There's a new Battlecruiser to look forward to in UPDATE 7 folks!

The MFC Blackbird comes with devastating on-board missile launchers and you can choose the ammunition to take into the battlefield. The catch is that to use these guys strategically requires a little bit of skill, with salvo sizes, missile types and ranges all adding to the scope of decisions you'll need to make as a Battlegroup Commander in the field.

Read up more on the Blackbird, the missiles mechanic and view a 3D turntable of the new model over on the blog!

http://shallow.space/mineral-fusion-battlecruiser-blackbird/

"MFC market the craft as ‘negative space ready,’ one of the smallest ships to do so in fact and before even making use of that valuable tech to extend the support capabilities, the craft sports 3 Support Slots aimed at providing additional targeting and sensor reach. Sensor reach is actually this crafts Achilles heel, but as with any indirect fire solution the vessel requires an array of support vessels to be used effectively: Scouts should identify targets for the Blackbird to fire upon outside of its own sensor reach, resupply vessels are required to keep the Blackbird stocked with the quickly depleted ammunition and missiles are highly susceptible to ECM so EW craft should also be used to maximise effectiveness."

There's a new Battlecruiser to look forward to in UPDATE 7 folks!

The MFC Blackbird comes with devastating on-board missile launchers and you can choose the ammunition to take into the battlefield. The catch is that to use these guys strategically requires a little bit of skill, with salvo sizes, missile types and ranges all adding to the scope of decisions you'll need to make as a Battlegroup Commander in the field.

Read up more on the Blackbird, the missiles mechanic and view a 3D turntable of the new model over on the blog!

http://shallow.space/mineral-fusion-battlecruiser-blackbird/

"MFC market the craft as ‘negative space ready,’ one of the smallest ships to do so in fact and before even making use of that valuable tech to extend the support capabilities, the craft sports 3 Support Slots aimed at providing additional targeting and sensor reach. Sensor reach is actually this crafts Achilles heel, but as with any indirect fire solution the vessel requires an array of support vessels to be used effectively: Scouts should identify targets for the Blackbird to fire upon outside of its own sensor reach, resupply vessels are required to keep the Blackbird stocked with the quickly depleted ammunition and missiles are highly susceptible to ECM so EW craft should also be used to maximise effectiveness."

Awesome news folks: We're in the Top 100 games on IndieDB for the second year running!

Admittedly this comes as a surprise to us as we've been so busy creating assets and getting UPDATE 7 ready that we've barely had time to to announce that we are up for nominations.

So it seems you guys have taken it upon yourselves to vote us in and for that we are most humbled! But the voting doesn't end here, if we get into the top 5 games we'll receive $30,000 worth of advertising!

It probably goes without saying that the value of that to us right now is immeasurable as we continue the uphill battle of putting Shallow Space in front of as many people as possible.

http://www.indiedb.com/games/shallow-space

So head straight to the gamepage to vote (no registration or login required, just a click) and look forward to a special celebratory article over on IndieDB shortly!

Awesome news folks: We're in the Top 100 games on IndieDB for the second year running!

Admittedly this comes as a surprise to us as we've been so busy creating assets and getting UPDATE 7 ready that we've barely had time to to announce that we are up for nominations.

So it seems you guys have taken it upon yourselves to vote us in and for that we are most humbled! But the voting doesn't end here, if we get into the top 5 games we'll receive $30,000 worth of advertising!

It probably goes without saying that the value of that to us right now is immeasurable as we continue the uphill battle of putting Shallow Space in front of as many people as possible.

http://www.indiedb.com/games/shallow-space

So head straight to the gamepage to vote (no registration or login required, just a click) and look forward to a special celebratory article over on IndieDB shortly!

In this update we continue to focus on refining the strategic experience, work on the reported issues, inject new ships and modules and put in the scaffolding for the new ‘Combat Simulator’ which will allow you to test your ship designs. We've also added two new ships and the ability activated XL weapons, a total of 70+ additions.

But the majority of the work has been under the hood, thinning out the loading process and putting in some optimisations to facilitate the addition of things like multiplayer and modding.

