Dev Diary 4: Still Alive and Kicking
Hey everyone! I know it has been a pretty long time since I last submitted a Dev Diary. Baldur's Gate 3 is really one of the top reasons for the drought though it is not alone. Much of the work transferring Mass Effect Crucible's map provided by Garry Windu and binaryhellixmods from 3.1 to 3.9 is code intensive. As a result, there really wasn't a lot to show except my tears until now! Below is the first picture of the 1144 star map of Mass Effect: A New Destiny!
There's still some stuff missing and a few bugs to clean up but it's a start. The goal of A New Destiny is to highlight the fact that in Mass Effect lore, only 2% of the galaxy has been explored. So, while you'll have all the classic planets from the games there will also be random planets a plenty to explore. It may not be totally canon accurate, but the hope is to provide a proper 4X experience with a Mass Effect coat of paint. So what specifics can I get into?
Map Setup:
In Mass Effect: A New Destiny, the galaxy will not be totally filled at the start of the game with pops and planets. However, you also won't be completely limited to a single system either. The Asari Republics here is a good example of what an average start will most likely look like. Again its not necessarily canon but I didn't want to remove Exploration from the 4X formula. Certain empires will have less and others will have more depending on future story requirements as well as balancing. So now that you know about the general set up, I'm sure you're all wondering when can you play?
Economic Beta:
I am happy to say the Economic Beta is releasing this November 7th 2023! Is it buggy? Yes. Does it have story content? No not really. Are models missing? As of this writing the answer is yes and depends on when the Beyond the Relays team releases it's ship sets. When those are released they will be dependencies for A New Destiny. That said the economic system is in a place where I am comfortable showing off. I am so excited for everyone to get their hands on what has been a year and a half labor of love. This is just the start of our journey together!
Conclusion:
I know its short this time but I need to get back to development to get this in your hands. As always I'm looking for any kind of dev help anyone can provide. Contact me on discord here Discord.gg or steam. This is krogan signing off!
