Hey Folks!
Back in 2017, NEO Scavenger was approaching its 6th year of development. A far cry from the 3-6 months I expected to spend on a Flash browser game!
So as I wrapped-up the last of the major patches, I decided I'd take a bit of a break from NEO Scavenger to work on another dream project of mine: a spaceship life sim that let me design ships with Lego-like parts, fill it with interesting characters, and watch it go. I still wanted to play in the world of NEO Scavenger, but this would be a fun change of pace, while also letting me flesh-out the setting.
Fast forward a few years, and it appears I just can't resist some NEO Scavenger features :)
Above, you see a screenshot of the inventory screen in Ostranauts. And NEO Scavenger fans will probably recognize more than a few similarities. Even the paper doll's pose was basically a redraw over the old Philip Kindred model, now with a higher resolution.
Unfortunately, since the game is in a new engine (Unity C#), I couldn't just copy/paste the inventory code from NS. But it's getting closer each day, with slotted and held items, effects from equipping items, weight and encumbrance, and a bit of inventory Tetris for good measure.
NS players will also probably recognize the UI style above, even with the re-skinning. Like with NS, there are traits that cost points, and some that grant them. And the building blocks are here for an interesting variety of character types.
So far, as you can see, I haven't been able to balance the point costs as I did in NS. That'll have to come with testing. Also not seen here are some choose-your-own-adventure style screens to decide on your career history, contacts, and additional traits. All of which should hopefully give you some sense of ownership and context to your avatar.
And speaking of choose-your-own-adventure:
Turns out the olden ones are golden ones, when it comes to UIs. Why reinvent the wheel? The old combo of image, text, clickable options, and a message log work in so many situations, that I've started using it in Ostranauts to communicate events that are easier to describe than to show. In this case, a sort of establishing shot explaining your first foray into the boneyard.
And just like how the encounter system evolved into NS's combat UI, socializing with NPCs evolved from that. I mean, after all, a social engagement has a lot of the same moving parts, right?
We have our status info under each character, telling us how we're feeling. We have a list of moves we can make, and a preview of some effects it might have. We still have the message log, too, telling us blow-by-blow all of the things we experience and see as a player.
And what about actual combat? How will that look? Well, I'm sort of expecting this social UI to come full circle and host physical "negotiations." It has all of the necessary pieces that the NS UI had, plus one important improvement: a grid map. Now we can see where everyone is standing.
What's more, with line of sight in the game now, we could potentially have some fun with stealth and cover, or area effects. But I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here. Combat is still on the shelf until I finish some more pressing simulations.
It's also worth pointing out that a number of NS's less-visible features are still running under the hood in Ostranauts. The entire physiological sim, for example. We have hunger, thirst, fatigue, sleep, and temperature. Illnesses and symptoms are all copied over, too. Drug effects like alcohol and caffeine are in, so far. And we even have some crossover between social and physiological effects.
Another carry-over from NS is the ability to mod just about everything. I think I've done a better job this time of exposing more game data in plain text files (json format), and the usual PNG format for images.
And who could forget Josh Culler's amazing soundtrack? He's back with an OST custom-made for Ostranauts. Keep an ear out for his signature haunting electronic ambiance, plus a few new tricks to paint a soundscape that spans cultures in the off-world colonies.
And finally, crucially, Ostranauts is going to grow a lot like NS did. Early Access is coming soon, and like with NS, it's going to come out of the gate with much to be done.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1022980/Ostranauts/
Anyone who was along for the ride on NS knows it was slow, but steady progress to add content and features. At every step, I tried to be in there with fans on the forums, both here and my site. Spitballing ideas, answering questions, sharing jokes.
And many times, these chats will turn into awesome features. Remember NS's old combat? Before the encounter-style UI? Some of you will. It was basically Civ-style hex combat, and creatures only had 5 wound states (including death).
Similarly, remember when nighttime in NS was just blue hexes and limited visual range? It was user feedback that turned that into terrifying blackness that allowed us to have tools for light, visibility, and night vision.
You folks are as much to thank for the evolution of NEO Scavenger over the years as anyone, and I hope to continue that tradition in Ostranauts. It'll take some time, but I think Ostranauts can become an equally good platform for telling stories of survival. And I look forward to crafting those stories with you!
