A comprehensive list of suggestions, improvements, and issues

[AxeSlash]

So I've had a good read of the stuff in this forum, and I'm seeing the same suggestions come up with reference to different blocks (e.g. someone saying 'let me start the steering block at 45 degrees' and someone else saying 'let me start the piston extended'. We can distill that into 'let me set the starting position/rotation of any moving block'. So I've tried to achieve some more generalised points rather than stating them as block-specific.

That's not to say that this post covers ALL suggestions posted here; just the ones I think are worth the dev effort and that I agree with. For the most part, I've tried to prioritise stuff that I think will still fit with the medieval theme of Beisege (hence lasers, automated control systems, turbojets and machine guns are not mentioned here, although I'd like to see them in a later DLC/sequel).

Here's my list - I've tried to arrange these in priority order within each section, and labelled them with the priority rating as I believe it should be (undoubtedly other peoples' opinions will be different, but I've tried to focus on the physical 'problems' rather than the aesthetics side of things):

EDIT: Updated with some more suggestions that I found floating around the forum, and labelled some things as DONE. Updated a few of my suggestions with improved ideas. Some of these can be done with mods, so I've labelled those in blue, although I still think they should be part of the game as standard. If there is anything else that's been implemented/is possible with a mod, let me know and I will update.

New Blocks:

Transmission:
Most of these suggestions are based around increasing our options for linear motion and smaller, more practical gearing. I have a long history with Lego Technic, which is VERY relevant to Besiege, and a lot of these suggestions come from what I have seen and built in that world - they're not just stuff that's fallen out of my head!​

Spoiler

• VERY HIGH - A Constant Velocity Joint - basically a ball joint with the one axis 'locked' so you can transmit torque through it. This could even just be a parameter for the existing ball joint ('Lock Y Axis' or whatever) This will enable the construction of proper transmissions and suspensions systems, so I can't stress how important this is! The possibilities that this would add are endless. Please make sure it is a CV joint and NOT a Universal Joint (UJ) - look up the difference on Wikipedia - Possible with mod
• VERY HIGH - Proper gears - The cogs are rubbish. They slip too easily and only mesh well at 90 degrees. We really need double bevel gears that also function as spur gears. We need 8T & 24T (1:3 ratio) as an absolute minimum; ideally 12T & 20T (1:1.66 ratio) as well, plus 16T (1:1 ratio). Make them less wobbly than cogs as well - the cogs fall apart WAY too easily under torque. - There is a skin pack that has spur gears, but I haven't tested it. Pretty sure it will only have the two standard sizes though, which are too big.
• HIGH - Rack (to fit with the aforementioned gears); frictionless on the bottom and sides, with connection points on the ends that DON'T interrupt the gear (so you can connect them together to make a long rack, and have the gear run off the end of the rack if you want to)
• HIGH - Worm gear to match the gears. Combined with the rack, this would result in the option to make large, high-power linear actuators, which opens up a whole world of new contraptions.
• MEDIUM - Differential Housing that the above mentioned gears fit into and mesh with.
• MEDIUM - 'Bike-style' Chains - to fit the aforementioned gears. It would be nice to be able to draw these from one gear to another kinda like how we draw braces. They should have plenty of attachment points on each link so that players can turn them into tank traps by adding extra blocks and friction pads. This would also increase our options in terms of linear motion. - Tank tracks are kind of possible with a mod, but they're not very good from what I've seen. Decent chains, on the other hand, are not possible yet.
• MEDIUM - Engine Block - By this I'm thinking of e.g. a 2 x 1 block, with an attachment point that spins (kind of like an inverted Spinning Block - the axle spins instead of the block, and with much higher torque) - This avoids the problem of the spinning block catching on it's neighbours if it's in a 1x1 'hole' and is a much more compact solution. A parameter with a slider that goes from low speed/high torque to high speed/low torque would be INCREDIBLY useful. Or alternatively different sized engines with different properties in that regard.
• LOW - Clutch. Not sure how you would implement this, but I find the Lego clutch gear invaluable for preventing torque damage to a machine.
• LOW - Hydraulics - A pump, a resovoir, a ram with a stroke of 1 units, a ram with a stroke of 2 units, and piping to connect them with. They could use water (to coincide with the existing water-based stuff) or oil (for spectacular effects when damaged/ignited). Possibly a pressure limiter or something to prevent damage, although it would be cool to have the ram shoot off into the distance when the pressure gets too high (i.e. you use it as a one-shot weapon). The resultant oil slick could also cause friction to decrease on anything it touches (a way of lubricating machines and creating your own skid pan/drift track/hovercraft...)

