Drifter 0.8.3 is now live! This is the fourth release in the 0.8.x series, codename "Event Horizon".

We've finally converted the game to use SDL2 instead of SDL1 which means the game should handle monitors and resolution changes a lot more smoothly than before. Also while it's not 100% there yet it should better handle Retina/HiDPI displays as well. Eventually we will be switching over to the SDL2 method of handling gamepads/joysticks which should mean a lot better support there for auto-detecting controllers and all that good stuff.

In addition to SDL2 we adjusted the yields in ore processing to reflect the changes that were made a while back to the weights and prices on a number of metals. Hopefully this should make mining profitable again.

0.8.3 also features a number of bug fixes which should improve stability and the ability to complete certain missions.

What follows is a list of what's new, changed and fixed!

WHAT'S NEW

• Switched to SDL 2 finally!
  
  • SDL 2 behaves better in general
    
  • Many graphics settings now take effect immediately
    
  • Initial improved resolution handling
    
  • More resolution improvements soon in 0.8.x
    
  • Please report any issues you have!
• Adjusted ore processing yields
  
  • Accounts for reduced weight/price of metals from previous updates

BUGS FIXED

• Fixed certain missions not completing automatically
  
• Fixed scroll reset bug on Buy/Sell click in market
  
• Fixed crash on new game/loading after having died
  
• Fixed mail notification not being reset on new game

Drifter 0.8.2 is now live! This is the third release in the 0.8.x series, codename "Event Horizon".

We've finally fixed the bug we were experiencing in lua that was causing some instability. The game should no longer crash on the starmap when you're running missions.

Also we've added a bunch of new stuff as we prepare to add pilot skills and attributes. You can see some of the new UI we've got in place but it won't be useful until we flesh these systems out over the next few weeks.

WHAT'S NEW

• Initial Pilot Attributes
  
  • Attributes now exist in the game
    
  • Skills now exist in the game
    
  • You can't interact with them much yet!
    
  • You can view the Pilot Status UI though
    
  • Attributes will expand in 0.8.x
    
  • Initial Skills will be added in 0.8.x too
• Initial Pilot Status UI's
  
  • Displays initial attribute skill trees
    
  • Displays initial factions reputation
• Improved the HUD visuals and options
  
  • more HUD polish!
    
  • HUD now anchors at the corners when scaling
    
  • HUD now has X and Y offset for direct control!
• Start tracking pilot specifics
  
  • Pilots now have factions, attributes and skills
    
  • Currently only used by the player
    
  • This will later be used by AI (but not yet)
• More work on procedural planets
  
  • Added earth-like planet as a teaser
    
  • Making the planet editor lua scripted
• Improved planet loading and unloading
  
  • Will make a difference in subsequent updates!

BUGS FIXED

• Fixed crashes from lua stack overflows
  
• Fixed Tables and Text views scroll resets
  
• Fixed re-docking timer counting when it shouldn't
  
• Fixed some station collision shape issues

Drifter 0.8.1 is now live! This is the second release in the 0.8.x series, codename "Event Horizon".

In addition to a number of bug fixes we've finally completed the initial implementation of the faction system. You can't interact with it just yet but once factions are fully implemented it will allow all kinds of interesting things like faction specific missions, equipment and ships.

WHAT'S NEW

• Initial faction system implementation!
  
  • Factions now exist in the game
    
  • You can't interact with them yet!
    
  • Initial territory capital selection
    
  • Initial procedural territory expansion
    
  • Initial territory visualization in galaxy view
    
  • Faction system will be fleshed out in 0.8.x
    
  • Faction specific missions on the way
    
  • Factions will be player joinable
• Added keyboard shortcuts
  
  • Galaxy Map - G
    
  • System Map - H
    
  • Jump Console - J
    
  • Ship Menu - O
    
  • Comms Menu - K

BUGS FIXED

• Fixed some stability and memory allocation bugs
  
• Fixed dropdown menus being broken
  
• Fixed system state clean up where ghost stations could persist
  
• Fixed search dialog incorrectly popping up from remote system view
  
• Fixed Jump Override slider updating when open and timer expires

Drifter 0.8.0 is now live! This is the first release in the 0.8.x series, codename "Event Horizon".

