This is a status update for the public roadmap .

Please keep in mind that I haven't updated the demo. These devlogs are a way to fill the gap between the demo and the game that is about to be released in a month or two. I may update the demo if there is enough spare time after the main release is done.

Equipment: added 4 more weapons. Hydra: a split-missile launcher. Fan cannon: a direct upgrade for Trident weapon, firing 9 projectiles in a wide arc. Vessel buster: a space sniper rifle with high damage and range, but slow rate of fire. Ion sprayer: a fast-firing short-range forward ion cannon, it has remarkable DPS and also burns batteries in seconds. Also added 6 new artifacts, 5 engines, and added tracker to the shop lists.

Flagship: reworked trading module (it can now track all resources instead of just 1 per module). Added radar III module.

Avatars: added some new pilot avatar elements. You can see a new hairstyle in this devlog's preview image.

Quests: added more war-related quests. They are available during a dominion war, and they can affect the war status too. Also added some economy-affecting quests (e.g. some of them allow you to change the resource market state)


Bosses: added 3 new boss vessels and 3 more enemy bases (stationary bosses).

Diplomacy: dominions can now capture each other planets. The player can participate in these events: help the planet defenders or help besieging it. This mechanic is connected to the dominion wars described in the previous post.


Missile tracking: missile tracking system was already present in the game, but it was not available to the player. Only some bosses used the Missile Tracker item along with Zappers programmed to shot down the enemy missiles. Now they're in the game in full. Also, some NPC (both allies and enemies) will utilize Zappers to be guarded against missile weapons.

Programming: implemented some long-waited features like ctrl+x cutting for pasting. Added data flow lines when hovering over COPY FROM or data anchors. Made missile tracker-related commands available to the player.

Campaign: a new Cult mission is added. The Cult will spawn a supply squad from time to time. If not intercepted, they can either build a new Cult base or make an existing base stronger by increasing its level. This new markers are detectable via Cult Detector flagship module. Added 4 new pilot traits. Improved enemy pilots auto stat distribution. Improved some missile-related programs for enemies (they will fire more often and with more accuracy).

UX: missiles now have a color-coded diode attached to them. Allied missiles have green color, enemy missiles have red color. This helps to distinguish between the two during a missile-heavy combat.

This is a status update for the public roadmap .

Content: added new weapon with unique mechanics "guided", more weapons with this mechanic will come. New campaign missions and interactions.


Factions: added a Faction starting option. Play as Radix, Ensis or Cerebra hired mercenary. They have different end-game goals, starting bonuses, and gameplay-affecting effects (like different period scoring rules).


Diplomacy: observe the wars between the dominions, or participate in them! The wars have goods and bads: they allow you to earn extra money, but they can shift the dominion power balance too much, and they generally make the dominions weaker. The Cult will use this opening.

Politics: strongly connected to diplomacy, politics feature allows the player to directly influence the way dominions might interact. Make them love or hate each other, plot against a single dominion or make everyone your best friend.

Interactive events: some new missions are interactive. Cult can send caravan interception squads - stop them or raid the caravan yourself. Or both. Dominion wars also mean more world-affecting missions are to be expected.


Guided weapon programming: this new weapon class requires extreme care. They usually have tons of flexibility, but at the cost of the programming complexity. Can you fully utilize their potential? Guided weapons include program-guided missile launchers (custom homing!) and "push to continue moving" weapons like Disk Cutter.

I am planning to focus on polishing next.

This is a status update for the public roadmap .

Content: added more weapons and other equipment parts in the tech level of 18-22. The max planned tech level might decrease to 25 given the amount of items we have for the game already. I still need to add dozens of items to fill 23-25 (end-game) item levels.

Save-load: implemented, including the auto-saving system and limited saves game mode for the campaign. The normal (unlimited) save mode allows arbitrary and unlimited saves. The limited save mode is autosave-only.

A set of final battles: half-done, with a new AUX troops mechanics they're going to be massive. The player will have to win several large-scale battles to capture the enemy-controlled planets.

More missions/quests: working on it. I try to add them as I go.

Upgradable flagship: done. You start with a tiny flagship, and then can expand it. It is also planned to have different flagship designs with their own upgrade trees (they will have different layouts and tiles available to them). For comparison, the flagship available in the demo is an average flagship which is bigger than the new starting flagship, but smaller than the final form available in the full game.

Vessel editor improvements: added some QoL features like "move all parts" key combination.

Programming: new commands related to the new weapon types ("guided projectiles"), finalized the missile tracker command set, added beacon-based sonar-style scanning command, ctrl+x to "cut" selected commands. More to come.

