Hey everyone!

Spring has arrivedand with it, a fresh update on Astromeda's development! This dev update also includes a Q&A at the end!
Development has been going well, and we're currently focused on completing the final parts of the game's second area: Sandlyn. We've also been putting a lot of effort into quality, which is why some parts are taking longer than originally expected. But I'm really happy with our progress! So Sandlyn is nearing completion! (Some optional gameplay elements and scenes are still being worked on.) Note: Once we begin working on the next area, I won't reveal its name, theme, or how many areas the game will have in general. I think showing all that before the game releases could take out of the experience when you play it. I will keep showing sneak peeks in the monthly updates of course but I'll make sure what I show doesn't spoil that, which could mean l may not show as many sneak peek images at times. As promised in January's dev update, here's a sneak peek of a boss attack! (The background is a filler.) *All art and sneak peeks are a work in progress and are subject to change.*
Like mentioned in previous updates, some enemies in the full game have much more complex attacks that react to your position in combat, rather than scripted attacks. There's so much more so I CAN'T WAIT to show you everything else when the game is finished! It's one of those things where you're working on something and you really want to share it with others, haha. Here are a few more sneak peeks!

• "WOOO!"

• Such beauty.

• . . .

ASTROMEDA Q&A the 3rd edition with your submitted questions! feat. Oce (the game's artist!)

(The 1st and 2nd Q&As occurred in the Astromeda Discord server.) Q: Are the sneak peeks shown in the devlogs placed in the same order as in the game? A: No, I usually pick interesting stuff to show that isnt spoiler heavy from anywhere in the game. I may still show sneak peeks from Sandlyn after moving development to the next area. Q: What is everybodys favorite food? (WILL PER MARRY ME IF I ASK???) A: Youll have to ask them that yourselves! Oce adds: ...but studying their preferences could help getting the best of them, so pay attention to hints. Q: Do you plan to keep the speedrun strats that are in the demo in the full version? A: If you found a strategy that can be used for making speedrunning better and more enjoyable to those who like to do it--> if its very unlikely that a player playing regularly encounters the trick, then its totally fine! Ive seen that some players found a speedrunning strategy where they skip scenes in the demo quicker which requires very fast clicking, timing, and overall knowing what youre doing. I dont see a reason to take that out! Q: I love the idea of alien bacteria, and I enjoyed seeing the characters in the demo. From the sneak peeks it looks like there are a lot of different types of them like a worm and a bird. They look more animated than in the demo which looks sick. Does all of this mean we will get some funny animal/biology references? A: Oce wanted to answer: Yes, and it will be in the exam.
Q: I NEED THE FULL GAME A: lmao I love how every Q&A more people submit this than the last. Thank you and were working as fast as we can while ensuring quality! <3
Q: Why did you choose GameMaker as your development engine? A: This is a loaded question! After the games released Ill answer this more in detail, but overall I would say GameMaker to me is just a very very good engine for 2D games! I have over 5 years of experience with the engine, so its just an easy pick! Funny enough, Astromeda DOES have 3D looking stuff as you may know, and theres the outside window scenes that don't work too well with GameMaker. (but I found a workaround!) Ill talk about all that in the future. Q: What if I want to be *more* than friends with Per after the demo ends? A: oh of course, you can be *best friends*! (just be careful about mentioning Stardom near him.) Oces answer: By the time youre done meeting everyone itll be harder to pick a best friend Q: Are you planning any post-launch content or updates? A: Even though we're still in the middle of development I already have some ideas for things I'd wanna do post launch but it's still too early to promise anything! I'll keep you updated! Q: What is the origin of the name Actobacter? A: I chose that name back when I just started working on Astromeda. Theres a real bacteria called Acetobacter, which clearly shows where I got the idea from! Oce adds: Many industries use Acetobacter to produce food and brews, so maybe Actobacter is good at it...
Q: Hello! Will you appreciate speedrunners playing your game? A: I appreciate anyone playing Astromeda! And yes I find speedrunning to be very impressive. Play the game however you like! Q: When will we get a new Astromeda trailer? A: When the game nears completion!

DEMO SPOILERS AHEAD!

Proceed if you played the demo! A new update to the demo was released recently that updated the visuals of the outside window scenes!
In this update, the underlying code for these scenes has been completely reworked. Previously I was quite restricted with what I could do with the outside window stuff due to restrictions of the GameMaker engine, which Astromeda is built on. But now after properly remaking the code with my new knowledge-- I think things will be quite extraordinary in the full game. The outside window update is live (Only for windows as of now) in the demo and you can try it out! As always, Astromeda is being worked on every day with all of our love and passion poured into it! We're really looking forward to seeing you experience the full game once it's ready. (There's still a lot of work left though ;D) Thank you for supporting Astromeda, and I will see you on the next development update!

[ 2025-03-25 20:16:40 CET ] [ Original post ]