Generation ship game

Dev diaries
#42

I’ve implemented “Discovery Caches”. Since I’m thinking the game plot will more or less be that each ship you control is on a science mission, the discovery caches are supposed to represent significant findings.

In game, they give you a small Tech boost (5 or 10% of your Tech, whichever is greatest - can tweak this of course).

While they have an in-game use (they give Tech), the main purpose will be use as meta-currency. The Discovery Caches you collect will be used to unlock ships, tech upgrades, scenarios, etc.

I implemented this for two reasons:

  1. I liked how it felt to go to a destination for a Tech upgrade, so I wanted another way to tag destinations with a useful reason to visit.
  2. This is a really light version of “goals” discussed previously. It might be that this is insufficient, and that more complex goals (e.g. visiting a specific sequence of destinations or something like that) is necessary, but I’d like to start with the simplest/easiest feature.

3 Likes
#43

(Posted a build but just realised it crashes! Will update when it’s fixed.)

Edit: Crash fixed, posting again!

#44

:star: HUGE MILESTONE! :star:

I have now completed build 5.1 (never actually published 4.1). This is a significant milestone because I think it can truly be called a legitimate prototype now. I don’t think I can hide behind “oh I’ll be adding more features” anymore.

Sure, significant things are missing:

  • Captain mechanic
  • Meta progression (unlocks and scenarios etc)
  • Lots of tech upgrades and mutations/trauma
  • General polish (sfx, music, graphics, general juicyness, narrative)

However, I think this build more or less reflects what the gameplay will be like.

This is very scary, but I need your feedback now. I am getting to the point where I have to decide what to do with this project. Invest a lot to make it the best it can be? Accept that it’s just okay and finish it to that standard? Cut my losses entirely and abandon it altogether?

No matter the answer, your honesty will really help me out. Either you give me the confidence to continue, or you save me months/years of wasted effort.

:rocket:
Check out the build here: Generation_ship_5.1_alpha by 8BitSkull

:writing_hand:
Fill in this feedback form (it’s anonymous and every question is optional, so just fill in what you like): Generation ship game feedback

6 Likes
#45

My wife insisted that having the big HUD bar on the right wasn’t a good move, and that it would be better to show space across the full screen and overlay HUD elements on top. I was open to it, but mostly resistant. I figured the HUD is so important that it’s fine to give it a large dedicated space.

Of course, right after that, SplatterCat covered Fates of Ort and spent a good few minutes complaining about the HUD letterboxing the game and taking up valuable game space. I’ll tell you the expression on my wife’s face was rather smug.

So anyway, I’ve been working on removing the dedicated HUD bar. It’s still a work in progress, but I want to share anyway. Which version do you prefer?

8 Likes
#46

I would agree , this opens up all that valuable screen real estate. Just from this short video I can tell this change gives a fresh feel to the game in a good way. Highlighting that the player is moving through vast space. I would prefer this direction you are taking the ui for sure!

3 Likes
#47

From an aesthetic point of view, I much prefer the newer version with the HUD at the top - it looks nicer and more professional.

4 Likes
#48

I completely agree!

@Alex_8BitSkull you have a very wise wife!

2 Likes
#49

I too think that your wife is right - do not resist her! :smiley:

1 Like
#50

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Will definitely make sure to listen to the wife more…

Pretty much finished the HUD rework. I agree that it looks much better. Harder to read the HUD as it stands though, some of it is quite small and spread out. Might need to add info to the destination tooltips. It might also just be the case that the problem will be solved once I get an actual graphical designer involved.

Bonus - first steps taken to add the captain mechanic I have planned!

6 Likes
#51

WIP of the captain mechanic.

So far I have implemented aging/death and the beginnings of the selection of a new captain. You will be promoting a captain out of one of three departments: Medics, Engineers, Navigators. Each type will provide one random benefit to your ship. This way, every generation you can pivot to support whatever the weakest part of your ship is. For example, you could pick a Medic to reduce mutations or increase birth rates, whereas a Navigator might increase the ship speed or improve fuel efficiency.

When the captain’s portrait fades on hovering over a destination, it means they will die during the journey. I plan on doing things like turning hair white to indicate the aging process.

3 Likes
#52

Isn’t that the job of an Engineer? When I heard Navigator I thought of it in terms of W40k navigators, safely guiding ships through warp storms etc. (although I don’t think you’ll have that W40k aspect of space travel?)

1 Like
#53

I think both an engineer and navigator can affect the fuel efficiency and speed.

Navigating near planets can affect speed / fuel spent, and a poor engineer might also affect the same parameters :slight_smile:

1 Like
#54

No, you’re right, there won’t be any explicit navigating. Just an abstracted version. I’m also not decided on the number of departments and what they’re named.

I have a bunch of levers to pull on, e.g. birth/death rates, fuel consumption, ship speed, hull integrity, mutation rate, trauma rate, life support use rate, etc. Some of them cluster nicely together (for example the medical ones) whereas others are a bit harder to group.

I feel three types is a good split, so it just comes down to how the various stats are distributed and how the resulting groups are then named accordingly.

2 Likes
#55

True! A skilled navigator might plot a course that slingshots you to your destination by clever use of gravitational pull!

2 Likes
#56

Added the basic structure for the captains to deliver small dialogue blurbs.

The captains will be able to do some basic reactions based on the game state. For example, I can set it so that a dialogue can only be delivered after >100 years and if you have >3 traumas. So far, the state variables I’ve implemented are min/max years, number of traumas and mutations, whether a specific destination is visible, and whether any given tech/trauma/mutation is active. I can and will add more flags.

I’ve added one blurb for each of the flags outlined above. Even with only 7 lines of dialogue, it already has made a huge difference to how the game feels. Having this human connection really makes a big difference I think. Seeing the captain say “These rations are pathetic.” when you’ve got the Calorie Restriction tech or “The crew are pilfering. I know it.” when you have the Hoarding trauma just makes it pop!

5 Likes
#57

Just a minor update. I’ve added lots more dialogue lines which feels good. I’ve also polished the presentation slightly by adding a box as a background.

4 Likes
#58

This was slightly tricky to pull off, but I’ve now “animated” the number updates in the HUD. If you pay attention to the Tech value in the top right you’ll see what I mean. Instead of instantly changing from 10 to 15, it will tick up rapidly. I think this is a small detail that people won’t consciously notice, yet has a significant impact on the feel of the game.

7 Likes
#59

Now you can die! :partying_face:

5 Likes
#60

You can now complete and unlock new scenarios. You can also unlock Tech upgrades.

The end screen has just the barebones of animation, but this represents a huge bit of progress.

5 Likes
#61

Tech upgrades previously only unlocked at the end of a scenario (like in the previous video). I think that was a missed opportunity for more frequent rewards spread out. So, I’ve now changed it so that Tech upgrades get unlocked during a run as well (along with at the end of the scenario, when you get a multiplier of the discovery caches you collected during your run).

4 Likes