Hi I wanted to tell you about many big changes that are coming to the game in its last patches before launch and how this basically changes it into a new experience. Let's go in detail:

Star Cluster Map:

In order to ditch the current linear campaign, I'm making a sort of sandbox "galaxy" map where you can choose the star systems you want to visit.
As you can see in the GIF, the interface will show you information of the neighbouring star systems like their wealth and danger, in this way you can choose the star you want to visit and map safer or riskier paths according to your current strength. This major change also allows me to add another new feature: faction reputation. The idea is that you'll gain or lose reputation with some factions depending of the missions and actions you take and this can affect stuff like market prices, mission rewards and even trigger some hostile encounters in the star systems that belong to those factions. Of course, the star systems layout and stats are procedural, which means the Star Cluster Map varies from playthrough to playthrough.

New Main Story Campaign:

I've been busy preparing a new main story campaign with bosses, lore and a lot of new dialogue.
This campaign is presented as story missions that will unlock in the Star Cluster Map so you'll be free to play them at your own pace. The final objective remains the same: find and capture The Omen but now you'll have to talk and fight to many characters, including some powerful crews that want to reach the ship first. This campaign is something I've been planning for a while not only as a way of making the game more interesting and add more content but also to deliver some of the lore of the game in an organic way. Hopefully you'll enjoy the worldbuilding, story (and twists) I'm preparing.

New Maps:

Of course, I'm always adding new content and in particular I'm preparing new encounters for some of the planets. In the GIF you can see a new map type for populated planets: an "Urban Spaceport", basically a raid mission where you'll fight in a series of interconnected rooftops against the local security forces while a megacity acts as a background. I'm also working in other minor encounters like this space minefield:
I'm planning other new maps (and enemies) but I'll have more news of that later. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These upcoming patches are BIG and so in depth that I wanted to warn you that current saves will become "deprecated" once they are out, ideally you'll start a new game to experience all the new changes but I'm also adding an internal converter just in case, in this way if you have an old save when you load it, it will warn you but it will recover stuff like your soldiers, inventory, money and ship parts so you can play with them in the new campaign. That's it for now, see you in the next patch! Regards, Jorge

[ 2024-09-10 01:50:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi In this patch I added achievements, a new map and some changes. Let's go in detail:

New Map:

Added a new volcanic map where you need to hunt a rare Crimson Xenobeast. Be wary that the planet is infested so expect constant xenobeast reinforcements.

New Xenobeasts:

I wanted to add more variety to the xenobeast enemies so I added new variants: - Armored Xenobeast: this one is slower than the warriors but stronger and with 1 extra armor point. - Ghost Xenobeast: this one is faster and weaker than warriors. It has no Regeneration ability but compensates by having a "Cloak" ability that makes it invisible. Just like the Cloaking done by the assassins, this status ends when the unit makes an attack, receives damage or gets targeted by a Threat Detector or similar ability. - Crimson Xenobeast: this one only appears in the new map. It's evolved to survive in a volcanic world so expect your soldiers to get burned if they get hit or if they are too close when it dies.
NOTE: I also reskined the other xenobeasts to be green, I did this because these monsters are store assets and they've been appearing in many other games so I wanted to modify them to make them more unique.

Achievements:

I might add more later but for now this patch adds 13 achievements.

Fixes and Improvements:

• Added an option to stop corpses from disappearing after a few seconds (Options Panel -> Game tab).
• Added a status icon for when soldiers are carrying loot.
• Added a merciful option when dealing with the Stowaway Random Event.
• Fixed a bug where sometimes some cells would stay blocked when enemies get revealed and they move.
• Fixed a minor issue where selling all valuables would make multiple items of the same type to appear as a single item in the vendor.
• Fixed a bug where burned effects in some enemies would have a wrong rotation.
• Fixed some unreliable highlights when targeting enemies with an Area of Effect skill.
• Fixed a bug where you wouldn't get a friendly fire warning when pointing directly at a friendly.
• Fixed some audio issues where sometimes music would act as a sound effect and lose volume when moving away from its source.
• Fixed some minor issues where a unit or enemy can't get highlighted if its using a shield.
• Fixed an issue where an explosion could affect units that are in a high or low cell despite having enough distance from origin of explosion.
• Fixed plasma explosions showing a bigger range than they really have.
• Other minor fixes and changes (some internal too).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's it for now, I already started working in the biggest patch of all: the new Sandbox Campaign but since it's so big I might keep releasing some minor patches in the meantime to avoid long periods of apparent inactivity. See you in the next patch! Regards, Jorge

[ 2024-05-24 05:45:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

In this patch I add 2 new maps and a few fixes and changes:

New Maps:

Added a new snow planet mission where you can raid a CDF outpost. Be wary that CDF soldiers are tougher than your regular security guards.
Added a new jungle planet mission where you can kill a Krell'Sha Warchief for a bounty.
Both new missions have reinforcements and tough enemies so be careful.

Fixes and Changes:

• Changed the way objectives are shown during raid missions. Now it will show how many loot containers are needed to fulfill the mission and how many are in the map. It will also update if loot containers are destroyed and highlight the Retreat button when you reach a minimum of containers.
• Fixed a bug that would cause sometimes enemy waves freezing in the arena.
• Fixed walls blocking pathfinding only partially in the Infested Pirate Ship mission (also changed how xenobeasts patrol there).
• Fixed a minor issue where evacuating a soldier doesn't end turn automatically.
• Fixed a bug that made rockets stop asking for confirmation when friendly fire is possible.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was planning to release these new maps in a patch alongside achievements and other new maps but there were a couple of critical bugs reported that I wanted to fix ASAP so I decided to make a small patch with the maps that were ready. Achievements and extra maps will have to wait until the next patch but it shouldn't take too long, I'm already halfway there. Once that content is done I think I'll start working in the big sandbox patch. That's it for now. See you in the next patch or dev diary. Regards, Jorge

[ 2024-03-19 04:36:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

For this week I have more fixes but also new skills for Human and Void Spawn Mercenaries:

• Added new skill to Void Spawn: Suppressive Fire. Replaces Covering Fire for a barrage with a medium sized area of effect and manual aiming. Any targets inside the area will receive guaranteed minimum weapon damage and the "Suppressed" status effect. It also can destroy weak cover.
• Added new skill to Human Mercenaries: Spray And Pray. Replaces covering Fire for a small area of effect with manual aiming. Any targets inside the area receive guaranteed minimum damage. Barrage can also destroy weak cover.
• Added more voice lines when moving your soldiers (especially for the female ones).
• Fixed a bug where using the Vortex spell would only work in empty cells, now it can also directly target cells with obstacles or enemies in them.
• Added a "Forbidden" red cursor that will replace the AoE bubble (or skill cursor) when you are doing manual targeting beyond the action's range.
• Added more information to the Unit Info Panel (F1): special skills like retaliation, dodge overwatch and Death's Door chance will appear there now.
• Fixed a bug where special Ammo wouldn't appear in the Unit Info Panel (F1).
• Added QuickShot skill (Pistol shot with no AP cost) to the Techno Sorcerer class.
• Fixed a bug where an internal exception would stop some spells like Vortex and Void Detonation from triggering correctly.
• Fixed a bug where an enemy unit could get selected like a player's unit when its patrol is revealed and it makes a special skill (example: a Void Witch performing Block on reveal could trigger this).
• Now killing the last visible enemy will stop the combat music and go back to exploration music (at least until a new enemy patrol is revealed).
• Configured a few extra props to be destructible cover.
• Added a few validations on overwatch to (hopefully) fix a rare issue with overwatch causing a freeze.
• Made some minor balance changes: reduced height bonus a bit, reduced FFP bonus also a bit, changed level requirements for a few skills.

NOTE: if you load an older game where you have a human mercenary that had the Covering Fire skill, you should still be able to use the skill but replaced by the new Suppressive Fire skill. It should work the same but look a bit odd because it uses animations of the Void Spawn/Heavy Weapons. See you soon with another patch or Dev Diary. Regards, Jorge

[ 2024-02-20 23:30:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

A few fixes for this week's patch:

• Fixed a bug where a soldier would get deselected after certain actions like reload.
• Fixed a bug where a soldier sometimes wouldn't be able to move after certain actions (usually Cloaking).
• Fixed a bug when opening the new Hangar UI that would keep the panel opened and unable to close.
• Fixed rockets not doing damage to destructible props.
• Fixed a bug where dron's projectiles would shoot from a different place instead of its gun.
• Configured more half cover props to be destructibles (small canisters and boxes).
• Fixed an issue where a soldier firing a rocket from an alien tower would slide vertically.
• Fixed station music not stopping after undocking.
• Fixed a small animation jitter when customizing techno sorcerers.
• Fixed an issue where drone corpses would fall through the ground.
• Fixed a pathing bug where sometimes enemy patrols wouldn't patrol or react to explosion noise.
• Fixed a bug where patrols wouldn't be alerted when one of their members dies in a single shot.
• Fixed a few corner walls from not blocking the right cells in the grid.
• Fixed an issue where the camera would focus a wrong point when a pod is landing in a scenario.
• Now panels in the new station UI can be closed by pressing Escape.
• Fixed an issue where the last boss sometimes fails to execute its vortex spell.

EDIT: I uploaded a new small patch today that fixes a critical bug where some Krell'Sha enemies freeze (since it's only a single fix I didn't post a new article). Regards, Jorge

[ 2024-02-14 05:30:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi, This patch replaces the old station menus for 3D environments with NPCs. It also adds new missions in new environments, new enemies and fixes. Let's go in detail:

Space Station Overhaul:

As I mentioned in a previous dev diary, the Space Station overhaul adds a new interface where you can see rooms of the station you are visiting and interact with NPCs instead of the old menus with placeholder portraits. The basic functions remain the same but with some new mechanics.
Now you can see the recruits available in a station alongside their loadout and traits (in order to see the recruits you need to talk to the "Mercenary Agent" NPC that you'll find in a Bar):
In the "Command Center" section of a station you'll be able to talk to a NPC that will show you the missions available there. I added a few extra and some of these new missions can be started directly from this menu instead of leaving the station to find them:
In the Medbay section you can heal your soldiers like before but now you can also cure injuries and diseases, these are new negative traits that some soldiers can get during combat or random events (for example, a soldier that survives a deadly attack with the help of "Death's Door" will automatically receive an injury that will reduce their accuracy or movement):

New Missions and Content:

These new missions are accessible through the MIssions board in space stations (Cmd. Center) and include some new environments and enemies to add more variety to the game: - Void Temple: clear this place of void cultists to safeguard the people fo this system.
- Arena: fight waves of enemy pirates in a station arena to get a cash prize.
- Crisis in a Station Lab: clear the station lab of rogue androids.
Besides new missions I also added several new enemies and some of them have a chance to deploy by a landing pod in some existing planetary missions.
The new enemies added are:

• Rogue Workbot.
• CDF Trooper
• CDF Combat Android
• CDF Combat Medic
• Pirate Hunter
• Alien Bounty Hunter
• Alien Pirate Hunter
• Void Cultist (replaces previous Void Cultist from last battle).
• Void Witch.
• Tamed Xenobeast Worker.
• Enemy Raider.
• Enemy Mercenary.
• Enemy Techno Sorcerer.
• Enemy Assassin.

Also the old version of Void Cultist becomes Void Trooper, with a normal version for regular missions and a veteran version for the last battle. Same goes for Void Warriors. Besides this new content I also added a new random event "Soldiers resting".

