The new retirement date is the 14th of May (1 week from now). This will give us some extra time to address any issues or concerns posted in Community Hub. Anyone who still wants to collect the game will still have a chance to do so, but there will be no further discounts.
During the past week we were able to re-enable sales in AUD and are presently attempting to remove redundant achievements as requested.
This will be our last announcement. Once again, thank you to those who have followed the project over the years, and those who recently joined us before the ship sets sail.
ProtoMasons Retirement Sale
On the 27th of April we announced that ProtoMasons would be retired. In response to this, we were surprise to learn a number of people have requested a farewell sale so that they may try the game before it is removed. We have also been contacted by people who are part of "removed game collector" groups.
In response to this, we will have a final discount starting the 29th of April. The cost will be reduced by 80% to $1.99 USD and will last for one week. Any sales made during this time will help offset our costs.
Please understand that as this game is about to be removed from Steam, there will be no further updates or future support, although we will be here to assist with issues posted to the Steam Community Hub until the game is retired. Customers should only purchase this game out of curiosity, fully understanding that it is transitioning into a retired product. Consider this our final swan song.
We will not be hosting any official servers like we used to, but ProtoMasons uses Steam Matchmaking and therefore anyone playing at any time can host a game with no extra effort required.
Thank you for your comments during this transition. Your offers of interest and support have been unexpected and appreciated.
ProtoMasons to be Retired
It has been a long journey. I am disappointed to announce that ProtoMasons will be retired on the 28th of April, 2019.
Due to resource constraints, we are unable to develop the product further.
The game began development in 2014 and was released to "Early Access" in 2017. An early release was an opportunity to get feedback and fund further development of the product. Unfortunately, based on the feedback we have received, it is clear that (as a primarily multiplayer game) customers do not wish to keep a copy of the game because the player community is too small. We understand this. It is a chicken and egg problem that many multiplayer games have to face. On this occasion, we weren't able to find a solution in time.
I want to thank anyone who voted on our Steam Greenlight page, played the game, helped with bug reports, or simply took the time to see what ProtoMasons was about. We don't take this decision lightly and it isn't the outcome we would like, but it is one that makes the most sense.
Thank you, and farewell. ːprotoheartː
1.0.5 Care Update
Update ver 1.0.5 (EA)
Melon Seed Edition
This is a minor care update to address a couple of bugs and correct a design issue with minigame windows. ːprotoheartː
Changes ːprintplasmaː
Added minigame background to help with visibility
Update appearance of tutorial room
Removed some redundant game data (alpha test content)
Notable Bug fixes ːplaceboː
Missing animation warning for server NPC
Text misalignment in Studio (easy mode)
As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts, questions, and ideas here or in the ProtoMasons Steam community hub. I'll respond to them the best I can.
ProtoMasons in Lunar New Year Sale
ProtoMasons on Sale Now!
The Steam Lunar New Year Sale has begun, and ProtoMasons is among the titles discounted this year. Now is a great time to adopt a copy from the cold, spooky depths of your wishlist, with 50% off for a limited time.
Development Progress
The next update (1.0.5) is going to include bug fixes, modifications to the tutorial and minigames, and further options for the creation and customisation of NPCs.
1.0.4 'New Year' Update
Update ver 1.0.4 (EA)
Melon Seed Edition
Happy New Year to all! This update introduces a number of changes that affect the feel and style of the game, including standardising the UI design and introducing ambient background music. It also introduces a new multiplayer minigame, the first of its kind, as well as an early starting point for NPCs.
EDIT: Following the 1.0.4 update, two serious bugs were found related to the introduction of new features. Please make sure you are using "rev 2" of the 1.0.4 update (version no. appears on the main menu at the top right).
New content ːprotoheartː
New multiplayer minigame: Connect! Play the classic game of four-in-a-row with a friend, or against a bot!
Rudimentary NPC system implemented: NPCs can be spawned and will walk about. This is a rudimentary implementation, and NPC behaviour will become more complex in a future patch.
Badges, trading cards, emoticons, and Steam profile backgrounds now available!
