Release Retrospective + Major Update 1 Development News
With the release of Solar Nations, I have taken some time to look back on the road I took and discover what mistakes I may have made in the pursuit of game development passion. While I won't bore you with my discoveries, I have learned alot and will use this new information to improve Solar Nations, and any future Flomgus Games.
Unfortunately, real life events have reduced the amount of time that is currently being allocated to the development of Solar Nations, rest assured that development is continuing. But you don't have to take my word for it, because we have a little sneak peek at what's in store for Major Update #1.
Major Update 1
While originally intended as a warfare focused update, Major Update 1 will be primarily focused on the lore and flavor elements of the game. Planned content is not disclosable at the moment, but there are some features which have already been developed which I will share with you.
Unit Experience Units now gain experience based on time spent in combat, and rather than giving static buffs to the effectiveness of your navy, military professionalism reforms impact the base level and rate of experience gain. Experience provides a massive buff which is applied after all modifiers, making a hardened fleet capable of absolute devastation!
UI Animations and Improvements While not a gameplay change, the UI has gotten some much needed attention. Now, instead of popping up, a nice little animation plays when selecting a different tab or unit. We have also added a useful new button to the fleet manager which allows for a specific class of ship to be split off from the rest. (Not visible in the GIF due to only having one type of ship in the fleet)
P.S. I also want to thank those who have purchased the game and left positive reviews for taking a chance and supporting small game developers. I understand that it is often difficult to rationalize the purchase of a product from an unproven and amateurish source, but to those that have done so, thank you! We at Flomgus Games are committed to Solar Nations, and will stay true to our promise of a quality game for one price!
Developer Livestream #2
We will be livestreaming Solar Nations in 1 hour and 30 minutes for a couple hours, so tune in if you're on the fence or otherwise interested in seeing the game in action!
Release 1.1, Tutorial improvements + Minor bugfixes
It has been brought to my attention that the existing tutorial tooltips are insufficient for players to properly learn to play Solar Nations. As a result, I have reworded many of the tooltips + added many, many more! So if you were unsure of how to play the game or otherwise found it a bit too daunting, it should be alot clearer now.
If you are still having trouble learning the game, our discord server has a dedicated help chat, and I will respond to any concerns/questions you may have. Though, as I am quite busy, please try to figure it out yourself before asking for my help!
Surprisingly, very few bugs have been reported as of now, and so we haven't needed to resolve many. However, one bug was brought to my attention and should now be fixed.
Release Day Broadcast
Tune in to see gameplay of Solar Nations right here on steam!
Release Day!
August 5 is finally here, and with it Solar Nations is released for purchase on steam! The road towards release has been long, hard, and fun for us, but I am excited to present the game to customers! I sincerely hope you all will enjoy what the game has to offer. I think it has a brilliance that often shines through and makes an experience you can't get anywhere else.
As for us at Flomgus Games, we know that the work doesn't stop at release. Already I am planning the first update, most likely a militarily focused one, but more news on that will be sparse for the time being.
Be sure to join our discord for announcements, bug reports, and more!
Content Showcase #5: Developer Livestream
For the last content showcase today, instead of telling you about what Solar Nations has to offer, I am going to show you what it has to offer.
Later today, starting at 4PM CST, I will be live on twitch for about an hour streaming gameplay of Solar Nations! Feel free to drop in and ask questions about the game. Once I have started, I will post the stream link here.
For those who can't make it or otherwise don't bother with livestreams, I will be uploading it to Youtube after the fact and the link will also be here once it is finished uploading.
One Week Until Launch Day!
Mark your calendar because Solar Nations is now only one week away from release! We have been working hard on bugfixing and user experience for a while now, and let me tell you, in my (not biased at all) opinion, the game is looking great!
A peak at what I was working on today
Stay tuned for the last Content Showcase on Tuesday at 4PM where we will be live on Twitch for a Q&A + gameplay Steam!
Content Showcase #4: First 2 Scenarios
Welcome back! In today's content showcase I will be talking about what is going on in the chronologically first 2 scenarios present in Solar Nations. Unfortunately, that means no mechanical discussions so if that isn't your cup of tea I'll see you next week!
The first thing you'll notice is that there is much more 'neutral' space at this point in time, that is because the hyperdrive has only recently been introduced to the Galaxy, so larger and more centralized states are much rarer. Furthermore, population numbers are by far the lowest of any scenario, making this scenario ideal for those who want a more 4x like experience.
Built on what was originally an ordinary planetary confederation centered around the prosperous world of Cenna, the Lativerian Empire is at the height of it's power, having made use of the military innovativeness of it's Emperor to revolutionize interstellar war. While powerful, the Empire's wellbeing is increasingly reliant on that of it's Emperor, as his cult of personality degrades the institutions on which the former confederation was built. Furthermore, the Empire's explosive growth has created a huge administrative burden that, with time, will likely destroy the Empire if no action is taken.
