http://shallow.space/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Update6.1.jpg

As promised, we are pleased to announce Update 6.1 boasting a fully interactive tutorial!

By interactive we mean that it offers up a set of instructions and the tutorial continues once you have completed them. We figured it would be a better way to learn than an instructional video.

It's comprehensive and will take you through camera controls, group creation and fleet movement, inventory management and ship configuration and mission/objective management and basic combat drills. Expect the tutorial to grow as the game grows, with the impending station building and resource collection mechanics to be injected imminently.

We also have a few minor fixes from an incremental patch released a few days ago listed below.

We are simply bursting with excitement right now and if you're not then you should be, with the UI refresh and the tutorial framework out the way - quick stop to update the game media and then it's time for one almighty meat injection!

As always we massively appreciate the supportive comments and if you've just joined us welcome, take a flick through some of the previous news and strap yourself in, because things are about to get REAL interesting round here.


- Fixed destroyed enemy causing crash in sandbox
- Fixed close button doesn't work in Dialogue window
- Fixed context menu not appearing for modular stations
- Fixed incorrect ship reference in Dialogue window subtitle

http://shallow.space/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Update6.1.jpg

As promised, we are pleased to announce Update 6.1 boasting a fully interactive tutorial!

By interactive we mean that it offers up a set of instructions and the tutorial continues once you have completed them. We figured it would be a better way to learn than an instructional video.

It's comprehensive and will take you through camera controls, group creation and fleet movement, inventory management and ship configuration and mission/objective management and basic combat drills. Expect the tutorial to grow as the game grows, with the impending station building and resource collection mechanics to be injected imminently.

We also have a few minor fixes from an incremental patch released a few days ago listed below.

We are simply bursting with excitement right now and if you're not then you should be, with the UI refresh and the tutorial framework out the way - quick stop to update the game media and then it's time for one almighty meat injection!

As always we massively appreciate the supportive comments and if you've just joined us welcome, take a flick through some of the previous news and strap yourself in, because things are about to get REAL interesting round here.


- Fixed destroyed enemy causing crash in sandbox
- Fixed close button doesn't work in Dialogue window
- Fixed context menu not appearing for modular stations
- Fixed incorrect ship reference in Dialogue window subtitle

http://shallow.space/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Update6.jpg
Context Buttons and Dialogue windows also added in this update

We are pleased to announce that Update 6 is ready! This is the most significant patch released to date with literally hundreds of additions and tweaks so we're going to break from the normal tradition of listing them all because there are simply too many.

If you haven't already we recommend you take a look at the previous article which will tell you what to expect from Update 6 but in addition to all that good stuff we have even more crammed in for good measure.


So we created a system called 'Context Targets' which allowed us to use abilities which targeted NPC ships such as 'Open Communications' or 'Subsystem Targeting.' Since implementing that the feedback coming back is that it's a little cumbersome so we've replaced Context Targets with a pop-up menu accessed simply by left-clicking on a NPC ship (with at least one Player ship selected.)

The context menu intelligently lists all the applicable abilities from the selected ships as well as the various standard options like 'Move To,' 'Trade' and 'Open Communications' making life much easier.


Previously the dialogue panel was anchored to the ability bar, now it has it's own dedicated window. This means you can effectively have more than one conversation at a time, which will make more sense when we start to roll in additional mission types and widen the scope of play.


We've streamlined and unified the actions taken on Left/Right click. So right clicking on a text link in the notification panel or mission objective is the same as right clicking on the thing itself for any Ship, Space Object or Zone. This makes things easier to control and much more fluid.

Here's an example:

1. You select and group your fleet
   
2. You click on the ship with the exclamation mark to see what they want
   
3. You find they have a mission on offer - you accept
   
4. You tick the box on the Objective UI piece to track it and while over there you right click on the Zone link automatically sending your ships there.

Much simpler.

Left clicking on items in play raises or lowers the tactical overlay to their level making them easier to navigate towards.


There are far more notifications now confirming actions, telling you how many jumps away a target is and letting you know about Out of Zone activities such as your allies spotting an enemy vessel.


We also have all the fixes and additions brought across from the BETA patches:

• Update 5.3 - Saving and Loading
  
• Update 5.3.1 - Big incremental patch!
  
• Update 5.3.2 - Unit XP & Tactical overlay markings

So this is a massive step forward and it's a lot more stable than Update 5 so we're making it live right away. Now that the UI is better look forward to Update 6.1 in which we'll be introducing the Tutorial and updating the in-game manual pages.

Many thanks for the continued support!

http://shallow.space/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Update6.jpg
Context Buttons and Dialogue windows also added in this update

We are pleased to announce that Update 6 is ready! This is the most significant patch released to date with literally hundreds of additions and tweaks so we're going to break from the normal tradition of listing them all because there are simply too many.

