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Hey Module Makers, and welcome to a special edition of the Modulus Dev Log! We've got big news: the Modulus demo is officially live! If you've been waiting to dive into our factory automation sandbox, now's the perfect time to jump in, start optimizing, and let those conveyor belts roll. But today, we're not just celebrating the demo launch, we're also taking a look back at how Modulus has evolved throughout development. From early prototypes to the design choices that shaped the demo, we're pulling back the curtain on what it takes to bring a game like this to life. As well as introducing you to some of the team.
Award-winning developer Happy Volcano (You Suck at Parking, The Almost Gone) and publisher Astra Logical are proud to announce the first-ever demo for Modulus, a factory automation game where players build every piece from the ground up with building-block modules. Cut, color, stamp, and assemble these modules to design an impressive factory with your own creative twist. There are no fixed recipes in Modulus. Players produce each construct from the very modules they manufacture, resulting in a highly personalized approach to factory-building. Witness these structures rise and construct in real time, with each block becoming a visible part of the design. The more complex the buildings, the more advanced the modules must become.
Modulus is a factory automation game where you cut, color, stamp, and assemble 3D building blocks. Design and optimize sprawling factories with creative freedom to efficiently fulfill the orders of the Grand Neural Network.
But first, we dive into an interview with Game Director—David Prinsmel.
Designing the Demo—Interview with Our Game Director
Building a game is all about choices: what stays in, what gets cut, and how every piece fits together to create the best possible experience. With the Modulus demo now live, we sat down with our Game Director to talk about the key design decisions that shaped it.
Core Design Choices
What were the key goals you wanted to achieve with the demo?
I particularly wanted to show players the unique hook in modulus: voxel based operations. There is a huge amount of flexibility on what you make in the factory. It's not recipe based like other factory games, you can make anything you like, in whatever way you like. Also, these modules you make are the actual building blocks of the factory buildings, which are built up out of them. And what's also cool is they make something new that goes back into the factory, creating somewhat of a factory inside a factory.
How did you decide what features made it into the demo and what got left out?
We wanted to show the unique voxel manipulating mechanic and include some buildings to show the core of the game. We also added a single blue building, so the mechanics of using paint in the game are shown. There are many more coming, and the process will involve more steps, but this shows players a bit of what's in store for them.
Also, we wanted players to have a bit of a sandbox feeling where they can spend quite some hours in the demo. So we didn't want to stop them from being creative and let them experiment freely with the tools they're given. That's why we don't stop you from playing after reaching the first objectives.
Were there any mechanics you initially wanted to include but had to cut for the demo? Why?
Yeah the process of creating new paint is simplified in the demo, purely due to the fact that we didn't have time to implement all the new operators for it. So the demo features a bit of a shortcut in progression, but it gives players a "quicker" taste of what's going be in the full game. There's also no research buildings in the demo, because including that would imply having a use for your science points and that would bloat the scope of the demo too much.
How does the demo reflect the overall vision for Modulus?
It's the tip of the iceberg. It lets you play around with a unique mechanic, new to factory games. Just enough to make you go "Aaaah" and leave you wanting for more. And there's going to be more, like way more. I estimate we only show 5% of the content of EA in the demo. And our EA scope is only 66% of the full game. That should give you an idea of how much more is coming
What feedback from early playtests influenced last-minute changes?
Well first of all, a lot of changes came out of playtests, not just last minute ones. Usually it was addressing unclear mechanics, displaying information better, QoL stuff…But a clear last minute change was the currency in the game: It wasn't balanced well and caused moments of waiting for more money, which definitely didn't sit well with players. After thinking this through more, we saw an opportunity to completely remove it from the whole game. It just wasn't helping the game in any way. And since this being a zen game, where we focus on relaxing gameplay, not feeling any pressure and exploring your creativity, it just feels like a better design now. You are free to place and build whatever you want at any moment. It just made a lot of sense.
The full interview can be found here.
The Future of Modulus
Whilst that is the end of this dev log, this is just the beginning for Modulus. The full game will introduce an expansive tech tree, complex paint production, purchasing new islands, inter-island logistics, research mechanics, and so much more. The Modulus demo gives you a small taste, but trust us, there's a lot more coming.
