Version 0.5 - Second Shift (Co-Op PREVIEW)

0.5
26 July 2026
13 changes in this update

Added

9 changes
  • Co-Op Multiplayer: Up to 4 players can now work the same facility together. Each player keeps fully independent progression - own ore/ingot inventory, upgrades, prestige, weapons, save file - while sharing the world itself: hangout space, base expansions, and NPC crew stay shared. Player spawning runs on s&box's built-in networking.

  • Per-World Co-Op Saves: Co-op progress is stored separately from single-player AND separately for every host you play with (`<hostSteamId>-co-op.dat`). Joining a friend resumes your progress in that friend's world; hosting resumes your own. Progress in one friend's world is never affected by another's. Any pre-existing single shared co-op save is migrated into the first world that needs one, with the original kept as a `.migrated` backup.

  • Co-Op Facilities List: The co-op menu lists every world you have progress in - host name, time worked, and ingots banked - so it's clear which save each action will open. CONTINUE SHIFT now only appears when the world you would host actually has a save, instead of appearing because any co-op save existed anywhere.

  • Fresh Shift Propagation: When the host starts a NEW shift, joining players start clean in that world too (their progress in other worlds is untouched). Joining resolves the host's choice instantly rather than pausing on join.

  • Public Lobby Browser: JOIN A SHIFT lists open co-op sessions and lets you join one directly from the main menu - no invite or connect string needed.

  • Proper First-Person Tool Models: Every tool - Hammer, Pickaxe, Gold Pickaxe, Clay Pickaxe, Smelter's Pickaxe, Sledgehammer, Shockwave Hammer - now shows a real held first-person model (actual gripping hands, tuned per tool) instead of nothing or a disconnected floating prop.

  • Visible Swinging: Other players see you actually swing your tool when mining, instead of watching you stand motionless while ore breaks.

  • Synced Radio & Extraction Progress: The courtyard/vault radios and the TIER progress badge update correctly for every connected player.

  • Host Admin Panel: A new ADMIN tab (host-only, visible while a session is active) shows connected players with avatars and lets the host kick anyone; a session card tracks player/worker counts, session time, current tier, and host name; and server controls can clear all dropped ore/ingots or force-respawn every ore node, with an activity log tracking recent admin actions.

Improved

1 change
  • Key Bindings Screen: Bindings now show readable key caps (W, SPACE, MOUSE1) instead of tiny unreadable glyph images, grouped into MOVEMENT / ACTIONS / INTERFACE across two columns. Controller players still get proper pad glyphs, at a higher resolution. Unbound actions say so explicitly. Both the main menu and in-game pause menu share the same screen.

Fixed

3 changes
  • Escape Now Actually Opens The Pause Menu: 0.4.1 listed this, but it never worked - the engine consumes Escape before the bound action ever sees it, so only P responded. (I probs still messed it up)

  • Notification Toasts Over The Pause Menu: Toasts drew on top of the pause overlay instead of sitting on the same layer as the rest of the HUD.

  • UI Text Wrapping: Narrow labels and counters (crew stats, smelter queue counts, market values) no longer wrap mid-value when the content grows.