shapez 2 - Factory news & patch notes

We all know the feeling – you're working on your factory and everything is going smoothly, then suddenly a shortcut you took or temporary setup you made hours ago comes back to haunt you. Maybe your ratios are off, a belt goes the wrong way early on in production, or your spaghetti designs are catching up to you. Well, shapez 2 has a bunch of features to help you building polished setups with ease, or troubleshoot any potential issues.

Effective Blueprints

When you're just starting off with shapez 2, it's easy to see a task and start making a bespoke setup to complete it. However, after completing a handful of tasks, your factory may end up disorganised as you snake your production lines over, under and through each other. There's nothing wrong with this; everyone builds differently. But effective use of blueprints can save you a lot of work and troubleshooting in the future.

What you could try instead is make platform blueprints that handle one specific action. Make a platform that rotates shapes, make a platform that cuts quadrants, make a platform that moves shapes up a level, make one that paints them, etc. Instead of figuring every step out again and again and trying to fit everything on a single platform, you can connect a bunch of platform blueprints that each handle an action in the desired order. You don't have to reinvent the wheel for every task!

Understanding Throughput

Buildings

Whenever you've selected a building, an info box pops up on the right side of your screen. This contains some really useful information, including how many of that building you need to process a full belt. Measuring in full belts is a good standard to hold to, as it will save you a lot of calculations down the line. So instead of guesstimating how many you need and adding or removing buildings as necessary, you can simply see what the right amount is in the info box.

However, this can get confusing if you connect more buildings with different processing speeds directly to each other. If you need 3 of one building and 4 of the other, how are you going to connect them? Well, just merge the output into one belt before you try to split them again! You've already established that your buildings support exactly one full belt, so you can always return to that one full belt when you need to split its contents differently.

Space Belts

The same principle works for Space Belts. If you stick to a full Space Belt by default, you'll always know exactly how many platforms you need to connect it it. One Space Belt supplies up to 4 platforms when using all the layers of both the platform and the Space Belt, and you'll need 3 asteroid miners per Space Belt layer for a total of 12.

Space Belts are also a good way to figure out if there are any issues in the production line. Simply look at the flow; if it's not flowing smoothly, something somewhere ahead is backing up. Look further down the line, and if after a platform the Space Belt is no longer backing up or doesn't look completely full, you've narrowed down the issue to that specific platform.

Troubleshooting tips

Incorrect shape

Is the end product shape wrong? Maybe it's just one in four shapes that comes out different? If you don't immediately know where the issue could be, it's better to work backwards. Start at the end product and slowly work your way towards the start until you stop seeing that mistake, then look around on the platform you ended up at. You don't want to fix the end if the line first, as you may end up reworking something that would work perfectly if the supply was correct. Fix the issue, select your factory, then press \ to clear the belts for a clean slate.

Building Mistakes

It's easy to make small mistakes when placing building individually, so make sure of the copy and pasting tools available. It may not be worth making a blueprint for something small, but simply selecting something that already works and pressing Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste it somewhere else is almost always worth it. If you do make a mistake, you can always undo it with Ctrl+Z!

Mixing items on belts

Unless you're thinking with wires, it's generally not smart to mix shapes on a single belt. Sorting options are generally unlocked later in the game, and many setups are prone to mistakes when small changes are made earlier in the line. If a rogue shape ends up in the wrong place, things can get stuck. Instead, stick to the full belt rule of thumb for the production line of any shape.

With Space Belts however, you can use the different layers to transport different kinds of shapes without mixing them together!

We hope that was helpful in fixing an oopsie and or prevent future ones. Of course, it's not up to us to tell you how to make your factory, we really enjoy your spaghetti and sushi creations, but a systematic approach can prevent headaches.

There are some interesting things coming soon, including a first glimpse at the shapez 2 Puzzles project, so stay tuned for that!

Hello everyone!

Update 1.1 just released, bringing Manufacture Hard Mode and its badge, quality of life improvements and a bunch of smaller bug fixes. Additionally, this update is accompanied by a new cosmetic DLC: the Hyper Skin DLC!

Note on Modding

There is a high chance that this update will break mods and will result in the game crashing if you have mods installed. We are working with the modding community to fix this, but in the meantime, if you encounter any problems:

• You can switch back to a stable 1.0 branch: Right click shapez 2 in your library > properties > betas, and choose the branch modding_stable.

• Alternatively, you can bypass mod loading by starting the game with the launch option --ignore-mods.

Highlights

Manufacture Hard Mode

If regular Manufacture Mode didn’t tickle your brain quite enough, Manufacture Hard Mode may do the trick! This new scenario ups the challenge with new Trade Stations layouts and much more complex shape goals. More challenging mechanics are introduced earlier, so you’ll be dealing with Crystal shapes and pins quite a bit sooner.

To give you a bit of a hand, the shape goals do feature a few more consistent patterns. This allows you to reuse parts of your factories more than on the regular difficulty, or make more use of blueprints. However, this does require you to think ahead and keep your factory organised from the get-go!

Hyper Skin DLC

Released alongside this update is the Hyper Skin DLC, a cosmetic override for your Vortex and trains, giving them a sleek hyper-futuristic look with a white finish, hexagonal patterns and an aerodynamic nose (for your trains, the Vortex remains nose-less).

The train override includes the Locomotive, Shape Wagon, Fluid Wagon and Space Wagon, in all available line colors.

These Skin DLCs are completely cosmetic and are there for those of you who want some visual variety and want to support us further. Of course, proceeds from this DLC will go right back to the development of the game!

Supporter Edition Vortex

The Supporter Edition of shapez 2 got a free addition of a cosmetic override for the Vortex! This gives it a more industrial look, complemented by the amber-gold Supporter Edition glow. Thank you for your support!

This override will automatically be added to your game if you own the Support Edition and have it enabled in Steam. You can turn the override on or off in the new Addition Content menu – more on that next.

Additional Content Menu

As there are now two cosmetic overrides available for the Vortex, you’ll need a way to pick between the two! This is where the ‘Additional Content’ menu comes in, available in-game through the main and pause menus. Here, you can enable and disable all individual skins from the additional content you own, as well as the different music packs, without having to step away from your factory. If you’d like to use Hyper Trains with the Supporter Vortex instead of the Hyper Vortex, you can set that up here!

Other Changes

Save/Load

• Autosave is now delayed while the mouse button is held down, to make sure you’re not interrupted.

Visuals

• Improved the visibility of upper space levels while on lower levels, making it easier to see through.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed macOS builds not using the native silicon binary of the game, leading to hangs, crashes and slowdowns.

• Fixed delays occurring when handling bigger blueprints

• Fixed train predictions traveling areas that the train will never go under certain conditions

• Fixed arrows on the sides of converters popping slightly at LOD 2

• Fixed game hanging when shape asteroid patch likelihood is over 100% and then uncolored half’s weight is reduced

• Fixed errors on startup leading to an infinite spinner under certain circumstances

• Fixed and improved a couple of localization strings in several languages

… and many more!

Hello everyone!

We're really excited to announce that the 1.1 update for shapez 2 is releasing on June 25th, along with the first skin DLC!

Update 1.1

This update brings a new scenario: Manufacture Hard Mode! As you might expect from the name, this scenario is a more challenging take on Manufacture Mode. Converters have new layouts and the goals are more complex. They require more production steps and introduce challenging mechanics like pins and crystals earlier on.

Manufacture Hard Mode does feature a few more consistent patterns for its shapes, potentially allowing you to reuse parts of your factories more than in the regular mode. While the shapes may be more complex, you'll be able to use what you've already built in more places!

Aside from Manufacture Hard More, update 1.1 includes a bunch of small bug fixes, as well as some some neat quality of life improvements. We'll share the full list on the day of the update!

Hyper Skin DLC

We wanted to spice up your factories with the Hyper Skin DLC releasing next week, giving your Vortex and trains – which includes both locomotives and wagons – a sleek, hyper-futuristic visual overhaul.

The skin DLC is a small, affordable addition to pick up at only $3.99 / €3.99 / £3.49. Individual skins can be toggled on and off in-game, so you'll be able to mix and match them to your liking.

You can already take a look at the Hyper Skin DLC and wishlist it here:

We hope you're excited for both Update 1.1 and the Hyper Skin DLC. We'll be back next week on June 25th when both of them are live. See you then!

Hello everyone!

Today we'd like to briefly go over some of the things we're working on and what you can still expect for shapez 2 this year.

Update 1.1

The next update for shapez 2 is coming very soon! We'll properly announce the release date of 1.1 next week, along with the changes, fixes and new content you can expect. The new content includes a new scenario that those of you who like a challenge are sure to enjoy. Additionally, we will also share something that stands out.

shapez 2 Puzzles

If you've played shapez 1, you may be familiar with the Puzzle DLC we released for it. It took the core mechanics of the game and turned it into a new, smaller experience by limiting your playing field. You had to use every trick you learned in the main game to produce a specific shape with just a handful of tiles available to you. Additionally, you could make your own puzzles and share it with the community.

We've also been working on puzzles for shapez 2, but it has evolved into something even cooler. We can't wait to share more about it - just not yet. You can expect the announcement in the latter half of this year.

Project 3

We're already working on our next big game that we can only refer to as ‘Project 3’ for now. Our team has grown quite a bit during the development of shapez 2, so we have big plans for this project. We haven't shared much of Project 3 yet, though when we’re ready we will make sure to share this with you.

While it's all a bit vague still, we wanted to share a little sneak peek of what's happening behind the scenes, as you've been asking about it! But for now, we'll see you next week with news about Update 1.1.

Hello everyone!

We've been loving seeing you discuss and share your experiences playing shapez 2. It's interesting to see what features people pick up on and which are more easily overlooked. We've previously made a blog with some beginner tips & tricks to get you started with your factory, but now that some time has passed and your factories have grown (hopefully), we thought we'd give you some more tips that get a little more advanced!

Select Connected

While selecting everything in an area with \ is useful, there's a more intuitive option if you want to select a single belt and everything connected to it. Select a Belt, Pipe or the space equivalent of either, then press \. Now, everything connected will be selected! For normal belts or pipes, this will generally select everything connected from the last Space Belt to the next. For Space Belts, this will generally select everything between the last platform and the next.

Once selected, you get an overview of everything in the window on the right. This includes the amount of buildings, the types of buildings, the dimensions and of course all the things you can do with this selection. This includes \ to clear the shapes current being produced, useful for if you accidentally made some incorrect shapes!

Deselection

\'s evil and forgotten brother, \, allows you to deselect in the same way as \ allows you to select. If you've got something selected, you can \+\ on a building or belt to deselect it, or \ and drag to make a deselection box.

Getting Around

If you're feeling lost in space, there are a couple hotkeys to help you get around. You can press \ to orientate the camera to the north. If you've lost your Vortex, you can press \ to instantly move back to it. You can thank Vortex LTD for that, they wouldn't appreciate you losing your Vortex.

Additionally, you can set up a new hotkey that allows you to jump back to your previous location if you just jumped to your Vortex. Just look for 'Jump Back' in the keybindings menu!

Location Markers

Once your factory reaches a considerable size, simply panning around the place looking for a specific production chain may take a while. To make your factory easier to track, use location markers! Press the location symbol in the top right of the screen, or hotkey \, to create a marker at the center of your screen. You can now give the marker a name and assign a shape code to it, which you can copy by clicking the desired shape in any UI before making the marker.

Once made, your marker will be pinned to the right edge of your screen. Click the marker to instantly jump to its location!

Not happy with a marker? You can right click it to edit, allowing you to change its name, shape or update its location to where you're currently looking. If you don't need it anymore, you can delete it here as well.

Shape Previews Performance

With larger factories and/or lower-end hardware, you may notice your PC struggle a bit with performance. One unassuming setting can affect performance quite a bit: Shape Previews. While it's useful to get a preview of what shape will be produced by your most recent creation, it takes quite a bit of power to compute this.

In the General Settings menu, all the way at the bottom, you can find Simulation Settings. Here, you can set Shape Preview Speed, with lower values being easier on your PC at the trade-off that Shape Previews take longer to appear. If you don't find the Shape Previews that useful and want to turn them off altogether, you can do that right next to it.

Orientation doesn't matter

Many may already know this, but orientation doesn't matter when delivering shapes to the Vortex! Additionally, any Pins not at the top layer of a shape is ignored as well. As long as all parts of the shape are in the correct position relative to each other, the Vortex will take them.

The only exception here are the shapes for a randomized goal in the Operator screen. Those do need the correct orientation.

Page Hotkeys

By default, the hotkey for the Milestones, Shop, Jobs/Trades and Operator Level screens available in the top left of your screen are all bound to \ as part of the 'Research Screen' keybind. When pressed, it will default to the last opened screen. However, you can set hotkeys for each individual screen if you'd like quicker access to each.

The hotkey for the Technologies/Shop Screen will already be bound to \, and Operator Level to \. The hotkey for the Milestones, Jobs (in Classic Mode) and Trades (in Manufacture Mode) screens are empty by default!

Blueprint Organisation

To help organise your Blueprints, you can categorize them by putting them in nested folders, up to three deep! For example, you can make a folder for 'Basic Functions', then create a folder inside that folder for 'Rotators' and 'Cutters', then put the respective blueprints in there. This can be done in-game, but also directly on your PC's disk without launching the game.

Folders can also be assigned to your hotbar for quick access by simply dragging the folder into it!

Blueprint History

On the topic of Blueprints, you can set a keybind to cycle through the blueprints you've previously selected in your current session. Saves you some time going back and forth between screens!

Blueprint Deselection

When trying to place a Blueprint, you can click on the various building types shown in the selection panel on the right to deselect that building. These will not be placed when you place the blueprint. Useful for when a blueprint covers most of what you want to place, but needs one specific building type replaced.

