Fugitive Games Dev Blog @fugitivegames - Tumblr Blog

Update 1.2 Live - Week Long Sale @ 40% Off!

Hey all,

We've just put a small update live with gameplay tuning based on your feedback and fixes for a few issues, mostly with Saved Games. Here are the details:

Tuning:

Adjusted timing for Shield Deflection charge

Increased Skorn tracking in early sectors (Raises chances of early combat)

Reduced chance for module reward discovery Adjusted combat ratios in Yellow and Orange Alert (2 enemy fights now possible in Yellow – Even more so in Orange)

Adjusted tuning for enemy weapon charging based on enemy ship count

Slowed alien ship travel in each sector

Increased chance for item drop post-Shuttle Mission

Fixes:

Corrected issue in saved games where 2 crew members were in Sick Bay causing stacking on game load

Save & Exit cleanup (process now checks for completion, preventing hangs on slower systems)

Cleaned up “Wild Beast” mission results where negative outcome fired on the wrong selection

In other news, we're still waiting on the improved German localization to come back from our publisher, but expect that any day and will deploy it at the earliest opportunity. Progress with the Mac port is inching along and we'll post relevant details when we have anything to report.

Crash on Startup

We're still getting sporadic reports of this occurring, but of those who contact us most of their issues are solved by simply grabbing ALL available Windows updates. This may sound crazy, but our UI is very fragile and relies on a number of dll files spread across these updates, so please be sure and give that a go if you encounter any issues starting the game.

Backer Rewards

Production of your rewards is nearing completion! The embroidered patches should come in this week and we've finally secured a t-shirt vendor that can handle our needs. Given that, we should be able to wrap things up in the next few weeks and start shipping them out to your door.

That's all for now!

- The Fugitive Team

1.1 Update - Functionality & Fixes!

Hey all,

We've made a big push this week to address a number of issues that came up at launch. We haven't yet been able to tackle everything but the update today should fix several of the more glaring problems.

Changes in 1.1

Language change in game.

In Options (Main Menu) you can now change to your desired language.

General Localization fixes

Numerous fixes for text overruns in Game and Main Menu

Adjusted for missing Polish characters

General performance improvements

Fix for escape menu functionality where users got stuck on certain screens

Volume lowered on Intro video

Webview concurrency fix for UI plugin

Crash Update

We are still investigating the root cause for users experiencing crashes. For most users, seeing crashes on startup the common thread seems to be dependencies on dll files that are either incorrect or missing. There isn’t an easy catch all solution right now, as it’s not necessarily a single file issue or one specific problem for everyone. Some users have fixed this by installing the latest version of Internet Explorer which contains some of the dll’s needed. Others have found that windows updates alone solve the issue. (For example this update has worked for some users with windows 7: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2731771)

We will continue to try to find a solution and appreciate the people that have been working with us to give us more information on the test branch. If you would like to help us, please send an email to

[email protected]

and we will set you up in the test branch where we can gather more detailed logs. We will keep narrowing it down and appreciate your patience.

- The Fugitive Team

Complete Changelist - ItS Launch

New Features – Update 1.0

Preset Loadouts

One of the most common requests made during Early Access was for the ability to forego the Ship Customization at the outset of your journey and simply dive into gameplay. We’ve addressed this by adding three Preset Loadouts (Combat, Balanced and Long Haul) that offer distinctly unique approaches to the journey while providing formidable module & resource combinations. Once players have a feel for the trials of space flight they can return to fully Customize their ship.

Shuttle Mission Additions

After revamping Shuttle Missions with the 0.5 update by adding meaningful choices and structure to each interaction, we still wanted to push the system forward. That’s why we’ve added custom background art and unique audio environments for each encounter. What’s more, we’ve doubled the amount of Shuttle Mission content in the game by adding 50 Planet and 25 Ship Explorations.

Shuttle Mission Additions

Finally, we added a number of story elements, localization for 6 languages and completely overhauled the User Interface. Steam Achievements, Trading Cards and dozens of enhancements round things out.

