Scraps will soon be delisted from the Steam store.
Scraps has been selling near zero copies for quite some time, and although I've kept it running for a long while, I can't keep supporting it forever. Apart from keeping the main server running, eventually some OS or hardware update is bound to come out that breaks something in Scraps, and it's running on such an old version of the Unity engine that it'll be impossible to fix without a huge amount of work to upgrade. I don't feel it's fair to continue selling a game that's unsupported.
Soon Scraps will no longer be available to purchase, and the remaining USA server that I keep running will be shut down.
Thankfully Scraps does not require a central server to keep multiplayer working. If you already own the game, you will still be able to download it in your Steam library and play it, and although there will be no permanent official multiplayer server running, anyone should still be able to host a server - be it either a dedicated server, or a game they're playing in that they've set to allow others to join. On LAN or Internet as always. Those systems run on Steam's own back-end.
Thank you all so much for the great memories of making and playing Scraps: Modular Vehicle Combat.
Update: I've applied a 90% discount closing down sale price.
Scraps v1.0.2.2
- AI now only shoots at its target if it has weapon line-of-sight (previously was based only on whether it could see/hear the target.
Scraps v1.0.2.1
2021-02 - 1.0.2.1 - Fixed the Melee mode timer not pausing when the game is paused, when playing singleplayer - Fixed the end-of-round screen not working correctly if the round ended while a game was paused
Scraps v1.0.2.0
1.0.2.0 - Increased AI hearing range a bit - Gauntlet vehicle test exit menu is less confusing - Modified post-loop Gauntlet vehicle spawns and costs Bug Fixes: - Fixed not being able to connect to a game with the correct password after previously attemping to connect with an incorrect password
Scraps v1.0.1.0
- Fixed missing lightmaps for ColdHill walls - Fixed a text fitting bug on the Build screen - Fixed a bug joining LAN games from the demo version - Fixed some Kickstarter content not showing up - Fixed a bug with Kickstarter reward flag animation
Scraps v1.0.0.0
Well, this has been a long time coming. Scraps is released, finished, done! I'll continue to support major bug fixes or issues if they come up for at least the next six months, as detailed in my previous post here. That post covers everything about this release already, so I'll use this post to look back at some Scraps history.
1.0 Changelog
- Added two new Melee mode maps: Desert Road and Cold Hill - Added gold/silver/bronze/spiked Kickstarter reward items - Added icons next to player label for Kickstarter backers at Knight and Master And Commander level - Added free repair time at the build screen after Gauntlet Final to the point where it should always provide full repairs - Had to clear existing local Gauntlet leaderboard scores due to code changes. Sorry! - Added slight randomness to the vehicle's position after an automatic flip over - Vehicle flip action now checks to make sure it won't be teleporting through a wall - Flipping your vehicle while inside a building no longer teleports you to the roof
Bug fixes:
- Physics objects (crates, barrels) now interpolate their position, don't look jittery - AI is now less confused by buildings - Fixed collision bugs on Gauntlet Earth retaining walls - Fixed container lid not showing up on Build screen - Fixed evac pad ramp sticking out of terrain on Test Map - Fixed Medium Cannon and Medium Cannon Turret invisible polygons on the base
And now a bit of a look back.
2012
Scraps development begins.
In these early screenshots from December 2012 you can see the basic layout of the Test Map already in place, as well as some placeholder part models and a primitive version of the small chassis (sporting a nice final version of the wheel model!). The guns require power and don't generate heat.
I took these screenshots to start a DevLog on TIGSource and on the Unity forums, where I described the game as "Like Kerbal Space Program except the spaceships are vehicles and they fight." I let people download a super early "builder demo" where they could try building and driving their own vehicles.
2013
[previewyoutube="x9XgX-VU6kw;full"]
It’s early 2013 and some more of the models are done. You can build and test but there’s no sound and the weapons keep hitting your own vehicle when they fire. Luckily there’s no damage yet either.
Later in the year I produced this simple trailer, when I later re-did again with updated graphics for the Scraps Kickstarter campaign (December 2013).
