Concealed Intent
Release Candidate 2 or Version 0.9.32 Released
The main point is that the bug list is again empty despite quite a bit of testing (with more to come). I feel fairly confident in the quality of the game (please let me know if you see any issues!). Also I have the outline of a marketing plan and it seems reasonable.
Now I need to set a release date and start the marketing. Expect an announcement in a week or so!
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Current Version: 0.9.32 (21st June 2016)
Known Issues:
* Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay
Immediate Roadmap:
* Bugfixes/Balance
* Release Plan
0.9.31 (10th June 2016) -> 0.9.32 (21st June 2016)
* Stop target focus reticules from "sticking"
* Stop crash when just launched drones fire on player in online games
* Ensure target weapon hud selectors appear completely onscreen the first time they are displayed
* Ensure "Can Target" line changes colour when game colours changed
* Make Last Stand mission more difficult
* Set waves "victory" to wave 15 (ie survive the first cycle) and add a repairer to the base
* Change twitter/facebook icons colour on hover
* Componentise server and combine with feedback
Release Candidate 1 or Version 0.9.31 Released
Next I'm going to spend a fortnight working towards "Release Candidate 2". That should be a small release. My spare working time will be deciding and preparing for a full release. Assuming this release goes well, then the next release will come with an expected release date *fingers crossed*.
How are people finding the waves skirmish? I find it challenging (my best is wave 23 starting with 1 corvette and having it regenerate once). Experience has shown me that if I find it hard, then other people will find it nearly impossible - is this the case?
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Current Version: 0.9.31 (10th June 2016)
Known Issues:
* Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay
Immediate Roadmap:
* Bugfixes/Balance
* Release Plan
0.9.30 (20th May 2016) -> 0.9.31 (10th June 2016)
* Ensure move line & active sensor shells colours change with game colours
* Stop loadout components being both selected and disabled when capacity exceeded.
* Make stack HUD selectors, stats grids, flow tables & objective markers handle screen size changes
* If enemy has no target then most ships/drones will move randomly to look for them & sometimes turn off sensor suppression
* Move Skirmish enemy start positions in a little
* Suppressed sensors now still allows one ship/drone to use their sensors
* If no optimal range use max weapon range instead
* Fix silly error in Jiggle where it was modifying range by an order of magnitude more than expected
* Hard AI Frigate & Corvette become more aggressive if hull low or all drones gone
* Enemy ships now assume unknown targets carry a Medium Pulse when calculating optimal ranges
* Online DB archive system & indexes
* Just usurped player ships now retain plans over a replay
* Added Hard AI system that means command ship may tell their drones to target other drones as secondaries ("drone denial")
* Ensure enemies targeting drones do not also target uncategorised entities (as they could be ships)
* Hard AI Cruisers now set drones aggressive if attacking or under attack
* Hard AI Corvette & Frigate ships now more sensible in their use of countermeasures, Cruisers & Destroyers launch more but under the same conditions
* Fix silly bug where enemies incorrectly calculated the danger near them
* Move Hard AI start location closer to player
* Enemy ships with disruptors chose better targets
* Prevent Jammers being able to usurp neutrals
* Make local enemies attack local neutrals (unless set to ignore them)
* Make waves spawn further away
* Update colour and size handlers to be more consistent
* Periodically realign focus button images (as they sometimes jump out of alignment)
* More consistent noise & hull highlighting and stop the highlight getting stuck
* Make Usurper Skiff more aggressive
* Decode mission now sets Message Steam achievement
* Reaching wave 12 of waves skirmish counts as a victory for Steam achievements
* Added to extra (weak) waves to waves skirmish to space out ships and make it a bit easier
Feature Complete or Version 0.9.30 Released
In particular the game now includes two new skirmish modes:
- Waves: Endless waves of enemies assaulting a player base, how long can you hold them off?
- Savior: A number of civilian shuttles are trying to reach a base while under attack, can you identify friend or foe quick enough to save them all?
