Hello? It has been a while. Is there anyone still around here? It is probably time for an update. Back in April I stopped working at the startup where I have been the last 3 years. Now back home in Australia, I'm working on gamedev again! I hope to be able to make roughly 2 games per year. These new games will be much smaller than CI, but still in the strategy/tactics genre, as that is what I enjoy. The first doesn't have a name yet, and is taking longer than expected as I slowly relearn forgotten skills. It is a quick tile-placement battler. It still needs some work, especially to make it prettier, but hopefully it will be finished by the end of the year.
Now some notes on Concealed Intent. Since the 1.3 update in April 2018, the code has not been touched, other than to keep the online server running. If there is a bug I will try to fix it and I will keep the online servers running, otherwise I do not plan on any significant work on CI. However... The next game I plan to make is... Concealed Intent 2D (or at least that is the working name). It has the same stealth/identification mechanics, but played on a 2D hex grid. This should make controlling the game much simpler, hopefully removing the original's most common complaint. I will post the occasional update here. Otherwise follow me on twitter @JarrahTech or signup for my newsletter here. Note, Mailchimp shutdown my previous maillist due to inactivity, so if you had previously signed up, sorry, but you will need to do so again.

[ 2020-09-24 08:54:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Concealed Intent 1.3 release is out now! It is a few months late, but finally here.

Tell me about the 1.3 Update

The main change in this release is the most requested feature from the discussion boards: it is now possible to rewatch old online games and to always see the last turn of an online game. If an online game finishes while you are not actively playing, then it will still be in your list of online games when you next start Concealed Intent. If selected it will display the end screen with the game's outcome. If you want to see the last turn just click the "Replay Last" button and it will be displayed. On the second time you start Concealed Intent after the game has finished it will be moved to the Old Games list - but you can still rewatch the whole game, read on! At the end of an online game there is now a "Rewatch" button. Click this and the entire game will be loaded and you can watch it from the start either continuously (with the "Play All" button on the turn control part of the GUI) or turn-by-turn ("Play Turn" button"). It is also possible to rewatch any of your online games that have finished in the last 90 days. Just go to the Old Games screen (available via the Online screen) and click the "Rewatch" link next to the game you wish to rewatch. I had hoped to add rewatch to campaign and skirmish scenarios as well, but that caused problems. 90% would play just fine, but some would badly break due to the scripting system used to play out the turns. Fixing it for all scenarios would require rewriting the scripting system and that would take too long - so sadly you can only rewatch online games (which do not have any complex scripting in them). There are a few other minor changes and bugfixes - the details are below.

What is next?

If there is a bad bug I will work to fix it. I can't imagine not doing that. Otherwise there are no plans to add more features. --- Current Version: 1.3.0 (20th April 2018) Known Issues: * See Forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/374150/discussions/0/490125103634714520/ Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes 1.2.0 (6th April 2017) -> 1.3.0 (20th April 2018) * Ability to rewatch online games finished in last 90 days * Fix rare numeric error causing crash when AI calculating flanking circle * Be able to replay last turn of unseen finished online scenarios * Fix bug with online refresh button, by having it reset itself 5 seconds after use * Can now drag mission list even if mouse is over locked missions * Only check the player is visible at the start of a mission in skirmishes and online games (so not to move camera if it has been purposely positioned in campaign missions) * Make cargo ships in Factory mission a little slower and initial lock a little better * Fix bug preventing email addresses being entered on the feedback screen * Hide random internet matchmaking (not enough players for this to work) * Update Unity engine to fix potential security issue

[ 2018-04-20 15:10:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

I have stated on a few occasions that I hoped to have a 1.3 Update complete and released by the end of this year. My apologies, I will fail to reach that goal. The plan is still to create another content update, and it will still be version 1.3, but it will not be complete by the end of this year. I now hope to have it finished and ready by March 2018. However, that depends on whether the situation preventing me finishing this year continue. The main issue is my day job for a London startup, which has also become a most evenings and some weekends too job. This job is taking so much of my time, there is almost none for the prolonged periods of game coding that is how I best produce. I believe it is likely that the effort the startup job requires will begin to drop to more manageable levels in the new year (fingers crossed). Again, my apologies. I have not forgotten Concealed Intent it is just that the 1.3 Update will be delayed a little.

[ 2017-11-12 15:58:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

I have stated on a few occasions that I hoped to have a 1.3 Update complete and released by the end of this year. My apologies, I will fail to reach that goal. The plan is still to create another content update, and it will still be version 1.3, but it will not be complete by the end of this year. I now hope to have it finished and ready by March 2018. However, that depends on whether the situation preventing me finishing this year continue. The main issue is my “day job” for a London startup, which has also become a “most evenings and some weekends too” job. This job is taking so much of my time, there is almost none for the prolonged periods of game coding that is how I best produce. I believe it is likely that the effort the startup job requires will begin to drop to more manageable levels in the new year (fingers crossed). Again, my apologies. I have not forgotten Concealed Intent – it is just that the 1.3 Update will be delayed a little.

[ 2017-11-12 15:58:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

TLDR; moved country and got a day job, so gamedev work will slow; but still aiming for a small Concealed Intent 1.3 update before end of the year. It has been a while since my last update on the happenings and plans for Concealed Intent and Jarrah Technology time to rectify that. As some of you may be aware, just this week I moved from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to London, UK for my partners work (as was the original move to Malaysia). I am writing this while looking out on a surprisingly pleasant English summer day. Preparing for the move has meant I have not managed any significant time for gamedev work on Concealed Intent or my next game over the last couple of months. Now Im set up in London, its time for gamedev, right? Unfortunately not. London is an extremely expensive city, and indie gamedev will not pay the bills, so I will need a day job. In fact I already have one (not in games) and start tomorrow. This means my available time for my own projects will greatly diminish. However, I do not intend to completely stop, instead dropping down to probably just a few hours per week on average. I am now a hobbyist gamedev rather than a professional indie gamedev. The plan is still to release a 1.3 update to Concealed Intent by the end of the year. The aim is to have this include about 2 weeks of development work (plus testing). Only now that work will be spread out over several months rather than in a single block. This means that there probably will not be time to work on another game until at least next year. The first task on the 1.3 list is to update the game to the latest Unity 5 release to help ensure future compatibility and performance. Then work will focus on the items left out of the 1.2 release mainly small UX improvements. After that Ill reassess the time available and the scope of previously suggested nice to have features to see what can be realistically achieved. My next update will give more information on the Concealed Intent 1.3 plan and features.

[ 2017-06-18 18:48:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

TLDR; moved country and got a day job, so gamedev work will slow; but still aiming for a small Concealed Intent 1.3 update before end of the year. It has been a while since my last update on the happenings and plans for Concealed Intent and Jarrah Technology – time to rectify that. As some of you may be aware, just this week I moved from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to London, UK for my partner’s work (as was the original move to Malaysia). I am writing this while looking out on a surprisingly pleasant English summer day. Preparing for the move has meant I have not managed any significant time for gamedev work on Concealed Intent or my next game over the last couple of months. Now I’m set up in London, it’s time for gamedev, right? Unfortunately not. London is an extremely expensive city, and indie gamedev will not pay the bills, so I will need a day job. In fact I already have one (not in games) and start tomorrow. This means my available time for my own projects will greatly diminish. However, I do not intend to completely stop, instead dropping down to probably just a few hours per week on average. I am now a hobbyist gamedev rather than a professional indie gamedev. The plan is still to release a 1.3 update to Concealed Intent by the end of the year. The aim is to have this include about 2 weeks of development work (plus testing). Only now that work will be spread out over several months rather than in a single block. This means that there probably will not be time to work on another game until at least next year. The first task on the 1.3 list is to update the game to the latest Unity 5 release to help ensure future compatibility and performance. Then work will focus on the items left out of the 1.2 release – mainly small UX improvements. After that I’ll reassess the time available and the scope of previously suggested “nice to have” features to see what can be realistically achieved. My next update will give more information on the Concealed Intent 1.3 plan and features.

[ 2017-06-18 18:48:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Concealed Intent 1.2 release is out now! You may remember I said it would be out before the end of March. My apologies I am a week late, but on the bright side I now know a great deal about password hashing and HTTPS.