The biggest reason we're moving so quickly from 0.7.x to 0.8.x is that we've finally implemented Lua script support and in-game missions are now completely scriptable instead of the horrible mission templates we were using before.

Because the Lua API for Drifter is still very new we are currently not providing the raw Lua source for missions but I'm hoping by 0.8.1 or 0.8.2 or so they will be raw text files that you can play around with and even make your own missions!

There's been a bunch more polish as well and stuff continues to look better and better. That said, we'll give you a bit of a rundown of what's new and fixed below.

NOTE: Older savegames still work but any missions you have that were in progress will not be able to be continued because the new scriptable missions are not compatible.

WHAT'S NEW

• New Ship Status UI in the ship menu
  
  • Displays all equipment installed on the ship
    
  • Displays current ship statistics and status
• New HUD mail message notifications
  
  • Messages now display read/unread state
    
  • Displayed on the bottom left of the HUD
    
  • And in the top left of the station headers
• New jump status information in the HUD
  
• New icons in the starmap and station views
  
• Ship menu now has icons and is neater
  
• New procedural mission system
  
  • Missions are now fully scripted!
    
  • This build includes improved versions of all existing mission types
    
  • With the new system, mission types and variation will get rapidly better.
    
  • Missions now visually formatted
    
  • Missions now send you mail when completed
    
  • Missions now display HUD messages
    
  • Missions now check and display requirements
    
    • i.e If you don't have cargo space for the mission item
  • Missions now have random mission-specific responses
    
  • Mission information in active list is now dynamic
    
    • i.e Distance to targets, etc
  • Missions display objectives more clearly
    
  • Missions display state more clearly
    
    • i.e Patrol missions show waypoint progress
      
    • Information displayed by mission is mission specific
      
    • Completion deadlines for urgent missions are clearer
  • Terminate missions now spawn the enemy when close
    
    • Fixes mission specific NPC's being killed before you arrive
• UI polish and improvements
  
  • Main menu and pause menus visually polished
    
  • UI headers now display in all station views
    
  • Starmap search field now auto focuses
    
  • Plot course and View system buttons in Starmap Search
    
  • All tables and views polished further
    
  • Assets view shows ship icon
    
  • More scrollbar momentum and click improvements
    
  • Can no longer use jump console while jump state is active
    
  • Can no longer view the local station as a remote station
    
  • Can no longer load when no save is selected

BUGS FIXED

• Jump state save caused some ships to become “stuck”
  
• Afterburner sound no longer stays active while paused
  
• Table sorting now works (again!)

Drifter 0.7.2 is now live!

This week's build is mostly UI fixes/cleanup and bug fixes.

The full details as to what's new in 0.7.2 are listed below and are also over on the wiki: http://celsiusgs.com/drifter/wiki/Current_Build_and_Known_Bugs

Drifter 0.7.1 is now live!

The biggest thing is Material Synthesis is now fully functional! There's still quite a lot of polishing and balancing to be done but now that I'm back on track we'll be doing that in the next few weeks.

Feel free to head to an Industrial type system and have a poke around. Right now I have blueprints for the new "synthesis materials" which are basic building blocks of a lot of more complicated recipes and there are blueprints for the currently available weapons in the game. Eventually there will be blueprints for new weapons and equipment which may not be readily available for purchase ːsteamhappyː

Note that nothing is really well balanced and it's all subject to change but I'd love to get some feedback for what you think based on what's there.

The full details as to what's new in 0.7.1 are listed below and are also over on the wiki: http://celsiusgs.com/drifter/wiki/Current_Build_and_Known_Bugs

Drifter 0.7.0 is now live! This is the first release in the 0.7.x series, codename "Defiant".

Note: We've got a new trailer and new screenshots up on the store page, so you should definitely check those out!

