Approaching Infinity News

It's been an incredible month for me and my game, Approaching Infinity!

• I've quit my (admittedly crappy) job and become a full-time indie developer!
  
• I've squashed countless bugs reported by diligent Steam players.
  
• I've added many new features recommended by the community.
  
• I've written 11 Steam Guides.
  
• I've released over 15 updates large and small over that time!
  
• I've personally responded to almost every comment, suggestion, and cry for help.
  
• AND I'M JUST GETTING STARTED!
  

We're in the final stages of version 1.5, which is mainly about major bug-fixes, adding required features, making little adjustments and changes, and getting ready to move forward with larger issues. You can review the roadmap here.



[h3]1.5N Changes:[/h3]

• Added: You can re-bind gameplay keys (movement, targeting, opening menus, etc.), but keys within those menus will remain the same (station areas 1-8, buying/selling A-Z, etc.)
  
• Added: Alien space stations that won't let you dock might still offer to re-supply you if you're in trouble.
  
• Added: Fully exploring "Engraver" planets now does something, but it's not the whole story...
  
• Fixed: Scanner Range now properly increases in later sectors.
  
• Changed: "Damage Reduction" is now called "Environmental Resistance", which is what it is and always should have been called!
  
• Changed: Greatly Improved Tool-Tips (Try them out: press shift over a monster!)
  

As 1.6 gets closer, which will include larger changes, all future updates will be released into a beta branch for at least a few days before going out to all users. That means a few things:
1. If you want to help test the latest version, you'll need to opt in to the beta branch.
2. If there's some feature or issue you're dying to have addressed, let me know ASAP!

[h3]1.6 is called "Re-Balancing and Quality of Life upgrades".[/h3]
I've already added a few Q.o.L. features, like keybindings, those flashing warnings that keep you from running into the middle of a group of enemies, and tool-tips anytime by holding shift. But there's plenty of room for improving your experience, and I will continue to listen to what players want as far as interface upgrade. I know AI doesn't always work like other roguelikes (or games in general), and sometimes, that's by design and probably won't change, but other times, it could be as simple as letting me know about a great feature, and then suddenly it's incorporated.

Rebalancing is a much larger issue, and a huge undertaking. When I talk about "balance" here, I mean how enemies and equipment scale, what level of challenge you face, and how soon you encounter various elements.

A major concern is introducing the story elements earlier in the game. Some players didn't even realize there was a quest line to follow, let alone 12 individual alien stories to get involved with!



I want to be certain that players are encountering alien embassies earlier, learning that those aliens they see actual have personality and motivation. Give you more insight into each individual race. Make diplomacy more intricate. Things like this.


And a few players have been really pushing the envelope, flying out beyond sector 1000! One player in particular found that he could basically just steamroll over the enemies he encountered. I want to stop that. But it's a fine line between "deadly enemies" and "unfair deaths". In the future you can expect a feature called "Retribution Strikes", where if you kill ships of friendly races they will send a hunting party after you.


Thank you to all the great people who've tried the game, there have been so many great reviews and lots of useful feedback!

And if you're one of those people who are waiting to get the game, well, you can see what's in store! You can also see my personal track record as a developer and how far the game's come in just one month. Development continues!

Kyzrati, the developer of Cogmind has been streaming Approaching Infinity for the past few weeks, and I wanted to make sure he got the most recent version. I even named it in his honor...

Here's what's happened:

AI 1.5Kyz:

• Put in a check to keep new random spaceships from spawning right in front of you.
  
• Made sectors fill with ships faster, but still start mostly unpopulated, so you don't warp into disaster!
  
• Maxed the officers cut of your money at 30%
  
• Fixed a bug in crafting that produced things cheaper than they should have been.
  
• Added LOS check to deforestation damage
  
• Fixed right-click pathing bug that wouldn't path to occupied squares.
  
• Tried to "push back" monsters instead of despawning them when they're too close.
  
• (hopefully) fixed loading the wrong quest in sectors with 2 stations !
  
• (hopefully) can't accidentally fire on friendly targets in space
  
• addressed a bug that caused crashes beyond sector 2000.
  
