So our return to Oklahoma has been delayed (details at the end of this post) - so I tackled a few more requested features for Contraption Maker.

What's New

• Added a "Pause" and "Single Step" mode. Hit "P" to pause a running contraption/puzzle and "S" to advance a single step. Should make it easier for puzzle and contraption building to see exactly what is going on.
  
• Added projection to see where the the Energy Burst from the Ray Gun will go.
  
• Added a projection to see where the Water Drop for the Dripping Bucket will go.
  
• Added green areas to show how far the various creatures (Dog, Cat, Mouse, Toolman Tim, and Zombie Toolman Tim) can see.
  
• Add CTRL-Z to Undo and CTRL-Y to Redo.
  
• Workshop puzzles and contraptions now default to the "Most Popular" instead of "Newest"
  
• Added some more parts to the Part Creator part: Stable Candle, Flying Saucer, Brain, Tennis Racket, Curling Stone, Bucket, Dripping Bucket, Paper Lantern, Dog Toy, and Ghost.
  
• Added a button to reset puzzles to the default zoom level.
  
• Changed code so that if a bunch of parts are selected at the same time (in a rect) and one or more of them are locked, it'll just select the unlocked ones. Before it wouldn't allow the selection.
  

The project lines will make it easier to see exactly where things are going without having to run a contraption. Same with the creature sights - gives a better sense of how far they can see.

Here some of them in action:


Here is where you can find the Reset Zoom button:

What's Next?

The plan was to head back to Oklahoma from California in just a few days, but that is on hold because my son's liver numbers went up (slightly) in his labs last week. He had a liver transplant at 4 months old so they track those numbers closely. Got new labs today - will see the results tomorrow. So he has a MRCF (a type of MRI) scheduled for December 15th in San Francisco. A liver biopsy make be back on the table if today's numbers are even higher. We'll see.

I'll probably work on another CM update in the next week or two. I have a list of possible parts to add, but I left that in Oklahoma. I also really need to spend some time on Minigolf Blast which is coming out in the 2nd half of February after the next Next Fest.