next »

[Zuurix]

Echo #62: Trading and future of the alloy containers

I got some exciting news! Trading has been added, it is fully functional and impactful!

As I mentioned in previous echoes, my design philosophy is simple - every game element must have its place. Since the day one of Sector Six development I am working to ensure that.

Trading and upcoming changes to alloy containers should make every item feel rewarding.

Before trading items that were not good enough to add to spaceship were useless.
Now there's no such thing as useless items because useless items can be exchanged for useful ones!

This week I have added cities to 19 regions of Sector Six and cities buy and sell items.

Right now there are 7 types of cities:

• Cities that sell generic weapons.
• Cities that sell random weapons and parts.
• Cities that sell high-grade weapons and parts.
• Cities that sell alloy containers.
• Cities that sell extant parts.
• Cities that sell amplifiers.
• Cities that sell random grade weapons, parts and amplifiers.

Each region has one city, so some regions will be more important to secure than others and I hope that will allow players to make interesting decisions.

Next week I will be decorating secure regions and making important changes to alloy containers.

The main problem with the alloy containers is that they don't repair enough armour in higher levels.
Right now alloy containers repair as much armour as they have charges. For example, alloy container with 10000 changes, will repair 10000 armor.

I am planning to change this to 1 charge repairing 1% of maximum armour.
This way alloy containers will stay useful at any level.

I am also going to change how alloy and dismantling works.

The refill cost of alloy containers will be equal to alloy missing and dismantling containers will give as much alloy as the dismantled container contained.
For example, if alloy container can hold 100 alloy and it contains 30 alloy, it will cost 70 alloy to fill it.
Dismantling a container with 30 alloy will give 30 alloy.

There are other neat changes planned for container rework but I'm keeping that for the next echo!

Until then!

[Zuurix]

Echo #63: Secure regions and alloy container rework

In my previous echo, that I have posted two weeks ago, I've said that I'll be working on alloy containers and secure regions.
And I did that.

Alloy containers are finally the best way to repair armour!
Each charge in alloy container now repairs 1% armour instead of just 1 armour.

Container refilling cost is now based on how much alloy is in alloy container.
That means you can refill containers that are not empty and not lose any alloy!

I have also added a bunch of new container properties and flaws:

• Filled: Containers with "Filled" are found containing the maximum amount of alloy.
• Generates x armour on kill: Amount of armour repaired on kill is based on container level.
• Eternal: Containers with "Eternal" are indestructible and gain 50 alloy if you fail the mission.
• Ancient: Containers with "Ancient" gain 30 alloy when you pass dust cloud.
• Sacrificial: Containers with "Sacrificial" destroy themselves and restores armour to 50% if armour drops to 0.
• Corrupted: Containers with "Corrupted" give no alloy when dismantled.
• Transient: Containers with "Transient" are destroyed when you complete mission.
• Unstable: Containers with "Unstable" burn alloy when you use repairing abilities.
• Gains 65 alloy every 50 kills.
• Generates 1 ether on kill.
• Gains 10 alloy every 15 kills.
• Cannot be refilled.

Small changes related to alloy containers:

• There are 5 new achievements for triggering unstable, transient, eternal, ancient and sacrificial alloy container abilities.
• I have added three new container skins.
• Item dismantling value is no longer based on item level.
• Amplifiers now give alloy when dismantled.
• Upgrading part now increases its dismantling value.
• Alloy container dismantling value is now based on the amount of the alloy in the container.
• After reworking alloy containers, I have been decorating secure regions.
• Because there are so many regions, I am going to leave most of the regions for future.

Next week I am going to make few last improvements and get ready for an update, that I am hoping to release next weekend!

Now I want to apologize for not posting for a while.
I couldn't post because I didn't have the internet for a few days.

If this will happen again in future, know that even if I don't post echoes, it doesn't mean I'm not working on Sector Six.
I am working always, every day =]

Until next time!

[Zuurix]

Update! Secure regions, trading and alloy container rework!

Secure regions can now be entered!
Complete the missions to make regions secure, then enter them and get in the cities to buy and sell items!

There are:

• Cities that sell generic weapons.
• Cities that sell random parts.
• Cities that sell high-grade parts.
• Cities that sell alloy containers.
• Cities that sell extant parts.
• Cities that sell amplifiers.
• Cities that sell random grade parts and amplifiers.

Almost every region has a city.
You will have to secure multiple regions to get access to all types of cities.

Another big change of this update is the new alloy containers!

