HEXTERMINATE News

• Infinite War achievements should no longer unlock in the Campaign mode.
  
• Fixed a stuttering issue introduced in build 13.
  

After a couple of months of development, the Infinite War update is ready. With it, HEXTERMINATE gains a new game mode with procedurally generated galaxies and brings new challenges to the players.



In this new game mode your objective is to capture the homeworlds of all the factions. To assist you with this, you can boost your defenses with powerful starforts and use probes to keep an eye on the Empire's enemies.



Additionally, you'll find new modules you can customise your ship with:

• Antiproton cannons are a new, devastating weapon type.
  
• Quantum state alternators work in conjunction with the antiproton cannons, as well as providing a way of defending against them.
  
• Ramming prows are armour modules which greatly increase the efficiency of the Ramming Speed ability.

You'll encounter them on ships belonging to a new faction: the Hegemon. You can expect the most challenging battles in the game if you're going against them, as well as new mechanics to master.





[h2]Additions[/h2]

• New game mode: Infinite War.
  
• New modules: Antiproton cannon, Quantum State Alternator, Ramming Prow.
  
• New faction: Hegemon.
  

[h2]Improvements[/h2]

• The load game screen now displays hardcore games in a different colour if the player has lost their ship.
  
• The colours of the fleet chevrons in the galaxy view have been updated and should be easier to distinguish.
  

[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]

• The number of engine modules now correctly contributes towards a ship's top speed.
  
• Save games in Hardcore where the player had lost their ship can no longer be loaded.
  
• The popup text for when a player's ship is destroyed in Hardcore mode is correctly centered.
  
• Fixed the "Demigod" achievement not being unlockable in the expected fashion.
  
• When a fleet jumped into a sector, they could be seen for one frame before the hyperspace gate animation started.
  
• Fixed an issue where the hotkeys for activating modules would not keep their order if some of the addon modules had been destroyed.
  

Good luck, Captain.

The Hegemon are the new faction you can fight against in the Infinite War mode. Their ships are loaded to the brim with the best technology available in the galaxy, making a fight even a single Hegemon ship a difficult battle to win.



And of course, you'll rarely find them alone.

Capital heavy, sporting particle accelerators and antiproton cannons, you'll need a balance of maneuverability and firepower to challenge the Hegemon... as well as a ship with equally advanced modules.



The galaxy is somewhat different in Infinite War than in the normal campaign mode, with new options and challenges for the player. The objective is still to conquer the galaxy (of course!) and this can achieved by conquering the homeworlds of each faction. Expect a more challenging battle than normal in these homeworlds.

One of the things which has been changed is that in this game mode, the Empire is no longer omniscient. The vast majority of the galaxy is covered in fog of war, and it is only through exploration and conquering additional sectors that more sectors are revealed.



To assist you with this, you can now choose to deploy hyperspace probes. These provide permanent surveillance of surrounding sectors, giving you an early warning about forces encroaching on Imperial space.

Additionally, you can also deploy starforts. Starforts are massive, static structures equipped with high-end modules, providing the Empire with a defensive anchor which is extremely difficult to dislodge. Well-placed starforts on contested borders can change the tide, keeping Imperial space reasonably safe and freeing you to tackle other fronts.



One of the issues HEXTERMINATE had in the past was how powerful the ramming ability was. The Marauders in particular are keen to ram your ships and it was not uncommon to see capital ships get skewered by small marauder ships. This was changed in order to make the early/mid-game more welcoming, but with the desire to bring the ability back to its original level in certain cases.

To achieve this, a new module has been added: a ramming prow. Ramming prows are armour modules with a somewhat reduced armour rating but which deal substantially more damage during a ramming manoeuvre, while suffering very little damage themselves.



These modules are currently only installed in Hegemon ships (although of course you can install some in your own ship), which should make it far less of an issue for newcomers while increasing the challenge for more experienced players.