[previewyoutube="EITD1kE2iuQ;full"]
I was also beginning to work on multiplayer support.
2014
Multiplayer was a big job, but in September I had it stable enough to try out a real LAN game with a couple of other players.
[previewyoutube="xMVma2lix78;full"]
That’s an extremely early version of the Sandy Bridge map. Dust Bowl was also in at that point, but I picked the smaller map since this was a three-player game.
Not long after that I showed Scraps at PAX Australia.
The AI was also coming along; the only thing in Scraps that I contracted out apart from one nice piece of art. Although any work on AI since the original version has been mine.
[previewyoutube="B1MVDB6zpKY;full"]
2015
Scraps went through the Steam Greenlight process (which no longer exists), and got its official release on Steam Early Access in July 2015, with multiplayer (LAN or Internet) and AI for singleplayer melee.
But by the end of 2015 I was seeing that Scraps really needed another singleplayer mode of some sort to make it a worthwhile purchase, given the very low playerbase in multiplayer and the limits of the AI melee mode.
2016
I started working on Gauntlet mode, another major undertaking.
Too major, really. Scraps had been going on for too long already and wasn’t really getting sales anymore. I couldn’t justify working on it full time any longer, and 2016 was the year I got other, full time work. Scraps became a project I worked on in any remaining free time I had, which slowed down development further.
2017-2019
I kept chugging through getting Gauntlet done. I also refactored some parts of the game, as I’d grown in ability as a programmer over time and some old bits were really showing their age.
In December 2019 I finally released the first version of Gauntlet that was publicly playable, which included the Landing Point, Earth, Water, and Transition worlds.
2020
I added a release that included Gauntlet Wind, and finally the complete version of Gauntlet. And now here we are.
Check out the two new Melee maps that come in this release as well.
Thanks so much for your patience. I hope you have fun with my game.
The Final Steps
Scraps has been in development for a long time. I started this game in late 2012, working full time. I had originally hoped to get an initial version out by mid-2013. When it took longer than that, I ran a Kickstarter campaign in late 2013. It was relatively successful and kept things going.
In late 2014 I had multiplayer working and showed Scraps at PAX Australia. In mid-2015 it released to Early Access on Steam after making it through the Steam Greenlight process (remember that?).
In early 2016 things were really taking longer than I had hoped, and since the multiplayer servers were usually empty, I decided to work on a new singleplayer mode named Gauntlet that would make the game a much more worthwhile purchase even without an active playerbase.
In late 2016 Scraps was taking much longer to complete than I had initially hoped, especially with the new Gauntlet mode, and Scraps sales never did very well. I reluctantly picked up another full-time job to provide an income, knowing that it would only prolong the trek to complete Scraps even further. I was very lucky to land a job making games at Facepunch Studios, and I continued to work on Scraps in the free time I had remaining, usually around an hour a day during the week.
I never stopped working on it, and Gauntlet mode was recently - finally - released in full. It's got seven worlds to fight through against enemy vehicles, turrets, and drones, all while upgrading your vehicle. More content than I originally planned, and the levels you fight through are a bit different every time.
What's Still Coming
Within the next few weeks I'll be releasing Scraps out of Early Access and it'll be done for real. The main thing that's coming in that update are a couple of additional maps for Melee mode:
Desert road is set up like a simple racetrack, just as an additional option to play around with.
Cold Hill a king-of-the-hill type layout, with the spawns at ground level but the only evac pad located on the hilltop.
What's not coming
I've been working on Scraps for over eight years now. I wanted to get it finished and I have, both because you and others have paid good money for it, and because I'd always be disappointed in myself if I didn't, just like I would have been if I'd never taken the risk and started. But I need to have it done. It's been eight years of always feeling like I should be working on it, never really getting a break. I haven't let it consume my life - I've seen how that road goes for other indies. But I haven't started any side projects. I stopped recording music. I've done what I can but it's time to move on.
So, I don't like to say it but two major features that I said would go in at some point are cut:
Team Melee - Intended to be a two-sides version of Melee mode. With the lack of multiplayer interest, this isn't too much of a loss anyway.
