Approaching Infinity News

There's still a little more work to be done before I present you (haha) with your holiday gift, so for now, here's something for anyone who's on the fence, and those who want to send a copy to their friends:





But here's something now:

Rescue Codes:

• 12/22 : omS3b3^H
  
• 12/23 : goq3efA4
  
• 12/24 : L!5f3pLS
  
• 12/25 : umbZnhh0
  
• 12/26 : Xmzi0iaY
  
• 12/27 : m^y3MZHH
  
• 12/28 : EoPiPiLn
  
• 12/29 : 3^sfgpc^
  
• 12/30 : imLZah7o
  
• 12/31 : EoHiBPWK
  

AI has a system that allows you to enter one code per day to receive something special: items, currency, or a shield and oxygen recharge. You can find yourself codes on special well-guarded planets in the game.

These are the life-saving kind of codes, and they can really get you out of some tight spots.

I recently added the ability to cut-and-paste codes (copy them here and control+v them into the code area), to make it as easy as possible. There's also a thread devoted to sharing these codes among players.


Now is the perfect time to take advantage of all the awesome improvements that have come to Approaching Infinity over its
[h3]5 months on Steam:[/h3]

• Tactical Zoom Mode
• New Away-Team Death Method
• Grenades
• 22 Weapon Damage Types
• Planetary Terrain Overhaul
• Fire, Gas, and Nano-Swarms
• Planet Scanning
• Hailing Aliens
• And countless:
  Fixes
  Balances
  Player feature requests fulfilled!

So much more is planned for 2021 and beyond, and I look forward to sharing it with you. Happy Holidays, and you should be getting your Approaching Infinity present on Wednesday the 23rd!

[h3]I'm working on your gift, but it's a surprise, OK?[/h3]


I think we'll have a little party on Wednesday, does that work for you? But yes, there was an update on Friday. Here's what happened:

• Different Narcratu ship types will now appear more reliably. Look out.
  
• If you damage a shipwreck and get trapped, save and re-load the game. A new function should help you get back to the shuttle.
  
• There was a bug when installing the excavator device after you're already on a planet, it wouldn't register. It does now.
  
• I limited late-game officer-level-up warnings. If you don't know what I mean, then don't worry about it ;)
  
• I made a lot of preparations for that holiday gift I mentioned...
  

That's it. I'm going to get back to work, and I'm also looking forward to taking a little more time off.



Have a good weekend!







Although,






you know,




I *could* use a few people's help...




"Apply" below and I'll contact you Sunday 12/20/2020



THANKS!

[h2] ^ Introducing Tactical Zoom Mode ^ [/h2]


Get further into the game with the push of a button!

See everything at twice its previous size.

Press [Backspace] , roll your mouse-wheel , or click the new magnifying-glass icon.

And the "map legend" turns into a mini-map, so you'll always know where you are:



[h3]
(If you're still wondering, that was the secret feature!)
[/h3]





[h3]Watch your away team die in real time![/h3]


No more cheating the system :D

When the landing party's health drops below 40%, someone dies immediately. But if the away team survives that encounter, they can rest for a few turns and heal back to their (now lower) full HP.

Field medic, ship's surgeon, self sealing suits, and other previous means of healing have been adapted to work with this new method.

And not only that, but there is also a quick melee attack animation, showing which monster is hitting you (or which one you're striking). It's a great piece of simple visual feedback that players have enjoyed in the beta.


[h3]Empty Slot Listing[/h3]

Now, when your ship can have an extra weapon or shield, or if you haven't fully equipped your away team, you'll get visual feedback about it. It says "Empty Slot", and tells you what should go there.

It even works for officers:




[h3]Terrain Affects Movement Speed[/h3]
Makes sense...

This is mostly important in tactical situations, because speed is a measure of how long your actions take, versus that of other beings in the world. If you're "slower", then another entity might get to make an extra move. If you're particularly fast, you might get to hit twice for every time a certain big slow creature hits you.

Walking on water and mountains (which require special skills or equipment) incur the biggest speed penalties. You can find this information by tool-tipping or using the Peer/Look command. If it doesn't list an affect on speed, then there isn't one.