Changelist for Update 1.0

Added Preset Loadouts

Long Haul

Balanced

Combat

Custom (complete ship loadout – As currently seen in game)

Doubled Shuttle Mission Content

50 new Planet Explorations

25 new Ship Explorations

Added 100 Shuttle Mission Backgrounds

New Art Specifically tied to each mission event

Custom Audio environment for each background/event combination

UI Overhaul

Optimized performance for improved loading

Brought a lighter/unified approach to each screen

Added dynamic Gameplay Tips to Loading Screens

Added Tile Threat and Civilian icons to Notifications

Localization

Full text and voiceover localization for 6 additional languages

German, Spanish, French, Russian, Polish and Italian

Ark Discovery

Finding each adds to Total Score

Location called out on Map

Steam Achievements

10 new goals for players to complete

Story Elements

Updated intro trailers for improved story background

Added story details to Main Menu for further details

Tuning

Added ability to interact with Trade Ships from a distance (Object interaction unified) Added 3 new Main modules to create more interesting resource combinations Adjusted time in sectors for Pursuit Mode (Slightly more difficult) Doubled the view distance for object chevrons – No more pixel hunting! Updated Planet Descriptions to remove references to Human compatibility and to clearly state resources available Changed in-game fonts Significantly increased module health penalties for weapon damage / events Large increase to number of Civilians found on Ark ships o Reduced times for Save & Quit

o Reduced time to load End Game cinematic

o Added “Loading Language” notification to Main Menu

o Captain Screens now dropped in all interactions – Focus on Big Screen

o Added ability to move in/out of Options menu by pressing Escape

o Added delay to Continue button in intro screens to prevent easy skipping

o Updated hailing / interact experience to take place on Captain’s Chair

o Updated laser source point to reflect movement of ship

o Race description added to Hailing screen for Traders

Tuned healing rate in Sick Bay

o Added checks to prevent trading away all your Civilians

Decreased costs of most Civilian Buildings

Increased population growth rate for growth buildings

Decreased building upgrade and dismantle costs

o Adjusted lighting in ship display map

Added happiness deductions for Civilian Trades

Certain Ship Events now take large chunks from Ship Module Health

o Storage Containers no longer yield resources as rewards

o Increased interact distance for Storage Containers

o Adjusted difficulty of some planet events to prevent 100% success on game start

o Adjusted “Away Team Assignment” to read “Crew Assignment” on deploy screen

Audio

o Full mix of SX/Music for release

o Added new Combat music and randomized play for more variety

o Swapped baby crying for laughing on Birth Rate Increase

o New SX for Large “Interact” Screen movement

o New SX for “Terrified” Civilians – Plays on Civ death

o Added supporting SX for large changes in Civilian categories

o Added mouseover SX to all buttons

o Unified mouse click SX for all buttons

o Error SX added for entering invalid names/numbers into text fields

o Updated VO for collision with large objects (Hull Damage v. Impact Detected)

o Added checks to prevent Alert Pending notifications from playing while paused

o Added Module specific calls for damage on impact with world objects

o Unified VO for distant start interaction

o Adjusted all trader SX to be reflective of negative/positive/human selection

o Added SX for Skorn super weapon impact and block

Bug Fixes

Crash on Game Load and crash on Game Quit

Crash for selecting non-supported resolution in Options

Crash fix for overlapping objects on level load

City Level / Buildings not being saved on Save & Exit

o Prevented alien ships from flying through world objects

o Addressed issue that allowed modules to auto-repair on event completion

o Removed fog from sector transitions to prevent odd fading issues

o Checks to prevent screens from overlapping in End Game

o Aligned damage application to prevent damage while shields up/matched

Addressed Skorn ability to charge/fire superweapon with Weapon module destroyed

o Removed camera shake on impact to prevent FOV issues

o Checks to prevent players from flying through Skorn ships after loading Save Game

Fixed looping SX for interaction when being tracked by Skorn Patrol

o Adjusted numerous events to provide the proper rewards

o Fixed spacing issues in notifications by adding “-“ to joined strings

o Cleaned up issues resulting from crew death during Shuttle Missions

o Addressed issues with manual removal of crew from Sick Bay

o Removed volume check for nearby ships while in combat

o Fixed issue where Skorn laser got stuck in charging sequence

o Addressed a number of position / player input issues during combat

o Addressed a number of issues involving UI overlap due to player input

o Addressed a number of issues relating to Civilian City and Save Game

o Fixed issue where broken ship engine became operational on Load Game

o Addressed numerous issues relating to building construction

o Fixed number of issues relating to Game Paused state

Added checks to prevent player running out of Ship Events

o Removed notifications and SX that we’re playing on Mission Failed screen

o Fixed issue where UI screens were brought up in Mission Failed Screen

o Fixed issue where space mines would randomly explode on sector transition

o Added fix to prevent Skorn from hitting each other in flight/combat

Over 350 Fixes and Improvements since 0.5 Update!

