Approaching Infinity has been in Early Access on Steam for 2 years and it has changed my life!
And with your help, I've taken a game that was "complete" according to the original design, and used it as a framework for an increasingly-deep space exploration adventure.
Here is a partial list of features that have been added:
Alien race portraits
Hailing ships
Planet scans
Elemental weapons
Activated skills
Starting quests
Sprawling planets
A new melee weapon
Custom ships
A UI-skin DLC
Med pods
Shipwreck stories
Gadgets, stacks, and scrap
Explosive decompression
Grenades
Lower decks
Monsters with powers
Floating texts
Exploding tanks
Planetary surveys
Towing shipwrecks
Invisible space mines
Retribution strikes
I got tired of scrolling through all the Steam News items, so that's not everything, but as you can see, an abundance of new interactions. And those things are all new. It doesn't even touch on the existing systems that have been remodeled and improved, or the hundreds of quality-of-life upgrades.
If you haven't tried Approaching Infinity, now is a great time, because I'm offering
10% off
for this anniversary milestone.
But if you're waiting until it's out of early access, I'd like to offer you some perspective: I've been at it *constantly* for 2 years, and I estimate another 2 years to bring my vision to life. Players have used Steam and Discord to help shape the game, and the community interaction has VASTLY improved it.
Join us now!
And now really is the time, because I just released a limited-edition beta of the asteroid bases with NPCs, and that is going to CHANGE THE UNIVERSE! https://youtu.be/azoe8Tv0hv4
A new combat-free area
2 new factions
NPCs with branching conversations
30+ new types of stores
This is *not* a DLC, it's ongoing development of the game. And there's more to come after that. Yep, it's big.
The DLC is Landing!
But First...
Quest Log!
The quest log update that was in beta is now released into the main branch for everyone:
Wow, what a change! There hasn't been any problem with expanding the number of quests or items. I think you'll find your game experience greatly enhanced by this one new screen.
DLC
After 2 years of constant improvements, Approaching Infinity's first-ever DLC package launches today!
This is purely a cosmetic update that changes the way the interface looks. It has no new monsters, items, quests, or features (because those things happen all the time, for free!)
All proceeds of the DLC go to AI's artist, David Gervais, one of the unsung heroes of roguelikes and indie game developers everywhere. If you recognize (or have used) these tiles, you should thank David. (I thank him daily.)
Asteroid Bases...
...are *NOT* part of this update, but I did have a conversation with an NPC on an asteroid base just the other day... They told me about a new faction called "the Syndicate", but mentioned that there was some confusion about the name.
Which is good, because I was attacked by Syndicate Enforcers on a loot stockade! Look out, because they're taking over those lucrative loot-caches.
Quest Log Update
The first beta in 2 weeks brings just one big obvious change:
A New Quest Log!
This is obviously a big improvement over the existing system, where you had to scroll left and right to go through your quests.
Now you have a list of every quest on the left, and a large detailed description on the right. The destination sector is included in the quest list, and the faction, environment, and even target item or creature or whatever, is clearly indicated.
It will also tell you if the quest is done, and when it is, the destination will become the nearest space station where it can be turned in!
On top of all this, the total number of quests you can have at once has been raised from 10 (too few!) to 38, which is more than you could possibly have at any time (right now). Why do that? Because new quests are coming!
Similarly, the total number of items (ship components) the game could handle has been increased 4x (Only a few people ever noticed this limit, but still, it's gone now!)
Starting Quest Overhaul
A streamer (Lord Haywire) recently told me, after doing a 3-hour dry run of Approaching Infinity "Your game doesn't give your game enough credit." To go on quoting: "What I mean by that is that your game is actually pretty deep and has a lot going for it, but you wouldn’t know that from playing it at the beginning. In the first 30 minutes I was sure I knew everything I needed to know. but I stream for three hours[...]. By the time I was done streaming though I wasn’t sure I knew everything, and I wanted to play more!"
Ever since AI came to steam, this has been an ongoing project: how to hint to players, up front, just how deep the rabbit hole goes. So I'm giving that area some more love.
You know I recently left some clues about the Amulet of Yendor quest, and now I've expanded the starter quest "Humanity's Fate" to actually lead somewhere, instead of just saying "it's up to you". *I* know there's a ton of stuff out there to find, and I want you to know too!
All that is in the
Beta Branch
right now.
Asteroid Bases...
...are still coming, including 30+ new stores, new quests, a new FACTION, and more!
Welcome Traveler!
This space exploration rogue-like has been through some big changes since the last major update:
Space Station Backgrounds
In the constant effort to not only add new game systems and content, but also improve existing features, we've added unique background art to the space stations of all the different alien races.
