Just got around to backing this one also it hit it target a few days ago as well as having 12 days left to run.

Got the email registered at the forum, Alpha should be a go at 8.00pm PST which is probably Sunday for me.

New vid up for the game

Had a quick play with the alpha so far no problems with it.

Compo time on Interstellaria.

Design Your Own Starship Contest!

 

February 12, 2014
by Coldrice

For more on Interstellaria:

IndieDB: http://www.indiedb.com/games/interstellaria

Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=193386952

Kickstarter (successful Dec 2013) : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coldricegames/interstellaria

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ColdRice_Dev

Ok here’s the crazy idea: I’d love to get some fan designs into the game. I really like the idea incorporating “fan” designs into the final product. I feel it gives the game character. I’m also not so naive to think that I have all the best designs in the world. This is where you come in!

The mission is simple:

-Design a ship you feel fits into the Universe of Interstellaria

-Any art style is fine! I promise I wont be biased towards pixel art or anything!

-Submit your design to my email – coldricegames@gmail.com

-You can submit more than once! Be sure to get your artwork submitted by MARCH 11th, 2014

-I will be sharing artwork on the blog and twitter as it comes in, so stay involved!

-I’ll be selecting a winner on MARCH 12th, 2014

Now how will I reward you for your hard work?

The Prize:

-$50 steam gift card

-Access to the Interstellaria Alpha

-Your design will be in the final game!

That’s it! from here you’re free to go hog wild. I’ve written some fluff below to help you with your designs and potentially improve your chances.

 

And Interstellaria has been greenlit

Let me tell you, this morning was pretty eventful. I'm one of those "check my e-mail every ten minutes" kinda guy, and I had somehow missed an important e-mail. Way way wayyyyyy after the fact I checked my phones lock screen to see a very surprising alert:

https://twitter.com/Nonadecimal/status/436212793167970304

 (by the way Nonadecimal is a cool guy, follow him on twitter!)

I couldn't believe it. I seriously considered it to be some kind of misunderstanding. I jumped at my e-mail and my heart skipped a beat.

The e-mail had come in at 10:36, and I had left at 10:30. I missed it by 6 whole minutes. Wow!

 

Not check up with what being going on with Interstellaria for a while.

This is just a quick little update to our backers (and especially alpha level backers!)

We had a snafu this weekend with the host for our site. Unfortunately it turned into a very frustrating week as we have been unable to even CONTACT our hosting service for 4 days!

Needless to say we have canceled our service and we are in the process of moving our site to a new provider. Please be patient as we try to make sure everything transfers smoothly!

As a side note, we have a big update in store - we keep saying "oh lets just finish one more thing before we update.." We're hoping to have a new trailer, some new tunes, as well as distributing steam builds to alpha testers!

Here's a preview of whats been going on

Previous update

Wonder what happening with the Steam version?.

From Kickstarter look like a big update is on the way. :gamer:

Wow, what an intense month April was, and now here we are moving right into May. Interstellaria has really evolved and improved a lot in the last 3 months and the game is coming to a point where it's very fun!

Right now a majority of time is spent building a lot of foundational things for the game. The ultimate goal is to make building content as simple as possible for myself, or even others. In order to accomplish that a lot of programming ,testing, and things that are generally hard to show off have to happen.

Luckily, we're getting to a point where some of the things are looking pretty neat. For example, I spent a lot of time coding the mechanics for your crewmen - and now I can simply plug in a set of graphics + stats and the game handles the rest

 This is actually just one of the races that are now in game fully playable and customizable.

In addition, there have been improvements to maps, levels, enemy ships, and overall playability! I don't want to spoil anything, but that next update I've been mentioning will be HUGE! 🙂

CURRENT ALPHA TESTERS

As for current testers, you're probably wondering "Hey, when's the next build?" Well it's going to be delayed for about 2 weeks. Often times in order to post up a build I have to tie up a lot of loose ends to make it playable and to avoid having the player run into half complete buggy content. It can sometimes be very time consuming, and prevents finishing larger mechanics from getting in game in a timely manner.

