- Shallow Space is cancelled - 18 September 2021
We regret to announce that Shallow Space has been cancelled. About a year ago we designed a new client that ticked a lot of the boxes that the community were looking for originally but we struggled to include, as time went on it became clear that the decision was contentious as it would remove a lot of the current look and feel. We have to admit that it would have been quite a different game to what it is currently on Steam now. Dealing with the legacy has been difficult. It is highly unlikely that we’d have been able to cut though the negative reviews and press even if we were to create something amazing and it has been soul destroying to try. To punch through that negativity we would have needed one hell of a marketing campaign which was not possible with no funds. In the absence of funding we intended on it being a part time affair, driven by a couple of the original team members. Bu…
- 3.0 Progress Update #2 - 11 April 2021
Back again, with another summary update. So to recap; as you likely know we took an extended break from the project but coming up to a year ago now we picked things up again. It hasn’t been straightforward, there was lots of pressure back then and some things in 2.0 were designed in a rush without proper consideration and it didn’t really gel as a game when we tried to finish it into something objective driven. As a result we’re having to refine the idea and make it a little more achievable for a small team, but also add some new killer features on the way. We’ve taken to referring to the revamp as 3.0, and the whole endeavour would be completely pointless if we didn’t take the opportunity to learn what we can from the previous two attempts. If you didn’t know, you’re able to play both the prototypes right here (you can switch to the 1.0 build in the game properties.) So the last couple…
- 3.0 Progress Update #1 - 27 February 2021
So a bunch of time had past since we last spoke, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy. As you know the project is in a bit of a weird state. It’s a rescue. Some years ago we became overwhelmed and stepped away for the sake of our sanity. We’re back but we’re keeping the Steam news down to a minimum until we’re ready to pick up a public release cycle again and have you guys play this thing. Before that happens we need to revisit the idea, work out the areas we can improve and work in some of the feedback we received over the years. It’s important to note that while things are changing in-game, if you own the game, then you still own it - nothing changes there. So we have two previous prototypes, we’ve taken to calling them 1.0 and 2.0. The one that is currently on Steam is 2.0 (actually 1.0 is still there also if you switch builds), we found the source code to that, but it has some…
- Proof of life - 20 December 2020
If you’re new around here don’t buy the game, it’s unsupported and a mess in its current form, we’re working hard to put it right. Since thought a little more about the last post here when we mentioned that it’s too distracting to code and write blogs at the same time. I’m not happy with it that, I’m just not sure it’s true. To stay focused this time, we’re splitting development into manageable chunks called sprints. In the opening stages, a sprint will focus on adding a bunch of related gameplay elements - we implement only what’s planned and not a line of code or graphical detail more than needed. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility to incorporate some blogging about said elements at the end of a sprint. It might even be useful to help clear ones head in preparation for planning the following sprint. The truth is that writing to you is enjoyable and a major part of the journey,…
- Minor progress update - 9 December 2020
Work is still going on here on the server side of things, still writing tests and implementing base functionality. We have to set expectations here, this is going to take a long time. If you're new DON'T BUY THE GAME - the projects in a weird state and i'm not even sure it's playable right now. Some might say a mistake was made showing up empty handed 6 months ago and I would agree with that. The majority of dev is really boring to talk about and it's going to be less about the showmanship this time around. It’s not really worth coming to you with regular updates on this because it’s simply too distracting to code, write updates and interact with the community at the same time. The guy (me) who had his head in the code was previously also trying to run things and write comms, not a wonder I had a breakdown really. So this time its fun game first, flash graphics, details and suggestions…
- What's the plan? - 28 June 2020
We've catalogued the games assets and we're in good shape. We have most of the components we need to rescue the project and the opportunity now to learn from the previous failures and adapt. We appreciate the project was abandoned and trust is low, so until we've made things right - we'll shortly be making the game free on Steam. There will be some challenges - multiplayer will need to be baked in from the start and it was incredibly difficult to tame those free moving ships into something that was actually purposeful and strategical. Then there's the fact that the Shallow Space project is huge. There is so much lore it's hard to put it into words (excuse the pun!) Detailed specs of each system, each faction, how they operate / co-operate. Much of it was on the old website which sadly got shuttered, We're excited to come across this treasure trove and are even much excited to get that s…
- What happened here? - 19 May 2020
I must have sat down to write this post a thousand times … So the project had a number of failings. We had limited resources, driving the project took up a lot of that. There was a lot of stuff in the background that just wasn’t implemented or managed properly. Updates were rushed, manual and error prone because we had no tests or continuous integration and there were some game design issues. More bad luck, we had a publisher lined up but it fell through (Brexit,) our devs found other projects, some arguments with ex-teammates spilled into public and bad reviews started to bury the game because hands up, we forgot to actually make it fun! Even more bad luck. A large bunch of keys appeared on a certain grey market site and sales dried up overnight. Business drove into the ground hard; personally - I was burnt-out and broke, and I had to heal quickly and then go and get a job. I couldn’t…
