Astra Protocol 2 News

[p]Attention Captains,[/p][p]We are in a celebratory mood as Astra Protocol 2 has just turned three years old![/p][p]To celebrate this occasion, we have brought a gift - a new patch![/p][p]This patch makes some major changes to Astra Protocol 2 as we've brought in a new renderer and framework (those eagle eyed of you might recognise it as the one we've implemented on the Astra Protocol Remake). [/p][p]These changes mean that we can implement visuals that look more like the CRT monitor effect we intended for the original release of the game, allows us to implement some fancy effects, such as distortion from radiation, and run the game at a much smoother speed.[/p][p]But don't just take our word for it, take a look at this trailer we made for the occasion:[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]A new renderer and framework aren't the only changes however, we've improved collisions, refreshed the user manual, and a whole host of other bits and pieces.[/p][p]Here's the full breakdown of the changes:[/p][p]GRAPHICS[/p]

• [p]New rendering pipeline:[/p]
  • [p]Improved performance at high resolutions.[/p]
  • [p]New graphical effect: CRT blur.[/p]
  • [p]New graphical effect: Radiation distortion.[/p]
  • [p]New graphical effect: CRT vignette.[/p]
  • [p]New graphical effect: CRT distortion.[/p]
  • [p]New graphical effect: CRT / VHold wobble.[/p]
  • [p]Ghosting doesn't destroy the framerate.[/p]
  • [p]New collision animation.[/p]

[p]AUDIO[/p]

• [p]New audio pipeline:[/p]
  • [p]Music, beeps, and voices to be played simultaneously without stuttering.[/p]
  • [p]Music plays in sub-modules.[/p]
• [p]Computer voice silences on the Mission Summary screen.[/p]
• [p]Voice and audio volume can be adjusted.[/p]

[p]GAMEPLAY & UI[/p]

• [p]Settings can be changed in game - no longer need to quit out to make the changes.[/p]
• [p]Settings can also be modified by editing the config file via a text editor.[/p]
• [p]Efficiency improvements to the waveform and map UI elements.[/p]
• [p]Minefields don't spawn on load - this sometimes triggered an overlap between multiple asteroids, causing lots of detonations and hammering the framerate.[/p]
• [p]Scientific details have been tidied up in the UI.[/p]
• [p]Shields can be repaired at a space station (this was intentionally prevented in previous releases).[/p]
• [p]Space time anomalies show a random bearing in the scientific details.[/p]
• [p]Collision detection made more efficient.[/p]
• [p]Objects are knocked back slightly on collision, preventing objects getting stuck and orbiting.[/p]
• [p]Science progress bar (scanning, target lock etc.) character changed.[/p]
• [p]New command: ABORT RELOAD - unloads any reload operations in progress.[/p]
• [p]Enable / disable readouts moved to the Enable Voice option in the settings menu.[/p]

[p]OTHER[/p]

• [p]New code framework.[/p]
• [p]Refreshed, expanded, and more detailed user manual.[/p]

[p]BUG FIXES[/p]

• [p]Fixed issue where if a component was too badly damaged, it would never repair and prevent other components from being repaired.[/p]
• [p]Fixed issue where too much white space could be displayed if there were problems with the RECHARGE SHIELDS command.[/p]

[p]However, we've had to make a few removals:[/p]

• [p]Voice recognition (previously the ENABLE VOICE command) has been removed.[/p]
• [p]Some options, such as edit feature set and second screen have been removed (we can put these back if there's demand for it).[/p]
• [p]BREAKING CHANGE - unfortunately the way save files were serialised is no longer supported in the new framework and existing saves will not work. Please contact us if you are particularly attached to an old save as we should be able to convert them.[/p]
• [p]Due to the size of the new framework, the game no longer fits on a floppy disk![/p]

[p]We hope that you enjoy the changes we've implemented here, improving your missions within Astra Protocol 2 or even giving you the incentive to dive back in.[/p][p]As usual, we encourage all feedback, so please let us know your thoughts on the changes.[/p][p]Thank you for flying with Astra Protocol 2 for three years - here's to many more![/p][p]See you out there, Captains![/p]

[p]Ahoy Captains,[/p][p][/p][p]We've just uploaded a new build to the beta branch. This update makes a small tweak to how the logging works (which should be invisible to the users) and adds a new experimental feature: Telemetry.[/p][p][/p][p]Telemetry outputs data for your ship and discovered planets. Users can specify how often the data is outputted and where it sent - so those of you with a dot matrix setup could even output to a printer! This is separate from regular logging, so you send data to different locations simultaneously.[/p][p][/p][p]The intention behind this feature is to give players more ways to interact with Astra Protocol 2. Its fairly experimental, which is why it is in the experimental branch for now.[/p][p][/p][p]We’d love to hear your feedback! Let us know if you find this functionality useful, if there’s anything else you’d like to see added to the telemetry system, and especially how you’re using it — your input will help us decide if it’s something we should consider promoting into the main game.[/p]

