Destination Sol News

The 2.1.0 release is here!

There isn't a great deal of new content in this release but a lot of work has been done behind the scenes to make the game much more stable and easier to develop.

As with the last release, we're including four extra modules with the base game: federal, syndicate, salvage and warp.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this release! The game's open source and if you want anything in the game, you can help to make it happen.

[h2] Release Highlights [/h2]

• New World Generation
  
• New UI Framework (good for players with irregular screen resolutions)
  
• New Tutorial
  
• Working maze collisions
  
• Many fixed bugs and fewer crashes
  

With the new world generation, you may have to start a new game. Older worlds are not likely to remain the same.

Here's a brief look at the updated UI:


[h2] Changelog [/h2]
[h3] Additions [/h3]

• Replaced UIs using a new UI framework (NUI)
  
• Replaced the old tutorial and added new sections
  
• Added a UI scaling option to the main menu settings
  
• Added a preview of a ship's appearance on the new ship screen
  
• The Page-Up and Page-Down keys can be used to change the map zoom
  

[h3] Changes [/h3]

• Updated libGDX to 1.9.14 (this should resolve some issues experienced by macOS players)
  
• The escape key no longer closes the game from the main menu
  
• Projectiles no longer collide with their originating ship
  

[h3] Fixes [/h3]

• Fixed maze collisions
  
• Fixed objects being incorrectly culled on the map screen
  
• Fixed waypoint placement on a rotated map
  
• Fixed crash when opening inventory whilst transcendent
  
• Fixed crash when respawning whilst transcendent
  
• Fixed crash when the game is minimised
  
• Fixed ability charges not being consumed
  
• Fixed free IK-2 Escort mercenaries from the federal module
  

Full changelog here

We're finally back with another release after three long years!

The biggest thing to have happened in that time is the integration of the Gestalt framework. This means that:

• Modding is now much, much easier. Check out how to create your own module with a few simple steps!
• Modules can more easily be added to the game. Simply drag the folder into the modules directory!
• More ships! More guns! More [insert other item type here]s! All in various modules we've got under the Destination Sol organization on GitHub. Note that some of these modules may be unstable or imbalanced
• No in-game interface to select modules yet, sorry! We hope to add this in a future version

There have been many other small changes over this time and as such it's just impossible to list them all. Here are the highlights:

• Significant code cleanups and enhancements
• Many, many bug fixes (and probably just as many bug introductions!)
• Brand new logo and animated menu background
• Some UI tweaks, including a remade new ship screen in which you can select how many systems will be generated (up to 9!)
• Some balance adjustments, including reducing the time between shots on the blaster
• Continuing a game will now generate the very same world each time
• In game console for cheating (use wisely)! Open it by pressing the tilde key and type `help` to see a list of commands
• A splashscreen will now appear while the game is starting
• Waypoints! Select anywhere on the map to mark for later.
• You can now pan the map with your mouse
• Faction enhancements. Increase your reputation among factions by buying things from them, or shoot at them to make them dislike you!

For full contents, see https://github.com/MovingBlocks/DestinationSol/milestone/4

Included in this release are four featured modules:

• federal
• syndicate
• salvage
• warp - a great example of the current possibilities of modules. Aside from its awesome ships, it introduces a new and interesting gameplay mechanic: research.

If you are coder, modder, artist, or are merely trying to become one of those things, and you want to help us in developing this game then we will happily welcome you! Check out our instructions for setting the game up for development to get you started; make sure also to say hello in our Discord server. Speaking of which...

Feel free to join us on our Discord! (room #destination-sol)
Oh and if you spot any issues with this release then feel free to report them to us there, or on our GitHub.

While this release is long overdue, do keep your eyes peeled for more updates in the future. We currently have a dedicated Google Summer of Code student working on transitioning our code-base into a much more manageable state. We're not quite there yet, but with our frameworks in place the path to supporting multiplayer is now open. It will take effort (and new contributors!) but with your help we'll get there!

Check it out! Switch to the open beta branch and give the game a whirl! Beware that there are likely to be bugs, crashes and all sorts.
Please note that you will not be able to continue an old game after upgrading.

