Work is still going on here on the server side of things, still writing tests and implementing base functionality. We have to set expectations here, this is going to take a long time. If you're new DON'T BUY THE GAME - the projects in a weird state and i'm not even sure it's playable right now.
Some might say a mistake was made showing up empty handed 6 months ago and I would agree with that. The majority of dev is really boring to talk about and it's going to be less about the showmanship this time around.
It’s not really worth coming to you with regular updates on this because it’s simply too distracting to code, write updates and interact with the community at the same time. The guy (me) who had his head in the code was previously also trying to run things and write comms, not a wonder I had a breakdown really.
So this time its fun game first, flash graphics, details and suggestions later.
Don't get me wrong, I care about community feedback, ironically there’s distance now because I care too much about what you think. But mentally and financially, this game sent me off the rails once and I can't let that happen again. I could go toe-to-toe with the community, armed with fiscal reports and proof of this and that, but it’s a waste of time and energy and at the end of it all, I would still owe you a game.
The good news is, the project has been running a long time and this all feels very easy to put together now (if not a bit time consuming,) the major lessons have been learnt. Still some challenges but we have what we need for victory.
Lot's of exciting new ideas and there's a lot we can pull from the original client(s,) think fleets hiding in asteroid clusters and that 'living sector' feel, but on a much grander scale. We have to start out small, a core game that is fun to play with multiplayer from the start (if you want that, it'll be subtle) and we'll roll in features in a much more planned fashion with planning sessions held with some external scrutiny.
Minus getting all the assets made, this does effectively mean starting again - but I promise you it will be worth it.
So for some real updates:
- Going to be sticking with Unity3D for the game client after all, we have bunch of assets all ready for that game engine - the game client can be turned around quickly because of that. We should take that win.
- The ship models and other game assets are intact, what we need now is time to assemble the assets into a game. I’ll own that as my penance (even if it takes another 5 years,) but we expect to bring on a dev or two in the new year to assist.
- We planned to make it free, maybe we'll just make it super cheap instead. We want to avoid getting hung up on business management but it's inevitable and we have someone to handle that now. When we get back to a release cycle, we'll need to pay for development somehow - i'll fund that out of pocket for the time being. Plus a multiplayer free game has some pretty big considerations.
I’m hoping there will be something to show Q2/Q3 in the coming year, but it’s going to look like block wars for quite a while yet, and when we update steam it’ll need to be with something that exceeds what is currently on show.
Note that we won't be supporting the current game client, we're currently rewriting to fix some game design issues which will make it easier to control and play. We're also making it a multiplayer game from the start.
Massively appreciated the messages of support, also appreciate that there’s many of you feeling annoyed - trust me we're working hard to put it right. Enjoy your holiday season, I’ll personally be coding like a madman for the duration.
You’ll be hearing from us again in the New Year.