Introduction

Why is this update taking so long?

When will v7 be released?

When is the next pre-alpha/alpha/beta release?

Erekir Content Preview

Units

Blocks

Unit Control

Logic: A cursed creation. While technically the most powerful unit control method, it is orders of magnitude more complex than anything else in the game. Commanding units with logic either requires copy-pasting schematics you don't understand, or spending hours learning a bespoke programming language with very sparse documentation. Neither of these are acceptable. Even beyond the complexity, logic unit control is incredibly clunky, un-intuitive, and subject to limitations (like lack of proper pathfinding). Players should not need to know how to program to play this game properly. [/olist] Something had to be done. Thus, I have made the following changes:

• Formations have been removed completely.
• Command centers have been removed.
• No logic blocks are available on Erekir. EDIT: Based on feedback, I will definitely be keeping it on Serpulo.
• A new RTS-like unit control system has been introduced.

I've been hinting at adding them for a while, but after experimenting with the mechanics, I am confident that RTS controls are the best way forward. Here's how this looks in-game, so far:
Now, I know that this raises numerous questions, such as:

• How will this affect PvP?
• Will units have sub-commands ("fire at will", "patrol"), like some other RTS games do?
• Will builder/repair/miner units be controllable as well, and if so, how?
• How will build assistance work without formations?
• Does this mean that fog of war will be introduced as well?
• How does the player switch between building with their unit, and commanding?

I will not be answering these questions, as I don't have a good answer to most of them - and even if I did, my answers could change over the course of development. All I will say is that, at the moment, I am trying to keep things as simple as possible. In my testing, even the current bare-bones RTS control system is worlds better than anything the game had previously.

Logic "World Processors" / "Map Scripting"

This is a relatively minor feature I've been developing for use in campaign maps. Essentially, they are processors for scripting maps. These can only be placed or interacted with in the editor, and are for map-makers only. World processors can currently do the following things; I may add more functionality as necessary:

• Spawn units.
• Set blocks.
• Get blocks/buildings at any location.
• Create explosions.
• Show the player notifications or mission objectives.
• Pan and zoom the camera, for cutscenes.
• Sense any block info without linking to it.
• Set a limited amount of game rules, such as lighting, build speed and waves.

World processors are meant to be placed in a corner of the map; while they are blocks with teams, they cannot be accessed, shot, broken or hovered outside of the editor. Note that they are simply logic processors with special instructions - this is not a new language or scripting system. Below is a simple demonstration of a "cutscene" implemented with a world processor. Note that the trigger is a button for simplicity, but in most cases, you would have the trigger be something else out of the player's direct control.
Some examples of what can be done with world processors:

• Display a special objective for the player, e.g. "destroy building X", sense when the block is destroyed, and perform actions based on that event.
• Spawn custom waves in any location based on time, or any other variables.
• Activate enemy base functionality only when the player has achieved a certain objective, like surviving X amount of waves.
• Day-night cycles in custom maps.
• "Defense" objectives wherein the player core is destroyed if they fail to prevent a different block from being destroyed.

Internal/Modding API Changes

In addition to all of the above, I've also been working on improving the modding API, fixing inconsistencies, and adding more features for modders to utilize. Unfortunately, this also comes with the downside of breaking the overwhelming majority of older mods - after discussing this with the community, I've come to the conclusion that this is the only way forward. Here are some examples of changes I've made so far - everything is still subject to change. If you're not a modder, feel free to skip this section.

Weapon/Unit/Turret Animation System

Turrets, units, and weapons now support animation parts. These can rotate or move individually depending on their progress value, which is usually the weapon warmup or reload. Close-up of the tank shooting animation:
Code (minus the blades, which are defined in a loop):

Weapons, Turrets and Units

Weapons and turrets have long suffered from an inconsistent feature set and API. I've attempted to improve the situation by implementing a unified system for bullet patterns and shooting behavior. This means:

• Turrets and units can now have an arbitrary amount of bullet barrels.
• Units now support duo-like double-shot patterns.
• Swarmer and Cyclone turrets now correctly have 3 true barrels instead of randomly spewing bullets everywhere.
• Java/JS mods can easily define complex bullet patterns for their turrets without creating subclasses of Turret or Weapon.

