Since our last dev update, we’ve released the Trade Routes and System UI overhaul we discussed in our last update and have fixed a truckload of crashes and bugs in other areas of the game. Anyone who’s been getting an OutOfMemoryException crash on saving the game will be happy to know that we’ve managed to solve this problem and tested it with a fully explored galaxy. The next patch will also add the highly requested sound and music volume sliders in the options panel, and we’ve added new graphical effects and race music to the New Game screen to add some much needed immersion.
The main focus of the next patch is on Diplomacy, so I wanted to take some time out to talk about our plans. Diplomacy is a huge part of any 4X game, and one that is often overlooked in favour of combat and economic mechanics, but we want it to be an important part of Predestination. Ideally, a clever player should be able to play a fully diplomatic game without ever being forced into war and combat if they don’t want to. We recently reached out to you for your feedback and ideas on Diplomacy, and in this article I’ll delve into our final design, which has been broken down into four smaller patches. Note that we may take a break between patch 2 and 3 or between patch 3 and 4 to work on other major gameplay systems.
Click on the images below to head over to the Predestination blog and get more details of what's in each of the Diplomacy patches, and check out the video below of each of the race's diplomacy screen with our new subtle visual effects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6O2_xhTVYY
Thanks for checking out this month’s main dev update, and as always we really appreciate any feedback or ideas you would like to share with us. If you’re a $20 backer or above and would like a Steam key for the Early Access, please mail [email protected] with the email address you used to pre-order or on Kickstarter and we’ll send you one. I’d also like to let people know that Tina and I will be at Gamescom next month to show Predestination to some press and other businesses, so we might see you there if you’ll be attending!
Cheers,
— Brendan Drain, Lead Developer