Greetings commanders!
Most of you probably know that I've spent the past 4+ years working on a follow-up to Starcom: Nexus, called Starcom: Unknown Space. It's not a direct sequel, but another chance to explore a new universe, with new enemies and allies, and a new story. (Maybe with some hidden connections to the Nexus story...?)
I'm excited to announce that it has just officially graduated to 1.0 release, coinciding with Steam's Space Exploration Fest with a 20% launch discount. And there's now a bundle with both games for an additional 10% off.
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/44628/Starcom_Universe_Bundle/
With over 230 different planet anomalies across over 150 star systems, Starcom: Unknown Space is larger and, according to most players' impressions, better than the original. It strives to preserve the core gameplay and exploration experience, while improving several core areas such as improved mission tracking, more characters, better ship design, and many quality of life improvements.
Some of the hundreds of anomalies in Starcom: Unknown Space
Thanks for supporting Starcom and indie games!
- Kevin
Greetings commanders!
As many of you know, the Starcom follow-up title "Unknown Space" has been in Early Access for the past 18 months. Neither a direct sequel nor a reboot, the game gives players a chance to explore a new universe, filled with new enemies and allies, discoveries and mysteries (and maybe some connections to the Nexus storyline...). It is now approaching 1.0 release and will have a price increase at the end of the current discount period.
With over 230 planet anomalies across over 150 star systems, Starcom: Unknown Space is larger and, according to most players' impressions, better than the original. It strives to preserve the core gameplay and exploration experience, while improving several core areas such as improved mission tracking, more characters, better ship design, and many quality of life improvements.
To celebrate the milestone, Starcom: Nexus is also getting its deepest discount to date for anyone who hasn't picked it up.
And thank all of you for playing Starcom and supporting indie space games!
- Kevin
It's been almost 3 years since Starcom: Nexus graduated from Early Access and I've spent most of that time working on the follow-up title. Based on player survey responses, I've kept the core gameplay close to the original, while at the same time trying to improve a number of features. While I'm immensely proud of Starcom: Nexus, there were a number of aspects that both players and I felt could be improved such as the appearance and layout of ship modules, improved mission tracking, autopilot etc.
The game is neither a direct sequel, nor a reboot. I won't say more for the benefit of players who want to avoid spoilers, but it again has you as a newly minted commander exploring an unfamiliar universe.
Many of you have already participated in the rounds of closed betas that have shaped the new title. If you haven't, there will still be at least one big round of tests before Starcom: Unknown Space drops out of warp into Early Access. Playtest invites are sent to random subscribers/survey respondents.
Significant changes from Starcom: Nexus:
- A new story with a new universe, characters, aliens and mysteries
- Completely revamped ship-building system featuring multi-hex modules and higher-quality models
- Faceless crew replaced with a command crew that progress in rank and skills
- Improved mission tracking system
- Numerous QoL improvements, like destination autopilot
- Improved VFX and UI
- Lots more!
Its been a little over two years since Starcom: Nexus graduated from Early Access. Shortly after graduation, I posted a survey to find out what players liked most, and what areas they felt could use improvements in a follow-up title (more about this in a bit). Since then, Ive received almost 1000 responses. Combined with the 1300+ player reviews on Steam, posts to the discussion forums and in-game feedback, I feel like I have a good idea what players loved about Starcom: Nexus (as well as the most common complaints).
Exploration
Players really loved the feeling that they were exploring a mysterious universe. The idea that through the next wormhole could be another race, artifact, or civilization that would give some surprising discovery or connection kept you pushing into the next star system or out into the void. When players recounted their favorite moments, it was often about an unexpected discovery. Like [spoiler]finding the mined derelict[/spoiler] or [spoiler]realizing that re-aligning an accelerator ring would send them to a hidden star system.[/spoiler]
Stories & Missions
Closely linked with exploration, players liked both the overall main story line, as well as the smaller sub-plots like The Phage. A common request was for greater connection between anomalies and stories. Most of the anomalies in Starcom: Nexus are simple stand-alone encounters, many players wanted more anomalies that fit into a longer stories/quests. There were a number of comments that the ending felt too abrupt. While players generally like the lack of hand-holding in the game, a common complaint was the mission log often didnt provide enough direction.
Shipbuilding
Most players loved the modular shipbuilding element that allowed for customizing both the look and behavior of their ship, although some players disliked the lego-brick appearance that resulted from mostly single-hex modules. A common suggestion was upgraded modules that were bigger and better, like more powerful engines that took up twice as many hexes.
