Jul 21

Update #348: Fastest Blade in the Galaxy

Star Traders: Frontiers - Trese Brothers

Welcome back to the void, Captains, and let's say hello to another mid-summer update in our Summer of Star Traders event! You may have purchased this game 5 years ago, but we're still here making it better with Update #348. We've rolled out a brand-new Profession for Blade Master, Voracious Class ship design and a redesign of the Paladin Cruiser and finally a nasty new Terrox ship to battle.

Thanks to everyone for playing, posting a leaving a review!

Cyber Knights is getting lots of updates too!

If you haven’t checked it out in a bit, our new game Cyber Knights: Flashpoint is evolving fast in Early Access. Just in the month of July we've added the NanoFab crafting system to create and customize your own weapons, armor, and equipment as well as the infamous Head Hunters system, the big bad bounty hunters are coming for you! We're excited to be a part of the on-going Tacticon festival with a great sale, so come join us in the New Boston zone.

All support for Cyber Knights ultimately results in a brighter future for Star Traders, so hope you’ll check it out and spread the word!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1021210/Cyber_Knights_Flashpoint/

Blade Master Profession

Available immediately to all players this unlocked Captain Profession for Blade Master lets you start as a member of the ancient sect of melee warriors and entertainers. This new profession grants the Blade Dancer job and has 2 unique Traits. Blade Master captain is useful in both crew combat, boarding ship operations and during missions.

If you haven't tried a new career or run at the stars in a while, come join us again in the void with this exciting new profession!

New Ship: Voracious Class

This update also includes a new ship, the Voracious Class which is a hybrid battlecruiser-carrier using micro carrier components to provide a berth for a boarding shuttle. Popular with Steel Song (and Blade Master Captains haha) this ship is a modern redesign of one of the ships added to the game in 2017, the Raptor.

Redesigned Paladin Crusader

Based on player feedback we've redesigned the Paladin Crusader completely. If you purchased the old design on 3.3.107, congrats, you have a one-of-a-kind relic. The new v3.3.109 design is more expensive, but considerably more tuned to its role as an alternative to the Paladin Defender. We hope you like the changes!

Terrox Deathspear

Lastly we've added a new ship, the Terrox Deathspear and we're sorry to announce that it is hostile to all life in the galaxy. It is a medium size ship, with a good engine. We will be monitoring how well it does over the next few weeks. If you have any feedback after encountering a Deathspear, please let us know. This new Xeno ship isn't more powerful than other existing Xeno ships, but it is pretty different in how the AI tries to use it. Beware!

We also fixed a bunch of bugs, performance issues. blah blah the usual stuff. Thanks for playing!

v3.3.109 - 7/21/2024

- New Profession: Blade Master (Blade Dancer Job)
- New Ship, "Voracious Class" (Modern take on Raptor Class, 6000M)
- New Xeno Ship, "Terrox Deathspear" (Good Luck!)
- Complete redesign of Paladin Crusader based on player feedback
- Fixed component category missing for Large Size Passenger and Prison Cell
- Performance improvements, fixed reported typos & crashes

Jul 21

Warlordocracy Early v16.6

Warlordocracy - brianlancaster45

Still not finished with all the magic scripts for the final two chapters, but I'm close. Next update all magic should be finished and I'll have a complete list of 60-ish spells with a video.

Got lots of new script commands done for the magic: knocking back objects, detecting objects, selecting corpses to explode, etc. Mighty Blow and Power Bash abilities now knock targets backwards, and boars also have a 50% chance to knock you backwards.

Also fixed a couple bugs, made it so chapter bosses now start major battles so you can't escape, and added a couple new tracks from Sonic Kitchen (for future chapters).