Tank Tracks - It would be a major undertaking to add additional propulsion types beyond wheels at this point. I'm really sorry that this one isn't making it in, but if it's any consolation I don't think it would have made a major difference to gameplay.
I think Gauntlet mode (which was never originally promised) adds a lot to the game. I hope that helps make up for the missing bits above.
Some questions you might have
Here are a few more general answers.
Q: Will Scraps still be updated after it leaves Early Access? A: Game updates no, bug fixes yes. I intend to fix any major bugs and issues that come up for at least the next six months. The only exception to that will be if something external like an operating system update causes a bug at the game engine level, as the version of the Unity engine that Scraps runs on is very old at this point and requires a massive amount of work to update to the latest. Of course, an update like that that breaks Scraps would likely also break many other existing games, so hopefully that doesn't happen.
Q: What if Scraps becomes popular though and starts making money? It's not even out of Early Access yet - how do you know it's failed? And what about marketing? A: Almost always, Early Access performance is a strong indicator of post-release performance. It's very unusual for a game to be small in Early Access but get a big release. Usually an Early Access launch is basically the real release launch. So I'm not expecting much. I could do a big marketing push at release like I did in the early days, which may help or it may not (these days good marketing depends on a lot on things like getting through to big-name streamers, more than just paying to advertise somewhere). But I need to move on now, whatever happens. I think the final result is good, I'm proud of my little game, and it's something I always wanted to make.
When I started Scraps the landscape was very different. I'd been waiting a long time for a game with buildable cars like this and there was nothing. Then soon after I started, Robocraft came out, and now in 2020 "buildable vehicle combat games" is pretty much a genre unto itself. Robocraft, TerraTech, Besiege, Crossout which looks incredibly similar in concept to Scraps. I was banking on the unique gameplay to be a major selling point and in the end it was one of many, which lost its selling power to a great extent. Oh well. At least we now have plenty of games in this genre to try, I always knew it'd make an excellent premise.
Q: Will the price increase at release? A: No, and I'll do a pretty steep launch discount. If it gets a few players on the multiplayer servers for a while it'll be good for everyone.
Q: What are you going to work on next? A: Something different, finally.
Thank You
I'm sure I'll say this again at release in a few weeks, but thank you for contributing to Scraps and coming along for the ride. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get here but I'm happy to have made something from my imagination that people really enjoy. This was my first real game project and I think some things (especially semi-authoritative physics-based multiplayer networking) only got done because I didn't know yet that they should be impossible. It's been quite a journey.
Scraps v0.7.0.0: Gauntlet mode complete
Gauntlet mode is complete with all worlds available. There are seven worlds to fight through while upgrading your vehicle to fight increasingly difficult enemy vehicles, turrets and drones. I hope you enjoy it.
Scraps itself is now almost done as well. I'll make another post in the next few days that will detail what's still to come. Much of it is actually already done in a separate branch, so we're not too far off now.
Thank you for your patience, truly.
Changelog
- All seven Gauntlet worlds are now available. Gauntlet mode is complete - Added Gauntlet mode option to test a vehicle build before deploying to the next level - Gauntlet high score list now automatically slots in high scores from any of your Steam friends - Small Capacitor is now unlocked from the start - Drone enemies shoot a bit more accurately - Barrels and ExplodeBalls do a bit less max damage (same damage radius, and same force though) - Did a balance pass on all weapons, various changes, nothing crazy - Disabled edit and new vehicle options when selecting a vehicle for an AI player in the lobby. Fixes the human player's vehicle selection getting cleared as well - Gauntlet progress now saves at the end of a world as well as when deploying into the next one, so if you quit during Build you'll still be able to continue - Gauntlet mode no longer stores scores of 0 on the leaderboard - Gauntlet mode saves now only permanently store the highest score achieved using that particular save on the leaderboard - Increased the range from which AI will start shooting, some other minor AI tweaks - Clearing progression no longer clears unlocked cosmetics. Particularly important as the "Alpha Crown" for completing Gauntlet mode while it was still in development is no longer possible to earn - Increased max suspension spring setting from 62500 to 80000
Bug Fixes
- Plasmanator now ignores proximity firing mode, so moving out of the radius doesn't cancel a held charge - Clearing user data or progression in the game options now clears Gauntlet saved progress as well - Leaving Gauntlet mode from the Build screen now goes to the Gauntlet end-game screen instead of straight to the main menu - AI vehicles now try a lot harder not to drive off the cliffs on Gauntlet Wind - Improved AI aim calculation with projectile weapons vs. moving vehicles - Fixed transparent shader rendering order issues, particularly laser weapons appearing to be behind grass - Fixed smoke damage FX decreasing with health lost instead of increasing - Fixed a couple of bugs with how AI drives in close combat - Fixed a bug with AI close combat where cars could think they were stuck on what should be good ground - Fixed audio bug when using multiple Plasmanators
Scraps v0.6.2.0
This update adds a new world to Gauntlet mode, adding three more levels to Gauntlet in total, along with other fixes and improvements.