Into the Stars releases Next Week

Hello again friends,

As you can expect, the last few months have been fast paced for those of us here at Fugitive Games. During that time we launched our biggest patch to date (Update 0.5) which was packed with highly-requested items, including complete overhauls of our Shuttle Mission and Combat systems. With that behind us, we began buckling down for release by gradually shifting our focus from features to polish.

But before we locked the game for launch we had a few major items to tackle! In less than 10 weeks we've localized all text and voiceovers for the game into 6 additional languages, completely overhauled the user-interface and added more than 100 new events/missions for you all to enjoy. Those along with a number of other additions (See “For Launch”) should make a strong impact when the game comes out on March 4th.

That’s right, the game is just a week from release! We’ve done quite a lot of preparation for launch, including the rollout of our new website and the announcment of an amazing custom vinyl to highlight our glorious soundtrack.

What’s more, a number of cool events began yesterday, starting with a Reddit AMA from our composer Jack Wall. We've also kicked off a contest to thank you, our amazing community. However, our biggest attention grabber for release will undoubtedly be the SPECTACULAR trailer that our art director has crafted with MetricMinds. The game really needed a stronger introduction to the world, and we feel this trailer, along with the backstory we've added to the Main Menu, put the peril of mankind in perspective.

There’s a lot more to come including two showcases at the Game Developers Conference next month and another at PAX: East in April. But for now we're solely focused on release and delivering the quality experience you all deserve, so we're hammering on bugs and polishing up as much as possible.

We’ll share more in the final days leading up to launch, but in the meantime be sure and show off the awesome game you helped make by sharing our Website, Facebook, Twitter and Store Page with everyone in your circle.

Cheers,

The Fugitive Team

Into the Stars vinyl from IAm8Bit!

Hey everybody!

The crew over at IAm8Bit opened Pre-Orders for a Limited Edition Vinyl print for the Into the Stars soundtrack from Jack Wall! This is a rare opportunity to enjoy the game's compelling score, crafted by the experts at the world-famous Telegraph Mastering Studio. We're really excited to partner with everyone involved, and the art from Arno Kiss turned out great!

Check it out here: http://store.iam8bit.com/products/into-the-stars-vinyl-soundtrack

#vinyl #vinyljunkie #vinyl jacket #intothestars #Indiegame #unreal engine 4

Into the Stars officially launching on March 4th! 33% off on Steam!

Good news, everyone!

Into the Stars will officially be out of early access on March 4th!

Thanks to all of you for coming on this ride with us, and we look forward to hearing what you guys think about Into the Stars in it's final form. The game is also 33% off on Steam all week!

If you have a chance, let your friends know with a retweet or Facebook share!

Check out some of our coverage below:

Gamewatcher

N4G

WorthPlaying

Gamastura

Changes from Early Access to Launch

Hey folks,

As a team we put forth our best effort to listen to any and all feedback that you've provided us with as a community. Since first launching on Early Access, we've implemented many of the changes you've asked for. Beyond that, we have many new changes coming when Into the Stars officially launches. Check out the detailed changelog below.

If you've had a chance to play the game recently we would really appreciate a review on our Steam page. Let us and the Steam community know what you think!

We look forward to you all getting your hands on the final game. We're very appreciative of your invaluable input, and can't thank you enough for your continued support.

Available at Launch

Added Preset Loadouts

Long Haul

Balanced

Combat

Custom (complete ship loadout – As currently seen in game)

