Hey, Prospectors!
It’s been a while, right? As a studio we’ve been quite quiet lately, but it’s been a busy time for us behind the scenes. We’re starting to get to grips with how we work now that lockdown’s ended and we’re moving back into the studio, as well as changes that have had to be made over the last few years, but we’ve come out in a place where we’re really excited about the future.
The studio is now 40 people and counting and we’re still looking for new team members (check out our jobs page for more info!) and we’re working on multiple projects (which you might start to hear about soon).
But first, we want to talk to you about TerraTech…
Introducing – Circuits and Systems.
Our next big focus is looking at automation tools and blocks. The idea behind these is to create a more interesting tool set in TerraTech – we’ll be using this ourselves but we also want to share it with you, so that you can create really fun and new gameplay scenarios for both yourself, and to share with others.
We really think these new blocks will allow you to be extra creative, and build things that we never thought possible before! This allows you to make anything from an automated door to a brand new minigame – and more. Your imagination is the only limit…
The new blocks include Time Blocks, Input Blocks, Actuator Blocks, Logic Blocks, Wireless Blocks, Carrier Block, Display Blocks and Value Modifier Blocks. If this sounds confusing, don’t worry – we’ve got a lot to show you before the blocks drop in game.
We’ll also be starting small, and showcasing the easier blocks in order to ease you into it. You’ll learn about this new update through livestreams, blogs and videos, and the builds will get bigger and better as the weeks go on. This means that when the update hits TerraTech, you’ll be ready to jump in!
As we add parts of this update to TerraTech, they’ll be first introduced into R&D Labs, and you’ll be able to drop into the game and try them out while they’re still experimental. If you don’t own R&D Labs, you can either pick it up here, or you can wait until the blocks are introduced into the main game further down the line. We don’t have a definite date to give you on this yet, but when we do, you can be sure you’ll hear about it.
We’re also bringing you in as part of the development process – this means we’ll be talking about and showing some of our blocks which won’t be in the initial release of this content. Instead, they’re planned for later updates, and we’ll be taking your thoughts and feedback into account.
But even before any of the blocks hit R&D, we’d love for you to start telling us what you like and don’t like about them – on our forums, Discord, Twitter, anywhere you want to reach us – and which part of the feature you’d like to see next.
We want this feature to be developed with your insight and support and feedback and we’ll be talking to you about the new content the entire time. We’ll be figuring this out together, and hopefully this means you’ll have the opportunity to help shape future TerraTech content.
Another thing we’re doing to be more open with you is making our internal HackNPlan board public. This means you’ll be able to sign up to HackNPlan and view our TerraTech development in real time. You’ll probably mostly be seeing bugs that we’re planning on fixing but we’re excited to be more transparent. If this is something you’re interested in, we’ll be sharing instructions on how to sign up next week.
You’ll be able to get your first look at Circuits & Systems on our stream tomorrow and we’ve got lots more to share with you, so keep an eye on our social media for related updates!
Until next time…