Kia ora and happy May!
Beyond These Stars has taken an interesting turn in development lately - it’s begun feeling less like a prototype and more like a fully fleshed out game. Sometimes this feeling can come suddenly, like a light switch turning on, or sometimes it can be something slow and steady that you notice suddenly. For me, I’d say it feels like the latter of those two things!
Before we get into it, a gentle reminder that all these pictures are works in progress! There’s a very high chance the game will look different when it gets to you.
Watch on YouTube
This is a pretty long post, so let me give you the TL;DR right here. Scroll down if you want the juicy details!
- We’ve been tinkering with in-game UI in an effort to make it easy to understand but looking slick
- Sam and Isaac have been designing and implementing Mining Resource overlays, similar to the overlays in Before We Leave
- Isaac has also been working on making tiles look more lifelike; think raised garden beds, and “scuffed” looking edges to cliff tiles. He’s also been working on Spaceship animations (check the video above!)
- The composting mechanic has been implemented (scroll down for that video)
- Mereana has been working on save and load menus; it’s fiddly and important work!
- I’ve been writing and implementing the very first version of the tutorial. I’m happy with it but it could be better.
Okay, time for specifics:
RESOURCE PRODUCTION
We’ve been experimenting with resource production diagrams! We’re hoping it will give you a clearer understanding of how certain resources come to be, and which ones are needed in certain buildings. Ultimately, this should help you make decisions easier and faster.
OVERHAULING OVERLAYS
Some of you will remember the overlays in Before We Leave: they were super handy, right? Well, we’re rehashing them for Beyond These Stars! Sam and Isaac together have been working on an overlay which shows what Mining resources are available on Kewa’s back.
BEVELLED TO PERFECTION (sort of)
Isaac has also been working on the edges of the hexagonal tiles - they're now beveled and roughed up, which makes the world on Kewa's back look so much more real. It also has the advantage of hiding some pesky texture seams! Of course, this is just a first pass, and Tom or Rafał will make better textures so Isaac’s initial efforts work well for different tile types. Isaac also reassured us that there’s tons of environmental assets still to come. No pictures of this yet, sorry!
What I can show you is puffy fields. Sounds weird, but that’s pretty much what they are. Dirt and fields aren’t perfectly flat, so Isaac has done a great job putting this beautiful, perfectly natural imperfection into the game.
YEAH? NAH…
For Aussies and Kiwis, “yeah nah” and “nah yeah” are essential pieces of slang in our vocabularies. So naturally, Mereana simply had to include them while working on the Save/Load menu. Given that everything is very much still a work in progress, we’ll probably take them out… unless…? Tell me what you think and we might keep them in 👀
Mereana has also been working on the Load menu. This UI element involves a lot less slang, but that’s okay.
TUTORIAL WRITING
In case you missed the memo, I’m working as Narrative Designer for this project as well as being the Community Manager! The community has been quiet lately, and part of the reason why is because I’ve been working on our tutorial. I’m very pleased to say, after a whole lot of grinding, the very first version of the tutorial is in the game. I am so glad to finally have it done - citybuilding games are quite complex, and so writing a tutorial that is easy to understand, not too wordy, and engaging is not an easy task. That said, this is the first version and I have a long way to go before I am truly content with it.
COMPOSTING
In Beyond These Stars, the Peeps compost waste from their homes and use it to revitalise the environment around them! This is what that mechanic currently looks like in game:
Watch on YouTube
STUDIO NEWS
We've had a lot of stuff happening at the studio too, but for the sake of brevity, please check out those blogs over on our website! (here & here.)
Whew, that was a long one folks! I hope you enjoyed reading.
Until next time!
Emily :)
Community Manager/Narrative Designer