Void Destroyer 2
Big Red DLC - Released!
The Big Red DLC is now released and available for purchase.
[previewyoutube="NryAZJB-mGM;full"]
If you are interested check it out here.
The Big Red DLC is intended for veteran players of Void Destroyer 2 - it quickly gives you control over a dread carrier. It's damaged and lacking in it's usual abilities - and your early challenge will be to raise funds to cover it's upkeep, repair it and upgrade it.
But when you do you'll have one of the most powerful ships in this region of space.
I hope you guys enjoy this unique challenge and experience in the Void Destroyer 2 world.
thanks!
Paul
Big Red DLC - Trailer, store page and release date!
Got some news on the "Big Red" DLC!
Here's the trailer -
[previewyoutube="NryAZJB-mGM;full"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NryAZJB-mGM[/previewyoutube]
Direct Link - Link
The goal is to release the DLC on June 4th - this may be the first and only time in my dev history where I have a set release date! *sheepish grin*
The Big Red DLC features ships of the "Digger" faction - the original settlers of the region of space where the events of Void Destroyer 1 and 2 take place. The Diggers were forced out from their claims and turned to outcast pirates.
The Big Red DLC will allow players to acquire a Digger dreadnought - the Big Red. A massive mining ship capable of building and launching ships. It's three drills are devastating to ships unlucky to be in their path.
The DLC will feature 9 new ships and alternate starts -
- Big Red Story - start like a normal story play through - but quickly get the Big Red.
- Big Red Sandbox - start with the Big Red in sandbox mode (story isn't enabled).
The planned price is $2.99 with a 10% discount at launch (the majority of sale proceeds will go to the artist who created these ships).
Hope you guys are as excited as I am!
Please wish list the Big Red DLC store page (this helps immensely in Steam rankings and searches).
Here's the Big Red DLC store page - Link
thanks!
Paul
Soundtrack DLC - and music update!
The Soundtrack DLC is now available -
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1276050/Void_Destroyer_2_Soundtrack/
Due to budget issues - Void Destroyer 2 launched with less music variety than I had hopped. To fix this my musician (Rob Fenn) has created additional tracks for the game and I've commissioned some as well. These are now part of the game - for free!
In addition there is now a Soundtrack DLC available - at a low cost - which hopefully will offset Rob's time creating these. This is an experiment so we hope it works out as a win win for everyone.
Before this update - Void Destroyer 2 original track count - 13 - after - 27! With more intense battle music and even ambient tracks.
Please check it out and consider supporting the artist (sales from the DLC will mostly go to Rob Fenn).
--
What's next?
I will continue working on bugs, transition towards working on polish and working on the "Big Red" DLC.
Big Red DLC?
The "Big Red" DLC will be a paid DLC featuring ships of the "Digger" faction. If you've played Void Destroyer 1 you'd likely remember them...
The DLC will give players a alternate game start - starting with a Digger carrier -
Carriers can build their own ships, so after visiting a asteroid field (the Diggers are miners after all) you should be supplied with enough ore to build up a small fleet and start conquering the game world.
I hope that an alternate start will give players a unique game experience and loads of fun!
The "Big Red" DLC - is also an experiment - a first paid content DLC for me - and again sales from the Big Red DLC will mostly go to the artist (not Rob though - sorry Rob!).
As always - thank you for your support!
Paul
PS - the alternate game start will also allow modders to create alternate start mods!
PPS - starting with a carrier will likely lead to a bunch of feedback on how to improve carriers - so I'll likely focus on that once the Big Red DLC ships.
DLCs and burn out.
When I was prepping Void Destroyer 2 for release, one of my regrets was not having more music tracks. The reason being is because of the lack of funds I prioritized other assets - mainly 3D models.
I think that I'm very lucky to have the music composer that I do - who has been with me long before Void Destroyer 1's Early Access and always delivered great music tracks. So it was especially painful not to contract more music to the game due to the budget.
Since release my musician agreed to create additional music tracks for the game - in exchange for putting up a Soundtrack DLC - which he'll get the majority of proceeds from. I say majority because I can't technically say - all proceeds - because at some point the sales will be so small I won't bother sending him the funds. So it should be a win win - you guys (and me!) get more music into Void Destroyer 2 - and the musician gets additional funds via DLC sales. This is a bit of uncharted territory for us - so I hope this works out for everyone.
