First, an apology for the ongoing delay in releasing into closed alpha, which was meant to be out last month. There was simply more work to do than I expected, a common occurrence throughout development. However, and most importantly the scope is not being cut, nor reduced in any way.
A small update on development:
This is not an actual dev log because the work being done now is almost all repetitive. Mostly refining and standardizing the UI, art and some bug fixing. The previous log was stated as the last one until release after all. Either way, certain things have changed and I wanted to mention it before getting to the crux of the news.
Screenshot of a science order, in this case a survey scan on a planet from its orbit.
Screenshot of the within solar system view. The dimmed color of some of the planets, moons and the star is to show they have not been scanned at least once yet. The reddish area around the middle is a radiation zone. It can get quite dangerous for ones health when nearing stars.
The brightness and such of text will be adjusted further depending on the feedback in closed alpha.
Closed alpha road map:
This is the important part. I have separated the closed alpha release into four phases so that I can handle everything more efficiently. I will unlock functionality as each phase is complete. Once all four phases are complete, the game will go into public early access. This decision will also help me deal with the business and marketing side of development.
Phase 1, Exploration:
Exploration is the most obvious to come out first due to it containing the basics of moving around, using the map and interacting with the environment. Also any bugs in the procedural generation of the map/area can be dealt with early on on.
Phase 2, Logistics and Resources:
This phase will deal with the all important logistics system. It is also my most feared phase since it has the trickiest code to deal with. I will unlock the colonizing of planets either in this phase or in phase three.
Phase 3, Research, Design and Construction:
Speaks for itself, but the devil will be in the detail. This is also where most of the colony management code will be refined and finalized.
Phase 4, War(with pirates and marauders) and Characters:
The final phase is where all the mechanics in the previous phases come together and complete the main rpg and 4x hybrid loop. In this case it will be a war against the pirates and marauders in the starting cluster.
Please note that these phases are not exhaustive of game mechanics already in game or planned for completion later on. Some important features like the diplomacy which has the base code functioning and in the game already, will only be opened up and completed in public early access after the closed alpha. I have some special plans for political mechanics. Same goes for ground/planet surface actions.
So, there is nothing much left to say, other than thank you for reading and also thank you to those who have been following the development. Remember to use the discord invite below if you are so inclined.
Links:
Discord: https://discord.gg/bm6wRYcZER
Website: https://starzeal4x.com/