• You can actually see the quest marker on planets now!
  
• Introduced AND TOOK OUT "Retribution Strikes": coordinated revenge attacks against you by a race that thought you were their friend
  

I DID THIS MANY THINGS:

[h3]Fixed:[/h3]

• A bug that was causing an infinite monster attack loop!
  
• the installation of the "crafting lab" device.
  
• star temples don't give any XP until you find the artifact.
  
• a bug that was not showing some cargo between multiple pages.
  

[h3]Changed:[/h3]

• the game's ideal landing party size, which may affect difficulty (upwards).
  
• Shuttle ace reduces shuttle cooldown by 2
  
• Asteroid mining now always produces at least one thing.
  
• Short range ship weapons are now more damaging
  
• Sargasso sectors have less shipwrecks (still about 90) and a massive aggregate of black holes
  
• Limited the spawning of crafting-related items before crafting has been unlocked.
  
• Monster Threat is now measured as a decimal, 1.0 being approximately equal to you.
  
• Tried to make the planetary oxygen warning not happen too soon.
  
• Damage Reduction on space suits progression happens faster.
  
• You can now switch back out of the custom cursor
  
• I removed something that was limiting the level of items crafted.
  
• greatly increased melee weapon damage
  
• improved loot in star temple shield rooms
  
• shield power spikes less in sector 5+ (sorry!)
  
• reduced frawg damage.
  
• slightly sped up race relations.
  
• Reduced the threshold at which crew throws stuff into the reactor.
  

[h3]Removed:[/h3]

• Some skills with a second level that no longer had any effect.
  
• I took out equipment modifiers like "grade 3" and "Mark 7".
  
• something that was making monsters weaker before sector 20. this will change difficulty. Beware.
  
• Completely removed time-based XP gathering in all environments.
  
• The options button from the main menu!
  

[h3]Added:[/h3]

• holding Shift key now gives selective tooltips !
• Officers on away teams now get XP for # of tiles revealed, as you go. Harsher environments give more XP.
  
• All officers gain XP while in space, by exploring the sector map.
  
• You now receive a message about bonus XP on a long away mission.
  
• Gave a log message about the pirate's "Profiteering Beam"
  
• Subspace wave sectors now only consume half supplies for engine and reactor (ride the waves!)
  
• some handling for people who can't see any text!
  
• a new "feature" that helps to stop your movement whenever a new enemy is sighted.
  
• a prototype "movement safety" function, where keyboard input is paused when a new threat is noticed.
  
• Included a popup at the beginning of the game for people who don't see the normal text.
  
• Whenever you encounter a terrain you can't walk on, a message is generated in the log about how to cross it.
  
• There's a 10% chance that the planet name file for a sector will be the first curated user-generated planet names!
  
• I added the Excavator device to clear rubble, which has never existed before!
  
• You will now get more personalized information when you visit alien embassies.
  
• I did the prep work to enable Steam Cloud saves. It is not active yet.
  
• Also gave a bonus crafting level for schematic pickups.
  
• crafting now uses left/right arrow keys to move between crafting menus
  
• crafting now uses up/down arrow keys to scroll pages within menus
  
• when you install the crafting lab for the first time, you get 10 of each crafting part. I'm a jerk for not giving you that sooner, sorry!
  
• a description to all commodities and tooltip info on them when in the commodities exchange.
  
• if you automatically recognize the power of an artifact, it becomes more powerful
  
• all devices now have their own icon!
  

Please note that this update does *not* contain the experimental feature "planet scanning". That will be properly implemented in the future.

[h3]Next steps:[/h3]

• The inevitable hotfix :O
  
• Key Re-Binding
  
• Pathfinding Fix
  
• Auto-Explore de-insane-ization
  

Also newsworthy: I've written a new Steam Guide about the away team:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2207449869

New ones are still on the way about daily codes and the commodities exchange/being a trader.

Thanks, enjoy, and let me know how it goes!

and as of Friday, 08/28/2020, here's this:

The changelog of hotfix slowfix 1.5k+

[h3]Big[/h3]

• Divide By Zero error has been removed!
  
