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TDSALPHA.BAT
Hi!
This page is written out-of-character, as it makes it a little easier to discuss
the game as a, well, game. Please excuse the intrustion of reality and sloppy
writing. On this page you will find links to alpha builds of The Dawn Star,
including it's former incarnation Captain Jameson. These are in-progress
versions of the game which you can play right now. If you would like to give me
feedback on these, report bugs, or swap stories and navigation tips with other
players please check out the forums linked from the site's community page.
Otherwise, have fun!
<3 Farbs
~~~ RELEASE BUILDS ~~~
<THE DAWN STAR BUILD 8>
Build 8! I finally have the module render tech in place, as evidenced by the new
command module sprite. This is a little hokey, and due to some interaction with
the old bloom layer (which I can't remove yet because you would not be able to
see atmospheres) it's quite dark. BUT it works, and it demonstrates that my
deferred renderer is functioning and feasible. Next build I'll add mip-mapping,
so the command module isn't so jaggy when viewed at a distance.
* New sector seed - As seen in my earlier playthrough video.
* Huge amounts of under-the-hood render work
* Placeholder command module sprite for player
<THE DAWN STAR BUILD 7>
Week 7, wherein render tech migrates back to the game - sort of. This week's
build includes a little bonus screen, accessed from the startup screen, which
shows off the new render tech. You can spin a placeholder command module around
and watch the light and shadows dance around it. Pretty, no? Now to roll this
out into the game itself...
* Lit sprite test scene
* Tweaked Twin Booster MkII spawn rate on wingtips
* New sector seed
<THE DAWN STAR BUILD 6>
Week 6! I threw out last week's pre-render tech and started again, but this time
made some very real progress so I think it was the right decision. As always
there's a new universe seed for you to explore, and I have to admit I found this
one quite challenging at the start. Let me know how you go!
* New Twin Booster MkII module
* New sector seed. This one has quite the tricky start!
* Bugfix for last week's audio looping bugfix
* Mostly pre-rendering work this week, so not a lot in the build itself
* Does anyone actually read these?
* Blee bloo blah bloo blee
* Fixed some module specification units
<THE DAWN STAR BUILD 5>
Week 5! I spent most of the week working on pre-render tech, so the game itself
hasn't changed all that much. Still, the builds must be built, and as always
there's a new universe seed for you to explore. It'll also be great to get some
of these bugfixes out into the wild - thanks to everyone on the forum for their
bug-reports and suggestions.
* New universe seed, and and smaller main wide sector than last week
* Made asteroid field spawn locations less uniform
* Fixed juliet stations and ships not spawning in wide sectors
* Fixed cruise control key override bug
* Fixed cruise control backwards mode
* Fixed map export station visiblity bug
* Fixed looping audio continuing across game screens bug
<THE DAWN STAR BUILD 4>
Week 4! I focused on gameplay, balance, and bugfixing this week, with some time
also thrown at a major code restructure resulting in a new title screen. Thanks
for all the discussion on the forums - I agree that wide sectors are much
cooler, and I'm really glad they're back in the game.
* Returned to giant sectors, one of which is playable here
* Added first pass title screen
* Added first pass wormhole effect. Shaders are fun
* Fixed arrival station moving around each sector load (whoops!)
* Reduced player's command module thrust, so it's easier to control
* Reduced player's command module weight, so modules help more
* Quick and scrappy station ping out on rescue/reboot
* Added background flipping and scaling
* Fixed warehouse collection area bug
<THE DAWN STAR BUILD 3>
Week 3! This week involved a lot of small tweaks to the start of the game, which
will hopefully make the later game less dangerous and confusing for new players.
Oh! And there's a new module!
* New exciting low-oxy start
* Added Primary Thruster module
* A new series of sectors to explore
* Double the spawn rate of oxy tanks
* Made guardian designs more variable
* Made asteroids flicker at least a little on damage > 0
* Added key binds for arrow keys
* Oxy stations returning as atmosphere stations
* SOS marker on some atmosphere stations, including the first
* Removed guardians from ~half the settlements
* No modules on new game start
* Fixed some savegame issues w/ new modules
* Added new custom font rendering system & test (Ctrl-T)
<THE DAWN STAR BUILD 2>
Week 2! This week I committed to the title The Dawn Star, and added some fancy
new background rendering based on a technique used for the 1999 classic
Homeworld.
* Backgrounds!
* A new series of sectors to explore
* More responsive mouse control
* Fixed audio damping not affecting the voice synth
* Fixed VMEDS retaining station themes after undock
* Had to remove lowres fullscreen options :(
* Added core GPU renderer
<CAPTAIN JAMESON ALPHA REBOOT BUILD 1>
This is the first weekly build in my rebooting of the Captain Jameson project.