That's it for today! We hope we made getting around your factories and making changes to it a little bit easier with these tips. We'll be back soon with an exciting update on what's still in store for shapez 2 this year, so see you then!

If you haven't read the previous tips & tricks, be sure to check it out here:

Hello everyone!

Today, we'd like to showcase more of the modding features introduced to shapez 2 with the launch of 1.0. As we eluded to before, the game now fully supports mods through the Steam Workshop, but there's more to it! And to get the Workshop going, we're hosting a Modding Contest with an Nvidia RTX 5080 as its grand prize.

shapez 1 released as a browser game initially, so was originally never planned to support mods. However, after the release on Steam it still got a great amount of fantastic mods, adding a huge amount of replayability after launch.

Mods for shapez 1 were a little cumbersome to install, as it required navigating to an external website, downloading them and then manually putting them in the right folder. Not an issue for most, but less than ideal nonetheless. So for shapez 2, mods are considered a cornerstone of the game and we've put a lot of effort into making mods easier to make and seamless to install.

Steam Workshop

Mods for shapez 2 are managed right here through the Steam Workshop. Navigate there, use the filters to find mods you're interested in, go to the mod's page and hit 'Subscribe'. If a mod has other mods it needs in order to work, you'll get a pop up window that lists the required mods. You can check them out individually, or simply click 'Subscribe to all'. That's all you need to do to download mods to the right folder on your PC!

You can find all your mods in the Mods menu in-game. Do note that mods are installed when the game is launched, so if you've made changes to your mods or subscribed to new mods while the game is running, you'll need to restart shapez 2 to install and start using them. Mods you're subscribed to but need a restart before becoming active will be greyed out here.

Furthermore, the Mods menu will showcase the name and description of each mod, the icon, the dependencies, and whether or not it affects savegames or achievements. There are also buttons that will take you right to the mod's Workshop page in Steam or the mod's folder on your PC.

Achievements

We don't want mods to simply disable achievements. For some mods, like mods that make the game significantly easier, it'd make sense to disable achievements. However, many mods only provide some utility of quality of life. Here, disabling achievements makes less sense, we think. So we're leaving it up to mod creators to decide whether or not their mod disables achievements!

You can see which mods disable achievements on the Mods menu. There's also an achievements filter in the Steam Workshop, to make browsing mods that keep achievements enabled a whole lot easier.

Uninstalling a mod

If you'd like to remove a mod, you can do so by unsubscribing in Steam Workshop. This will also require you to restart the game if it's running.

It is important to know that if you unsubscribe from a mod that 'affects savegames', you will no longer be able to load any savegames where that mod was used. You'll need to reinstall that mod in order to access that savegame again.

You can see which mods were used in a specific savegame under the little processor icon in the savegames menu.

Making mods

On the other side of modding, the actual making of the mods, we've developed a separate open source API for modding, called shapez Shifter.

Simply put, shapez Shifter is a layer on top of the base game that allows modders' code written in C# to communicate with the game. By making this a separate layer, mods are less dependent on the code in shapez 2 itself, so will likely stay compatible whenever we update the game. It should also just make it easier to create mods for shapez 2!

For more info about what exactly this does, how to work with it and how to make mods for shapez 2 in general:

Check out the shapez 2 Modding Documentation.

If you're interested in making mods for the game, be sure to read on; there's an RTX 5080 up for grabs!

Modding Competition

There already are some mods on the workshop, but we'd like to kickstart this a bit!

The idea is simple: create a mod for shapez 2 within a set timeframe! It can be anything: brand new buildings, an overhaul of a system, or some quality of life features we never thought of. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's innovative, original, and implemented well.

Why participate? Well, there are some truly great prizes to snatch up:

• First place: Nvidia RTX 5080

• Second place: 32GB of DDR5 RAM

• Third place: 2TB SSD

The exact models of each depend on local availability.

All prizes also include some shapez magnets that stick together, so you can play shapez IRL! If we get more than 10 entries, we'll also be giving away some shapez 2 merch for 4th and 5th places.

Due to shipping limitations, we can only ship physical prizes to Europe, the USA, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Japan. You can participate from other regions, but we'll only be able to award you a key for shapez 2 or the Support Edition Upgrade.

However, with such prizes on the line, we need to make sure everything goes fair. We have a set of rules in place, and you need to sign up in order to participate.

Rules

Hello everyone!

Enjoying shapez 2 so far? We've seen a great amount of you who picked up the game during Early Access take it for another spin with the 1.0 release, and we're really excited to have you back. If you're new here, welcome! This devlog will be interesting to you especially.

While the tutorial took you through all the basics to get started on your factory, here are some additional tips & tricks for if you've already progressed a bit!

Keep the Vortex clear

You'll build the very first bits of your factory along the Vortex. However, this space is the most valuable real estate in the game. You're limited in how many belts you can connect to the Vortex, so you'll need to be smart about how you manage this space.

So instead of building your factory on the Vortex Platform, move your initial factories to other platforms. This makes sure you don't get tangled up getting things to the Vortex. You could also consider deleting parts of your factories to make an improved version!

Don't be afraid to delete and improve

You'll learn the ins and outs of factory building as you go, so naturally, you'll end up with bits of factory you're not particularly proud of. You could make some tweaks to improve the worst of it, but this often just moves the issue. Often, it's simpler and better in the long run to just... delete it, and start over. Use what you've learned so far and come up with a new design!

Think in layers

While you may initially only use the different building layers to cross two belts or feed both inputs of a Stacker, there's so much more to layers than just placing belts: you can also place buildings on every layer! If you've unlocked all layers upgrades and the building you're placing is only one layer tall, you can stack three of them on top of each other. Is your production line not producing enough? Just copy it and stack another two on top for triple the production!

The same works on Platform scale as well. Any platforms can be placed on every building layer, so if you're running out of space or need to scale up production quickly, don't be afraid to move up a layer or two.

Tip: you can simply select buildings and platforms and use \ and \ to copy and paste!

Check the resources around you

The elites don't want you to know this but the shapes floating around in space are free and you can just take them! You may be able to save some time if you have a look around for what shapes are readily available, even if it requires a bit of cutting beforehand.

You can use the shape filters in Overview Mode (the view if you scroll all the way out) to easily locate the parts you need. Even if it's quite some distance away, you can use trains to bring it to your factory.

Research Credits

It's a good idea to take a bit of time to tackle some shape jobs in Classic Mode, or a passive Research Credit provider in Manufacture Mode. Research holds some very important upgrades: global speed multipliers, Vortex inputs, train speed and capacity to name a couple. You can unlock new buildings that work similar but different, often even better, like the Cutter and Swapper that don't delete shapes. There are more tools to optimize belts and trains, and of course the aforementioned 3rd building layer!

Aim for full belts

When you click on a belt, you'll see the maximum throughput of it in the little window that pops up. By the same logic, if you click on a building, you'll see its maximum production speed. You can use these two values to determine how many buildings you need to fill up a belt.

If all your belts are at capacity, it'll be easier later down the line to balance them. You won't need to go back to calculate how many shapes are being produced somewhere if you know it's at a belt's maximum capacity. If you need something at a 3:2 ratio, you'll know you need 3 belts of one and 2 belts of the other. This leads into our next point!

Function Blueprints

Once you're thinking with full belts, you can standardize parts of your factory. Or specifically, standardize specific steps! This becomes important once your factory really starts scaling up rapidly.

If you find yourself using a specific step of a process a lot, make a blueprint out of it. For example, you'll likely end up in a situation where you need to stack the output of two Space Belts. Build a platform, place enough Stackers on it to service a Space Belt, connect everything with normal belts and save it as a Blueprint! Whenever you end up in the same situation again, you won't have to reinvent the wheel.

Blueprints you tend to use a lot can be added to your hotbar for quick access, by dragging its icon from the Blueprint Library to your preferred hotbar slot!

Tip: if you've copied something with \, you can press \ to turn it into a blueprint!

Pipette tool

Going back to micro level, don't sleep on the Pipette Tool! While you can get to all your buildings with the hotkeys quite quickly once you get the hang of them, there may be an easier way. If you've already placed the building you're looking for nearby, simply hover over it and press \!

Need more info? Check the Codex!

When all else fails and you're at your wits' end, the Codex has got your back. You can find information about everything in the game in the Codex, complete with search function and neat example videos. It even covers more advanced topics, like the coveted Make-Anything Machine!

You can find the Codex in the top right panel as a button with a book icon. Or, simply press \!

Got shapez 2 on your mind while at work? Try the community-made wiki! It even has a page about the Codex!

That's it for today! Be sure to share your factories with us here in Steam or our socials. We'll see you again soon!

We hope you're having a great time with the 1.0 release so far!

The game seems to be very stable, so there seem to be no major / widespread issues so far.

However, this is a quick post-launch patch, that addresses a few reported issues:

• Fixed "unreleased" shown instead of "April 23" in the changelog for 1.0

• Fixed some achievements related to operator levels not properly triggering

• Fixed some launch / command line options not working as expected

~Tobias

The 1.0 release of shapez 2 is NOW AVAILABLE with a whole new game mode, modding support, achievements, new visuals & much, much more. Vortex LTD is expecting you.

Important

Savegame & Blueprint Compatibility Disclaimer

Unfortunately, pre-1.0 savegames are not compatible. However, there is an 0.1.1-old branch available on Steam that you can switch to, if you for example want to check out some of your old creations, create blueprints, or simply are not ready to do the switch yet.

Blueprints are compatible, but blueprints created pre-1.0 will show a warning in the blueprint library. We encourage you to recreate them (i.e. by placing them down, then saving them again), as we will drop support for pre-1.0 blueprints in future updates.

Which mode to start with?

Before diving into the changes, I wanted to give a quick guidance on which mode to play when you dive into 1.0. The release renames the current experience into Classic Mode and introduces a new Manufacture Mode.

• Certification: If you’ve not played shapez 2 before, we recommend playing the Certification scenario first. It is a ~1h long scenario that teaches you all the necessary basics and allows you to then seamlessly transition into the Classic scenario.

• Classic Mode: If you’ve already played shapez 2 during early access, but it’s been a while, we recommend you to start with the Classic - Regular scenario first until you feel comfortable with the game again and you’ve built up an initial collection of space platform blueprints. The Classic scenario is the original shapez 2 experience and offers a unique blend of factory building, logistics and shape puzzles.

• Manufacture Mode: Once you’ve got the hang of Classic Mode, we recommend trying the new Manufacture Mode. The mode introduces new mechanics and focuses on permanent, large-scale factories, similar to other factory games, with the goal of re-launching your Vortex Platform.

What to expect from the 1.0 release?

The 1.0 release is the biggest update for shapez 2 so far, and we’re super proud of it!

This isn’t just a “game is finished” release. With this update, we’re introducing a huge amount of new content and improvements on top, for new and existing players. Even if you’ve already played shapez 2 during early access, we’re very confident there’s something new for you, making it worth checking out the game again.

As always, we’ve spent a lot of time polishing the game already, and with lots of beta testers having tested the release extensively, we expect basically no bugs and good performance.

We really hope you enjoy it!

~The entire tobspr Games Team

Highlights

With over 3,700 commits since the Dimension Update (0.1.1), summarizing all of the improvements coming with 1.0 is quite a challenge. We tried our best here!

Manufacture Mode

The 1.0 release introduces a new game mode, called Manufacture Mode. This mode addresses one of the biggest feedback points we got during early access: factories you needed to build for a specific shape were no longer being at later stages in the game

In the new Manufacture Mode you’ll focus on re-building your Vortex Platform by trading shapes with Trade Stations and building large-scale, permanent factories.

Check out the devlog below, going into details of the new mode:

Achievements

1.0 introduces 83 achievements that cover various aspects of the game, including a few hidden ones. Go hunt them all!

More information can be found here:

Modding Support

With 1.0 we are also introducing modding support! While we expect it’ll take a bit of time until we see a vast amount of mods, there’s already a few available and we encourage anybody interested in creating mods for the game!

Modding uses the Steam Workshop, making it easy to find, install & manage mods.

• To develop mods, check out our Modding Documentation

• To install mods, check out the shapez 2 Steam Workshop

Classic Mode Changes

While the Classic Mode remains the more “traditional” shapez 2 experience, we’ve spiced it up with additional goals at the end, introducing 4 new milestones and new shapes that can be acquired with Trade Stations. They may look similar to the Manufacture Mode stations, they don’t require you to scale up as much, unless you want to!

We’ve also added a massive amount of QoL changes, like consolidating the speed upgrades into a Global Speed Upgrade, Shape Previews working more consistently and also for trains, and much more!

Find more about the changes coming to classic mode here:

Visual Improvements

The game has visually improved a lot in all areas, with the biggest changes being Space Pipes now looking like actual pipes, a rework of all Wire related buildings, new Fluid Launcher visuals, generally more details & fidelity, various shader improvements and much more!

Full Changelog

Gameplay

Major

• Manufacture Mode: An entirely new game mode and experience, encouraging you to build permanent, large-scale factories and optimizing logistics (Check out the devlog + video above!). The existing game mode has been renamed into “Classic” mode.

• New Shapes: Added 2 new shapes (X and Y), used in the Manufacture Mode and Classic Mode Trade Stations.

• Classic Mode Extension: Classic Mode (Regular/Hard/Insane) has been extended with additional content and new shapes, introducing 4 new milestones! (Check out the devlog + video above!)

• Global Speed Upgrade: Consolidated the individual Stacking, Cutting & Painting speed upgrades into a global speed upgrade, to avoid machine ratios changing during upgrades - they should now stay consistent.

• New Tutorial: The tutorial has been fully reworked to contain colored shapes, specific lessons explaining cross-layer conveyor belts better, and many more improvements, to make it more interesting and easy to get into shapez 2.

