Let's start with the the part where I'm not asking for anything, I'm *giving* you something:


What?




If that's what you've been waiting for, now is the time.


Now let me ask something of all you space explorers out there:




As you may know, AI is an enormous project that could continue for years. The goal of EA is to get to version 2.0, and that will be an amazing transformation. In 3 months on Steam, we've already seen the addition of many game-changing new features: planet scanning, hailing alien ships, throwing grenades, burning forests, and a lot more.


Today someone on Discord said,




I need your help to get there. The community has already been hugely supportive and it's really motivating to read what people write. Let's keep the momentum going!

You can nominate 1 game in each category, so I'm asking you to consider Approaching Infinity for the "Labor of Love" award.


Thank you!


Oh yeah, and a mid-week hot-fix:

• I fixed a fatal crash when the Sil demanded an artifact
  
• I fixed an error where nano-machines were being tool-tipped as gemstones.
  
• I removed some debug text that was being printed to the screen.
  
• I fixed an error where nano-swarms would arise out of toxic gas. This part is a bug. Things can still rise out of nano-swarms. They look like bugs. And they will kill you.
  
• I Fixed an error where historical relics were being accidentally spawned on barren planets.
  
• I fixed an errer where you could hail a ship for help in defeating... itself!
  
• Sonic and corrosive grenades now have an effect on walls, boulders, and rubble.
  
• I Added a readout in tool-tips about monsters' resistances and weaknesses to your equipped weapons.
  
• I took out, fixed, and put back in, a function designed to ensure quest items would be found.
  
• I addressed an input problem where some people where moving multiple times from a single key-press.
  
• I basically did a week's worth of work in 3 days, and made big progress on a secret new feature...

When version 1.5 was completed, I said the focus would shift to deeper interactions. This started with a huge upgrade to terrain: and not just the 300+ new planetary images:





but also a system of transformation for things like freezing, burning, digging, and exploding.





Then fire was introduced, as well as various kinds of gas and other nasty propagating effects.




Then we needed a way to deliver those special effects into the world, so away team weapons were overhauled with 22 different damage types, from physical effects like piercing and smashing, to the standard elements like incendiary and cryo, all the way up to repulso beams and nano-weapons.






The first true consumable was introduced: Throw them at hordes of enemies to do massive damage and deliver myriad status effects or even destroy terrain features. Just be aware that you can run out.





And with monsters now being able to resist some of these damage types, you need a way to carry two weapons at once, and switch between them:










I've expanded the "hail" function to allow you to call for help!

If you're in combat, and you see an alien ship you have good relations with, you can hail them and ask for assistance. If they like you enough (or if they dislike your enemy), they will come to your aid. You can then either escape, or team up and destroy the offending ship.

Be careful though!

If you betray your allies (attack races you're friendly with), they may call on *their* allies against YOU. So don't betray your friends, OK?



If you have a "gaming mouse" (or any mouse with some extra buttons), you should try pressing them.

Clicking the middle mouse button will toggle tool-tips on or off. Another button is set up to hail (in space) or throw a grenade (on planets), and yet another is mapped to scan planets or swap away team weapons. TRY IT!



I've executed the greatest speed optimization in Approaching Infinity history. https://youtu.be/jTa_xy0KRN4


Space has been updated too, with some beautiful new features:




All these additions are in public version 1.6c, right now. But wait, there's more!




Chances are, if you've reported an issue, I've fixed it. I think it would be much easier to talk about what I haven't fixed:

• I can't seem to do anything about the "disappearing mouse cursor" when you cycle mouse pointers.
  
• I haven't addressed the "text too small" issue for the captain's log when using custom 4K resolutions.

Otherwise, I think I've tackled just about everything. But if there's something still bugging you, let me know...




Hopefully, a mind-blowing surprise feature.


And then, for sure,

And I'm not talking about "+2 instead of +1"

I'm talking about skills like "Perform an emergency warp up to 7 tiles away", or "deploy an automated turret that shoots monsters for 10 turns", or "Detect the ion trails of every ship in the sector".


