Support Update #4: Some Minor Fixes and Enhancements

This is an update mainly released to address some very minor game play issues or bugs that have been pointed out by helpful players. Chances are, you probably didn't notice, and these fixes won't affect you! But in case you're curious, here is a list:

• added controller sensitivity option
• added text explaining how to equip attachments when purchasing
• added mouse pilot vertical axis invert option
• fixed an issue that occurred with windowed mode not displaying properly
• fixed an issue with equipment upgrades not being highlighted immediately after purchase
• fixed an issue with a GUI element not working properly
• fixed an issue with the "Fully Loaded" achievement
• fixed an issue where the mouse fly arrow was still visible after disabling
• improved the appearance of some cruiser muzzle flashes

As always, thank you for your support, everyone!

[ 2020-04-02 03:18:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Content Update #2 is Here!

A new Content Update has arrived! The update includes 2 new ships to buy using in-game points, 3rd-person view, removal of online DRM, special attachments to equip to your ship, a new Instant Action location, and several other enhancements and improvements. As always, most of these new features came from player requests. To celebrate Content Update #2, Hypergate is 60% off until March 31st.

2 New Ships

This was one of the most highly-requested features. Fly with the default Nova SF-250/R, or buy the Validor AF-4/RE (40,000 credits) or the Nausica DF-8/PX (50,000 credits).

3rd-Person View

Another highly-requested feature. You can now toggle between 1st-person and 3rd-person flight.

Removal of Online DRM

Thank you to the gaming community for bringing this important issue to my attention. I don't want to punish players for having poor Internet connections! Hypergate can now be played online or offline.

Attachments

Hypergate's Upgrade Hangar now includes 6 new components called attachments. These are different from regular ship equipment, and can be upgraded four times each to boost a chosen performance characteristic of your fighter.

Other Enhancements and Fixes

The menu system look-and-feel has been enhanced. Quite a few in-game effects have been improved. Optional film grain and chromatic aberration effects have been added. Several bugs have been squashed, including some that caused the game to crash while loading a mission.

Want to Keep Up To Date?

I release updates to Hypergate regularly. Big updates come at least once a year, and smaller updates are released as required (bugs, minor tweaks, etc.). Interested in learning more? There's lots of ways to get in touch.

• I post progress update GIFs on my Twitter page every few days.
• I also maintain a development blog that discusses Hypergate's development and my game development philosophy.
• Please consider joining the Hypergate Discord server using this link here.
• As always, please feel free to post to the Hypergate forums.

[ 2020-03-17 17:03:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Are You Ready For Content Update #2?

A big update is going to drop in a month or so! You'll be able to purchase 2 new fighters, play in third-person view, and attach new equipment to your ship. Online DRM will also be removed.

New Ships

You've asked for new ships, and you've been heard! You will soon be able to fly two new sleek-looking fighters.

Third-Person View

This was another highly-requested feature. A lot of effort has gone into making sure that both your first-person and third-person flying experiences are as smooth and fun as possible.

Removal of Online DRM

I don't want to punish players for having Internet connection problems! In this latest update, I'll remove the requirement that you be online to play. (Thank you to the gaming community for bringing this important concern to my attention!)

Attachments

Attachments are upgradeable micro-equipment that you can add to your ship to give it an extra edge in combat. Upgrade six new attachments up to four times each to improve your locking range, EMP time, boost speed, or other stats.

...And More

Additional graphical effects and several feature enhancements have been added to improve your game play experience. Some bugs have also been squashed.

Want Progress Updates?

Check out the Twitter page for cool progress GIFs, or the development blog to read about Hypergate's development journey and philosophy.

Follow or Wishlist to Keep Up To Date!

I post news items for upcoming content, development decisions, or other important announcements. Please consider wishlisting or following to keep up to date! If you'd like, please also consider joining the Hypergate Discord server to chat with myself or other Hypergate players. I'm always happy to chat with folks about my game!