With the galaxy generation now working and the Hegemon faction coded in, the work that remains involves finishing the user interface and testing. The latter in particular will require some time to ensure that the players have a good, fun experience in Infinite War.

I am currently looking into releasing the update on the 26th of June (next Sunday).

Thank you for reading!

As the work for the Infinite War update carries on, the last couple of weeks have been focused on the module assets and effects. I had been somewhat slowed down due to an issue with the Blender exporter plugin, but with that fixed and out of the way, it was time to get some new models in-game.

[h2]Quantum state alternator[/h2]

Here's the new quantum state alternator module, surrounded by four ion cannons. The faction glow might be changed to match the current quantum state, still experimenting.



[h2]Anti-proton cannon[/h2]

The anti-proton cannon will fire projectiles modulated by the quantum state alternator, bypassing shields which do not match the same state.



[h2]Shield effects[/h2]

Additional work has been done to create a new shield effect to work with the above modules. Here you can see a shield being powered up by a quantum state alternator in its white state.



If someone fires a white anti-proton projectile at your ship while in this state, the shot will dissipate harmlessly. If the shield is in the wrong state, the projectile will go through it and deal substantial hull damage. The player will be able to switch states quickly by pressing a key.



With the new assets in, it is time to write the gameplay logic and bring everything together. This will be the focus of the next two weeks, as well as creating the projectile effects. If all goes well, some time will also be spent setting up the Infinite War game mode, which will provide a good test bed for these modules.

Thank you for reading!

After a few updates over the last couple of weeks which addressed the issues some people were having with ramming, development time is shifting to the Infinite War update. I thought I’d give you an overview of what is currently being worked on.



In addition to the Campaign mode which you are familiar with, the Infinite War mode will procedurally generate a new galaxy for you to play. In its default settings, the size of the various factions will be randomised; some of them might not even be present.

However, you’ll also be able to create a galaxy with settings to your liking, deciding which factions the galaxy will be populated with and how large the empires are.

The Infinite War mode is meant for experienced players, as it will be possible to create galaxies which will be extremely difficult – or impossible – to be victorious in.



Enter the Hegemon: a faction which will only be present in the new Infinite War mode. The Hegemon will be the end-game faction, fielding large capital ships which will test both your flagship and your skill. They will make use of the various strategies you’ve seen from other factions, such as the use of particle accelerators and will bring a few tricks of their own via the new modules.



The principle of the new modules is fairly simple: you (and the AI) have a new weapon which can figure projectiles in one of two configurations (lets call them Red and Black) and your shield needs to be in the matching configuration to block those projectiles.

So if your shield is in the Red state and someone fires a Black projectile at your ship, it will go through. Otherwise, it will be nullified.

To achieve this, we’ll have two new modules: the Quantum State Alternator and the Antiproton cannon.

[h2]Quantum State Alternator[/h2]

• Increases the damage resistance of the ship’s shields by 25%.
  
• There can only be one Quantum State Alternator installed in a ship.
  
• The QSA has two quantum states. These can be cycled through by pressing space bar and this switch is instantaneous.
  
• The quantum state affects the shield and any antiproton cannons installed.
  
• A shield with a QSA will block any antiproton projects which are in the same quantum state.
  

[h2]Antiproton cannon[/h2]

• This is a large, very slow firing weapon. Rate of fire likely 1 projectile per 4 seconds.
  
• The projectile goes through shields, unless the ship has a Quantum State Alternator. In that case, the shot is blocked if the QSA has the same quantum state as the antiproton cannon.
  
• If the antiproton cannon hits a shield with the same quantum state, the shot dissipates harmlessly.
  
• Otherwise, the projectile instantaneously destroys the module it hits and EMPs anything surrounding it.
  
• This weapon exists in two variants: a prototype one (artifact) and a Hegemon one (legendary). The prototype variant might have an even slower rate of fire.
  

The new game mode is already under development and some preliminary work has begun for the assets required for the new modules. If it all goes well I’ll have some screenshots to share next time.

Thank you for reading!