• Spiral Map Generation: Added support for spiral map generation and made it the default (configurable when starting a new game), leading to more interesting map generation,an emphasis on the use of trains and your factories spiraling out of control.

• Badges: Completing a scenario now grants a unique badge, visible in the main menu. Collect them all to gain operator bragging rights.

• Vortex LTD Lore: Lore elements have been added throughout the game. Find out more about Vortex LTD history by completing milestones!

• New Codex: The codex has been vastly extended, now containing over 150 pages explaining all game mechanics This includes tutorials for Wires & Make Anything Machines, pre-built Blueprint Examples and much more!

• Train Spacers: Train stations with gaps now require a Train Spacer platform (This was a technical requirement in order to support the train shape previews - see below)

• Infinite Pipe Throughput: Pipes now have infinite throughput. However, they are still limited by the fluid launchers/catchers between platforms, which are now the primary limit.

• Black & Uncolored Fluids: You can now create black fluid by mixing white with white, and uncolored fluid by mixing black with white, allowing you to for example remove paint from shapes.

• New Music: Additional 10 minutes of music from the original composer, the fantastic Petter “Peppsen” Sumelius, and 10 more minutes if you own the Supporter Edition. Bangers included.

• 200% Train Throughput: Trains got a massive throughput buff, increasing their package size from 180 → 360 shapes and 1,800 → 3,600 Liters.

Minor

• Added upgrades to increase platform capacity so you can build more factory per factory.

• Custom map generation shape weights logic has been changed to now work with a weight based system, instead of iterating through all the possible shape types.

• The base level in space has been shifted one level up, so shape asteroid miners are now on the bottom layer.

• The layout of the simulated (un-)stacker has been changed to a more intuitive layout, with the input/output on the side.

• Streamlined Hexagonal Scenario: now starts directly in space, similar to the other Classic scenarios.

• Added simulated CCW rotator.

• Added 2x2 and 3x3 displays.

• Global wire transmitters now also support integer and color channels.

• Changed train wait stop interval to 60 seconds (from 120).

QoL & UX Improvements

Major

• Fixed + Train Shape Previews: Shape previews now work consistently and even support trains, while now also being displayed at the end of space belts/pipes.

• Automatic Space Floor Selection: Zooming in towards a space platform will now automatically adjust the selected space level, allowing for a more seamless transition (can be disabled in the settings).

• Better Placement: Refactored the (space platform-) placement to work similar to the machine placement, which means “Shift” to override and various other placement features should now work as expected.

Minor

• Allow filtering “Empty” shapes in the shape filter.

• Added an optional setting (disabled by default) to allow Q/E to also switch space levels while in machine mode, if going below the lowest or highest level in machine view.

• Improved platform selection raycast logic, to allow selecting space platforms more accurately

• Improved statistics screen so there’s more to stare at.

• Organized the toolbar categories & entries to be more intuitive.

• Added error indicator when attempting to place shape/fluid asteroid miners on the wrong space level.

• Added ability to (un-)pin operator shapes from the Operator Shapes screen.

• Disable screen border panning by default, as it could cause more harm than good.

• Display mode and scenario in the operator screen, for easier verification of screenshots.

• The shape inspector now shows statistics for the currently selected shape, as well as all available shape codes & fluids, and includes a back/forward button for previous shapes.

• “Replace” now saves a blueprint immediately.

• Rename right shift to “RSHIFT”, so it is easier to distinguish between left / right shift.

Visuals

Major

• Dark Mode: You can now enable an experimental dark mode in the settings, which is lighter on the eyes. It will be further refined in future updates. Perfect for those of you building factories at 3 am.

• Space Pipe Visuals: Space Pipes now actually look like pipes! (Check out the devlog + video above!)

• All New Wire Visuals: All wire-based buildings have been fully visually reworked! (Check out the devlog + video above!)

• New Icons: Reworked almost all icons in the game.

Minor

• Improved visuals of all train-related content: Trains, Loaders, Stops, Packages ,etc.

• Improved visuals of the Space Belt and pipe lift.

• Improved visuals of the Shape / Fluid Miners.

• Improved crystal visuals.

• Improved rendering of space platforms while hiding upper levels or in machine view.

• Improved wire shaders.

• Improved fluid shaders.

• Improved glass shaders.

• Updated main menu background to reflect 1.0 content.

• Added level number to each lane of Space Pipes/Belts, to make it more clear on which machine levels shapes/fluids are travelling on.

• Various color blind improvements.

• Improved visuals of connectors between Space Belts/Pipes and machine platforms.

• Changed the color of fluid related platforms like fluid train (un)loaders.

• Added small intro cutscenes when starting a new Certification / Manufacture Mode game.

• Improved readability of various platforms in overview mode.

• Fixed extractors/pump meshes being too long.

• Tons of LOD & UV fixes.

User Interface

Major

• Reworked Milestones screen: Reworked the Milestones screen to be more intuitive, better display which milestones you already unlocked and which shapes you need to deliver next.

• Reworked Operator Level screen: Reworked and cleaned up the Operator Level screen, with the ability to now pin/unpin individual operator shapes.

• Reworked Shop screen: Reworked the Shop screen to improve the display of upgrades to show which machines & platforms are unlocked from upgrades, as well as a visual rework of the (speed-) upgrades.

• New Codex: Reworked the Codex to contain much more information (>150 pages) and features, including breaking down articles into individual pages, throughput information, back/forward button, search feature, ready-to-copy blueprint examples, and much more! Great for some light reading.

• New Recipes screen: Added a new recipes screen, showing all available conversions of trade stations / operator levels, both in Manufacture and Classic Mode.

• Machine Videos + Throughput: Almost all machines now show a small video during placement, explaining how they work and visualizing their throughput. (Can be disabled in the settings)

Minor

• Reworked the summary screen when unlocking a new milestone to be less overwhelming.

• Reworked and cleaned up menu screens when creating a new game.

• Added more visually pleasing notification when unlocking new technologies, completing shape goals or unlocking achievements. Happy chemicals go brrr.

• Allow using hexagonal and quad shape parts interchangeably in Location Markers and Blueprint Icons, ensuring icons work across all modes.

• Savegames now display a “Completed” badge in the menu.

• Added a warning icon when a blueprint might be incompatible in future versions.

• Added more statistics in the side panel during placement of platforms, i.e. display the shape package size while placing train loaders or the platform capacity cost.

• Added indicators when switching from machine to space view and vice versa.

• Changed “/m” to “/min” (i.e. 60 / min) to make it more clear its “minutes” not “meters”.

• Various polishing in all areas. Everything is now spick and span.

• Updated all images and videos in the game to reflect the new visuals and mechanics.

Technical

• Updated Unity to 2022.3.62f2.

• Lots of performance improvements in all areas.

• Improved rendering performance.

• Improved blueprint placement performance.

• Various memory / RAM improvements, fixed multiple memory leaks.

• Added debug.performance-chart command with further options, to debug where performance bottlenecks are.

Bugfixes

This release includes over 500 bugfixes. It would be too many to list all of them here. However the game should be very stable, and we are not aware of any critical issues after extensive internal and closed-beta playtesting.

If you still encounter any bug, the easiest way is to report it on our discord, in the #bug-reports channel. Should you not want to use discord, you can also for example post on the Steam Forums or email us at [email protected]!

Thank you for reading until here - we hope you have a lot of fun with 1.0! It was quite a journey and we put a lot of effort into it, so we hope you’ll enjoy the game as much as we do!

1.0 is coming TOMORROW!!

Less than 24 hours until the 1.0 release - we're so excited!! (one of the rare cases where I think a double exclamation mark is appropriate)

There's been such a huge amount of effort put into the release, we can't wait for you to get your hands on it :)

If you want to celebrate the launch with us and dive into 1.0 the moment it drops, be sure to check out the global launch times map below that Max made!

Also, check out the summary here, so you're prepared and ahead of the curve:

Seriously, thank you!

From the whole team at tobspr Games, we want to thank everybody for supporting us so much during the whole Early Access period! It was such a great time, and we were and still are overwhelmed from the positive reception and the collaboration with you, our community!

Be it the early access launch, the constant feedback, collaborating on our discord and surveys or just playing the game - and hopefully enjoying it!

We're dedicated to build the best possible experience for you, and we have still a lot of plans for the shapez 2 future - more on that soon, though.

For the time being though - we're super proud of the 1.0 release. The new manufacture mode is a HUGE step up for shapez 2, and it's super fun! It also addresses the biggest feedback we got during early access - building more permanent/massive factories. Let aside all the other improvements coming like achievements and mods (we have different bets in the team on what the first / most popular mod will be).

The build is also in a really stable state, so we're basically just waiting now to click the 'set live' button and preparing the latest marketing assets.

See you tomorrow!

~Tobias

The 1.0 release of shapez 2 is only a week away, coming on April 23rd at 2pm CEST! To make sure you didn't miss any important information on what's coming with 1.0, here's a summary of all the bigger changes you can expect.

While this is already somewhat of a soft-changelog, you can expect a detailed changelog with the 1.0 release that also goes over many of the more minor changes with the update, so look forward to that!

Pre-1.0 Branch

As we mentioned before, savegames made during Early Access will not directly carry over to 1.0. So if you're current knee-deep in a factory and would prefer to finish that before making the switch to 1.0, you can move to the 0.1.1-old branch. To do this, go to your Steam library, right-click on shapez 2 and select properties. In the window that just opened, select game versions and then 0.1.1-old. This branch will always remain available, but will not receive any further updates.

Blueprints do carry over to 1.0 though, which does allow you to make a blueprint of your current Early Access factory, then copy it into a 1.0 savegame. You'll likely need to make some fixes though, as in 1.0 the starting layer is the bottom one instead of the middle.

Gameplay

Manufacture Mode

Of course, the biggest change is the addition of a brand new game mode: Manufacture Mode. This mode aims to resolve much of the feedback all of you gave us on the shapez 2 game mode during Early Access, and by extension the original shapez. With the addition of Trade Stations that need to continuously convert a specific shape into a brand new shape type, your factories will no longer lose their purpose. Gone are the days of making brand new factories for every new goal, instead you'll be expanding!

Changes to Classic Mode

Trade Stations also make their way into Classic Mode, which is now the name of the current game mode. They function in a similar way, but have simpler recipes and are an extra end-game challenge to switch things up a little bit!

Modding

shapez 2 gets full modding support with the release of 1.0 through the Steam Workshop! The sky is the limit here, as everything from small quality of life tweaks to complete overhauls of the game are possible. This is supported by a handy in-game mod browser to make managing your 300 installed mods a lot more manageable.

We've been planning to dive into the Modding support for a while, but ultimately decided to leave it until after the release of 1.0 so you can first focus on the vanilla shapez 2 experience!

New Tutorial

The tutorial has seen some big changes and streamlining to make it more accessible and interesting for players new to the genre. Got any friends who really need to start playing factory games but don't know how to get them hooked? Tell them about shapez 2!

Map Generation

The default map generation is now changed to a spiral pattern. This makes it easier to return to the center, makes the map less noisy, offers more space without having to build over resources and emphasizes the use of trains.

Of course, the old map generation is still available by going to the generation options, which have also seen an expansion. There's a new weight system and an option for larger resource chunks for you to toy around with.

Trains

Trains and related buildings got new visual improvements yet again, a throughput increase of 100% and the Station Spacer building, which allows you to create extra space between connected (un-)loaders and stations. Helpful if you don't want to (un)load specific wagons!

Wires

Wires get their visual overhaul and a number of improvements. There's now a Counter Clockwise Rotator and two new display variants, being 2x2 and 3x3. The simulated (Un-)Stacker has a more intuitive layout and Global Wire Transmitters now support integer and colour channels.

Colour Mixing

We've made some changes to colour mixing. You can get black fluid if you mix white with white, and uncoloured fluid by mixing black with white, which removes paint from shapes. Don't question it.

Visual Improvements

Both Crystals, Space Elevators & Shape/Fluid Miners got some visual improvements, and Space Pipes now look like pipes! Additionally, we've improved the shaders for fluids and glass.

Mastery Badges

We've added Mastery Badges to collect for every game mode and scenario in shapez 2, including the tutorial. If you need some direction on what to do next, try to collect them all!

Achievements

Speaking of achievements, they've been added as well! There are now over 80 achievements to get, requiring you to tackle most of the content shapez 2 has to offer. Some of them you'll get simply by playing, while others may require you to make a specific shape a whole lot. There are a few secret achievements to look for as well, which you'll have to discover for yourself. However, we've made the achievements in such a way that it shouldn't distract you from regular gameplay to get them.

Shop

The upgrade shop now has upgrades for platform capacity and speed upgrades have been globalized so you won't have to worry about messing up your throughput balancing!

Music

An extra 10 minutes of instant classics by Peppsen are coming with 1.0, and an additional 10 minutes if you own the Supporter Edition.

UI

Shape Previews

The preview at the end of a belt of what shape is being produced got refactored and now also work for trains!

Dark Mode

The game can now be set to Dark Mode, which not only darkens the UI of the game, but also the buildable area of platforms! Makes accidentally playing shapez 2 until 3am a bit easier on the eyes.

Codex

The Codex (or Knowledge Panel) got some major improvements. Aside from being expanded, it now has a search function and many more video previews.

Tool Bar

The tool bar and its entries have been reorganised to be more intuitive, and most icons have new designs to more easily distinguish them at a glance.

...and many, many more minor changes!

We're really excited for the release of 1.0 next week and can't wait to see your new Manufacture Mode factories!

WIth the release of 1.0 on April 23 being less than a month away, we wanted to look back at the journey that was shapez 2 Early Access. Before we get to shapez 2 however, we need to go back further – to shapez.io!

