Approaching Infinity News

For anyone who has had an asteroid base spawn and you can't find anyone to talk to, try this:
On the sector map, put your ship over the asteroid base in sector 9, go to the options menu and enter the code "Syndicate Reset". The next time you land, it will re-generate the interior.


This version also includes the ability to start the game with various "cheat modes": infinite oxygen, unlimited daily codes, and no resistances. These are directly inspired by a discussion thread here on Steam that I can't seem to find right now...

Lots of reasons to check out the Beta branch right now!

This is only in the beta branch for now (which is open to all players), and it just scratches the surface of what's possible. In it, you will find:
[h3]

• A new faction: The Syndicate
• A new location: asteroid bases
• A new entity: NPCs
• A new interaction: branching conversations
• A new machine: the construction interface
• A new pickup: harvest rare plants
• 3 new space enemies (find them yourself)
  
• 5 new planet enemies (hope you don't find them...)
  

[/h3]
The asteroid base is currently located in sector 9.
You can use an existing save-game, but you'll understand more of the story if you start a new run and look for subtle (or in-your-face) changes to the universe.

Good luck, and let me know how it goes!

Approaching Infinity has been in Early Access on Steam for 2 years and it has changed my life!

And with your help, I've taken a game that was "complete" according to the original design, and used it as a framework for an increasingly-deep space exploration adventure.

[h3]Here is a partial list of features that have been added:[/h3]

• Alien race portraits
  
• Hailing ships
  
• Planet scans
  
• Elemental weapons
  
• Activated skills
  
• Starting quests
  
• Sprawling planets
  
• A new melee weapon
  
• Custom ships
  
• A UI-skin DLC
  
• Med pods
  
• Shipwreck stories
  
• Gadgets, stacks, and scrap
  
• Explosive decompression
  
• Grenades
  
• Lower decks
  
• Monsters with powers
  
• Floating texts
  
• Exploding tanks
  
• Planetary surveys
  
• Towing shipwrecks
  
• Invisible space mines
  
• Retribution strikes
  

I got tired of scrolling through all the Steam News items, so that's not everything, but as you can see, an abundance of new interactions. And those things are all new. It doesn't even touch on the existing systems that have been remodeled and improved, or the hundreds of quality-of-life upgrades.



If you haven't tried Approaching Infinity, now is a great time, because I'm offering

for this anniversary milestone.



But if you're waiting until it's out of early access, I'd like to offer you some perspective: I've been at it *constantly* for 2 years, and I estimate another 2 years to bring my vision to life. Players have used Steam and Discord to help shape the game, and the community interaction has VASTLY improved it.
[h3]Join us now![/h3]










And now really is the time, because I just released a limited-edition beta of the asteroid bases with NPCs, and that is going to CHANGE THE UNIVERSE!
https://youtu.be/azoe8Tv0hv4

• A new combat-free area
  
• 2 new factions
  
• NPCs with branching conversations
  
• 30+ new types of stores
  

This is *not* a DLC, it's ongoing development of the game. And there's more to come after that. Yep, it's big.

But First...




The quest log update that was in beta is now released into the main branch for everyone:





Wow, what a change! There hasn't been any problem with expanding the number of quests or items. I think you'll find your game experience greatly enhanced by this one new screen.





After 2 years of constant improvements, Approaching Infinity's first-ever DLC package launches today!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1691390/Approaching_Infinity_Interface_Expansion/

This is purely a cosmetic update that changes the way the interface looks. It has no new monsters, items, quests, or features (because those things happen all the time, for free!)





All proceeds of the DLC go to AI's artist, David Gervais, one of the unsung heroes of roguelikes and indie game developers everywhere. If you recognize (or have used) these tiles, you should thank David. (I thank him daily.)




...are *NOT* part of this update, but I did have a conversation with an NPC on an asteroid base just the other day... They told me about a new faction called "the Syndicate", but mentioned that there was some confusion about the name.

Which is good, because I was attacked by Syndicate Enforcers on a loot stockade! Look out, because they're taking over those lucrative loot-caches.

The first beta in 2 weeks brings just one big obvious change:







This is obviously a big improvement over the existing system, where you had to scroll left and right to go through your quests.





Now you have a list of every quest on the left, and a large detailed description on the right. The destination sector is included in the quest list, and the faction, environment, and even target item or creature or whatever, is clearly indicated.

It will also tell you if the quest is done, and when it is, the destination will become the nearest space station where it can be turned in!





On top of all this, the total number of quests you can have at once has been raised from 10 (too few!) to 38, which is more than you could possibly have at any time (right now). Why do that? Because new quests are coming!

Similarly, the total number of items (ship components) the game could handle has been increased 4x (Only a few people ever noticed this limit, but still, it's gone now!)





A streamer (Lord Haywire) recently told me, after doing a 3-hour dry run of Approaching Infinity "Your game doesn't give your game enough credit." To go on quoting: "What I mean by that is that your game is actually pretty deep and has a lot going for it, but you wouldn’t know that from playing it at the beginning. In the first 30 minutes I was sure I knew everything I needed to know. but I stream for three hours[...]. By the time I was done streaming though I wasn’t sure I knew everything, and I wanted to play more!"

Ever since AI came to steam, this has been an ongoing project: how to hint to players, up front, just how deep the rabbit hole goes. So I'm giving that area some more love.

You know I recently left some clues about the Amulet of Yendor quest, and now I've expanded the starter quest "Humanity's Fate" to actually lead somewhere, instead of just saying "it's up to you". *I* know there's a ton of stuff out there to find, and I want you to know too!



All that is in the

right now.





...are still coming, including 30+ new stores, new quests, a new FACTION, and more!