Every week we receive questions about if and when Game Dev Tycoon will be coming to mobiles and, today, we are happy to announce that a completely revised version of Game Dev Tycoon is in the works! Developed under the guidance of the best mobile-game design gurus, this will bring an entirely new and FREE experience to the mobile market!



Surprised? To learn all about this move, check out our announcement!

Pilots! As you know, yesterday we have stopped the game servers in order to install a small update! What was in it? Star Gem Games is happy to announce that in continuation of our work over 'Voice Chat' feature we have finished our work on additional feature called 'Voice Control'! This feature was activated yesterday during the update, and you just need to get into the game with any recording device plugged in and try it out yourself!

Here's a short list of commands:

Bots, beacon A/B/C - bots start moving towards one of the designated beacons.
Bots, protect - one bot in the vicinity starts protecting your ship
Eyes on target - your target lightens up
Eyes on me - your ship lightens up
Missiles - your ship fires installed missiles
Afterburner - your ship's thrusters start/stop working.
Eject - you are leaving the ship

You may familiarize yourself with a full list of commands in our game, in menu 'Voice Control'!

Don't forget to use these unique commands:
- Bots, transform!
- Au revoir!
- Do the barrell roll!

You can try out the 'Voice Control' feature right now!

Insincerely,
Star Conflict Team

Pilots! As you know, yesterday we have stopped the game servers in order to install a small update! What was in it? Star Gem Games is happy to announce that in continuation of our work over 'Voice Chat' feature we have finished our work on additional feature called 'Voice Control'! This feature was activated yesterday during the update, and you just need to get into the game with any recording device plugged in and try it out yourself!

Here's a short list of commands:

Bots, beacon A/B/C - bots start moving towards one of the designated beacons.
Bots, protect - one bot in the vicinity starts protecting your ship
Eyes on target - your target lightens up
Eyes on me - your ship lightens up
Missiles - your ship fires installed missiles
Afterburner - your ship's thrusters start/stop working.
Eject - you are leaving the ship

You may familiarize yourself with a full list of commands in our game, in menu 'Voice Control'!

Don't forget to use these unique commands:
- Bots, transform!
- Au revoir!
- Do the barrell roll!

You can try out the 'Voice Control' feature right now!

Insincerely,
Star Conflict Team

The FTL: AE free expansion will become available at the same time as the port to iPad, this Thursday.

Information on the release can be found in our announcement here - http://www.ftlgame.com/?p=688

And general information about the expansion's content can be found here - http://www.ftlgame.com/?p=647

The FTL: AE free expansion will become available at the same time as the port to iPad, this Thursday.

Information on the release can be found in our announcement here - http://www.ftlgame.com/?p=688

And general information about the expansion's content can be found here - http://www.ftlgame.com/?p=647

We've made a few updates since the launch, for various things (bug fixes, the creation of the DRM-Free mode, etc.) and tonight we pushed another maintenance update.

Since there was so much going on, most of the updates to our fast releases post-launch were just described in the forum posts that they were related to. We'll try to get back to more regular Announcements for updates now.

• Hide the "Global Stats" when running in DRM Free mode since the Global Stats (eg: on Steam) aren't available without Steam, so it was weird to just see a bunch of 0's.
  
• Fixed a bug that occurred if you tried to open Stats with Steam running but with no internet connection.
  
• Fixed a logic error reported by Mienio: if an Ant was inside of a ring and had an empty spot next to it outside of the ring but blocked by a gate, then the Ant incorrectly thought it could move to that empty space.
  
• Made our PersistentKeyValueStore resilient to Locale changes. The PersistentKeyValueStore is the part of our code that makes your configuration stick between sessions so you don't have to keep changing the camera angle or resetting your favorite settings every time you run the game. The fix is primarily in case you changed your computer from a locale setting that says you were in eg: most anywhere in Europe, to saying you were in America after you'd already run the game. The problem occurred because locales often handle number formats differently. For example the number "two and a half" is "2.5" in some locales and "2,5" in others.
  
• Pillbug is valued higher by the AI now. This probably isn't noticible (see below for more on Pillbug AI).

We have some additional releases planned in the coming weeks. Two are visual updates, another is related to the Online main menu, and we also plan to release some AI improvements especially related to the Pillbug. The AI doesn't understand the Pillbug nearly as well as it should, yet.

Once we're done with these maintenance updates, we will hopefully be able to release the Ladybug soon after. We already have a lot of the groundwork laid for that, but we've put it on the shelf briefly to address some issues (such as bugs and the Pillbug AI) that we feel are more urgent to the existing release.

We've made a few updates since the launch, for various things (bug fixes, the creation of the DRM-Free mode, etc.) and tonight we pushed another maintenance update.

Since there was so much going on, most of the updates to our fast releases post-launch were just described in the forum posts that they were related to. We'll try to get back to more regular Announcements for updates now.

• Hide the "Global Stats" when running in DRM Free mode since the Global Stats (eg: on Steam) aren't available without Steam, so it was weird to just see a bunch of 0's.
  
• Fixed a bug that occurred if you tried to open Stats with Steam running but with no internet connection.
  
• Fixed a logic error reported by Mienio: if an Ant was inside of a ring and had an empty spot next to it outside of the ring but blocked by a gate, then the Ant incorrectly thought it could move to that empty space.
  
• Made our PersistentKeyValueStore resilient to Locale changes. The PersistentKeyValueStore is the part of our code that makes your configuration stick between sessions so you don't have to keep changing the camera angle or resetting your favorite settings every time you run the game. The fix is primarily in case you changed your computer from a locale setting that says you were in eg: most anywhere in Europe, to saying you were in America after you'd already run the game. The problem occurred because locales often handle number formats differently. For example the number "two and a half" is "2.5" in some locales and "2,5" in others.
  