Those kinds of skills.


After that, you're going to be so god-like that monsters will need a serious upgrade of their own :D

But that'll come later.

For now, enjoy your new-found powers of exploding and burning and corroding.


Currently, you can *not* craft the new effects of weapons and grenades. You can make "normal" versions of weapons, and frag grenades.

The crafting system will need to be overhauled eventually too, and then you can decide on whatever you want to make. For now, you have to buy things, or find them.



You can see a lot of this stuff in action in my new video series, "Bob plays Approaching Infinity". I'm up to sector 17 now, having started from scratch. Doing these videos really helped me get a handle on some player issues, and I've fixed most (all?) of the issues that I've found.
https://youtu.be/LvVAgXHxhfA







Wait, did you say something about a "Xenocide" blaster?


Yes.


Short story: it's a combination herbicide and insecticide, so it's great for bug-infested jungles. And yes, the name is a Card reference.






If you haven't left a review yet,



I'd really appreciate it.



Event just a "thumbs up" and then name your one favorite thing...



It helps.

After the beta release, some *really* big issues were discovered:

• Fixed: some bullet images were terrain tiles (hills).
  
• Fixed: monsters wouldn't attack you!
  
• Fixed: sound settings weren't saved.

There are bound to be some small issues transitioning from the old away team weapons to the new. But they will be cleared up when you start a new game, or just buy a new gun!

The monsters issue was created by an "and" that should have been an "or", in the part of the AI section that now keeps you from accidentally melee attacking friendly creatures on away missions.

The sound thing has been haunting me for ages, and is *finally* fixed.


Transition to main branch is still planned for this weekend, so if you've got a problem, let me know NOW!

Most players haven't seen the beautiful terrain upgrades yet...





















All this and more is coming to everyone, as soon as possible! I just want to make sure its as stable as it can be. If you're interested, you can opt in to the "betafromnowon" branch on Steam, test it and post feedback here on the steam boards (F3 from in-game should take you to the bug reports).

Here are the major changes since the last main-branch update:

• Over 300 new planetary terrain images have been added.
  
• Fire and gas can now propagate across the map.
  
• You can change the environment (blow up walls, burn down trees, etc.)
  
• Away team weapons have been remodeled to have over 20 modifications, like cryo, incendiary, and sonic.
  
• Monsters can now resist (or be weak to) these damage types.
  
• You can buy grenades and throw them at groups of monsters for fun and profit (and survival).
  
• You can now do alien quests much sooner.
  
• There are gas giants and enormous black holes.
  
• I fixed the slow-downs!

And to my existing beta testers, here's what I've done recently, according to your feedback.

• I fixed the Gruff Giant Squither quest, and the Tentaculon ion accumulator quest
  
• I increased the effectiveness of seismic grenades.
  
• I made more monsters available earlier (look out!)
  
• I fixed an endless loop when landing on planets in whitespace.
  
• I reduced the cost to re-stock the store.
  
• I gave each gun its own shot images, which can be affected by damage type.
  
• I fixed a bug where "game ending" victories were allowing some players to continue.
  
• I found and fixed a bug that would let the captain survive away missions when everyone else died.
  
• I discovered and fixed a bug where a former human colony would be replaced with a desert.
  
• I found and fixed a bug where using grenades on planets to destroy wreckage would leave an impassible terrain.
  
• You can install a trade beacon or warp point detector any time and get the full effect.
  
• I fixed the Pac-Man gas giants!

That's it. Whether or not you test the beta, all this should be coming to the main branch this weekend.



I started recording a game to test new features, but I loved it so much that I just kept going! I'm playing from the beginning, normal difficulty, perma death on, with no pay it forward. Here's part 10!

https://youtu.be/ZF701HxqkCw

Approaching Infinity: The Space Adventure Roguelike has a long and complex history. 7 years ago today it launched on Kickstarter. It didn't even have a save function back then! It was successful, and went on to be completed and released, in a box with a manual, by a war-game publisher. And it stayed exclusively with that company for years, not getting updates since 2015.