In order to implement some BRAND NEW never before seen top secret game features I am going to need a few weeks to get it all finished and seamless in game. I really do apologize for the delay! Between this and the forums downtime  I know it has been a bummer to wait but I promise it's worth it. Just to sweeten the deal I'll be sending out Steam keys to alpha level backers (as well as continuing to make an open download available via for the forums) once these new features are in!

I'm sorry for being a tease about new details, but all I can say is "I'm working on it!"  here's a cropped shot from just one of the things that's in the works. I wonder what this is for?

 

It been a while but v 0.3 on it way according to a post on Kickstarter.

some news about Insterstellaria

 

Whew! June came and went and what an intense month it was. Despite several outside challenges, I've been dedicated to getting a certain amount of work done every month no matter what! Needless to say I was getting a bit exhausted.

In the last update, I went over a big overhaul of space combat. I've really been happy with the reception of it all. I've been continuing to add new mechanics/content, as well as improve a number of features you might already be familiar with. Just in case you'd like up to date information on those things, never be afraid to hit me up on twitter at  https://twitter.com/ColdRice_Dev I post DAILY about current developments!

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Moving along, first up lets talk about some more UI improvements.

I've removed the "right click" system, and simply created an icon for whatever happens to an "interactable" when you right click it. This system saves a lot of time, and is a lot more user friendly. Don't worry, I've got ctrl+click ready for macs too 😛

This is more foundational and won't be expanded for a few weeks but I've also implemented the foundation of "traits" for your crewmen.

Many of these are random, but most are earned through secret actions throughout the game. Those with keen eye will probably figure the way to earn each trait, but otherwise it should be fun to watch your crewman become and energetic slob who loves aliens  over time.

My favorite feature this month has been diplomacy. It really makes brings the game one step closer to the final version. For a lot of alpha backers, just testing the game is fun but I'm sure every ones interested in finding out the motives and threats are in the galaxy

I'm also having a LOAD of fun with the portraits. I never realized it'd become my favorite part!

 One more to do for this month, and then we'll be seeing all the rest in the fall.

On to planet exploration. When I first began designing Interstellaria the goal was to create something similar to Star Flight in feel - that meant you were in space and on the ground. When I setup the viewpoint as a side view it seemed like a no-brainer to me to simply have the ground portions be in the "platformer" format. Sadly, I think I've done a poor job of exploring/demonstration the similarities between Interstellara and those older games.

As I continue to expand/design the levels I've begun implementing a series of objects that the player can encounter. The majority are actually trade goods! Things you can sell for good profit to the right buyer. The goal for me was to take something was that originally pretty plain/simple and spice it up with more varied enemy types as well as various hazards and puzzles.

 In addition, (just like those old school games) many plot points or tasks of interest show up on each planet. You can chat with anyone you find there, and many of the things you see can be clicked on for important info

I'm sure there's more I've missed, but I'll have to catch it next update. I'll end this part of the update with another gif showcasing the Kaidun Frigate

 It's fun watching these little guys work!

OTHER NEWS

For those curious about distribution, steam keys, and other misc. alpha/beta news: here's whats in store.

1) We've teamed up with the Humble Store to handle distribution of DRM free game copies, as well as steam keys! This is extremely exciting as its MUCH easier to manage those venues. I will be opening up the forums + subreddit at that point so anyone can join in on the conversations.

2) We'll be distributing these keys/links at the end of the month to Alpha backers. Up till now I've been using a "tacked on" tutorial. This month we'll be building a tutorial that will be mostly the  the same as the final version. Once it's done, we'll be sending those links out!

3) Beta: the end of the summer is fast approaching and as far as I can tell we should still be on track. A large chunk of content will be unloaded in the next 2 months and will hopefully put us where we need to be. Of course, I am not interested in rushing ANYTHING so if there are any delays for any reason I'll be sure to let everyone know as soon as possible.

That's it for now! Thank you all for all your support!

Look forward to seeing this on Steam as it will make the updating easier.

New update for the game.

Still waiting for them to sort out the Steam keys for this game.

And as if by magic the Steam key are now available unfortunately it using Humbles " you must log into your Steam account through the Humble store" which I for one can not get to work. 

