This is to keep you appraised of the game’s pre-release state and what we’re working on,
Content:
The first iteration of the new content (the endgame events) was done on Oct 20th, ahead of schedule. It gave us time to play through it a few (dozen) times and see ways to improve it (the ways that aren't immediately obvious when you're designing the events on paper). The second iteration will be done today.
Ending slides:
Almost done, waiting for the last slide. 7 endings in total.
Achievements:
We're setting them up right now, still waiting for two more icons (art). 70 achievements in total.
Plans for the next two weeks:
Journal - the entries are too minimalistic, so now (that everything else is done) is the time to expand them
Expanding dialogues (where appropriate, plus improving early dialogues)
Civilian (ambient) animations
Improving character customization
Two more soundtracks plus Improving soundwork
Visual improvements
Optimization
It may sound like a lot, but keep in mind that these are different 'departments'.
Post-release Plans:
We'll support (read 'improve') the game for 6 months after release, before transitioning to the tentative sequel or out of business (if the game doesn't sell enough to pay for said sequel). So if it's our last game, we'd like to make it as memorable as possible for people who like our design. If we stay in business, all the more reasons to do the same.
Update Notes For Oct 11
CHANGES
Balance tweaks to reputation gain with factions.
Interface tweaks.
FIXES
Fixed text issues.
Fixed the wrong reputation on Storm.
Fixed issues with some traders.
Fixed inconsistency in XP reward with Shadow.
The Pit update (and a lot more!)
The hardest update of the year is done and we can finally focus on the endgame events. We need about 3 weeks to wrap it up, the level design and most writing is already done, so we're confident enough to announce the release date - Nov 9.
The game was in development since Jan 2017, so it's been almost 7 years, which is quite a journey. We would have never made it this far without players willing to support us and help us make a better game. Thank you.
On to the update: while the main focus is the Pit (chapter 4), it adds several player-requested quest solutions (like sneaking past Hargrave in Mission Control), more sneaking opportunities and minor events, special deals for Master Trader (feat), changes to Armor Handling, changes to Cloaking Field (gadget) and the stealth system in general.
We didn't list recent updates on the store page as we kept them on the testing branch until the system changes were completed. So for the players on the default branch, this update also includes
- New Chapter 2 content. - Party members' Bonding System. - The Grangers' Alliance - The Delivery (keeping it vague to avoid spoilers) - The Habitat's questlines' conclusion
Thank you for playing, see you in a month.
Factory Hotfix
- Fixed the issue in which Detroit and Black Hand gate weren't working on old saves.
Mission Control
Your adventure continues: now you can visit the lower levels of Mission Control, fight Ol' Beelzebub, fix and deploy Romeo, further upgrade your implants, enjoy quality of life and balance improvements, and learn more about the Ship:
Like oversized Tarot cards, these elaborately decorated panels tell the visitors their past, present, and future.
The first panel, named Hell, depicts a fragment of urban life on Earth: a dark sub-level - you can't really call it a street - lit by angry fires that have nothing left to consume.
Nothing can thrive or grow down there, nothing but pale, malnourished castaways, clinging to life with the tenacity of despair.
Far above is a glimpse of a railway overpass, its warning lights unable to pierce the darkness below. Higher still are the towers, reaching for the polluted sky, and the silvery traffic network between them.
The bottom dwellers dream of landing a factory job and taking a train to work one day; the wage-slaves riding the trains are driven by the fear of ending up at the bottom and the dream of making it into one of those towers; and in the towers, an empty man surrounded by nothing but material possessions yearns for death.
Waves of despair wash over you, until you step back, beyond the range of the hidden broadcaster.
The next panel is titled Purgatory and it depicts the Ship as it once was or perhaps how it was imagined back on Earth. Generations of colonists working tirelessly to create the tools the future generations would use to tame Proxima. Their lives are hard, but they're driven by purpose and hope, which is what separates them from their squalor-dwelling brethren back on Earth.
Through this sacrifice the wretched will be purified and the children of their children will be admitted into New Eden. This is the true gift of the Founding Fathers...
The broadcaster kicks in full gear, filling you with gratitude and a desire to purge away your sins through labor.
And finally the last panel. You don't need to read the sign to know what this is - a homesteader's paradise.
A land - *your* land, suggests the broadcaster, planting the idea in your head - stretching green as far as the eye can see, blue sky, free of smog and traffic, and your very own home, a place you will build with your own hands.
The more you stare at the shifting images, the more you want it and you can't tell for sure if it's the broadcaster selling you the dream or a deeply supressed desire.
You'll never know if things were as bleak as the panels paint it, but the colonists needed to believe their ancestors made the right call escaping hellish Old Earth and setting out for the paradise of New Eden.
Roadmap to Release
As we're getting closer (85% of the game is done and available on Early Access), let's go over what's left and the remaining update schedule.
Mission Control (lower levels)
That's what we're working on now. We'll will probably need another month, so let's be optimistic and say mid-June (but no later than the end of June).
The levels are half done (the layout is done, we're adding details), but this update includes a fairly complex creature (from the programming standpoint) and a robot companion. While the robots are already in the game and don't need to be programmed, the upgrade system isn't and will take some work.
Once this update is released, we'll hit two major milestones:
all work on non-human characters will be done and our programmer will be able to fully focus on other tasks
all locations and level design will be done, which takes about 60% of work in every update. From this point on we'll focus on pure content (scripting quests and setting up fights), which will speed things up considerably.
The Grangers' Alliance, Attack on the Armory, Delivery - End of July.
