Hey everyone, time for another development update! I've been spending a lot of time playing the game as a new player and interacting with all the features I have developed so far.
One of the core features I was not happy with was the Corporation building element, although it was a lot better than AQ1 I still felt it could be improved.
So I went back to the drawing board on it...
Industry 2.0
I have been updating the industry system in AQ2, this is another major leap forward. The new system has a fully dynamic supply chain system, for example: Asteroid mines will produce Ore, Ore is traded with Refineries that will produce Metals, Metals are traded to Construction Centers and so on. You will need to provide food and power to all outposts, you can create these yourself or import them from other sectors.
This is also linked into the Corporation alliance system, allowing you to form trade agreements with other Corporations, these agreements will ensure trade between your Corporations takes priority and resources will be sent between you before being sent to other Corporations.
War can also cause trade to stop between Corporations, this can be used to create supplies chain issues.
Food and Power are still required to run your Outposts, however these are now also produced by this supply chain. Does your Corporation own a sector with a very bright star? Then you could profit from building more Solar Power Plants and exporting Power Cells to Corporations in need.
The supply of Food has also been improved, now you can build Orbital Farms/Ranches and ship the Crops/Meat to Food Processors.
Industry trade is based on real profit and loss, traders will pick their trades based on supply and demand as well as distance and their projected profit on the trades. Internal trading between your Auxiliary Buildings and their Outposts is done locally by drones and takes priority over external traders, meaning traders will not take anything out of your local supply chain that you need.
I am really excited to see how this plays out during the beta, it has so much potential to create a really dynamic universe with a lot of interplay between Corporations.
Founders Packs
The store is now open on the Store, you can purchase a beta pack now if you want. The dates for the beta will be announced as soon as I can be sure the game will be ready, I expect the announcement is a few months away.
There are a couple of extras on the store if you want to show more support, these are not required to join the beta. I am hoping to raise some funding with these packs to get the 3D modeling completed.
For anyone looking to invite their friends into the AQ2 universe there is a referral link on your account page, you can send this to anyone and whenever someone registers and purchases a Founders pack I will add some rewards to your account. The rewards will be granted when the beta launches.
I've also had some people mention they want to upgrade between founders packs, this isn't currently possible but it is something I will look at if people want it.