Hello Everyone!

For anyone who hasn't been keeping up to date with development on our Discord server or through the new store page for the remake, here's a post going over the state of development for the new game!

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/news/app/2082350/view/3680047495738123503

It's quite a length post with lots of information and a direct look at what's to come through lots of screenshots and videos. Definitely a recommended read for anyone patiently waiting for the new game to come out that wants more info on specific features and other new content.

Just a reminder that if you'd like to stay up to date with the remake and help support it, wishlisting the game and following it on Steam is VERY helpful and gets the game shown to more people in the future!

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/2082350/Vectorio/

As always if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to let me know below!

Thanks for reading,
~ Ben

Hello everyone,

I am pleased to announce that the new Vectorio (also regarded as "The Remake") is now available to wishlist on Steam! The game has been in development now for nearly 6 months, and I'm so excited to start sharing what I've been working on with it. You can check it out below...

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/2082350/Vectorio/


For those that aren't aware about what's going on or why there's a "New Vectorio", please read the post linked below from last summer. It explains everything you'll need to know...

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/news/app/1462470/view/3330988721842165583


I know questions have been up in the air surrounding the status of Vectorio Classic and what its future is going to look like, and I'd like to spend some time talking about this to clear the air and make sure everyone is on the same page, since I don't want their to be any confusion around it.

As of right now, Vectorio Classic is officially discontinued. I am no longer working on it nor do I have any plans to continue working on it. As stated in the post above (What's going on with Vectorio?), my main focus is now on the new game. I don't believe focusing any of my energy or time on the classic is going to benefit anyone, as due to underlying issues outlined in the post above, the game is never going to be able to reach its full potential. (as much as I'd like it to)

I know this is going to upset a lot of people who weren't aware this was going to happen, and to that I'm sorry. I know Vectorio holds a special place in many peoples hearts, mine included, so please know this wasn't a decision that I made lightly. I want the project to succeed, and in order for that to happen the game needed to be remade from scratch.


As of making this post, the Frosted Defenses DLC should no longer be up for sale. I do not feel comfortable charging anyone for something that is unfinished, and so my immediate priority was removing it from sale, and making sure no one else purchases it.

For anyone who did purchase it, I am looking at options for transferring it to the new game. This may be tricky to do because of how applications are linked on Steam, but nevertheless I will find a way to make it up to everyone who purchased it. I am also fully open to any discussions surrounding this, and will happily work with those that purchased it to come up with a solution they feel is fair. If you'd like to chat about this or make a suggestion, feel free to let me know below, or on our Discord server; you will have my upmost attention until we reach an outcome that everyone is happy with.

• Will the new game be in Early Access?
  Yes, the new game will start off in early access, which I know may give some conflicting feelings due to how the classic panned out. Rest assured though, the issues that were present in the classic are no longer present in the remake. I have carefully planned out the game and designed the base of it to ensure this won't happen again, and have run tests consistently to back this up.
  
  
• Why is the new game in Early Access?
  The new game is not just a "remake", it as entirely new game with new mechanics, features, and content. Because of this, the scope of the project has increased drastically, and so in order to fully flesh everything out and test it, Early Access is required. (especially since I'm a one-man team)
  
  
• How long will the game be in Early Access for?
  My current prediction is no longer than a year. I have carefully laid out a roadmap for the game (which you can view on the new store page) which will enable me to stay on track and hopefully get a major update out every 1-2 months. However, this can of course change, and as everyone knows my predictions for release dates are usually comically wrong.
  
  
• How does the new game differ from the classic?
  Although the new game still follows the Vectorio formula, a lot has changed! This includes an all new research system, new enemy mechanics, new heat system, new power system, way more unique buildings, a new region system, new resources, and more! There's too much to try and list or cover in a single post, so it's best to check out the store page and see some of it for yourself!
  
