Happy May!

EarthX went through two years of active development, during which we released exciting updates that generated a lot of hype among our community. As the game evolved, I started producing trailers for each update, which proved to be a time-consuming and energy-draining task. Today, I would like to highlight all the major updates and some of the best trailers - I hope you enjoy them! Before we start, I'd like to remind you that there is a final trailer available for you to watch and share. A lot of work has gone into it and I am very proud of it. Tell me what you think! [previewyoutube=kGIZqRpQm-M;full][/previewyoutube]

0.0.55 - 0.1.15

Back in 2019, on New Year's Eve, I was home sick from high school with nothing to do. So, I opened up Unity and decided to make a simple animation of a rocket launch to post on social media. To my surprise, it got about 500 likes and tons of positive feedback, even though it wasn't that great. That's when I was motivated to create a little demo game, just for fun, during my two-week break from school. Back then, EarthX looked like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWJ-38Eg06M

• 0.0.80 Changelog
• 0.1.15 Changelog

Quali Era (March - June 2019)

0.1.7 - 0.2.4

After the release of the 0.1.15 update, something exciting and unexpected happened that motivated me to continue working on EarthX. These updates were crucial to the overall development of the game, as I used them to learn proper game mechanics. Although most of the features I added during this time are now long gone, they were still significant, including contracts, rocket explosions, the simple building system, clouds and loans. This was also the time when Adrian started helping me with marketing, but I'll talk more about that in another post :D Back then, EarthX looked like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agJKldGZMqw

• 0.1.7 Changelog
• 0.1.8 Changelog
• 0.1.9 Changelog
• 0.2.0 Changelog
• 0.2.1 Changelog
• 0.2.2 Changelog
• 0.2.3 Changelog
• 0.2.4 Changelog

Van Era (July - September 2019)

0.2.5

In the 0.2.5 update, I mainly focused on bug fixing and creating a launch trailer (many thanks to Roman for his help! Check out his game - DevLife). I also added a Flat Earth mode where every rocket you launched would explode on the dome. While some players understood that it was a joke, others gave me negative reviews because their rockets kept exploding. So I removed it in a patch. As soon as I clicked the "Release in Early Access" button, I realised that the default game language was set to Polish. I quickly worked on a hotfix, and it was so stressful! Despite this mishap, I enjoyed the Early Access launch and got a much better response than I expected. It gave me even more motivation to keep working on the game. First real trailer of EarthX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0k0-Sz8hZo

• 0.2.5 Release Announcement

0.2.6 - 0.2.8

After releasing EarthX on Steam in Early Access, I faced many challenges. There were numerous bugs and limited content, and I felt immense pressure from reviews and videos on YouTube. I knew that the current graphics and UI wouldn't support expansion of the game, so I focused on overhauling the UI in the 0.2.6 update. From there, I wanted to improve the game's economy and research systems with the 0.2.7 update. However, I also wanted to address concerns that the game was boring, so I added AI and improved Earth's visuals. Although these updates were crucial to the future of EarthX, I admit that my execution was not perfect and my inexperience was evident. Back then, EarthX looked like this: https://youtu.be/3LzVIgdm-WY

• 0.2.6 Changelog
• 0.2.7 Changelog
• 0.2.8 Changelog

Golden Era (January - December 2020)

0.2.9 - 0.3.0

Two key factors have been instrumental in making EarthX the game it is today. The first was the fact that the team had a lot more time to work on the game in 2020 due to the pandemic, which allowed us to release several significant updates. The second was rykllan and SPATE. rykllan's contributions, including vehicle models, buildings and even CEO characters, were crucial to the development of the game, and her support in decision making was extremely valuable at the time. SPATE's spacey music for the trailers was also an important addition and helped build the community we have today. This allowed us to stay motivated and rework the game so that it actually made sense and was somewhat enjoyable. Trailer and Teaser, both using music by SPATE: https://youtu.be/DeKT6F0B-VY https://youtu.be/Ppy9Wfr1Gso BONUS: There is an unreleased version of this trailer. I loved the idea so much that I decided to scrap it at the time. I wasn't skilled enough to do it the way I wanted. But the idea came back for the final trailer! [previewyoutube=t7SGqbyQyzg;full][/previewyoutube]

• 0.2.9 Changelog
• 0.3.0 Changelog

0.3.1

The Mars update was highly anticipated. Players could now land on Mars, set up colonies and even terraform the planet! We also introduced new Mars buildings such as Hotels, Greenhouses, Resource Factories and Solar Panels. Terraforming Mars became the endgame goal of EarthX, and the update also included new ships, payloads and missions. I also added LinkLink, inspired by Starlink in real life. I was going to call it Earthlink or Netlink, but Tygoo, one of our community members, came up with the name LinkLink and we all loved it! It's fun, easy to remember and fits the vibe we were going for. Trailer and Teaser, both using music by SPATE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SyWpOoUuaw https://youtu.be/CcMjd4Mch_M

• 0.3.1 Part One Changelog
• 0.3.1 Part Two Changelog

0.3.2 - 0.3.2.5

The Boca Chica update overhauled research and added new prototyping mechanics, as well as droneships, an overhauled refurbishment system and vehicle finance data. The Dust update added new features such as Sandstorms, LinkLinks on Mars, Refuelling on Mars, new Mars buildings, and improvements to Static Fire, Milestones, game end screen, multi-window camera system, and Mars Nuke improvements. Trailer and Teaser, both using music by SPATE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zunpc4mEs5w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnA17pFXDn0

• 0.3.2 Changelog
• 0.3.2.5 Changelog

The End (January - November 2021)

0.3.3 - 0.9.0

The Kalm update brought long-awaited improvements such as an improved contract system, automation and the addition of managers. Launchpads were revamped, allowing players to build their own, and new rocket models and recognisable missions were added. The Moon Update was the final content update before the full release of the game, introducing the ability to visit and build on the Moon, new spaceship and Mega Launchpad models, and a revamped special offer system. As EarthX approached the final stages of development, progress on the models slowed considerably due to rykllan's personal circumstances. I was lucky enough to have Lucas step in and help me finish the game with his good modelling skills. He created important models for the 0.9.0 update, as well as some for the 0.3.3 update. I am very grateful for his contributions. Trailer and Teaser, both using music by SPATE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGIZqRpQm-M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fqpulQpnR0

• 0.3.3 Changelog
• 0.9.0 Changelog

Unfortunately, I had to stop working on EarthX after the 0.9.0 update due to personal reasons. I was so close to releasing the full version of the game in August last year, but some unexpected events came up that required my attention. One last thing - 2 years ago I made a music video showing all the progress of EarthX from the very beginning to the 0.3.2 update. It's a very interesting watch IMO! [previewyoutube=w104je1AxYQ;full][/previewyoutube] We would like to thank each and every one of you who supported us during the Early Access period. It was truly an unforgettable experience, all the updates and stories. <3 Stay tuned for another article next week! Denis & EarthX Team

[ 2023-05-15 09:58:30 CET ] [ Original post ]