Then 3 months ago, after I regained control of the game, I brought it to Steam Early Access, where it's been well received and started growing at a furious pace! If you're asking "Why is a 7 year-old game in early access?", the answer is simple: I'm adding so much that it's basically going to be a whole new experience when I'm done!

But really, a rogue-like without consumables?! No potions, no scrolls? Nope. AI's design was always meant to be streamlined and uncomplicated: maximum effect for minimum player effort. And while that ethos is still a guiding principal, big changes are coming!

What's a "consumable"?
A powerful resource that you can use up. Healing potions, scrolls of identify, those are the basics. But how about a single-use emergency teleporter? Or a probe you launch from your ship that fully maps a planet, then crashes? Or something you throw at monsters to make them die: Grenades!


(Please note that everything discussed here is in the Beta Branch "betafromnowon", which you are free to join or leave at any time.)

If you've been following the development here, you've heard about version 1.6, and what that means. The first part was a remodeling of terrain and adding over 300 new images. That was released into the beta branch 2 weeks ago. Burn down forests and explode walls and generally wreak havoc on the environment.

After that, the player needed a method for actually bringing those effects into the world, so away team weapons had to be remodeled. There are now 23 possible weapon modifications, many of which are capable of modifying the environment in some way. Also, planet monsters can be resistant to these damage types (or vulnerable!).

For example, robots are usually immune to poison and resistant to fire. But they also take *more* damage from corrosive and electrical attacks. Pretty soon, you'll need to carry around 2 or 3 weapons, just so you can handle all the different challenges you'll face... Luckily 2 "swap slots" are planned ;)


(Wait, carnivorous plants can't move!)

Some weapons also have knock-back now, which is really pretty exciting. Tired of getting swarmed by gnashers or rad-rats? The repulsor shotgun was made for you! The shotgun hits multiple targets and causes knockback on its own, but adding the "repulsor" effect amplifies both of these abilities.

But guns only cause these effects sometimes. I know you want more. So. Enter the grenade!

Space stations now sell grenades and the away team has a slot for them. The standard Frag grenade will hit a 3x3 area, damaging all monsters and possibly knocking down trees or cave walls. But there are lots of other types too. An incendiary grenade will always start fires, cryo will freeze lakes, and if you can find it in the later sectors, the Tac-Nuke grenade will incinerate everything in a blast zone so large you can't throw the grenade far enough to keep yourself out of harm's way. Buyer beware!




Some players have mentioned that the game slows down sometimes, and I hear you! So I've spent a lot of time, thought, and coding on *fixing* that. Please try the beta, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with how much I've been able to increase the speed.

Before releasing the latest beta, I wanted to test it to see the balance of grenades, as far as how much damage they do, how much they cost, and how many you get before you run out. I learned a lot from this, and they were way too powerful to begin with. They might still be. You tell me.

But I also had a lot of fun. So much so in fact that I decided to turn it into a video series. I'm up to 4 installments now, in sector 7, with one artifact, an incendiary shotgun and an assortment of grenades. I hope to survive long enough to make a good run out of it. Here's the first video in the series:




1.6 isn't done yet, not by a long shot. After a week of having this in the beta, I intend to move it (with any fixes and re-balances that need to be done) into the main branch so that this version becomes the default experience.

Either adding more consumables or else a complete remodel of officer skills will be the next big project. We'll see what the coming week brings. But when I re-do skills, it's going to be a big deal. I'll introduce activated skills with cool-downs: things like jumps and double shots and defensive slides and who-knows-what. Maybe a tactical warp or emergency hull repairs. I'll kick out any skills that are boring and possibly even consider a new point-based stat-improvement system. It will be *way* more interesting.

But that's later.

It's been 2 weeks since any new content has been released for Approaching Infinity, and that's a comparatively long time. But trust me, it's worth the wait.



