I'm glad to be bringing this to you, especially since this build took longer than expected.
Patch notes:
Additions
Added Waste Cannons. Use that pent-up shit to fly
Added Solar Sails. Harness the power of sunlight to (slowly, ever so slowly) propel yourself forward
Added the Folivora, a slow-burn default ship built around new mechanics. Named after sloths, because it only goes fast when it poops
Added triple window to helm extensions
Added two types of space dust
Added color aberration when time is dilated (both paused and sped up)
Added "Right-click to customize" to relevant shipbuilding tooltips
Changes
Turned down UI SFX
Reorganized shipbuilding system menu into fewer categories
Slowed background AI energy burn
Fixes
Improved minigame pings to be more responsive to player input
Optimized tooltips (+30 fps, seriously)
Stopped rotating stars with camera (reduces frame draw time by ~6ms)
Fixed minigame crash particles
Fixed flood event to pick a crew to pull the water to airlock
Fixed crew color dropdowns so they reset properly
Fixed loading custom ships in shipbuilding to kill repeat bug
Fixed doors blocking crew mouseover
~ ~ ~
On a personal note, I'm showcasing the game at UCSD's Winter Gamefest all weekend. If you happen to be in the San Diego area this weekend, swing by and say hi!
Happy Holidays! + 0.5.6
Destination Ares is officially 10% off for the Winter Sale!
I'm also releasing the v0.5.6 update today. Though it's a 'non-content patch', I think you'll notice lots of changes.
The big change: the minigame was overhauled! Lemme know what you love/ hate about the new one in the comments.
Notes:
General
Changed: Migrated to Unity 5.5. Yay improved tools!
Added: New system particles! When ship systems are damaged or under strain, it's more visible.
Added: Menus fade in and out now.
Added: New game ships fade in and out now.
Changed: Particle effects on command buttons improved and customized.
Minigame
Added: Effects for every space in the minigame (tiles).
Changed: Minigame player trails now last longer and show previous paths from death.
Changed: Minigame arrows removed, replaced with spinning dots ("pips") that are now adjacent to mines.
Added: "Ping" ability: hit spacebar or right-click to scan nearby tiles for pips. Currently usable three times per minigame.
Changed: Increased range of slow penalty in minigame, but reduced its intensity and removed the warning circles.
Fixes
Fixed: Ship building save warnings not appearing. I think I found the issue, even though I couldn't repro it. Let me know if you're still getting it.
Fixed: Ship building naming bug (tied to the save warnings bug).
Fixed: Spinniness of player in minigame shouldn't go so crazy anymore.
I worked hard to get this update out, and I hope you like what you see.
Happy Holidays. I'll see you all in the new year. :)
The Energy Update (v0.5.5)!
This is a big update. I've been working on it almost constantly for the last couple of weeks (ask my poor friends and family).
Some highlights:
Some systems now start offline. Please turn on them on when you want to use them. I recommend your engines and your scrubber ASAP.
New system: Generator. Spends fuel to get energy.
New system: Solar Panel. Gets free energy, slowly.
New system: Fuel Cell. Reverts fuel to materials; stores and makes energy slowly.
Exposed more info for you to poke at and ponder. Event result tags, crew cause of death, customization values, and more, subtler things.
Added a new new helpful event: the Emergency Supply Crate
Made a few specific systems "smarter". Reactors cycle faster when energy isn't needed, hydroponics stay on (consuming energy) when there's no waste to grow into food (that's not how plants work, shh).
The crew now sleeps a lot more. You can all feel less bad about using too many beds in your builds.
I also
Improved Electrolyser exchange rates
Increased the minimum time between most events
Cleaned up system animation timings
'Improved' tutorial (it's mostly the same)
Made balance tweaks. (Spoilers)
Fixed countless bugs. Literally an uncounted amount. At least four sheets of paper worth.
Enjoy! Let me know what else needs fixed or you're looking forward to.
I'll be taking it slower this week. There will likely be another, smaller update with a few non-content changes in the next week or two, and then I'll work on another like this.
Update! New Event, Major Bugfixes, and More!
I've pushed out an awesome update. For those of you who own the game, you'll have likely already downloaded it by the time you read this.
Don't worry, this update won't break any saves.
Let's go over what's new and different. I'll skip a few minor fixes and changes to keep it short.
New Stuff
I've added the [fated] tag to event options. This tag means there's only one possible result from an option. That can happen whenever there's always only one result, or also when the other possibilities are somehow eliminated because of your crew, ship, or resources. Additionally, [fated] options will skip minigames.
I've added FIVE new songs from Kim, bringing the total to 17! They're awesome, and I feel they'll really flesh out the whole experience. Yes, these songs are included in the official soundtrack, but they hadn't made it into the game until now.
There's a new event! It may trigger when oxygen levels are high... be wary.
A few new sound effects made their way in, particularly in the minigame. Hopefully, the minigame feels more responsive and immersive. Let me know how it goes!
Changes
The "Use" alert works indefinitely! Turn it on and watch the crew slave away. I did drop its priority so they'll remember to eat and sleep. Still, be sure to turn it off when you're done needing a system prioritized. Note: it will also turn itself off when the comms turns off.
The minigame instructions now explain the yellow arrows better, so you can figure out what's going on.
The minigame is harder. Penalties for messing up have increased, more walls have been added, and times have been shortened. I want to encourage studious, skilled play, rather than the haphazard zipping about that was so common with the lighter penalties. Let me know how it feels.
Rare events are now more likely. They didn't need to be that rare, especially when there aren't enough events to go around (yet).
Events now have their own song based on type. They also interrupt your travel music, which should add to the atmosphere.
Events are less likely to stack on each other, one after another. This still happens occasionally, though, and I'll probably be improving it further in the next update.
The "Sickness" event isn't as punishing on success. Sorry for killing everyone all the time.
Electrolysers now spend less energy. Hopefully this makes them more viable, if still pretty niche. I'm playing with ship builds that focus on the Electrolyser. I may put one into the game down the line.
Major Fixes
My favorite fix: memorials now remember dead crew members that are no longer floating around the ship (i.e., spaced, stuffed in boxes, cannibalized...).
The "Spoiled Food" event now has real options.
And the big one: failing events now works as intended: you won't randomly get better results (holy crap how did this one slip through the cracks so long?!). Better sharpen up your mine-dodging game.
Aaand, that's basically it for this update. Be sure to hit up the Steam forums with any feedback, tell your friends about the game, and (if you're enjoying the game so far) give it a glowing review!
-Pat
Next Update
In addition to the laundry list of quality of life improvements I didn't get to yet:
• I'm writing a new helpful event involving an overlooked crate of emergency supplies. It's almost done, and I think you'll like it.
• I'm also working on a new ship system design... Hopefully it will be ready in time.
See you then.
Destination Ares is out!
It's been quite a ride to this point, and I imagine it's just beginning. I'm excited to see where you, the Steam community, take this game.
