Ostranauts - spaceship management sim set in NEO Scavenger universe - now available on Early Access

[dcfedor]

Hey Folks!

Sorry for the delay in responding. Been juggling websites all morning (as you might imagine), so I'm slow to keep up.

First off, thanks for all the kind words and support! Ostranauts is news to some, but others have known it as "Space Prototype." In either case, it's been a long time coming, and still has a ways to go. Which is a nice segue into:

I'm having trouble figuring out what the gameplay will be like. Sorry if this is a stupid question, but will this be turn based?

TBH, I'm still sort of feeling this out. But on a minute-to-minute basis, I'm aiming for something like Sims/Rimworld on a spaceship. And that would take place within a context of longer arcs like taking a smuggling gig for Atlantis, or wire-hacking a corporation comms buoy for its rival, etc. I guess more akin to Shadowrun, where you've got your character, optional crew, and ship to keep afloat by doing jobs for Mr. Johnsons.

In the shorter term, it'll probably start out as a subset of features above. Probably limiting chargen to the shipbreaker origin, where you can scavenge junk from a ship boneyard and fix-up a derelict. Possibly with crew hiring to let players try out crew interactions.

Sort of along the lines of the original NEO Scavenger demo. A limited subset of features to get a feel for what works and doesn't, and gradually add features and content over time.

You had me at profit and loss statement.

Glad to hear it! Part of what I think will make this interesting is the sort of stuff a lot of space sims gloss over. Namely, all the stupid taxes, fees, and interest payments you're saddled with when trying to own a multi-million (billion?) dollar outfit. And how to avoid paying them as long as possible

you could make the red buttons be START/GOOD, and green STOP/BAD.

If I get my way, I really want there to be various UI styles for different manufacturers. I want it to feel like getting into an new Audi vs. the cab of a Mack WM fleet truck.

According to Steam page, the main simulation is rtwp + fast-forward. But yeah, it's hard to judge how it's going to play, or even if stuff like combat is going to be interactive at all. Then again, it was hard to judge NEO Scavenger without playing it.

Anyhow, it's gonna be worth it just for the new Josh Culler's soundtrack alone. The one OST that made me actually look up a genre and go on a hunt for similar music for the first time since forever ago.

Correct. I'm aiming for rtwp and ff, sort of like tycoon and management sims. I haven't even touched combat yet, but I expect it'll come up. And if time permits, it might be interesting to try borrowing chunks of the NS system to see if they work in 2D real-time (for crew).

For ship-to-ship encounters, one approach I was picturing was something more like rare engagements, with long range scanners, and lots and lots of countermeasures. So, not a ship combat sim. Or at least, not focused on that. But we'll have to see as it develops.

As for Josh Culler, hell yeah! He approached me a while back to collaborate again, and I didn't hesitate. Currently, the OST features 24 new tracks from him. And he's working on some bonus tracks for an official OST to be sold alongside the game. (Lossless versions of main OST, plus bonus tracks.) It's quite possible I'll throw more money his way to add more tracks because I can't help myself

 

[Infinitron]

dcfedor Sims/Rimworld, would it be correct then to say that the game is not classifiable as an RPG the same way NEO Scavenger was?

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[imweasel]

Interesting preview. Can't wait to see more!

BTW, which engine are you using to build the game with, dcfedor? Unity?

 

[Grotesque]

 

[dcfedor]

Good questions! Lemme try to address them one by one:

dcfedor Sims/Rimworld, would it be correct then to say that the game is not classifiable as an RPG the same way NEO Scavenger was?

Less narrative-driven, if that's what you mean. I wasn't planning some main plot for the player to uncover and follow. More of a collection of systems which (hopefully) create emergent stories. And I definitely wanted to avoid writing a book's worth of dialogue (Maybe I'll write a book one day, but doing it in a game was grueling.)

That said, I do still like the way lore was self-serve in NS, and plan to continue that. Bits of lore here and there, background threads and plots to learn about if you dig deep enough, maybe even some more major things to discover and participate in.

But yeah, you're creating a character from scratch, and the game is trying to build a world around that with friends/rivals, dynamic events, etc.

dcfedor mind comparing your game to star traders when it comes to crew/jobs management? Im trying to understand what is this game about, is it basically a sandbox or there will be cc involved and reaching specific goal

I still have to get on that Star Traders wagon. Just behind on my gaming.