Also added many (hundreds!) of new vessel designs for the computer players to fill the end-game with more dangerous encounters. This includes new unique bosses.

The Cult can now adapt to counter-play against some cheesy tactics. For example, they might notice that you use drones a lot and make more anti-drone vessels.

My next big goal is diplomacy. It will make the dominion-related dynamics more interesting.
After that, it's probably more programming-related improvements.

I should be able to fully complete the roadmap until the release, but we'll see.

Since the demo is out, some of the players might wonder, how different the final game would be. What will be added and what's out of scope of this game is a valid question to ask.

Here is my attempt at clarifying some things. This list may not be 100% accurate, but it's as close as it gets to my understanding at this exact moment.

Overall, I am planning to make the Campaign better by adding more content and variety. Then I am going to focus on a multiplayer (async, offline) side of the game.

Content (uncategorized)

• New equipment parts up to tech level 30
• In-game achievements (plus Steam achievements integration for those)
  

Multiplayer

• An ability to play against uploaded player-created teams
• Periodical auto tournaments using the global server
• Globally accessible multiplayer PvP leaderboard
  

Campaign

• Save/load feature
• +1 dominion faction (Fenero)
• A set of final battles
• Diplomacy and its effects on the world
• More government quests
• More mission types (especially for the later game stages)
  

Flagship/base buildign

• Start with smaller flagship, unlock/build better ones as you play
• Flagships will have different layouts, with different base stats and tiles available
  

Vessel designing

• Better color options (more palettes, custom color input, color all/templates)
  

Sandbox mode

• Pilot editor
• Fleet editor (save several vessels as a template)
• Combat/arena settings and rules (e.g. arena size, spawn rules, ...)
  

Programming

• Program-level import/export
• An ability to set part-specific default scripts
• Debug settings: initial HP, allies, enemies
  

Extra/polishing

• Configurable resolutions + windowed mode support
• Steam cloud saves
• Keymap binding via settings
• Mac OS support
  

This update brings lots of new content, balance changes, and new mechanics!

Featured changes:

• A research system. Many things are unlocked or improved via research tree
• A better flagship base building. Most modules are now upgradable (need to be researched first)
• Government quests - an extra source of missions if you have good reputation with a faction
• Pirate root - be their ally or make them your sworn enemy (an optional root with 2 paths)
• Artifacts - rare (hard to get) items that grant unique bonuses to your vessels
• A limit fuel combat mechanic
• New boss-like encounters with immobile enemies ("battle stations")
• A semi-automated trading with Market Monitor base module
  

Research

Artifacts

Quests

Changelog

Programming:

• Added an implicit YES/NO argument to num_targeters command
• Added fuel-related commands
  

New equipment:

• 7 new weapons
• 4 new engines
• 4 new wings
• 6 new bodies
• 13 artifacts (a new category)
  

Campaign:

• Start by designing a custom first vessel
• Hard difficulty is now even more brutal
• Implemented a game over screen - you can be defeated now
• Added many more vessel designs, factions evolve for much longer now
• Reworked the way missions spawn
• Cult spawns missions in a much more interesting and smart way
• Improved/expanded onboarding plot missions
• New planet events (e.g. Mercenary Duel)
• A "stalemate" combat can be restarted for free (0SP cost)
• Slow weapon on-hit effect is now cheaper
• Enemy pilots have slightly more variety in their behavior
• Added pirates-related events and missions (e.g. visiting a pirate station)
• A normal (unpgraded) hangar now has a vessel mass limit of 200
  

Rebalance:

• Adjusted panic-based mechanics. Pilots without ammo retreat more reliably now
• Reworked Scavenger trait, it should be more useful now (esp. against larger vessels)
• Ion weapons deal more battery damage
• Engines rebalance
• Rebalanced production points generation
• Mercenary pilots are now more responsive
• Bolter weapons are buffed
• Firefly missile gets a slight homing ability
  

Graphics:

• The fog of war in astroscape now reflects the nebula color
• Improved engine trails effect
• Added ghost effect to the arriving ("jumping") vessels
• Improved floating text alpha change
  

Pilot traits:

• Removed Weapon/Navigation mastery traits, now INT controls the accuracy/movement instead
• Added new traits (about 5-6 of them)
  

Missions:

• Many missions have different spawning/placement mechanics now
• A new mission - Cult Base
• A new mission - Cult Ritual
• A new mission - Cult Ceremonial Battle
• A new mission - VIP Protection
• A new mission - VIP Assassination
• A new mission - Caravan
• A new mission - Pirate Lord
• Added new options for some existing missions
  

Base building:

• Most modules have a progressive cost now
• Added new modules (e.g. subhangar and more)
• Many modules can be upgraded now (Radar, Turbo, Computing Center, etc.)
  

