It’s been an exciting week here at Filament Games. In case you haven’t heard, our sandbox robotics game, RoboCo, launches today, November 3rd, on Steam Early Access! After years of developing this joyful and educational STEM game, we couldn’t be more proud to share it with the world. If you haven’t been following RoboCo happenings lately, don’t worry. We’re here to fill you in on all of the details about the launch. Read on for more about launch features, a roadmap for the future of RoboCo, and other surprises!
For more RoboCo updates, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Let us know how you’re enjoying the game and what bots you’ve created so far!
What Features We’re Launching With
Whether you’re a tinkerer, STEM enthusiast, casual roboticist, or coder extraordinaire, RoboCo is the game for you. Here’s a breakdown of all the features that RoboCo is launching with:
- 11 Campaign Challenges, each with its own unique batch of objectives and secrets
- 10 RoboRepair challenges plus an introductory tutorial, HUD tips, context menus, and loading screen tips to help new players
- Variety of Customizable Parts that can be controlled and personalized via our Properties and Control Menus (including RC wheels, drone propellers, resizable motors, telescoping pistons, and more!)
- Robot Automation for our programming aficionados: Use controllable sensors and RoboCo’s custom API to automate your robot with Python code
- Robust Painting System with the ability to choose your own colors, create your own themes, or add textures
- Steam Workshop Integration which allows players to directly upload robots built in RoboCo to the Steam Workshop as well as download and use other people’s creations
Quick reminder: this release date and these features only pertain to the PC version of RoboCo. The VR version for PC as well as a standalone version for the Meta Quest 2 will launch sometime in 2023.
A different development team at Filament is also working on a brand new game for the Roblox community called RoboCo Sports League, also expected sometime in 2023.
The Road to Version 1.0
We hope to be in Early Access for about a year while we gather user feedback, iterate on existing features, and continue the development of new features.
Whenever we leave Early Access and declare version 1.0, RoboCo will have new parts, additional challenges, Steam Achievements, assorted usability improvements, and the ability to give commands to human NPCs! We’ll also have VR up and running as well as some other unannounced features at that time, so 1.0 will provide a ton of exciting new content for players.
The RoboCo devblog will also continue to give you behind-the-scenes looks and updates into how Version 1.0 is going post-launch, so make sure you check in every Friday to see what’s up with Version 1.0 and beyond!
We Have A New Trailer
The video below reimagines our 2020 Gameplay Trailer, which goes over everything a player would want to know about RoboCo. It even features some cool robots from our community, like Team People’s Republic of China’s Cybercat from the 2021 FIRST Global RoboCo Challenge, as well as the RoboCo community discord’s beloved and iconic Derpbot (pictured in the gif at the beginning of this post!). Share the excitement by sharing it with your friends and family!
The Platinum Cup is Coming!
But wait – there’s more! In addition to a new trailer, RoboCo HQ wanted to do something special to celebrate our Early Access Launch. That something is The Platinum Cup – an exclusive Discord competition/launch race.
The Platinum Cup will first consist of six different but simultaneous races. Each race involves players competing for exclusive titles which are outlined below. These start today, November 3rd, 2022, and will go until a player completes the race objective:
- The Speedster – First to beat the game wins
- Inspector Gadget – First to find and solve all of RoboCo’s secrets wins
- The Completionist – First to get all acquirable bits (earned by completing both challenges and the RoboRepair Tutorials) wins
- The Hacker – First to solve a challenge with coding
Players will prove their claims by submitting a screenshot (Speedster, Inspector Gadget, and The Completionist) or a video (The Hacker) so these illustrious titles will go to the first person to complete these achievements and prove them with the associated media. We’re also limiting it to one title per person, so pick your favorite and give it your best shot!
In addition to the races, there will also be two additional titles that players can submit clips for. The competition for these titles also starts today, November 3rd, but will have a firm deadline for submission: Sunday, November 13th at 11:59 PM CST. Our team at Filament will then pick the winner. These titles are:
- The Jokester – Awarded to the person who submits the funniest clip
- The Engineer – Awarded to the person with the most advanced robot
Prizes include a Discord title as well as an enamel pin that’s a replica of the RoboCo personnel badge. These pins haven’t been seen or given out since we went to PAX in 2019 and are an excellent collector’s item for any RoboCo fan!
To participate and learn more about The Platinum Cup, you must be a member of the official RoboCo Discord. Make sure to join so that you don’t miss out on the chance to win or witness what will end up being historical moments for RoboCo.
That’s everything we have for today! Keep an eye on the blog this month for even more details about RoboCo that we can’t wait to share with you.
For the latest news on RoboCo, follow the game’s official Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. You can also connect with other community members by joining RoboCo’s official Discord and Reddit. You can purchase RoboCo right now on Steam, or add it to your wishlist!
Looking to create an educational STEM game of your own? Let us know!
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