Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), IndieHalcyon 6: Starbase Commander
DEV TRANSMISSION: v0.2.0.2 has arrived!
Hot on the heels of Officers Unleashed, v0.2.0.2 is preparing to land! In this update, we've tinkered with difficulty, speed, and powers and made some more Quality of Life changes. Your current saves aren't affected in this update: 0.2.0.0+ play throughs are intact and supported.
In case you missed it, we released v0.2.0.1 as a hotfix earlier this week, which corrected an officer that was appearing in game without his powers. Poor Zulf and his memory wipe. We appreciate your feedback, folks. Thanks again for all your posts and reports!
General Bug Fixes and Enhancements:
- Various typo fixes in powers.
- Repair Drone Overdrive II and III had incorrect number of uses.
- Propulsion Lab now contains Transwarp Drive Improvement activities (improve your fleet's travel time!).
- Fixed bug with tasks leaking into other rooms on the starbase. Icky.
- Save files can now be tagged with a custom label!
Quest/Mission & Economy:
- We heard you: The Chimera and its minions now travel much slower towards the station, allowing more time to prepare for its arrival.
- The Chruul fleets now travel slightly slower towards their targets.
- The Yabblings fleet speed has been increased.
- Reduced strength of Spire ground combat squad, as well as other higher level space monsters.
Ships/Officers & Powers:
- Slightly reduced the damage of enemy Tier 3 ships.
- Slightly improved effectiveness of Repair Drone Overdrive.
- Supercharge Polarity is once again an AoE attack.
Thank you all so much for supporting us during our Early Access! We're working super hard on getting Act 2 and Act 3 out there. As noted in the v0.2.0.0 patch notes, we hope to exit Early Access in the late August to early September timeframe.
To New Terra and beyond!
DEV TRANSMISSION: Officers Unleashed has been.. er.. unleashed! :D
Greetings Federation Starbase Commanders,
Welcome to our first MAJOR update, OFFICERS UNLEASHED! This is v0.2.0.0 of Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander.
As forewarned in our patch approach notes, this is a Content and Systems Update: you will need to start a new game. All saves prior to 0.2.0.0 will be marked legacy and are not supported by this build.
Quick note before we get to the goodies:
As you know Halcyon 6 is still in Early Access. That means we are counting on your feedback to help us make this game as awesome as it can be.
We've done a HUGE amount of tweaks to the game and you'll likely come across something you don't agree with.. and that's fine, we want to hear about it in the Discussion Forums.
Our goal here is to use this time in Early Access to really fine tune our balance and gameplay so please, check out Officers Unleashed and let us know your thoughts and feedback. We'll be watching, listening and taking notes!
Now Let's get to the good stuff!
What's New:
- Halcyon 6 starbase layout has been completely changed!
- The starbase is now host to loads of different space monsters that you can encounter and "interact" with while exploring it.
- Officers now have unique ground combat powers (they start with 4) that can be selected as they level up.
- Officer Level cap increased to 15.
- Officers now have attributes that determine how adept they are at performing certain tasks.
- Base rooms now have tasks that you can perform to unlock upgrades and tech, and can, from time to time, trigger special events.
- Tech Research tree has been completely revamped.
- Officers are now awarded Skill Points upon level up, which can then be used to unlock powers from the Officer Quarters / Profile Screen.
- Officers now have personality traits that affect their statistics as well as story event options.
- Officers now gain and lose special combat traits based on their experiences in combat.
- Player's ships and Officers are no longer automatically destroyed / killed when Health reaches 0 - instead, they enter a Critical Condition state where any additional damage may kill them. The amount of damage done determines the % chance of being destroyed.
- You may now reroll" a limited number of times during Officer selection, to find an officer that best suits your Fleet.
- New menu and button icons, all new screen transitions.
General Bug Fixes and Enhancements:
- Enemy fleet strength is more varied (ie. not always super strong).
- Cadets can now be upgraded in the new Cadet Barracks base room.
- Reduced chances of consecutive base room encounters while exploring the same room.
