Robot Arena III 
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Community news update on Robot Arena 3Sep 6, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsDear Robot Arena III Fans, I wanted to take this time to thank the Steam Community for your support and trust in our Robot Arena III game. I realize it has been a while since an announcement was posted and would like to apologize for the impression it’s made on our community regarding the future of Robot Arena III. Please know things are getting done, just not as fast as we would like them to be. Keeping our community informed is my number one priority! So, as soon as I get any information about the release date for the next update, I’ll make sure to notify you. I expect plenty of questions from you, so please feel free to post them into the comment box below and I will do my best to respond. Once again, I thank the Steam Community for their continued interest in Robot Arena III and hope to have some good news soon. Jason C Community Moderator for Encore SoftwareCommunity news update on Robot Arena 3Sep 6, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsDear Robot Arena III Fans, I wanted to take this time to thank the Steam Community for your support and trust in our Robot Arena III game. I realize it has been a while since an announcement was posted and would like to apologize for the impression it’s made on our community regarding the future of Robot Arena III. Please know things are getting done, just not as fast as we would like them to be. Keeping our community informed is my number one priority! So, as soon as I get any information about the release date for the next update, I’ll make sure to notify you. I expect plenty of questions from you, so please feel free to post them into the comment box below and I will do my best to respond. Once again, I thank the Steam Community for their continued interest in Robot Arena III and hope to have some good news soon. Jason C Community Moderator for Encore SoftwareRobot Arena III Launches into Full ReleaseJun 20, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Area III players. We have another big update for you that further improves multiplayer network stability, adds new components, and addresses some of the bugs you’ve reported to us. We are still experiencing some network desynch issues when multiple rounds are played consecutively or when massive amounts of damage is dealt all at once, but we will continue to work on this and make improvements. A full list of items in this update is below, but first a word about something else key with this release. With this update, we’ve decided to move the game from Early Access to final release. This does not mean that we’re done enhancing and improving the game - more updates will follow. But as you all likely know, the Steam Summer Sale starts later this week, and we simply can’t afford to pass up the extra visibility we’ll gain from having a New Release title available during the sale. Gaining extra players will help us grow the community, gather more feedback, and continue to make Robot Arena III a better game. With that, here are the latest updates to the game: Workarounds added to reduce the likelihood of players being dropped from network matches. Clicking on a different component before attaching it to the bot no longer results in an orphaned component. Added option to hide vertex value displays when editing the chassis New component: Chain Drive Unit (same parameters as DDT burst motor) New component: Googly Eyes New component: Angry Eye Left and Angry Eye Right New component: Mega Battery New component: Large Cookie Wheel New component: Small Cookie Wheel New component: Cardboard Wheel. New component: Gold Mace New texture: Cookie Chassis Numerous Bug Fixes That’s all for now. As always, thank you for your continued support. - The Robot Arena III TeamRobot Arena III Launches into Full ReleaseJun 20, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Area III players. We have another big update for you that further improves multiplayer network stability, adds new components, and addresses some of the bugs you’ve reported to us. We are still experiencing some network desynch issues when multiple rounds are played consecutively or when massive amounts of damage is dealt all at once, but we will continue to work on this and make improvements. A full list of items in this update is below, but first a word about something else key with this release. With this update, we’ve decided to move the game from Early Access to final release. This does not mean that we’re done enhancing and improving the game - more updates will follow. But as you all likely know, the Steam Summer Sale starts later this week, and we simply can’t afford to pass up the extra visibility we’ll gain from having a New Release title available during the sale. Gaining extra players will help us grow the community, gather more feedback, and continue to make Robot Arena III a better game. With that, here are the latest updates to the game: Workarounds added to reduce the likelihood of players being dropped from network matches. Clicking on a different component before attaching it to the bot no longer results in an orphaned component. Added option to hide vertex value displays when editing the chassis New component: Chain Drive Unit (same parameters as DDT burst motor) New component: Googly Eyes New component: Angry Eye Left and Angry Eye Right New component: Mega Battery New component: Large Cookie Wheel New component: Small Cookie Wheel New component: Cardboard Wheel. New component: Gold Mace New texture: Cookie Chassis Numerous Bug Fixes That’s all for now. As always, thank you for your continued support. - The Robot Arena III TeamUpdate #3 Now Available!Jun 16, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Arena players. We have another big update for Robot Arena III today, largely focused on faster motors, micro bot parts and changes to the physics system. There are still some networking issues present in this build, but we’re continuing to focus on this area and make improvements. In the meantime, this update includes a lot of tweaks and new content to address a lot of feedback we’ve received from the community. Important note regarding wedge bots: Due to physics changes, bots that drag part of the chassis, such as wedge bots, now need to have a surface to slide on. You can use the ball casters, casters, small wedges, or fork lift arms mounted to your bot to create a sliding edge for these bots. Casters and ball casters can be flipped over with the Change Orientation button in the bot lab. Bots that are too low to the ground may need to be raised up a bit to prevent dragging. Here’s a list of everything included in this new update: Massive improvement to motor physics. Much more speed, action, etc. Please note that the tweaks to motor performance may require you to tweak some of your existing robot designs. Fortunately, we’ve made it easier to do so! Motors have Torque and RPM controls to tune them. - Reduce Torque on a motor to prevent bots from flipping. - Reduce RPMs on a motor to limit its top speed. Heavy objects attached to motors will cause them to spin up more slowly than motors with light objects attached. Note, however, that some motors are very powerful and can spin quickly even with heavy weights attached. Improved friction model for faster handling, spins, drifts, etc. Bot components that drag on the ground will now cause proper friction, slowing the bot. Get your components up off the ground to avoid this. Previous "chassis dragging" bot designs (like wedges) will now encounter proper friction on the ground and may be hard to drive. To compensate, add ball casters, casters, small wedges or forklift arms, which have much lower friction and will allow you to slide the chassis close to the ground. Vastly reduced the chance of bots popping into the air upon minor collisions or compression of a chain of components. Tournaments now have weight limits. However the game currently does not check to see if the selected bot meets the limit until it is locked. To prevent this, do not use an unrestricted weight class bot in a tournament. Added mini control board for micro bots. Added mini battery for micro bots. Added mini CO2 tank for micro bots. Added super-heavy battery for big bots. Ramps have been removed from the testing facility for now. New networking interpolation has been added to smooth out the motion in multiplayer. Various bug fixes. Important Note: On a small selection of some older video cards, the Bot Lab may not function properly or the game may not be able to load matches. We are current looking into the issue. That’s it for this update. We have another update planned for early next week that should close off most ...Update #3 Now Available!Jun 16, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Arena players. We have another big update for Robot Arena III today, largely focused on faster motors, micro bot parts and changes to the physics system. There are still some networking issues present in this build, but we’re continuing to focus on this area and make improvements. In the meantime, this update includes a lot of tweaks and new content to address a lot of feedback we’ve received from the community. Important note regarding wedge bots: Due to physics changes, bots that drag part of the chassis, such as wedge bots, now need to have a surface to slide on. You can use the ball casters, casters, small wedges, or fork lift arms mounted to your bot to create a sliding edge for these bots. Casters and ball casters can be flipped over with the Change Orientation button in the bot lab. Bots that are too low to the ground may need to be raised up a bit to prevent dragging. Here’s a list of everything included in this new update: Massive improvement to motor physics. Much more speed, action, etc. Please note that the tweaks to motor performance may require you to tweak some of your existing robot designs. Fortunately, we’ve made it easier to do so! Motors have Torque and RPM controls to tune them. - Reduce Torque on a motor to prevent bots from flipping. - Reduce RPMs on a motor to limit its top speed. Heavy objects attached to motors will cause them to spin up more slowly than motors with light objects attached. Note, however, that some motors are very powerful and can spin quickly even with heavy weights attached. Improved friction model for faster handling, spins, drifts, etc. Bot components that drag on the ground will now cause proper friction, slowing the bot. Get your components up off the ground to avoid this. Previous "chassis dragging" bot designs (like wedges) will now encounter proper friction on the ground and may be hard to drive. To compensate, add ball casters, casters, small wedges or forklift arms, which have much lower friction and will allow you to slide the chassis close to the ground. Vastly reduced the chance of bots popping into the air upon minor collisions or compression of a chain of components. Tournaments now have weight limits. However the game currently does not check to see if the selected bot meets the limit until it is locked. To prevent this, do not use an unrestricted weight class bot in a tournament. Added mini control board for micro bots. Added mini battery for micro bots. Added mini CO2 tank for micro bots. Added super-heavy battery for big bots. Ramps have been removed