Expect great things, like a new renderer, refined gameplay, a not completely
brutal introduction, and even a new name.
* Lance weapon, for cutting stuff without slowing down
* Converging sector network, so you can talk about where you've been
* Devout, insane, and dark sectors
* A new background! Again!
* Range counter on SOS beacon display
* Nav station at (most) sector origins
* Probably a lot of other small changes. I should be better able to document
these now.
~~~ ORIGINAL BUILDS ~~~
These builds were my first attempt at creating the game Captain Jameson. Other
commitments stalled development, and during that time I realised I would need to
change track somewhat, however these builds are still fun and people still enjoy
playing them, so I will keep them around. Enjoy!
<CAPTAIN JAMESON ALPHA BUILD 0.6.prerelease.1>
Whoa. 0.6 has been in development for nearly a year, and it still isn't
finished! I'm well overdue to release a new build though, so I figured I'd start
sharing pre-release versions like this one. I lost track of a lot of the changes
in this build, but I'll list the major points below.
* Wormholes - Travel between sectors. This creates a HUGE explorable space.
* Fullscreen - Woo! Hit ENTER multiple times to change resolution.
* Autosave system - No more garaging! Just shut your browser whenever you like!
* Manual docking - No more telnet, just fly up to a station's docking port
* Permadeath - If you die the whole game resets. No banking, no warehousing.
* Mouse input on VMEDS - Click! CLIIICK!
* Onboard map system - Functional, needs work. Exports entire sector!
* New voice synth - Will even use recorded phrases in future.
<CAPTAIN JAMESON ALPHA BUILD 0.5.1>
<BONUS SECTOR! 0.5.1.spelunk>
What's mined is mine! I realized that build 0.6 would require asteroid mining,
so I built that up front, and here it is! As always I've added a swag of tweaks
and changes, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on them. I've also added a
special "Spelunk" bonus sector, where the only way to progress is through mining
and buying modules. It's a little tricky at the start, so be careful out there,
pilot.
* Asteroid mining! Asteroids can be destroyed, added minerals and refineries
* Added level generation option for all-mining sector
* One guardian ship per settlement
* Guardian ships automatically spawned - no need to summon them
* Semi-fixed enemy spawns, so you know what to find where
* Bumped chance-to-fire in higher level ai ships
* AI behaviour range, different ship types have a bit more personality
* Added fleeing for some ships
* Added bezerk AI for some ships
* Added follow AI for some ships
* Removed oxy stations, but kept atmospheres and other mechanics
* Re-instated EMG system, applied to stations, uses an on-screen marker now
* Removed random freebie station unlocks
* Fixed static effect not resizing
* Minor menu and text fiddling
* Trying another new mouse cursor
* Removed chrono gear from factory product list
* Added hidden derelicts
<CAPTAIN JAMESON ALPHA BUILD 0.5>
<BONUS SECTOR! 0.5.major>
<BONUS SECTOR! 0.5.minor>
Here we go! Build 0.5 smoothes out a hundred rough edges, as evidenced by its
record-breaking changelist. Many of the changes and fixes are a direct result of
forumite feedback, so once again thanks for all the bug reports and awesome
suggestions! Along with the fixes and tweaks I've added some simple but
surprisingly useful modules, created some interesting size variant maps, and
finally rid us all of the blurst shield's ridiculous "wobbly sausage". I hope
you enjoy what you find here, and that you keep on feedbackin' while I work on
0.6.
Here's the probably-incomplete change list:
* Added sector scale variation
* Added Ship Deck modules
* Added Truss modules
* Added a new page of gameplay options
* Added ship stats to options page
* Added targetting beam to snipe lasers
* Added collision sounds
* Added guardian phrases
* Added welcome / welcome back / Dear Pilot notes
* Added starting area info drone
* Stocked the initial warehouse with alpha modules
* Added repair-all to repair station UI
* Made options persist between sessions
* Increased enemy density near starting area
* Reduced sprinkler arc
* Thinned the spawn area asteroid belt
* Shrank no-fire radius to reduce attacks from offscreen
* Revised blurst shield graphics
* Made blurst shields slightly longer
* Revised Chrono Gear graphics
* Made Chrono Gear smaller, reduced time compression
* Renamed station girder modules "Truss"
* Made all warehouses hold 15 modules instead of 3-5
* Reduced girder value
* Increased scrap and nav station density
* Reduced TELNET connect times
* Revised typing sound to be less piercing
* Replaced guardian interference effects
* Darkened bloom effect while VMEDS is active
* Made atomsphere entrance/exit effect blobbier
* Made mouse visible during cruise control
* Made module detail stalk cooler
* New mouse cursor, aligns to player ship
* Fixed station shield modules taking damage
* Fixed "withdrawal" spelling mistake
* Fixed atmosphere popping on oxy station rescue
* Fixed an enemy spawn pop bug
* Fixed banks not raising shields on rescue
* Fixed guardian pilot name bug
* Fixed asphyxiation fadeout
* Added a hidden note explaining my plans for 0.6.