  
• Will the new game cost money?
  Although I haven't put my foot down on this decision quite yet, it most likely will cost money. As much as I'd love to release it for free and continue with the cosmetic monetization model, in order for me to dedicate my full attention to it and work on it full-time, charging for the base game is the safest way to do this. I know that may be disappointing to some, and so I am all ears in this area as well. I'd love to come up with a decision that gets as many people playing the game as possible, whilst still being just enough to enable me to make a living from it and work on it full-time. Just know that if there is a price tag on it, it will be priced as fairly as possible.

If anyone has any other questions about the remake, feel free to let me know below. I will be communicating with the community as much as I possibly can during this transition, and will be addressing any concerns or complaints about it to the best of my ability.

This is a bit of a strange and confusing situation we're in at the moment, but I strongly believe once everyone gets their hands on the new game it'll be a lot more clear why this is all happening. There is so much new stuff to talk about and cover, and I am so excited to start getting around to it after the game has been in a dry spot for nearly a year now. Although it's disappointing to see Vectorio Classic coming to a close, there is so much to look forward to with the new Vectorio, and I can't wait!

Thanks for reading,
~ Ben

Progress on the Vectorio remake is coming along exceptionally well, with the new creator tool now finished and working. I should have more information to share on the remake soon, along with a playable demo of some sort. If you want to follow along with the remake progress, join our Discord below!

Discord: https://discord.gg/auDgRJqtT9

In the meantime, I thought it would sort of be a cool idea to look back on the classic version of Vectorio before the remake takes the spotlight. So, I have gone back through all the builds and made every major release available! (with the most stable version for that release) I've listed each of the versions below, along with how to gain access to them if you don't already know how. Hope you all enjoy!


Played the very first version of Vectorio and want to revisit it? Now you can! Opt into the Update 1 branch by following the steps below to regain access to Update 1 (and your update 1 saves, if they still exist!)

How to gain access to Update 1
1. Navigate to "Vectorio" in your Steam library
2. Right-click on Vectorio, and click on properties
3. Navigate to the betas tab in the properties window
4. In the drop-down, select update-1 and hit apply!

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/news/app/1462470/view/3049473159358077999


The second major version of Vectorio, and the one that most people look back on fondly. You can now revisit this version, including your old saves (if they exist) and the old fan-favourite research tree!

How to gain access to Update 2
1. Navigate to "Vectorio" in your Steam library
2. Right-click on Vectorio, and click on properties
3. Navigate to the betas tab in the properties window
4. In the drop-down, select update-2 and hit apply!

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/news/app/1462470/view/3001068340446258044


The experimental creative test environment is now once again available! This was used to test parts of the refactor in Update 3, and is a version many people had fun on.

How to gain access to Creative
1. Navigate to "Vectorio" in your Steam library
2. Right-click on Vectorio, and click on properties
3. Navigate to the betas tab in the properties window
4. In the drop-down, select creative and hit apply!

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/news/app/1462470/view/4964645483254637960


Finally, the most recent version of Vectorio - Update 3! Because an update will be dropping for Vectorio classic that will tidy up a few things, I have made the current version of Update 3 permanently available on this branch. (it's no different than the live branch at this time though)

How to gain access to Update 3
1. Navigate to "Vectorio" in your Steam library
2. Right-click on Vectorio, and click on properties
3. Navigate to the betas tab in the properties window
4. In the drop-down, select update-3 and hit apply!

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/news/app/1462470/view/3142947039187299627

Hello everyone,

This is going to be a bit of a long post. There's lots of stuff to cover, and I'm not going to sugar coat or beat around the bush about anything. I want to be as straightforward as I can be with everyone on what's been going on the last couple months, and what's going to be happening to Vectorio this year. There's some disappointing stuff to cover, but there's also some equally, if not more exciting stuff.

P.S. I've left a TL;DR at the end of the post, but I STRONGLY recommend you still give the whole post a read! There's a lot of important info that's covered that a TL;DR can't capture.


