KickStarter Stellar Tactics, a sandbox sci-fi RPG - now available on Early Access

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/0/2763442118810064881/

Progress update - Crafting and ship interiors
I’m posting a work in progress video today that shows the salvaging portion of the crafting system which is nearly complete. I still have a bit of work to do on the UI and balancing. The video also shows the first completed ship interior for the boarding system. More details below.

Crafting requires components and the salvaging system lets you mark items in your inventory, stash and cargo hold for disassembly. As you disassemble items, you will gather crafting components and the finishing items you will need to craft equipment for your ships and crew.

You can salvage items anywhere. That is, you do not need to travel to a salvaging station to break items into component parts. Initially, I was going to make this a static salvaging station that would be on your ship and stations. I felt it would be a lot more useful if you could do this at any time, clearing inventory of excess equipment and vendor junk items. Crafting material storage is infinite so you won’t need to worry about max inventory for these items.

Equipment – When disassembling equipment, you will gain salvaging experience, component parts, finishing items and progress towards learning a locked crafting schematic for that item time (based on the quality of the item).

Junk items – Junk items generate finishing materials. These will be used in the finishing stage of crafting to assign stats, weapon min/max damage values, and other bonuses to equipment. In general, crafting an item can result in a finished item with bonuses and stats that are better than any item you can buy or find in the game.

I’ll be starting on the crafting portion of the system next now that I can generate crafting components. This will take a while and I hope you all enjoy the system when it’s finished.

Ship interiors are being worked on. These interiors will be used for a number of purposes:

• Boarding: Disable a ship and enter through the airlock. Various doors to be hacked, hostile enemies defending their ships and objects that need to be repaired – not to mention loot and the ability to sell these ships for profit.
  
  
• Missions: There will be a number of missions that may pop up as a communication from a disabled ship, rescues and a few other scenarios that will require entering other ships.
  
  
• Your home: Ships will serve as a place to store goods, interact with the crew and craft items.

That’s all I have for now. Thanks as always for supporting Stellar Tactics!

 

[Aemar]

According to Don, the next major update will be about improving the ground combat - new animations/special attacks. Going to buy this game as soon as that patch is out.

 

[Aemar]

Couldn't resist and bought it. Enjoying the game so far, even though some aspects still look shoddy, especially the combat. But that's why it's called Early Acces I guess.

I believe there are or there will be like 40 ships available, and each of them will come with its own interiors. It really makes me wonder what Don Wilkins could have achieved with the equivalent of 1% of Star Citizen's funds (~2.5 million).

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Enjoying the game so far

You're playing it? Plebber

 

[Infinitron]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/465490/announcements/detail/3651782144216284684

Crafting preview

I’m posting a video first look at the crafting system today. There is still a good bit of cleanup, bugs to fix and balancing work to do. I’m hoping to have this patched into the game in a week or so.

Crafting requires various components:

• Crafting components are broken down from items you find in the world using the salvaging skill
  
• Refined ore and rare earth minerals from mining or purchased from the Trade-Net
  
• Finishing items salvaged from junk you find in your travels

Crafting requires schematics that are unlocked as you salvage items and learn more about them. Schematics can also be very rare drops from various enemies and in ship crates. Over time you will gather a large number of schematics that can be used to craft gear for your crew and parts for your ships.

Assuming you have a schematic and the required resources (components and refined ore) you can begin crafting by selecting a crafting station found on trade stations across the universe. I’ll also be adding crafting stations to ship interiors when I patch the boarding system into the game at a later time.

Once you find a crafting station, you can select a schematic and the table is automatically filled with the resources you need to craft the item. Refined ore and rare earth minerals are pulled from your cargo hold and from the station's storage when crafting, so, you can stockpile these items on stations if you want to. Components and refined ore are required. However, it is very important to also have a good stock of rare earth minerals and finishing items.

Some crafted items have additional options you can select. For example, beam pistols and rifles have options to select various damage types. Ship equipment requires you to select a ship type. Your current ship is always selected by default.

You can re-roll the base stats for most items. Ground weapons are the exception as they scale on the weapon skill of the crew member. When crafting a weapon, you can select crew portraits to preview the weapons stats on that particular character.

Rare earth minerals – At various stages in crafting negative and positive “conditions” may develop. If you do not have the appropriate rare earth mineral, it could cost you finishing points, increase your chance for a crafting process failure and decrease the number of actions you have resulting in a lower quality item. Having the correct rare earth minerals will also let you trigger bonus effects for additional finishing points and extra action points.

