The number 1 requested feature you guys had for us, was to make Townbuilder work offline without any Internet connection... So we will happily oblige and make that happen!
It has been quite the journey with all of you so far, and I am looking forward to growing and improving Townbuilder even further in 2022.
With Townbuilder 2, we have reworked so much and now we just need a final push to make Townbuilder into something truly amazing!
Please help us fund the Townbuilder Desktop App and get amazing deals on everything Townbuilder!
Final Assets
To finally have Townbuilder Unlimited 100% fulfilled, we are just missing one thing... The airports!
And they are almost finished:
We have them modeled and added to the Townbuilder, but we need to do some test prints still and create a tutorial or two since these more technical models only work if you use them right!
Please be patient with us, the airports will be made available before the end of the new Kickstarter campaign!
Cheers,
Christopher and the Townsmith Team
Townbuilder 2 - Out NOW!
over 4 years ago
– Fri, Dec 03, 2021 at 12:53:44 PM
And if you don't want to miss out on the amazing upcoming releases...
Sub now starting at 8€! (LIMITED OFFER)
During the sale, you can become a subscriber for just 8€ instead of 15€! This price will also stay for as long as you stay subscribed, so this is an INSANE deal.
Please read the wiki page to learn how to use them! The video tutorials are also linked there
Sadly, some things from TB1 were not compatible with our new system and will need some more love before we can release them. You will currently NOT find the airports and the Sign builder in TB2.
Thoughts and future plans
aka the part of the Kickstarter updates where I just write what comes to mind. :D
Alright, we freaking did it.
After almost 2 years since this Kickstarter launched, we have finally released the software we had envisioned initially.
There is of course still a lot to do for Townbuilder 2... All the casters only support straight pieces, they could be more user-friendly, there are some other tasks that can be automated, like railings, streets, bridges, and rivers.
The software can always be more optimized!
But it looks like we are on the right path to reach completion in the near future.
And with that goal in range, we can finally start thinking and talking about other projects and get your input on it!
There is the idea for another custom builder floating around in our heads, but we will have to prototype this before giving you more details since it is quite the gap in the market and we don't want to spill the beans :D
And then there is the Townsmith Desktop App, which would currently be equivalent to a Townbuilder offline version. Basically, a way to download your asset packs and work offline with them in a Desktop application that would also be home to our future software projects.
Having the Townbuilder on your local machine instead of the browser would of course also increase performance by a ton and allow for a much higher resource ceiling!
But this would most definitely have to bring in money since the development of such an app is quite an undertaking!
Please give us input, would an TB2 offline app be something that you would be interested in?
Model wise, the Townbuilder Eco-system will expand more and more via the Subsystem.
We would most likely take this project to Kickstarter again and have stretch goals that expand the Toolkit of TB2, or rework some existing systems (Roofs could really use a work over!)
Cheers,
Christopher and the Townsmith Team
Townbuilder 2 User Interface Showcase
over 4 years ago
– Thu, Sep 09, 2021 at 08:57:21 AM
Greetings Architechs,
in this update I would like to show you some more of the cool features of Townbuilder 2!
We will focus on the new visuals in this update.
Render Quality
The most important thing in terms of visuals is the actual render of the 3D scene, We have changed a lot about the way we add light and shadow to the scene and it yielded quite good results. Check the comparison below!
You can also change the shadow quality in the settings, depending on what your machine can handle!
Icons
We are still working on streamlining the icons more, and some of them will still change over the next months, but I want to show you the direction we are taking.
It might not seem like much, but creating custom icons and using more specific sources really helps us to establish a cleaner feeling when using the Townbuilder. We want to reach a point where you are looking for a specific thing and can find it without hovering every button for more info!
Hover and Context Menus
Almost anything in the Townbuilder User Interface has information attached to it!
If you hover over anything it's pretty likely that a little text blob will pop up, telling you more about what you can do with that thing!
For example, if you hover over one of the tools in the Toolbar, you get a bit of vital information about it!
The 'More Details' link takes you to our Townbuilder Wiki, which I will talk about more in an upcoming update.
If you hover over a picture in the model menu, you are presented with a detail-view with some information about the model that will load if you click on that button.
Whenever you right-click an object in the scene, a circular context menu will appear, offering you options to style and change the model.
General User Interface
As you can see, the UI slimmed down quite a bit in comparison to TB1. We got rid of the second menu clogging up your screen. Instead, everything you need is now handled in the right side menu and the bottom bar.
For some of the more complex tools, we replace the model menu with other content, for example with the presets for the Room Wizard.