Tell me about the 1.2 Update

Among the bug fixes and minor improvements there are a few niceties added. Truly randomly generated skirmish maps (the 3 ‘?' option when configuring a skirmish). The Skirmish configuration page will now remember the last settings and return to it on restart or just after a scenario. Also, there are two new types of drone: the Stealth Drone, an underpowered laser drone with some countermeasures; and the Detonation Drone, a heavy drone mounting an improved multi-pulse laser that unfortunately has a 95% chance of exploding when fired. Have fun! The biggest change is a new version of the game without Steam’s DRM. This will go up on other online store like Humble and Itch.io. However, that does not seem fair to Steam purchasers. Thus if you send me a message from your Steam account (so I can confirm you have a copy of the game in your Steam account) I will send you a link to a a non-DRM version download. Personally, I would not recommend this, the Steam DRM version is the best version as it handles online logins, challenges and turn notifications automatically for the player, but if you have a philosophical problem with DRM (then why are you using Steam?) there is the non-DRM version available. The full list of changes is below. It is sadly a little shorter than I had hoped as the some items took far longer than anticipated.

What is next?

As always any bug fixes will take priority over other tasks. Assuming I am not busy fixing issues, I will be completing all the tasks required to move to a country/continent in May (which have been delayed a week while finishing this update). Afterwards there will hopefully be time for some work on my next game. So, the plan is I will get back to the Concealed Intent towards the end of this year with work on a 1.3 update. That will start with the items left out of this 1.2 release due to running out of time. Then back to working down the list of suggestions (I read them all). As I get closer to starting, there will be a post here with more details. --- Current Version: 1.2.0 (6th April 2017) Known Issues: * See Forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/374150/discussions/0/490125103634714520/ Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes 1.1.3 (14th November 2016) -> 1.2.0 (7th April 2017) * Fix online server bug where signature for movement incorrectly calculated * Speed of pulse and multi-pulse lasers now scaled by turn time * Online refresh button * Non-Steam online login screens and system * State more explicitly that the helper ships in various missions are controlled by the player * Randomly generated map option in skirmishes * Make randomly generated Gather skirmishes a little easier * Resize turn control according to screen size * Fix crash bug when an unarmed entity attempts to orbit at optimal weapons range * Added Stealth Drone * Added Detonation Drone * Remove Steam ContentPrep from OSX builds * Check the player is visible at the start of a mission and move the camera if not * Fix bug where focussing on a ship could move the camera behind a natural (blocking the focussed view) * Store and display last skirmish settings between restarts and scenarios * Fix bug on Linux builds in certain countries where ships' decimal stats are incorrectly parsed * Fix bug where friends' Steam status is requested multiple times in a row due an incorrectly sized sliding window

[ 2017-04-06 09:44:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Concealed Intent 1.2 release is out now! You may remember I said it would be out before the end of March. My apologies I am a week late, but on the bright side I now know a great deal about password hashing and HTTPS.

Tell me about the 1.2 Update

Among the bug fixes and minor improvements there are a few niceties added. Truly randomly generated skirmish maps (the 3 ?' option when configuring a skirmish). The Skirmish configuration page will now remember the last settings and return to it on restart, or just after a scenario. Also, there are two new types of drone: the Stealth Drone, an underpowered laser drone with some countermeasures; and the Detonation Drone, a heavy drone mounting an improved multi-pulse laser that unfortunately has a 95% chance of exploding when fired. Have fun! The biggest change is a new version of the game without Steams DRM. This will go up on other online stores like Humble and Itch.io. However, that does not seem fair to Steam purchasers. Thus if you send me a message from your Steam account (so I can confirm you have a copy of the game in your Steam account) I will send you a link to a a non-DRM version download. Personally, I would not recommend this, the Steam DRM version is the best version as it handles online logins, challenges and turn notifications automatically for the player, but if you have a philosophical problem with DRM (then why are you using Steam?) there is the non-DRM version available. The full list of changes is below. It is sadly a little shorter than I had hoped as the some items took far longer than anticipated.

What is next?

As always any bug fixes will take priority over other tasks. Assuming I am not busy fixing issues, I will be completing all the tasks required to move to another country/continent in May (tasks which have been delayed a week while finishing this update). Afterwards there will hopefully be time for some work on my next game. So, the plan is I will get back to the Concealed Intent towards the end of this year with work on a 1.3 update. That will start with the items left out of this 1.2 release due to running out of time. Then back to working down the list of suggestions (I read them all). As I get closer to starting, there will be a post here with more details. --- Current Version: 1.2.0 (6th April 2017) Known Issues: * See Forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/374150/discussions/0/490125103634714520/ Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes 1.1.3 (14th November 2016) -> 1.2.0 (7th April 2017) * Fix online server bug where signature for movement incorrectly calculated * Speed of pulse and multi-pulse lasers now scaled by turn time * Online refresh button * Non-Steam online login screens and system * State more explicitly that the helper ships in various missions are controlled by the player * Randomly generated map option in skirmishes * Make randomly generated Gather skirmishes a little easier * Resize turn control according to screen size * Fix crash bug when an unarmed entity attempts to orbit at optimal weapons range * Added Stealth Drone * Added Detonation Drone * Remove Steam ContentPrep from OSX builds * Check the player is visible at the start of a mission and move the camera if not * Fix bug where focussing on a ship could move the camera behind a natural (blocking the focussed view) * Store and display last skirmish settings between restarts and scenarios * Fix bug on Linux builds in certain countries where ships' decimal stats are incorrectly parsed * Fix bug where friends' Steam status is requested multiple times in a row due an incorrectly sized sliding window

[ 2017-04-06 09:43:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello everyone, A few events have recently occurred, with a few more on the horizon. Thus it is time to replan work for the next couple months. First the important stuff - what I'll be doing. Then I'll explain why.

Concealed Intent 1.2 Update

It has been too long since touching the Concealed Intent codebase. I'm getting withdrawal symptoms. Over the next month or so I will start work on an update to Concealed Intent. Aiming for around 3 weeks worth of work, plus testing. Assuming I haven't forgotten too much, it should be out by the end of March. The first and main task of this update will be producing a version of the game without Steam DRM. Then a couple of new gameplay features will be added (a truly random map option in skirmishes, new drones). I have collected a few good suggestions to improve the UI, and I hope to get them done too. If there is still time after that I'll just keep going through my list.

What is Steam DRM doing in Concealed Intent?

Concealed Intent uses Steam DRM to identify and authenticate players. This information allows the game to automatically login players into the online system without the need for a username or password. This is why you can start Concealed Intent and immediately play online. The problem with Steam DRM is that it locks the game to the Steam platform, which is not a bad thing for people playing the game on Steam, but means I can't sell the game on other platforms. Considering the potential impact of Steam Direct (see below), I think it is important to loosen this restriction on myself. Players on Steam will not notice any difference, but it will mean I can sell non-Steam versions of the game. These non-Steam versions will have online registration, logon and password recovery screens (and players will need to login before playing online), but will otherwise be the exactly same.

Steam Direct?

Steam Direct will be Valve's replacement for Steam Greenlight as the method to get a game onto Steam. Coming in a few months, it will require a flat fee be paid to Valve in return for each game added to the Steam platform. Estimates of this fee range from US$100 to US$5000. At the bottom of this range I fail to see how the fee will have desired effect (preventing exploitative games). At the high end of the range some small devs, like me, will struggle. I should point out that I know Valve has every right to organise their platform how they want, and their stated goal is laudable. However, as a small indie dev it would be very easy to be crushed by any changes as an unfortunate, unintended and unnoticed side effect. Although I think it likely that the fee will fall towards the low end of Valve's range and I will probably be ok, it is still a wake up call. At the moment I am completely dependent on the Steam ecosystem and Valve's benevolence. To protect myself, I am going to start looking towards other platforms. Thus the non-Steam DRM version of Concealed Intent as an initial learning exercise and start upon this path.

What happens after Concealed Intent 1.2?

First, I will fix any bugs that appear. Otherwise I will get back to work on my next game and look to start promoting it. However, this will be affected by the fact I will be moving country around May. This is likely to also require me to find a new job as developing games will not pay the bills in the vastly more expensive country I will soon reside. I cannot make any guarantees as to what I can achieve in the the second half of the year. However, I hope to finish my second game and release another small Concealed Intent update.

So what have you been doing the last couple of months?