Development of shapez

In Early 2020, the development of shapez.io was started as a one-man project. If you haven't played it, it's a minimalistic factory automation game where you could cut, rotate, paint and merge into progressively more complex shapes on an infinitely expanding map. Not totally unlike shapez 2, but it looked a little different.

It was a simple idea, first inspired by the little wooden shape toys many played with in their early years as a destined-to-be factory builder. Then it became inspired by Factorio as well, intended as a more streamlined approach to the factory genre, removing the pressure of combat to instead focus on pure automation. 

The initial success of shapez.io and the release on Steam lead to the creation of tobspr Games and it growing to the 15 members it has today. During that process, development on shapez 2 was also started, which sought to expand on shapez and would be rebuilt from the ground up.

Why rebuilt, you ask? Well, shapez was written in JavaScript, which kind of makes it a glorified website. There was no support for efficient rendering or memory management. Scaling up much beyond what was needed would cause severe performance issues. Fixing this issue requires a rebuild from scratch, which is one of the many factors that lead to the creation of the sequel.

Development of shapez 2

Keeping the core foundation of shapez in mind, prototyping of shapez 2 started in 2022 and was followed by dedicated production in 2023 – which is still going strong! shapez 2 quickly got to a playable stage, but it has evolved a lot since then. 

The real challenge for shapez 2 was taking already established features in other factory games, such as the train system, and finding a way to innovate it and make it unique to shapez. This was greatly helped by the community, who were often involved in the process. We asked them for their thoughts and feedback for various iterations of the train system and many other elements of the game, well before the Early Access release of shapez 2.

shapez 2 Early Access release

Speaking of which, Early Access released on August 15th, 2024! shapez 2 took the familiar gameplay of shapez 1 with a brand new take on it, in a 3D world with a new art style and larger scale. Space Belts bound together platforms, pipes replaced belts for paint transport, and trains could be dunked directly into a vortex. Neat.

The 3D nature of shapez 2 gave us the opportunity to make all buildings open and animated, something that sets this game apart from most other factory games. You could see every shape being split, painted, stacked, you name it! Not only is it fun to look at, it can also help you understand what exactly each building is doing and why. This is something we're very proud of! Looking back at the process, shapez feel very much like a prototype of shapez 2, rather than shapez 2 being shapez in 3D. Though, of course there's plenty to love about shapez 1 as well.

The launch of Early Access far exceeded our expectations, and the response took us by complete surprise. It maintained a 100% positive review rate on Steam for quite some time, eventually settling around 97-98%. This didn't change our intentions however, as we wanted to continue taking on feedback on a larger scale than we had before, further developing the game and its systems. Rather than rush to 1.0, we wanted to take the time to refine all its elements and polish it into a game you'll love just as much as we do. 

The best way to do this was to release in Early Access with all the core features in place to create a fully playable experience you could give feedback on. We produced (mostly) bi-weekly devlogs to keep you up to date with the developments and things we were considering, so you could voice your thoughts before we spent a whole lot of time going into a different direction. We also took part of Gamescom last year so we could meet a lot of you in person, and we're planning to return this year as well.

Update 0.0.9

This paved the way to the first significant update at the end of 2024. Update 0.0.9 brought major optimization for multi-core processors, giving up to 40x performance gains on specific systems. We reworked space belt and pipe visuals to better show the belt layers, a new statistics panel and new platform variants. There were a ton of smaller improvements and bug fixes as well, powered by all of you!

Dimensions Update

In June of 2025 we released the Dimensions update, taking the single-layer platform building you were used to and adding a whole two more layers! While before you had to build outwards for space, you could now build up or down as well and connect everything up without the need for massive space belts – which got its throughput quadrupled! Trains got more efficient as well with new logic, adding quick stops and the ability to pick which layers stations would unload. More upgrades and train colors were added as well to complete the shapez rainbow. To help fit everything together, more platform layouts were added and the long-awaited overflow splitters for belts.

This update gave us some truly valuable feedback from the community. It was great in terms of quality of life and some exciting new features, like the whole dimensions thing, but it wasn't enough for many to jump back into shapez 2. After all, you'd still be playing the same game for the most part. To get people back, we needed to go bigger. A whole new game mode bigger.

The 1.0 release of shapez 2

That's where we're at now! We've expanded to doing video content together with Tom of TotalXclipse alongside the devlogs and introduced the Manufacture Mode in early February of this year, which we're hoping is enough to want you to dive into shapez 2 all over again – if you weren't already! Alongside the new game mode, we've revealed the changes coming to Classic Mode, new shapes, new challenges, achievements, improved visuals and a whole bunch of quality of life additions thanks to your suggestions.

We'll soon also dive into the topic of full mod support as we know this is the biggest topic left for us to tackle, but we want to commit some finishing touches before we showcase all of it.

We hope this blast from the past was an interesting look into the development of the shapez games. As you can hopefully tell, community feedback is key to these games and none of it would've been possible without you. The full release of shapez 2 isn't the end either as we intend to provide more updates based on your feedback on 1.0! 

Something we do want to mention is that the minimum and recommended system specs displayed on Steam will be increased somewhat with the release of 1.0. We're doing this increase not because the game performs worse after 1.0 – in fact, it's likely to run better – but we feel the current system requirements do not reflect performance accurately enough and want to set more realistic expectations. If your system can already run shapez 2, it will continue to do so with the same or slightly better performance.

Our current estimations are as follows. Do not that these aren't final yet, and we'd love to hear how you feel about these. Details on Mac will follow later.

Minimum

Recommended

Old

New

Old

New

Processor

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4440

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-10400

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-12600

Graphics Card

Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630, 1GB VRAM

Intel(R) Iris XE, 2GB VRAM

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

Memory

4 GB RAM

8 GB RAM

8 GB RAM

16 GB RAM

That's it for now, and we'll see you again soon!

We're just over a month away from the 1.0 release of shapez 2 on April 23rd. While a lot of attention has been put on the new kid on the block, the Manufacture Mode, the classic shapez experience is also seeing some changes. Before we get into those however, let's first recap what the difference between Classic Mode and Manufacture mode are, just in case you haven't read the previous devlogs yet.

What you know

Classic Mode is based on the original experience from shapez 1, where you have to deliver certain amounts of a specific shape in order to unlock a new building. This building you could then use to make a completely different shape to unlock another building, etcetera. This way, you get a bunch of smaller factories all working to deliver their respective shapes. The gameplay was expanded upon in shapez 2, but remained the same at its core.

This starts off at factory level, where you're placing individual buildings and belts around the Vortex. Perfect for new players, but once you're a bit more comfortable with the gameplay and building at scale, you may want something a bit more challenging. For example, Manufacture Mode, where you have to keep scaling up your factories, as the early game shapes will remain a requirement until the end.

Both modes are available from the beginning, so you can switch at any time. If you'd like to read more about the new Manufacture Mode, be sure to check out this devlog:

Classic Mode Changes

In 1.0, Classic Mode is getting Trade Stations from Manufacture Mode! Wait, we can explain.

Situated in the end game of Classic Mode, the Trade Stations serve as an extra challenge as well as an introduction to Manufacture Mode. These Trade Stations are different from those in Manufacture Mode, as their recipes are simpler and they produce different exotic shapes. Their designs are also slightly different!

There are 5 milestones separated into 3 tiers of trade stations, starting from milestone 8 with Red, Green and Blue Trade Stations. Milestone 9 gives Cyan, Magenta and Yellow, mixed from the milestone 8 resources as you'd expect. Milestone 10 gives White and Black, which you'll need for the Vortex Grand Assembler that produces the shape you need for the final Milestone and the completion of the scenario.

We hope this change makes for an interesting challenge and a nice switch up this late into a scenario. The changes we've made to the Trade Station should make it feel right at home in Classic Mode.

General Gameplay Changes

There are a bunch of gameplay changes coming to Classic Mode, but these apply the Manufacture Mode as well!

Lore

We've added lore to enjoy while you're making the most of your Operator License. Vortex LTD expects optimized factories from you, so you better not be cooking up any spaghetti.

Vortex LTD Badges

There's now an official in-game Vortex LTD Badge for every game mode and scenario for you to earn. Seeing them through to their final challenge once will reward you with a Vortex LTD Badge each. Collect them all for unparalleled bragging rights!

• Operator.License

• Classic.Regular

• Classic.Hard

• Classic.Insane

• Classic.Hex

• Manufacture.Regular

You can easily see what Vortex LTD badges you still need on the main menu.

Spiral Worlds

Spiral World Generation is a new feature which, as the name implies, generates spiral worlds! Instead of resources being generated all over the place, they're now more neatly generated in a large spiral pattern.

This is now the default setting for world generation, but can be changed at any time in the world generation settings.

Train Spacers

You can now add Train Spacers between Loaders and Unloaders to give you more flexibility in what wagons you want to load or unload at any given station. Only Loaders and Unloaders connected to a stop directly or by Spacer will function, the others are ignored.

Smaller Changes

To wrap up this devlog, here are a couple more small changes coming to 1.0:

• Space Floors are moved up by one level. Instead of the middle level, the starting level is now the bottom. This better matches building floors!

• The 'Rules' in the world settings are now named 'Challenges' to better reflect their intended purpose

• Speed upgrades are now global for all buildings instead of individual. This makes sure upgrading speed does not mess with your ratios.

• Goals in Hexagonal Mode are now more streamlined, and you'll be starting off with Space Platforms unlocked, similar to Manufacture Mode.

Do check out the Achievement devlog for more 1.0 changes, like Dark Mode and improved shape previews!

Compatibility

Please know that save games will not be compatible between Early Access and 1.0. The scale of all the changes made means there's a lot to break, and making it compatible would delay 1.0 by a lot.

When 1.0 releases, we'll make a pre-1.0 branch in Steam for you to play on if you want to continue on your old factory. This branch will remain unchanged, so you can take as much time as you'd like in the current version of the game.

Blueprints are compatible however, so you won't have to worry about those breaking. If you really like your old factory, you could even make a blueprint out of it (or a couple smaller ones) and port it into a 1.0 world.

That's all for now! It's not long until 1.0 now, but we have a few more devlogs lined up for you. Until then, see you around!

Only 2 days ago we announced the 1.0 release date of shapez 2 to be April 23rd. Thank you for all the kind comments you left and we're glad you're as excited as we are!

Today we'd like to highlight some of the changes that are smaller, but not any less impactful, as well as talk about achievements!

Dark Mode

We're adding a dark mode feature with 1.0! This doesn't just make the UI darker either, this shifts the light grey of platforms to a very dark grey as well. Perfect for staying up way too late again!

Knowledge Panel

Aside from the search functions we mentioned before, the Knowledge Panel now also includes videos to help explain the more complex mechanics, like the Make Anything Machines and simulated buildings.

Trade Stations in Classic Mode

We've decided to add the Trade Stations of Manufacture Mode to the Classic Mode as well. This adds 4 new milestones with new shapes and tasks for each of the difficulty options. However, the Vortex is still your focus!

Hexagonal Mode remains Trade Station-free.

Wire Buildings

Wiring has been expanded with new buildings, like bigger displays and virtual Counter-Clockwise Rotators, alongside entirely new visuals shown in the Visual Changes devlog.

Improved Performance

Large factories will now run more smoothly, allowing you to expand even more while maintaining a solid framerate.

Pipes

The throughput of pipes is now infinite! However, fluid launchers and catches will still be a bottleneck. If the pipes simply connects two buildings without any jumps in between, you'll find that pipes feel more snappy.

Achievements

Now, it's finally time to talk achievements! With 1.0, we're adding 86 achievements to shapez 2, that will have you take on all different parts of the game. They're designed to not be intrusive to your usual busywork, but do challenge you to go one step further or try something new. Some need a bit of dedication, but we believe they're all achievable by anyone.

For example, certain achievements may ask you to sink hundreds of thousands of shapes into the Vortex. You could make a huge factory specifically for this challenge that gets this done in no time, or simply slow trickle them in passively while you work on other things. It's up to you!

Some achievements relate to your operator level, some to building a ton of space belts or completing certain researches. Others have you play the new Manufacture Mode, the Hexagon mode or try the other difficulty levels of Classic Mode. Once you've reached 100% achievements, you'll have seen everything shapez 2 has to offer.

Though a handful of achievements remain hidden and you'll have to do a bit of digging to figure out how to get them. They're good fun, and we're sure you'll have a ton of fun hunting these down!

Modding

We'll soon tackle the topic of modding properly, but we do already want to mention that mods don't automatically disable achievements. Instead, we're leaving up to mod creators to decide whether their mod disables achievements or not. You'll easily be able to distinguish achievement compatibility in the mod list!

We don't want to reveal too much about all the achievements quite yet, but we hope this sates your thirst for the achievements a bit. If you haven't seen the 1.0 Release Date Trailer yet, do check it out below.

Today, we're beyond excited to announce the release date of the long-awaited 1.0 release and the 'official' launch of shapez 2!

That's right, the 1.0 release of shapez 2 arrives on April 23rd, 2026! After over a year and a half of Early Access and tons of invaluable feedback from all of you, 1.0 is finally releasing at the tail end of next month.

With this update comes a whole host of features and improvements, some of which we've already shared in recent weeks and some we're yet to dive into. Here’s the overview:

Manufacture Mode

Modding Support

shapez 2 will fully support modding through the Steam Workshop with 1.0, ranging from small quality of life tweaks to overhauls that really change the way you play the game. Everything is possible!

Achievements

Finally, achievements! From scaling up your output to taking on Hexagon mode, 86 achievements will challenge you to improve your factories, give suggestions on what to do next and flaunt your expertise.

Quality of Life Improvements

Update 1.0 is filled to the brim with quality of life improvements based on your feedback, including fixed & improved shape previews that work everywhere and an expanded codex with search function just to name a couple!

Refined Visuals

 …and more!

