November has been a very productive time for us, and we have seen some good progress in game elements that we've wanted to put into the game for a while now.
As mentioned last month, two of these were character customisation and a customisable living area on the ship.
Character Customisation
The character customisation is not completed as yet, as it needs more variety in some of the features, such as hairstyle and accessories, but already it is offering a diverse assortment of possible characters. We have chosen to not have gender as a selectable trait and instead all features are available to every character, allowing you to create any character you like without boundaries.
There is a random creation button, and most of the following characters were created with the simple press of a button. However, characters can be created by modifying every feature individually, also. Features include face shape, skin colour, hair, eyebrow shape and colour, eye shapes and colour, nose, mouth, costume and tattoos, scars, complexion and other features.
New Ship Design
The ship has been evolving slowly since the project's conception, and we admit the design was looking a little too reminiscent of another spaceship you might be familiar with. As Orion's End developed its own character, we felt it needed a more unique look to the player's ship, and the design needed to take into account the demands and dimensions of a customisable living quarters. So, the new ship design is as follows.
Living Quarters Customisation
The ship has multiple decks, including the main flight deck, a cargo hold and the players living quarters. The living quarters is a holographic projection room, which can be customised as you see fit. As you explore the many systems you will collect many blueprints for artefacts and furniture design, which can be deployed to your living quarters to personalise it to your taste.
The living quarters functions now as it should, however it is still early days in its development. It will require a lot more variations of decor and functionality, however we are off to a solid start.
Adding More to the Worlds
We've also been adding details and character to the existing worlds, giving small insights as to what stories might be going to unfold on the planets. On Baucoi, for example, there is a large mining corporation that has taken over the grassroots operations of the locals, with the expected reaction from the locals.
What's Next?
The next thing we'll be working on is adding even more detail to all of the existing planets and starting the personal stories and quests for the NPCs. We'll also be starting to develop some new planets to visit. We've started sketching out some possible designs for them.
Safe travels in the spacelanes, friends, and we'll be sharing more at the end of December.
The Orion's End Crew