This game is a masterpiece, which is to be expected by someone on the caliber of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. Even though I have yet to play it, I can just tell that it's gonna be great!
Playing on alpha 0.1.3 (haven't played any earlier builds).
I love it. The primary gameplay loop is tight, and I can't wait for more story.
Here's my notes from playing:
In the beginning I took much more than 4 miriculum/mundanium (because I thought it would be useful -- loved that twist hehe!) but the computer and looters acted like I only got 4.
It would be nice if I could use the mouse scroll wheel to cycle through tools instead of using Q and E.
A guy asked me to repair his ship and then immediately thanked me even though I didn't fix anything.
How long is a "cycle"? I tried looking through the menus but couldn't figure it out. Is it a minute? An hour? is there a way of keeping track of how many cycles have passed?
Maybe this is intentional but when fixing the air filter alignment or cleaning the coolant, it usually can't go all the way to 100% and stays at around 95% to 98%. This is pretty unsatisfying, especially since sometimes seemingly at random it does go to 100%.
At one point the arrow was blocking some text. Here's a screenshot:
I've played as far as getting the warp drive and jumping to my next system.
I like what I see so far, but there are a couple of concerns:
It's easy to exploit manual piloting. Because the layout of "space" resets every time you go into manual, you can spam backing out of it and going back in until you get solar wind that goes right down the middle of the screen. Or if you cba to dodge an asteroid you can just back out of the screen just before it hits you.
And with infinite planets, I came across an inconsistency where I wanted to ransack the ship that had crashed on the surface, but after I took the upgrade box back onto my ship and had a snooze because I was running out of stamina, I went back down onto the planet to find the layout was completely different and the crashed ship was gone. I wanted to rip its walls apart for cash. Once I figured out that's how it worked, it becomes easy to abuse this as well, because you can keep backing in and out of planets until you get the good stuff spawning near the docking bay. I think the layout of an infinite planet should be generated once when you arrive near it, and it regenerates either when you leave (to simulate that the planet has turned while you've been gone) or you ask the computer to change the spot, which should take a long enough time that it's not worth spamming to abuse the procedural generation engine.
Also, unless the ladder or computer are going to be able to break in future updates, having to cycle back to your hands to operate them feels like busy work.
I just started playing the new demo. While I'll have more to say later, there's an immediate bug I found that crashes the game.
You can't contact the Galactic Freight while on a ship. Here's the crash message if it'll help.
___________________________________________ ############################################################################################ ERROR in action number 1 of Draw Event for object obj_console:
Variable obj_console.bigjob(102097, -2147483648) not set before reading it. at gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0 ############################################################################################ gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0 (line -1)
You can contact the Oniris though weirdly. I am liking the no sleep addition. The natural stamina regeneration is working well so far, but I'll say more later. Just thought this should be reported soon.
Small suggestion for crew vs. cargo; have the cargo slow them down, pathfinding will prioritise unobstructed paths but won't trap NPCs if there is no option.
Might also complement FTL like features so if you've got crap loads of unorganised cargo they will take longer to get to their posts. Encourage a tidy ship while not punishing messy players too much.
Love the game so far. One issue I discovered is that when I'm on a planet the framerate drops like a stone. It could be my old ass laptop I'm playing on though. Not sure. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to play the finished version!
Maybe it's just me, but I started a second run-through with the smaller base ship to see what changed and if it's actually moving any faster I can't tell the difference.
Also; after reading a few other people's comments I gave the autopilot a second chance and I think I may have just hit a run of bad luck with it, but now I have a different observation. It seems odd for the ship to travel faster with the autopilot; the mini-game punishes me for engaging with it when it should be rewarding me with getting where I want to go faster.
(Although in fairness I can't say that the ship taking longer to cross the system map while playing the mini-game isn't just a bug. Or possibly an illusion based on the time cycle counting differently while you're playing it, I did notice that the ship visually moves even faster under auto-pilot while you're sleeping.)
So this was a fun one, I logged out and the next time I logged in my stamper was gone. Then I combined that with the bug that lets you accidentally accept a job several times and had 30 crates to deliver and no way to finish the mission.
___________________________________________ ############################################################################################ ERROR in action number 1 of Draw Event for object obj_console:
Variable obj_console.bigjob(102080, -2147483648) not set before reading it. at gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0 ############################################################################################ gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0 (line -1)
Got a weird error while traveling towards a planet
- Pretty much made it there
- Got a message saying there was a ship in distress so I rerouted
- Nothing happened so i went to the command seat
- It said I was at the planet, so I took the lift down
- Game crashed and gave me this message:
___________________________________________ ############################################################################################ ERROR in action number 1 of Draw Event for object con_tutorial:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetname(100542,-1) at gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 ############################################################################################ gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 (line -1)
Just a bit of a continuity The scanners in the intro detected Mundanium on the planet. It would have made more sense to detect Miriculum at that point. The joke that it had changed was sort of spoiled because of that. Otherwise, enjoying everything.
Got an error while approaching a derelict in the KEAL sector. I'll see if it happens again.
Someting feels like it's missing for me. Could it be possible for us to get our sleeping done durring the warp flight? Contrast can help a lot in the form of a down-time section. Relaxing with crew before turning in after a long day's work in a sector can be rewarding. That would make the warp section night time and running errands your day. Primary loop = fly around to lift and drop. Secondary loop = night socialize and rest. Tertiary loop = respond to problems (faults, arguments, distress calls, the story, etc.) and plan long term to be ready for those so they don't catastrophically ruin your day like they used to. You gather a bottle of coolant for when the tank leaks, a filter or two, a replacement wrench... This would also reduce the number of cycles needed to do deliveries so we can more easily plan what we can get done. A hundred cycles seems like a lot but it's over in a flash right now. Our big limiter in each sector, or day, would be energy and health instead of time. Maybe time still passes in sectors but more slowly so you could visit three or four planets in a day before your energy starts to drop without you slurping caffeine... Errr... Go Juice? Awakenium? Wok-
Also... the manual says trade posts are in any city but they are only in commercial cities. Is that by design? I've got so many Shiamonds to sell at planets who "import" them but no trade post there to sell them.
