I'm really stoked to announce that I've been able to get Chapter 4 Part One to a releasable state. I want to make a few things clear though.
Not all the scenes are fully fleshed out. All the important aspects are in there and you won't miss out on anything important. I just feel some of the dialogues can be written better and I already have done so and am waiting for the new recordings. So don't worry, just wanted to make that clear. Other than that the dialogues that are in the game are not below any standards set to what's done prior already, I just want to make this part of the game exceptional and I strife to do so.
I also wanted to note that Part One is not as long as a full chapter, like chapter 3 for instance. I also made sure that this is the shorter part of what chapter 4 should be in terms of length when it's finished. I had to find a proper end point and I think it ends on a very interesting note. I have already started work on the rest of the chapter and I feel it should cap the entire story off properly.
With that said I hope you guys will enjoy what's been done. Chapter 4 has been the most difficult one so far for a number of reasons. I want to be able to get the most out of it's narrative. When, where and how certain plot reveals are handled is very daunting and not easy. While the story has already been completed I always think of ways to do it better and I do hope I found the best way to do so.
The end portion of Part One was something I came up with on the go while I was laying out the story arch. I've put a lot of thought into how to try and execute it. It's something I've never done before, well this entire game is but I think it adds a lot of layers to the story and characters.
Obviously I will polish this part of the game along with the rest once I get Part Two out. I can't give a definitive timeline for when I'll be able to but as I've said so many times, I want to do it right. All I can hope for is that it's enough for you guys to keep your investment in the story high and looking forward to it's conclusion.
Possible Bugs And Other Issues
I would very much appreciate it, if you guys could report any serious issues that you run into. While I've been doing my very best to keep the quality to a high standard (regarding Early Access) there might be some issues that I may have overlooked. We have been play testing the new chapter a lot but tinkering with some of the existing game mechanics might have introduced one or two bugs. So far I have found a few and they should have been fixed but I'm always anxious when putting out new content like this.
The chapter selection should also work properly. I've tested that myself and have not found any issues on my end.
So if you find any bugs or major issues, please report over at the bug report forums and I will add it to the list. While I'll continue to work on the rest of chapter 4, expect smaller updates whenever I fix a bug and polish some of the content and tweaking correcting scenes and dialogues.
We Need A Play Tester
That's right. We're in need of a new play tester to join the team. Now that I'm getting so close to finishing the game I could use a bit more help. I would love it if someone has the time and experience to volunteer.
Play Testing is an incredibly tedious job. It's part of what I have to do as well. Finding bugs and then trying to reproduce them, trying to figure out what's causing them. It's very taxing at times. Anyone who has the time and mental capability is welcome to try out.
I've mentioned this in our previous update but I wanted to keep this information a bit relevant.
So, Steam rolled out a new update where us developers finally have a place to show our games. Besides STARDROP I also made/released a small kids game (I made for my daughter) and it's on there as well. I would suggest to go check it out and give it a follow if you want to be updated on future releases, etc.
Please, let me and the rest of the team know what you think of the new chapter so far. I'm eager to hear what you guys liked and disliked. I can't wait to share the final part of the story with you all as soon as I'm able to.
I'm getting there, slow and steady! Yet, it's been a scary ride to have been working on the game. So many problems have popped up along the way, both with the game as in my real life and it's been a true fight for survival at some points. However, I stay optimistic!
I love the interaction with this community where things feel a lot more personal than what I've experienced in other communities on Steam. So, thank you for that! I appreciate it.
Whatever the game will be when it's done, I'm glad I got to experience it all. Now stop reading and play the game. (I hope this post was long enough for your updates to download :P )
Take care and have fun!
Joure & Team V
STARDROP - Update June 23, 2018
These Are Not The Updates You're Looking For
Hi everyone. Today I updated the game. While this might seem like a pretty hefty one, it's not. Well, not completely.
A bug was discovered where the little kitten I added some time back is capable of blocking the player (I forgot to add an avoidance mechanic). I don't want others to run into it so I decided to take a middle road.
I didn't want to just add a small update like that, in fact there are a number of smaller updates and tweaks also included but there is one other thing I hope you guys might appreciate. Read on!