Doubled Shuttle Mission Content

50 new Planet Explorations

25 new Ship Explorations

Added 100 Shuttle Mission Backgrounds

New Art Specifically tied to each mission event

Custom Audio environment for each background/event combination

Ark Discovery

Finding each adds to Total Score

Location called out on Map

Steam Achievements

10 new goals for players to complete

UI Overhaul

Optimized performance for improved loading

Brought a lighter/unified approach to each screen

Currently Available

Added Difficulty Settings

New screen in Main Menu gives three options of play

Explorer Mode eliminates Skorn Threat Levels

Difficulty Bonus added to End Game

Greatly impacts world population

Revamped Skorn Patrols

Two Patrol Types with unique Functionality

Added Saved Game tracking for Patrols

Overhauled Trading

Trade for any Resource

Each race now has preferred Resource Types

Added pre-trade Hail Screen for Traders

Shuttle Mission Overhaul

Updated structure to allow multiple choices with unique outcomes

Added support for 3 Shuttle Missions per planet

Added “Crew Skill Increase” outcome

Added “Crew Health Increase” outcome

Added Positive/Negative Civilian outcomes

Combat Overhaul

Added ability to Evade enemy shots

Added Skorn Misses

Added Super Attacks for all Skorn ships

Added Animation States for all Skorn ships

Improved the Accuracy of your Crew, reducing frustrating Misses

Added ability to Modify Skorn Frequency by hitting Weapon module

Updated charge time VFX for enemy weapons

New Captain Backgrounds

Scavenger (+50 Carry Capacity for Resource Rewards)

Civil Engineer (Improved construction times for Civilian Buildings)

Threat Reduction for Destroying Skorn in Combat

Players rewarded with more time for victories

Applies to both Traders and Fleet ambushes

Added Civilian Management Feature

Complete control over your Civilian Population

Events on ship now tied to Civilian conditions

New Incidents added to Database

Updated Ark ship to reflect Civilian City changes

Added Skorn Wreckage

Added Gas Clouds

Added Storage Containers

Added Hint System to detail Gameplay Systems and Usage Cases

All Ship Bridge Screens

Battlestations / Combat

Main Menu / Loadout

Added Quick Launch system – Uses previous Loadout to launch directly into game

Created a Launch with Last Loadout button on Main Menu

Created a Retry button on Mission Failed screen

Added Training Events for Crew

Events for each Skill Category

Completion boosts Skill of selected Crew Member

Added 16:10 Resolutions

Added Windowed Mode

Added “Take All” Button for found Resources

One Year Later

It's hard to believe a full year has passed since our Kickstarter campaign came to a close and all of you stepped up to bring our fantasy project to life! Though we had a clear vision for the core game we wanted to make, we had no idea of the life it would take on once out in the wild.

Since February of last year, we've launched Into the Stars on Early Access, demoed the game at countless shows and listened closely to the feedback you all provided. The game has come a LONG way and we're grateful for the opportunity to bring things full circle when we launch next month. But taking a look back, it's amazing to see where we've come from simple concept art to reality:

Early concept art

0.5 update

We just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your continued support. Be on the lookout in the next few weeks for exciting announcements, including our pending Release Date!

Cheers,

- The Fugitive Team

Jan 29th update: Localization, Ark 13, and Bikeman's near death encounter

Hey everyone! Quick update with a few awesome things you guys should know about - Localization work is underway! Our plan is to fully support the following languages with native Text and VO: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, and Russian. Here's a first look at Into the Stars in German!

Bikeman recently got some playtime in on Twitch and had one of the craziest fights with the Skorn that we've seen yet. Head over to our YouTube channel to see him in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAo9WuexUbU In case you can't make it, we also archive all of our Twitch streams which you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhXkYgEPu5A Last but not least, our art director Alden uploaded the model for the Ark 13 on Sketchfab which you can check out at the link below. Spin the ship around live in your browser! https://sketchfab.com/models/aaf053645e5242ab81858ddebb8005a5 That's all for now, but more soon! - The Fugitive Team

Patch 0.5 notes

Shuttle Mission Overhaul

Away Missions are critical component of any successful voyage, and in order to make them shine we refined the experience to emphasize your decisions as Captain. By opening up additional choices for every mission and tying them with unique outcomes, the path taken now has a large impact on your journey. These are the main elements of the overhaul:

Add meaningful choice/structure to interactions with additional branches

Increase options and time spent on planet

New rewards and consequences for your choices

Visual/Presentation update

Add meaningful choice/structure to interactions with additional branches

Increase options and time spent on planet

New rewards and consequences for your choices

Visual/Presentation update

Combat Overhaul

Improving the Combat experience has been a desire of ours for some time, but it's a large undertaking and something we didn't want to roll out piecemeal. The feedback for Combat was all over the map, but with this update we've focused on improving our core experience and addressing common requests. With the tweaks we've made and the expanded options now available, the fight against the Skorn should be a much more balanced and dynamic experience:

Evade - New ability that allows players to counter Skorn attacks. Evade will perform an emergency maneuver that avoids enemy fire. It is untied from the Frequencies of other battle stations, making it useful in situations where Skorn Frequencies are mismatched.

