NebuLeet News

Added extra on-pause UI:



This new interface allows several handy features:

• Jump to a vessel by clicking its button (0-9 hotkeys work as well)
  
• See vessel status - OK, Escaped, KIA, Arriving, HP level
  
• ETA time for the arriving vessels is displayed
  
• Browse a short vessel info (hover to get a tooltip)
  
• Can switch the team focused by pressing left/right arrow buttons (located at the top)
  
• Quickly check the ally/enemy status of the team by comparing their flags
  

Improved post-mission grade calculation. It now takes non-monetary goods into account (e.g. resources and score points).

New weapons:

• Avalancher missile launcher - long-range guided missile that deals damage proportional to the distance it travels
  
• Howitzer - an improved, much more accurate version of the Flak weapon
  
• Vorpal Slinger - somewhat similar to Chaos Gun, but its blade-shaped projectiles form a perfect circle and spin around the location for longer
  

There was also a Hydra missile launcher weapon that almost made it into the demo, but I still need to improve the way bots use it. More information will be available when it's released.

Other new equipment parts:

• Subquasion Engine
  
• Micropulse Engine
  
• Mini Spacepaddle Wing
  
• Crusader Body
  

New pilot trait: Ambitious. +1 INT when set as leader, -1 ATK otherwise. Also decreases the mission fee by about 10% (regardless of the leader slot status).

Added 3 new, higher-level bosses (the list of bosses hits 9 - each with its unique design and behavior). They are significantly more challenging than previously existing ones. For instance, they use an experimental feature: destroying enemy missiles with a Zapper weapon. This tactic will be more achievable for players when the Tracker bridge is made available (it's in the game, but can't be obtained in the campaign yet).

Here is a video demonstration of one of these new bosses:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUgz7qsIDzA

The Repair Bay flagship module is replaced by a new module - Blast Lab. This module increases the damage dealt by missile-based weapons (Firefly, Hound, Avalancher, Torpedo Launcher). It allows for a basic damage-armor tradeoff when configuring your hangars. More options will come later.

Balance changes:

• Improved Photon and Plasma bolters "effective DPS" calculation, the price is lowered by ~30%
  

The main change of this patch are persistent bosses. They will exist on the map until you defeat them.
Unlike other enemies, they don't have a randomized behavior - they have a special program written for every one of them, just for their vessel. For now, there are 6 types of bosses (more to come!)

I tried to make them challenging and interesting to fight. Just don't hesitate to press the "restart" button and retreat from combat if you've tried to attack them too early - they're very tough.

This update includes a few changes suggested by the players. I am going to try including at least a couple of these every now and then.

Programming changes:

• Increased "radar count" command max range from 400 to 500
  
• Sysvar command gets a new mode - "arena radius" to query the arena size
  

Other changes:

• Added warlord squads - travelling boss markers
  
• Reworked post-combat equipment damage calculation (it's more forgiving now)
  
• 0% condition equipment now has reduced stats
  
• Made chaos gun and ice dagger lighter
  
• Increased missile projectiles' hitbox area
  
• Added "repair all" button to the vessel design screen
  
• Player movement on the map is now smoother and avoids the star (most of the times)
  
• Added combat rating text (should give new players a hint about the restart feature)
  
• Added weapon sub categories (e.g. Kinetic Weapon, Thermal Weapon, ...)
  
• Added a way to restart a combat before its finished (hit Esc and press "restart")
  
• All in-test links now have square brackets
  
• Hovering over the pilot's mission fee label gives a helpful tooltip
  
• Added shopping "have unbought items" window, no accidental unequips should happen from now on
  
• Added pseudo traits to androids - programmable and uncommandable; hover on them to learn move
  
• Added mission goals to the combat (hit "?" in the bottom-left panel)
  
• Added weapon facing icon (a small yellow triangle near the item slot, in the inventory)
  

Flagship changes:

• Flagship tiles are now brighter (hopefully, it's easier to distinguish between the tiles now)
  
• Can move flagship modules even if they're in the process of being moved
  

Bug fixes:

• Velocity Direction's mode for operator now works properly
  
• Sandbox arena combat now includes the pause/fast forward buttons
  
• Fixed a bug when "the last chance" event would trigger after leaving the planet (should be post-combat only)
  
• The 4th vessel button in the vessel designed was half-clickable (invisibly obstructed), now it's fully operational
  

I am going to go LIVE in about one hour, give or take :D

The stream agenda is quite simple:

• Make a somewhat efficient space vessel design
  
• Program it to become competitive
  
• Then create a manually-controlled vessel and try to beat it
  

The programming part of the game is one of the least covered parts right now. I am going to address this issues today!

The stream will (hopefully) be accessible from the game's Steam page. I will probably upload it to YT later as well.

