We have identified a few themes in user feedback from the first beta and we are working on addressing them. This iteration makes some progress on interactions, playability, and also fixes a few major bugs from the last update.
The most consistent feedback we got was from players struggling with tool interactions and socket selection. The game doesn’t provide much feedback about wrong socket sizes and we require players to test out and learn which sockets fit where. This gets made unnecessarily tedious by a clunky system to swap sockets. We would like to improve the feedback players get when testing sockets, and make managing and testing sockets more seamless.
Beta update changes:
Fixed a bug that caused high frame rates (over 200fps) to prevent tools from attaching to fasteners correctly
Fixed a bug that caused right clicking while fastening to enter a context menu state that appeared broken
Fasteners now automatically move to the corner after being loosened.
Fasteners now automatically get finger threaded a few turns on install
These changes are working towards eliminating the state where fasteners float in front of threads but aren’t actually threaded on. It also makes removing fasteners a smoother experience.
Added a socket organizer. Both a mobile and a pegboard variation. Sockets will auto place into the organizers. Note: This hasn’t been discussed but holding the left control key while clicking acts as a small part only filter. This is useful for preventing misclicks when you are removing parts from an assembly that isn’t bolted down. This is really useful for things like the socket organizer as it prevents accidentally grabbing the organizer instead of a socket. The same concept applies to working on any loose subassembly.
Added a hotkey for tool direction changes (x)
Added a hotkey for socket installation and removal (z)
Added a hotkey for tool modes (f)
Improved the message log feedback for socket sizes to be more specific
Added hud information on how held tools are currently set up (socket size, tool direction, power mode)
Improved procedural animations for sockets and tool handling
We plan to do an input key binding pass in the future so keybinds will be improved/changed once all of the interactions are nailed down.
We still have more changes to make to improve tool handling and socket handling.
We are also planning a sound pass. The game is missing a lot of sounds and needs some sounds reworked.