Happy to report that progress on Final Eclipse has been fairly steady since the last update! I did end up sizing the ship up as the smaller scale was not letting me size the rooms quite how I want. And so, the ship is now 9 decks tall, about 268 meters long and 214 meters wide. 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:
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I also added in a feature that I had actually partially implemented all the way back in the ika version, 45 degree angled walls. This takes advantage of my perspective image generation script and will definitely help make the world feel less square!
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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 my friend Adam is starting to help me with this aspect as well.
Finally, and most exciting - I have set up a Steamworks account and am in the midst of setting up a Steam page!
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Still some work to be done obviously, and I’m going to need to record a trailer soon before I make it live. (Also, please disregard that Oct 2024 release date - it’s certainly a goal, but I doubt I’ll be able to quite make that date… but I’m going to try!) It will also be nice to finally participate in #wishlistwednesdays. As much as Twitter is a crapshow these days, it still is a great way to get visibility, at least for now. We’ll see how long that lasts!