Fame, Infamy, and Reputation
Fame, infamy, and reputation have always been opaque background systems that affect how others see you, but it's never been clear exactly how they work... No more!
From now on, any action that changes your fame or infamy (which are measured separately) will illicit some sort of notification (either a floating text or in the message log). Furthermore, upon reaching certain thresholds of fame or infamy, you'll get pop-ups telling you how the alien races you've met feel about the things you've done.
And it changes your reputation with them.
Reputation itself has been remodeled to make it much harder to be friends with everyone at the same time. Most of the aliens out there don't like each other, some are openly hostile to others (or all). And since the enemy of my enemy is my friend, well, the friend of my enemy might just be my enemy too... look out!
Warp Screen Improvements
David (AI's artist) was watching one of my youtube playthroughs and he noticed how much trouble I had when searching sectors for the nearest embassy of a particular alien race (usually so I could go turn in a quest).
So he came up with a simple solution and sent me little images for each race's starbase, so we could put them directly on the warp screen... What a great, easy solution! To go along with making it easier to find things, I decided to add sectors you can reach on your next jump as well, and they're shown in gray. A discord member suggested we add captain's log notes, and here we have it, tons more visual information, at a glance:
There's still plenty of text below, outlining in more detail what is known about each sector. But this makes navigation so much quicker. Thanks David!
Sprawling Planets!
For 8 years, every sector, planet, shipwreck, and cave was represented by a single map. The edges of the screen were the limit. Of course caves can go 20 levels deep sometimes, and "Lower Decks" added more vertical space to shipwrecks...
But now you can find planets with more surface area: on scans, they're revealed as "large" or "sprawling" (depending on how many extra screens there are), and when you approach the edges of the map on those planets, you might see an arrow allowing you to travel to new areas to the north, south, east, or west.
I've only scratched the surface of what can be done with this feature, but for now you can still enjoy planets that are up to 8x larger than before. While that is extremely rare, one should be guaranteed to spawn in sector 6... go find it!
DLC
Many months ago now, David presented me with 5 complete interface re-skins, and asked that I release them as a DLC. That is finally happening, in Approaching Infinity's first downloadable content package, the Interface Expansion.
This DLC contains no new gameplay features or content (because you already get that all the time, for free!) Instead, it's purely cosmetic. All proceeds go to the artist himself, so show some love for this legendary rogue-like pixel pusher, and wishlist it today!
Alien Distress Calls
While exploring shipwrecks, if you touch a control console (desk), there is a chance it might spawn a note about an event the crew of this ship witnessed before their demise...
It will tell of an alien ship in another sector that was sending a distress call. They will have been asking for repairs or evacuation, and if you go there, you can find them and help them yourself, for a nice reputation boost and some tangible rewards as well.
These mini-quests are automatically added to your captain's log (L), and auto-deleted when completed. As with most things, these missions are entirely optional, and really just serve to introduce new players to some of the many gameplay possibilities out there.
Other Changes:
Alien ships can now hail you
I added a "melee safety" for non-hostile targets.
I removed the names of most earthly diseases. The names will be sillier now. The effects are still bad.
There is now a visual "supply warning" for your ship, similar to the oxygen and HP warnings on planets.
There is a new rare pirate mini-quest that can be found in caves.
If you're on a ship "repair" mission for aliens , walking over a system will tell you whether it's "vital" to be repaired.
I added 2 new enemy types in Galactic Mega-Structures, and changed their spawning distribution (no more warping into the middle of 3 of them at once)
I Made changes to the "Monks" quest line, including a new unique ending.
Added a setting: "Tutorial Messages (NEVER)", which turns off all explainer pop-ups. (Intended for experienced players.)
Alien ships that have been in the sector for a while will sometimes leave.
Pirate raiders have a new unique behavior...
A LOT of theoretical and design work on many new major systems... because...
What's Next?
Some really big stuff! Thanks to an overwhelming Discord vote, the next major feature to be added to the game will be "Asteroid Bases": neutral space-ports offering services found nowhere else.
It will introduce an entirely new alien faction to the AI universe. To make this happen, I'll need to finalize my recent behind-the-scenes work on NPCs, and it will give way to the botany and alchemy systems, as well as archaeology quests, legendary weapons, and even fargates!
EXCITING TIMES!
Beta Update
There have been a lot of unannounced changes in the beta branch lately, but today's is too big of a deal to ignore...
Sprawling Planets
One of Approaching Infinity's core design choices is "small maps". Caves add to the depth of planets, but each level is still self-contained. Lower decks on shipwrecks further expanded those areas in a similar way.
But now, every so often, you'll come across a planet surface where the map's edge is not the end. A flashing arrow will show up over the away team, and then you can click yourself or press space to travel ... BEYOND! Most maps only have one or two of these areas, but there can be up to 9 (center + 1 map in every direction). They are detectable by planet-scanning, and show up as "large" or "sprawling".