The Habitat's Questlines - End of Aug.
The Pit's Alliance - End of Sep.
The Bridge and the Endgame - End of Oct.
The level design (including unique props) is done ahead of schedule, the extensive text (interacting with the central computer) is done too, so we'll be able to focus on the endgame events. The Armory's level 3 (also done) is part of the endgame events.
Overall, we're looking at 5-6 increasingly less stressful months of work left. The hardest part of work is behind us now and we want to thank all those who supported us during the last two years. We wouldn't have made it this far without you.
Full Demo Available
Now you can try the demo and see for yourself if the design is to your liking.
The demo gives you the entire first chapter and three party members (you'd have to explore the starting town to recruit them; your party size is tied to your main character's Charisma).
Should you choose to buy the game and continue your adventure, you'll be able to keep playing without starting a new game as the demo saves are compatible with the full game.
Some tips for new adventurers:
- Buy and use gadgets like the Distortion Field or the Energy Shield for every fight. You can find them at Cole's Gadgets store in the Pit and activate before a fight.
- Don't neglect the combat feats. If you're playing a fighter, pick the feat related to your primary weapon: Pistolero, Rifleman, etc. To understand how your to-hit chance is calculated, press ALT while hovering over a target to see the full breakdown.
- Use stimulants and grenades: smoke grenades will make you harder to hit (very useful for melee fighters), poison grenades will weaken your enemies, especially those without gas masks, flashbangs will disorient them, etc.
- Heavier armor isn't necessarily better, especially if your character has low Armor skill and no Armor handling feat.
- Don't use the same attack over and over. Aimed: Legs attack can reduce your enemies' Evasion, making them easier to hit, while Aimed: Weak Point will reduce the enemies' Damage Resistance (DR).
- The textbox in the right corner provides a lot of info: your damage, enemies' DR, and even your rolls. It also shows which attacks the enemies are using. The enemies use the same system (stats, skills, feats, inventory) and play by the same rule. Paying attention to what they do will help you figure out the rules faster.
If you have any questions about the mechanics, we'll be happy to answer.
Update notes for May 1, 2023
IMPROVEMENTS
- Heavily improved the performance of the save/load screen, especially when lots of saves are present. - Added the option to delete all saves related to a character. - Disabled the possibility of tagging speech skills on party members.
CHANGES
- Tweaked the price of broken and damaged implants. - Tweaked Zeta's heart and armor implant.
FIXES
- Fixed the save/load screen resetting when a save was deleted. - Fixed missing or wrong LP gains. - Fixed 5th Daughter lack of gadget. - Fixed wrong computers reward in electronics check in Red Zone. - Fixed wrong reference with Nico's dialogue and Nazar. - Tweaked code on Shotgunner so it increases only shotgun accuracy. - Fixed issue with party members remaining invisible if you loaded a savegame in which they were inside the building and the PC outside.
Hydroponics New Zones
You can continue your adventure and explore Hydroponics Yellow and Red Zones: Esteemed members of the Synod,
Our division has been tasked with protecting the precious crops and plants, the everlasting gift of Mother Earth to Proxima, our promised land.
We know that the dangers will be many: pests, fungi, pathogens, even the soil itself, but with the right tools the pests can be driven off, the fungi controlled, the soil enriched.
Our Forefathers have given us these tools: keystone species that define entire ecosystems and hold them together, and like any tools they must be shaped and even reforged, if needed, to fit the task at hand.
These species will be our first line of defence in the battle that's yet to come. They will safeguard our fields and tirelessly protect them from any local threat that burrows, crawls, or flies in the most humane and environmentally-conscious way possible.
Our floaters can disrupt brain waves, gently turning away anyone approaching a designated perimeter. Should it fail they can rapidly generate an electric charge of up to 1,200 volts - more than enough to make the trespasser leave and never return.
The frogs can easily hunt down any intruders ... but you've already seen what they're capable of. Suffice it to say, our little friends have shown a remarkable capacity for learning, and their genetic variety makes the possibilities truly endless.
Our most interesting project is a sand striker, uniquely suitable for any desert environment. It's an ambush predator that can detect vibrations and anticipate its prey's movements.
What's fascinating is that its nutrient-rich waste is a perfect fertilizer that can enrich the soil and feed the plants. In this way, it turns threats into gifts that will help grow the land. This update brings us closer to the release, so let's take a look at what's left:
- Mission Control lower levels and the Armory, level 3 - Bridge - Endgame events
It will probably take us 3 months to do the next two updates, so by the end of July we should be done with level design and creatures, and we'll be able to fully focus on the endgame events.
Thank you for playing.
25% Discount & Price Increase
Now that the third chapter of the game is nearly completed, the price will be increased to $34.99 at the end of the month, when the next update goes live.
Since Colony Ship is now on sale with 25% off, the effective discount (after the price increase) is $12.49 or its regional equivalent ($22.49 vs $34.99 two weeks later). Now, here’s the million twenty-two-dollar question:
Should You Buy Colony Ship?
If you played our first game (The Age of Decadence) and liked it, you can buy Colony Ship with confidence:
well-crafted setting that's more than an excuse to kill some things
story that doesn't revolve around saving the world
robust character system with 6 stats, 18 skills, feats, implants, and reputation
tactical turn-based combat with different attacks and futuristic gadgets
branching dialogues full of skill checks and choices
multiple ways to handle quests and objectives
meaningful choices backed by consequences
If you want to give it a try, then board the Ship and we'll take you on a dystopian adventure of a (very short) lifetime. If you want to see some gameplay first:
