Outpost on Syrinx
Early Access Exit and 1.0 Release
The current build of the game is actually the same as released last year in May of 2023, which was a follow-up to the Caves Expansion update, which added Geothermal energy and related new missions and some other features. That release was a suitable candidate for 'final release', and was relatively bug-free and stable. At the time, there were a few minor features that were possibly going to be added before exiting Early Access, but to make a long story short, development on the game needed to be paused for a while. After much consideration, it's been decided that minor new features were not really needed to have a good exit from Early Access, and this build will be considered the 1.0 'full release'.
Depending on a number of factors, development on the game may continue for some time, or be wrapped up at this point. This version is substantially larger in scope and features than originally planned, but like most games, in theory much more could be added to make the game larger and more elaborate.
Development Pause (July - November 2023)
As some folks might have noticed, it's been a while since the game had an update.
Development has largely been paused since late February, due to family emergencies. Things are not over yet, and almost certainly development won't resume for a few months (except maybe for a little bit). When things settle down, I might get back to working on the game as before, but I might take some more time to rest and reflect on where I go from here in my life.
The timing was a bit odd, since I was getting fairly close to having something I consider a good 1.0 version, and probably exiting from Early Access. I needed to choose between finishing up a smallish milestone and leaving EA, or putting things off until I return to development and devote a good amount of time and energy to doing a final release that involved a proper amount of marketing effort, or just stopping development. Since I had really been enjoying working on the game a lot, and I MIGHT find I have the same enthusiasm some time in the future, I chose to just have things be paused, so I can do a proper wrap up to exit EA, and possibly keep working on the game for a long time after that (mmm maybe).
I guess some people will assume the game is now abandoned, and of course a huge number of games in Early Access do get abandoned, so that's fine, but there is still a good chance I'll get back to it once I'm ready. The odds are not 100% that I do this, but certainly not 0%.
Development Pause
Development has largely been paused since late February, due to family emergencies. Things are not over yet, and almost certainly development won't resume for a few months (except maybe for a little bit). When things settle down, I might get back to working on the game as before, but I might take some more time to rest and reflect on where I go from here in my life.
The timing was a bit odd, since I was getting fairly close to having something I consider a good 1.0 version, and probably exiting from Early Access. I needed to choose between finishing up a smallish milestone and leaving EA, or putting things off until I return to development and devote a good amount of time and energy to doing a final release that involved a proper amount of marketing effort, or just stopping development. Since I had really been enjoying working on the game a lot, and I MIGHT find I have the same enthusiasm some time in the future, I chose to just have things be paused, so I can do a proper wrap up to exit EA, and possibly keep working on the game for a long time after that (mmm maybe).
I guess some people will assume the game is now abandoned, and of course a huge number of games in Early Access do get abandoned, so that's fine, but there is still a good chance I'll get back to it once I'm ready. The odds are not 100% that I do this, but certainly not 0%.
Update - May 5, 2023
Geothermal power can now be researched and used, supplementing the existing wind and solar power generation. It can only be used where heat vents are located, so it's not for general use in all locations, but is very useful for certain areas in the Caves.
Certain items in the game now have more vague and general descriptions, unless particular missions or other events have unlocked the 'main' names and descriptions of the items. Several missions have been added to the game that relate to this, so that the player can unlock some lore related scan information. For example, the player might deep scan an item of an alien faction that has not been encountered before. The initial name and description might be something like 'unknown device' and 'little is known about this device, which has apparently been created by intelligent entities'. After completing a mission to find more related items, the name and description of the item when scanned might be 'Thrub digging tool' and 'A powered device used by Thrub workers to help dig through soil and rock'.
Update - January 12, 2023
Note- Don't expect to have access to any new area on the first game day, either in a new game or when loading an existing save
Update - September 19, 2022
The main visible aspect of the update involves animations for the player hand. No longer is the player's arm/hand rather static most of the time. There are new animations for various held equipment items and some subtle animation when the player is just walking around with their hand raised while holding a piece of equipment.
