There has been loads of great stuff happening with Geo 2 over the past few weeks. Heres whats been going down in grove town!
Kickstarter
As you may have seen the Geo 2 Kickstarter was a roaring success! It was fully funded in under 5 hours and finished at around 250% funded, achieving 2 stretch goals! This means that Geo 2 will now have an extra galaxy to explore, there will be hidden arcade mini games to find and play in the galaxy maps that will unlock cool stuff and thirdly you will be able to send nano drills off to bring you resources!! Wooo!
A big part of the Kickstarter campaign was to allow people to put their own stamp on the universe by designing planets, rooms, investment sites and more. I am now getting back the information from the amazing backers as to what they would like and OH MY MY... we have some awesomely weird and wonderful things going into the Geo 2 universe!
Enviroment art
At the top of every planet in Geo 2 is a nice slither of art, the ground level of that planet. I have been furiously designing these assets and I absolutely love drawing alien landscapes. There will be a ton of variety throughout the planets and hopefully these will help build that feeling of descending into a strange alien planet. Here is a few of the designs.
Drills
I have now designed all of the drill components for Geo 2. As you play through the game you will unlock new drill heads and drill bodies. These are interchangeable so you can build a drill that best suits your play style! Each has its own stats that can be upgraded and all the components have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Each drill piece was designed in a large version for the HQ and the Garage and also a smaller animated one for when you are drilling and scooting about in space. The graphics change depending on your choice. Additionally each drill body has its own coloured trail when you fly.
Arcades
As stated above there are now arcade mini games to find throughout the universe. If you can beat certain high scores you will unlock some really cool prizes (like the changable HQ backgrounds)
The first game is “Mr Banihans Banana Drama”. As with Geo 2 itself the game is played entirely with the mouse. Left click to shoot and right click to change lanes. Avoid the evil vegetable monsters and drop off bananas for points!
UI/HQ Update A large job I recently completed was to modify every single UI and the entire HQ with damage, marks, scuffs and patches. It was a large undertaking but one I feel gives the entire game a much more “industrial” vibe. An intergalactic mining corporation run by strange aliens wouldn't be pristine and well kept now would it.
Whats next? I have a lot of art to do! I am chipping away at the mountain as fast as I can and rest assured, Geo 2 will be here soon and it will be all the better for all this extra work.
And there you have it! The Geo 2 Kickstarter campaign is over... and what a journey it has been! You wonderful backers smashed the initial funding target in under five hours, then unlocked the first stretch goal of the additional galaxy, and then with less than 25 minutes to go before the end, the second stretch goal of the Nano Drills was also unlocked. Thrills through to the very last seconds! :D I really can't thank you all enough for your support - it will give me the extra time I need to craft Geo 2 into what I always hoped it would be.
The additional content, quality upgrades, and new game features would not have been possible without the incredible backing I have received from all you lovely people. Again, I send you all my greatest thanks for helping me to bring the full Geo 2 vision to life.
Ladies and gentlemen... The final countdown is here and we are now JUST TWELVE HOURS from the end of the Geo 2 Kickstarter campaign. This is the last opportunity to pledge in the Kickstarter and also have access to those unique in-game content rewards, so one last time: PLEASE SHARE the campaign with friends, colleagues, and family. The last little push might even get us to the *second stretch goal* for the Nano Drills! Backing a reward tier also gives you a free Steam key for the first Geo game, which is an offer not available through any other channel once the Kickstarter finishes.
There remain a variety of opportunities to place your special mark on the game - rooms, planets, investment sites, and space traffic still have available slots should you wish to design something to go into Geo 2. For those looking for a more extravagant way to show their support and really leave their imprint in the game, there is ONE FINAL slot in the Galactic Overlord tier, which also includes the last remaining opportunity for a your crew design to be immortalised by the amazing talent of Peet Cooper.
The final boarding call is now... speak to you again once we are in flight to a universe of drilling opportunities!