Mechanical:​

Spoiler

• HIGH - Longer travel shock absorbers, so you have perhaps 2 whole blocks worth of travel (instead of the 1 block deformation we currently have) - chaining two shocks together introduces an unbraceable weak point into the machine. One large one would be much better. Or a parameter for 'travel' or 'length' perhaps. - Possible with mod (EasyScale), but looks ugly
• MEDIUM - Wheels with zero offset, - either a wheel where the steering hinge can be INSIDE the wheel, or an 'extension' ring that can be attached on the INSIDE and outside of existing large wheels to make the wheel wider, but keep the attachment point closer to the centre of the wheel). This results in better steering and suspension function, and less stress on the suspension and wheels. And it looks much better.
• MEDIUM - Linear Actuator, pistons currently behave like suspension that can extend (they bounce way too much), and have fixed extension (all the way or nothing), thus linear motion possibilities are extremely limited in Besiege. What we need is a linear actuator;
  • Doesn't bounce
  • Extends/retracts continuously as you hold down the bound key
  • Parameter for return-to-centre
  • Parameter for centre value (e.g. does it return to 0 or 0.5 or 1 when the key is let go?
  • Extension Min and Max limits
  • Is actually more in keeping with Besiege's medieval theme - rack & worm gear (which is how a real linear actuator works) was invented LONG before the seemingly pneumatic behaviour of the current piston
• MEDIUM - Magnets - with parameters for strength and polarity (with North/South indicators on the block in build mode, kinda like the red arrows that steering parts have). This opens up rail guns, maglevs, 'relay'-type switches etc
• MEDIUM - Pulley Systems - split the existing winch into separate winch, pulley, and rope blocks. You would draw ropes from the winch , over the pulley, and back to the winch again in the same way that we currently draw braces. This way you could turn linear motion around corners (impossible at the moment). If the ropes could be drawn directly between blocks, they could also serve as bracing for lightweight creations amongst other uses.
• LOW - A grappling hook/harpoon for the end of a rope/chain
• LOW - Hinge with rotational axis in the centre (instead of at one end)
• LOW - Timer block - Generates a tick event every so often, which can be bound to the input of another block
• DONE - MEDIUM - Winch (rope and/or chain), with adjustable speed

Weapons:​

Spoiler

• HIGH - Different sizes & shapes of blade. Mainly shorter (1 or 2 blocks long) blades, so you can mount them on e.g. wheels without it looking ridiculous - Sizes possible with mod, but not shapes
• MEDIUM - Larger diameter circular saw, possibly capable of cutting stone? - Larger diameter possible with mod
• MEDIUM - Gunpowder Barrels - These pour gunpowder out when activated (so you can lay a trail), then obviously explode when ignited by fire from the trail (or from anywhere else)
• LOW - Fuel tank & hose for flamethrower to allow increased burn time. Ideally fuel tanks 'merge' as you place them next to each other to create one big tank (that increases burn time further). Obviously, fuel tanks should be very heavy
• LOW - Parts to make excavator-type bucket of any size (mainly plates that can attach to each other, and a 'knife edge' plate, possibly with teeth). Couple this with the drill bit I mentioned and you can theoretically pick up a bucket of bricks and drop them on an enemy, build hills of bricks to climb up etc etc. Fun fun fun!
• LOW - A propellant charge - like in a real cannon, you pack explosive into the bottom, then set fire to it to propel the cannonball out of the barrel
• LOW - Hot coals as a weapon (so you can tip them onto enemies)
• LOW - Make the hot oil cauldrons that are visible in the old sandbox a buildable block
• LOW - Large axe blade/halberd weapon
• LOW - Trumpets/War Horns - With ability to map a number of notes to a number of keys. This opens up a world of musical creations. Also a war horn could push enemies back when used (but maybe it has a limited duration?)
• DONE - Drill bit that can destroy walls
• DONE (ish) LOW - Water tanks / hoses / pumps to put out flames & blast enemies away (adjustable pressure on the pump)

