Featuring a number of quality of life improvements, new icon artwork, and a number of bug fixes you can get the details of what’s new and fixed on the wiki: http://celsiusgs.com/drifter/wiki/Current_Build_and_Known_Bugs
Drifter 0.7.0 and Beyond
Thank you for your continued patience as we work towards 0.7.0. Despite my attempts at trying to increase the frequency of updates we have fallen behind in that regard and I apologize for that. The good news is we have been able to focus on finalizing all of the design work for Drifter 1.0 over the last few months and I feel like there’s finally a clear path for finishing the game.
Drifter 0.7.0 should be finalized in the next few weeks which will finally see the replacement of the placeholder planet textures with procedurally generated ones, the introduction of the Material Synthesis system, and the introduction of the frequently-hinted-at spatial anomalies which will add a new element of exploration to the game.
Once Drifter 0.7.0 is out, I feel like there are maybe 3 or 4 major updates left before we hit 1.0 and the game is finished. With the major design work out of the way most of what is left is implementation, and we’re going to push for a major update every 4 weeks. I realize it’s been difficult for us to maintain a consistent schedule but I really want to get the game to 1.0 and properly released and the only way to do this is to keep pushing for it.
That said, Drifter 1.0 is not going to mean the end of development on the game because there’s still a lot of things I’m hoping to add to the game post-release but I feel like this is a necessary step and it’s been a long time coming.
In the meantime, enjoy some concept art Sven has been working on for three new station facilities we’re adding leading up to 1.0!
Drifter 0.6.2 is out!
Drifter 0.6.2 has been released!
Before I talk a bit about the update I just wanted to say that now that 0.6.2 is out and it isn't hanging things up, I'm going to attempt a new development track system as we move towards 1.0. Basically we're going to be working on two release tracks going forward with a small release every week or so and a bigger update being worked on in tandem with a longer ~1 month release cycle or so.
There are a few issues I'm hoping this will solve:
1) It will help keep up the momentum for us. There's a ton of stuff big and small that has to be done and getting releases out on a regular basis will be motivational and it will make sure that big and small picture items get addressed properly.
2) It will allow us to be more visible with what we're working on and avoid going silent on updates for long periods of time. I really don't enjoy getting into situations where people were getting concerned if the game was still being worked on or not and all I could do was to insist that it was. This way we show, instead of tell.
Anyway! That out of the way, here's more on 0.6.2:
Some highlights include the fact that I re-wrote the entire station docking control system to prevent people from getting stuck while trying to undock from busy stations!
We also added a new 3D animation system which will allow us to add little animations all over the place. For the moment it is being used to make the rock shields on the Aspis spin:
I've added a new Jumpdrive Console which, in addition to giving important information about your ship's jump drive now allows you to override the cooldown lockout. This comes with a risk of course, because your jump drive could overload and damage your ship (and void your warranty!):
Also we've added containers that you can deploy in space that you can use for storing things that you can't fit in your hold, such as the spoils of mining, or maybe the spoils of slightly less legal activities:
Finally we've added a new station type, the Agricultural Station:
There have of course been a number of other new icons added and bugs fixed. You can get the full details in the release notes page on the wiki:
Existing save games from 0.6.1 should still work with 0.6.2.
Enjoy!
The Year of Drifter!
The Beginning of the End
Don’t worry this isn’t a post about how we’re giving up. It is in fact the complete opposite of that!
Drifter has been in development for quite some time, almost going on 4 years now! It’s been somewhat slow going at times mainly because it’s a fairly big game and we’re a pretty small team. That said we definitely wouldn’t be here and Drifter wouldn’t exist as it does if it weren’t for the support of amazing people like you who believe in us and have been supporting us along the way.
Trying to juggle development and promotion over such a protracted development cycle has caused a lot of slip ups and it feels like its been hard at times to keep the momentum going. Thankfully we have been fortunate enough to have a game that suits itself well to Early Access and that people have been playing and enjoying it for quite some time now but it is about time we thought about pushing it towards version 1.0 and a proper release.
While there is still quite a lot of work to be done it feels like the end is in sight and if we can maintain a steady pace of development and enthusiasm throughout the rest of the year we’ll be very close to if not at 1.0 before the year is out!
That’s the idea behind The Year of Drifter: we’re going to try and turn the final push towards 1.0 throughout the rest of the year into a celebration of the development of the game. It’s my feeling that this will not only help us keep our pace up but it’ll be pretty interesting to you so you can stay tuned and watch as things come together. We’ll be trying some new stuff as well like live streaming and feature polls and, despite it being a single player only game, I have some ideas of some in-game events that we’re going to be running later on in the summer and going into the fall.
