Challenge and thrill seekers, take note! I have added a new Pluto Parkour mission. Are you up for a real challenge? To get diamond on this mission, fly up near the red question mark, turn your jet pack to 0 (in the abilities tab), and try to complete the mission in under 1:11! This one took me a number of tries to accomplish successfully, and is probably the hardest challenge in the game.
Other noteworthy additions:
Pluto Cliff Race - A race up the narrow path up the cliff! Can you make it up without falling off?
Pluto Targets - Wander around the top of the castle at the edge of the cliff while hitting targets. Once you get all the ones on the castle, jump off the cliff and take aim at the targets below on your way down! Thankfully the low gravity of Pluto along with the snow makes for a gentle landing (unless you happen to land in the factory chimney)!
Pluto Quiz - Challenge and expand your knowledge of Pluto and other math / science topics!
Bug fix - I fixed up the dialogue in several areas so it no longer repeats when it shouldn't (e.g. "rediscovering" secrets.)
Pluto Planetary Puzzle
Pluto is coming along well, much more refined since the last release. I have made the two achievements that were "coming later" available now, so now you can complete all the current achievements in the game! You can now go in the factory and complete the Outer Planet Puzzle.
I plan on adding more achievements as development progresses. I also plan to continue working on Pluto in the near term, and get the remaining missions added.
Pluto Preview and Bug Fix
Here is a preview of Pluto, with Charon in the sky! It is still in development, but you can see generally how it looks, experience the low gravity of Pluto, and see how small the sun appears from out there. I am still adding more to it (including the missions, achievements, and dialogue to come soon).
(Fixed) It was brought to my attention that there is a graphics bug where the graphics settings default to the lowest level, and I am making this release mainly to fix this bug. A workaround if you are currently playing is to go to the graphics tab and set the graphics higher, crank the resolution to 100%, then hit Apply. I am working to fix this quickly.
Spooky Secret Depths of Mars...
The elevator to Mars can now be repaired! Simply beat the tutorial, leave Mars allowing the nanites to do their work, then return to Mars. Go to the repaired elevator to explore the spooky depths of Mars! Who knows what secrets may be down there...
Beat the first main quest (make it to the Sun and beat that level), and return through the newly opened up portal for a nice surprise!
There is a new achievement to find as well: Do a barrel bowl!
Game Footage
I have made a Youtube playlist that shows the progression of development for Planetary Settlers. The first videos are generally the latest, and the older ones are from earlier development. There is a sneak preview of the Barrel Bowl achievement, and some other stuff I am working on in there as well! Expect this area to be playable in the next week or two!
I have made it so you can access the graphics menu in game, instead of having to go back to the title screen to make adjustments. Just pause (p) and go to the Graphics tab. Pick your desired settings and press Apply. I have also added 4 new graphics presets (fastest running first):
Retro: Do you like the feel of the old time games?
Go to Graphics, click "Retro" and enjoy a look that is a "blast from the past!" This is the fastest frames per second built in setting.
Fast: This is designed to run fast, use this setting or retro if you are lagging while playing Planetary Settlers. Fast optimizes the graphics to run fast while still looking halfway decent.
Default: This is the way Planetary Settlers used to run before I added graphics options. If you like the current look and feel, you can stick with this, but feel free to experiment with the other settings!
Epic: Crank it up to the max and enjoy the best graphics available in Planetary Settlers. This will probably run slowly (low frames per second) though, unless you have a really nice gaming computer. If your computer runs even this setting fast, play on and enjoy the view!
Configurable Graphics!
Now you have the option to configure graphics for Planetary Settlers!
You can now adjust the graphics to get a better frame rate by lowering the settings, and the resolution slider bar at top. Do this if the game seems "laggy" to get better performance. If you like the retro game look, you can also drag the resolution slider way down (about 25% seems to be about right), and enjoy the new retro look! If you have a good gaming computer, you can crank the graphics all the way up, and enjoy crisp, detailed textures and lighting! Adjust the settings in the main menu, and try it out till you find the best balance (lower settings increase frame rate, and higher settings make it look better).
I plan on fixing up the menu a bit and making the graphics menu accessible from the pause menu in an upcoming update.
Another handy feature I added is that the game remembers what level you were on, and resumes on that level when you start again, so you don't always restart the Mars tutorial.
I am interested in which version of the company logo you like the most!
Colorful logo:
Diamond logo:
Gold logo:
You can cast your votes on the facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/PlanetarySettlers/
Martian Makeover
Mars has a new, better, more true to life look! I re-textured it to look more realistic based on pictures sent back from the Mars Rovers. It looks from the rover pictures like Mars generally has at least 3 different types of "soil": sandy, dirt-like, and rocky, which I have added on the Mars level.
I also added a "portal bubble" to the moon pyramid that indicates when the pyramid teleporter is active when performing the moon rock garden mission. Jump in to teleport to the large crater outside the moon dome!
I added a collapsed area on the Venus volcano, as well as fixed up the flowing lava to look even more realistic!
Artwork Contest - September 2018
[H1]Space Themed Artwork Contest - September 2018[/H1]
Would you like to have your artwork featured in Planetary Settlers? Simply share it on the Facebook page below and I may feature it in the game! It can be a space themed picture drawn in crayon, magic marker, painted, made on the computer, or however you like, as long as it was made by you (or your child).