Construction/Misc:​

Spoiler

• VERY HIGH - More block sizes: This would cut down block count (and thus CPU) in large machines - Possible with mod
  • 1 x 1 x 0.5 wooden block
  • 3 x 1 x 1 wooden block
  • 4 x 1 x 1 wooden block
  • 2 x 2 x 1 wooden block
  • 2 x 3 x 1 wooden block
  • 2 x 4 x 1 wooden block
• VERY HIGH - A number of different 'Wedge' blocks, with geometrically sensible Pythagorean angles (e.g. 36.86° and 53.13°, so you can make a triangle with side lengths of 3, 4, and 5 blocks). I would also suggest 22.5° and 45° for obvious reasons. Not sure if would be easier to make the angle a parameter instead... - Possible with mod
• VERY HIGH - Heavy duty brace - stronger, heavier, thicker brace; ideally with tubular look - would cut down block count - could use one of these where 4 normal braces would have to be used
• HIGH - "Polygon Prism" blocks - triangular, pentagonal, hexagonal etc - this will allow for building custom wheels, 3/5/6/7 blade rotor systems etc. - Triangular is possible with mod, but you can do rotation with a mod as well
• HIGH - Modular wing/rotor plates, so you can make them as long/wide as you like. The wing panel kind of does this, but is often too big and is an awkward shape. I was thinking a 1x1 square size wing piece, and then maybe some 1x1 and 1x2 triangles to go with it (so you can make any wing shape you want)
• MEDIUM - Smooth, frictionless blocks or plates (for building crossbows/railguns etc.). Or perhaps a parameter for existing blocks to change whether the sides are smooth or not.- Sort of doable with some blocks, but could be better...
• MEDIUM - 1 x 1 x 1 Wooden Pole - Lots of people asking for this, presumably they want to avoid the tomfoolery of the way we currently create these. - Possible with mod
• MEDIUM - Rails and Rail Wheels (or a flange that you can connect to existing wheels)
• MEDIUM - Rubber Block - Sometimes a suspension block is too big - this would be a deformable rubber block that you could e.g. stick to wheels, tank tracks etc that gives you more grip and absorbs a little bit of impact. Maybe with a parameter for softness/inflation?

• LOW - Latticework gantry-type blocks, possibly that change to accommodate however many sides are connected; e.g. if only two blocks are connected at right angles, the lattice block would be wedge-shaped. If the two blocks were connected to opposing faces, it would be a fully diagonally braced cube.

• LOW - Curved plates - for aesthetics - they would have to be a sensible system of different sizes that work with each other.

• LOW - Larger sizes of armour plates (mainly for aesthetics) - Can be done with a mod

• LOW - Armour plates with angles (e.g. a 1 x 1 right angled triangle)
• 
  
• LOW - A hemisphere - I have a hankering to make a sort of 'spinning top of death' projectile using a hemisphere and some blades...or maybe a quarter hemisphere would be better/more flexible.

• LOW - Livestock cage parts - a large (3 x 2 x 0) flat plate with an alpha mask so you can see the unfortunate captive inside. It would be nice if they could attach to each other without the aid of other blocks, so it looks like a real wire cage. If it could be relatively weak and deformable, that would incredible.
• LOW - Larger Balloons - with more lift - Possible with mod

• LOW - Flags - (with an 'image' parameter - add your own images to your machine. Please support .PNG alpha channel). Various sizes and shapes (e.g. rectangular flat, rectangular banner, triangular flag, forked 'dragon tongue' flag etc), please.

