Features

• Implemented a new rare anomaly event.
• Supernovas can now occur during gameplay.
• Players can now continue playing after Altaris is either saved or destroyed.
• Black hole anomalies are now much less likely to spawn in the starting system.

• Added Windows 7 support.
• Fixed bug causing a large portion of the screen to be blank.

Bugfixes

• Fixed issue where Linux build had no game files.

Features

• Implemented achievements. Achievement stats can be found here.
• Improved AI energy management.

Features

• Added a new precursor artifact.
• Added option to order allies to lower their shields to teleport crew between ships.
• Added adjustable volume controls.

• Improved support for low resolution displays.

New Features

• Ship upgrades are now represented by items in the refit menu.
• Added many new planetary events and rebalanced event frequencies.
• Added a unique event to Altaris Prime.
• Rebalanced all weapons.
• Rebalanced higher-tier enemies.
• Added a tutorial.
• Time limit increased to 2000 days.
• Interposing terrain now provides defensive cover.
• Items in cargo hold can now be jettisoned when not docked at a station.
• Significantly reduced the number of pirate stations.
• Significantly reduced the number of warp anomalies, and added a new navigational anomaly type.
• Ships no longer suffer damage from moving over a terrestrial planet at speed 1.
• Ships no longer suffer damage at any speed when taking off from a planet they have just landed on.
• Added an optional display setting to increase anomaly visibility.
• Clues are now saved and displayed on the galaxy map.

• Fixed logic for determining if player can afford a refit.
• Fixed logic for determining whether a planet has been explored.
• Fixed logic for determining initial NPC ship momentum.
• Fixed rendering bugs with missed attacks.
• Fixed additional bugs related to saving and loading games.

[previewyoutube=G8e_zxWb3QA;full][/previewyoutube]

1.1.0 is our first content update for WarVector! It features a ton of new items and bugfixes. Note: This update is incompatible with earlier game saves.

• Added ten new items that can be purchased at shipyards or looted from enemies!
• Added descriptions to all items.
• Consumable items can be activated from the inventory menu.
• Added indicator for selected items in the inventory menu.
• Improved NPC weapon selection AI.
• Audio, video, and gameplay settings are now saved between games.
• Fixed numerous display bugs.
• Fixed numerous save & loading bugs.

The first content update for WarpVector will introduce a slew of new items!
One of the key features of roguelikes is resource management. In this tradition, WarpVector captains will be able to find useful consumable capsules on alien planets, in the cargo holds of defeated enemies, and even available for purchase from merchants. These capsules have no mass, and provide a valuable boost to ship systems when used. You can activate capsules to instantly overcharge your shields, deploy a swarm of hull-regenerating nanobots, or even trigger truly anomalous effects!

Gameplay Changes

• It's easier to recruit merchants after hailing them with the comlink
• You can steal a small amount of credits from a destroyed or derelict ship using the comlink

• You can enable camera auto-follow in the Settings menu
• Pressing ESC closes the Settings menu

• Fixed a bug that allowed destroyed ships to be looted multiple times.
• Fixed a bug that prevented mass from changing when buying and selling weapons at a station.

• Prevent a game lock caused by player death
• Prevent rare anomalies from spawning in the starting system

We're excited to announce that WarpVector has been released! Check out the WarpVector Steam page for more info. We'd also love to hear about your experience with the game and any feedback or suggestions you might have. You can post on the discussions page or join the Forbidden Realm Simulations Discord server.

Before WarpVector's release tomorrow, we wanted to share one of the key game mechanics: shipboard combat. Players have the opportunity to board enemy craft in order to gain control of their ship. One way to initiate a boarding aciton is to matching the position and velocity of an enemy ship, as shown in the screenshot below. There are also some items, such as the Quantum Breach Gateway, that can be used to initiate a boarding action from afar once a ship's shields are down.
Once the boarding party reaches the enemy ship, they will engage in shipboard combat with the enemy crew. Each turn, the progress of the battle will be printed in the combat log at the bottom of the screen. The player's boarding party must either kill or force the crew to surrender in order to commandeer the ship. Once commandeered, a ship can be given orders using a Comlink just like any other ally. However, in order to warp a commandeered ship out of the system, you will need to pay a fee representing the costs of refitting the ship for long-term use. But the danger doesn't stop there: enemy ships might also attempt to board the player's ship, forcing the player to defend their own crew in a battle for survival! We're excited to see how players will approach this new system and use it in combination with other weapons like tractor beams, ion cannons, and the Precursor purification ray.

Escape pods are an iconic trope in science fiction space battles. However, it can be challenging to add escape pods into games in a way that feels immersive, fits in to the game mechanics, and leads to fun gameplay. This devlog explains the escape pod feature we've recently added to WarpVector and how it builds on the existing navigation and ship-to-ship mechanics. Once your ship is equipped with an escape pod, for example by purchasing one at a space station, you can launch it at any time. The escape pod becomes the player ship, and any remaining crew will continue operating your original ship. Unlike most other ships, escape pods have no weapons, shields, or maneuver capability. However, they do contain a comlink which can be used to issue orders to allied ships, as shown in the screenshot below.
If you order an allied ship to rescue you it will attempt to come to the escape pod's location and match its velocity. (Escape pods are launched with zero velocity relative to the star system for simplicity and in analogy to lifeboats at sea.) The rescuing ship will then become the player ship and you can continue your exploration of the galaxy. However, if an escape pod is not rescued within a certain number of turns, its life support systems will be exhausted and its passengers will perish. This ensures that when stuck in an escape pod with no chance of rescue, the player does not get stuck in a situation where there is no chance for advancing the game. The most complex aspect of implementing this escape system was the AI navigation logic for rescuing escape pods. The AI-controlled ships use the same maneuver mechanics as the player ship and so the AI must consider, for example, how much energy must be saved in order to decelerate when approaching an escape pod. Because they build on existing game mechanics, escape pods can open the door to interesting emergent gameplay. For example, suppose a Khanate frigate disables your engines with an ion cannon, leaving you hurtling towards a black hole. In desperate situations like this, an escape pod can give you some options to use as a last resort when all else fails.

This devlog offers a glimpse of our new system for generating galaxies, and the new galactic map view that lets you chart your course to the Orbitron Device! Each game of WarpVector takes place within a single galaxy, which is a 5x5 grid of star systems. Systems come in various types:

• Civilized Systems usually surround yellow stars, and are home to merchant ships and stations. Though they are occasionally attacked by hit and run pirates, they are relatively safe places to stop and refit your ship.
• Frontier Systems usually surround blue stars, and feature asteroids, pirate stations, and large pirate fleets. They are dangerous areas for new captains, but provide an opportunity to capture vessels, seize new weapons systems, and battle-test your crew.
• Anomalous Systems usually surround quasars, and are home to extremely distorted quantum-gravitational fields. The anomalies in these systems must be surveyed with care, or an unwitting captain could trigger a breakdown of the space-time continuum itself!
• Ancient Systems usually surround red giants, and are host to dead worlds that contain the cyclopean tombs of the earliest starfaring civilizations. Extremely powerful artefacts may be found here, though they are guarded by precursor defense fleets, some of the most deadly warships in known galaxy.
• Ancient Anomalous Systems usually surround black holes, and contain high numbers of anomalies as well as a substantial precursor presence. They are extremely dangerous locations, although they can be highly rewarding to a well-outfitted fleet.