Generationship News

After a longer break without updates, we're back! The reason: a big move back to Germany. Everything is now up and running again, and development has continued. The main focus of this update: events – dynamic situations that affect gameplay in interesting ways.



Events now occur randomly over time and can include multiple effects at once. For example, supply routes from Earth might get disrupted: storage can be reduced, production priorities may shift, or certain resources may temporarily increase in cost. Think of a steel factory back on Earth breaking down – suddenly, your ship has to adapt.





Crew skills are now more flexible and evolve with your progress. Early in the game, new crew members don’t demand much in terms of living conditions. As you achieve major objectives, better-trained crew will arrive. Some events can also lead to better—or worse—personnel joining your mission.





To improve clarity, there are now dedicated boxes for item slot resources. These can be crafted at the workbenches and help keep things organized.





Based on tester feedback, item slots for crew have received several improvements. Oxygen masks are now only used when really needed. Rescue crew can also place masks on unconscious team members, allowing for more realistic and life-saving behavior.





A major new system: sound! This update introduces new audio systems that bring the world to life, with sounds for both crew and interior items. It adds atmosphere and makes your ship feel more alive.



The lighting system has been reworked and now allows for more flexible color control. Rooms with toxic air will now pulse with an orange warning light. On top of that, an alert sound will play in each affected room, prompting the crew to equip their oxygen masks in time.





Beyond the big features, the loading system has been optimized for larger save games, and many small fixes and adjustments have been made under the hood.


I also post the progress and more pictures to our Discord:



And don't forget to wishlist and follow us to keep up to date.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638030/Generation_Ship/

This update brings added depth to crew quarters, significant performance optimizations, and substantial gameplay enhancements.



Crew members now have expectations regarding their accommodations, with room requirements based on skill levels. High-skilled workers need higher room levels, and their mood is influenced by the room's setup and the presence of liked or disliked items in their quarters.





Room levels now range from 1 to 5 stars, determined by the room’s appearance, available space, and the number of residents.





A new "Appearance" value reflects the room’s aesthetic quality. Many items can positively or negatively impact this value, with some decor items designed solely for visual appeal. A new system lets textures and models be switched, paving the way for future additions.



Sculptures and plants have also been introduced.





Room cleanliness now degrades with occupancy, impacted further by certain items or hazards like fire. This is visually represented by accumulating dirt in the room.



Everyone on board can now help clean, adding another task to the ship's duties.



Currently, cleanliness only affects visuals, but it will later impact the risk of illness, especially during eating or drinking.



Crew members can now boost item efficiency as a new task. Each workable item has an efficiency value that can be improved based on skill requirements; for example, enhancing a greenhouse’s efficiency requires biology skills.




To help players understand work delays and crew issues, thought bubbles now appear briefly above crew members. These bubbles indicate why tasks are interrupted or why a crew member may be slow due to low mood or skills.




A major change: interior item boxes are now removed. After positive playtest feedback, items are now constructed directly at their placement instead of at the workbench, reducing storage needs and simplifying gameplay.


Finally, performance received a major boost. With many new tasks added for cleaning and efficiency, task load on larger ships was high. By minimizing recalculations and introducing a more efficient pathfinding algorithm with pre-calculations, path checking is now faster and more precise. On larger ships, speed increased dramatically from around 3 minutes per second to nearly 3 hours per second.



I also post the progress and more pictures to our Discord:



And don't forget to wishlist and follow us to keep up to date.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638030/Generation_Ship/

This update adds more individuality to each crew member. They now have specific likes, dislikes, and unique traits.


Crew members now have various traits that significantly impact their behavior. These traits fall into different categories such as General, Social, Free Time, and more. They influence aspects like work speed, movement speed, sleep needs, and much more.




Crew members now have personal preferences for activities and interior items. Depending on whether they like or dislike something, their enjoyment will affect their satisfaction levels while interacting with those activities or items.




The crew generator has been improved. It can now create new crew members with a specified rating and balance their traits, skills, and fitness levels, allowing you to select members that best fit the current needs of your ship.