Much love,
Anthony (Windybeard)
Geo 2 Kickstarter - Just 48 Hours Left
There are now less than 48 hours until the Geo 2 Kickstarter comes to an end! Although Geo 2 will be my seventh commercial game release, this has been my first Kickstarter. Coming into it, I was quite nervous about how it would play out but the level of support from both my long-time fan base and new backers has truly blown me away. It's your pledges that will allow me to realise the final vision for Geo 2, plus also include some amazing content ideas and designs from backers. With just a couple of days left we have already almost doubled the original funding target and I can't thank you all enough for this support.
Check out this lovely fan art rendition of Kira the Geo 2 helper bot. Drawn by the amazing Grace Liu.
As you will hopefully have seen from the previous updates, work on the game has continued throughout the campaign including the first of the unlockable mini-games and lots of new art. Once the Kickstarter finishes, there will be some administrative work to get the surveys out to those backers who have content pledges (e.g. characters, planets etc) and I will also be sending out Steam keys for the first Geo game to all reward backers. As soon as this is done, I'll be straight back into the development and both Peet and I are excited to work with you on your ideas!
I'm also working on some cool ideas for new, fresh content on Twitch so please do drop by and give me a follow - you'll see Geo 2 development live most days. As always, thanks so much for backing and supporting Geo 2. Please continue to share the campaign with friends, family and colleagues - we might still hit that second stretch goal for the Nano Drills!
So we have reached the final seven day countdown to the end of the Geo 2 Kickstarter! The steady influx of new backers and the constant messages of encouragement continue to surprise me. Thanks to everyone who has shared the campaign and all of you who have pledged your support so far.
Since the last update I have made lots of great progress with various parts of the game. Last week I completed the first of Geo 2's hidden mini-game cartridges to play within the Arcade: "Mr Banihan's Banana Drama" - it was a huge amount of fun to work on that.
I then moved on to more of the planet art, some of which you can see below:
I have also been working on integrating more of the incredible crew character art from Peet Cooper, and he's bringing more and more of those zany characters to life each week. We're finalising the art surveys for backers which will go out shortly after the Kickstarter campaign ends.
There is so much work which goes on behind the scenes in bringing a game such as Geo 2 to life. I spent last weekend re-organising my studio to incorporate a green screen and lighting, which I hope will make my Twitch streams even more engaging as you see Geo 2 being developed and finalised over the next few months. Follow me over on Twitch and get notified to see some Geo 2 production in real-time!
We are now less than £500 away from that first stretch goal of the additional playable galaxy. As we go into the final week of the Kickstarter, those last few backers can make such a difference in getting us to that stretch goal! Please share the Geo 2 Kickstarter with your friends and ask them to support us.
As valued community members I wanted you to know first... the Geo 2 Kickstarter is now live! Geo 2 is a game about building and growing your intergalactic mining corporation. Head out into uncharted space and discover a universe of locations to exploit for riches! Use your ever-increasing profits to expand your HQ, hire a crazy workforce, obtain new drill components, research new discoveries, and upgrade everything along the way.
Geo 2 marks my seventh commercial game. With some additional development time funded by this Kickstarter campaign, it will enable the completion of the vision which includes loads more interesting content, yet more hand-drawn art, a unique soundtrack, and refinements based on the extensive feedback from so many fans of the first Geo. It's almost ready to go - I just want to make it a really special experience for you.
To thank you for your support, there are a range of Kickstarter reward tiers to suit everyone. From exclusive pricing for the release game to digital art books and soundtracks, there are some incredible limited availability reward tiers to show your support *and* leave your mark on the game - help design planets, space traffic, base rooms and more! As an extra special treat, those backers choosing the VP Human Resources tier will have their character brought to life by the amazing Peet Cooper. There is also a free, high quality digital Geo 2 wallpaper for everyone to download.
Please check out the Geo 2 Kickstarter campaign and also share it with your friends:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/windybeard/geo-2-intergalactic-mining-company
Thank you so much for your support - it means the world... and beyond.