- Looking back, moving forward - it's brand a new year! - 2 January 2017
It’s been an interesting year for the project, feedback fairly early on in the release caused us to slam on the brakes and have a real think about the direction in which the project was going. We had two choices; do what is normally done and continue down that path and release the game hoping to learn the lessons in the sequel, or do the honest thing taking it back to the start and work in the stuff you really wanted to see. We chose the honest path meaning progress this year has been somewhat of a forward-sideways step rather than a direct lunge forward. Even so mechanically things are shaping up well, once we have matured and stabilised the code base the rest of the route to completion is a case of joining the dots, it’s high level stuff that will come together quickly once the remaining assets arrive and the story is finalised. How quickly I hear you ask? Well it’s difficult to say.…
- Looking back, moving forward - it's brand a new year! - 2 January 2017
It’s been an interesting year for the project, feedback fairly early on in the release caused us to slam on the brakes and have a real think about the direction in which the project was going. We had two choices; do what is normally done and continue down that path and release the game hoping to learn the lessons in the sequel, or do the honest thing taking it back to the start and work in the stuff you really wanted to see. We chose the honest path meaning progress this year has been somewhat of a forward-sideways step rather than a direct lunge forward. Even so mechanically things are shaping up well, once we have matured and stabilised the code base the rest of the route to completion is a case of joining the dots, it’s high level stuff that will come together quickly once the remaining assets arrive and the story is finalised. How quickly I hear you ask? Well it’s difficult to say.…
- Overhaul Incremental Updates (to 6.1.2) - 23 December 2016
Just a quick note to add that we have a round of fixes and tweaks coming in for updates that have been released in the last few days - details below. Some great feedback coming back, special thanks to SnottyGremlin for his clear and constructive criticism, very useful to hear from new Players! As always, we really appreciate the support and we hope you have a great festive period! Update 6.1.2 Change Log - Added option to disable 'Film Grain' in graphic options - Fixes to crash caused by clicking 'End Deployment' with no units deployed - Fixes to camera drift when Joystick plugged in - Fixes to scrolling using mousewheel affecting camera zoom - Fixed crash saving game with containers - Fixed crash refreshing inventory window - Fixes various to stability - Tweaked default camera panning speed - Tweaked targetboxes to make them more visible - Tweaked Ship Builder UI button to close on cli…
- Overhaul Incremental Updates (to 6.1.2) - 23 December 2016
Just a quick note to add that we have a round of fixes and tweaks coming in for updates that have been released in the last few days - details below. Some great feedback coming back, special thanks to SnottyGremlin for his clear and constructive criticism, very useful to hear from new Players! As always, we really appreciate the support and we hope you have a great festive period! Update 6.1.2 Change Log - Added option to disable 'Film Grain' in graphic options - Fixes to crash caused by clicking 'End Deployment' with no units deployed - Fixes to camera drift when Joystick plugged in - Fixes to scrolling using mousewheel affecting camera zoom - Fixed crash saving game with containers - Fixed crash refreshing inventory window - Fixes various to stability - Tweaked default camera panning speed - Tweaked targetboxes to make them more visible - Tweaked Ship Builder UI button to close on cli…
- Overhaul Update 6.1 Interactive Tutorial - 20 December 2016
As promised, we are pleased to announce Update 6.1 boasting a fully interactive tutorial! By interactive we mean that it offers up a set of instructions and the tutorial continues once you have completed them. We figured it would be a better way to learn than an instructional video. It's comprehensive and will take you through camera controls, group creation and fleet movement, inventory management and ship configuration and mission/objective management and basic combat drills. Expect the tutorial to grow as the game grows, with the impending station building and resource collection mechanics to be injected imminently. We also have a few minor fixes from an incremental patch released a few days ago listed below. We are simply bursting with excitement right now and if you're not then you should be, with the UI refresh and the tutorial framework out the way - quick stop to update the game…
- Overhaul Update 6.1 Interactive Tutorial - 20 December 2016
As promised, we are pleased to announce Update 6.1 boasting a fully interactive tutorial! By interactive we mean that it offers up a set of instructions and the tutorial continues once you have completed them. We figured it would be a better way to learn than an instructional video. It's comprehensive and will take you through camera controls, group creation and fleet movement, inventory management and ship configuration and mission/objective management and basic combat drills. Expect the tutorial to grow as the game grows, with the impending station building and resource collection mechanics to be injected imminently. We also have a few minor fixes from an incremental patch released a few days ago listed below. We are simply bursting with excitement right now and if you're not then you should be, with the UI refresh and the tutorial framework out the way - quick stop to update the game…
- Overhaul Update 6 - UI Refresh - 16 December 2016