Here's a video preview of the great new tracks:
[previewyoutube="sAaCEA6oZbU;full"]
If you are interested - check it out here -
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1276050/Void_Destroyer_2_Soundtrack/
If you are even slightly interested... please add the DLC to your wish list as that really helps with the Steam algorithm.
This Soundtrack DLC should be available in a few weeks - along with a patch adding the new music tracks to the game (no DLC required for the tracks to be in game). The music patch should add something like 15 new tracks (including some remixes of VD1 music and ambient tracks). Which will double the amount of music in Void Destroyer 2! Pretty great!
New Faction DLC:
I also talked with another artist about another possible DLC - for a faction that existed in VD1 but doesn't exist in VD2. The Diggers - a mining faction turned outcasts.
If you played Void Destroyer 1 - this ship should evoke various feelings...
For those unfamiliar with that ship and faction - it is a mega mining ship carrier, armed with triple drills and launching disabler ships.
The Digger faction were the original inhabitants of the area of space where Void Destroyer 1 and 2 took place. These were a loosely united groups of mining families that were the first settlers and miners of the asteroid fields in the Oort Cloud. They were later displaced by the Mining United faction, which currently faces it's own extinction due to mega corporations settling the Oort Cloud - as is the present situation in Void Destroyer 2.
The Diggers converted their mining ships for war and became outcasts and bandits, staging small raids in retribution.
There will be more news on the new faction DLC in the up coming weeks. It will be a similar deal where most of the proceeds will go to the artist - and again I'm very hopeful that this is a win win for everyone.
Burn out:
Honestly release was great! I wish it would have gone smoother, but I don't know if it was possible for it to go any other way. It was a very different release for me because I had to be a stay at home dad and a game development studio - now with a big influx of new players. In my previous releases - I was "only" a game development studio and that was already overwhelming. Once again thank you for your amazing support.
I've been incredibly burned out - and I decided to take a few weeks "off" - and just be a stay at home dad (or as I call it - "a house husband").
After release my productivity was mega high, but as the weeks passed I started noticing it dropping to very low levels and so I decided to play some video games and take it easy - and with all that's happening in then world - I think taking it as easy as you can is probably the healthiest approach right now.
This burn out period should be over fairly soon - especially considering that I have a bit of work to do on the Soundtrack DLC (adding the tracks to the game) and a load of work to do on the new faction DLC (adding all the ships to the game, balancing them and adding some scripted missions for the new faction).
Meanwhile I'm going to start prioritizing adding polish to Void Destroyer 2, most likely focusing on some quality of life improvements to lower the amount of management at the late game - for example a "check box" that would allow players' fleets to be re-supplied with ships if they were lost to combat.
Thank you guys for the great support!
Paul
New ship, priorities and plans.
Thought I'd do an update.
Podcast:
Did a podcast with Space Game Junkie - SGJ YouTube Channel
Here's a link- YouTube
Space Game Junkie is one of those rare places that wants developers to tell them about their games. You might be surprised to hear this but it's often the case that a developer makes a game, but the internet responds as if no one wants to hear about it - that's never been the case with SGJ. They've always been incredibly welcoming all to join the community. Check out some of their amazing podcasts about other space games and great videos of both new and classic space games. A amazing treasure of content.
New ship:
I've been hearing a bit from you over on the forums and discord about a lack of a ship for a certain faction - spoiler - a Kind destroyer - spoiler. And right at that moment I saw a modder working on ships for the game and thought this was a great opportunity and contacted him. A day later the ship was delivered, but it took me several days to put it in place - as I was working on bugs, answering community questions and fighting against burn out. So now we have a new options in the later portion of the game as far as fleet composition and that's always a good thing.
Bugs:
This is still my priority for the time being, aggressive bug hunts, especially focusing on crashes. Thanks for all the logging files you've sent me. They are tricky to track down, so these help greatly.
DLCs:
I've heard this also from the forums, and while the "NO PROMISES!" policy is still in effect... No promises, but hopefully there will be some content DLCs for Void Destroyer 2. In the form of new factions with new ships.
Long term plans:
Now that release is 2 weeks behind us, my thoughts are cleared as far as my future projects.
I've basically come up with a list of what I don't want:
- Don't want to spend 3+ years in between releases.
- Don't want to do it all myself.
- Don't want to do Early Access.
The above items are a pretty radical change to how I've been doing things.
Early Access turns off many players and is difficult for smaller indies like me in terms of marketing.