Finishing items – The last stage of crafting is finishing. At that point, you should have the correct finishing items from salvaging to take advantage of allocating finishing touches to the item. These additional points increase the effectiveness of the item you are crafting.
In general, high quality crafted items will always be better than item drops or equipment found on vendors. The exception to this will be some of the new bosses that will be coming to the game and perhaps faction gear which will see a re-balance in the near future. When crafting weapons, especially higher quality weapons with mod slots, those slots are unlocked based on the quality of the crafted item. In addition, higher quality items unlock more finishing options so you will need to keep an eye on conditions when they pop up.

That’s all I have to show for now. I hope you enjoy the first look at the crafting system!

 

[normie]

Crafting and Salvaging patch

Today’s patch adds the first pass at the crafting and salvaging system. The crafting system lets you craft almost every item that can be equipped in the game other than faction armor, ammo, grenades, and devices.

Crafting requires the disassembly of items you find in your travels. When salvaging, you learn about the items you are disassembling and eventually, you earn a schematic so you can craft that item.

Salvaging – process items found in your travels into component parts for crafting.

• You must mark items in your inventories (CTRL-Click - General/Stash/Cargo Hold).
  
• Once items are marked, you can access the salvage toolbox from the inventory menu via a new icon above the general inventory.
  
• Junk items generate finishing materials used in the crafting finish process.
  
• Weapons, armor and other items that can be equipped generate primary crafting components.
  
• Salvaged items are placed in a separate infinite inventory. This inventory feeds the crafting bench and parts are automatically placed on the crafting table.
  
• As you salvage items, you will earn experience towards unlocking a schematic for that item. At times you may even gain experience towards the next tier schematic.

Crafting - Once you unlock a schematic, you can craft the item. All schematics come in various quality tiers that need to be unlocked. Schematics are also a very rare drop from loot crates, cargo containers, enemy packs, and lockers.

Crafting requires a number of items:

• (Required) Base item components of the same quality tier salvaged from a similar item
  
• (Required – In cargo hold or station storage) Refined ore. You can mine ore and refine the ore, or purchase from the Trade-Net
  
• (Optional – In cargo hold or station storage) Rare earth minerals to clear conditions. You can mine ore or purchase from the Trade-Net
  
• (Optional – In cargo hold or station storage) Finishing items salvaged from junk and rewarded during salvaging of equipment

Rare earth minerals and finishing items are optional, however, they are very important and you could end up with a sub-par item if you do not have any on hand when crafting.

To craft an item:

1. Travel to any trade station and look for a crafting station. Crafting stations have a unique icon on the radar and map.
   
2. Select the crew member you want to craft and select the crafting station. The crafting table will be shown.
   
3. On the top left is a list of unlocked schematics (if any are unlocked). Choose one.
   
4. You may need to adjust a few initial values before you start crafting. For example, when crafting a weapon, make sure to set the correct weapon skill level before selecting the begin crafting button. When crafting an item for your ship, make sure the correct ship is selected.
   
5. All items except for weapons can be “re-rolled” That is, you can re-roll a number of base equipment stats.
   
6. When you are ready, select the processing button and start crafting.

Processing:

1. Each process step will expend AP
   
2. If successful, the quality of the item will improve.
   
3. At various stages, negative and positive “conditions” may arise. You can select a condition to expend a single unit of rare earth for that step to clear negative conditions and activate positive conditions.

Finishing:

1. Once all AP is expended, the item is ready for finishing.
   
2. Select your finishing options if any. The higher the quality, the more options.
   
3. Select the “Finish Crafting” button and the item will be placed in your inventory or cargo hold.

About progression:

• Primary crafting components cannot be purchased. They can only be gained by salvaging equipment.
  
• Occasionally you are rewarded crafting components for next tier items when salvaging as a bonus
  
• The higher your skill in salvaging, the more components you get when salvaging an item. In some cases, you may be able to salvage enough components to build several items of a similar type.
  
• The value of crafted items of high quality exceeds the value of any similar items you might loot.
  
• Occasionally you are rewarded experience towards the next tier schematic when salvaging a lower tier item
  
• Higher tier schematics require more disassembly than lower-tier schematics. Bonus experience offsets the number of items you need to disassemble to unlock that next tier.
  
• You can find schematics when looting ship containers and gear in ground missions. These are extremely rare.
  
• You are rewarded experience regardless of failures when salvaging.
  
• Schematic experience is rewarded for every component that is disassembled. It is best to use the third salvaging option initially that rewards additional schematic unlock EXP.

Grenades and ammo will have a separate utility device that will let you break down these objects and craft other ammo types. That will come in a future patch.