Which we’ll explain in the weeks to come.

Thank you so much for all your support during Early Access and stay tuned for more info on everything coming with 1.0 very soon.

Hello everyone! When shapez 2 released to Early Access in August 2024, it shipped with the visuals we were satisfied with at the time. We’re always looking to improve and refine the player’s experience, and the visual design is a big part of that. So during the Early Access period, we’ve updated many of the visuals in shapez 2 with your feedback, but there’s a lot more on the way with the 1.0 update. Before we get into these new updates though, it’s important to know why we make certain changes.

Design Principles

The visuals are the first impression for a player. It immerses them into the world and, notably for an automation game like shapez 2, communicates the game’s mechanics. So for shapez 2, we designed everything around 5 principles.

1. Open buildings

Instead of shapes going into a mysterious machine and magically outputting something differently, all production buildings are designed to be open. This way you can clearly see what a machine does just by looking at it, instead of reading about it. Show a Stacker to someone who has never seen shapez before, and they’ll know what it does right away.

2. Readability

Each elements should be easily distinguishable from one another through size, silhouette, contrast and/or colour.

3. Gameplay

Designs need to work from a gameplay perspective, both when designing up close and from a space building level. It should be clear when something is working, but also show what’s wrong when it’s not working.

4. Viability

It may be a tad more boring, but designs need to be viable from a development perspective. As an example, we could take 6 months to rework trains. But would that be worth the time invested, or would that time be better used elsewhere? Or would these changes have negative impact on game performance? As a smaller development team, we have certain restraints that need to be considered when making design decisions.

5. Vision

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, changes need to be in line with our vision of the game. As Max, our art director, beautifully put it: you wouldn’t place Disneyland’s fairy tale castle as the background for a Dark Souls boss fight, that just wouldn’t work. We need to make design feels like it belongs in shapez 2.

So, we’ve been updating the visuals in the past 18 months. We showcased some of this in our devlog from last November, where we highlighted the process of improving the visual fidelity of some of the older assets, such as Train Stations. Whilst on the subject of trains, all train visuals have undergone improvement from trains, to loaders, stations and packages.

Fluids

We've also reworked the visuals to a handful of features, such as the fluid system. Originally the shape launcher and fluid launchers were very similar in design, but we wanted to make a better distinction between the two. They’ve been greatly improved, with the launcher, catcher and liquid ball better reflecting fluids.

Space Belts & Pipes

Fluid space pipes better reflect their liquid nature with straight and curved sections piped, showing the fluids inside and their junctions covered. From further away you'll be able to clearly distinguish the fluid balls from the shapes which now show on space belts allowing you to easily see what's going where in your factories. We've adjusted the colours of the space pipes as well, with help from our Discord!

Numbers have been added to represent the floor levels the resources are travelling along and we've improved the input and output visuals of the space belts.

Shape previews

The shape previews that predict what shape a system will be producing, allowing you to quickly spot errors ahead of production, have been refactored and also work for trains now.

Wiring

The wiring system is likely the most complicated system of shapez 2. Introducing logic to your factory in the late game, to possibly make a Make Anything Machine, is something we really want to make easier to understand. It has always been in a work-in-progress state during Early Access, as it’s such a big undertaking, and now we’ve overhauled it completely for 1.0.

The wires themselves had a simple, glowing design to make them visually distinct from your belts and pipes, but these we considered placeholder. We want them to look more like actual wires, improve their glow and add contrast with bracing pieces and a dark grey cap underneath to help separate it from the floor. Once we had a concept, we had to consider all the variants like corner pieces and the different building levels. Only then could it be passed on to the 3D artists and finalized.

This same process extends to the rest of the wiring system, namely logic gates and simulated buildings.

Crystals

We've also reworked the crystals, as the original placeholder looked noisy from further away, so we've made changes to make it easier to read.

User Interface

When you’re working on visuals, the user interface is equally as important as the game itself. A bad UI can turn a fun game into an annoying experience, so we want to make sure the UI feels just as smooth as the gameplay.

We reworked the hotbar with additional colours to help differentiate between fluid, shape and wire buildings. The icons got a revamp to better reflect their use as well.

The knowledge panel has been restructured into multiple categories and is now searchable, and got an expansion as well.

We’ve improved the readability of the shop and research interfaces to clearly show which milestones are unlocked. You’ll now also get notifications when new research is unlocked.

Manufacture Mode

To give you a glimpse behind the curtain, the new buildings for the Manufacture Mode went through several iterations. The new shape was formed around the idea of them being a cut gem, which was explored with multiple concepts prior to us arriving at this design. These new shapes are produced in the new trade stations, which themselves, along with the hub and research stations also needed designing. The initial concept started off quite different to the end design, with curved exteriors similar to individual space stations. This felt a little funky however, not quite fitting with the overall feel of the game.

With that in mind, they were redesigned and built with modules, which could then be reused for other trade stations. These were then crafted into different shaped stations before given a pass with colour to make them easily recognised as separate entities, and the transfer rocket crafted so that it blends into the overall design.

We hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at how we tackle the visual design of shapez 2! The style has evolved quite a bit since the Early Access launch as we’re making new additions to the game. Your feedback has been invaluable in this process, so we’re looking forward to hearing your thoughts about it all.

As a final note, shapez 2 is now bundled with Alchemy Factory! You can get both games, or just the game you're missing, with an extra discount to sweeten the deal.

Hello everyone!

With the lead up to release we wanted to talk about the new game mode that will be making it's way into 1.0 and also follow up with a little more news regarding 1.0's release date and further questions and suggestions.

At this point in time, we are finalizing and balancing the new game mode, so there may be some small adjustments by the time you get your hands on this.

Why add a new game mode?

Having listened to player feedback over the years, we've noticed that the side tasks force players to build factories that become useless after completing the side task series and this has had quite the split between the community. Showing a clear divide in how two types of player, play the game. Firstly, we have the "puzzle players" who love to solve each of the puzzles and this side task is a challenge they love, however we also have another audience to cater for, and that's the "factory mode" players, who prefer building permanent factories that focus on sheer throughput of resources. Which is why we wanted to develop a new game mode that caters for that side of the community.

Manufacture mode

As part of 1.0 we've been working on the Manufacture mode, which focuses on large scale factory logistics. When we first set out developing the new game mode we anticipated it becoming the default game mode, however it throws you straight into building factories at the space belt level, which we feel can be overwhelming for new players, so we’ve decided to make it an optional game mode, that’s ideal for players who already have a firm understanding of how to play the default shapez experience mode.

In the Manufacture mode, you'll supply specific shapes to a Trade Station instead of the Vortex. This Trade Station will then output a brand new shape type in return, which you'll need in order to supply the next tier Trade Station, and so on.

A Trade Station only continues to output the new shape types as long as you keep supplying it. So, if you want a strong output of the final new shape, you'll need to make sure you sufficiently supply all prior Trade Stations.

What's new?

Knowing factory players love building progressively larger facilities, we needed to approach the game mode more like a classic factory game experience. In most factory games you require 1000's of base resources in order to produce a handful of late game products. As such we wanted to implement a new system that converts inputted shapes into a new type of shape that you'll have to use in future production lines.

Trade stations

Probably the biggest change in the Manufacture mode is the use of trade stations. These are our manufacturers, each one requiring set inputs in return for the new shape. To make the system easier to view we've decided on colouring each of the tiers differently, with a total of 9 tiers.

Naturally, we know factory players love to optimize their lines, as such we've also added 7 additional trade stations for the initial tiers, which can be unlocked through research and act as an alternate recipe, requiring different inputs, but offering a variation of that tier's trade station's shape, which may be better suited for your facility. To make the system a little more interesting to play around with, we've also adjusted the shape of the manufacturer to give you a little more of a challenge when setting these up.

Trade Broadcast hub

The Trade Broadcast Hub will be replacing the vortex, and will be the only source of production for the first shape. As you progress through the game there will be mechanics in place allowing you to scale up it’s throughput infinitely.

Donation Station

In order for you to generate the research needed to unlock the alternate manufacturers, you'll need to make use of another new buildable, the Donation Station. This building accepts shapes, allowing you to increase your operator level, and grants the research points you'll need. Though the new alternate manufacturers aren't the only addition to research.

New Research

Alongside the alternate manufacturers you'll also be able to invest research into unlocking the research station, which works similarly to the donation station except you'll receive shapes in addition to the research points.

You'll also be able to research upgrades to the Trade Broadcast hub, allowing you to increase the shapes generated for the late game facility, which draws us to the goal of the game mode.

The goal

In Manufacture mode, you'll be committing these new shapes to the production of a vortex in the grand vortex assembler. It'll require a lot of resources to run, but once setup, you'll be producing the vortex platforms which are used in the classic mode.

Update on 1.0's release date

Finally, we wanted to address the Q & A video. We had a fair few questions asking when 1.0 will be released and having had a conversation internally, we want to let you know that we are aiming for a 1.0 release in April. However, we are not 100% certain on this, but as soon as we know for definite, we will announce the date!

An update for further questions & suggestions

We know a lot of you have questions regarding the game as well as some fantastic suggestions. So we've decided to open up the community section of our YouTube channel, so from now on, you should be able to post questions on there outside of the comments on devlogs like these.

I also wanted to mention that for those who have suggestions they're dying to see in the game, that we have a dedicated website for suggestions which can be upvoted by players.

Using this system is great at showing us what features you're most excited to see, so please use it! You can find the site here:

https://shapez-2.nolt.io/

That's everything we wanted to cover in todays devlog! Do let us know what you think of the new mode. In the meantime we’ll be working on a new addition you’ve been asking for!

Hello everyone!

We collected a bunch of your questions from Steam and our socials, and Tom (aka TotalXclipse) is here to answer them for you!

Not every question got an answer, as there are a couple major points we can't quite talk about yet, like the release date of the 1.0 update and details about the new game mode – though we'll have a dedicated video for the latter soon.

Watch the Q&A here:

If you'd rather read through the Q&A, continue below!

Topic: Community

How frequently can we expect news from you?

We're currently planning content around the lead-up to launch, which means, I can't give you a definite answer, but we're planning a minimum of 1 to 2 videos – along with a written devlog – per month plus some shorts!

Will you be playing shapez 2 on your channel?

Unfortunately not. We don't want to blur the lines between me as a community manager and my own content. So we feel it's best to keep clear separation between the two.

Will you be active on the official shapez 2 discord server?

I'm on the Discord, and will be keeping an eye out on the goings on there, especially the epic builds in the gallery! Yes, I see you Hybrid, but the content is my first priority.

Can I speak to the community manager?

As mentioned, I'm on the Discord, so feel free to @ me in the appropriate room.

What's your favourite shape and are there plans for new and more shapes?

My favourite shape is anything food related, so that means anything that looks like a slice of melon or pizza for me! As for plans for new shapes... Well, you may be in luck but that's all I can say for now.

What topics are you going to cover?

I'll be providing updates on what's coming but also give you all an insight on what goes on behind the scenes when developing a game but that's just the start, we really want to share more as a studio in the long term.

Will the devlog release cadence remain or will you replace that entirely?

We know a lot of you love the Steam devlogs, and we don't want that to change. If anything we want the content that we provide on here to supplement the devlogs, catering for those who prefer to watch than read.

Topic: Update 1.0

Are there big plans beyond 1.0 and will the upcoming updates remain free? Are paid DLC's a possibility in the far future?

Really valid question, with the release of 1.0, we plan on developing some smaller updates which will be free for the community as well as a future Puzzle DLC.

Will the game "naturally" teach us how to work with wires, logic gates, and that "side" leading to automation in shapez 2?

Speaking to Tobias, most likely not because it's quite a sophisticated topic, but what he has in mind would be for me to create a 'wires tutorial' video that we could produce on this channel and recommend directly in game.

Is there a buildable planned that can both merge and split at the same time?

We have considered this, but not found a satisfying way to show this with our open machine design, but it could be a great mod idea.

In earlier versions, as the player moves farther away from the center, the graphics gradually become very noisy and start to behave strangely. Has this issue been resolved in version 1.0?

Unfortunately we will not be able to fix this, it's called floating point precision issues and would require re-writing our whole rendering code to fix it, which isn't feasible at this point.

Will there be another objective, such as sending off x amount of shapes per minute?

There is a new game mode, which we'll be talking about in a future video which does have a different objective to the classic mode. That being said, I think your suggestion would be another opportunity to make a great mod.

Will large factories be more optimized?

The game and engine are already being pushed to their limits on what we can do with it, that being said a few optimizations are definitely planned. We’re really happy with how the game performs but given the game has infinite resources and space to build, there will always be players who push the limits. After all, the factory must grow. That being said we are constantly improving and optimising the game for all factories, big and small.

Are you planning a console release?

For the time being we have no plans for a console release, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen further down the line.

Will 1.0 have controller support?

Unfortunately not, as it's quite a big feature to add, Currently the game has over 150 keybindings which makes it really difficult to condense into a controller layout without requiring considerable rework to the HUD. The same goes for Steam Deck.

What kind of mod compatibility will be available?

This is quite an open question, and one that is a little above my technical understanding, but speaking to Tobias, they mentioned the modding system will support dependencies between mods, and supported version ranges. So quite a bit more than in shapez 1!

Whilst we’re talking about mods, for those who are interested in modding the game, we currently have a modding beta which can be accessed through the Discord and you’ll find the official modding documentation linked to that.

One of the concerns we've received is that the biggest need at this point is for us to segue from the game in early access to launch and with a new game mode, that might not sit well with the community and more importantly would benefit from months of playtesting and feedback.

Firstly, after a fair bit of consideration, we’ve decided the current game mode will still be playable as the default experience. Secondly; I can confirm there has been playtesting with the new game mode, and more importantly the feedback has been positive overall, providing it's own distinguished experience to enjoy; but don't worry, we'll be talking about the new game mode in our next video and devlog.

