Hi there,
This last month has been hectic with the release of the demo for the game. The demo consist of the current very playable state of the game and is only limited in how far you can get in the story. You really should check it out, and maybe even help getting the game better by providing in-game feedback.
The most feedback for the game was that it is too difficult to get into. So I've spent a lot of time adding helpful tutorial texts to various areas of the game. I am planning to also create a FAQ or a "How to play" page on the Steam page. More on this at a later time. I admit that it IS difficult to start with. But since I have tried to create it in the spirit of the original Frontier Elite II it SHOULD be difficult. You would have to think about how to get further in the game, but I can see now that the learning curve might have been too steep. So this has changed, and will be even more changed during the coming months.
The release of the demo has been overwhelming to me. Almost 3000 of you steam users have added the demo to your library and I hope many more of you will give the game a try, though keeping in mind that is still is a work in progress.
The development
During this last month I have been working on the following areas:
Story missions
All the story missions are now placed in the game. This means that I have a fully playable and completable game. This was a big milestone for me, as I now can concentrate on all the side missions, the "eyecandy", all the upgrades and the NPC's.
Reputation
The actions you take in the universe will affect your reputation on the stations you visit. A good reputation opens up doors for more missions, for loans and stock trading, while a bad reputation quickly closes the doors. You build up a bad reputation by cancelling missions, shooting at innocents and generally being a bad apple. A good reputation is built by completing missions, aiding in fights and protecting innocent vessels and by donating money to worthy causes.
Rank
You will rise in federal ranks by removing unwanted elements from the universe. As a bonus you also get bounty vouchers, which can be converted into money on stations.
Parcel delivery missions
Added a new type of missions, the parcel delivery missions. These missions are an easy way to earn money and a good starting point, when you ship is small and your laser puny. They come in all kinds of deliveries and rewards.
UI improvements
The UI has gotten updated with more icons and better text to make it easier to see where your mines are located and where missions are occuring.
Tutorials
Throughout the game I've added small tutorial dialogues which will popup when certain events occur. This should hopefully make it easier to see and know what to do in a given situation. These tutorial dialogues can quickly be removed by pressing the Escape key.
In the coming month the main goal is to implement all upgrades to your ship and then I need to do a lot of testing of the game. Speaking of testing. Do you want to be part of the test team for Stardust Origins? You get access to the current development build and you will receive a free key to the final game. Join my Discord and let me know :)
Discord Join here
I believe this was all for this months devlog. I'm really looking forward to begin working on the "how-to-play" guide for the game, as I believe this document will be a goldmine in conquering the Stardust Origins. Thank you very much for reading.