InfraSpace News

Hello everyone!



In preparation for the next big update, which includes modding, we created a series of modding tutorials for you to get started:

https://forum.dionicsoftware.com/t/introduction-to-infraspace-modding/3134

The tutorials cover:

• How to get started by downloading and running the example mods
  
• How to change simple game values and upload your own mods
  
• How to add new models, textures, and buildings
  
• How to use the in-game developer tools to learn about the game, test your mods, and cheat
  
• How to decompile InfraSpace and have a look at its code (allowed for modding and educational purposes!)
  
• How to make your own script mods and change gameplay in a bigger way
  

Last week I introduced you to the sensor tower which is going to unlock the next parts of the map. Back then it was just a concept, now we also have the finished model:



Implementation to be done.



After randomly generating rocks and plants in the desert and crater biomes, we have now turned to the river, which is a lot harder. It's shape poses more constraints on how the environment assets can fit without looking weird or clipping badly. We should be able to show you pics of it next week!



Since a part of the team has been working on the Founders' Fortune update for Sept 30th, the InfraSpace update will be some time after that. We try to be quick, but with modding, new environment, 4x bigger map, and terraforming, it's the largest update we've done so far. Appreciate the patience!

Hello everyone!



Now that we're increasing the map size, it's not going to all be accessible right from the start. Instead, you'll have to spend some time exploring the next tiles in order to unlock them - and that's what the new sensor tower is for!





Now that the biome distribution and terrain shape is done, we're finally filling up the environment with procedurally generated details, check out the progress pics:





This is the art concept we're using to build the generated terrain, for reference:



There are still some things missing like grass, small rocks, adjusting the terrain and light colors, the river biome, terraforming, etc. etc., but we're getting closer :)



Our company's first game is a colony simulator called Founders' Fortune. It's been finished for a while, but the community has been yearning for new content as well as polishing some small things here and there, so we're releasing a big update Friday, Sept 30th, 1pm CET.

This is the InfraSpace dev news section, so the important things for InfraSpace players are:

• We have spent some of our dev time taking care of our FF community, but InfraSpace is and stays the main focus of course
  
• Once the update is released, one more programmer will be free to work on InfraSpace
  
• If you're interested in Founders' Fortune yourself, check out the official post

As always, happy playing!

Hello everyone!

Today I'm going to be answering some frequently asked questions.
Currently, 3 out of 6 people are on vacation and the rest is working on a secret project, so the progress on InfraSpace wasn't that exciting in the last few days. The good news is that we're planning to announce the secret project next week and its completion will free up another programmer for InfraSpace! :smiley:



I think we already got somewhere between 50 and 100 requests to add Mac support for InfraSpace. It is coming, just not during Early Access! The reason is that we still want to focus on the main game, its features, performance, and bugs instead of spending that time playtesting and supporting different platforms.

This will change when we hit 1.0. At that point, we won't change the core of the game that much anymore (like adding a full new map and terraforming). And with fewer changes it becomes easier to support more platforms.

However, some people have got it working with Mac already using virutal machines and I have reason to suspect that after the environment update it will already be a lot more compatible.



A lot of people ask us if we can improve the traffic AI. This is a double edged sword: Sure, lane changing could be improved.

But if cars start avoiding traffic jams on their route, we run into a different issue:
If a player has designed a terrible intersection and it starts jamming up, cars would take different routes putting much more load on intersections that typically would be fine. Suddenly, more and more intersections clog up, the city becomes gridlocked and the player doesn't know where the problem actually started.

We may test a pathfinding variant like this to be configurable in the options, but currently I believe the time is better invested in traffic tutorials and letting player turn down the traffic difficulty if they don't want to deal with it.



Players have been asking for some kind of tool that gives you more control over the routes cars take and have been wondering if that's something we want to add. I just wanted to confirm, yes we're very interested in that even though it's not on the roadmap. Distribution centers are probably going to be part of the solution, we just need to figure out a design that's interesting, understandable, and not immediately overpowered. Players already have some control with the districts tool, but it takes some learning to be able to use it effectively.



With traffic lights, trains, and terraforming as the big endgame goal we're quickly reaching all the promised roadmap items and with pipes, mod support, and gondolas we're going to have a bunch of the optional roadmap items done as well.
Naturally, some players are wondering what will happen with InfraSpace once we have fulfilled all the Early Access promises and how long development will continue. This is the answer to our best knowledge at the moment:

• Of course finish all promised EA roadmap goals
  
• Also finish most of the optional roadmap goals (or replace them with other features players like instead, like maybe add distribution centers instead of natural disasters)
  
• Of course do a lot of polishing, bugfixing etc. for version 1.0
  
• Besides from that it depends a little bit on how well InfraSpace continues to sell and how much it's played, but I'm pretty sure we have the resources for 3-4 major feature updates before 1.0
  
• Probably we'll have at least 1 major update after 1.0 and then we'll see how it goes.
  

I hope this satisfies your curiosity to some degree. If you have thoughts on future features or what InfraSpace needs the most besides the environment update and polishing, let us know!

Happy playing!

Hey everyone,

quick update today since both our 3D artists have left for vacation and 2 other devs are working on secret stuff that's not yet ready to be shown. Also, in the next weeks different people are taking their vacation since it's still summer.

Anyways, we have finished the biome generation part for the new terrain, check out the programmer screenshot:



Obviously it's still far from the art concepts since details are missing and colors are off, that's part of the process. Our progress here is creating and optimizing the biome generation for larger maps. Also, you will be able to have multiple volcanoes as well as enough space to build your city. Not sure yet how many terrain generation options will be configurable by players, but many most be moddable for sure.

Happy playing!

Hello everyone,

this week we've got an art update and a tech update for you.

First up is the finished ammonia extractor:





It's a large futuristic building that cleans up the atmosphere and contributes to making the planet livable.

Second, we'd like to update you on the terrain generation process:
Most of the time in the last weeks was spent on optimizing the highland shape generation process. The reason this was necessary is that we are aiming to quadruple the map size and we don't want terrain generation to take forever.

So now, we have basic shapes for the dried river, the highlands next to it, and also the volcano. We still need to add the crater and then we will fill out these biomes with the assets from the art concepts. We hope we can share some progress pics that don't look completely like programmer art next week ;)

Finally, it's the end of August and our team members are beginning to take vacation. Expect progress to slow down a bit for the next couple of weeks after which we'll speed up again to finish and release the update planned for September.

Happy playing!