Spending 3+ years without launching a game means spending 3+ years of uncertainty of income and increasing your risk in case of a bad launch.
Being a team of 1 (with contract artists) just grinds you down and because I'm not great with the art aspect and the effect of that is that it limits the game's appeal.
--
So I've listed what I don't want - but what do I want?
I want to launch a game in about a year.
I want a new art style, a bit more appealing to a bigger audience - but still appropriate for an indie game. I want an artist as a part of the team rather than a contract artist.
I want to add a boat load of features and polish into Void Destroyer 2 - as it nearly becomes this new game. So while not having a Early Access for the new game - the new features will have a chance to be tested before the new game's release.
So it's almost as if I'm using Void Destroyer 2 as a sort of Early Access for it.
To me this is a win win - I get to polish Void Destroyer 2 - get features tested by you guys - and launch a new game quickly.
So what is this new game?
To give you some hints - I'll tell you what I want to add to Void Destroyer 2.
- Seem less Ship mode and Overworld mode.
- Saving the game anywhere (including Ship mode).
- A boat load of UI additions/enhancements to the later portion of the game - empire management and 4x.
- Bunch more stuff I haven't even thought of yet.
Did you guess yet?
I want to make a game similar to Sins of a Solar Empire - a 4x lite game - but with Homeworld RTS control/combat (this already exists in VD2) and direct ship control (this already exists in VD2).
A 4x game focused on combat versus economy - which in many ways Void Destroyer 2 already is. I'll be removing the "start in a single ship" portion of VD2 and keeping the conquest portion while enhancing those elements.
But what about Void Destroyer 3?
That's the cool part - because my games are basically a line going from the first day to today - all those new elements will flow into VD3 as well. Every bug I fix in VD2 and every feature for VD2 and beyond is a step towards VD3.
--
Anyway - I'll cut this 'short" here because I could go on and on - but I just wanted to give you guys a potential glimpse at the future.
Thanks again for your great support!
Paul
Solving issues update.
Hey guys!
Thanks for a great launch! I love seeing you guys enjoying the game and discussing it.
I've been through 4 launches now (VD1's early access, VD1's release, VD2's early access and VD2's release) - and each one has been unique, but before I ramble about those let's get to my main focus.
Bugs - especially crash bugs.
Short Summary:
I've enabled additional logging to be generated by the game. This will help me find crash bugs - but this file is generated on your systems so I'll need to get it somehow. When you experience a crash I'll likely ask you for this file via the Bug/Support forum.
Long version:
For those new to the project I keep a "Patch Notes" log -here
Each entry is a upload to Steam and by my count I've fixed 4 crash bugs and a bunch of non-crash bugs.
Now I've attempted to solve quite a bunch more crash bugs - but couldn't reproduce what you guys were getting - this is very frustrating as I get excited about solving a crash bug only to not be able to reproduce it.
On the bright side I had a blast with an elite level Defend Base mission (didn't crash though!) - so it's not all bad :)
So with the help of my brother the game will now generate "dumps" - you can think of these as a snapshot of what the game engine is doing at the moment of the crash.
So when some of you experience crashes and kindly get me the dump file - I'll have a much better chance at fixing a crash bug.
There's a few catches here - you have to have this enabled - but likely you already do. The dump file will probably be too large to email - so you'll likely have to upload it. We'll tackle this as we pursue the crash via the Bug/Support forums together.
So hopefully soon we'll nail a few more crash bugs and move on to polishing the game based on your feed back.
Thank you again for a great launch!
Paul
Performance bug - patched!
Happy to report that there's a permanent (fingers crossed!) performance bug fix in place now.
First let me apologize again for the bug - please accept my sincerest apologies.
To sum up -
This bug was due to the procedurally generated skyboxes (the portion I've addressed is actually 3 layers blended together) taking a big chunk of graphics card's processing power. Players running higher resolutions were more affected and reported the bug to me. I ran around like a crazy person for 2 and a half days fixing it with various results - until victory!
To all my friends - old and new - We did it! Thank you for your patience and support!
To all my enemies - Better luck next time suckers!
But wait you say - "You have no enemies..."
Well I'm sad to report that I do... SPACE ALIENS - wishing to invade our Earth and find us unprepared for space combat. Why do you think I made Void Destroyer 2 for fun? For profit? No! So if you haven't bought the game and wish to stave off alien invasions... I really don't see you have much choice.
Thank you guys for a great launch weekend!
