​AstraX 0.2.5 launched!

Happy and excited to announce that AstraX 0.2.5 is available for you to play!!

This version includes various visual and usability improvements.

First, there are nebula backgrounds! They set a certain mood or atmosphere and are different for each star system. I'm very excited for this as feature as I can do so much fun things with these in any future updates (e.g. make their color or density dependent on nebula regions or proximity to the galaxy center).

There is an action bar that indicates what actions are available for one target once it is selected. The star map now displays temporary, undiscovered objects (usually detected by the sonar first).  There are also indicators for hitpoints, current radiation exposure, fuel and oxygen levels - these also go with an early version of a spacecraft health warning system! The game features a reworked sensor & targeting system, which now supports detection of e.g. alien spacecraft. Previously, it was limited to detection and targeting of planets and stations. Additionally, there is improved mod pack support: the core data of AstraX is now treated as such and it should be possible to load actual mods into this game soon (at least if we speaking textures or game data). For more features, please refer to the changelog!

A lot of trial and error is involved making this game a pleasant and unique experience. What seems a little bare-bones right now will be polished up in the future.

Outlook

I'm currently doing a lot of release planning: rescheduling milestones, documenting more features and prioritizing them. There are a lot of features in my mind that I haven't even documented yet, doing so helps with long-term release planning and also avoid a feature creep. Can't bring a ship to its destination without a navigator...

Here are a few possible planned features for the next two versions:

• finishing off the flow for creating a new game (currently a partial implementation)
• better user experience with HUD targeting & actions in space (scan/dock/mine)
• camera panning/zooming
• add a "home system" & capacity to spawn predefined systems with the generator
• preparations for a future "Planepedia"
• various bugfixes

Note: Next update is scheduled for 29th September.

That's it folks, thanks for reading and playing AstraX!