To celebrate October and Halloween, we just put out a spooky free Contraption Maker update for you all to enjoy! This is smaller than a normal update, but stay tuned for a few weeks from now when we launch our awesome new "Sandbox Update"!
New Puzzles
A new pack of 15 puzzles has been added. Are you brave enough to play through this Halloween themed puzzle pack? Some of the puzzles are scary hard, beware.
New Part
We added a ghost with a mind of his own. The ghost will float around and chase after any parts that have the ability to move. Don't let him get too close though. Any movable part that the ghost touches will disappear!
New Project Update
Our new project is coming along quite nicely, and we are getting really excited about it. Here is some more concept art for you to check out.
Contraption Maker August Update
Thank you all for your patience, and enjoy our latest free Contraption Maker update! This update was very helpful to get Justin and his team up to speed on all of our systems in Contraption Maker. This will make it much easier to get future updates out more often.
Here are all of the awesome new things you can find in this update:
New Play Blocks
The Play Blocks are a fun new type of part. These blocks are like our wooden board parts on steroids. Play Blocks come in a variety of different shapes, and can all be freely rotated and sized. They also all have a number of rope attachments on them as well. Stack them up, knock them down, make elevators, gates, and more! There were some super "fun" physics problems encountered while trying to implement these blocks, but Kevin powered through them all and we are really excited to see what sort of fun things you guys do with them.
If you think of any new shapes, or something that you think these blocks really need, please let us know in the forums.
New Puzzles
This is a smaller puzzle update with just 10 new puzzles, but they are all centered around the Play Blocks. The main purpose of these puzzles is to show some ideas of how they can be used in your own contraptions.
Menu Revamp
We have changed around how the menus in the game are organized. The game is now separated into "Puzzles", "Contraptions", and the "Maker Lab". You have always been able to view player contraptions from the play menu, but they have been hidden over on the side. We wanted to make the distinction between these more clear since a puzzle is something you actually have to solve, while a contraption is just something that you watch.
Also, as we start to add new puzzle types in upcoming updates, it makes much more sense for puzzles to have their own section. You will notice if you go to the puzzle section that there is a new puzzle type called "sandbox" coming soon. More on that later!
Maker Lab Templates
Templates are a fun new feature that we added to the Maker Lab. It can be really daunting to go to the Maker Lab and start with a blank blue screen with no idea what to do first. Now if you don't want to start with a blank canvas, you can start with a template.
Templates are separated into puzzles, contraptions, backgrounds, and mods. If you know what you want to build but you don't want to worry about making your own background, start with a pre-made background and just focus on building. Templates work just like other Maker Lab contraptions, so you can copy and paste parts into your own projects. See someting you like in one of our templates? Select it, copy it, and paste it into whatever you are working on.
Are there certain types of templates that you like more than others, or types that you would like to see more of? Please head over to the forums and let your voice be heard!
Achievements
Achievemnents have been added to give you some challenges to work towards. This is just our first batch, as there may or may not be some new type of achievements I'm pretty excited about that may or may not be coming out with these elusive new "sandbox puzzles". I may have already said too much. I think government agents may be coming to take me out now.
New Project
Here is a bit more (very early) concept work from our new upcoming project. It is going to be a standalone game from Contraption Maker, but it will be in what we informally call the "Contraption Maker Family".
Stay tuned for our next update in September!
Contraption Maker "State of the Union"
Hey everyone, long time no update. We've been pretty busy over here at Spotkin. Here is a quick overview of everything that we've been doing:
Farewell to Keith
After many years of game development, our friend and programmer Keith Johnston has made the tough decision to move on from Spotkin and enter a new stage of his career outside of the games industry. We are so thankful for all of the great years we got to spend with Keith at Spotkin, and we wish him the best of luck with everything in the future.
To replace Keith, we are teaming up with long time friend and original GarageGames associate Justin Mette. Justin and his team are very excited to be working with us again, and they are pumped to make Contraption Maker the best game that they can. As with any transition, there has been a bit of downtime as they are getting up to speed on all of our systems.
