Status update 26/08/2014

[Nacho84]

Hello all,

I hope you're well. We would like to share with you some of the stuff we've been working on during the past couple of weeks.

Mauricio, our 3D artist, has finished with all the renders for the Gemini EOR mission. This is a fictional mission that involves two launches and that ends up deploying a single astronaut using a very small lander, which is based on designs made at Langley in the early 1960s (see some screenshots below). As you can see, the lander is REALLY small, so we believe it required quite a bit of courage to pilot it from Lunar orbit all the way down to the surface of the Moon!

In other news, Boris, our UI artist and animator, has been busy at work creating mock screens for the missing functionality, such as the Museum, the Observatory and the VAB, as well as reviewing all the current screens in order to suggest improvements. He's been also working on the animations for the Gemini EOR mission, which we expect to include as part of version 0.7.27 sometime in September.

In the audio department, Christian, our composer, is working on a new set of tracks for the Soviet campaign. We'll probably fit one or two new tracks in 0.7.26 and then release the rest as part of future updates.

As for myself, I've been working mostly on the implementation of the news screens and general UI improvements (e.g., redesign of the personnel management screen, being able to set a target level for advanced training, Vehicle Assembly Building screen, etc). For more up-to-date information, please check our changelog. See some (work in progress) screenshots below.

The plan is for me to continue working on the UI until early next week (Tuesday/Wednesday). Once I'm done with the changes, I'll send an interim build to Slitherine so that they can test the PBEM implementation. Once everything is OK, the folks at Matrix Games will create an installer and make the patch available via the auto-updater tool. We'll keep you posted on our progress and, as always, we'll post a message in the forums once the update goes live so that you can grab it and start challenging each other in multiplayer matches! I'll then go back to the race to the Moon campaigns, which I expect to include as part of SPM 0.7.27.

Please feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to get back to you.

In case you missed it, SebbiLebga recorded a video showcasing the PBEM functionality. You can see the episode of his "Let's Play" series here.

Cheers,

[Kalesin]

[nico7550]

Hi,

Are the filters for the personnel screen still on the todo list ?

Cheers

[Nacho84]

@Nico: yes, if everything goes as planned I will be adding the filters functionality at the end of this week so that it can be included in 0.7.26.

@Kalesin: I find it funny you posted that video The man in the bottom right corner studied at the same High School that I did in my native Argentina!

Cheers,

[Nacho84]

Hello all,

Quick status update: I've sent an interim build to Slitherine this morning so that they can test the PBEM functionality and they told me it looks correct. I'll continue working on the UI during the next three or four days, perform another internal testing round early next week and, if everything looks fine, I'll send the package to Matrix Games so that they can build an installer. We'll keep you guys posted.

Cheers,

[stratochief66]

Any chance there will be a beta release on the FTP? I had a couple of bugs/inconsistencies I didn't want to bug you about so close to the next update release where many of them will already by fixed.

[Nacho84]

Any chance there will be a beta release on the FTP? I had a couple of bugs/inconsistencies I didn't want to bug you about so close to the next update release where many of them will already by fixed.

Hello stratochief,

Since we're introducing PBEM in the next patch, I will no longer be able to provide updates via the FTP. That's because the game won't allow you to play in multiplayer mode unless you're running the latest version and, to make things simpler for everyone, we need all new patches to be available via the auto-updater tool. That being said, feel free to report any pending issues once we release 0.7.27 and we'll try to get them fixed for the next version.

Cheers,

[Nacho84]

Hello all,

Just a quick message to let you know that the interim build I've sent to Slitherine earlier this week has been approved. They will create an update package and make it available through the game's launcher soon. We'll keep you posted.

Cheers,