This is a fairly substantial update, including an improved intro, many UI improvements and a lot more visibility into all the things going on in the game, like a legend for the map modes, or the display of empire cultural values.
Together with the extension to 2 years, the demo should now give you a fairly good piece of gameplay.
And it's an important step towards the full game release.
I am also adding a "testing" branch. If you want to get updates like this early, go to the properties of the game in Steam and look at "betas". You should be able to simply subscribe to the testing branch.
This update is going live on the testing branch first, because it still lacks a few translations that I need to add (for new texts). If you play in English anyway, everything should work. Otherwise, wait until the next update and everything will be localized.
Three weeks after the demo's release, we're bringing you the first scheduled update. The core additions in this version are the Ship Modification System and two types of hostile wild species.

In addition to basic module adjustments, ships now have a new enhancement method through modification.
The modification system covers four main types: Hull, Shield, Engine, and individual Weapon systems.
Modifications can provide significant performance improvements, far exceeding those from expensive module upgrades, making them a highly effective enhancement path. However, modifications come with a degree of instability:
Each modification has one or more primary enhancement effects, along with several potential secondary effects
Primary effects are guaranteed to activate (with minor numerical fluctuations)
Only one secondary effect will be randomly activated per modification attempt (Level 3 modifications will activate two secondary effects)
If you're unsatisfied with the modification results, you can repeat the process to achieve your desired outcome
Special components and materials are required for modifications. These cannot be produced through automated production lines and must be obtained by defeating pirates and hostile wild species.
Since factions don't offer modification services, players must gather materials and perform modifications on their mothership. Beyond the initial recipes, additional modification formulas are unlocked by completing prerequisite modifications.

Two non-human species now inhabit interstellar space: "μ-Mollusca" and "φ-Crystallus".
Unlike mechanical ships that rely on shields, these biological entities have weaker defenses but possess firepower far exceeding human vessels. Be mindful of this disparity when engaging them.
Most importantly, defeating μ-Mollusca yields "Bio-Gas Gel", while φ-Crystallus drop "Crystal Fragments" - both are crucial materials for various ship modifications.
Beyond the new content, this update includes various optimizations and bug fixes to existing game elements.
New Additions
Implemented Ship Modification System
Added two hostile interstellar species: μ-Mollusca and φ-Crystallus, each with unique attack patterns and attributes
Added new missions featuring hostile wild species
Added ship modification materials that drop from specific enemies
Added combat damage numbers and loot detail displays (toggleable in Settings)
Added energy supply/consumption status display in ship information interface
Added "Resupply Ammo from Mothership" function in ship storage interface (requires docking with mothership)
Added resource collection efficiency statistics display during mothership roaming
Added new help information entries
System Adjustments
Adjusted physical damage scaling coefficients for different ship sizes
Optimized high-grade rapid-fire cannon performance for better cost-effectiveness
Reduced electromagnetic cannon firepower, cooldown, and ammunition consumption by approximately 35% to balance with modification system
Reduced ion cannon firepower, cooldown, and ammunition consumption by approximately 50% to balance with modification system
Improved mission rewards: significantly increased special reward probability; Tier 1 recipes now appear in beginner mission special rewards
Adjusted enemy ship numbers in most missions to match reward content
Improved map navigation: planetary local maps can now be accessed by selecting locations with planets
Unified location marking methods between star systems and planetary local maps
Adjusted mission list display: accept buttons for other missions are disabled after accepting a mission
Enhanced "Aether Infusion" and "Aether Distillation" word effects - both now scale with ring tier
Updated spell construction interface statistics to show currently infused Aether value
Improved descriptions for various logistics pods' operational logic
Adjusted engineering drone performance impact on work efficiency
Bug Fixes
Fixed progression errors caused by skipping cutscenes too quickly
Fixed ship deployment/docking failures in specific scenarios
Fixed missing "Depart via Mothership" button in departure interface
Fixed various other errors
We appreciate all players' support and feedback, and we'll continue optimizing your gaming experience!


Hey Everyone!
I wanted to share a quick update about the game’s development and what’s coming next.
After a lot of thought, I’ve decided to move the release into 2026. As a solo developer, I really want to make sure the game is in the best shape possible before it’s released. My goal is to make something that feels polished, fun, and is really worth your time and money.
The good news is that you won’t have to wait until the full release to play. I’m working on a demo that will be available soon. It’ll give you a chance to check out part of the game early and share your thoughts. I’m really excited to hear what you think once it’s ready.
Your patience and support mean the world to me. I'm exited to show you more in the coming months.
More updates and details about the demo will be coming soon!
So stay tuned and Happy Halloween!
Today marks the 1 year anniversary of Alnico hitting early access!! Woo!
I was hoping to have a fun update ready to release for today, but as usual between work and everything else, I have not been able to wrap things up like I wanted. As compensation, I hope you'll be satiated with this post where I'll go over everything that's currently planned for future updates!

The final number of characters isn't yet set in stone, but right now I am working on introducing 3 new NPCs to the game alongside the merchant we all know and love.
The Forge Supplier (WIP name) will be taking over the sales of smithing tools and equipment upgrades. He will also be selling new structures for your smithery, which I'll give more details on below.
The Inventor will sell you more niche tools and high tech gadgets that will help improve the productivity of your forge, as well as fuel for a certain structure detailed below.
and The Collector will sell you artwork to hang in the smithery, collectable items like plushies, and other decorations as well like the clock and potted plant. Most of the items they sell won't serve a purpose aside from livening up the workshop.

