Approaching Infinity News

Approaching Infinity has been under constant full-time development on Steam for over a year now, and taking stock, I believe it's time for this. I've stated from the beginning that the final price, once it reached version 2.0 and full Steam release will be higher than the current early access price. (I've also said that it will never be as high as it once was!)


I haven't settled on what that "full price" will be, but somewhere within the 14.99 to 19.99 USD range.



Instead of making that jump all at once, I've decided to make a smaller increase to 12.99 now, and that the public release of version 1.7a is the perfect time to do it! I know that's exciting, most people haven't seen the awesome new stuff yet, but let's talk about something else first:



This is your last chance to get Approaching Infinity at the introductory price of 10.99 USD, which on sale is less than $10.



Even if you already have a run going, I recommend a new game, because the starting ship overhaul is something you're going to want to see!



Even the most basic ships have been completely reworked to ensure maximum uniqueness and individuality between the classes: The Assault Scout can now see all ships in the sector at once! The Asteroid Miner's away team starts with the excavator device! The Monk Counselor can immobilize enemies with every shot! All this and so much more is waiting for you right now.


And then there's the "Lower Decks" feature announced last week, which expands shipwrecks to up to 5 maps instead of just 1. And unlike what was said in the beta, they're now populated.


Shipwrecks are being reworked from the ground up, and that will add a ton of content and some exciting new systems to the game. Take a look at these new machines you'll eventually encounter, which can be a lot more than just "set dressing":


But that's not all you'll find in the development of 1.7 (Check the Starmap!) Approaching Infinity has a looooooooooong way to go to reach its full potential.

Greetings space explorer!

It's time for everyone to experience the last 6 weeks of development. Version 1.7a3 is now in the main branch, and here's what you get:



Not only has every ship been given new powers and equipment (giving each one a unique play-style), but the amount of information you get has gone from 10 lines of tiny text to an entire panel full of details.

In the past, the majority of your ship's equipment was randomly generated, and most of it was limited in functionality. Now you'll know exactly what you're getting. Some ships start with really powerful weapons or shields, but even things like warp drive and sensors are tied to ship class. It's awesome!




The days of being friends with all the alien races at once are coming to an end. Now when one of them feels like they can trust you, they'll ask you to fight on their side against a common enemy. Hopefully that "enemy" isn't one of your other friends. Time to take sides...




The next big part of 1.7 development is all about shipwrecks. Similar to the complete re-design that planets got a year ago for version 1.6, shipwrecks are being re-designed from the bottom up.


The first step of this is the addition of upper and lower decks on shipwrecks, accessible by "transit tubes". The *next* step will involve the routines that populate the ships with loot, monsters, set dressing, and other items. It's going to be a long road, but the payoff will be HUGE.




If you're part of the Beta crew, you're probably aware of all this, but for the majority of captains, it's news. This isn't everything that's changed, but it's a pretty good list:

• You can now click the minimap to auto-move to that location.
  
• Introduced several new devices inspired by the ship redesign (savior beacon, extortionist weaponry, motion tracker, etc.)!
  
• Each officer class now starts the game with a specific cybernetic cooldown skill and 5 gel to power it.
  
• If you continuously try to dock at a space station where they don't want you, they'll eventually spawn a ship to persuade you otherwise.
  
• Your crafting level now appears on the crafting screen (?!)
  
• The internal working of the shipyard (where you can buy different ships on stations) has also been redesigned. It should be more satisfying.
  
• The away team now makes different "walking" sounds, depending on the terrain.
  
• When loading a game, the list is now sorted by the most recently played save.
  
• Alien space ships that have always been described as "large" are now actually bigger on the map!
  
• Gave slots machines a "ding ding ding" sound effect.
  
• Officers who die on away missions now generate "obituatries" as texts you can find in the future.
  
• Added "rare part boxes" that contain one of the 5 crafting parts you can't buy.
  
• Reduced the supply cost of all ship weapons.
  
• Improved the quality of the TRADIO by giving real-time information about prices everywhere.
  
• Reduced the number of crafting parts required to 6 (not 7) as a base.
  
• When experimenting in the crafting lab, wrong parts are automatically removed after each test.
  
• Away team device "Bio Filter" now allows breathing forever on any planet with Oxygen as a major atmospheric component.
  
• Radiation resistance now gives half damage on irradiated planets, but it only exists as a suit or artifact power (not a device or skill). (it's more in keeping with the theme of the power, than anything actually currently useful.)
  