Crew
Crew in Starcom: Nexus are mostly treated as a disposable resources (aka red shirts from Star Trek). Some responses wished that there was some more depth to the crew, possibly with character progression and/or a sense of attachment to specific crew members.
Other
There were a number of suggestions that appeared multiple times:
- Faction manipulation
- Base-building
- Procedural generation (with a number of requests for not adding procedural generation, specifically to keep the "bespoke" feel)
- Weapon options/variants
Whats Next?
After the last update, I considered starting work on a DLC. But after some investigation I decided that a number of the improvements and content I wanted to create couldnt easily be added to the game without a major overhaul. Instead I started working on a follow-up, tentatively titled Starcom: Unknown Space. The good news is that it's pretty far along and Ill be posting more about this project very soon. In the meantime if you want to keep updated, give suggestions or sign-up for closed betas, fill-out the survey form on our website. Finally, I want to thank all of the players who provided feedback and encouragement over the years and helped me make Starcom: Nexus the game I always wanted to play. -Kevin p.s. If youre interested in reading more about the development of Starcom: Nexus, I wrote up a lengthy post-mortem on the blog.
Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, I've considered what I want to do beyond state my support for Ukraine and condemn the terrible violence ordered by the Russian president. I've decided that any sales revenue that Steam identifies as being from the region (Russia, Ukraine, & CIS) will be donated to help the Ukrainian people. I'll apply this retroactively from the beginning of 2022. I've started with a donation to Mdecins Sans Frontires (Doctors Without Borders). As a small indie game, this is not a large amount of money. But I'd rather be doing something small now than waiting until I figure out the perfect thing.
Starcom: Nexus has now been fully translated into German and Russian!
Select your language from the language dropdown in the game's main menu to set your preference. The game has over 70,000 words of text in its conversations, anomalies, discoveries, etc., so there may be some errors. Please report any problems you find in the game's Steam discussion forum.
Note: the mission log records the events in whatever language you were in at the time, so if you change language mid-game you may find the log unable to display the text if in a different character set.
Version 1.0.10 is now live on the default branch. This is a relatively minor patch from a gameplay perspective, but a large amount of text has been moved into localization files in preparation for translation work. It's been tested in Beta by a couple dozen brave commanders, but there's always the possibility of bugs slipping through. As always, please report any issues on the Discussion Forums. Thanks for playing Starcom: Nexus!
Exactly one year ago today, Starcom: Nexus launched into Early Access. Thanks to the support, playtesting and feedback from the thousands of players to experience its evolution, the game is now ready for general release.
In that time, there have been many updates, new features, alien races, technologies, missions and player suggested improvements. The universe has grown from a few dozen sectors to a huge galaxy. There are now hundreds of unique planet encounters, spatial anomalies and artifacts.
To celebrate the full launch, the game is now 15% off, so for those of you patiently waiting for it to exit Early Access, now is a great time to grab it.
A huge thank you to everyone who has helped bring the game this far, particularly Early Access players who took a chance on it, and to new players, welcome!
Build 1.0.4 is live on the default branch. This is a minor quality-of-life update. Change list:
- Several new music tracks, changes to environmental music logic
- Increase visibility of "!" planet icons on map
- Map/game zoom speed options
- Experimental Polish localization
- Minor bug and typo fixes
For Steam users patiently waiting for Starcom: Nexus to graduate from Early Access, it's almost here. On December 12, after one year in Early Access, the game will enter full release.
The year anniversary is actually a coincidence, I originally planned for the very start of December but had to postpone a week due to non-development related scheduling issues.
Launching into full release does not mean that development will stop; it does mean that I believe the game has reached a state of full, quality playability. Also, to ensure that the full release is the best possible experience for new players, between now and then I will be focusing primarily on bug fixes and "quality of life" type issues.
For all current players, thank you so much for having the faith to support an indie Early Access title and the incredibly helpful feedback you've given!
Release Candidate 1.0.3 has been promoted to the default branch. If you've been playing 0.16, you can continue playing in that version by switching branches as described here.