The patch includes entries in the in-game guide for salvaging and crafting for reference.

Armor visual types are random for now until I can get more sets in the game. I’ll also likely add an “appearance” slot in the future that lets you equip a visual appearance of your choice. The faction armor set appearances are reserved for faction armor.

Perks are not available for Salvaging and Crafting at this time. As usual, I’ll add those after I gather more feedback on the system.

Note: Salvaging has been moved to the general skill area. It is no longer a space specific skill.

There are a few other things I’d like to do with salvaging – salvaging enemy ship wreckage and various items found in ground exploration locations.

I hope you enjoy the crafting system. I’ll be reading feedback on the forums and will make adjustments over time.

So, what’s next? I’ll be updating the ground combat animations and adding weapon-specific special attacks. I’ve gathered a lot of feedback from the community and there will be a few new options for targeting enemies and displaying target information. In general, I’ll be taking a deep dive into the combat system and adding a new pass at polishing the ground combat system.

After that, boarding. I have everything I need for this now including all the ship interiors. I know many of you have been waiting for this and I’m eager to get started.

General patch notes and fixes:
FIXED: A rare case where ship cargo could not be looted
FIXED: A rare case where incursions would not trigger
FIXED: Duplicate stats on high-quality armor
FIXED: Map, load/save and cargo storage screens close with the ESC key
FIXED: A few UI font scale issues
FIXED: A few typos
FIXED: A bug related to the correct rollover info displayed for equipped devices
UPDATED: FTL Drives and refineries are now dropped as loot in ship containers
UPDATED: Stun grenade effect reduced from three to two combat rounds
UPDATED: Frag grenade damage increased
UPDATED: Gas grenade damage increased per round of damage

As always, thanks for supporting Stellar Tactics.

 

[Morkar Left]

He seems to have a pretty cool approach to crafting. The way it sounds basically every item that is ingame can be crafted. Would be really amazing... Dude really seems to make his dream rpg. And it sounds most exactly like mine as well!

 

[Aemar]

Still to come while in alpha

• Implement new animations
  
• Special weapon attacks
  
• Addition of weapons for pugilism - specifically gloves that take mods and a few adjustments to damage
• Boarding
  
• Repair system for both space and ground. The space repair system will allow you to assign crew members to ship repairs. You will of course still be able to pay for repairs on stations. This includes the re-implementation of ship equipment, and ground-based weapon and armor wear.
  
• Ability to assign perks from the crew manager
  
• A few additional devices that can be used in combat.
  
• Sneaking and trap system
  
• Patrolling enemies and NPC's
  
• Quick itemization tuning pass

Beta stuff

• Global tuning pass

• "Autonomous Universe AI" (AUAI) testing and tuning

• Addition of remaining narrative and locations for the main story

• Additional locations for Dynamic missions

• Ability to override portraits with custom portraits for your team members.

 

[Kabas]

Decided to return to this game after a long pause, that long prologue with space zombies didn't quite capture me at the time.

Now that i powered myself through it i must admit that i am hooked, just reached my first space station.

 

[Teut Busnet]

So, I watched a LP and the combat looks clunky and not very tactical. Are there plans to develop it more towards a 'Shadowrun' style, with cover, etc.?

There are so many things that look great, but combat and the skill system (one of those where you can be excellent with a rifle, but useless with a shotgun, a hero with 1H melee weapons but completely inept with two-handers - retarded) keep me from buying.

Do you get used to the fighting? Is there a lot of it? Do chars have to be specialists or should you spread skills?

 

[Aemar]

Combat and combat animations overhaul will be part of the next major update, but I don't think the final version will feature a cover system. The best strategy would probably be to assign a favourite weapon class to each character. My current team is comprised of two rifle specialists (kinetic and laser), one shotgun dude (which rips everything apart at close range) and one big guns/pistol specialist (rocket launcher/that big laser thing).

 

[Kabas]

Do you get used to the fighting? Is there a lot of it? Do chars have to be specialists or should you spread skills?

I admit that i am already getting a bit tired of it. There is quite a lot of combat, especially if you decide to do a long random mission(these ones do pay very well however and there is guaranteed good loot).
Focusing on one weapon skill is indeed the best way to go, you do get some variations within the same type especially when it comes to big guns(rocket launcher/big laser/minigun and i saw a flamethrower ammo but yet to see one in action) and some more interesting weapon upgrades can give you stuff like full-auto mod for a rifle as an example.

I will probably wait until this combat update comes out.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/0/1643178512744010357/

Patch 10/31/19
Happy Holloween! A few fixes and updates today.

