Steam Space Exploration Fest & Starcom: Unknown Space Launch
Greetings commanders!
Most of you probably know that I've spent the past 4+ years working on a follow-up to Starcom: Nexus, called Starcom: Unknown Space. It's not a direct sequel, but another chance to explore a new universe, with new enemies and allies, and a new story. (Maybe with some hidden connections to the Nexus story...?)
I'm excited to announce that it has just officially graduated to 1.0 release, coinciding with Steam's Space Exploration Fest with a 20% launch discount. And there's now a bundle with both games for an additional 10% off.
With over 230 different planet anomalies across over 150 star systems, Starcom: Unknown Space is larger and, according to most players' impressions, better than the original. It strives to preserve the core gameplay and exploration experience, while improving several core areas such as improved mission tracking, more characters, better ship design, and many quality of life improvements.
Some of the hundreds of anomalies in Starcom: Unknown Space
Thanks for supporting Starcom and indie games! - Kevin
Starcom: Nexus Deepest Discount and Starcom: Unknown Space Approaching Release
Greetings commanders!
As many of you know, the Starcom follow-up title "Unknown Space" has been in Early Access for the past 18 months. Neither a direct sequel nor a reboot, the game gives players a chance to explore a new universe, filled with new enemies and allies, discoveries and mysteries (and maybe some connections to the Nexus storyline...). It is now approaching 1.0 release and will have a price increase at the end of the current discount period.
With over 230 planet anomalies across over 150 star systems, Starcom: Unknown Space is larger and, according to most players' impressions, better than the original. It strives to preserve the core gameplay and exploration experience, while improving several core areas such as improved mission tracking, more characters, better ship design, and many quality of life improvements.
To celebrate the milestone, Starcom: Nexus is also getting its deepest discount to date for anyone who hasn't picked it up.
And thank all of you for playing Starcom and supporting indie space games!
- Kevin
Starcom: Unknown Space
It's been almost 3 years since Starcom: Nexus graduated from Early Access and I've spent most of that time working on the follow-up title. Based on player survey responses, I've kept the core gameplay close to the original, while at the same time trying to improve a number of features. While I'm immensely proud of Starcom: Nexus, there were a number of aspects that both players and I felt could be improved such as the appearance and layout of ship modules, improved mission tracking, autopilot etc.
The game is neither a direct sequel, nor a reboot. I won't say more for the benefit of players who want to avoid spoilers, but it again has you as a newly minted commander exploring an unfamiliar universe.
Many of you have already participated in the rounds of closed betas that have shaped the new title. If you haven't, there will still be at least one big round of tests before Starcom: Unknown Space drops out of warp into Early Access. Playtest invites are sent to random subscribers/survey respondents.
Significant changes from Starcom: Nexus:
A new story with a new universe, characters, aliens and mysteries
Completely revamped ship-building system featuring multi-hex modules and higher-quality models
Faceless crew replaced with a command crew that progress in rank and skills
Improved mission tracking system
Numerous QoL improvements, like destination autopilot
Improved VFX and UI
Lots more!
So if you enjoyed Starcom: Nexus and want more of the same but better, Starcom: Unknown Space enters Early Access on December 14, 2022.
Retrospective & Future Plans
It’s been a little over two years since Starcom: Nexus graduated from Early Access. Shortly after graduation, I posted a survey to find out what players liked most, and what areas they felt could use improvements in a follow-up title (more about this in a bit). Since then, I’ve received almost 1000 responses. Combined with the 1300+ player reviews on Steam, posts to the discussion forums and in-game feedback, I feel like I have a good idea what players loved about Starcom: Nexus (as well as the most common complaints).
Exploration
Players really loved the feeling that they were exploring a mysterious universe. The idea that through the next wormhole could be another race, artifact, or civilization that would give some surprising discovery or connection kept you pushing into the next star system or out into the void.
When players recounted their favorite moments, it was often about an unexpected discovery. Like finding the mined derelict or realizing that re-aligning an accelerator ring would send them to a hidden star system.
Stories & Missions
Closely linked with exploration, players liked both the overall main story line, as well as the smaller sub-plots like The Phage. A common request was for greater connection between anomalies and stories. Most of the anomalies in Starcom: Nexus are simple stand-alone encounters, many players wanted more anomalies that fit into a longer stories/quests. There were a number of comments that the ending felt too abrupt.
While players generally like the lack of “hand-holding” in the game, a common complaint was the mission log often didn’t provide enough direction.
