Hello everyone, and happy New Year!
It’s been a while since our last update, thank you for your patience and continued support.
Since the release of the demo, we’ve been constantly working on your feedback and on the development of the game to bring Orium closer to the vision we have for it.
Today, we’re excited to share a new and improved version of the Orium demo.
This update focuses on improving the navigation, rhythm, combat readability and overall flow across the entire experience of the demo.
A lot of systems have been reworked to create a smoother and more consistent experience.
Navigation
Automatic planet colonization - Planet colonization is now handled automatically, allowing smoother and faster exploration.
Stargate - S-Gates have been implemented to allow faster navigation between sectors.
Wormhole reworked - New view to target a specific branch, this system will be further expanded in future updates.Wormholes can only be used if they are properly connected to the colony network.
Navigation sphere improvement - Better visualization of traveled distance, improved feedback for Red Mist proximity. An option has been added to disable it.
Combat & Enemies
New enemy variants introduced - Invader, Elite, Hunter, these enemies use fixed stat profiles instead of dynamic leveling (leave Invaders alone cause you’ll always be too weak).
Hunter spawn distribution reworked.
Combat system reworked - The entire combat system has been restructured to support new and future mechanics and features.
Enemy scaling reworked - Enemies gain +1 level each new day, difficulty also increases as you move closer to the center of the galaxy or after certain narrative events.
Combat visuals improved - Visual Changes in the battle background depending on the current star, the number of enemies and with an end-of-breach animation
General Gameplay
Bogg’s Shop & narrative rebalanced - Prices and costs have been reworked for better consistency and decision-making.
Return Ticket updated - The return ticket now sends you to the last visited Bogg’s Shop.
Rixium distribution adjusted - Resource income is now significantly more generous and better aligned with progression toward the galaxy center.
Galaxy generation reworked - The galaxy is now generated across 8 sectors and a central core, star distribution is more homogeneous and generation speed has been improved (or so I think, I swear last time I created the whole galaxy in 1.4s on my computer).
Various balancing adjustments - Player and enemy stats, levelup bonuses, passive effect…
Time flow system reworked - Time progression has been redesigned for better pacing and clearer consequences. Time passes when you navigate and place buildings.
Red Mist Specific Changes - Entering the Red Mist now deals -1 HP per second, recovery effects no longer function inside the Red Mist, the breaches in the Red Mist become red but do not affect the other stars, improved precision for detecting whether the player is inside or outside the zone, a new vfx wall clearly marks the Red Mist boundary.
UI & UX
Screen options added - You can now adjust screen mode (windowed, borderless or fullscreen) as well as screen resolution.
Navigation UI reworked - Just because the UI was in fake 2D/3D and is now entirely in 3D with improved cursor precision.
Pause menu reworked - New display for passive effects and visual overhaul of the galaxy map.
Dynamic passive UI during combat - Passive effects display more details via hover descriptions and dynamic icons appear above health and charge bars (Icons are placeholders and will be refined in future updates).
New tutorial added.
New main menu - New animated scene and introduction (basically, just the trailer intro reworked).
Other
Galaxy visual overhaul - Color has been adjusted, particle behavior improved, and other tech art stuff.
Minor sound effect adjustments.
A lot has happened since the release of the first demo.
We are now collaborating with three additional team members, Anna and I are incredibly excited to share our plans for the future of Orium.
We hope you enjoy this new version of the demo and we are looking forward to your feedback !
Stay tuned because big updates are on the way, including a new dynamic OST and entirely new weapon and planet building systems, we can’t wait to show you all that !
Feel free to join our Discord to share your thoughts, report issues, and follow the development, and don’t forget to follow us on social media to stay up to date with the latest news.