Dear Stormworkers,
This week we begin testing 5x scale modular engine parts, new power and fuel modular engine balance, and AI boats in Stormworks (available now on the experimental branch of the game).
As discussed a couple of weeks ago, we have plenty of plans for the modular engines, and this week we are adding the 5x scale parts. These parts extend the 1x and 3x scale parts already on experimental.
The 5x scale parts include a piston, crankshaft, clutch, power manifold, and 5x to 3x adapter. These new parts allow players to create much larger, more powerful ship engines.
Along with these new parts, we have also been talking with and carefully listening to the experimental community, and have rebalanced modular engine fuel consumption and power production to make modular engines much more comparable with the non-modular engine performance.
Fuel consumption has been lowered and power production has been increased. This makes modular engines much more practical and effective to use. While modular engines are harder to design and use than their non-modular counterparts, the intention is that they can have prove very versatile and have a slight advantage in performance.
We have also begun work on AI boats which we plan to be a future minor update. This feature is being shared on experimental branch as we develop it. This feature involves various boats and ships spawning across the ocean, and navigating around with AI drivers. We are developing this feature in the new LUA framework and are having great fun building it up.
Boats and ships will travel through the world, and persistently move, even when the player is far away. This means that they can appear on the horizon and pass you by, before continuing on their journey as they vanish on the opposite horizon.
This is part of our plan to create a more dynamic, interesting world for players to explore. These new AI boats have been carefully designed to have simpler physics.
A full list of changes is available in the #experimental-changelog channel in the Official Stormworks Discord.
We are having a great time adding these new features, and hope you have as much fun playing with them. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback!
Much love <3,
The Stormworks Developers
https://steamcommunity.com/games/573090/announcements/detail/2926739287983671613
