Hi everyone!
Welcome to the first post of our new "development diary" series. We have a lot to share with you, but first, let's talk about what to expect from these kinds of posts: We are planning to use these "development diary" posts to share some of the cool stuff we're working on, as well as to share our thoughts on some related topics. We sincerely hope that you enjoy them!
Employee System
This is the biggest system we're currently working on. Space Station Tycoon was always weak on the "micro-management" part, and we always knew we had to do something about it. That's why we're trying really hard to make this system as good as possible.
(WIP)
With this new mechanic, most of the buildings will require a number of staff members to start functioning. Each staff member has 2 perks (which can be either positive or negative) and a monthly wage depending on how good those perks are. Paying them isn't all you have to do though; You have to keep them happy by training them, complying with their needs, and keeping them safe.
There will also be new achievements, research nodes, and events tied to this particular system.
Policies
Policies are basically some crucial decisions you can take to improve your space station. These policies can be toggled on and off from the "overview" panel. They don't have any requirements. Each policy comes with a set of positive and negative effects. You have to weigh them depending on the state of your station and pick the ones you really need.
Here are some example policies:
- Lab Madness: Each lab generates 5 extra research points per week. Could be dangerous. (Each lab has a 10% chance to receive 25% damage each week.)
- Heaven of the Traders: Traders pay 25% less docking fees. Increases trader appeal.
- Biometric Scanners: Increases security levels by 10%. Costs 50c/month per building.
(These policies are not yet balanced.)
Artifacts
The current way of generating research points is way too boring. You just build research buildings and wait for them to generate research points. This will no longer be the case with the introduction of the new artifact items. Research buildings will use and consume the artifacts in your inventory to generate research points.
You will start the game with a few artifacts, so you can begin generating research points right away. After that, you'll have to send your drones to various missions to retrieve more artifacts. Traders also have a chance to sell some low-tier artifacts but it's really rare (and expensive).
These big changes will bring some meaning to drone missions, and make research more fun.
Testing Branch Coming Soon!
We are working really hard on the upcoming updates but since we are a small team of 2, we can't test the game well enough. That's where you come in! We will create a new testing branch for the game so you can find bugs and give feedback before the official release of the coming updates. Stay tuned for more info on that.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for reading. With your support and feedback, we will make an awesome game together!
Don't forget to join our Discord. You can also follow us on Twitter.