Hello again friends, welcome back to another month’s dev log. This month we’ve got a whole bunch more assets and textures to show, as well as a few more miscellaneous things – so let’s dive in.
More, I say, More!
Alright so, since last month’s log, I’ve gone ahead and created the next two critical ship modules; the reactor and hyperdrive. I’ve also gone back and done some minor updates to the engine too. You will likely notice that all three parts are fairly cohesive in design and aesthetics, and that’s because I’ve also made the first in-game corporation: Thrustmark. All three of these modules are manufactured by Thrustmark, and thus share the same visual design language.
Whilst these three modules are all made by Thrustmark, future modules will be manufactured by different companies and entities, and not all modules will be available from each manufacturer. In this case, Thrustmark supplies engines, reactors, and hyperdrives, but nothing else – as the company itself specialises in aerospace propulsion. In taking this direction for ship modules, it now means that I can have a wider variation of stats and use cases for each module, rather than a flat S/M/L scaling system. Some modules may be cheaper but perform worse, others may perform better but generate lots of heat, and others might be extremely expensive but also highly fragile. It’s actually quite exciting to think about all the possibilities that can come of this, once I can get past the huge asset grind of course.
I’ve also gone ahead and made directional thrusters, in three different sizes (S/M/L) and three different styles (squared, angled, and curved). Unlike the other ship modules though, I decided against branding these, as I don’t think that thrusters really need as much variety as the other module types. And, I mean, it’s also just less work for me lol.
The final module type that I’ve started work on is Life Support, and this particular one will have a different manufacturer and different design than the prior entries. I’m actually basing the design off of the real life ECLSS, developed by NASA for the ISS, and you can probably already see that inspiration taking shape. It is still quite far from completion, but I thought it would be cool to show the early process anyway.
And there we have it, that’s this month’s modules done. Before moving on though, I thought it would be worth including an in-game screenshot to preview all these tiles in action, and so I’ll drop that just below. Personally, I think it’s finally starting to come together now – and quite well – though there is still a long way to go.
Bonus Content
So, aside from ship modules and what have you, I’ve also been hard at work on a few other little things. The first of which was having to go back and update the textures on EVERY single hull part, one by one. Why? Well, after creating the engine and reactor, and inadvertently using a heavier style of edge shading, I realised that this newer style of shading actually looks far better than my previous style, yet no longer matched the old assets. So the choice was then to either tone back the shading on these new parts, or go back and update the shading on all the old parts…. and yeah, big effort.
Normally I wouldn’t consider this worth including in the dev log, but, in this instance, I actually went ahead and made a short video out of it. I mostly did this as a start towards ramping up my online presence, in preparation for marketing, but also to show just how mind-numbingly tedious the asset work can be sometimes. Especially since videos do a far better job of showing this kinda thing than words, so here we are.
Truly riveting work, I tell ya.
Aside from that little side quest, I’ve also spent quite a good amount of time creating in-game signage and decals. These are, of course, all still early on – and nowhere near completion – but I’m rather proud of how they’re turning out so far. The first batch I’ll show are the in-game safety signs, decals, and stickers, which you’ve already seen baked into some of the ship modules.
I gotta say, I never really thought about having to create all of these signs myself until actually getting to this stage in asset work. It was around this time that I discovered that, unfortunately, most online resources for safety signs/symbols have strict licensing restrictions and attribution requirements – which, for a commercial game, is not ideal. That being said though, it has been kinda fun making these so I’m not complaining.
The next showcase is for some in-game decals, which can be placed via the editor, and are mainly focused around worldbuilding and in-game lore. This is just a tiny fraction of the total number of decals the game will have though, but I think it’s a solid start.
And I think that’s about it, there’s this month’s progress done.
Alright guys, I think I finally have to admit it, it’s been a really rough few months for me. I might have touched on this before, but man, solo development is SO taxing on your mental health. Between the long hours, the financial insecurity, the massive amount of skills you need to learn all on your own, the impostor syndrome, the feeling of falling behind everyone else you know, the constant anxiety about whether or not your game will even sell, and now, on top of all-a-that, this new wave of AI bullshit. God damn, it’s all just so exhausting.
I genuinely feel as if I’ve been treading water for months now, with no respite, and no end in sight. I think the massive scope of this game has also hit me like a ton of bricks too, as there is just SO much to go, especially in terms of assets. Idk, it’s just been a real shitty vibe as of late. That being said, it’s not the end of the world, nor will this stop me from continuing my work – in fact, it’s actually had the opposite effect. In finally recognising, and acknowledging, just how bad my mental health had declined these past 6 months, I’ve made some MASSIVE changes to my life.
That’s right guys, I’m now a gym bro, lmao. Haha nah, but yeah, I’m now going to the gym most days of the week, I’m on meal-prep, and I’ve quit smoking (again). As well as the health and fitness changes, I’ve also had a mental shift in terms of priorities, and have decided to no longer prioritise the game above all else. What do I mean by that? Well, up until now, I had basically convinced myself that, if I ever wanted to finish this game, the only way forward was to forget about everything else – and I mean everything. My social life, my finances, my physical appearance, my health, my free time. And so for two years now I’ve basically been running with nothin’ but tunnel vision, making huge progress on the game yet falling behind in every other aspect.
This, obviously, was not a great idea. Some might even say it was a self-inflicted wound…. and they would be correct. I now see the error of my ways and I have made the right course corrections to avoid this happening again. Unfortunately though, with this new-found sense of balance across my life, it does mean that progress may slow down before it gets better. That’s okay though, because I now see that this project is a marathon, not a sprint, so consistency is the name of the game moving forward.
Anyway, yeah, that’s what’s been new with me. I actually feel a bit better after writing that all out, so thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time (in far better spirits)!
