Celestial Command News

Hello!
Approximately a year ago, for some reason our sales of Celestial Command were reduced in several times, as a result, at this moment it is barely enough to cover our monthly expenses for food and bills.

Of course, we are very, very happy that we have a possibility of full time develop the game we love, and receive enough money for basic needs, however, we almost do not have any financial reserves.
It means that at this moment, even a small, insignificant issue may ruin an entire development of Celestial Command which was built for more than 4 years and correctly closer to finished game closer than ever before.



For example, If one of our computers will require a repair, or if fridge in the kitchen will require a repair, or if someone will need a meeting with a dentist, or any similar insignificant situation which will require a bit of additional expenses - we will be out of money, and we will not be able to develop Celestial Command anymore.

You are probably noticing that our updates are frequent, and we are adding a lot with each update by adding more and more features and moving to the goal of finished, polished and super enjoyable game. We are answering on all questions for the community, working during holidays or more than 10 hours per day, and we want to continue to do that without distractions of things like lack of money on basic needs.





We need relatively very little amount of money. Only 1500$ per month if enough for basic needs of our entire team (there are 3 people in our team). This is very little in comparison to average costs of products and salaries in the game development industry, which usually cost a lot more. 1500$ per month it is a tiny amount of money for average game-dev company, but it is very large and important for us.

It would be super disappointing if more than 4 years of development of unique space simulator will be ruined due lack of such a little amount of money.



But you have a possibility to help us with that!
At this moment we sold 25000 copies. If only 2% owners of Celestial Command (500 people) will donate just a 3$ per month (one cup of coffee and hot dog) - it will completely cover a basic needs of our team and we will be able to develop the game even if it will have zero sales.

3$ per month it is almost nothing for most owners of the game, but it will keep development safe. Even the lower amount of money will provide us a huge help, because with the combination of our regular sales it should be enough for basic need too.

If you wish to help us, you can do it on our Patreon page



It is popular service where you can provide financial help for creators of various things on per month basis. Just select how much you wish to donate and the money will be automatically transferred to us each month.
It is completely safe, secure and you may abort monthly donations any time.
Also you will receive some cute gifts.

Please read more on our Patreon page:

https://www.patreon.com/celestialcommand

Thanks you! We hope on your help!

Also there is an update version 0.8831 with some critical bug fixes and nice improvements.




Improvements

• Now you may repaint your ship faster by holding left mouse button, also color picking now simpler, just right mouse click instead of Ctrl+LeftClick. Also tips during paint mode now displayed not near a cursor (that was inconvenient)
  
• Ally NPC now much more tolerant to the friendly fire and no longer turned into enemy right after a small damage on them
  
• Speed of research module change from 0.2 to 0.25, power consumption from 300 to 50, so research at the beginning of the game now can be performed with reasonable speed.
  
• Added alternative model for command module (for supporters on Patreon)
  
• Added ability to summon pet drone (for supporters on Patreon)
  

Fixes

• Fixed an issue when a game can't be loaded due index overflow (happened if game world exist for long period of time)
  
• Fixed an issue when asteroid location had more warp gates than it should
  
• Large shipyard modules now works properly
  
• Science reward for missions no longer reset to 0 after save load
  
• Move tool can be used on NPC stations again
  
• Server list no longer appears after you saved a game
  
• Main menu blog timeline no longer appears after you exit from options window which was opened during a game
  
• Message "This faction now hostile to you" no longer spammed
  
• Fixed internal error when double click on any module
  
• Fixed a double amount of shards when asteroid mined with two mining lasers at the same time
  

Hello!
In the previous update we talked about new game design goal where we should focus on "Gather resources, refine it, construct own production base and produce more powerful stuff by yourself" aspect instead of "Complete missions, earn credits and buy new stuff on the market".

So we are continuing to work in that direction.
After we careful tested a crafting gameplay, it turned out extrimely complex, so we implemented a large number of improvements which should make production aspect is much more enjoyable.

Added new, smaller version shipyard, which is not so expensive and affordable to construct at the beginning phase of the game.



You may combine several shipyard modules to make working area larger. It will automatically define a working area and will apply nice spotlight visual effects.
Also we added new type of engineering module which works in combination with shipyard modules. Once it attached to shipyard, it will be able to perform engineering operation within working area of shipyard.
Such shipyard will act as a player base which is affordable and could be built within the first 1-2 hours of gameplay.



