[h1]Rebots Update - April Update[/h1] In the last release (March Update) we introduced a variety of new features such as the storage haulers, the codex, multiple clients and more. A month later, we have another update and this one is really exciting because it sets up lots of possibilities for Rebots future. Let’s dig in! [b]Note: This Update is only available on the “rebotsplaytime” beta branch right now[/b] [h2]New Features[/h2] [h3]Job & Asteroid Field Generation Rework[/h3] Based on the feedback on the previous release, we knew that we needed to improve how the jobs and asteroid field are generated - so that’s what we did. The first part of this process was to create constellations. Constellations are collections of asteroids. They are the neighbourhoods for the aliens. We’ll be expanding on these constellations in future updates. The second part was making our job generation smarter. This is very important because we want to make sure that the jobs are interesting, varied and challenging depending on where the players are in the game. Additionally, we needed to reduce the possibility of “soft locks” - where the player would get stuck with a job that is not completable with the available asteroids. [list] [*] Added new constellations to the asteroid selection increasing the total of available asteroids to around 20 [*] Created new job generation algorithms to ensure better variety and challenges [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37967128/c2375992599a461a93c0af1abb1a02e401403051.png[/img] [h3]New Supervisors & Interaction Paradigm[/h3] Supervisors are one of the most important elements of Rebots. In this update, we are introducing 3 brand new supervisors to play with as well as we are updating the storage hauler from the previous release with a brand new model. With the introduction of these new supervisors, we needed to also adjust the interaction paradigm across the board. [b]Supervisor Interaction Paradigm and Configuring Supervisors[/b] [list] [*] In order to support the new and future supervisors, we redesigned how the supervisors function from the ground up and we have created the following principles: [*] Each head of a supervisor is an input [*] A head can have multiple incoming connections [*] Some heads have multiple outputs. This requires 2 steps of interaction from the player and is solved by a brand new Switchboard UI [*] Players can configure supervisors by walking up to a supervisor by pressing [E] [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37967128/2f810586efd05cf2b83324ec7bc6cda9f4b207d2.png[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37967128/4639b6bd85495618af59d1cdee7a0c2b9a494757.png[/img] All this new functionality streamlines how players interact with supervisors in Rebots and this modular approach allows us to iterate faster and create new supervisors faster going forward. Now let’s take a look at the new supervisors (and the upgrade hauler model) [b]Sorter[/b] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37967128/36799e6b5e7aa65d41a2d26d89c1e631740c5ae4.png[/img] The Sorter (originally called resource splitter) has an important function - it sorts workers based on the resource they carry. This supervisor supports 2 output connections and the true connection can be configured with the codex by pressing [E] [b]Dispatcher[/b] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37967128/b919ec6cef68e749df788b42fb0959359a2dba08.png[/img] The Dispatcher (originally called the even odd splitter) opens up the automation aspects of Rebots. This supervisor supports 4 (yes four!) output connections and all its connections can be set up with the switchboard UI. Really handy when you want to send every n-th worker to a different direction and create a maze of connections. [b]Combiner[/b] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37967128/ece36d88f17c15a3f89480c044874548ad974cfb.png[/img] The Combiner (as the name suggests) takes a variety of resources and combines them into brand new ones. It has 3 heads - 2 inputs and 1 output. It can be configured via the codex by pressing [E]. [b]Storage Hauler Model Upgrade[/b] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37967128/da9ef8bc5c8f38942217478d4a6c66be10aeddc0.png[/img] The Storage Hauler got a major facelift for this release - the feedback from the previous release was quite positive, so while the models have changed, the functionality is the same. Use it to transport resources between different asteroids. We are also moving the tutorial for the hauler earlier in the game to after completing the first generated job, so players get access to this crucial gameplay element as soon as possible. [h2]Improvements & Fixes[/h2] [list] [*] Added new icons for the rebots in the crew tools wheel selection, the move flags and the tool description UI (bottom left of the screen when a rebot is selected) [*] Added white outline holograms for all rebots when replicating with the crew tool which replaces the old green hologram [*] Added a “Test Game” button for skipping the tutorial, so players that have already played through the tutorial can immediately get to the generated content [*] Shopkeepers now turn towards the player when the camera is grabbed in shop view [*] Added a feature where resources dynamically drop from the flora [*] Increased the stock of resources to 999 in resource shops to avoid soft locks [*] Fixed a bug where workers did not always put down resources around the PutDown supervisor [*] Fixed bugs with some decals of the rebot move flags and the delivery zone [*] Fixed a bug with the outline of the mintbush and the Trevor alien [*] Fixed a bug where returning to the main menu changed the color of the ground [*] Other misc. Fixes [/list] [b]Disclaimer: Saving & loading is not integrated yet into the new job generation. This means that once the player quits to the main menu/desktop, the state of the game will not be (entirely) saved. We are currently working on this to have it integrated as soon as possible.[/b] If you'd like to give it a try let us know here on the Steam Forum or on our [url=https://discord.gg/ZVVZQyB]Discord Server[/url]. Rebots Devs / @FlatPonies PS. Here's a screenshot of a cute worker stuck on an orango tree ;) How did it get up there? [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37967128/184cd9163d4877453d31bf3b86fe47c0effcadbd.png[/img]