The entire UI is slightly transparent, but this is an optional setting that can be changed according to your taste. We added a lot more customization options to the settings and also improved their visuals!
Hierarchy Menu
Another thing I am quite proud of is the hierarchy menu. In TB1, it was pretty ugly and did not deliver a lot of information at first glance.
We redesigned the whole thing to deliver as much info as possible from just looking at it.
Your Profile
We have redesigned your profile and this area is now your second most important page on our website (after the Townbuilder of course).
As you can see, there are tabs for all kinds of different information, but the one I want to focus on is the 'Collection'!
Here you can find your saved buildings for both Townbuilder versions and manage them.
Under 'Unlocked Assets' you can find a clear overview of what you own and what not! You can even download all print-ready buildings of a theme with just one click from here!
You can also see a detailed list of all the parts included in these sets!
Custom STLs
Oh, and yes, your eyes do not lie to you.
There is a custom model and a custom sets tab! As mentioned before, you can upload your own custom STLs using the upload artificer and manage them from your profile.
You will be able to upload custom thumbnails, move the models to other sets and delete them.
The UI is not yet finished, but I will show it to you in a later update.
Further down the road, we also want to enable you to create asset packs from these and offer them for sale in our shop! But since we have had very little resonance from the community about this idea so far, we keep it low on the list.
Phew, I think this is already quite a bit of information to chew on for one update!
I am not quite sure what topics I want to cover next time, there is so much to talk about and show you guys!
We could talk about the other casters, the wiki, the background scenery, the usable and secret doors, the LED system...
If you have any suggestions on what you want more info on, let me know!
High Elves released!
And lastly, the obligatory Subsystem advertisement!
I am a fan of putting the most useful information right in the front:
Townbuilder 2 is a free upgrade to anyone owning Townbuilder. It is Townbuilder but better in every single way. It will release to open beta in Q4.
A closer look
For the better part of half a year I have been teasing and talking about a huge update that we have been working on in 2021 and it is finally time to show you what it is all about. There are a shitload of features that we will explore over the coming weeks, but let's first talk about why even creating the whole Townbuilder again from scratch.
It is what we initially envisioned and thanks to your support (and patience) we were able to create it.
We realized that Townbuilder as we had built it had some major flaws that could not be ignored and would take a lot of work to be fixed. So we made the difficult decision to rebuild the whole project from scratch.
And we are getting closer to completion. Our closed beta testers are still frequently reporting bugs, but they are getting less and less game-breaking. This tells us we are getting closer to being able to release Townbuilder 2 to a wider audience.
So let's talk about some of the exciting features that you will find in Townbuilder 2!
Basic Transformations
After reworking the architecture of our software, it just all fell into place.
All basic 3D transformations are there. Translation, rotation, scaling!
And no more 'Perfectionist controls'. This is now handled via snapping. You can decide if you want to snap to the grid and at which angles/mm steps it should snap.
Room Wizard
This handy tool takes care of any rectangular rooms you need. It even connects them via doors. And if you created one that is just a bit too small, the Room Wizard can also expand your rooms!
Multi-level dungeons aren't a problem for it either.
Roof Warlock
By pleading loyalty to ancient powers I programmed automatic roof generation! Roofs in the original Townbuilder were the main source of complaints about usability. They were just too difficult to build.
So now the algorithm takes care of that. Just drag out the correct size and roof type and we will automatically generate a fitting roof!
Stair Sorcerer
Before, all we could do were single-story staircases via building blocks and if you wanted to create something more intricate, good look to you.
Well, now the Stair Sorcerer just takes care of that for you. Together with a reworked stair railing system, you will be able to create connections between levels in no time.
There is so much more in store for you, for example:
You will have to put in payment info, but you will not be charged until the second month of your subscripton and you can cancel at any time.
So there really is no reason not to do it :D Let me show you what cool stuff you can create with this month's release: Draconic (which could be yours with just a couple of clicks)
After you claimed you free month in our shop, you can download these as repaired and print ready models in our print-ready library.
But no stress, once you get a release via the Subscription System, it is yours forever.
Next month is going to be Aztec, followed by Dwarven and High Elven!
July Theme: Aztec
August Theme: Dwarven
September Theme: High Elven
The endlessly teased update...
is coming really really soon. We have a deadline for the beta release now, and at that point we also feel comfortable making a proper announcement for it. It will not cost you guys anything, it will just make literally everything we do better. Stay tuned!
And once that hits live, we will also add the more technical pieces into the Townbuilder (Lighting, Usable and Secret Doors, Fog monster tiles, more Airports).
