Final Eclipse - July Update

Happy to report that progress on Final Eclipse has been fairly steady since the last update! I did end up sizing the ship up about 50%, as the smaller scale was not letting me size the rooms quite how I wanted to. And so, the ship is now about 268 meters long, 214 meters wide, and 38 meters tall. Still approximately 9 decks, but room for “subdecks” for smaller, more mazelike areas to connect areas that are otherwise inaccesible. I have almost fully drawn out the rooms and plans for most of the decks, though some of them still will need some more designing and fleshing out. But I am working on that process, slowly but surely:

I was even inspired at one point to take my images I had drawn for my maps and import them into a tool called MagicaVoxel. It was very cool to see the ship in 3D, and it will make a useful reference for a more developed 3d model for use in potential cutscenes. Amusingly, I could even turn off layers to see how it looks on the inside. :D

I also added in a feature that I had actually partially implemented all the way back in the ika version but never released, 45 degree angled walls. This takes advantage of my perspective image generation script and will definitely help make the world feel less square!

You can also notice some changes to the automap again. It has moved back to the central “PDA” section, and in its place at the bottom left is now an enemy scanner, much like the motion sensor in Aliens. This will be an item that you can use in your left hand (so cannot use with a two handed weapon equipped). I want to play more into the “two hands” system, with other ideas for the left hand possibly being grenades, an energy shield, other scanner types, and quick healing stims. Actually, technically that last one is already in the game too, but there is no left hand visual for items held there, yet.

I’ve also been working behind the scenes on story, character and scenario ideas, and what the player will need to do for the critical path, and have made some good strides in that regard. It should end up being a fairly beefy experience!

In terms of what’s next on my todo list, I’m going to be working on enhancements and quality of life improvements to the log system, letting you sort or filter it by various ways such as deck or order obtained, character or log date. I also still want to enhance the map to allow you to write your own notes. One big feature I want to get in soon is a terminal for you to enter in commands and searches, to be able to activate/deactivate certain systems, and find more hidden logs and lore.

Finally, and most exciting - I have set up a Steamworks account and am in the midst of setting up a Steam page!

This does mean that I probably will not be selling the full game here on itch.io, though I will plan on at least releasing a good sized demo on here. It will still be some time before the Steam page goes live, as I want to need some more visually appealing content, record a trailer, and create a few more assets first. Also - please disregard that Oct 2024 release date for now! It is an ambitious goal that I’d like to release by then, but as this is 90% a solo effort I make no promises about making that date. That said, it is good to have something to shoot for!

Hope to have some more updates for you again soon!