After NINE months of development, we are beyond happy to announce that our next major update, Shared Workload, is now fully released! With Shared Workload you will now be able to play Online Multiplayer with your friends (and even your enemies - I won't stop you).
That's not all though, we have a tremendous number of other impactful changes all coming with it. We have already covered these in previous announcements, but we will recap them here, so that everything is all together in one place.
You can find the patch notes over here!
Important: Please make sure you have disabled all mods before playing Shared Workload. This update makes a lot of changes on the back end that will very likely make existing mods incompatible.
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer has been a long time coming. In fact, some of the networking code dates back to early 2019 - yes, it is that old! We've done our best to make multiplayer work and play great; that means you can easily join friends with all of the Steam features as well as directly in game and enjoy everything that is available in singleplayer. Additionally, you can join a world with someone you're not Steam friends with by using their Server "Join Code" or directly via IP. Once in-game we've made everything a collaborative experience, so progression is shared as well as upgrade unlocks like Ancient Technology, Void Matter and the newly added Trinkets.
Character Customization
Like multiplayer, character cosmetics are something that have been tinkered with from the very beginning and with multiple Ottos running around it was necessary to fully realize this in Shared Workload. James has worked hard to come up with a full cast of Golem skins for players to pick from, with different palette swaps for each. With Shared Workload there are twelve different core cosmetics to choose from at the Mainframe, and we have many more planned for future updates! As a special treat for this update and to celebrate multiplayer, all Cosmetic options are available right away (in future these will be tied to in game unlocks and progression). We're stoked to finally be able to glam up our Golems finally and hope you are too!
Base Decorations
Yet another long-planned feature, base Decorations have been in the tubes for a long time. With Multiplayer we wanted to expand on ways to deck out your homebase outside of the factory functions by introducing bespoke furnishings. Crafting Decorations is fast and convenient as they only use basic Matter (biomass, fabric, mana, metal, and mineral), with the full array of options found under a new tab in the Crafting menu. We have several thematic sets available already (with more planned), and like Cosmetics, all decorations are available right away (these will be unlocked via progression in 1.0).
Exploration Improvements
Throughout the majority of development as we've been working through our meaty list of systems and features, Exploration has been unreasonably neglected. We wanted to make it much more exciting and ultimately landed on introducing what we called 'resistances' and 'incentives' during development. The goal of both is to both challenge and draw the player out into the world and to help give more depth and consequence to the game. Our improvements include a new energy system, reduced initial jumping capabilities, fall damage, environmental hazards, Trinkets (equip-able accessories) to discover, and much more. This is just part one of the exploration improvements as we also plan to introduce more world content like side quests and new points of interest to explore. We recognize that exploration is not the primary focus of the game, but it is still a fundamental aspect that we want to continue to expand on and make more enjoyable! We hope you enjoy this first round of changes!
For returning players: It can be a little uncomfortable adjusting to new pushbacks, but some of the new Trinkets can really help offset some of these challenges... Please spend some time to adjust to things and let us know what is hitting and what isn't for you.
Trinkets
The aforementioned Trinkets are unique, global (unlocked for everybody) items that can be found throughout the world; each providing a unique benefit or stat bonus. Equipped at the Mainframe, you can pick and choose up to several Trinkets at a time to power up your Golem, to whatever suits your playstyle. Trinket effects include things such as stat buffs, an additional jump, negation to fall damage, and even increasing harvesting area to allow for up to 4x4 digging! Each Trinket has a point cost associated, so choosing your Trinket loadout requires its own optimization!
Updated Tutorial
One of our goals with this update was to revamp the tutorial system and untangle the main story from it. Ultimately, we landed on introducing a full-fledged quest system with a dedicated Journal that will allow folks to have better control over managing these and future activities, as well as manage associated unlocks and rewards. Please note there is no new story content in this update - for the next major update we are planning to add many smaller quests that will make use of the new system, as well as expand upon the world. There may or may not be a Quest Board popping up at a certain tavern... More on that another time.
Along with this new system and other changes to the HUD. If you're looking for your current quest progress, it's on the top right of the screen now and we are also adding something we've called Large Notifications. These are brief pop ups, separate from the notification tray that will display major events like unlocks and story progression, we think they're helpful!
Guidebook
Along with our tutorial revamp we are introducing a proper Guidebook that fills in the blanks with complicated systems that either don't quite fit into the tutorial or might require extra guidance to interpret. The Guidebook covers most of the advanced topics in the game - from the Toolbar to Phase Stations, with new additions unlocking at the appropriate times as you progress. We didn't want to break up the gameplay or create UI noise, so we've kept it as a separate window you can open anytime. We look at the Guidebook as an optional supplement that assists with clarifying/refreshing any details as needed and based on player feedback will continue to expand upon it where necessary.
Outro
Shared Workload is a huge step forward for AutoForge and we hope you enjoy it - regardless of whether it is with friends or playing solo. We fully recognize that there will be issues that need to be fixed and we will be doing our best to address them as quickly as possible. If you do run into any issues, then please report them either on the Steam Forums or on our Discord.
A HUGE thank you for all the wonderful beta and experimental testers who have helped us with this update. All the bugs, crashes and errors you have waded through with us - we could not have solved these issues without your help. Thank you for helping us make this update as good as it can be. <3
This is obviously not the last stop for AutoForge. In fact, we've already begun work on our next major update which is planned to be the coveted 1.0 Update. We still have a few things to plan out and are eager to hear your feedback on Shared Workload, but so far, it's set to be jam packed full of new content: including the conclusion of the main quest and a whole new tier in the tech tree. Once the dust settles with Shared Workload we will announce some more details and show you what we've been working on, but for now...
Let's get Building Together!
Jasson and James