Complete list of changes:

-Engaging chapter bosses in combat now starts major battle (so you can't escape).
-New gemcracks: Neuro (novice, expert, master), Necro (novice, expert, master), Bio (master).
-New script Boolean: "if_objNearCorpse" (test if corpse is near current object, for Unliving Weapon spell).
-New script command: "objKnockback" (knocks object one tile away from default object with animation).
-Power Bash and Mighty Blow abilities now knock target backwards using "objKnockback" command.
-Boars now have a 50% chance to knock target back using "objKnockback" command.
-Added unsummoning to death and AI scripts for summoned monsters.
-New tracks from Sonic Kitchen: bodkin.ogg, wardogs.ogg.
-Inv/Char windows now update after each attack if open.
-Fixed bug where mobs with 0 Max Meta couldn't attack.
-Fixed script and sounds for wood staff weapon.
-Updated Builder's Manual and Shrouded Arts.

Jul 21

A Open Discussion about The Suits Have Gone Mad

The Suits Have Gone Mad! - Blnk Dev

Hey everyone. It’s been over a year since the first chapter of The Suits Have Gone Mad was released and I thought I’d share my thoughts about how I want to continue the game. Feel free to leave your opinions or thoughts too.

The issues with chapter-based releases

Chapter-based releases are a concept not unfamiliar to the indie scene. Many games have been very successful using this structure for releases. It allows a dev space to breathe and learn from the previous chapter to improve for the next.

However, this release structure has glaring issues…

Delays between each chapter. Long delays damage the hype of a release and raise expectations the longer it takes.

Judging the experience as separate pieces. Each chapter tends to be viewed as an individual experience from the last. I want TSHGM to be a singular whole experience without the idea that each chapter should be better and bigger than the previous one.

Linearity. This is the biggest issue in my opinion. The first chapter of TSHGM is an extremely linear experience. I want the full game to stray away from that ‘on-rails’ feel. The current idea is to encourage freedom of exploration by creating a set of objectives that can be tackled in the player's chosen order where they will have to explore the offices to discover how to complete each objective.

This means that TSHGM will most likely not be released in a chapter-based form. Instead, it will be released as a singular full experience.

The gameplay loop

There is no apparent gameplay loop in the first chapter. The slight smidge of a possible loop is in one of the final sections of the chapter in which you have to dodge the suits while waiting for an elevator.

This was intended to be extended into a system where you have to survive for a certain amount of time in an enclosed area while suits chase you around. From testing, I’m still not entirely convinced that it is a viable loop. I’ll need to do more testing. The current idea I have is a sneak, run, search loop.

Sneak. Stealthily moving around the office undetected while suits patrol. If the player is spotted, we enter the run stage.

Run. The player has to run away from suits until they are out of a certain range, similar to the chase sequence in the first chapter. The hidden stage is entered once the player is out of range of any pursuing suits.

Search. Suits will investigate the area where the player was last seen. This downtime will allow the player to explore other areas without needing to sneak around.

This system will need to be tested and balanced to feel fair, but I feel it will work well within the setting.

Is TSHGM a horror?

The term horror is a bit subjective and I’m undecided whether I should be classing the game as a ‘horror’. The game feels like an in-between of a horror game and an action game. It feels best to call it a thriller.

But does labeling it as a horror drive away those that believe that it will be too scary of a game to try? Will horror enthusiasts say that it fails as a horror as they expected it to be extremely scary? This is still a decision I’m yet to decide on. I don’t want to unnecessarily cram in horror sections for the sake of keeping the horror label on it.

I haven’t begun working on TSHGM yet. But just wanted to share my current feelings about it. I’m very passionate about the project and want to achieve its vision. Let me know what you all think and sorry if I’m rambling on too much.

Cheers,
Blnk Dev

Jul 21

Roman's Grand Tournament: Air Division Begins! 💥

Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator - nguyenhoangdang

Introducing Roman's Grand Tournament: Air Division, where Air affinity is most effective!

Roman's Grand Tournament is a permanent ranking event where your total damage becomes your score!

Each week, the tournament will be updated with new battles and the most effective affinity will also change.

This week's event features multiple enemies with Air weakness, making it easier to increase your score by adding characters with Air affinity to your lineup! Aim for the highest score you can to earn ranking rewards and Exchange rewards!

Check the in-game announcement for more details👀

⏱ Air Division Challenge Period
July 22nd, 11:00 - July 29th, 10:59 (UTC+8)