Some quests appear broken; no bag on a planet or no inhabited planets in a system who's rumor says there is an upgrade at the trade post. Maybe some rumors could be bunk info but pirates waiting to steal your cargo aren't intended, right? There go my Shiamonds. Upgrades are limited so the pirates must have stolen it along with the shop.
We cannot control if the ship stops at a contravening point once we have changed course to intercept a derelict or distress. It stops when making contact with a planet I don't intend to stop at and when I get multiple derelicts I cannot stop at both. Perhaps stopping at a point requires low speed. We cruise to get close then bring her in slow. Maybe there could be a throttle upgrade which lets you modulate a fraction of impulse from the cockpit durring the piloting minigame. Is that grossly out of line with the intended controls? Those controls make me sad. The flight control minigame could be more interesting with a throttle letting us slow down to scoop up debris, turning it into pseudo-random cargo instead of credits, or slow down significantly to mine an asteroid for warp ore. You had said some poor planners or unlucky sods end up in sectors without planets so if this wouldn't be too hard you could slow down and cargo pad down to break some rocks. For debris, the random cargo might even be zubes! (I've spelled that wrong because google has no idea what I mean) Who knows what you are going to get. Unless you upgrade your scanner... one more thing to clean and align. Drat.
It seems that, when we repair a ship in distress, we get the reward + expensess. Does that mean later on we get filters to put in the air cyclers? The wrench pops them open and we need to replace the filter but if the filter isn't dirty we can pop the top back on because it just got knocked out of alignment? The starting and ending jump for warp seems pretty violent so maybe that's what messes up alignment while bad fuel makes stuff dirty...
We also lose all of our fuel when upgrading the ship... a safety measure to be sure. Could they do something about the valves? They are so small that I close them right after trying to open them. It's almost easier to just keep turning it until it's empty. That reminds me, one time my coolant expantion tank wasn't full and I tried filling it but there isn't an opening to be found! At least they topped it off after stealing my fuel. Been keeping my reserve fuel set to the side instead... sometimes four cans.
The KEAL sector has no planets, if it helps narrow down this bug. The derelict error: ___________________________________________ ############################################################################################ ERROR in action number 1 of Draw Event for object con_onboard:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetposy(100492,-1) at gml_Object_con_onboard_Draw_0 ############################################################################################ gml_Object_con_onboard_Draw_0 (line -1)
___________________________________________ ############################################################################################ ERROR in action number 1 of Draw Event for object con_onboard:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetposy(100492,-1) at gml_Object_con_onboard_Draw_0 ############################################################################################ gml_Object_con_onboard_Draw_0 (line -1)
A good character to reference for upbeat altruism would be the doctor from dr who. Seeks to help others and is quite optimistic,Also has multiple incarnations of race and gender. hope this helps if not I hope it helps gives someone else an idea that is useful.
(post edit) TLDR: If you Upgrade to the 4x4 Cargo Platform, you will lose any items or modules such as crate stampers and air cyclers stored at the bottom of the Crew Quarters, if you have that room installed.
So I've encountered a sort-of softlock (for taking shipping jobs at least).
I placed the crate stamper in a small corner of the crew bay (I think that's what it's called). It's the room that gets placed just above the room with the cargo platform. The stamper was placed in the lower-left corner of that room. The room was packed to the brim with miscellaneous goods. On the way to a place I was going to drop off some waste barrels I was going to pass by a planet with a shipyard and I had a pair of upgrade modules with me, so I decided to take a stop and get an upgrade, notably, to the delivery platform. SO. I purchased the upgrade and returned to my ship where I found that all of the goods in the upper room had shifted down a space and my label stamper disappeared. I was hoping that taking a shipping job from the company would give me another stamper. It did not, and now I can no longer take shipping jobs because I can no longer stamp the shipping containers.
The ability to purchase new stampers would be appreciated in the case of little mishaps like this. Otherwise, I've been enjoying the game immensely and can't wait to see what comes next!
EDIT: The compactness of cargo is not a relevant factor as I have just discovered. I started a new file and lost 2 air cyclers to the exact same bug.
Another small bug. Accepted a Comms mission when on an uninhabited planet. It allowed me to, but didn’t tell me where the pickup was, only where to deliver to. I have the timers ticking down in the bottom left corner, but no idea where to go for pickup.
Game is amazing though. I loved Stardew Valley and am loving this as well
Playing the newest build (0.1.2). Doing a few of the package quests which were picked up at the same place and the drop off is Boukhe 4. When the platform touched down, one of the people did the smiley face straight away (because they got their parcel) but both parcels vanished off my platform. So I guess the second person will be waiting there forever. Which is a shame really.
I played on the newest build (0.1.2) and got stuck at the tutorial.
Apparently I set course for the planet the wrong way, and the game didn't register I was already there (I think I was a little off to the side of it). Note: I could control the ship during the travel, but there was no point to the minigame, there were no asteroids to avoid or anything.
I realigned myself and sailed towards it, and then the message of "Course to planet ZAG set" popped up, even though I was pretty much there already.
Then I got the calls on the Comms, and got the message that I was in orbit... and after listening to both messages, I tried to go down only to find out I was not able to. The ship sailed past the planet, and was still sailing towards the emptiness of space.
I tried to realign once again, but this time, since I had already gotten the "in orbit" message, the game wouldn't allow me to use the System Map... Nor could I get down through the cargo lift... So that was the end of my beta testing for now.
I really enjoyed what little I saw, and enjoy pretty much all of the weekly content you make, especially the dev diaries, there's some really good and ingenious insight in those. Happy holidays and new year!
I'm really enjoying this so far, but the Oniris devices should definitely indicate how close you are getting to their optimal location while you are holding them. Or maybe some other system for tracking their position.
I accepted a shipping job from my console and it didn't show up in my quest log. I went back to the Comms menu to see if it would pop up that way and I got this error:
___________________________________________ ############################################################################################ ERROR in action number 1 of Draw Event for object obj_console:
Variable obj_console.bigjob(102080, -2147483648) not set before reading it. at gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0 ############################################################################################ gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0 (line -1)
During the travel minigame it seems odd that the same screen-shake happens for both banking and hitting a rock. One is something I'm supposed to do and the other is not. Relatedly there's an increased sound effect for catching a speed-up lane but there's no UI effect for hitting a dust cloud , when a lower "I don't like this" grumble from the engines would be appropriate going through the dust. Neither is an actual problem but they break my immersion somewhat.