Savior skirmishes are notable as they include the new neutral unknown system that means unidentified ships are shown as neutral regardless of what they really are (similar to online duels). I decided to enable this feature only in Savior skirmishes instead of making it a modifier. It didn't make much sense elsewhere, as in other skirmishes other ships are always the enemy (I tried it, and then removed it).
Next up is a week off work on Concealed Intent, and working on a prototype of another game. Then it will be back for bug fixes and balancing and AI work (as always) for a mid-June release. That one will be the "Release Candidate". After that there will hopefully be no more than one version before coming out of Early Access *fingers crossed*.
Finally, here is an example of the new neutral system in action when I was testing:
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Current Version: 0.9.30 (20th May 2016)
Known Issues:
* Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay
Immediate Roadmap:
* Bugfixes
* Balance/AI/missions
* Suggestions/feedback?
* Performance enhancements - client & server?
0.9.29 (5th May 2016) -> 0.9.30 (20th May 2016)
* Waves skirmish objective
* Savior skirmish objective
* Move back starting camera position in some tutorials & missions
* Set minimum of 49 turns before declaring a draw
* Darken starlight
* Fix bug where target markers were being incorrectly reused
* Ensure narrative panel is above objectives
* Wider objectives in various screen resolutions
* Better objective text in Exhumation & Extraction
* Add Twitter & Facebook icons/links on main menu screen
* Add victory stripe achievements to skirmishes
* Fix rare coroutine start bug
* Skirmish base objective requires at least 4 player ships
Version 0.9.29 Released
Many thanks to the anonymous feedback that Campaign Mission 3 (the one against the Pirate Base) was bugged. The error was added in release #27. I had the Pirate Base offer some helpful(?) suggestions and it seems that they were greatly insistent about speaking them. If the player managed to destroy the base before all the dialogue was complete, then the game would crash. My testing did not cover that path. Now destroying the base shuts it up.
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Current Version: 0.9.29 (5th May 2016)
Known Issues:
* Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay
Immediate Roadmap:
* Balance/AI, neutral system, skirmish fixes & additions.
* Suggestions/feedback?
* Performance enhancements - client & server?
0.9.28 (4th May 2016) -> 0.9.29 (5th May 2016)
* Fix stupid null check error in M3
Version 0.9.28 Released
This week I was supposed to start work on a neutral system and skirmish additions, but first I thought I'd take another look at one of those bugs. "Game does not work in fullscreen with multiple monitors." I think it is now fixed! I managed to borrow a second monitor, recreated the problem, and then fixed it on my machine. I hope it is fixed. Now there are two bugs at the top of the list. I'm so happy I decided to make a quick release - here it is.
Next I'm going back to the original plan and doing the neutral and skirmish work.
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Current Version: 0.9.28 (4th May 2016)
Known Issues:
* Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay
* Report that the game halts Steam when starting for a second time (the first start is fine, but the second, non-concurrent start causes the issue). Currently unable to replicate. https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/4702wo/help_problem_with_steam_hanging_after_starting/
Immediate Roadmap:
* Balance/AI, neutral system, skirmish fixes & additions.
* Suggestions/feedback?
* Performance enhancements - client & server?
0.9.27 (23rd April 2016) -> 0.9.28 (4th May 2016)
* Going to menu no longer deselects
* Stop focus icons disappearing when menu turned off
* Clear tooltips when selector cleared
* Better selector positioning
* Add Targeting quick key
* Fix selector bug where components drawn on top of eachother when going straight from one selector to another
* Fix targeting tooltip bug where it stated the wrong current target
* Reload allowable screen resolutions each time selection is displayed
* Fullscreen on multiple monitors fix
* Update to Unity 5.3
* Force OSX versions to be foregrounded on startup (thanks to increpare)
Version 0.9.27 Released
Here is the completion of the tutorial/campaign work started in the last release. Existing players who mainly do skirmishes might not notice much change. This concludes the planned work on the tutorial/campaign, but of course I expect quite a bit of balancing work in the next couple of releases.