from the testing facility for now. New networking interpolation has been added to smooth out the motion in multiplayer. Various bug fixes. Important Note: On a small selection of some older video cards, the Bot Lab may not function properly or the game may not be able to load matches. We are current looking into the issue. That’s it for this update. We have another update planned for early next week that should close off most ...Second Update Available NowJun 9, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Arena III players. We’re happy to announce that another new update is available now. As with the last update, this does not fix every issue with the game, but several major and many minor changes have been implemented. This update includes the following fixes: • You can now build Wedge Bots and other classic bot shapes! Arbitrary collision volumes have been implemented. • Weight classes in the multiplayer lobby have been implemented. • Starting a multiplayer match with no arena selected will no longer crash the game. • Multiplayer matches now end correctly based on the combination of Destroyed and Immobilized bots. • End of Round Multiplayer scenarios have been improved. • Multiple component tweaks have been implemented. • You can now view all pages of Steam Workshop bots. • User interface messaging has been improved. • Losing batteries now disables a bot. • Arena hazards damages have been tweaked. • The water in the Flex Top arena now damages bots. • The Subway arena train hazard now triggers based on a timer and will destroy bots. • Parking Lot arena physics have been adjusted. • The manhole cover obstacle can now be triggered multiple times. That’s it for now. We plan to have another update early next week, so please keep your feedback coming! - The Robot Arena III Team Second Update Available NowJun 9, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Arena III players. We’re happy to announce that another new update is available now. As with the last update, this does not fix every issue with the game, but several major and many minor changes have been implemented. This update includes the following fixes: • You can now build Wedge Bots and other classic bot shapes! Arbitrary collision volumes have been implemented. • Weight classes in the multiplayer lobby have been implemented. • Starting a multiplayer match with no arena selected will no longer crash the game. • Multiplayer matches now end correctly based on the combination of Destroyed and Immobilized bots. • End of Round Multiplayer scenarios have been improved. • Multiple component tweaks have been implemented. • You can now view all pages of Steam Workshop bots. • User interface messaging has been improved. • Losing batteries now disables a bot. • Arena hazards damages have been tweaked. • The water in the Flex Top arena now damages bots. • The Subway arena train hazard now triggers based on a timer and will destroy bots. • Parking Lot arena physics have been adjusted. • The manhole cover obstacle can now be triggered multiple times. That’s it for now. We plan to have another update early next week, so please keep your feedback coming! - The Robot Arena III Team First Robot Arena III Update AvailableJun 3, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Arena community. Today we are launching our first update for Robot Arena III. This patch includes both fixes that were already planned, as well as fixes suggested by the community. Obviously we couldn’t address every single issue mentioned by the community in the span of one week, and a number of issues still remain. But, we do think you’ll view this new build as an improvement and, of course, we will continue to make improvements to the game. This update includes the following changes: 1. Four-player multiplayer is now available but is still a work in progress. We are aware of random instances of desynchronization, which may cause players may to lose their connection. However, it is stable enough to let the community start playing it and sending us feedback. Important Note: While we work on improving network stability, the motion smoothing between network updates has been deactivated. This will make bots look like they are "stuttering" instead of moving smoothly in some instances. This will be addressed in upcoming builds. 2. The 'Snap to Grid' feature was improved in this build. Now you can use the 'Snap to Grid' feature to raise and rotate your components to synchronize their placement. 3. Now you can use the keyboard to choose the right camera view: • F1 - Follow Camera (Default) • F2 - Shift between random Arena Cameras (varies per Arena) • F3 - Cycle the various Drone Cameras on your bot • F4 - Switch between random angles of the Director (TV) Camera 4. The ‘Follow Camera’ view is now the default camera view. 5. Hazards in the Arena will cause damage to you and your opponents. We are still adding improvements to the train hazard in the Subway Arena. Right now the train will only destroy the first bot that falls onto the tracks, and will not return to destroy any additional players. 6. In the Bot Lab, you cannot add components outside of the grid area. This fix should prevent you from adding components beneath the table. 8. This build includes improvements to the Multiplayer lobby, which is still a work in progress. 9. Improved Bot Entry in multiplayer. No more bots bouncing all over the map! 10. Dramatically reduced jitter of components in networked bots 11. Improved the Paint Shop feature, which is still a work in progress. New decal layers have the aspect ratio pre-adjusted to look better on larger bots. 12. Added Previous and Next page controls to scroll through Workshop content. 