• Changed the way alloy containers repair armour, now each container charge repairs 1% armour.
• Container refill cost is now based on alloy in the container.
• Rebalanced amount of alloy received when dismantling items.
• New container property: Filled.
• New container property: Gains 65 alloy every 50 kills.
• New container property: Generates 1 ether on kill.
• New container property: Generates armour on kill.
• New container property: Gains 10 alloy every 15 kills.
• New container property: Eternal.
• New container property: Ancient.
• New container property: Sacrificial.
• New container flaw: Corrupted.
• New container flaw: Cannot be refilled.
• New container flaw: Transient.
• New container flaw: Unstable.
• Removed property: Gains charges on kill.
• Removed property: Reduced refill cost.
• Removed flaw: Increased refill cost.
• Added 3 new container skins.
• Now it's possible to swap alloy containers.

Other changes:

• Upgraded parts now have a higher value.
• Added 5 achievements for triggering new container abilities.
• Improved amplifier sprites.
• Amplifiers now amplify part properties based on amplified part level, not on amplifier level.
• You can no longer apply Almadi cathodes and anodes to parts attached to your spaceship.
• Applying cathodes and anodes no longer erase their names.
• Alpha Pulsar region renamed to Bloom.
• Beta Pulsar region renamed to Pulsar Vector.
• Added HUD hiding.
• Improved item tooltip placement.
• Recolored few regions.
• Shielding abilities now share cooldowns.
• Fixed apparition and seeking projectile glitch.
• Dock part now looks better.
• Story mission V will now take less time to complete.
• Now it's possible to dismantle (and sell items) by pressing X button on the controller.

Because this is a big update, keep an eye on glitches or balance flaws!

Have fun!

[Zuurix]

Echo #64: Upcoming combat update

The next update is a combat update!

With every update, I make a few changes that positively affect the game.
It doesn't mean it's easy to do those changes because often it requires removing or aggravating something.

So, with the next update gaining ether through getting spaceship hit by enemy projectiles will no longer be possible.

I am hoping that this change will make ether much more valuable because it will be harder to get ether.

The other heavy change is ability point rebalance. This is a very old problem that I have never addressed.

Right now it is possible to upgrade 9 abilities to a maximum level at level 20.
Because only 9 abilities can be equipped, leveling up after level 20 becomes a lot less rewarding.

I have few solutions:

1) Make leveling up give fewer ability points. From currently 4 to 3 or 2.
2) Make ability upgrading cost more than 1 point.
3) Increase maximum ability level to 20.

I like the last most. It will increase the maximum level to 40 and something about having higher ability level feels good.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the abilities will become more powerful.

If right now each ability upgrade makes ability deal 10% more damage after I increase cap each ability upgrade will make ability deal just 5% more damage.

But enough about that.

Sector Six haven't seen new enemies for a while and I am going to fix that!
I am planning to make new enemies - mosaics and collectors.

To those who do not remember mosaics, they are enemies made entirely out of fragile segments.

About collectors, well, they are completely new enemies, that will have a special ability to create parts and fully repair themselves if they collect those parts. Players will be able to steal parts they will create and prevent them from collecting them.

Combat update is not a combat update if I don't add new abilities!
Right now I am planning to add four abilities - two for apocalypse class and two for carrier class, but I might add more.

I have already added an ability for carrier class, called Nine Bladed Mines.
This ability is a hellish combination of Sustained Barrage and Bladed Mine abilities!
Nine Bladed Mines will replace rather disappointing Mine Mayhem.
For more details, check screenshot bellow.

Finally, with this update, I am planning to add new side missions - elimination and gauntlet.

Elimination mission is a variation of kill mission.
The difference is that instead of killing set amount of minions, players will have to kill ALL minions in the region.
Elimination missions will appear only on besieged missions.

Gauntlet mission will be really tough, because, during gauntlet, you won't be able to repair armour!

I have noticed that Sector Six feels best when armour is about to hit zero.
Then combat is an intense and satisfying struggle for survival.
Hopefully gauntlet push player into such struggle.

Gauntlet missions will appear in all regions, but they will be rare because they are both challenging and very rewarding.

As you can see, I am going to be pretty busy for next few weeks!

If you have thoughts about these changes, please let me know in comments.

Until next time!

[Zuurix]

Echo #65: Mosaics and Era's End

This week I was working on mosaics and the new apocalypse class ability - Era's End!

There's not much to say about that besides that mosaics are fun to destroy and Era's End is fun to destroy enemies with.

I could also say that making Era's End was extremely challenging!
Not the effects of the ability, but its animation.

I've spent about 10 hours tweaking Era's End animation.
It's the most powerful apocalypse class ability, so I had to come up with something that looks really powerful.
Because I'm not that good at animation, it took me a while to that.

You can see the final animation in the video bellow.

Anyway, next week I will probably work on the collectors, ability points and ether on hit changes.

Until next time!

[Zuurix]

Echo #66: New game+ and collectors

Since the last time I posted, I have added collectors, an ability to reset story missions and made a bunch of small, but awesome improvements!