I think Sims and Rimworld are probably the closest approximation of crew interactions and jobs management. There are things to be done on the ship, and crew are assigned to those jobs by priority. During the work shift, they tend to fulfill those, while free time and sleep, they're satisfying more personal needs. These are all done via either AI self-selecting a task and just doing it (e.g. I feel lonely, I'm going to bug Jaden for some chatting, or eat some food), or the player telling their crew to deal with a job/need directly.

I'm actually in the thick of this now, though, so a lot is still being figured out. Things like: what happens when AI uses a control panel that requires sophisticated input, like plotting a course? What if some crew are not obedient, or don't trust the captain? What is an AI doing when not on the currently-viewed ship? (E.g. a social contact like a rival)

Minute-to-minute, it'll be this needs-fulfilling stuff, fixing and using ship equipment to keep her running, and dealing with immediate crises (fire, microdebris puncture, etc.). More broadly, the player might be heading to Titan to see if their old schoolmate can sneak them access to a classified ship component. Or maybe they're trying to find a place to hide from an old, powerful rival. Or they're stuck on Tharsis Landing with outstanding docking fees, and tracking down someone to break the lockdown so they can escape.

Assuming I can manage to write the systems to generate even half of such things, that is!

Interesting preview. Can't wait to see more!

BTW, which engine are you using to build the game with, dcfedor? Unity?

You guessed it! This one's in Unity, and I'm hoping they don't go out of business the day I launch, like Flash did

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Will this game include some kind of combat system?
I presume that violence between crew members will be possible, but what about external threats?

 

[Strange Fellow]

dcfedor is it just you on the team? If not, how big is it?

Absolutely loved NEO Scavenger by the way, and I can't wait to see what you do with this. :D

 

[buffalo bill]

TBH, I'm still sort of feeling this out. But on a minute-to-minute basis, I'm aiming for something like Sims/Rimworld on a spaceship.

...

Correct. I'm aiming for rtwp and ff, sort of like tycoon and management sims. I haven't even touched combat yet, but I expect it'll come up. And if time permits, it might be interesting to try borrowing chunks of the NS system to see if they work in 2D real-time (for crew).

Sorry, but this does not sound too good tbh. Why not just reuse the (pretty revolutionary) turn-based mechanics from neo scavenger? A real time sim game is probably not something that is of much interest to most of the Codex or most of the fans of NS, but maybe I am wrong. Not much interest to me anyway.

 

[Jimmious]

I would be pretty interested in a RimWorld type game in a spaceship

 

[dcfedor]

Will this game include some kind of combat system?
I presume that violence between crew members will be possible, but what about external threats?

If by external you mean other ships, I expect to have something in the vein of Silent Hunter as a starting point. 1st person control panels, sensors, EM signatures, posturing, PDCs, and counter measures. More tense than twitchy.

dcfedor is it just you on the team? If not, how big is it?

So far, mostly me. I've contracted a fair number of people for specific tasks along the way. And some for longer than others. It'll probably continue like that, too. Spot help here and there.

Sorry, but this does not sound too good tbh. Why not just reuse the (pretty revolutionary) turn-based mechanics from neo scavenger? A real time sim game is probably not something that is of much interest to most of the Codex or most of the fans of NS, but maybe I am wrong. Not much interest to me anyway.

What is it about real time that puts you off, if you don't mind my asking? Is it lack of control? Lack of situational awareness? Difficulty planning and timing things?

Don't get me wrong, I think turn-based combat is a pretty good approach. I'm just wondering whether the problem is inherent to rtwp.

 

[buffalo bill]

What is it about real time that puts you off, if you don't mind my asking? Is it lack of control? Lack of situational awareness? Difficulty planning and timing things?

Don't get me wrong, I think turn-based combat is a pretty good approach. I'm just wondering whether the problem is inherent to rtwp.

Yikes, not sure I can give a sufficient explanation for why real time sucks. The reasons you suggest are fine. But the reasons ultimately don't really matter: I have never played an RPG with real time mechanics that felt good to play. For instance, Planescape: Torment was a nice game overall, but the combat sucked. I understand some people here like Kingmaker, so maybe it is possible (I haven't played it)—but why bother attempting the very difficult task of making a satisfying real time game when you have already developed one of the best and most original turn-based combat systems I've ever played?

I have not played Rimworld, and I'm sure that sort of game appeals to many people, but not to me. Sad to see a very promising developer turn toward a potentially more popular and profitable type of game, at the expense of producing excellent games that appeal to a more niche audience.