UPDATED: Basic schematics have a higher drop rate so they should be easier to find.
UPDATED: Initially, before getting your ship, you will loot at least a few basic schematics.
UPDATED: Reduced the base cost of mining turrets from vendors so they are accessible early in the game.
UPDATED: Reduced frequency at which NPC and PC AI scan for targets on level load and during world interactions to avoid a rare lockup.
UPDATED: A message displaying the number of units of ore required to start the refinery is sent to the screen if the refinery cannot start.
UPDATED: When mining, turrets now stop firing automatically when your cargo hold is full.
UPDATED: If you attempt to micro-warp and your turrets are active, turrets are automatically turned off and micro-warp is triggered.
UPDATED: If you forget to turn your shields on and are jumped by enemy ships, they are turned on for you automatically. Of course, not ideal as you really want your shields charged to "full" before combat. Your shields cannot be turned off while in combat.
UPDATED: When closing the salvaging hud, you now return to the inventory screen.
UPDATED: Occurrence of "Level up" voice SFX reduced.
UPDATED: Hacking and auto-hacking are faster.
UPDATED: Reduced frequency of AI ships attacking each other in star systems to improve performance.

FIXED: When salvaging mining lasers, the mining lens housing was not being generated.
FIXED: Schematic experience is now granted when salvaging missile turrets.
FIXED: A label display error with cleared planetary bases.
FIXED: Neutral factions now correctly display neutral faction in the faction progress bars on map and system info HUD.
FIXED: A number of UI text display issues.
FIXED: Occasionally the camera could get stuck in a rotation state until you clicked again.
FIXED: Perlite icon is now displayed correctly in Trade-Net.
FIXED: Occasionally the auto hack button was left displayed on the screen.

 

[Aemar]

One major problem with this game: only one dev working on it, so I reckon it's going to take at least 1.5 years until the final release.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/0/1639802081896264743/

Patch incoming - 11/14/19
A few fixes today. I'm busy working on the next content update but thought I would get these out before I start making other changes:

UPDATED: When colliding with another ship, if you are following a ship, your current target is not reset.
UPDATED: When colliding with another ship, your ship no longer stops. You do take damage as before.
FIXED: Display of equipped primary and secondary mods that provide damage bonuses fixed. Now, the correct bonuses are displayed on each equipped weapon as intended both in the rollover info and below the equipment display.
FIXED: Thrust and afterburners will no longer cancel out ship rotation values when turning using the keyboard.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/0/1660068911654221387/

Patch incoming - 11/19/19
A few quick updates and adjustments in this patch. The patch should be live in a half hour or so.

UPDATED: Space combat awards more EXP to ship skills.
UPDATED: A few adjustments to salvaging and the value of crafted items at high levels. It was very easy at higher levels of skill to generate a shipload of crafting mats from a few items and make large amounts of credits.
UPDATED: The beacon in Achmedius cannot be destroyed now. You must place a single beacon in any other star system before the Trade-Net is activated.
UPDATED: Moved the "Destroy beacon" button away from the translocate button on the beacons menu.
UPDATED: I did a bit of work on movement to reduce the idle delay, rotation speeds, etc to make movement a bit more responsive. I'll be doing more work on this as I continue towards the next content update that includes an update of character animations and ground combat.
UPDATED: "Bloom" values adjusted globally. This provides increased intensity at higher settings and a more defined glow effect. You can adjust the intensity in the video options panel.

Added depth and motion blur effects to the game. The effects are a bit more subtle in the ground locations. Some won't like these at all but the option is there for others that do.
ADDED - EXPERIMENTAL: Option to turn on motion blur. This option has an effect on FPS and is off by default. The option is in the video options panel.
ADDED - EXPERIMENTAL: Option to turn on depth blur. This option has an effect on FPS and is off by default. The option is in the video options panel.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://turnbasedlovers.com/10-turns-interview/with-stellar-tactics-developer/

10 Turns Interview with Stellar Tactics developer


After 35 years as videogame player it’s quite difficult to find a game capable of surprise me at first sight.

It’s almost a miracle, but sometimes even miracles can happen!

I remember that the first time I saw Stellar Tactics I thought: “Why hasn’t anyone done this before?”. The charm of Stellar Tactics for me is all in this unanswered question.

The game starts from a simple yet amazing idea: mix together XCOM, FTL and a little bit of Elite. The result of this amazing union is an endless list of features! In Stellar Tactics, we will find: space fights, trade, space exploration, factions, ground combats, crafting, a lot of quests and so on.