Fixes and minor improvements:

• Fixed a bug where some enemies (like xenobeasts) could get stuck performing an animation after dead.
• Fixed a critical bug where some soldiers could end up with the same internal ID (which prevents them from getting properly leveled up). NOTE: if you have this issue in an old save you can fix it now just by reloading the save.
• Blocked a few out-of-bounds areas in some maps that were accessible by mistake.
• Added some missing voices to a few enemies (like the Necro Trooper).
• Fixed a bug where the aiming gets interrupted for a soldier if the previous selected soldier was still reloading.
• Fixed a bug where some causes of death weren't properly recorded in the Memorial.
• Fixed an ocassional camera jitter when the player's ship is intercepted by an hostile ship.
• Added some missing cover spots (wall corners) to a few maps (including the last battle).
• Updated the Fog of War third-party shader to the latest version in order to fix some possible graphical issues during combat.
• Fixed and smoothed a few animation/IK errors when switching from a melee weapon to a ranged one during aiming.
• Added a progress bar to the Loading File panel and made a few small visual changes to it.
• Added a 30 second limit to enemy turns in case there's a freeze (of course, I'm still looking to fix this last freeze bug, this is just for the moment).
• Camera now focus on a soldier if it's launching a rocket.
• Fixed a bug where acid spit from a xenobeast doesn't pass the corroded status effect, also increased its chances to miss a target.
• Fixed a bug where the camera stops following an enemy if it uses a power or rocket.
• Other minor and internal fixes.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are still here, thanks for reading and for supporting the project. Now I plan to focus for a few weeks in small patches with fixes and minor improvements before jumping to the last major patches which include stuff that I've been promising for a long time like dynamic rivals and the new non-linear map/sandbox campaign. Hopefully once these major features and content are done I'll have also enough fixes to consider the game stable enough to leave Early Access. Until then, I'll keep working and listening to your feedback. See you in the next patch or Dev Diary! Regards, Jorge

[ 2024-02-11 06:03:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi I'm hard at work making the next big content patch so I wanted to inform you of what's coming.
The main idea behind this long promised "space station overhaul" is to replace the current space station user interface with small 3D environments and NPCs but not just a cosmetic change, in this way the stations can be different depending of the type of system you are visiting, for example: a pirate lair not only should look differently from a corporate space station but both should offer different services and missions.

New Maps and Missions:

Speaking of missions, I'm working in a new arena map where you'll be able to fight hostile pirates and alien creatures for money and reputation.
With the overhaul, some missions like this one can be taken without leaving the station. The arena is almost ready but I'm also working in other environment assets like space station/pirate lair interiors. Adding to that I'm working in new enemies to populate these new maps: cultists, pirates, alien fauna and others.

New Services and NPCs:

With the idea of making stations more interesting, I'm also adding new services to some of them. For example, you could "install" traits in advanced medbays, not just use them to heal your soldiers. In that sense I might add negative traits that can be removed with money (example: injuries or disease catched during combat).
Sections like bars, mercenary guilds, etc. will feature some NPCs that give me flexibility to add more station interactions like recruiting, receiving information, missions, lore, etc. Later when the sandbox mode replaces the current campaign, stuff like NPC interactions could prove useful to know about neighbouring systems that you can visit, play with faction reputation (another future feature that might replace infamy) or even to unlock hidden encounters. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can see, this is still work in progress but it opens a lot of possibilities for new content and interactions. Thanks for reading and see you in the next update! Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-11-14 23:11:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi This patch has some minor features and content that I'm releasing while I work in a bigger patch. Let's go in detail:

• Added explosive barrels to several maps. These barrels can only be targeted if there's enemies close to them.

• Added new enemy: Corporate Mercenary. This is a foot soldier equipped with an auto-shotgun and capable of retaliating against ranged attacks.

• Modified list of target icons to show explosive barrels and yellow icons when a target has more than 50% chances of receiving critical damage. Target icons also show a tooltip with the hit chance now.
• Raised level cap to 12.
• Improved Scav Ship map, made it bigger and with more starting points.
• Improved Infested Pirate Ship map, made it bigger and with more starting points and egg traps.
• Improved Krell'Sha ship map, changed textures, added new Krell'Sha decorations and props, made it bigger with more starting points.
• Improved Cargo ship map, changed textures, made it bigger with more starting points.
• Improved Rogue Robots Lab map, changed textures, made it bigger with more starting points.
• Improved XenoLab map, changed textures, made it bigger and with more starting points.
• Made that detection skills and items can decloak invisible enemies (there's no enemies able to cloak in this build but there will be in the future, that's why I made this change).
• Fixed a bug where armed civilians couldn't use their nano medkits on their allies.
• Other minor fixes and improvements.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These are just the changes I could release right now, I've been working in new enemies and maps and a long promised overhaul of the space station mechanics too. I'll have a dev diary soon detailing what I'm doing and what can you expect in the next patch. In the meantime, thanks for your continued support! Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-10-18 04:53:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi For this patch I have several new skills for the soldiers (and changes to some existing ones), some major fixes to combat using height and even changes to some existing maps to take advantage of these fixes. Let's go in detail:

New Skills:

- Cloaking: with this skill, an Assassin can become invisible to enemies for a few turns or until they shoot a target or receives damage.
- Retaliation: this passive skill allows a Human Mercenary to respond with fire if they receive normal ranged fire (and there's ammo available).
- Dodge Overwatch: this skill makes any Raider (human or Krell'Sha) immune to overwatch fire. - Melee Blocking : this skill makes any Raider (human or Krell'Sha) able to block melee attacks that come from the front. The blocking skill do not work against critical hits or flanking attacks. - Charge: this passive skills adds a critical chance bonus per every cell moved when executing a melee attack (applies only to Raiders). - Quick Shot: this skill allows an Assassin to take a sidearm shot without expending action points. It does have a minor hit and crit chance debuff though. - Final Firing Position is now passive: this Assassin skill now activates automatically at the start of the turn if the Assassin is in cover. NOTE: some of the skills have made some classes way more powerful than others but I plan to keep adding more skills to the rest too. Also if some of them are too overpowered (like the Assassin skills) I might tweak their requirements or conditions in a future patch.

Map Changes:

- Modified "Snowed Infested Settlement" with towers and a landing pad. I also added "XenoEgg Traps", these are egg clusters that react to close soldiers and spawn larvas (some of them can be inactive, this is determined by a random chance that increases with difficulty).
- Modified "Jungle Abandoned Outpost" map with new assets (now it's basically a small fort that uses more height in combat). I also added random starting positions to it and changed the skybox.
- Modified "Stranded Krell'Sha in Alien Planet" map with outpost assets. Now the mission is about Krell'Sha taking a Guild outpost and there's more random starting positions. - Modified "Desertic Settlement" map with guard towers and a landing pad. - Modified "Alien Diaspora Camp" map with some new observation towers. - Modified "Infested Pirate Ship" map by adding some XenoEgg traps. These are the ones I managed to modify in these last few days but I also plan to improve the rest to make them more interesting.

Minor content, changes and fixes:

- Added a few beards to the male human classes (they are in the "Lower Face Accessories" list). - Added minimum distance stats to some weapons. This means that weapons like sniper rifles have a penalty when aiming at close targets but a buff when aiming at distant targets (this in turn makes pistols more useful for Assassins). - Fixed an issue where the wrong weapon stats were used in the hit and crit chance formula (especially for melee weapons). - Changed the Health bonus per level to +1 every 3 levels. - Changed height bonuses to +5 hit and crit chance per meter. - Fixed an issue where the cover of a prop could overwrite the cover of another close prop. Now both cover values are combined. - Fixed an issue where the camera would make a "jump" trying to follow an enemy that's shooting after reloading. - Now loot containers can be opened by clicking them directly (as long as a soldier is next to it) instead of just using the action button. Also added sound and an extra visual effect to it. - Tweaked jump, vault and landing animations for bipeds when leaving a high platform. - Modified some jumping animations to use with xenobeasts when they are climbing a ladder. - Added new surprise/trap spawns mechanic (for now it only works with xenoegg traps but I plan to use this mechanics to add more surprise enemies like xenobeasts that jump from vents or from underground). - Added sound effect to bodies hitting the ground. - Fixed an issue where some projectiles would have a wrong rotation or be fired from a wrong position. - Changed the way the movement range outline is drawn so the cells in a high position are drawn correctly. - Fixed an issue where a melee attack could affect a target with a different height. - Changed the way the camera follows a unit making a melee attack, now it follows from normal height instead of shoulder height. - Fixed a rare issue where enemies would get stuck in their turn if they couldn't plot a path to their target when using melee attacks. Now if they have no possible path or alternative target, they will hunker down. - Fixed an issue where the image in the Loot panel in the Star Map could be empty. - Fixed a collider issue that made hard to click the holographic buttons in doors. - Other minor changes and internal fixes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading and following the project, if you want to support me further please consider leaving a review. My objective with all these patches (and the major ones I have planned) is to turn around this project even if it takes time and maybe reach more players. Hopefully hard work will pay off in the end (but if not, I plan to use what I learn with this project in future games, I have tons of ideas and I love turn based games). Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-09-22 04:40:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi, For this week I have a few extra bug fixes that couldn't wait until the next medium or big patch:

• Fixed dialogue screen still active if you load a new game or go back to the Main Menu before finishing a dialogue sequence.
• Fixed some internal errors that might cause occasional "freezes" during the enemy turn.
• Fixed a bug that stopped a Techno Sorcerer from getting experience points by using the Vortex spell.
• Fixed a minor camera bug in volcanic and hangar scenarios that made the camera make a small jump everytime you switch soldiers.
• Fixed a minor issue that allowed a soldier to get experience points from causing friendly fire.
• Other minor internal and configuration changes.

Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-09-05 02:11:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi For this week I have a few more fixes and minor changes to release while I work in a new content patch. Let's go over the changes in detail:

• Added a Pirate Hat to the customizable accessories of the Human Raider class.
• Added new texture options to some existing accessories.
• Added option to reduce or disable soldier voices.
• Fixed a bug where some soldier deaths wouldn't be properly registered in the Memorial.
• Fixed a bug where using Orbital Attacks too much would disable it for the rest of the mission.
• Fixed some belt items orientation during combat.
• Fixed a bug where a soldier action buttons would be available after using an Orbital Support action despite the soldier being deselected and causing an issue when pressing the buttons.
• Fixed some inaccessible cells in a bridge of the volcanic map.
• Now the Memorial screen should show the cause of death of a soldier.
• Added missing "Grenade!" voice file for female soldiers.
• Fixed a minor issue causing the star map cursor "beeping" even when the UI is covering the screen.
• Fixed lightmaps of Scav ship and Volcanic Planet scenarios so the maps are not that dark.
• Fixed an issue causing some spell animations for Techno Sorcerers looking bad or incomplete when in cover.
• Added missing wall cover points in alien ship scenario.
• Stopped number keys from triggering actions while the dialogue screen is active.
• Other minor polishing and fixes.

I also would like to mention that Void Marauders will be in next week's Steam Strategy Fest. That's it for now, see you in the next patch or dev diary. Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-08-25 00:19:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just a few bug fixes to finish a productive week: - Fixed a missing parameter preventing Ship Support from being used in the volcanic planet map. - Fixed incomplete dialogue text and options when encountering a populated and protected planet. - Fixed a serious bug where using heavy cannons and rocket launchers too much during a single mission makes rockets explode prematurely. - Fixed a bug where customizable accessories wouldn't disappear when evacuating a soldier. - Fixed a bug where some soldiers would get stuck in animation when reaching the retreat area. - Fixed some rifle aiming animations for security guards and Krell'Sha Raider. - Fixed cover animations of Techno Sorcerers not putting arms in the right position. Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-08-19 00:55:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi This patch took a considerable amount of time but I think it has been worth the wait since I'm adding a lot of customization options for all the human classes. Let's go in detail:

New Human Bodies:

In order to add customizable faces to the human classes I had to discard the old body models since those only had heads with helmets. The new bodies are more detailed and have the added benefit of having "blendshapes" that allow simple facial animation like blinking, frowning, smiling, etc. so the characters look a bit more alive.
COMPATIBILITY NOTE: You can still play with save files made before this patch but since the old soldier bodies are gone, once you load an old save file, all your soldiers will receive the new bodies and a randomized look (for face and body). This is necessary to keep compatibility and to avoid legacy soldiers without customization parameters looking like bald clones.

