With v0.3 now out on live, this establishes a proper baseline for us to build off of as we head towards the full release of the game later this year.
With all of the technical debt paid off, my goal starting from now until v1.0 is to deliver frequent content updates on a regular basis. This will include some new features, but will mainly be adding to the new gameplay features introduced in v0.3 (quests, engineering, upgrades, research, regions, etc.)
I have laid out a roadmap of what will be coming over the course of early access, leading up to v1.0!
03/29 Update: Due to March being a busy month for me outside of game development, the time frame for some of the updates has been updated. This isn't a huge delay, but for transparency I want to update them appropriately. I should be back to a normal schedule in April!
Other Notes:
v0.3.1 and v0.3.2 are being merged into a single v0.3.1 update, as now that I'm well into it's development I've noticed a lot of the content in these 2 patches will actually overlap.
The original v0.3.3 and v0.3.4 are also being merged as I am predicting unit production to overlap with some of the new quests I have planned for Phantom Plains.
I've removed the ETA's for patches past v0.3.3; while these are relatively accurate I would like to leave a bit of wiggle room moving forward. The goal is to still hit v1.0 by the end of Summer!
04/26 Update: The v0.3.1 update is nearly complete, but will likely roll-over into early May as the update is larger than expected and I need time to properly test & polish everything. Some of the work on this update is also in preparation for v0.3.2, which is smaller in scale compared to this one.
This update focuses entirely on The Abyss, expanding the region with new questlines, encounters, and progression systems. It also marks the return of Guardians, massive boss-like units that roam cyberspace.
New Guardians across The Abyss
ALTAR questlines continued
New ROGUE questline
New ZERO questline
omniCore Outposts
New enemy units
New engineering mods
Additional level upgrades
More achievements
This update focuses on the Phantom Plains, adding new questlines, region challenges, and completing the Phantom Tech research tree. This update also introduces controllable units and gunships, allowing you to produce fleets, deploy assaults on outposts, and directly participate in combat.
Phantom Tech tree completed
Unit and Gunship production
ALTAR questlines continued
ROGUE questlines continued
ZERO questlines continued
New NULL questline
Phantom Dynamics Outposts
New engineering mods
Additional level upgrades
More achievements
This update introduces the Frigid Fields region, a cold and hostile frontier with new temperature management mechanics. It also launches the first beta of mod support through Steam Workshop.
Steam Workshop modding beta
New region: Frigid Fields
New tech tree
Temperature Management (new mechanic)
ALTAR questlines continued
ROGUE questlines continued
ZERO questlines continued
New Anika questline
New engineering mods
Additional level upgrades
More achievements
This update introduces the Scorched Shores, a radioactive wasteland inhabited by a dangerous new class of mutated enemies.
New region: Scorched Shores
New tech tree
New unit behaviors and modifiers
New quests
New engineering mods
Additional level upgrades
More achievements
This update introduces the Wicked Wasteland, a grotesque organic region filled with hostile environments and new enemy types.
New region: Wicked Wasteland
New tech tree
New quests
New engineering mods
Additional level upgrades
More achievements
This update marks the full release of the game and introduces the final region, The Void; a vast expanse connecting to deeper and more dangerous layers of cyberspace.
New region: The Void
New endgame mechanic: Depth
New quests
New engineering mods
Additional level upgrades
More achievements
This roadmap represents the current plan for development leading up to v1.0. While some details may change along the way, development overall will remain significantly more active and iterative, with regular updates bringing new content and improvements.
Join the Community: https://discord.gg/vectorio
Thank you to everyone who has waited patiently and allowed me to do this properly; I am more excited than ever to work on the project, and I hope you'll in that excitement as updates start to rollout!
Thanks for reading,
~ Ben
P.S. Vectorio is on sale for 20% off during the Steam Tower Defense festival!