And, believe it or not, behind Stellar Tactics there is a solo indie developer!

In conclusion, my personal and final opinion is that you can find far more ideas in this game than in any other AAA game out there.

And now, without any further delay, let’s start with our interview.

1st Turn) Reading the features of Stellar Tactics we can get the idea of a huge game and I read that part of the content is procedurally-generated. Now my question is: can we hope to find also some hand-crafted content, like missions or dungeons?

Every area is hand crafted – that is, whenever you enter a procedural mission area, the level, placement of objects, placement of enemies is fully hand crafted. In each area, the engine selects hand placed enemy “sets” and a number of chests, lockers etc for loot. These mission areas are then assembled into a series of areas to create a “dungeon” for players to explore. These range from 2 areas to as many as 10 which tend to be very long missions – 3-5 hours each.

Right now, there is about 10 – 12 hours of hand crafted story content, each area designed by hand including the characters, dialog, mission structure and object placement.

Spoiler

2nd Turn) The game boast a “massive living universe with over 160,000 star systems”. Don’t you fear that, in spite of it, the game could be too repetitive and grindy?

No fear of the grind here – I like to grind and Stellar Tactics is a grind-fest fit for the best of the grinders if that’s the way you want to play it. However, you can choose to explore, take missions/bounties, engage in space combat, mine, trade, refine, develop your crew, earn enough for a new ship and do things any way you choose. If you decide to take a break, you can come back and start right where you left off. There are no save game “wipes” planned for the game – ever.

I think the word “grind” is really just a way of defining burn-out completing repetitive tasks to reach a goal. The key is to provide enough alternative activities (and ways to make money) in the living universe so players can switch from one activity to something else and break things up. If you fixate on a single goal in any game that takes a lot of work to achieve, you are going to feel like the game is a grind. Eventually, every one burns out on a game. Happens to me all the time – then after a few months I come back and get back into it.

3rd Turn) Your game seems to be able to fill a niche in the market. At the moment of the final release, we will find in Stellar Tactics space combat, ground combat, planets exploration and trade. How hard is for you to balance all this features, considering that this is essentially a single dev project?

It’s not easy. The game has been a labor of love for years. The most difficult thing I find being a solo indie developer is anticipating all the possible edge cases for the various play styles. You think you have something that works well, you put it out there (and cringe a little when you do it) and hope for the best. In most cases things work fine – occasionally I find that I’ve overlooked something – an exploit – a bug if you do x-y-z in a specific order or, in general a system is a complete fail.

I do have a very specific set of features in mind for the game, so I don’t really worry about feature creep. I’ve also developed my own form of iterative development that works for me. Implement content, gather feedback, revise, bug fix and then back to the beginning for the next feature. This system works for me, however, it can be frustrating for players in some cases.

One example is that some players want crafting in the game right away. However, to get crafting in the game I need items to deconstruct, mining, mining perks, drones and refining to all work well. Each of those is a dependency for the crafting system. Right now all of those systems are in the game so I can get started on the crafting system. As a solo developer I generally do not work on things in parallel.

4th Turn) I know that Stellar Tactics can be played easily like a sandbox game, but I’ve also read that you can follow a main story. So, in this regard, my questions are: how long will be the main storyline? What will be its importance for the player? And, lastly, there will be also articulated secondary quests?

I can’t say exactly how long the main story will be. The story will be released in chapters, there will be meaningful engagements related to your main character (the character you create who comes out of stasis at the beginning of the game.) Right now the game has about 10 hours of story and that is just the prologue that brings players to the sandbox.

There will be side quests for various factions in the game, a few key character quests and some larger universe altering missions. And then, of course, there are unlimited bounty’s/missions you can take right now in the game. I’ll be expanding on that system during BETA to make it a more “personal” experience.

5th Turn) Looking at the screenshots, it’s almost impossible not to notice resemblance to some cornerstone of the past, like the X-Com series and Freelancer. Besides these, is there something else in particular that inspired you?

Sure, I’ve been a gamer and game developer (Sr. Producer) in the game industry for many years. A few of the old games inspire me the most. It’s one of the reasons Stellar Tactics has an old-school feel to it. I’m finding the number of these games dwindling and I’d like to keep them alive. As big publishers continue to look for big dollars, these games have fallen off their development roadmaps and been replaced with high production value experiences that in some cases (not all) tend to feel a bit threadbare.

–Elite, Sentinel Worlds, Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday, Baldurs Gate, Eve Online and the list goes on. Many of these have been inspirations

6th Turn) Compared to games like Elite, how deep will be, in the final version, the trading system?