[ 2020-02-19 19:38:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Would you like to chat with the developer, or other Hypergate players? Have an interesting feature request, bug report, or would just like to learn more? Check out the Hypergate Discord server here: https://discord.gg/v4bATBG

[ 2020-02-19 01:59:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Support Update #3 Released!

Support Update #3 provides several game play improvements. These include fixes to LAN-related issues and minor graphical tweaks. Players may now also connect up to 4 controllers and choose (a) which controller to use, and (b) which layout to use for the active controller. Note that changing the controller to use may require the player to change their controller layout to match it.

[ 2019-09-15 03:25:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Content Update #1 Released!

Thank you, everyone, for all of your support! We've added some exciting extras to Hypergate in this latest update.

New Content

We've added 5 new Instant Action locations and 8 new pieces of equipment for your fighter! Somewhat belatedly, the Marauders have also been given their own gate design for the Instant Action mode.

Steam Cloud Saves

Your campaign progress and fighter upgrades are now stored cross-platform in the cloud, so you can play Hypergate at home and at work without losing progress!

Several Graphical Improvements

The look and feel of the menu system has been upgraded, and several in-game graphical effects have been enhanced or re-done to improve your gameplay experience.

Bug Fixes

We've fixed a reported issue with the XBox One controller in Linux. A few issues associated with LAN play have also been corrected. Several other fixes have been implemented for lower-level facilities.

Can We Expect More Campaign Missions?

Yes! The story script for the next chapter of Hypergate has been written, and voice recording has started. This chapter contains another 10 missions and will be released with Content Update #2. We expect to release Content Update #2 in 2020. More precise dates will be given as progress is made.

Can We Expect More Spaceships to Fly?

Yes you can! We plan to release at least two new space fighters---the Validor and the Nausica---either as part of Content Update #2, or as a separate update before then. Several of you have also expressed a desire to play Instant Action as either the ISC or the Marauders, and we're exploring this possibility as well.

[ 2019-09-08 17:02:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

New Content Coming Soon!

We're finishing up Content Update #1! This will include new instant action maps, additional upgrades for your fighter, and many other improvements. Stay tuned!

[ 2019-08-29 00:37:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hypergate is 40% off until July 9th!

Looking for some fun space shooting action? Want to shoot down powerful cruisers, enemy fighters, or even entire fleets? Hypergate is on sale until July 9th---don't miss your chance to get the game at a great discount!

[ 2019-06-25 20:34:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Share Your Screenshots!

We'd love to see cool screenshots of your game play in Hypergate! Not sure how to post screenshots to the Hypergate Community Hub? It's easy! You can press F12 to take screenshots with Steam, and use the instructions here to post them. (Hypergate also has its own facilities for taking screenshots---just press the 'G' key, by default---but you can't upload them to the Community Hub this way.)

[ 2019-02-06 00:39:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Thank you again for all of your feedback, everyone! We've made several improvements to Hypergate in this latest Support Update.

Support for UTF-8 Usernames

Some of you have fancy Steam personas with special characters! These previously could cause Hypergate to crash, but Hypergate now has UTF-8 support and should handle your fancy-pants usernames just fine now. (Note that loading the new font files will increase Hypergate's start-up time by a few seconds.)

Improved Resolution Support

For those of you who like an extra-immersive experience, we've added support for the following monitor resolutions:

• 2560 x 1080 (21:9)
• 3440 x 1440 (43:18, Ultrawide QHD)
• 3840 x 1080 (32:9, Super Ultrawide)
• 3840 x 2160 (16:9, 4K Ultra HD)
• 5120 x 1440 (32:9, Super Ultrawide)
• 5120 x 2160 (21:9, Ultrawide 5K)

Note that since we don't have any monitors of these resolutions handy, they haven't been specifically tested on monitors of matching sizes. However, everything should work just fine. If you encounter any issues or feel that visual adjustments need to be made, please bring this up in the forums.