Brighter stars, bigger planets, and hungrier black holes. And that's not even what this update is about. The real subject is planetary terrain.

Grounds, trees, mountains, flowers, mushrooms, craters, crystals, and more!


You can read about how I manipulated a simple sine function to produce these beautiful planet maps.

Or you can watch a video and skip the reading altogether!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUZqmlb1ZFA

And this isn't even coolest part of the terrain remodel...


Weapons, monsters, and other methods will soon be able to create fire on the map. It spreads quickly on warm oxygen-rich planets, but goes out instantly on barren moons. It even converts to "chemical fire" in corrosive atmospheres.



Similarly, for those special occasions where you can't see the forest for all the trees, you will soon have access to "Tactical Herbicide", a gas that spreads quickly and eradicates plant-life:



And what terrain modification system would be complete without...



We have those too. You can now blow holes in the walls of caves and shipwrecks alike. Just don't blow yourself into the vacuum of space!

I'll let you experience that one for yourself ;)



For now it's purely for testing, and you have unlimited "ammunition" of fire, ice, explosions, and herbicide. Just use the "Look" command and press the appropriate key. But this is *not* how it will be for long. And it's only in the Beta Branch. You can opt in or out at any time.

Your weapons will be adapted to sometimes carry these "elemental" effects. You will also have access to the brand new away team item, "Grenades"!

But we're not there yet.

These small steps will eventually lead to giant leaps in tactical gameplay.

Other additions and adjustments have been made, as well as addressing some player-reported issues. And you know what? Device icons have been updated *again*, and they are beautiful.





Stay safe and enjoy the season!



PS: do you have an opinion on this?

https://steamcommunity.com/app/551620/discussions/0/3002172045226588823/?tscn=1604085431

Approaching Infinity has been on Steam Early Access for a little over 2 months, and we've accomplished SO MUCH! You can do things in this game that I never conceived of before. Some aspects are revolutionary, others were painfully and obviously lacking until now. But it's done: v1.5 is complete!



Today is the release of planet scanning into the main branch. It has been in beta for about 2 weeks, and has needed surprisingly little fixing.

Fly over a planet and activate your scanners. You'll get a readout of the general atmospheric conditions, followed by lots of little tidbits of information about what's actually there. Of course, you won't start off getting all this information: you need to upgrade your sensors for that. But still, it's a great way to see what you're getting yourself into...

I've done a few previous announcements about this new feature, so I won't overdo it here. If you want to know more, you can either read the previous news items, or check out this in-depth blog post I wrote about it.

So with the end of version 1.5, let's look back at what's been accomplished, before we look ahead.

The "Hail" feature allows you to communicate more directly with each alien ship you encounter, increasing your reputation and understanding of each race. You can even get a resupply, information about a location, or force them to surrender to you!



I also wrote a blog post about this: "How I created 12 alien languages for Approaching Infinity".


The "Graveyard" (Past Lives) section allows you to see some record of your previous runs. It shows the date, how you died, and a score based on what you accomplished. What, you didn't die? You won? OK, well it shows how you won, and an even better score!




The "Look" function lets you look around the map in classic roguelike fashion, aiming the cursor with your movement keys. This was always available with mouse-over tool-tips, but now purely-keyboard players have a way to do it too. It also lays the groundwork for things like grenades and teleporting :D




"Multiple Concurrent Games" means that you can now have up to 9 separate games of A.I. going at a time! When you get tired of playing your trader, just load up that sweet assault scout and blow stuff up! And when you unlock a new ship, don't wait, just start a new game and try it out!




It kinda took forever to get "Player Defined Keybindings" into Approaching Infinity. Sorry. But it's here now. Don't like the way the keys are set up? Customize it!




The "Captain's Log" feature was a big hit. It lets you take in-game notes about your adventures, and leaves a mark on the sector map so you can easily come back. This way, you can keep track of places you want to revisit, whether to pick up some inaccessible loot or save money and buy something you need.





Those are the major features. There were literally hundreds of other things: fixes, additions, tweaks, and balances. And I couldn't have done it without the Steam Community... Thank YOU!

