0.5.2: Status and Release Confirmed

I currently begin to adding the segment 3 of the production phase concerning the reserves.
In fact I need to complete 3 key updates: the segment 3, the CSM events concerning the reserves (like for the shortage) and finally the end phase of the CPS. The rest is details.

So “normally” I would release the 0.5.2 by the end of May as planned. Of course it will lack of many things but during the next 2 or 3 month (until about end of August at max) I will consolidate this 0.5.2 and will provide updates/patch until I decide that’s OK to go further and add the next game system feature.

I don’t know how much time it would take to release the first beta of FARC (w/ its complete features) and I don’t even know if I will able to do it or if it worth it, especially when you see the new 4X space games that are released this year (Endless Space, Legends of Pegasus, Beyond Beyaan, Novus Aeterno, Sins: Rebellion and StarDrive for just cite them), but anyway I will see.

FARC isn’t targeted as a 4X TBS/RTS strategy game anyway...

Stay tuned.

CPS= Colonization Phase System.

0.5.2: (little screenie) Reserves and New Encyclopaedia Links

The basic management of colony's reserves is done, I need to update the production phase to update the population's consumption and add the CSM events ( reserves shortage) and this part will be complete.

I also decided to put the links to the encyclopaedia in a little '?', it's more discreet and cleaner than to put a complete entry as a link. Here's a little screenshot to show the reserves and these '?':

 

For reminder 1 point of reserve sustain one person for 24 hours (see the post of April 1st for more details).

So the next update will concern these links, I'll update this new method for all the other parts of the interface, after that, as I said at the begin of this post, I'll update the production phase for a complete reserve management and add the CSM events.

That's all for now.

Talking about Music...

I would like to share with you this new Youtube video that I uploaded.
This is a tune made by Roboconstruct for FARC and for free (freeware/public domain license).
He/She was one of the few direct contributor of the project, and in fact they were 3 in total, and he/she made this one about 3 years ago.
I have no more contact from this person since a long time but I hope he/she is OK.
By the way I'll finally implement it and other ones in the future.

For the freegamedev planet readers the link is here .

Peace on you :)

April, Development Statistics

Each month I'll provide some stats about the project with of course differences month after month.

Project duration since the starting date (August 16 2009): 2 years and 8 months

Game Design Documents:

• 11 documents with a size of 583Kb in total.
• Main document: 153 pages

Code:

• Units: 66 modules
• Size (w/o XML files): 47,012 lines
• Size in Mbytes (w/o exe and debug files):  25.2Mb

That's all for the rant, back to work :)

0.5.2: Screenies post

Just a small post to show you 2 screenshots.

The first one concerns some change in the CPS objectives panel. Now, when an objective has some conditions to fulfill to complete the objective it will be displayed.

As you can see it's far to be perfect but it's better than nothing :)

The second concerns a screenshot of one of my working screen about the design of the Colony Simulation Model and particularly the events. I completing many holes in the CSM modules and events before to add the events concerning the reserves shortage and implement them after.

Please don't mind the typo and bad grammar; it's only an internal game design doc :)

So that's all for now, stay tuned.

0.5.2: Status Update

After many interface modifications, I currently working on the colony’s reserves and it take some time because I need to complete the design of it before to update the code.

Even if the reserves doesn’t constitute the major feature of the 0.5.2, the completion of the CPS is, it’s a key feature of the game system and one of the challenge for the player (and for the future AI).

Reserves concern the basic needs of a colony’s population and there are 3 in total: Oxygen, Food and Water.

The convention used for these data is that 1 point of Oxygen, Food or Water support 1 person by 24 hours or standard days (relative to Earth). So for example if you have a colony with 200 persons and 1200 points in Oxygen Reserve means that this one can support the population, without any replenishment, for 6 standard days (1200/200).

Reserves’ data are updated in real-time when the volume of the respective product, stored in the colony’s storage, is changed. That also means that the reserve is replenished with any production infrastructures which have the ability to produce oxygen.

Of course if there’s a shortage in one of the reserve, a CSM event is triggered with a variable negative impact on the colony, until the problem is resolved.

Excepted for the Oxygen Reserve, Water and Food Reserves are used in any environment. The Oxygen Reserve is only used in Restricted or Space environments.

That’s all for now, stay tuned, the deadline coming (it's planned again for end of April of May at the max)  :)

( *CPS: Colonization Phase System - **CSM: colony Simulation Model )