Hello Engineers! This is the promised development log, in which we assume and possibly what we have managed to do since the beginning of the development of PixPhys BETA (development began on April 8) and what our plans are. Also at the end of the post, you must apply for participation in closed beta testing.
I would like to note that we have finished making the main "skeleton" of the game, and at present we are filling it with game content: we are restoring the game content of the upgraded version and developing new gameplay features.
Editors
We're especially focusing on editors, as they're the main places where you'll spend your time designing insane devices.
Transport editor
The appearance of the transport editor now looks like this: And Toybox has been completely redesigned: At the moment, there are 77 different characteristics in the game, which are divided into several categories: aerodynamics, decorative, displays, explosives, lighting, fluids, propulsion, mechanics, sensors.
The toolbar has been improved:
Socket Editor
As you know from the publication that was published earlier, the logic system has turned into a socket editor. In the socket editor, you can find two types of nodes:
Dependent
Independent
Dependent nodes are those nodes that belong to the created prop in the transport editor. Independent, respectively, are those nodes that do not belong to props, they can be created through a special menu of a special node. At the moment, there are over fifty unique nodes in the game. Most of them were added according to your wishes. Full list of independent nodes:
Press (mathematics)
Add (Math)
Add (Vector)
AND (logic)
Angle (Vector)
In (String)
Character (String)
Clamp (Math)
Clock Generator (Utils)
Concat (string)
Contains (string)
Counter (Utils)
Delay (Utils)
Delta (mathematics)
Distance (vector)
Divide (Math)
Divide (Vector)
Point (Vector)
Ends with (String)
Equals (Comparison)
Equals (Vector)
Equals (string)
Extender (Utils)
Function (x, y, z) (Math)
Greater Than (Comparison)
Length (string)
Lerp (mathematics)
Lerp (Vector)
Less (Comparison)
Value (vector)
Multiplication (mathematics)
Multiplication (vector)
Negative (Math)
Normalized (vector)
NOT (logic)
OR (logic)
Analysis (string)
Perpendicular (vector)
Strength (mathematics)
Pulse (Utilities)
Randomizer (Utilities)
Reading (Composite)
Reflection (Vector)
Replace(String)
Root (mathematics)
Round (Math)
Divide (Vector)
Sqr value (vector)
Starts with (String)
Subtraction (mathematics)
Subtract (vector)
Switch block (Utils)
Threshold (Comparison)
To string (String)
Toggle (Utilities)
Vector (Vector)
Write (Composite)
XOR (logic)
You can also choose 4 styles for displaying links for the editor in a running game: 1. Basic: 2. Axis: 3. Linear: 4. Curved:
Fuel system
Now, in order to start the engine, you will probably need its fuel. In the screenshot above, you can see the fuel tanks that connect to the rocket engine through a separator to connect these 3 components to each other, which are routed by themselves, using solid collision joints.
Temperature
The temperature system has been introduced into the game. Now objects are warmed up from phenomena with emissions and energy emissions.
Some materials may ignite due to high temperatures:
Weather conditions
In the new version, we decided to work out the liveliness of the world. The first step was to add the weather. Now, in addition to changing the time of day, the weather cycle is changing, which includes precipitation and nebula.
Testing
At the moment, there is a version for closed testing for performance. But we would like to improve the efficiency of this process by recruiting testers, so we are recruiting! To enter, you need to make an interesting build in PixPhys that showcases your skills and complete the survey.
Important news
Hello engineers! A lot of time has passed since the last news on Steam, during this time several news have appeared, which we will introduce you to in this post ːwinter2019happyyulː
Birthday
PixPhys celebrates 1 year! This year the total number of players has increased to over 5,000. There were 223 items on the Steam Workshop: 203 saves, 11 mods, 9 guides. Thank you for creating content for PixPhys, we appreciate it ːluvː
PixPhys Beta
During our absence, we gained experience, and at the same time experimented with new mechanics for PixPhys. In this regard, we came to the conclusion that we need to rework PixPhys from the inside: rewrite some mechanics and add new ones. We are currently working on PixPhys Beta, a completely redesigned version of the game. Now we will introduce you some global changes.
• New connection system
We decided to change the logical connections to the socket editor (a visual editor of logical connections, consisting of nodes and input and output sockets).
• Vehicle Editor
Creation of vehicles will take place in a separate vehicle editor for greater convenience.
• Aerodynamics
We are experimenting with the aerodynamic physics of props. If we make sure that it works correctly, then it will be added to the game.
Details of other changes will be provided in the next development log, which will be published by the end of May. You can also follow the development in our Discord Server.
August 2021 Devlog.
Hello, Engineers!
Hello Engineers of the first category! You've probably already noticed that there have been no updates for over a month. At first glance, it may seem that we are not doing anything because we didn’t release devlogs on Discord and we didn’t release new experimental versions, but this is not the case. This article should tell you about everything that we have been doing all this time.
• Main menu UI update.