New modules

A notable inclusion to the list of available modules are the new ‘Shield Modules’ which can now be fitted to a special slot on any ship. The modules can either extend the amount of hit points a ship has or can offer damage resistances. In keeping with the insane customisation options we have planned the modules also change the look and feel of the shields, hover over the icon in the ship configuration screen for a preview and you can also click on the ship to test them.



Battle Simulator

As well as having the skirmish missions to hone your skills, we have also included a special map accessible via the ship configuration screen that will allow you to test your ships. At the moment you’ll face a ‘mirrored’ set of ships with randomised weapon load-outs which is actually pretty tricky.

In the end the combat simulator will have a number of customisation options like the ability to set a randomised opponent to a predetermined base MP count (10K, 15K, 20K etc.) and number of Flotillas so you’ll be able to knock together some pretty insane battles and in the background it’ll really allow us to perfect the AI’s behaviour. Awesomeness all round.



Fixed Special Weapons

So we include the first type of special weapon slot which is attached to one of the new ships, the Homan. To use them the ship will need a target (either using auto attack or manually right clicking on a ship) then select the ‘Activate Special Weapon’ ability button. The ship will then move into the required range and start to open fire.

The guns are overpowered at the moment as they will continue firing until the target is destroyed so a wing of 3 Homans will annihilate a Nottingham Battleship pretty quickly, we’ll be restricting the ability with the usual cooldown periods in a future update.



Special weapons will start to give you additional strategic options and make destroying the enemy more fun than simply right clicking on them and watching them duel. For example, the Homan, although has a formidable weapon, will be overcome pretty quickly in a toe-to-toe battle with a Capital ship. So it’s best to distract the target and jump in behind and let rip.

UPDATE 7 will focus on giving you more scope with a new indirect fire weapon system (missiles,) a new Battlecruiser to shoot those missiles; the MFC ‘Blackbird’ and we’ll also be widening the Combat Simulator with configurable options as discussed and adding a few additional maps and modules.

As usual see here for the comprehensive patch notes, we hope you enjoy playing UPDATE 6!

In this update we continue to focus on refining the strategic experience, work on the reported issues, inject new ships and modules and put in the scaffolding for the new ‘Combat Simulator’ which will allow you to test your ship designs. We've also added two new ships and the ability activated XL weapons, a total of 70+ additions.

But the majority of the work has been under the hood, thinning out the loading process and putting in some optimisations to facilitate the addition of things like multiplayer and modding.

New modules

A notable inclusion to the list of available modules are the new ‘Shield Modules’ which can now be fitted to a special slot on any ship. The modules can either extend the amount of hit points a ship has or can offer damage resistances. In keeping with the insane customisation options we have planned the modules also change the look and feel of the shields, hover over the icon in the ship configuration screen for a preview and you can also click on the ship to test them.



Battle Simulator

As well as having the skirmish missions to hone your skills, we have also included a special map accessible via the ship configuration screen that will allow you to test your ships. At the moment you’ll face a ‘mirrored’ set of ships with randomised weapon load-outs which is actually pretty tricky.

In the end the combat simulator will have a number of customisation options like the ability to set a randomised opponent to a predetermined base MP count (10K, 15K, 20K etc.) and number of Flotillas so you’ll be able to knock together some pretty insane battles and in the background it’ll really allow us to perfect the AI’s behaviour. Awesomeness all round.



Fixed Special Weapons

So we include the first type of special weapon slot which is attached to one of the new ships, the Homan. To use them the ship will need a target (either using auto attack or manually right clicking on a ship) then select the ‘Activate Special Weapon’ ability button. The ship will then move into the required range and start to open fire.

The guns are overpowered at the moment as they will continue firing until the target is destroyed so a wing of 3 Homans will annihilate a Nottingham Battleship pretty quickly, we’ll be restricting the ability with the usual cooldown periods in a future update.



Special weapons will start to give you additional strategic options and make destroying the enemy more fun than simply right clicking on them and watching them duel. For example, the Homan, although has a formidable weapon, will be overcome pretty quickly in a toe-to-toe battle with a Capital ship. So it’s best to distract the target and jump in behind and let rip.