It really feels like the air scrubbers get out of alignment a little too fast. I get them sorted, sleep, and then spend half my stamina sorting them back out again sometimes.
I noticed that if you put several raw fuel rocks in the warp engines you will get residue buildup, but if you only add them one at a time as you need to make jumps then you won't. I doubt that's intentional.
I deliberately left my package stamper on a planet to see how the game would handle it, and the next shipment job I took gave me a new stamper for each planet on the quest. Getting three stampers instead of one seems like a bug, losing the stamper feels like an opportunity for the shipping rep to get snarky on top of docking me some cash for my carelessness.
Taking a 12+ crate shipping job goes from a storage nightmare to trivial after you buy your first cargo-pod upgrade. The increases in maintenance help make up for it somewhat but it still does odd things to the difficulty curve. (Although maybe I wasn't supposed to take that job before I had the cargo pod, but then why did the game let me have it?)
The level-up overlay hogs most of interface. I had it pop up in the middle of trying to repair my ship after an asteroid impact and it reminded me of one of your other game reviews: "Congratulations, you have died a total of 100 times while inches from safety because you can't interact with the game while I'm telling you about all the achievements you're earning."
Got a crash, was heading onto the planet with the cargo elevator where you buy your warp drive
___________________________________________ ############################################################################################ ERROR in action number 1 of Draw Event for object con_tutorial:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetname(100542,-1) at gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 ############################################################################################ gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 (line -1)
Hey yahtzee! Epic fix, but I tried to dock on an inhabited planet and got this error message when I tried to step onto the planet. This didn't happen anywhere else, on any other planet
___ ############################################################################################ ERROR in action number 1 of Draw Event for object con_tutorial:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetname(100542,-1) at gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 ############################################################################################ gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 (line -1)
I tried putting raw freezium in the coolant tank after getting hit by an asteroid and loosing half the coolant. It didn't do anything, despite the item description.
I went to help a stranded ship. Before going inside I checked their solar panel to make sure it wasn't dirty. It showed clean. I went inside, power was out. I checked everything, nothing was wrong. I gave up and went back out to find the solar panel had become dirty after I went inside.
I see a lot of comments about the hot/cold scanner game. I like it. I think it would be too easy if the scanner beeped while you carry it. Every low O2 planet I've gone to I've solved the hot/cold game on the first try before the O2 runs out.
I suggest tagging some items as "important" (such as upgrade mods, quest cargo, and anything else with a finite quantity) and having the game remember the state of planets where an "important" item has dropped, or alternatively not letting you drop it with the same code that keeps you from littering in cities. Probably should also use that code to prevent littering on rescued ships.
1) Attempting to set a key preference is not working. It will (very) briefly register the selected key and show the "Done" and "Reset to Defaults" buttons but then immediately blank out the selection. The program has to be closed to get out of that state.
2) Clicking the "Reset to Default" button without any changes alters the default keys. I'd guess that the default that it's restoring is from a different stage of development than the one that it pre-populates on loading the game.
3) The overlay for confirming that you want to start a new game in a save slot is mostly transparent, which makes it hard to read when it overlays the save-slot screen.
4) Switching between Windowed and Full-Screen mode in either direction causes my monitor to blank out a couple of times in a row. That might be a problem with my old desktop and not the build itself.
5) Quitting to the title never seems to save the game quite where I left off. For example, I did it right after installing two new air recyclers after getting the warp drive and when I logged back into that save file the recyclers were back on my cargo pad. It seems like there should be a Save Game option on the same menu with Quit to Title and Quit to Desktop.
Leaving aside the technical issues, the Bank Left and Bank Right controls in the travel minigame remind me a bit of your own criticism of the gravity switching controls in Gravity Rush, in that they could be 100% more efficient. Up or down to select which way to bank, and then a different key to actually bank. I also learned really quickly not to trust the auto-pilot, I could never seem to get back to the controls fast enough when it warned me asteroids were in-bound.
None of that stopped me from playing for several hours straight, so bravo on nailing the core gameplay loop.
While I haven't played much of the new 0.1.2 version, one thing I did notice is in the "dispose waste barrel" missions, the only of disposing them is putting them in uninhabited planets. I found this out when I tried to dispose of them by putting them on top of a broken down ship and the mission didn't complete. First, this is kinda broken, cause I couldn't get the waste barrels back, so I softlocked myself out of the quest. Secondly, I thought this could be a really cool emergent gameplay sort of thing. Maybe the people whose ships you've covered with waste barrels would remember you and hate you or something like that. I don't know. I just thought it would be kinda cool. Either way, great job with the new version! I'm really enjoying this project and I can't wait to see it finished. Best of luck with it!
Just downloaded last night. I'm honestly crazy impressed. About to put out my first alpha and I don't think it's anywhere near as polished as yours is. Is there somewhere I can sign up for the full game?
Create a steam page, man, lemme wishlist that thing.
I got stuck at the tutorial, even though I could see the air escaping, I couldn't "find" it for the tutorial to advance.
There was a floating white arrow, but I assume it was for the next objective, because it was behind a door I couldn't open yet.
edit: ok, I didn't realize that I could force open the other doors (duh), and opening the side door allowed me to get to the arrow and find the actual breach. The animation of the air escaping "up" from the central room was misleading. Maybe have it escaping left, indicating that it's leaking out the left hand side of the ship?
___________________________________________ ############################################################################################ ERROR in action number 1 of Draw Event for object con_tutorial:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetname(100542,-1) at gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 ############################################################################################ gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 (line -1)
Game Version: 0.1.2
I can only asume is because i got the upgrade unit before the game sends me the notification about its existance o a planet. I just happend to start a new save and when it send me to collect money from jobs i happend to stop on a planet to drop one of those Oniris radars. While trying to place it correctly i found the upgrade unit I was suposed to found later. Then again im not sure if this is the case, but it seems the more logical looking at the error log.
Update: so i tested if the problem was what i said, and i can confirm that it is , in fact, that specific problem. I created 2 new saves one where i did pick up the upgrade unit before they notify me of its location, and another where i first get notify and then i go to get the unit. In the first case the game crashed since the upgrade unit isnt where it is suposed to be (in a random planet). In the second case the game will just continue to play normally, as intended.