Interstellaria is a about to hit Beta.

Just been playing a bit of the latest Beta and it has changed a bit from the first one although I am finding the mouse control of the character a bit confusing also when I get to the Trade Co planet and press the land button the screen just goes blank. may just be missing content but he seem to have forgotten to put a readme in with download from Humble so it might be a bug.

Edit

Must be a bug as I found the way to land on Trade Co planets is go back to the main screen and press the land ship button. 

Played a bit more of Interstellaria and it plays very much like a more leisurely FTL with planets after you looted the colony world you are sent to by Trade Co.The game opens up and can you visit a number of different star systems.

Found couple of annoying thing about the interface, one is that I can't access the ship cargo hold while on the planet and also you can't save the game on the planet.

Update from Kickstarter.

 

 

 

Jan 12 2015

 

Wow, what a crazy time in development. We're rounding the corner towards a complete game. You'd think things would get easier at this point, but instead it's the opposite. It gets wayyyy harder! So much to do!

I Figure I'll just unload a few select items of whats been going on in game

NEW Cruiser class vessels! These bad boys mop the floor with enemy fleets all by themselves!

New Fighter/Shuttle class vessels! These help to fill out your fleet at the beginning of the game - flying with a single ship is really difficult early on.

New locations! Here are three

I've also been fixing up a lot of the way the game presents itself. More things going on in the UI, movement... Here's an example. The newest build (for alpha/beta backers!) will have a different text scrolling effect

More things show up on the starmap

Also, here are ~30 crewmen pathfinding a rather complicated level. They take off instantly with a click now. Great improvement!

The pathfinding goes along with a weekly process of improving the game code itself towards release. Another example: the game is currently 266mb, but the next build coming soon will be 80mb instead! The majority of that 80 is just awesome music.

Happy new year everyone! It's exciting to think this will be the year we are go for launch!

 

Bit late with this as it now half way through the week but they have been doing a live stream on Interstellaria, hopefully they recorded them and will upload then to YouTube.

 

Whew, just got done with a fanastic pixel art stream. Here’s what’s in store for the rest of the week!

Been a new update for the game which Kickstart Backer can download.

 

I don't think I can say this enough

Whew!

So much work going on these days. Even though the workload has been the same, I would say that I personally think the game has grown the most in the last 30 days than it has since ever. Lets see what milestones are now crossed

-All ship are in. I planned/promised about 12, but there are 20 playable ships (with maybe one more hidden somewhere 😉 )

-All items are in. There's a lot, more than you see here anyways

-All races are in. I promised 4. There are now 5 fully customizable races with 4 more limited (can't equip special armor) races and 3 or 4 UNIQUE npc's you can hire

-All planets are in (though I think I want to add a few extra if I can find the time 😀 ). I promised 12. There are ~30 (though each of various size)

-Central plot complete (just missing the ending cinematic)

-Intro is in

-Music 99.9% done. Chipzel couldn't stand having a limited sound track - so there is a MASSIVE amount of high quality music in game now.

-Combat is complete, much more complex/involved that the prototype version

-Planet mechanics up to date and complete. Much more complex than the prototype version

So, crazy enough. the game is wayyyyy bigger than the initial scope. now that I'm on the other end, I didn't really realize how much it grew beyond the original silly prototype.

So now what?

Like... it's a game! So why do I need help? Well it's simple. Bugs. Lots and lots of bugs. This weekend I powered through the big ones, but there are more to go. The biggest thing about bugs is just finding them - at this point in development the code is strong enough that they usually aren't all day ordeals. Instead, its just death by a thousand cuts!

I decided to send this update out to backers at beta level ONLY. If you haven't picked up the game in a long time, do me a favor and PICK IT UP THIS WEEK. I will literally be doing nothing but 40-60 hours of bug fixes this week. The game has some *limited* analytics for testing purposes attached. Basically if you get a crash or error it'll send it to me. What I don't get is the nitty gritty details of Who/What/Where/When/Why.

Do me a favor, open up the game, play test 15-20 mins. If you experience a bug, a crash, or even just a typo, e-mail it to me coldricegames@gmail.com 

NOTE: This is not a good time to offer up suggestions or desired additions. Simply things that didn't work!