...and cool new devices too...like...magnetic boots!




But now...





Version 1.6 will start with the release of a huge graphical update to planet surfaces. The entire terrain system will be revamped, as well as the images themselves. Most of the tiles have been updated, and some things will be added that simply never existed before...



This whole thing started when I asked David, the game's artist, for some "new kinds of dirt." The first thing he sent me was about 20 new tiles for frozen planets (which aren't really represented well in the game). And then he just kept going... Mountains, flowers, trees, and yes, dirt too. And then some things I'd never imagined, but maybe always dreamed of...


No fewer than 130 new flowers, mushrooms, and truly alien, indescribable things. Imagine what can be done with these things in the future. Not just window dressing but...

• Collection quest targets
  
• Ingredients for disease cures
  
• Scientific research and cataloging
  
• Harvesting single-use items
  
• Catching horrible diseases
  
• Whatever else you can imagine!

And then, there's...



Gas giants!

You won't be able to land on these beautiful planets (they don't have a solid surface!), but that doesn't mean you can't use them for something...



I mentioned that I would be redesigning terrain for this update. It's not just to show you all the pretty pictures. It's also in preparation for the next step, where the world becomes much more interactive.

We need to know what happens if you set fire to an area: does it burn? What does it turn into? What if you freeze it? If you set off a "tactical deforestation grenade", is it affected by the gas? Does the gas even pass through the area, or is it blocked? Can you dig through that kind of wall?

So much to think about, and that's just regarding terrain!

Once the underlying framework is updated, it'll be time for the really meaty stuff. And that's where the game will change.

A.I. has always been very streamlined in its play, and I want to keep that as a core design goal. But there's a lot of room for improvement while still keeping things abstracted and easy to manage.

One thing A.I. lacks is activated powers. And there is just so much room for this within the setting. Here are some of the skills (with cool-downs) and items I'm imagining you'll be able to use in the future:

• Incendiary Grenade: a thrown explosive that sets the area on fire (given oxygen)
  
• Tactical Teleporter: move instantly to a nearby tile
  
• Pep Talk: reduces all other officer's cooldowns by 20%
  
• Deploy Cover: create a barrier nearby that blocks enemy movement, vision, and shots
  
• Engine Boost: move 3 tiles this turn
  
• Emergency Repairs: fix your ship's hull by 25%
  
• And this just really scratches the surface...

Officer skills will need to be completely re-written.

But I guarantee they will be BETTER than they are now. Probably a lot better. Some of the existing skills are redundant, or even boring. The classes will have much better life, differentiation, and options in the future.

And that's the beginning of version 1.6. I can imagine what I've outlined here taking about a month. That's not the entirety of what I want to accomplish, but I am going to quit talking now.


THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Planet scanning is here (in the beta branch anyway), and this version is much more successful than the previous experiment from late August. Please note that I have very good scanners in the image below. You will *not* be getting that much information when you start out!



You know the drill by now:

• Move over a planet.
  
• Press [V]
  
• Get details:
  
  • Atmosphere
    
  • Environmental Damage
    
  • Terrain
    
  • Amount and Kind(s) of life
    
  • Amount and Type of natural resources
    
  • Special features
    
  • Alien signals?
    
  • Human life signs?!

Would you like to know more?
I wrote a blog post about how hard this actually was, adding scanning to a 7-year-old game.


Also in this version is the "Look" command. But since the L key is taken by the Captain's Log feature, it's called "Peer" and assigned to the [P] key. Of course you can re-bind that yourself...
You can even press [enter] to move to the space you've selected with the peer command.



Try it out!

Help files have been updated considerably, and the tutorial now includes information about all the new major features that have been added over the past months.


I am really hoping to move this into the main branch on Friday, get it 100% stable by Sunday, and then start on the next big project. I said it was going to be deeper interactions, and that is the next really big project.