Played a first run, logged my experience in a notepad. I've got the cliff notes version for you here:
Observations:
Movement is solid and feels smooth. I know its a retro look, but maybe some more frames in the walk cycle?
Mechanics generally work (crashed once trying to put down a barrel near a door, I've seen others report similar). Otherwise fixing stuff is natural feeling, and moving around the ship through doors and up/down the lift and ladder feels very smooth.
Visuals are solid and straight forward - steam is bad, crud buildup is bad, scarred metal is bad, sparks are bad. Makes sense, works well visually without depending on a floating icon. Takes a minute to memorize what tool goes to what problem, but its nothing flow breaking. Consider changing the metal scar colour dynamically with backgrounds - you can barely see it if its on the battery.
Towns look pretty good, but they can be big. A map would help, or a run button. If eventually we're going to be having conversations and convincing people to be our crewmates the idea of having to search a map this big to find and talk to them is a little daunting.
My ship came without an oxygen system built in? Are humans in enough of a minority that breathable atmosphere is considered an optional extra?
Driving is unpleasant enough that I totally backed out of doing it. I think I get the concept - driving with a screen and buttons rather than a steering wheel - but I can't stand desperately cycling up and down through the list trying to dodge crap or hit crap. If I was physically standing in front of a console and found out I had to drive my new spaceship by pushing an up/down button to select an option and then push another button to activate it I would punch the salesperson. This could have been acceptable if I could use a mouse for it, but otherwise I would suggest looking into other driving systems.
Time limits make sense for shipping missions, but it means that waste disposal missions are way more attractive. Why worry about a time limit to ship 8 boxes of crap for 2000 when I can get paid 1000 each to move two shipments of waste without a time limit.
If you use COMM to accept a mission then you can just accept the mission over and over instead of hanging up. I ended up failing to deliver 24 boxes of carrots in time. Luckily, I was able to sell them all to the trading post for some reward, if not the full amount I would have gotten. That said, no penalty for failure means its farmable if you have a shipping option for something worth actual money to the scrapper.
Suggestions:
If you're gonna have time limits then we need a way to see time passing, plus a way to estimate travel time between planets so we can make a call about taking multiple missions at the same time. Throwing in a map would help too - some way to see and say "yes, YIGE Prime is on the way to YIGE II" so strategic route planning decisions can be made. The healthbars that pop up are something, but if there's no way for me to tell if there is enough time left to make it, then all they serve to do is tick down and give me anxiety that I might have to find a place to dump ten crates.
The ship layouts really feel like the in-universe designer intended them to be exclusively used for traveling rather than shipping. Like, my small sedan is not intended for shipping, but it still has a trunk that is located such that it makes sense for moving small amounts of material conveniently. I get that's part of the gameplay challenge, but it just kind of feels like I picked the absolute wrong tool for the job. Maybe a story reason to go into why we're using a ship absolutely not suited to moving cargo for moving cargo?
To my point earlier, truckers don't usually unload themselves, so maybe add some people to help? I suggest this mostly because it seems like an organic way to have a group of people you can talk to for rumours or tips during your normal routine. A long time ago I worked as a warehouser unloading semi's and we would have drivers that helped unload and drivers that didn't (no obligation to help, their job is shipping only). If they helped sometimes we would get along with them and trade favours - earlier delivery time for us, we save the trucker one of this years hot Christmas toy for his kid kind of thing.
Yo I exited the game during the tutorial and when I loaded my save I got this error
___________________________________________ ############################################################################################ ERROR in action number 1 of Draw Event for object con_tutorial:
Variable con_tutorial.traveldist(103178, -2147483648) not set before reading it. at gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 ############################################################################################ gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 (line -1)
A couple more things: I picked up a job to dump four barrels of waste anywhere. I was on my way to an uninhabited planet when I picked up a distress signal to a derelict ship in space. I left a few barrels there but the game doesn’t count it unless I leave them on a planet so now there’s no way to complete the job.
Also, a couple of quality of life improvements that you might want to consider: it would be nice to have a sell all button when you try to sell off space junk. As it is now you have to sell item by item which is a little tedious. It would also be nice if when we are picking upgrades for my ship, there was a text box telling me what the upgrade actually does. Like, I understand what most of them do (they are mostly about having more room in the ship) but I don’t know what a warp coil functionally does from a gameplay perspective.
I had a lot of fun with the alpha build but i did notice a few things I would change to make it more fun. When aligning the arrow thing just before travel I noticed that if you keep spinning it in one direction it just keeps going up and you can get wherever you're going almost instantly.
Also I ended up on the planet that dripberg says there should be an upgrade unit on before he mentioned it and because I had already picked it up that mission never went away from the top of the screen (I have seen others mention that you can go back for them infinitely but I didn't do that)
I also think the ship components get dirty a little too fast as it seems like I'm constantly going back to the air recycler to clean it.
At the beginning when I chose what ship to buy dripberg said one was faster but had less storage but the other was slower with more storage so i chose the slower one but it seems tiny. I was expecting a large room for storing stuff but there wasn't much room there.
During the flight between planets it would be nice to be able to move up and down in that minigame using the W and S keys instead of having to click or hit enter on the banking buttons and maybe make it so we don't drift back to the center each time that was kind of annoying...
Overall the game is really fun and I cant wait to see where it goes.
Also you mentioned in the dev diary video "go with the flow" that you hate having to hold down buttons to confirm actions but basically every action in this game requires holding down a button to confirm an action...
So, turns out if you just go back down to the planet where you pick up an upgrade unit, it will have spawned another one. I don't think this is intended, as it renders the rumors and tips you get from random clients moot. But I ended up with three upgrade units from the same planet as I kept going back to pick up stuff to sell.
Other than that, I can see myself getting pretty absorbed in the game once there is a story and characters to interact with. I haven't explored outside of the starting system yet (I only played about an hour and a half) but I hope other systems are more varied in terms of what the inhabited planets look like. So far it's three different urban planets, so my feedback would be to make the galaxy more varied so I would feel like I would find something new by exploring.
Still, it's early days, and so far the game has my interest. I am definitely going to keep up to date with the development.