That's everything for now! Stay tuned for more update details in the very near future.

Hello everyone!

We're excited to introduce a new face, someone who will focus on bringing the shapez 2 devlogs to YouTube! You may already have seen him around if you frequent the factory or management game communities, but we'll let him introduce himself:

We have a lot of exciting videos planned leading up to the 1.0 launch of shapez 2, as well as after! Expect regular development update videos, teasers and opportunities for feedback, so be sure to subscribe to our channel if you'd like to stay up to speed.

Got any video ideas or topics for us to cover? Be sure to let us know through the YouTube poll!

Steam Winter Sale

If you've been on the fence about picking up shapez 2, this Winter Sale to pick it up. shapez 2 will be at an all-time low with a discount of 40%! We don't have any bigger discounts on the game planned for quite some time, so the holidays are a great opportunity to get started on your factory!

We're really excited to show you much more of shapez 2 1.0 starting next year, but for now we wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Hey everyone!

It's been a few weeks, so here's another update on where we're at and what we're cooking up. If you're interested in how we work on and polish the art for shapez 2, this one's for you.

Improved visual fidelity

We are constantly working on improving the current state of the visuals of shapez 2. Often we go back to some of our oldest assets - we take a fresh look and think about how we can give them that extra bit of love and polish. Which sometimes requires new workflows and thinking outside the box.

New detail workflow

During development we invested some time to implement a technique often used in game art. It is a combination of floating geometry and an atlas normal map. This technique has helped us to efficiently add details to our models while reducing impact on performance. As an example, here's a peek at our atlas map — a normal map texture that contains all the details we UV onto our models to add visual depth.

Here's another look into the workflow in Blender. As you can see, it is easy to iterate and detail our assets on the fly.

Below you will see some examples of our results utilizing the technique.

Fluid system visual rework

We continued using the previously mentioned workflow to revamp parts of the fluid system visuals. Our goal is to make the fluid-related structures and buildings easily distinguishable from the shape-related structures and buildings.

Here's the difference between the shape transporter belt and the fluid transporter belt:

And some before/after shots of the fluid belt lifts:

We also took the time to redo the fluid launcher / catcher to give them a unique appeal.

We are still working on aspects of the fluid system like the space pipes visuals and we are looking forward showing them off in the 1.0 release.

Another look into Manufacture mode

We made significant progress in developing the visuals of this new mode. This time we have introduced new colors and various smaller improvements to separate the different tiers of the converters. Take a look!

This is just a snippet of the different converters. There is more to come!

It’s always nice to reflect on the progress made, from the prototype stages to nearing the final visuals of the game mode.

There's plenty more coming in the 1.0 release and we hope this gives you an exciting look at what we're preparing. We hope this gets you as hyped as we are for the final version of the game.

Thank you for your time, and see you in the next one!

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Hi there!

We've been more quiet than usual since we're working really hard on the 1.0 update of the game right now!

I have to admit that with all the workload, I haven't found enough time to keep up the devlogs at a more regular pace. However, I have some ideas that might vastly improve this, but that's something for the next devlog.

Anyways, I wanted to give you an update how things are progressing and what you can expect for 1.0!

Our current plans

Right now, the team is 120% focused on the 1.0 release of shapez 2. We're making really good progress, so I'm hopeful we can give more updates on it soon-ish! The 1.0 update, especially with the new game mode, grew way more than we initially planned, which is why it also took much longer than expected. Some of the improvements you can already find in this devlog :)

After the 1.0 release, shapez 2 will move into a "Live-Ops" mode, where we will provide regular updates and also have some ideas for DLCs - the first one being a shapez 2 adaption of the puzzle DLC (this time with more built-in puzzles though - sorry again for that!).

In parallel, we're also sketching out some ideas for a potential future project, another factory game, which will be less abstract than shapez 2 and a bit more ambitious. So there will be 2 teams in the company - one working on shapez 2, and one prototyping this new project. Which brings me to the next point:

We're hiring!

We're currently hiring for 3 new positions, and more in the future - If you'd like to work with us (why wouldn't you! right?) this is your opportunity!

• Game Designer: https://8bitplay.com/jobs/game-designer/

• Executive Producer: https://8bitplay.com/jobs/executive-producer/

• Senior Technical Artist: https://8bitplay.com/jobs/senior-technical-artist/

Even if those don't fit you, if you are generally interested I recommend to follow our Company LinkedIn Page to get notified when new positions arise!

1.0 Progress Update

Manufacture Mode

The now-called manufacture mode is progressing nicely and we've started to do some really early testing with our patrons already. However there are still a lot of issues and it's not fully playable yet. Once we make more progress, we'll slowly move towards closed beta tests, and then an experimental branch on Steam.

The key change of the manufacture mode is the introduction of 'converters', which require one specific shape and give you another shape that you can not produce. We have a specific devlog planned for just the manufacture mode, so I won't go too much into detail here. However, I have a few spoilers for you at least:

Achievements

We already added most planned achievements to the game, so these will be in for 1.0!

We started with the more simple achievements, so these are the ones we have currently implemented: Spoiler: ...........

On top of that, we hope we can add a few more unique achievements if our dev team has some time left!

Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments about anything that seems off or missing, or numbers that don't match!

Modding Support

The modding support now is almost finished, and Lorenzo is working on the last bits so we can finalize it - we'll follow up once a beta is available, to give early access to interested modders!

Modding will use the steam workshop, as after our testing with mod.io we weren't really satisfied with the integration. We've also learned from feedback in shapez 1, so the modding system is a lot more elaborate, supporting dependencies between mods for example.

Be sure to join the shapez 2 discord if you want to get notified once we're ready! Work in progress screenshots:

New Onboarding

Dimitri is working on restructuring the onboarding so it works for both the manufacture and classic mode - and so far it looks very promising in our playtests!

The new onboarding gets you into action much quicker, and instead of throwing a lot of videos and tooltips in your face, you get contextual hints that you can access on demand:

We are also currently restructuring the knowledge panel into categories, to make it easier to find articles and content (the content is a placeholder - but you get the idea). Especially for newer players we've noticed that otherwise it can be really hard to find what you are looking for.

'Window' Experiments

We're also experimenting a bit with introducing windows to the game:

However, we've run into a few technical challenges with them, which means we might not be able to get this actually sorted out for 1.0. Be sure to share your thoughts though, on whether you think this would be a good feature we should invest time in!

Space Building UX Improvements

Dimitri is currently working with Noah on some improvements on the Space Floor Building. One of my favourite experiments is automatically switching the space layer while zooming towards a platform:

This is still quite experimental, so let's see if we can make it work!

New Fluid (-Launcher) Visuals

Max, Nigel and Natane are working hard on replacing all of the placeholder assets, and their recent changes included the fluid launchers! They now finally are on par with the other visuals in the game:

They are also working on other stuff in the meantime - including a space pipe visual rework and generally improvements to the visual fidelity - but more on that in a future devlog!

To set expectations though: Unfortunately we ran out of time to rework the space pipe mechanics, so for now they will have to work with just a visual rework instead of a functional change (i.e. consistent liquid flow). However we'll make sure they at least look different enough from space belts and try to make them look more fluid-ish.

Wire Building Visuals

Max started to make some drafts for new visuals for the wire buildings - but those are still WIP and we are not really certain we can get them reworked before 1.0 still. Anyways, I wanted to give a little teaser:

Map Generation Experiments

We're also experimenting a bit with the map generation - for example:

We don't know if this is fun to play, but we'll keep experimenting! Starting from 1.0, this will be an option in the map generation as well:

That's it for today! Unfortunately I can not give any release date for 1.0 yet, but I can say that with all the work remaining, it will definitely not be this year anymore - we want to make sure the 1.0 release is really great and meets your expectations!

~Tobias

Thanks to Avernar on Discord for the shot used in the cover art!

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Hey everyone!

Alice here again for this little status update whilst the rest of the team are still recovering from Gamescom and working hard on 1.0. Let’s jump right in :)

Gamescom recap

As mentioned in our last devlog and across socials, the tobspr team was at Gamescom last weekend. They manned the stand in the Indie Arena Booth, where so many of you visited and had a go at shapez 2. It was a massive motivation boost to hear your positive comments and compliments about the game, as well as getting some much-appreciated feedback on where we can improve.

You also seemed to love the merch we had to give away (you could have at least left some for me…). We had 500 stickers, 300 pins, and 200 keychains and you guys snapped them all up like they were going out of fashion. So, one of our biggest learnings for next year is to triple the amount of merch we have on offer…

Also, people LOVED the magnets. Stay tuned, because although these aren’t available to order yet, they will be soon! We've now got a newsletter you can sign up for below, where we'll be keeping you updated when the magnets are ready. We expect them to sell out fast, given the interest you guys have shown so far.

Sign up for newsletter

Check out some snaps the team took:

shapez 2 in orchestra!

I teased this in the last devlog (just couldn’t hold my excitement), but we were waiting on the HQ video to share it fully with you.

A few weeks ago, something wild happened: shapez 2 was performed by a full symphony orchestra!

We teamed up with Dyson Sphere Program for their Cosmic Harmony of Light and Strings over at the Jaguar Shanghai Symphony Hall. The fact a whole live orchestra learned and played one of our OST tracks still blows my mind. It’s one thing to hear a cool piece of music in game (thanks to Peppsen for putting it together), it’s another level to hear it with live instruments in a concert hall with an audience.

Check it out here:

1.0 status update

Of course, the team is still hard at work on the 1.0 update. Here are some updates for you.

New game mode

One of the main, most exciting things we’re bringing to 1.0 is the new game mode (currently called ‘Factory Mode’). Basically, it focuses on building huge, permanent factories, in contrast to the current mode where the build > demolish > rebuild mechanic takes precedent. This is something that’s been requested the most above all else, and we’re super excited about what we’ve got so far. It’s progressing well, but there’s still a lot to be done. We hope to get some beta builds out soon for early testing.

As a little teaser, here’s some WIP footage of the rocket animations (pls don’t tell Max I’ve shared this):

Modding support

We’ve mentioned this previously, but ICYMI: 1.0 will have modding support! After gathering feedback from our community, mods will use the Steam workshop. If everything goes to plan, we’re hoping we can do some sort of closed beta around October.

We’re considering holding a modding contest with prizes up for grabs - let us know if this is something you’d be interested in.

Achievements

Taking in your feedback on achievements (as well as a pretty rigorous in-house approval process), we’ve got a decent shortlist and we’re making good progress with the technical implementation.

Release date

Now for a bit of disappointing news I’m afraid. I know we’ve said previously that we aimed to release 1.0 in November this year, but that’s looking more and more unlikely. We want to make a game that’s worth the 1.0 label, and we just don’t feel it’s up to par yet. Especially with the new game mode - this has to be worth the wait.

Whilst we can’t give a definitive date yet, we’re now aiming for somewhere around early April 2026. Of course we’ll keep you updated every step of the way.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, and I’ll catch ya in the next one.

- Alice & the tobspr team

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Hey everyone! Alice here for this devlog.

Whilst the team is hard at work with 1.0, here are some updates. We’ve had a lot going on lately, including an unexpected musical twist!

First of all:

shapez 2 & the tobspr team are heading to Gamescom!

From August 20-24, shapez 2 will be in the Indie Arena Booth (Hall 10.2, Booth F010g - E019), at Gamescom in Köln. We’ll have playable stations where you can try out the game, take part in activities, and get your hands on some veryyyy exclusive merch.

We'll also have previews of the shapez 2 x roons kits that a lot of you backed, and the 3D-printed magnets which will be available to preorder soon! Come grab some swag, find out more about 1.0, and say hello :)

shapez 2 is one year old!

It’s crazy writing this, but one year ago this month, shapez 2 released in Early Access! We had an incredibly successful launch, with a peak CCU of almost 19,000! Since then, with your help, shapez 2 has grown in ways we could never have imagined.

Over the past year, we’ve released patches, squashed countless bugs, held community contests, and the game has sold over 600,000 copies worldwide… and that’s only scratching the surface of what we’ve accomplished with your help.

We can’t thank you enough for playing, wishlisting, and sharing our game. We really appreciate all the support and we feel honored to have such a dedicated community <3

Your feedback has helped us to build this game to what it is today, and continues to help us choose a direction for 1.0. We love seeing your builds, your blueprints, and your creativity, but most of all we love the suggestions - and we read all of them. Keep them coming!

A bonus: shapez 2 OST… live?

Something really exciting happened last week, but we’re not quite ready to share just yet. Stay tuned for the next devlog where we’ll have more info on this.

That’s all from me for now! Sit tight for more updates on 1.0 soon.

Until then, the vortex is hungry.

- Alice & the tobspr team

Thanks to mari on Discord for the screenshot used in the cover art!

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Hey everyone,

Game Designer Ce here!

I happily joined the tobspr team this April, still catching up on the long history of shapez 1 and 2 though.

Before we go into the meat of this Devlog, we have an announcement:

Games Forged in Germany

Shapez 1 & 2 will be part of the Games Forged In Germany Steam Event! We're proud to be an indie studio from Germany, and this kind of recognition means a lot to us. There's some really cool titles in this event, so make sure to check it out.

An honourable mention for Star Birds from Toukana Interactive! It's a relaxing asteroid base-building and resource management game. If you like shapez, this is probably up your street too. It's a chill, no-pressure game with beautiful visuals and unique 360° building, and scratches that automation/optimization itch I know you have.

The demo is currently available for testing on Steam, so give it a go and let us know what you think!

Psst: their other title, Dorfromantik, is currently 40% off - check it out :)

Okay, now into the actual Devlog.

As promised in the last Devlog, I bring you more details about Achievements.

