Belt Colony News

Belt Colony has got an update!

[h3]Abandoned mine:[/h3]
We have added an abandoned mine in one of the asteroids. Not all mining operations last. Sometimes an ore body is fully mined out, and it is necessary to abandon the mine. The usefulness of such a mine is questionable, perhaps it can be used to build out a colony, store stuff, or such. A goal with this game is to be a relatively realistic representation of what it would be like to be a miner in the Asteroid Belt in the future. We therefore added an abandoned mine to the game.



[h3]Starry Starry Skies:[/h3]
The star map has been improved and is now a realtistic representation of what the stars look like in the Asteroid Belt. Do you have a favourite constellation? Look up, you should be able to find it..



[h3]Storage bay:[/h3]
The base can now be upgraded to have a storage bay. Mined and refined ore can be quite consuming of storage space. With this upgrade there will be plenty of space to store stuff.



[h3]Spaceship indicator:[/h3]
We noticed in the stats that many players did not purchase a starship until later in the gameplay. We put a symbol next to the starship upgrade in the management UI as a hint that this is an important upgrade.



[h3]Music:[/h3]
We have added more music tracks. We plan to add more music in future updates too.

[h3]Fixes and improvements:[/h3]
We found and fixed issues. The list is as follows:

• The startup screen has been improved
  
• We switched to webm for important video clips
  
• Fixed game over resetting
  

[h3]Early Access:[/h3]
The purpose of Early Access on Steam is to enable game developers, like us, to sell the game while it is being developed and to gather input/feedback from users. We would appreciate it, and it would help us, if users perhaps could give us input/feedback in the Community Hub on Steam... The feedback could be anything you like. Perhaps things you would like to see added, see less of, etc.. Perhaps also respond to other peoples posts to voice opinions, support them, etc.

Stay tuned. More improvements are coming. We hope to see you in the Asteroid Belt!

Belt Colony has got an update!

[h3]Hibernation structure:[/h3]
We have added a hibernation structure. This consists of a large underground circular tunnel that can be traversed in the hibernation pod. When accelerated to high speed, the pod travels around the structure, and the astronaut inside will be subjected to a 1 G artificial gravity due to the centripetal force. Being in a 1 G artificial gravity during the sleeping cycle helps the human body to recuperate, after being in zero gravity during day-time.



[h3]Reactor:[/h3]
The reactor consumes refined deuterium and produces electricity. The reactor is a nice supplement to the solar panels in periods when there is a high demand for electrical power.



[h3]Music:[/h3]
When we launched the game, we only had a single music track, which became a bit too repetitive. We now have 7 tracks that play in a loop. The tracks offer 18 minutes and 50 seconds of unique music. We plan to add more music.

[h3]Fixes and improvements:[/h3]
We found and fixed issues. The list is as follows:

• Greenhouse made too much credits, which is reduced now
  
• Fixed bug in key bindings
  
• Fixed typos in conversations
  
• Fixed bug with random food and water consumption rate
  
• Fixed small gap upstairs in base
  
• Ship upgrade includes the landing pad now
  
• Station Upgrade 1 is now the second floor
  
• Reduced price of ship from 15K to 10K
  

[h3]Early Access:[/h3]
The purpose of Early Access on Steam is to enable game developers, like us, to sell the game while it is being developed and to gather input/feedback from users. We would appreciate it, and it would help us, if users perhaps could give us input/feedback in the Community Hub on Steam... The feedback could be anything you like. Perhaps things you would like to see added, see less of, etc.. Perhaps also respond to other peoples posts to voice opinions, support them, etc.

Stay tuned. More improvements are coming. We hope to see you in the Asteroid Belt!

Belt Colony has got an update!

[h3]Fixes and improvements:[/h3]
Following the initial Early Access release on Steam, we found and fixed quite a few issues. We have also made quite a few necessary improvements. The list is as follows:

• Added 38 achievements.
  
• Added link to Troubleshooting on the start menu.
  
• Fixed key bindings that got deleted when restarting.
  
• Fixed bug that let users enter the space ship without buying it.
  
• Made it easier to mine small rocks.
  
• Fixed key bindings not working indoor.
  
• Slower crouch animation.
  
• Added help view (press H).
  
• Improved loading screen.
  
• Improved asteroid LOD performance.
  
• Fixed Nekrit too close jump-point to Canatuan.
  
• Added sound effects: footsteps, suit, drilling, digging, etc.
  
• Detect keyboard layouts (e.g. German qwertz).
  
• Fixed Setlik 1 achievement.
  
• Added controller support.
  
• Right mouse button is Use.
  
• Always show extractor rig symbols in compass.
  
• Added controller help.
  
• Support US Dovark keyboard auto key mapping.
  
• Fixed help view bug.
  

[h3]Early Access:[/h3]
The purpose of Early Access on Steam is to enable game developers, like us, to sell the game while it is being developed and to gather input/feedback from users. We would appreciate it, and it would help us, if users perhaps could give us input/feedback in the Community Hub on Steam... The feedback could be anything you like. Perhaps things you would like to see added, see less of, etc.. Perhaps also respond to other peoples posts to voice opinions, support them, etc.

Our intent/purpose/goal with these games is simple.. We want to make Belt Colony and Utopia Colony a fun, interesting, and entertaining series of space mining and outpost building sim games. We need help to makes this a reality, and we appreciate anything you can do.

While working on Utopia Colony we learned that players have a lot of good input. There is some kind of "collective vision" that is emergent in all the input we have received. We realized that this vision is what we should be working toward. So, we hope for the same to happen with Belt Colony..

[h3]Co-developing strategy:[/h3]
Belt Colony and Utopia Colony are being co-developed, since both games share the same back-stories, and are both space mining and outpost building sim games. We would also appreciate high-level views, feature requests, and opinions regarding both games, in the Community Hub. Co-developing the games is a new strategy or way of thinking, that we are excited about.. We think it may help us to develop, and understand, the games from a broader perspective than if we simply develop them one-by-one. We will of course make Belt Colony and Utopia Colony be two different games.. It is only certain game play and content that will be similar... The easiest way to describe it is perhaps to think of Belt Colony and Utopia as a game-series, or perhaps think of Belt Colony as being a sequel to Utopia Colony..

We have not yet decided on when or if we will start more games in this series. If we get a lot of interest for it and co-development progress is good, then we could consider it sooner than later, but the current plan is to do several updates for Belt Colony and Utopia Colony before starting any more new games.

Stay tuned. More improvements are coming. We hope to see you in the Asteroid Belt and on Mars!