Changelog
- Added a new Gauntlet world, bringing the current total to eleven levels over five worlds - Adjustments to existing Gauntlet systems. Earlier worlds are a little easier. - Gauntlet game mode now automatically saves and allows the player to continue from the start of some worlds - Gauntlet mode AI cars are now disabled when far away, as a performance consideration - Can now see Gauntlet world info on the pause (Esc) screen - Wreckage in Gauntlet mode can now be collected immediately with no delay (Melee mode still has a delay so others have a chance to grab it) - Slightly increased weapon costs for laser and medium cannon - (Kickstarter backers) Tesla Device now prioritises enemy targets above non-enemy ones like crates - (Kickstarter backers) Tesla Device now ignores proximity firing mode (can keep shooting in all directions) - Some adjustments to GUI fonts and layout - Improvements to weapon hit forces, and reduced them overall - Increased HP by around 15% on all cockpits and chassis types - Laser weapons now have a SLIGHT inaccuracy, still highly accurate
Bug Fixes
- Fixed the bug where skidmarks could join incorrectly, causing a big straight line across the map - Game mode select buttons no longer animate if a dropdown is open - Fixed dropdowns staying open in the background when pressing Esc to close UI - Fixed AI in Gauntlet mode not following their patrol points in the correct order - AI is better at transitioning from one patrol point to the next - Time spent paused no longer counts towards Gauntlet level completion time - Much reduced the jittering that often happened when a vehicle ended up on its side - Fixed a couple of bugs with AI pathing
Scraps v0.6.1.0
This update brings major CPU performance improvements, a new turreted version of the Medium Laser, manual vehicle flip for if you get really stuck, and more changes listed below.
You can expect the next major update to include a new Gauntlet world.
Scraps v0.6.1.0:
Significantly reduced initial game-start loading time
Added a turret version of the Medium Laser
Massive improvements to AI performance, greatly reducing CPU time when playing with many AI
Can now manually flip your vehicle (max once every 10 seconds) with F. Key assignment can be changed in the game options. Must be grounded and not moving fast
Auto-flip when upside down is a little more reliable
Reduced AI max roam speed in Melee mode, so fast vehicles chill out a bit when just patrolling without a target
Added a little camera shake to collisions
Removed the small monuments that spawned at previous vehicle-destroyed locations in Gauntlet. They were more annoying than cool
Increased static friction (friction when not moving). Vehicles are less prone to sliding sideways down slopes
Demo version no longer uses the XP system. Previously demo could reach up to 900XP, now fixed at 900XP
Demo version no longer shows help info for game modes
Area-effect weapons were doing too much damage in general. Reduced area damage overall in several ways, and adjusted costs
Minor tweaks to vehicle networking Adjusted some AI patrol points that were in bad spots on DustBowl and RiverRift
Bug fixes:
Fixed several bugs with Gauntlet mode level generation
Fixed evac pad graphics glitch on TestMap
Made an evac pad variant for when evac happens on the Gauntlet Water bridge, that looks a little less ridiculous.
Fixed not being able to drive underneath the Gauntlet Water bridge.
Improved evac pad height positioning in Gauntlet mode