Face Customization:

While you can still make your soldiers wear helmets, if you decide to customize their faces then you have a lot of options like hair, skin and eye textures, face paint and even accessories like masks and visors.
You can also edit sliders for the shape of the face or the default facial expression of the character in case you really want to go deep in face customization. NOTE: there's also a "Randomize" button in case you want to see possible combinations instead of doing all this manually.

Body Accessories:

Every class has its own base armor but you can customize a lot not only by changing textures (like before) but also by adding and removing armor pieces like pauldrons, ammo pouches, bracers, etc.

Most of these accessories also have their own texture combinations.

Future Customization Content:

Since this patch was taking too long I had to leave some of the customization content for a future update. In specific, the expanded customization for the alien classes is missing (you can still use the basic customization for the Void Spawn and Krell'Sha soldiers) and beards for male characters are also something I owe you. Besides that, I made this system with the idea of being expanded easily so I can always add new accessories and textures, I have plenty of ideas for cool armor pieces that will help to make soldiers feel more unique.

What's Next?

Right now I will take a few days to update my trailer and screenshots since the game has changed a lot and I need to show these changes in the store page. After that I'll work in some small patches with a mix of content, fixes and new mechanics for a while. I would really like to add new skills and combat mechanics to the existing classes. I have a lot of ideas like invisibility for the assassins, improve and expand the melee combat and others. I also would like to go around my existing maps and improve them a bit. And then I'll need to decide what other big feature is next, probably the promised space station overhaul that will bring lots of exciting content like an arena or in-station missions and new mechanics. It's not the only big feature so if I decide to tackle something else I'll let you know. ----------------------------------------------------- Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-08-17 07:18:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi I just wanted to give you a quick update on the promised new customization features I'm adding to the game in the next patch.

New models:

In order to implement customization I needed to add new humanoid models for the game. Right now I have a new female raider model which I'm using to test different combinations of accessories, hair, helmets and textures for skin, eyes, armor and face paint. You can see one of my tests in this gif:
The idea is to do the same for the rest of the classes (at least the human ones) so the game will have male and female variants for raiders, mercenaries, assassins and techno sorcerers. Of course, you'll have a new UI panel where to edit all this, from simple accessories and textures, to hair, eyes and even some sliders to alter (slightly) faces.

Facial Expressions and Face Sliders:

Besides accessories and textures I'm also using "blendshapes" to modify faces a bit. Of course, since I'm a one man dev don't expect something as varied as what studios like Bioware and Bethesda can offer but it should still help with variety a lot. These blendshapes are also useful to implement facial expressions, as you can see in the gif below I'm testing for basic stuff like blinking, side-eyeing and even some facial expressions that should give more character to the soldiers. Adding to that they can be called during combat, in that way the soldiers won't have blank stares when they are injured or they are shooting a target.
NOTE: gifs reduce a lot of quality and framerate, the original expression transitions are smoother in-game.

Beta Patches:

One last thing: before I make the patch public I'll be testing these new features in a Beta branch, if you want to see the changes before most players (and help me catch any last minute issue *wink wink*) you are always welcome to join the open Beta branch, to opt-in you need to follow these instructions: - Go to Library and right click the game. - Click "Properties" in the menu. - In the Properties panel go to "Betas" tab. - In the "Enter beta access code..." field write the password PiratasDelVacio - If there's a beta patch available then it should start downloading. - If you want to leave the Beta branch just use the dropdown in the same window. Of course, since this is a Beta branch (and for an Early Access game), bugs could be more possible to find so it's up to you if you want to try it. If you do and find any issue please let me know in the forums. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyway, I still need to do this work for the rest of the classes so the next patch might take a while but it will be worthy in my opinion, I believe that extra customization options are not only fun to have but characters with proper faces instead of just helmets tend to feel more valuable to players (especially when they lose them tragically). I also think I've improved a lot in my 3D art since I started the game (but you'll be the judge of that) so better looking characters are always a plus. Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-06-18 03:32:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Here I am with a new content patch, this time I'm adding content for space combat like new enemies, weapons and some mechanic changes. I'm also adding a new "Death's Door" mechanic that gives a chance to every soldier to avoid death during combat (more info below).

New Content:

- Added new ship weapon: Plasma Beam Turrets. - Added new ship defense system: Point Defense Lasers.
- Added new enemy ships: Alien Gunship and Alien Beam Corvette. - New Space Combat Quest: hunt down Alien Flotilla.
- Added new non combat encounter: Space Anomaly. - Added new non combat encounter: Destroyed Ship.

Changes and Fixes:

- New "Death's Door" mechanic: every soldier starts with a 40% chance of avoiding death. This chance can be increased with some skills and traits, and after using it the soldier receives a debuff for the rest of the mission. - Now space combat gives loot without needing a Salvage Arm installed in the ship (Salvage Arm doubles the amount of loot given by space combat though). - Changed Blocking skill (from the Alien Warrior Monk) to only block frontal attacks that are NOT critical. - Modified slightly the way each soldier reveals the fog so small obstacles and cover don't block this (this could make easier to reveal some enemies in some scenarios). - Fixed several audio bugs where music was losing volume when moving the camera and some space combat sound effects were triggered too close to the camera (like explosions). - Fixed a bug where the Gear icon wouldn't be updated after switching to other soldier, making it look like more than one soldier had the same gear. - Fixed some internal bugs that were creating garbage in the logs. - Fixed Center on Player button (Home) not working in Star Map. - Modified "Health" skills to give more hitpoints and increase the Death's Door chance. - Now installing new weapons in the ship is validated so there's no repeated components or weapons that use the same slot (for example, a Beam turret can only replace the default turrets, it cannot be added as an extra weapon). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please feel free to share your feedback with me. I'm always listening, not only ideas and bugs but also comments about balance or just random opinions. See you in the next patch or dev diary! Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-05-31 05:15:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi I'm back with a new content patch. Like I mentioned in a previous dev diary, I'm adding a new enemy faction called the Alien Diaspora. These enemies come with their own missions and loot and because of this the campaign has been extended, it went from 7 star systems to 9.

New Enemies:

- Insectoid Outcast: a light soldier armed with a laser rifle. Abandoned by their hives they try to survive alongside other alien species. - Alien Hound: a quadruped creature used by alien soldiers as a hunter (and companion). Not a good boy. - Harvester: a "grey" alien, has a laser pistol and a basic personal shield. They also can summon a light shield for one of their allies. - Vattorian Guard: a member of a proud warrior race, armed with a laser gatling cannon. - Nekkaran Warrior Monk: elite religious warrior armed with a powerful laser staff. Able to summon a barrier that stops any ranged attack unless flanked. I also added a couple of new enemies to other factions: Alien Scavenger (similar to the Harvester) supports the scavs, and Armed Civilian (a low level fighter but with a medkit) accompanies the Security Forces.

New Encounters:

- Alien Ship: board an alien freighter to get valuable alien loot.

- Alien Encampment: visit an alien planet to plunder a big alien encampment.
- Spaceborne Creatures: (non combat) hunt a space-dwelling creature for rare loot.

New Loot and Equipment:

- New Laser Weapons: Pistol, Rifle and Gatling Cannon. Can only be acquired by looting alien diaspora targets. - Alien Supplies, Tech and Drugs: the Alien Diaspora are not harmless refugees, they are armed groups that control the trade of a valuable drug known as Xeno-Blast. - New Personal Shield MK2: this personal shield is stronger than the MK1 but also regenerates a point of shield every turn. - Combat Stims: made from refined Xeno-Blast, this injector grants 1 extra AP and movement for a turn. - Spaceborne creatures: valuable tissue, embryos and organs can be extracted from space-dwelling creatures if you don't mind the occasional hole in your hull.

Fixes, Minor Changes and QoL Improvements:

- Added visual hazard indicators for cells with fire or acid. - Fixed some visual effects (like muzzle flashes and some "spells") only being visible once during combat. - Fixed a bug where switching soldier too fast while a teleport is happening would teleport the wrong soldier. - Fixed a bug where Teleport can be interrupted by ordering movement too fast. - Changed pistol animations to use only right hand instead of both to avoid some issues. - Fixed a bug that stopped AI from using medkits properly. - Fixed a bug that allowed a melee attack to work from 2 cells of distance if there's no movement. - Reduced rotation and weird movement when enemies are taking cover and shooting. - Added proper patrolling/walking animation to Krell'Sha Shaman. - Improved slightly animation transitions between cover and running to reduce instances of soldiers "sliding". - Restored some voices for soldier movement, changed voice tone for Human Mercenary so it doesn't sound exactly like the Raider class. - Fixed some enemy voices when killed for some enemies (basically avoid using the same damage voices). - Changed all voices for Void Spawn. - Fixed a critical bug that stopped melee attacks from working properly when the soldier is in cover. - Added sound effect for Stomp ability. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hope you like the new content and improvements, I still have a lot of ideas in my task board so stay tuned for the next dev diary and patches. As always your feedback is welcome, even if I don't answer right away, I keep track of your ideas in my board so keep them coming! Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-05-12 21:19:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi I'm here with another dev diary, this time to share details about the content I'm making right now. This content is separated in short term (that is content that will be available in the next patch) and long term (content that will be worked on in parallel to future patches because it will take longer but at the same time it shouldn't lock me from working in other patches):

Short Term Content:

For the next patch I would like to extend the length of the campaign, for that I need a new type of star system to visit with its own encounters and its own enemies. Here's the "Alien Diaspora":
The Alien Diaspora is a collection of different alien species that were forcibily removed from their homeworlds (by many reasons) and now have banded together trying to survive. Their precarious situation makes them a perfect target for the Pirate's Guild but be wary because cornered animals will fight to the death (they also have new laser weapons, so there's that too). I'm also adding new combat mechanics like summoning/recharging shields, paralizing enemies and other special abilities that I intend to give to enemies and some player classes.

Long Term Content:

Many have mentioned they would like more customization for the game. At first I just planned to add more accessories and textures but in the spirit of improving the game and making the player feel more attached to their soldiers I decided to add new heads (male and female) for the human classes:
These new heads have a way to animate small expressions (the technical term is "blendshapes") and I can paint them and modify them a bit to have more than one type of face. Once I have the heads ready and combine them with hair models and colors, eye colors, face paint and tattoo textures (as shown in the screenshot) and even some face accessories like visors or implants I will finally have enough variety to feel comfortable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ That's it for now, I should have a meaty patch soon with the new star system and enemies. Customization will take way longer since there's a lot of content to gather/make and testing to be done but it will be worth the wait! Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-04-15 03:05:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

A quick patch for this week with a few fixes and changes: - Added a new Keybindings panel in the Options menu so you can change most of the keys used in the game. - Added shortcut key (by default Enter) to go to Next Turn (in both combat and Star Map). - Fixed an issue where you could jump to next turn while your ship was still moving. - Fixed a bug where the "Camera Aiming" for a soldier (when you are targeting an enemy) would get interrupted when another soldier reaches his movement destination. - Now you can't switch soldiers while the grenade animation is being performed (this is to avoid a bug where the grenade wouldn't trigger properly if the switch was too fast). - Added fire effect to hacked workdroids on death. - Made some minor changes in Squad Selection stage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is just a small patch that I wanted to release while I'm busy working in new content. Luckily the content I'm making can be kept separate from the main project until it's ready, in that way I can keep releasing these minor patches while you wait for the big one. Please let me know if you have feedback regarding the keybindings, I kept some stuff like numbers and mouse axes and buttons out of it since I thought most players wouldn't change them but I'm open to include them in some way if you really need them to be editable. Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-03-29 01:06:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Let's go straight to the content included in this patch:

Quests:

Now you can go to a station and receive a quest per system, these quests were also made to show the new mission types: Raids and Bounty Hunting.

