Major Gameplay Update - 03/05/2024

This is the first major update to be released for this project since it was first launched and it comes with a host of new/revised content! I added and changed a few notable things in the game that I wanted to discuss with you all so I thought a devlog would be a good place to do that. My full commentary is below, however the condensed version is as follows: I have added a rudimentary system of navigating between 5 interstellar locations. At each location, you will be offered randomly generated missions that take you to one of the other 4 planets. This will earn you credits (to buy new equipment which will be part of a later update) or reputation (which will be tied to consistent groups/npcs introduced in a later update). With these new systems in place, I also added a tutorial so that new players would know how to engage with the game properly.

Thank you for stopping by and giving this a read! If you want to know a bit more in-depth detail about each of the new systems then you can continue reading. If not, Happy Chronicles!

- Navigation System

One of the things I knew I needed to do early on in development was figure out a simple way to simulate navigation between locations. The concept for this game is that everything you do as a player takes place from just your ship. So, I wanted to come up with a good way to chart navigation without having to switch to a separate scene just to do it. What I have in place is very rudimentary (like a lot of the art in this game right now, it's made by me, who is not artistically inclined) however it does correspond with the direction your ship is in. For instance, the green navigation arrow should move around your ship in accordance with the direction of your selected target location, with the front  of the ship (left side of the screen) always being "North'' on the map. Of course, being in space, there is very little concept of North and South so I didn't spend TO long on the directions but they should be consistent. As the project gets bigger and more thoroughly developed I will likely change some of the visuals and how this navigation system works, but for now it serves the intended purpose of allowing you to move from one location to another.

- Basic Missions

Since you can now move between locations, it only made sense to have something that made you want to go somewhere! I'm randomly generating the missions right now to verify that I have the system designed how I want. I'm planning on putting together a main quest line or a few minor "quest paths" that allow you to take on consistent missions with some basic story progression. The premise of the game is that you set out into space with your new ship and get to decide what to do with it. Eventually, you'll unlock stores or people you can interact with to  upgrade/outfit your ship and buy new furniture and equipment that will give you new things to do and engage with on the ship. There is also potential for these things to have added benefits to your capability as a starship captain. That is the next major system I'm planning to work on. But for now, you should be able to see a few missions pop up on the screen when using the ship's navigational controls. Completing them will earn you credits which will be useful in the future. I have a few other mission reward types in the works as well, including reputation changes with people or factions and directly gaining items, furniture, and equipment for the ship. All of these will be worked into later updates as their related systems are still in development.

- New Nodes

For reference, the things on the ship you can interact with are called "Nodes". I've sprinkled a few more of them around the ship in this update for you to play around with. One of which is the navigational computer. This is how you'll be able to chart a course to your target location. There are a only a couple more for you to play with in this update as it wasn't the major focus but I'm interested to see what you think should come standard on this brand new ship. If you have any thoughts or ideas, please leave a comment below to let me know! I've also added a few more decorations all created by the awesome DyLESTorm here on itch so now all new things are interactable.

- Tutorial

With these new features hitting the live game, I felt it was important to also have a tutorial for new players. It guides you around the ship and shows you the basic features needed to play through the game. There is also a little bit of a story that I'm starting within there, but that's all subject to change.  I tried to walk through it with fresh eyes to make sure it tells you what you need to do to leave Bimonal and successfully make it to Dock-5, please let me know if you think there is still something missing and I'll find a good way to add it into the opening dialogue.