Approaching Infinity News

[h3]You know about daily codes right?[/h3]

8-digit codes you enter from the options menu to give you money, items, or even a quick heal. Sometimes I give them out, but you can find them in the game yourself, if you look hard enough.


Oh, and you can only use one code per day per character, so if you happen to have several, choose wisely...


Well, with the introduction of grenades, I wanted to make sure that codes worked for them, and sure enough, they didn't, so you get another update :D


Welcome to 1.6c4 which includes a few fixes for whitespace, automatic "reddening" of text for effects you already know during artifact identification, and the necessary grenade code handling.

So here they are,

[h3]The 31 Grenades of December:[/h3]

• 12/2 : D^CjUyB8
  
• 12/3 : RmDj2yE#
  
• 12/4 : wZJj2pX3
  
• 12/5 : EoF4DWBD
  
• 12/6 : SoKFUyBi
  
• 12/7 : wmhj2WLx
  
• 12/8 : 8oejDBS7
  
• 12/9 : 3maFDHfp
  
• 12/10 : #^EFUfX8
  
• 12/11 : aZAjUfXW
  
• 12/12 : wopFUAff
  
• 12/13 : zZ8JUBA6
  
• 12/14 : J^MF2uSx
  
• 12/15 : d^YFU6p5
  
• 12/16 : 5o7j2AgE
  
• 12/17 : gmZ42pXg
  
• 12/18 : ^owF2HMb
  
• 12/19 : 7oBjDuAu
  
• 12/20 : HmjFDfKN
  
• 12/21 : b^QjUWu9
  
• 12/22 : 6^SjDBSb
  
• 12/23 : 3ZqJDBS8
  
• 12/24 : MZoFDuAj
  
• 12/25 : RobJUHqW
  
• 12/26 : Bmz42OQw
  
• 12/27 : 5myF2fxi
  
• 12/28 : Xor42AgU
  
• 12/29 : TZsJD6qo
  
• 12/30 : #odjDyLc
  
• 12/31 : wmnJ2OQh
  
• 1/1/2021 : Dg94UyBo
  

And did you know...
If you copy a code into your clipboard, you can use control-v to paste it into the code entry box. No more typing required :)


Back to work!


I have to introduce the new away team death method by Friday, and that's not even the "secret feature" :O

Thanks to everyone who nominated Approaching Infinity, and welcome new players!

I've been busy the last few days... Here's what happened:

[h3]Fixes:[/h3]

• Added some pretty new space backgrounds.
  
• Tried to remove invisible monsters that were killing people in star temples.
  
• Fixed the spawning of black hole data for the Tentaculon quest.
  
• Fixed a bug where players always start at 1,1.
  
• Grenades now spawn as loot.
  
• Improved geode caverns with gemstones and glow-cubes.
  
• Limited oxygen warnings when you have >60 oxygen.
  
• "Chainsaw" skill now hurts Allikudzu monster, since it's a plant.
  
• When you die in a non-perma-death game, you will no longer see all the information screens that you get when you actually lose your character (or win the game).
  
• The printing speed of scans and hails has been increased.
  

I also made some preparations for a secret new feature that I think will kinda blow your minds a little...


[h3]Changed Monster Threat Display[/h3]
There is no "threat" percentage readout anymore. You see the monster's HP and damage when you target it. Compare that to your own numbers and decide for yourself how threatened you feel.


[h3]Area Level-Locking[/h3]
From now on, the first time you visit an area (sector, planet, wreck, etc.) its difficulty level is saved. This should make backtracking easier: if it's too hard now, it will be easier later, with better equipment. That has always been the *intention*, but this method should ensure it.

The game will also give you warnings about particularly dangerous (or easy) areas when you enter them.


[h3]Tac-Nuke Launcher[/h3]
Many of you have found tac-nuke grenades, and I've heard complaints about the fact that they explode in such a large area that there's no way to use them safely. And that makes sense. It's a weapon of last resort. And I'll tell you now: one probably won't kill you.

There's only one other possible tac-nuke weapon (right now), and that's a launcher. I found one of these in my game, and when it just exploded like anything else, well, I had to make some changes.

