By early 2001, as the number of active users began to grow, the team realized a save function was necessary to allow people to store the models they had created.
With this feature, the Soda team began to emphasize sodaconstructor on their site and created the Sodazoo, a list of user-created models that had been deemed noteworthy enough to capture and share among the community which was growing around the applet.
Soon after this, a forum was created in order to support the fan base and encourage discussion of models and construction techniques.
It had a more standard interface, based around built-in features instead of the older sliders and menus built from scratch.
It also allowed users to download, modify, and load the XML data used to store models, leading to some scripted tools being used for precise construction and introduced solid springs which masses would bounce off of.
However, reaction was generally negative, as most users preferred the older interface due to its simplicity and flexibility.
Another issue was the fact that due to small tweaks in the physics engine and XML format, some old models which relied on precise timing no longer functioned properly with the new applet.