13. Tweaked power supply/consumption values. 14. The UI now adjusts better to resolution/aspect changes That covers the major items in this update. As we mentioned at the start, many of these fixes were already planned. Others were “low-hanging fruit” that were easy to fix quickly – we know some of you may wonder why some relatively small items were improved before larger issues. We will continue to work on all known issues, including those you in the community have shared with us, and we’ll have another update for you next week. Thank you, - The Ro...First Robot Arena III Update AvailableJun 3, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Arena community. Today we are launching our first update for Robot Arena III. This patch includes both fixes that were already planned, as well as fixes suggested by the community. Obviously we couldn’t address every single issue mentioned by the community in the span of one week, and a number of issues still remain. But, we do think you’ll view this new build as an improvement and, of course, we will continue to make improvements to the game. This update includes the following changes: 1. Four-player multiplayer is now available but is still a work in progress. We are aware of random instances of desynchronization, which may cause players may to lose their connection. However, it is stable enough to let the community start playing it and sending us feedback. Important Note: While we work on improving network stability, the motion smoothing between network updates has been deactivated. This will make bots look like they are "stuttering" instead of moving smoothly in some instances. This will be addressed in upcoming builds. 2. The 'Snap to Grid' feature was improved in this build. Now you can use the 'Snap to Grid' feature to raise and rotate your components to synchronize their placement. 3. Now you can use the keyboard to choose the right camera view: • F1 - Follow Camera (Default) • F2 - Shift between random Arena Cameras (varies per Arena) • F3 - Cycle the various Drone Cameras on your bot • F4 - Switch between random angles of the Director (TV) Camera 4. The ‘Follow Camera’ view is now the default camera view. 5. Hazards in the Arena will cause damage to you and your opponents. We are still adding improvements to the train hazard in the Subway Arena. Right now the train will only destroy the first bot that falls onto the tracks, and will not return to destroy any additional players. 6. In the Bot Lab, you cannot add components outside of the grid area. This fix should prevent you from adding components beneath the table. 8. This build includes improvements to the Multiplayer lobby, which is still a work in progress. 9. Improved Bot Entry in multiplayer. No more bots bouncing all over the map! 10. Dramatically reduced jitter of components in networked bots 11. Improved the Paint Shop feature, which is still a work in progress. New decal layers have the aspect ratio pre-adjusted to look better on larger bots. 12. Added Previous and Next page controls to scroll through Workshop content. 13. Tweaked power supply/consumption values. 14. The UI now adjusts better to resolution/aspect changes That covers the major items in this update. As we mentioned at the start, many of these fixes were already planned. Others were “low-hanging fruit” that were easy to fix quickly – we know some of you may wonder why some relatively small items were improved before larger issues. We will continue to work on all known issues, including those you in the community have shared with us, and we’ll have another update for you next week. Thank you, - The Ro...Important AnnouncementMay 25, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Arena fans, We have an important update to share with you this morning. Robot Arena III will be releasing tomorrow as scheduled, but it will be releasing as an Early Access title. We see this as ultimately good news for the game and for you the players, but we wanted to explain why we decided to take this path. We committed to releasing Robot Arena III on May 26 and because of the huge amount of excitement we've seen about the game, we didn't want to disappoint the community by missing that date. However, some recent changes by third-party plugins used by the game caused last-minute issues with certain parts of the game, particularly the multiplayer. We are confident we can fix them, but we wouldn’t be able to do so by Thursday. The game is mostly complete. The major issue for now is that only two-player multiplayer will be available at launch, with four-player multiplayer coming within the next few weeks. Therefore, we have decided to release the game on Thursday, May 26 as an Early Access title so players will still be able to play the game on the 26th as planned, with only a small chunk of the planned feature set missing. We only plan to be in Early Access for a few weeks as we resolve the issue with four-player multiplayer and a handful of other small issues. Launching in Early Access will ultimately result in a better game, as we will listen seriously to every bit of feedback from the community and work hard to address every issue they identify. We are grateful to the Robot Arena community and are still confident that they will enjoy the game that’s released on May 26th. Important AnnouncementMay 25, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Arena fans, We have an important update to share with you this morning. Robot Arena III will be releasing tomorrow as scheduled, but it will be releasing as an Early Access title. We see this as ultimately good news for the game and for you the players, but we wanted to explain why we decided to take this path. We committed to releasing Robot Arena