Contraption Maker Mobile
We took some time to start work on and evaluate the mobile version of Contraption Maker. We obviously all have phones and tablets, and we are all so excited to get the game into the hands and pockets of everyone in the world. The mobile version is technically up and running, but after taking a deeper look at it, we are going to be back-burnering this project for a while.
In addition to a complete overhaul of the UI to make the game more touch friendly, there is going to need to be a lot of time and resources put into deeper issues like memory, game size, etc. Becuase of this, and because of the crazy nature of the current mobile market, the mobile release is going to be pushed much farther back.
We are happy to have it running how it is, and we all really want to be able to release it, but there are just so many more importanat things (like desktop Contraption Maker) that we need to focus our resources on right now.
Contraptioneers & Schools
Deborah has been doing some some amazing work with Contraption Maker and schools. Contraption Maker is now available in over 300 schools! The Incredible Machine was a very popular game in schools back in the 90's, and it's so great to see Contraption Maker gaining so much traction all these years later.
A map of everywhere Contraption Maker is being used in education
Here are some recent highlights from our blog about Contraption Maker education:
We have started what we are calling the "Contraptioneer" program. Contraptioneers are rockstar teachers that love our game and our mission. They are helping us spread the word about the game, developing lesson plans and curriculum, and giving us feedback on how to improve the game for use in schools. There are currently 8 contraptioneers, and the list is growing quickly! Check out THIS LINK to see our list of contraptioneers.
We are also working on a project with the Hewlett Foundation, but there isn't much we can publicly talk about yet. You can expect to hear more on this soon :-)
Contraption Maker Updates
You may notice each time you launch Contraption Maker, our splash screen mentions our awesome "Winter Update". Last time I checked, it's July now which means it isn't exactly winter anymore. Updates haven't stopped, they have just taken lower priority as we have worked on everything else. We have a new "walls & structure" update that we are pretty excited about coming out fairly soon.
In addition to the upcoming update, we are going to start releasing much more regular free updates. Although we love the game, there are so many things we can continue to do to make it the best game that it can be. In an announcement next week, I will be outlining our entire future roadmap and plan. Just know that you can expect things such as new parts, puzzles, interface improvments, game modes, achievements, and more!
New Project
On top of all this, there may be something else in the works...I'm not sure though. I have no idea where this concept art came from...
Build-Off #4 Results
The judging period has ended and the results are in. Time to announce the winners for the Contraption Maker Build-Off #4! This was yet another amazing group of entries. You guys just keep making it harder for us to narrow down the top 3 entries.
We had a record number of submissions for this Build-Off, hopefully that number just keeps going up! We love seeing what sort of creative things you all can think of. The longer 2 week submission period felt a lot better to us than the old 1 week period, so it looks like we will keep it 2 weeks for future Build-Offs.
Alright, enough talking, here are the winners!
3rd Place: Waldo and Tinker Battle of the Bands!, by Wisakedjak
http://youtu.be/rHjYMjFR8xY
This is a clever and funny little contraption. It looks pretty simple, but there is actually a pretty cool behind the scenes control system creating the awesome laser light show. Open it up in the Maker Lab to take a look at it more in depth.
2nd Place: Playing Cat and... Dog..., by SouldSol
http://youtu.be/sWYqQiky9pg
A classic, well executed battle of cat vs. dog as they travel around the house. Nice twist ending as well :-) There are some awesome things being pulled off in the contraption. After you watch Waldo & Tinker, watch it again and just follow the basketball to see what it does.
1st Place: Romeo & Juliet 2.0, by Hellwood
http://youtu.be/th8uos6F1ts
Hellwood grabs 1st place again! This contraption tells a fun little story of Romeo and Juliet trying to get together. You should watch this contraption a few times to catch all of the awesome little details (Tinker using the swing twice towards the end is impressive). A side note, this contraption has brought up a physics determinism issue, so it may not run correctly every time you hit play. We are looking into a fix, but while we are doing that, be sure to watch the video so you can see what is actually supposed to happen in it.