Retroactive achievements

A few of you had questions like this:

For achievements to become active, you will likely need to start a new game. More info about this can be found in Devlog 031:

Even if that should change and for additional achievements after the 1.0 Release, only those achievements based on already existing stats will have progress retroactively (and it might be some effort preventing that). I am very interested in for how many of you that might be a big issue, and for how many not so much. Would you prefer retroactive achievements, or would you prefer to start fresh?

Workflow

Now I’d like to share how I went about designing the achievements. First, I collected our requirements for Achievements and investigated priorities. It’s one thing if only a few people making the whole game have ideas. But for the increased team it takes more to align our visions.

Saving effort for other improvements makes us consider what we need to prioritize for the 1.0 release, and what we can postpone to a future update. For example, we decided to not implement an in-game Achievement screen for now, and instead make use of the Steam achievement system as much as we can. Using the actual shapes as achievement icons is another time-saving trick we decided for now, which I find quite fitting.

With the 1.0 release, we want to give you at least 30 meaningful achievements but avoid any rather complicated or high effort cases. We expect to at least add some of those in future updates though, so regarding feedback and ideas from your side the sky is the limit.

We've already had quite a few suggestions, like this one:

This achievement made it onto the “Extra for Release or after Release” list:

• "MAM (Make Anything Machine)" - Complete any random operator level without modifying your factory

For clarification on the “Extra for Release”: we are usually pretty pressed for time, BUT all in the team are so passionate about the game that ever so often, someone (especially Tobias) either finds time, or takes time (don’t ask about his weekends - he promised to behave better :D ). That’s how several features and improvements from wishlists still made it. Though you may not always want to inquire the other developers about the consequences. ;)

Part of the next step - Research - included refreshing general Achievements lessons from articles like Achievements 101. In short, for every achievement I need to consider your resulting game experience with it. How interesting would it be to just run the game without doing anything, for the sake of that achievement? And that’s how game design works. This would change the above achievement to this:

• "MAM (Make Anything Machine)" - Reach random operator level 200 Complete any random operator level without modifying your factory

We went through lists of achievements for shapez 1 and other factory games for inspiration and potentially homage ("good artists copy, great artists steal"), considering all existing shapez 2 objects and player actions, and of course devouring anything you might have dropped related to achievements on the shapez 2 Discord server, like this:

I think the same. How about:

• Finish milestone W or higher, in mode X or Y/or any mode, in difficulty Z (/any difficulty except custom)

  • “I’m Gonna Be” - Milestone 9, in any mode, in any difficulty except custom

  • “Lucky number Slevin“ - Milestone 7, in Hard or Insane mode, in any difficulty except custom

  • "As you wish.” - Milestone 6, in any mode, in difficulty challenge

  • “Hex hex“ - Milestone 5, in Hexagonal mode, in any difficulty except custom

  • “Life is pain, Highness.” - Milestone 4, in Insane mode, in any difficulty except custom

The names and numbers are placeholders and can be changed. But more on that later - first we need to decide what the achievements will actually be ;)

My research quickly resulted in a long basic list of potential achievements. There were and still always are different cases and player types to consider. Some achievements support new players to bridge the gap between the visible milestones and onboarding steps, for example:

• “Architecture”- Save a blueprint

I want players to early get on using our copy, paste, save and use blueprint features.

Other achievements reward you for playing extensively and building up a huge factory:

• “Marathon”; "Can't stop"; …; … - Reach Operator level X (or higher)

  • 10; 50; 100; 500

As you can see, I am not even set on all the required achievement names yet. I am looking forward for any proposals you might have.

A few achievements even might require some skill and special effort. Others are for fun, for example:

• "The logo!" - Deliver the shapez 2 logo

At the same time, we don’t want to guide anyone into a bad game experience just following any additional goal we might set with a thoughtless achievement. For example:

• “I’ll be back” - Perform 800 Redos. (or perform X redos in a row)

How would you achieve that in the fastest and easiest way possible? Spamming the hotkey 800 times in a row? Would that be fun? I don’t think so, that’s why:

• “I’ll be back” - Perform 800 Redos. (or perform X redos in a row)

If you think otherwise, let us know in the comments. Alice wasn't joking when she said we're always watching...

Additionally, we were looking for patterns among those achievements, meaning a similar mechanic but for different structures, modes, or sometimes just a progression of the same achievement. That does not only make it easier for anyone to understand, but also relieves our team from implementation effort, which results in more improvements somewhere else. Ideally, we can do many great achievements with one or a few patterns, for example:

• Have (at least) X amount of X entity on single map

  • “Factory day”; …; …; … - Have X platform(s)

    • 100; 1.000; 10.000

  • …; “I need trains”; “Milky way” - Have X space belt(s)

    • 10; 25; 100;

  • “Choo choo”; …; “Tycoon” - Have X trains

    • 3; 10; 25

The result so far were three lists of potential achievements: a first internal to start with for setting up the systems and workflow, extended for an MPV for the release fulfilling our requirement of at least 30 achievements, and the “Extra for Release or after Release” list.

The next step for me was to share the list with the rest of the team, especially the colleagues which would be responsible for implementing them, also making sure no reasonable questions or foreseeable problems were left open to discuss. They took the chance to add their own ideas, feedback as players, and there were some good reasons to strike through some more achievements. One particular example is counting anything within the simulations you might remember from Devlog 027. As you might imagine, we don’t want to ruin the shapez performance for the sake of any Achievement.

Current progress and possible changes

The current state of the achievements is that we have started implementing them.Hopefully, I soon come to point to add the according data, test them, have them tested (hopefully by a lot of you players) gather all the feedback and problems, and iterate. It can already start with more ideas and feedback from you. The design of shapez 2 never ends. The factory must grow.

One for you hardcore enthusiasts:

Quite a “Perfectionist”. It definitely needs a condition when to check. I have to sleep at least a night over this one. Maybe I find some comments when I wake up, shining some light on your perspective how you would feel about such an achievement?

I dearly hope you are going to like what Achievements we end up with in 1.0. But now I am looking forward to your reactions.

~ Ce & the shapez 2 team

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Hey everyone!

I wanted to give you an update on what we are currently working on and what our plans for the future are!

First of all, the TL;DR:

• Next update will be 1.0 and we are aiming for November this year, but not sure we can make it

• It will have achievements & mod support (finally!)

• It will have a new game mode that we think might even replace the default game mode

Now that we have the important things out of the way, let me go a little into detail.

1.0 Release - November?

We feel like shapez 2 is already in a very solid state, and some of you even argued that the initial early access release already reached 1.0 quality.

With the recent updates and current state of the game, we want to get rid of the "early access" label, as we felt it might imply the game might not be ready to be played yet, contains a lot of bugs and so on.

This doesn't mean we will not update the game afterwards, in fact we already have a lot of plans and ideas for post 1.0!

Right now we are already working hard on the release, and we hope we can get everything done in time so we can release it in November, but at this point we have no idea if we'll actually make it in time - so please don't be mad in case we don't :)

New (default?) Game Mode

The biggest complaint we get about shapez 2 right now is the persistency of factories. Many of you noted that having to tear down a factory you just built because the shape is no longer needed could feel bad.

It also means that the game can feel more like a puzzle game than a factory/automation game at times - nothing is inherently bad about that in the first place, but we felt we are also missing something for the ones of you that are leaning more into the factory game direction.

With this new game mode, we are focusing on enabling you to build permanent factories, where the factories you built in the beginning are still useful in the later stages of the game - so it's up to you to decide when you want to redesign, move or extend it, if at all.

It's still too early to go into details - so all I can give you today is a spoiler image with placeholder graphics - but keep an eye out for our upcoming devlogs, where we'll go into more detail!

Since we feel this game mode might be actually more fun than the current mode for new players, we are considering to make it the 'default' game mode that is suggested when you start a new game.

However, we'll only do so if this actually turns out to be the case after playtesting a lot, and the then called "classic" mode will also be available still.

Mods & Achievements

I've noticed a pattern where the comments under our devlogs more and more turned into an "Achievements when???" section, and I'm very happy to share that the 1.0 release will come with a good chunk of achievements! More on that in future devlogs ..

On top of that, we're already working on adding modding support to the game. We'll also start working together with interested modders ahead of the release to make sure there's some interesting mods on launch day already - be sure to join the discord if you're interested, we'll make an announcement there once we're ready to invite the modders :)

Right now we are planning to incorporate mod.io for the modding, but we will actually integrate it in the game, so you don't have to visit an external website (instead there's a mod browser in the game, similar to steam workshop), and it should feel 'native'. I know that some of you highly prefer steam workshop, but the main issue for us is cross-platform compatibility - if we ever would release shapez 2 on GOG for example, it would mean that that version wouldn't support mods for example.

However, again, we'll keep you updated in future devlogs about that!

Savegame Compatibility

Savegame compatibility is a big topic for us, and we also know that it's quite important for you! Since we have these big changes planned for 1.0, we wanted to make sure that we can find a fair compromise between being able to push for bigger changes but also maintaining some compatibility.

First, we did a few surveys on discord:

And here's what we came up with in detail - please keep in mind that while this is our current plan, it might still change:

• Blueprints will stay compatible

• The current game mode will stay available as a "classic" mode

• Old "classic" mode savegames will not be compatible with 1.0 (most likely)

• However there will be a '0.1.1-old' branch available on Steam where you can continue playing those savegames (similar to the dimension update)

The main drawback is that you will not be able to earn achievements or use mods when playing on this older branch with your old savegame. I know it's not great, but I felt it's a fair compromise so we can actually focus on implementing the new game mode and features instead of spending a lot of time on maintaining compatibility. We also don't intend to break savegames after 1.0 anymore as of right now.

That's it for today - enjoy your weekend, let me know what you think in the comments, and be sure to keep an eye out for future devlogs where we'll go into more detail about all the new stuff coming with 1.0!

~Tobias

Thanks to Binz Nakama on Discord for the screenshot used in the cover art!

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This is a small patch to fix some of the issues that slipped through, as well as some missing QoL features for the Dimension Update.

The Dimension Update was very well received, and it was great to hear all of your questions in the AMA and your feedback. Thanks for your continued support!

We are also working on some big things for shapez 2, but it's too early too announce those just yet - keep an eye out for future devlogs if you're interested in finding out more!

Changelog

Summary

• Global signal receivers/transmitters now support any wire signals (used to be only shapes)

• Trains are now 36% faster (them being slower than in 0.0.9 was a bug and not intentional)

• Lots of bugfixes! (see below)

Interface

• Fixed: Blueprint icons reset when using "Replace" button

• Fixed: Red 'X' shown on catcher placement area when placing launcher while overlapping a belt

• Fixed: No incorrect placement coloring when placing 2x1 buildings on level 2 with level 3 not unlocked

• Fixed: Blueprint toolbar overlaps everything after saving a Blueprint into a folder on the toolbar

• Fixed: Train spawn from space view has its connection point one square away from it

• Fixed: Train's content icons are all placed at the same level in all 3 levels

• Fixed: Toolbar resets to first option in after right clicking to delete

• Fixed: Opening Blueprint library does not cancel placement

Gameplay

• Fixed: Pin Pushers are faster than expected

• Fixed: No 'Research complete' sound effect played when upgrading speed unlocks

• Fixed: Controlled channel for global signal can only be shapes

• Fixed: Launcher and catchers placed on notches do not automatically place their counterpart

• Fixed: Launchers do not assume the direction over the belt its built

• Fixed: Building launcher/catcher over belts no longer deletes the intervening pieces

• Fixed: Revert to old placement sound effects

• Fixed: Disable vortex 'auto-attract' for space belts

• Fixed: Train speed has dropped by 36% compared to 0.0.9

• Fixed: Cutting and copying platforms have different functionality when placing the elevation on different levels

• Fixed: Cannot build Shape or Paint Miner on 1x1 challenge

• Fixed: 2nd and 3rd building levels not defaulting to catchers on notches in experimental

• Fixed: Train is randomly skipping third stop in configuration

• Fixed: Train stuck on a return trip

• Fixed: Deleting train launcher and one tracks attached to spawner will cause the train to keep spinning in place after jumping back

Visuals

• Fixed: Wrong meshes are shown on belts and pipes from far away

• Fixed: Cover belts for wagon transfer stations look stretched

• Fixed: Train route colors on vertical elevations are switched

• Fixed: Trains spinning when returning to base

• Fixed: Fix accent color shader

• Fixed: Trash showing up differently from space view

Other

• Fixed: Incorrect statistics numbers for mixed shapes on same delivery launcher

• Fixed: PlacementData.AddBuildingPlacement exception when building a Stacker next to a Conveyor Lift

• Fixed: HUDBuildingBlueprintPlacement - Exception

• Fixed: SuperChunkSerializer - Exception "No definition available for SandboxItemProducerDefaultInternalVariant"

• Fixed: Exception: Shape UID never registered

Localization

• Fixed: No Milestone number present on the Milestone Screen in Japanese & Chinese (Simp/Trad)

• Fixed: Bring in additional translation fixes from localization team

With all these fixes, the update should be quite stable and we are mostly focusing on the next update now. Should something have slipped through, please report it either on the official discord or the steam forums!

Have a great start into the week!

~Tobias

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The shapez 2: Dimension Update is now live!

Savegame compatibility

Detailed Changelog

Major Changes

• 3D Platform Building: Build platforms, space belts, space pipes & rails on multiple layers just as you do with buildings.
• Trains Rework: Quick & Wait stops, transfer stations, multiple packages, new colors and more.
• Variable Launchers: Belt launchers, fluid launchers and wire transmitters now have variable range.
• New Layouts: Re-added old T, Cross and L-platform layouts, and added even more!
• Space Belts got a 400% throughput increase.
• Allow searching for shapes on the map.
• Added overflow splitter.
• Dynamic Global Wire Transmitters: Global Wire transmitters now have two inputs/outputs, one for the channel ID, one for the actual signal. This gives you basically infinite channels and replaces the old color-based system.
• Operator Shape Receiver: To be able to receive the operator shape definition, there is now a new Operator Shape Receiver building.