• "Pushy" monsters now hurt you before they push you away (except Greeters).
  

[h3]Explore the ever-expanding universe of Approaching Infinity today![/h3]

The starting ship overhaul (announced last week) is going over very well and should be coming to the main branch soon.

The exciting news this week is



Shipwrecks are an exciting yet threatening environment in Approaching Infinity, "full of danger and loot" as they're described in tool-tips. You can find some of the best treasure there, but also the deadliest foes. But for all their awesomeness, there's room for improvement. Like, LOTS of room. Maybe not even "rooms", but DECKS!




I've started to look at how shipwrecks are generated, and how they can be improved. Something that has been suggested, and I've played with before but never really put in, is ships having more than one deck (floor). Well, it's in the beta branch now!





You'll still dock with the "Main Deck", the same place you've always encountered. But now, there's a chance there will be "Transit Tubes" that lead to other decks, other parts of the ship.





For now, they're uninhabited, and have no loot. THAT WILL CHANGE.


For shipwrecks, I resist the method of procedural generation that just takes hand-designed rooms and puts them together in a random order. (I do use this method to make "silver cities", but that's different.)

Instead, I want to take the abstraction up a notch and teach the game how to make an area *look* like it was designed to be a bunkroom, med-bay, kitchen, or crafting lab.

Now we can have an entire *deck* dedicated to cargo storage (and therefore LOOTING)!

This is just the beginning, and many things will change at a fundamental level. But for now, if you've got the extra oxygen, take a transit tube up to the tower (topmost deck) and look around ;)

[h3](Beta Branch Only)[/h3]
Main branch folks are still in 1.6 territory...




Are you interested in Approaching Infinity, but aren't ready to get it yet? Just want to talk about space games or roguelikes? Have an amazing idea that you want to make sure I hear?

Join the Approaching Infinity Discord!

Greetings space explorers!

It's been over a month since AI version 1.6 was finalized. In that time there have been countless small changes, but 2 really big ones: the addition of "showdowns" and the starting ship overhaul. And if you're brave enough to join the Steam Beta branch, you'll get to experience...



In the past, when starting a new game, you'd get a small amount of information about your chosen ship:



Like really small.


Since I was going to change so many things about the ships, and give them more detail, attention, and uniqueness than they've ever had before... I thought I'd expand the UI a bit:




^ That's what it looks like now! ^


Easy-to-read info on basic stats like hull, supplies, speed, crew, and cargo. Full disclosure on things like warp drive and sensors. And every ship now has unique away team equipment including sidearm, melee weapon, spacesuit specifics, and many even start with a device!

Every ship now has a unique feel to it. They were always *supposed* to, but now they DO.

Take for example the Firax Yacht: it's a purpose-built artifact hunter, detecting clues and quest items at great distances. Or the Monk Counselor. Monks love to run from a fight, so this ship not only comes with a strategic cloaking device, but a weapons mod that immobilizes enemy ships with every shot!

16 of the 20 ships need to be unlocked through game-play,

but even the 4 you start with have been effectively remodeled and should be a lot more interesting than before. I actually started a video series where I use the Assault Scout (first ship on the list) and try to unlock ships. I'm getting pretty far, with 16 episodes recorded (only a few are released yet) and 8/16 ships unlocked. Here it is on Youtube:

https://youtu.be/cuyP0ESLt8E



The internal name for these is "Inter-Racial Showdowns", but I think maybe that's questionable?

Anyway, it's basically where you have to choose to side with one alien race or another in a small conflict... A ship from a faction you're on good terms with hails you and says something like "Me. You. Fight. Together!", and they'll name a target and ask if you'll help them.





If you choose to ally yourself with the aggressor in the conflict, you'll immediately gain reputation with them, and lose rep the target's group. If you finish the job and defeat your new enemy, you gain even more trust.

But beware! If you try to leave before the fight's over, you'll end up on worse terms with both factions. That includes warping, docking with stations, or going on an away mission. Of course, you can choose to stay out of the fight too... you'll offend the attacker, but at least you won't anger their target.

• Introduced several new devices inspired by the ship redesign (savior beacon, extortionist weaponry, motion tracker, etc.)!
  
• Each officer class now starts the game with a specific cybernetic cooldown skill and 5 gel to power it.
  
• If you continuously try to dock at a space station where they don't want you, they'll eventually spawn a ship to persuade you otherwise.
  
