The Hydroneer Multiplayer Update (also referred to as Hydroneer 2.0) had been delayed - Foulball Hangover has just announced that it's pushing back the launch of this update for its PC crafting game.
Hydroneer is a game where players are given a handful of tools and a plot of land. From there, you can dig up valuables in the earth, sell them, and create increasingly complex machines that are all powered by water (hence the name).
It's a pretty fun mining sandbox game, although it's exclusively been a single-player experience until now. Foulball Hangover had announced that multiplayer would be coming by the summer back in February 2021, but those plans have since changed and we're going to have to wait a bit longer to play this next update.
Why Hydroneer Multiplayer is Being Delayed
Hydroneer multiplayer is being delayed for a number of reasons, but it all comes down to a realization that the game's development team had: a lot of work still needs to be done on its underlying systems before multiplayer is ready for prime time.
A developer update video explains that the team behind the game has realized that there are quite a few issues that need to be resolved before it's a good idea to go through with multiplayer. A custom save game system, better gameplay, and further optimization need to be taken care of before Hydroneer multiplayer is released.
"All of us working on Hydroneer 2.0 truly love the game, and that's why we just don't want to put out a piece of crap," Foulball Hangover's Max Hayon explained.
While this may be disappointing news to fans of the game, there's an upside, too - there's much more new content (and other improvements) on the way for the next Hydroneer patch.
What's Coming in Hydroneer 2.0
Although Hydroneer multiplayer is being delayed, the list of new features coming in the Hydroneer 2.0 update should more than make up for having to wait a while longer to play it.
A "brand-new conveyor system" will give players more options when building large machines. You can place your pipes underneath the conveyor belt in more orientations, making it easier than ever to customize your layout. There will be more than just one kind of pipe, too - different tiers of pipes and machinery are being added to the game to give it a new layer of progression.
Conveyor belts will further be improved with a new "snapping" system - machines such as grinders can simply be snapped onto existing conveyor belts. The same kind of functionality will extend to pipes with the ability to snap filters and pressure gauges onto existing pipes rather than forcing the player to build standalone units.
Other major problems in the current game are being addressed in Hydroneer 2.0, too. The current vehicle system is a bit of a mess, so Foulball Hangover threw out the old system and built it anew. Going forward, vehicles should be much more reliable (and much less likely to sail off into the sky when you bump into something).
The final major highlight is a boon for players on lower-spec systems - the work being done in the Hydroneer multiplayer update will mean that a wider range of less-powerful PCs will be able to play the game when it launches. You can read about everything planned for the next big patch in the Hydroneer 2.0 update patch notes. In the meantime, there's still plenty of fun to be had in the game as it exists today; you can buy Hydroneer for PC via Steam at the price of $9.99 or your regional equivalent.
What do you think of Foulball Hangover delaying the Hydroneer multiplayer update? What new features would you like to see come to this game in a future patch? Let us know in the comments below!
