I've been toiling away the past 2 years or so on the next game project and it's finally nearing completion.
It's a post-apocalypse, dynamic sandbox and squad turn-based RPG. The setting is in the Star Nomad 2 universe, however, we're planet-side as survivors and descendants of an ill-fated Human Empire colony fleet that struck disaster, crash landing on a uncharted hostile alien world.
You will take the role as the leader of a rag tag bunch of scavengers / mercenaries. Your goal is to scavenge, trade, sabotage, fight and help conquer your way to fame and glory, while unraveling a major mystery on the origins of the colony and partake in side-quests and random encounters.
If that piques your curiosity, more information is available in a series of detailed blogs here:
The backstory & game-world:
https://halfgeek.blog/2018/12/02/the-game-world/
The combat design and mechanics:
https://halfgeek.blog/2018/12/14/combat-mechanics/
Nomads of the Fallen Star will be due in early 2019.
Holiday Greetings & Video Tutorial
Greetings Pilots,
It's been a year already since release, how time flies! I just wanted to give a heads up, the game will go on a 50% sale for the holiday season. If you've been on the fence, it's a good time to give it a go.
I was thinking of doing a series of video tutorials to ease the learning curve, but found a reviewer who covered all of the game's basics, so here it is, thanks to TDKPyrostasis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGnLFenRELc
I'm currently working on the next game project, Nuclear Nomad, a post-apocalyptic open world dynamic sandbox with squad tactical turn based RPG gameplay.
Looking back, I am very grateful for the support that gamers from all over have given me since the Steam release. I often read a lot of post-mortems from other gamedevs and the many failures of indie devs in particular, to the so-called "indie-pocalypse"..
Star Nomad 2 is not a hit, but enough of you have bought it to keep me going on my journey as a game-dev. I can pay the bills, take care of my 2 kids (5 & 3 yrs) while still able to fund art commissions for the next project, for me, that's all I could hope for.
So thank you everyone who've supported me by buying the game! I'll try my best to make the next one an even better and deeper game for you all to enjoy. :)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to you all!
Regards,
Huy
OSX/MAC Build Ready!
It was always my intention to port the game over for MAC gamers too (I also get some Escape Velocity fans contacting me about it!), but there were some major incompatibility within my game engine with OSX that made it impossible for awhile.
But it was recently resolved and I've been having good success with the OSX build, it's running really smooth and should be ready soon (maybe in a few days after more play-testing!)...
Here it is, on my 2012 Mac Air (El Capitan):
Update 27/10/2016: It's ready, everything functions with the exception for Steam SDK/DRM integration as there's still a minor engine bug that causes issues on OSX Steam. So no achievements & overlay, but everything else works just fine!
Note that achievements are tracked in-game (in a handy achievement menu) and when the engine issue is resolved, I'll update to add those features which will unlock retro-actively based on your progress.
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Progress on the next game, Nuclear Nomad, is going well, the world map AI is very dynamic and everything is linked to the economy & logistics. However, I'm still working with place-holder art so it's not ready for a public showing yet.
Because it's still early days, it's the best time to design and implement features, so if you think you'll enjoy a highly dynamic post-apocalyptic sandbox inspired by Mad Max + Mount & Blade, head on over to the thread here:
I welcome all suggestions and ideas and very open for discussion and feedback.
Android release!
The launch on iOS last month provided some much needed feedback on the mobile port, and I’ve taken in the responses and suggestions to improve the game further.
There’s now two modes of flight controls, giving players a choice to get comfortable in space. Bugs were killed and some more polish was added.
This build was ported over to Android and after testing on a wide range of devices, I’m happy to release it on Google’s Playstore!
The recommended specs are there due to the thousands of devices on Android, but it also runs on weaker spec devices, just with some slowdowns during the biggest conquest battles.
A recent engine update has fixed some compatibility issues with Steam SDK, so I've finally been able to enable Steam Achievements!
Worry not, the game has been monitoring your progress separately, via the Achievements menu (bottom right, Title Screen), so any prior progress will be tracked towards unlocking achievements. ie, it's retro-compatible!
The achievements are made to trigger within the Achievement menu due to this retro-compatibility design, so open that menu and mouse-over any achievements you've acquired and it will sync with Steam to unlock!
Also in this engine update, the code compiler has been improved. The result is better efficiency, or higher performance. If you are on a modern PC, it will use less CPU resources, especially in huge battles. If you're on a really old PC, it will run 60 FPS smooth more often.
A secondary optimization lowers the memory footprint, I've been able to get it to run on old notebooks with 2GB of memory and integrated graphics, as such, I've lowered the minimum system requirements.
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Work on the next project is going well. I'm also going to spend some time to troubleshoot the MAC export to get Star Nomad 2 onto MAC for Steam.
Thank you all for playing and see you out there in space Pilots!
-Huy
Be a Space Pilot away from your PC, now available on iOS!
After a number of months spent porting over the PC build, Star Nomad 2 is finally out on Apple iOS, for iPad Mini 2, Air, iPhone 6 Plus or newer.
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1088622798
This iOS version includes many feature adds that the PC build has received on Steam since the release in December last year. This includes many new faction ships and weapons (new cool missiles & drones), which were released as free updates. Also including player suggested features, like the Hangar, UI improvements, Lifepods, etc..
