Update: The hotfix for 0.6.2a is now out. The changes are:

Please re-download the game using the links below – make sure the file you get ends with RC3.

Starsector version 0.6.2a is now out! You can get it here:

(Alternate download links: Windows Mac Linux)

As with other point releases, this is a followup to 0.6a. The main features in this one are:

• Adjustments to combat readiness (more ship longevity and more choices, details below)
• Four new ships!
• Campaign help – dialogs that explain various game mechanics – how to split cargo stacks, how CR works, etc
• Choice of starting difficulty – Easy and Normal. “Easy” gives you a choice of better starting ships and a Mule combat freighter, does not affect the rest of the campaign
• Updated to use Java 7 and the latest version of LWJGL (2.9.2). Improved performance, OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) is no longer supported
• Reduced memory usage (mostly affects larger mods)
• Lots and lots of assorted bugfixes/improvements etc

The full patch notes are here.

A note about OS X: if you’re using 10.6, you should be able to upgrade to OS X Mavericks (for free) and run Starsector from there. Not all machines running 10.6 are able to run Mavericks, but the great majority should be able to. I’d have liked to keep supporting 10.6, but Java 7 doesn’t run there, and the machines that can’t be updated to Mavericks likely have a rough time with Starsector to begin with. All in all, it seemed like a worthwhile trade-off for improved performance and access to additional Java features for development.

As usual with OS X, if you’ve got Gatekeeper enabled, right-click on Starsector and click “Open” when running it for the first time. Otherwise, you won’t get the option to run it anyway when it complains that the app is from an “unidentified developer” (that’d be yours truly).

A bit more about the changes to CR:  the deployment cost has been cut in half, but so has the recovery rate. This means that the time to recover from a single deployment and the supply cost per deployment both remain the same, but ships can be deployed more times before exhausting their CR.

In addition, low combat readiness no longer prevents a ship from being deployed. Instead, ships will suffer progressively more damaging and debilitating malfunctions – allowing for a desperate last stand rather than a helpless retreat, if it comes to that.

Starsector version 0.6.1a is now out! You can get it here:

(Alternate download links: Windows Mac Linux)

This is mostly a bugfixes-and-miscellaneous-improvements release; you can read the full patch notes (and leave a comment!) here.

There are still a few things I’d like to add in the near future, so you can expect an 0.6.2a release fairly soon – it’ll likely involve a few less-critical fixes, and possibly some adjustments to exactly how combat readiness works. I also want to take a look at making the early game a bit easier, especially for new players.

One option was to hold off on releasing 0.6.1a for a while longer while adding these things in, but I really wanted to get the bugfixes out sooner rather than later, and so splitting the post-0.6a release into two made more sense.

Update: Hotfix for crashes from picking up a ship in your fleet under some circumstances and from showing the tooltip for an over-capacity crew bar is up. Please re-download the game using the links below – make sure the file you get ends with RC4.

Starsector version 0.6a is now out! You can get it here:

(Alternate download links: Windows Mac Linux)

While that’s downloading, let’s take a look at what’s new in this release:

• Hyperspace, a new star system, and a new faction
• Complete combat sound overhaul
• New campaign battle mechanics – use of travel drive to enter the battle space, a new battle type for chasing down escaping ships
• Reworked logistics system
  • “Combat readiness” used to deploy ships into combat
  • “Logistics rating” combines fleet points and other supply-consuming expenses
• New logistical support ships – Construction Rig, Ox-class Tug
• Campaign UI overhaul – takes advantage of higher screen resolutions, displays more pertinent information while traveling
• Improved fighter mechanics
• Adjustable battle size
• A ton of modability improvements

The above is a rough outline; if you’re interested, the full list of changes is here, and it’s… sizable.

I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about why 0.6a took until now to get out the door. It’s been a little over 8 months, certainly much longer than I’d like a release cycle to take. The reason for this is that almost all of the features in this release are interrelated, and so 1) are difficult to separate and 2) are dependent on each other to work well.

Except for the addition of hyperspace and a new star system, this release is dedicated to reworking how the combat and the campaign layers interact. Combat readiness is central to that, as discussed in a prior post.  The new battle mechanics are inseparable from it. The logistics rating and the new fighter mechanics are, if you will, its tendrils, reaching both into the combat and the campaign.

Would it have been possible to separate out some of these? Sure. But, I don’t think introducing a feature without related mechanics that actually make it work is a good idea. Given that, the best approach was to wait until enough features were ready to make a coherent whole, which is where we are now. On the bright side, this makes the development process more efficient – the amount of placeholders, temporary UI elements, and the like is reduced significantly.  So, yes, it did take a while to get here – but would have actually taken a good bit longer if I tried to force out a couple of releases along the way.

With that said, thank you for your continued support, and I hope you enjoy this release!

Comment thread here.

Wait, what? Yep, you read it right. For Business Reasons, we’re changing the name of the game to Starsector. All I can say about it is this will not have any impact on how things proceed around here – these things happen to projects from time to time, and I hope that everyone will be on board with the change. (If you’re not, my apologies. If you are, thank you for your continued support!) Personally, I’m looking forward to moving ahead with the new name, and am very excited about the future.

Onward to what’s new in 0.54.1a. It’s a bugfix and polish release, much like the other .1 releases that follow up a major one. Unlike those, though, it’s taken over a month to put out. That’s the case for two reasons. One, the name change took some extra doing. Two, the 0.54a release was stable enough that there was no urgency in putting this version out – so, we’ve been able to work on the campaign design and do some prototyping along the way, laying down some groundwork for the next major release.

The major items in 0.54.1a are:

• Redesigned character screen (screenshot)
• New “emp arc” mechanic for the Tachyon Lance and the Ion Cannon, improvements to the High Energy Focus ship system
• Lots and lots of bug fixes and modability improvements

You can find the full patch notes here. Please download the new version using the links below.

Alternate download links: Windows Mac Linux

Update: Hotfix for the tutorial crash is now up. Please re-download the game using the links below.

The 0.54a version of Starfarer is now out! The main features in this release are:

• Character skills and aptitudes (19 skills and 4 aptitudes to choose from)
• Redesigned fleet command interface
• A slew of new features available to modders

You can see the full patch notes here.

Download the new version using the buttons below – you’ll need to reinstall the game, but shouldn’t have to enter the activation code again.

Alternate download links: Windows Mac Linux