Raids:

In raid missions you'll have to manually carry loot from containers to unloading areas using your soldiers while at the same time dealing with enemy reinforcements:

Bounty Hunting:

In Bounty missions you'll have to kill one or more targets in a map. Usually these targets will be a bit stronger than regular enemies.
Accepting these quests will make them appear in the map as a golden icon, once you finish the mission you can go back to the station to get paid.

New Maps:

- Lava planet: a corporate faction is digging alien ruins and artifacts from a lava planet. Release them of their burden for great profit.
- Hangar scenario: belonging to a hostile station, this is a ship hangar that you can raid but be wary of unlimited enemy reinforcements.
- Derelict ship: a ship that's seen better times, this is used by a scav captain that you need to hunt. Besides new maps I also modified the snow scenario to make it less flat and modified some maps so soldiers start in a randomized starting location instead of a fixed one.

New Mechanics:

I had to make some rearrangements In the Station Panel, now the Guild tab will only show Quests. For new recruits you'll need to go to the new Bar tab:
As you can see this panel not only has the recruits list but a "Pay Round" button, with this button you can spend a small amount and have a 50% chance (per soldier) to increase loyalty a bit.

Detailed Patch Changes and Content:

- Added basic Quests mechanics. - New Mission(Normal): Lava Planet/Alien Ruins. - New Mission(Raid): Raid Hangar of Rogue Station. - New Mission(Bounty): Hunt Scav Captain. - New Mission(Space Combat): Destroy Traitor flotilla. - New enemies: Scav Leader and Heavy Scav Leader. - Added Bar panel with Pay Round button. - New Reinforcements mechanic (used in raid mission). - Modified list of recruits to show starting trait. Moved to Bar panel. - Modified Snow Map to be less flat and use snowed materials in most props. - Added new environment props to several existing maps. - Added animated sprite to show currently selected soldier. - New loot: Alien Artifacts. - Increased width and visibility of movement range lines (blue and orange). - Reduced Pay Scale formula so soldiers are a bit cheaper per mission. - Added icons for soldiers in Overwatch or Final Firing Position stance. - Now FFP action can't be applied if it's already in use. - Slightly reduced framerate drop when selecting a soldier by improving performance of pathfinding search. - Fixed a bug where melee wouldn't trigger if it was selected too quickly. - Fixed a bug where evacuating soldiers would leave their weapons floating in place. - Fixed a bug where losing the last soldier during an evacuation wouldn't trigger the retreat panel. --------------------------------------------------------------- This is just part of the content I want to add, now that the Quest mechanics are working I can start adding more raid and bounty missions instead of the typical "Kill Everything" missions. I'm also planning new enemies, including a new minor faction called "The Alien Diasporah" which should add more variety but also help make the campaign longer by addding a new type of star system with its own encounters. Regards, Jorge

[ 2023-03-12 02:32:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Right now, my priority is to make the game feel less repetitive. To achieve that I'm working in these points:

New Maps:

The obvious way to make a game feel less repetitive is just to add new scenarios. For example, right now I'm working in terrain and effects for a magma planet:

New Assets:

Since creating new maps from scratch is time consuming, I'm also creating new props and environment assets to use with existing terrain. For example, here's some alien ruins:
And here's some extra props for colony-type scenarios:

I'm also planning to create new ship interior assets (walls, floors, etc) for different types of ships that you can board.

New Mission Types:

Something I've been announcing for a while it's new Mission Types, specifically Raids and Bounty Hunting. While some of these missions will use existing environments, their mechanics will differ from the typical missions where you just kill everything in a map (Raids are about gathering loot while dealing with unlimited enemy reinforcements while Bounty Hunting is about hunting special enemies). These missions will be shown in the Guild tab on every space station:
Since the Guild tab will be used by missions, now the recruits will be found in the new Bar tab (alongside an option to invite a round for your soldiers).
NOTE: you probably noticed these last two images have some AI art, these are just placeholders. While it's tempting to me to use AI art for minor stuff like this (and maybe random events) I think I'll just take the time to make my own renders for the final patch due to ethical concerns (and also because controvery is just draining to me). -------------------------------------------------------------------- That's it for now, making new content is way slower to make than fixes and Quality of Life improvements so I only ask for patience while I work. I'll probably have a new dev diary with a roadmap after this patch so we can talk about other promised content and features. Cheers, Jorge

[ 2022-12-17 21:40:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi, For this week's patch I have several fixes:

• Fixed a bug where switching soldiers after throwing a grenade would make the soldier go back to the start of the throwing grenade animation.
• Fixed a bug where personal shields wouldn't appear in the Gear list (even if they could be equipped using AutoEquip).
• Fixed a bug where the Skill button could be pressed more than once when leveling up.
• Now the game automatically selects the next soldier if your current one has run out of action points (moving or executing an action).
• Fixed a minor bug where weapons list could still be open and showing weapons when switching from the Equipment tab to the Squad Selection Screen.
• Fixed a bug where tooltip could get stuck after closing equipment tab during Squad Selection Screen.
• Fixed a bug where pressing tab while soldier is shooting could allow changing target.
• Fixed a bug where Blood Rage animation for Krell'Sha Raider would get postponed if soldier was in cover.
• Now Star Map cursor will be hidden while enemy ships move.
• Transparent textures for jungle trees will have less opacity so it's easier to see through them.

There's more fixes coming but also I'm working in new maps and content. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-11-11 23:32:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi This patch is mostly fixes but I also wanted to add the first of at least two extra starting ships: the Krell'Sha Assault Craft.

New Ship:

This new ship is lighter but more nimble than the Prison Ship. Has extra movement, a light turret battery and Torpedo Launchers installed from Turn 1.
You get a smaller starting crew but also a Krell'Sha Raider (level 3) from the start.

Fixes:

- Fixed a bug where sometimes the player's turrets wouldn't shoot at CDF ships. - Fixed some Idle animations (in Squad Selection screen and Soldier screen) so they don't make the soldier's feet "slide" slightly. - Fixed a problem with the skeleton of the new Krell'Sha Raider that made its feet float a bit. - Modified Ship Upgrades screen so the Upgrades Slots are variable depending on the ship selected. - Added extra upgrade slots to Prison Ship. - Changed holographic ships in Main Menu. - Fixed a bug where uninstalling turrets from a ship wouldn't make them visible in the Inventory. - Fixed a bug where installing a shield wouldn't remove it from Inventory. - Fixed a bug where sometimes passive buffs from crew wouldn't apply during space combat. - Fixed a bug where using the "Melee Combo" action sometimes would trigger a slowdown of the game. - Fixed a bug where sometimes you wouldn't be able to assign crew to a specific system after the previous crew assigned died in combat. ----------------------------------------------- That's it for now, there's a few known issues with camera, user interface and animations but I'll try to get them fixed soon now that I'll be pumping these patches more often. Of course, I'm also starting to work in new maps (not just new environments but also variants for the existing ones). See you soon, Jorge

[ 2022-11-06 04:43:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Finally! after a long time the space combat system is ready to be tried by the players. Let's see it (alongside other changes) in detail:

Space Combat System:

The space combat is sort of a mix between typical turn based combat and real-time with pause. Player and Enemy turns are simultaneous, basically you give orders and then see the results in real-time:
Your ship can be ordered to move in 3D space (that is not just to the sides but also up and down if you hold Shift). Despite the combat being turn-based, encounters are pretty short (and not really hard at the beginning of the campaign), just be careful, losing a space combat encounter is Game Over. For now, the enemy flotillas you'll find are Scavengers and "C.D.F." (a new enemy faction I'm introducing to the game), these enemies move as visible patrols in the Star Map but you can also find them escorting cargo ships, in these cases you'll have to destroy the escort ships before being allowed to board the real prey.

Weapons and Crew:

The default ship starts with a heavy turret battery that can deal with low level enemies easily but later in the campaign you can buy and install (in space stations) more advanced weapons and modules: - Torpedo Launchers: a more precise weapon than the turrets but it has a cooldown because it needs to be loaded before firing. - Point Defense Cannons (or PDCs): these turrets are used to intercept incoming enemy torpedoes. - Shield Projector: this component already existed in the game but it was only used for dialogue events, now it can be used during combat giving you 10 extra hitpoints (it can also be recharged if you have an Engines crewmate, more on that below). - Salvage Arm: this component is used after combat to gather some loot from the remains of destroyed ships. The space combat system is centered around giving "Orders" to "Helm, Weapons and Engines" (Helm takes care of movement, Weapons of attacks and Engines of rerouting power as buffs and repairs). Some orders require a specific weapon installed but others require that you have the corresponding crewmate assigned. Crewmates are your soldiers but they have been assigned to a specific system in this panel:
Be wary that only soldiers with the right traits can be assigned to the ship's crew. The traits are called "Helm, Weapons and Engines Experience". Once these soldiers are assigned, some orders will unlock and the ship will receive some passive benefits depending of the level of the crewmate. Executing orders during space combat also gives regular experience points to the crew.

What's next for the Space Combat?

I think this new system has a lot of potential (and I hope you agree once you try it) so I would like to add more "escort encounters", that is having to destroy ships in order to reach a prey or a base and the ability of boarding ships that have been disabled during combat instead of destroyed. I would also like to add new weapons and modules (for example: beam weapons to deal with harder enemies) and of course more enemy variety.

What else is in the patch?

The other star of this patch is the new class: Krell'Sha Raider.
These are savage aliens that use rifles and melee weapons like regular raiders but also have special actions like "Blood Rage" (lose 1 HP, gain 1 AP once during combat) and "Ritual Execution" (a melee attack that terrorizes every close enemy if it kills). I also added these changes and fixes: - NEW MUSIC! I changed most of the music tracks I've been using for combat, exploration and User Interface. I'm trying to change a bit the tone of the game (less grimdark, more metal) so please let me know how you feel about it. - New Scav enemy: Hacked Workdroid, this enemy is a simple droid with 1 armor and a melee attack. The idea was to give a melee enemy to the scavs which were too ranged focused in my opinion.
- Added speed controls during combat: you can now press Next Page or Prev Page to change the combat speed from 1x to 3x. - Modified desertic colony scenario to be less flat. - Added new props for colony type scenarios (rover, towers and walls). - Added new tutorial for the Space Combat. - Added space patrol behaviour in Star Map. - Added a list of names for new Krell'Sha Raider class. - Fixed a bug that allowed the player to quicksave in Ironman Mode. - Fixed a rare bug where soldier would stay in Idle position after throwing a grenade. - Fixed a rare bug that would freeze the game when an enemy patrol can't find a right place where to move.

Why this patch took so long?

Now about the elephant in the room, the major reasons for the delay were that I spent most of the time making a different idea for the space combat, basically at first I thought of a system where you would not move the ship but select orders and see dramatic camera angles showing the combat. Sadly when I got to make the first tests, I realized this system wasn't fun enough so I decided to scrap it and start over. After that I tried with this new idea for space combat which turned out to be good enough for what I wanted to do but of course I had to start from scratch. Other reason why this took so long is that I invested a lot of time making new assets for urban scenarios but (as some players pointed out) they need more work before they can be used in the game because they don't look good enough yet. I also had a bit of burnout because I had to scrap my first space combat system and that reduced my productivity for a while (but didn't stop me from working in the patch) but now I feel better and I'm ready to start pumping patches again (faster this time).