Skorn Misses - This only seems fair... we’ve introduced a chance for the Skorn to miss your ship with every shot.

Super Attacks - Every so often the Skorn will use a Super Attack to try and deal heavy damage to your Ark. In order to do this, the Skorn ship will drop its shield, leaving it vulnerable for a brief window. This attack comes with an expanded charge-up time and can be easily recognized with custom animation, sound and visual effects!

Animated Enemies – Combat has come to life by adding lots of animation to the Skorn fleet. This makes the experience more dynamic and responsive!

Improved Accuracy - We've received a lot of feedback that your crew miss the enemy too often. Though the addition of Skorn Misses will help, we've also tuned the frequency of your own missed shots to level the playing field.

Modify Skorn Frequency - Now, when you successfully target and hit the Weapons module on an enemy ship, the Frequency of their weapon will move to the next color. This allows players to align Frequencies across multiple ships, simplifying the blocking of attacks with your Shields

Changelist for Update 0.5

Shuttle Mission Overhaul

Updated structure to allow multiple choices with unique outcomes

Added support for 3 Shuttle Missions per planet

Added “Crew Skill Increase” outcome

Added “Crew Health Increase” outcome

Added Positive/Negative Civilian outcomes

Combat Overhaul

Added ability to Evade enemy shots

Added Skorn Misses

Added Super Attacks for all Skorn ships

Added Animation States for all Skorn ships

Improved the Accuracy of your Crew, reducing frustrating Misses

Added ability to Modify Skorn Frequency by hitting Weapon module

Updated charge time VFX for enemy weapons

New Captain Backgrounds

Scavenger (+50 Carry Capacity for Resource Rewards)

Civil Engineer (Improved construction times for Civilian Buildings)

Tuning

Increased time allowance for Skorn Patrols

Enemy functionality balanced to improve pacing across combat encounters

Increased % for numerous and more challenging enemies in Pursuit Mode

Added bonuses to Public Well Being on City Level increase

Eliminated Tile Threat clearing in Pursuit Mode (Now only in Normal)

Decreased Costs of most Civilian Buildings

Increased population Growth Rate from Buildings

Decreased Dismantle and Upgrade Costs

Reduced impact of some Ship Incidents on Public Well Being

Slightly reduced healing rate in Sick Bay

Ship/Camera shake when taking damage

Reduced frequency of event spawning on ship

Military Officer Background now buffs Engineering instead of Toughness

Added a new Patrol location for Normal & Pursuit

Added Description to Civilian Morale

Audio

Added SX to support Super Attacks

Added SX and VO to support Evade

Added VO to support Skorn Misses

Added Ambient for Skorn movement

Updated Music for Shuttle Missions

Slightly raised general Music levels

Bug Fixes

Patrol countdowns now properly shift between Threat Levels

Countdown SX no longer bleed into combat

Addressed crashes at different points in game by added streaming buffers

We want to thank the community for taking the time to leave us meaningful feedback so that we could include it in this update. Your support means a lot, so please don't hesitate to let us know what you think about the changes!

If you're a Kickstarter backer, make sure you check out our Discord server and join the discussion! Send us your screenshots, videos - anything you want to share!

Thanks, and enjoy Into the Stars v0.5!

Update 0.2 is now LIVE!!!

New Features – Update 0.2

Difficulty Settings

One of the strongest points of feedback during our time in Early Access has been the desire to travel through the universe free from the torment of the Skorn. That’s why with Update 0.2 we’ll introduce three Difficulty Levels to fit varying styles of play.

Explorer: No Threat Levels – Reduced Skorn Patrols – Increased Resources

Normal: Balanced Threat Levels – Increased Skorn Patrols

Hard: Challenging Threat Levels – Heavy Skorn Patrols – Reduced Resources

With Explorer, players will be free to navigate the world at their own pace, whereas with Hard they’ll face a constant threat meant to keep them moving. Additionally, we’ve tied content in the world to Difficulty Levels for a fresh experience with each choice.

Skorn Patrols

In order to make the new Difficulty Settings shine, we decided to overhaul Skorn Patrols and how they impact your journey. Now, when you come within their range, Patrol ships will signal the Skorn fleet to alert them of your presence. If you fail to destroy them in time, the Threat Level will increase and the likelihood of an ambush will jump.