* Probably more that I forgot to document
<CAPTAIN JAMESON ALPHA BUILD 0.4>
<BONUS SECTOR! 0.4.cumulus>
I love the oxygen system, but it's annoying having to fly right up to an oxy
station and futz around with VMEDS. If I can get to the station in time then
I've done the interesting part, and the rest is busywork. Alpha build 0.4 solves
this with atmosphere. Now you can fly near to an active oxy station - or any
station connected to one - and your tanks refill automatically. You can cruise
in, offload some scrap, and be on your way! 0.4 also introduces cumulus sectors,
with massive asteroid fields, massive outposts, and massive spaces in between.
Don't get lost out there!
UPDATE: I fixed the freeze bug which affected a small number of stations. Thanks
to everyone who reported it. You rock!
Here's the full list of changes:
* Oxy stations generate atmosphere instead of refilling tanks
* Planck Shields (side beam type shield shape)
* Added cumulus style level generation
* All shields on a ship or station now pool shield health
* Garage density +60%
* Made bubble shields octagonal
* Banks now keep their shields raised
* Fixed shoot-through-shield-module bug
* Fixed bubble shield multi hit damage bug
* Fixed girder-to-solar-array bug
* Station running light frequency increase
* Reduced incidence of hyphenation
* Stopped game from generating triple-barrelled names
* Fixed exception on rescue-from-a-distance
* Not all stations start offline
<CAPTAIN JAMESON ALPHA BUILD 0.3>
<BONUS SECTOR! 0.3.inferno>
Ever wish you could set a module aside for later? Maybe that shiny prismatic
laser doesn't quite fit your build, or maybe you'd like to keep it as insurance
against catastrophe. Either way, the new warehouse stations should make life a
little easier. You'll even find one in the starting zone, which should make the
early game less brutal.
It's not all puppysnaps and rosepickles however - 0.3 also brings in hot rocks
which cause massive damage on impact, and for extra fun I've created a bonus map
which is absolutely brimming with them. Stay sharp out there!
0.3 also contains a swag of minor tweaks and bugfixes. Here's the full list:
* New gameworlds! One original recipe and one hardcore jalapeno
* Warehouse stations, which hold 3-5 modules
* Hot rocks. DO NOT TOUCH!
* Pilot and station admin names
* Made settlement names more relevant and diverse
* All nav layers on by default
* Slower death fadeout
* Directional explosions
* Fixed bubbleshield upgrade bug
* Fixed station group level bleeding bug
* Fixed pilot reset on reload bug
* Made guardian spawning less crashy
* A SECRET THING
<CAPTAIN JAMESON ALPHA BUILD 0.2>
Oxygen oxygen oxygen! Build 0.2 raises the default oxygen limit and adds oxygen
storage modules. This should loosen up the first play experience but still
create those occasional moments of panic from 0.1. Here's a full list of
changes:
* New gameworld! Explore Tereshkova's Colony and beyond.
* Raised default oxygen limit from 3min to 5min
* Added oxygen tank module, spawns on ~2% of enemies
* Raised initial oxygen to full tank
* Made oxygen displays linear, showing absolute oxygen on HUD
* Missiles no longer track dead enemies
* Fixed flight keys being stuck post death/focus/VMEDS
* Toned down guardian interference effects
* Cruise control is now disabled on collision or damage
* Reduced keyboard zoom step size
* Attempted to fix HUD width issues for Safari-based browsers
* Fixed guardian-heart-select-after-kill bug
* Moved random enemy spawn positions back to their zones
* Reduced volume for modem data squeals
* Stopped playing detach sounds for children of detached module
* Started on new telnet visual themes. There is currently one per TLD.
<CAPTAIN JAMESON ALPHA BUILD 0.1>
This is it! The first alpha build of Captain Jameson! Normally I'll list changes
here, but for now I offer this advice: The game is hard. It's also a little
complex. Approach it with patience, read through the in-game FAQ, and once you
get it down you'll find yourself lost in it for hours.
Good luck Captain - I'll see you on the forums.
<3 Farbs
[TWT: <@CaptainForever>] [CPR: Copyright Farbs 2011] [BLG: <www.farbs.org>]