Sound:

• Added button click sounds for most UI elements
• Added extra combat music track
• Added impact sounds effects for most weapons
• Improved some weapon firing sounds effects
  

Misc:

• "Credits" main menu button is now implemented
• Added a new tutorial elements (contextual info pins)
• Planet tooltip now shows ETA
• +1 vessel color palette
• Game tracks various stats now (shown at the "game over" screen)
• Pilots now have a faction associated with them (with some mechanics taking that into account)
  

UX:

• Scouting (left-click without a mission targeted) now leaves a pseudo-marker for scouting
• Tab focuses the camera on player at astroscape
• An ability to disable autocamera in combat
• Added movement limit aura on astroscape (double-line circle)
• Made radar scan area effect more easy to understand
• Preserving new game settings between the re-runs
• Re-arranged UI elements in astroscape
• Added notification pins
• Added a ping effect when centering a camera around an object
  

Added extra on-pause UI:


This new interface allows several handy features:

• Jump to a vessel by clicking its button (0-9 hotkeys work as well)
• See vessel status - OK, Escaped, KIA, Arriving, HP level
• ETA time for the arriving vessels is displayed
• Browse a short vessel info (hover to get a tooltip)
• Can switch the team focused by pressing left/right arrow buttons (located at the top)
• Quickly check the ally/enemy status of the team by comparing their flags
  

• Avalancher missile launcher - long-range guided missile that deals damage proportional to the distance it travels
• Howitzer - an improved, much more accurate version of the Flak weapon
• Vorpal Slinger - somewhat similar to Chaos Gun, but its blade-shaped projectiles form a perfect circle and spin around the location for longer
  

• Subquasion Engine
• Micropulse Engine
• Mini Spacepaddle Wing
• Crusader Body
  

• Improved Photon and Plasma bolters "effective DPS" calculation, the price is lowered by ~30%
  

The main change of this patch are persistent bosses. They will exist on the map until you defeat them.
Unlike other enemies, they don't have a randomized behavior - they have a special program written for every one of them, just for their vessel. For now, there are 6 types of bosses (more to come!)

I tried to make them challenging and interesting to fight. Just don't hesitate to press the "restart" button and retreat from combat if you've tried to attack them too early - they're very tough.

This update includes a few changes suggested by the players. I am going to try including at least a couple of these every now and then.

Programming changes:

• Increased "radar count" command max range from 400 to 500
• Sysvar command gets a new mode - "arena radius" to query the arena size
  

• Added warlord squads - travelling boss markers
• Reworked post-combat equipment damage calculation (it's more forgiving now)
• 0% condition equipment now has reduced stats
• Made chaos gun and ice dagger lighter
• Increased missile projectiles' hitbox area
• Added "repair all" button to the vessel design screen
• Player movement on the map is now smoother and avoids the star (most of the times)
• Added combat rating text (should give new players a hint about the restart feature)
• Added weapon sub categories (e.g. Kinetic Weapon, Thermal Weapon, ...)
• Added a way to restart a combat before its finished (hit Esc and press "restart")
• All in-test links now have square brackets
• Hovering over the pilot's mission fee label gives a helpful tooltip
• Added shopping "have unbought items" window, no accidental unequips should happen from now on
• Added pseudo traits to androids - programmable and uncommandable; hover on them to learn move
• Added mission goals to the combat (hit "?" in the bottom-left panel)
• Added weapon facing icon (a small yellow triangle near the item slot, in the inventory)
  

• Flagship tiles are now brighter (hopefully, it's easier to distinguish between the tiles now)
• Can move flagship modules even if they're in the process of being moved
  

• Velocity Direction's mode for operator now works properly
• Sandbox arena combat now includes the pause/fast forward buttons
• Fixed a bug when "the last chance" event would trigger after leaving the planet (should be post-combat only)
• The 4th vessel button in the vessel designed was half-clickable (invisibly obstructed), now it's fully operational
  

I am going to go LIVE in about one hour, give or take :D

The stream agenda is quite simple:

• Make a somewhat efficient space vessel design
• Program it to become competitive
• Then create a manually-controlled vessel and try to beat it
  

The game has a Creative Mode now, so it's time for us to have a vessel design contest!

Create your vessel designs in the game, then share them as screenshots:https://steamcommunity.com/app/3024370/discussions/0/591773574503651985/

If you need more than 1 instance of a certain part, right-click and "clone" it

You can rotate/mirror/paint the vessel parts!