So, where to start. Just to rip the bandaid off and get it out of the way, very little progress has been made since the last Steam post in March. I have tried multiple times to refactor networking in a way that will fix not only the desync and disconnect issues present in the current version, but also support the addition of new systems and features. Unfortunately the issue still remains that the core of the game is extremely hard to work with, again due to the fact that many bits of it still exist from when I was learning the Unity engine and C# language.

Just to clarify, when I'm talking about the core of the game I'm not specifically referring to any one component, but rather the setup of the components and how they affect other systems in the game. For example, one of the main issues I've been having is with enemy logic. I wanted to remake the way variants work so that I could better control their stats and how they spawn. However, the moment I started changing the variant data class (scriptable object), many other scripts started breaking, which is fine, that's expected. But, when I started fixing the issues in the other classes, it created a domino effect where another class would break, and than another, and than another.

This obviously shouldn't happen, but it does because the core of the game is such a mess that certain systems are intertwined with each other when really they have absolutely no need to be. This is because like I mentioned above, the design of how these systems interact with each other still exists from when I was learning Unity and C#. Ideally, I would've created test projects first to learn and test new things, but as I've said before Vectorio WAS my test project. It just happened to sort of come together in the end, so I decided to release it. When I did I didn't think anyone would actually take any interest in it, but alas here we are with nearly 70,000 downloads.


Here lies the hardest part. These issues are technically fixable, it is possible to strip down these systems and rebuild them piece by piece. But, with the sheer amount of time and effort it would take to complete this, I'd be looking at months and months of hard work just to get back to where I started. Also taking into consideration that I'm now working full-time as an indie developer, this unfortunately isn't going to be realistic for me, as I'd need to be able to support myself and make a living off this work. At this point I was thinking it either wasn't going to be possible to finish Vectorio (at least the way I wanted to), or that I mine as well start over and remake the game from the ground up...

Ok so when I was thinking this over I suddenly felt something spike in me that I hadn't felt in a LONG time for Vectorio; A burning passion and craving to all of a sudden work on the game. What if I did remake the game from the ground up? What if I took what I learned and applied it early on in a fresh project? What if I PROPERLY integrated networking in early on rather than shoehorn it in later on? All of a sudden I started getting ideas of how to flesh out the game more, taking what worked well and building on it in a new and improved version of Vectorio. A full remake of the game that would be done properly and not have the same restrictions due to inexperience like it's predecessor.

So needless to say you can see how after months and months of feeling demotivated with the project and dealing with annoying issues I imposed on myself from when I was learning Unity, creating an entirely new version of the game from the ground up was sounding really enticing. So, that's what I've decided I'm going to do...


So, what exactly is going to be in this new remake of Vectorio? Well for one I'll be taking everything that worked well in the original version and expanding on it. This includes things like enemy outposts from Update 1, the research tree from Update 2, border expansion, drone networks, guardians, and more. However these things won't just be added into the new version, they'll be fleshed out and improved upon. As a small example, you'll be able to customize and modify drone deployments in certain areas to maximize your bases efficiency. New drone types will also be added, including the long-awaited repair drone, cargo drones, and the new restock drones.

In addition to fleshing out a lot of these features, I'll also be slightly changing the tone of the game. In the current version, it seems to sort of flip-flop between being a chill base-building game and a stressful nightmare inducing tower defense game. In the new version, I will be leaning a LOT more into the chill base-building side of things. I want Vectorio to just be a relaxed experience where you can sit back, build a cool looking neon base, vibe to some 80s synthwave, and watch enemies get torn apart by your defenses. You'll still be able to customize it so that it's challenging, but I'll be really focusing in on trying to hit more relaxing notes with the game. (there's also going to be new music!)

The new version will also contain a ton of new content, including new enemies, enemy types, defenses, buildings, resources, drones, and so on. All of this new content will work into the improved systems in the game to create not only a fresh and unique base building experience, but also make this new version of Vectorio feel like an entirely new game, whilst still feeling familiar to the original version. So for those that have been wanting more out of Vectorio, this new version will give it to you.