Congrats to the winners, and to everyone that submitted a contraption. Like I said, this was our most popular Build-Off yet, and we love seeing what you guys come up with. Be sure to check out the Editor's Choice section of the Workshop for more of our favorite entries that just didn't quite get to the top 3.
Contraption Maker Comes to Linux & Humble Indie Bundle 14
People have been asking for a while, and it's finally happened. Contraption Maker is now on Linux! We are excited to be available for a whole new batch of players that didn't have access to our game before. Can't wait to see what sort of awesome contraptions and puzzles you all contribute to the Workshop! You can check out the recommended system requirements on our store page.
Note: Please check the system requirements before purchasing the game on Linux. Contraption Maker does NOT have 32-bit support.
We are making our Linux debut in the Humble Indie Bundle 14! If you pay more than the average price (around $6), you get Contraption Maker and 8 other terrific Indie games. So for a little less than the price of Contraption Maker currently, you get a whole bunch of other games, as well as the DRM-Free off Steam version.
Now we don't have a huge team here available to do a bunch of testing on this Linux build. We are confident that it is a stable build, but there may be a couple things that have slipped by us. Please report any issues you find in the bug reporting forum, and we will address them as soon as we can.
Are you a new player here from Linux or the Humble Bundle? Be sure to check out our Build-Off contest that is going on. If you make the best contraption, you can win Steam games of your choice!
Submissions for this contest are no longer being accepted
Here we are again with another Build-Off contest. Because your submissions for the Build-Offs have been getting better and better, we want to try something different this time. Instead of one week for submissions, this submission window is going to be open for two weeks! This will give everyone all the time they need to make the most awesome contraption that they can think up. As usual, the winners of the Build-Off will receive Steam games of their choice!
Here are all of the details for the contest. PLEASE READ OVER THEM CAREFULLY. We will NOT accept submissions that don’t follow all the rules!
Contest Theme
It's the classic rivalry of cat vs. dog. Make a contraption around the theme of "Waldo vs. Tinker". Interpret this how you want (not every entry needs to just be a physical fight). You can use as many and any parts that you want to, but just make sure that your contraption is focused on this central theme.
How to Enter
At any time during the entry period, create a contraption and submit it to the Steam Workshop. Submit it as a contraption, not a puzzle.
In your contraption description, make a note that it is a submission for the CM Waldo vs Tinker Build-Off
Contest Dates
April 1st, 2015 @ 10:00 AM PST to April 15th, 2015 @ 5:00 PM PST. Entries submitted before or after this time period will not be accepted.
Rules
Entries for this contest must be created by you, and cannot be the work of someone else.
Do not submit something that was submitted to the Workshop before the contest date. Even if you were the creator, this is not allowed.
Entries must be submitted to the Steam Workshop as a Contraption, not as a puzzle.
We can disqualify someone at any time if they are found to be cheating.
One entry per user only. You can change your submission up until the completion date, but you cannot submit multiple entries.
Scoring
The 3 scoring categories are: technique, originality, and presentation.
Technique: How technically impressive is your contraption? How much does it make the judge say, “I can’t believe they actually pulled that off.”
Originality/Creativity: Are you using parts in a new and original way? Are you doing something nobody else has thought of?
Presentation: Don’t just submit your contraption on the default blue background. Add some pretty scenery, animate it, give a nice backstory to what’s happening in the contraption.
Prizes
1st Place: $100 worth of Steam Game(s)*
2nd Place: $60 worth of Steam Game(s)*
3rd Place: $30 worth of Steam Game(s)*
Based of price of the games in the US Steam Store.
1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will all have their contraptions featured in the Editor’s Choice section of the Workshop as well.
*Games will be gifted to your Steam account. Winner may choose more than one game, but the total must be equal to or less than the given amount. Must have a Steam account to claim prize, no substitutes. Prize MUST be claimed by April 29th, 2015.
Process
The contest runs for two weeks. During this time, players can create, submit, and edit their entries.
Once the contest is over, the judges will take a few days to review and anonymously rate the submitted contraptions.
Contraptions will be judged in 3 categories with a score of 1-10 in each category. The contraption with the highest total score will be the winner.
There can be multiple winners at any prize level in the case of a tie.
This contest is NOT a random drawing. Submissions will be judged by us, the developers of Contraption Maker.
By entering this contest, you agree to let us use your Steam name and avatar when announcing winners or talking about the contest.
Previous Build-Off winners are still eligible to win.
Have fun, and good luck!
Contraption Maker 1.1.4 Update
We just put out an update for Contraption Maker. Your game should update automatically as it gets pushed out. Unfortunately, almost everything in this update is pretty "behind the scenes," so you won't actually see much difference.
Engine Upgrade
Our base engine has been upgraded from Cocos2d-x to Cocos2d-x v.30. This was a fairly massive undertaking. It basically changed how everything in the game was rendered and required a whole lot of the game to be updated and fixed. We have done extensive testing to make sure everything is back working as it should, but this was a changed that touched pretty much everything about how the game was rendered. If you run into any issues, please report them in our bug forum and we will address them as soon as possible.
Like I said in the beginning, there isn't much to actually see in this update. The game still looks and runs the same. However, if you have a retina screen, the game now supports it so your game assets should look much more crisp.
This was a much needed upgrade. We are in a much better position to support new platforms (no promised release dates on anything), we can render assets in 3D, and we have much better performance.
Backend Dashboard
This is something else we have been working on that won't be immediately seen in the game. We have been working on a backend dashboard for teachers & classrooms as we have been getting Contraption Maker into more and more schools. We will have a much more detailed blog post about this soon.
Bug Fixes
There are also a bunch of different bug fixes in this update.
Assorted puzzle exploit fixes
Fixed bug causing text to change to white after contraption runs
In-game workshop now shows downloaded puzzles & contraptions
Ropes no longer detach occasionally after running a puzzle
Fixed some laser issues having to make outlet always work correctly and and inverse laser not pulse on on the 1st frame
Fixed a bug that would cause contraptions to freeze if camera was panned while running
Removed unused sensor on candle that was causing anti-grav pad to affect it when it was below the pad
Fixed function to detect when text is being edited
Allow steam workshop downloaded levels to be deleted
Fix scenery loading - mismatch in case on PNG
Fixed bug so that projected part correctly shows rotation and scale of the original part
In Steam levels were not downloaded
Added a routine to compute a body's mass from area and density
Fixed crash bug when rescaling a part which has a rope attached that goes through a pulley
Use publish id as puzzle key for non-official levels
Do not process events for disabled widgets
Do not hide icon container when the goal has a location
Make text selection rect translucent
Steam workshop fixes
More work on display Steam workshop downloaded levels
Clear all publish ids when level is renamed
Crash reporting works on windows again
Check for null camera layer
Fixed the green arrows showing when/where ropes will attach
Ignore touch end events in part selector if physics is active
Camera now correctly animates when recording movies
Fixed quotes in the script editor. Removed unnecessary extra touch listener for TurboBadger
Fixed bug where projected paths wouldn't adjust when a part was flipped
Fixed a save crash
Tightening up accessing deleted parts
Fix clipping on movies
Fix publishing videos to youtube
Fix flicker when recording
Fixed bug where projected lines were being drawn when the shouldn't have been. Only happened when overlaps occurred during dragging of group of parts
Added check for bad stash data
Build-Off #3 Results Are Here
After another tough period of judging, we are ready to announce the winners of our third Contraption Maker Build-Off! The quality of submissions blew us away as usual. It looks like people really took the time to create something that was unique, pretty, and fun to watch.
No need to keep you all waiting on the edge of your seats. Here are the winners!
3rd Place Tie: Winter Showdown, by Evajeva & Line Rider, by Blueeyedrat
http://youtu.be/mPWIHh7qbsI
http://youtu.be/7iU8YLY8FV8
The competition was so close this time, we ended up with our first tie! Both of these contraptions took their own unique approach. Winter Showdown told a fun story, used some cool animation techniques (camera shake!), and even had a sled dog.
Line Rider was quite the creative contraption that changed the whole look of the game to make it look truly unique. We had to open it up in the Maker Lab to really look into how it was pulled off.