What now?

I still have a lot of promises in the oven like new mission types which still need some tweaks before I can release them. New traits, scenarios and enemies (for ground and space combat alike) should be done soon so replayability is increased and after that I'll start with the "Space Station Overhaul" which will bring lots of options for space stations. A lesson that I can share is that I think it wasn't the best idea to take time to make a BIG patch, shorter but faster patches are better to keep the players confidence high so I think for a while I'll focus in making smaller patches so I can pump them faster. Please let me know what you feel about the space combat and if you find any issues. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-10-31 03:00:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi It's been a while since I posted a Dev Diary or uploaded a new patch so I wanted to share what I'm doing, what I'm planning and what's a bit delayed in case you want to know what's taking so long (Warning: Text Heavy Article).

New Urban Environments:

I've been hard at work making new modular assets for urban scenarios. This has consumed most of my current time because a good sci fi urban scenario has lots of stuff going on besides roads, sidewalks and buildings. I have a base ready but I still need to add props like holograms, more building types, more vehicles and even interior props for some buildings that you'll be able to enter during combat.

I wanted to add urban scenarios not just for extra variety but also to deal with new mission types like Raiding and Bounty Hunting that would work better in a place where there's a constant stream of enemy reinforcements so you can't stay to loot everything like current missions do.

New Class:

I mentioned that I wanted to make a "Krell'Sha Raider" class some time ago but I only had a basic model done at the time. Now the final model is ready, it has 3 heads and 3 texture sets for basic customization and I just need to configure special skills for it. I'm thinking this one should work as a regular raider but with some extra skills like: "Blood Rage" (lose 1 HP, gain 1 AP once during combat) and "Ritual Execution" (a melee attack that terrorizes every close enemy if it kills). I'm also thinking I could add class specific items, in this case a Krell'Sha Raider could equip bloody "trophies" gained during combat.

New Enemies:

A new type of enemies I want to add are "Pirate Hunters", currently I have a single unit ready but I would like to add at least 2 more and the idea is that these enemies are more oriented to counter your soldier's skills (example: some could equip shields to counter melee attacks and others could even have gear that intercepts rockets). There's lots of potential for these enemies but I'm still planning what to add.
Regarding existing enemy groups, I'm preparing some extra enemies for the Scavs and Security Forces. Basically I would like to add alien variants and extra droids for the Scavs and some Corporate Mercs and Armed Civilians or local militia for the Security Forces.

New Mission Types:

Two new mission types I'm preparing right now are "Raids/Heists" and "Bounty Hunting/Assassination".

Raids/Heists:

These missions present you with a map filled with loot boxes/chests that you need to manually grab with your soldiers and then take (as a backpack) back to an unloading zone while you deal with present enemies and incoming reinforcements. These missions will constantly generate reinforcements so how long you decide to stay to grab loot is up to you.

Bounty Hunting/Assassination:

In these missions you'll be tasked with eliminating one or more specific targets in a map and then retreat. These missions have a chance to have constant reinforcements and also a chance for the target(s) to try to escape or stay and fight (chances are random but are also affected by your progress in the campaign). I would also like to create similar missions to deal with deserters and traitors that you have tracked. Both these mission types are a W.I.P. but should add a necessary layer of variety to the game once they are ready. To trigger some of these missions you'll have to get a contract/quest in a local space station but some could appear randomly too.

New "Tone" and Minor Changes:

This is something that I'm just pondering for now but I would like to change the current music for some industrial/rock/metal music I have, this would change a bit the "tone" of the game to make it a bit less dark but I think it would be worth the effort (hard to explain with just words, you'll have to hear it during the next patch and let me know what you think). Other minor change would be to tweak lighting for the whole game, this would be a very subtle change but right now I have problems because some sections are too dark (with "crushed blacks" in some cases), which in turn forces me to use hard colors to compensate, which also in turn makes details like damage, stamped designs, etc. harder to see. If I tweak lighting to make things clearer then I can maybe make details on characters and environment clearer. I also think I could tweak the Fog of War so it's less black because right now it makes the crushed blacks issue worse. Before I forget: a minor feature I have planned is to add "Time Control" during combat so you can speed up the enemy turns (or everything). This is something the game desperately needs.

What's giving me problems right now:

Right now, what's been challenging to me is to finish the Space Combat system, the High Ground mechanics and adding big enemies to the game. The Space Combat has been pretty challenging because the combat system is an original idea so I had to start from scratch but the fact that's original also makes it a bit vague to implement. If that keeps giving me problems I might settle for a proven turn based system to get it done or just release the previous mentioned content and postpone the Space Combat for a future patch. The High Ground works fine, the problem comes from animations, I'm trying to use animations of jumping down and vaulting when leaving a platform but while it works fine it looks too janky. The problem is that I use store animations (because I'm really mediocre at making my own) so these never fit 100% to my needs. Still, this is not as bad, I think I can fix the animations and make them less janky with enough time. The Big Enemies is a new feature I experimented lately, basically I would like to add big robots, power suits, a Xenobeast Queen, etc. to add more flavor and danger to the game. The problem is these enemies use more than one cell so pathfinding is being a bit tricky right now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is it for now, I wanted to post this Dev Diary since the new patch is taking way longer than the others and people might get impatient. The point was to show there's good reason for the time it's taking, not only a lot of content is being made but I'm giving a general look at the game's tone, lighting and style and even experimenting with new features even if these can get challenging sometimes. Thanks for reading and see you soon! Jorge

[ 2022-08-30 05:47:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi This diary is to talk about what I'm doing right now but also to present a couple of ideas for future development and to see players opinions about them (we are talking long term ideas of features that I could add once all Early Access content and promised features are already done). Let's start with what is being done right now:

High Ground

Currently all combat scenarios work in only 2 dimensions, there's no high ground to take advantage so I wanted to change that. I'm adding new environment assets like Guard Towers with ladders that soldiers can climb and also modifying the terrain in planetary scenarios so it's not completely flat (I'm also revisiting the layout of some scenarios to make them more "practical-looking"but that's another topic). Of course, this is not just an animation and aesthetic change, having the high ground increases aim chance, critical chance and ranged defense (around 3% per "meter" of difference). I hope to add more skills (and maybe some traits) that take advantage of this new feature in the future.

Space Combat:

I'm currently working in a space combat system that will work a bit like this: - Enemy Ship or Armed Cargo ship is encountered. - The player gives orders to the crew depending of their roles (for example: pilot can be ordered to close distance with the target or maybe retreat, weapons specialist can be ordered to open fire or target something specific, etc). - Both the player ship and the enemy ship execute their orders simultaneously while a cinematic camera follows the action. - If both ships are still standing after executing their orders, it goes back to the Orders phase. Basically I wanted to keep a turn based system but I didn't want to just have a copy of the existing combat system with ships instead of soldiers, I wanted to try something new. I also wanted these encounters to be shorter so having a simultaneous turn system should help. This system also opens the way to give roles in the ship to soldiers, I'm thinking only soldiers with the right traits should be assigned to systems of the ship, give a bonus during space combat and maybe even get injured if their corresponding ship section is damaged. -------------------------------------------------------------------- And now let's talk about ideas for the future:

Idea #1: Sandbox Campaign replaces Linear Campaign

This is something that has been mentioned by more than one player in the forum and to be honest at first I was avoiding it because it would be a LOT of work (seriously, it would the biggest change of all, bigger than all the features I've promised so far) but the more I think about it the more it makes sense and it could be the perfect finishing touch to add after I get all other features and content done. And in that spirit I decided to make a mockup of what an overworld/galactic map could look in the game:
This wouldn't change the way the game is played at star system or squad level but it would replace the linear campaign that the game has right now, making it more "open world" in a sense. The general idea would be to have a map like this one where you can pick which system you would like to visit, the colors would show if the system is owned by a faction and the map could have some minor changes with time and maybe some effect the player might have. Factions would be something new too in the sense that systems owned by them should be different, for example: an Hegemony system would be richer but also more protected than Independent systems, stations wouldn't let you access and probably hyper gates would be defended too. This could also make the game more "free", maybe instead of having a fixed path in capturing "The Omen" you could pick other path or keep playing in an Endless Mode (more on these ideas in a future dev diary). As I said before, this idea is BIG so I would only start working seriously on it after I add way more features and content to the game.

Idea #2: Survival Features And/Or Mode

Right now the game has an Ironman Mode that does the minimum required which is to block saves but I was thinking I could add a Survival Mode instead where soldiers need to be fed with supplies (looted or bought), space for recruits is limited and things like negative traits (scars, diseases, trauma, etc) are not only added to the game but become more common in this mode (and of course, you only have autosaves). Now there's always the possibility of just adding these features (all or some of them) to the normal campaign instead of creating a special mode, I want to hear opinions about it. -------------------------------------------------------------------- This is just a sample of what I have planned for the game, there's still lots of secondary features, content and improvements that I want to add. The downside is that Early Access will certainly be longer than what I expected at the beginning but I think it will be worthy and I hope you agree once you see the new patches I'm preparing. Like last time, I only ask for patience, these new changes are harder to make than new items or weapons so that's why they take longer. In the meantime, please share your opinion about these new ideas and features. Getting feedback is the main purpose of these dev diaries. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-08-04 03:07:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi I'm about to start working in another big patch that will take time so before that I wanted to release a few improvements and a bit of extra items. Also fixes, always fixes... - Added new Idle Animations to Squad Selection Screen (and a bit of random animation speed) so it doesn't look like the soldiers move in synchrony:
- Added new Gear 'Targeting Module': increases aim and critical chances. - Added new 'Threat Detector Grenade': a reusable device that points where unrevealed enemies are in the map and also marks them. - Added new 'Plasma Grenade': similar to the Frag Grenade but stronger and more efective against armored enemies. - Added new item 'Armor Piercing Ammo': increases AP damage when shooting targets. Lasts for a single mission. - Added new item 'Incendiary Ammo': applies 'Burned' effect to targets that the soldier shoots (unless they are immune). Lasts for a single mission.