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This game is a masterpiece, which is to be expected by someone on the caliber of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. Even though I have yet to play it, I can just tell that it's gonna be great!
How do you sleep? I'm just standing in the bed...
I also couldn't figure this out.
If you're playing 0.1.3 or later the sleeping mechanic has been removed.
Stamina regenerates over time without sleeping now and the speed of the ship got buffed a bit to compensate for the lack of time acceleration.
Playing on alpha 0.1.3 (haven't played any earlier builds).
I love it. The primary gameplay loop is tight, and I can't wait for more story.
Here's my notes from playing:
I've played as far as getting the warp drive and jumping to my next system.
I like what I see so far, but there are a couple of concerns:
It's easy to exploit manual piloting. Because the layout of "space" resets every time you go into manual, you can spam backing out of it and going back in until you get solar wind that goes right down the middle of the screen. Or if you cba to dodge an asteroid you can just back out of the screen just before it hits you.
And with infinite planets, I came across an inconsistency where I wanted to ransack the ship that had crashed on the surface, but after I took the upgrade box back onto my ship and had a snooze because I was running out of stamina, I went back down onto the planet to find the layout was completely different and the crashed ship was gone. I wanted to rip its walls apart for cash. Once I figured out that's how it worked, it becomes easy to abuse this as well, because you can keep backing in and out of planets until you get the good stuff spawning near the docking bay. I think the layout of an infinite planet should be generated once when you arrive near it, and it regenerates either when you leave (to simulate that the planet has turned while you've been gone) or you ask the computer to change the spot, which should take a long enough time that it's not worth spamming to abuse the procedural generation engine.
Also, unless the ladder or computer are going to be able to break in future updates, having to cycle back to your hands to operate them feels like busy work.
I just started playing the new demo. While I'll have more to say later, there's an immediate bug I found that crashes the game.
You can't contact the Galactic Freight while on a ship. Here's the crash message if it'll help.
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ERROR in
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of Draw Event
for object obj_console:
Variable obj_console.bigjob(102097, -2147483648) not set before reading it.
at gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0
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gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0 (line -1)
You can contact the Oniris though weirdly. I am liking the no sleep addition. The natural stamina regeneration is working well so far, but I'll say more later. Just thought this should be reported soon.
Small suggestion for crew vs. cargo; have the cargo slow them down, pathfinding will prioritise unobstructed paths but won't trap NPCs if there is no option.
Might also complement FTL like features so if you've got crap loads of unorganised cargo they will take longer to get to their posts. Encourage a tidy ship while not punishing messy players too much.
Love the game so far. One issue I discovered is that when I'm on a planet the framerate drops like a stone. It could be my old ass laptop I'm playing on though. Not sure. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to play the finished version!
Maybe it's just me, but I started a second run-through with the smaller base ship to see what changed and if it's actually moving any faster I can't tell the difference.
Also; after reading a few other people's comments I gave the autopilot a second chance and I think I may have just hit a run of bad luck with it, but now I have a different observation. It seems odd for the ship to travel faster with the autopilot; the mini-game punishes me for engaging with it when it should be rewarding me with getting where I want to go faster.
(Although in fairness I can't say that the ship taking longer to cross the system map while playing the mini-game isn't just a bug. Or possibly an illusion based on the time cycle counting differently while you're playing it, I did notice that the ship visually moves even faster under auto-pilot while you're sleeping.)
So this was a fun one, I logged out and the next time I logged in my stamper was gone. Then I combined that with the bug that lets you accidentally accept a job several times and had 30 crates to deliver and no way to finish the mission.
found bug/ glitch/ error while playtesting
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ERROR in
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for object obj_console:
Variable obj_console.bigjob(102080, -2147483648) not set before reading it.
at gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0
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gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0 (line -1)
GLaDos from Portal is the manifestation of Private Altruism
Will you be making a linux version as well?
Got a weird error while traveling towards a planet
- Pretty much made it there
- Got a message saying there was a ship in distress so I rerouted
- Nothing happened so i went to the command seat
- It said I was at the planet, so I took the lift down
- Game crashed and gave me this message:
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ERROR in
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of Draw Event
for object con_tutorial:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetname(100542,-1)
at gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0
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gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 (line -1)
Just a bit of a continuity
The scanners in the intro detected Mundanium on the planet. It would have made more sense to detect Miriculum at that point. The joke that it had changed was sort of spoiled because of that.
Otherwise, enjoying everything.
I also noticed this in a playthrough
Your requested female sci-fi/fantasy characters for the personality types:
Got an error while approaching a derelict in the KEAL sector. I'll see if it happens again.
Someting feels like it's missing for me. Could it be possible for us to get our sleeping done durring the warp flight? Contrast can help a lot in the form of a down-time section. Relaxing with crew before turning in after a long day's work in a sector can be rewarding. That would make the warp section night time and running errands your day. Primary loop = fly around to lift and drop. Secondary loop = night socialize and rest. Tertiary loop = respond to problems (faults, arguments, distress calls, the story, etc.) and plan long term to be ready for those so they don't catastrophically ruin your day like they used to. You gather a bottle of coolant for when the tank leaks, a filter or two, a replacement wrench... This would also reduce the number of cycles needed to do deliveries so we can more easily plan what we can get done. A hundred cycles seems like a lot but it's over in a flash right now. Our big limiter in each sector, or day, would be energy and health instead of time. Maybe time still passes in sectors but more slowly so you could visit three or four planets in a day before your energy starts to drop without you slurping caffeine... Errr... Go Juice? Awakenium? Wok-
Also... the manual says trade posts are in any city but they are only in commercial cities. Is that by design?
I've got so many Shiamonds to sell at planets who "import" them but no trade post there to sell them.
Some quests appear broken; no bag on a planet or no inhabited planets in a system who's rumor says there is an upgrade at the trade post.
Maybe some rumors could be bunk info but pirates waiting to steal your cargo aren't intended, right?
There go my Shiamonds. Upgrades are limited so the pirates must have stolen it along with the shop.