Here are the major changes from 0.16 to 1.0.3:
- Quick save system: player can now save (almost) anywhere with F5
- Option to disable autosave on warp
- New sector environments, minor improvement to nebula performance
- Updates to various late game missions
- Additional missions
- New space artifacts
- New anomalies
- New reputation effects
- New achievement
- Improve mission log performance
- Procedural generation now detects and re-rolls invalid universe (e.g., missing min number of particular anomaly)
- Aggro due to friendly fire effects shortened, clamped per incident
- Fix to localization not appearing in dialogues
- Added baseline experimental Czech, Korean and Japanese translations
- Numerous bug fixes
Release Candidate 1.0.3, currently available as an opt-in Beta, will be promoted to the default branch next week. This version fixes a number of bugs, adds some minor quality of life improvements, adds several new anomalies and missions and provides a bit more direction for the player during the mid to late game. It does not mean the end of development, but it does mean barring any unforeseen issues that the game should graduate from Early Access into general release before the end of the year, as promised. Expect an announcement of the exact date soon. This is a save-incompatible release, but if you're in the middle of a game, don't worry-- as always you can continue playing by switching branches as described here.
Starcom: Nexus is closing in on graduating from Early Access into general release. It's been quite a journey so far. Since launch, the size of the game universe has more than doubled. We've added new races, new missions, new technologies and weapons, lots of new anomalies, controller support, and hundreds of improvements based on player feedback. While more content is still being added, the core gameplay is well-polished. I expect there to be at least one more Early Access update before the game graduates, but the game's price will be increasing from the Early Access price to its general release price after the current sale period ends. So this will probably be your last chance to get Starcom: Nexus at this price for the near future.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Early Access players who have supported the game by buying it, as well as helped shape the game with their feedback and suggestions. Without you, the game wouldn't have reached the quality and depth it has.
Thank you!
Version 0.16.1 is now live on the main, "default" branch.
If you have been playing 0.14 (the current default build) there are quite a few changes, particularly in the late game. This is the first version with an ending to the story line.
Non-spoilery list of changes since 0.14:
- End game scenario
- New technologies
- New anomalies, now totaling over 200 unique
- New space artifacts and discoveries
- New side missions/side-quests
- New alien races
- Improvements to mission log system
- Changes to early game/tutorial
- Havok more powerful, also targets asteroids and debris
- Changes to music tracks
- Objective indicators on map
- Improvements to controller support
- Players can now mod the stat modifiers from techs (See StarcomNexus_Data/StreamingAssets/Mods/readme.txt in your game install folder)
- Various minor gameplay adjustments
- Numerous bug fixes.
Update 0.16 is now available as an opt-in Beta.
Assuming no major problems, that version will become the default branch sometime next week.
To opt-in now, you just need to right-click on the game in your library, choose properties and go to the Betas tab. There is no password.
Click here to see detailed instructions.
If you are playing 0.14 (the current default build) there are quite a few changes, particularly in the late game. This is the first version with an ending to the story line.
Non-spoilery list of changes since 0.14:
- End game scenario
- New technologies
- New anomalies, now totaling over 200 unique
- New space artifacts and discoveries
- New side missions/side-quests
- New alien races
- Improvements to mission log system
- Changes to early game/tutorial
- Havok more powerful, also targets asteroids and debris
- Changes to music tracks
- Objective indicators on map
- Improvements to controller support
- Players can now mod the stat modifiers from techs (See StarcomNexus_Data/StreamingAssets/Mods/readme.txt in your game install folder)
- Various minor gameplay adjustments
- Numerous bug fixes.
Version 0.14 is now live on the main, "default" branch.
Here's a list of non-spoilery changes since 0.12.x (version 0.13 was an opt-in only branch):
- Drone launcher tech
- Warp hopper "shockwave" tech
- Faster deep space "cruise" speed, techs to boost
- More sectors
- More planet anomalies
- Map tooltips for planets, stars and artifacts
- Ship speed in HUD
- Changes to storm nebula
- Corrected armor module values
- Additional late game missions, content
- Deep space discoveries
- Improved mission log filter UI
- Changed tech drop unlocks to make "bad rolls" less likely to keep players from acquiring a tech
- More enemy ships
- New threat model (used to calculate random encounters)
- New alien race
- New music tracks
- Some fully procedural star systems
- Load game screen shows thumbnail of last anomaly surveyed, to help identify save points
- Added ability to delete saves from load game screen
- Fixes to visibility system (determining who can see what)
- Improvements to controller support
- Option to disable controller auto-detect
- Loading screen tips
- Misc balance changes, tech costs
- Misc bug fixes
Starcom: Nexus has now been updated to 0.12.4 on the main, "default" branch.