• DONE - They appear stronger now and you can do it with hinges anyway... MEDIUM - Some way of reinforcing steering joints. Or a heavy duty version.

Existing Blocks:

Spoiler

• VERY HIGH- Make the amount of lift generated proportional to the area of the wing - at the moment the propeller seems to generate more lift than the DaVinci wing, which is counter-intuitive for new players (and everyone, really...). I would suggest increasing the lift that the wings generating rather than messing with the props (the latter would break many existing machines)
• MEDIUM - Ability to hide the camera blocks' target - it gets in the way sometimes (although the 'hide block' feature I mention here would also solve this problem) - or better still, only show the target when the camera is selected
  
• LOW - Add an attachment point to the centre of the circular saw, to save us faffing about doing the 'build a wheel, build a block, delete the wheel and replace it with a saw' thing to get saw-powered devices.
• LOW - Propellors - give us a parameter for the pitch angle. Most of the time you want to start off with zero angle on them.
• LOW - Plow needs more attachment points - it's a bit wobbly at the moment, and there is no way to brace it up.
• DONE, ball joint now passes through other blocks - HIGH - Make the attachment plate of the ball joint circular and smaller, like the recent (0.05) version of the swivel joint. As it is, it's too big and fouls on anything in the vicinity, which means that when you're trying to make linkages they have to be unnecessarily large

 

[AxeSlash]

Parameters:

I have a lot of ideas for new parameters. It may be that in order to not scare away new players that either a) an 'Expert Mode' is introduced (when not in expert mode, most of the more detailed parameters are hidden) or b) they are separated out into a different tab page from the basic parameters.

Spoiler

• VERY HIGH - Ability to set the angle snap value for placement rotation so that 'R' rotates a block through a value you've set (e.g. 22.5 degrees). What would be even better would be if when you hold 'R' (or another key), moving the mouse then 'free' rotates the block until you let go. - Possible with Building Tools mod
• VERY HIGH - 'Rest Position' parameter for any blocks that move. E.g. setting a Steering Hinge's Rest Position to 0 gives you return to centre steering. Setting a Piston's Rest Position to 0.5 means that it returns to half-extended once the key is let go. Setting a wheel's Rest Position to 0.1 means that when the Forwards key is released, it continues to crawl forwards at low speed. - Possible with ACM mod
• HIGH - 'Activate At Start' Parameter for Camera Block - so when the simulation starts, the camera block is used straight away instead of the normal camera (it gets irritating having to press a key to activate it every time)
• HIGH - Ability to map gamepad analog axes to stuff, with 'direct' option (see below) or 'continuous' option (axis controls speed of change rather than the final position of the block). Math for the axes would be good as well (combine two axes with a SUBTRACT operation, for example) - Possible with ACM mod (highly recommended!)
• MEDIUM - Angle limits for the steering block. We have them for the steering hinge, but the steering block needs them too
• MEDIUM - Harder shock absorbers (i.e. increase the maximum to 4.00 or 5.00) - Possible with mod
• MEDIUM - Acceleration parameter for most moving blocks. This could be a time in seconds - e.g. 0 = instantly goes to full power, 1 = takes 1 second to achieve full power.
• MEDIUM - 'Reset to default parameters' button
• MEDIUM - Paintable blocks (a 'colour' parameter, with a HSL colour picker, including copy/paste functionality and ability to store custom colours for reuse later) - Possible with mod, but don't think it has a HSL picker. Skins kind of do this, but you're limited to whatever colours someone has made, rather than being able to actually colorize blocks to colour your entire machine how you want.
• MEDIUM - "Share Axle" parameter for stacked wheels - so that if you stack 2 wheels, instead of the outer one rotating twice as fast, they both rotate at the same speed BUT have twice the torque instead.
• MEDIUM - Control Mixing - So you can assign more than one key to a block, and give them a function (e.g. SUM or MULTIPLY or SUBTRACT etc) to achieve better control. - Possible with ACM mod I think
  