The new version of Vectorio will release on Steam whenever it's ready. I'm not setting any dates, and I'm not even going to try and predict when it'll be ready. I want to really give it my all and create what I intended Vectorio to be the first time around. I also want to do right by all of you who have been waiting far, FAR too long for new content and features to come online. This game is going to be for all of you, and trust me when I say I will do everything I can to make it worth your wait.

In regards to whether or not this new version of Vectorio will be free, it unfortunately will not be. In order to dedicate the amount of time I want to towards this new remake, I need to be able to support myself and make a living off it. My intention here is not to scrape as much money as I can off the game (if it was I would've monetized the original a lot more), but to be able to fully realize Vectorio's potential and bring it to the highest level of quality that I can. With the amount of time and effort this is going to take, keeping it free is unfortunately just not possible anymore, as much as I would like it to be.

I understand this may be a deal-breaker for some, and to that I'm sorry. I know the original being free was a huge part of the draw in for many people, so this may be a bit of a backhand to a lot of you, especially considering the original will never be completed like I intended it too. All I can say is that I will price the new game as low as I can so that it's super affordable, and is just enough for me to be able to make this new version for all of you. I will also do a lot of giveaways on our Discord, so if you're not already a part of it make sure to hop in there.


The original version of the game (the only currently on Steam) is going to be renamed to "Vectorio Classic" so as not to cause confusion with this new re-release of the game. I was debating between keeping it as Vectorio and calling this remake "Vectorio 2", since it basically will be, but I don't like the idea of branding it as a sequel to an unfinished game, so I felt just calling the new version "Vectorio" and calling the current version "Vectorio Classic" would be better suited and more accurate.

Vectorio Classic will remain on Steam for free, even after the new version releases. It'll also receive a small update when the new version does release, properly renaming it to "Vectorio Classic" and just fixing a few of the bugs present in the current version, and giving the last Guardian battle a much more fleshed out and rewarding ending to pay tribute to the classic version.


TL;DR for those that didn't want to read, or want a summary:

• Very little has been done since the last post due to networking and core design issues
  
• Core design issues linger from when I was learning the Unity engine and C# two years back
  
• Been having a hard time getting motivated to work on the project because of these issues
  
• Decided current version is not worth the time and effort needed to fix these issues
  
• This version is being renamed to "Vectorio Classic", and a fresh remake of the game is underway
  
• Remake is being built from the ground up, with emphasis on it being a "chill" base-builder
  
• Remake will focus on what worked well in the classic version, and expand on those mechanics
  
• Remake will contain a bunch of new content and systems to flesh out the experience a lot more
  
• Many lessons have been learned from "Vectorio Classic", and I will not repeat the same mistakes
  
• "Vectorio Classic" will remain available to everyone for free, even after the remake releases
  
• "Vectorio Classic" will receive a small update, tying what's in the game together

Huge thank you to everyone for being patient as I figure these things out. This is not a decision that I've made lightly, and a LOT of thought has been put into it. I understand this may be a deal-breaker for some, and to that I'm sorry, but I see no way forward with the current version as the issues present in it will continue to hinder my ability to flesh out more of the mechanics and content in the game (as well as take too much time to fix, which I can't afford now that I'm treating indie dev as a full-time job)

With that said, I am extremely excited to start work on the remake. I have not been this motivated to
work on Vectorio since the release of Update 2, and taking everything I've learned from the classic version I know I'll be able to create an amazing and unique base building experience, especially as I'm now able to treat it as a full-time job rather than just a hobby and put WAY more time into it.

Thanks to everyone for reading, I know this was a long and hefty post. I'm sure many of you have mixed feelings, so if you have any questions or concerns please let me know either down below or in our Discord server. I've opened a new channel specifically for the remake to ask questions in. I will keep everyone updated on progress, as well as invite private testers in from our Discord, so if you're interested in this new version and possibly want to test it early on and receive a free copy of it, now is the best time to be in our community server. Link to join is below.