Chapter 4 - Level One Released
That's right. For those who have been patiently waiting there's a new fully narrated level playable in the game. This level kicks off chapter 4 and sets up the rest of the story.
I am still hard at work getting the rest of the scenes done but I just had to release something with this update. It's a gesture on my end to show more is indeed coming very soon. I know that it's very, very short but I really wanted to offer something to keep you guys entertained and actually show something tangible. Despite it being only one new level and not chapter 4 part one I'm working on trying to ship that within a week or two.
That said, I have set things up that you will be able to load up the game once the full update is out and you'll be able to continue exactly where the game cuts you off.
I also set up the chapter selection so that should also be working properly for this update adding the new chapter.
Aryn's Apartment Updated
While I was waiting for the new recordings from the VA's I took a little bit of time to update Aryn's apartment. It was just so bland and boring and it didn't feel right. I added more color to the scene, through lighting and objects.
Small Tweaks And Fixes
I also added some small tweaks in order to further optimize certain elements/mechanics within the game. It's not going to boost any graphical performance but it should matter in other meaningful places.
Our Steam Developer Page
Steam rolled out a new update where us developers finally have a place to show our games. Besides STARDROP I also made/released a small kids game (I made for my daughter) and it's on there as well. I would suggest to go check it out and give it a follow if you want to be updated on future releases, etc.
Team V Developer Page
Almost There
I am making solid progress however regarding the rest of Chapter 4 - Part One. I hope to release it within the next two weeks, so it might pop up at any time within that time period. I know everyone has been eagerly waiting for the next installment and I'm working very hard on getting it done!
I do think you guys will love it and it'll add so much more depth to the story and the characters. Chapter 4 - Part Two should also be released no to long after that so just bare with me a little longer.
I hope you'll enjoy the new content however short it might be.
Take care and have fun!!!
Joure & Team V
STARDROP - Chapter 4 Update And More
Kept You Waiting, Huh?
I know you all have been waiting for some news, so today I wanted to take some time and share a bunch of stuff. It'll be a lengthy post where I go over the latest developments and go into detail about what to expect over the next couple of months.
For the past 2+ years I have been looking at this splash screen while booting up the editor. Everyday I start the editor up I stare at it and it always feels like coming home. It's kind of weird that not too long from now I might not see it as much as I do now. What I'm saying is that I'm reaching the end of development and not too long from now I won't be looking at that image as much as I do now.
Chapter 4 (Part One)
Initially I planned to have five chapters to wrap up the story but while working on chapter 4 I realized that cutting the story up into two chapters would distort the flow of the narrative. I felt that both chapters would be too short in my opinion as well. As the story is progressing at the moment I feel that heading straight towards the ending is the best way to go forward.
This means that chapter 4 as a whole will be quite long. Not insanely long, but a proper solid chunk of gameplay. I will release chapter 4 in two parts however. Both parts will cover a good chunk of narrative however and I think everyone is waiting for something new to play so that's also one of the reasons.
So with that said it means that the game isgetting closer and closer to wrapping up the main narrative. I have split the remaining production time into three phases.
Phase 1: Release Chapter 4 - Part One to the public. (I covered the details above)
Phase 2: Release Chapter 4 - Part Two to the public. Part two will contain the narrative's conclusion. It will also contain a nice gameplay section where I mash up as much of the existing gameplay elements and create a bit more of a challenge while keeping true to the game's overall accessible design philosophy.
Phase 3: Polish. Phase 3 will have me going back and forth into different levels and gameplay mechanics and brush out as many bugs as possible while doing a final pass on all the levels. This may vary from re-doing some of the inner mechanics or adding more detail, fixing up grammar mistakes and things like that. This means that everyone will be able to experience the full game and provide feedback so that I may adjust or add/remove whatever is in the game's best interest. I will also add two more sections to the ship that the player will be able to access at a certain point before the end-game portion. So hopefully everyone who has already finished the game may find a very good reason to go re-play your favorite chapter(s) to see what they missed. The chapter selection is there to make sure you'll be able to do just that. I will also deal with adding in the final rewards regarding our backers that also made this game a possibility from our old Kickstarter campaign.
The STARDROP Community (And What It did For Me)
This community is something else. When I got the game on Steam I was very, very weary about the kinds of communities that I have seen here on the platform. But it has been the exact contrary and I'm blessed with amazing individuals who have been incredibly supportive.
