Hi everyone,
Welcome to the first post-release update for CGA Trek. CGA Trek is my small fast-paced version of a classic "Trek" game. It's not meant to be the definitive space game with every single feature known to humanity but I do want to add stuff that makes the game fun and interesting.
There is a bunch of new stuff but the two big items this release are:
Shields
More CGA. Yes, MORE!
I was happy with the first version of CGA Trek BUT every time I went into battle I was itching to raise shields. Shields are such an integral part of Star Trek (the show) and Trek games so it was my number one feature. But I don't want to add stuff unless it improves the game. In CGA Trek when you raise your shields it gives you a barrier around your ship that the enemies can chip away at. I think it really gives the player more options for tactics.
Starboard shields failing? Swing round and let your port shields take some damage. Or warp in with shields raised, take heavy fire, let off a volley of torpedoes and then warp the kirk out! It just adds a bit more depth to the game. I got down to 8 energy at one point (sweating).
CGA was a type of graphics card from the early 1980s. It was commonly used to display four colours on the screen at once but it actually 16 colours. However, a programmer couldn't pick ANY four of the 16, it had to be from a limited number of preselected palettes. The first version of CGA Trek used the "magenta high" palette (magenta, cyan, white and black) but with this version you can switch to the other palettes.
I have also added contrast, brightness and saturation sliders. This gives everyone much more control of what appears on the screen without losing the essential authentic CGA feel.
Another big gameplay change is that on harder modes there is now a time limit. This is direct from the older Trek games and just adds a bit of spice to the gameplay. It encourages players to warp at higher speeds and spend more time in battles between visits to stations.
change: boost number of enemies in medium, hard and difficult
change: reduce how often enemy taunts us slightly
change: reduce how often enemy sends a message before exploding
change: shrink toggle buttons to fit minimum text height
change: rebalance difficulty levels to take into account time limits and new shield system
change: smaller headings in engineering
add: add more messages from enemies
add: add saturation, brightness and contrast sliders in settings
add: add shields
add: add tutorial for shields
add: add voice over for shields up / down
add: add SFX for shields up / down
add: time limit to games
add: warp with shields up costs more energy
add: add new custom font CGA Luke 6PX bold and regular
fix: issue when entering menu from torpedo mode
fix: don't show subtitles if voice muted
fix: enemy energy levels now obey scenario designer setting
fix: block undo button when in the middle of phaser targeting
If you've read this far it means you are a person of refinement and discernment. Any reviews or purchases of my games go a long way to helping me make more. These sort of niche business are much more of a two way street than where a person just goes in and buys a product and goes away... your feedback and requests can get directly acted upon so your support genuinely makes it happen. Thanks!
Regards,
Luke Miller
PS. Wishlist my next game, Low Earth Orbit Adventures.