Version 0.255 features a significant part of a different sort: The Particle Effects part. I'll go over in more detail below, as I'm going to continue doing the expanded changelist-style of updates for these vehicle-focused changes.
PARTICLE EFFECTS PART
Added new part: Particle Effects
- Strength affects particle count, push/pull strength, and explosion damage/force
- Trails use strength to affect their lifetime, and amount is divided by 5
- Push/Pull are not particles, but a force applied to some particles
- Distort particle FX is different: strength affects size (diameter/spd no affect, amount = opacity modifier)
- Optional explosions that apply force/damage can also be used (these are always omnidirectional currently)
- Repeat timer set to 0 means no repeating, low values (0.01/0.02/etc) should be used with caution
Expanded sfx library for speaker to 22 sounds (previously 8)
Added camera shake and vibration strength adjustments to speaker
Added new part: Overlapper - stack up to 5 parts on a single connection
Each Particle Effects Part (PEP, in the Activated category) can generate two different particle effects at once, though some of the settings between the different particle types overlap in odd ways, so often you'll want more than one PEP.
The actual amount of particles generated depends on the particle type (smaller ones generate up to 8x more actual particles than it says), but in general it's not too hard to figure out and adjust accordingly. There's even a "Test It" button so you can try out the settings in Build Mode (explosions can destroy the buildings before gameplay starts), though it ignores the Repeat Timer in build mode. Here are a couple of the more unique particles that use the parameters in a different way:
Distort1a/1b - The distortion effect is always a single particle, but it uses the Amount value for the opacity. The strength affects the size.
Trails1/2 - These generate particles over multiple frames, and the amount is actually divided by 5 (and rounded up).
Push/Pull - These apply forces to most particle types. NOTE: Applying a force to a particle on the same frame it's generated doesn't always work.
To supplement the particles, I expanded the "Basic" Speaker so it has a lot more cool stuff to play with. In addition to 14 new sounds of various kinds, it can also create a screen shake, and for the first time in Instruments: You can also vibrate the controller. It also gains the Repeat Timer and Test It options [Using Repeat Timer with low values + loud sounds is not recommended.]
Finally, the last supplemental change for the PEP is the new part: Overlapper (Decorative category). It's a stupid part really, but it has 5 connectors overlapping on one side, so you can stack parts more easily without having to copy/paste a bunch of Flex Connectors.
ROUNDED FLEX PARTS
Added new parts: Flex Light R and Flex Panel R
- Like flex panel/light but with circular shapes and scale setting
-- Flex Panel with style of 5-9 uses different scaling (keeps dome shape)
Reduced minimum length/width to 0.3 (from 0.5)
These parts are essentially the flex panel/light, but with a new circular base shape and new scaling parameter added. The scaling is applied before the mesh is stretched out. The Flex Panel actually isn't a panel for the last 5 styles. In that case it's a partial dome.
WHEELS AND TREADS IMPROVEMENTS
Added reinforce option to all wheel types and treads
Added tread/powered wheel paremeter: Auto-Braking - Changes how they behave in turns and when not pressing anything
- Also tweaked response when reversing directions
- Changed default tread track material to slippery (doesn't really affect handling), and made it actually use the material override
Added 4th mesh options for flex treads (A3 is intentionally minimal)
Fixed wheel size collision issues (tiny, giant, flex)
All treads and wheels (except the Flex Wheel) now have a Reinforce option, and it helps with joint stability. Even Steering wheels, which already had a Reinforce option, benefit from the new type of reinforcement.
The second significant change is the addition of the Auto-Braking option to Powered Wheels and treads. This lets you change how the wheels behave when turning and when no throttle/reverse is applied. The default is None, but the new options are Partial and Full. I may change the default to new parts to be Partial in the future because it feels like a better balance to me.
Treads also received a 4th mesh option for all slots (A through E). I had a couple requests for the last base mesh (A3) to be essentially empty, so that's pretty much what it is.
OTHER TWEAKS/FIXES
Changed how direction sensor limit works to be consistent with other logic parts with ranges
- Should hopefully adapt previous settings to new limit style
Added proximity sensor-relative motion for Repulsor (Emitter Channel)
- If not 0, it finds the first Proximity Sensor with that channel, and applies forces/torque relative to that parts' orientation
- Useful for complex builds where you want to move something relative to another
Removed No Effects from treads (conflicted with reverse tank steering, not useful enough to keep for now)
Fixed an issue with material overrides not being used
Tweaked Breakable Connector break point strength downward to more reasonable values
The notable changes here are changing how the Direction sensor displays/uses limits, and the Repulsor Drive getting another mode. If Camera Relative is disabled, and the Emitter Channel is set to a non-zero value, the forces from the Repulsor Drive will now be relative to the first Proximity Sensor with that channel. This will make it a lot easier to move objects relative to each other without excessive amounts of logic and sensors.
That's all for this time. No predictions/etc this time about what will be next.