UPDATE 7 will focus on giving you more scope with a new indirect fire weapon system (missiles,) a new Battlecruiser to shoot those missiles; the MFC ‘Blackbird’ and we’ll also be widening the Combat Simulator with configurable options as discussed and adding a few additional maps and modules.

As usual see here for the comprehensive patch notes, we hope you enjoy playing UPDATE 6!

0.8.12 Update 6 Change log (01.12.2015)

Over 70 modifications in this update; over 46 feature additions, 15 fixes & 20 tweaks.

Blog article will be put online shortly to talk about the changes.

• Added: PLC Battlecruiser 'Homan'
  
• Added: MFC Battleship 'Nottingham'
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Kinetic' shield module XL
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Kinetic' shield module L
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Kinetic' shield module M
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Energy' shield module XL
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Energy' shield module L
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Energy' shield module M
  
• Added: 'Additional Hull Plating' support module M
  
• Added: 'Reactive Hull Plating' support module M
  
• Added: 'Reactive Hull Plating' support module L
  
• Added: 'Reactive Hull Plating' support module XL
  
• Added: 'Reflective Hull Plating' support module M
  
• Added: 'Reflective Hull Plating' support module L
  
• Added: 'Reflective Hull Plating' support module XL
  
• Added: 'Light Siege Laser' special weapon XL (targets XL, L)
  
• Added: 'Fixed Plasma Pulse' special weapon XL (target XL, L)
  
• Added: 'Activate Special Weapons' ability
  
• Added: 'Continuous Plasma Discharge' beam weapon XL (targets XL, L)
  
• Added: 'Continuous Plasma Discharge' beam weapon L (targets XL, L)
  
• Added: 'Point Defense Laser' beam weapon L (targets S, M)
  
• Added: Performant procedural script delivery on ship spawn (modular tech prep)
  
• Added: New warp menu screen showing off latest ship
  
• Added: Shield texture replaced, shield effects intensified
  
• Added: Additional shield materials; red, green and blue
  
• Added: Preview of shield effect on mouseover in Ship Config
  
• Added: Shielding to turrets and barrels
  
• Added: more efficient procedural shield plating system in tactical [Mod prepwork]
  
• Added: Shield slot to Ship Config screen and integrated it into UIShipConfigDraggableIcon class
  
• Added: New 'Tactical Simulation' skybox
  
• Added: Shield modules integrated into tactical
  
• Added: Better UI feedback for textual buttons
  
• Added: Integrated combat simulator into Ship Config
  
• Added: Ship config integration to Fleet config for combat simulator
  
• Added: 'Homan' featured on main menu screen
  
• Added: Double clicking weapon on 3D model removes it in Ship Config
  
• Added: Fleet Config screen reset under certain exit conditions
  
• Added: Animation functions to base draggable item class in Fleet Config
  
• Added: Extensions to screen transitioning system (callback on fadeIn)
  
• Added: Created special Combat Simulator map
  
• Added: Animated default starts in Fleet Config
  
• Added: Relocated procedural texture caching system from tactical to global game 'Core'
  
• Added: Map setting 'skip intro' (active scenary prep)
  
• Added: Scrollbar to turret slots holder in Ship Config
  
• Added: Clicking on the ship tests the shields in Ship Config
  
• Added: Graceful transition from Fleet Config to Tactical
  
  
• Fixed: if player doesn't choose scenery weird things happen
  
• Fixed: Ships not appearing when leaving and re
• entering Ship Config
  
• Fixed: Mac/Linux dual lit planet issue (pending feedback)
  
• Fixed: Fixed memory leak associated with generating procedural textures
  
• Fixed: Switching between ship designs in Ship Config is now marginally faster
  
• Fixed: The sliders in Ship Config are now much more responsive
  
• Fixed: Fleet config screen now correctly clears down on close
  
• Fixed: Tweaked launch positions on Sadalbari to prevent launched ships getting stuck
  
• Fixed: Sometimes Capital ships refuse to jump claiming invisible obstruction
  
• Fixed: Wingleader might return to spawn point and sit there if wingmember destroyed
  