• Your crafting level now appears on the crafting screen (?!)
  
• The internal working of the shipyard (where you can buy different ships on stations) has also been redesigned. It should be more satisfying.
  
• The away team now makes different "walking" sounds, depending on the terrain.
  
• When loading a game, the list is now sorted by the most recently played save.
  
• Alien space ships that have always been described as "large" are now actually bigger on the map!
  
• Gave slots machines a "ding ding ding" sound effect.
  
• Officers who die on away missions now generate "obituatries" as texts you can find in the future.
  
• Added "rare part boxes" that contain one of the 5 crafting parts you can't buy.
  
• Reduced the supply cost of all ship weapons.
  
• Improved the quality of the TRADIO by giving real-time information about prices everywhere.
  
• Reduced the number of crafting parts required to 6 (not 7) as a base.
  
• When experimenting in the crafting lab, wrong parts are automatically removed after each test.
  
• Away team device "Bio Filter" now allows breathing forever on any planet with Oxygen as a major atmospheric component.
  
• Radiation resistance now gives half damage on irradiated planets, but it only exists as a suit or artifact power (not a device or skill). (it's more in keeping with the theme of the power, than anything actually currently useful.)
  
• "Pushy" monsters now hurt you before they push you away (except Greeters).
  

...and those are just the changes I made notes about...





All of these changes are currently only available in the Beta branch. But that's OK, because anyone can join and it won't affect your existing game saves. If this sounds good to you, just switch over to the beta and let me know what you think!




Shipwrecks!

Many of the new systems outlined in the 1.7 Starmap have something to do with shipwrecks. Repairing or salvaging them, going to upper and lower decks, solving puzzles and finding new gadgets in them, find your previous ships (bones files) or even walking the interior of your current ship. Oh yeah, and scanning them!

So much to do with that "spaceship interior" scene. So version 1.7b will focus on shipwrecks, and the new systems that need to be created to encompass all the amazing things still to come.

But for now, just try out those new ships for me, OK?

After 10 months of development, version 1.6 is finalized today. It completely reformed planetary terrain and generation algorithms, overhauled and expanded environmental effects, and added spreading fire and gas. This cycle also included creating 23 damage types for away-team weapons (and making monsters resistant or vulnerable to them), added grenades, gave your officers activated skills, and granted monsters lots of new powers too! It even made your away team members die one at a time (instead of all at once), and introduced "retribution strikes" when you turn against your allies. It even got its own Discord channel!

It was really REALLY *big*.

Now it's done. So let's talk about the final changes:





The final new feature was to expand the selection of officer uniforms from 14 to 79. Now your crew can dress for success (or piracy or casual adventure)...Create a team of color-coded scientists and soldiers, or a rag-tag mismatched group of people thrown together by fate or necessity. Or don't. Uniforms, like many things, are optional. (Disclaimer: They still have to *wear* uniforms, you just don't have to change them if you don't want to.) (Eww...)

Loading a save with the old uniforms will randomize your selection. Starting a new game will provide you with outfits unique to each ship class! There's also a new "closet" screen to more easily adorn them. And 3 new clothing-related achievements, as well as more Steam achievements.

There were also some visual adjustments and last-minute minor bug fixes, but this is it. It's ready!



Approaching Infinity will be on its biggest sale ever in celebration of this development milestone, and you'll have 10 days to take advantage of this deal. If you're not already part of the AI crew, join up today! (Like many Steam sales, it starts at 10am PST)



I will be streaming on Twitch, playing AI and talking with whoever shows up. I think that should be you, but maybe you're busy. I love to answer questions, reveal story and secrets, and you might enjoy seeing me either kick alien butt with my near-total game knowledge ;) Follow me to get notified!

I'd like to do 2 streams, one in the morning and one in the evening, and I'm in USA EST zone so make those time conversions if necessary.



Today is AI's anniversary: one year in Steam Early Access. When I started, I thought maybe 6 months would do it, but when I got such a huge positive response from players, I started working towards much larger goals: expanding Approaching Infinity to rival the complexity of some of the other massive real rogue-likes out there. There are now *years* of content additions and other upgrades planned!

The upcoming Version 1.7 will add a plethora of new experiences to the game: lot's of non-combat actions, role-playing, new quests, and deeper social interaction with the game-world. You can check out just *some* of what's planned here in the Starmap.


[h3]Thanks for all the feedback and support, I couldn't have made it without you, the Steam community!

[/h3]