Announcing v 0.2!
Hello everyone,
Fab here!
Today marks the release of v0.2 of the Solace Builder demo, which we've prioritized working on over the past few months. It's a considerable update from the initial release in that it contains a lot more function and a lot more content. While the first version focused on the placement mechanics, we have expanded those and given you a lot more assets to work with.
Before we go an overview of the changes, let's restate the central role Solace Builder is to play in the Solace experience and how.
Solace Builder is a free construction tool within which you are meant to be able to construct not only houses but, ultimately, entire scenes: that will mean both outdoors local landscapes, and indoor structures, such as dungeons and fortresses.
Standalone, it is meant to be a cozy micro-world builder.
Within the Solace ecosystem, it plays a key role as:
- The primary dev/modding tool through which to build content. Currently, building structures such as houses, dungeons, towns etc has to happen piece by piece directly in Unity. Some of you remember the previews of towers and such that I posted on the Solace Crafting Discord. Well, due to everything being built by hand piece by piece, that took a lot of time and those structures have various little issues that add up. So we needed a tool to make that process a lot more efficient. That's Solace Builder. And we're sharing it with you.
- The blueprint for the next Construction update directly in Solace Crafting, enabling construction to be more comfortable to use, with greater fine control, and produce better results. It will not replace the current construction mechanics. The Solace Crafting version will be implemented directly into Solace Crafting and will feature Solace Crafting's assets.
This Builder will not just focus on structures but on furniture, environment, flora and fauna and NPCs. Full spectrum scene construction and population is the goal.
As this updated version rolls out, we will keep on improving this Builder towards its Steam release, which will happen in the following manner:
- Included by default for all owners of Solace Crafting, present and future
- Standalone and free, for people who are only interested in building in it
- Early Access content packs for owners of Solace Crafting and backers/donors
This Steam-version rollout should begin shortly, before the end of this current month.
Later on, as of the full Steam release of Solace Builder, some assets or packs will remain DLC: those are the packs we create in partnership with artists.
There are still a lot of improvements we are planning, notably to UI, visuals, performance and content, but we felt this is a decent stage to release a new version and show some progress.
Work on this Builder has also been part of the structural evolution we're bringing to Big Kitty Games, from an indie, initially hobbyist venture, to something more professional and structure. This is not a light transition to make, it is in fact very complex as it confronts us to logistical, human and economic realities so we are going through it step by step.
You're part of that journey, in that you're watching its episodes unfold, the better and worst ones, and we keep you included by being as transparent, open and available as possible. The commitment is both to a guaranteed future for Solace Crafting and its budding ecosystem, and to an ethic, as indie developers, of hard, honest work and dedication to the craft. Not to marketing and PR illusions or profit-obsessions.
We are passionate about this job, even as it is currently in a dry, effort-heavy phase. And we are passionate about ultimately taking you to a proud and happy place, no matter how uncertain or confusing it might look to some of you now.
Key Next Steps for the Builder:
- First & Third Person Mode to visit your own scenes and interact with them
- Fauna & NPC Implementation
- Prebuild Structure Placement
- Optimization
- More Environment Tools
- More Content (parts, textures, vfx)
- Solace Keeper Import/Export Features
Here is an overview of the changes and new features in this update.
v 0.2.0.0 2025.12.13
- Now contains over 200 different items!
- Light source intensity, range, hue, and saturation, now fully customizable
- Added point lights
- Furniture material color (hue, saturation, brightness) now fully customizable
- Automated UI layout, new part implementation, and thumbnail generation
- Added Decoratives and Fauna categories
- Added subcategory capabilities to each category
- Added shutter and door interaction capabilities
- Added 3 axis custom object scaling
- Added 3 axis custom object rotation
- Added object repositioning 'nudge' system
- Added a display for the current socket being attached to
Thank you, truly, for being here.
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