We want to hear from you! Your feedback is invaluable, so be sure to join our Discord, wishlist Modulus on Steam, and leave a review after playing the demo. Your input will help shape the final game.
Thanks for being part of this journey, we can't wait to see what you build!
View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
Award-winning developer Happy Volcano (You Suck at Parking, The Almost Gone) and publisher Astra Logical are proud to announce the first-ever demo for Modulus, a factory automation game where players build every piece from the ground up with building-block modules. Cut, color, stamp, and assemble these modules to design an impressive factory with your own creative twist. There are no fixed recipes in Modulus. Players produce each construct from the very modules they manufacture, resulting in a highly personalized approach to factory-building. Witness these structures rise and construct in real time, with each block becoming a visible part of the design. The more complex the buildings, the more advanced the modules must become.
Modulus is a factory automation game where you cut, color, stamp, and assemble 3D building blocks. Design and optimize sprawling factories with creative freedom to efficiently fulfill the orders of the Grand Neural Network.
But first, we dive into an interview with Game Director—David Prinsmel.
Designing the Demo—Interview with Our Game Director
Building a game is all about choices: what stays in, what gets cut, and how every piece fits together to create the best possible experience. With the Modulus demo now live, we sat down with our Game Director to talk about the key design decisions that shaped it.
Core Design Choices
What were the key goals you wanted to achieve with the demo?
I particularly wanted to show players the unique hook in modulus: voxel based operations. There is a huge amount of flexibility on what you make in the factory. It's not recipe based like other factory games, you can make anything you like, in whatever way you like. Also, these modules you make are the actual building blocks of the factory buildings, which are built up out of them. And what's also cool is they make something new that goes back into the factory, creating somewhat of a factory inside a factory.
How did you decide what features made it into the demo and what got left out?
We wanted to show the unique voxel manipulating mechanic and include some buildings to show the core of the game. We also added a single blue building, so the mechanics of using paint in the game are shown. There are many more coming, and the process will involve more steps, but this shows players a bit of what's in store for them.
Also, we wanted players to have a bit of a sandbox feeling where they can spend quite some hours in the demo. So we didn't want to stop them from being creative and let them experiment freely with the tools they're given. That's why we don't stop you from playing after reaching the first objectives.
Were there any mechanics you initially wanted to include but had to cut for the demo? Why?
Yeah the process of creating new paint is simplified in the demo, purely due to the fact that we didn't have time to implement all the new operators for it. So the demo features a bit of a shortcut in progression, but it gives players a "quicker" taste of what's going be in the full game. There's also no research buildings in the demo, because including that would imply having a use for your science points and that would bloat the scope of the demo too much.
How does the demo reflect the overall vision for Modulus?
It's the tip of the iceberg. It lets you play around with a unique mechanic, new to factory games. Just enough to make you go "Aaaah" and leave you wanting for more. And there's going to be more, like way more. I estimate we only show 5% of the content of EA in the demo. And our EA scope is only 66% of the full game. That should give you an idea of how much more is coming
What feedback from early playtests influenced last-minute changes?
Well first of all, a lot of changes came out of playtests, not just last minute ones. Usually it was addressing unclear mechanics, displaying information better, QoL stuff…But a clear last minute change was the currency in the game: It wasn't balanced well and caused moments of waiting for more money, which definitely didn't sit well with players. After thinking this through more, we saw an opportunity to completely remove it from the whole game. It just wasn't helping the game in any way. And since this being a zen game, where we focus on relaxing gameplay, not feeling any pressure and exploring your creativity, it just feels like a better design now. You are free to place and build whatever you want at any moment. It just made a lot of sense.
The full interview can be found here.
The Future of Modulus
Whilst that is the end of this dev log, this is just the beginning for Modulus. The full game will introduce an expansive tech tree, complex paint production, purchasing new islands, inter-island logistics, research mechanics, and so much more. The Modulus demo gives you a small taste, but trust us, there's a lot more coming.
We want to hear from you! Your feedback is invaluable, so be sure to join our Discord, wishlist Modulus on Steam, and leave a review after playing the demo. Your input will help shape the final game.
Thanks for being part of this journey, we can't wait to see what you build!
View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