After taking a break over the holiday season, I have started work on a new game. I don't have a name yet and it is still all developer artwork (amazingly ugly!). So I am not ready to show people or talk much about it yet, although I am happy with the way it is progressing. Right now it has reached a natural pause point. After finishing the CI update I will get back to it with some refactoring, prettifying and expanding out of the already completed vertical slice of gameplay. Oh, and decide upon a name. Then it was supposed to be time for Greenlight... not sure what will happen now. I have also been playing games again! While developing CI, there was little time to play games, but now I set aside a couple of hours per week to play games of interest or just from my backlog. To help keep this up I record my sessions and put them up at A Gamedev Plays... on YouTube.

[ 2017-02-15 09:44:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello everyone, A few events have recently occurred, with a few more on the horizon. Thus it is time to replan work for the next couple months. First the important stuff - what I'll be doing. Then I'll explain why.

Concealed Intent 1.2 Update

It has been too long since touching the Concealed Intent codebase. I'm getting withdrawal symptoms. Over the next month or so I will start work on an update to Concealed Intent. Aiming for around 3 weeks worth of work, plus testing. Assuming I haven't forgotten too much, it should be out by the end of March. The first and main task of this update will be producing a version of the game without Steam DRM. Then a couple of new gameplay features will be added (a truly random map option in skirmishes, new drones). I have collected a few good suggestions to improve the UI, and I hope to get them done too. If there is still time after that I'll just keep going through my list.

What is Steam DRM doing in Concealed Intent?

Concealed Intent uses Steam DRM to identify and authenticate players. This information allows the game to automatically login players into the online system without the need for a username or password. This is why you can start Concealed Intent and immediately play online. The problem with Steam DRM is that it locks the game to the Steam platform, which is not a bad thing for people playing the game on Steam, but means I can't sell the game on other platforms. Considering the potential impact of Steam Direct (see below), I think it is important to loosen this restriction on myself. Players on Steam will not notice any difference, but it will mean I can sell non-Steam versions of the game. These non-Steam versions will have online registration, logon and password recovery screens (and players will need to login before playing online), but will otherwise be the exactly same.

Steam Direct?

Steam Direct will be Valve's replacement for Steam Greenlight as the method to get a game onto Steam. Coming in a few months, it will require a flat fee be paid to Valve in return for each game added to the Steam platform. Estimates of this fee range from US$100 to US$5000. At the bottom of this range I fail to see how the fee will have desired effect (preventing exploitative games). At the high end of the range some small devs, like me, will struggle. I should point out that I know Valve has every right to organise their platform how they want, and their stated goal is laudable. However, as a small indie dev it would be very easy to be crushed by any changes as an unfortunate, unintended and unnoticed side effect. Although I think it likely that the fee will fall towards the low end of Valve's range and I will probably be ok, it is still a wake up call. At the moment I am completely dependent on the Steam ecosystem and Valve's benevolence. To protect myself, I am going to start looking towards other platforms. Thus the non-Steam DRM version of Concealed Intent as an initial learning exercise and start upon this path.

What happens after Concealed Intent 1.2?

First, I will fix any bugs that appear. Otherwise I will get back to work on my next game and look to start promoting it. However, this will be affected by the fact I will be moving country around May. This is likely to also require me to find a new job as developing games will not pay the bills in the vastly more expensive country I will soon reside. I cannot make any guarantees as to what I can achieve in the the second half of the year. However, I hope to finish my second game and release another small Concealed Intent update.

So what have you been doing the last couple of months?

After taking a break over the holiday season, I have started work on a new game. I don't have a name yet and it is still all developer artwork (amazingly ugly!). So I am not ready to show people or talk much about it yet, although I am happy with the way it is progressing. Right now it has reached a natural pause point. After finishing the CI update I will get back to it with some refactoring, prettifying and expanding out of the already completed vertical slice of gameplay. Oh, and decide upon a name. Then it was supposed to be time for Greenlight... not sure what will happen now. I have also been playing games again! While developing CI, there was little time to play games, but now I set aside a couple of hours per week to play games of interest or just from my backlog. To help keep this up I record my sessions and put them up at A Gamedev Plays... on YouTube.

[ 2017-02-15 09:44:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another small bugfix. Anonymous feedback pointed out that the Reset button on the Loadout screen did not seem to reset the max number loaded for relevant components (e.g. Coolers). This was easy to fix (literally 1 line), so it is now fixed. --- Current Version: 1.1.3 (14th November 2016) Known Issues: * See Forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/374150/discussions/0/490125103634714520/ Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes 1.1.2 (7th November 2016) -> 1.1.3 (14th November 2016) * Loadout reset button now resets max component counts (thanks anonymous feedback person)

[ 2016-11-14 03:00:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another small bugfix. Anonymous feedback pointed out that the Reset button on the Loadout screen did not seem to reset the max number loaded for relevant components (e.g. Coolers). This was easy to fix (literally 1 line), so it is now fixed. --- Current Version: 1.1.3 (14th November 2016) Known Issues: * See Forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/374150/discussions/0/490125103634714520/ Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes 1.1.2 (7th November 2016) -> 1.1.3 (14th November 2016) * Loadout reset button now resets max component counts (thanks anonymous feedback person)

[ 2016-11-14 03:00:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another small release to fix a couple of reported bugs (thanks!). I know this release says the 7th and it is now the 8th - Steamworks was down all yesterday, so this is the earliest I could get it out. --- Current Version: 1.1.2 (7th November 2016) Known Issues: * See Forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/374150/discussions/0/490125103634714520/ Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes 1.1.1 (25th October 2016) -> 1.1.2 (7th November 2016) * Fix online game bug in plan validation - check more carefully if the submitted id is new and widen movement tolerance (thanks OblivionDoll & FridayBiology) * Fix crash bug in Exhumation if goals completed out of intended order (thanks anonymous feedback person)

[ 2016-11-08 02:40:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another small release to fix a couple of reported bugs (thanks!). I know this release says the 7th and it is now the 8th - Steamworks was down all yesterday, so this is the earliest I could get it out. --- Current Version: 1.1.2 (7th November 2016) Known Issues: * See Forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/374150/discussions/0/490125103634714520/ Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes 1.1.1 (25th October 2016) -> 1.1.2 (7th November 2016) * Fix online game bug in plan validation - check more carefully if the submitted id is new and widen movement tolerance (thanks OblivionDoll & FridayBiology) * Fix crash bug in Exhumation if goals completed out of intended order (thanks anonymous feedback person)

[ 2016-11-08 02:40:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

This is just a small release to fix a couple of small bugs as reported by players (thanks!). --- Current Version: 1.1.1 (25th October 2016) Known Issues: * See Forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/374150/discussions/0/490125103634714520/ Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes 1.1.0 (15th October 2016) -> 1.1.1 (25th October 2016) * Fix leaking links in feedback system * Fix crash bug in the minelayer AI in the Clear mission (thanks Andy)

[ 2016-10-25 09:52:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

This is just a small release to fix a couple of small bugs as reported by players (thanks!). --- Current Version: 1.1.1 (25th October 2016) Known Issues: * See Forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/374150/discussions/0/490125103634714520/ Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes 1.1.0 (15th October 2016) -> 1.1.1 (25th October 2016) * Fix leaking links in feedback system * Fix crash bug in the minelayer AI in the Clear mission (thanks Andy)

