In this part of our Dev Deep Dive series, the team looks back on the trickiest systems to design in Modulus, and how we overcame the challenges. If you missed part one head here first to check it out!
Jarvs (Head of Comms): Welcome back to our deep dive interview let’s get right into it:
What has been the trickiest system or feature to get right?
David (Game Director): For me personally, balancing the building system has been one of the biggest challenges. All of the buildings in Modulus are constructed using the same blocks you produce in your factories. So, if a block is two by four by eight, that exact block may be used twenty times in a single building.
That’s really cool, but also really difficult. Not just from a design perspective, but also for Antoine (Art Director), who then has to actually make these buildings work with the available blocks and colours.
The production cycle of a building requires a precise percentage or amount of those exact modules. That was tough to figure out, but it’s worth it, because it means the game truly respects what players create. Instead of just magically placing a building, we’re honouring the shapes you’ve already built. It all connects logically, and that’s something I’m really proud of.
Jarvs: Yeah, it’s also really nice that what you’re making is actually being used, not just sent off into a void. When I first joined the company and played the game, I was blown away by that loop. I’m not a factory-game player by default, but even I found it incredibly satisfying.
In other games, I’d sometimes wonder, “Why did I even make that?” But here, you see your creations being used, and it feels rewarding. And honestly, it still amazes me that Antoine manages to turn random shapes into such beautiful buildings. He’s a wizard.
If you want to dive deeper into how Antoine and Thomas make the magic happen, we already have a great interview with them on Steam. Definitely worth checking out here.
Does anyone else have something that was tricky to design?
Thomas (Senior Tech Artist): Also, I think it might sound obvious, but honestly, every operator. Take rotation, for example. It was there in the prototype, then we completely removed it, and instead added orientation to every operator. Suddenly they all felt overpowered. You could just take two shapes, assemble them however you wanted, and skip half the logistics.
Finding the balance was really tricky. Too simple, and the game felt shallow. Too powerful, and one operator could do everything. We went through a lot of iterations to land where we are now; operators with clear, limited abilities, and more advanced ones introduced later that push the boundaries without breaking the fundamentals.
Mick (Lead Developer): Yeah, I still miss the old rotation operator sometimes! I loved chaining them together; cut, rotate twice, assemble, and the satisfaction of setting that up. But that was one of those crossroads moments. We had two equally valid options and had to commit.
It was the same with cranes. Early buildings worked almost like one giant operator; every input slotting neatly into the structure. My instinct was to keep it that way. But David had this vision of production lines with cranes swooping overhead to grab things off conveyors. At first it felt “too 2D” in my head, but once I let go of that, I realised cranes added a whole new layer of depth. Now I love them.
David: Exactly. Rotation was removed, cranes were added, both to reduce logistics complexity. I enjoy the hardcore challenge too, but at conventions we saw players really struggling with what we thought were simple modules. That feedback told us it was just too complicated, so we streamlined it.
Maybe in the future we’ll bring back a “challenge mode” with stricter logistics and orientation. But for the main game, we needed to give players creative freedom without forcing them into frustration. That’s also why advanced operators exist; they expand possibilities later, once players have the fundamentals down.
Jarvs : And that’s the beauty of playtesting. Something that feels totally obvious to us can be completely baffling to new players. So I want to give a genuine thank you to everyone who’s playtested Modulus so far. You’ve had a huge impact on where the game is today.
The beauty of playtesting your game is that you are able to get feedback as you go, meaning players truly help to shape the final product. Sometimes they surprise you, and things go in a new direction as a result. Next time we dive into the ways in which the community has surprised us so far.
Don’t forget to wishlist the game, and give it a follow whilst you're there. Every follow the game gets, helps Steam recognise that people are excited for Modulus! It also means that you will be notified when we drop the next part of this series.
Catch you soon Module Makers.
Team Happy Volcano.