Greetings, space travellers! We are proud to announce that The Away Team's upcoming update, Lost Exodus, will be launching on Steam and Itch.io on October 22nd! https://youtu.be/AZqXnaq4PAo Lost Exodus polishes and builds upon The Away Team's core choose-your-own- adventure and real-time space exploration experiences by adding more content, improved gameplay, and an in-game character with integrated Steam Workshop support. There are a lot of changes to go over, and we'll be digging in in more detail with a proper changes, but for now, here's a rundown on the key stuff:

• Expanded story, increasing the game's mission content to over 120,000 words
• Enhanced sector exploration with new random event missions and asteroid fields
• A new crew role experience system
• A new unlockable character with their own story arc to explore
• Over 50 “memento” items for crewmembers to collect
• A new character editor with Steam Workshop integration
• Improved sprite rendering
• Clearer text and an optional dyslexic-friendly font

Additionally we are announcing today that the game’s base price will be increasing to $8.00 to coincide with the update’s release. A lot of effort, talent, and love has gone into making both the original game and this update, and w feel strongly that the new price of $8 will better reflect and honor that. If you'd get in early and pick up The Away Team or gift it to a friend at the lower price of $2.00, we understand. We are really looking forward to sharing what we've been working on with new and existing players on the 22nd, and hope you'll celebrate with us by checking it out :) If you'd like to check out some screenshots of the new bits and pieces ahead of us updating the store page, you can check out our presskit here: http://press.underflowstudios.com/sheet.php?p=The_Away_Team​

[ 2018-10-07 03:03:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

You are the AI in charge of Earth's final interstellar spaceship, tasked with delivering your human crew to a suitable new home among the stars. The fate of previous ships is unknown--with a set of galactic maps to guide you, it's your job to decide which planets to visit, which crew to send down to the surface, and which choices they should make along the way. You are humanity's last hope.

Your choice matters!
Each of ten possible crew members has a distinct set of attributes, traits and flaws that will impact your chances, so choose wisely! With over 30 planets and stations to visit, over 700 choices to make, and near-infinite randomized sector maps to visit, there are countless paths to take across the galaxy.

A novel's worth of adventure!
Over 85,000 words of text across multiple playthroughs provide a rich storyline full of action, suspense, drama and horror. Can you find your way down all four paths to victory?

Customizable
Lua-based missions and json-based data files make writing and scripting your own characters and missions simple. Write yourself into the game, or include your friends and see who survives.

Eat your crew
Food and fuel are hard to come by in deep space. Choose wisely but quickly in charting your course--when supplies run out, tough decisions will be in store, and cannibalism might be the only option...

Excerpt

• Jeter 79
  
• Star Class: G
  
• Object Type: Planet
  
• Object Mass: Terran
  
• Surface Temp: -10 Celsius
  
• Atmosphere: ~17% Oxygen
  
• Gravity: 8.34 m/s2
  
• Habitability: 62.77%

There are signs of life on this otherwise apparently barren planet, although it's not quite clear what form it takes. The atmosphere is not entirely hospitable to humans, nor indeed any Earth animal you know of, but the sensors indicate that something is definitely down there. Regardless, it's also clear enough that humans--or something like them--were here in the past. You wouldn't know it from the lack of anything in orbit around the planet, but sandwiched between several tall mountain ranges on the surface is the ruin of what might once have been a small city.
"There's some sort of energy signature down there," you tell the crew as the shuttle closes in on the surface. "It's not entirely clear what it is, but it's well worth checking out, even if this place doesn't exactly look like home."
The signal is not steady, whatever it is; it pulses, and the readings from the shuttle sensors rise and fall as it maneuvers between mountaintops and crumbling old buildings. When the shuttle breaks into a clearing at the center of the city, however, the signal becomes more steady. It's clearly coming from below the ground, directly underneath a spindly tower or statue of some sort that straddles the entire clearing.
[ Plenty of places to land--take your pick ]
The streets of what was once a city are overgrown with scraggly red and black plants, tangled vines and scary looking thorn bushes, but there's ample room amongst the flora for a safe landing.
"Sensors are clearly detecting life below the surface," you say. "It's impossible to tell what. It's organic, it's mobile. That's about all I know. Probably not a plant, but no way to be sure. Could be intelligent, could be dangerous, especially since you're not armed. If you get into trouble, immediately run back to the shuttle."
LEADERNAME opens the shuttle door and the crew heads out into the clearing. The undergrowth here is about shin deep, but despite the scary looking thorns you're confident that an atmospheric suit will be able to withstand whatever it comes into contact with.
Beneath the razor grass and thorny weeds is a quite flat and sturdy surface, apparently made of some sort of stone reinforced with metal rebar based on your scans. Clearly artificial, but then the buildings and giant metal tower already gave that away. There are hollow spaces below, but they're more tunnel than cavern.
There are still no better readings on whatever non-plant life forms might be down there. Perhaps the crew will be able to avoid contact entirely. That would be ideal. If you had breath, you wouldn't be holding it, however.