Anthony (Windybeard)
Geo 2 - Development Update #7
Hey everyone
Its been a good few weeks since the last update however please be assured I am working endlessly on Geo 2 to make it the best game It can be. Here is some new stuff!
HQ Customisation
AS you play through Geo 2 you will be able to increase the size of your HQ which allows you to build more rooms, you will also be able to unlock different locations to have your HQ such as an arctic tundra or a volcanic cliff top. There will be many more of these to unlock as you play through the game.
Crates
As you drill you will find crates which contain special power-ups and abilities. When the game starts you can only find a handful of these crates however as you explore space you will recover stock for the market place, one of the main stock types you will find are new power-up crates. Buying these from the store will unlock the crate and it will begin to appear at random throughout the games drilling sites. Here are a few of the crates you can find. (There will be LOTS of crates to unlock)
Kira - Tutorial
Meet “Kira” your new and improved Geo assistant robot. She will guide you through setting up your Business and step you through some of the basics when you first start playing. She can also be called at anytime from the help menu and explain in detail the many aspects of the game and for those who go in deep with the game she will break down some of the advanced techniques and mathematics behind the games systems.
For those who dont like tutorials she can be just told to go away and you can figure it all out for yourself.
She isn't finished just yet but will be soon,
Sound and music
While I cannot show this in a image or Gif I can tell you that most of the music and sound is now in place and it is great! Injekted (Dude who does all the Windybeard music) has outdone himself with this OST. 32 unique, smooth chillout DnB for you to drill too! If you played Geo 1 then expect that OST but on a whole new level! The OST will also be available as a DLC and will have full soundtrack plus album edits of each track for a total of 64 tracks!
Kickstarter
This is still in the process of being finalised, When it launches (Hopefully very soon) I will give you plenty of notice to jump in and check it out. There will be some great ways to support the game and place your own stamp on many aspects of the game from designing planets to crafting your own crew members!
Other Stuff
Outside of all this I have been working on less exciting aspects of the game such as bug fixing, balance and content data entry. While not explosively entertaining it is amazing to sit back and see the progress on Geo 2 and I can tell you now that if you enjoyed Geo 1 then you are going to love Geo 2!
I am honoured to have a very talented artist PEET involved and assisting with Geo 2. He is super talented and has worked on some of the greatest games in the world! He is designing the characters for Geo 2 (and some other cool stuff). Check out this image he is currently working on for Geo 2!
Thank you all so much for reading and your patience with Geo 2's development. It will be released soon I promise!
10% of sales of Geo 2 will go to the gaming charity "Gamers For Good". https://gamersforgood.com/
Much love
Anthony (Windybeard)
Geo 2 - Development Update #6
Hey everyone
Geo 2 development is pressing ahead nicely . Since the last update a large amount of art work has been completed. Pretty much 2 weeks of solid art and design.
Tiles
Last update I spoke about the tile designs and my progress (72 tiles completed) I have now completed all 120 tile designs for Geo 2 WOOHOO. Its a massive content milestone and I am happy with how they turned out. Its no easy feat to design 120 unique tiles that are interesting and colourful. Here is 6 more tiles to look at!
Points of interest
I have also completed the design of a few new “points of interest” scenes. I showed an unfinished design last update so here is that scene finished. I really enjoy the process of making these POI's and hope to have some really interesting locations to find and funny stories to enjoy that will really make the Geo 2 universe feel alive and full of fun.
Geo 2 Headquarters (HQ)
I have been designing the actual Geo 2 HQ building. When you upgade your HQ in the coretrium it grows in size by 2 rooms. Each level of the HQ is hand designed and builds up a unique and interesting building like no other. Here is the current piece I am working on (Lvl 8 HQ)
Options
Outside of the vast amount of art work being completed I have been working through a truly huge “to do” list of tiny features, quality of life changes and all round game play tweaks to make Geo 2 more fun, accessible and pleasant to play. This includes options to removed screen shake, reduce particle and effects, provide visual cash drop values and damage counters etc and much more. There will plenty of options available for you to tailor Geo 2 to your own tastes and needs. I am eager to hear of any options that would help you enjoy Geo 2.
