Star Explorers News

I realize I am biased, but I must say this once in a while to remind myself of why I started working on Star Explorers ... I love this game.

I love approaching a new star system, orbiting a planet, and wondering what sorts of strange creatures or environments lay beneath on its shrouded surface. I still get a thrill when I upgrade my space suit and am able to safely land on a new world that has remained off limits until that point.



I also love working on it. I really enjoy adding new features, and want to spend more time coming up with different varieties of vegetation, landscapes, items and other features.

I am also terrified of this game. Bugs have been a problem since it was released in Early Access back in 2016, but it does seem to be running much more stably now than ever before, especially since the 4.0 update.

If I had any idea of how much effort and anguish would go into making Star Explorers, I probably would never have started it. But that's what we do when we are young and ignorant ... we rush in, headlong and just do the thing, right?

Labor of Love
So, I want to ask everyone here, and there seem to be more of you now than ever before, if you think this project has been worthwhile, and you want to see more, please consider nominating Star Explorers for a Steam Award. They are recommending the "Labor of Love" category, since the game came out quite a few years ago.



I may put it on the back-burner from time to time, having to work on other projects, even making other games like my latest one, Paradox Vector, but I will always come back to Star Explorers. After seven years, I am still working on it, and there are still tons of ideas I have, and that others have suggested, that I want to add to the game.

So thank you for playing, for providing valuable feedback, and for sharing this game with others. It means a lot.

In celebration of the official 4.0 release of Star Explorers, I am offering everyone a towel (in game) free of charge! Use it as needed.

Important Notice!

Receiving your free towel in no way obligates you to write a positive review of this game! I will not remove the free towel from the game, even if the number of positive reviews remains stagnant for another three months. It would be absurd to think I would even suggest such a thing.


As it turns out, I will probably not be able to do much with Star Explorers in the near future, so did not want to delay the 4.0 release indefinitely. This is pretty much the same as the 3.8 release, but I have added one new, special fun feature. You guessed it, it's a towel. If you start a fresh game, you will receive a free towel in your starting inventory. This should motivate any stragglers to start a new game already, and experience the joys of Star Explorers 4.0

Use the towel ... if you dare!

As Douglas Adams mentions in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a towel ... “is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.”

I will leave it at that. Enjoy the game. Don't forget to report any bugs here, as usual, but also let me know what you think ... it feels like things are improving slowly, and this is a much more robust game than it was when it first came out. If you are enjoying it, please tell your friends and colleagues about it. Maybe write a review, if you haven't already. Just an idea. Enjoy your towel.

Normally I would have waited until the 4.0 release to update the default version of Star Explorers. However, since a major bug was discovered, I felt it would be best to remove that as soon as possible. The latest version 3.8 is more stable than the previous 3.0 release.

IMPORTANT: If you have been playing the 3.0 release and want to continue, you can go to "Star Explorers > Properties > Betas" and select "Version3" from the drop down to reinstall that version of the game. Otherwise you should start a fresh game in version 3.8.

If you have not been following the announcements, here's a quick run down of the main changes:

Fixes

• Engine Updated to A8 - This fixes a number of issues that some players experienced
  
• New Shader Effect - Posterize
  
• Custom Save Folder - check for instructions in the "Custom Path" folder
  
• Fixed crash in the Star Chart
  
• Switching or Reloading a weapon now prevents it from being fired
  
• The speed of the mouse is now factored into camera movement
  
• Item generation is now optimized to generate a wider variety of items
  
• Alien generation is also optimized similarly
  
• UFO damage will be more noticeable
  
• UFOs should now have a glowing effect, and should be more visible
  
• Camera tilt has been increased to 90 degrees (used to be 60 degrees)
  
• Fixed issues that occurred when returning to Main Menu after starting a game
  
• Bug with planet storage caches caused items to be mixed up
  

New Features

• PDA treasure maps are now available in the game
  
• Mapping tool now shows coordinates on planets
  
• More and larger Nebulae are spawned in the galaxy
  
• "Take All" button added to cache panels
  
• Improved planet atmosphere graphics
  

As always, Star Explorers is an ongoing project. Feel free to reach out if you encounter problems or have any questions!

The 3.8 Update includes a number of new things for you to enjoy!


I have done a bit of graphic work on the planets. Now, instead of one translucent atmosphere sphere, I added two more, so the atmosphere will appear a bit hazy when orbiting a planet. Also the outer sphere has a sort of inner layer, creating a slight glow on the side of the planet opposite from the star.

Here's what they look like:





Due to popular demand, the "Take All" button has been added to caches and storage panels. This allows you to take every item available, if you have room in your backpack, at the click of a button.




While testing the take all button, I also encountered an error where caches on planet surfaces and in caves would not properly record which items were placed in them, or taken out. I think this is resolved, and these should work consistently again.


I added more and larger nebulae when generating a new galaxy. This is purely a cosmetic change, like the planet atmospheres mentioned above. But I think it may add more variety and color to each play through...

Hey, did you know you could help Schmidt Workshops by writing reviews, sharing our games, and even by just playing them?

Well you can!



That's right, by simply playing a Schmidt Workshops game, you will help to show other players on Steam that these games exist. Writing a nice review will help to establish that our games are fun to play. Sharing our games on Social Media, or simply telling your friends about them will help too.

If you like the experimental, artistic and philosophical themes in Schmidt Workshops games, then please help by spreading the word.