5.0.6a Update
I forgot to reset a certain variable and it caused the game to produce too many UFO encounters. It should now go back to normal, random UFO encounters as before.
Star Explorers News
5.0.6 Update
UPDATE: I re-uploaded the game with some slight changes. I had accidentally left on certain warning messages in the last build. I also was able to correct the missing textures from the alien landing craft. I suppose it could have waited till tomorrow ... but it just took a couple minutes.
5.0.6 Update - Many small changes were made based on player feedback. Just for the record, I do not integrate all player feedback into the game. But if it's an idea I agree with, and it's not too difficult to do, I will sometimes implement it right away.
Since the 5.0 release, I have been getting a ton of great feedback. However, I can only do so much in a given day. If you don't see your ideas showing up, don't hesitate to remind me. I try to keep track of everything, but it's not always easy. I am thinking of making some kind of document where people can put their feedback, and maybe vote to rank things higher or lower priority. I do not have a ton of experience in this sort of thing though, so any ideas are welcome.
For this update, here's what's changed:
[h3]About Rebinding Controls[/h3]
The game's options menu has a Controls menu where you can rebind keys. However, the HUD toggle and crouch features were added later, and did not fit on this menu. If you want to rebind those keys, you can still do it though.
In order to do so, first you will need to rebind any key via the in-game Controls menu.
Then, go to "C:\Users\-your username-\AppData\Local\Star_Explorers" and find the "controls_5.cfg" file.
Open that file and type in your key of choice after the last two entries:
crouch,ctrl, (replace ctrl with your key of choice)
toggle HUD,F11, (replace F11 with your key of choice)
Please be careful not to delete any commas. Use the following codes for keys...
"a" - "z", "0" - "9", "f1" - "f12", "bksp", "enter", "esc", "alt", "ctrl". "shiftl", "shiftr", "space", "tab", "cuu", "cud", "cur", "cul", "pgup", "pgdn", "home", "end", "ins", "del", "car", "cal", "slash", "equals", "period", "comma", "brackl", "brackr", "semic", "bksl", "apos", "minusc", "grave", "apo", "minus", "plus", "sz", "ae", "ue", "oe", "scrlk", "pause", "caps".
I have not tested every possible key or how they all function - I don't even think my keyboard has a lot of these options ... grave?. If you encounter errors, it may be a good idea to just delete the "controls_5.cfg" and start over.
5.0.6 Update - Many small changes were made based on player feedback. Just for the record, I do not integrate all player feedback into the game. But if it's an idea I agree with, and it's not too difficult to do, I will sometimes implement it right away.
Since the 5.0 release, I have been getting a ton of great feedback. However, I can only do so much in a given day. If you don't see your ideas showing up, don't hesitate to remind me. I try to keep track of everything, but it's not always easy. I am thinking of making some kind of document where people can put their feedback, and maybe vote to rank things higher or lower priority. I do not have a ton of experience in this sort of thing though, so any ideas are welcome.
For this update, here's what's changed:
- Fixed the stretched star background in mothership
- Added Muzzle Flash for player and enemy guns
- Fixed innacurate temperatures on some planets
- Reduced oxygen usage slightly - to match the updated walk/run speed - I did also reduce the amount used when running a bit compared to the last version. I thought I had made it approximately 2.5x higher than walking, but it was actually 3x higher by accident. Now it is closer to 2.5x as I intended.
- Increased physical and environmental damage when suit condition = 0 - this may alter gameplay quite a bit. It was possible to run around for quite a long time in extreme conditions before.
- Added option to rebind crouch and Hud toggle - "controls_5.cfg"
[h3]About Rebinding Controls[/h3]
The game's options menu has a Controls menu where you can rebind keys. However, the HUD toggle and crouch features were added later, and did not fit on this menu. If you want to rebind those keys, you can still do it though.
In order to do so, first you will need to rebind any key via the in-game Controls menu.
Then, go to "C:\Users\-your username-\AppData\Local\Star_Explorers" and find the "controls_5.cfg" file.
Open that file and type in your key of choice after the last two entries:
crouch,ctrl, (replace ctrl with your key of choice)
toggle HUD,F11, (replace F11 with your key of choice)
Please be careful not to delete any commas. Use the following codes for keys...
"a" - "z", "0" - "9", "f1" - "f12", "bksp", "enter", "esc", "alt", "ctrl". "shiftl", "shiftr", "space", "tab", "cuu", "cud", "cur", "cul", "pgup", "pgdn", "home", "end", "ins", "del", "car", "cal", "slash", "equals", "period", "comma", "brackl", "brackr", "semic", "bksl", "apos", "minusc", "grave", "apo", "minus", "plus", "sz", "ae", "ue", "oe", "scrlk", "pause", "caps".
I have not tested every possible key or how they all function - I don't even think my keyboard has a lot of these options ... grave?. If you encounter errors, it may be a good idea to just delete the "controls_5.cfg" and start over.
5.0.5 Update
Some new additions to those fun little guys.
[h3]Robot Cache:[/h3]
Now, like aliens, instead of dropping a random piece of tech, robot bodies will stay where they are and turn into a temporary cache with tech items inside.
[h3]Effects:[/h3]
To make this more enjoyable, I also added a smoke and spark particle effect to these "powered down" units. Here's what it looks like...
[h3]Frequency: [/h3]
Robots and alien bipeds were pretty rare in UFOs. I have increased the probability of encountering one, so you should not have to look quite as hard to find them.
[h3]Robot Cache:[/h3]
Now, like aliens, instead of dropping a random piece of tech, robot bodies will stay where they are and turn into a temporary cache with tech items inside.