[p]The game has a Creative Mode now, so it's time for us to have a vessel design contest![/p][p]Create your vessel designs in the game, then share them as screenshots:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/3024370/discussions/0/591773574503651985/[/p][p][/p][p]☑ If you need more than 1 instance of a certain part, right-click and "clone" it[/p][p]☑ You can rotate/mirror/paint the vessel parts![/p][p]☑ You can post more than one screenshot[/p][p]☑ The vessel doesn't have to be fully functional and/or pragmatic

1. Run the game[/p][p]2. Play->Creative mode->Vessel Editor[/p][p]3. Design a vessel of your liking[/p][p]4. Press F12 to take a screenshot of your vessel[/p][p]5. Make that screenshot public (press "share on Steam")[/p][p]6. Obtain a link to that screenshot (copy a URL)[/p][p]7. Post that URL here; an optional comment for your vessel design is welcome[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]This update brings several big features.[/p][p]A new sandbox (creative) mode allows a freeform vessel creation and matchmaking.
It lacks some features and QoL stuff, but it's a start. It is also a good place to experiment
with your programming.[/p][p]The second big change is software unlock system. Instead of dealing with a randomized tech tree,
you now have a learn-by-example system.[/p][p][/p][h3]Sandbox Mode[/h3][p][/p][p]The sandbox mode consists of two parts: the vessel editor and arena.[/p][p]In the vessel editor screen you create vessel designs, equip and program them, and optionally attach some metadata like a description text.[/p][p]Then you can use these designs in the arena section. It supports up to 4 fleets with up to 8 vessels. Every fleet can have one of the four team flags set (so it's possible to do all combinations like 1-vs-3, 1-vs-1, 2-vs-2, everyone-vs-everyone, etc.)[/p][p]I am planning to extend both of these sections later. The arena would allow more combat options, and the vessel editor will be more convenient to use. It's also planned to add a pilot editor and maybe a fleet template editor (so you can save a fleet as a template for quicker access).[/p][p]When you launch the game, the content in the sandbox mode will be somewhat limited. Only the basic equipment with a low-tech level will be available there. The programming commands are also limited to the basic set. To unlock more, you would need to play the campaign mode. Whenever you unlock an item or a programming command in the main mode, it will also be unlocked for the creative mode.[/p][h3]Programming Progression Redesign[/h3][p]As before, you start with a very basic command set.[/p][p]The software research tab is still there, on your NebuLeet management screen, but it works differently. In order to unlock a new programming commands bundle, you need two things:[/p]

1. [p]A spare research point (awarded every 100 days)[/p]
2. [p]A source material to research that bundle[/p]

[p]The source material is any equipment part you might have in your inventory with a matching bundle preinstalled. You can see which bundles any equipment part has by using the "inspect" context option. For example, this item has 3 bundles installed, with one of which being the Angle Processing Kit:[/p][p][/p][p]If you open its software (by pressing the "edit software" context button), you will see that it does indeed use these commands. The default program serves as an in-game example, demonstrating the usage of these new commands. If you like them, consider unlocking them via the software research screen.[/p][p]When you unlock a bundle, it's permanent. I do plan to add a rogue-like mode in the future to force a difficult start for veteran players, but for now, it's a well-deserved metaprogression.[/p][p]The game has many programs with various bundle combinations. Some of them are silly, some of them are relatively good, but none of them is too great. You are supposed to learn from a simple example and then improve on that, iteration after iteration.[/p][p]I also changed a couple of other programming-related stuff, see the list below.[/p][h3]Other Changes[/h3][p]Balance:[/p]

• [p]Slightly increased the HP scaling of wings and body parts[/p]
• [p]Lightweight affinity now gives +2 DEF instead of +1[/p]
• [p]Engine prices are recalculated, rotation is now more expensive[/p]
• [p]Drone launchers are now more expensive[/p]

[p]Programming:[/p]

• [p]Added an "android-only" mode; programming hardcode is here![/p]
• [p]Removed rally-point logic from most of the bridge program templates[/p]
• [p]Androids can now learn traits, their pool is limited, and they get much less trait points overall[/p]
• [p]All androids are passively "uncontrollable" by default, they can learn "controllable" (*)[/p]

[p]Space map/astroscape:[/p]

• [p]Added a planet list bar; can be used to quickly find planet locations[/p]
• [p]Added production points display[/p]

[p]Base building/flagship:[/p]

• [p]Can now rotate a module that is being moved/constructed[/p]
• [p]Halved most of the module relocation times[/p]

[p]Onboarding/tutorial:[/p]

• [p]Added a "comeback" mechanism that kicks in when you're in a big trouble[/p]
• [p]Removed a mandatory retreat event (it was clunky and confusing)[/p]
• [p]Added a trade-related event[/p]
• [p]Added a space scouting-related event[/p]
• [p]Improved the tutorial sequence pacing[/p]
• [p]Better locked slots/hangar hints[/p]

[p]Content:[/p]

• [p]A new engine design - sideburn[/p]
• [p]A new unique weapon - a photon bolter turret deployer[/p]
• [p]A new command set - color-based programming (useful with turrets)[/p]
• [p]Added cult carrier vessels to the campaign[/p]

[p]Other:[/p]

• [p]Extended some events descriptions; it's mostly a flavor text[/p]
• [p]Extensive tooltips for vessels (shows their stats)[/p]
• [p]Improved resource market tooltips (less text now)[/p]
• [p]Vessel slot gets a red outline if it has errors[/p]

[p]Bug fixes:[/p]

• [p]Fixed "radar" command set for drones[/p]

[p](*) An uncontrollable unit can't be commanded during the pause. You can't set a rally point by right-clicking, neither can you change its target by right-clicking the enemy. By learning a "remote control" trait at level 10, an android can be commanded like before. It will still require you to code the logic on your own though as now it's not a default program for most of the nav bridges.[/p]