If you haven't already we recommend you take a look at the previous article which will tell you what to expect from Update 6 but in addition to all that good stuff we have even more crammed in for good measure.


So we created a system called 'Context Targets' which allowed us to use abilities which targeted NPC ships such as 'Open Communications' or 'Subsystem Targeting.' Since implementing that the feedback coming back is that it's a little cumbersome so we've replaced Context Targets with a pop-up menu accessed simply by left-clicking on a NPC ship (with at least one Player ship selected.)

The context menu intelligently lists all the applicable abilities from the selected ships as well as the various standard options like 'Move To,' 'Trade' and 'Open Communications' making life much easier.


Previously the dialogue panel was anchored to the ability bar, now it has it's own dedicated window. This means you can effectively have more than one conversation at a time, which will make more sense when we start to roll in additional mission types and widen the scope of play.


We've streamlined and unified the actions taken on Left/Right click. So right clicking on a text link in the notification panel or mission objective is the same as right clicking on the thing itself for any Ship, Space Object or Zone. This makes things easier to control and much more fluid.

Here's an example:

1. You select and group your fleet
   
2. You click on the ship with the exclamation mark to see what they want
   
3. You find they have a mission on offer - you accept
   
4. You tick the box on the Objective UI piece to track it and while over there you right click on the Zone link automatically sending your ships there.

Much simpler.

Left clicking on items in play raises or lowers the tactical overlay to their level making them easier to navigate towards.


There are far more notifications now confirming actions, telling you how many jumps away a target is and letting you know about Out of Zone activities such as your allies spotting an enemy vessel.


We also have all the fixes and additions brought across from the BETA patches:

• Update 5.3 - Saving and Loading
  
• Update 5.3.1 - Big incremental patch!
  
• Update 5.3.2 - Unit XP & Tactical overlay markings

So this is a massive step forward and it's a lot more stable than Update 5 so we're making it live right away. Now that the UI is better look forward to Update 6.1 in which we'll be introducing the Tutorial and updating the in-game manual pages.

Many thanks for the continued support!

The 3D UI has been decluttered giving the Zones a more open feel and the 2D UI has matured.

So before we delve into creating the tutorial and adding new stuff we thought it prudent to get rid of the prototype UI elements and really look at how we interact with the game to make things a little more involving and intuitive.

As you can no doubt immediately see, a number of things stand to change in Update 6 as we sweep the prototype user interface under the table and replace it with something altogether a little more mature.


Some of the feedback coming from you guys mention that the Overhaul doesn’t yet fully capture the majesty of space. After breaking the scene down into its abstract parts and questioning them we found that the grid and border around the game edge made the maps (or Zones) feel a little claustrophic. What’s more, when polled, 70% of you hinted that we should explore an alternative to the grid based reference plane.

Your wish is our command.

Previously the levels were pizza box shaped; now we’ve changed them to a cylinder shape. Not only does this feel more fitting when combined with the radial camera, it gives us an better sense of scale and to us, feels a little more natural. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating and we look forward to feedback on that.

The overall composition of the UI improves the games general ambiance.


The fleet panel (top left) has been condensed reducing the full width faction logo icons which looked a little dodgy at resolutions below 2K. Unfortunately we couldn’t keep all the large hologram fleet icons on screen at the same time because it lead to scrolling, but clicking on the smaller tactical icons and Soft Group icons will correctly filter the lists.

We have removed the health bars on the fleet icons and made the hologram image of the ship itself the health bar. Quite a bizarre little tweak but it’s surprising just how much it assists us when looking for damage status and as a bonus it’s more aesthetically appealing.

The situation panel (top right) has also been reworked.

Previously we had square Zone icons with numbers that made the thing look a little like a bingo calling card, now we’ve replaced them with pictorial representations of the contents of a Zone. If a Zone is dark, it’s still listed making it much easier to track changes as you and you allies chart space. It also makes more sense as this is known space – so really as a Commander you would know how to get there just not necessarily what awaits you…

Otherwise we’ve tweaked the fonts, position of the elements and how they react when you use them to give the whole thing a more polished feel.


Picture additional planets orbiting that Sun, with lines joining the Jump gates between them. We're not ruling out orbital mechanics either.

Update 6 will see some cosmetic dressing to the Zone map with large amounts of work going on under the hood to prepare for additional planets. Again the Zone icons have been replaced with images, all Zones are now shown and an orbit line added for the example Planet Ares around the systems Sun.

It’s important to note that the Zone map looks cluttered because we’ve added a larger number of Zones to a single planet than we might normally. As we add additional planets we can expect to spread things out a bit visually.


The old menu screen is back!

We put a lot of work into that old Alpha and in the transition it’s possible that we might have forgotten about some of the advancements it offered us. (Remember you can still access the old Alpha using the BETA tab in the game properties.)