• Pillbug is valued higher by the AI now. This probably isn't noticible (see below for more on Pillbug AI).

We have some additional releases planned in the coming weeks. Two are visual updates, another is related to the Online main menu, and we also plan to release some AI improvements especially related to the Pillbug. The AI doesn't understand the Pillbug nearly as well as it should, yet.

Once we're done with these maintenance updates, we will hopefully be able to release the Ladybug soon after. We already have a lot of the groundwork laid for that, but we've put it on the shelf briefly to address some issues (such as bugs and the Pillbug AI) that we feel are more urgent to the existing release.

Hey ArkCoNauts!

Things have settled down a bit since our big Multiplayer launch, but not for long! The next patch is only a few days away, and it’s going to be an exciting one. Players have been asking about the return of PIOS (i.e. Power Input Output System), the power grid system for Edge of Space and it’s finally here. In the words of the most famous cartoon space scientist, “Good news everyone!” The system is one of our “opt-in difficulty” mechanics, allowing for beginners to learn the basics, and our uber-nerds out there to dive in, create intricate programs, and produce simple computers in the game if the mood strikes them. We are very excited to have it back in game, and especially to introduce our new players to it for the first time.

Along with PIOS will come the first implementation of the long-awaited terraforming system. It’s one of the things that really sets Edge of Space apart from it’s genre-mates, and brings the game’s personality to life. Terraforming will have players fighting to gain control of, transform, and then maintain a hold on the world itself, while it actively fights against you. If you turn your back on your terraforming equipment for too long, you will find your machines broken, and the world reverting back to its untamed, deadly state. While this very first look won’t have every piece of the system there to start, this marks a big milestone for us in terms of bringing terraforming into play. We are very much looking forward to seeing it all in action and getting the community’s feedback!!

Once the patch is out of the way, the team will be jumping into PAX preparation, and getting ready to show the game there again this year. We hope to meet plenty of the fans and get to talk with gamers in person about the experience. We learned so much last year, and look forward to an even better time this year. We’ll have discount codes on hand, so if you haven’t picked up the game, be sure to stop by our booth (980) and snag yourself a coupon!

Beyond PAX, we’re gearing up for the Spring event, and plenty more game updates. Exciting times are ahead for the community, so stay tuned to our social sites for the announcements as they happen!

Hey ArkCoNauts!

Things have settled down a bit since our big Multiplayer launch, but not for long! The next patch is only a few days away, and it’s going to be an exciting one. Players have been asking about the return of PIOS (i.e. Power Input Output System), the power grid system for Edge of Space and it’s finally here. In the words of the most famous cartoon space scientist, “Good news everyone!” The system is one of our “opt-in difficulty” mechanics, allowing for beginners to learn the basics, and our uber-nerds out there to dive in, create intricate programs, and produce simple computers in the game if the mood strikes them. We are very excited to have it back in game, and especially to introduce our new players to it for the first time.

Along with PIOS will come the first implementation of the long-awaited terraforming system. It’s one of the things that really sets Edge of Space apart from it’s genre-mates, and brings the game’s personality to life. Terraforming will have players fighting to gain control of, transform, and then maintain a hold on the world itself, while it actively fights against you. If you turn your back on your terraforming equipment for too long, you will find your machines broken, and the world reverting back to its untamed, deadly state. While this very first look won’t have every piece of the system there to start, this marks a big milestone for us in terms of bringing terraforming into play. We are very much looking forward to seeing it all in action and getting the community’s feedback!!

Once the patch is out of the way, the team will be jumping into PAX preparation, and getting ready to show the game there again this year. We hope to meet plenty of the fans and get to talk with gamers in person about the experience. We learned so much last year, and look forward to an even better time this year. We’ll have discount codes on hand, so if you haven’t picked up the game, be sure to stop by our booth (980) and snag yourself a coupon!

Beyond PAX, we’re gearing up for the Spring event, and plenty more game updates. Exciting times are ahead for the community, so stay tuned to our social sites for the announcements as they happen!

Save the date. This year <em>The International</em> moves to KeyArena, taking place July 18th through the 21st in Seattle.

<img class="alignnone" title="mad purps" alt="mad purps" src="http://media.steampowered.com/apps/dota2/images/blogfiles/blog_tickets_ti4.jpg" width="576" height="340" />

For those interested in attending there are three types of tickets available:

- General Admission ($99)

- Floor Seats ($199)

- VIP package ($499) that includes:
<ul>
<li>Access to all 6 days of Playoffs (formerly Group Stage) taking place on July 8th, before the Championships Event</li>
<li>Floor Seating</li>
<li>Exclusive VIP Meet &amp; Greets</li>
<li>Access to the After Party</li></ul>
Every ticket includes access to all four days of the Championships Event at KeyArena. Tickets will be sold through Ticketmaster beginning this Friday April 4th at 3PM PDT, so check back later for more information.

This year there will be 11 teams invited directly as well as four Regional Qualifiers taking place May 12th through the 25th. The winner of each Qualifier will receive an invitation, with the four runner-ups competing in Seattle for the final spot.

Here's a handy list of times to help you get ready for the sale:
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;">Seattle: 15:00 Friday</li>
<li>Rio de Janeiro: 19:00 Friday</li>
<li>London: 23:00 Friday</li>
<li>Moscow: 02:00 Saturday</li>
<li>Beijing: 06:00 Saturday</li>
<li>Singapore: 06:00 Saturday</li>
<li>Seoul: 07:00 Saturday</li>
<li>Sydney: 09:00 Saturday</li></ul>
Don't see your time listed? Here's a sweet <a href="http://www.thetimezoneconverter.com/">time zone converter.</a>