• Right click pathing has been corrected!
  
• Red alert is now saved with game (after you're hit in space, can't install for 3 turns)
  
• Shield recharge on game load exploit is corrected.
  
• cloaking device now actually uses supplies!
  
• negative cargo amounts have been corrected.
  
• buy 1/sell 10 has been corrected.
  

Other...

• The auto-explore might be slightly improved, but still not perfect...
  
• Added a built-in device to the Assault Scout ship.
  
• Bunnies no longer auto-stop your movement.
  
• going up and down cave levels automatically is no longer limited by oxygen when your helmets are open.
  
• officers in stations you can't hire now say "no room" next to their name
  
• deforestation kit / sonic chainsaw now has stackable levels of increasing power. cut down trees from a distance!
  
• and in a stroke of genius, deforestation power now HURTS CARNIVOROUS PLANTS!
  
• You can now give promotions on stations, and if the captain is on the away team, then also during away missions!
  
• made purple eggs targetable
  
• Landing on a "UHO" planet is now auto-handled (no need to touch sign!)
  
• Some things that would give nearly-unlimited XP have been reduced after the first 300 XP per level.
  
• damage done by status effects is now shown
  
• operatives now get bonus xp for every quest completed
  
• It is now harder to be friendly with everyone at the same time.
  

Solvency. Noun: the possession of assets in excess of liabilities; ability to pay one's debts.

OK, I can't pay off my house or my car, so I'm not technically "solvent", but I can support my immediate expenses for long enough to crunch through that Roadmap. And that "S" in solvency really hints at the infinity symbol (nice touch David!)

I started this process right after launch week. Approaching Infinity was doing really well, and I wanted to keep the momentum going. So I gave notice and now I'm free. I am dedicated to making this game everything it can be, and I have you to thank for that.

This is what my kids think my life is going to be like now: the whole family playing UNO FLIP together (while a giant crab watches?!), and me lounging on the couch eating pizza:




[h3]But it should be more like this:[/h3]

Possibly with the sun rising and setting in the background...

[h3]v1.5Jx:[/h3]
This has been the longest I've gone without releasing an update (a whole week!), so it's time. But this update still has an experimental feature in it, so I'm going to release it into a branch called "scanningexperiment" which anyone can join and requires no password. It won't break your saves, and is entirely optional.

It will provide you with a prototype of the new "planet scanning" features, which allows you to know broad details about what a planet has to offer *before* you go down. This is intended to help you bring the right equipment and find what you're looking for (and maybe skip the things that you're not interested in.)

Here's how scanning will eventually look:


Right now it's just a pop-up message with too many details. It will be "finessed" into something more vague and flavorful.


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Here's a 23-minute video I did, testing out the new features:

I have taken a *lot* of feedback over the time on steam, and many changes, fixes, and additions have been based on that. Here is everything you'll find in v1.5Jx (The 'x' is for experimental)

[h3]CHANGELOG:[/h3]

• I removed something that was making monsters weaker before sector 20. this will change difficulty. Beware.
  
• I also changed the game's ideal landing party size, which may affect difficulty (upwards).
  
• Shuttle ace reduces shuttle cooldown by 2
  
• Completely removed time-based XP gathering in all environments.
  
• Officers on away teams now get XP for # of tiles revealed, as you go. Harsher environments give more XP.
  
• All officers gain xp while in space, by exploring the sector map.
  
• Asteroid mining now always produces at least one thing.
  
• You now receive a message about bonus XP on a long away mission.
  
• Short range ship weapons are much more damaging
  
• Gave a log message about the pirate's "Profiteering Beam"
  
• Subspace wave sectors now only consume half supplies for engine and reactor (ride the waves!)
  
• Sargasso sectors have less shipwrecks (still about 90) and a massive aggregate of black holes
  
• Added some handling for people who can't see any text!
  
• Added a new feature that stops your movement whenever a new enemy is sighted.
  
• Limited the spawning of crafting-related items before crafting has been unlocked.
  
• Added a prototype "movement safety" function, where keyboard input is paused when a new threat is noticed.
  