[h3]Hypno-Flowers[/h3]
There's a new life-form out there, and all it wants is to be admired.



Your crew has no defense against it: They just can't help stopping to stare at the wonderful pulsing colors...

Of course the other creatures on the planet just don't appreciate beauty like you do, and they have no trouble ignoring the flowers and taking a bite out of your away team.


[h3]Melee weapons have damage types[/h3]
From now on, all melee weapons you find, buy, or craft will use the game's damage types. Knives do piercing, swords do slashing, hammers do crushing, and eviscerators do hybrid damage, which is very hard to resist. Your old weapons won't obey these rules, but you'll find something better ;)



[h3]More![/h3]

You can look through the other news items from the recent beta to see what other changes have been made...or you can just try it for yourself!

I just released the "Die Faster" update over the weekend, but it's time for another Beta Branch upgrade. This will hit the main branch this coming Friday, barring any major bumps.

I listen to what you're saying here on steam, and in the Approaching Infinity channel of the Roguelikes Discord. Much of this update relates directly to player feedback. Here's what's new now:



Now, when your ship can have an extra weapon or shield, or if you haven't fully equipped your away team, you'll get visual feedback about it. It says "Empty Slot", and tells you what should go there.

This should especially help new players understand their ships and load-outs, but will also be useful when bringing in new features, like the recent addition of grenades and swap-weapon slots.





Now when an entity melee-attacks, there's a very quick "move towards your target then back" animation. It helps to visually communicate what's going on. And don't worry, those are "killer bunnies", not the lovable, fluffy, pet-able kind.





Improving tool-tips is a constant work-in-progress. Now when using the look command, or tool-tip everything, you see the hit points and damage of monsters, as well as whether or not they resist any of the types of damage you can do with your current equipment. If not, it will clearly say "no resistances".







From now on, all melee weapons you find, buy, or craft will use the game's damage types. Knives do piercing damage, swords cause slashing damage, hammers do crushing damage, and eviscerators cause hybrid damage, which is just about irresistible.

The system is designed to make sense wherever possible: slashing damage is great against plants and zombies, but is easily deflected by hard silicoid creatures. Smashing damage works well for bugs and rats, but bounces off of spongy blobs. Let me know if there's one I've overlooked.



These skills and devices were about the only way to heal your away team in the past. But now that you can rest to heal, they've changed.

Field medic/SSS now heals you more often, while medical bay/SS makes it harder for your crew to die in the first place. These skills will definitely undergo further changes, but they are intended to still be useful.



There was an error in the grenade tool-tips that was listing a stat called "Recharge". That is fixed. Your grenades definitely do not "recharge". Once they're gone, you'll need to install new ones in the shuttle.



Launchers are great, right? Well, they're kind of *too* great. So now launchers have a cool-down. With their long range, high damage, and blast area, they're still very useful. But you'll also need a swap weapon. It's great fun at first, blasting your enemies with wild abandon, but after a while, it starts to feel too easy... Roguelike players need a challenge, right?!



It has been said that maybe weapon swapping should not count as a turn. Sometimes, by the time your swap is complete, the tactical situation has changed. Well, let's try it a different way, and see what happens!

Weapon swapping is now instantaneous. Enjoy it, and please let me know whether you think it's a good change.



That's it for now, see you Friday!

For years, you never knew how many crew were going to die on an away mission until you made it back to the shuttle. It was determined by your health at the moment you returned to your ship.

No more!





Now, whenever your landing party's health drops below a certain percentage, one of your redshirts will die!

This will put your away team's health back up to about 80% (it was mostly one badly injured person bringing everybody else down, and they just died). It also *reduces* your maximum HP because, well, one less person...

And then,

Once combat is over,

The away team will start to heal. That's right. Now you can



Once you're out of combat for a few turns, your away team will start to heal, no field medic needed, and you don't have to feel like you're cheating the system anymore.


I'll be interested to hear whether you feel like this makes the game easier or harder. Remember, this is only in the Beta branch for now, but anyone is free to join.


Happy weekend!