The previous default was 0.10.3, so if that's the last one you played, there are quite a few changes. Here is the spoiler-free list of the major ones if you missed last weekend's update.
- Universe is now generated with a hybrid procedural/designed system. Some sectors are procedurally generated, some are designed, some are a combination.
- Bigger universe. There are now close to 100 star systems with over 300 planets, over half of which have some kind of anomaly or discovery.
- 130+ unique planetary anomalies/scan discoveries.
- New alien races.
- New technologies.
- New weapons.
- New missions/side-quests.
- New achievements.
- Updated trade system.
- Experimental difficulty settings.
- Improved controller support.
- Players can now leave notes on the map by right-clicking.
- Improvements to the mission log including search function.
- Updates to localization.
- Various balances changes.
- Misc. bug fixes.
Update 0.12 is now available as an opt-in Beta.
Assuming no major problems, that version will become the default branch next week.
To opt-in now, you just need to right-click on the game in your library, choose properties and go to the Betas tab. There is no password.
Click here to see detailed instructions.
If you're playing 0.10.3 (the current default build) there are quite a few changes. Non-spoiler list of the major changes since 0.10.3:
- Universe is now generated with a hybrid procedural/designed system. Some sectors are procedurally generated, some are designed, some are a combination.
- Bigger universe. There are now close to 100 star systems with over 300 planets, over half of which have some kind of anomaly or discovery.
- 130+ unique planetary anomalies/scan discoveries.
- New technologies.
- New weapons.
- New missions/side-quests.
- New achievements.
- Updated trade system.
- Experimental difficulty settings.
- Improved controller support.
- Players can now leave notes on the map by right-clicking.
- Improvements to the mission log including search function.
- Updates to localization.
- Various balances changes.
- Misc. bug fixes.
Greetings Commanders, The game has been updated to 0.10.3 on the main branch. Save games are not compatible with content updates, but if you were in the middle of a game, don't panic. Your save game is still there and can be accessed by rolling back your client. See here for instructions. Spoiler-free summary of new features in 0.10.x:
- New content: sectors, anomalies, new races, etc.
- Dynamic announcements (don't require client update)
- Various mission changes
- New random encounter system
- Changes to drop generation
- Coordinates and distance of cursor on map
- Soften shield "hit" sound
- Nexus gateway fades to black instead of white
- Player engines get a performance boost in deep space
- Numerous balance changes to techs
- Players able to build locked blueprints fixed
- Save games use ship name
- Save game pruning
- Lots of misc bug fixes, quality of life improvements
- Valve has approved the submitted trading cards which are now available. The card images are high-res renderings of some of my favorite anomaly images.
- Cloud-save has been enabled.
As I posted in the latest Weekly Update, Beta 0.10.x is available for players who want to try it out. For now, this is an "opt-in" Beta. Assuming no major problems, that version will become the default branch in a little over a week. To opt-in, you just need to right-click on the game in your library, choose properties and go to the Betas tab. There is no password. Click here to see detailed instructions. Here's what's new:
- More sectors, anomalies and discoveries
- Two new races
- Updates to the random ship encounter system
- Changes to drops
- Misc. balance changes
- Mission objective highlighting in HUD more conspicuous
- Map shows cursor coordinates and astral unit distance
- Save games use ship name in save name
- Save game auto-pruning
- Updates to the experimental localization system
- Misc. quality of life and bug fixes
I've just pushed 0.9.4 to the default branch. This primarily is just a fix for the issue with some joysticks/controllers wrestling control away from the keyboard/mouse. If anyone encounters an issue with this build, please let me know!
Today's the day! I'm really excited, and a bit nervous. After two years of development and five rounds of closed betas, Starcom: Nexus is finally available on Steam Early Access. https://store.steampowered.com/app/863590/Starcom_Nexus/ The feedback from beta testers has helped make each version better than the last. Here are some of the anonymous feedback comments submitted by testers: "Hi developers!, I tried to find something wrong with this game but I must say that I failed. I totally love it!" "Hey everyone, I LOVE this game, great job!" "So, I was just going to have a look, and now the night is over and I am through the game[...Spoilers removed...] This probably is the worst beta test feedback you ever got, since a beta test is all about bugs normally, but seriously, this pre-early access-beta runs better than a lot of released games by larger developing teams. Thank you for letting me participate and getting a first impression of Starcom: Nexus." Of course, this is far from the end of the road. I expect the game to spend at least another six months in Early Access, probably more. I hope you will help me make Starcom: Nexus one of the best single player space adventures ever. How can you give feedback? There are lots of ways for you to give feedback or ask questions about the game:
- You can give feedback in game at any time by pressing 'F8'. This is anonymous, so if you have a question, I suggest using one of the other channels.