Please give feedback on the balance and difficulty if you can. As a result of previous feedback I have made some of the earlier missions easier. I also modified sensor sensitivity. Has this worked? Is it now too easy? Or, still too hard?
Next up are some new features. A skirmish neutral option has been suggested by a player (unknown ships display as neutral until they are at least categorised), so I will do that as part of adding a couple of new skirmish types (civilian defence & the focus mission from online duels). I will also have a look at the multi-monitor issue, but this is complicated by requiring a library upgrade and me not owning a second monitor.
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Current Version: 0.9.27 (23rd April 2016)
Known Issues:
* Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay
* Anonymous feedback that there are problems with multiple monitors. Currently only have a single monitor so as yet unable to see the problem.
* Report that the game halts Steam when starting for a second time (the first start is fine, but the second, non-concurrent start causes the issue). Currently unable to replicate. https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/4702wo/help_problem_with_steam_hanging_after_starting/
Immediate Roadmap:
* Balance/AI & Skirmish fixes & additions.
* Suggestions/feedback?
* Multi-monitor support? Neutral system?
0.9.26 (22nd March 2016) -> 0.9.27 (23rd April 2016)
* Don't allow entities without engines to plan movement & similar for other action types
* Fix bug when attempting to cancel launch of ship that was not launched
* Fix narrative button collider sizing bug
* Another(!) attempt at fixing misaligned alternative highlights
* Fix tutorial highlight bug with cancelled launches
* Display Quick Key options on turn control and stats components GUI elements
* Rename "current sig." to "previous sig." & "planned sig." to "current sig."
* Remove Basic sensors from loadout options
* Change sensor stats to make the active/passive split clearer
* Better checks that moves in tutorials are correct before continuing
* Update victory stripe conditions
* Don't show full stats tooltips in first 3 tutorial missions
* Consistent tooltip offset
* Updated narrative text on various missions/tutorials
* Remove hardest 3 steam achievements, because if I haven't got them in over 110 hours of gameplay they are probably too hard
* Turn cloud save back on
* Fix rare time bug with heightmarkers when a new entity is first displayed
* Combine Decode & Burglary missions into one
* Combine Loyalty & Seizure missions into one
* Only show offscreen indicator text in T4 if target is offscreen & make indicators larger for large screens
* Non-player ship's components now display tooltips if they are partially or fully id'ed
* Force ship rotation on loadout screen unless player is currently dragging
* Stop GUI items being highlighted if they are clipped
* Ensure final drone in T1 is a sphere after appearing
* Put a weaker weapon on the drone attacking the Shuttle in Pickup mission
The Path Out Of Early Access
One thing that has become clear during Early Access is that if a solo game developer tries to do development and marketing at the same time, then both are done poorly. So the current plan is to at some point to declare Concealed Intent ready for release. Then wait between a fortnight and a month, just testing and checking there are no bugs or spelling mistakes (also preparing marketing materials). Then spend a month on just marketing before the actual release. During this two month period no new features will be added to the game, only the smallest changes will be considered and then only if necessary.
The other thing to consider when planning a release date is the Steam Summer Sale. I don't know when it will be this year (yet), but the last two years it has been a fortnight in June. When that event is running any game launch will be swamped and disappear in the hype. Concealed Intent's two week launch window must not overlap with that sale.
Combine all that and if Concealed Intent is to launch before the Steam Summer Sale then I need to stop right now and start the bug checking phase. I don't want to do that. I planned to complete a couple of iterations on the campaign work, but I have only completed one so far. Unfortunately I have been sick (probably the flu) and this has cost me nearly a fortnight's worth of work. Work I still want to complete. So in the end the decision is easy (thanks to being ill), Concealed Intent will be released after the Steam Summer Sale.