- Added new Ship Component 'Advanced Scanner': this component helps to avoid bad outcomes when dealing with containers and escape pod encounters. It also allows the player to scan for targets from orbit (it works like an unlimited Threat Detection Grenade with cooldown but only in planet-based scenarios). - Added new Unit Information Panel that shows detailed stats, skills and equipment about any unit that you click during combat (to show it click the green button with the '?' symbol and then click the soldier or enemy that you want to check):
- Added text notifications in the Star Map to show when a soldier is injured or killed by a random event. - Now pressing F5 in the Star Map will quicksave the game. - Now pressing F2 in the Star Map will open/close a Console/Command Line (this is just something that I needed to help me test but I include it here in case you press it by mistake). - Added a button to see Skill Tree without need for Level Up. - Fixed a bug where pressing tab while aiming a grenade would keep the range bubble fixed in position. - Fixed a bug that made the 'Target Spotting' skill work only once per mission. - Fixed a minor bug where using 'FFP' would cancel cover animation. - Fixed a minor bug where Scav Encounter would show the incorrect spaceship during the boarding animation. - Increased size of font in Save/Load Panel. - Other minor changes. ---------------------------------------------------------------- That's it for now, unless there's a critical bug that needs immediate fixing I'll take my time for the next patch. I would like to make something big that expands the game, one candidate is the Space Combat system but there's other ideas for content and mechanics that I could also pursue. Whatever I decide to do, I'll let you know in advance with a Dev Diary. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-07-15 01:39:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Got a few fixes and minor changes done during these last 3 days (thanks to a random surge in motivation and clarity) so here they are in detail:

• Added a button to Pay Soldiers individually in the Soldier Panel.
• Fixed a bug where soldiers that gained a level would need to heal the one hitpoint they gained.
• Fixed a bug where cancelling the "Stomp" action would leave the camera stuck in third person.
• Fixed a bug where the "Fire Sidearm" action sometimes wouldn't show up for Assassins.
• Fixed a bug where autosave files where saved as "autosave.sav.sav" (be wary that you might see two autosave files in your list now, the one without extension is the latest one).
• Fixed a bug where the disruption bubble effect wouldn't appear more than once.
• Modified weapon descriptions in stores so they show what class can use them.
• Fixed a bug where using double movement would trigger the end turn before the movement has ended.
• Fixed a bug where sometimes missions don't end right away after killing the last enemy.
• Fixed a bug where Friendly Fire Warning would trigger despite friendlies being just outside of the explosive range.
• Improved the "Hearing Something..." warning so it actually triggers with the closest soldier and enemy and not just the first one in hearing range.
• Fixed Skills and Traits lists so they have a scrollbar instead of overflowing the Soldier Panel when they are too many.
• Fixed a bug where trying to assign new skills to a soldier during the Squad Selection would cause User Interface problems.
• Fixed a bug where going to the Soldier List in a Station after visiting the Ship Upgrade Screen would cause minor User Interface problems.
• Other minor fixes and changes.

Next patch should be mostly content because it seems there's no more critical bugs (fingers crossed) and what's left to fix is mostly polishing and Quality of Life improvement but of course, if you find anything weird or annoying please report it so I can add it to my to-do list. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-06-22 02:08:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Finally the Patrols Feature and the new Assassin class are here! Let's see the changes in detail:

New Patrol Feature:

This new feature means that enemies that are not yet revealed will move around the map. Adding to that, explosions can alert close patrols and make them march to it. This patrol behaviour can be random or following some predefined waypoints and is applied to most enemies but some I made them stay in place (like enemies waiting inside a bridge). This adds an element of luck to encounters because you could run into more than one patrol at the same time but it also makes the Overwatch more useful because now you can wait for enemies to get in range of an ambush. One point to consider is that the old "Alert/Surprised" mechanic when revealing an enemy has a new effect now. If a patrol founds you during the enemy turn, alerted enemies will be able to attack not only move to cover while surprised enemies will stay in place.

New Content:

- Added a new Human Assassin class. - Added new weapons for the Assassin: Sniper Rifle, Rail Gun and Plasma Lance.
- Added skills for the Assassin: Fire Sidearm, Target Spotting, Final Firing Position and Deadshot.
- Added new Ice Planet Scenario with Xenobeast enemies.
- Added 2 customizable accessories: a cape for the Assassin and a Pirate Hat for the Void Spawn.
- Added new props and cover to Ambrosia Cargo Ship scenario.

New Secondary Features:

- Added a Dismiss Soldier button in the Soldier Panel. Soldiers can be dismissed at any time but doing it outside a station can carry a loyalty penalty (50%-75% chance) since you are basically spacing a soldier (more so if the soldier is owed his salary).
- Some advanced skills like Deadshot and Swordmaster can refund 1 AP on kills. - Added the ability to customize accessories (right now there's only the two already mentioned but I plan to add multiple accessories to every class). - Added Friendly Fire Warning when using explosives. - Now you can customize the "Title" or nickname of the soldiers.

Fixes and Minor Changes:

- Now Assassins and Techno Sorcerers can be recruited in some stations, not just Void Spawn. - Fixed a bug where using the number keys for grenades and rockets could make it target the cell where the soldier is (or fire multiple times). - Added a possible fix for rare bug where soldiers get stuck in animation after moving. - Fixed a bug where some gun projectiles would stay in place if the target was already dead or there was a miss. - Added missing sounds to shiled impacts. - Fixed bug where grenade button is still active after using it. - Fixed bug where Soldier Link (upper left lines with the soldier names during combat) wouldn't update after using a grenade. - Fixed a bug where enemies revealed during their turn wouldn't move them (now they act if they are alert). - Fixed bug where enemy tries to throw a grenade and get stuck. - Other minor fixes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This patch was a lot of work but I'm not yet done with everything I promised in the last dev diary, stuff like enemies calling for help, new more detailed descriptions for skills and weapons, and even some new items and ship components are still in development. I decided to upload the patch anyway because it was taking too long and because there were some bugs that I wanted to fix as soon as possible. With that ready, now I'm planning to work in a smaller patch for the next time in case there's any bugs that I missed during my tests and to add some QoL requests that I've been receiving in the last days but after that I'll try to make another big patch. What will that patch have? I don't know yet, there's lots of ideas and promised content so the challenge is to decide what to tackle first but I'll let you know in advance when I have a decision. In the meantime, please feel free to keep making request or sharing ideas, they're all welcome. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-06-18 08:32:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi I still have at least a week before I finish the patch with a new class and features so I decided to share a new Dev Diary to show what I'm making and what's ready.

Assassin Weapons and Skills:

The Human Assassin class is almost ready, the model is done and 3 different heads and skins are also included to have some basic customization. The Human Assassin (I specify Human because later I would like to add some alien or "synthetic" versions) can use Sniper Rifles (which are a new type of weapon) and equip sidearms as a secondary weapon in case you run out of ammo with your sniper rifle. So far I've added 2 new weapons for the Assassin: A conventional Sniper Rifle:
And a Railgun:
I still would like to add a Tier 3 weapon, most likely a Plasma Lance, during this week. Regarding skills, the Human Assassin has Aimed Shot and Fire Sidearm added from Level 1 but in higher levels you can get: - Headshot: a shot with increased critical chance and reduced aim chance (already in use by the Mercenary class). - Final Firing Position (FFP): makes the Assassin enters a stance that ignores range penalties to aim as long as you don't move (I'm still pondering if to give another benefits to this skill). - Target Spotting: reveals a small area of the Fog of War in order to discover enemies without alerting them (unless they are too close). - Deadshot: refunds one action point for every kill you make (this could lead to chain kills).

Patrol and Alarm Features:

What's taking more of my time right now is working in patrols, basically a few players mentioned they didn't like that the enemies just stayed in place in the map so I'm giving more priority to a Patrol mechanic that will make some groups of enemies move around the maps. To make it more varied, I have 3 behaviours for enemy groups: Stay in Place (which will be reserved for enemies hiding inside the bridge of a ship or other special rooms), Random Patrol (for enemies that are animalistic) and Waypoint Patrol (for normal enemies so they move in a more realistic patrol pattern). This new feature opens the way for players to ambush enemies with Overwatch, currently I'm fixing some bugs though because interrupting enemies in their patrol still causes some minor issues (like enemies standing in the same cell) but I'm positive I can make a fix during this week.
Note: patrols are only slow moving when they are visible, when enemies are hidden by the Fog of War they move super fast so don't worry about enemy turns being longer. What I'm also starting to make is a new Alarm mechanic. That means that some patrols can be alerted of your presence and move towards you. I'm thinking stuff like explosions can attract close enemy patrols but also some enemies could radio for helpn and you have to kill them before the call is finished or have them closing in your position.

New Combat Scenarios:

Of course, I want to have at least one new combat scenario ready for the next patch, in the screenshot you can see a new type of environment that I'm preparing: an Ice Planet. Adding to that I would like to do more in the future with the planets and enemies I already have so I'm currently gathering new ideas for combat encounters (for example: colonies attacked by aliens or hostile space stations and hypergates).

Other Minor Features and Content:

Making the Assassin inspired me to do a bit more with the existing classes, for example I'm adding a new skill to the Raider class that refunds AP when killing an enemy using melee (so you can make a chain kill or run to cover) and just like the Assassin has a cape that can be changed texture or disabled I'm also adding some accesories like hats and pauldrons to the other classes. The new Patrol feature also inspired me to create new ways to locate enemies like a "Threat Detector" grenade... and since I'm adding a new grenade I rather use the momentum and make more grenades:
Regarding more items, some time ago I mentioned the idea of adding Ammo Items (Incendiary, Armor Piercing, etc). The models are done but I still need to code this new mechanic, hopefully I can get it done for the next patch too.

Fixes and QoL:

Of course not everything can be content, I'm working in improving the descriptions of equipment and skills and fixing some bugs (there's a bug where some rockets and grenades explode in your feet, I fixed that for the next patch but in the meantime just try to not press the number key twice to throw explosives because that's what's triggering the problem). I also added a Friendly Fire Warning when targeting explosives to avoid annoying accidents. ------------------------------------------- If you are still reading my dev diaries and patch notes I commend your patience and support, this patch has been pretty challenging because the Patrol mechanic added a lot of bugs and I'll need to test and debug a lot during this week but it is coming so please keep that patience and interest, the project will keep growing and most of your ideas will have a place in the finished product (even if some patches take way longer than others). Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-05-30 02:01:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi While I'm working on a big patch some kinda urgent issues came up so I decided to rush this minor patch to address those problems: - Fixed a rare bug where some soldiers could get stuck in animation after moving. - Fixed a bug where explosive deaths (rockets, grenades) wouldn't give experience points. - Fixed a bug where a mission wouldn't end right away after killing the last enemy with an explosive.

Only Fixes for this Patch?

Yes, this patch only has these fixes because I'm not done yet with the big changes I promised like the new Assassin class and others but I can assure you that progress continues (the female Assassin model and textures are ready and now I'm working in special skills and weapons for it).
I'm also working in a recent request: to make enemies patrol while they are not yet revealed. This is a big change that will require modifying how the AI works but it could have some cool sinergy with the new Assassin class because of new mechanics like Concealment, Ambushing Enemies and even enemies that can alert others and call for reinforcements. I'm giving this new feature more priority because a growing number of players are asking for it. Thanks for your support, many players have been very supportive when reporting bugs and I appreciate the patience and help. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-05-16 21:56:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi While I continue working in big features like new missions types and mechanics, the growing consensus among players that have shared their feedback is that they want "more of everything" so now I'm also preparing two new recruitable soldier classes for a future big patch: Human Assassin and Krell'Sha Raider.

Human Assassin:

The Human Assassins come to fill the typical sniper/silent killer role that current classes don't cover. While I don't plan to create a whole squad concealment mechanic (unless people ask for it) I would still like to have some minor ambush mechanics with this class that allow for killing while avoiding detection. This class will also have a new type of weapon: sniper rifles, railguns and other long range weapon I'm still thinking about.

Krell'Sha Raider:

You've seen these birds before, it just makes sense that a race of savage alien warriors can be recruited as pirates so I'm creating this new type of Melee/Ranged hybrid unit that can use and collect bloody trophies and also engage in a "blood rage" that gives it a buff and an extra action.

Notes:

- Both classes are still in development (as you can see in the screenshots I haven't even painted them yet) so I'm open to ideas regarding special skills (as long as they don't require rewriting too much stuff). - Currently it looks like classes are "genderlocked" but I assure you that's only temporary due to other priorities, my long term plan is to have male and female models for at least the human classes so in the future there's more variety.

What about the existing classes?