As some of you know my PC broke down after my trip. I was getting by using my NUC but I was saving money to get me an eGPU and thanks to a community member who donated to this cause I was able to get one much sooner than I planned. An incredible huge thank you to Cybrviper for me to be able to get a Mantiz Venuz which is currently rocking my Galax Geforce GTX 1060 - White Edition. Thanks to having the eGPU case I suddenly have a better working station than my old PC. It has helped speed up development in technical terms so I am incredibly appreciative of the support.
Behold my current setup
The development of STARDROP has been the biggest struggle in my life. This sounds negative and I have to admit that I don't know if I can go through a development cycle like this again. It all depends how well the game will be received once it goes out of Early Access and if I can sustain myself through it to work on a new title and also add new stuff to the base game (Which I still want to do).
I also learned that just being myself and be as open as possible towards everyone is the best thing any developer can do. I never liked the PR speak that most developers use or try to emulate and while I have to keep my tone a certain way and use proper wording etc, I can be myself.
It has taken me longer than I planned to get to this stage in development but I believe it's all for the better. I was able to take my time to truly flesh out the story, think about level design. Tweak certain elements, suddenly come up with a new spin or a new game mechanic so I am happy I was allowed to go this route.
I think it's interesting to note that I'm more of an old school game dev. I grew up with the Atari, NES, SNES all the way to the gamecube PS2 era and beyond. As well as the early FPS games like Duke 3D, Quake and Half-Life and it has shaped a lot of how I view games today. I always try to stay up to date but to be honest I'm not the biggest fan of current day trends in most games. I'll be pushing 40 in a couple of years and I'm late to the whole game developer thing. I've been modding since 2007, worked on Contagion as a level designer and now I'm at the helm of my own game. I love doing this however and I want to keep doing this. I have a bunch of ideas that I would love to bring to life. Games and stories that will have a lot in common with STARDROP in some ways yet be completely different in others. Whatever happens in the future I wanted to thank you all for at least allowing me to get this far. I'm excited to start wrapping up the story and I believe the ending is gonna be worth it.
How You Can Help
I would like to ask for your help too, one more time. I added a new support page on our main website where you can find ways to contact myself or the team if you need help or just want to chat about the game, or life. I also listed ways where you can support us in various ways. I added these in there because over time I've received a number of people wanting to help so I decided that having a dedicated page would be the best option.
STARDROP - Support Page
Sensi
I wanted to also take some time to inform you all that Sensi has not been able to help me with play testing. I don't want to disclose too much of his private information but he has had to deal with an illness that doctors cannot find the cause of. He's been dealing with it when he joined but he was okay. Last year around December it seemed to worsen and he hasn't been able to even sit behind his PC ever since. He's been the number one supporter ever since the early alpha stages and not having him around has been very, very noticeable. He's the one guy who would always bring the positive side of everything. And in this day and age where so much negativity exists he was such an awesome person to hang out with. I still email with him once in a while but it's tough for him to even write an email. I've kept him on the team and will continue to do so for when he will return. I will stay optimistic and hope they will be able to figure out what's wrong with him and properly deal with his illness.
Final Words
I can't say when exactly Chapter 4 - Part One will be released but it should not be too long from now. I'm currently waiting for new recordings so I can add them in. I've already started work on some of the levels for part two so I also plan to not take that long to get part two out as well. I think the polish phase might take some time as I want to get that done right. Obviously I will continue to fix/polish,whatever beyond the final release. If there's an issue that I might have overlooked I will fix it. As I said many times before I also want to add some more post release content in the form of SRO Missions and I have some neat ideas for some of these. So that's it for now I hope this news post was at least informative and I can't wait to finally share some new concrete gameplay stuff. ;)
I have also written down the final ending scene and I will be working on that too. That way I will have that all done while I finish up the rest of the game. This should make everything a lot easier from there on out, knowing that I have the ending properly executed and done with, leaving me with some room to tweak where needed.
That is all.
Thank you,
Joure & Team V
Aryn Got Married !!!