Crew work speed has been standardized with a unified calculation, now displayed in the UI. Various factors affect work speed, such as traits, mood, and skills. You can now easily track these factors.




To keep your crew occupied, an efficiency system has been added to many interior items. This impacts productivity and can be improved by crew members with the right skills. For example, increasing greenhouse efficiency requires botany skills, while the engine demands astronaut skills.




In addition to efficiency updates, skill requirements have been adjusted. They are now displayed alongside tasks wherever relevant. Construction and maintenance tasks now require at least level 2 in the appropriate skills, with higher levels improving task speed.



There is also a full overview of what can be achieved with each skill.




You can now schedule dedicated fitness time for crew members to prevent a drop in fitness levels, which can result in slower work performance.






I also post the progress and more pictures to our Discord:



And don't forget to wishlist and follow us to keep up to date.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638030/Generation_Ship/

In this update, we’ve focused on enhancing the crew’s experience with new needs and interior items.


A new "Fun" need has been introduced for the crew, along with small and medium items to boost fun. In future updates, traits will be added, allowing crew members to enjoy their favorite activities even more.

One of these fun items is the interactive starmap screen, where the crew can explore the galaxy. This screen will also enhance the room’s environment in upcoming iterations.



Another lager one is a home computer where the crew can play games.




To further enhance the fun, we've added the Treadmill, which not only increases the fun value but also boosts the newly added "Fitness" stat for crew members.



The fitness level impacts each person’s maximum carry capacity (ranging from 50kg to 300kg per slot) and their walking speed.




Crew members now have varied walking speeds on the ship. It's essential to assign tasks carefully, as speed is now influenced by factors like fitness, mood, gravity, and the items being carried. Heavy or large objects will significantly slow them down.




We’ve introduced a new social need for the crew. When this need decreases, crew members will actively seek out conversations. In future updates, relationships like friendships will develop through social interactions.



Another way to boost social interactions is by doing activities together. A medium-sized table that seats four people has been added, allowing crew members to eat and socialize. This ties into the day schedule from the last update, so now it's more effective to plan shared mealtimes.



Additionally, new animations were created, and many small animation logic issues were fixed in the process.


To support the large amounts of methane and other gases needed for long trips, we’ve added massive gas storage containers.



Once constructed, these containers can be assigned to different resource types.



We’ve also introduced a new storage item for liquids, which currently stores water and waste water. This system is ready to handle new liquids that may be added in future updates.


I also post the progress and more pictures to our Discord:



And don't forget to wishlist and follow us to keep up to date.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638030/Generation_Ship/

The main part of this iteration focuses on person groups, making it easier to manage large numbers of people and introducing new features to control their behavior.



Each person can now be assigned to a specific group, which you can define yourself. Group members share the same uniform color, which you can customize. You can also adjust the slots assigned to group members.



Configure groups using drag-and-drop in the group editor, the person selection panel, or when hiring them.



The Person Overview has been updated to display group statuses clearly.





New work priorities allow you to prioritize specific tasks, such as maintenance or transport, within the ship.



Groups now have customizable day schedules, letting you configure when they work, sleep, or eat. This will be more useful with upcoming social needs, allowing people to eat together and form friendships.



Create shifts for groups, ensuring continuous coverage for tasks like firefighting, maintenance, or crafting.



The day-night cycle, which enhances visual appeal and gameplay, can be adjusted in the group setup.





In playtests, players often had trouble placing interior items that require walls. Now, these items automatically rotate toward the required walls and snap into the correct position. Additionally, the drag logic for items has been improved, making it easier to place larger objects.



There's also a new preview for doors when placing rooms, helping you see the requirements more clearly.





The Resource Overview in the lower-left corner can be customized to meet user needs, with a useful preset available at the start.





You can now change the colors of interior items like tables and beds. The bed color matches the uniform color for easy identification.





Other updates include a Steam login button for new players and improvements to the crafting and storage UI for better clarity and ease of use.




I also post the progress and more pictures to our Discord:



And don't forget to wishlist and follow us to keep up to date.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1638030/Generation_Ship/