Some more feedback indicates that the dedicated Hangar from the old alpha is quite sorely missed. We’re happy to report once the tutorial has been completed and we've switched on a few more key mechanics we’ll be bringing that back.

We’ve also resurrected the original menu screen showcasing the newest ships as we were missing it!


Throughout the duration of Update 6 we’ll really be addressing the user experience (UX). The tutorial is quite a common request now but that actually tells us that things aren’t quite as obvious or intuitive as they need to be.

An example of this will be the inclusion of a small contextual menu when you click on a Ship or Space Object. This will allow you to quickly access actions such as Open Comms or Attack, perhaps hide in a Space Object without having to mess about with context targets or the ability bar.

We’ll also be looking at the Zone and Space Object tooltips – do they really tell us what we need to know?

What’s more, we have 5 new ships about to land including fixed weapon attack Cruisers and pirate ‘aberrate’ variants and we’ll also be adding in some random encounters.

Update 6 is just being polished off and should land in the next few days.

We hope this demonstrates how quickly things are moving now as we continue the process of adding and refining, and we hope you join us in our excitement as we continue cramming this thing full of win! As always, thanks for the continued support and if you have any feedback please hit the forums or even the comments below – you should know by now that we are very good listeners!

The 3D UI has been decluttered giving the Zones a more open feel and the 2D UI has matured.

So before we delve into creating the tutorial and adding new stuff we thought it prudent to get rid of the prototype UI elements and really look at how we interact with the game to make things a little more involving and intuitive.

As you can no doubt immediately see, a number of things stand to change in Update 6 as we sweep the prototype user interface under the table and replace it with something altogether a little more mature.


Some of the feedback coming from you guys mention that the Overhaul doesn’t yet fully capture the majesty of space. After breaking the scene down into its abstract parts and questioning them we found that the grid and border around the game edge made the maps (or Zones) feel a little claustrophic. What’s more, when polled, 70% of you hinted that we should explore an alternative to the grid based reference plane.

Your wish is our command.

Previously the levels were pizza box shaped; now we’ve changed them to a cylinder shape. Not only does this feel more fitting when combined with the radial camera, it gives us an better sense of scale and to us, feels a little more natural. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating and we look forward to feedback on that.

The overall composition of the UI improves the games general ambiance.


The fleet panel (top left) has been condensed reducing the full width faction logo icons which looked a little dodgy at resolutions below 2K. Unfortunately we couldn’t keep all the large hologram fleet icons on screen at the same time because it lead to scrolling, but clicking on the smaller tactical icons and Soft Group icons will correctly filter the lists.

We have removed the health bars on the fleet icons and made the hologram image of the ship itself the health bar. Quite a bizarre little tweak but it’s surprising just how much it assists us when looking for damage status and as a bonus it’s more aesthetically appealing.

The situation panel (top right) has also been reworked.

Previously we had square Zone icons with numbers that made the thing look a little like a bingo calling card, now we’ve replaced them with pictorial representations of the contents of a Zone. If a Zone is dark, it’s still listed making it much easier to track changes as you and you allies chart space. It also makes more sense as this is known space – so really as a Commander you would know how to get there just not necessarily what awaits you…

Otherwise we’ve tweaked the fonts, position of the elements and how they react when you use them to give the whole thing a more polished feel.


Picture additional planets orbiting that Sun, with lines joining the Jump gates between them. We're not ruling out orbital mechanics either.

Update 6 will see some cosmetic dressing to the Zone map with large amounts of work going on under the hood to prepare for additional planets. Again the Zone icons have been replaced with images, all Zones are now shown and an orbit line added for the example Planet Ares around the systems Sun.

It’s important to note that the Zone map looks cluttered because we’ve added a larger number of Zones to a single planet than we might normally. As we add additional planets we can expect to spread things out a bit visually.


The old menu screen is back!

We put a lot of work into that old Alpha and in the transition it’s possible that we might have forgotten about some of the advancements it offered us. (Remember you can still access the old Alpha using the BETA tab in the game properties.)

Some more feedback indicates that the dedicated Hangar from the old alpha is quite sorely missed. We’re happy to report once the tutorial has been completed and we've switched on a few more key mechanics we’ll be bringing that back.

We’ve also resurrected the original menu screen showcasing the newest ships as we were missing it!


Throughout the duration of Update 6 we’ll really be addressing the user experience (UX). The tutorial is quite a common request now but that actually tells us that things aren’t quite as obvious or intuitive as they need to be.

An example of this will be the inclusion of a small contextual menu when you click on a Ship or Space Object. This will allow you to quickly access actions such as Open Comms or Attack, perhaps hide in a Space Object without having to mess about with context targets or the ability bar.

