Hey guys!
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.
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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.
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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
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.