Discord: https://discord.gg/auDgRJqtT9

~ Ben

Hello all!

Today is Vectorio's one-year anniversary since launch! A lot has changed in the last year, and I can't believe how far the game has come. Unfortunately, this post is probably going to disappoint some people as I don't have much to show in terms of progress since the last update, but I still wanted to go over where the game is at, and why things are taking so long.


I thought I'd get right to the point as this is probably what most people are wondering, and unfortunately once again I have greatly miss predicted when the update would be done. This is for many reasons, with one of the obvious ones being that I've been working on Neon Sundown a lot in the last month (as well as university), but it's not the only reason.

Firstly, networking has been a huge pain to get ironed out. I've had to once again take down most of what I had previously written and start building it back up again. This is now the third time I'm having to go in and scrap a major part of the game, and although part of it is from inexperience with networking, the biggest part is that parts of the core game are still a mess. The refactor in Update 3 did solve a lot of issues with this, but I'm noticing that there are still some severe underlying problems that exist that make things such as networking and creating new content a seriously long-winded and difficult process.

Now I'm sure some of you are probably wondering why this wasn't done properly in the first place, and it goes back to the fact that Vectorio was the first project I ever made in Unity. A lot of the core game was built while I was learning the ins and outs of the game engine, and so even with the U3 refactor the actual design of the game from a lower level standpoint is flawed. No matter how long or how many times I refactor the game, it's not going to fix this issue.

So with that being said, I see three main options to pursue...

• Option One) The first option is to just scrap the game and move on. This is obviously a stupid option, as I think Vectorio still has a lot of room to grow and be an extremely successful game, so this one is already automatically crossed off for me (in case anyone was worried about it)
  
  
• Option Two) Accept there's underlying issues with the game and online, and move on with content updates. This seems like an adequate option to go with, but long-term I also see this possibly causing issues, especially once the game is out of early access.
  
  
• Option Three) Refactor what I can with networking so that online is stable enough where disconnects aren't happening frequently, and then move on with content updates. Although some parts of the game will never be perfect, I feel this is the most reasonable path.

Although this isn't the most ideal solution, I believe it's the best I can do with what I have. In hindsight, I wish I had played around with other projects while learning Unity first before creating Vectorio, but than again I never expected Vectorio to gain as much traction as it did. I thought maybe a couple hundred people would play it at most, and then I'd move on. But obviously it's been quite the opposite!


I think moving forward doing larger updates are not as viable for me. I'm already seeing great success with doing incremental updates with Neon Sundown using an agile development model, and so I'd like to apply that to Vectorio. I think step one is to finish refactoring Networking, and get it out ASAP so we can start getting some movement back into the game. (This would also include some of the interface redesigns you may have seen in previous posts) After that, I can incrementally bring out the rest of what was planned for Update 4, including the final version of the research system and the re-introduction of enemy outposts.

In regards to when this will be, I have no idea. I'm done giving out dates for when updates will be finished. They'll be out when they're ready, and I think that's all I'm going to say from here on out when asked. Putting out specific dates stresses me out, and it's unfair to all of you who are expecting something big to drop (like today) and than nothing happens. This was definitely a mistake on my part, and so I'll use this as a learning experience and make sure it doesn't happen again in the future

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please let me know! I will do my best to respond to all of them.

Thanks for reading,
~ Ben

Been almost a full month since the last update, so I thought I'd pop in and show everyone what I'm working on, along with a new game that'll be releasing in just over 2 weeks time! So, let's get to it!


Although I've been fairly busy with getting Neon Sundown thrown together, I have still be working on Update 4 quite a bit. It's over 50% complete now, including a complete redesign of the interface. For example, below is the new hotbar design in Update 4.

On top of this, I also have more enemies ready to deploy in Update 4. I'm not gonna share exactly what each enemy does like I did in the last post since I don't want to spoil too much, but as mentioned before you can expect most enemies to be receiving similar redesigns.