• MEDIUM - Named Blocks + Control List - e.g. naming your rear wheels 'DRIVE' and your steering hinges 'STEERING', then you can view a list that shows the key mapping vs the names - this would make it MUCH easier to remember/see how a machine is mapped, rather than e.g. downloading someone's helicopter and trying to figure out what the 4 pistons do and what that wheel at the back is for... - Control list exists in ACM mod, but not block naming
  
• LOW - Delay parameter for all blocks that have an action, so you could e.g. set a missile to release, then fire it's propulsion system half a second later (when it's far enough away not to burn your chopper) from a single key. This would probably be a decimal number of seconds. One decimal place would probably do it.
• LOW - Assign a key to start/stop circular saw
• LOW - Lower the minimum speed parameter for circular saw to maybe 0.25 - Possible with mod
• LOW - Friction parameter for practically any moving part, so you can e.g. use a wheel as a brake, and prevent accidental movement of a slider and so on
• LOW - Key Delay parameter; e.g. for weapons, you could assign 4 missiles to one key, then set the Key Delay on them to 0, 1, 2, and 3 respectively; then one missile fires on the first press of the key (the rest do nothing), the 2nd fires on the second key press and do on (holding the key down would fire them almost simultaneously)
• LOW - Ratchet Parameter for Joints - so a joint will only rotate in the direction that the player chooses
• DONE - VERY HIGH - Minimum and Maximum values for moving blocks - i.e. to limit the movement to prevent accidental destruction (this is much requested for the steering block, but would be incredibly useful in most moving blocks). So for a piston it would be minimum extensino and maximum extension; for a steering block it would be minimum angle and maximum angle. An option to link the two (so you don't have to type in the value twice) would be nice.
• DONE - VERY HIGH - 'Return to centre' and 'centre value' parameters for moving blocks - again, this is much requested for the steering block but is relevant to most moving blocks
• DONE - LOW - Adjustable pressure / range on the flamethrower

Toolbox/Features:

Edit:​

Spoiler

• VERY HIGH - 'Select' tool to select a number of blocks and do something to them: - Possible with mod
  • Click a block to deselect all other blocks and select one block
  • Hold Shift and click a block to add it to the selection
  • Hold Control and click a block to toggle it's selection state
  • Hold Alt and click a block to deselect it
  • Marquee selection:
    • Drag the mouse from top left to bottom right to select all blocks that are fully within that area
    • Drag the mouse from top right to bottom left to select any blocks that are partially withn that area
    • Option to only select topmost blocks, or to select all blocks even if they are behind other blocks
  • Should work with Symmetry tool
• VERY HIGH - 'Translate selection' tool - select a bunch of blocks and move them: - Possible with mod
  • Option to use world axes, or axes of last selected block
  • Has a Gizmo showing all 3 axes - dragging an axis of the gizmo causes a change
  • Has a field for snap value (0.5 as standard)
  • Hold Shift to ignore snap
  • Hold Ctrl to duplicate (copy) when performing the operation
  • Has fields to type in set X, Y, and Z values (with an 'apply' button)
  • Hold Alt and click a selected connection point (it will highlight in a different colour), then click a non-selected connection point to move the selection until the connection points meet
• VERY HIGH - 'Rotate selection' tool - Possible with mod
  • Option to use world axes, or axes of last selected block
  • Has a Gizmo showing all 3 axes - dragging an axis of the gizmo causes a change
  • Has a field for snap value (22.5 degrees as standard)
  • Hold Shift to ignore snap
  • Hold Ctrl to duplicate (copy) when performing the operation
  • Has fields to type in set X, Y, and Z values (with an 'apply' button)
  • Hold Alt and click a selected connection point (it will highlight in a different colour), then click a non-selected connection point to rotate the selection until the connection points meet
• VERY HIGH - 'Scale selection' tool - Possible with mod
  • This would reduce block count (and thus lag) in large machines (you can use one block instead of 4 in some places, for example)
  • Option to use world axes, or axes of last selected block
  • • Has a Gizmo showing all 3 axes - dragging an axis of the gizmo causes a change
    • Has a field for snap value (multiples of 0.25 blocks as standard)
    • Hold Shift to ignore snap
    • Hold Ctrl to duplicate (copy) when performing the operation
    • Has fields to type in set X, Y, and Z values (with an 'apply' button)
    • Hold Alt and click a selected connection point (it will highlight in a different colour), then click a non-selected connection point to scale the selection until the connection points meet
    • Maybe weight should scale with size? E.g. if you scale a 1 x 1 block to be 1 x 2, it would have double the weight.
    • A Dynamic/'Smart' scaling option would be good at a later date - i.e. if you scale a shock absorber/Piston, the cube at the top stays the same size but the shaft scales as appropriate. Similarly, if you scale a wooden block it could add extra connection points (so it looks like a 2 x 1 wooden block instead of a stretched 1 x 1)...that's a low priority feature though.
• VERY HIGH - Symmetry Tool:
  • Please give us a Global On/Off option (gets irritating constantly selecting/deselecting all 3 axes)
  • Give it a variable threshold/tolerance value when it 'finds' the symmetric counterpart(s) of the block you want to delete/edit, in case the other block is slightly mis-placed (or the symmetry centre is slightly mis-placed)
  • Make it highlight the symmetric counterparts when deleting/editing
  • Please add Rotational Symmetry in ADDITION to X/Y/Z planar symmetry: - possible with mods, but a but clunky
    • Pick a separate centre of rotation from the planar symmetry
    • Values for:
      • Angle (e.g. 90 deg) or Full Circle (will add one less block so you don't get an intersection warning)
      • Count (e.g. when set to 4 with Full Circle, you get a block every 90 degrees)
    • This will make building your own wheels and rotors MUCH easier (and anything circular, in fact)
  • Options:
    
    • Place - as it is now, mirrors any block placement
    • Delete - deletes corresponding blocks on the other side of the symmetry plane (if there is anything there)
    • Select
    • Rotate
    • Translate
    • Scale
    • Skin
    • Colour
    • Parameter changes - if the block on the other side of the symmetry plane is the same type AND has the same parameters as the one having it's parameters changed, apply the same changes (and potentially mirror them for certain blocks {e.g. steering angle limits}?)

• HIGH - 'Eyedropper/Pipette' tool - pick a block on your creation to select that block type in the toolbox, then use the same parameters/skin etc as the 'picked' block when you build a new block. Saves having to copy & paste parameters. - Possible with a mod I believe, but I haven't tried it yet.

• MEDIUM - Hide Block tool - temporarily hide blocks so that you can see others (all blocks are unhidden when you hit Play) - Think this is possible with a mod?

• LOW - 'Detach' tool to decouple a particular joining of two blocks

• LOW - 'Attach' tool to attach two adjacent blocks (sometimes they don't). Or just improve the system so that it is more predictable in terms of what it will and won't attach.

• DONE - VERY HIGH - 'Mirror selection' tool (and the ability to choose Left/Right, Up/Down or Front/Back as the mirror plane)