[ 2016-10-25 08:44:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Concealed Intent 1.1 update is now available. As pledged, this release brings Linux support and Steam async notifications (to see the notifications you will need to turn them on - start playing and then go to http://steamcommunity.com/id/me/gamenotifications/). Other notable changes include: a new skirmish objective (Gather) with two new skirmish modifiers; a FAQ web page linked from the tutorial menu; the plans a ship has are displayed with icons on their focus button; a display effect when shields are used; and lots of other little things. Thanks to everyone who reported issues or game suggestions. Some I've done, some I stored for later, and some probably won't get started. However, I think about all of them carefully. There are a few of you, and some are anonymous, so I won't mention everyone. Just know you all still have my huge thanks! --- Current Version: 1.1.0 (15th October 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay * Linux Ubuntu Unity icons sometimes colour inverted (Gnome & KDE seem fine) Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes * Think about a 1.2 update? 1.0.1 (13th August 2016) -> 1.1.0 (15th October 2016) * Fix bug where it was possible to finish the Extraction mission without collecting the Informer first * Fix bug with skirmish minefields having clashing ids and decrease max number of mines * Fix crash bug when resizing screen at same time that a player ship explodes * Update server shell scripts for better logging * Fix bug where not all drones are going neutral after their controller is destroyed * Remove friends' Steam login status display and periodic reload as incorrect results being returned * Use action icons in focus buttons to display plans rather than a blinking ship name * Add Gather skirmish objective * Save player prefs immediately upon changes (for Linux) * Tentative contacts * Updated key bindings for Linux * Steam async game turn notifications * Ensure usurped drones have the correct name in online games * Ensure that the loadout screen's title reflects correctly whether a player or enemy ship is being loaded * Fix bug where challenges and games disappear from online status screen after playing a scenario * Fix bug where database pool in online server repetitively recreated * Show a graphic that a ship is shielded, if it is hit and fully id'ed * Fix incorrect time being display in online game buttons * Correctly scale CM * Adjust height and move markers to display better on Linux * Set a max effective number of coolers to prevent unbeatable builds * Fix bug where defences' noise modifier was being counted twice for display in online games (internal sim was correct, but the player displayed number was wrong) * Fix timing bug with launches and shooting in online games * Display online draws as such * Have a link to the CI FAQ on the tutorial menu * Fix dumb bug with damage taken calculation * Extraction mission: update text to make the nature of the mission clearer and stop spawned enemies targetting the Informer * Allow an email address in feedback, move fields around, better messages * Linux build * Automated build and deploy system

[ 2016-10-16 03:26:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Concealed Intent 1.1 update is now available. As pledged, this release brings Linux support and Steam async notifications (to see the notifications you will need to turn them on - start playing and then go to http://steamcommunity.com/id/me/gamenotifications/). Other notable changes include: a new skirmish objective (Gather) with two new skirmish modifiers; a FAQ web page linked from the tutorial menu; the plans a ship has are displayed with icons on their focus button; a display effect when shields are used; and lots of other little things. Thanks to everyone who reported issues or game suggestions. Some I've done, some I stored for later, and some probably won't get started. However, I think about all of them carefully. There are a few of you, and some are anonymous, so I won't mention everyone. Just know you all still have my huge thanks!
--- Current Version: 1.1.0 (15th October 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay * Linux Ubuntu Unity icons sometimes colour inverted (Gnome & KDE seem fine) Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes * Think about a 1.2 update? 1.0.1 (13th August 2016) -> 1.1.0 (15th October 2016) * Fix bug where it was possible to finish the Extraction mission without collecting the Informer first * Fix bug with skirmish minefields having clashing ids and decrease max number of mines * Fix crash bug when resizing screen at same time that a player ship explodes * Update server shell scripts for better logging * Fix bug where not all drones are going neutral after their controller is destroyed * Remove friends' Steam login status display and periodic reload as incorrect results being returned * Use action icons in focus buttons to display plans rather than a blinking ship name * Add Gather skirmish objective * Save player prefs immediately upon changes (for Linux) * Tentative contacts * Updated key bindings for Linux * Steam async game turn notifications * Ensure usurped drones have the correct name in online games * Ensure that the loadout screen's title reflects correctly whether a player or enemy ship is being loaded * Fix bug where challenges and games disappear from online status screen after playing a scenario * Fix bug where database pool in online server repetitively recreated * Show a graphic that a ship is shielded, if it is hit and fully id'ed * Fix incorrect time being display in online game buttons * Correctly scale CM * Adjust height and move markers to display better on Linux * Set a max effective number of coolers to prevent unbeatable builds * Fix bug where defences' noise modifier was being counted twice for display in online games (internal sim was correct, but the player displayed number was wrong) * Fix timing bug with launches and shooting in online games * Display online draws as such * Have a link to the CI FAQ on the tutorial menu * Fix dumb bug with damage taken calculation * Extraction mission: update text to make the nature of the mission clearer and stop spawned enemies targetting the Informer * Allow an email address in feedback, move fields around, better messages * Linux build * Automated build and deploy system

[ 2016-10-16 03:26:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

September is over and the scheduled month of dev work for Concealed Intent 1.1 complete. The amount achieved was about as much as expected, although not as much as hoped. Since the last update Steam turn notifications are working, but it was a little harder than anticipated. Then came a new skirmish objective (Gather) and a bunch of bug fixes (mainly for Linux). Unfortunately that means there was not time for extra work on campaign missions or online. Still, the update is a large body of work and I’m glad to get it done, the game will be better for it. Now I just need to test it extensively before release! The plan is to give myself a fortnight of testing, so look for the update in mid-October (barring major issues). Looking at my Concealed Intent todo list I am amazed by how short it is – the shortest it has been since starting! It contains probably about a fortnight of online server improvements (not visible to players) and another fortnight of campaign/skirmish/cosmetic improvements. There are also a half-dozen “nice-to-haves”. Given this list, I am inclined to do a month’s work for a 1.2 update. However, it will not be until next year – hopefully earlier rather than later. After Concealed Intent 1.1 is released I will start work on a much smaller space-themed game codenamed “Blockade Runner” (because I haven’t thought of anything better yet). Here are the final notes on the original (and intentionally overly ambitious) update plan:

• Small backend improvements – the main things here are an automated build system and better feedback management. Both are complete.
• Cosmetic and control improvements – most of these were done as part of 1.0.1. A few more have been done – most notably an onscreen shielding effect and a plan breakdown on the player focus buttons.
• Linux support – There is now a Linux build for internal testing, so far it has performed just like the PC/Mac version.
• Bugfixes – many bugfixes completed and the issue list is empty again.
• Steam turn notifications – Working, but needs more testing.
• Balance & extra campaign missions – a little balance work has been done, but there are no new campaign missions.
• Extra skirmish mode making better use of tentative contacts and neutral unknowns – done, the new Gather objective has the player rushing to collect supply pods against regenerating enemies.
• Online improvements – nothing significant for players done here.

[ 2016-10-03 11:00:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

September is over and the scheduled month of dev work for Concealed Intent 1.1 complete. The amount achieved was about as much as expected, although not as much as hoped. Since the last update Steam turn notifications are working, but it was a little harder than anticipated. Then came a new skirmish objective (Gather) and a bunch of bug fixes (mainly for Linux). Unfortunately that means there was not time for extra work on campaign missions or online. Still, the update is a large body of work and Im glad to get it done, the game will be better for it. Now I just need to test it extensively before release! The plan is to give myself a fortnight of testing, so look for the update in mid-October (barring major issues). Looking at my Concealed Intent todo list I am amazed by how short it is the shortest it has been since starting! It contains probably about a fortnight of online server improvements (not visible to players) and another fortnight of campaign/skirmish/cosmetic improvements. There are also a half-dozen nice-to-haves. Given this list, I am inclined to do a months work for a 1.2 update. However, it will not be until next year hopefully earlier rather than later. After Concealed Intent 1.1 is released I will start work on a much smaller space-themed game codenamed Blockade Runner (because I havent thought of anything better yet). Here are the final notes on the original (and intentionally overly ambitious) update plan:

• Small backend improvements the main things here are an automated build system and better feedback management. Both are complete.
• Cosmetic and control improvements most of these were done as part of 1.0.1. A few more have been done most notably an onscreen shielding effect and a plan breakdown on the player focus buttons.
• Linux support There is now a Linux build for internal testing, so far it has performed just like the PC/Mac version.
• Bugfixes many bugfixes completed and the issue list is empty again.
• Steam turn notifications Working, but needs more testing.
• Balance & extra campaign missions a little balance work has been done, but there are no new campaign missions.
• Extra skirmish mode making better use of tentative contacts and neutral unknowns done, the new Gather objective has the player rushing to collect supply pods against regenerating enemies.
• Online improvements nothing significant for players done here.