Paul
PS: Now that this bug has been solved I'll be able to focus better on the other reported bugs.
PPS: Special thanks to the testers and helpers who posted info and guides to help.
PPPS: Special place to my local Chinese food place and pizza place. You guys are always there for me.
Void Destroyer 2 - now released! (No more Early Access)
Hey guys!
Void Destroyer 2's release day is here!
Void Destroyer 2 is a "Start with nothing... End with everything!" game. A space sandbox simulation where you start with a small fighter, work your way up to bigger and better ships. Start building up a fleet, take territory, use captured bases to build fleets and end up conquering all that you see. A game which constantly expands along with your ambitions. Where other space sandbox games end - Void Destroyer 2 kicks into a higher gear.
For release - I've made 2 new trailers -
First is the "Gameplay Trailer" -
[previewyoutube="cxwk9CQSxYo;full"]
Link - YouTube
Second is the "Cinematic Trailer" -
[previewyoutube="bhYoLdUmtHo;full"]
Link - YouTube
If you are a new player or someone interested in the game -
Welcome aboard! Glad to have you here. If you have any questions, criticism, feedback or issues with the game please be sure to let me know. You can contact me via the forums or by emailing me - paul @ void destroyer . com
If you watched the trailers, checked out the store page, but still want more info check out this video explainer I made - YouTube - it's fairly long... So in case you find it boring - watch it at bed time and it will help you fall asleep... You're welcome!
Some info/help for new and returning players -
Unofficial Discord Channel
Mini Tutorial Video (YouTube)
"Help For New Players" post
If you are a existing player and/or someone interested in helping the game -
Here is how -
- Help spread the word!
- Post about Void Destroyer2 on forums - where ever gamers are. Especially space sim gamers.
- See a space sim mentioned anywhere? Mention Void Destroyer 2.
- Play the game - this will boost it's rankings and notify your friends via Steam :)
- Post a review - this will notify your friends as well.
- Participate in the game's forums - answer a new player's question and share your thoughts.
- Send me good vibes - I need em!
If you are a YouTuber/Streamer/Etc interested in showing the game -
Email me at - paul @ void destroyer . com (please include a link to your channel/etc) - if you mention I mentioned this it will make my life easier filtering out the key scammers.
--- Incoming Wall of text ---
Well today's the day.
After 1232 days (now that I see this - I realize that I should have waited 2 more days...) - 3 years and 4 months - in Early Access Void Destroyer 2 is officially released.
I honestly thought that completing the game would take about a year or so after the Early Access release. In addition when my wife told me she was pregnant - I thought I could finish in 9 months (that was over 2 years ago!). Clearly I shouldn't be trusted in terms of time lines.
Void Destroyer 2 is actually the game that I set out to make initially, but decided to divert and make Void Destroyer 1. So in a way I've been working on the same game for over 10 years! Looking back - I'm thrilled how close to my vision Void Destroyer 2 is.
I intended to make a game where you start with a single fighter, work your way up, build up a fleet, capture bases and eventually own the entire map - and I'm proud to say that this is what I made.
I hope that those who supported me in Early Access and even before that (Kickstarter and Void Destroyer 1) feel at least a bit of that same pride, because I couldn't have done it without you guys. Without Kickstarter backers I wouldn't have been able to fund art and music for Void Destroyer 1. Without Void Destroyer 1's players I wouldn't have been able to fund Void Destroyer 2's long development time and with Void Destroyer 2's Early Access players I fixed countless of bugs, added countless features, changed countless things based on your feedback.
I still need your help - I have a $0 marketing budget. My marketing plan is to send some emails and keys to YouTubers - that's it. Nowadays (that there are so many amazing indie gmaes out there) having this plan is as insane as making a game in the first place - I guess I'm consistent. So please if you have a moment - help me spread the word. You can do this by playing the game (your friends might notice!), leaving a review (again your friends might notice!), post the trailers, talk about the game, tweet, whatever you can. I appreciate any and all help.
I've truly been lucky to have you guys and the behind the scenes artists, musicians and contractors. I get called a "one man dev" and I always say that's quite far from the reality.
thank you all!
So what's next?
Right now? Hopefully there is going to be a big influx of new and returning players - with whom come bug reports, criticism and feedback. So right now I'll likely be focusing on that - bug fixes.
Short term? My goal is to upgrade the game's engine to 64 bit. Which should boost it's stability (64 bit apps have access to more memory) and hopefully performance (via using updated game engine components). That's going to be a challenge for me, but it only costs my time and it is going to help with the long term goal.