We cannot control if the ship stops at a contravening point once we have changed course to intercept a derelict or distress. It stops when making contact with a planet I don't intend to stop at and when I get multiple derelicts I cannot stop at both. Perhaps stopping at a point requires low speed. We cruise to get close then bring her in slow. Maybe there could be a throttle upgrade which lets you modulate a fraction of impulse from the cockpit durring the piloting minigame. Is that grossly out of line with the intended controls? Those controls make me sad. The flight control minigame could be more interesting with a throttle letting us slow down to scoop up debris, turning it into pseudo-random cargo instead of credits, or slow down significantly to mine an asteroid for warp ore. You had said some poor planners or unlucky sods end up in sectors without planets so if this wouldn't be too hard you could slow down and cargo pad down to break some rocks. For debris, the random cargo might even be zubes! (I've spelled that wrong because google has no idea what I mean) Who knows what you are going to get. Unless you upgrade your scanner... one more thing to clean and align.
Drat.
It seems that, when we repair a ship in distress, we get the reward + expensess. Does that mean later on we get filters to put in the air cyclers? The wrench pops them open and we need to replace the filter but if the filter isn't dirty we can pop the top back on because it just got knocked out of alignment? The starting and ending jump for warp seems pretty violent so maybe that's what messes up alignment while bad fuel makes stuff dirty...
We also lose all of our fuel when upgrading the ship... a safety measure to be sure. Could they do something about the valves? They are so small that I close them right after trying to open them. It's almost easier to just keep turning it until it's empty. That reminds me, one time my coolant expantion tank wasn't full and I tried filling it but there isn't an opening to be found! At least they topped it off after stealing my fuel. Been keeping my reserve fuel set to the side instead... sometimes four cans.
The KEAL sector has no planets, if it helps narrow down this bug.
The derelict error:
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ERROR in
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of Draw Event
for object con_onboard:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetposy(100492,-1)
at gml_Object_con_onboard_Draw_0
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gml_Object_con_onboard_Draw_0 (line -1)
Yep, it happened again.
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ERROR in
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of Draw Event
for object con_onboard:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetposy(100492,-1)
at gml_Object_con_onboard_Draw_0
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gml_Object_con_onboard_Draw_0 (line -1)
so...I loaded my save game from last year, and now my ship looks like this.
I tried placing the air cycler on all the exposed wires in a desperate attempt to survive on my mutant colony ship, but to no avail.
A good character to reference for upbeat altruism would be the doctor from dr who. Seeks to help others and is quite optimistic,Also has multiple incarnations of race and gender. hope this helps if not I hope it helps gives someone else an idea that is useful.
Your requested female sci-fi/fantasy characters for the personality types:
(post edit) TLDR:
If you Upgrade to the 4x4 Cargo Platform, you will lose any items or modules such as crate stampers and air cyclers stored at the bottom of the Crew Quarters, if you have that room installed.
So I've encountered a sort-of softlock (for taking shipping jobs at least).
I placed the crate stamper in a small corner of the crew bay (I think that's what it's called). It's the room that gets placed just above the room with the cargo platform. The stamper was placed in the lower-left corner of that room.
The room was packed to the brim with miscellaneous goods.
On the way to a place I was going to drop off some waste barrels I was going to pass by a planet with a shipyard and I had a pair of upgrade modules with me, so I decided to take a stop and get an upgrade, notably, to the delivery platform.
SO.
I purchased the upgrade and returned to my ship where I found that all of the goods in the upper room had shifted down a space and my label stamper disappeared.
I was hoping that taking a shipping job from the company would give me another stamper. It did not, and now I can no longer take shipping jobs because I can no longer stamp the shipping containers.
The ability to purchase new stampers would be appreciated in the case of little mishaps like this.
Otherwise, I've been enjoying the game immensely and can't wait to see what comes next!
EDIT:
The compactness of cargo is not a relevant factor as I have just discovered.
I started a new file and lost 2 air cyclers to the exact same bug.
Another small bug. Accepted a Comms mission when on an uninhabited planet. It allowed me to, but didn’t tell me where the pickup was, only where to deliver to. I have the timers ticking down in the bottom left corner, but no idea where to go for pickup.
Game is amazing though. I loved Stardew Valley and am loving this as well
Playing the newest build (0.1.2). Doing a few of the package quests which were picked up at the same place and the drop off is Boukhe 4. When the platform touched down, one of the people did the smiley face straight away (because they got their parcel) but both parcels vanished off my platform. So I guess the second person will be waiting there forever. Which is a shame really.
I played on the newest build (0.1.2) and got stuck at the tutorial.
Apparently I set course for the planet the wrong way, and the game didn't register I was already there (I think I was a little off to the side of it). Note: I could control the ship during the travel, but there was no point to the minigame, there were no asteroids to avoid or anything.
I realigned myself and sailed towards it, and then the message of "Course to planet ZAG set" popped up, even though I was pretty much there already.
Then I got the calls on the Comms, and got the message that I was in orbit... and after listening to both messages, I tried to go down only to find out I was not able to. The ship sailed past the planet, and was still sailing towards the emptiness of space.
I tried to realign once again, but this time, since I had already gotten the "in orbit" message, the game wouldn't allow me to use the System Map... Nor could I get down through the cargo lift... So that was the end of my beta testing for now.
I really enjoyed what little I saw, and enjoy pretty much all of the weekly content you make, especially the dev diaries, there's some really good and ingenious insight in those. Happy holidays and new year!
I also had exactly this issue.
I'm really enjoying this so far, but the Oniris devices should definitely indicate how close you are getting to their optimal location while you are holding them. Or maybe some other system for tracking their position.
One more bug report:
I accepted a shipping job from my console and it didn't show up in my quest log. I went back to the Comms menu to see if it would pop up that way and I got this error:
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ERROR in
action number 1
of Draw Event
for object obj_console:
Variable obj_console.bigjob(102080, -2147483648) not set before reading it.
at gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0
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gml_Object_obj_console_Draw_0 (line -1)
A few minor observations:
During the travel minigame it seems odd that the same screen-shake happens for both banking and hitting a rock. One is something I'm supposed to do and the other is not. Relatedly there's an increased sound effect for catching a speed-up lane but there's no UI effect for hitting a dust cloud , when a lower "I don't like this" grumble from the engines would be appropriate going through the dust. Neither is an actual problem but they break my immersion somewhat.
