Major Update

Major Update

So the UI is working! now all it needs is content. No videos etc but definitely this deserves a celebratory image:

The UI is based off a tab system. Nearly everything is packed away into a neat little tab until you click the arrow to reveal it. Atm the tabs are looking a little barren, but otherwise they systems for research, building, resources, displays and hotkeys are soundly working. I chose a tab system because it can display many options but still fold away leaving you plenty of room to work on your starbase. In some cases you don't even have to open your tabs, with the hotkey menu in building tab you can place your most used buildings to quickly access them and the research tab displays what your researching and how long is has to go.

I wanted to release a video of the user interface in action but I need to actually add content to it in order for it to work. So video soon! rest assured. Till then however, what has changed in starbase?

Well for starters you may have noticed in the image above there are a lot more asteroids on the map, and if you compare the visible asteroid to ones we have seen in the past you might be thinking 'this one looks a bit smaller..' because it is. Each map generates 2 large asteroids, 4 medium asteroids and 5 small asteroids. These all vary in size and shape. Eventually they will vary in ore count too, larger asteroids will have more ore and thus be able to supply you with consistent ore for longer. Also with the 'feature' of blowing up asteroids I plan to make it so larger asteroids splinter and fragment so smaller asteroids shoot out of them. They will have an initial momentum that will die over time.

You may have also noticed the corridors look slightly bluer than usual. Well that is because they are powered sections... sections connected to the main hub. Any section cut off from the main hub becomes 'un-powered', so if you want to make floating platforms etc you will have to research the right technology to create an invisible link... Well at least that the 'intention', the programming is a very different matter entirely. This looks to be the next major challenge starbase is presenting.


Side Note
So with this recent update it really is starting to feel like that game is coming together, which means I've been thinking about a name for Starbase. Which in turn lead me to start googling starbase games. Names etc are coming to me slowely. Light Point, StarCity, etc it's all very basic. If you have any good suggestions for names please post them I'd love to hear some thoughts :D.

In my explorations I did come across this game:
http://sandbox.yoyogames.com/games/209006
It's called Station AB, and was developed by UV Games about 7 months ago. Now just to clarify I did think up the idea for Starbase on my own, I came across this about 2ish weeks ago. I mean it's far to say we have a similar, but in our execution we have taken different paths. mainly in the fact mine acts more like a City Simulator mixed with RTS elements where as UVG has gone for a tower defense type shooter.I believe the final products will be very different. If you decide to lay Station AB I would advise you to be cautious as it is memory intensive and still has a few unresolved bugs.

None the less I found it quite interesting how similar this game is to mine :3.