MORSE is released!
The game is now available for purchase on Steam, there’s a 20% launch discount for the next 7 days, so grab that while you can.
I can't quite describe the sense of deep relief I feel for completing this project after ten years working on it. It's great to see already people taking the plunge into ordering a telegraph and seeking ham radio communities. A dream come true : )
Bug Reporting:
Whilst the hardest part of the project is out of the way, I'm not putting my feet up just yet. The next week is fully blocked out for any new bugs that come up, and I'll be keeping an eye out for any issues in future too. We put MORSE through several rounds of QA over the past few months, squashing some major bugs before release, but there may still be small ones in there. If you do find any, the main menu in-game has a "report a bug" link, at the bottom left. Using that is by far the best and quickest way to bring any issues to my attention. I've already got some minor bugs to dig into, will be patching shortly. I greatly appreciate your patience with this, it is just me patching the game.
You can find the bug form here: MORSE Bug Reporting Form
What Now?
So now that MORSE is finished, my plan is to use MORSE as a tool for outreach and enrichment for the amateur radio community, helping bring new people to the hobby. My experience of amateur radio so far has been wonderful, folks have been so welcoming and it's staggering the scale of infrastructure and community that exists out there, it's like being part of a secret society! Even in the last few weeks, I've had contact from clubs, museums and organisations from Norway, Scotland and as far as South Dakota, excited to use MORSE for engaging young people and the broader public. More about that soon.
I'm going to take December as an opportunity for rest, but also to get my foundation license and callsign. When I signed up as a member of the Radio Society of Great Britain, I got a free handheld radio and I am determined to do some CW transmission by the end of the year, preferably from the top of a big hill. I'll let you know how I get on with that, if anyone has any suggestions for learning tools for exam prep let me know.
Glowing Telegraphs!
I'll be posting a bit more about this soon, but mouse and keyboard aren't the only peripherals you can play MORSE with. You can use actual morse telegraphy keys too! I have a few I've been using to demo the game at events like Hamfest and Megacon, and as part of that I thought it'd be fun to rig up some LEDs to also display the morse code as it's entered. Here's a quick video showing it in use: MORSE - A strategy game playable with a glowing telegraph!
I'm really looking forward to telling you all more about the hardware behind this, and so glad that MORSE is finally out there for everyone to enjoy. Please let me know how you get on, your adventures into telegraphy and amateur radio!
Thank you to everyone who have waited for MORSE over the years and the many people who helped me get the game over the line. I am incredibly grateful for your support.
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73, Alex