As soon as everything checks out, it will move into the main branch, for all to enjoy.
Other Changes:
You can find ship's logs referencing other ships in other sectors that need your help.
These notes go into your captain's log, and you can go find those ships and help them. (Or steal all their stuff and leave them to die...)
You can also find messages about what races inhabit which unexplored sectors, in case you're looking for someone (or trying to avoid someone).
Galactic Mega-structure generation has been improved, and 2 new enemy drone types have been added.
The Monks' quest line has a new ending (and a new middle too!)
Lots more aditions and fixes for the fame/infamy/reputation systems.
A Hidden Victory
Have you ever won Approaching Infinity? Did you know that 8 of the alien quest lines lead to a unique victory? (And therefore, 4 races don't induce a win...) But there is another hidden way to win the game:
The Amulet of Yendor!
Yep, that classic RL staple, as seen in Rogue, Nethack, and even another one of my games... it's in the AI universe too. But it's basically a secret. No one talks about it, there are no quests for it, or clues to its location. The only thing you get is a slightly different result if you scan a certain planet... I said it was hidden.
But now that's changed. Starting in sector 2, you can search book cases for clues to the amulet's whereabouts. There are 3 books to be found, and they should give you enough information to find it.
If you've never won before, I challenge you to find it! And if you have, I bet you've still not seen some of the insidious new traps I've laid for you :D
Surrender
The ability to 'surrender' to a hostile ship has been around since 2020, but until now, it's been too easy. The aliens might say they want something from you, but they never actually *took it*. That's over.
From now on, they will exact a heavy price for your continued existence. The amounts they ask for scale with the sector, so the numbers in these picture (from my god-mode account) are a bit beyond what you'd normally see... but still, pay or die!
Cloudgun
The "cloud-gun" was originally modeled after a flame-thrower type weapon, meant to basically hit everything in its path. But all it ever really did was hit a large number of 'adjacent targets'. Which is fine, but I always wanted it to be better. It is now:
https://youtu.be/onw1cc2TAjk
Now it hits every tile on the way to its target, and damages every monster it comes into contact with, as well as hitting adjacent monsters when it gets where its going. It's so awesome I had to give it a one-turn cool-down. Oh well, it's worth it!
The ZAPPER!
Approaching Infinity has had 4 different types of melee weapons forever: knife, sword, hammer, and eviscerator. They each do their own kind of damage, and they get progressively stronger and slower.
But there are no fire swords or lightning hammers. And that's been fine until now. It took David to send me a new piece of art out of the blue to create...
The Zapper! This little stun-gun-inspired weapon can do all kinds of "elemental" damage. But it also has more new behavior:
Every time you use a zapper, its damage goes down (it drains the battery). Every turn you don't use it, it recharges a little. It's not as good when you're surrounded, but it really packs a punch against a single target.
Captain Akko
Kenny Dalman is the artist responsible for AI's amazing new alien portraits, and I guess he's not done! He was having such a good game that it inspired him to draw his captain. Take a look here and give Kenny some love!
Crafting Changes
I've been working on updating the crafting system, and honestly, this is just the beginning of what I have planned. But it's also the easy stuff, so I got it done:
You now need to take apart each different kind of away team weapon (both ranged and melee) before you can craft them. Salvaging a pistol no longer entitles you to build a rocket launcher! But you can also make specialized space suits now, and tailor them for HP, oxygen, vision range, or environmental resistance.
This is in addition to the new system where you are required to actually craft things to get the highest level items (experience vs. knowledge).
Beta
There are other new features going into the Beta branch, and that's updated at least once a week. We have a lot of conversation on the Discord, and if you're interested, come join us!
Right now, I'm working on overhauling the fame/infamy and race reputation systems to be more transparent (so players no what the heck is going on with them)! But I'm also working on finally rolling out "uncountable infinities" to all players, which will expand the surface of many planets to up to 9 screens (though that large is very rare). I haven't told anyone yet, but I started working on "Legendary Weapons"...
There's a lot going on :D
NOW GO FIND THAT AMULET!
Beta Branch Update
It's been a great week for development with a lot of small new features and tweaks:
I fixed an error with stack #'s not disappearing under certain circumstances... it was a weird one!
New crafting limitations: each kind of away team gun needs to be salvaged to be craftable.
Fixed infinite Lichen spores
David sent me new images for the cave-in traps obstacles
I'm adjusting the way "environmental resistance" on suits works, to encourage exploration of other planet types earlier.