Because I’m going to be in Seattle next week for Steam Dev Days I really didn’t want to delay updates any further so I decided to go ahead release 0.7.0! We managed to get the bulk of the initial 0.7.0 update done and Material Synthesis is about 90% of the way there. So the plan is for me to complete Material Synthesis and add it in 0.7.1 in 1-2 weeks time after I get back. In the meantime there’s a ton of new stuff in 0.7.0 and the game is looking amazing, even if I do say so myself.

We’ve spent a lot of time filing down rough edges and generally polishing the game to where we’re very happy with how it looks and feels. There’s still some work to be done but it’s much closer to feeling “done” as of 0.7.0. In addition to an all new starfield background we’ve improved the look and feel of the UI in a number of areas, station interiors are now more interactive and all of the current items and equipment in the game now have icons. That said, the full list of what’s new and improved is below!

One big change I feel is important to note is I removed the old controller UI interaction system as I was never particularly happy with it and it was proving to be difficult to maintain. So going forward the controller will use what I’m calling a “joypointer” where the left analog stick moves a virtual pointer. Pressing the “GUI Accept” button will click buttons and holding it will let you drag things like lists and sliders. Also if you press the “GUI Cancel” button it will allow you to quickly leave station areas and close menus instead of hunting for the close button. It’s still not 100% where it needs to be but it already works a lot better than the old system and we’ll be improving it in the coming weeks.

WHAT'S NEW

• New trailer and screenshots
  
• New (much better) starfield background
  
• New UI and HUD color scheme and fonts
  
• New ship radial menu colors and design
  
• New ship radial menu icons for jump, stop, system, dock
  
• New “joypointer” for better controller UI interaction
  
• New integrated UI for Station interiors
  
• New interior for material synthesis
  
• New interior transitions with fades and audio
  
• New docking sequence including docking animation
  
• New fade transition on undocking, and rotating stars in bay
  
• Player now lands in docking bay instead of the station hub
  
• Player ship now docked in docking bay, with idle animation
  
• Improved Odyssey model and texture
  
• Improved pilot quarters and docking bay interior
  
• Improved main and pause menu design
  
• Improved station info bar
  
• Improved item detail popover
  
• Improved ship info block in Docking Bay
  
• Improved sliders ui with a border
  
• Improved ship display size in Ship Market and Ship Fitting
  
• Improved star halo
  
• Added comma separators to ship equipment amounts and prices in market
  
• Added item detail popup for remote market view
  
• Added Star halos and planetary atmosphere in system map
  
• All current equipment and item icons are complete!
  
  • All existing icons polished up
    
  • 17 new icons
    
    • Antimatter, Trilumin, Fusion Reactors, Chemical Processors
      
    • Mining Laser, Particle Beam, Gamma Beam, Neutron Lancer
      
    • Industrial Robots, Iron, Molybdenum, Adamantine
      
    • Station, Colony and Ship Components
      
    • Farm Animals, Domestic Animals

• Implemented 99% of Material Synthesis functionality and UI 0.7.x weekly builds will contain usable implementation

BUGS FIXED

• Fixed memory leak in scene system
  
• Fixed Rogue Librarian mission being incompletable

Drifter 0.6.14 is now live!

There's probably not going to be a build next weekend as we're pretty much in the final stretch for 0.7.0 and instead we'll be pushing on finalizing that so we can get it out before the month is over!

That said this week we've still got some new icons and a bunch of solid bugfixes lined up.

The full details as to what's new in 0.6.14 are listed below and are also over on the wiki: http://celsiusgs.com/drifter/wiki/Current_Build_and_Known_Bugs

Drifter 0.6.13 is now live!

Not a huge update this week but we're still moving closer to 0.7.0. I'm even hoping next week's build will be the final 0.6.x build!

That said this week we've got some new icons and bug fixes for you.

The full details as to what's new in 0.6.13 are listed below and are also over on the wiki: http://celsiusgs.com/drifter/wiki/Current_Build_and_Known_Bugs