Star Explorers News

[h3]New Stuff[/h3]

• Inventory now has an outline that highlights the selected item.
  

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• A rare bug that created defective blueprints has been addressed
  
• Crafting weapons will no longer generate extra ammo - to balance the crafting mechanic
  
• Crafting spacial items should also only generate one item now
  
• Player took damage after leaving alien city - this should no longer happen
  

A bug that allowed mining stations to appear on incorrect planets has been identified and squished.

This is the first time I've tried to share something like this so I hope I'm doing it right...

https://www.twitch.tv/bob_and_sparkles

[h3]Mining Stations[/h3]

• Planets where the player has found Acknexium crystals will now be updated with a small mining station.
  
• This station will have a small complement of human miners.
  
• Humans are interactive, and can trade or offer quests, just like friendly aliens.
  

A small mining station is visible in the distance on this volcanic world.


Acknexium production is at 80% sir!


[h3]About the Testing Branch[/h3]

• The testing branch is where I am preparing the next big update for Star Explorers
  
• Version 5.0 should be ready this Fall
  
• There are already a ton of new features and improvements, but I want to make sure everything is working really smoothly before updating the main branch of the game
  
• The game will require a restart if you are moving from the default to the testing branch
  
• Future changes could also require another restart, that's why I want to avoid updating the main branch before everything is thoroughly tested
  
• If you're interested in the testing branch, you can get the password on discord: https://discord.gg/vTxpb8Z
  
• You will also be able to have interesting discussions with other players, and me, the developer
  
• You may even see some behind the scenes development stuff, like this crazy scenario that occurred while trying to get the mining stations to work...
  
  
  
• Or these guys...
  

With the amount of updates and changes to this game, I thought it might be nice to write down some of my thought process behind making it.

This first log entry gives some of the background behind why I started working on Star Explorers, and what other games, films, books and ideas inspired it. I hope you enjoy reading this, and that, perhaps, it will prompt some more discussions...

[h3]About Star Explorers[/h3]
5/7/2021
I wanted to start writing about Star Explorers, for the players, for the potential players, and for myself, as a way to document my thinking behind the game. This is not where I will be posting updates or announcing changes to the game, you can see all that on the Steam Page, but I want this to be about the deeper stuff. This first post is dedicated to those shows, books, games and ideas that really formed the primary influences of Star Explorers.

The whole idea for Star Explorers came up some time in 2013, around October if memory serves, and it was a result of playing a bunch of Minecraft and watching a ton of Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes on Netflix. I remember specifically the image of the Enterprise orbiting a new world, and wondering if I could make different worlds, like Minecraft does, but in a way where a player could visit many of them in the same game.



It's that image of the Enterprise's view screen, with a planet slowly circling on the left, and space extending off to the right, that I really wanted to capture. There is something magical about the idea of treading on new ground. The mystery of what may or may not exist on the surface of a new world. The expectancy and anticipation of it all, just like the crew of the Enterprise must have felt (theoretically) whenever they approached a new, unexplored planet, and could see it from the relative safety of their ship before attempting to transport down ... that's what originally motivated me to make this game.

Continue Reading...