Hello everyone!
We collected a bunch of your questions from Steam and our socials, and Tom (aka TotalXclipse) is here to answer them for you!
Not every question got an answer, as there are a couple major points we can't quite talk about yet, like the release date of the 1.0 update and details about the new game mode – though we'll have a dedicated video for the latter soon.
Watch the Q&A here:
If you'd rather read through the Q&A, continue below!
Topic: Community
How frequently can we expect news from you?
We're currently planning content around the lead-up to launch, which means, I can't give you a definite answer, but we're planning a minimum of 1 to 2 videos – along with a written devlog – per month plus some shorts!
Will you be playing shapez 2 on your channel?
Unfortunately not. We don't want to blur the lines between me as a community manager and my own content. So we feel it's best to keep clear separation between the two.
Will you be active on the official shapez 2 discord server?
I'm on the Discord, and will be keeping an eye out on the goings on there, especially the epic builds in the gallery! Yes, I see you Hybrid, but the content is my first priority.
Can I speak to the community manager?
As mentioned, I'm on the Discord, so feel free to @ me in the appropriate room.
What's your favourite shape and are there plans for new and more shapes?
My favourite shape is anything food related, so that means anything that looks like a slice of melon or pizza for me! As for plans for new shapes... Well, you may be in luck but that's all I can say for now.
What topics are you going to cover?
I'll be providing updates on what's coming but also give you all an insight on what goes on behind the scenes when developing a game but that's just the start, we really want to share more as a studio in the long term.
Will the devlog release cadence remain or will you replace that entirely?
We know a lot of you love the Steam devlogs, and we don't want that to change. If anything we want the content that we provide on here to supplement the devlogs, catering for those who prefer to watch than read.
Topic: Update 1.0
Are there big plans beyond 1.0 and will the upcoming updates remain free? Are paid DLC's a possibility in the far future?
Really valid question, with the release of 1.0, we plan on developing some smaller updates which will be free for the community as well as a future Puzzle DLC.
Will the game "naturally" teach us how to work with wires, logic gates, and that "side" leading to automation in shapez 2?
Speaking to Tobias, most likely not because it's quite a sophisticated topic, but what he has in mind would be for me to create a 'wires tutorial' video that we could produce on this channel and recommend directly in game.
Is there a buildable planned that can both merge and split at the same time?
We have considered this, but not found a satisfying way to show this with our open machine design, but it could be a great mod idea.
In earlier versions, as the player moves farther away from the center, the graphics gradually become very noisy and start to behave strangely. Has this issue been resolved in version 1.0?
Unfortunately we will not be able to fix this, it's called floating point precision issues and would require re-writing our whole rendering code to fix it, which isn't feasible at this point.
Will there be another objective, such as sending off x amount of shapes per minute?
There is a new game mode, which we'll be talking about in a future video which does have a different objective to the classic mode. That being said, I think your suggestion would be another opportunity to make a great mod.
Will large factories be more optimized?
The game and engine are already being pushed to their limits on what we can do with it, that being said a few optimizations are definitely planned. We’re really happy with how the game performs but given the game has infinite resources and space to build, there will always be players who push the limits. After all, the factory must grow. That being said we are constantly improving and optimising the game for all factories, big and small.
Are you planning a console release?
For the time being we have no plans for a console release, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen further down the line.
Will 1.0 have controller support?
Unfortunately not, as it's quite a big feature to add, Currently the game has over 150 keybindings which makes it really difficult to condense into a controller layout without requiring considerable rework to the HUD. The same goes for Steam Deck.
What kind of mod compatibility will be available?
This is quite an open question, and one that is a little above my technical understanding, but speaking to Tobias, they mentioned the modding system will support dependencies between mods, and supported version ranges. So quite a bit more than in shapez 1!
Whilst we’re talking about mods, for those who are interested in modding the game, we currently have a modding beta which can be accessed through the Discord and you’ll find the official modding documentation linked to that.
One of the concerns we've received is that the biggest need at this point is for us to segue from the game in early access to launch and with a new game mode, that might not sit well with the community and more importantly would benefit from months of playtesting and feedback.
Firstly, after a fair bit of consideration, we’ve decided the current game mode will still be playable as the default experience. Secondly; I can confirm there has been playtesting with the new game mode, and more importantly the feedback has been positive overall, providing it's own distinguished experience to enjoy; but don't worry, we'll be talking about the new game mode in our next video and devlog.
That's everything for now! Stay tuned for more update details in the very near future.