Context Buttons and Dialogue windows also added in this update We are pleased to announce that Update 6 is ready! This is the most significant patch released to date with literally hundreds of additions and tweaks so we're going to break from the normal tradition of listing them all because there are simply too many. If you haven't already we recommend you take a look at the previous article which will tell you what to expect from Update 6 but in addition to all that good stuff we have even more crammed in for good measure. Context Menu So we created a system called 'Context Targets' which allowed us to use abilities which targeted NPC ships such as 'Open Communications' or 'Subsystem Targeting.' Since implementing that the feedback coming back is that it's a little cumbersome so we've replaced Context Targets with a pop-up menu accessed simply by left-clicking on a NPC ship (with at le…
- Overhaul Update 6 - UI Refresh - 16 December 2016
Context Buttons and Dialogue windows also added in this update We are pleased to announce that Update 6 is ready! This is the most significant patch released to date with literally hundreds of additions and tweaks so we're going to break from the normal tradition of listing them all because there are simply too many. If you haven't already we recommend you take a look at the previous article which will tell you what to expect from Update 6 but in addition to all that good stuff we have even more crammed in for good measure. Context Menu So we created a system called 'Context Targets' which allowed us to use abilities which targeted NPC ships such as 'Open Communications' or 'Subsystem Targeting.' Since implementing that the feedback coming back is that it's a little cumbersome so we've replaced Context Targets with a pop-up menu accessed simply by left-clicking on a NPC ship (with at le…
- User Interface Evolution (peek at Update 6) - 14 December 2016
http://shallow.space/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/sspace-2016-12-14-18-08-46-19.jpgThe 3D UI has been decluttered giving the Zones a more open feel and the 2D UI has matured. So before we delve into creating the tutorial and adding new stuff we thought it prudent to get rid of the prototype UI elements and really look at how we interact with the game to make things a little more involving and intuitive. As you can no doubt immediately see, a number of things stand to change in Update 6 as we sweep the prototype user interface under the table and replace it with something altogether a little more mature. Spatial User Interface (Battlegrid) Some of the feedback coming from you guys mention that the Overhaul doesn’t yet fully capture the majesty of space. After breaking the scene down into its abstract parts and questioning them we found that the grid and border around the game edge made the…
- User Interface Evolution (peek at Update 6) - 14 December 2016
http://shallow.space/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/sspace-2016-12-14-18-08-46-19.jpgThe 3D UI has been decluttered giving the Zones a more open feel and the 2D UI has matured. So before we delve into creating the tutorial and adding new stuff we thought it prudent to get rid of the prototype UI elements and really look at how we interact with the game to make things a little more involving and intuitive. As you can no doubt immediately see, a number of things stand to change in Update 6 as we sweep the prototype user interface under the table and replace it with something altogether a little more mature. Spatial User Interface (Battlegrid) Some of the feedback coming from you guys mention that the Overhaul doesn’t yet fully capture the majesty of space. After breaking the scene down into its abstract parts and questioning them we found that the grid and border around the game edge made the…
- Indie of the Year Awards 2016! - 9 December 2016
Vote for us in the IndieDB Indie of the Year Awards 2016! Hopefully you've all enjoyed the rapid pace of progress over the last couple of months as we mature the Shallow Space Open-world Overhaul. Help us get into the Top 100 for the 3rd year running! You don't need an account, no requirement to log in at all, just a few clicks required to vote to help us secure a little bit of additional exposure. As an added incentive to exercise that itchy click-finger, head over to the games IndieDB page to see more angles of the latest MFC fixed weapon attack Cruiser due to be added to the alpha imminently! Dubbed simply the 'MFC Marauder' we need to give it a more exciting name - any suggestions? Head over to IndieDB to cast your vote!
- Indie of the Year Awards 2016! - 9 December 2016
Vote for us in the IndieDB Indie of the Year Awards 2016! Hopefully you've all enjoyed the rapid pace of progress over the last couple of months as we mature the Shallow Space Open-world Overhaul. Help us get into the Top 100 for the 3rd year running! You don't need an account, no requirement to log in at all, just a few clicks required to vote to help us secure a little bit of additional exposure. As an added incentive to exercise that itchy click-finger, head over to the games IndieDB page to see more angles of the latest MFC fixed weapon attack Cruiser due to be added to the alpha imminently! Dubbed simply the 'MFC Marauder' we need to give it a more exciting name - any suggestions? Head over to IndieDB to cast your vote!
- Overhaul BETA Update 5.3.2 - Unit XP and Battlegrid - 8 December 2016
Added height lines to the movement waypoints to better aid perspective (click image for fullscreen.) Another BETA patch yielding additional work on unit veterancy and experience with the proceeds of a battle now distributed amongst the ships. Experience is dealt as a ratio, so if a single ship did 75% of the damage they'll receive 75% of the XP. Interesting to note that with this system, experience is split between all ships that caused damage to the target, so swarming the enemy with a huge overpowering fleet will result in minimal XP rewards. We've also removed the clutter of the attack lines and will shortly replace them with another style of visual confirmation. Otherwise, a couple more fixes and tweaks - another minor patch to come before we merge with the public build. Some nice feedback on the Official Forums - keep it coming! Update 5.3.2 Change log Added experience given on shi…