So what does that mean? Assuming that the sale is in June, I will consider that the bug check month, and July the marketing month. Thus the aim is to release Concealed Intent in early August. If the sale is in July, then I may push the release back a little. Fingers crossed it is June (and no other problems/issues arise).
On that basis I have until the end of May to continue working on Concealed Intent features. Although I'm not going to be working full-time on the game. Firstly, I'm about to go on a holiday, as my girlfriend has taken to the expanded timeline and corresponding decrease in pressure to declare its time for a break. I agree with her, there is no risk of losing dev momentum at the moment as being sick has sent me back to zero in that regard anyway. After the break I also need to start thinking about what to do after Concealed Intent. So to that end I will taking a week or two out of the plan to create prototypes when possible. That should still leave enough time for two or three Concealed Intent releases. My task list will be:
Ongoing:
- Bugfixes
- Campaign improvements
- Improvements to Skirmish "Hard AI"
Possible New Work:
- Handle multiple monitors (this is difficult as I only have a single monitor, but it will likely require updating the libraries used by the game and that part can be done in preparation for a proper fix. The update may also help with other reported issues.)
- Neutral system in skirmishes (like in online games, unknown ships are displayed as neutrals until identified - this will probably be a modifier)
- Extra objective scenarios in Skirmishes
Unlikely Features (maybe for after release):
- Linux version
- Non-Steam non-DRM version
- Steam turn notifications
So that's the plan. Hopefully I can stick to this one (all the others turned out to be overly optimistic). So I'll be back soon and initially working on another pass of the campaign. Comments welcome!!
Version 0.9.26 Released
Next I'm going plan the path out of Early Access (and post the result here), and then I'm going to take a break. For what happens after that, see the future planning post in a couple of days.
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Current Version: 0.9.26 (22nd March 2016)
Known Issues:
* Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay
* Anonymous feedback that there are problems with multiple monitors. Currently only have a single monitor so as yet unable to see the problem.
* Report that the game halts Steam when starting for a second time (the first start is fine, but the second, non-concurrent start causes the issue). Currently unable to replicate. https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/4702wo/help_problem_with_steam_hanging_after_starting/
Immediate Roadmap:
* Look again at the tutorial & campaign
* Balance/AI & Skirmish fixes & additions.
* Suggestions/feedback?
* Display component stats on tooltip? Multi-monitor support? Neutral system?
* Performance enhancements - client & server?
0.9.25 (29th February 2016) -> 0.9.26 (22nd March 2016)
* Update text on all tutorials & M1->3
* Remove M1 (First Day)
* Make it impossible to explode in the tutorial
* Updated component descriptions
* Provide a warning in M4 if too far from station to get through its shields
* Prevent gimbal lock on loadout ship model
* Added keyboard shortcut for Action ('Z' by default)
* Add Tactics as a 4th tute
* Don't lose all lock on just switched drones - lock decays as normal from last lock before switch (100% for ex-player or ally ships)
* Drones switched to player team in online duels now have a meaningful display name rather than the lookup code
* Better messages on component tooltips
* Add stats to component tooltips
* Force description of disruptor in Decode
* Weapon display can't pass through naturals anymore
* Pickup loadout options add up to default loadout
* Ensure campaign navbar starts at top
* Add a Spotter to Frigate loadout
* Fix editor destroy error when closing scenario
Version 0.9.25 Released
Next up is the last of my "must do" issues before leaving Steam EA - rework the single-player campaign. Some of you have said the early missions with your Uncle's ashes are a little weird. Sorry, that is going to stay. However, looking at the dialogue is on the list, so maybe there is something I can do there. I'm also going to look at the issues of uneven difficulty and players not being sure what to do tactically. Hopefully there will be a few iterations of this work, so as always, comments are welcome, and I promise to at least consider them all.
It is also time to start planning the path out of Early Access. With the last of the "must do"'s in progress, a plan can be formed to determine what the finished game should look like. I hope to post an update on that in the next few weeks.