2nd Place: Jinglebells, by Dr34dd
http://youtu.be/wAGm0zI6CiY
What a fun contraption to watch, with a couple of plot twists to go along with it. We really enjoyed the sledding while playing Jingle Bells, with the tempo sped up as the story became more intense.
1st Place: Indiana Tim 3, by Hellwood
http://youtu.be/tJ616DjsDoo
This contraption is crazy! It isn't actually that long, but there are so many great timing instances and close calls. Tim nearly gets destroyed on his sled too many times to count. You really need to watch this one a few times to catch all of the clever things going on. Lots of unique uses of parts to accomplish tasks in un thought of ways.
Congrats winners! I will send you developer messages on your Workshop submission pages and we will get your prizes to you.
I also want to congratulate everyone that entered. The quality of entries seems to keep going up with every new Build-Off that we have. You can really feel the fun and creativity when watching through all of them. Get ready for the next one coming up soon!
The Great Contraption Maker Build-Off is back! Everyone has one week to make and submit their best contraption. The winners of the Build-Off will receive Steam games of their choice!
Here are all of the details for the contest. PLEASE READ OVER THEM CAREFULLY. We will NOT accept submissions that don’t follow all the rules!
Contest Theme
It may not be too cold here in Eugene, but we've been told it is actually still winter. The theme of this contest is Tim's Sled (The "Tim part" sled that he actually sticks to and rides). Try to make the coolest contraption that you can involving Tim's Sled. You can use any and as many parts as you want, but make the focus of the contraption be the sled.
We suggest you look into using the Camera Animation Tool to present your entry. This is NOT A REQUIREMENT, but it would help to follow Tim if he goes on a sled adventure. You can learn how to use the Camera Animation Tool in this forum thread HERE
How to Enter
At any time during the entry period, create a contraption and submit it to the Steam Workshop. Submit it as a contraption, not a puzzle.
In your contraption description, make a note that it is a submission for the CM Sled Build-Off
Rules
Entries for this contest must be created by you, and cannot be the work of someone else.
Do not submit something that was submitted to the Workshop before the contest date. Even if you were the creator, this is not allowed.
Entries must be submitted to the Steam Workshop as a Contraption, not as a puzzle.
We can disqualify someone at any time if they are found to be cheating.
One entry per user only. You can change your submission up until the completion date, but you cannot submit multiple entries.
Scoring
The 3 scoring categories are: technique, originality, and presentation.
Technique: How technically impressive is your contraption? How much does it make the judge say, “I can’t believe they actually pulled that off.”
Originality/Creativity: Are you using parts in a new and original way? Are you doing something nobody else has thought of?
Presentation: Don’t just submit your contraption on the default blue background. Add some pretty scenery, animate it, give a nice backstory to what’s happening in the contraption.
Contest Dates
February 9th, 2015 @ 11:00 AM PST to February 16th, 2015 @ 5:00 PM PST. Entries submitted before or after this time period will not be accepted.
Prizes
1st Place: $100 worth of Steam Game(s)*
2nd Place: $60 worth of Steam Game(s)*
3rd Place: $30 worth of Steam Game(s)*
Based of price of the games in the US Steam Store.
1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will all have their contraptions featured in the Editor’s Choice section of the Workshop as well.
*Games will be gifted to your Steam account. Winner may choose more than one game, but the total must be equal to or less than the given amount. Must have a Steam account to claim prize, no substitutes. Prize MUST be claimed by March 2nd, 2015.
Process
The contest runs for one week. During this time, players can create, submit, and edit their entries.
Once the contest is over, the judges will take a few days to review and anonymously rate the submitted contraptions.
Contraptions will be judged in 3 categories with a score of 1-10 in each category. The contraption with the highest total score will be the winner.
There can be multiple winners at any prize level in the case of a tie.
This contest is NOT a random drawing. Submissions will be judged by us, the developers of Contraption Maker.
By entering this contest, you agree to let us use your Steam name and avatar when announcing winners or talking about the contest.
Previous Build-Off winners are still eligible to win.
