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Craftomation 101 Dev Update: So Far, SO GOOD
Craftomation 101 is a new game by Luden.io, award-winning educational game developers, creators of while True: learn() and Learning Factory In this game you land on a frozen planet in a tiny rocket with a robot inside. Harvest and combine materials to discover new ones. Use visual programming to make the robot do the tiresome work for you. Slowly build a gang of self-sustaining robot workers and watch them terraform the planet.
Hey everyone, Georgii from Luden.io here!
Here's a little dev update on Craftomation 101. You know, that game about automation, zero code programming, and terraforming a frozen planet with a little help from some robots? The one you can wishlist or play for free on Steam or Itch.io
If you yet don't know what Craftomation 101 is all about - check out this comprehensive (or so we sincerely hope!) video below:
Do you know what is particularly exciting about the free alpha stage? It's that phase of development when the game comes into shape very rapidly, changing a great deal almost every other fortnight.
This case is no different! Since we introduced the game back in June, so many features have emerged (and so many more will appear in the upcoming months), that we wouldn't even dare to bore you with listing them all. Instead, here's a short list of the most awesome things, accompanied by a bunch of screenshots (because everyone on the web loves pretty pics, right?)
Introducing Variables (And More Commands)!
Although Craftomation 101 is a zero-coding game, it has a strong focus on programming logic via the means of visual programming. Variables were part of this plan from the very beginning. They allow you to create more complex and flexible programs for your Craftomates and adapt the code to your tasks on the fly. Because, you know, there's no programming without variables! Have fun experimenting with them!
Several new commands for your Craftomates were added as well:
‘is empty’ - allows Craftomates to check whether a selected object (like a Bonfire or a Storage) has another object inside - it prevents the bots from picking up the storing object itself by mistake;
‘compare’ is helpful for, well, comparing stuff that a Craftomate holds in its hands with an object on the map;
‘find and pick’ utters a Craftomate to look for the selected element. More comfortable to use than the standard ‘pick from’ command, but maybe not as precise. Still, generates lots of goofy fun;
‘find and drop’ makes a Craftomate drop an object to the nearest Storage unit available. Again, not very precise, but great for experimenting!
Restyling the World!
The planet you land on in Craftomation looks unwelcome and lifeless, but it doesn't mean it can't be pretty! Our artist Alex has done a great job with the game's graphics. Just check it out below:
Oh, and as you melt out more territories, the grass starts growing, too:
Last but not least: many players asked us to add means for labeling and better distinguishing Craftomates. While proper labeling is yet to be introduced, there already is an option for making your robots look more colorful & festive. You can even choose their ear shape:
Accessibility Before Early Access!
We truly enjoy communicating with our players, as they provide the most valuable feedback. Although we can't make it all happen in the game (at least, not at once), we're trying to do our best. More than once we were asked to let the Craftomates pick up objects not just from their right or left, but from the upper and lower tiles, too. Many of the players were rightfully frustrated by not being able to see the radius of heating structures (such as bonfires). Honestly, the lack of those features was kinda bugging us too. But we've finally added them to the game:
Honestly, it was quite literally a game-changer! We don't want to brag, so we suggest you check it out yourselves in the free alpha (runs in your browser, too):
In other news: we've added some sounds to the game. We've reworked some commands for Craftomates (‘recharge’, formerly known as ‘low energy’ now works as if-else instruction). But most importantly, we've switched to a newer version of the Defold engine, which is definitely good news for our players with weaker PCs.
Programmer's Day, Ada Lovelace Day, and Landing on GOG.COM
In the modern world, programming has naturally become a part of everyone's lives, and the video games industry reflects this process. In simpler words, more programming and automation games emerging every year! There're so many of them already, that we at Luden.io decided that they deserve a separate event! We have ended up running two.
World Programmer Day is happening each 256th (get the reference?) day of the year, while Ada Lovelace Day is celebrated every second Tuesday of October! Both these events were celebrated with discounts and awesome offers on Steam and GOG.COM respectively. We were blessed to be joined by well-respected programming game devs such as Zach Barth of Zachtronics, Tomorrow Corporation (Human Resource Machine, 7 Billion Humans), and Foulball Hangover (Hydroneer), along with many others! And if you have missed these two glorious fests for coding and automation game, worry not: we have plans to make this an annual thing. And Craftomation 101 is still free to play, for now, so you're entitled to having some fun anyway!
Oh, and by all means, don't forget to wishlist it on GOG.COM and Steam, if you haven't done it already ;)
Next Stop: Early Access!
It was always meant to happen and the day is getting closer: Early Access is our next big step and a wild dream destined to come true!
Here's a selection of the coolest features that we plan to include in the game by that time:
Tier 2 of crafting tree (more stuff to craft, mostly concerning water and trees mechanics);
Buffing ‘pills’ for Craftomates: to increase their operating speed and/or make them emit warmth around them;
TBC: zones of operation for Craftomates, for the player to be able to assign certain robots to selected territories.
And hey, you can always check our Roadmap on the Steam page to learn what we have in mind for the next stages of development, we're updating it regularly:
Don't be a stranger! We'll keep you posted as Craftomation 101 is getting more advanced and awesome. And don't forget to play the free alpha and share your feedback on our Discord channel! Until we meet again!