It really feels like the air scrubbers get out of alignment a little too fast. I get them sorted, sleep, and then spend half my stamina sorting them back out again sometimes.
I noticed that if you put several raw fuel rocks in the warp engines you will get residue buildup, but if you only add them one at a time as you need to make jumps then you won't. I doubt that's intentional.
I deliberately left my package stamper on a planet to see how the game would handle it, and the next shipment job I took gave me a new stamper for each planet on the quest. Getting three stampers instead of one seems like a bug, losing the stamper feels like an opportunity for the shipping rep to get snarky on top of docking me some cash for my carelessness.
Taking a 12+ crate shipping job goes from a storage nightmare to trivial after you buy your first cargo-pod upgrade. The increases in maintenance help make up for it somewhat but it still does odd things to the difficulty curve. (Although maybe I wasn't supposed to take that job before I had the cargo pod, but then why did the game let me have it?)
The level-up overlay hogs most of interface. I had it pop up in the middle of trying to repair my ship after an asteroid impact and it reminded me of one of your other game reviews: "Congratulations, you have died a total of 100 times while inches from safety because you can't interact with the game while I'm telling you about all the achievements you're earning."
Still loving the heck out of the beta though.
Got a crash, was heading onto the planet with the cargo elevator where you buy your warp drive
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ERROR in
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of Draw Event
for object con_tutorial:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetname(100542,-1)
at gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0
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gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 (line -1)
Hey yahtzee! Epic fix, but I tried to dock on an inhabited planet and got this error message when I tried to step onto the planet. This didn't happen anywhere else, on any other planet
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ERROR in
action number 1
of Draw Event
for object con_tutorial:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetname(100542,-1)
at gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0
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gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 (line -1)
I tried putting raw freezium in the coolant tank after getting hit by an asteroid and loosing half the coolant. It didn't do anything, despite the item description.
I went to help a stranded ship. Before going inside I checked their solar panel to make sure it wasn't dirty. It showed clean. I went inside, power was out. I checked everything, nothing was wrong. I gave up and went back out to find the solar panel had become dirty after I went inside.
I see a lot of comments about the hot/cold scanner game. I like it. I think it would be too easy if the scanner beeped while you carry it. Every low O2 planet I've gone to I've solved the hot/cold game on the first try before the O2 runs out.
I suggest tagging some items as "important" (such as upgrade mods, quest cargo, and anything else with a finite quantity) and having the game remember the state of planets where an "important" item has dropped, or alternatively not letting you drop it with the same code that keeps you from littering in cities. Probably should also use that code to prevent littering on rescued ships.
Primary loop is fun.
I found a handful of technical issues:
1) Attempting to set a key preference is not working. It will (very) briefly register the selected key and show the "Done" and "Reset to Defaults" buttons but then immediately blank out the selection. The program has to be closed to get out of that state.
2) Clicking the "Reset to Default" button without any changes alters the default keys. I'd guess that the default that it's restoring is from a different stage of development than the one that it pre-populates on loading the game.
3) The overlay for confirming that you want to start a new game in a save slot is mostly transparent, which makes it hard to read when it overlays the save-slot screen.
4) Switching between Windowed and Full-Screen mode in either direction causes my monitor to blank out a couple of times in a row. That might be a problem with my old desktop and not the build itself.
5) Quitting to the title never seems to save the game quite where I left off. For example, I did it right after installing two new air recyclers after getting the warp drive and when I logged back into that save file the recyclers were back on my cargo pad. It seems like there should be a Save Game option on the same menu with Quit to Title and Quit to Desktop.
Leaving aside the technical issues, the Bank Left and Bank Right controls in the travel minigame remind me a bit of your own criticism of the gravity switching controls in Gravity Rush, in that they could be 100% more efficient. Up or down to select which way to bank, and then a different key to actually bank. I also learned really quickly not to trust the auto-pilot, I could never seem to get back to the controls fast enough when it warned me asteroids were in-bound.
None of that stopped me from playing for several hours straight, so bravo on nailing the core gameplay loop.
While I haven't played much of the new 0.1.2 version, one thing I did notice is in the "dispose waste barrel" missions, the only of disposing them is putting them in uninhabited planets. I found this out when I tried to dispose of them by putting them on top of a broken down ship and the mission didn't complete. First, this is kinda broken, cause I couldn't get the waste barrels back, so I softlocked myself out of the quest. Secondly, I thought this could be a really cool emergent gameplay sort of thing. Maybe the people whose ships you've covered with waste barrels would remember you and hate you or something like that. I don't know. I just thought it would be kinda cool. Either way, great job with the new version! I'm really enjoying this project and I can't wait to see it finished. Best of luck with it!
Just downloaded last night. I'm honestly crazy impressed. About to put out my first alpha and I don't think it's anywhere near as polished as yours is. Is there somewhere I can sign up for the full game?
Create a steam page, man, lemme wishlist that thing.
I got stuck at the tutorial, even though I could see the air escaping, I couldn't "find" it for the tutorial to advance.
There was a floating white arrow, but I assume it was for the next objective, because it was behind a door I couldn't open yet.
edit: ok, I didn't realize that I could force open the other doors (duh), and opening the side door allowed me to get to the arrow and find the actual breach. The animation of the air escaping "up" from the central room was misleading. Maybe have it escaping left, indicating that it's leaking out the left hand side of the ship?
BUG:
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ERROR in
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of Draw Event
for object con_tutorial:
Push :: Execution Error - Variable Index [-1] out of range [300] - -5.planetname(100542,-1)
at gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0
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gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 (line -1)
Game Version: 0.1.2
I can only asume is because i got the upgrade unit before the game sends me the notification about its existance o a planet. I just happend to start a new save and when it send me to collect money from jobs i happend to stop on a planet to drop one of those Oniris radars. While trying to place it correctly i found the upgrade unit I was suposed to found later. Then again im not sure if this is the case, but it seems the more logical looking at the error log.
Update: so i tested if the problem was what i said, and i can confirm that it is , in fact, that specific problem. I created 2 new saves one where i did pick up the upgrade unit before they notify me of its location, and another where i first get notify and then i go to get the unit. In the first case the game crashed since the upgrade unit isnt where it is suposed to be (in a random planet). In the second case the game will just continue to play normally, as intended.
