6 Days Until Update - The Tech Ladder
Hello Robocrafters!
Today we're revealing a major onboarding feature in our next update which is the…
THE TECH LADDER
This is a HUGE part of our onboarding process and will mean that we’ll be making some major changes to how new players start the game and what blocks and functionality they will begin with.
Here are a few key points of the Tech Ladder:
A new user progression system
Unlock functionality and blocks as you progress
New features that we add will be added to the Tech Ladder
21+ tutorial videos to unlock with voice-over and localised subtitles (English for now, other languages coming!)
New editable starter robocraft unlocked with many of the ladder hexes.
The Tech Ladder can be brought up at any time by pressing L while building and looks like this.
There are a lot of subjects on the Tech ladder. Each step will open up a new block (or a group of blocks), part, new functionality or even a Robocraft
Each step has its own video and description and you can browse all of them at any time
Most of the videos in the Tech Ladder are very short and are about 20-30 seconds long. But some of the more complex parts and functionality can be up to 60 seconds long. Some of these tutorials will walk you through step by step to show you how these parts are used, others will offer just a general overview.
If you want to unlock new parts and functionality to use, you will need to do so by starting at the top and progressing down to unlock each step at a time.
You unlock each step with Robits which are earned by battling online. During this time when online battles are at set times, we have included a time based unlock system where the next step can be unlocked 60 minutes after the previous step has been unlocked. This allows players to experiment with the part or functionality before unlocking the next step.
You can use Robits earned in battle to ignore the wait time and unlock the next step if you are ready. Anyone with an account created up to the release of the next update will have all the Tech Ladder steps unlocked but you’ll still be able to read through the descriptions and watch the onboarding videos.
You will unlock the following in this order by progressing through the Tech Ladder:
Plasma All-In-One Turrets
Material Mode
Free Cursor Mode
Configuration Mode
Build Your Own Turrets
Cosmetic Lamps
Anti Grav and Thrusters
Arc Discharger
Powered Joints
Passive Joints
Plates
Orientation Tool
Cylinders and Posts
3rd Grid Placement
Railgun
Logic And Maths
State Blocks
Sensors
Nameplates
Frames, Quarter Pyramids and Flipping
Precon Mode
Anyone who creates an account after this update will need to progress through the Tech Ladder. We are planning to invite a large number of Steam players shortly after launch and are looking forward to how these players respond to the new onboarding process.
It’s important to note that you can still use ANY robot on the CRF, regardless if you have unlocked that part in the Tech Ladder or not.
Any new parts or functionality in the future will need to be unlocked via the Tech Ladder for all players!
New Player Onboarding
After this update, any new players will be given access to a small number of parts to help ease them in on the powerful tools that Robocraft 2 building has to offer.
Our plan was to provide them with shapes and parts that RC1 players are familiar with. So new players begin with the following inventory of blocks.
They also have access to the following functionality whilst building.
Block Mode
Colour Mode
Save Machine
Shift Machine
Rotate
Mirror Mode
New builders will be able to construct a functional robocraft from these blocks and even enter online matches. The only new piece of functionality that players will need to learn at this stage is block scaling and we hope a limited inventory will allow them to get used to the benefits that block scaling offers.
But when they are ready to dive into the new parts and functionality, they will do by progressing through the Tech Ladder
We believe that this new onboarding system should slowly introduce players to many of Robocraft 2’s new features over time and ultimately encourage more players to become builders.
This whole feature was created after a lengthy discussion with our community on Discord about RC2’s complexity. If you want to share your thoughts, consider joining our Discord!