- Unlock Officers and recruit replacements at the new Officer's Academy.
- Fixed bug with Ship stats being affected by Officer levels (only ground combat stats should be affected by Officer levels).
- Fixed cooldown timing causing enemy ships to "pass" their turns in combat.
- Enemy ship health is now displayed on the starmap, alluding to the difficulty of the fight.
- Ground combat damage has been adjusted across the entire game.
- Opening cinematic combat has been updated to include more clarity and information.
- Lowered XP requirements for Officer levelling.
- Countless small event system fixes, upgrades and typo fixes.
- Animations upgraded across the entire game and additional all-new Space Combat backgrounds.
Quest/Mission & Economy:
<*>Rebalanced generated enemy fleet strength (slightly easier).
<*>Slightly increased cost of healing officers.
<*>ncreased Crew generation on colonies.
<*>Reduced resource generation for Materials, Dark Matter, and Fuel.
<*>New planetside away missions in the Federation and Pirate areas.
<*>Early missions tweaked to include the ALL NEW task system and officer academy changes.
Ships/Officers & Powers:
<*>Hull and health bar values now displayed permanently during combat
<*>Officers now gain XP while exploring Base Rooms.
<*>Pirates have started captured alien vessels to use in their fleets!
<*>Ships that have been attacked with Ship Disable will gain a temporary resistance against it.
<*>Officer powers shuffled for balancing.
<*>Most Healing and Repair powers have been given a boost in effectiveness
<*>Enemy damage has been given a significant increase in effectiveness
<*>Damage over time powers now have damage based on relative ship strength
<*>Group Heal / Repair powers will no longer remove status effects, except Matter Reconstruction
<*>Enemy faction resistances have been lowered for lower tier ships
<*>A MASSIVE overhaul and rebalance on specific power & ships, including:
- Chimera now has a resistance to Ship Disable
- Cloak now does minor repairs and lasts longer
- New Eng Power - Reinforce Hull
- Reduced duration of Brace
- ncreased damage and repair of Siphon Dark Matter
- Warder now has Overheat Hull power (exploits Crew Panicked)
- Strafing Run now causes Engines Down
- Triple Shot now exploits Vulnerable
- Bend Spacetime's cooldown has been increased
- Salvage Harpoon now inflicts Hull Breach instead of Sensors Offline
- Bridge Shot no longer exploits Hull Breach, instead it inflicts Weapons Disruption
- Dimensional Flashbang no longer inflicts Crew Panick & Sensors Offline, instead it inflicts Engines Down & Weapons Disruption
- Fire At Will no longer inflicts Hull Breach, instead it inflicts Engines Down
- Suicide Run no longer exploits Crew Panicked, instead it exploits Vulnerable
- Supercharge Polarity is now a single target attack that can inflict Vulnerable
- Siphon Dark Matter no longer inflicts Vulnerable, instead it inflicts Crew Panicked
- Stasis Lock no longer inflicts Engines Down, instead it exploits Weapons Disruption
- Warp Atomic Structure has reduced cooldown time and no longer inflicts Hull Breach or exploits Vulnerable, instead it inflicts Crew Panicked and exploits Hull Breach
- Ablative Field now can target allies but has slightly reduced effectiveness
- Adaptive Armour now has a group heal
- Suicide Run has slightly reduced % to disable and damage
- Death From Above and Ramming Speed have reduced % for self Hull Breach
Thank you all so much for supporting us during our Early Access! We're working super hard on getting Act 2 and Act 3 out there. We hope to exit Early Access in the late August to early September timeframe.
Good luck out there in this Chruul infested galaxy!
Halcyon 6 Team
IMPORTANT NOTE: Officers Unleashed arrives this Thursday, June 9th!
This is a quick note to let you know our big update, Officers Unleashed is arriving this Thursday, June 9th.
As detailed in our previous announcement, this update will invalidate your current save games.
There's been so many system changes that we are simply unable to support old saves.
The tech tree, the starbase layout, officer powers, alien resistances and powers etc.. have all been changed and/or tweaked.
