Introduction

In the alpha release devlog, I stated that I was going to focus on 'visual improvements and code re-structuring' for a while, along with seven main objectives, being:

1. Visual improvements.
2. Wormhole minigame context enhancement.
3. Consolidation of how audio is played.
4. Improvements to station upgrade handling.
5. More body names and system-wide name schemes.
6. Finishing 'The Researcher' event.
7. Graphics options in settings.

I have been successful in everything but system-wide name schemes and graphics options, which must be moved further down the line. Keeping with the theme of 'visual improvements and code re-structuring,' I have made many miscellaneous changes and bug-fixes which are listed in the end notes.

On account of the extraordinarily dull nature of last devlogs objectives, two additional topics that I worked on will be covered here:

1. 'Scan Prediction' upgrade.
2. Tree-based system list.

Scan Prediction

This upgrade was suggested by a playtester. It allows the LIDAR arc to be visible on the system map in a dark blue colour BEFORE you press the ping button. This should hopefully make tracking down phenomena easier. I'm currently unsure whether this should stay as a purchasable upgrade, or if it should be part of your starship by default. Implementation went smoothly.

Tree Based System List

This was also suggested by a playtester. The idea being that the system list should behave like a tree - the moons of planets can be collapsed, and items are offset horizontally by what they are orbiting. Knowledge of whether a planet has moons, and what bodies those moons are, should be useful for navigation and discovery. Implementation went smoothly, as Godot provides a Tree node which is perfect for this. Integration was made even easier by the Tree node having very similar design to the ItemList node, which I was using for the system list previously. 

Additionally, even when a body is not discovered, it is part of the tree and merely greyed out. I have found this to be useful in preventing long searches for any remaining bodies in a system, which may or may not exist. This leans into more of a completionist play-style, which might throw off some of my calculations regarding the length of a run, but also offers some benefits in the former. In the future, I will have to see what must change to accomodate this.

What Next

At the moment, I have multiple competing goals for the project, being:

1. Improved star systems: The moons of smaller planets orbit way too close. Radii limit for moons should be lowered, as a 0.27 Earth radii moon can orbit a 0.28 Earth radii planet. A change in planet type weightings, or additional planet types, is required to quell the onslaught of Silicate and Terrestrial worlds. Harder star types should become more common later in a run. System hazards/modifiers could add gameplay opportunities - e.g, a coronal mass ejection or neutron star flux ropes. A system for auto-generating custom bodies would allow me to be more creative in my random events.
2. Replayability: An achievement system would substantially improve replayability. Allowing some game values to be modified during game creation, e.g, wormhole hull stress increase, would also improve replayability. An upgrade tree would allow the player to experiment with different 'builds,' and therefore improve replayability. A better scoring system for the players performance throughout the game, rather than simply how many systems they traversed, would improve replayability.
3. More content: I have twenty four planned random events to write, and two storylines to plan. I believe there is a major change I can make to improve the dialogue system, at the cost of a lot of refactoring.
4. Miscellaneous improvements: Only a majority of the small issues identified by playtesters were rectified in the updates leading up to this devlog. Some sound effects need to be added/redone.

I will be unable to dedicate as much time to developing the project for a while. Therefore, I intend to work on whichever of these goals is the most engaging. I will focus on improved star systems and miscellaneous improvements predominantly, as they are the most documented. When I inevitably lose direction, I will make another devlog to display my progress and re-align my goals.

Below are some screenshots from the game that I found interesting:

Thank you for taking the time to read this devlog.

End Notes

This devlog is the culmination of two updates, v0.0.1.0 and v0.1.0.0. For future reference, their change-logs are below:

Change-log (0.0.1.0):

• Fixed a game breaking glitch regarding opening tutorial dialogue for modules bought at ports.
• Fixed the ability to view and save audio profiles while selling exploration data at ports.
• Updated the system list so it behaves like a tree - the moons of planets can be collapsed, and items are offset horizontally by what they are orbiting.

Change-log (0.1.0.0):

• The Wormhole Minigame 'BRAKE' button now turns red/green depending on altitude.
• Right clicking a body on the system list now engages a quick orbit.
• Middle mouse drag movement on the system map now scales with the camera zoom.
• The orbit button is now first on the actions panel, to incentivise players to orbit first and go-to later.
• Traversable wormholes now have a unique colour on the system list.
• Planets and stars which are locked or closest now have highlights on the system map. 
• All item colours on the system list now have alternative versions for when the connected body is closest or locked.
• Anomalies (both planetary and space) are now emphasised with a question mark on the system map.
• Current exploration data is now visible (on change) by a label next to survival information.
• LIDAR now snaps to four distinct presets.
• Station upgrade handling has been improved, allowing for easier integration of new upgrades.
• Consolidation of audio handling, but only for music and one-shot sound effects.
• Music now 'ducks' when the game is paused, or when the Audio Visualizer module is open.
• Long Range Scopes 'bestiary' has been renamed to 'index' as not all space entities are alive.
• Fixed a bug where the player will be perpetually boosting after holding down the boost button and pausing the game.
• Added a keybind to instantly increase the amount of nanites the player has, to make debugging easier.
• Fixed a bug where space entities the player interacts with before the Long Range Scopes module is obtained will appear within the index when the module is obtained.
• LIDAR direction can no longer be accidentally set by clicking in the top left corner.
• Barycenter Visualizer background colour is now dark green, to improve contrast with the barycenter blips (which are red).
• Added sound effects for gaining hull deterioration and hull stress.
• Added new wormhole names and flairs.
• Wormhole minigame now displays the hull stress gain for braking at different altitudes.
• Fixed a bug where music would begin while the game was paused.
• Added a flashing indicator to show when additional modules cannot be bought at a port.
• Added the 'Scan Prediction' upgrade.
• Added a scan direction reset button to the LIDAR.
• Anomalies (both planetary and space) now play a different sound when discovered, compared to normal bodies.
• Added sound effects for buying upgrades.
• Likely fixed a bug where the dialogue success sound effect would seemingly play at random while the game was paused.
• Finished 'The Researcher' random event.
• General visual improvements to the Station UI, Wormhole Minigame and Options Menu.