Hi everyone. We hope everyone is having a nice summer so far despite all the craziness shaping up this year. BETA 5 development is well under way, but will be taking longer than BETA 4, so we're putting together this news post.
Here's what's being worked on:
New weapon types
One of the core game elements of Space Impossible is combat. We have already come a long way from Prototype's single laser, but there is still more room to grow. BETA 5 will see the addition of:
Reflecting Cannon
A beam weapon that will reflect off its target tile, bouncing up to four times
Plasma Launcher
A weapon that shoots projectiles that does energy damage and does not require ammo like existing torpedoes
Point Defense Laser
A close range anti missile defense weapon, when activated it will detect and auto fire on the closest projectile.
Graviton Beam
An energy weapon that actively pulls the target towards the firing vessel. It is different from the Tractor Beam as the Tractor Beam's range between shooter and target is fixed length once attached.
Rail Gun
Often asked for by you the players, the Rail Gun is a heavy damage, fixed angle weapon that has no moveable arc, and no activation angle either.
Drag Field Projectile
This projectile when it detonates creates a localized field that slows all movement through it. Great for preventing a target's escape or allowing your escape from pursuers.
Repair Beam
A heavy duty, full sized version of the space suit's repair weapon.
New Faction
Additionally, we are adding in a new faction, Madd's Marauders. Madd's will be a mercenary faction, incapable of owning and possessing star systems, but showing up based on events in game, as we continue to build and expand our spawning algorithms. It will also feature the first unique spawn, Madd himself, who can only appear once per universe at any given time. He will have some distinct inventory that will be unique to him. He is the first of what will be several "boss" like unique spawns that will be expanded on in the future.
Once these are done, we will take a week or two to update the AI to be able to equip and use these new systems and elements. As usual, the Pre-Release will come during that time, and the release build shortly after. Stay cool out there!