It should be an exciting time and I’ll hope you’ll join us!
Posters
As part of The Year of Drifter, and considering that folks have occasionally complained about the cost of shipping, I’ve managed to figure out how to offer FREE SHIPPING on the remaining posters and I’m offering a special deal where you can buy a poster and a copy of the game together as well.
Not only is it a sweet poster but buying one helps support the development of the game!
http://driftergame.com/posters.php
0.6.2 Is Incoming
I’m just putting the finishing touches on 0.6.2 and that’ll be released by this weekend most likely!
I’ll reserve a full post to go into the gory details but in 0.6.2 I’ve finally fixed the last of the docking queue bugs so you should never again get stuck waiting to launch your ship!
Also you’ll be able to buy special containers that you can permanently place in space as extra storage that you can use while mining (or being an evil pirate) so you don’t need to go back to base as often.
Finally I’m introducing a new mechanic where you can override the hyperspace jump cooldown if you need or want to jump more quickly. Obviously there will be a risk to doing this but I think it should add an interesting dynamic to the game.
0.7.0 And Beyond
After 0.6.2 I’m going to get back to working on the exploration related feature I keep teasing* as the next major milestone but do keep an eye on the Development Roadmap to see a broad list of what I have planned for the coming weeks and months.
*And no, it’s not wormholes (precisely).
Drifter 0.6.1 Released!
Drifter 0.6.1 has been released!
The biggest change for 0.6.1 is the UI overhaul started in 0.6.0 is now nearly complete. Most of the UI in the game now supports keyboard and gamepad interaction. It's not quite 100% but it should be pretty good for couch gaming at this point.
We've also updated and added a number of new item and equipment icons.
In addition to this there are a large number of UI improvements and bugfixes, you can get the full details in the release notes page on the wiki: http://celsiusgs.com/drifter/wiki/Current_Build_and_Known_Bugs
Existing save games from 0.6.0 should still work with 0.6.1.
Enjoy!
Drifter 0.6.0 Released!
After perhaps far too long Drifter 0.6.0 (code name "Narcissus") has been released!
This is a very substantial update that includes a large number of improvements, additions, and bug fixes to the game.
As well, considering the under the hood changes I've taken the time to make in 0.6.0, I am working to avoid any more long development delays and get to actually completing Drifter some time before 2015 is out (hopefully much sooner than that of course). In fact, my current plan is to deliver many smaller updates with a turn around time of 2-3 weeks from here on out until the game is finished.
Some highlights of this update include:
- Initial space station interiors
- 5 new ships
- New ship equipment icons
- A large number of user interface improvements both under the hood and visually
- Initial keyboard support for GUI interaction (with controller support coming soon)
For the full details, check the release notes page on the wiki: http://celsiusgs.com/drifter/wiki/Current_Build_and_Known_Bugs
Existing save games from 0.5.3 should still work with 0.6.0.
Enjoy!
Drifter 0.6.0 Coming Soon!
Just so folks see this and realize that we're alive and kicking and Drifter is still being worked on I figured it'd be appropriate to post an announcement about it.
Basically version 0.6.0 is coming sometime this week and along with it will be the first set of station interiors, 5 new ships, some new equipment, UI improvements and a bunch of under the hood changes that nobody will notice but will make it easier for me to work on the game! The plan after this is a much more frequent and aggressive update schedule which will eventually lead to the 1.0 release.
Anyway once 0.6.0 is out I'll post a followup announcement along with detailed release notes so you can see what's new, fixed and changed :)
-Colin
Drifter 0.5.3 Released
Drifter 0.5.3 has just been released! This release is primarily a bug fix release, but I've fixed quite a few!
For a full list of changes and fixes, please visit the Drifter wiki page for the current build here: http://celsiusgs.com/drifter/wiki/Current_Build_and_Known_Bugs
Drifter 0.5.2 Released
Drifter 0.5.2 has just been released! This release includes a number of bug fixes and improvements.
Improvements include the long-awaited addition of ship modules and manual docking! I've only included 3 modules in this update as I had to re-write the module system once already and I want to make sure that it's working properly before I add more.
For a full list of changes and fixes, please visit the Drifter wiki page for the current build here: http://celsiusgs.com/drifter/wiki/Current_Build_and_Known_Bugs
Drifter 0.5.1 Released
Drifter 0.5.1 has just been released! This release includes a number of bug fixes and improvements.
Improvements include the addition of an auto-save feature, HUD adjustments, and UI tweaks to address player feedback.
For a full list of changes and fixes, please visit the Drifter wiki page for the current build here: http://celsiusgs.com/drifter/wiki/Current_Build_and_Known_Bugs