New ambient background music plays in-game
New character face: evil robotic head.
Changes ːprintplasmaː
New music for main menu and connection interface
Standardised fonts in the game
Multiple UI changes to standardise window design
Notable Bug fixes ːplaceboː
Building demolish button being accessible when no building is available
Client crash in some cases when connecting to freshly created lobbies
Tab window appearing over minigames
Winter Progress
We were hoping to have an update ready at this time, but version 1.0.4 is taking a little longer to get right, due to the introduction of some multiplayer minigames that need some extra work. The next update will also introduce UI and music changes, and NPCs will be working again.
Trading Cards and Badges You can now collect ProtoMasons trading cards, emoticons, profile backgrounds, and badges in Steam! My personal favourite is the heart emoticon. ːprotoheartː
Trading cards can be earned by playing ProtoMasons.
Christmas Holiday Many parts of the world celebrate Christmas this month, in a variety of different ways! I've personally added some Christmas content to the Workshop for our own 'Christmas House' world which will be hosted 24/7 for the next week or so. Come along and build a house of your own!
- Jargoons, main dev
ProtoMasons Discount in Steam Autumn Sale 2017
ProtoMasons on Sale Now!
Hooray! The 2017 Steam Autumn sale has commenced. This means you can get a copy of ProtoMasons with a 12% discount!
ProtoMasons is a young early access project with a tiny community, eager for more players. Now is a great time to buy a copy and help influence the development of the game.
Development Progress
The next update (1.0.4) is going to include some nifty new game features, including two-player minigames! Neat! Keep up to date in the Steam Community Hub, and feel free to ask questions. ːmelonː
ProtoMasons 1.0.3 Update
Update ver 1.0.3 (EA)
Melon Seed Edition
This patch fixes some bugs, but also introduces changes to the main menu and solo mode.
New content:
Three new avatar faces: surreal heads.
Added town to the background of the grassland map
Changes:
Removed solo mode temporarily (please see below for more details)
Play menu now has two buttons for creating world and joining world
Main menu 'Host' button changed to 'News', which links to hub announcements in Steam overlay
Temporarily disabled "broken furniture" until repair tool is available
Bug fixes:
'Needs' hunger glitch caused by a side-effect of the 1.0.2 patch
Loud volume of the text sound (as per request)
Cloud generation in all weather events to address some performance issues
Snow appearing indoors
"disease_cleanse" crash on host
Crash when attempting to disconnect from server while textures are loading
Solo Mode Disabled Solo mode is an experimental single player mode in ProtoMasons. It is unfinished, and was included as a bonus feature to be experimented with. Unfortunately, based on some the dialogue and feedback with customers thus far, a number of people have mistaken solo mode for the "main game" or have taken it to be representative of the quality and stability of the overall product, which is not the case. At this time, the decision has been made to disable access to solo mode indefinitely, to prevent future confusion, and to prioritise development on the original online concept.
1.0.2 Update Notes
Update ver 1.0.2 (EA)
Melon Seed Edition
This is an important update that includes crucial fixes to a number of bugs.
Changes:
Teleporter speed increased
Corrected optimisation oversight for storm weather clouds, which caused heavy framerate drop on modest GPUs
Bug fixes:
Fixed major issue which caused player Steam ID corruption (this should solve a number of sync issues)
Fixed problem that caused animations to end prematurely (or not run) on other players
Fixed glitch that caused players to appear in the background after joining
Fixed issue that occurs when joining a server, that causes the other players to first appear at the start of the map, then teleport away
Fixed desync issue (related to sitting) that caused players to appear inside when they were outside and vice versa (possibly the 'invisibility' glitch reported in reviews)
Fixed object pickup crashing game on certain items
Fixed glitch that caused outside objects to spawn indoors when another player is building outside
Fixed glitch that caused thirst extend above 100% when rejoining a server
Fixed body scanner sound looping endlessly if scanner is prematurely exited
Fixed food items always appearing outside at full visibility when eaten
With thanks to Luigi and Sentry for submitting extra details that helped diagnose the issues fixed in this update.