There are two types of Patrols with varied functionality. Light Patrols will jump into Hyperspace after signaling the fleet, only increasing the Threat Level a single time. Heavy Patrols however are not threatened by your presence, and will continue to signal the fleet and increase the Threat Level until Red Alert is reached.

Trading Overhaul

The binary Trade interactions of the past have been replaced with a system offering greater player choice and dynamic values for each resource. Finding a Trade ship can now mean the difference between life and death for the human race!

Each Trader has Unique Wants where you’ll find the most value

The Glubdon will make you pay dearly for anything but your Civilians

Multiple Trades now available during each encounter

Changelist for Update 0.2

Added Difficulty Settings

New screen in Main Menu gives three options of play

Explorer Mode eliminates Skorn Threat Levels

Difficulty Bonus added to End Game

Greatly impacts world population

Revamped Skorn Patrols

Two Patrol Types with unique Functionality

Added Saved Game tracking for Patrols

Overhauled Trading

Trade for any Resource

Each race now has preferred Resource Types

Added pre-trade Hail Screen for Traders

Threat Reduction for Destroying Skorn in Combat

Players rewarded with more time for victories

Applies to both Patrols and Fleet ambushes

Steam Achievements now Active (6 to start – More to come!)

Added 32 Interactive Objects to World (Patrols, Gas Clouds, etc.) – Tied to Difficulty

Updated intro screens & added Map/Goal screen to Mission Start

Added “Rate of Increase” icons to Civilian Management Screen

Added colored text to City Level icon to indicate feeding elements

Tuned discovery rates for “Epic” Crew Members again (Now 1 in 4 chance)

Backend support for Text and VO Localization

Added checks for Life Support and Food Supplies being Low

Complete text pass for Civilian Buildings

Tuned City Rank thresholds to 70% & added increase for City Rank on Construction Complete

Replaced the Resource Needed text with Images for each

Audio

Added SX and VO for Engines Offline / Out of Fuel and City Level Up

Added VO reminders for unassigned tasks and Life Support/Food Supplies Low

Added SX for Building Complete, Found Civilians and Enemy Blocked Shot

Updated ambient SX for Stars and Novas

Updated SX for Management Mode (Enter/Leave + Ducking)

Updated Warp In/Out SX for Skorn ships & patrols

Added SX to Found Crew Member screen

Bug Fixes

Construction active while in Management Mode

Updated a number of events for proper text alignment

Fixed Mining Rig timer to correctly end at 0 seconds instead of 2

Fixed issue where Upgrade available after City Level 4

There's a lot more to come including overhauls of our Combat and Shuttle Mission systems, so if you're interested in where we're headed, be sure to check out the Roadmap on Trello:https://trello.com/b/47OqxpnV/into-the-stars-public-roadmap

We really want to hear from you, so please share your thoughts on our progress with a Steam Review: http://store.steampowered.com/app/360510

It's been a great ride so far in Early Access and we could not have gotten this far without you, so we made a new video to highlight the big changes of the last few months:

We hope you enjoy the new content and thanks as always for your support!

- The Fugitive Team

Big Patch Next Week - Trading Preview

We’re happy to announce that Update 0.2 will be dropping next week (likely Wednesday) and it’s packed with new features and community requests. In our last update we previewed Difficulty Settings and Revamped Patrols, but today we’d like to share some of the changes we’ve made to the Trading system.

Trading Overhaul

· Trade for any of the 5 game resources

· Each Trader has Unique Wants where you’ll find the greatest value

· The Glubdon will make you pay dearly for anything but your Civilians

· Multiple Trades now available during each encounter

We’ll share more on this next week, but expect Trading to have a big impact on your voyage to Titus Nova moving forward.

Indiecade

Last weekend we joined Epic Games and Unreal Engine as one of three titles shown at Indiecade 2015. It was a tremendous event highlighting innovative titles in the Indie space, and we were blown away with the response from players of every age. Thanks to those of you who came by, shared your feedback and spent some time with a preview of the 0.2 Update!

Great Games Need Your Help

Speaking of awesome Indie games, there are two in particular that could use your help at the moment and are absolutely worth a look. We demoed with Icon: Disc Jam at Indiecade and it’s a shining example of how fun multiplayer games often come from small, dedicated teams. They’re currently running a Steam Greenlight campaign and could use your vote!