Last, but not least. There has been a report by a player that the game will start once after install, but not a second time. Has anyone else seen anything similar? I can't recreate it here and working with the player has so far yielded no good results. Any help/info is greatly appreciated.
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Current Version: 0.9.25 (29th February 2016)
Known Issues:
* Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay
* Anonymous feedback that there are problems with multiple monitors. Currently only have a single monitor so as yet unable to see the problem.
* Report from one player that the game halts Steam when starting for a second time (the first start is fine, but the second, non-concurrent start causes the issue). Currently unable to replicate. https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/4702wo/help_problem_with_steam_hanging_after_starting/
Immediate Roadmap:
* Look again at the tutorial & campaign
* Balance/AI & Skirmish fixes & additions.
* Suggestions/feedback?
* Display component stats on tooltip? Multi-monitor support? Neutral system?
* Performance enhancements - client & server?
0.9.24 (20th February 2016) -> 0.9.25 (29th February 2016)
* Fix occasional NPE when online games conceded & online menu locked in waiting state
* Fix bug where the online opponent could be displayed as yourself
* Display a list of finished games
* More evenly matched random skirmishes
* Increase linker size & give cruiser an extra ECM
* Fix bug where only the first defined player ship could collect escape pods
* Uncontrolled non-autonomous ships turn neutral after a turn
* Fix bug with unknown sphere still slightly visible on enemies when they should be completely transparent
* Stop target drone in Tutorial 1 flying behind player ship elate to camera
* Wider & further min/max focus distances
* Reposition Hull "?" for Unknowns in stats display
* Fix bug with badly positioned skirmish ships when scrollbars at bottom of range and the 2nd last skirmish ship deleted
* Fix bug where skirmish flow tables slightly out of alignment & not resizing properly
* Fix bug with just switched drones not working with replays
* Make colliders on skirmish loadout & remove buttons work across the whole button & make loadout button more visible when loadout modified. Also make skirmish ship scrollviews shrink when a ship is removed
* Server update to restart at the first point after 5 days that no players are connected & fix db timeout issue
Version 0.9.24 Released
Over the next week I will work through a number of smaller, mainly cosmetic issues, while building up a plan for the AI and campaign missions. Any comments on these topics are very welcome!
Updated 22 Feb: It should also be pointed out that the AI (old or new) does not cheat. There are no buffs or secret information. All the AI enemies have no more information than the Player would have in the same situation, and the same equipment.
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Current Version: 0.9.24 (20th February 2016)
Known Issues:
* Steam Overlay can sometimes cause some Macs to hang on startup - need to disable Overlay
Immediate Roadmap:
* Cosmetic issues outstanding
* Look again at the tutorial & campaign
* Balance/AI & Skirmish fixes & additions.
* Suggestions/feedback?
* Display component stats on tooltip? Multi-monitor support? Neutral system?
* Performance enhancements - client & server?
0.9.23 (3rd February 2016) -> 0.9.24 (20th February 2016)
* Hard AI skirmish modifier
- clusters most enemies at start
- better rangefinding despite loadout changes (enemies dynamically calculate range)
- enemies will no longer "overkill" - if a target is likely to be destroyed by other enemy ships this turn, then target something else
- enemies should opportunistically target weak player ships/drones
- command ships (cruisers, corvettes & frigates) will try to organise other ships/drones to surround dangerous targets
- command ships will suppress the use of active sensors among other ships if they think there are enough sensors
- command ships will detect if an enemy has disappeared and try to regain detection
- stations have AI systems and can act like ships
- special firing rules for usurpers and painters
* Remove radiation skirmish modifier
* Put upper & lower bounds on disruption percentage regardless of range
* Fix bug where circling AI entities starting on circle centre would remain stationary
* Change Corvette default loadout to remove small beam & add decoy and another laser drone
* Flow panel tooltips now cleared on drag
* Fix bug where flow panels sometimes start in random position
* Starting rotation of player ships in skirmish is now pointing away from start point