Heathen Engineering is hard at work and making good progress on the Phase 2 transition patch. As we mentioned in our last announcement we hit a snag in patch testing on Sector K72 which untimely resulted in us taking on a heap of additional work. That work is progressing along nicely and we expect to have release dates for the patch in the coming weeks.
You can follow along with the progress of the patch via the Terran Roadmap on Trello, our lead developer updates Trello as he works e.g. it is a candid view from our developers. Heathen will continue to bring you updates and announcements as we progress and as always, we are available through the Steam Community Hub.

So, What’s Coming?

The Sector K72 patch includes a lot of ‘under the hood’ work. Technical changes include an engine update, revamped serialization and asset management systems and a lot of other nuts and bolts that will equate to a faster, more stable and easier to use experience for the gamer. The real stars of the patch though are in the gameplay and content.

Organizations

You can now form your own corporation or government and set about building an empire. Each type of organization has its own unique style of growth and development. Initially we are introducing the Corporation and Government type organization and we have plans to introduce 2 more types in later patches. A player doesn’t have to form an organization or even join one to play the game and experience the galaxy though organization gameplay will be a key area of focus for the Phase 2 iteration of Early Access. Corporations and Governments can both ‘claim’ assets … that is they can own planets, stations and other populated elements in the galaxy e.g. empire building. Corporations and governments typically have a lot more resource than private individuals but they also have a lot more expense and draw a lot more attention. Additional organization types will offer players a path that differs from typical empire building. To help test this system during Early Access, players will receive a special notification from Allfar Terraforming when they first register an organization. Allfar will grant new organizations everything they need to get started and will conveniently provide a selection of ideal terrestrial planets to choose from. This is a facility of Early Access meant to focus attention on a key area and will differ significantly in the full release.

Contacts

Simply put contacts are NPCs with something for the player to do. Each contact is unique and has its own affiliations and relationships with other elements in the galaxy. The contact system will play an important role for every pilot. In addition to private contacts each organization you meet will have 1 or more contacts and how you interact with them will impact your standing with their affiliated organizations. Initially we will be introducing a set of private contacts, these are NPCs with no organization affiliation who can help you find your way. Contacts have tasks for you to take on and completing these tasks will improve your relationship with the contact and usually earn you cash and basic supplies in the process. Contacts you have developed a relationship with are more likely to offer you better tasks and possibly even introduce you to their own contacts helping you grow your network.

Character Development

Who you are didn’t really matter in Phase 1 which was focused heavily on ships and related systems. With Phase 2 who you are and what you can do is keenly important. Over the course of Phase 2 we will be introducing a number of facets to character development starting with the introduction of ‘Pilot Enhancements’. Enhancements can be installed to you and your companions augmenting skills and granting additional abilities, parts, asset improvements and more. As you adventure through the galaxy you will discover, steal and otherwise acquire new enhancements. You have a limited capacity for enhancement but can uninstall and reinstall enhancements at will. In future patches, we will be expanding upon the enhancement system and introducing companions and relationships, which we will talk more about later.

Exploration

The galaxy is a big place and with the Sector K72 patch we will be introducing you to a small slice of it. Sector K72 is a relatively typical sector of the Free Space region of the galaxy. A few systems are charted and there are a few minor populations on record. The new Map tools will allow you to browse the sector and probe for new systems, contacts and more. Initially gameplay will be restricted to within the K72 sector of the Free Space region. This limitation is a function of this phase of Early Access, in later phases and of course in the full game the whole of the galaxy will be available to you.

Changes and Fixes

The official patch announcement will include a more complete list, below are a few notable areas of change coming with the Sector K72 patch. You can always track what we are currently doing via the Roadmap on Trello.

Engine Update

The underlying engine has been updated as well as the custom systems which drive the game itself. These changes are not compatible with previous save settings or ship templates. Additional changes to the underlying systems which would affect save data are not anticipated however as Terran is under development it is possible.

Main Menu

A main menu has been added to help ease players into Terran. This menu simply provides the typical save file management, settings and exit functionality common to most games. Terran previously supported this functionality through its main UI. The Dashboard has been updated to support the new gameplay elements introduced with Phase 2. The ‘power button’ which previously closed the game now simply returns the player to the Main Menu, the Main Menu has an ‘Exit’ button which will close the game.

Dashboard Update

The Dashboard has been updated to support new functionality introduced by Phase 2 and further refined for ease of use. The main Dashboard focuses on notifications and character profile with additional functionality available from the menu in the upper left of the screen.

Ship Manager

The Ship Manager replaces the Ship Editor and provides all the same functionality. The UI layout of the manager has been simplified and streamlined from the prior Ship Editor layout. The Ship Manager has additional functionality regarding the management of the player’s fleet and manufacturing of new ships. These functions will be further expanded in future updates.

[ 2016-12-24 23:45:45 CET ] [ Original post ]