Overall I'm happy with how progress is coming along for Update 4, and I'm REALLY excited to see everyone get their hands on it once it's ready. There's a chance Update 4 might mark the end of early access, though I don't want to say for certain as it'll depend on how stable the update is. (Regardless of that fact, it certainly wont be the last update!)


And what do ya know! I have once again inaccurately predicted the release of the next update (who could've possibly seen that coming?) - I had originally said the update was going to be out in February, but with the release of Neon Sundown I unfortunately don't think that's doable. I want to make sure Neon Sundown has a smooth launch BEFORE I release Update 4, as releasing both around the same time could easily turn into a nightmare for me.

So, with that said, I am aiming for the new release date of Update 4 to be March 22nd, which is actually Vectorio's 1-year anniversary! I think it'd be awesome to try and have the largest update drop on the same day Vectorio released last year.

I will keep everyone update on progress and will make another announcement in March if Update 4 is looking to be on track for hitting that new release date.


I am excited to announce a new game I've been working on, Neon Sundown! The game is a fast-paced roguelike that takes place in the "Vectorio universe" (if you wanna consider that a thing). It was originally going to be a DLC for Vectorio, but I was having so much fun with it I decided to make it a standalone!

If it looks interesting to you, please consider wishlisting it! You can also find the Discord and Reddit links below if you want to chat about the game more with both myself and others involved in the project.

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/1721870/Neon_Sundown/
Discord: https://discord.gg/NHnR7zcaCc
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/NeonSundown/

Just wanted to share a quick sneak peek at 3 of the 10 new enemies coming in Update 4! As mentioned in the previous "Let's Talk Update 4" post, there is a plethora of new enemies joining the game in Update 4, each with new unique abilities and mechanics.

Please keep in mind that these models are not final and are definitely subject to change. I'm still tweaking the new enemy designs, but this is what you can expect from pretty much all enemies moving forward.


One of the new enemies coming in Update 4 is Mesmer. It is an enchanter type enemy, meaning it will convert buildings it touches into one of it's own. Left alone, these can become extremely dangerous and turn entire chunks of your base against you. But not to worry! There's a new building coming in Update 4 that will allow you to ensure your buildings never stab you in the back.

Mesmer's come into play around the 15k heat range, and is an extremely weak enemy. It will try to find cover behind stronger enemies however, so keep your eyes peeled for them!


Another new enemy making it's debut in Update 4 is Ghoul. It is a cloaking type enemy, meaning it can temporarily turn invisible to avoid your defenses sight line. When a Ghoul is invisible you can still physically see it, your defenses just cant target it. You can however use Radar towers to uncloak it, rendering their ability useless and allowing your defenses to deal with it promptly.

Ghoul's come into play around the 40k heat range, and is a moderately tough enemy. It can withstand quite a bit of fire power, as well as deal a pretty heavy blow to your defenses. Radar towers are a must if you wish to successfully defend against this new enemy type.


The final new enemy in this sneak peek is Hivemind. It is a spawner type enemy, meaning it can spawn other enemies near it. However, instead of just spawning other normal enemies nearby, it places down a new enemy building called the Hive. Hive's are extremely dangerous, as they mass produce enemies over time. Left unchecked, they can pile up and swarm your defenses quickly, so you'll want to take care of them promptly.

Hive's and Hivemind's come into play around the 80k heat range, and is an extremely tough enemy to deal with. Although it cant deal much damage, the sheer amount of Hive's it can create near your base can quickly become a problem. A good way to deal with these will be by sending your own units over to it with the new building, Barracks!


Let me know in the discussion thread below, or join our Discord server! We have a lot of great discussions on there, and I'd love to hear what you have to say about some of the new enemy types coming in Update 4. (and possibly any suggestions you may have of your own!)