III on May 26 and because of the huge amount of excitement we've seen about the game, we didn't want to disappoint the community by missing that date. However, some recent changes by third-party plugins used by the game caused last-minute issues with certain parts of the game, particularly the multiplayer. We are confident we can fix them, but we wouldn’t be able to do so by Thursday. The game is mostly complete. The major issue for now is that only two-player multiplayer will be available at launch, with four-player multiplayer coming within the next few weeks. Therefore, we have decided to release the game on Thursday, May 26 as an Early Access title so players will still be able to play the game on the 26th as planned, with only a small chunk of the planned feature set missing. We only plan to be in Early Access for a few weeks as we resolve the issue with four-player multiplayer and a handful of other small issues. Launching in Early Access will ultimately result in a better game, as we will listen seriously to every bit of feedback from the community and work hard to address every issue they identify. We are grateful to the Robot Arena community and are still confident that they will enjoy the game that’s released on May 26th. At Long Last, A New Q&A Post!!May 17, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Arena III fans! Sorry it has been so long since our last Q&A post. We’ve been extremely busy getting the game finished and exhibiting at shows like PAX East, Vex Worlds, Wizard World and MSP ComiCon. There’s still a lot to do before release, but we’ve managed to find some time to answer another round of questions. We hope to continue to put out another post like this weekly up to and beyond release. With that, on with the questions! >Can you tell me more about judges scoring? Will it be like the TV show, or will it be like RA2? I feel like the RA2 scoring is unfair to flip bots and wedges that do not score damage like a spinner for example The scoring will be similar to how it was done in RA2, and will be primarily based on damage. Bots such as flippers or wedges should rely on other scoring/victory possibilities, such as immobilizing their opponent’s robot, or using the arena’s hazards (spikes, saws, pits, flames, grinders, etc.) in combination with their fighting style to inflict maximum damage on their opponents or to quickly eliminate their opponent from the match. Wedge bots, spinners and flipper bots can cause damage based upon impact just like other bots. >Will we finally be able to add fur to our robots? Why the heck do robots need fur? Do they get a chill in the middle of winter? Right now we aren’t anticipating Fur covered robots, though we should consider some Robot Arena 3 Snuggies for human players, so they can feel warm and snuggly while they sit by the fire, drinking their warm cocoa and playing a rousing game of RA3. But seriously, fur might be considered as a post release item, perhaps as part of an animal-themed expansion pack. By the way, that’s not confirmation of DLC, we’re just thinking out loud! >Will this game support Linux? Not at launch, but we may add a Linux version at some point. The game is built in Unity, so it should be doable. >I'd like to ask about the framerate of the game, if it will be locked and what kinda of hardware the game is designed to run to an acceptable level on. The framerate is not locked. The game should run well on modest hardware, but some arenas are more detailed than others. We aspire to the highest possible interactive frame rates on the lowest common denominator hardware that supports the bare minimum game requirements. This is typically at least 30 frames/second and ideally we want to achieve 60 fps. > I'd also like to ask if any modding tools will be supplied by Octopus Tree Not at initial release. Between us, Unity games are HIGHLY MODDABLE without any support required on the Dev side. Clever folks can actually hook right into the C# mono code. > What would everyone think to such of an idea of an official Tournament by Octopus Tree? It’s a great idea. It may require specialized backend support. We’ve done products with prize giveaways before and it can really encourage play. It’s not a trivial task to include an automated system, but we’re looking into backend providers. > I'...At Long Last, A New Q&A Post!!May 17, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello, Robot Arena III fans! Sorry it has been so long since our last Q&A post. We’ve been extremely busy getting the game finished and exhibiting at shows like PAX East, Vex Worlds, Wizard World and MSP ComiCon. There’s still a lot to do before release, but we’ve managed to find some time to answer another round of questions. We hope to continue to put out another post like this weekly up to and beyond release. With that, on with the questions! >Can you tell me more about judges scoring? Will it be like the TV show, or will it be like RA2? I feel like the RA2 scoring is unfair to flip bots and wedges that do not score damage like a spinner for example The scoring will be similar to how it was done in RA2, and will be primarily based on damage. Bots such as flippers or wedges should rely on other scoring/victory possibilities, such as immobilizing their opponent’s robot, or using the arena’s hazards (spikes, saws, pits, flames, grinders, etc.) in combination with their fighting style to inflict maximum damage on their opponents or to quickly eliminate their opponent from the match. Wedge bots, spinners and flipper bots can cause damage based upon impact just like other bots. >Will we finally be able to add fur to our robots? Why the heck do robots need fur? Do they get a chill in the middle of winter? Right