An ability to reset story missions is a first step towards having a new game+ feature!
Personally, I'm not a fan of new game+ in other games, but I'm sure that it's a great feature for Sector Six. Resetting story missions is completely optional, there are no changes to missions.

You will able to reset missions soon because with collectors added, there's not much left to do until I can release the new version!

Collectors are new the minions that are as powerful as veterans.
In my initial plans, collectors were supposed to collect parts and repair themselves.
It was impossible to make that work, so instead, collectors were given an armour core, two unique attack abilities, and a shielding ability.

As I mentioned, I have made some cool improvements to various parts of Sector Six.

Here's few of them:

• It is no longer possible to get parts that generate ether when the spaceship is hit by enemy projectiles.
• Now spaceship moves faster in secure regions.
• Now cities offer more items. This should increase a chance of getting a good offer.
• Visiting secure region no longer generates new missions.
• Fixed tutorial glitch.
• Side missions now have better rewards.
• Side missions now may give units as a reward.

Now I will be working on new apocalypse and carrier abilities.
If they will be done before the weekend, that's when I am going to release the new update!

Until next time!

[Zuurix]

Massive update! New abilities and enemies, city improvements, new game+ and full controller support!

Sector Six has been updated!
This update adds a lot of new content and improves various parts of the game.

Five new abilities!

Era's End, apocalypse class ability: The most powerful damage dealing ability in Sector Six!
Overload, apocalypse class ability: Overload removes armour and in exchange sets all ability cooldowns to 0.
Nine Bladed Mines, carrier class ability: Releases nine bladed mines, that deal damage and remove shields.
Attract Mines, carrier class ability: Attracts mines that appear above, bellow and behind enemies and deal damage when detonated.
EMP Grenade, carrier class ability: Launches grenade that explodes and jams enemies! Jammed enemies cannot move or attack.

Three new enemies!

Collectors: Large, powerful enemies with unique attack abilities. Destroy collector's emitters to prevent them from using their most powerful attack.
Mosaics: Medium sized enemies that are composed of fragile parts. Mosaics launch mines that are difficult to dodge.
Drones: Small enemies similar to demolishers.

New game+

If you have completed all story missions, you can now go to settings and reset them.
This allows you do them all over again!
This feature has not been properly tested, due to the amount of time it would take to do that.
If you encounter any issues related to it, please report them immediately.

Cities have been improved.

Now they offer more items and have fewer glitches!
Also, spaceship now moves faster in secure regions.

Other changes:

• Ability removed: Mine Mayhem.
• Fixed Detonate sound effect glitch.
• Added elimination mission.
• Acolyte seeking shards are now slower.
• Ether on hit removed.
• Possibly fixed broken inventory slot amount.
• Shards of Chaos ability now deals more damage.
• Shatter ability now deals more damage.
• Fixed shield depth glitch.
• Fixed tutorial glitch.
• Side missions now have better rewards.
• Side missions now may give units as a reward.
• New missions will no longer be generated after entering the secure region.
• Sniper weapon projectiles are now slower and bigger.
• The Rain of Fire missiles are now easier to dodge.
• Sector Six now officially has a full controller support.

Have fun!

[Zireael]

How old is the IndieDB demo? I'd like to try it out but if it's like, a year old, then well, I'll wait for a new version...

[Zuurix]

It's fresh =]
http://www.indiedb.com/games/sector-six/downloads/sector-six-080-windows-demo

[Zireael]

It's fresh =]
http://www.indiedb.com/games/sector-six/downloads/sector-six-080-windows-demo

I took it for a spin and it's oodles of fun, but the side missions that consist of 'kill x minions' are punishingly hard - the best I got was roughly halfway before I got killed.

[Zuurix]

Really? That's odd. Base difficulty should be easy.
Did you play with carrier class spaceship? And how long did you played?

[Zireael]

Really? That's odd. Base difficulty should be easy.
Did you play with carrier class spaceship? And how long did you played?

I played with a carrier and I played long enough to beat all the core missions available in demo.

[Zuurix]

Ah. Makes sense then.

If you still want to play, get as many your level nodes as possible (Do generic weapon missions and secure Deep Path region if possible, it has generic weapon shop) and spend more points on Spread Mines and Detonate.

Carrier damage heavily depends on those two abilities.
Detonate also increases Attract Mines damage, so it's twice as important.

I think I'm also going to add "super easy mode" option in case the base difficulty is still too hard.
Sector Six is a rather complex game, so it can be difficult to grasp all the mechanics in the beginning.

[Zireael]

So do you recommend an apocalypse class ship instead?

[Xonatron]

Interested where this goes. Following!

[Zuurix]

No, it's okay to use the carrier. Just upgrade Detonate and Spread Mines.
Do you know that it's possible to downgrade abilities to get points back?

This way you can even change your spaceship's class. But it's tricky because you need to get other class weapons.