When creating this update, we were very much concerned that many newcomers could not figure out the game on their own. The first step towards solving this problem was to rework the old menu into a more beautiful, functional and understandable. We have optimized the navigation of the players in the menu, moved some old functions to more appropriate places, and added new ones that simplify the interaction with the game.
• Multiplayer.
Also in this update, work continued on the multiplayer. More sync items have been added and network code optimizations have been made. It is highly likely that in the final version of this update, multiplayer will be available in alpha access.
Adding multiplayer to a game that is not intended for him is a very difficult process, especially for one person, so it can take a long time.
• Display of problem areas.
The continuation of the solution to the problem of the difficulty of understanding the game is to add to the game a system for displaying problem areas of your contraptions. It will display a special icon in places worth paying attention to.
For example, if you forgot to connect the power to the device, the game will remind you of this. This will help avoid confusion and show the player what needs to be fixed in his contraption in order for it to work correctly.
• Fuel system and new engine.
As mentioned earlier, we are working on a new fuel system that should bring more variety and complexity to the game when building vehicles. At the moment, only the new jet engine has been optimized for this system.
For the operation of this engine, it is required to build a specific structure from connected modular blocks: an air intake, a combustion chamber, and a nozzle. After the design of this structure, it is required to bring the fuel line to the combustion chamber and the tank with aviation fuel.
I would like to clarify that fluid physics works on a simplified model. This means that the fluid inside the pipe is not affected by gravity. At the moment, this works on the principle of pressure differences in different parts of the system.
• Updated particles.
Also in this update all the effects (clouds, smoke, fire and etc.) is redrawn.
• Best Community Contraptions.
As our game is developing very quickly, it needs to update the screenshots and trailer, which will more clearly reflect the gameplay. We would be happy to select the best work from the community for this task. We will write more about the competition later.
• Conclusion.
In conclusion, first I would like to clarify that at the moment we do not know when this update will be fully released, but a new experimental version will be released very soon. We would like to hear from you in the comments what difficulties you encountered at the beginning of the game in order to try to get rid of them.
Also, if there are players among you who are quite familiar with the game, we would be glad if you could write your own guides on Steam, because it will help newcomers to get used to it.
Update 0.8.2
Hello engineers!
This is an interim update between 0.8 and 0.9. In 0.9, we plan to make a full-fledged system for transporting fluids and fuel, mining useful resources.
List of changes 0.8.2
Added Brick wall.
Added Electrical cabinet.
Added Traffic cone.
Added Wooden chair.
Added Car seat.
Added Large cable duct.
Added the sound of an object falling into water.
Added bubbles from object in water.
Destructible objects can now break when hit hard by water.
Added destructibility to other wooden objects.
The action after spawning an object for modifications has been moved to the "CatalogyDataBehaviour" class.
The speed of turning objects is now limited.
Saves published to the Steam Workshop can now be updated.
The sound of the explosion has been changed. Also added an underwater explosion sound.
The electricity generated by a solar panel depends on its size.
The effect of a balloon bursting.
Some sprites of items have been changed.
Added a new background to the menu.
The game guide has been changed.
Minor bugs fixed.
Electricity update (0.8)
Hi engineers!
A month has passed since the last update, which means it's time for a new update! This update brings a ton of content to the game. The main innovation in this update is the addition of electricity.
Electricity.
As mentioned earlier, this part of the update is the main one. Therefore, most of the new content belongs to it. A significant number of appliances in the game now require electricity to operate. It is logical that in order to use electricity, it must be obtained somehow, for this there are such items as a Generator, a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, and a Solar Panel. Also, electrical connections are not built in the same way as logical ones - they do not have inputs and outputs, they are all something in between.
Icon caching.
In this update, icon caching was added, which means that loading when entering the game will be reduced or completely lost. Now it will only happen once per game update. All icons will be stored in the following path:
In this update, almost the entire game interface has been changed, except for the menu. Added slots for easier construction.
New music.
Now PixPhys has completely new music from another composer, as well as ambient for being near the surface and in space.
[previewyoutube="z5l11hO4mUQ;full"]
Change settings.
Now you can disable in the settings: at home in the background on the flat card, post processing, output of system messages to the console, adjust the volume of the music.
Multiplayer.
Work has begun on multiplayer. At the moment, it works very badly and therefore ordinary players cannot enter it now.
Changes.
Winch.
Disable collision by layers.
Redesigned UI.
Added solar panel.
Added a red barrel.
Added a switch.
Added post processing settings.
Added a change to the context menu.
Added a crew rescue engine.
Added industrial scanner.
Added a string operator.
Added icon caching.
Added metal detector.
Added water detector.
Added C4.
Added inertial cube power setting.
Achievement “Disposable Electrician” has been added.
Redesign of logical connections.
Added coal.
Added coal engine.
Added sparks when metal objects collide.
Added the ability to disable buildings in the background.
Added generator.
Added loading screen.
Added fog around houses.
Added infinite electricity.
Added the ability to turn off sparks.
Added radioisotope thermoelectric generator.
The number of tags in the Steam Workshop has been increased.