The second, which Destructoid dubbed a “Lo-fi Firefly” just has so much character we couldn’t help but share it. Take a look at Wanderer and back them on Kickstarter if the game grabs your interest as well!

That’s all for now... see you next week!

- The Fugitive Team

Great Things Around the Corner

As seen with the 0.1 Update, we’re now focused on the big changes that will help round the game into form. Though there’s a lot in the works for the next update, we wanted to briefly highlight two of the big changes coming your way.

Difficulty Settings

One of the strongest points of feedback during our time in Early Access has been the desire to travel through the universe free from the torment of the Skorn. That’s why with our next patch we’ll introduce three Difficulty Levels to fit varying play styles.

Easy: No Threat Levels – Reduced Skorn Patrols

Normal: Balanced Threat Levels – Increased Skorn Patrols

Hard: Challenging Threat Levels – Heavy Skorn Patrols

With Easy difficulty, players will be free to explore the world at their own pace, whereas with Hard they’ll face a constant threat meant to keep them moving.

Revamped Patrols

In order to make the new Difficulty Settings shine, we decided to overhaul Skorn Patrols and how they impact your journey. Now, when you come within their range, Patrol ships will signal the Skorn fleet to alert them of your presence. If you fail to destroy them in time, the threat level will increase and the likelihood of an ambush will jump.

That’s all for now, but you can expect much more in the coming weeks as we approach release for the next update!

- The Fugitive Team

New Feature: Civilian Management

One common item of feedback we’ve received is that the events taking place on your ship seem like a random game of whack-a-mole. Their occurrence isn’t currently tied to anything in particular, and they are mostly a means of keeping you and your crew occupied between interactions, but soon that will all change!

Next week, Civilian Management will be added to your role as Captain. This new system grants you control of the Civilian City on your ship, and requires solid management in order to keep your populace content. The happier they are, the easier it will be for you to focus on actually reaching Titus Nova.

There are four components that now directly impact your Civilian population: Health, Happiness, Order and Rations. The first three are dictated by your management of events on the ship and the buildings you construct in the City. The Rations you dole out fluctuate between Low, Normal and High and affect the other components as well as the Growth Rate of your population. That’s right, babies are now born on the Ark-13 to help balance out all the lives you’ve lost along the way! (Shame on you, Captain…)

Each of the aforementioned components feeds into three states of Civilian well-being: Happy, Complacent and Angry. As you move from one to another you’ll notice a significant uptick in events taking place on your ship. Each of these are now tied into Health, Happiness and Order, so you’ll want to quickly clear them up before their percentages plummet and you’re left with an Angry mob.

-------------------------WORK IN PROGRESS SCREENSHOT--------------------------

But wait, you say, what of these buildings I can now construct?! Well, as any city manager will tell you, public works projects are a great way to keep the population Happy. As Captain, you’ll now oversee the construction of buildings that feed directly into Civilian well-being. There are a number of options here, each with unique costs/benefits, so tinkering with the city layout will likely be necessary during your voyage.

Obviously this is a rich feature in terms of both depth and content, so we’ll save some of the details for a future update, but we wanted to give you a taste of what’s to come. Stay tuned in the coming days for more as we near the release of our biggest patch to date!

Hello again friends!

PAX

Last weekend we spent a few days on the floor of the Penny Arcade Expo as part of Indie MEGABOOTH. It was awesome being able to share the game with the public and meet more than a few Kickstarter backers at the show. The feedback we received there was overwhelmingly positive and very much in line with what you all have been sharing with us. To that end, we've been hard at work adding content and fixing issues, which should all be packaged in our next release, Version 0.1

Version 0.1

I'ts been a few weeks since our last patch as we're now digging into the big changes. Though large efforts like localization are happening behind the scenes, several big gameplay updates will be coming with the next release.

First up, we've added Civilian Management to your job requirements as Captain. This new system grants you control of the civilian quarters on your ship, and requires solid management in order to keep your populace content. The happier they are, the more they'll focus on procreation instead of wreaking havoc. You can read more details on this system here:

https://trello.com/c/I4x6YcRI/35-civilian-management-and-incidents

Additionally, we're creating a number of world objects to explore and aid in your journey. Skorn Wreckage is now scattered about, allowing exploration via Shuttle Missions that hold their own perils & rewards. Storage Containers are hidden in various locations, and sending a probe to investigate could yield anything from repair parts to module upgrades. Gas Clouds are also tied to probe missions and provide resources of a specific type. These are just a few of the numerous interactions we'd like to add, but they should go a long way in helping you reach Titus Nova!