• Fixed: Annoying pause spam when multiple notifications reported in short space of time
  
• Fixed: Flotilla cohesion issues when old Flotilla leader destroyed and new one elected
  
• Fixed: Beam weapons sometimes ignoring recharge periods
  
• Fixed: XL Plasma guns emit wrong sound
  
• Fixed: Additional fixes to prevent AI trying to occupy point too close to another ship
  
  
• Update: Unnecessary colliders removed (performance tweak)
  
• Update: 'Shield Extender' is now a shield module
  
• Update: Slight refactor of UIFleetConfig and associated classes
  
• Update: Slight refactor of UIShipConfig and associated classes
  
• Update: Consolidated shield and hull damage into single attribute
  
• Update: Railguns minimum range increased to compensate for the fact they never miss
  
• Update: Optimizations to line drawing class
  
• Update: Screen transitions quickened
  
• Update: Integrated procedural texture caching system into initial load
  
• Update: Integrated procedural texture caching system into Ship Config
  
• Update: Refactoring of global game core (some references replaced for static)
  
• Update: Optimized shield plating system
  
• Update: Greatly thinned out the Tactical loading process
  
• Update: Multiple play through stability fixes
  
• Update: Ship lifecycle improvements (multiplayer prep)
  
• Update: Halved number of precached objects required due to lifecycle improvements
  
• Update: 'ShipCarrier' class refactored with lifecycle improvements
  
• Update: 'Core' class refactored with lifecycle improvements
  
• Update: Railguns damage increased (M, L and XL)

0.8.12 Update 6 Change log (01.12.2015)

Over 70 modifications in this update; over 46 feature additions, 15 fixes & 20 tweaks.

Blog article will be put online shortly to talk about the changes.

• Added: PLC Battlecruiser 'Homan'
  
• Added: MFC Battleship 'Nottingham'
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Kinetic' shield module XL
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Kinetic' shield module L
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Kinetic' shield module M
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Energy' shield module XL
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Energy' shield module L
  
• Added: 'Shield Hardener Energy' shield module M
  
• Added: 'Additional Hull Plating' support module M
  
• Added: 'Reactive Hull Plating' support module M
  
• Added: 'Reactive Hull Plating' support module L
  
• Added: 'Reactive Hull Plating' support module XL
  
• Added: 'Reflective Hull Plating' support module M
  
• Added: 'Reflective Hull Plating' support module L
  
• Added: 'Reflective Hull Plating' support module XL
  
• Added: 'Light Siege Laser' special weapon XL (targets XL, L)
  
• Added: 'Fixed Plasma Pulse' special weapon XL (target XL, L)
  
• Added: 'Activate Special Weapons' ability
  
• Added: 'Continuous Plasma Discharge' beam weapon XL (targets XL, L)
  
• Added: 'Continuous Plasma Discharge' beam weapon L (targets XL, L)
  
• Added: 'Point Defense Laser' beam weapon L (targets S, M)
  
• Added: Performant procedural script delivery on ship spawn (modular tech prep)
  
• Added: New warp menu screen showing off latest ship
  
• Added: Shield texture replaced, shield effects intensified
  
• Added: Additional shield materials; red, green and blue
  
• Added: Preview of shield effect on mouseover in Ship Config
  
• Added: Shielding to turrets and barrels
  
• Added: more efficient procedural shield plating system in tactical [Mod prepwork]
  
• Added: Shield slot to Ship Config screen and integrated it into UIShipConfigDraggableIcon class
  
• Added: New 'Tactical Simulation' skybox
  
• Added: Shield modules integrated into tactical
  
• Added: Better UI feedback for textual buttons
  
• Added: Integrated combat simulator into Ship Config
  
• Added: Ship config integration to Fleet config for combat simulator
  
• Added: 'Homan' featured on main menu screen
  
• Added: Double clicking weapon on 3D model removes it in Ship Config
  
• Added: Fleet Config screen reset under certain exit conditions
  
• Added: Animation functions to base draggable item class in Fleet Config
  
• Added: Extensions to screen transitioning system (callback on fadeIn)
  