The Solaire Worlds, due to the circumstances of their colonization over 2 thousand years ago, inherited neither the ruthless militarism of the Inner Core, nor the pioneer spirit of the Frontier, and so have a deeply isolationist culture. It is because of this that they have only now taken notice of the Empire, and even then are united only reluctantly.
The Solar Federation is ancient, older than the colonies themselves, but for the longest time has been mired in bureaucracy and petty politics. It is only recently, as the corruption and decadence of the old democratic government has lead to it's abandonment in favor of the military, that the power of the homeworld has been unleashed. Now rapidly consolidating power both in and out of the Inner Core, the "Federation" careens towards total war with the more powerful Mechanist Coalition.
That Mechanist Coalition, one of the first superregional entities to exist, is built off of the cultural similarity between worlds whose reliance on machines goes far beyond the otherwise socially acceptable. Correctly anticipating the rise of Earth, the Coalition has spent a century militarizing for the inevitable confrontation.
A lot has changed since the rise of the Lativerian Empire, and the galaxy is now in a period of extreme turmoil, as the Terran Empire, who conquered all, has partially collapsed. As the vassals of the old Empire move to fill the power vacuum, the future of the Galaxy, at least for a time, seems uncertain, as the Empire's position has stabilized in the Orion sector. While not as 4x like as the 340 scenario, this scenario is good for more dynamic and hectic gameplay as the interstellar order is in the process of being turned on it's head.
The Terran Empire has a legendary starting position, once holding sway over the whole Domain and now reduced to Orion and Perseus, it is nonetheless by far the strongest Empire at the onset of 548. Unfortunately, that dominance is waning, as the Empire's former vassals have not forgotten their oppression, and observe in tense silence the Empire's actions. Further weakened by overextension and infighting, the Empire of Man's remaining life will likely be that of total war.
Having thrown off the Empire's shackles, the 2nd Solar Federation was founded after the Inner Core had been cast into the dual extremes of bureaucratic decay and imperial eminence. Now looking for a return to moderate, democratic politics, the northern Solar Sector stands united to face the Empire in battle.
After the death of Emperor Lativerius I, his Empire fractured into multiple feuding kingdoms, each vying for the imperial throne. Then engaged in civil war, the kingdoms failed to put their differences aside to confront Earth's new Order, and as a result, paid the ultimate price. Now having thrown off the Terran boot, the 2 remaining kingdoms barely refrain from civil war, hoping to cast aside the Empire of Man for good, so that they may return to killing each other.
Finally, the Outer Galaxy is tentatively united, like many others, in opposition to the Empire of Man, but as it has only recently received FTL technology, planetary separatism is extremely high, and even against the far more powerful Empire, the Outer Rim Confederacy is in dire straits.
Solar Nations DEMO WEEKEND!
From now until Monday, there will be a free demo available for activation on the Steam page for Solar Nations. It includes the 842 "Clash of the Giants" scenario and you can play until the year 942! The currently available Nations are:
Cygnid Confederacy
13th Battlegroup
Sagittan Free Trade Zone
Lativerian Kingdom
Check out the previous content showcases for tips and tricks on how to build better worlds! Or if you are having technical troubles with the game, send us an email at flomgusgames@gmail.com.
Welcome back! Today the topic of discussion is Empire management, a very important part of any Grand Strategy game. But first, there are some important announcements I would like to get out of the way, the first of which being that the release date is being moved to August 5, as we are ahead of schedule! Secondly, a demo including a selection of nations in the 842 "Clash of the Giants" scenario (my favorite) will be releasing this Friday!
That aside, in Solar Nations, there are a number of metrics which define your Empire's stability and internal cohesion, and we will be going through them and explaining how they interact with each other.
Your Empire's government is defined by a set of reforms. Reforms are VERY important as they define some of the intrinsic characteristics of your state. Hovering over these in-game reveals that they effect many areas of your empire with important modifiers. However, they also cost a significant amount of stability to enact (some more than others).
Stability is defined by so many factors in the game it is not worthwhile listing all of them. Needless to say, it is good to keep an eye on it. While high stability is certainly good, low stability will not immediately kill you, as stability either strengthens/saps the loyalty of your factions and the economic stability of your empire.
Factions represent the institutional pillars of your civilization, and each nation has different amounts and types of them. Larger nations generally start with more powerful factions, while upstart nations might not have any at all. Factions provide variable bonuses/maluses depending on their power and loyalty, with powerful factions requiring more extensive monitoring than weaker ones.
Cohesion is the little icon near the top, and is the value which stability trends towards. Cohesion is very important because it is often the only thing stopping a large empire from reaching zero stability (and thus constantly having revolts or disloyal factions) and so it is a good idea to keep an eye on it. Unlike stability, cohesion is very slow moving and difficult to effect. It decays slowly over time proportional to your strength relative to nearby states, and is only raised by extended periods of turmoil.