Improved Controller Layout Support

Layouts for the following controllers have been added:

• Wingman Attack (a handy single-yoke joystick)
• Logitech F710 Gamepad

Fixes to Fighter AI

In certain cases, AI-controlled fighters would venture off a little too far outside of the world. Fighters are now discouraged (but not strictly prevented) from targeting objects that approach the world bounds. Also, a bug has been fixed that prevented friendly fighters from performing obstacle avoidance (and subsequently crashing into dead cruisers) at the conclusion of a mission.

Other Fixes

Some optimizations have been applied to game assets. Some lower-level facilities have been fixed to improve stability.

[ 2019-01-13 00:08:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're going to be interviewed live by Space Game Junkie on Tuesday the 15th, at 5pm Pacific! Want to hear more about Hypergate and its development story? Then you should tune in! More information about their podcasts (and this one) is available here.

[ 2019-01-08 21:16:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

We've released a small update for Hypergate intended to address some reported stability issues. It also includes some slight asset optimizations, and adjustments for some minor issues encountered in a couple of instant action locations. Expect further enhancements to your gameplay experience with Support Update #2, which is coming soon!

[ 2019-01-08 07:22:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

A big thank-you to our reviewers and Curators, who have provided valuable feedback! We've listened to you, and have added many of your suggested features. These include:

Mouse Support

Fly around using the mouse, and bind your favourite commands to various mouse buttons as you please. You'll need to select the "Enable mouse piloting" checkbox in the Controls Menu to fly with the mouse.

Free-roll Flight

The NIA has learned how to manufacture spaceships that can roll! It's been a struggle, but they figured it out. You'll need to select the "Enable free roll" checkbox in the Controls Menu to turn on rolling, and this will also turn off the auto-leveling feature.

More Dynamic Cockpit

The in-cockpit joystick now moves with your inputs, the windshield cracks when you take too much damage, and you can even activate windshield wipers (we're serious). Have fun!

Improved Controller Support

Apparently the XBox Controller is not the only controller in existence, so we've added explicit support for the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, and created a recommended Steam Controller configuration for those that prefer the Steam Controller. We've also added the ability to easily switch between different default controller layouts from the Controls Menu. Just click "Set controller layout" when a controller is connected, and you can select the one you prefer. More layouts will be made available in the future. If you have a specific layout request, please let us know in the forums! We'll add more explicit support for other controllers as soon as we get our grubby mitts on them! (But any controller will still work, so don't worry!) Note: You may need to adjust your Steam Input Per-Game Setting for Hypergate if your non-Steam controller is not recognized.

Other Effects and Fixes

Bug fixes! Additional effects! We know how to have a good time. This includes fixes for the keyboard inversion bug (probably) and the audio memory crash (hopefully).

About Future Updates

There will be 3 different flavours of updates. The first is called a "Support Update" (like this one). These will contain bug fixes, minor enhancements to existing features, or other gameplay-related fixes. These will be released with a frequency proportional to that of customer requests (or bug reports...sigh). The second type of update is a "Content Update". These will contain major gameplay-related additions, such as new ships to fly, new equipment to purchase, and additional solo campaign missions. At least one Content Update is planned for approximately "late this year". The third is a "Hotfix Update". These will be issued on-the-fly to resolve urgent problems or game-breaking bugs. But those will never happen.

[ 2019-01-05 01:23:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hypergate is now available for download! We hope you enjoy it! (We sure do!)

[ 2018-12-21 05:30:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hypergate will be available on the 21st of December! We're getting ready...are you ready?

[ 2018-12-01 02:41:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

The official website for Hypergate is up! This includes a press kit, screenshots, and more. Check it out at hypergate.ca. Looking for regular updates and recent screenshots? Check out the Twitter page!

[ 2018-05-02 04:46:13 CET ] [ Original post ]