Star Explorers News

[h3]Update - 5.5.25[/h3][h3] [/h3][h3]Tractor Beam[/h3][p]I was able to fix the problem where the tractor beam would show the wrong object name if you clicked on more than one at a time. Also, to hopefully make the process of collecting ore a bit more streamlined, you can now right click on space ore while in combat mode.
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Treasure Caches[/h3][p]When updating the whole inventory system, I forgot to include the variable that activates treasure caches on planets. So for the previous builds, no treasure caches will have appeared. Now the game will once again produce treasure caches on some planets. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]There is one setback from this update. Planets which have been visited before will have to be re-generated. It should happen automatically when you land on them. Once they are newly regenerated they should then behave and reload as normal.[/p][h3][/h3]

[h3]Update - 5.5.24[/h3][h3] [/h3][h3]Sonic Cannon[/h3][p]The sonic cannon should be working (again). I think I have this issue resolved now. I've been learning a lot about how to code more correctly with all the more recent games I've been making, and it's helping me spot some of the older, obvious mistakes in the Star Explorers code base. I am hoping this will help me eventually make Star Explorers more stable[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Sector Cube Issue[/h3][p]A weird bug was making the target sector cubes in the final mission show up as solid blocks, instead of vector outlines. I believe this is resolved. It was not any kind of game breaking bug, but it should be more consistent now. [/p][p][/p][h3][/h3]

[h3]Update - 5.5.23[/h3][p]I forgot to include a file in the 5.5.22 upload so it was not running. Somehow it worked on my computer, but I have figured it out and now I have a better way to test my games after major changes like this. Sorry for any inconvenience! [/p][h3]
Tractor Beam[/h3][p]Space mining just got a little more interesting. The basic functionality is the same, but now you can interact with space debris and use a kind of tractor beam to pull it into your ship's storage container. [/p][p][/p][h3]Music Unfreeze[/h3][p]I also made it so the game music no longer freezes when the game is paused. [/p][p][/p][h3][/h3]

[h3]Dropping Items[/h3][p]You can now set the amount of the items you are dropping. It's just to be consistent with the other item moving mechanics. Maybe you will find it useful.
[/p][p][/p][h3]Menu Sounds[/h3][p]The inventory menus and scanning functions now make nifty, computerized sound effects. [/p][p][/p][h3]Alien Battles[/h3][p]Also, I thought I would just re-share this little movie of a battle between aliens, because it's awesome! It's not a new feature or anything, it's been around for a while, but it was not really working properly.
[/p][p][/p][p]I managed to fix the shooting function for bipedal aliens, allowing these battles to take place in a more consistent manner. Sometimes you would land on a planet, and they would not react the right way, either not shooting or even not moving sometimes. Now they should behave correctly. They will also shoot at you if they are hostile :) [/p]

[p]I have resumed work on the latest version of Star Explorers. Thanks to the success of Cyclopean: The Great Abyss, I have been able to set aside the next two weeks to focus on Star Explorers.[/p][p]I have abandoned the Pre-release version 6.0 that I was working on because it acquired too many bugs to deal with. [/p][p]Now I have taken up the default version and have been re-applying the changes in a more slow and methodical manner. I scrapped the new database and mapping system for now. It proved too complex and was somehow not able to remain compatible with the main code base ... all my fault. [/p][p][/p][h3]New Features[/h3][p]So I have been able to update a lot of the things planned for the 6.0 release into this version. There are three main ones, and a few minor fixes.[/p][p][/p][h3]Fruits[/h3][p]I have alien fruits working in this version. I still have to tweak them a bit, but the basic functionality is there. You can watch them jump around and display their unusual behavior, or capture them and see what they taste like. [/p][p][/p][h3]
New Inventory[/h3][p]The new inventory system is also implemented. This was a major overhaul of the whole way inventory works, but it is much more efficient now. It also has new, nifty graphics to enjoy.[/p][p][/p][p]
I have also incorporated these graphics into the quests system, to keep it looking consistent.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Smoke Beasts[/h3][p]I've also incorporated these new kinds of random creatures I call smoke beasts. In the current default game, they are all just white smoke, but now they come in different colors and a number if unusual patterns.

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Other Fixes[/h3][p]As mentioned before, in the process of updating, I have found a lot of little bugs to fix along the way. Missing files, weird crashes that happened under very specific conditions, and things like the costs of items appearing inconsistently, have all been addressed. [/p][p]I will continue to add new stuff that has been in the works, and fix bugs along the way. In about two weeks I plan to set this as the "real" Version 6.0, and make it the default. [/p][p][/p]