But David (AI's artist) has been sending me a wealth of new images, and instead of putting them in a little bit at a time, I want to drop them all at once. I'm actually going to need to re-write how planetary terrain is handled, but it's going to be worth it...

It's been an exciting week of development for Approaching Infinity:



...or this...




There's other fun stuff too, like a free strike-back with any eviscerator melee weapon, updates to whitespace (what's that?), and more!



Please note this is in the Beta Branch. Anyone can join to try this out, there's no password. It won't break your saves, and you can always go back.

And here's a first pass at an update to the help menu, which has not been released yet:



I think a lot of this speaks for itself, so I'm going to leave it to that.

Have a good weekend!


PS: The answer to last week's question was "Gas Giants"...

PPS: If you'd like to learn more about how I created the alien languages in Approaching Infinity, you can read about it here.

...are you threatening me?


These features have been in the beta branch for a while now, and they're ready to roll out to the masses! If you haven't played them yet, here's what you can expect:

(This one is simple)

You now have the option of starting a new game even if you're already having a good run. So if you unlocked a new ship or character class and want to try them out without messing up your existing game, now you can!



This feature is designed not to interfere with or break existing saves. Enjoy!


(This is the big one)

One of the biggest requests I get about Approaching Infinity is for more information about all the alien races: Who are they, what do they want, how can I get them to like me, etc. Well this right here is going to go a long way towards giving you that information:



You can now get a message from any ship within visual range.
They might:

• Give simple introductions
  
• Insult you (or compliment you!) (based on your relations with them)
  
• Say what they think of other races in the system
  
• Offer you some supplies if you're running low
  
• Give you little bits of trivia about themselves
  
• Reveal undiscovered locations in the sector
  
• Even let you surrender (stop a fight before you die), or surrender to you!

Each ship will (usually) only give you one message, and it's currently dependent on the situation, but random. Sometimes if you're fighting a ship, they won't answer until there's a clear winner.

Letting someone surrender to you almost always improves your reputation with that race (although some races see surrender as a weakness, and you will lose respect with them).

There is still room for this feature to grow, but it is pretty robust and stable right now. One thing it doesn't do yet, and that I would like to develop, is giving you quests:

Maybe their ship is stranded and they need your help repairing it. Maybe they forgot something on a distant planet. Maybe they can't dock at the local space station, and need you to pick them up something... Who knows? What do you think?!

Here's a short video where I outline the new features:
https://youtu.be/UGjsMOMf9CU


What's next? Well, do you remember this?



It is my goal to get planet scanning working properly *this weekend*! When it was introduced, people loved it, but there were a few problems, such as, it broke several quest types.

But I have a new approach in mind, and a good chunk of time to try it. You'll be able to get information about a planet before you ever set foot on it. You'll be able to plan and take the right equipment, as well as stay away if there's nothing there you want, or if it seems too challenging.

And that might just be the last big new feature of this phase.

What?!

Well, that means it's time to move onto to something that will be GAME-CHANGING, pun intended.

• Can you run faster if the gravity is low?
  
• If you get an oxygen leak in your suit on a planet with a methane atmosphere, will you burst into flames?
  
• Is there such a thing as fire, and does it spread?
  
• Can my Officers have activated skills that have cooldowns?!
  
• Will cryo-weapons freeze liquids on planets?
  
• Can I use a tractor beam to pull an enemy ship into a black hole?

YES!

"What about the roadmap, Bob?"

Good question! Next on the roadmap is "rebalancing", and that means 2 different things.
The first part is actually called "Pacing" and it means how quickly new players are introduced to different game and story elements. That needs some work for sure, but there has also been a lot of progress on that front.

The other meaning is to literally re-balance ships, monsters, away team gear, officer skills, devices, pretty much *all the numbers*.

And to go through that process, and then try to tackle adding new powers and interactions, it's just going to have to be re-balanced *again*, and I'm just not into that!

So deeper interactions are coming sooner :)

For now, enjoy talking to aliens.









PS: what's 82% hydrogen, 15% Helium, and coming to AI?