Also it have new animation which suits an concept of space shipyard! (see GIF animation on the top)

This should be important improvement for usability of ship construction. Earlier it was very inconvenient to build something because range of starting engineering module is very tiny and even if you will build T2 engineering module, it's range still not large enough, so it was necessary to build several T2 engineering modules, which is much harder due high resource cost. Also it seems illogical because you may think "Hey, I don't need a faster construction, I just want a larger construction area for my improvised shipyard!".

The new approach should fully solve this issue! Now you can build only one engineering module, which is cheap and affordable, and if you need bigger working area for your bigger ship, you may just extend a length of the shipyard scaffolds. Should be much easier to use now! Tell us what you think about it.

Another serious issue of the previous version was "Which parts I need to build for that module? How much ore I need mine for it? All of these recipes and production buttons seems too confusing!"
So we implemented a few things which should solve this issue.

Recipe of module now have icons and much more readable.
Also you may see which resources you already have and now it is clearly visible which parts is missing and should be built.



Another important feature, now you can right click on module icon to automatically order a construction of missing parts in production module on your ship!
Moreover, production window also have similar list of required resources and shows missing elements.
And ore refinery too!

As result, now it should be much more obvious what you need to mine in order to construct desired module, like "I want to build a shipyard, but some parts missing, but I may produce it if I will have some steel and copper and this list in ore refinery window it is an ores I need so lets mine it!"



We are very happy with this solution. We were a bit upset when turned out that craft is too complex and started to thought "Maybe it should be more casual? Just a few resources and modules right from raw ore, like before? It would be not good, we like a complex craft with many resources".
But we came up to this solution and seems like it should solve an issue! It should make crafting easier to use but still keep it deep and complex.

Also we have implemented a new selection effect, which has turned out to be very important due to implementation of larger modules such as new shipyard. It looks much nicer than before.



And also a couple of new fuel tanks!



In the next updates we are going to continue improve such base building gameplay. We will improve balance, usability, implement initial "mini tutorial" which will direct you and explain how to construct your first space base.

Also we will make NPC stations more rare, but significant (now they are everywhere) and also we plan to bring a great improvement in combat aspect soon, in order to make it fun and enjoyable, like it should be in good crafting survival game, but it will be explained in details in further posts.

Thanks!




Large Improvements

• Shipyard modules are now functional, it can be assembled to define a shipyard area, after that new special engineering modules can be attached to build ships on the shipyard
  
• Added possibility to quickly add required or missing parts for module to queue list of production module
  
• Added smaller shipyard modules
  
• Added two new fuel tanks
  
• Redesigned info window which shows you amount of required parts for module construction
  
• Now you can use "Move tool" using own shipyard
  
• Various module recipe rebalanced so player own space station \ shipyard now much more accessible at the beginning phase of the game (which is important because we are want to implement base building \ crafting gameplay)
  
• Implemented new method of visualization of selected \ hovered module, now it is displayed with outline effect, which is better than previous "frame effect", especially for large modules such as warp drive and shipyard
  
• Now you can add or remove amount of items in queue of production module by left or right click
  

Small Improvements

• Large modules such as shipyard modules now can be placed in larger radius around your ship (previously it was hard to do because radius of small engineering bay is too small for it)
  
• Updated icons of modules
  
• Radar markers no longer displayed at close range where it is not required, as result it no longer creates visual garbage
  
• Rebalanced thrust of various engines. Now starting ship much more agile, like it supposed to be for starting ship
  
• Damage from collisions a bit reduced, earlier it was too high (but further rebalance is required and will be performed later)
  
• Sandbox window now can be closed by second click on its button
  
• Message "RMB - Show content" now displayed only after you hover cursor on the same container for 1 second, as result it no longer creates visual garbage when you are hovering cursor over your ship
  
• Yellow warning icons above modules now scaled depending on zoom level and no longer creates visual and allows to select modules under it
  
• Small engineering module now have a bit more correct animation when working on large modules such as shipyard
  
• Collision audio effect now a bit more soft and pleasant to hear
  
• Added two additional hydrogen tanks for starting ship
  

Fixes

• Fixed: "Science data required" still shows when research device turned off
  
• Audio volume of NPC engines no longer so loud
  
• Some refined metals no longer can be placed in containers for raw ore
  
• Fixed issue when blue selection frame of modules didn't disappear when you selected another module with move tool
  

Hello!

Ship building and production it is the most important aspect of the game, however we realized that production is so complex, unbalanced and inconvenient to use so basically no one use it in the game.

So we decided to focus on this aspect and greatly improve it!
We added a lot of various significant improvements which should make the game much more enjoyable.