And of course the new Research Task system that will make more use of officers staying at the starbase.
Good news is that this is going to feel quite a bit different than the previous version enough that a new start won't feel repetitive. For example, your 3rd and 4th officers will be unlocked much much faster than before.
However, if you really want to finish up a current run, you can disable auto-updates from Steam before Thursday.
The full patch notes and screenshots for Officers Unleash will be posted on Thursday!
See you Thursday!
- Halcyon 6 Team
Early Bird pricing extended until May 24th and more details on Officers Unleashed!
So tell your friends, this will give them a chance to grab a copy at our current Early Bird pricing just before our Officers Unleashed update comes out!
And here's some more details on Officers Unleashed:
- officers have personality traits that can be beneficial or harmful in random events and away missions.
- more officers unlocked earlier
- officers can do research and training tasks in various starbase facilities to unlock benefits
- some research can lead to events which will need your officer’s wit and traits to resolve
- streamlined tech tree (some stuff has been moved to research tasks)
- skill point system will allow better customization of officers as they level up
- streamlined combat animations (we went through all of them and removed weird delays and tightened up most animations)
- some early away missions are in, better make sure your ground combat skills are up to snuff!
- and last but not least, we'll have more balance tweaks, bug fixes and polish
Here's an example screenshot of training tasks available in the Cadet Barracks (different station facilities can have different tasks available):
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=687110718
And here's an interesting situation that has arisen while Officer Corbain Lau was training some cadets. It appears his 'cocky' trait has given you a unique way to handle this situation ːsteammockingː
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=687111471
And don't forget, due to all the changes to major systems, Officers Unleashed update will not support old saves. You will have to start a new game.
If for some reason, you want to keep your old save for a little longer (and miss out on Officers Unleashed and further updates), you can turn AutoUpdate OFF. We don't recommend this as this game is in Early Access and you will want all the updates.. there's quite a few more planned, including Act 2 and Act 3 of course.
We can't wait to get this update out, we're furiously internally testing it right now. Keep your eyes on this space :)
Cheers!
Halcyon 6 Team
Post-Launch Report and Upcoming Update: Officers Unleashed!
It's been an exciting few weeks since PAX East and our Early Access launch! How did the launch go? Well read on, Starbase Commanders, read on!
Launch Report
Launch is always a nerve wrecking experience. The whole team was distracted for a couple of days watching the sales reports on Steam, reading the early reviews and watching charts, like Steamspy, religiously.
We were lucky to be standing in the sales charts with some much bigger games like Banner Saga 2, Master of Orion and Cities: Skyline.
All launches have this initial sales spike and the long tail afterwards. Average Early Access titles sell about 8000 copies total in the first 14 months (according to this Steamspy post) and thanks to you, we've already hit more that amount in less than 3 weeks.
Next Steps and Road to Full Release
What's next? Well, we're going to keep pushing towards the Final Release of the game as soon as possible!
There will be TWO major updates to the game, the first is Officers Unleashed and the second will contain Acts 2 and 3 together. In between these major updates, we'll be pushing smaller updates to fix bugs, UI issues, polish and 'quality of life' tweaks to make the game better.
Once the two major updates are out, we'll launch the Full Release version of the game. After the Full Release, we'll work on immediate stuff like Linux version and the Kickstarter stretch goals (as promised!).
So, onto the next major update...
Officers Unleashed!
From the beginning, officers were always an integral part of our game design. We're adding to what we launched in our Early Access build to give players more customization and more control over their officers.
First up is levelling up an officer. In Officers Unleashed, you'll be earning skill points as you gain levels and you can go to this screen to spend those skill points however you like. Be it upgrading an existing power or training in a brand new one, the choice is yours.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=682490515
We're also revamping our Tech Tree and moving some upgrades to trainable upgrades that may not need as much resources but simply an officer and time to unlock in the new Officer Academy room:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=682492304
Also in the Officers Unleashed update, we'll be adding Away Missions on planetary surfaces and enemy strongholds.
