Go For Launch: Mercury
Version 0.10 Live! (again)
Version 10 is now hopefully fixed and is once again set as the default version of the game!
It was a tiny bit of code, but it took a while to track down!
Happy landings!
Temporary Roll Back While Creating Hot Fix
The update to the new Aurora 7 mission went great!... but unfortunately it's broken some of the other missions.
While I work on a hotfix patch for it I have restored version 0.9 as the default as it is in much better shape. If you want to fly the Aurora 7 mission you can still access version 0.10 from the steam beta menu.
Apologies for the bugs, I'll get them crushed asap!
Version 0.10.0 Now Live!
Very glad to say that the Aurora 7 mission is now flyable! It's taken me a lot longer than I'd hoped due to NASA losing all the audio recordings! I have managed to piece some of the mission audio together from the partial files they have, sadly the audio is not complete, but it's as good as it gets until a better source turns up (the NASA history office didn't seem to know 2 hours were missing from their recordings!).
Changes
Added Aurora 7 capsule and flight.
Adjusted terrain settings for lighting.
Fixed major bug where star field moved incorrectly from cockpit view.
Fixed texture bugs.
Various simulation bugs patched.
Progress report and road map to Beta
Just checking in as I'm sure you're all wondering when the next update is out!
I've had a few setbacks with both the code, the source material and real life for the new Aurora 7 mission but I'm back on track and currently working on the mission audio.
I really hope to have this out soon as I want to get on to the remaining capsules. The last year has been a massive slog with less than I hoped to show for it so I'm keen to up the pace a little!
I have also been doing a lot of the admin side of things, including working out when to push the project from alpha to beta, and then set it as "released" on steam (rather than early access). This is important moving forward as, currently, GFL only sells a couple of copies a month as it's hidden away in the Early Access backwaters. More sales means more freedom to work without having to pick up other work to pay the bills!...so you can imagine I'm keen to get it out there!
So the plan is to get the full set of capsules and their flights in place, then do several sweeps of the capsule systems to fill in missing functions, and finally a few passes to the system to add features like game saving and progress tracking.
Then, finally, after the steepest learning curve of my life, GFL will be a fully fledged game!
Once this basic set of features is completed I will then go on to add the mission control feature in version 1.1...after that, who knows!
Thanks for your continued patience!
Joe
The next capsule.
While I'm still working on the mission control feature in the background, I've switched the main focus of development to adding the next capsule (Aurora 7) to the game. It's likely the next patch will be the Aurora mission and some bug fixes, tweaks and polish.
This is probably my favourite of all the artwork painted on the Mercury capsules!
Checking in on development
Just checking in to say development is continuing and going well, I'm very pleased to have started the ground work on a new, major feature of the game - Mission control!
Rather than having any sort of overlay or HUD I really wanted a way to display various bits of flight data and info without breaking immersion. Once this feature is implemented you will be able to switch between the cockpit (pilot view) and an authentic recreation of the Mercury Mission Control Center (flight director view).
I'll check back in with more updates as this stage progresses!
Thanks again for all the great support.
Version 0.9.0 Now Live!
This patch adds far more detailed and advanced texturing to the planet and atmosphere. Please note these changes may be more demanding on systems, however they are scaled by the detail level setting of the game.
If you have any problems with this patch the previous version (0.8.0) is available in the beta menu.
The patch also contains some bug fixes, although I still have others I will address in the next patch. Now to move on to adding a few more features to the game!
Many thanks.
Next patch not far away!
This update will greatly improve the terrain rendering and cloud graphics to give you a more impressive orbit. Also various bug fixes and tweaks.
Once this update is done I will look at adding some new content/features for the next one.
Hold tight!
A sneak peek at what's to come in the next patch!
Hopefully folk are enjoying the newly revamped Freedom 7 mission (many thanks for the bug reports...all added to the list!).
As a the developer of this game I am in the unique position of seeing features well before they arrive on your screens (or headsets!) so I thought I'd share a couple of shots of how the terrain and clouds are currently looking from here! While a great deal of time has been spent on the interior of the capsule, it's always bothered me that my planet terrain just wasn't as nice as I wanted it (although the current globe's texture has a resolution of 130,592 x 85,296!) so I'm working on making everything crisper, bumpier and generally more realistic.
This overhaul of planet Earth will form the basis of the next major patch (might be a bug fix first). Still a lot of work to be done to get the whole globe up to this standard so as ever, some patience needed but so far the overhaul is going very, very well. I'll keep you posted on progress!
Version 0.8.0 Now Live! Freedom 7 Full Mission.
I'm very pleased to say that the re-write of the back end code is now complete and Freedom 7 is now updated in line with the other missions (rather than the old version taken from the demo) to include...
Full checklists
Reentry
Splashdown
New Code
Graphics tweaks
Texture fixes
The biggest changes are behind the scenes with the entire mission being completely re-built from the ground up using the same framework as the Liberty and Friendship missions. This means, moving forward, any changes made to one capsule will automatically take effect on all the others.
Plotting out the next update this week as there are a few options for which content I want to add next.
If you encounter any game breaking bugs please let me know. Version 0.7.0 is still available via steam beta.
Happy landings!