Committing To A Sacred Bond
Last Saturday Aryn Rozelle (who has been starring as Aryn Vance, the main protagonist of STARDROP) got married. I sadly wasn't able to attend due to how far apart we live. Ever since she took the part, she and all the others that are a part of the project, have been a blessing to work with. I was ecstatic when I learned she was going to get married to the love of her life, Alvin and they finally have joined so many others before them in this sacred bond of matrimony. I can speak from experience when I say only a few can be so lucky.
The funny thing is, however, that little over a week ago I asked her when the big day was and she told me it was next Saturday. It was late and I was like "Oh wow, that's so awesome I wish you all the best!" and I went to bed, as it was like 4 or 5 in the morning.
The next day I woke up and was like O_o. Hold on, next Saturday is the 14th of April... You see, I got married myself 6 years ago. It's pretty insane that out of all the days she could've chosen, she picked the exact same date as my own. I held out notifying her about this, as I didn't want her to feel like her day would be any less special. I know her well enough that this wouldn't be the case, but it was more of a matter of courtesy if anything else.
Chapter 4 Progress
I'm incredibly excited for where the new chapter is headed. I've made and am still in the middle of adding in a few more alterations to the original story. In essence nothing has changed, what I usually do is add smaller details on top of what I already planned out and I'm still making some key decisions regarding these smaller details.
But there's already some proper progress and I think the new levels attain the level of quality I have been honing for quite some time. I'm also happy to report that even as I'm not able to work as I used to, I can still work in a solid manner and I haven't experienced any real changes in pace. which was a little bit of a concern.
I might also be able to get me a proper eGPU case very soon!!!
We're On Discord
I've set up a Discord server for quite some time now but I never really mentioned it. I wanted to make up for that fact and bring it to your attention right here.
I'm online pretty much whenever I'mat my PC. I'm usually working so I don't initiate much chats, however I do drop some WIP screens on there before I show them in an update and of course I'm always there if anyone has questions or a problem. It's the easiest way to get ion touch with me and the other team members. Aryn and Robert, for instance, are in there. :)
Final Words
And that wraps up this update. Things are going steady but I can't really estimate a release date just yet. The rate development is going it shouldn't be too long but I hope this update has shown some nice progress and I can't wait to get the chapter done and share it with all of you guys.
Please take care and I'll report back once I have something to, well, report.
Sincerely,
Joure & TeamV
STARDROP Update March 28, 2018
Hi Everyone
It's been a while since the last update and I've been wanting to post something for a while now but a lot has been going on so I'll do my best to recap what has happened the past few months.
What's The New Update About?
So a new update came out, is it chapter 4? Nope, sorry. I've updated a number of the older levels, adding new objects and small events which should add more stuff to discover while exploring.
Most of these contain smaller details that are meant to add more depth to the universe. Some Easter eggs and other things to discover as I mentioned above.
A Break
As I mentioned in the previous news post I took a break. After working on the game for so long it started to take a toll on me and the opportunity came up for me and my family to go back to Holland where my mom and brother lives and Spain where my dad resides these days.
I haven't seen them for about 4 years at that point so I had to go. I stayed there for about three months and it was something we really needed. On top of that my mom and dad haven't seen my daughter as well. The last time they saw her she was only one year old.
I tried to work on my laptop but it wasn't up to the task. I did some prototyping for chapter 4 and it's paying off. I wanted to do something a tad different from what you've guys been doing since the start of the game while making it work due to the ending of chapter 3 and I think you'll like it. It's nothing drastic and it won't last for too long but that's all I want to say about that.
So, Chapter 4?
It's coming. When I got back I was met with a PC that wouldn't work anymore. It would boot up for a bit and then it would blue-screen on me. I tried several fixes but nothing worked. It seems my motherboard just gave up.
With no money to replace my desktop PC (The game makes me able to survive but not much beyond that, plus the whole trip was exhausting my wallet as well (I have no regrets) but there was a blessing.
Someone at Intel reached out to the winners of the Level Up Contest, us included, and they sent me a NUC Skull Canyon. The overall specs blew my old PC out of the water, except for the GPU. It's good enough for me to continue work and this truly saved my life regarding being able to actually continue work on STARDROP. Because I'm paranoid when it comes to data I luckily backed up pretty much all the important work files on several HDD's including my external one, so I was able to pick right up where I left off.