Importantly, a lot of bug-fixes which PC players have reported over time, it should (fingers crossed) be a much more polished experience for iOS players.
The UI has been revamped to ensure that it plays excellent on these devices, no compromises on gameplay were made. :)
Screenshots (taken from an iPad Mini 2):
I hope you all find it fun and exhilarating to play, and if there’s any queries or feedback, don’t hesitate to contact me on:
Twitter: @AH_Phan
Email: halfgeekstudios@gmail.com
Touch Arcade forum: AH_Phan
Linux build available for free!
I've configured my game engine to export to Linux, in theory, it should work as I've followed the protocols.
But I am not a Linux guy, ashamed to admit, I have zero experience with Linux and so I cannot provide support for that platform.
Let me know if it works, and if not, what some of the things you Linux gurus modify to get it to work. ;)
Regards,
-Huy
Update 1.16: Improved AI Pilots, HUD & Economic Sim
Update 20/02/2016 (v1.16) Notes:
A new HUD for hull, energy and shield status, floating besides your ship. This should improve visual cues of your current status without taking the eyes away from the action. Thanks for the suggestion! I made it minimal to avoid UI clutter.
All AI Pilots (except Hunters & Combat Drones) have been re-schooled in the art of flying. They will now avoid the edge of the map during battles and react sooner if the fight drags them to the edges.
Improved economic sim that occurs in the background for dynamic supply & demand of trade-goods for all systems. Overall less extreme lows or highs, unless it is impacted by a trade crisis event.
NPC Merchants are no longer allowed to randomly smuggle drugs to Betelgeuse's Starport. They were caught drugging up the population there making the Omni Collective weaker.
Changed stellar background for several Free Union systems.
Always back up your save folder in case Steam corrupts some files in the update process (re-validate game files after updating).
Save folder is located here: C:\Users\yourusername\StarNomad2
Fly safe out there Pilots!
Regards,
-Huy
Hotfix Update 2nd Feb 2016
A small update hotfix (v1.152) with changes to the Pilot creation process as to not cause a conflict with the new engine data.
Update 1.15: New Ships, New Engine & Save, Hangar
Update 31/01/2016
New data engine & save-format activated. New Ships & Storage Hangar feature.
The Free Union is secretly building large vessels that exceed the Treaty which prevents them from having Cruisers & Capital Class ships. Those Pilots who are renowned (Heroic Ace+) and in great standing with the Union & Merchant Guild may talk to the Guild NPC to get access to prototype vessels for field trials.
The Polaris Cruiser is available in all modes, while the Tannhauser Capital is unlocked in Roguelike. More info on the ships are here: http://steamcommunity.com/games/414950/announcements/detail/65667809839009739
The game engine is overhauled to read text data, in 4 separate files in the installed folder; A_Ships.txt, A_Modules.txt, A_Tradegoods.txt & A_Engine.txt. This was done for two reasons, firstly, it allows myself to expand on the game in the future more easier and new features are likely to be save-compatible. Secondly, it allows players who are not experienced in JavaScript to have some modding potential.
I will document in more detail the data in those files on the forum thread here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/414950/discussions/0/458607699612873312/
The save-engine is improved to be more streamlined and efficient, as well as outputting the save-game in a user-friendly format as text files. This is required along with the game engine changes to enable future features to be added & to make them save-compatible. For the past 2 updates, the new save-engine is active in parallel with the older one.
If you've played recently with these updates, your Pilot data will be compatible with the new format. If you have not played in awhile, it is possible your progress is loss. My sincere apologies if it occurs. [B]However, due to the new text-file save format, it is very easy to edit the save to regain any progress you had. More info is available in the thread above[/B].
New Feature: Storage Hangar. Up to 3 ships can be stored in Hangars at major ports. Access depends on the player standing with the local port authorities. [B]Please read the text carefully, un-equip your modules first before sending a ship into perma-storage[/B].
Due to the above and potential for players to need bigger modules storage capacity, I've increased all Ship Storage Hold space to 25 slots. Consider it an "Items Vault" that is always accessible.
Resolving a trade crisis now grants ~25% more XP, Standing and Reputation. Merchant players had too tough a time earning these progression metrics.
Increased the upper limit of Free Union Standing gains for Hunters who claim Pirate or Zerker bounties.
Change NPC Ship Upgrade bonuses: Removed resistance gains. Seeing your own damage drop is counter-rewarding. Instead, they will gain extra Hull & Shields to improve durability.
Added a "Return to Title Screen" option in the Escape Menu! Sorry it took awhile, it's only possible (without bugs) with the engine changes I've made.
Thanks for playing Star Nomad 2, you all make it possible for me to remain a game-dev and I am very grateful! :)
What's next? I have to port to iOS, to help fund the next project: Nuclear Nomad. SN2 itself was funded by the first SN sales on iOS so I am grateful for gamers on that platform too.
Nuclear Nomad is a mix of genres, Harvest Moon/Rune Factory, Fallout 1/2, Survival, Mount & Blade, all built around an even more dynamic and detailed economic simulation. If that sounds like something you like, feel free to drop in the forum and post suggestions and ideas.
