Development Update - Explosions, Nebulae and Procedural Planets news - Flagship

Hello! Brad here, I haven't updated for a while so I thought I'd show you some of the things I've been working on. I'm still devoting most of my time to building on the simulation and AI, but I've also begun overhauling the game's visuals. The plan was always to build the core gameplay in first and polish later, but we were getting a bit frustrated with current visuals - most of which were left over from our initial prototype and pretty rough.

I've started adding damage effects to the bridge, as your ship takes hits sparks and smoke will be unleashed in true sci-fi fashion. The bridge will get progressively more smokey as the situation gets worse, panels will explode and cables will come loose from the ceiling. I've also done some work toward improving the explosion effects, the goal is that destroyed ships will leave behind a debris field of ships parts, dust and gas.

I've also put some work into the procedural generation code that will create all of systems throughout the galaxy. The image below shows some of the terrestrial planet types that can be created. We're also working on planetoids, gas giants, black holes (and more!) in an effort to add as much variety to the galaxy as we can.

Nebulae have also been reworked, these are volumetric and will often span entire systems. They'll vary in colour and density, and most will interfere with sensors - making yourself and enemy ships harder to detect. We're still working on the detection mechanics, but the aim is for nebula battles to feel more like submarine warfare (see also: the final battle in Wrath of Khan that inspired this game).

That's it for now, but we're hoping to release a new teaser trailer sometime in the coming weeks so stay tuned for that!