If it wasn't for Intel I would have a really hard time trying to work on my laptop. I am currently saving up some cash to get a eGPU case so I can use my Galax Geforce 1060 GPU which should fix my graphical woes.
On top of that one of my homies, Dec Doyle from Digital CyberCherries stepped in and set up a SVN server to host my project files, so that was an incredible weight off my shoulders.
So while I don't have that much to show just yet I am finally back into action with STARDROP and in full dev mode once again. I have a lot more to announce soon but will have to wait until it's all settled and official.
Well, I have a new screenshot to show of one of the new areas I'm currently working on.
Sorry
Lastly before I go I want to say sorry for the lack of updates and perhaps giving the impression the game might be abandoned or something. This will never happen. I have too big a stake in this to give up. The game, story and everything means too much to me. A lot of myself is in this so I hope this should reassure anyone who might be in doubt.
So I hope this cleared up some confusions etc, and also sorry if anyone thought this was a chapter update. I'll do my best to get that done ASAP.
Again thank you all for your support. A few new let's plays popped up and have been enjoying them quite a great deal.
So, I'll stop right here and get back to work. I have a lot of cool stuff planned and I really want, no ,need to get the game finished.
So please have some more patience and thank you for understanding and all your support for allowing me to get this far. :)
Sincerely,
Joure & TeamV
STARDROP - December Update and Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
So, initially I planned to do a full public content update however as I am currently away from home, my laptop seems to have issues packaging the game for 32 Bit. I really wanted to share something around Christmas so I figured that I will release this update under our public developer branch.
If you want to play the updated game then make sure you set the game to: Public Dev Branch. You can read how to opt into the public dev branch HERE
So yeah, time for another content update, sort of. I'll move the update to the public branch when I'm sure there aren't any issues. This means that the base game / default public branch will remain unchanged for now.
The reason for this update, well, while I was working on the new chapter I also went back and went through chapter one and two and basically replaced / updated and added content. I have and will continue to alter early game content and see what I can add to it that helps build the game's universe.
I also didn't want Christmas and New Year's pass by without having anything to show for it, so here you go. While it's not a new chapter I do hope it's something some of you will enjoy. :)
New Content
While in general the changes aren't incredibly significant and in one or two cases not yet finished I wanted to put this out and see what the reactions are.
I added a number of easter egss regarding my kitty game as well as expanding on things that were already there. For instance I always wanted to have a cat on board the ship, a very big nod to Alien but it also adds a little bit of character to the game. So I want to introduce to you: Rascal. A small kitten that you'll find in a few areas throughout the game. :)
Little Rascal
I also added an NPC that doesn't do very much except looking at Aryn if she comes into his view. I guess we can call him, Mike, the security guard. He's stationed at the STARDOCKS and he's there make the game feel just a tad less lonely.
Hi Mike, or is it Ted? Maybe it's Luke, oh well, he's a friendly fella and very loyal to his duty !!!
I also went through Deck one on board the SD-01 and I added some more stuff to Aryn's apartment. You might even miss some of the changes because they're simply meant to add more detail and depth to the areas.
I will continue to add more little things like these throughout development and most likely before chapter 4 is released. Oh, and you can also check out the revamped UI of computer interfaces. I have a ton of stuff planned for the final chapters I just need time to get it all done.
Purdy?
All these changes should be LIVE right now. So those who have been looking for an excuse to replay the game, this might be a good time but keep in mind, more new stuff will be added over time. ;)
Joure & Team V
P.S. I also fixed the fruit bowl. I know it was driving some of you bananas....
Don't Worry, We're Still Alive !!!
What Am I Looking At?
Hi everyone. So it's really time for me to post another update. I have quite a lot to say and I can hope that you guys can understand where I'm coming from.
So the image above is from "Play with Gilbert". A newly released game made by myself, on my own. After I finished chapter three I was ready, or so I thought, to dive into chapter four but fatigued started t settle in.
I didn't notice it at first and I was trying to work on updating the computer interfaces and trying to fix the scrollbar issue. I still haven;t found a solution yet btw. So yeah, I simply couldn't think straight. I knew what I wanted to do but it was difficult to focus. You see, I've been working on STARDROP pretty much non-stop since 2015 and while I have taken one or two small breaks I always kept going and I think it reached a boiling point so I decided to just take a few steps back and just do something else for a bit.