Shipbuilding
Most players loved the modular shipbuilding element that allowed for customizing both the look and behavior of their ship, although some players disliked the “lego-brick” appearance that resulted from mostly single-hex modules. A common suggestion was upgraded modules that were bigger and better, like more powerful engines that took up twice as many hexes.
Crew
Crew in Starcom: Nexus are mostly treated as a disposable resources (aka red shirts from Star Trek). Some responses wished that there was some more depth to the crew, possibly with character progression and/or a sense of attachment to specific crew members.
Other
There were a number of suggestions that appeared multiple times:
Faction manipulation
Base-building
Procedural generation (with a number of requests for not adding procedural generation, specifically to keep the "bespoke" feel)
Weapon options/variants
What’s Next?
After the last update, I considered starting work on a DLC. But after some investigation I decided that a number of the improvements and content I wanted to create couldn’t easily be added to the game without a major overhaul.
Instead I started working on a follow-up, tentatively titled Starcom: Unknown Space. The good news is that it's pretty far along and I’ll be posting more about this project very soon. In the meantime if you want to keep updated, give suggestions or sign-up for closed betas, fill-out the survey form on our website.
Finally, I want to thank all of the players who provided feedback and encouragement over the years and helped me make Starcom: Nexus the game I always wanted to play.
- Kevin
p.s. If you’re interested in reading more about the development of Starcom: Nexus, I wrote up a lengthy post-mortem on the blog.
Statement on Ukraine
Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, I've considered what I want to do beyond state my support for Ukraine and condemn the terrible violence ordered by the Russian president.
I've decided that any sales revenue that Steam identifies as being from the region (Russia, Ukraine, & CIS) will be donated to help the Ukrainian people. I'll apply this retroactively from the beginning of 2022.
As a small indie game, this is not a large amount of money. But I'd rather be doing something small now than waiting until I figure out the perfect thing.
New languages added
Starcom: Nexus has now been fully translated into German and Russian!
Select your language from the language dropdown in the game's main menu to set your preference. The game has over 70,000 words of text in its conversations, anomalies, discoveries, etc., so there may be some errors. Please report any problems you find in the game's Steam discussion forum.
Note: the mission log records the events in whatever language you were in at the time, so if you change language mid-game you may find the log unable to display the text if in a different character set.
Version 1.0.10 now live
Version 1.0.10 is now live on the default branch. This is a relatively minor patch from a gameplay perspective, but a large amount of text has been moved into localization files in preparation for translation work.
It's been tested in Beta by a couple dozen brave commanders on the opt-in branch, but there's always the possibility of bugs slipping through. As always, please report any issues on the Discussion Forums.
Also, this version includes an updated Linux build.
Thanks for playing Starcom: Nexus!
Starcom: Nexus Out of Early Access!
Exactly one year ago today, Starcom: Nexus launched into Early Access. Thanks to the support, playtesting and feedback from the thousands of players to experience its evolution, the game is now ready for general release.
In that time, there have been many updates, new features, alien races, technologies, missions and player suggested improvements. The universe has grown from a few dozen sectors to a huge galaxy. There are now hundreds of unique planet encounters, spatial anomalies and artifacts.
To celebrate the full launch, the game is now 15% off, so for those of you patiently waiting for it to exit Early Access, now is a great time to grab it.
A huge thank you to everyone who has helped bring the game this far, particularly Early Access players who took a chance on it, and to new players, welcome!
Version 1.0.4 Now Live
Build 1.0.4 is live on the default branch. This is a minor quality-of-life update.
Change list:
Several new music tracks, changes to environmental music logic
Increase visibility of "!" planet icons on map
Map/game zoom speed options
Experimental Polish localization
Minor bug and typo fixes
Graduating from Early Access: December 12, 2019
For Steam users patiently waiting for Starcom: Nexus to graduate from Early Access, it's almost here. On December 12, after one year in Early Access, the game will enter full release.
The year anniversary is actually a coincidence, I originally planned for the very start of December but had to postpone a week due to non-development related scheduling issues.
Launching into full release does not mean that development will stop; it does mean that I believe the game has reached a state of full, quality playability. Also, to ensure that the full release is the best possible experience for new players, between now and then I will be focusing primarily on bug fixes and "quality of life" type issues.
For all current players, thank you so much for having the faith to support an indie Early Access title and the incredibly helpful feedback you've given!