That's all for now, but stay tuned as we'll preview Civilian Management and share a release date for Version 0.1 in a future update.

Cheers,

- The Fugitive Team

Recent Happenings

Hey everybody!

We hope you’ve been enjoying your time thus far playing Into the Stars. All the feedback we’ve received is greatly appreciated and are working hard to improve the game. Here's a quick update on some recent happenings and what you can expect in the near future.

GAMESCOM

Two weeks ago we traveled to Cologne, Germany with our publisher Iceberg Interactive to share the game with the European community. As a small, upstart team it was amazing to have presence at one of (if not the) biggest consumer games shows in the world. Several of you stopped by the booth and we had a blast chatting about the game and where it's headed.

LATEST PATCH

Last week we released a smaller patch (v0.03) that focused on improving compatibility and performance of the UI, while also cleaning up some lingering issues. Check out the notes below for further details!

v0.03 Changelist notes:

UI compatibility and performance update

Removed all text highlighting from UI screens (yay!)

Support for manual entry of resources in main menu. (A much requested feature from all the feedback)

Shuttle Mission UI now shows a reward category to help give players a better idea of reward

Hints on Skorn enemy ships to help show their shield and weapon frequency

Shield colors show on outside “arms”

Weapon frequency color shown on the center “eye”

Sound and VO bug fixes

Bug fix for found shield module (now properly updates damage absorption)

We hope these fixes will help those users who were experiencing issues with UI and improve the general game experience!

WHAT'S NEXT?

First, we've added a Visual Roadmap on Trello that allows you to see where the game is headed. This page will be updated all the time as we shift our focus between areas of need. It is by no means a complete list of features, but it does detail what's on the horizon for Into the Stars:

https://trello.com/b/47OqxpnV/into-the-stars-public-roadmap

Next up is PAX Prime in Seattle where we'll be joining Indie MEGABOOTH to show off the latest version of the game. If you're at the show, be sure to stop by and say hello!

As always, thank you for supporting our small crew and for sharing your feedback during this Early Access period!

- The Fugitive Team

Second Patch Released

Today we’re pleased to deploy the second patch for Into the Stars. The content is primarily focused on shedding light on our gameplay systems and giving everyone the opportunity to hop right back into flight using their latest Ark loadout.

Additionally, you’ll notice a number of User Interface and Memory optimizations along with bug fixes and gameplay tuning. Check out the Changelist below for complete details.

v0.02 Changelist Notes:

Added Hint System to detail Gameplay Systems and Usage Cases

All Ship Bridge Screens

Battlestations / Combat

Main Menu / Loadout

Added Quick Launch system – Uses previous Loadout to launch directly into game

Created a Launch with Last Loadout button on Main Menu

Created a Retry button on Mission Failed screen

Added Training Events for Crew

Events for each Skill Category

Completion boosts Skill of selected Crew Member

Optimized memory footprint by streamlining sound banks

Potential fix for crashes on game load / victory screen

Added new SX for enemy blocking shots to reinforce mechanic

Adjusted Threat Levels in some sectors

Increased strength of some discovered weapon modules

Added potential to find High Skill Crew Members

Reduced size of auto-interact trigger for wreckage

Adjusted starting shield absorption rates to 10, 15 and 20%

UI update to Main Menu/Loadout screens

UI update to Combat/Battlestation screen

UI update to Controls Introduction screen

Added failsafe for player running through all Planetary Events

Fixed bug for getting stuck at planets on blank screen

These first two patches have looked to address some of the strongest feedback we’ve received, which focused on removing barriers to entry and making our unique gameplay systems more approachable. The next patch is likely further down the road, as the content we look to add and adjust is significant. Additional hot-fixes may come in between now and then, but we’re squarely focused on making the game all that it can be and that will take some time.

We’re currently in the process of locking down our Extended Roadmap to Full Release, which takes into account all of the feedback you’ve shared in the last two weeks. Once that’s complete, we’ll be creating a Trello page where you can track what’s on the horizon and even vote for your favorite additions!

In the meanwhile, we hope you enjoy the new content and continued journeys Into the Stars!

- The Fugitive Team

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