[ 2016-10-03 11:00:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

It has been a little while since my last update, so I thought I should let people know what is happening with Concealed Intent. Previously I wrote about creating some prototypes and having time off. Both those achievements have been unlocked! If you would like to see my thoughts on prototypes, look here. After that I said there would be a month's work on a 1.1 release, trying to get as far down this list as possible:

• Small backend improvements to the client and server code
• Cosmetic and control improvements, as suggested through player feedback
• Linux support
• Steam turn notifications
• Balance & extra campaign missions
• Extra skirmish mode making better use of tentative contacts and neutral unknowns
• Online improvements

Work began on this list at the start of September. Thus I will stop developing and start testing at the end of this month. Assuming no big issues are found, I'm still on track for an October release. So how am I progressing with the list? Firstly, there were a couple of things not considered. On the positive side, there was a 1.0.1 release that contained many of the Cosmetic and control improvements, so much of that task was done before I began. On the downside, my hard drive crashed the day I planned to start work, costing me a couple of days productivity (keep your backups up to date!). Also, I forgot to add bugfixes into that todo list. Thanks to more testing and the good work of a couple of players (obliviondoll and FridayBiology were particularly helpful) a few extra bugs were discovered and have (or will be) fixed as a priority. So how is that list actually looking as of today?

• Small backend improvements - the main things here are an automated build system and better feedback management. Both are complete, and while players will notice little difference, both should save me loads of time to work on other tasks. There are lots of other backend tasks that need to be done, but I will probably leave them until later.
• Cosmetic and control improvements - most of these were done as part of 1.0.1. A few more have been done (most notably an onscreen shielding effect). There is one item outstanding, but I haven't scoped it yet - I'll try to work out if it is possible in the coming week.
• Linux support - There is now a Linux build for internal testing, so far it has performed just like the PC/Mac version with the exception of a few cosmetic issues. This task is looking good. Strangely, my Linux version has issues with anti-aliasing which has meant the height-markers for all versions have needed to change.
• Bugfixes - there are now four minor bugs outstanding I'll be starting work on over the next week. A few other minor bug fixes will be in the next release, plus a major online game fix that has already been released. Please let me know if you see anything "weird" or "wrong".
• Steam turn notifications - Just started work on this and the documentation is making a great deal more sense than the last time I looked. Confident I can get it done.
• Balance & extra campaign missions - a little balance work has been done (coolers will be nerfed in 1.1) and I have ideas for more things here, but am currently uncertain if I should do an extra couple of missions or a new skirmish type first - I might only have time for one (but will of course try for both).
• Extra skirmish mode making better use of tentative contacts and neutral unknowns - see above, if you have any ideas let me know.
• Online improvements - probably will not make it far enough to do anything here, but if I do it will be something small

There it is. I would say progress so far is better than expected (especially considering the hard drive crash), but who knows how things will go for the remainder of the month. In any case, be assured I am working hard trying to improve the game!

[ 2016-09-11 07:42:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Here is the first Concealed Intent update since the release. I think the Steam release went relatively well. No major bugs were discovered, so I'm quite happy. Of course the influx of new players meant a number of smaller issues came up and I've worked through as many as I can here. The main change visible to players is that the mouse/camera sensitivity is a little faster now. Also the scroll wheel should work better in menus and on Macs. If this is still too slow, or too fast, the sensitivity can be changed in the Options under the Gamplay tab (the new Camera Acceleration setting). To get back to the old speed use a setting around 1.0. The biggest change should be invisible to players. The profile system should be more stable. One player reported managing to corrupt their profile and I've to made this much harder to occur and more recoverable if it does. Please let me know if you see any issues here. Other changes are: all the component graphs have been standardised for easier comparison (and more readable numbers); better wording in various places; a button on the loadout screen to return your loadout to its initial state; and making more countermeasures available in some campaign missions. See the full details below. If there are no problems with this update, I will be taking a week or so off from Concealed Intent to recharge. Then back to start work on the 1.1 release. Of course if there are problems, I'll be back to fix them ASAP. Charles. --- Current Version: 1.0.1 (13th August 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay Immediate Roadmap: * Release Plan * 1.1 Plan 1.0.0 (30th July 2016) -> 1.0.1 (13th August 2016) * Add more countermeasures at the start of Halt & Extraction * Add title to feedback to remind players it is anonymous * Make mouse scrollwheel work on OSX * Ensure minimum loadout at start of Layers * Change loadout message in Pickup & specify loadout is current loadout * Make arrow keys work on flow tables * Accelerate camera actions in game & add a multiplier in Gameplay options * Have mission & control lists use scrollwheel * Faster scroll on focus, loadout & stats components * If scrolling in focus do not zoom in/out (like rotate) * Make achievement stripes in online games easier to achieve * Show "Return" key as "Return/Enter" as some people do not have "Return" written on that key * Keep a backup profile in case of corruption - thanks to UberSomething * If profile corrupt on startup, discard and create a new profile * Don't exit if profile being written (wait a little instead) * Remove ProfileUpdater * Standardise laser, engine & sensor graphs by category (components in each category should use same x & y axes) - thanks to Aleccia Heartnet * Allow loadout to be reset to initial * Force the grid back on if it was left off at the end of the View tutorial * Refer to pods as "escape pods" in Rescue missions * Better tooltip for Base skirmishes

[ 2016-08-13 06:58:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Since releasing on Tuesday there has been an influx of new players (thank you all!). Many have been asking questions about where the game is going. So time to give my thoughts on the future of Concealed Intent.

Concealed Intent will not be bundled for at least a year from release.

So that is August 2017 at the earliest. If you want to wait for bundling, you will be waiting for some time! I have already had two offers for the game to be bundled and have declined both with the pledge above.

There will be a 1.1 update.

I'm aiming for Oct/Nov time for an large(ish) update. The plan is to do a month's dev work followed but testing until I'm happy for a release. How much the update includes depends on how much I get done in that time frame. Nothing is promised, other than my time. I will just work down my todo list and get as far as I can. The current ordered list is:

• Small backend improvements to the client and server code
• Cosmetic and control improvements, as suggested through player feedback
• Linux support
• Steam turn notifications
• Balance & extra campaign missions
• Extra skirmish mode making better use of tentative contacts and neutral unknowns
• Online improvements

Anything not completed as part of the 1.1 update will be left for the 1.2 update. When (if ever) the 1.2 update is scheduled depends on what is left to do and the game's popularity.

There are no plans for DLC or micro-transactions.

At this stage, if I'm going to add something to the game, everyone will automatically get it as part of the planned updates.

I read all your feedback.

If you post in the Steam Community Hub, or send a message through the in-game feedback I will read it and take note of it. Same with Twitter or Facebook or email, or comments on the Jarrah Technology webpage. Although, just be aware that the in-game feedback is completely anonymous - I will not know who you are, so can not reply! I have already received some useful feedback and suggestions, which has resulted in the second item on the 1.1 update list above, and its general ordering too. Thankfully there have been no reports of crashes or other major bugs. So that is it. Comments and suggestions welcome as always!

[ 2016-08-06 13:01:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

It is done. The launch button has been pressed and Concealed Intent is out on Steam, with a 34% launch discount for the next week (same as the recent Summer Sale). No longer does the game have the stigma of Early Access. The success of a modern games tends to be determined in their first month of release. Visibility, reviews and sales now will result in more visibility, reviews and sales later. So I'm not too proud to beg… If you enjoy the game please consider telling people about it and/or writing a review on Steam. It will all help. Also, if you do see something wrong in the game, please let me know, the quicker I can find and fix any issues the better. Having said all that, I would also like to give a huge thank you to everyone who played Concealed Intent, purchased it, wishlisted/followed it, or even just checked it out. This game could not have been finished to this level (or even at all) without your support and feedback. Thank you! For those that are interested, I have written a little about the development experience of the game on the Jarrah Technology blog Charles.