[h3]Effects:[/h3]
To make this more enjoyable, I also added a smoke and spark particle effect to these "powered down" units. Here's what it looks like...
[h3]Frequency: [/h3]
Robots and alien bipeds were pretty rare in UFOs. I have increased the probability of encountering one, so you should not have to look quite as hard to find them.
5.0.4 Update
I was able to implement some recommendations from players in this small update.
[h3]1. Save Icon:[/h3]
The save icon works a little better now, but is still not a reliable way to tell if the game is actually writing to the disk just yet.
[h3]2. Reload Old Game Dialogue[/h3]
The actual text was missing from this dialogue box. It probably did not effect too many people. You can use this feature in the Load menu if you transfer a saved game from another computer.
[h3]3. Star Chart Overlay[/h3]
The star chart overlay will now turn off when you leave the ship's helm. It will remember the last setting, so it will turn on again automatically when you return to the helm. This way the green overlay lines will not appear when you are walking around your ship, or the mothership.
[h3]4. Erase Game Issue[/h3]
Some players complained that when erasing an old game file, it did not allow starting a new game with the same name. For now, I have not been able to reproduce this bug. I am able to delete a game, then start a new one with the same name. I will have to investigate further...
[h3]5. Guide Text[/h3]
The interactive guide text was appearing above the loading panel. Not a big deal, but I fixed it anyway.
[h3]6. Run Movement Speed[/h3]
I have reduced the movement speed of the player on planets and in caves. It was a bit fast according to some feedback.
[h3]7. Alien Bodies[/h3]
Instead of ejecting a small, hard to find body part on dying, alien bodies will now turn into a kind of temporary storage cache with the alien body part(s) inside. Don't put any stuff in these temporary caches though, they will decompose along with everything inside them when you leave that location.
[h3]1. Save Icon:[/h3]
The save icon works a little better now, but is still not a reliable way to tell if the game is actually writing to the disk just yet.
[h3]2. Reload Old Game Dialogue[/h3]
The actual text was missing from this dialogue box. It probably did not effect too many people. You can use this feature in the Load menu if you transfer a saved game from another computer.
[h3]3. Star Chart Overlay[/h3]
The star chart overlay will now turn off when you leave the ship's helm. It will remember the last setting, so it will turn on again automatically when you return to the helm. This way the green overlay lines will not appear when you are walking around your ship, or the mothership.
[h3]4. Erase Game Issue[/h3]
Some players complained that when erasing an old game file, it did not allow starting a new game with the same name. For now, I have not been able to reproduce this bug. I am able to delete a game, then start a new one with the same name. I will have to investigate further...
[h3]5. Guide Text[/h3]
The interactive guide text was appearing above the loading panel. Not a big deal, but I fixed it anyway.
[h3]6. Run Movement Speed[/h3]
I have reduced the movement speed of the player on planets and in caves. It was a bit fast according to some feedback.
[h3]7. Alien Bodies[/h3]
Instead of ejecting a small, hard to find body part on dying, alien bodies will now turn into a kind of temporary storage cache with the alien body part(s) inside. Don't put any stuff in these temporary caches though, they will decompose along with everything inside them when you leave that location.
5.0.3 Update
I was able to implement some recommendations from players in this small update.
[h3]1. Oxygen Usage:[/h3]
Oxygen will be used faster when running. You will also hear the breathing sound a bit louder and faster. This simple mechanic just gives some slight feedback and consequences for running too much, and I hope it enhances the atmosphere and immersion of the game a bit. Prior to this, there was no actual reason to use the standard walk movement at all.
Also, oxygen usage will drop even more if you are not moving at all. So if in doubt, stand still!
[h3]2. Window Resolution Warning[/h3]
A warning about window resolution was added to the video options menu. I hope to continue making this work better, but for now it simply explains that the window size should not be set higher than desktop resolution, and more importantly, that using the "Border" feature will add pixels to the window size, potentially messing up the game window if set too large.
[h3]3. Save Icon[/h3]
Another feature I am implementing is a disk writing icon that now appears in the lower right corner. This is a first attempt so don't trust it completely yet. It tells you if the game is writing to disk. Right now it works, but it does not appear to handle all conditions yet.
As a rule, it's best to shut off the game after saving it at the helm of your ship. If you shut it down on a planet, it's fine, but try not to do that right after landing. The game may still be writing data about the surface features. I am working on making the disk icon show up more accurately...
[h3]1. Oxygen Usage:[/h3]
Oxygen will be used faster when running. You will also hear the breathing sound a bit louder and faster. This simple mechanic just gives some slight feedback and consequences for running too much, and I hope it enhances the atmosphere and immersion of the game a bit. Prior to this, there was no actual reason to use the standard walk movement at all.
Also, oxygen usage will drop even more if you are not moving at all. So if in doubt, stand still!
[h3]2. Window Resolution Warning[/h3]
A warning about window resolution was added to the video options menu. I hope to continue making this work better, but for now it simply explains that the window size should not be set higher than desktop resolution, and more importantly, that using the "Border" feature will add pixels to the window size, potentially messing up the game window if set too large.
[h3]3. Save Icon[/h3]
Another feature I am implementing is a disk writing icon that now appears in the lower right corner. This is a first attempt so don't trust it completely yet. It tells you if the game is writing to disk. Right now it works, but it does not appear to handle all conditions yet.
As a rule, it's best to shut off the game after saving it at the helm of your ship. If you shut it down on a planet, it's fine, but try not to do that right after landing. The game may still be writing data about the surface features. I am working on making the disk icon show up more accurately...