Played a first run, logged my experience in a notepad. I've got the cliff notes version for you here:
Observations:
Movement is solid and feels smooth. I know its a retro look, but maybe some more frames in the walk cycle?
Mechanics generally work (crashed once trying to put down a barrel near a door, I've seen others report similar). Otherwise fixing stuff is natural feeling, and moving around the ship through doors and up/down the lift and ladder feels very smooth.
Visuals are solid and straight forward - steam is bad, crud buildup is bad, scarred metal is bad, sparks are bad. Makes sense, works well visually without depending on a floating icon. Takes a minute to memorize what tool goes to what problem, but its nothing flow breaking. Consider changing the metal scar colour dynamically with backgrounds - you can barely see it if its on the battery.
Towns look pretty good, but they can be big. A map would help, or a run button. If eventually we're going to be having conversations and convincing people to be our crewmates the idea of having to search a map this big to find and talk to them is a little daunting.
My ship came without an oxygen system built in? Are humans in enough of a minority that breathable atmosphere is considered an optional extra?
Driving is unpleasant enough that I totally backed out of doing it. I think I get the concept - driving with a screen and buttons rather than a steering wheel - but I can't stand desperately cycling up and down through the list trying to dodge crap or hit crap. If I was physically standing in front of a console and found out I had to drive my new spaceship by pushing an up/down button to select an option and then push another button to activate it I would punch the salesperson. This could have been acceptable if I could use a mouse for it, but otherwise I would suggest looking into other driving systems.
Time limits make sense for shipping missions, but it means that waste disposal missions are way more attractive. Why worry about a time limit to ship 8 boxes of crap for 2000 when I can get paid 1000 each to move two shipments of waste without a time limit.
If you use COMM to accept a mission then you can just accept the mission over and over instead of hanging up. I ended up failing to deliver 24 boxes of carrots in time. Luckily, I was able to sell them all to the trading post for some reward, if not the full amount I would have gotten. That said, no penalty for failure means its farmable if you have a shipping option for something worth actual money to the scrapper.
Suggestions:
If you're gonna have time limits then we need a way to see time passing, plus a way to estimate travel time between planets so we can make a call about taking multiple missions at the same time. Throwing in a map would help too - some way to see and say "yes, YIGE Prime is on the way to YIGE II" so strategic route planning decisions can be made. The healthbars that pop up are something, but if there's no way for me to tell if there is enough time left to make it, then all they serve to do is tick down and give me anxiety that I might have to find a place to dump ten crates.
The ship layouts really feel like the in-universe designer intended them to be exclusively used for traveling rather than shipping. Like, my small sedan is not intended for shipping, but it still has a trunk that is located such that it makes sense for moving small amounts of material conveniently. I get that's part of the gameplay challenge, but it just kind of feels like I picked the absolute wrong tool for the job. Maybe a story reason to go into why we're using a ship absolutely not suited to moving cargo for moving cargo?
To my point earlier, truckers don't usually unload themselves, so maybe add some people to help? I suggest this mostly because it seems like an organic way to have a group of people you can talk to for rumours or tips during your normal routine. A long time ago I worked as a warehouser unloading semi's and we would have drivers that helped unload and drivers that didn't (no obligation to help, their job is shipping only). If they helped sometimes we would get along with them and trade favours - earlier delivery time for us, we save the trucker one of this years hot Christmas toy for his kid kind of thing.
Yo I exited the game during the tutorial and when I loaded my save I got this error
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ERROR in
action number 1
of Draw Event
for object con_tutorial:
Variable con_tutorial.traveldist(103178, -2147483648) not set before reading it.
at gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0
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gml_Object_con_tutorial_Draw_0 (line -1)
A couple more things: I picked up a job to dump four barrels of waste anywhere. I was on my way to an uninhabited planet when I picked up a distress signal to a derelict ship in space. I left a few barrels there but the game doesn’t count it unless I leave them on a planet so now there’s no way to complete the job.
Also, a couple of quality of life improvements that you might want to consider: it would be nice to have a sell all button when you try to sell off space junk. As it is now you have to sell item by item which is a little tedious. It would also be nice if when we are picking upgrades for my ship, there was a text box telling me what the upgrade actually does. Like, I understand what most of them do (they are mostly about having more room in the ship) but I don’t know what a warp coil functionally does from a gameplay perspective.
*NOTE I WAS PLAYING THE 0.1 ALPHA BUILD*
I had a lot of fun with the alpha build but i did notice a few things I would change to make it more fun. When aligning the arrow thing just before travel I noticed that if you keep spinning it in one direction it just keeps going up and you can get wherever you're going almost instantly.
Also I ended up on the planet that dripberg says there should be an upgrade unit on before he mentioned it and because I had already picked it up that mission never went away from the top of the screen (I have seen others mention that you can go back for them infinitely but I didn't do that)
I also think the ship components get dirty a little too fast as it seems like I'm constantly going back to the air recycler to clean it.
At the beginning when I chose what ship to buy dripberg said one was faster but had less storage but the other was slower with more storage so i chose the slower one but it seems tiny. I was expecting a large room for storing stuff but there wasn't much room there.
During the flight between planets it would be nice to be able to move up and down in that minigame using the W and S keys instead of having to click or hit enter on the banking buttons and maybe make it so we don't drift back to the center each time that was kind of annoying...
Overall the game is really fun and I cant wait to see where it goes.
Also you mentioned in the dev diary video "go with the flow" that you hate having to hold down buttons to confirm actions but basically every action in this game requires holding down a button to confirm an action...
So, turns out if you just go back down to the planet where you pick up an upgrade unit, it will have spawned another one. I don't think this is intended, as it renders the rumors and tips you get from random clients moot. But I ended up with three upgrade units from the same planet as I kept going back to pick up stuff to sell.
Other than that, I can see myself getting pretty absorbed in the game once there is a story and characters to interact with. I haven't explored outside of the starting system yet (I only played about an hour and a half) but I hope other systems are more varied in terms of what the inhabited planets look like. So far it's three different urban planets, so my feedback would be to make the galaxy more varied so I would feel like I would find something new by exploring.
Still, it's early days, and so far the game has my interest. I am definitely going to keep up to date with the development.