Hey guys!
When I was prepping Void Destroyer 2 for release, one of my regrets was not having more music tracks. The reason being is because of the lack of funds I prioritized other assets - mainly 3D models.
I think that I'm very lucky to have the music composer that I do - who has been with me long before Void Destroyer 1's Early Access and always delivered great music tracks. So it was especially painful not to contract more music to the game due to the budget.
Since release my musician agreed to create additional music tracks for the game - in exchange for putting up a Soundtrack DLC - which he'll get the majority of proceeds from. I say majority because I can't technically say - all proceeds - because at some point the sales will be so small I won't bother sending him the funds. So it should be a win win - you guys (and me!) get more music into Void Destroyer 2 - and the musician gets additional funds via DLC sales. This is a bit of uncharted territory for us - so I hope this works out for everyone.
Here's a video preview of the great new tracks:
If you are interested - check it out here -
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1276050/Void_Destroyer_2_Soundtrack/
If you are even slightly interested... please add the DLC to your wish list as that really helps with the Steam algorithm.
This Soundtrack DLC should be available in a few weeks - along with a patch adding the new music tracks to the game (no DLC required for the tracks to be in game). The music patch should add something like 15 new tracks (including some remixes of VD1 music and ambient tracks). Which will double the amount of music in Void Destroyer 2! Pretty great!
New Faction DLC:
I also talked with another artist about another possible DLC - for a faction that existed in VD1 but doesn't exist in VD2. The Diggers - a mining faction turned outcasts.
If you played Void Destroyer 1 - this ship should evoke various feelings...
For those unfamiliar with that ship and faction - it is a mega mining ship carrier, armed with triple drills and launching disabler ships.
The Digger faction were the original inhabitants of the area of space where Void Destroyer 1 and 2 took place. These were a loosely united groups of mining families that were the first settlers and miners of the asteroid fields in the Oort Cloud. They were later displaced by the Mining United faction, which currently faces it's own extinction due to mega corporations settling the Oort Cloud - as is the present situation in Void Destroyer 2.
The Diggers converted their mining ships for war and became outcasts and bandits, staging small raids in retribution.
There will be more news on the new faction DLC in the up coming weeks. It will be a similar deal where most of the proceeds will go to the artist - and again I'm very hopeful that this is a win win for everyone.
Burn out:
Honestly release was great! I wish it would have gone smoother, but I don't know if it was possible for it to go any other way. It was a very different release for me because I had to be a stay at home dad and a game development studio - now with a big influx of new players. In my previous releases - I was "only" a game development studio and that was already overwhelming. Once again thank you for your amazing support.
I've been incredibly burned out - and I decided to take a few weeks "off" - and just be a stay at home dad (or as I call it - "a house husband").
After release my productivity was mega high, but as the weeks passed I started noticing it dropping to very low levels and so I decided to play some video games and take it easy - and with all that's happening in then world - I think taking it as easy as you can is probably the healthiest approach right now.
This burn out period should be over fairly soon - especially considering that I have a bit of work to do on the Soundtrack DLC (adding the tracks to the game) and a load of work to do on the new faction DLC (adding all the ships to the game, balancing them and adding some scripted missions for the new faction).
Meanwhile I'm going to start prioritizing adding polish to Void Destroyer 2, most likely focusing on some quality of life improvements to lower the amount of management at the late game - for example a "check box" that would allow players' fleets to be re-supplied with ships if they were lost to combat.
Thank you guys for the great support!
Paul