Here's a good example of the things I'm looking for

"Dear coldrice,

I was landing on trade co, and when my ship landed i wasn't able to click anything. Everything was still animating/moving and the music was still going but I simply could not click my characters. I was able to save and load from there, and everything worked again.

Sincerely

-Awesome-o"

Here's an example of a bad e-mail

"Coldrice

This game suks. I was flyin through space and I couldn't move. This suks"

-Half pint"

Anyways, of course you aren't required to do anything - but every bit helps!

Ok Ok, But When's It Coming Out?

Well, it turns out that's an insanely difficult question to answer. With so much done, and everything else wrapping up in the next few weeks, you'd think I could just launch the game. Wrong. Ignoring the massive amount of playtesting still in progress, there are other factors involved. For example: launching a game at the same time as spring sale, or launching the game at the same time as a big AAA titled is being launched. both could be death knells for the game. This severely limits the windows of time the game can even launch. In addition, marketing has to be done, press contacted, videos made, etc...

So how do I handle that? Well here's the top secret "not yet released but will be soon" news: We will be partnering with Chucklefish for all of our marketing needs. Many people have no idea, but Chucklefish is a marketing powerhouse. Many of their games have been marketed EXTREMELY well, even some that were previously released were then revived after signing on. I am VERY excited for the services they offer. Bar none, they are the friendliest team I've had the opportunity to chat with - and offer the BEST terms for publishing out of anyone. This should really alleviate a lot of the challenges I mentioned. There are several other benefits beyond just the marketing, but regardless it will dramatically reduce the marketing time of the game.

Give the game a whirl, submit bugs, and lets make this thing grow like a beautiful swan.

I have to admit the pixel art these guys are creating look great and I like how this game is going to be multiplatform because I would like to play this one on the android tablet. This game seems a lot deeper than Star Command that I have on the tablet now and it has planetside stuff too and open world.

Can't remember off hand if he has any plans for a Multiplatform release.

Game get a retro look.

Thought it was a green screen look but it turns out to a Game Boy look, just as well it's not a ZX81 look. :haha:

Some unedited game from Interstellaria.

Interstellaria hit Steam next month on the 17/7/15 http://store.steampowered.com/app/280360

Must check my Humble account and see what their.

Good lord this game is unintuitive. The UI seems to fight the player at every step.

That being said its kinda fun. Not overly deep for a game where you sit in the captain's chair. Played for roughly an hour or two. Not very far yet, but its giving me good vibes. Just wish selecting crew members wasn't incredibly difficult, which is a problem with real time combat. 

Forgot this was coming out must check my Humble account to see which version their.

Game on GOG as well.

Edit just check my Humble account and they have finally given me my Steam key :biggrin: :biggrin: guess it must be because it's been released now.

A very welcome and some what overdue update to the UI of the game. http://steamcommunity.com/games/Interstellaria/announcements/detail/818914824057077169

 

The new UI should be a LOT easier to work with for everyone. Things are much more clear, multiple menus can be opened at once, and more importantly the UI behaves better with different resolutions than the previous version.

In addition to the new UI, there should be a few new NPC's to talk to, some new items hiding throughout the game, as well as a new ship purchasable early on. It's all very exciting!

As the developer I would also like to address and apologize for the length of time it took to complete the patch. A lot of people are surprised to discover that Interstellaria is a solo dev project - just me (coldrice). As you can imagine, there is a LOT that goes into a game, and that's a LOT being done by a single person. I work a regular full time job and support a family as well as making games, so my progress is not quite as fast as bigger teams. It's not an excuse however! It just means it takes me a bit longer to get things turned around to where I want it. I make Interstellaria because I love Interstellaria, not really for any other reason.

An additional factor to the delay is the extent of the update. The original plan was a superficial/readability update for the UI. Instead, the entire UI system was taken out and replaced with something far more flexible. This should make it easier to extend, or if needed easier to remove bugs. Hopefully you guys like it!

Thanks for holding on guys!

Also 60% off this week.