We can't wait to see what you all submit, have fun!
Contraption Maker Winter Update: Sleds, Snowballs, and Puzzles
http://youtu.be/a9KJaew9yLk
Our latest Contraption Maker update is here to spread some holiday cheer! This FREE update adds a bunch of new fun features to the game. Tim's sled is a great new addition to the game. Use it to send Tim spinning, flipping, and sledding all over the place. For those people waiting for new official puzzles, you are in luck. We've added 50 new official puzzles! The puzzles come in a wide range of difficulty, including some super hard ones for all you puzzle experts out there.
Steam should automatically update the game for you. It can sometimes take a little while to roll out, so if you don't have the update yet don't fret! Here's what you can find in this update:
New Parts
Tim's Sled: The is a special new Tim part. When Tim uses the sled, he will give it a little push and hold on for dear life! Send him jumping and flipping all over your contraptions. There is also a "non-Tim" version of this part that can be used to transport other parts.
Snow Wall: Snow walls have more friction than normal walls. Roll a snowball down a snow wall to make it larger.
Ice Wall: A super slippery wall type.
Snowball: The snowball is another type of ball with some special behaviors. If it rolls on a snow wall, it will get bigger. Roll one large enough, and it will trap Tim inside of it! If you place a snowball near a heat source, it will start to melt.
Snowball Pile: This pile of snowballs can only be used by Tim. Set the number of snowballs, and how hard & often Tim will throw them.
New Puzzles
Our biggest official puzzle update yet! We've added 50 new official puzzles bringing our official puzzle count to 220 total puzzles! This new batch of puzzles has something for everyone, ranging in difficulty from tutorial to super hard. Get out there, start solving them, and share your ridiculous solutions and exploits :-)
Patterned Scenery Parts
There are now 3 special "primitive scenery parts". The square, circle, and triangle can be colored with a selection of solid colors and repeating patterns. This should allow for all sorts of new creative approaches to contraption backgrounds.
Assorted Fixes
Impact sound effects. Walls now make sounds when they hit something
New save/load window. Sort by name or date, delete contraptions, search for contraptions
Correctly handle various situations when Tim is owned by another part (right now it can be the sled or the snowball)
A handful of tutorial and puzzle fixes
Fixed draw layers so the plugs show up on generators
Fixed bug where a part that owned Tim would exit world borders and be deleted and cause a crash because Tim thought he was still owned by the deleted part
Also some various fixes to correctly handle parts going inactive or being deleted while the own Tim
Fixed bug where plug would sometimes not show up when plugged into outlets
Give save text input focus when saving, respond to enter when saving (mouse must be over save dialog)
Turn off Zombie lightbulb when he is embedded in snowball
Fixed bug in the Electric Switch code so that myCpShape and otherCpShape are always correctly set
Fix leak with specials
Only use _setjmp _longjmp on OSX
WIP geometry drawing with JavaScript
Generalized Toolman Tim being owned by other parts
Fix bug where explosions could sometimes create incorrect holes in walls
Lock containers for part goals
Cycle art selection under mouse when ctrl/command is held
Scenery ZOrder improvements
Default to descending by date in load contraption window
Ensure parts which have goals are locked when testing and when serializing
Undo/Redo tweaks
Fixed bug so Toolman Tim correctly processing multiple instruction parts if his is standing and overlapping them
Fixed undo/redo for ropes
Fixed bug where Toolman Tim would be stuck in falling state
Added new routine to compute mass and moment of interia when area of a shape changes
Added support to change radius of a collision circle
Added support to change width and height of a heat receiver
Added support to change base width and height of a part sprite
Adjusted Toolman Tim to generalize his toss part routine
Started saving max normal velocity in arbiter so it can be used other places
Added TM_PI_64 to be used where 64-bits of resolution is needed
Fixed locked parts disappearing.
Added fuses to Missiles and Rockets
Made sure that hotkey flipping only tries to flip parts that can be flipped
Added goal state for turning Toolman Tim into a Zombie
Added goal state of Eaten for Brain
Correctly handle projections and overlaps when multiple parts are moved at the same time