[p]Ahoy Captains,[/p][p][/p][p]Patch 1.8.1 is now live![/p][p][/p][p]This patch is a relatively small one which focuses mainly on bug fixes:[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Maintenance craft slow down sooner, which should limit how often they crash into space stations.[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Fixed issue where player could immediately spawn within a planet.[/p]
• [p]Fixed issue where bad characters in the Captain's Log would crash the game on load.[/p]
• [p]The cursor character no longer gets stored in the Captain's Log (partially responsible for the above crash).[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue with meshes not displaying properly.[/p]

[p][/p][p]We hope that fixing these issues improve your experiences with Astra Protocol 2.[/p][p][/p][p]As usual, if you have any comments, feedback, or suggestions, please let us know.[/p]

Attention Captains,

We have uploaded a new beta branch that focuses on controlling Astra Protocol 2 using a gamepad.

Whilst Astra Protocol 2 controls best via a keyboard, there are some circumstances where it might not be practical, or possible to use one.

This beta intends to get the proposed control system into users' hands so they can help us work out if it is a control system worth pursuing. If all goes well, there's the possibility that it could open the door to a Steam Deck build.

If you're still interested, read on.

Having a game designed around inputting commands meant that it was a challenge to come up with a system that supported a limited form of input like a gamepad. There is the possibility of an on-screen keyboard, but navigating that with a controller can be clunky in real time, and pausing the game each time the keyboard was required wouldn't lead to a very slick system. So we have come up with the following control system:

Holding down the Left Trigger (L2) will start the command input process (the command line will change colour to reflect this).

Pressing Upand Down will toggle through the list off available entries - this will be the command, subcommand, or parameters depending on which part of the command you are entering. Left and Right will skip to the next command that starts with a different letter.

Once the correct entry has been selected, pressing the Accept button / button 1 will enter that into the command string and bring up the next set of entries where applicable. If an incorrect entry has been selected, pressing the Back button / button 2 will remove that entry from the command.

Releasing the Left Trigger will then commit the command (e.g. it is the same as pressing return on a keyboard).

Should you need to enter a numerical or yes / no value, pressing the Right Trigger (R2) will change the input mode accordingly.

Additionally, to swap between modules quickly, the Bumpers (L1 and R1) can be used to cycle between them.

In all other circumstances, the gamepad will work as normal - e.g. in the science module, it will move the cursor and select a target as long as the left trigger is not being held down.

We are aware that this system seems unconventional, but once you get used to it (and we iron out all the issues) it can be quite usable.

If this feels like a control system you would like to try out, please jump onto the controller_beta branch. As this is still a work in progress, we'd also like to hear your thoughts and any bugs and issues you encounter. Please leave any comments on this post, in the forums, or feel free to reach out to us via email.

Ahoy Captains,

Patch 1.7 is now live!

This patch was influenced by feedback from the Astra Protocol 2 community, and includes additional player information, and more options to control the players’ experience.

This patch brings a mix of new features, improvements, and bug fixes:

• DISABLE ALL command to cut power to all systems in a pinch
  
• ALIAS command to allow for user remapping of commands
  
• Ability to save and load ALIAS mappings
  
• CONTINUE command as a variant to the UNPAUSE command
  

• Ability to select feature sets of what game content does and doesn’t appear
  
• Can remap the SECOND SCREEN and EXTERNAL LOG keys
  
• Option to save EXTERNAL LOG to disk rather than sending to a printer
  

• Bearing towards locked on object shown in SCIENCE and ORDNANCE modules
  
• Current LASER mode shown in ORDNANCE module
  
• Current FIGHTER mode shown in OPERATIONS module
  

• Fixed missing and incorrectly formatted user documentation
  
• TARGET LOCK is cleared when out of RADIO range / RADIO is disabled
  
• Can no longer highlight objects out of RADIO range / when RADIO is disabled
  
• Fixed TARGET LOCK logic to relate to object to be locked on to
  

We hope that these new improvements and hardcore mode offer some new and improved ways for people to enjoy Astra Protocol 2.

If you have any comments, feedback, or suggestions, please post them here or via the usual channels.

We hope you enjoy the changes and have fun with the work we've done on Astra Protocol 2.