Long term? I would love to continue working onto Void Destroyer 3 - but how that actually works will depend on how this release goes.
Paul
PS: As always - thank you very much!
Dev Update - Preparing for release.
Hey guys!
Got a dev update video for you talking about the preparations for release -
[previewyoutube="cpsT3E0vTdM;full"]
Link - YouTube
So what's been going on since the last update?
I've been mostly focused on the upcoming release - and barely touching the game's code but instead mostly working on all the other elements.
So far I'm mostly done with:
- 2 new trailers (note live yet).
- New store images.
- New screen shots.
- Store description.
The 2 new trailers took such a long time... About 3 and a half weeks or so. I've never had trailers take so long. That's not even considering that I attempted working on the trailers about a few months ago and gave up due to just hating what I was making.
The process of making these trailers was very nerve wracking as I somewhat fixated on each clip thinking that it could make or break Void Destroyer 2's release - thus have a huge impact on my life. Whether that is true or not is impossible to say, but the thought would really weight me down while making the trailers, skyrocketing my anxiety during the process. I feel like I'm so "close" to them that I can't be an objective judge so there's a lot of insecurity there.
So what's next?
Today or so - there will be an update with new default keybindings, which is basically the last item on my task list. I've gotten a good deal of feedback on the key binds - all negative. This always confused me a bit since the game has re-bindable controls, but this is me thinking as a developer and not as a player. Some players just want to play and not worry about re-binding keys.
Anyway it's another challenging aspect of being a solo game dev.
Because I'm changing the default keybinds so late in development - I've added a button to restore the old keybinds, for those who got used to them.
After that?
There's still a bunch of work on the Steam store page to do and I want to do a round of small fixes. Then I want to sweep for any memory leaks that might exist - and that should be that.
When's the release?
I'm not entirely sure, but it should be within a matter of weeks.
It's strange because on one hand I'm anxious and on the other it's a feeling of a sort of a freedom from the Early Access tag and not having "finished" Void Destroyer 2 yet. Though I know that "post release" will mean a lot of work as well.
Thank you guys! Your support during Early Access has made getting to this stage possible!
Paul
Final Story Missions are in!!!
Hey guys!
While I'm very exhausted... I'm happy to announce that the final story mission(s) are in. Man it's been a long road... Why do I keep making games with main stories that take over a year to design and script? I'm sure it would take a team of the top psychoanalysts to figure that out - or one guy to just say - because you do things the hard way and are way too optimistic.
Anyway - in regards to the end of the main story - I'm so unsure of it - it's so hard to be self critical. How do you end an open ended game where the player has quite a lot of freedom?
It's been a fairly big mental struggle because - on one hand I had a pretty clear picture of how the story would end, but on the other I felt it was ending too quick and too fast, but on the other (third!) hand I wanted to give the player a bit of freedom as well.
I hope you enjoy the end - I say this knowing that most players won't get there - so for those most die hard players - I truly hope you enjoy the end. It is very important to me, it gives me quite a bit of anxiety to think that you've played all the way to the end and didn't enjoy the ending. Again - quite a bit unsure! But I'll stop rambling now.
What else has been happening?
I've decided to not participate in the Steam Winter sale - to try to get more players to buy at launch versus spreading them out. This is such a crazy thing that I'd never think I'd do something like this as the Seasonal Steam Sales were always a big source of income, lately they've been so competitive that this crazy thought actually won.
What's next?
The end of the main story is quite a big step towards release, next up is me working on the final release trailer. Then doing a big round of memory leak hunting. Then working on marketing elements - and release! The end is in sight.. That's so scary,
What about after release?
While the post release future is quite uncertain - I do want to upgrade the game engine to 64 bit, this should improve performance and stability. I didn't want to do this pre-release as that would delay it and potentially add a ton of issues right at launch.
And post that?
That really depends on how well the game sells. Steam is a very competative market place, with amazing games being frequently on sale. There's also been a lot of confidence lost by players due to shoddy releases and broken promises. Steam has changed the way it handles releases making marketing incredibly important - which is fairly far out of reach for small devs like me.
So the future is very uncertain, but I do know that the past has blessed me with full filling several life long dreams - which wouldn't be possible without you guys. As hard as game dev is - you guys have been a constant stream of support, encouragement and help.
Thank you guys!
Paul