now we aren’t anticipating Fur covered robots, though we should consider some Robot Arena 3 Snuggies for human players, so they can feel warm and snuggly while they sit by the fire, drinking their warm cocoa and playing a rousing game of RA3. But seriously, fur might be considered as a post release item, perhaps as part of an animal-themed expansion pack. By the way, that’s not confirmation of DLC, we’re just thinking out loud! >Will this game support Linux? Not at launch, but we may add a Linux version at some point. The game is built in Unity, so it should be doable. >I'd like to ask about the framerate of the game, if it will be locked and what kinda of hardware the game is designed to run to an acceptable level on. The framerate is not locked. The game should run well on modest hardware, but some arenas are more detailed than others. We aspire to the highest possible interactive frame rates on the lowest common denominator hardware that supports the bare minimum game requirements. This is typically at least 30 frames/second and ideally we want to achieve 60 fps. > I'd also like to ask if any modding tools will be supplied by Octopus Tree Not at initial release. Between us, Unity games are HIGHLY MODDABLE without any support required on the Dev side. Clever folks can actually hook right into the C# mono code. > What would everyone think to such of an idea of an official Tournament by Octopus Tree? It’s a great idea. It may require specialized backend support. We’ve done products with prize giveaways before and it can really encourage play. It’s not a trivial task to include an automated system, but we’re looking into backend providers. > I'...Next QA Post Coming SoonMay 4, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsSorry for the delay, everyone! We fully intended to have another Q&A up this week, but it looks like it won't happen. We've been busy finishing up the game and attending shows like PAX East and VEX Worlds and preparing for Wizard World Minneapolis and SpringCon. We fully intend to have another Q&A up for you next week, so stay tuned!Next QA Post Coming SoonMay 4, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsSorry for the delay, everyone! We fully intended to have another Q&A up this week, but it looks like it won't happen. We've been busy finishing up the game and attending shows like PAX East and VEX Worlds and preparing for Wizard World Minneapolis and SpringCon. We fully intend to have another Q&A up for you next week, so stay tuned!Play Robot Arena III in Person!Apr 20, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello again everyone! We’ve got four opportunities for you to play Robot Arena III in person over the next few weeks. The first two are here this weekend! As we mentioned in the last post, we’ll be at PAX East in Boston, April 22-24. You can check out the game at the Octopus Tree booth, number 10229. We'll also be at VEX Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky at the Kentucky Exposition Center. We're proud to be the first game at this robotics competition event and look forward to sharing the game with competitors and VEX fans April 20-23. From May 6-8, you’ll also be able to play Goliath and the other Octopus Tree games at Wizard World Minneapolis at the Minneapolis Convention Center, booth number 1011. Finally, from May 14-15, you can check us out at the MSP ComiCon on the Minnesota State Fair Grounds! Booth number to be determined. At all three shows, you’ll have a chance to play the Robot Arena III and two other games from Octopus Tree, Goliath and Buildanauts. We hope to see you all there. One final note: since we'll be very busy working two shows and continuing development on the game, there will be no Q&A post this week. But never fear, the Q&A post will be back the following week! - The Robot Arena TeamPlay Robot Arena III in Person!Apr 20, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHello again everyone! We’ve got four opportunities for you to play Robot Arena III in person over the next few weeks. The first two are here this weekend! As we mentioned in the last post, we’ll be at PAX East in Boston, April 22-24. You can check out the game at the Octopus Tree booth, number 10229. We'll also be at VEX Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky at the Kentucky Exposition Center. We're proud to be the first game at this robotics competition event and look forward to sharing the game with competitors and VEX fans April 20-23. From May 6-8, you’ll also be able to play Goliath and the other Octopus Tree games at Wizard World Minneapolis at the Minneapolis Convention Center, booth number 1011. Finally, from May 14-15, you can check us out at the MSP ComiCon on the Minnesota State Fair Grounds! Booth number to be determined. At all three shows, you’ll have a chance to play the Robot Arena III and two other games from Octopus Tree, Goliath and Buildanauts. We hope to see you all there. One final note: since we'll be very busy working two shows and continuing development on the game, there will be no Q&A post this week. But never fear, the Q&A post will be back the following week! - The Robot Arena TeamRA III Questions Answered - Round 5Apr 17, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHi Everyone, Thank you again for all of the questions and well wishes as we head into the home stretch. We've been extra busy this week preparing builds for PAX East for the 22nd-24th and also a new event, VEX Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky at the Kentucky Exposition Center. We're proud to be the first game at this robotics competition event and look forward to sharing the game with competitors and VEX fans April 20th through the 