Star Explorers Testing Branch Updated to Pre-Release Version 0.4.9
Well, I ended up going back to the previous version of the testing branch after all. I tried to work with a brand new saving and loading system, as well as a brand new star chart. However, as I was building these, they ended up pretty much as convoluted as the originals.
So here we are at version 0.4.9. I was able to update a few small issues that were also included in the now defunct branch I'd been working on.
[h3]Fixes and Features[/h3]
The big bug that happened with star formation was addressed, as it was in the default branch. I believe this one was responsible all these years for the "Star Missing From Database" error. I guess we'll see. Basically, there was a weird loophole that allowed stars to form without being assigned a star number (something important, but internal to the game's script) so they would not be saved correctly in the database. Starting a new game will be required if you want to avoid this issue.
Smoothed out the warp/orbit movement script. There was a horrible jitter that could happen when trying to get the spaceship to face a star or the mothership. This should go a lot smoother now.
Pulling away from planets has been improved here too. Now you no longer have to hold the back key (S by default) in order to successfully leave orbit. Pressing it once should make your ship automatically back away and upward, so you will not end up backing into another planet or get sucked into a star's gravity well.
I also found several missing texture issues that were resolved. These would not have cause crashes or errors on their own, but may have contributed to any instability players have experienced.
[h3]Next Steps[/h3]
I really want to get to the 5.0 release. I feel like the game has been filled out in almost every way that I originally intended. I plan to test this current version and fix any issues that pop up until the end of Summer. I also plan to have another major look at the screen resolution script very soon. I think that is the biggest issue the game has at this point. Expect some more updates to this in the near future.
So here we are at version 0.4.9. I was able to update a few small issues that were also included in the now defunct branch I'd been working on.
[h3]Fixes and Features[/h3]
The big bug that happened with star formation was addressed, as it was in the default branch. I believe this one was responsible all these years for the "Star Missing From Database" error. I guess we'll see. Basically, there was a weird loophole that allowed stars to form without being assigned a star number (something important, but internal to the game's script) so they would not be saved correctly in the database. Starting a new game will be required if you want to avoid this issue.
Smoothed out the warp/orbit movement script. There was a horrible jitter that could happen when trying to get the spaceship to face a star or the mothership. This should go a lot smoother now.
Pulling away from planets has been improved here too. Now you no longer have to hold the back key (S by default) in order to successfully leave orbit. Pressing it once should make your ship automatically back away and upward, so you will not end up backing into another planet or get sucked into a star's gravity well.
I also found several missing texture issues that were resolved. These would not have cause crashes or errors on their own, but may have contributed to any instability players have experienced.
[h3]Next Steps[/h3]
I really want to get to the 5.0 release. I feel like the game has been filled out in almost every way that I originally intended. I plan to test this current version and fix any issues that pop up until the end of Summer. I also plan to have another major look at the screen resolution script very soon. I think that is the biggest issue the game has at this point. Expect some more updates to this in the near future.