- Joining our Discord: https://discord.gg/uddMTC5
- Posting to the Steam Discussion hub: https://steamcommunity.com/app/863590/discussions/
The next closed Beta will hopefully start later this week.
Quite a bit of new stuff in this Beta:
- New sectors, anomalies and side quests
- New discoveries
- New technologies
- Beam weapons
- Shields
- New alien race
- New station personnel dialogues
- Stars now do damage to ships coming close
- Minefields
- Ringed planets
- Gateway transitions are now constant time
- Custom ship blueprints
- Mission log improvements
- Comet discoveries
- Changed fighter flight patterns
- Lots of bug fixes, minor tweaks, balance changes
- With a Steam Beta Key. These keys will expire when the game enters Early Access.
- As a download. The download doesn't expire (but also doesn't automatically update).
Round 3 of the closed Betas has gone really well. Starcom:Nexus is still on track for Early Access release later this quarter. If you didn't get a Beta 3 invite, there will still be at least one more round. But we thought it'd be fun to do a SciFi Trivia give away for a few keys. This will happen on our Discord this coming Sunday, October 7th, at 8pm EST. Discord invite: https://discord.gg/uddMTC5 See you then!
A couple weeks ago the second closed Beta invite went out to a few dozen mailing list subscribers. If you didn't get one, there will definitely be at least one more round of closed betas before Early Access, probably more. If you'd like to be included on mailing updates and potentially be included in future betas, you can sign up on the website. The next round of closed betas will start in about two weeks: http://www.starcomnexus.com/closed-beta-mailing-list-sign-up/ Based on tester's feedback, I feel confident that the game will enter Early Access before the end of the year. While there are some bugs and quality of life feature requests (it is a Beta), most players reported really enjoying the experience. The data suggests they weren't just being polite: almost 90% of the playtesters who installed the game played for at least an hour and almost 90% of those played nearly all of the main story content currently available (roughly 3 hours as of that build). In other news:
- The game now has a Discord channel where you'll find me most days: https://discord.gg/ezFPXcW
- First pre-release curator review from Space Game Junkie: If you love space exploration akin to Starflight or The Long Journey Home, but without the tedious rover stuff, you'll LOVE Starcom: Nexus. It's fantastic with exploration, discovery and its writing. Given how much I loved Starflight, that made me really happy.
Just finished testing what is hopefully the Closed Beta Round 2 build. There are still some bugs (it is a pre-Early Access Beta) but hopefully nothing game breaking. Invites to Beta test will go out later this week to random members of the mailing list, so if that sounds like something you'd like, sign-up here: http://www.starcomnexus.com/closed-beta-mailing-list-sign-up/ Beta testers will be able to access the game either:
- With a Steam Beta Key. These keys will expire when the game enters Early Access.
- As a download. The download doesn't expire (but also doesn't automatically update).
Starcom: Nexus
Wx3 Labs
Wx3 Labs
2019-12-12
Indie RPG Adventure Singleplayer
Game News Posts 26
🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
🕹️ Partial Controller Support
Very Positive
(1814 reviews)
http://www.starcomnexus.com
https://store.steampowered.com/app/863590
Starcom: Nexus Linux Depot [1.63 G]
Explore the beautiful and mysterious open-world of Starcom: Nexus. It's a universe where you'll battle or befriend strange alien races, discover ancient artifacts, research powerful technologies and build your ultimate starship.
Features:
- Fully open-world universe with numerous quests and storylines
- Hundreds of unique planet anomalies, space discoveries, artifacts and more!
- Fast-paced, exciting combat with numerous hostile factions
- Over 150 technologies to research
- Design your own ship using a modular construction system
- Talk and trade with multiple alien factions, each with their own agendas and dynamic AI
- Lots of hidden secrets and side quests
- Quick save anywhere
- Much, much more!
- OS: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS or SteamOS
- Processor: Intel Core i5 2.2 GHz+Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: 2GB OpenGL 3 Capable video card or better
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- OS: 4
- Processor: Intel Dual CoreMemory: 400 MB RAM
- Memory: 400 MB RAM
- Graphics: /
- Storage: 102 MB available space
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