Hello! The January release including all of the latest updates to Outpost is now available on the default Stream branch. Here's a full listing of all changes since the December release.
(Please note as usual that all graphics are still placeholder and will eventually be completely replaced.)
- Players can now build a dome near outposts. Each of the six walls of the dome can be modified to be a closed wall, a doorway, or completely open.
- The game is now saved when the player quits and will be reloaded again when the player opens the game.
- Build costs have all been reduced to 1 so that players can try out building.
- Players can now place any brushes in the world via their inventory.
- The game now uses a third-person camera.
- Completing the Codex will no longer cause it to be interactible and then disappear. Rather it will automatically award the player the ability to build an outpost and dome and then ignore the player.
- Rendering engine improvements, including lighting and atmospheric fog.
- Extensive performance improvements, especially in rendering distant terrain.
- Fixed the inventory screen being too bright at night.
- Fixed a bug where the inventory screen would sometimes close again just after it is opened.
- Fixed a bug where some resources in the world were not able to be picked up.
Note: Currently there is no functionality in the game to delete saved games. To do so, run a "File Explorer" from the start menu and paste this into the address bar:
%localappdata%\outpost\saves\default
then delete the contents of that folder.
A note about development priorities
Since last month I decided to re-evaluate my plan for Outpost. I want to work first on the features that are most core to the vision of the game and try to get the core loops up and running. There are two major areas that I have planned for Outpost: Homebuilding and Exploration. I'd like to explain my goals with each of those two areas, so consider the following to be a bit like a miniature design document.
Homebuilding means using resources the player has gathered to build a home for themselves in the world. Homes should first and foremost feel like a home, they should feel like they're a natural part of the world they are built in, they should be extensible and modular and 'buildable' by the player, and they should follow the circles and spheres theme that the rest of the game has established so far. The domes that the player can now build as part of this update represent the first step in fleshing out these ideas.
Exploration means going out into the world and finding and participating in experiences. Exploration should require preparation, be novel and interesting each time you visit, and result in finding new resources that you can use to extend your home. Which experiences are available should change depending on which part of the world you go to and at which time of day.
I want to focus on these two areas, so I've decided to put a pin in the Snurtles feature from the previous update and focus on Homebuilding for now. Snurtles are part of the eventual exploration feature set, but not core to the experience, so I'm putting them on the back burner. I didn't waste any time building the Snurtle because I'll be using the technology I used to build him as I build out the Exploration features. I haven't changed Outpost's design, just which features I'm building first.
Again, thanks for playing Outpost and for following along in Outpost's development! I hope this refocus helps me get the core loops stood up faster. Keep an eye here, I'll be continuing to post developments as I have them.