Once added, you'll be able to see a tab for each available NPC on the right of the game which you can click on to call them. The tabs will also display how much longer it will be until you can summon them for business.
Also coming will be some minor changes to the merchant, most notably the way order scrolls are handled. You will be able to view 3 orders prior to receiving them, and can select which you wish to complete. If you don't have interest in any of them, you can refresh the selection a set number of times per merchant visit to re-roll the orders. You are required to select at least 1 to continue, but can select all 3 if you want to.
Rumors will also be coming to the game! Talking to the merchant will reveal the going ons of the kingdom as you play, and the quality of your crafts will affect how certain events play out in the world. There will also be some return customers each with their own mini story lines, but I don't have too many of those details fleshed out enough to reveal just yet.
As mentioned above, the Forge Supplier will be selling new structures for you to add to your workshop. These will let you further improve your finished crafts to increase their sell value.
The Basin is a long tub that can be filled with water. Dunking any hot metal in water will quickly cool it down, and certain crafts can be heated and quickly cooled to improve their toughness. (yes, I know oil is used to quench things, but it looked like pee so it's water now.)
The Grindstone will allow you to sharpen some crafts to increase their value. This will work by placing an item on top of the wheel and quickly turning a crank to sharpen them.
The Tumbler will allow you to both improve the quality of certain smaller crafts, but also polish rough gems so they can be applied to future crafts during forging.
The Crusher will allow you to grind up items you no longer want into dust, and it will also revert finished crafts into metal bits. Further crushing metals will separatethem into their base elements. Too much pot metal? This is the solution. The metal output will be of a lesser quantity than the amount input however, it won't be a 100% return rate.
Lastly, you will be able to purchase the Generator from the Inventor. This device will, when provided with fuel, automatically mine, crush, and refine stone into ore. The higher quality the fuel, the longer and quicker the equipment will work.

You will be able to place new structures wherever they fit in the smithery, and they can be moved with a new item detailed below.
With new npcs will come new items! I'll go over some of the most exciting ones now.
The Wrench will not only allow you to move the new structures throughout the smithery, but also let you move existing ones! Shelves, the anvil, and even the lights will all be movable, letting you set up your workshop just how you like it.
The Big Magnet is exactly what it sounds like: a bigger, stronger magnet.
The Clock doesn't do much, but it does show you what time it is.
The Potted Plant will start with only a seed, but if provided with the right amount of water and sunlight, it'll grow bigger! Again, useless, but I like it a lot.

The Trunk is a big box that you can put items into! If your room is too cluttered but you don't want to get rid of anything, you can store a limited number of items inside the trunk for safe keeping.
New Art will be available. Right now, 3 new paintings are planned, as well as 1 new plushie to collect.
Everything is subject to change prior to the full release, but here are some things I am planning on adding or changing right now.
Reheating Crafts- This feature has been requested a lot, and while I was against it initially, you've worn me down. I'm still not sure how i'll be implementing this, but I am looking into ways to reheat in-progress crafts.
The Ore Dispenser currently keeps track of how many small, medium, and large ores are kept within. I will be changing this so that the side output is random or set based on what levers are switched on. If there's enough ore in the refinery, it will continue outputting the selected size instead of stopping seemingly randomly.
The Crafting Minigame is coming along nicely, but I am still looking at tweaks to make it more fun and more intuitive. I am also considering adding more minigames to it, but that's a big maybe.

The Lazy Bones Setting will, in the future, allow you to auto use more of the equipment around the smithery, rather than only cranks.
Enchanting is a mechanic I plan on adding to the late game. It will include all new items, tools, and systems that will let you add enchantments to crafts to further increase their value. Customers may also request certain enchantments be added to their crafts.
Lastly, Alternate Modes are something I've wanted to add for a while, but they will be one of the last features added. Right now I am planning on adding Challenge Modes, and a "Hard" mode where mechanics will be more realistic and much less forgiving.
Of course throughout the development, bug fixes, quality of life changes, translation updates, etc will also be happening, but these are the main features I have in mind right now.
I want to thank everyone for their continued patience as I work on the game. I know updates are very slow, but at the end of the day I am 1 person, and game development is a hobby for me right now, not my job. As always though, I plan on continuing to work on the game as we inch closer and closer to the full release. Lastly, I'll answer some questions I've seen below!

Q. Is the game still being worked on?
A. Yes, although only when I have time to work on it. If for some reason development is ever stopping, I will be sure to make an announcement stating so, but I have no plans to do so.
Q. Will you be adding more elements or alloys to the game?
A. No. Maybe after the full release, but that's a strong maybe.
Q. Why does my game lag so much?
A. I don't know, but I am looking into it! Right now I have hit a dead end, but hopefully as I work more and learn more, an answer will reveal itself to me.
Q. Will you add \[blank] to the game?
A. Maybe! Feel free to leave a suggestion in the discord!
Q. Do you know about \[blank] bug?
A. Probably, but just in case, feel free to let me know in the discord!
Hey everyone!
Some of you may have noticed a recent update for the game... but didn’t see any new content.
And that’s because this update doesn’t add new scenes... it adds new language!
Or to be precise: two new ones.
I once said I wouldn’t add more translations, mainly because I was worried I couldn’t keep them updated with every patch.
But things change! I finally found a translator I can truly rely on (after two failed attempts, that’s a big deal!).
And so...
The game is now fully available in English, French, German, and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional).
All dialogues, images, and even videos have been translated.
And from the first feedback I’ve seen, the quality is excellent!
A huge thank-you to our Chinese translator, who played over 30 hours of the game before even starting the translation. And yes, he’s a professional, not just a fan!
Thank you all for your continued support, and enjoy this new international version!
I’ll leave you in charming company... 🌸

PS: The next progress report is coming in a week or two!