I'm planning to add more skills to the existing classes, the thing is some of them require that I write new mechanics. For example, I would like to make melee more powerful so I made melee weapons ignore shields but I'm also planning to add a "Parry" skill that stops enemies charging at you or getting too close. Some actions could also grant extra actions to soldiers if they kill an enemy but I need to write that code first (and test it). I'm also thinking about adding more customization eventually. Right now the customization options I have are one body, 3 heads and a few textures per class so many soldiers look the same. So far players haven't asked a lot for extra customization but I imagine that's part of the "more of everything" request I keep hearing so I would like to eventually add more options, maybe even add actual faces to the soldiers. Of course, all that work in faces will require time (I'm more of a coder than a 3D artist so creating new assets is something that takes a lot of my time to get it right) but in the meantime I could add accessories to soldiers (like hats, armor pieces and others) in order to give an extra layer of customization:

New Ideas for the Stations:

While I'm planning to make an overhaul of the space station mechanics and interface in the future I thought in the short term I could add a new tab: a Bar. This bar could be used to invite a round to your soldiers and pay for information. This information could unlock hidden missions in a system and later be the start of a whole new quest system. The Space Stations overhaul will be big enough to need its own announcement in order to be fully explained but for now I can tell you that the idea is to have different stations that offer new services like special quests, positive/negative trait modifications, arenas where you can fight, maybe specialized markets/bars/nightclubs to deal with loyalty issues and recruitment, etc. I also know people want a way of dismissing soldiers, in the short term I'll just add an option in the stations (and possibly a random event could let you throw someone through an airlock) but in the long term I would also like to have penalties for dismissing soldiers with debt or low loyalty (maybe these dismissed soldiers could try to get revenge once the Rivals system is ready).

What else?

Work continues in other features that I've promised before like Rivals and Space Combat. These new features and the new classes have proven to be very challenging but that shouldn't stop me from releasing other medium sized patches with content before they are ready. I want to make sure people don't feel abandoned so I'm considering short and long term content for the game and if a week I don't have a new patch I can still post these dev diaries to reassure people that I'm working in the project. Sorry for all the text but much of the work I'm doing right now is only code so there's not much visuals to share yet. Regards, Jorge P.S.: you probably noticed there was a patch yesterday, I didn't make an announcement because it was just a fix for a bug related to the Personal Shields.

[ 2022-05-07 23:14:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Here's a new patch with a bit of everything: - New Ironman Mode: stops you from saving manually (make sure you have autosave enabled so there's at least one save in case of any problem). - New Personal Shield Gear: protects from damage by giving you a shield bar with 4 hit points. Melee attacks ignore shield.
- Added "ragdoll deaths" and extra death animations for most enemies so they don't look always the same and the bodies fall more naturally.
- Added Xeno Eggs special loot that can only be sold at a special lab encounter. - Added "Passengers" loot (basically a way for the player to get some money from evacuating people in certain special scenarios). - Added new lab encounter: now you have 50% chances to find a lab orbiting a gas giant that can buy your xeno eggs or that you can raid for loot.
- Added new action to Human and Void Spawn Mercenaries: Hail of Bullets. - Removed Void Roar action from Void Spawn (if you have a previous save file with it you can still use it though). - Added sorting buttons to soldier list. - Added option to invert mouse zoom. - Fixed a bug where some enemies could perform a double movement melee attack and then still have an action. - Fixed a bug where dialogue screen would still be active after returning to Main Menu during Tutorial scene. - Fixed a bug where pressing Escape during an enemy animation could cancel it. - Fixed a problem with grenade trails doing a circular animation. - Some other minor fixes and changes.

Plan for Future Patch:

Unless there's some urgent fixes or players prefer otherwise I would like to take my time with the next patch so it's bigger and includes major features. I will most likely go with the Space Combat system and start creating new "Victory conditions" (currently missions are just "kill everything to win" so I would like to make scenarios with timers, for example a ship that's powering it's jump drive, or loot that you must carry like a heist and maybe more advanced stuff like bounty hunting or defensive maps). I would also like to know what do you think about the current size of the maps, is the current size ok or would you prefer bigger and more detailed maps? What do you think is more pressing? and what do you want but you can wait for it? (basically your short term and long term wishlist for the project). Thanks for your feedback, it has been very different from what I expected so now I decided to focus in what players are actually demanding instead of what I though they would want while I was developing it. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-05-02 06:10:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Here's a small patch with some minor fixes: - Fixed issue with the Krell'Sha ship encounter having enemies being revealed through walls and doors. - Fixed issue with the missions counter for soldiers having a number bigger than reality.

What about content?

I am working in new stuff like a few encounters and personal shield items but those will take me some days so I decided to release this minor patch right now so players wouldn't have to wait for these fixes. I'll post a new Dev Diary soon with more information about what I'm preparing for the next Content Patch. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-04-22 00:08:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi It took me longer than expected but here's the patch I promised last week with new content and many changes. Besides content this patch adds a new ship bombardment mechanic that can be used in ground operations (it can't be used when boarding enemy ships). For this mechanic to work you need to buy and install the "Siege Cannon" weapon that can be found in space station markets in the late game (so after the 3th or 4th jump). For now this mechanic only works as a ship bombardment action but the idea is that later you'll have access to other ship components that can help during combat like: advanced scanners, deploying support and maybe even deploying additional troops and turrets.

New Content:

[olist]

2 Combat scenarios:

• Alien planet wth stranded Krell'Sha enemies.
• New cargo ship.

2 Random events:

• Soldier making items.
• Soldiers fighting.

4 New ship components:

• Medbay: heals 1 HP per turn without visiting a space station.
• Siege Cannon: allows orbital bombardment in planetside missions.
• Shield: protects during certain dialogue events.
• Mining Beam: allows to get additional resources in asteroid fields.

New "Gear" slot that allows for new items to be equipped.

5 New items:

• Advanced Nano Medkit.
• Healing Grenade.
• Gear: Armor Vest (+1 Armor).
• Gear: Auto Loader (+3 Free Reloads).
• Experimental Quest Item: Ship Marker (an item obtained after capturing a cargo ship and that can be sold to scavengers).

Modified typical Scav Ship encounter to have dialogue and the possibility of selling ship markers or get your ship repaired instead of only combat. [/olist]

QoL Improvements and Fixes:

• Added button to see list of soldiers (and Pay Now button) inside a station.
• Added "Unequp All" button in Squad Selection screen (this button and the one for AutoEquip are on top of the screen now).
• Fixed problem with Acid/Corroded visual effect not disappearing after using a Medkit.
• Fixed bug where equipment of dead soldiers was lost despite having a successful mission.
• Disabled Soldier voices when ordering them to move (I'll add an option to mute them completely later but for now this should help reduce the annoyance they could cause on some players).
• Fixed low damage for the FireBlade weapon.

That's it for now, I know there's still a lot of requests I haven't solved yet but I can assure you that I'll get to them eventually and my plan is to keep making patches like this one: with new content and mechanics and not only fixes. In the meantime please feel free to share your feedback and ideas, I'm working on this game full time. And if you want to support me further please consider leaving a review. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-04-17 18:23:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Now that the game's been out for more than a week and many players have shared their opinions I can start setting priorities. While I have many plans for the game it seems more varied content and anything that improves replayability needs to be addressed first (according to player's feedback) so I'm preparing a patch with new combat encounters, items and a few new mechanics:

What I'm doing right now:

Right now I'm working in new combat scenarios and random events because I know the existing ones are getting repetitive. Now, making combat scenarios is more time consuming than making only fixes and QoL improvements so I only ask for patience while I make them (I was hoping to have a content patch for this week but it will have to wait until next week).
Adding to that I'm also working in new ship parts and mechanics from orbital bombardment weapons to medbays to support your troops (and to give more use to the Ship Upgrades Screen):
And finally I'm adding new items like Healing Grenades, Advanced Medkits and I even added a new "Gear" slot so the soldiers can equip additional items like Armor Vests:
Of course, I'm also working in your feedback regarding fixes and QoL improvements and trying to finish the "Dynamic Rivals" feature that I've been postponing for a while.

And after this?

After this patch, I'll have to decide if I keep working in more scenarios right away (maybe even a new soldier class) or if I try adding new major features. One possibility is starting to work in some Progression / Roguelite mechanics, I think that should help increase replayability and I have some ideas that you may find interesting. Thanks for reading and for having patience with the development. Many have mentioned the potential the game has so it's up to me to reach that potential by constantly adding new content and features and I only hope you stay for the ride. Cheers! Jorge

[ 2022-04-08 03:31:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

New Features:

- Added Autosave at the end of every turn in Star Map (option activated by default). - Added option to limit framerate between 30fps and 120fps (this should help reduce temperature in high end machines due to a quirk of the engine). - Added basic Game tab to Options panel (only basic options for now).

Fixes:

- Fixed major bug where combat missions never end due to error in processing experience points(*). - Fixed major bug where double movement messed with the melee hit chances. - Fixed scaling of Main Menu, Intro and Ending screens so their user interface and text grows proportionally in big resolutions. - Reduced base volume of Pod engine during boarding animations (please tell me if this is good enough or it needs more tweaking). - Fixed problem where "Pay Now" button allowed the player to spend more money than possible. - Added missing "Heavy Cannon" weapon to markets in space stations and pirate lairs. (*) There's still the rare chance where a scenario won't end right away after killing the last enemy but now it should be enough to perform an action (like Reload or Defense) to trigger the Debrief Panel if there's really no enemies left. Thanks for your patience and sorry again for the inconvenience. I'll keep working constantly in your feedback and bug reports so please keep them coming. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-04-04 03:54:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi I decided to rush this patch instead of wait till next week because some issues were a bit urgent. I still hope to have a patch next week with at least some new content instead of just fixes and QoL improvements. That said, this patch has a new feature that players were requesting a lot: Double Movement.
Now you can move your units quicker and can also use two moves to perform a melee attack at distant targets with the Raider class.

Fixes and Minor Changes:

- Fixed access to empty areas outside the walls of the Lab scenario. - Fixed movement range so soldiers can't move beyond their actual range or give long turns around walls. - Fixed problem with Container encounter not giving loot. - Reduced cost of Techno Sorcerer spells from 2 AP to 1 AP. Please let me know if you have any issues or new feedback, I'm 100% dedicated to improve the game. if you want to support what I'm doing please consider leaving a review, that helps me a lot with visibility. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-04-02 07:45:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi For the first public patch of the game I decided to make some quick but necessary changes:

Quality of Life Improvements:

- Added lines that show if a cell has line of a sight to a target (see screenshot below). - Added a button to Space Station UI to sell all loot at once.

Fixes and Minor Features:

- Fix to Drifting Containers random encounter not being random enough. - Fix to Defense action not working properly. - Added soldier class descriptions in Soldier Panel. - Fix to rare invisible enemies in final scenario. - Other minor fixes.

What's Next?

I am reading all your feedback and ideas so please keep them coming. I would like to go for now with weekly patches with content, fixes and improvements but for some major features I would probably need more than a single week, I'll let you know if that's the case so please consider following the game for updates. If you want to support me further please consider leaving a review, it really helps with visibility. If you already did then thanks a lot! Cheers! Jorge

[ 2022-03-31 04:35:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

After a year and a half of development, Void Marauders is finally available on Steam. Now it begins the Early Access process where I hope I can get enough player feedback to take this game in an interesting direction but even without feedback I have several ideas about content and features that I would like to add to the game.

Status of the game

Currently the game has 4 soldier classes, a basic skill tree, basic items, weapons and enemies and a functional campaign of 6 systems + 1 last battle. One feature that I promised but it's not yet ready is the Dynamic Rivals, I still need to fix some issues but my first priority now is to get this feature in the game. Of course, players can always ask me to change my priorities with their feedback.

What's After that?