Of course this means more stuff for your officers to do.. we'll be adding more officers into the earlier portions of the game to balance it out.
And of course there will be lots of tweaks and balancing as well. We're aiming to get Officers Unleashed out for late May/early June timeframe and yes this is a huge change to the major areas of the game so old saves will not work.
As with any major update, we'll be needing you to help us playtest and provide us that valuable feedback that you've been giving during our Alpha, Beta and Early Access phase.
Thanks again for supporting us in this journey, we're so proud that we were able to deliver a good experience in Early Access to both our backers and our new players from Steam and we can't wait to get Officers Unleashed, then Acts 2 and 3 into your hands.
- Halcyon 6 Team
DEV TRANSMISSION: v0.1.0.2 is here!
- Fixed Chimera mission bugs.
- Fixed a bug with 'zombie fleets' causing errors on load.
As discussed in our patch approach notes, this is a Quality of Life patch: your saved games are intact and won't be marked Legacy.
What's New
- Retreat from Space Combat! In over your head? Now you can tuck your tail between your legs and bug out. However, be prepared to take some damage as you make your hasty getaway.
- Alien Factions are now resistant and vulnerable to specific status effects (ie. Chruul ships are resistant to Weapons Disruption but more vulnerable to Hull Breached).
- Ship Affinity Bonuses now grant bonus resistance to status effects instead of slightly nonsensical bonuses versus alien races you haven't even fought yet.
- You can now rename your Ships!
- You can also rename your Green Shirts, for their admittedly short lives. (RIP Cadet Pickles. We barely knew you.)
- Greenshirts have gained new and juicy ways to die. Keep an eye out for them!
- Trading Cards are now available for Halcyon 6!
General Bug Fixes and Enhancements
- Reduced the difficulty of random Pirate / Chruul encounters while travelling through space.
- Time will now resume after you dismiss non-critical popups.
- Fixed a bug with Officers having difficulty levelling after Level 4 and 5 while the XP bar showed as full.
- You can now zoom out to an expanded view of the Starbase.
- Officer barks in combat should no longer delay actions.
- That one blown out, kinda loud explosion in combat? Gone!
Quest/Mission & Economy
- Slightly reduced frequency of Chruul Portal fleet spawns.
- Slightly increased Chruul Portal spawn rates once all destroyed.
- Revamped sector descriptions.
- Various and sundry, yet subtle, balance tweaks.
Ships/Officers & Powers
- Increased damage for Shield Disruptor.
- Slightly increased damage for Upload Virus.
- Decreased resist % for almost all powers.
- Slightly reduced Weapons Overloaded damage increase.
- Reduced recovery time on Doom Cannon power.
- Drone Swarm now nullifies buffs.
- Green Shirts have 25% more Health.
Have fun out there!
DEV TRANSMISSION: v0.1.0.1 has landed!
General Bug Fixes and Enhancements:
- Fixed possible crash bug when team is defeated inside a Chruul Spire.
Quest/Mission & Economy:
- Slightly weakened Chruul Spire Guards.
- Reduced spawn rate of Spires.
Ships/Officers & Powers:
- Changed names for Engineering ships: Mender is now Warder, Druid is now Guardian, and Cleric is now Gallant.
- Switched Repair Drones for Brace on the Warder.
- Weapons Supercharge now increases Threat by 50.
- Increased Hull for Rogue-class ships.
- Reduced Hull for Marksman-class ships.
- Decreased higher level XP requirements for Officers.
Have fun out there!
Halcyon 6 Launch Day!!
You can now purchase Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander on Steam. It's the Early Access edition and it has a complete Act 1 of 3.
First off, I want to thank ALL of our BACKERS for their belief in us, their passion, and their hard work during ALPHA and BETA testing out our earlier builds. Without you, I don't think the game would be nearly as special as it is. Thank you so much BACKERS, you all ROCK!!
For our new players, welcome to the Halcyon 6 community. We'll strive to keep things just as transparent and inclusive as they were during ALPHA and BETA. Early Access to us just means we get to work with a bigger group of fans to help us make Halcyon 6 even better!