 

[Strange Fellow]

I have never played an RPG with real time mechanics that felt good to play.

This clearly isn't an RPG, though.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

If by external you mean other ships, I expect to have something in the vein of Silent Hunter as a starting point. 1st person control panels, sensors, EM signatures, posturing, PDCs, and counter measures. More tense than twitchy.

I didn't even think that ship-to-ship combat would be possible in this game.

What about boarding actions, tavern brawls or such?

 

[oscar]

I'm not too worried about combat not being TB because it doesn't seem like a combat-oriented game. What is completely fine since you're a businessman in a hard sci fi near-future setting. Keeping the ship in one piece and the crew from having a mental breakdown seems more the vibe than pew pew with aliens. Making a profit and not dying of radiation sickness seems to be the focus rather than swinging laser swords at killer robots.

In fact I'd be entirely happy if 'combat' was abstracted as VN style events based on the skills, traits, personalities etc of your crew (something King of Dragon Pass-esque, send a argumentative hot head to some delicate negotiations and thinks might break down. Send a nervous wimp and they might laugh you off the station. Someone calm but confident might get the best result or any hundred of variations within). A game not being about combat doesn't necessarily at all mean there won't be violence.

Neo Scavenger had a great turn-based combat system but you were one man surviving in a rough post-apoc world. Don't feel pressured to shoehorn combat in here if it isn't a thematic fit.

 

[dcfedor]

I'm not too worried about combat not being TB because it doesn't seem like a combat-oriented game. What is completely fine since you're a businessman in a hard sci fi near-future setting. Keeping the ship in one piece and the crew from having a mental breakdown seems more the vibe than pew pew with aliens. Making a profit and not dying of radiation sickness seems to be the focus rather than swinging laser swords at killer robots.

This is probably more to the point. There is no combat in the game yet. And the focus is meant to be more on the stuff in-between what a lot of other space sims offer. Human needs, boiler room mechanics, crew relations, running a business, tough trade-offs between an endless list of things that need addressing on the ship/crew.

In trying to hypothetically answer how combat looks, I think I'm generating more concerns than excitement. So let's just let things progress organically, and cross that bridge when it comes.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Will the perspective stay top down

 

[Merlkir]

I really like the portraits, good job!

 

[dcfedor]

Will the perspective stay top down

Most likely, yes.

I really like the portraits, good job!

Thanks! Emily Siu did a great job on the art for those. She has such a fresh style.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Cyberarmy]

Let me contribute to this thread the best way I can

 

[Haba]

I'm not too worried about combat not being TB because it doesn't seem like a combat-oriented game. What is completely fine since you're a businessman in a hard sci fi near-future setting. Keeping the ship in one piece and the crew from having a mental breakdown seems more the vibe than pew pew with aliens. Making a profit and not dying of radiation sickness seems to be the focus rather than swinging laser swords at killer robots.

This is probably more to the point. There is no combat in the game yet. And the focus is meant to be more on the stuff in-between what a lot of other space sims offer. Human needs, boiler room mechanics, crew relations, running a business, tough trade-offs between an endless list of things that need addressing on the ship/crew.

In trying to hypothetically answer how combat looks, I think I'm generating more concerns than excitement. So let's just let things progress organically, and cross that bridge when it comes.

This gives you also the rare chance of doing an actual "realistic" space combat game. And you can use the same mechanics for non-combat things as well (heat management, avoiding detection when smuggling etc.).

Steal stuff from http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/

Trying to manage a crumbling heap of crap whilst still being to actually be able to trade sounds fresh

If a spacecraft is flying far away from anything else, and only has weak rockets fueled by puny chemical fuels or innocuous solar panels, nobody cares if the ship is a hunk-of-junk suffering from decades of deferred maintenance. If it blows up, that's too bad about the people on board, but it's their problem.

Things change radically in the more civilized areas of space. In the crowded orbital space around a heavily populated planet, with dozens of space stations, zillions of expensive satellites, hundreds of other spacecraft in tight traffic lanes, and ship using antimatter fuel; the authorities will demand that all spacecraft be up to code with perfect maintenance records.

This means periodic inspections by the Spacecraft Agency, in order for the ships to keep their certification current. No certification means the ship ain't allowed in our orbital space.