Once that is done I should start working in new content (combat scenarios, weapons, items and maybe a new soldier class) and "combat depth". Currently the missions are limited to "Kill All Enemies" types of objectives, I want to add more objectives like disabling enemy ship systems, raiding locations before a timer runs out or reinforcements show up, bounty hunting, etc. While this games takes major inspiration from XCOM it also takes some inspiration from FTL by having procedural systems with random encounters in order to increase replayability. Thanks for reading and I hope you still enjoy the game at this early stage and if you want to support me further please consider leaving a review, that helps a lot with visibility. And if Early Access is not your thing please consider adding the game to your wishlist. Thanks, Jorge

[ 2022-03-29 17:04:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Finally! after several delays the game is at last coming to Early Access on March 29. First I would like to apologize for the constant delays, I was expecting to have an Early Access version during last year but the project kept growing and needing fixes and even now it still needs a lot of work before I'll consider it finished. As a one man developer I know I should try to keep my ambitions in check but making big games is just something I enjoy doing (and frankly all my ideas are kinda ambitious).

Status of the Game:

The game in its current stage doesn't have much content and the combat needs a lot more depth and variety but you can play a procedural campaign from beginning to end, recruit from 4 soldier classes and fight various types of enemies. At the moment you can only play the basic pirate campaign but later I hope to add more campaigns.

What's next?

During these last days I'll be busy working in fixing last minute issues and promoting the game but during the first weeks of Early Access I'm hoping I can add some interesting features like: - Space Combat System. - More mission types. - More depth and variety in combat. - More soldier classes. - More enemy variety. - More Dynamic Rival types and interactions. Of course, the priority I give to these tasks could vary depending of the feedback I get from players. Maybe players want other features to be tackled first (like extra customization or modding) or they find issues that I've missed during my tests so I would need to be flexible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ That's it for now and thanks for reading. If you have questions please let me know. Regards, Jorge

[ 2022-03-15 22:13:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi As promised I'm publishing a new Demo version. This build has many changes to gameplay so I hope you give it a chance and share your feedback.

Major Changes:

- "Fog of War" during combat: this feature is meant to force the player to explore and move carefully during combat to reveal enemies instead of just waiting for enemies to get close like it happened in the previous version.
- More polished Star Map: now the Star Map will show 3D elements like ships, planets or space stations instead of static images like in the previous version. This is mostly just a visual change but it's added so it feels more polished and dynamic.
- Basic Soldier Leveling: now the soldier can earn experience points during combat and purchase new skills and stat changes. The current skill trees are limited but I wil add more skills during Early Access.
- Basic Soldier Customization: the soldiers included in the demo can receive minor customization like changing helmets and skins.

Minor Features:

- Some actions can cause temporal status effects to their targets (Marked, Poisoned, etc). - New Raider class action: Throw Daggers. - New Mercenary class action: Headshot. - New Void Spawn class action: Covering Fire. - New Tech Sorcerer class action: Teleport. - New Generic action: Basic Aimed Shot. - Now soldiers have random "traits" that can affect their stats and even unlock some extra actions. - Added Doors that need to be open to see the enemies inside a room. - Xenobeast Nymphs can spit acid now. - Enemies now can throw grenades and use a few special actions (like Marking a Target). - Added minor dialogue during combat. - Changed "Cargo Ship" mission to be slightly bigger, have random enemies and include bridge with a door. - Changed "Void Ship" mission to have a different shape and a different objective (Reach Network Node instead of Eliminating all Hostiles). Also I changed the dialogue to be shorter instead of an exposition dump like before. - Added floating health bars to soldiers and visible enemies. - Enemies revealed in fog will have to throw for Initiative. Surprised enemies will stay in place, Alert enemies will have a free move. - More detailed Victory/Defeat Panel shows soldiers that leveled up or died. - Minor UI improvements. - More environment props and ambient sounds. - Changed Color Grading of all scenes. - Changed Dialogue UI and size of panel. - Added animated cursor to Star Map.

Fixes:

- Fixes to Post processing Effects and Lighting that was causing performance to drop during combat. - Fixed buggy micro missiles trajectory (Void Spawn special attack). - Fixed calculation of flanking and rear attacks (extra critical chance). - Fix to reloading animation in Void Spawn. - Fixes to several hit and death animations clashing with IK setup. - Improved hand/rifle positioning during Loadout. - Many minor UI, grid, movement and AI fixes. Please check the demo and leave me some feedback. Depending of how much feedback I get from it I'll determine if it's worth the effort to keep it updated, if not I'll just focus on the game and disable the demo because an outdated demo would be worse than not having one.

What Now?

It's been a while since I posted an announcement but as you can see I've been busy adding all these features and fixes. Now to be frank I'm pretty behind in my schedule, I was hoping to have the game ready for Early Access during this month but that won't be possible. I still hope to have the EA launch for this year though so please consider following the project because I'll have more announcements soon.

[ 2021-09-29 01:24:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Now that Next Fest is over and I received some useful feedback about the demo I'm finally ready to start making real progress. The first stage of my roadmap before the Early Access Launch is pretty big so I won't be making an update to the demo soon, that's why I decided to start making Developer Diaries like this one, so I can keep you updated and you see that I'm hard at work improving the game.

Content:

I'm not just a coder, I also make most of the 3D assets for this game. One of the things I'm doing right now is adding more enemies, props and environments for the game, the tools I use are Blender and Substance Painter. Most of the props are just decorative but some will have an effect in gameplay, for example sometimes you'll board a ship and the crew will try to make a hyperspace jump to escape, in those cases the mission will have a countdown that will only stop if one of your soldiers disable an HyperDrive Core like this one:
Besides props and environments I'm also taking a look at my current combat units and their customization options. Customization in the game will be limited but combining body types, head types and textures for each soldier should give a good set of starting options for the player.

Combat Depth:

In order to make gameplay more interesting I'm working in features like:

Fog of War:

While this feature won't make much difference in small scenarios, bigger scenarios that require exploring and assaulting rooms will benefit from it. This should also force the player to move more tactically and explore instead of just wait for enemies to come.

Additional Objectives:

Currently the demo only shows a single combat objective: Kill All Hostiles. My idea is that some scenarios will have optional objectives like "Disable Hyperspace Drive", "Capture Bridge" and others will have main objectives like "Capture VIP", "Grab as much loot as you can before reinforcements arrive", etc. All these objectives should make missions less repetitive and force the player to play less defensively.

Improve AI:

This is something that I'll be doing during the whole development of the game but before Launch I'm thinking I can add more behaviours to AI besides shooting, charging or looking for cover. Stuff like using items, grenades and special skills should add more flavor to combat and new defensive and ambush behaviours should keep the player on his/her toes while exploring a ship or installation. __________________________________________________________________ This is just what I'm working at right now but I have a lot more ideas to improve the game (I mentioned most of them in the Roadmap), I'll be sharing my progress with you during these months before the Early Access Launch (which I still hope should be during September, I'll let you know if that changes). Please feel free to share your questions, ideas and criticism, any feedback is useful feedback. Thanks for reading! Jorge

[ 2021-07-01 23:55:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Next Fest is almost over so it's time to plan my next moves. One thing I would like to know is if people want the demo to stay up and that I keep updating it or I just focus in the Early Access version. I rushed this demo to participate in Next Fest but is not really a complete snapshot of the final gameplay since it lacks many features and polish, that's why it needs to be updated or removed in my opinion. Of course, updating the demo will still be an investment of time so that's why I want to know if people are really gonna try an updated demo in the future or I shouldn't bother with it.

ROADMAP

This is just a preliminary version, all of this is subject to change depending on feedback and my own breakthroughs or challenges. I'm dividing the development on major phases and these on subitems but that doesn't mean there's a 1:1 relation between phases or items and patches, a single item could consider several patches and that's not even considering patches with bug fixes that will be made on demand and take priority over new content. This roadmap doesn't consider fixed dates and deadlines but I can anticipate that the Early Access Launch should be during Q3 of 2021.

PHASE ZERO: Next Fest

1.Alpha Demo in Next Fest. 2.Minor fixes and receive feedback.

PHASE ONE: Preparing for Early Access

1.Increase Combat Depth.

• Fog of War.
• Additional AI behaviours for enemies.
• Basic soldier levels and perks.
• More mission variety (extra objectives).
• Basic Dynamic Rival, Loyalty and Infamy mechanics.

2.First Iteration of Pirate Campaign

• Basic procedural campaign.
• Saving and Loading.
• More text events.
• More combat encounters.
• Special scenario: Mutiny (ship defense).
• New enemy type: ???
• Final scenario: The Omen.

3.Basic soldier content

• Very basic customization.
• Extra weapons and items.
• Additional attacks and actions.

PHASE TWO: Open Beta and Early Access Launch

1.Feedback and last minute fixes. 2.Decide to remove or update demo.

PHASE THREE: Early Access

1.More content

• New class: Combat Engineer.
• New recruitable species: KrellSha.
• More enemy types: ???
• More customization (bodies, heads and material combinations).
• More weapons and items.

2.Increase combat depth even more

• Armor and shield items.
• Optional objectives (disable engines, take bridge, etc.).
• Add more options and behaviours for AI.
• Changes based on players feedback.

3.Star Map

• Enemy and Neutral ships.
• New enemy: pirate hunters.

4.General Improvements

• Improve features: Dynamic Rivals, Loyalty and Infamy.
• Improve special scenarios (The Omen and Mutiny).
• Improve User Interface.
• Polishing and Fixes.

PHASE FOUR: Shore Leave

1.New land based scenarios

• Colonies (guarded, abandoned, overrun, etc).
• Landed and crashed ships.
• Military outposts.

2.Stations Overhaul

• Improve station simple UI with 3D environments.
• Additional services.
• Some stations can trigger events and even combat encounters.
• Heist mission.

3.Content, content, CONTENT

• New class: Assassin.
• New recruitable species: Automata.
• More enemy types.
• More events and encounters.

PHASE FIVE: Hegemony

1.New campaign: Hegemony captain.

• New recruitable species: Posthuman.
• New class: Pirate Hunter.
• New enemy type: ??
• New campaign specific events and encounters.
• New campaign specific mechanic: Honor.
• New ship.

2.Research modding.

PHASE SIX: Nomad Fleet

1.New campaign: Nomad Fleet captain.

• New recruitable species: ???
• New class: Peacekeeper.
• New enemy type: ???
• New campaign specific events and encounters.
• New campaign specific mechanic: ???
• New ship.

2.???

PHASE SEVEN: Finishing Early Access

1.??? Note: Many items marked as "???" are a secret or undecided yet and I'm reserving the last phase for any feature that 's demanded by the players during Early Access. Thanks for reading and please check my demo if you haven't already, I read all feedback. Regards, Jorge

[ 2021-06-21 22:30:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Next Fest is almost here so I'm releasing my Alpha Demo to get any last minute feedback before Next Fest.

What's in the Demo?

The demo has a single system to explore with several non combat encounters and four combat encounters. Currently there's no tutorial, only hints in the left side of the screen but if you played games like XCOM this game should be easy to understand. Many special features like the "Procedural Campaign", "Dynamic Rivals" and "Loyalty and Infamy mechanics" are not active in the demo but I hope to get them ready for Early Access.

About Next Fest

Next Fest is the new name of the Steam Games Festival and I decided to participate so I could promote Void Marauders. I'm a one man team with no publisher so it's hard to get noticed but I'm working hard to deliver a good game. Full disclosure: I won't be making a livestream for Next Fest because frankly I have no experience doing that so I rather spare you the bad experience of listening to my thick spanish accent and bad mic while I play the demo. I prefer that you make your own opinion by trying the demo.

What's Next?

I hope to get some feedback for the demo and if there's any problems fix them before the festival but I will also use any feedback to guide my last development stage before I release the game in Early Access. I have a vision for the game but I will be listening and open to any changes if the community is vocal enough about them. Regards, Jorge

[ 2021-06-09 20:59:46 CET ] [ Original post ]