Also further differentiated the environmental damage of planets
Now displaying in scan "how many turns you can survive" on a planet with environmental damage
You can now decide to craft a suit for a specific purpose (As long as your crafting level is at least 20)
I've started leaving clues about the Amulet of Yendor...
In space, the little greetings that aliens give ("ahoy matey", etc.) will now show up as floating text, instead of going to the message log.
Stardate has been adjusted to advance more slowly while on away missions.
The amount of resources found on planets now scales more by the difficulty of the planet (earth-like planets have less resources just laying around, and molten and dying planets have more)
I Fixed a big that allowed some people to install multiple copies of the same device. (That was a big scare, thanks Valescere!)
Corpses in space now float towards the edges of the screen and eventually disappear.
Eaters also eat them
You can finally identify artifacts entirely using the keyboard, by starting with CTRL+I ("eye")
Beta 1.7c6
It's been a great week for development with a lot of small new features and tweaks:
I fixed an error with stack #'s not disappearing under certain circumstances... it was a weird one!
New crafting limitations: each kind of away team weapon needs to be salvaged to be craftable.
Fixed infinite Lichen spores
David sent me new images for the cave-in traps obstacles
I'm adjusting the way "environmental resistance" on suits works, to encourage exploration of other planet types earlier.
Also further differentiated the environmental damage of planets
Now displaying in scan "how many turns you can survive" on a planet with environmental damage
You can now craft a suit for a specific purpose (As long as your crafting level is at least 20)
I've started leaving clues about the Amulet of Yendor...
I added a new type of cavern: the waste dump!
It comes complete with a horrible new monster :D
Stardate has been adjusted to advance more slowly while on away missions.
In space, the little greetings that aliens give ("ahoy matey", etc.) will now show up as floating text, instead of going to the message log.
The amount of resources found on planets now scales more by the difficulty of the planet (earth-like planets have less resources just laying around, and molten and dying planets have more)
I Fixed a big that allowed some people to install multiple copies of the same device. (That was a big scare, thanks @Valescere !)
Corpses in space now float towards the edges of the screen and eventually disappear.
Eaters also eat them
You can finally identify artifacts entirely using the keyboard, by starting with CTRL+I ("eye")
Main Branch Update
The shipwreck overhaul has been the focus for a long time, but it's coming to an end. Here are a list of changes that have been in beta over the past few weeks, and are now available for everyone:
Shipwreck internal damage stories are complete.
Sometimes cells (cages) on shipwrecks are occupied.
You can now open and close cells from any functioning console (desk).
Your crafting level now starts off lower and reads as a decimal. The act of crafting items will increase your level. You must rely on experience as well as knowledge.
There are now tool-tips in the options menu (if you have tool-tips turned on!)
The "auto explore" setting now effects the input-timeout when new enemies are spotted (set it more "afraid" to get a longer time-out).
Cargo vacuum can now function with a range of 2!
Increased the cost of supplies.
Hiring an officer at one space station will no longer stop you from hiring another officer at a different station in the same sector.
Officer XP pickup "stars" now grant a little more XP which scales with the sector and captain's level.
Fixed "cargo-screen installation of built-in devices".
Added "tangler" damage type to away team weapons.
Shipwreck scans now more accurately report life-forms of explored wrecks .
Fixed a bug with shuttle ace and zoom.
Laser-gates have returned to shipwrecks, and now they can be shut down by finding a code and entering it into a computer.
Fixed cloaking device exploit.
Got new art for cave and canyon walls (and better handling too... go digging and try it out!)
Introduced "megafreeze", an industrial chemical hazard.
Scans of pre-existing shipwrecks may report incorrect "monster" results (new sectors should be accurate).
Med Pods:
These have been on shipwrecks for a long time, but now they actually work! Move the landing party on top of them and press space or left-click.
Enjoy!
Going Rogue
Steam put together a celebration of roguelike games, so of course they invited Approaching Infinity (and Curse of Yendor too) !
While most "rogue likes" are set in fantasy worlds with goblins and magic and dungeons, Approaching Infinity goes where (almost) no one has gone before... OUTER SPACE! Now is the perfect time to join in the never-ending galactic exploration adventure because you can get
15% Off!
In celebration of this event, I started a new video series, this one going for the Tentaculon victory... you might even see some spoilers eventually. Here's one now: I die in episode 2! But I get right back into it and get even more serious. https://youtu.be/JVSJxQ3Rr9o
I also wrote a blog post summing up the last few months of updates (the "shipwreck overhaul"), and I'm working on releasing some new features that have been in beta-testing for a while:
Working Med-Pods (cure diseases, remove status effects, etc.)
Cells on shipwrecks can have monsters in them, and you can open and close cells from consoles!
Laser-Gates are back to shipwrecks, but you can now find a shut-down code for them.