So I turned to a personal project I was fiddling around with, which was a small little game for my daughter to play with. And while I was playing around with some new ideas my wife basically asked me, why don't you turn this into a game you can put on steam?
And it made sense to me. It's a small project I already had some good work done on it and I haven't seen that many children's games on Steam either. I figured I could take some time off from STARDROP, hone my skills in UE4 and try some new things. Things that have helped a great deal. I am now able to fix the HUD issue regarding different screen resolutions.
I also figured I could really use some another revenue stream. STARDROP's been doing fine for a small relatively unknown exploration game and it's kept my head above the water but as you can understand I want to make this the best game I can and not go under while doing it.
Lastly I just needed the break and I have had a lot of fun making this silly little kitty game. My daughter's now basically addicted to it I certainly did not expect her to love it so much. She now plays it every night before bed time and she's stil not bored.
What Does This Mean For STARDROP?
Well, basically I'm done with Play with Gilbert. There's a few issues I want to iron out but I managed to finish this thing a little over a month's worth of effort.
I had to share all this info because I owe it to all of you to at least know what's going on and that I haven't ran away or something like that or if someone comes across my kitty game thinking, hey wait a minute why is this new game released and STARDROP isn't? STARDROP is the main project the big one for me, and Play with Gilbert is a small little game I made for my daughter. the two games cannot be compared in terms of scope and complexity.
And now I feel re-energized and am so ready to get back to STARDROP. My focus will be on getting localization working again and then I'll be off finishing the last two (maybe three?, idk yet) chapters. After that I will go and deal with the smaller bugs.
I'll also attempt to fix the scrollbar issues but since it's an engine feature related problem (somehow the hist detection gets messed up if you arrange widget elements in a certain way) and I'll need more time to figure out a setup that works.
So, my sincere apologies for the down-time. I can only hope you guys can understand but the most important thing is that I haven't left the project (NEVER) or anything. I'm merely a human and I guess I just reached a limit. But I feel refreshed like mad and I'm so ready to finish the story.
So while I don't have much to show other then PwG (Play with Gilbert) I do want to share the new look of the computer interfaces.
So yeah, that's it for now. I'll make sure the next update won't tale as long but I still have a lot of work ahead of me.
Take care everyone and for those curious you can find my little kitty game over here:
Play with Gilbert on Steam
Thank you for understanding and as I've said so many times, I cannot wait to share the rest of the game with you all.
Joure
STARDROP Update September 14th, 2017
New Team V Logo
Dear Community As you may well have seen from the image above I took some time to create a new logo for Team V. It's a simple logo but it does it's job adequately I think and I think it's a nice upgrade from the old one.
I have also created a new startup video which is pretty much the same in length. But this is hardly the most exciting news I wanted to share.
Improved Intro Sequence
For quite some time I have wanted to improve the very first intro sequence. It starts good enough with the text but the lighting and the station itself always felt a bit flat. This has been tweaked and I think it's a major improvement. I won't spoil anything, you'll just have to see it in motion for yourself.
Another thing that bothered me was Aryn and John's introduction. It wasn't conveying their personalities properly nor their relationship as two friends and colleagues who have a shared history together.
Again I won't spoil anything but this has also been addressed and I think this new opening is a much more gradual intro. Instead of just dropping the player at some starting area, it now starts with a nice first person animation sequence which was pretty tough to pull off but I am pretty proud of it.
But wait, there's more!
DataPad FPV Tweaked
The first person view has been improved. Aryn's hand has been changed to a more natural position and the DataPad is now closer to the players view which increases detail as well as it being properly centered towards the screen.
Echoes
Echoes has been given some attention too. In this new updated the warning has been fixed. So now when you venture deeper into the station, you won't have to be staring at it for the remainder of the mission.
Other tweaks is a lighting polish, I think the level looks a whole lore better. Merry has been tweaked to not be the god of blinding light. (It's still bright but it's within bounds). And the overlapping dialogues have also been fixed.
There are still a few minor bugs that need to be fixed but the major annoyances has been deal with.
DataPad Save Game Improvements
In the future I plan to add achievements. A portion of these will be tied to the crew logs you find throughout the game. You might have to collect a number of logs from a certain crew member in order to unlock an achievement, or simply by collecting them all. Because of this Whenever you started a new game or by selecting a chapter from the chapter selection menu, you would retain all of these logs.
