Simulation, AI and Combat! news - Flagship

Hello! Apologies for the lack of updates over the past few weeks. A combination of the Holiday period, coupled with the fact that most of my recent work has been under the hood meant there hasn't been an awful lot of new stuff to show off. I don’t like posting text-only news updates, but posting nothing for weeks on end is no good either, so here goes.

Following on from my last update, the majority of my work has been divided between the simulation and the enemy AI. Both are pretty big jobs and will likely take a good few months to fully flesh out. There are currently two levels of AI in the game; each ship has an AI captain which takes care of the tactical ship-to-ship combat, managing repairs, power allocation etc. The next level takes the form of an AI commander, which has an awareness of the entire galaxy in the same way the player does. This is where the majority of the strategic planning is done. The commander decides which systems to attack, which to defend and when to retreat. It will also be in charge of building and resource management, (though admittedly those systems are only in the game on a very basic level at the moment).

I've also been doing some work refining the interface. Traditional RTS games generally have all their various input and visual feedback combined on a single screen. 4X games are similar, though many adopt a window system that while not as elegant, still usually put most actions within a few mouse clicks. We are spreading our interface over a three dimensional space, so getting it right is one of the most critical pieces to the puzzle. We want the player to feel in total command while offering the high level of immersion that the first person perspective provides.

Graphics wise, the game is still pretty rough, but I didn't want to make an update without giving you something to look at! The screenshot below shows a small battle around a desert planet. Note how the tactical display on the map table gives an overview of the battle. The mapping table is the most important console in the game and most tactical decisions will be made there. The look of the game will improve greatly as we begin work on final assets in the coming months.

Also, we just wanted to say that we really appreciate all the positive comments and support we've received so far. Until the next time!