Report any issues here

The biggest thing to have happened is the integration of the Gestalt framework. What this means:
- Modding is now much, much easier. Check out this wiki page with instructions on how to create ships and other items
- Modules can more easily be added to the game. Simply drag the folder into the modules directory!
- More ships! More guns! More [insert other item type here]s! All in various modules we've got under the Destination Sol organisation on GitHub. Note that some modules may be unstable

There have been many other small changes and as such it's just impossible to list them all.
Here are the highlights:
- Significant code cleanups and enhancements
- Many, many bug fixes (and probably just as many bug introductions!)
- Brand new logo and animated menu background
- Some UI tweaks, including a remade new ship screen in which you can select how many systems will be generated (up to 9!)
- Some balance adjustments, including reducing the time between shots on the blaster
- Continuing a game will now generate the very same world each time
- In game console for cheating (use wisely)! Open it by pressing the tilde \` key and type `help` to see a list of commands
- A splashscreen will now appear while the game is starting
- Waypoints! Select anywhere on the map to mark for later.
- You can now pan the map with your mouse
- Faction enhancements. Increase your reputation among factions by buying things from them, or shoot at them to make them dislike you!

For full contents, see https://github.com/MovingBlocks/DestinationSol/milestone/4

Notes for developers:
- Help us out! If you have some spare time and some technical know-how, we welcome new contributors to our project. Check out how to get setup
- Due to the nature of this beta release, there will inevitably be bugs that need to be fixed. Please come help us fix them :)
- Unit tests have been introduced recently but they are sorely lacking. Please help us write some if you know what they are or are willing to learn!

Featured modules:
- federal
- syndicate
- salvage

One module of paticular interest is warp which is a great example of what can be done with some custom code in a module. Aside from its awesome ships, it introduces a new and interesting gameplay mechanic (research).

Download the pre-release from GitHub to try them out.

Join us on Discord! discord.gg/terasology

For those not following on GitHub it is hard to stay up with development activity, one could even think the project has stalled, but that's far from reality :-)

During summer of 2017 we had one Google Summer of Code student assigned to Destination Sol, which got part of our Gestalt game library applied to DS, allowing modules to work properly (real modding, woo!) - there are even several actual modules adding new factions and ships working, adding more content to the game.

For 2018 we had a promising GSOC proposal to finish implementing Gestalt for game logic, content, and eventually multiplayer, but didn't end up with enough slots from Google to fit it. Instead we're considering a similarly structured community project, which might also get into better staying on top of our social networks, web presence, Steam, and so on.

Read more in our dev forum - there'll be a meeting this coming weekend to discuss further

https://forum.terasology.org/threads/summer-of-code-destination-sol-community-project.2165/

We are also on Discord among other places. Invite: https://discord.gg/4uKbB8J

Patch release with some recent fixes related to v1.4.0 and in general :-)

• Mercenaries now start with an appropriate weapon so they'll be helpful without an awkward weapon item throwing phase. Huzzah!
  
• Crash from trying to load a ship with too many items in the save (should be OK to load broken old saves with)
  
• Allow volume control for both sfx and the new music separately
  
• Optimization for how the new music is loaded
  
• Minor extras like docs and project logistics
  

Special thanks to JGelfand on GitHub for most the work! :-)

In other news: During Terasology's participation in Google Summer of Code (we got sponsored by Google to mentor three students working with us over the summer) one of the students also took a look at integrating our primary code library from Terasology into DS.

First round should allow for easier asset usage (think defining ships) as well as adding new content in modules (mods really) like with Terasology - so easier modding, potentially with Workshop hooked up later!

That will be the primary feature in v2.0.0 (not a sequel, just a new version), and the initial setup works on PC, but not Android yet. We need to finish that up then come up with a clean approach to hooking in the modding that won't later clash with a Workshop setup.

Exciting potential, but no ETA so far. As usual that depends entirely on our volunteers, so if you know anybody eager to help code a game in Java in a welcoming and helpful community please let us know! :-)