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Steam News12 February 20264mo ago

A ship builder.

Hello everyone, I’m solo developer Tomas Sala and here is my new creation ,Shipshaper! It’s a small, explorative ship builder I made for the simple pleasure of shaping boats and ships.

Full notes

Full ShipShaper update

Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.

What changed

0 fixes9 additions7 changes1 removal
  • UI and audio
  • Gameplay
  • Maps
  • Balance
  • Performance
addedBottleShip UpdateSo I was actually going to make some prop filters or improved selection menu, but I got sidetracked. If you are new to my 'Evolving demo' process, it boils down to "there's not enough ritalin on this planet to keep me on schedule"... So I read a bunch of comments under the IGN and gametrailers about people wanting bottles for the ships. And it's in the logo... and I needed a fun diversion. So now we have bottles. Just press the little bottle button in the bottom left and it will spawn an appropriate bottle to your design. Offcourse I also did a bunch of QoL updates, including WASD/QE pan and orbit, let me know if it's a proper implementation. There are also a bunch of buttons now including a proper save and load button. So based on community comments on discourse , for now, I've decided the demo will be more content restricted than feature restricted, so I will add features but not neccesarily add all the cool bits to play with. For instance flying ship parts are definetely on my list, but that's just nice to have in the final product, the same for lots of gun (BOFORS.. yes) requests.
addedFeatures? Testdrive when?Steam post image I also added a few bits and bots and visual improvements to the sails.I think it might need more little bits and reinforced corners etc. but for now it gives a lot more detail to the sails. (this is a fully procedural effect by the way, not a texture).
addedHere is the full changelist.added save/load buttons,, demo has 1 save slot/file
addedHere is the full changelist.added autosave on exit button
addedHere is the full changelist.added exit button
addedHere is the full changelist.added WASD panning and QE rotating (let me know if this maps to AZERTY and other keyboards correctly)

BottleShip Update

Well this was required wasn't it...

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So I was actually going to make some prop filters or improved selection menu, but I got sidetracked. If you are new to my 'Evolving demo' process, it boils down to "there's not enough ritalin on this planet to keep me on schedule"... So I read a bunch of comments under the IGN and gametrailers about people wanting bottles for the ships. And it's in the logo... and I needed a fun diversion. So now we have bottles. Just press the little bottle button in the bottom left and it will spawn an appropriate bottle to your design. Offcourse I also did a bunch of QoL updates, including WASD/QE pan and orbit, let me know if it's a proper implementation. There are also a bunch of buttons now including a proper save and load button. So based on community comments on discourse , for now, I've decided the demo will be more content restricted than feature restricted, so I will add features but not neccesarily add all the cool bits to play with. For instance flying ship parts are definetely on my list, but that's just nice to have in the final product, the same for lots of gun (BOFORS.. yes) requests.

Features? Testdrive when?

And it does allow me to also focus on features,,, and have a think about all that needs to be done. And let me very carefully mention (no guarantees) that yes I am thinking a lot about a test-drive feature. But it would have to be good and feel good... so perhaps.. I do need a little holiday after Nextfest, cuz it's been a bit of a crunch.

Steam post image I also added a few bits and bots and visual improvements to the sails.I think it might need more little bits and reinforced corners etc. but for now it gives a lot more detail to the sails. (this is a fully procedural effect by the way, not a texture).

Here is the full changelist.

  • added save/load buttons,, demo has 1 save slot/file

  • added autosave on exit button

  • added exit button

  • added WASD panning and QE rotating (let me know if this maps to AZERTY and other keyboards correctly)

  • moved reset button to the top somewhat away from being accidentally clicked

  • screenshot button now correctly hides interfaces during screenshots (also in editor mode) (steam f12 fix not yet, but on list)

  • added a Glass Bottle feature, click the button next to screenshots and it appears, goes away when you resume editing, auto adapts to your boat (lemme know if it is doing this well)

  • Glass Bottles conform to your ship, become longer/shorter/square or round based on its proportions

  • made the camera go lower , with automatic wave detection so in view mode, so you can make more epic low shots

  • prevented masts from spawning where rudders should spawn

  • improved accuracy of centerline picking, i.e picking on the upper decks away from the centerline is easier, doesn't accidentally think you want centerline props

  • improved dragging accuracy of centerline items like masts and smokestacks

  • reduced the extreme hull shapes due to extreme tangents..

  • removed rail loop updating when dragging items, for performance

  • prevented paperthin hull

  • Added seam/cloth lines to sails.

  • Added Watertight Door, Ventilation Cowl and Titanic style stained glass Window to the library.

As always, please report any issues, improvements or feedback. I need all that to deliver more updates. And keep requesting loudly what you want. Cheerio, Tomas

Source

Steam News / 12 February 2026

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