It’s fairly deep right now – however, it will never compare to games that focus on trading. As it is, there are 100 goods that can be traded from general trade-goods, refined ore and various ore types including rare earth minerals. I may expand on that – it wouldn’t be hard to do – however, for now I’m going to move on to other things including smuggling.

I think smuggling will be a great addition for the game. The contraband items are already in the trade database and I’ll be working on a side mission and a few items specific to smuggling that players can unlock, including some new AI needed to make this a risky and profitable trade.

7th Turn) OK, now let’s talk about space combat. Reading the early access feedback, someone found this feature a little too passive with very little interaction opportunities. Are you thinking to do something about that? For example, to make the experience more entertaining, have you considered the possibility to add a “boarding option”?

Boarding is on my long list of things to do. Really, space combat is not the core of the game – it’s more of a alternate money making money right now and the means to setup boarding. I do plan to expand on space combat a good bit in the future when I take a second pass at the system.

I know a lot of people really want the boarding system and I’m hoping to move that up in priority after I get a few of the remaining core systems in the game (crafting, stealth, traps and a few other odds and ends).

8th Turn) Do you think to release a modding tool-set for the game?

If I do, it will be related to story content – the ability to create missions and story content for the world rather than modifying the game assets. Perhaps some tools around adjusting stats and game balance. If I do this, it will come after the release of the game.

9th Turn) Now let’s talk about enemies: how many enemy types we will encounter during our adventure? Will we fight against both humans and aliens?

Right now there are humans of different factions (Shikaru, Halamis, etc.), Raiders, Scavvers, Phage (a parasitic species), Mutants of various types and several humanoid mutations (Kchor, Fabricants and the Coven). Speaking of which, the Kchor and Fabricants should be getting their own models soon and be playable characters that can join your crew. I’ve been working on that for a while and will turn my attention to finalizing them.

Of course there are a few other enemy types and I’ll be expanding on that quite a bit over time including new mutations, a few species left over from the Geno-Wars and more.

As far as Aliens (without spoilers) – we know they exist, you meet one species in the prologue, others are “on their way” headed towards your part of the universe.

10th Turn) I’ve to admit that I’m really impressed. A so big game developed by a single person in a so professional way it is very rare. Can you tell us when your little gem will be released?

Thank you, and unfortunately no – see #3 above. Iterative development makes it impossible to give a date. I’m asked all the time.

If I set a date, it would mean that I would need to schedule and define a feature to be completed. Doing this would mean I need to make compromises and a feature would need to be finished even if it doesn’t work well or eventually scrapped in the system as a whole.

So, all I can do is ask everyone to be patient, follow the road-map on the Steam website and help me spread the word. The game is very playable right now, relatively bug free and I have a wonderful following of supportive players that make me want to work long hours on the project.

Bonus Turn) Before leaving you, just a bonus question, Which is the latest turn-based game you’ve played or still playing?

I don’t get to play games often these days. I’d say I still enjoy Jagged Alliance 1-2, XCom: Enemy Unknown and I also enjoy games like Age of Wonders III. I do try to work in a bubble – that is, I’m not trying to innovate as much as I am focused on making the game I want to play. So, lately, I’ve been playing games that are not necessarily in the general.

Thank you so much for the time you have dedicated to us.! Obviously we will continue to follow your amazing project.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/0/1738882740680453256/

Stellar Tactics has a Wiki!
I've had a bunch of requests to start a wiki for Stellar Tactics and I'm happy to say that the wiki is live now!

https://stellartactics.gamepedia.com/Stellar_Tactics_Wiki

This is your wiki, so feel free to add content, edit, upload and otherwise make this a great resource for other players. I've seeded the site with a good amount of information. However, there is so much more that could be added and I would prefer to spend my time developing the game. I'll continue to add pages and information as I add the remaining features, content, and polish.

I'm excited to see where you all take this if you decide to get involved. Stellar Tactics has a great community of positive supporters and I'd like to thank you all for your contributions and support.

I've been very busy with the next content update that includes revised character animations, updated ground combat pacing, a number of new combat features and the weapon class special attacks system. But that's not all. I also have a few surprises that I think you are going to like. More on that in a few weeks when I'll be ready to show you some of the new things that are coming to the game.

Thanks as always for supporting Stellar Tactics!

 

[normie]

The Kchor, Fabricants and updated animations

It's been an amazing year for Stellar Tactics. I'd like to thank all of you for your support and patience. It's not often that you see such a positive and supportive community. I owe you all a huge "Thank you!" for all you have done for the game, your feedback, and for making this game what it is and will be.