Combat has been re-balanced some, and a variety of bugs (combat and unrelated) have been fixed, to keep the amount of jankiness and 'buggy mess' in the game low. Also, a number of sound fx for the new alien species have been remade. Tool tips have been added for the equipped items bar at the lower edge of the UI.
Update - August 15, 2022
In keeping with the general theme of 'humans are mostly good' in the game, the player is limited to researching and building a stun blaster, which can drive off hostile aliens or knock them unconscious, but won't kill them. The blaster can not be used on harmless non-hostile creatures.
The update also introduces several new alien species/factions, all of which can become a bit 'fighty' at times.
Given the large amount of related systems work required to get combat working in the game, there are some loose ends and polish that still needs to be done. There will probably be a followup update soon that addresses these issues and fixes any bugs discovered in the near future (especially any combat-related bugs).
This update is likely to be the last 'new systems' update for at least a while, with development transitioning over to creating new content that uses the various new game systems that have been added to the game in the last year or so.
Update - April 3, 2022
The Fluxer is a new equipment item for the player, and features a rather unstable 'wobbly beam' of energy. Currently it's used to repair damaged items (the possibility of items becoming damaged is another new feature of this update). Eventually, it's likely to have more abilities and could be a sort of 'misc utility' equipment item.
Previously, the Event system supported quite simple events such as triggering NPC dialogs. With this update there is now a code framework to allow custom scripting for events. Events can track information and 'do stuff' over time (e.g. hourly, daily), and have custom logic for when they end. Notifications for events exist, so the player can know what's going on, and the notifications can track and display event related information as it occurs (e.g. showing a list of items that are now damaged and can be repaired using a Fluxer).
Update - December 22, 2021
Occasionally a building could be placed such that some of the terrain underneath the building stuck up above floor level, which of course looks unrealistic. To address this issue and to improve things a bit in other ways, a few features have been added. When initially placing buildings, the height of the building relative to the land beneath it can be adjusted, so a building can be raised up to make sure terrain does not poke thru the floor. Also, once a building has been placed, it's placement can be adjusted somewhat. It can be rotated, moved around a bit, and it's height raised or lowered. And finally, buildings can be dismantled entirely, with the player receiving a full refund of resources and credits that were used to originally purchase the building. These features help with the issue of terrain sometimes sticking up thru floors, but also gives base-building a lot more flexibility, for example if a player decides to move most of their base to another area entirely.
The new UI feature is an area on the right side of the screen for notices to appear, which remain until the player decides to clear them out. Previously, notices appeared briefly and then vanished, and sometimes a player would not see one when it was visible. Now, various important notices remain visible. Often they have additional information which can be viewed by clicking on them, and sometimes have interactions available in a pop-up window, such as initiating a dialog with an NPC who wants to have a conversation with the player. The game has (the beginnings of) an event system, and these 'right side notices' will be a primary way to let the player know about important events or issues they should be aware of. They also function similar to a 'mail box' feature that some games have.
Update - October 12, 2021
This update grants the player the ability to create sites (small bases) for other human crew members from the Mothership. These Sites can then be used by NPCs on a daily basis. It also adds a number of new NPCs to the game, and adds more detail to how NPCs are defined.
Human NPCs now have a number of semi-randomized preferences and desires, related to what sort of Sites they might want to use, either for working on their own research projects or spending some well-earned vacation time down on Syrinx. The Sites the player builds have related stats, which often correspond to NPC desires.
Sites can also be used by the player. For example, they can spend the night at a Site, if it has a bed to sleep in, so that they don't have to go back to the Observation Tower that evening to rest.
There are new UI screens for reviewing player creates Sites, and for viewing statistics of NPCs, such as their desires and their (newly added to the game) relationship level to the player. Their are daily reports that track site usage, showing how much extra research is generated for the player, credits earned, and relationship level increases.
Player created Sites are entirely optional. Once the player has determined that the nearby areas on Syrinx are relatively free of dangers, they can place a Landing Pad near the Outpost, which in turn unlocks the player ability to create new Sites.
The update also adds optional NPC tasks/missions, so the player can help their fellow crew members work on their goals.