You can post more than one screenshot

The vessel doesn't have to be fully functional and/or pragmatic

1. Run the game

2. Play->Creative mode->Vessel Editor

3. Design a vessel of your liking

4. Press F12 to take a screenshot of your vessel

5. Make that screenshot public (press "share on Steam")

6. Obtain a link to that screenshot (copy a URL)

7. Post that URL here ; an optional comment for your vessel design is welcome

This update brings several big features.

A new sandbox (creative) mode allows a freeform vessel creation and matchmaking.
It lacks some features and QoL stuff, but it's a start. It is also a good place to experiment
with your programming.

The second big change is software unlock system. Instead of dealing with a randomized tech tree,
you now have a learn-by-example system.

Sandbox Mode

The sandbox mode consists of two parts: the vessel editor and arena.

In the vessel editor screen you create vessel designs, equip and program them, and optionally attach some metadata like a description text.

Then you can use these designs in the arena section. It supports up to 4 fleets with up to 8 vessels. Every fleet can have one of the four team flags set (so it's possible to do all combinations like 1-vs-3, 1-vs-1, 2-vs-2, everyone-vs-everyone, etc.)

I am planning to extend both of these sections later. The arena would allow more combat options, and the vessel editor will be more convenient to use. It's also planned to add a pilot editor and maybe a fleet template editor (so you can save a fleet as a template for quicker access).

When you launch the game, the content in the sandbox mode will be somewhat limited. Only the basic equipment with a low-tech level will be available there. The programming commands are also limited to the basic set. To unlock more, you would need to play the campaign mode. Whenever you unlock an item or a programming command in the main mode, it will also be unlocked for the creative mode.

Programming Progression Redesign

As before, you start with a very basic command set.

The software research tab is still there, on your NebuLeet management screen, but it works differently. In order to unlock a new programming commands bundle, you need two things:

After doing some extensive playtesting and getting feedback from the players , I am pleased to present a new demo update.

Content:

• Planet random events/status effects
• New NPC vessel classes - Destroyers, Carriers, Fiend
• New equipment: weapons, body parts, drones, and more!
• More high-level encounter lists
• Reputation has additional gameplay effects now
• More pilot behavior packs
• New mission types (Pirate Carnage and some other)
  

• A much better period report screen
• Negative events are hidden from the journal until the report is revealed
• Most NPC squads have a captain assigned
  

• Combat overlay (pause, fast forward)
• Reworked vessel validation - it's non-blocking now
• Added post-battle per-weapon damage stats
• Show current reputation level in reputation change tooltips
• Can repair vessels even when not entering the vessel screen not from a shop
• More tooltips (hover over Android and Mercenary tags, etc.)
  

• Better experience reward curve
• Adjusted planet research rates
• A slightly improved equipment pricing
• An attempt to improve the difficulty scaling curve
  

• Fixed <1% HP bug
• Fixed repair bugs
• Added some missing translation strings (e.g. "weapon_fire_arc")
• Fixed "empty" target selection
  

The upcoming update will introduce a new NPC vessel class - the Destroyer.

Combining the offensive power of Fighter and armor-focus of a Guard, the Destroyer is one of the most dangerous dominion vessel you can encounter.

There are several tiers of Destroyers, but even the weakest destroyer can be problematic for an unprepared fleet.

Here are some designs I made for Destroyers:

The demo is out!

[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3024370/NebuLeet/]
[/url]


Go ahead and play it out, then tell me about your experience .

The demo has content for 4-10 hours of gameplay, depending on what you want to achieve, or more if you try to explore the programming side of the game to its fullest.

Here is what I am going to focus on while working on a final release of the game:

• Final missions that will conclude a run
• Better onboarding and explanations of mechanics
• A better difficulty curve and progression
• Some metaprogression (unlocking new layouts of the flagship, etc.)
• More content in all areas
• Save game/program/vessel design
• Async multiplayer mode and online leaderboard
• More music, and more changes to the already existing remixes
• Plus some more stuff you might expect from a finished product (e.g., a fully working settings screen)
  

NebuLeet includes two archetypes of pilots:

• Humans with behavior (I'll call them mercenaries for convenience)
• Programmable androids
  

Several things have changed while I worked on this game, but the core concepts will remain. Let's discuss these core concepts so you can understand what this game will be about.

NebuLeet will deliver these:

• A simulated living world
• A genuine market-based trading system with sell/buy orders and demand/supply simulation
• In-space combat with auto-battle and manual controls options
• A full or partial vessel automation via builtin visual programming
• Tactical planetary battles (like in early Master of Orion games, but more involved)
• Vessel constructor
• A sandbox-focused gameplay with some story bits
• Moddable game structure