Our biggest update finally lands - pun intended.
Explore the vast galaxy and land on each planet you like - they are all unique in their own way.
Just a quick foreword: this marks the final major update needed to implement what a lot of players have been asking for: a proper survival mode. Indeed after a first phase focusing on major tech overhauls (building system, GFX and physics engine), I have been hard at work in the past months adding to the game:
- The mission framework (now only use on the tutorial and the bounty hunting mission
- Crafting
- Mining
- The fuel system and fuel harvesting
- The inventory system
- And now planets.
So stay tuned!
Now onto the planets:
My vision from the beginning was to create a rich galaxy with many planets to explore. Each planet is generated procedurally - which means they are all truly unique.
I am using a 3D voxel technology which gives the ability to created interesting terrain up-close and allows mining - but the real kicker is that I have created an hybrid technology which mix 3D voxel with 2D maps to allow some HD views of the planet from far away. This means that they look great when viewed from space, and the transition space / ground is really seamless visually.
A lot of planets will get asteroids rings too. You can see the individual asteroids from the ground it is pretty spectacular!
On the grounds planet will range from barren to lush with a lot of vegetation including trees.
Ore veins are waiting for you to be mined - unless you prefer to mine some large monoliths!
A lot of attention has been given to the atmosphere and the clouds - it is a crucial element to set the mood of a planet.
I could go on and on the technology created for the planets - it was really quite hardcore.
But better to check out the devlog for more info!
A few features are missing or need improvements, here is what I would like to focus on (once the survival mode is out)
- Day-night cycle
- More variety in landform and terrain material.
- More variety in rocks, plants and tree.
- Proper cave networks
- Better clouds - they are too flat and samey
- More asteroid variety: they are too samey.
I leave you with a few more shots of what you can experience in the game!
