A Hidden Victory
Have you ever won Approaching Infinity? Did you know that 8 of the alien quest lines lead to a unique victory? (And therefore, 4 races don't induce a win...) But there is another hidden way to win the game:
Yep, that classic RL staple, as seen in Rogue, Nethack, and even another one of my games... it's in the AI universe too. But it's basically a secret. No one talks about it, there are no quests for it, or clues to its location. The only thing you get is a slightly different result if you scan a certain planet... I said it was hidden.
But now that's changed. Starting in sector 2, you can search book cases for clues to the amulet's whereabouts. There are 3 books to be found, and they should give you enough information to find it.
If you've never won before, I challenge you to find it! And if you have, I bet you've still not seen some of the insidious new traps I've laid for you :D
The ability to 'surrender' to a hostile ship has been around since 2020, but until now, it's been too easy. The aliens might say they want something from you, but they never actually *took it*. That's over.
From now on, they will exact a heavy price for your continued existence. The amounts they ask for scale with the sector, so the numbers in these picture (from my god-mode account) are a bit beyond what you'd normally see... but still, pay or die!
The "cloud-gun" was originally modeled after a flame-thrower type weapon, meant to basically hit everything in its path. But all it ever really did was hit a large number of 'adjacent targets'. Which is fine, but I always wanted it to be better. It is now:
https://youtu.be/onw1cc2TAjk
Now it hits every tile on the way to its target, and damages every monster it comes into contact with, as well as hitting adjacent monsters when it gets where its going. It's so awesome I had to give it a one-turn cool-down. Oh well, it's worth it!
Approaching Infinity has had 4 different types of melee weapons forever: knife, sword, hammer, and eviscerator. They each do their own kind of damage, and they get progressively stronger and slower.
But there are no fire swords or lightning hammers. And that's been fine until now. It took David to send me a new piece of art out of the blue to create...
The Zapper! This little stun-gun-inspired weapon can do all kinds of "elemental" damage. But it also has more new behavior:
Every time you use a zapper, its damage goes down (it drains the battery). Every turn you don't use it, it recharges a little. It's not as good when you're surrounded, but it really packs a punch against a single target.
Kenny Dalman is the artist responsible for AI's amazing new alien portraits, and I guess he's not done! He was having such a good game that it inspired him to draw his captain. Take a look here and give Kenny some love!
I've been working on updating the crafting system, and honestly, this is just the beginning of what I have planned. But it's also the easy stuff, so I got it done:
You now need to take apart each different kind of away team weapon (both ranged and melee) before you can craft them. Salvaging a pistol no longer entitles you to build a rocket launcher! But you can also make specialized space suits now, and tailor them for HP, oxygen, vision range, or environmental resistance.
This is in addition to the new system where you are required to actually craft things to get the highest level items (experience vs. knowledge).
There are other new features going into the Beta branch, and that's updated at least once a week. We have a lot of conversation on the Discord, and if you're interested, come join us!
Right now, I'm working on overhauling the fame/infamy and race reputation systems to be more transparent (so players no what the heck is going on with them)! But I'm also working on finally rolling out "uncountable infinities" to all players, which will expand the surface of many planets to up to 9 screens (though that large is very rare). I haven't told anyone yet, but I started working on "Legendary Weapons"...
There's a lot going on :D
The Amulet of Yendor!
Yep, that classic RL staple, as seen in Rogue, Nethack, and even another one of my games... it's in the AI universe too. But it's basically a secret. No one talks about it, there are no quests for it, or clues to its location. The only thing you get is a slightly different result if you scan a certain planet... I said it was hidden.
But now that's changed. Starting in sector 2, you can search book cases for clues to the amulet's whereabouts. There are 3 books to be found, and they should give you enough information to find it.
If you've never won before, I challenge you to find it! And if you have, I bet you've still not seen some of the insidious new traps I've laid for you :D
Surrender
The ability to 'surrender' to a hostile ship has been around since 2020, but until now, it's been too easy. The aliens might say they want something from you, but they never actually *took it*. That's over.
From now on, they will exact a heavy price for your continued existence. The amounts they ask for scale with the sector, so the numbers in these picture (from my god-mode account) are a bit beyond what you'd normally see... but still, pay or die!
Cloudgun
The "cloud-gun" was originally modeled after a flame-thrower type weapon, meant to basically hit everything in its path. But all it ever really did was hit a large number of 'adjacent targets'. Which is fine, but I always wanted it to be better. It is now:
https://youtu.be/onw1cc2TAjk
Now it hits every tile on the way to its target, and damages every monster it comes into contact with, as well as hitting adjacent monsters when it gets where its going. It's so awesome I had to give it a one-turn cool-down. Oh well, it's worth it!
The ZAPPER!
Approaching Infinity has had 4 different types of melee weapons forever: knife, sword, hammer, and eviscerator. They each do their own kind of damage, and they get progressively stronger and slower.
But there are no fire swords or lightning hammers. And that's been fine until now. It took David to send me a new piece of art out of the blue to create...
The Zapper! This little stun-gun-inspired weapon can do all kinds of "elemental" damage. But it also has more new behavior:
Every time you use a zapper, its damage goes down (it drains the battery). Every turn you don't use it, it recharges a little. It's not as good when you're surrounded, but it really packs a punch against a single target.
Captain Akko
Kenny Dalman is the artist responsible for AI's amazing new alien portraits, and I guess he's not done! He was having such a good game that it inspired him to draw his captain. Take a look here and give Kenny some love!
Crafting Changes
I've been working on updating the crafting system, and honestly, this is just the beginning of what I have planned. But it's also the easy stuff, so I got it done:
You now need to take apart each different kind of away team weapon (both ranged and melee) before you can craft them. Salvaging a pistol no longer entitles you to build a rocket launcher! But you can also make specialized space suits now, and tailor them for HP, oxygen, vision range, or environmental resistance.
This is in addition to the new system where you are required to actually craft things to get the highest level items (experience vs. knowledge).
Beta
There are other new features going into the Beta branch, and that's updated at least once a week. We have a lot of conversation on the Discord, and if you're interested, come join us!
Right now, I'm working on overhauling the fame/infamy and race reputation systems to be more transparent (so players no what the heck is going on with them)! But I'm also working on finally rolling out "uncountable infinities" to all players, which will expand the surface of many planets to up to 9 screens (though that large is very rare). I haven't told anyone yet, but I started working on "Legendary Weapons"...
There's a lot going on :D
NOW GO FIND THAT AMULET!