Balancing & Gameplay

• Added 2 new milestones to all scenarios: 3D Platform Building and Train Hub Delivery
• Added new side tasks and operator shapes for the new milestones
• Adjusted & fine-tuned hexagonal scenario
• Increased insane scenario chunk limit by 20%
• Increased maximum shape asteroid size farther out (only affects new savegames)
• Added separate side upgrade for the Operator Shape Receiver
• Added more levels to the shape multiplier, up to 12

Interface & Placement

• Shape previews now indicate whether a shape will be correct or not, so you don't have to wait for the delivery
• Show current savegame name on 'Continue' button
• Added hotkey (TAB) to toggle wire buttons below cursor
• Added tooltip when hovering wires to show the current signal
• Reworked upgrades tab to use categories
• Added 'Zoom to Cursor' functionality & setting (disabled by default)
• Operator level goals are now also shown on the main screen
• Added small animation when unlocking research
• Added ability to claim your operator badge during the tutorial, which is then also shown in the main menu
• Added hints to the fluid launchers to make the limited throughput more clear
• Added side panel details to the cutter, stacker and swapper to better show throughput
• Added changelog button to main menu
• Automatically place space belt splitter/mergers based on launchers
• Immediately move map markers when clicking 'Move' to avoid confusion
• Updated player level ranking statistics based on latest data
• Added ability to hide upper platform layers by pressing ‘V’
• Various fixes & improvements to the platform placement (still WIP)
• Automatically place launchers when dragging over a belt / pipe / wire
• Automatically place wire bridges when dragging wires over each another wire
• Automatically place lifts when dragging a space belt / pipe over other platforms (still WIP)
• Various improvements to placement connector indicators, including populated notches now being displayed (still WIP)
• Changelogs are now stored outside of the game and just linked within the changelog page
• Added a little robot to the tutorial / introduction
• Added icons for the overflow splitter and decorative rails
• Space belts and space pipes lift skipping now prefers going underneath when possible
• Improved 3D Platform Building UX
• Upper Platform Floors are now automatically hidden during placement
• Add accessible options for cursor navigation without an actual mouse
• Special notch placement rotation that cycles between sender and receiver
• Reworked port placement behavior to work via dragging to be more consistent with the other methods of placement
• Add specified placement behaviors per building/island best suited for their usage/layout
• Fixed toolbar descriptions cutting off at the bottom of the screen
• Improved shape and fluid miner/extension placement indicators
• Added an indicator to display the rail routing color during placement
• Show current music track in pause menu
• Lots of improvements to the platforms UX, better hide / gray out platforms when switching between building and platform mode
• The chunk limit is now divided by 2, so that a platform costs 1 per chunk again. Space belts now effectively cost 0.5 per chunk (but fractions are not displayed)
• Automatically switch to the matching layer when pipetting a building / platform with ‘c’
• Automatically remove splitters/mergers when deleting adjacent platforms
• Added indicators when placing train wagons / locomotives
• Added indicators when placing trains loaders/unloaders/transfer stations
• Added indicators when placing train stops
• Improved belt launcher placement indicators and display connected launcher/catcher
• Improved general placement indicators and made dragging more obvious
• Added popup when placement fails to complete
• Added localized dimension update logo for simplified/traditional Chinese and Japanese
• Added hotkey info (”Press P to resume”) to the pause overlay
• Automatically focus on first Unlockable upgrade when opening the milestones / side tasks research panel
• Always place forward rail lifts (instead of not placing anything) when trying to place rail lift curves (not implemented yet)
• Add support for placement to auto upgrade rails to launch trains over the HUB beam
• Add safety checks to handle unexpected exceptions during placement and avoid executing the action
• Added new main menu savegame
• Blueprint icons with just one icon are now showing the icon in larger scale
• Added tutorial for using Shift + Q/E to switch platform layers in build mode
• Added tutorial to remind players to build full belts
• Added tutorial for changing platform floors
• Updated knowledge panel, tutorial and research images and videos
• Disabled arrow key accessibility functionality by default, but make it configurable in the hotkey settings
• Updated sound effects for placing / deleting structures

Visuals

• Reworked all train visuals - some are still WIP.
• Added new shader for wire transmitters
• Added blockers to locked vortex inputs
• Updated conflict indicators for belts / pipes
• Added animations when placing & deleting platforms
• Improved platform placement visuals & shaders
• Added animations when placing / removing platforms
• Added updated train loader/unloader visuals
• Added train loaders conflict indicators
• Adjust train transfer station animation
• Updated visuals for global transmitters, receivers & operator signal receiver
• Updated visuals for Shape Wagon Transfer / Fluid Wagon Transfer
• Improved visualization on train loaders / unloaders
• Started to update overview meshes
• Updated blueprint and placement shaders and animations
• Improved shape & fluid miner placement indicators among others
• Improved selection indicators
• Render preview of inputs and outputs for space structures during placement
• Train transfer stations now also visualize disabled lanes
• Improved main menu savegame
• Added hint for players when stuck on the lower HUB platform layer

Tutorial

• Added tutorial for foundations
• Added tutorial for platform limit

Sounds

• Updated deletion sound effect
• Fixed double sound effect when placing structure
• Fixed pipette not having sound effect

Performance

• Improved train simulation performance
• Various performance improvements

Bugfixes

• Fixed global transmitter/receiver not properly displaying uncolored channel
• Fixed belt lift tutorial sometimes shown too late, causing frustration
• Fixed being able to create blueprint folders with invalid windows names like 'CON' and 'NUL'
• Fixed compass shape not updating when changing color mode
• Fixed map markers turning gray when changing color mode
• Fixed statistics not working as expected
• Fixed color blind pattern missing on shape resources visualization
• Fixed alignment of belt / pipe stands, now they should be symmetrical
• Fixed various issues in the simulation
• Fixed 'jump to vortex' not jumping to the actual center
• Fixed shape resource previews disabling at large distances to the vortex
• Fixed white fluid asteroids being rendered gray
• Fixed unlock notification not correctly displaying unlocked tasks / upgrades
• Fixed misleading wording in milestone unlock notification
• Fixed train upgrades shown in tutorial
• Fixed some savegames from previous version not loading (Checkpoint mismatch)
• Fixed being able to place platforms on layers that weren’t unlocked / generally available
• Fixed virtual swapper missing from toolbar
• Fixed exceptions with trains
• Fixed extremely slow blueprint placement
• Fixed space belt / pipe visualization missing
• Fixed blueprint library not showing hint when no blueprints are stored
• Fixed tooltips popping up during research unlock animation
• Fixed being able to select platforms below the current platform layer
• Fixed space path visualization not using simulation speed
• Fixed space belt shader speed
• Fixed indicators showing when selecting platforms that should only be visible during placement
• Fixed building at certain tile on hub platform can delete buildings or even all platforms
• Fixed building placement/deletion animations not playing for negative platform layers
• Fixed predictions not always appearing when using launchers
• Fixed precision issues with space path splitters & merging simulations
• Fixed platform layer HUD not being interactable
• Added back missing placement feedback sound effects
• Fixed ‘flickering’ while moving floors
• Fixed an issue with island blueprints layer information not being saved. **Important Note:** all island blueprints created prior to pre3-rcX will still load on layer 0 as the info was never saved
• Fixed invalid speed applied to swapper simulations
• Fixed inconsistent island blueprinting behavior with shape/fluid miner (extension)
• Fixed an issue where rotation would reset after completing the placement
• Fixed an issue where buildings rotation snapping would prefer belts rather than other buildings
• Fixed belts snapping and auto connecting to trashes
• Fixed many issues with the space path auto lifting
• Fixed an issue where placement and pipetting would not respect inputs being consumed by HUD
• Fixed ghost selection on undo
• Added missing flipped versions for foundations S4 and L4
• Fixed many issues with the placement snapping and upgrading
• Fixed many train state saving issues, including not saving train transfer station state and special cases where trains could get stuck or overlap when restored
• Fixed pipes and wires placement not being placed sometimes
• Fix trains behavior with Derail options
• Fix cases where toolbar would not update correctly
• Fixed an issue where restarting placement multiple times would cause toolbar icons to get bigger and eventually throw an exception
• Fixed an issue that would cause shape miners to auto-rotate to other shape miners
• Fixed placing trashes causing exceptions
• Fixed mirroring platforms removing some buildings
• Fixed null signals no longer blocking belt filters
• Fixed (some) “Checkpoint mismatch” exceptions when loading savegames
• Fixed map shape filter being hidden by visualizations
• Fixed miners not auto-rotating to space belts / other platforms
• Fixed non 1x1 platforms auto-rotating to fit other platforms
• Fixed "Item not allowed to be here!” exception
• Fixed label, signal producer and display being partially visible with upper floor visibility disabled
• Fixed “Could not clean bucket” train warning
• Fixed train capacity upgrade showing capacity as “100” instead of “1”
• Fixed “sticky” belt ports when dragging towards a notch
• Fixed rail placement not working properly with cross-layer rails
• Fixed chunk cost during placement getting negative sometimes
• Fixed cross-floor belt tutorial not working
• Fixed missing sound for pipetting a structure
• Fixed placement indicators not being shown during invalid placement
• Fixed placement not indicating when floor boundaries would be exceeded, indicating valid placement when it wasn’t
• Fixed packages on trains not properly displaying shapes
• Fixed being able to paste platforms from the supporter edition when not owned
• Fixed rail lifts missing color indicators
• Fixed ‘rail routers’ not showing color during placement
• Fixed weird behaviour when dragging “L” shaped platforms and similar in an area
• Fixed trains being barely visible in overview mode
• Fixed space belts, pipes and rails indicating valid placement over the vortex beam, but failing to place
• Fixed various exceptions (but not all) with old blueprints
• Fixed building preview in side panel disappearing depending on platform layer
• Fixed an issue where hovering the universal rail toolbar slot would cause a localization crash
• Fixed an issue where islands outside layers would appear as valid during placement and fail when placed
• Fixed trains not being able to launch over the hub
• Fixed stacker and train rewards in research tab showing many unrelated entries
• Fixed an issue where pipetting entities from a different category would not deselect the current one
• Fix sandbox toolbar category being unlocked by wrong upgrade
• Fixed an issue where space belts and rails would not check custom rules but fail when placement was confirmed
• Fixed an issue where hovering a rail over a lift would cause exceptions
• Fixed multiple UV issues for the display / virtual halves swapper
• Fixed an issue where trains might overcommit packages to a train transfer station and get stuck waiting for the transference to happen
• Fixed an obscure placement issue where self-intersecting a path with a lift and replacing all entities until the beginning of the path would cause an exception
• Fixed incorrect cursor info when placing island blueprints suggesting you can force replace any overlapping islands when you actually cannot (this feature will be implemented in the future)
• Fix issues relating to flipping certain foundation platforms
• Fixed train launch into vortex not working when certain upgrades are unlocked
• Fixed `debug.export-game-data`
• Fixed trash auto connecting to belts
• Fixed waypoints visualization when switching platform layers
• Fixed quick stop indicator being swapped with wait stop indicator
• Fixed pause overlay overlapping certain UI elements
• Fixed shape predictions disappearing on nearby platforms
• Fixed outdated vortex delivery indicators tutorial
• Fixed hiding upper platform floors not hiding certain elements
• Fixed hovering blueprints in the toolbar causing exceptions
• Fixed various errors with savegame migration
• Fixed weird pipe/belt placement behaviour when switching layers
• Fixed belt placement not properly handing and displaying locked vortex inputs
• Fixed visual holes in trains in overview mode
• Fixed shape/fluid miners and extensions missing overview meshes
• Fixed visual gaps during space belt / pipe placement when using lifts
• Fixed exception when merging space belts / pipes
• Fixed mirroring 2x3 and 2x4 platforms causing holes
• Fixed cutter instead of half destroyer upgrade in shop in hexagonal mode
• Fixed duplicate sounds played when deleting selection
• Fixed train transfer station animation
• Fixed vortex platform decreasing chunk limit by 18 on a fresh savegame
• Fixed outdated “remove building” hotkeys (they were now removed)
• Fixed pressing ESC while building placing the building and cancelling undo functionality
• Fixed various exceptions with the toolbar & placement
• Fixed an issue when placing old blueprints
• Fixed an issue that made space pipes’ speed not being upgraded
• Fixed an issue that caused space pipes to lose fluid
• Fixed wrong textures for space belt/pipe mergers
• Fixed various exceptions during placement
• Fixed placement breaking when jumping towards the HUB
• Fixed some migration issues with older savegames
• Fixed ‘Place Shape Miner’ tutorial not properly completing
• Fixed preview of buildings shown when overlays were open
• Fixed being unable to configure more than one rail to the sides
• Fixed exception when deleting rail next to rail splitter
• Fixed crash with old blueprints
• Fixed bright pixels flickering with space clip slots when using MSAA
• Fixed a bug where wires were not unlocked without fluids.
• Fixed a bug that unlocked the Rotator too early during the tutorial.
• Fixed a bug that caused the new Global Signal Transmitters and Receivers to malfunction during frames when a new channel was used for the first time.
• Fixed a bug that caused the building and platform placement to be broken after a specific input combination.
• Train Loader info box now contains the correct cargo capacity
• Fluid Transfer Stations are now unlocked with the Transfer Station upgrade
• Hexagonal Mode milestones 5 and 6 now unlock their infinite shapes correctly

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One week to go...

New global wire transmitters

Blueprint icon collapse

Platform placement animations

New milestones

Balancing changes

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