Camera/Visual Information:
​

Spoiler

• LOW - Camera views in build mode - buttons that set the camera to have parallel projection (essential for COM work), and set the camera to the following positions (tilting the camera resets it back the standard perspective view, but panning the camera stays in parallel projection):
  • Top
  • Bottom
  • Left
  • Right
  • Front
  • Back
  • Isometric
• LOW - Show weights on blocks - in the same way that we can currently see which keys are mapped to which blocks.
• LOW - Total weight of machine, next to the number of blocks statistic
• DONE - LOW - Ability to store camera positions (relative to the machine) and assign keys to them
• DONE - LOW - 'Hide UI for screenshot' toggle option
• DONE - VERY HIGH - New Camera Modes (these may need better names):
  • Follow: the camera is always pointing in the direction of travel (EXCEPT in the up/down plane - that should be fixed at however the user set it). Like in almost every other vehicle-based game in the world. This should have been in Besiege from the start.
  • Machine Orbit: ALMOST like it is now, EXCEPT that the camera stays in a fixed geostationary orbit around the machine; so you always see the same angle of your machine (instead of the same angle of the world)
  • Machine Fixed: As it is now when it does follow the machine, but doesn't orbit around the machine
  • World: As it is now where it doesn't follow the machine at all. It's just in a fixed point in the world.
  • The ability to assign a default camera view for a machine would be good; for example you might want Follow for a car, but World for a non-moving trebuchet
• OBSOLETE - VERY HIGH - Camera Focus Block: at the moment the camera seems to take an 'average' of the positions of ALL blocks to calculate the position it should follow - make an option to change this so that it follows a block that you mark as the 'Focus Block' - it's intensely annoying when a few blocks fly off your machine (or when you detach a decoupler) and the camera suddenly becomes difficult to control and/or flys off in a different direction so you can't see what you're doing.

General:

Spoiler

• VERY VERY VERY HIGH - More consistency in the physics - See my bug report regarding physics. It needed mentioning twice.
• VERY HIGH - Map/level editor - Possible with mod
  • Please include ability to:
    • Set goals
    • Draw terrain
    • Place NPCs/anything else
    • Share via Steam Workshop and as separate files
• HIGH - Ability to save parts of a machine as a separate bsg, that you can then import into a different .bsg IN ADDITION to the existing machine. E.g. you already have a helicopter + missile in one .bsg, and an aeroplane with no missile in a different .bsg; you could export the missile as a separate .bsg, and import that into the aeroplane .bsg and reposition it as appropriate. - Possible with mod
• HIGH - Making complex and/or large machines is nearly impossible at the moment because the blocks detach from each other too easily, and when you're making something large and heavy, or something with a lot of acceleration, you have to quadruple brace everything, and even then it falls apart because the attachment strength is just too damn weak. I think the actual strength of the blocks is OK - the problem is blocks separating from each other. That said, the Heavy Duty Brace I mentioned above might solve this problem.
• MEDIUM - Standard Key Remapping - The 'standard' keys (e.g. WASD, TAB etc) should be remappable to other keys so that they can be used for machines. Especially WASD - now that we have the camera block, WASD camera movement is often redundant
• MEDIUM - A 'Share Machine' feature (Steam Workshop?) - would be good if it included the Besiege version so that people can tell if it will still work months down the line
• MEDIUM - Double bracing difficulties - Once you've placed a brace on the connection point of a block, it's then difficult to place another brace (you have to hover over a piece of the block that's not obscured by the brace's end piece). It would be nice if this was made more user-friendly; it actually took me quite a while to understand how to get two braces onto one point - it's not intuitive for new players.
• MEDIUM - Show subfolders in the load/save screens - so we can organise our (many) creations
• MEDIUM - Ability to sort Save/Load screens by date as well as aphabetically
• LOW - A cool feature (but low down the priorities) would be a 'Statistics Test' mode - record the following features as the machine goes along a test track: - Some of this is possible with a mod
  • Maximum speed reached
  • Average speed
  • Maximum acceleration
  • Power-to-weight ratio
  • Number of bad guys killed per second (or minute, whichever gives the most sensible result)
  • Number of block detachments and destructions during the course of the test (a measure of robustness)
  • Any other interesting/funny/cool statistics. The ability to copy all this to the clipboard so it can be posted to the official forums would be nice. Or even integrate it into the aforementioned 'Share Machine' feature...it would be a very easy way of making Besiege competitive in the forums - people could post challenges like 'create a machine with this power-to-weight ratio that can finish the course with no detachments or destructions'.
• LOW - Gif recorder - record animated .GIF files in-game.
• LOW - An interesting idea might be the concept of having limited Fuel/Energy for levels - each powered block consumes a certain amount of energy per second (maybe depending on e.g. how much torque a wheel is having to exert - higher consumption going up a hill). Energy could be increased by means of a block that sucks the life force from enemies/sheep, or by a dynamo block or something...it would add a new dimension to the game levels. Once energy has run out, all powered blocks cease to function.

