Hey everyone!
I wanted to give you an update on what we are currently working on and what our plans for the future are!
First of all, the TL;DR:
Next update will be 1.0 and we are aiming for November this year, but not sure we can make it
It will have achievements & mod support (finally!)
It will have a new game mode that we think might even replace the default game mode
Now that we have the important things out of the way, let me go a little into detail.
1.0 Release - November?
We feel like shapez 2 is already in a very solid state, and some of you even argued that the initial early access release already reached 1.0 quality.
With the recent updates and current state of the game, we want to get rid of the "early access" label, as we felt it might imply the game might not be ready to be played yet, contains a lot of bugs and so on.
This doesn't mean we will not update the game afterwards, in fact we already have a lot of plans and ideas for post 1.0!
Right now we are already working hard on the release, and we hope we can get everything done in time so we can release it in November, but at this point we have no idea if we'll actually make it in time - so please don't be mad in case we don't :)
New (default?) Game Mode
The biggest complaint we get about shapez 2 right now is the persistency of factories. Many of you noted that having to tear down a factory you just built because the shape is no longer needed could feel bad.
It also means that the game can feel more like a puzzle game than a factory/automation game at times - nothing is inherently bad about that in the first place, but we felt we are also missing something for the ones of you that are leaning more into the factory game direction.
With this new game mode, we are focusing on enabling you to build permanent factories, where the factories you built in the beginning are still useful in the later stages of the game - so it's up to you to decide when you want to redesign, move or extend it, if at all.
It's still too early to go into details - so all I can give you today is a spoiler image with placeholder graphics - but keep an eye out for our upcoming devlogs, where we'll go into more detail!
Since we feel this game mode might be actually more fun than the current mode for new players, we are considering to make it the 'default' game mode that is suggested when you start a new game.
However, we'll only do so if this actually turns out to be the case after playtesting a lot, and the then called "classic" mode will also be available still.
Mods & Achievements
I've noticed a pattern where the comments under our devlogs more and more turned into an "Achievements when???" section, and I'm very happy to share that the 1.0 release will come with a good chunk of achievements! More on that in future devlogs ..
On top of that, we're already working on adding modding support to the game. We'll also start working together with interested modders ahead of the release to make sure there's some interesting mods on launch day already - be sure to join the discord if you're interested, we'll make an announcement there once we're ready to invite the modders :)
Right now we are planning to incorporate mod.io for the modding, but we will actually integrate it in the game, so you don't have to visit an external website (instead there's a mod browser in the game, similar to steam workshop), and it should feel 'native'. I know that some of you highly prefer steam workshop, but the main issue for us is cross-platform compatibility - if we ever would release shapez 2 on GOG for example, it would mean that that version wouldn't support mods for example.
However, again, we'll keep you updated in future devlogs about that!
Savegame Compatibility
Savegame compatibility is a big topic for us, and we also know that it's quite important for you! Since we have these big changes planned for 1.0, we wanted to make sure that we can find a fair compromise between being able to push for bigger changes but also maintaining some compatibility.
First, we did a few surveys on discord:
And here's what we came up with in detail - please keep in mind that while this is our current plan, it might still change:
Blueprints will stay compatible
The current game mode will stay available as a "classic" mode
Old "classic" mode savegames will not be compatible with 1.0 (most likely)
However there will be a '0.1.1-old' branch available on Steam where you can continue playing those savegames (similar to the dimension update)
The main drawback is that you will not be able to earn achievements or use mods when playing on this older branch with your old savegame. I know it's not great, but I felt it's a fair compromise so we can actually focus on implementing the new game mode and features instead of spending a lot of time on maintaining compatibility. We also don't intend to break savegames after 1.0 anymore as of right now.
That's it for today - enjoy your weekend, let me know what you think in the comments, and be sure to keep an eye out for future devlogs where we'll go into more detail about all the new stuff coming with 1.0!
~Tobias
Thanks to Binz Nakama on Discord for the screenshot used in the cover art!
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