Hello Players,
Dex here, Developer of the game. There has been much questioning around in this particular restructuring time and I'm here to outline what has happened and what will happen in the close and far future.
First of all: Sirius is not dead. Its just the case that there is ONE person working at it. There is no kickstarted team with a lot of people behind the game, just one person, who has worked nearly fifteen years to make this happen as it is right now. I'm investing a lot of time, a big portion of my monthly living allowance and heart into it and I'd rather die than giving up this game. So, if you start criticizing, always remember, just one person.
Fallout in June
The Coder leaving, was a short time thing. We worked together a few months, but in the end, we were too different and there was no working harmony, and we drew the line. This resulted in the removal of some stuff, notably the Trade Lanes, which many of you enjoyed. The Replacement, the Slingshot Drive might not make as much fun as popping into the lanes, but alas, it'll have to be used, before a DMCA-strike takes the game.
Trading Cards and Achievements
Yes. I've made Badges, but no Emoticons and Cards yet, so they will take a while, so I can get the client right. However, to Achievements, I have to say farewell for now, as the wrapping of the SteamAPI was due to the second coder.
Accounts, DLC and DRM
Sirius Online was initially schedule to be a steam only release. With this in mind, I have started dabbling together an external solution to handle Accounts and save them. This also means that there might be a DRM-Free Version. DLC is a Thing I definitely want to add, but more in terms of Ship Skins, nothing that adds special features to the game. Pay2Win is absolutely way out of my focus.
Controller Support, and other stuff
Announced for 1.0.30, there is one minor hitch I need to overcome: I simply can't afford one. With this said, I'm about to launch a minor Kickstarter campaign to get at least some of the needed Hardware to dev further into that direction. I really feel uncomfortable about asking people to donate tons of money, and in my Opinion, Kickstarter is abused by many to have people pay their rent and a wage, so I'm going for a low value of around 5.000$. I'm set for myself, so its really all for the game. If it reaches Stretch Goals, I'll add some fun bonuses.
Chat/AMA
If you feel like having questions, feel free to add me in steam or, if your friends list is full, join IRC Chat on Rizon, I'll be there as much as I can.
Future Plans
Short Term:
- Modify Belts to spew out resources at a chance, replacing the rest with ferrite
- Finalize the Slingshot drive (Currently acting very weird, but works)
- Update more of the Navigation System
- Add Daily Missions
- Add Destruction and Recovery Missions
- Add the first five levels of each class
Long Term
- Add persistant NPCs
- Make each class levelable to level 30
- Add a working economy
- Update the Engine (Long Term Goal)
- enhance Exploration Mechanics
Of course, there is a lot more on my personal list, but you have a rough overview of what I am working at.
Bonus Discount
To make up for all the hassle in the last weeks, I'm going to add a weeklong 25% discount to the game!
Thats all, folks. I hope you'll stay loyal and watch the development of the game over the next few months grow and maybe even pledge to the kickstarter, who knows?
Dex