This year, we've seen the addition of updated ships, the ability to sell scan data, the drone mining system, Trade-Net, smuggling, faction warfare (first pass), the area map, crafting and salvaging. A large number of bugs have been fixed and many suggested QoL features have been implemented.

This patch introduces two "mutations" to the universe - The Kchor ( pronounced "Core" ) and the Fabricants. You can find them all over the universe on stations, in missions and they are recruitable as Mercs to join your crew on your journey.

I'm also releasing a large number of updated animations that improve combat pacing and provide a second pass of polish to the overall look and feel of the game. I'm still doing a good bit of work on combat pace for the next content patch which will introduce new special attacks and a few other features. Following that, the boarding system.

THIS PATCH IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON THE PUBLIC TEST BRANCH. For information on how to get public test builds, please see this link. It is very important to backup your saves and review at least the first few paragraphs at the following link if you decide to join this branch.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/12/2653115517067165548/
Please post any feedback/issues/bugs in this forum:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/12/

I'll move this build to the public branch once I'm sure everything is stable and working as intended.

A bit of back story about the Kchor and Fabricants. More information will come when I expand the game story.

The Kchor – Class “A” Mutation (Rational : Humanoid : Sanctioned)

On Arrival, a large number of the pods on the HSS Pharris contained the Kchor mutation. Overall, the new species was considered robust other than several anomalies – parthenogenesis, extreme musculature, and a blue/green skin tone. The medical engineers released them with no special conditions and The Kchor have flourished. The Kchor can be found in most star systems and are generally peaceful.

The Kchor have a special relationship with the Sovereignty, having saved their fleet in the notorious Blockade of Karsus 7. Were it not for their arrival, Maezus Karsari would have destroyed or captured the entire fleet and undoubtedly overthrown the Sovereignty. Instead, The Kchor delivered Maezus to the Council earning their autonomy as a reward for their actions. The Kchor interdiction is one of many turning points in recent history that mold the current political environment of the inner systems.

The Kchor are known for their great strength and intelligence. However, rather than using their influence and innate talents, The Kchor cherish their privacy and prefer to trade and explore peacefully. They are famous for their Kchor Brandy, a favorite indulgence across the known Universe.

Fabricants – Class “B” Mutation (Rational : Cybernetic : Sanctioned)

A number of mutations were discovered on the HSS Outland when the ships arrived. These Sleepers had a rare condition and were in a late state of mutagenic drift, having crossed genetic material with a parasitic species that flourished in their Vats. In their current stage of drift, they could not be exposed to the oxygen-rich atmosphere that Humans breath. It was hypothesized that their skin was transitioning toward a hardened exoskeleton.

Considered “unrecoverable”, Fabricants were initially scheduled for termination. A young scientist, Garrius Brons, fabricated a prototype Exo-Suit and AI module that sealed the Fabricants in a permanent outer skin. After a few trials, the suit was adapted and a modification of this suit is in use to this day.

Fabricants are incredibly talented engineers and were instrumental in FTL travel, having worked closely with Garrius Brons. Over time, they have adapted their suits and AI becoming more machine than human. They prefer to name themselves alphanumerically, and their ability to assimilate traits from common items is a closely held secret. Little is known about their culture and habits. When it comes to engineering, mathematics, and science, no other species in the known universe come close to the Fabricant.

A few things left to do - I'm working on these for the next content patch:

Fabricants

• +Bonus to crafting/learning
  
• +Bonus to scanning
  
• Unique voice audio

Kchor

• +CRIT bonus with melee weapons
  
• +CRIT bonus with heavy weapons
  
• A few animation transitions that need tuning

Here is a list of fixes/updates/additions in this patch.

ADDED: The Kchor and Fabricants. You will find these two mutations on stations throughout the universe. Fabricants and Kchor can now be recruited as Mercs and added to your party when exploring.
UPDATED: Several Shikaru armor materials updated
UPDATED: A number of weapon SFX for timing
UPDATED: Ranged weapon muzzle flash lighting
UPDATED: Weapon, armor, shields, and mods now display a colored border based on quality in the equipped slots for each crew member. The quality level of these items now has a dedicated display field in rollover info.
UPDATED: Hundreds of animations updated - including increasing overall speed of animations in combat.
--Animation timings on end walk in and out of combat for less delay when navigating.
--All human animations adjusted for less foot sliding, better hit animations and overall speed
--Fixed a large number of wonky animations that have been plaguing the game for a long time.
--A number of enemy animations updated
--Unique animations added for 2Hand Pierce weapons
--Mapped all animations to the KCHOR
--Mapped all animations to the Fabricants
--I have a number of animations that I am still working on and there are a few
transitions that need to be fixed.
FIXED: A bug that would cause music to stop playing in some cases.
FIXED: A bug related to sound volume settings not being correctly saved and loaded.
FIXED: In some cases, it was difficult to enter your first starship after exiting the Aznari Ruins.
FIXED: A number of broken weapons SFX.
FIXED: When loading to space, rarely the ship camera would rotate uncontrollably.
FIXED: A number of stability fixes.
FIXED: A bug with crafted epic tier "laser beam" turrets.
FIXED: A few typos.