23rd. On to the questions of the week! >Will there be an open or closed beta? We have a handful of folks providing us feedback from the RA2 community. The truth is we'd love to have more folks involved in an open beta, but managing a larger group would take more time and we have a limited amount of that remaining. With that being said we have been getting great feedback from the handful of people who have agreed to help and we are extremely appreciative of their time. >Will objects and wheels that stick out of the chassis have an opening for them or will they stick out of the chassis's if it wasn't solid like in RA 2? Objects that stick out of the chassis do not create negative space on the chassis itself, so we are similar to RA 2 in that regard. We totally like the idea of creating a negative space for objects that pass through the chassis, but we won't be doing that for RA III. >What are you using for multiplayer? We're using Unity's multiplayer solution UNET. After researching other solutions we felt this had the best potential for what we were trying to achieve with RA III. >I wonder if bot file editing/ component editing will still be possible in RA3 without having to be a computer genius. >Bot file editing will be simple, it's a json file you can open with notepad or notepad++. Your bots are stored in your My Documents folder. Component editing is trickier than that and currently takes some knowledge of Unity and CAD, but it should be easier than RA 2. We have no formal plans yet to release the details on customizing components - but it's on our wishlist to do for sure. >Can you edit the chassis during building? Yes. You can edit the chassis after you have placed components. We're trying to make building much easier, and we believe this is a big step in the right direction. >Will there be copy, paste and radial/array or mirroring of components to make it easier to build your bot? Copy/Paste and radial array/mirroring are not currently in the works, though we hear you loud and clear that it is something that you would like. As bot builders ourselves we know these would be time savers. On top of all the other elements of the game these seem trivial to add, but there is a good bit of user interface work and testing that would take additional time. Undo is another big one we would have liked to have, but that is also sadly not in the plans at this time. That wraps up the questions for this week! Thank you all again for your continued support. If you're attending PAX or VEX, please stop by and say hello and let us know...RA III Questions Answered - Round 5Apr 17, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsHi Everyone, Thank you again for all of the questions and well wishes as we head into the home stretch. We've been extra busy this week preparing builds for PAX East for the 22nd-24th and also a new event, VEX Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky at the Kentucky Exposition Center. We're proud to be the first game at this robotics competition event and look forward to sharing the game with competitors and VEX fans April 20th through the 23rd. On to the questions of the week! >Will there be an open or closed beta? We have a handful of folks providing us feedback from the RA2 community. The truth is we'd love to have more folks involved in an open beta, but managing a larger group would take more time and we have a limited amount of that remaining. With that being said we have been getting great feedback from the handful of people who have agreed to help and we are extremely appreciative of their time. >Will objects and wheels that stick out of the chassis have an opening for them or will they stick out of the chassis's if it wasn't solid like in RA 2? Objects that stick out of the chassis do not create negative space on the chassis itself, so we are similar to RA 2 in that regard. We totally like the idea of creating a negative space for objects that pass through the chassis, but we won't be doing that for RA III. >What are you using for multiplayer? We're using Unity's multiplayer solution UNET. After researching other solutions we felt this had the best potential for what we were trying to achieve with RA III. >I wonder if bot file editing/ component editing will still be possible in RA3 without having to be a computer genius. >Bot file editing will be simple, it's a json file you can open with notepad or notepad++. Your bots are stored in your My Documents folder. Component editing is trickier than that and currently takes some knowledge of Unity and CAD, but it should be easier than RA 2. We have no formal plans yet to release the details on customizing components - but it's on our wishlist to do for sure. >Can you edit the chassis during building? Yes. You can edit the chassis after you have placed components. We're trying to make building much easier, and we believe this is a big step in the right direction. >Will there be copy, paste and radial/array or mirroring of components to make it easier to build your bot? Copy/Paste and radial array/mirroring are not currently in the works, though we hear you loud and clear that it is something that you would like. As bot builders ourselves we know these would be time savers. On top of all the other elements of the game these seem trivial to add, but there is a good bit of user interface work and testing that would take additional time. Undo is another big one we would have liked to have, but that is also sadly not in the plans at this time. That wraps up the questions for this week! Thank you all again for your continued support. If you're attending PAX or VEX, please stop by and say hello and let us know...
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