Minimaps and friendly acks in Captain Forever Universe 15.4
Hi Pilots,
Captain Forever Universe update 15.4 is live right now!
The last build added sensor modules, which are great for quickly uncovering the map, but you had to constantly open and close it to see what you'd discovered. So, this build, I've added a minimap - a very Captain Forever style of minimap. After finding a Map Vis module, attach it to your ship and click on it to open the module description display. You'll see a minimap right there in the description, with a scan line rolling through it as it updates each row, ten rows per second. Alpha and Bravo map vis might not be so helpful as they have a very small radius. Delta and Echo modules are great for slinking through asteroid fields and past other ships. India and Juliet are excellent for longer journeys.
The second big gameplay update in 15.4 is a change to initial NPC behaviours. In previous builds all other ships would spawn facing directly at you, and most would be aggressive. Now the spawn facing is more varied, and several types of ships might choose not to attack you, depending on their level. They'll still get grumpy if you attack or bump into them however, so be careful out there!
Finally, in the spirit of Halloween, I've added a little surprise. I don't think anyone has found it yet, but you'll recognise it when you do :)
Right now I'm planning 15.5 on the Trello board. If you have any suggestions (or otherwise want to chat or share nav data) come visit the Discord!
[hr][/hr]
[h3]Breathe[/h3]
Without oxygen, your pilot will die. Replenish oxygen by entering atmosphere zones surrounding stations. You will need to renew oxygen licenses at oxy stations to expand your reach. Most importantly, every time you leave atmosphere, make a plan for where your next breath will come from, and if your meter hits 50% before you find more air then TURN BACK!
[h3]Dock[/h3]
Docking with stations to access their services. To dock, just follow a station's red and green lane lights and nudge the docking module. Try this at the nav station near where you first spawn, to add data to your onboard map.
[h3]VMEDS[/h3]
VMEDS is your Virtual Multifunction Electronic Display System - it's your interface through to all the things your ship can do other than flying, shooting, and building. You'll see it when you first start the game, and can interact with it using number keys, function keys, or your mouse. I find the mouse pretty cumbersome though and strongly recommend using keys.
Open VMEDS with the TAB key during flight to access your onboard map, ship settings, help files, and to save and exit the game.
[h3]Cruise Control[/h3]
If you have distance to cover and no threats along the way, hit the Left Shift button to toggle cruise control. This allows you to travel without holding the forwards key, and also causes time to pass at double the usual rate. It's great for distance travel, but can go catastrophically wrong if you fly into danger, so take care!
[h3]Goal[/h3]
Your goal is to discover wormholes to other sectors, and defeat the Border Force patrols preventing travel between them. To do this you'll need to rescue blockaded stations and build up your ship. As you explore you'll find occasional Juliet level factories, which you can use to gain Kilo level modules and build an unstoppable dreadnaught.
[h3]Share[/h3]
Every player's world is generated from the same seed, so if you find something cool you should let other pilots know! You can find us in the Steam community pages and on the Discord.
See you out there!
Farbs
Captain Forever Universe update 15.4 is live right now!
The last build added sensor modules, which are great for quickly uncovering the map, but you had to constantly open and close it to see what you'd discovered. So, this build, I've added a minimap - a very Captain Forever style of minimap. After finding a Map Vis module, attach it to your ship and click on it to open the module description display. You'll see a minimap right there in the description, with a scan line rolling through it as it updates each row, ten rows per second. Alpha and Bravo map vis might not be so helpful as they have a very small radius. Delta and Echo modules are great for slinking through asteroid fields and past other ships. India and Juliet are excellent for longer journeys.
The second big gameplay update in 15.4 is a change to initial NPC behaviours. In previous builds all other ships would spawn facing directly at you, and most would be aggressive. Now the spawn facing is more varied, and several types of ships might choose not to attack you, depending on their level. They'll still get grumpy if you attack or bump into them however, so be careful out there!
Finally, in the spirit of Halloween, I've added a little surprise. I don't think anyone has found it yet, but you'll recognise it when you do :)
Right now I'm planning 15.5 on the Trello board. If you have any suggestions (or otherwise want to chat or share nav data) come visit the Discord!
Getting Started
- Open Steam and click Library
- Right click on Captain Forever Trilogy and select Properties...
- Select BETAS
- Select captainforeveruniverse15 from the drop down list
- Close the properties window
- Captain Forever Trilogy will now update. This usually only takes a few seconds.
- From your Steam library, select Captain Forever Trilogy and click PLAY
- Select Play Captain Forever Universe Alpha 15
- Enjoy!
[hr][/hr]
Tips
[h3]Breathe[/h3]
Without oxygen, your pilot will die. Replenish oxygen by entering atmosphere zones surrounding stations. You will need to renew oxygen licenses at oxy stations to expand your reach. Most importantly, every time you leave atmosphere, make a plan for where your next breath will come from, and if your meter hits 50% before you find more air then TURN BACK!
[h3]Dock[/h3]
Docking with stations to access their services. To dock, just follow a station's red and green lane lights and nudge the docking module. Try this at the nav station near where you first spawn, to add data to your onboard map.
[h3]VMEDS[/h3]
VMEDS is your Virtual Multifunction Electronic Display System - it's your interface through to all the things your ship can do other than flying, shooting, and building. You'll see it when you first start the game, and can interact with it using number keys, function keys, or your mouse. I find the mouse pretty cumbersome though and strongly recommend using keys.
Open VMEDS with the TAB key during flight to access your onboard map, ship settings, help files, and to save and exit the game.
[h3]Cruise Control[/h3]
If you have distance to cover and no threats along the way, hit the Left Shift button to toggle cruise control. This allows you to travel without holding the forwards key, and also causes time to pass at double the usual rate. It's great for distance travel, but can go catastrophically wrong if you fly into danger, so take care!
[h3]Goal[/h3]
Your goal is to discover wormholes to other sectors, and defeat the Border Force patrols preventing travel between them. To do this you'll need to rescue blockaded stations and build up your ship. As you explore you'll find occasional Juliet level factories, which you can use to gain Kilo level modules and build an unstoppable dreadnaught.
[h3]Share[/h3]
Every player's world is generated from the same seed, so if you find something cool you should let other pilots know! You can find us in the Steam community pages and on the Discord.
Changes for Update 15.4
- Added map vis module
- Friendlier AI ship initial behaviour
- Added hitstop and hitslow effects
- Stronger voice synth glottals
- Twin thrusters fire one way at most
- Module desc anchors to start quadrant
- Mailbag upgrade fix
- Increased physics body limit
- Ctrl-A disposes render context and goes DONK, I thought it might fix the AAAAAA bug but it absolutely did not.
- A surprise!
See you out there!
Farbs