So nukes are even worse now. They set fires and create swaths of radiation. And the tac-nuke launcher will definitely get you with proximity damage, and induce painful status effects. But with a range of 5 or 6, you should be able to avoid it.

Oh yeah, and using a tac-nuke weapon increases your infamy.

Every. Single. Time.


[h3]Reputation Advice[/h3]
When you dock at an alien embassy and go to their "quests" section, if they don't have any quests available, and if your reputation with them is too low...

They'll give you advice on how to get on their good side. Often, having a high "fame" is desirable, but that can take a while. Another good bet is to attack that race's enemies. But the specifics are now in the game, for all to see.





[h3]Modified Planet Scan Output[/h3]
Planet scanning is great, but it does have its limits. And thanks to player feedback, it's being improved. Now, once you've picked up the source of the "alien signal", it's not reported anymore. And if you kill all the monsters on the surface, the read-out changes to "no life signs". Progress!

But even better, the most important data from the scan is now added directly to the planet's tool-tip, so there's no need to re-scan all the time.

This will cause some text overflows for now! But I think it's worth it to have all that information easily at hand.

You can toggle "tool-tip everything" in the settings menu or click the middle mouse button any time. You can also hold [SHIFT] to get selective tooltips, or you can use the "look" function. Enjoy!


[h3]Thousand, Million, Billion[/h3]
I've changed the readout of long numbers in equipment to use K,M,B notation, meaning "183,472" is now displayed as 183K (*IF* you can find a weapon that powerful!)



[h3]What's next?[/h3]

The rest of this week will be spent working on the roll-out of the secret feature, and preparing for the officer skill remodel.

Let's start with the the part where I'm not asking for anything, I'm *giving* you something:


What?





If that's what you've been waiting for, now is the time.


Now let me ask something of all you space explorers out there:


[h3]Please nominate "Approaching Infinity" for the 2020 Steam "Labor of Love" award. [/h3]


As you may know, AI is an enormous project that could continue for years. The goal of EA is to get to version 2.0, and that will be an amazing transformation. In 3 months on Steam, we've already seen the addition of many game-changing new features: planet scanning, hailing alien ships, throwing grenades, burning forests, and a lot more.


Today someone on Discord said,

"dwarf fortress is a simulation of a fantasy world
my hope is that Approaching Infinity becomes a simulation of a sci-fi world
doesn't need to be as crazy and over the top as DF
just you know, pretty good with lots to do, lots of freedom"

I need your help to get there. The community has already been hugely supportive and it's really motivating to read what people write. Let's keep the momentum going!

You can nominate 1 game in each category, so I'm asking you to consider Approaching Infinity for the "Labor of Love" award.


Thank you!


Oh yeah, and a mid-week hot-fix:

• I fixed a fatal crash when the Sil demanded an artifact
  
• I fixed an error where nano-machines were being tool-tipped as gemstones.
  
• I removed some debug text that was being printed to the screen.
  
• I fixed an error where nano-swarms would arise out of toxic gas. This part is a bug. Things can still rise out of nano-swarms. They look like bugs. And they will kill you.
  
• I Fixed an error where historical relics were being accidentally spawned on barren planets.
  
• I fixed an errer where you could hail a ship for help in defeating... itself!
  
• Sonic and corrosive grenades now have an effect on walls, boulders, and rubble.
  
• I Added a readout in tool-tips about monsters' resistances and weaknesses to your equipped weapons.
  
• I took out, fixed, and put back in, a function designed to ensure quest items would be found.
  
• I addressed an input problem where some people where moving multiple times from a single key-press.
  
• I basically did a week's worth of work in 3 days, and made big progress on a secret new feature...

When version 1.5 was completed, I said the focus would shift to deeper interactions. This started with a huge upgrade to terrain: and not just the 300+ new planetary images:





but also a system of transformation for things like freezing, burning, digging, and exploding.





Then fire was introduced, as well as various kinds of gas and other nasty propagating effects.