Discord: https://discord.gg/auDgRJqtT9


Consider checking out the Frosted Defenses cosmetic pack on Steam! All funds generated from this go right back into the development of Vectorio, and allow me to continue making free content updates for everyone to enjoy! (plus you get some pretty cool looking skins)

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/1852930/Vectorio__Frosted_Defenses_Pack/

Thanks for reading!
~ Ben

Hello all!

With Update 3 now out, I wanted to start discussing a bit about what's coming in Update 4, as well as briefly touch up on some changes in Update 3 and where I'll be taking them in Update 4.

I also want to preface this by saying I'm aware of pretty much all bugs present in Update 3, and will be releasing a patch for these in the new year when I'm back from Holidays. Most of the bugs are caused by networking, including the ones that occur in offline environments (as the server is the localhost)


The main focus of Update 4 is enemies. I feel like they've been ignored for almost half a year now and have not been improved upon at all from their original iteration before the game even released. This is obviously an issue as enemies are one of the core aspects of the game.

The current iteration of enemies is very bland and boring. They move in a straight line towards a target, and that's it. It was always intended that this would be a placeholder for the true enemy implementation, and now that time has come! So let's talk about what improvements are coming to enemies...


Update 4 will re-introduce enemy outposts to the game, but with a much better implementation of it. A new enemy type called Settler will look for vacant resource nodes on the map and try to setup an outpost on them. If one is found, it'll start by placing an Energizer Core, a new building only available to enemies.

Energizer Cores will allow enemies to deploy worker drones that can mine resources from the surrounding area, and start setting up other buildings like collectors, storages, turrets, walls, etc. You'll be unable to build anything inside an Energizer Cores range, and will instead need to send in your own units from a new building called Barracks.

Barracks are unlocked early on in the game and enable you to automatically produce your own units using a variety of new resources coming to the game. You'll be able to setup custom command logic for your units and give them instructions to attack different outposts.


Starting in Update 4, the way borders are pushed back will change drastically. Instead of firing the hubs lasers at set heat points throughout the game, you will instead be able to collect a new limited resource type and feed it to the hub to charge it's super weapon.

Once charged, you can pick any border to fire at and push it back. This will cause a Guardian to spawn, which you'll have to deal with accordingly in order to progress to the next stage. Essentially, this is still the same system as before, but it gives you a more direct goal to aim for and serves as more of a motivator to expand and capture nodes.

The new resource used to power the hub is also unique. There's a limited supply of it on the map at all times, and you'll need to use radar pings to try and find them. Once found, you'll have to battle the enemies for the node as they also want to take over it and use it to create new outposts.

Don't worry though! For those that like playing at their own pace and being able to leave the game running in the background, you still can! Enemies will NOT try and takeover the limited resource nodes until they're pinged by you, which can only be done manually. This means if you're not expanding, neither will the enemies!


Enemies (including Guardians) are getting some new behaviours on top of outpost expansion. A lot of enemies will start to interact with each other, and plan their attacks instead of just charging head first into your defenses without thinking.

Some of the new enemies can heal other enemies nearby, or deploy a shield around them to protect it from incoming fire. Guardians also gain a bunch of new mechanics, such as the Kraken using it's wings to deflect incoming fire, or the Atlas deploying fighters and firing back at attacking defenses.

A lot of the new logic being implemented will make enemies feel more alive and like you're actually fighting some sort of hive mind that is doing everything it can to get rid of you.


Another new mechanic coming in Update 4 is the heat map. This is an overview of your base that shows how much heat different areas are producing. This is useful to know since enemies will try and target hotter areas of your base, and ignore cooler ones.

Once heat maps are introduced, coolant type buildings will make their way back into the game but with new functionality. Instead of removing heat, they'll mask the heat output of nearby buildings. So say you have a massive power farm, you can use coolers to mask the heat output of it and lower the chance that an enemy attack will come for it. Very useful for directing the flow of enemies!


As a lot of you know, Update 3 was supposed to introduce engineering, which was a system that would allow you to modify each of your buildings individually and tweak their behaviour / stats exactly how you want. Unfortunately due to some last minute changes, I was not able to get this feature prepared in time for Update 3, so it has been pushed back to Update 4.