• Monster Threat is now measured as a decimal, 1.0 being approximately equal to you.
  
• Tried to make the planetary oxygen warning not happen too soon.
  
• Damage Reduction on space suits progression happens faster.
  
• Middle mouse button now also does scanning, in addition to [V] key.
  
• Most locations inside a sector are pre-generated with the sector.
  
• You will now see hints during this time.
  
• I took out equipment modifiers like "grade 3" and "Mark 7".
  
• Whenever you encounter a terrain you can't walk on, a message is generated in the log about how to cross it.
  
• There's a 10% chance that the planet name file for a sector will be the first curated user-generated planet names! (I Took out inappropriate ones.)
  
• You can now switch back out of the custom cursor.
  
• I added the Excavator device to clear rubble, which has never existed before!
  
• You will now get more personalized information when you visit alien embassies.
  
• I did the prep work to enable Steam Cloud saves. It is not active yet.
  
• I removed something that was limiting the level of items crafted.
  
• Also gave a bonus crafting level for schematic pickups.
  
• Fixed the installation of the "crafting lab" device.
  
• You can now hold [SHIFT] to selectively tooltip anything :D
  

I suppose on a list like this, I should really use the standard "Fixed / Changed / Added" thing...
Something that did not get fixed: When you install a new ship component, sometimes the icons get duplicated incorrectly. It just didn't make the time cut, it will be handled soon.

Here's something else that didn't make the cut, but definitely made the grade:

Individual device icons!

Remember, this is not in the main public branch. You have to actively switch over to the "craftingexperiment" branch from in your steam library:


This will not break your save, and saves shouldn't be broken coming back out of it. Just go play with it, and let me know how it's going, either in the Steam Discussions, or the Approaching Infinity channel in the Roguelikes Discord.

[h3]What's Next?[/h3]
Activating Steam Cloud Saves, and then ... Re-Binding Keys!
I know you want it. I know you need it. I know you deserve it. So I guess I'll do it!
And meanwhile I'll watch how everyone does with v1.5Jx, make sure everything's working, and move it into the main branch.

Fixing the auto-explore and path-finding is also on the short-list.


[h3]And then...

Patreon![/h3]
Some people have been urging me to go this route for years, and I never have, but I think it's time. You have no obligation to join, and updates will still happen here, and I'll listen to Steam feedback.

But I think I can offer Patreon supporters more: a look behind the scenes, messages from aliens, a more detailed look at my plans, and opportunities to contribute special things within the game (like art, writing, pre-designing shipwrecks and planets, etc.)

And a little extra support every month, as well as engaging with the people giving that support, will be very motivating. But that's for the future, approximately October 2020. For now, I have plenty of work to do getting out of 1.5...

Have a good day!

There were 2 things that made me push this out today: Star Temple data deletion, and the tutorial/pay-it-forward bug. But there are some other things I've been working on that got thrown into the mix.

• You can now sell 10 items in the Commodities exchange by holding shift (same as buying)
  
• I continue to try to eliminate instant deaths / one hit kills.
  
• Greatly improved price change over time for commodities trading. (this was like 4 hours of work!)
  
• Fixed a bug where star temples deleted your data.
  
• Made oxygen warnings stop when you've opened your helmets.
  
• Changed some message log reporting regarding attacks.
  
• Further made the Limoquee less annoying. But defintely still annoying.
  
• "Renegade" enemies should no longer "come to help" (which wasn't helping!).
  
• Put a few more words on the victory screen. (Which I haven't seen any screenshots of yet!)
  
• Put a slight increase on levels of items sold in stations.
  
• Added "Level" to item descriptions (this may not be permanent)
  
• All officers gain XP when warping.
  
• I fixed a bug where the tutorial ignored your pay it forward withdrawal.
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

This morning I made a 20 minute video about how to be a trader. This aspect of the game is not required, but I think it's often overlooked and misunderstood, so this is how it's done. I never did encounter any shortages or surpluses in this run, which would have potentially made it much more lucrative.


With the rest of the day, I plan to create more Steam Guides. I know there are still some basics that aren't explained, and I will get to those. But what would you like to know about? Tell me below!