Greetings Captains! We are happy to rollout Beta 2.1 which introduces a lot of new features. This represents our goal of releasing much more regular content with a stable base to build on. We are getting closer and closer to launch and all the new stuff should get us closer to it. So whats new?

SHIP PROGRESSION

Your ship will now start off as a starter ship should: a piece of junk that really can’t do a whole lot. As you complete missions you will collect Ship Upgrade points allowing you to increase shields, hull strength, battery recharge rate and energy capacity. This will continue to expand as we introduce new ship systems, new weapons and other surprises.

CREW SKILL TREE

On top of building your ship up, you will now be able to progress your crew by increasing many of their attributes. You can increase things like hp, speed, accuracy, repair rates and other elements of your crew as you explore the galaxy. We will continue to expand this system with future updates.

SINGLE CLICK INTERFACE

One of the bigger changes is our move towards a simplified interface. To this end, the mouse will now be single click for all actions. There are a few reasons for this: during our recent lay tests at Minecraft conventions it became very clear that our younger audiences were not adapting to a left and right click method for selection and action. People would also get lost when crew were selected and were not. But most importantly this moves us on a path for making the game mobile friendly for our original fans.

CREW VOICEOVER

We have introduced voice acting when you select and interact with crew member selection and movement. The voice tracks are placeholder and will be expanding them to very Star Command specific things (equipping weapons, working at stations, picking up kits) but this should give you a flavor of whats to come. The main reason for this is, again, clarity of interface. Selecting and sending your crew to places should be much clearer with the voice feedback.

NEW REWARDS FOR MISSIONS

We have added in some new classes for rewards and, like our economy are starting to balance out what you get for each mission.

ECONOMY BALANCING AND COIN DROPS

We are starting to balance our economy out which includes adjust weapons, crew values, XP values and more. To this end you will now be able to pick up loot from dead bodies including coins and XP.

WHAT’S NEXT?

We are going to continue to refine the economies and balance of game items, XP, ship upgrade costs, enemy skill levels and challenges. On top of that we will be introducing random encounters between our missions. Finally we will be introducing a ton of new items: new guns, new weapons, new kits, new armor and lot’s of other fun stuff as we expand on the base we have (finally) established. We are super excited about the direction of the game and hope to keeping give updates every 2-3 weeks as we make progress and move towards release. Looking forward to feedback! Cheers, Warballoon