[Zuurix]

Echo #67: Gauntlet and other things

'Ello all!

For few days I had no access to my PC, so there's not a lot of news.

Last week I was working on the graphical update.

I've been trying to improve Sector Six backgrounds again.

The good news is that the background and clouds are moving in interfaces - like in old Sector Six versions.

The bad news is that right now I'm struggling with region entering and leaving. For some reason, backgrounds jump forward when entering regions.

It seems that I will have to spend more time fixing that than I would like to.

Anyway, this week I will work on new options for combat and new side missions.

I am going to add an option to make the game really easy. It will reduce enemy armour and damage by 50%.
With easy mode enabled, you will also gain more XP from enemy kills.

You will also be able to entirely turn off XP gaining.

Recently I have received some complaints about a lack of mission variety, so I have decided to throw in some unique side missions!

There will three of them: Gauntlet, heroic gauntlet and speed run.

Gauntlet:

You will have to destroy a certain amount of enemies.
During this mission, alloy containers, armour on kill and repairing abilities will not work!

Heroic gauntlet:

Just like the regular gauntlet, except that it will last as long as you can survive and every kill will award glory.
The more glory you have, the greater is the reward!
Big enemies will give more glory.
During heroic gauntlet, you will also encounter dark pillars.
Dark pillars will allow you to summon big enemies for additional glory.

Speed run:

During speed run, you will have to destroy one of every enemy.
One swarmling, one mosaic, one veteran, etc.
The faster you will destroy enemies, the better reward you will get.

That's all I have for this echo, time to do some heavy coding =]

Until next time!

[Zuurix]

Echo #68: Time siege and gauntlet update is coming soon!

Last two weeks I've lost a lot of development time because my PC broke down few times.
But now my PC is back to being a functioning game development device and I'm happy to announce that Sector Six is going to be updated next week!

Next update features few neat graphical improvements, a possible fix to dreadful inventory glitch, and a good dose of new content!

After hearing few complaints about the lack of content, I have put everything aside and made two new region missions - time siege and gauntlet!

Time siege is about destroying a siege unit as fast as possible!
This mission is the first Sector Six mission that has a performance-based reward.
The faster you will destroy a siege unit, the better reward you will get at the end of the mission.
Getting to a siege unit is not easy - you will have to defeat each of current Sector Six enemies - from swarming to an apparition.
Time siege mission will always generate the same enemies in the same order, so the outcome of the mission is completely based on your skill and spaceship.

Gauntlet is similar to good old kill mission in a way that during it, you'll get to kill a certain amount of enemies.
The catch is that during a gauntlet mission, you will not be able to repair your spaceship!
All damage received is permanent.
The reward is proportional to the challenge - you will receive extant part if you will manage to survive!

I was also meant to do a heroic gauntlet mission, but because my PC broke, I decided to add that with some other update.
I want to keep the gaps between updates as small as possible.

There's not much to say about the graphical changes - backgrounds, region entering/leaving and the main menu are simply better now!

So, that's all for this echo, I hope you guys are excited about the update as much as I am!

Until next time!

[Zuurix]

Echo #69: Next few weeks

Due to technical difficulties, the next update is postponed.
I can't say for how long, could be a day, could be weeks.

That gives me plenty of time to add more stuff!

Right now I am working on new achievements and achievement icons.
There will be 30+ new achievements!
This number is inflated because I will add an achievement for completing a mission in each region.

Aside from standard achievements for completing missions, reaching a certain level, and activating abilities, I will also add five secret achievements.
And that's the only thing you'll hear from me about them!

Every achievement will get a unique icon.
Current Steam achievement icons will be updated as well.

Once I'm done with achievements, I will start working on a graphical update.

I will try to improve projectile impacts again, make better death animations, improve interfaces and maybe even add some sort of movement animations.

And then there's this:



Since the very beginning of the development, I've been hearing that Sector Six art style is great, but it has one problem.
It makes everything look similar.

I wasn't worrying too much about it because there was no solution to this problem and I had bigger problems to deal with.

But after making the image above, I think I finally know how to increase variety without sacrificing enigmatic silhouettes.

There's a lot of things to figure out about this.

What colour should the lights be?
What to do with spaceship parts that are tiny and don't allow big lights?
What changes do I need to do player spaceship and enemy graphics to ensure that it will look clean?
Do I need to add lights to region background images?

If I'll manage to find solutions to all of those problems, then I will make this change.

All of this gives me enough work for a month!

So, that's all for this echo, hopefully, next one will come after a week, like it is supposed to.

Until next time!

[Zireael]

Lights are awesome. For small parts, you could make small lights or forgo them entirely - it might help avoiding the same-y effect if only the biggest parts have lights.

As for color, well, my gut answer is "random! random! random!" :D