This has now been changed. Whenever you start a new game, the logs will be cleared, except, for when you select a chapter from the chapter selection menu.
This means that you can use the chapter selection menu to search for logs you might have missed in a previous chapter. You can also now manually delete your logs through the game options.
Mirros
I have added the option if turning the mirrors on inside the options menu. I tweaked my old system and it works pretty solid. Now, it's not a true mirror but more of a camera that mirrors the environment.
This has been done to keep performance in check but turning them on will come at a minimal cost. By default they are turned off, but it's only a click away from being activated.
Keep in mind that the game has not been designed with these in mind. You might catch Aryn talking but there's no lip sync feature in the game and the character model of Aryn needs an update which I hope to be able to attend to sometime in the future.
So, What's Next?
I will be putting my focus on getting the localization back working. Our French customers have been waiting far too long to be able to play the game in their native language so I will have to take the time and figure out what's going on.
We will also be working on getting chapter 3 localized. Besides that I will try to fix a few more bugs and what not but after that I will be heading onto the next chapter.
The game is in such a good place right now that I feel I can start moving forward again having done a ton of legwork in terms of fixes and additional polish in content, visuals and gameplay.
I hope you guys will enjoy the new stuff in this update and as always feel free to share your thoughts.
Joure & Team V
STARDROP Update September 6th, 2017
Greetings And Salutations
Hello there! A new update has been released today finally launching Retron One. A new model has replaced the old one for the SD-01 and I've added volumetric fog to a number of levels with the ability to turn it on or off in the video options.
The Inspection mechanic has been tweaked slightly so that you can still zoom in a bit when not wearing your suit along with some other tweaks and I also tweaked the volume and attenuation of the Android's voices.
A number of other tweaks have been made which I will list below as well as going into a number of these in more detail. Read on!
Tweaks, Fixes And New Content
Here's the full list of tweaks and fixes:
Replaced the model for the SD-01.
Added Volumetric Fog to several levels. (turned Off by default)
Retron One now playable.
Tweakeded the inspection system.
Added a zoom notification to the HUD when inspecting.
Added zoom ability while inspecting without helmet and added vignette.
Reduced Android voice volume as well as the range they can be heard.
Changed Earth's rotation.
Added in new STARDROP Background Info at Aryn's Apartment.
Fixed door triggers in Aryn's Apartment
New SD-01 Model
The SD-01 has been upgraded. As much as I loved the old model it had to be replaced by something that is in line with the recent STARDROP ship model. The two now truly look aesthetically the same. As if made by the same company.
I hope you guys will love the new model just as much as I do but I know not everyone likes certain kinds of changes but then again, it was a long time coming. Let me know what you guys think.
Retron One
Finally Retron One is now playable. There is only one arcade abailable currently but more will follow. I have a new arena map in the works and it will be added inside the STARDROP Cafe at the office section.
I just played it a few times again in the new build and it's still more fun then I thought. Keep in mind that Retron One is never meant to be a full fledged game, it just tries to emulate being one. It's also not finished.
I still need to tweak some stuff and I want to expand on it some more but for what it tries to do I would say it does it adequately. It's just a simple arena shooter that ramps up the more kills you make.
I am working on a small guide for it, so keep an eye out. The guide will go into the game mechanics, how stuff works etc. But you can have some fun yourself and just see what its like.
Volumetric Fog
I've added in volumetric fog on a number of levels, mostly the ones in space to add more depth to the scenes. I personally am pretty excited with the changes but I didn't want to force it on anyone.
So by default Volumetric Fog is turned off. You can enable it inside the Video Options. The changes ar noticeable but I tried to keep it subtle. So far the PT's have reported no extra strain on their GPU's so it seems it won't be a taxing feature. Below is a comparison between the "OFF" and "ON' states.
Volumetric Fog: OFF
Volumetric Fog: ON As you can see there's a difference but it's not incredibly different. Just an extra touch of awesome. ;)
Object Inspection Updated
The object inspection system has been updated yet again. I noticed that some people didn't use the zoom function when inspecting, making it harder for themselves to read some of the reports. Therefore I have added a notification on the HUD that basically says "PRESS Z TO ZOOM", or whatever key you have bound the zoom function to.