Y'aknow, common sense things that none of space games seem to think of. And they generate fresh gameplay challenges as well.

If you have the time, read GURPS Traveller for the model of interplanetary and interstellar trade model.

 

[dcfedor]

Re: Project Rho, totally! Though, I have to be careful. Any time I visit that site, I inevitably go down a rabbit hole redesigning the propulsion science in the game...

As for the certification of ships, and caution around local space/close approach, I'm on board with that. It actually has me wondering whether there will be any docking at all in certain cases. High population stations might enforce a parking orbit or docking scaffold off-station, and use lading drones/skiffs to transport people and cargo. Nobody's going to let a potentially negligent/drunk/tired/depressed captain anywhere near a pop center with a megaton hammer at the end of a fusion torch!

But first things first: let's see if I can get my captain to dock with a derelict and get it running again without debug commands

 

[Destroid]

Re: Project Rho, totally! Though, I have to be careful. Any time I visit that site, I inevitably go down a rabbit hole redesigning the propulsion science in the game...

As for the certification of ships, and caution around local space/close approach, I'm on board with that. It actually has me wondering whether there will be any docking at all in certain cases. High population stations might enforce a parking orbit or docking scaffold off-station, and use lading drones/skiffs to transport people and cargo. Nobody's going to let a potentially negligent/drunk/tired/depressed captain anywhere near a pop center with a megaton hammer at the end of a fusion torch!

But first things first: let's see if I can get my captain to dock with a derelict and get it running again without debug commands

Just like sea ships, tugboats with station pilots could be used.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://bluebottlegames.com/content/today-i-ran-studio

Today I Ran a Studio

dcfedor
onMarch 8, 2019

Hey Folks! Bit of a weird day today. Pretty much 100% of today's tasks were running the game studio. And I didn't mind it as much as I expected.

First order of business today was a conversation with a potential publisher. I wasn't originally planning on going that route, but I'm starting to get some invitations to talk, and it's got me thinking. Whatever happens, I don't want it to change what Blue Bottle Games is, or the games I make. And so far, neither does anyone who approached me.

If I did pursue it further, though, there could be some interesting developments on the horizon. Having help with community management, marketing, and launch strategy couldn't hurt. And it would actually free up some of my time to get back to actual work.

Alternately, it could be a source of extra funding to hire some help, and accelerate my progress. I enjoy doing all the things, but even I can't do everything at equal quality. And I certainly can't do it all at once. Already it's been a pleasure having Michael offload some of my writing and coding work, and I think the game's design benefits from the conversations we have as a result.

What would it be like if I could do that for other areas? Audio design? Code architecture? More art?

Of course, extra funding means something in return, and that probably means revenue share. But I think if the shares are set correctly, a publisher can earn their keep. And possibly amplify things such that we both come out ahead of where I could go on my own.

Anyway, big thoughts.

Sabina finished her first piece today, and lucky you, you get a sneak peak in today's image It was a blast seeing the setting come to life as the illustration developed, and I look forward to sharing it with you soon!

We're getting started on her second piece now, and I can't wait.

Also, I've just begun working with another illustrator named Ashley, who will also be tackling a couple of pieces. We're nearly done choosing the subjects, and once the contract is inked, she'll be away on those. Art incoming!

Michael's work continues on shoring-up the new pathfinding system. He's got it resolving cases where the crew was teleported into furniture to use it, and can't walk out again. Cross-ship pathfinding seems to honor both airlocks now. And his floor uninstall/install is coming along. It even revealed one of our first major design decisions: what do we do about conflicting UI for walking to a tile vs. uninstalling it?

Currently, right-clicking a tile walks there. But it also opens a context menu if one exists. In every other case, this works. But floors can do both now.

We have a few ideas about how we can deal with this. (Five, actually.) And we'll be trying those out soon. What we find might inform some of the broader gameplay questions about managing the crew actions, bulk job assignments, fine-tuned tasks, and direct vs. indirect control of crew.

Finally, I spent just a little bit of time paying invoices and uploading tax docs.

Overall, it was a day about mostly managing people and a business. Not a line of code. And surprisingly, it didn't drain my soul. I think a big part of it was the fact that work was still getting done on the game, even though I wasn't doing it. Michael was improving systems, Sabina and Ashley were creating inspirational art, and all of these activities were generating more flesh for the bones of Ostranauts. And the shared enthusiasm really feels good.

Maybe it's time for me to level-up the studio?