• Added: Created special Combat Simulator map
  
• Added: Animated default starts in Fleet Config
  
• Added: Relocated procedural texture caching system from tactical to global game 'Core'
  
• Added: Map setting 'skip intro' (active scenary prep)
  
• Added: Scrollbar to turret slots holder in Ship Config
  
• Added: Clicking on the ship tests the shields in Ship Config
  
• Added: Graceful transition from Fleet Config to Tactical
  
  
• Fixed: if player doesn't choose scenery weird things happen
  
• Fixed: Ships not appearing when leaving and re
• entering Ship Config
  
• Fixed: Mac/Linux dual lit planet issue (pending feedback)
  
• Fixed: Fixed memory leak associated with generating procedural textures
  
• Fixed: Switching between ship designs in Ship Config is now marginally faster
  
• Fixed: The sliders in Ship Config are now much more responsive
  
• Fixed: Fleet config screen now correctly clears down on close
  
• Fixed: Tweaked launch positions on Sadalbari to prevent launched ships getting stuck
  
• Fixed: Sometimes Capital ships refuse to jump claiming invisible obstruction
  
• Fixed: Wingleader might return to spawn point and sit there if wingmember destroyed
  
• Fixed: Annoying pause spam when multiple notifications reported in short space of time
  
• Fixed: Flotilla cohesion issues when old Flotilla leader destroyed and new one elected
  
• Fixed: Beam weapons sometimes ignoring recharge periods
  
• Fixed: XL Plasma guns emit wrong sound
  
• Fixed: Additional fixes to prevent AI trying to occupy point too close to another ship
  
  
• Update: Unnecessary colliders removed (performance tweak)
  
• Update: 'Shield Extender' is now a shield module
  
• Update: Slight refactor of UIFleetConfig and associated classes
  
• Update: Slight refactor of UIShipConfig and associated classes
  
• Update: Consolidated shield and hull damage into single attribute
  
• Update: Railguns minimum range increased to compensate for the fact they never miss
  
• Update: Optimizations to line drawing class
  
• Update: Screen transitions quickened
  
• Update: Integrated procedural texture caching system into initial load
  
• Update: Integrated procedural texture caching system into Ship Config
  
• Update: Refactoring of global game core (some references replaced for static)
  
• Update: Optimized shield plating system
  
• Update: Greatly thinned out the Tactical loading process
  
• Update: Multiple play through stability fixes
  
• Update: Ship lifecycle improvements (multiplayer prep)
  
• Update: Halved number of precached objects required due to lifecycle improvements
  
• Update: 'ShipCarrier' class refactored with lifecycle improvements
  
• Update: 'Core' class refactored with lifecycle improvements
  
• Update: Railguns damage increased (M, L and XL)

The latest ship design, the PLC Battlecruiser 'Homan' is up over on the blog complete with 3D turntable! We can expect this puppy to arrive with UPDATE 6 within the next few days. Checkout the annoucement over on the blog.

http://shallow.space/pleiades-battlecruiser-homan/

"The problem with XL weapons in turret form is that with so much energy being pumped into the base, often the turret needs a long recharge time in between cycles to ensure that its operation can be sustained. The XL fixed weapon has no such concession; sporting cooling solutions, focal apparatus and energy capacitance that the XL turrets cannot afford the space to fit. The end result is an overcharged and oversized cannon capable of a sustained and contiguous firing solution over a far greater range."

The latest ship design, the PLC Battlecruiser 'Homan' is up over on the blog complete with 3D turntable! We can expect this puppy to arrive with UPDATE 6 within the next few days. Checkout the annoucement over on the blog.

http://shallow.space/pleiades-battlecruiser-homan/

"The problem with XL weapons in turret form is that with so much energy being pumped into the base, often the turret needs a long recharge time in between cycles to ensure that its operation can be sustained. The XL fixed weapon has no such concession; sporting cooling solutions, focal apparatus and energy capacitance that the XL turrets cannot afford the space to fit. The end result is an overcharged and oversized cannon capable of a sustained and contiguous firing solution over a far greater range."