Kickstarter
I am currently building a small Kickstarter campaign to raise a little funding to push Geo 2 that bit further. Geo 2 will be released regardless of the campaigns success however if I can get the small campaign successful it will really help push Geo 2 further and make it even better! Watch this space for more info on this when the time comes and I hope I can count on your support!
Not only will you be able to pre order a copy of Geo 2, there will be tons of cool backer rewards up for grabs and some really great ways to get involved with aspects of the game and put your stamp on it!
Physical Stuff
I am also in the process of creating and designing some awesome physical Geo 2 stuff. Its very early days however It is something that is in the works and I hope its gonna be awesome. I will again update you all with their progress and when the time comes how you can get your hands on these exclusive Geo 2 (and other Windybeard) physical products.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you are looking forward to Geo 2.
Much love
Anthony (Windybeard)
Geo 2 - Development Update #5
Hey everyone
Lots of work has been happening with Geo 2. Most of this work is lots of tiny modifications and bug fixing. One of the biggest changes since the last update was the new Geo 2 Logo. Below you can see both the new and old Logo designs.
New logo
Tiles
I have also been designing many of the tiles that will fill the worlds in Geo 2. At the time of writing this I have completed 72 Tiles. I plan to have a huge assortment of tiles to bring a great variety to the worlds you drill. Each tile has its own stats and information and every single tile can be leveled up in Geo 2. Leveling up a tile will increase its cash value by 50% and also award you with a "Drill Token" each time it is leveled up. You can use those drill tokens to upgrade your drill components. Here is a few of my favourite tiles!
Monsters
I have also been designing and adding new monsters. In Geo 1 monsters appeared randomly throughout the drill sites. In Geo 2 monster appearance is slightly different. They will still appear randomly throughout the planets however they are preset to specific planets. For example the Giant worm may only appear on certain planets instead of all of them. This allows me to create far more variety and hopefully some fun and amusing surprises.
Many of the monsters have returned from Geo 1 (BONSON!!!) and many more new ones. Here is one of the many new monsters. This guy is called "Bloat"
Points of interest
One of the new additions to Geo 2 is the "Point of interest" (POI) that you can find when exploring space. These are bonus locations. They show a hand drawn image of the place you have found, some story and a prize. This has allowed me to really work some more story and Lore into the expansive universe of Geo 2. They are great fun to design however they do take a while to finish. I hope you like them and I think they will add a great depth to the game that was missing from the original.
Here is the current POI I am working on. Alien desert Storage
Dev Tools
One of the hardest jobs for me when making this game is actually building the universe and balancing the content within it. There are so many different variables involved with every aspect of the game and one of my most important principles with Geo is to allow the player to explore in any direction they want and deal with the consiquences of that choice. This is a very difficult balancing issue however I am confident I can get it right and make a fun, well balanced yet challenging universe to explore and enjoy.
here is a little sneak peak at the Location database I have built to actually create the planets you drill in the game. Its not pretty but it does the job. There is most likely a large amount of additional data points I will need to add to this tool before its finished.
A huge amount of art still is yet to be completed for Geo 2 however it is coming along really well and I am happy with its development so far. I will post more incomplete art works and stuff like that as I really dig into this huge art phase. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you are looking forward to playing Geo 2.
Much love
Anthony (Windybeard)
Geo 2 - Development Update #4
Hey everyone
In this update I will explain the many ways in which you can progress and upgrade almost every thing in the game. One of the main game play aspects of Geo 2 is the freedom to choose how and when you level up whatever you wish to upgrade. The choice is yours and those choices are never wrong. Every upgrade helps in some way or another.
Last week I went into detail about the drilling system in Geo 2 and in order for you to successfully drill planets and make money you need to become stronger and more resilient to the many forces at play trying to stop you achieving this. In short you will always want to increase your stats!
