Stabilizer (which is now easily accessible when selecting the cab). Once you turn it on, you can adjust how breakable the vehicle will be as well. At some point I may improve/expand on this feature (particularly once local two-player support is in), but for now it's just a little bonus thing.
WHAT EVEN IS THIS GAME?
Between the logic parts last week, all the new stuff this week (didn't even mention gears are in now), and all the level/structure editor stuff that's hard to learn but quite powerful, Instruments of Destruction has a lot of POTENTIAL things you can do with it. That's what the game has had all along: potential. It is very much a Sandbox game, and I've embraced that, but at some point I need to add more content for people who aren't as into building things on their own, or exploring Steam Workshop. Building a vehicle is also pretty complex, with so many more choices and advanced features than it started with, and I haven't even added multi-select or copy-paste yet. Those features will make complex vehicles faster to build, though it won't really change the possibilities as much as anything from the past few weeks.
With all this new stuff smashing into the game recently, I need to take a break from it and just let everything simmer for a while. I'll be doing little fixes, and probably adding some more (easy) parts over the next few weeks. I've been alternating between Instruments and a side project for almost 2 months, and overall it's helped my enthusiasm and productivity on both games. Rather than a less productive but constant slog, I've been doing the most productive work of my life. That is split across 2 games (about 50% each since the end of August), but I've been at least as productive on Instruments in September/October as I was in any month since February.
The overall plan on the roadmap is still the same, and the timeline is too (1.0 in second half of 2023). Happy to answer any questions/concerns, but let's finish up for now and see the full set of changes...
VERSION 0.190 CHANGELIST
NEW PARTS
- Added new parts: Propeller and Propeller XL - Gets more lift from spinning than movement
- Added new part: Wing - Gets more lift from movement than spinning
- Added new part: AeroFlap - Tries to keep the vehicle moving in the direction of the flap (forward+backward)
- Added new part: Gyroscope - Much stronger than real gyroscope, with separately adjustable spin dampening as well
- Added 3 new parts: Power Drivetrain, Fast Drivetrain, and Axle - Added support for multiple connections on the 2nd half of a joint piece, so these are like swivels with multiple connectors
- Added 2 new parts: Solid Pipe and Large Solid Pipe - Adjustable length pipes (Use E and Shift+E to change length)
- Added new part: Flex Wheel Fixed - Adjustalbe size wheel (use E and Shift+E to change size)
- Added new part: Flex Panel - Variable sized panel in length + width
- Added 4 new parts: Gear 10/12 and Gear 16/18 (expand 10->12 and 16->18)
- Added new part: Magnetic Plate - No more cages to trap Steel Orbs
- Added new part: Fixed Bomb S - contract Fixed Bomb
PART CHANGES
- Increased maximum vehicle parts to 1200
- Added Thrust modifier for Turbine Vacuum (up to 5x thrust compared to previously)
- Increased max distance to 500m for the distance sensor
- Added new modifier to Fast Swivel/Piston: Ramp Speed (how fast it gets to full power)
- Added Inflate Speed modifier to Balloons
- Added Joint Stabilizer shortcut to Cabs so you don't have to go to Options to change it (still a global option)
- Fixed distance sensor light not working (same with arrow always being red)
- Fixed distance sensor not being active in build mode
- Fixed toggle swivels ignoring independent motor
- Fixed Power Swivel S doing nothing (not sure when it broke, but it's fixed now)
GENERAL/CAMERA CHANGES
- Added Floppy + Breakable mode to Sandbox if you want to have a breakable vehicle (see above)
- Improved follow camera so it is less jittery, better for nearly all situations/vehicles (not great, but stll way better)
- Updated/improved camera save/restore (Tracking/Free mode)
- * Use Shift+F7/F8/F9 to save positions
- * Use F7/F8/F9 to restore positions (shows valid restores in upper right)
- * F6 restores previous position from the last time you played
- Added IJKL as camera movement keys (in most camera modes)
- Increased max draw distance by 3x
- Added groundwash effect for moving quickly over the ground (visual effect)
- Added ground effect force boost when using a Heli Blade or Wing near the ground
- Forced box colliders on level meshes to have a thickness of 1 in every dimension (fixes treads collision issue)
- Sped up camera follow speed for Tracking camera mode
- Updated first showcase vehicle and moved crystals away from trees on Pisces
- - Still not sure why trees are leaning over randomly
- Made CTRL affect all camera mouse movement with middle mouse button/wheel (5x speed)
- Added First Flyer as a new Showcase Vehicle (replaces Triple Threat)
EDITORS
- Made it possible to zoom WAY out in the editors
- Removed speed-based camera shake in the editors (slightly reduced in-game)
- Added new ground-plane generator for non-water using maps
- Added shadow distance modifier to environment settings in island editor
- Added HIDDEN IN-GAME and EDGE SUPERFILTER options for loops in ground editor (so you can generate grass/rocks on the ground plane that fade nicely)
- Fixed some issues with the editor and orthographic mode (way more usable for island editing)
- On maps with no water, added a surrounding dust effect when the player goes fast