Overall, the main idea that game design based on "Complete missions, earn credits and buy new stuff on the market" is much less interesting than game design based on "Gather resources, refine it, construct own production base and produce more powerful stuff by yourself".

So from this update we are going to move the game toward the second variant of game design.
Of course, NPC, trading and missions will not be removed from the game, but importance of these aspects will be reduced in comparison to crafting and base building aspects, especially during initial phase of the game.

Simply put, initial phase of the game should be more like "co-op crafting survival game" and more late games may have some elements of "economical simulator game", but not vise versa (like in previous version of the game)

And we think it is a great plan which should make the game much more enjoyable than before.
And this have a sense, because gameplay like "do missions and buy stuff for credits" is very standard gameplay for many space games, but co-op realistic crafting and survival gameplay in space is much more rare, so this is exactly an aspect which should have a maximum attention in the gameplay.




Highly requested tool for better orbital navigation is here!
Navigation in space no longer random. Orbital navigation is much more enjoyable now!



https://youtu.be/o0uO7uPx900




Now it should be much more enjoyable. Unrealistic and inconvenient sectors of asteroids was removed, So it no longer necessary to fly around an asteroid to mine it completely. New user interface show you what exactly you mining, when it will be done and where gathered materials unloaded





Now engineering modules is capable to automatically salvage debris in range. Salvaging now is much more comfortable and enjoyable to use!






Solved a nasty issue with inventory windows which overlaps entire screen and requires to rearrange windows manually. Now inventories is much easier to manage.

And new starting ship is capable to performs construction operations right from the start of the game. Also now it have proper engines, because flying around using maneuvering engines was weird.



This is initial update which started to move the game toward the new game design. In the nearest updates we will add even more improvements related to this aspect. We have a great plan about how to make the game is much more playable and enjoyable very soon!

Also, check a full change log for more information.
Thanks!

And also, the game is 20% off during Lunar New Year Sale!




https://store.steampowered.com/app/330460/Celestial_Command/




Large Improvements

• Added a special tool which helps to direct your ship on correct trajectory in order to approach to a certain object in orbital mechanics mode!
  
• Implemented a new method of salvaging. Now salvaging of debris performed not with "cargo gate module", but with "engineering module". Robotic arm now able to extract parts from debris, manually on your command or automatically within its radius. This process also requires an energy. Cargo gate no longer functional and just a decoration element.
  
• Significant improvements in mining system. Due various new effects, usability improvements and rebalanced, now a process of mining should be much more interesting and enjoyable than before!
  
• Added salvaging module which allows to recycle broken parts and extract usable materials
  
• Added small refinery, production and fuel generator modules
  
• Starting ship redesigned, now it have engineering, production and refinery module which allows you to salvage debris, repair and construct new modules right from the start
  
• Solar panels now rotating to a star automatically (necessity to rotate it manually didn't added any interesting aspects to gameplay and was just tedious)
  
• Now when you hover cursor over a module in build menu you may see amount of modules which can be built using available parts on the ship or a list of missing parts
  
• Various changes in recipes and resource distribution in asteroids now allows you to build your space station much earlier than before (earlier it was so complex so almost impossible)
  
• Added missing icons for ores and refined ores
  
• Redesigned inventory windows. Solved an issue with inconvenient rendering of large inventory windows for ships with multiple containers
  

Small Improvements

• Added "Show trajectory for active ship" button which makes visualization of trajectory much more convenient. Trajectory now correctly displayed when you switch control between ships or if active ship received damage and lost some modules
  
• In module control panel, texts "true" and "false" replaced with localized "Yes" and "No"
  
• Added special icon to distinguish normal construction items (such as steel plates) from its damaged version
  
• Date in blog time line window in main menu displayed in 09.01.2018 format instead of 9.1.2018
  
• Reduced size of visual effect of large chemical engine, so now it looks more suitable to the size of the engine
  
• Ammo production moved to basic production module
  
• Reduced max thrust of reactive engines (1400->1000 and 3500->2000)
  
• Added description to ore refinery, production module, research module, scanning module and orbital scanner
  
• Optimized rendering of trajectories
  
• Added audio effect for production modules
  
• Scanning module will give a message if there Is no useful data in scanned object
  
• Build menu of production modules a bit redesigned
  
• Locked modules in build menu now completely invisible (instead of just locked with the lock icon)
  
• Default amount of asteroids increased from 100 to 300
  

Fixes

• Space stations no longer physically transparent
  
• Parameters of turrets now properly save loaded
  
• Production modules no longer functional until fully built
  
• Build list of production modules now properly save loaded
  
• Fire debris mode of turrets now works again
  
• Amount of energy in power storage now displayed correctly in case of low values
  
• "Show orbital parameters" button no longer displayed in aerodynamic mode
  
• Removed incorrect "Star server" description of "Display options" button
  
• Preview of module now have more accurate position relative to cursor
  
• Added localization support for scanning module and orbital scanner
  

Hello!
Here is a redesigned and improved window of saved ships, which now looks much better, have better usability and much easier to use.

