Greetings!
I am happy to announce that Alpha 2 testing has begun. Playtesting is now well underway, and while my wonderful playtesters are busy breaking my hard work, I figured I'd give you an update on what I've been working on over the past two months.
Thermal Control System Upgrade
After some hotfixing and some UX improvements, I decided that the system most in need of love was the thermal control system (TCS). The TCS was never really completely finished. It was left in a prototype state, and now that it had been well and truly integrated with the game's progression and validated as an effective mechanic, it was time to properly finish it off.
The main thing that needed adding was a flow rate limit. I didn't want players to build one coolant control unit (CCU) and have that service the entire stations - that would be too easy. Now, the coolant flow rate maxes out at a certain point, and the electrical power draw of the unit scales proportionally to the flow rate, forcing the player to build multiple coolant loops to support stations with high thermal loads.
After that, it was a matter of fixing a LOT of bugs and finishing a few other small missing features, before rebalancing the entire thermal control system of the game.
Fires
What happens when you don't manage your thermal loads correctly? Fire. For alpha 2, I made a major upgrade to the backend of how fires are controlled in stations. Fires can now spread between racks, and the alarm system is a lot cooler. In future updates, I would also like to add:
Fire spread between modules with open hatches
Fire should damage the player if they get to close
Players shouldn't be able to breathe in modules that are on fire
These features will be implemented after testing the current fire systems.
Localisation
The game's localisation workflow has been completely replaced. We are now using Crowdin for our public, crowd-sourced translation system. Anyone on the internet is free to contribute by leaving comments, making suggestions, and voting for translations. If you have a bit of spare time and can speak another language, please consider lending us a hand and helping make Untethered more accessible to the world!
Crowdin project: https://crowdin.com/project/untethered
Funding/Employment
A big chunk of my time in this period has been spent on funding applications. This is with the ultimate goal of hiring some additional team members to help get Untethered over the finish line. I've actually just posted some additional jobs:
Technical Artist (Unity)
Programmer (Unity)
Community Manager
3D Artist
If you're from Victoria, Australia and any of those roles fit your skillset, go ahead and check it out!
Jobs: https://untetheredgame.info/contribute/
The roadmap has also been updated so as always, questions like "when do I get to play" should always be directed here: https://untetheredgame.info/roadmap/
And finally, a lot of people are asking when they will get alpha access. Currently, there are many, many people who have applied, and I only add people when the current pool of playtesters gets bored, essentially. It's very likely that most people won't get in, however the pool is always growing, and the longer you've been on the list, the more likely you are to be selected. So just be patient :) To apply, visit the "contribute" page: https://untetheredgame.info/contribute/
And with that, I'm off to Europe for three weeks! I'll be back again in late July, with renewed energy to upgrade the station dockings system. Until then, salutations.
Luna