[ 2016-08-02 16:05:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Achievement Unlocked. As the title states, I just updated Concealed Intent to version 1.0. This is more a statement of release readiness than anything else. Not much has changed from the previous versions. In fact this release has just two changes - the version number at the top of the menu screen now says 1.0.0, and I fixed a spelling mistake. Not a bad result for many hours testing. Of course the fear of bugs never leaves an indiedev. The thought of it still leaves me in a cold sweat. If you see anything broken or just not right (or misspelt :) please let me know through in-game feedback, Steam forums, or social media. I get round to them all. Next is the full Steam release in a few days. Then being ready to deal with any issues that arise (fingers crossed there are none). Once that is done and after a short break, I'll start work planning a 1.1 release. Here is the turning point in the Loyalty mission from a recent testing session - seizing control of the mercenary courier:
--- Current Version: 1.0.0 (30th July 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay Immediate Roadmap: * Release Plan * 1.1 Plan 0.9.34 (25th July 2016) -> 1.0.0 (30th July 2016) * Update version number * Fix spelling error

[ 2016-07-31 03:44:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

I think this is it. Again my bug/issue list is empty, but the handful of fixes this time are quite obscure. They are not issues a player is likely to encounter in a normal play-through, or even notice if they did occur. Unless I have let through a bad bug, this will become the 1.0 version a few days before the release. I also played through the entire campaign again (about the 10th time for me) for testing - it is all looking good. Here is the moment in the penultimate mission where revenge is delivered by heavy beam.
--- Current Version: 0.9.34 (25th July 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay Immediate Roadmap: * Release Plan 0.9.33 (11th July 2016) -> 0.9.34 (25th July 2016) * Ensure artillery beams displayed in Illumination mission * Fix bug where heightmarkers were shown even if grid off and ship not being previewed * Ensure the sfx/animations for sensors and cms continues in play/replay mode even if the ship is deselected during that phase * Default "Show Objectives" to true for new players (thanks to https://www.youtube.com/user/jaguarusf) * Add a link on the menu screen for the CI YouTube playlist and add the intro and tactics videos to the list of tutorials * Fix bug where categorised components on non-id'ed ships were incorrect (they should only show the components that have been activated)

[ 2016-07-25 05:58:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

I have just recorded & uploaded a couple of developer videos to YouTube to show off the game. Here is a video where I play three of the early campaign missions while talking about the tactics employed. There is also a short discussion at the end on the various uses of the less common ship components: https://youtu.be/OsUHcVrRsw4 And here is a video tutorial on how to play the game. It aims to be complementary to the in-game tutorial: https://youtu.be/czbgsBdT-Bg

[ 2016-07-20 11:57:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another small release, again emptying my list of issues//bugs. Since review keys will be sent out in the next couple of days, this release is to make sure the game looks as pretty as possible. No new features of course, as I'm only fixing existing features at the moment. I have scheduled another release for the last week of July. Hopefully the only item in the change log for that will be updating to a 1.0.0 revision number! Now back to marketing and testing. --- Current Version: 0.9.33 (11th July 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes/Balance * Release Plan 0.9.32 (21st June 2016) -> 0.9.33 (11th July 2016) * Stop shuttles in Savior skirmishes getting stuck behind asteroids * Remove request for review at end of final campaign mission as it is apparently against Steam rules * Force laser fire to appear in online games even if the firer is hidden * Fix issue with uncontrolled drones sometimes being usurped but not acting as player drones (when they really are) * Prevent "target hit" graphics from drifting off target during high rotation turns * Force focus button to be inactive when they first appear so undetected ships don't take up grid space * Stop "time remaining" from being displayed on the skirmish loadout screen if there is an online challenge outstanding * Make the engine stats component work like other components on click -> left-click = set waypoint, right-click = delete waypoint * Fix rare object pool crash when unity can't find a gameobject (why!?)

[ 2016-07-11 12:43:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Concealed Intent will be released on Tuesday 2 August 3pm GMT (8am Pacific Time & 11pm where I am in Malaysia). The originally plan was to release a week later, but it appears a little game called No Man's Sky is released that day. It seemed best to go a week early. I'll need to get going on marketing quickly. Also, if you like the game, writing a positive Steam review is hugely useful. I would be greatly appreciative, please consider it. I pledge Concealed Intent will NOT be bundled for at least 12 months after release. So that is 2nd August 2017 at the earliest. I have been asked a few times about bundling, so I thought I should say publicly what I have previously said in private. So to the plan. I have spotted 3 cosmetic issues in Concealed Intent. I will fix those and anything else that comes up with the 1.0 release in a couple of weeks. After that I hope to pause development while working on letting people know this game exists. However, if there any any breaking bugs I will drop everything to get them fixed asap. Assuming it all goes well, a fortnight after release I will start working on a 1.1 release. This will be at a lower intensity than my EA work as I will also be prototyping a couple of new ideas at the same time. I'll provide an ETA later on when it will be out, but expect the 1.1 release a couple to a few months after the initial release. Possible (no promises) 1.1 features (+ fixes & balancing): * Linux version * Steam turn notification * Extra campaign missions * Extra skirmish objectives + tentative contacts Onward!

[ 2016-07-01 12:11:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

This a small release with just a few little changes, other than combining the online feedback and game server into a single executable (which should use less memory). The original plan was to put this out on the weekend, but then I realised the summer sale will start soon. It seemed best to put it out beforehand as people like to play the games they buy and I didn't want their first experience to be an offline server. The main point is that the bug list is again empty despite quite a bit of testing (with more to come). I feel fairly confident in the quality of the game (please let me know if you see any issues!). Also I have the outline of a marketing plan and it seems reasonable. Now I need to set a release date and start the marketing. Expect an announcement in a week or so! --- Current Version: 0.9.32 (21st June 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes/Balance * Release Plan 0.9.31 (10th June 2016) -> 0.9.32 (21st June 2016) * Stop target focus reticules from "sticking" * Stop crash when just launched drones fire on player in online games * Ensure target weapon hud selectors appear completely onscreen the first time they are displayed * Ensure "Can Target" line changes colour when game colours changed * Make Last Stand mission more difficult * Set waves "victory" to wave 15 (ie survive the first cycle) and add a repairer to the base * Change twitter/facebook icons colour on hover * Componentise server and combine with feedback

[ 2016-06-22 05:44:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

After the last "Feature Complete" release here is "Release Candidate 1". There are no new features, but extensive testing resulting in many little fixes and improvements (especially in the Hard AI skirmish modifier). There is very little left on my issues list. I'm not saying there are no bugs left (I'm sure there are) but I don't know of any in the gameplay. Let me know if you find any! Next I'm going to spend a fortnight working towards "Release Candidate 2". That should be a small release. My spare working time will be deciding and preparing for a full release. Assuming this release goes well, then the next release will come with an expected release date *fingers crossed*. How are people finding the waves skirmish? I find it challenging (my best is wave 23 starting with 1 corvette and having it regenerate once). Experience has shown me that if I find it hard, then other people will find it nearly impossible - is this the case? --- Current Version: 0.9.31 (10th June 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes/Balance * Release Plan 0.9.30 (20th May 2016) -> 0.9.31 (10th June 2016) * Ensure move line & active sensor shells colours change with game colours * Stop loadout components being both selected and disabled when capacity exceeded. * Make stack HUD selectors, stats grids, flow tables & objective markers handle screen size changes * If enemy has no target then most ships/drones will move randomly to look for them & sometimes turn off sensor suppression * Move Skirmish enemy start positions in a little * Suppressed sensors now still allows one ship/drone to use their sensors * If no optimal range use max weapon range instead * Fix silly error in Jiggle where it was modifying range by an order of magnitude more than expected * Hard AI Frigate & Corvette become more aggressive if hull low or all drones gone * Enemy ships now assume unknown targets carry a Medium Pulse when calculating optimal ranges * Online DB archive system & indexes * Just usurped player ships now retain plans over a replay * Added Hard AI system that means command ship may tell their drones to target other drones as secondaries ("drone denial") * Ensure enemies targeting drones do not also target uncategorised entities (as they could be ships) * Hard AI Cruisers now set drones aggressive if attacking or under attack * Hard AI Corvette & Frigate ships now more sensible in their use of countermeasures, Cruisers & Destroyers launch more but under the same conditions * Fix silly bug where enemies incorrectly calculated the danger near them * Move Hard AI start location closer to player * Enemy ships with disruptors chose better targets * Prevent Jammers being able to usurp neutrals * Make local enemies attack local neutrals (unless set to ignore them) * Make waves spawn further away * Update colour and size handlers to be more consistent * Periodically realign focus button images (as they sometimes jump out of alignment) * More consistent noise & hull highlighting and stop the highlight getting stuck * Make Usurper Skiff more aggressive * Decode mission now sets Message Steam achievement * Reaching wave 12 of waves skirmish counts as a victory for Steam achievements * Added to extra (weak) waves to waves skirmish to space out ships and make it a bit easier

[ 2016-06-10 08:01:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

The end is near. With this release all the previously promised features of Concealed Intent are now present. In particular the game now includes two new skirmish modes:

• Waves: Endless waves of enemies assaulting a player base, how long can you hold them off?
• Savior: A number of civilian shuttles are trying to reach a base while under attack, can you identify friend or foe quick enough to save them all?