Theming/Skinning/Campaigns:

Spoiler

I know it's early days still and that this would be a lot of work (maybe leave this for a sequel or DLC or something), but I would love to see the following 'official' theming/skinning/campaigns for Besiege:​

• LOW - Post-Apocalyptic Desert (Mad Max/Fallout eat your heart out)
• LOW - Futuristic (anti-grav blocks etc...)
• LOW - Grimy Industrial (lots of chevrons and hazard markings, concrete instead of wood, everything looks dirty and grubby and oily)

That's it. Hopefully everyone sees where I'm going with these, and the devs will take all this on board. There's a lot of information here, but hopefully I've made it presentable and easier to digest.

 

[AxeSlash]

EDIT: Moved to first post

 

[ITR]

Maybe you should try using some different colors to make it look even better?

 

[AxeSlash]

Car bonnet.

 

[AxeSlash]

Better?

 

[ITR]

Yup :3

 

[Von]

Stickied, also if you use spoiler tags can you fit it onto a single post?

 

[AxeSlash]

That would be a 'yes'

 

[AxeSlash]

Although it appears that indenting spoiler tags is somewhat broken...

 

[ITR]

What do you mean? If something doesn't work, try [Spoil] instead.

 

[CroCraCri]

An improvement proposal:

Another idea for the constant velocity joint is an optional, axis specific lock mode for the ball joint. So it would be possible to lock one or more axis.
For the Hinge and the swivel joint it would be great to have an optional, lock mode for a specific direction . For example the swivel joint can't turn clockwise but can turn anticlockwise.

Sorry for my English.

A picture for my response(combination of a hinge and a swivel joint):

 

[AxeSlash]

I thought about this idea, but a) it would make the hinge and swivel joints redundant, and b) possibly make things a little too complicated for new players.

I think what you're talking about with the swivel joint is a 'freewheel' (like on a bike's rear wheel) parameter? I can see that being useful.

 

[CroCraCri]

I agree with you . The freewheel is exactly what I meant. I thought about your first argument and I think you are right:
My proposal makes the swivel joint and the hinge redundant but it also offers new possibilities.

So I came to the conclusion:
It would be the best to make a new block which is a combination of a hinge and a swivel joint.

I added a picture to the my post.

 

[AxeSlash]

Pictures appear to be broken for me at the moment, does it work for everyone else?

 

[Nekonome]

I was thinking of doing my own complete review of the state of Besieged, but AxeSlash you just listed the whole majority of my thought
well done !

 

[40s]

Gun Powder and Explosive 5th of November Guy Foxx style kegs which you can light with the new torches and trace around a castle under siege. Also smaller kegs that can be exploded without blowing up your entire machine if it is built well.

 

[CalTehGuy]

A quick (but what I think would be awesome) suggestion is that after the game becomes a beta/Finished on PC, that you port it to IOS or android It would be amazing

 

[ITR]

A quick (but what I think would be awesome) suggestion is that after the game becomes a beta/Finished on PC, that you port it to IOS or android It would be amazing

I kinda doubt smartphones are strong enough tonhandle all the physics calculations this game needs. And wouldn't there be a lack of buttons to use to control the machines with?

 

[helloindustries]

How about Trumpets? Could lead to a lot of fun with people building music contraptions. Maybe make a small horn for sound, and a large horn which has some wind-like effect. Perhaps enough to push troops back or level small buildings?

Could have them assignable to keys to make melodies, have the pitch adjustable from comedy clown horn all the way down to the 'Inception note'

Also: Flags and banners.