When engineering makes its appearance in Update 4 though, it'll give you the power to do pretty much anything you can think of with your buildings. Want to turn a Sprayer into a long-range rapid-fire missile launcher? You can! The possibilities are (almost) endless, and paired with the new cosmetic system, you'll be able to make each tower your own.

I'll have more info later on exactly how this system will work, but it'll put a much bigger emphasis on Iridium farming and drastically change how the mid - late game meta will play out.


Another new addition in Update 4 is a new drone type called cargo. Cargo drones can carry resources from one location to another, allowing you to move storage around your base where you see fit. This will also enable you to create massive storage arrays and keep everything in one location for easier management (and ensure if an outpost falls, you dont lose any resources)

In addition to this, there is new Cargo freighters being added that are essentially just gigantic cargo drones that can carry a lot more resource over further distances. (basically trains) But that's not all cargo freighters can do, they are also able to carry buildings on them and deploy them in different locations around the map. So instead of needing to chain Reclaimer type buildings to reach a location, you can instead have cargo freighters just drop a reclaimer anywhere on the map!


The changes to the research system in Update 3 were very controversial. A lot of players didn't know how it worked, and the ones that did were split between whether or not it was better or worse than the Update 2 research tree. The new system is slightly more barebones than the last, but this was by design to make room for engineering.

Now I want to make it clear that this new research system is here to stay. I'd much rather try and fix / streamline this new system than revert back to the previous system, as I think research trees are overdone and slightly dull. (especially in the case of Vectorio) So, with that said a number of improvements are coming to the research system in Update 4.

The first improvement coming is the addition of advanced production statics. This will show you EXACTLY how many resources are being produced each second, and will enable you to make more informed decisions about what research techs you should aim for. There will also be an indicator on the research panel that will tell you if starting a new research boost will cause a resource drain.

There are also some new options for labs to choose where you drain resources from. You can switch between draining from storages, and draining directly from collectors. Both have pros and cons to them, but if you want to avoid labs blowing up when you're queuing a massive expansion on your base, drawing from collectors will allow you to do that.


Finally, Update 4 will add in some new online modes that will allow you to go head-to-head with other players. You'll be able to queue for matches or join players directly through the server browser. Most PvP modes will give each player their own hub, and follow a "last one standing" win condition.

Further improvements to Co-op will also be added, including the addition of advanced host management for open lobbies. This will allow hosts to give and revoke permissions to other connected players, as well as kick and/or ban players if needed.


Every update adds a plethora of new buildings and defenses for you to use. Although I don't talk about what these are directly as I don't want to spoil anything, I did think it was worth mentioning just so everyone knows there are some very unique new buildings joining the roster in Update 4. A lot of the new buildings being added are directed towards interacting with other buildings, which will make your base feel more cohesive and like it's working as one giant entity.

You can expect there to be around 10 to 15 or so new buildings added in total, including a few new collector / storage type buildings for the new resources being added in Update 4.


As most of the community knows, I am horrendously bad at trying to predict when an update will come out. Therefore, I will not be giving any specific dates until much closer to the release. But I can say that the update should be out sometime during Q1 of 2022, beginning of Q2 by the latest.

Update 4 will be the last Early Access update, and Update 5 will bring the game into full release with the addition of the final Guardians and general clean-up of the game. Update 5 is also by no means the last update, but after that point my focus will move to the Turret Labs DLC as I believe that has a lot of potential to give the community full power over how the game grows.

Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read this post! With the refactor done, I am excited to start working on ACTUAL new content for the game. It's been a long-winded process, but one that will definitely be worth it in the long run!

~ Ben


The new Frosted Defenses cosmetic pack is currently 25% off until Saturday. If you've been thinking of picking it up, now is a great time! It also greatly helps support me and the continued development of Vectorio. Check it out below!

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/1852930/Vectorio__Frosted_Defenses_Pack/