Then we needed a way to deliver those special effects into the world, so away team weapons were overhauled with 22 different damage types, from physical effects like piercing and smashing, to the standard elements like incendiary and cryo, all the way up to repulso beams and nano-weapons.






The first true consumable was introduced: [h3]The Grenade[/h3] Throw them at hordes of enemies to do massive damage and deliver myriad status effects or even destroy terrain features. Just be aware that you can run out.





And with monsters now being able to resist some of these damage types, you need a way to carry two weapons at once, and switch between them:
[h3]The Swap Slot[/h3]





[h3]Equipment icons also got an upgrade:[/h3]





[h3]Helpful Hails:[/h3]
I've expanded the "hail" function to allow you to call for help!

If you're in combat, and you see an alien ship you have good relations with, you can hail them and ask for assistance. If they like you enough (or if they dislike your enemy), they will come to your aid. You can then either escape, or team up and destroy the offending ship.

Be careful though!

If you betray your allies (attack races you're friendly with), they may call on *their* allies against YOU. So don't betray your friends, OK?


[h3]Extra Mouse Buttons:[/h3]

If you have a "gaming mouse" (or any mouse with some extra buttons), you should try pressing them.

Clicking the middle mouse button will toggle tool-tips on or off. Another button is set up to hail (in space) or throw a grenade (on planets), and yet another is mapped to scan planets or swap away team weapons. TRY IT!



I've executed the greatest speed optimization in Approaching Infinity history. [h3]Lag no more![/h3]
https://youtu.be/jTa_xy0KRN4


Space has been updated too, with some beautiful new features:




All these additions are in public version 1.6c, right now. But wait, there's more!





Chances are, if you've reported an issue, I've fixed it. I think it would be much easier to talk about what I haven't fixed:

• I can't seem to do anything about the "disappearing mouse cursor" when you cycle mouse pointers.
  
• I haven't addressed the "text too small" issue for the captain's log when using custom 4K resolutions.
  

Otherwise, I think I've tackled just about everything. But if there's something still bugging you, let me know...


[h3]What's next?[/h3]


Hopefully, a mind-blowing surprise feature.


And then, for sure,


And I'm not talking about "+2 instead of +1"

I'm talking about skills like "Perform an emergency warp up to 7 tiles away", or "deploy an automated turret that shoots monsters for 10 turns", or "Detect the ion trails of every ship in the sector".


Those kinds of skills.


After that, you're going to be so god-like that monsters will need a serious upgrade of their own :D

But that'll come later.

For now, enjoy your new-found powers of exploding and burning and corroding.


[h3]A note about new weapons and crafting:[/h3]
Currently, you can *not* craft the new effects of weapons and grenades. You can make "normal" versions of weapons, and frag grenades.

The crafting system will need to be overhauled eventually too, and then you can decide on whatever you want to make. For now, you have to buy things, or find them.


[h3]Video Series[/h3]

You can see a lot of this stuff in action in my new video series, "Bob plays Approaching Infinity". I'm up to sector 17 now, having started from scratch. Doing these videos really helped me get a handle on some player issues, and I've fixed most (all?) of the issues that I've found.
https://youtu.be/LvVAgXHxhfA







Wait, did you say something about a "Xenocide" blaster?


Yes.


Short story: it's a combination herbicide and insecticide, so it's great for bug-infested jungles. And yes, the name is a Card reference.



[h3]And hey...[/h3]



If you haven't left a review yet,



I'd really appreciate it.



Event just a "thumbs up" and then name your one favorite thing...



It helps.

After the beta release, some *really* big issues were discovered:

• Fixed: some bullet images were terrain tiles (hills).
  
• Fixed: monsters wouldn't attack you!
  
• Fixed: sound settings weren't saved.
  

There are bound to be some small issues transitioning from the old away team weapons to the new. But they will be cleared up when you start a new game, or just buy a new gun!

The monsters issue was created by an "and" that should have been an "or", in the part of the AI section that now keeps you from accidentally melee attacking friendly creatures on away missions.

The sound thing has been haunting me for ages, and is *finally* fixed.


Transition to main branch is still planned for this weekend, so if you've got a problem, let me know NOW!