Previous version



New version



Compact mode



Another interesting feature, when you save a ship, preview image will be created from the same point of view and with transparent background, as result, such images looks very nice, especially if shared somewhere with dark background, such as here, on Steam, or in Discord chat.







Also, turned out that some ships, especially a large carriers with several docked ships, especially inside enclosed space, may cause an explosion after this ship will be loaded from save file. Of course, this is a serious issue, and it it fixed in this update.
So now a ships like this could be loaded without any issues! Important fixes for future capital ships.





Improvements

• Camera: Improved "Reset pan" button. Camera no longer zoomed close to the ship (it turned out not too comfortable), and rotation now have smooth effect
  
• UI: Prices in trading window now displayed with convenient spaces
  
• Tech Tree: Small redesign of tech tree
  
• Tech Tree: All modules of the starting ship now available for construction right from the start and no longer requires research
  
• Optimization: Ships save loading now a bit faster
  
• Ship Save Loader: Redesigned window of saved ship. More convenient design and usability
  
• Ship Save Loader: Saving a ship no longer freezes a game for 1-2 seconds
  
• Ship Save Loader: Added option to reduce size of ship icons in the saved ships window
  
• Ship Save Loader: Now images of saved ships adjusted automatically and always have the same camera angle and position, also images have transparent background. Various UI elements and planets no longer visible on ship images, as result it creates very nice looking data base of ships. Source images of ships also looks very nice on websites or Discord chat which have dark background
  
• Ship Save Loader: Now it is not necessary to select a ship if you want to save it. If nothing is selected, the currently active ship will be saved
  
• Ship Save Loader: Now you can quickly spawn multiple ships using Shift+Click
  
• Ship Save Loader: Now you can save ships in non-sandbox mode (loading is not available yet, but will be added later)
  
• Ship Save Loader: Now you can rotate camera while placing a ship. Place mode will not be disabled
  
• Ship Save Loader: Added delete confirmation window, so now there is less chance that you will accidentally delete a ship file
  

Fixes

• Fixed serious bug with incorrect loading of docking ports which sometimes may cause an explosion on loading, especially for a large carriers with several docked ships
  
• Fixed serious bug with incorrect loading of links between modules which caused to incorrect link between ships which was located close to each other while save file was created, which sometimes caused an explosion on large carrier ships
  
• Asteroids now properly respawned
  
• Center of Mass and Center of Thrust icons now properly rendered
  
• State of nuclear reactor now properly save loaded
  
• Solved a situation when the game was saved while NPC ship was inside another ship, and after loading it caused an explosion
  

Another update with important fixes and improvements



Improvements

• Trading station no longer could be out of fuel \ food \ ammo, now it will replenish its stock of these basic resources when the stock will be almost empty, so you are always will have a place where you can buy fuel, food and basic ammo for your ships
  
• Turret in manual mode no longer firing when cursor located on UI element
  
• Large numeric values, such as prices, now displayed in more readable format, for example 12 483 750 CR instead of 12483750 CR
  
• Increased time for mission to 20-30 minutes (earlier it was too hard to complete mission in time)
  
• Tutorial: Changed required condition at "Solar panels" stage, now it needed just to direct solar panel to the star and start generate energy. It solves in issue if consumption higher than production and completion of this stage could be not possible
  
• Tutorial: Added information about possibility to change speed of time
  

Fixes

• Fixed an impossibility to drag and drop modules near shipyard
  
• Repair on shipyard now works again. Now it restores not only HP of module, but also a broken \ missing parts inside this module. Also, selection of module no longer changed when you are repairing something by mouse click
  
• Now if you will manually disable a radar, detection range of command module will be reduced accordingly
  
• Current amount of goods on the station now correctly displayed after you bought \ sold something
  
• Fixed incorrect behavior of engines of your starting ship during first second after it was spawned
  
• Turrets and NPC ships no longer trying to attack and damage a space stations which are invulnerable
  
• HP of asteroids now properly save \ loaded (early it always had 45 000 HP after loading)