Patchnotes: 0.3.0 - Money Makes Millions

About the 0.3.x Series

After building the Technical Framework with the 0.1.x series, and engaging in worldbuilding with the 0.2.x series, this Release Cycle introduces Game Mechanics. We start this series by adding one impactful game mechanic: Economy. Another minor addition is Salvaging and Looting, explained later. This release provides the foundation for more refined mechanics to be added.

Station Stock is handled by StockFiles, which can, like Items, be easily modded. You could, for example, add an Item called “My Dignity” to the game and have it bought by Ice mines by adding that Item ID to their StockFile.

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Economy - Trading, Production and Open Markets

With 0.3.0, you, as a player, will find yourself immersed in the ever-evolving universe of beyond.frontiers. The newest feature awaiting your exploration is the dynamic market trading between space stations.

Imagine yourself navigating through the vastness of space, encountering diverse stations bustling with trade and activity. Each station offers a unique marketplace, where prices fluctuate dynamically based on supply, demand, and various in-game factors.

As you venture forth, you'll have the opportunity to buy and sell an array of commodities, from essential resources to cutting-edge technologies. But beware, for the market is alive and ever-changing, presenting both opportunities and challenges at every turn.

Stay vigilant, analyze market trends, and adapt your trading strategies accordingly. Whether you aim to amass wealth, expand your influence, or simply explore the depths of the cosmos, dynamic market trading adds a layer of depth and excitement to your journey in beyond.frontiers.

So, ready your ship, chart your course, and embark on an adventure where every trade is a step closer to uncovering the mysteries of the universe. The galaxy awaits, trader. Are you ready to seize its boundless opportunities?

Salvage and Looting - Why leave some things behind?

Additionally to compliment trading and the general way of acquiring wares, we added both looting and salvaging to the game. Destroyed ships, aside from having a cool burnout effect, now drop items from the salvage tier, which can yield a good price if you can find a salvage station. Depending on their profession, they also might drop ores, wares or smuggling goods (if they were a pirate). 

Traders have a chance of also giving up their job, dropping their cargo, as well as, when threatened by police and discovered smuggling, drop their illicit goods. Get looting and salvaging, people!

Other Changes

Thanks to some valuable feedback, we were able to add some vital QoL fixes to the game, by, for example, removing some leftover assets from the game, streamlining and shortening the loading time, fixing a critical crashing bug when opening the options in stations and several other smaller changes.

In Worldbuilding we are trying to correct sun positions to mostly be above the eclipse, together with a new, less scuffed sun sprite, as well as adding a neat little animation to jumping between systems.

We hope you like this Release and are looking forward to more from the 0.3.x Series of beyond.frontiers!

Patch Notes

New Additions and Changes

Economy

• Inventory window
• Inventory Items
• Item Name and Description
• Item Tiers 
• Average pricing calculation
• Dynamic economy Price changes depending on supply and demand
• Production cycles for Items
• Station Service: Trading Window Handler 
• Select items in trading for more information and options
• Station Ware Stock display for buying and selling 
• Sell and buy items in the market
• Bulk buying and selling
• Item and station sales lists are moddable

NPC Upgrades

• NPCs trade with stations
• NPC ships can be destroyed
• NPC Ships burn in death sequence
• Destroyed NPC ships leave behind a wreck
• Destroyed NPCs drop Items
• NPC wrecks are salvageable

UI and Visuals:

• Station UI
• Added animation for Gate Jumps
• New Model for Ice Asteroids
• New Image for Stars
• Changed Adjustment of Sunlight to always shine above the eclipse to ease navigation
• New Faction Logos
• New Descriptions of the Factions in Character creation
• Finished moving the UI to Sheets, Optimizing Loading time and RAM
• Added info screen for Game Lockup in loadscreen on slower Systems

Sound

• New Voice Actor: StanleyG
• New Voice Actress: Laucky

Worldbuilding

• Added several Stations across the Universe to improve Trading
• Hidden a special Satellite with a special message. Happy searching.
• More content in Sectors.
• Fixed Broken Gate in Gateway

Fixes

• Fixed some problems in NPC behavior
• Fixed an issue in the Loot Table
• Fixed a bug where the game would crash when clicking options in a station
• Several minor bug fixes and changes
• Cleanups in game files and file structure to save space
• Different general improvements and optimizations 
• Improved loading time
• Fixed a Bug that would pay players for buying items in single units
• Fixed a Store Overflow in Trade Stations
• Fixed game Lockup while loading
• Fixed secrets continuing to play after leaving a sector indefinitely

Known Issues

• Sometimes the Game might Blackscreen when jumping (under investigation, needs more reports)
  • Endurance Tests so far havent been able to reproduce this

Closing Thoughts

In conclusion, with the introduction of dynamic market trading, looting, and salvaging mechanics, beyond.frontiers 0.3.0 opens up a universe of boundless opportunities for adventurous traders and explorers alike. As you chart your course through the cosmos, may each trade and salvage bring you closer to uncovering the secrets that lie beyond the stars. Safe travels, and may fortune favor the bold in your journey through beyond.frontiers.

- the beyond.frontiers Dev Team