As promised a month after version 0.9.0 released, version 0.10.0 is complete and ready for testing. Or as is more likely the case, breaking and crashing.

What’s New?

As I said in my previous devlog, update 0.10.0 was aimed at giving me time to take another look at some of the back end code and a chance to clean up both it and the overall project in preparation for any future ports to the next major version of the Godot Game Engine. A goal which I am happy to say has been achieved and one which should make it easier for me to add new features without having to fight with what was already there.

However as a result of this focus it does unfortunately mean that this update, while important for the games future. Was both smaller in scope and in scale than those that came before it. A reality which is pretty clear to see when looking at the somewhat meger changelog. Nevertheless, though there isn’t much to see in this new update there are at the very least some additions and changes that make it a worthwhile upgrade over the previous version.

For one thing the game now makes use of object pooling for units (previously this was only done with the different types of ammo), meaning there should no longer be a stutter when trying to spawn in some of the more complex units. Additionally some of the images used to represent said units have been updated to better match the unit they are attached to and it is now much easier to see squad’s of units on the battlemap thanks to an updated look for their own sprite and a change in how the sprite is showcased.

Update 0.11.0

With all that in mind the question then is what can you expect from update 0.11.0? For one I expect it to be bigger than 0.10.0. Though you probably already knew that considering the size of my previous updates.

Nevertheless I have big plans for update 0.11.0 involving both a new faction with its own set of unique units and an ability which could be considered a staple for any sci-fi setting. In addition to this I also have plans for at least one new type of weapon, the possibility of a new way to control your units and finally taking the time to do some much needed overhauls of the existing weapons and turrets who’s meshes are looking a little plain.

Beyond this work will also continue on optimisation and game balance, two things which are now much easier to work on thanks to the more streamlined code and set of testing tools I’ve slowly been building up over the past few updates.

Closing Thoughts

With that out of the way I would once again ask that if you have any questions and queries then please do ask away. Additionally if you have any suggestion of what you’d like to see added or changed then please also let me know. For now though I, like always hope you enjoy the changes made in the 0.10.0 update and look forward to your feedback. I will hopefully be back in around a month’s time with update 0.11.0 though with the increased scope of said update it will probably be a bit of a longer wait.

As with all of my updates a full list of the changes made can be found in game, with the changes and additions pertaining to this update listed below:

• Added a small faction flag to the space battle GUI
• Added a background to the sprites used for squads to make them more visible
• Added a setting for enabling or disabling unit pooling
• Added a way to destroy all selected units by holding down the shift key and pressing the delete key
• Updated the sprites used for squads of units to be bigger and more visible
• Updated the game speed buttons to prevent the current game speeds corresponding button from being clickable and causing it to flash a different colour
• Updated the in game sound effects to link to a universial audio bus to allow their sound levels to be set more easily
• Updated the tactical view to show the corresponding unit image for each unit
• Updated the tactical view to show the units path and/or attack range when hovering over it with the mouse
• Updated the look of the credits screen to better match the new look of the changelog screen
• Updated the guide page to also indent the unit and building buttons
• Updated the unit ability buttons to visually match the rest of the GUI
• Updated the images used by Kessoni units to show their unique material
• Removed unused textures and images which had been made obsolete by newer versions
• Fixed a bug where reinforcement units would sometimes spawn in the centre of the map instead of under the mouse when the shift key was being held down
• Fixed a bug where the freecam view couldn't be moved with the mouse while the game was paused
• Fixed a bug where the game window would shift downwards when trying to set the window type to 'Window' in the settings menu while the game window was maximized
• Fixed a bug where the game would stutter when spawning in a new unit
• Fixed a bug where the outline of an upgrade would be shown even if it wasn't first in the build queue