We are continuing development, bug fixing, balancing, polishing and we are going to be actively engaged with our player community here and on the Steam forums to process all your feedback and use it to help us make the best game possible!
Here's our Steam store link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/371200/
We think you'll really dig it and can't wait to hear from all of you!
Cheers!
The Halcyon 6 Team
DEV TRANSMISSION: v0.1.0.0 is here!
What's New:
- Autosaving! Rolling autosave files, in case of total annihilation.
- You can now name your officers! Your first officer can be renamed from the officer profile screen. Rename subsequent officers from the officer selection screen.
- Prior saves (v.0.0.3.0+) are marked LEGACY for this version. BUT, they can work with v0.1.0.0. Give it a whirl and let us know. :)
General Bug Fixes and Enhancements:
- Fixed bug with Chruul Portals not being destroyed.
- Corrected a Chruul Spire malfunction. (added in v0.0.3.1)
- Some general tweaks and fixes.
Quest/Mission & Economy:
- Increased Dark Matter and Materials Multiplier room output to 15%.
- Ship Upgrades: Reduced Materials cost, increased Dark Matter cost.
- Decreased the number of Crew available at sector facilities.
- Increased minimum capacity of sector facilities.
Ships/Officers & Powers:
- Weapons Overloaded now inflicts Vulnerable on self, increased cooldown.
- Vulnerable now has a 20% reduction to damage resistance.
- Slightly reduced damage and aim, and increased cooldown on Triple Shot.
- Slightly increased the damage of Ramming Speed.
- Slightly reduced aim of Bridge Shot.
- Slightly increased cooldown of Chruul Flesh Meld.
- Reduced % chance of Hull Breach in Death From Above.
- Slightly increased strength of Cauterize Hull.
Have fun out there!
DEV TRANSMISSION: Beta v0.0.3.0 UPDATE NOTES
What's New:
- Sector facilities now display an indicator when they are at full capacity. They also display more information in their tooltips if you hover over the facility icon.
- Game saves prior to 0.0.3.0 are now legacy save files. You'll need to START A NEW GAME to take advantage of all these cool updates.
General Bug Fixes and Enhancements:
- Fixed bug with tutorial starbase bombardment not displaying red alert.
- Fixed bug with Green Shirts levelling up (aww, they thought they were people).
- Fixed bug with Fuel Plant not giving out fuel during event.
- Fixed bug with Korzan Zealot Debate fleet attacking before dialog.
- Fixed bug with Tier 2 and 3 alien ships not spawning in late game (gird your loins).
- Fixed bug where Chimera Minion fleets defeats weren't being noticed by the event system.
- Made all tutorial pop-ups and dialogues clickable, rather than time-based.
- Fixed Chruul Spire backgrounds.
- Removed Fuel rewards from raiding pirate fleets.
- Fixed bug with Chruul Lab mission not completing.
- Salvage Harpoon now correctly inflicts Vulnerable instead of Weapons Disrupted.
Quest/Mission & Economy:
- Increased initial Pirate Mission rewards.
- Increased Sector Facilities resource generation.
- Fuel costs have been reduced.
- Further reduced the frequency of space travel encounters.
- Chruul Spire now spawns at the appropriate time, though we expect the definition of 'appropriate' to be hotly debated.
- Various dialogue and text updates.
- Chimera and advanced Chruul are slightly tougher.
- All advanced alien and pirate ships are now slightly tougher.
- Spaced the timing of major Chruul events out a bit more.
- Minor tweaks here and there. Also over there.
Ships/Officers & Powers:
- Terran Science Ships gained a small boost in damage.
- Supercharge Polarity now buffs damage resistance.
- Improved Aim of Portal Cannon.
- Slightly reduced damage of Teleport Explosives.
- Improved Green Shirts Aim.
- Changed Quick Tuneup to limited use per combat.
Known Issues:
- This list is shrinking, but any lingering known issues are being tracked here.
Have fun out there!