Dear all,
The end is in sight - we're well into the second 90% of development (although I harbour this hidden fear that there's a third 90% somewhere in here!)
Development update: game balance
I'm working on finalising ship customisation and game balance. I've spent today generating 38,000 possible money-making actions, comprising every possible combination of trade, mining action and mission that a player can do, to try and ensure that the game doesn't contain any exploits. I've utilised the AI to provide costs for trade routes and figured out profit per minute for each action:
Results for balance testing, with spoilers redacted. You didn't think I'd make it that easy, did you?
Balance testing isn't glamorous, and it's rather time-consuming, but it's super essential to make sure the game continues to be fun and interesting over time. It also ensures that any really high profit actions have a big barrier to entry, or a large risk attached.
I've already made mining harder, missions much more lucrative, ships more expensive and ship components cheaper as a result. Ships also now add wear and tear when you use them, which will affect your deposit and your reliability when you take a ship back after hiring or borrowing it.
What's next?
We need the final UI for ship customisation. I'm still waiting on artwork but that'll be done soon. As soon as the artwork is done, I'll release a new version to insider backers.
I also need to add passenger cabins, escape capsules, and add the ability to name everything and customise the colour of the ships you own. After than we have some more solar system content to add in, then a lot of housekeeping and polish ready for launch on the 6th June. Almost there!
Until next time,
Chris
Developer, Sol Trader