Savior skirmishes are notable as they include the new neutral unknown system that means unidentified ships are shown as neutral regardless of what they really are (similar to online duels). I decided to enable this feature only in Savior skirmishes instead of making it a modifier. It didn't make much sense elsewhere, as in other skirmishes other ships are always the enemy (I tried it, and then removed it). Next up is a week off work on Concealed Intent, and working on a prototype of another game. Then it will be back for bug fixes and balancing and AI work (as always) for a mid-June release. That one will be the "Release Candidate". After that there will hopefully be no more than one version before coming out of Early Access *fingers crossed*. Finally, here is an example of the new neutral system in action when I was testing:
--- Current Version: 0.9.30 (20th May 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay Immediate Roadmap: * Bugfixes * Balance/AI/missions * Suggestions/feedback? * Performance enhancements - client & server? 0.9.29 (5th May 2016) -> 0.9.30 (20th May 2016) * Waves skirmish objective * Savior skirmish objective * Move back starting camera position in some tutorials & missions * Set minimum of 49 turns before declaring a draw * Darken starlight * Fix bug where target markers were being incorrectly reused * Ensure narrative panel is above objectives * Wider objectives in various screen resolutions * Better objective text in Exhumation & Extraction * Add Twitter & Facebook icons/links on main menu screen * Add victory stripe achievements to skirmishes * Fix rare coroutine start bug * Skirmish base objective requires at least 4 player ships

[ 2016-05-20 07:47:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

My apologies again. Another stupid bug slipped through my testing. This release fixes that issue, plus reports are that the Steam restart bug was also fixed by the previous release. Many thanks to the anonymous feedback that Campaign Mission 3 (the one against the Pirate Base) was bugged. The error was added in release #27. I had the Pirate Base offer some helpful(?) suggestions and it seems that they were greatly insistent about speaking them. If the player managed to destroy the base before all the dialogue was complete, then the game would crash. My testing did not cover that path. Now destroying the base shuts it up. --- Current Version: 0.9.29 (5th May 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay Immediate Roadmap: * Balance/AI, neutral system, skirmish fixes & additions. * Suggestions/feedback? * Performance enhancements - client & server? 0.9.28 (4th May 2016) -> 0.9.29 (5th May 2016) * Fix stupid null check error in M3

[ 2016-05-05 04:00:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Like most releases, I started this dev cycle by looking at my list of annoyances and bugs. Most of the bugs are minor and don't cause too much anguish, but a couple greatly effect players. I always try to fix those immediately (so they don't even make it to the list). However, three have stubbornly refused to yield to my attentions. They sit as at the top of the bug list. This week I was supposed to start work on a neutral system and skirmish additions, but first I thought I'd take another look at one of those bugs. "Game does not work in fullscreen with multiple monitors." I think it is now fixed! I managed to borrow a second monitor, recreated the problem, and then fixed it on my machine. I hope it is fixed. Now there are two bugs at the top of the list. I'm so happy I decided to make a quick release - here it is. Next I'm going back to the original plan and doing the neutral and skirmish work. --- Current Version: 0.9.28 (4th May 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay * Report that the game halts Steam when starting for a second time (the first start is fine, but the second, non-concurrent start causes the issue). Currently unable to replicate. https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/4702wo/help_problem_with_steam_hanging_after_starting/ Immediate Roadmap: * Balance/AI, neutral system, skirmish fixes & additions. * Suggestions/feedback? * Performance enhancements - client & server? 0.9.27 (23rd April 2016) -> 0.9.28 (4th May 2016) * Going to menu no longer deselects * Stop focus icons disappearing when menu turned off * Clear tooltips when selector cleared * Better selector positioning * Add Targeting quick key * Fix selector bug where components drawn on top of eachother when going straight from one selector to another * Fix targeting tooltip bug where it stated the wrong current target * Reload allowable screen resolutions each time selection is displayed * Fullscreen on multiple monitors fix * Update to Unity 5.3 * Force OSX versions to be foregrounded on startup (thanks to increpare)

[ 2016-05-04 08:37:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

I'm back now and recharged after a holiday. Here is the completion of the tutorial/campaign work started in the last release. Existing players who mainly do skirmishes might not notice much change. This concludes the planned work on the tutorial/campaign, but of course I expect quite a bit of balancing work in the next couple of releases. Please give feedback on the balance and difficulty if you can. As a result of previous feedback I have made some of the earlier missions easier. I also modified sensor sensitivity. Has this worked? Is it now too easy? Or, still too hard? Next up are some new features. A skirmish neutral option has been suggested by a player (unknown ships display as neutral until they are at least categorised), so I will do that as part of adding a couple of new skirmish types (civilian defence & the focus mission from online duels). I will also have a look at the multi-monitor issue, but this is complicated by requiring a library upgrade and me not owning a second monitor. --- Current Version: 0.9.27 (23rd April 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay * Anonymous feedback that there are problems with multiple monitors. Currently only have a single monitor so as yet unable to see the problem. * Report that the game halts Steam when starting for a second time (the first start is fine, but the second, non-concurrent start causes the issue). Currently unable to replicate. https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/4702wo/help_problem_with_steam_hanging_after_starting/ Immediate Roadmap: * Balance/AI & Skirmish fixes & additions. * Suggestions/feedback? * Multi-monitor support? Neutral system? 0.9.26 (22nd March 2016) -> 0.9.27 (23rd April 2016) * Don't allow entities without engines to plan movement & similar for other action types * Fix bug when attempting to cancel launch of ship that was not launched * Fix narrative button collider sizing bug * Another(!) attempt at fixing misaligned alternative highlights * Fix tutorial highlight bug with cancelled launches * Display Quick Key options on turn control and stats components GUI elements * Rename "current sig." to "previous sig." & "planned sig." to "current sig." * Remove Basic sensors from loadout options * Change sensor stats to make the active/passive split clearer * Better checks that moves in tutorials are correct before continuing * Update victory stripe conditions * Don't show full stats tooltips in first 3 tutorial missions * Consistent tooltip offset * Updated narrative text on various missions/tutorials * Remove hardest 3 steam achievements, because if I haven't got them in over 110 hours of gameplay they are probably too hard * Turn cloud save back on * Fix rare time bug with heightmarkers when a new entity is first displayed * Combine Decode & Burglary missions into one * Combine Loyalty & Seizure missions into one * Only show offscreen indicator text in T4 if target is offscreen & make indicators larger for large screens * Non-player ship's components now display tooltips if they are partially or fully id'ed * Force ship rotation on loadout screen unless player is currently dragging * Stop GUI items being highlighted if they are clipped * Ensure final drone in T1 is a sphere after appearing * Put a weaker weapon on the drone attacking the Shuttle in Pickup mission

[ 2016-04-23 02:55:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Looking at the Concealed Intent plan for Early Access, all the work originally promised (plus a bit more) is complete. Now is the time to work out when to fully release the game. One thing that has become clear during Early Access is that if a solo game developer tries to do development and marketing at the same time, then both are done poorly. So the current plan is to at some point to declare Concealed Intent ready for release. Then wait between a fortnight and a month, just testing and checking there are no bugs or spelling mistakes (also preparing marketing materials). Then spend a month on just marketing before the actual release. During this two month period no new features will be added to the game, only the smallest changes will be considered and then only if necessary. The other thing to consider when planning a release date is the Steam Summer Sale. I don't know when it will be this year (yet), but the last two years it has been a fortnight in June. When that event is running any game launch will be swamped and disappear in the hype. Concealed Intent's two week launch window must not overlap with that sale. Combine all that and if Concealed Intent is to launch before the Steam Summer Sale then I need to stop right now and start the bug checking phase. I don't want to do that. I planned to complete a couple of iterations on the campaign work, but I have only completed one so far. Unfortunately I have been sick (probably the flu) and this has cost me nearly a fortnight's worth of work. Work I still want to complete. So in the end the decision is easy (thanks to being ill), Concealed Intent will be released after the Steam Summer Sale. So what does that mean? Assuming that the sale is in June, I will consider that the bug check month, and July the marketing month. Thus the aim is to release Concealed Intent in early August. If the sale is in July, then I may push the release back a little. Fingers crossed it is June (and no other problems/issues arise). On that basis I have until the end of May to continue working on Concealed Intent features. Although I'm not going to be working full-time on the game. Firstly, I'm about to go on a holiday, as my girlfriend has taken to the expanded timeline and corresponding decrease in pressure to declare its time for a break. I agree with her, there is no risk of losing dev momentum at the moment as being sick has sent me back to zero in that regard anyway. After the break I also need to start thinking about what to do after Concealed Intent. So to that end I will taking a week or two out of the plan to create prototypes when possible. That should still leave enough time for two or three Concealed Intent releases. My task list will be: Ongoing:

• Bugfixes
• Campaign improvements
• Improvements to Skirmish "Hard AI"

Possible New Work:

• Handle multiple monitors (this is difficult as I only have a single monitor, but it will likely require updating the libraries used by the game and that part can be done in preparation for a proper fix. The update may also help with other reported issues.)
• Neutral system in skirmishes (like in online games, unknown ships are displayed as neutrals until identified - this will probably be a modifier)
• Extra objective scenarios in Skirmishes

Unlikely Features (maybe for after release):

• Linux version
• Non-Steam non-DRM version
• Steam turn notifications

So that's the plan. Hopefully I can stick to this one (all the others turned out to be overly optimistic). So I'll be back soon and initially working on another pass of the campaign. Comments welcome!!

[ 2016-03-24 04:15:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

This release comes with my apologies. It is both later and smaller than I had planned. I have been sick - spending 5 days in bed followed by a week of very low productivity. So this release adds the components stats to the tooltips panel (just hover over a component), but only a first pass of the campaign updates. The main change is the addition of a new 4th tutorial on combat tactics and the removal of the first mission. Next I'm going plan the path out of Early Access (and post the result here), and then I'm going to take a break. For what happens after that, see the future planning post in a couple of days. --- Current Version: 0.9.26 (22nd March 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay * Anonymous feedback that there are problems with multiple monitors. Currently only have a single monitor so as yet unable to see the problem. * Report that the game halts Steam when starting for a second time (the first start is fine, but the second, non-concurrent start causes the issue). Currently unable to replicate. https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/4702wo/help_problem_with_steam_hanging_after_starting/ Immediate Roadmap: * Look again at the tutorial & campaign * Balance/AI & Skirmish fixes & additions. * Suggestions/feedback? * Display component stats on tooltip? Multi-monitor support? Neutral system? * Performance enhancements - client & server? 0.9.25 (29th February 2016) -> 0.9.26 (22nd March 2016) * Update text on all tutorials & M1->3 * Remove M1 (First Day) * Make it impossible to explode in the tutorial * Updated component descriptions * Provide a warning in M4 if too far from station to get through its shields * Prevent gimbal lock on loadout ship model * Added keyboard shortcut for Action ('Z' by default) * Add Tactics as a 4th tute * Don't lose all lock on just switched drones - lock decays as normal from last lock before switch (100% for ex-player or ally ships) * Drones switched to player team in online duels now have a meaningful display name rather than the lookup code * Better messages on component tooltips * Add stats to component tooltips * Force description of disruptor in Decode * Weapon display can't pass through naturals anymore * Pickup loadout options add up to default loadout * Ensure campaign navbar starts at top * Add a Spotter to Frigate loadout * Fix editor destroy error when closing scenario

[ 2016-03-22 04:53:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

This release fixes some minor bugs (ones players are unlikely to have encountered) and cleans up some cosmetic annoyances. It is a small spacer release to empty out my todo list before working on some larger issues. Next up is the last of my "must do" issues before leaving Steam EA - rework the single-player campaign. Some of you have said the early missions with your Uncle's ashes are a little weird. Sorry, that is going to stay. However, looking at the dialogue is on the list, so maybe there is something I can do there. I'm also going to look at the issues of uneven difficulty and players not being sure what to do tactically. Hopefully there will be a few iterations of this work, so as always, comments are welcome, and I promise to at least consider them all. It is also time to start planning the path out of Early Access. With the last of the "must do"'s in progress, a plan can be formed to determine what the finished game should look like. I hope to post an update on that in the next few weeks. Last, but not least. There has been a report by a player that the game will start once after install, but not a second time. Has anyone else seen anything similar? I can't recreate it here and working with the player has so far yielded no good results. Any help/info is greatly appreciated. --- Current Version: 0.9.25 (29th February 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay * Anonymous feedback that there are problems with multiple monitors. Currently only have a single monitor so as yet unable to see the problem. * Report from one player that the game halts Steam when starting for a second time (the first start is fine, but the second, non-concurrent start causes the issue). Currently unable to replicate. https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/4702wo/help_problem_with_steam_hanging_after_starting/ Immediate Roadmap: * Look again at the tutorial & campaign * Balance/AI & Skirmish fixes & additions. * Suggestions/feedback? * Display component stats on tooltip? Multi-monitor support? Neutral system? * Performance enhancements - client & server? 0.9.24 (20th February 2016) -> 0.9.25 (29th February 2016) * Fix occasional NPE when online games conceded & online menu locked in waiting state * Fix bug where the online opponent could be displayed as yourself * Display a list of finished games * More evenly matched random skirmishes * Increase linker size & give cruiser an extra ECM * Fix bug where only the first defined player ship could collect escape pods * Uncontrolled non-autonomous ships turn neutral after a turn * Fix bug with unknown sphere still slightly visible on enemies when they should be completely transparent * Stop target drone in Tutorial 1 flying behind player ship elate to camera * Wider & further min/max focus distances * Reposition Hull "?" for Unknowns in stats display * Fix bug with badly positioned skirmish ships when scrollbars at bottom of range and the 2nd last skirmish ship deleted * Fix bug where skirmish flow tables slightly out of alignment & not resizing properly * Fix bug with just switched drones not working with replays * Make colliders on skirmish loadout & remove buttons work across the whole button & make loadout button more visible when loadout modified. Also make skirmish ship scrollviews shrink when a ship is removed * Server update to restart at the first point after 5 days that no players are connected & fix db timeout issue

[ 2016-02-29 03:26:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

This release mainly improves the AI in skirmish situations. The improved AI is accessible by selecting the "Hard AI" option in the Skirmish modifiers. This feature is very much a "work in progress". More tweaking and extra rules will be added over the next couple of releases, but I thought it would be useful to existing players and especially to get any feedback on whether it is still too easy or too hard. Over the next week I will work through a number of smaller, mainly cosmetic issues, while building up a plan for the AI and campaign missions. Any comments on these topics are very welcome! Updated 22 Feb: It should also be pointed out that the AI (old or new) does not cheat. There are no buffs or secret information. All the AI enemies have no more information than the Player would have in the same situation, and the same equipment. --- Current Version: 0.9.24 (20th February 2016) Known Issues: * Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay Immediate Roadmap: * Cosmetic issues outstanding * Look again at the tutorial & campaign * Balance/AI & Skirmish fixes & additions. * Suggestions/feedback? * Display component stats on tooltip? Multi-monitor support? Neutral system? * Performance enhancements - client & server? 0.9.23 (3rd February 2016) -> 0.9.24 (20th February 2016) * Hard AI skirmish modifier - clusters most enemies at start - better rangefinding despite loadout changes (enemies dynamically calculate range) - enemies will no longer "overkill" - if a target is likely to be destroyed by other enemy ships this turn, then target something else - enemies should opportunistically target weak player ships/drones - command ships (cruisers, corvettes & frigates) will try to organise other ships/drones to surround dangerous targets - command ships will suppress the use of active sensors among other ships if they think there are enough sensors - command ships will detect if an enemy has disappeared and try to regain detection - stations have AI systems and can act like ships - special firing rules for usurpers and painters * Remove radiation skirmish modifier * Put upper & lower bounds on disruption percentage regardless of range * Fix bug where circling AI entities starting on circle centre would remain stationary * Change Corvette default loadout to remove small beam & add decoy and another laser drone * Flow panel tooltips now cleared on drag * Fix bug where flow panels sometimes start in random position * Starting rotation of player ships in skirmish is now pointing away from start point

[ 2016-02-20 12:31:38 CET ] [ Original post ]