We’ll also be looking at the Zone and Space Object tooltips – do they really tell us what we need to know?

What’s more, we have 5 new ships about to land including fixed weapon attack Cruisers and pirate ‘aberrate’ variants and we’ll also be adding in some random encounters.

Update 6 is just being polished off and should land in the next few days.

We hope this demonstrates how quickly things are moving now as we continue the process of adding and refining, and we hope you join us in our excitement as we continue cramming this thing full of win! As always, thanks for the continued support and if you have any feedback please hit the forums or even the comments below – you should know by now that we are very good listeners!

Vote for us in the IndieDB Indie of the Year Awards 2016!

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

Hopefully you've all enjoyed the rapid pace of progress over the last couple of months as we mature the Shallow Space Open-world Overhaul.

Help us get into the Top 100 for the 3rd year running! You don't need an account, no requirement to log in at all, just a few clicks required to vote to help us secure a little bit of additional exposure.

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

As an added incentive to exercise that itchy click-finger, head over to the games IndieDB page to see more angles of the latest MFC fixed weapon attack Cruiser due to be added to the alpha imminently! Dubbed simply the 'MFC Marauder' we need to give it a more exciting name - any suggestions?

Head over to IndieDB to cast your vote!

Vote for us in the IndieDB Indie of the Year Awards 2016!

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

Hopefully you've all enjoyed the rapid pace of progress over the last couple of months as we mature the Shallow Space Open-world Overhaul.

Help us get into the Top 100 for the 3rd year running! You don't need an account, no requirement to log in at all, just a few clicks required to vote to help us secure a little bit of additional exposure.

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

As an added incentive to exercise that itchy click-finger, head over to the games IndieDB page to see more angles of the latest MFC fixed weapon attack Cruiser due to be added to the alpha imminently! Dubbed simply the 'MFC Marauder' we need to give it a more exciting name - any suggestions?

Head over to IndieDB to cast your vote!

http://shallow.space/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/sspace-2016-12-08-18-31-30-30.jpg
Added height lines to the movement waypoints to better aid perspective (click image for fullscreen.)

Another BETA patch yielding additional work on unit veterancy and experience with the proceeds of a battle now distributed amongst the ships. Experience is dealt as a ratio, so if a single ship did 75% of the damage they'll receive 75% of the XP.

Interesting to note that with this system, experience is split between all ships that caused damage to the target, so swarming the enemy with a huge overpowering fleet will result in minimal XP rewards.

We've also removed the clutter of the attack lines and will shortly replace them with another style of visual confirmation. Otherwise, a couple more fixes and tweaks - another minor patch to come before we merge with the public build.

Some nice feedback on the Official Forums - keep it coming!

• Added experience given on ship destruction
  
• Added experience notification message
  
• Added height lines to movement lines
  
  
• Fixed bug where negative status' aren't applied
  
• Fixed crash retrieving tooltip for destroyed ship
  
  
• Update reduced default sensitivity of controls
  
• Update height lines now shown for all ships
  
• Update attack lines flattened to grid
  
• Update attack lines shown only on mouseover

Note this patch is currently in BETA, but you can access it if you own the game:

1. Right click on the game in your Steam library
   
2. Select 'Properties'
   
3. Select 'BETAS' tab
   
4. Select 'testing - Overhaul Beta' from the list

The BETA is only available on Windows and Linux.

http://shallow.space/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/sspace-2016-12-08-18-31-30-30.jpg
Added height lines to the movement waypoints to better aid perspective (click image for fullscreen.)

Another BETA patch yielding additional work on unit veterancy and experience with the proceeds of a battle now distributed amongst the ships. Experience is dealt as a ratio, so if a single ship did 75% of the damage they'll receive 75% of the XP.

Interesting to note that with this system, experience is split between all ships that caused damage to the target, so swarming the enemy with a huge overpowering fleet will result in minimal XP rewards.

We've also removed the clutter of the attack lines and will shortly replace them with another style of visual confirmation. Otherwise, a couple more fixes and tweaks - another minor patch to come before we merge with the public build.

Some nice feedback on the Official Forums - keep it coming!

• Added experience given on ship destruction
  
• Added experience notification message
  
• Added height lines to movement lines
  
  
• Fixed bug where negative status' aren't applied
  
• Fixed crash retrieving tooltip for destroyed ship
  
  
• Update reduced default sensitivity of controls
  
• Update height lines now shown for all ships
  
• Update attack lines flattened to grid
  
• Update attack lines shown only on mouseover

Note this patch is currently in BETA, but you can access it if you own the game:

1. Right click on the game in your Steam library
   
2. Select 'Properties'
   
3. Select 'BETAS' tab
   
4. Select 'testing - Overhaul Beta' from the list

The BETA is only available on Windows and Linux.