We have released Star Command Galaxies Alpha 8 and it is by far our best release yet. So what’s new? What’s the focus? Bugs of course! This update has more bug fixes than all of our other releases combined. We spent all month just going through and fixing up crashes, save bugs, quirks and weird stuff that was happening in the game. TO BE CLEAR there are likely some bugs left and some new ones we made along the way but the game should be MUCH more stable and a lot more fun.
Our patch notes should give you an idea of the breadth of fixes we have addressed. We highly encourage you to try it out. It’s not perfect but it should be a much clearer vision of where we are going with the game.
Improvements
LOYALTY: Rewrote all of loyalty so that the captains will react according to their proper loyalty level
LOYALTY: Mouseover on loyalty for each character displays the reasons they do or do not like you
ONELINERS: Added new feature where characters will update you about mission status and their intentions
GAMETIPS: Added in Gametips for game concepts
Changes
UNITY5: Switched game to Unity5
CREWDOCK: Quick select numbers displayed next to crew members. You can press each corresponding key to select a crew member.
MOUSE: Now shows teleport and steal icons when you are using those actions
Station owners are now a part of the Hierarchy tree
Made Hierarchy tree a vertical layout so your standing is clearer
Compressed all species onto one page on Hierarchy tree
Revised hierarchy menu to better display how races feel about each other
DISTRESS MISSIONS: Only receive distress missions if you have high loyalty or more with ship
WARP JUMP: Completely rewritten to be more stable and efficient
WARP JUMP: New jump sequence implemented
MISSION REWARDS: Improved mission rewards menu
TELEPORTER: Esc/Right Click cancels teleport
SHIP LEAVING: Crew automatically return to ship when ships are leaving
SHIPCOMBAT/DISTRESS MISSIONS: Mission will fail if you leave the area
FOG OF WAR: Completely revised - each ship now has its own fog of war map
Mission targets should be at their displayed location
Added Bounty missions
Added in Crew Warnings where crew will tell you if there is an issue on your ship
STEALING disabled for the time being - objects can now be scrapped
Beds now give limited HP when crew rest
Added in intruder alert
Added mission hover bubble above the appropriate node
Limited active missions to 3 + Distress
Space station lights are improved
Shortcut keys added to mouseovers
Fixes
FIXED: Saves are MUCH more solid and reliable but they will continue to get work
FIXED: Ship not returning to 100% health after repairing all damage
FIXED: Placing stolen items locking up the game
FIXED: Black screen of death at Space Station arrival
FIXED: Placing duplicate items removes the previously placed item
FIXED: Could not switch out of Red/Yellow Alert
FIXED: Options menu blocks clicks
FIXED: Game saves crew HP
FIXED: Mission target not being the correct one for ShipCombat
FIXED: Multiple mission indicators on map for Trade
COMBAT: Enemy invaders acquiring targets much better
COMBAT: Crew reacting to enemies much more consistently
FIXED: Repair particles staying stuck on objects being repaired
FIXED: Heal particles not appearing
FIXED: Engineers repair AoE much more solid and reliable
FIXED: Placement tiles not appearing when placing an object
PARTICLES: Sparks revised and much more efficient
FOG OF WAR: Ship no longer fades to black during warp
FIXED: Windows appearing in front of characters
FIXED: Beam weapons not being blocked by shields
CREWDOCK: Sorts correctly
UI: Lifebar no longer reflecting opponent's HP in character orbit
NAV UI: Game is now pausing in nav
NAV UI: Time controls staying on/highlighted in each state
UI: "Navigation" still no longer getting stuck on mouseover
FIXED: Travel circle animation getting stuck
GAME GUI: Damage rounded at first decimal
FIXED: NPC’s dying on Antorian stations from radiation
FIXED: Antorian space station missing a door
FIXED: Crew phaser being spawned in space
MAPS: Lights on the Falchion
GENERAL GAMEPLAY: Asteroids no longer moving when game is paused
NAV UI: Correct space station images on nav map
LOYALTY: Ships will now correctly attack the proper ships
FIXED: Characters getting stuck in space after buying new ship
STATIONS: All ships can no longer enter red alert at stations
STARTING NODE: Now safe (no other races/pirates will spawn there)
PIRATES: Will avoid space stations (no more suicide runs)
DISTRESS MISSIONS: Timer disappears when you arrive to distress missions
WARP JUMP: Crew no longer disconnect from their station during jump
WARP JUMP: Camera jumping fixed
GUI: Stations use species frames
MISSION INDICATOR: Changes when mission is complete or failed
MISSION FAIL POPUP: When leaving an area to fail a mission a menu will popup informing player
MISSION OPTIMIZATION: LUA sets up which missions each job profession works
ASSETS: Potential fix to messed up sprites appearing on characters
ASSETS: Fixed missing midorian sprite sheets
AI: Enemies no longer stop moving when they teleport to your ship
All objects and weapon LUA’s revised for game balances, errors and missing data
NAVMAP: Ships are being displayed on the edges of the nodes correctly
Music starting at 0 volume
ShipPurchase not working correctly
Carter notices not coming in at correct times
Added in giver faction to mission indicator
FIXED: Targeting allowed weapons to be fired before battery requirement
FIXED: Distress missions not completing
FIXED: Crew loyalty pulling from personal loyalty after mission complete
FIXED: Freighters threatening the player
FIXED: Crew shader
FIXED: NPC’s and crew will try and avoid food and scrap instead of walking through them (unless trapped)
FIXED: Crew walking through walls when they decide their own path
FIXED: Enemies trigger animations
FIXED: Enemies shooting after death
FIXED: Garbled text on text popup
FIXED: Crew details now displays proper information
FIXED: Hover icons getting stuck behind crew members
FIXED: Multiple purple icons on trade locations
FIXED: Footsteps getting stuck on loop
FIXED: Sounds are again in 3D
FIXED: Clicking on GUI while teleporter is on no longer teleports your crew
FIXED: Hid some loyalty items that shouldn’t have been showing
FIXED: Shield status not getting saved
FIXED: Shields not appearing
FIXED: Shields on a ship when the first start even if they haven’t charged them
FIXED: Mouseover on crew hire not giving the right info
FIXED: Null reference after going to main menu and starting a new game
FIXED: Null reference when station was unloading and trying to reveal FoW
FIXED: Null reference when arriving at station and there was a conflict with stores
FIXED: Loyalty adding hidden values to crew loyalty