Basic Stats
There are a boat load of stats to manipulate in Geo 2 however you have a small set of base stats that are key to progression. These stats are always shown to you in the top left of the screen, you can toggle this on and off if you want to. The stats are as follows...
Drill Power - This is the amount of damage you will do to a tile when drilling it
Drill HP - This is the amount of Hit Points/Health your drill has
Crit Strike - This is the amount of extra damage you will do when a critical hits
Resistances - Fire, Ice, Acid, Radiation and Dark. These are your resistances to elemental damage received when drilling affected locations.
Also shown in the top left is...
Cash - How much money you have
Core fragments - How many core fragments you have, spend these in the Coretrium perk tree
Drill Tokens - These are required to upgrade drill components
Geo level - Your overall level. This goes up with every bit of progress you make.
Upgrades
There are a huge number of ways you can increase your stats. The most important being building up your HQ. At the start of the game your HQ will consist of a little building with 2 vacant rooms. Luckily you are also given 2 room blueprints so you can build these in the vacant rooms. Each room has its own specific stats that when built are instantly added to yours.
The rooms stats mirror your own so you can see exactly what stat increases you are getting when the room is built. There are 2 further key bits of information to note "Crew slots" across the bottom, and "Crew Xp Modifier"
Each room allows you to place up to 4 crew members into that room, when adding crew members you will add their stats to the room stats and ultimately to your drill stats. Building rooms and adding crew members is how you get ahead. Crew members and rooms can be unlocked throughout the game and I will touch further on this in a later update. When crew members are in a room they will receive XP from drilling and the "Crew Xp Modifier" shows you how much XP they will get, in this instance they will receive and extra 20% XP! BONUS!
Crew Upgrades
As explained above crew members gain XP from drilling. Having crew members not assigned to rooms means they will not receive XP at all. When a crew member is stuffed full of XP they can be upgraded via the crew menu. What is important to note is that crew bonus stats unlocked through this process are added to your stats FOREVER regardless if the crew is in a room or not! These are incredibly important and upgrading crew members will make you very powerful.
Room Upgrades
Every room can also be upgraded 3 times. These upgrades do not give you stat boosts however they do permanently increase your cash multiplier. Once upgraded the cash multiplier boost is applied regardless if the room is built in the HQ or not.
Collection
When you drill tiles or collect items in Geo 2 they are recorded and kept. Every single block you drill is yours and has many different ways of helping you progress. One such way is by upgrading the Tiles and items themselves. Each tile has a XP requirement and can be upgraded 3 times. When a Tile is upgraded its value when drilled increases by 50%. So a tile worth 10 gold will now be worth 15 gold! Not only does it increase in value but you will also obtain a "Drill Token". Drill Tokens can be spent upgrading the drill many drill components you find throughout the game. I will explain more about the drill customisations and upgrading in a later Update.
Coretrium
The coretrium is by far the most important thing to upgrade in Geo 2. It is the very core (Pun intended) aspect of your success. Every planet you drill has a core, smash that core open to get core fragments. These fragments can be spent inside the "Coretrium" to unlock huge perks. These perks are percentage based and are applied over your normal stats. Things like "+10% to drill power", these are huge upgrades.
Also in the coretrium are 2 special nodes.
HQ Uprade - Will increase the size of your HQ by 2 additional rooms
Galaxy Map - Will unlock an entire new additional galaxy map to explore
As you can see these are very very important upgrades and should always be your priority.
Geo Level
Your "Geo lv" is your overall progression level. Every thing you do in Geo will grant you Geo Xp, drilling a planet core, upgrading a crew member, exploring space, upgrading a tile and much more. Every little upgrade will add xp to your Geo level. When this is ready to upgrade it will flash and clicking on it will level you up and provide you with great rewards.
There are many other little upgrades and ways to progress in Geo 2 that you will find as you play the game and every single upgrade no matter how small will help you progress further. Get ready to upgrade like you have never upgraded before!
Thank you so very much for your support and for reading. Stay safe
