Attention Captains,
Work continues on the terminal based multiplayer for Astra Protocol 2. We've fixed several major issues, cleaned up a few things, and added some new improvements, which you'll find in version 2.1.3.
The game should no longer crash after a failed mission. This was due to the terminal not initialising correctly, and has now been resolved.
You can now connect multiple terminals at once. There's no hard limit, though performance will depend on your machine. In theory, you should be able to run a full crew with each member using their own terminal.
We've also added fixed modes for terminals. These effectively turn a terminal into a second text-based display.
The following modes are implemented:
Diagnostics - displays the 'DISPLAY DIAGNOSTICS'.
Weaponry - shows the status of the lasers, missiles, shields, and related cargo.
Target - shows the basic scan details of ship's current target.
Scan - displays the output of 'DISPLAY LONG RANGE SCAN'.
The following modes are recognised but not yet implemented (they will currently display nothing):
Docking - intended to show a real-time version of the docking HUD.
Engineering - intended to show real-time information on engine levels, temperature etc.
To set the terminal into this mode, enter the command 'MODE X' (where X is the mode in the list above). To exit the mode, press ESC.
While in a fixed mode, terminals will not accept any input other than ESC. This is due to how the terminal refreshes its display. You can open a second terminal to continue entering in command. This behaviour isn't final - your feedback will help us refine it.
We're almost these with the final version of this beta, but we need your help to ensure everything works correctly. We've made changes to how the game handles input, and this is core behaviour we don't want to break. The more captains we have testing this functionality, the more confident we can be in its stability.
And in case you're wondering how to access the beta, simply select "Properties" for Astra Protocol 2 in your Steam library, navigate to "Game Versions & Betas" and select the "beta" option (you can also select older builds of the game if you're that way inclined).
So with all that said - jump into the beta, assemble your crew, and take to the stars!