On top of that I have also added a milder zoom function when inspecting objects when your not wearing your suit. This is to make sure people can still read documents even without the helmet.
I have also added a nice vignette around the edges of the screen while inspecting. This has been done in the least intrusive way possible and it help to put the focus on the object that you're looking at. It blends in and out nicely when you pick it up or put it back.
And this segways into the next topic.
STARDROP Background Info In Aryn's Apt
I felt that the email inside Aryn's apartment simply wasn't enough. I've added a new document that covers more of the background regarding the STARDROP. I also added two neat photo's that you can check out yourself.
I hope that with this you'll understand a bit more about what's what before heading there. It tells just enough but still not all that much and it raises even more questions even if you've played chapter 3 already. :)
Final words
So, that's it for today. I hope you guys enjoy the new updates and as I mentioned in the previous post I will put my focus on updating Echoes and Odyssey as well as trying to get the translations working again.
Of course there will also be more fixes and changes before I will continue work on the main campaign. But I think the game is in such a good state right now I am super happy with it.
Take care everyone and stay tuned, I hope you guys are glad to have been supporting the game. I can't thank you enough for all the support !!!
Joure & Team V
STARDROP Update September 1st, 2017
WEW
Hi everyone. Thank you all for your congratulations I highly appreciate it!
I've managed to clean up the crouching mechanic and I tweaked player footstep sounds so they don't overlap between animation blends. The keybinding system has been replaced with a completely new one I created from scratch and it's so much better. Oh, and also have another neat addition to this update but You'll just have to (re)play chapter 3 to see this for yourself.
A Proper Keybinding System
The previous system was, well, lacking. I was far from happy with it and I'm glad to announce that we now have a much more solid, and most importantly, a more traditional keybinding system.
Inputs have been divided into three sections: "movement", "action" and "gamepad". All inputs have been manually ordered so that they won't jumble up as they did with the old system and all inputs can be accessed and changed within just one screen. I have also given the input names a more clearer definition as to what they actually do. And the menu has been crafted so that it's properly centered.
I hope that with the new system everyone can finally enjoy the game the way they prefer and also, that finally the joke at the start of the game about Aryn rebinding her keys will finally be actually funny and relevant. :P
Edit: I need to point out that while the system works I am not sure if there aren't any issues. I added the option where you can delete key inputs but I haven't found a way yet where I can detect multiple key binds and I am not sure I will be able to.
I am going to attempt implementing a reset function that resets all the keys to their default states. Not yet sure how or when but I don't see any huge problems with this system unless you just randomly bind keys and go mental :P
Minor Fixes
I cleaned up the crouching mechanic. I still need to sort out some issues with it. I've always planned to have one or two sections where you'd need to enter some sort of crawling area but I haven't been able to get the player collision working, so I'll try that at one point but there was an instance where you could get stuck in crouch, this should never happen anymore.
As I mentioned walking sounds have been tweaked so they will never overlap anymore. You barely hear it but it was there. This should also reduce the noise you make while walking. I want to see if I can find better and more varied footstep sounds but that's for later.
New STARDROP Ship Model
I won't spoil too much but the ship model has been replaced with a new one and I am currently replacing the SD-01 as well. I can't say that these are the definitive final models yet, but for now they work very well and I'm happy with them. Up close they're much nicer to look at but I will attempt to find ways to increase the quality at some point.
Aryn Rozelle Streaming Final STARDROP LP
I forgot to mention that Aryn will be playing chapter 3 again on her Twitch channel this Friday!!! I've watched her other two streams and loved it. You guys should really go check it out if you're able.
She will continue to play other games on her channel after STARDROP's concluded (For now). If you enjoyed her presence be sure to sub and see what else she'll be playing in the future.
Starting on Monday 28th, 7:30 PM PST:
https://www.twitch.tv/toumiko
You can watch her past broadcasts of STARDROP here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmblXy3D1dkSdPZhDGoijcA
That's It
That's it for now. Next up is fixing Retron One and bringing the two SRO missions up to snuff and fix bugs and add some more dialog. I hope you guys will enjoy the new changes and I should have another update coming soon !!!