Note that as with all new patches, shaders will need to compile causing a short period of "hitching" for each area with new materials that need to be processed. This goes away in a short time once the shaders are compiled.

Thank you as always for supporting Stellar Tactics, and happy holidays!

 

[Aemar]

Great stuff, the game keeps getting better with each update.

 

[Agesilaus]

I just bought it. I had a lot of fun with Battle Brothers early access and AoD early access. Hopefully this will be great, too.

I have set it to the public testing branch; apparently that is the only way to get the latest patches and the new content that was released a day or two ago?

 

[santino27]

I just bought it. I had a lot of fun with Battle Brothers early access and AoD early access. Hopefully this will be great, too.

I have set it to the public testing branch; apparently that is the only way to get the latest patches and the new content that was released a day or two ago?

Yes:

THIS PATCH IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON THE PUBLIC TEST BRANCH. For information on how to get public test builds, please see this link. It is very important to backup your saves and review at least the first few paragraphs at the following link if you decide to join this branch.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/12/2653115517067165548/
Please post any feedback/issues/bugs in this forum:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/465490/discussions/12/

I'll move this build to the public branch once I'm sure everything is stable and working as intended.

 

[normie]

Performance, shaders and QoL
A few updates, bug fixes and new performance enhancements

Today's patch includes a number of performance enhancements, a pre-compiled shader system, and a few QoL updates.

Shaders are now pre-compiled when you launch the game.
--The majority of all shaders are now generated via a database at game launch. I would say 80% of all shaders are in the d-base now and more will be added over time.
--As you play the game, if a shader is not pre-compiled it is added to the database and saved so the shader does not need to be compiled on the fly ever again.
--Certain video drivers could crash - though this was very rare - when compiling complex shaders on the fly. This patch should address that.
--In some cases, when entering an area the first time after this patch, there may be a short period of stuttering as shaders are initially linked to materials.

You can now adjust mission length when speaking with a faction agent - Short - AVG 40 Min, Medium - AVG 1-2 Hrs, Long - AVG 2-4 Hrs.

You can now browse available missions while the mission window is open by selecting the "Next" button. A new mission will be offered.

You can now double click crew equipment (shields, armor, weapons) to equip them from inventory. Mods and devices need to be placed manually.

Active status effects are now displayed below each crew member's portrait along with their active duration.

Various code optimizations for performance.

A few changes to the way the physics engine handles movement.

A few changes to the animation system.

A few animation fixes/updates.

A few changes to idle and facing blend animations so they can be interrupted when moving characters. This makes movement more responsive.

The game now generates a backup "sav_dat.xml" file that is not stored on the Steam Cloud when saving the game - just in case there is a disk write error of some kind.

A possible fix for a rare lockup when healing.

FIXED: A bug that was causing random animation and physics slowdown.
FIXED: A bug that would leave idle states running at 1.5x normal speed in certain cases.
FIXED: Autosave when leaving the Dauntless.
FIXED: A bug that would leave equipment quality color border visible when unequipping an item.
UPDATED: When grenades and medkits are enabled, a reminder message is displayed when ending your turn to deselect these items from the toolbar. I think in some cases, this was causing confusion. I'll be looking into an automated solution for this.
UPDATED: Ship collision damage reduced. Collision damage now affects shields and armor.

I'm continuing to work on a few things:
--Weapon special attacks.
--Combat pace.
--Streamlining of perks so they are available earlier in the game with more frequent updates.
--Better inventory sorting.
And more...

I'll keep everyone posted as I make progress.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Released on GOG.
https://af.gog.com/game/stellar_tactics?as=1649904300

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I'm watching videos and most combat looks turn-based except space combat. Is that real-time? Damn! I was hoping that was TB TOO.

I may shell out for it anyway. I'll look at resource management and the mining. There's a little starflight and xcom here marriage. I loved starflight but again i wanted tb ship to ship combat and boarding.