As an example, here's what the new Swarmer bullet pattern looks like: 'shoot' is a field of each Weapon and Turret that defines its bullet pattern. This defines a 3-barrel shot pattern.
Result:
It is also possible to chain together shot patterns, to make things like this (demonstration only!):
Bullets can be created with custom movement callbacks. This pattern, for example, creates two bullets that move in a helix:

Consumption & Generators

The block consumption system has been rewritten to allow for:

• Multi-liquid consumption
• Multiple consumers of the same type, e.g. two ConsumeItems
• Filter/efficiency consumption that does not depend on specific block type

Most old generator classes - SingleTypeGenerator, BurnerGenerator, ItemLiquidGenerator and DecayGenerator - have been replaced with a single class, ConsumeGenerator. As an example, here's what the new definition for the combustion generator looks like:

Drawing

The DrawBlock system has been expanded to support more block types, including generators, pumps and turrets. This means that it is no longer necessary to extend these classes for custom drawing behavior. All drawing-specific GenericCrafter subclasses (Smelter, Cultivator, ...) have been removed. In addition, all DrawBlock subclasses have been made modular. For example, this is how a smelter draw implementation can be defined on a GenericCrafter (or generator):

[ 2022-03-10 20:54:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Gameplay

• Create elaborate drills and conveyor designs to move resources into your Core
  
• Use production blocks to create a wide variety of advanced materials
  
• Build drones for automatically mining resources, assisting in building and protecting your base
  
• Distribute liquids and fight constant challenges, like outbreaks of fire or enemy flier raids
  
• Get the most out of your production by supplying optional coolant and lubricant

Campaign

• Advance through 12 replayable built-in zones with randomized spawn points
  
• Collect and launch resources
  
• Research new blocks to fuel progress
  
• Configure launch loadouts to bring resources to each zone
  
• Variety of mission objectives and goals
  
• Invite your friends to complete missions together
  
• 120+ technology blocks to master
  
• 19 different types of drones, mechs and ships
  
• 50+ achievements to complete

Gamemodes

• Survival: Build turrets to defend from enemies in tower-defense based gameplay. Survive as long as possible, optionally launching your core to use your collected resources for research. Prepare your base for intermittent attacks from airborne bosses.
  
• Attack: Build factories for units to destroy the enemy cores, while simultaneously defending your base from waves of enemy units. Create a variety of different types of support and offensive unit to assist you in your goals.
  
• PvP: Compete with other players on up to 4 different teams to destroy each other's cores. Create units, or attack other bases directly with your mechs.
  
• Sandbox: Play around with infinite resources and no enemy threat. Use sandbox-specific item and liquid source blocks to test out designs, and spawn in enemies on request.

Custom Games & Cross-Platform Multiplayer

• 12 built in maps for custom games, in addition to campaign
  
• Play Co-op, PvP or sandbox
  
• Join a public dedicated server, or invite friends to your own private session
  
• Customizable game rules: Change block costs, enemy stats, starting items, wave timing and more
  
• Mix&match gamemodes: Combine PvP and PvE gamemodes together

Custom Map Editor

• Paint terrain with an editor UI
  
• Edit and preview structures in-game
  
• Configurable tool modes: Change how each tool functions
  
• Powerful map generation system, with many different types of filters for procedural manipulation of terrain
  
• Apply noise, distortion, smoothing, erosion, symmetry, ore generation and random terrain to your maps
  
• Randomize and configure ore generation, as well as placement of river and resource tiles
  
• Configure enemy wave layouts
  
• Share exported maps on the Steam Workshop
  
• Customize base map rules
  
• Use 75+ different environmental blocks

• Memory: 1 GB RAM
• Graphics: Anything with OpenGL 2.0 Support
• Storage: 100 MB available space