itch.io

Instead of just clicking where you want to shoot you should be able to press down the mouse button and release, to add some skill.

New Linux build has been uploaded to the store. Thanks everyone for testing!

Try this one:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6s3wqwhksftei91/Doomstar_0622-itch.zip?dl=1

Thanks for the help, this is super useful. Looks like it's the Steam integration that hangs so will disable it in a new build to see if it lets you run the game. We use Steam for all online games but shouldn't need an actual Steam account connected to be able to start or join games.

Might be network related as well, if you got Steam try running the game with Steam logged in and running.

Got a 64-bit build up here, could you check if that works any better?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x9wdr9q8s7h5t6t/Doomstar_0612.zip?dl=1

OK cool, I'm trying to get a linux box running so I can test but not in the office atm so bit hard.

Would be super helpful if someone could try running the game with the `-force-opengl` flag and let me know if that works?

https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=4805.msg236329

I think we tested on Ubuntu 14 back when this was released, it was built using a pretty old version of Unity as well so will take a bit of work to find out what's going on but will see if I got some free time in the next few weeks. If anyone else can try on another distro or version that would be helpful.

I'd like to submit a game please:

https://largevisiblemachine.itch.io/doomstar

Time flies...

There should be a "Request key" button on your purchase page but to be honest I can't really find it either. Let me know on info@largevisiblemachine.com if you can't find it and we'll sort it out.

Thanks, will take a look!

Ok it's not in the list but makes sense, send me an email on info@largevisiblemachine.com and we'll sort it out!

Doomstar is officially live!

Thanks for everyone who helped out along the way and please let us know if you spot any bugs that survived this last frenzied week of dev. We're still got more content to add so expect a few updates later this year once we've taken care of the mobile release.

If you bought the game you should be able to request a Steam key from your purchase page but let me know if there's any problems!

Nils

Sorry phonetic, keys should have been emailed to everyone with a purchase. Could you please let me know what the first part of your email address is (anything before @) and I'll match you up in the purchase list and get it sent out straight away. Or just email me at nils@largevisiblemachine.com directly!

Oh my gosh we're getting so close to 1.0 I can barely take it.

This will be the penultimate release before we go live to The World with the following items added:

• Private Games: Doomstar is very much best enjoyed with a friend and now you're able to invite your best one! Please test if you can (if you don't have any friends feel free to PM me).
• We've added a 100% original score from the super talented Simon Heath/Sabled Sun. Five tracks of space goodness that will also be available as a separate download.
• A ton of bug fixes and UI tweaks (this is pretty close to what you'll get now)

Nils

Just a quick update that we're planning to release the full version of Doomstar on September 16, both here on itch.io and on Steam. Everyone who bought the game should receive a Steam key if you haven't already.

We'll release one or two updates before then in order to test custom boards and fleets as well as scenarios and private matches.

(also let me know if you happen to be in or near Bristol, UK and want to attend the launch party)

Thanks
Nils

Thanks a lot for this, very useful. We should address most of these in future updates but some quick comments for now:

• The AI is at a level where it can now evaluate moves and the different personalities can then act on these evaluations differently. We've barely started tweaking the scoring algorithms or how different AIs will act on the scores however so at the moment it is still very much random. Since the game is quite complex with hidden information and elements of bluffing making the AI competitive will always be the biggest challenge we god but it will definitely end up much stronger than what is currently there.
• Story is coming for the other characters as well, this along with the AI improvements are the main areas we're working on before release.
• The release version will have all new music tracks for each of the AIs plus an extra track for main screen and menus. All the work of super talented Simon Heath from Cryo Chamber (http://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/album/signals-i-ii...).
• Customisable fleets will be an option when playing online games, initially you'll be able to select from a set of pre-configured setups but we'll be adding a fully customisable option as well.

We'll go over the controls and see what can be imnproved there too. You should be able to select what ship to retreat after a combo attack already though, unless there is only one valid option in which case it is automatic. If you come across any situations where the computer is choosing for you when it shouldn't please take a screenshot and post here or email it so we can have a look!

Thanks!

Nils

Sorry for the delay, emails are sent manually but yours has been sent now. Let me know of any issues!

The big AI release is here! While this is still a very early version that won't offer much of a challenge yet we've overhauled the code completely and can now start putting in different rules and weightings as well as personalities for the different characters so should see some big improvements going forward.

In terms of testing, at this stage the most important thing we want to find out is if people are experiencing any performance issue with the AI taking too long to submit it's moves, but any thoughts on bad/good strategies are also welcome.

In other news I'm happy to report the full release will come to Steam as well as itch.io and everyone who has bought (or buys) a copy will obviously get a free Steam code as well. Also if you bought the game and haven't received a complimentary code for Sector 219 yet please get in touch as I'm sending those out manually and might have missed someone.

Changelog

• AI overhaul (proper move weighting, AI personalities)
• Black hole bug fixed
• Explosion tweaks
• Crash reporting

We've done a new release containing the following updates:

- Update notifications, you will not get a notification in-game when there is a new update to download (useful for people not using the itch.io client)
- Feedback menu, launch a feedback email from inside the game
- More explosions!
- Minor UI tweaks and general bug fixes

All bugs reported should be fixed in this release so please test again if you have reported any. With the game feeling pretty stable we're mainly going to focus on the AI and campaign for the next release but since we're at Develop next week (let us know if you are too!) it might be two weeks until the next update.

Nils

We're planning to do an update for the end of this week so if you've spotted any bugs or got any other suggestions please let us know asap!

Cheers
Nils

Fixed!

Sorry about that, made a small change and didn't spot it here since we've already unlocked the missions. Update will download automatically if you restart the itch.io client or just re-download the whole zip.

Thanks for helping out testing the game. Although the AI is very bare bones at the moment the game as a whole should be relatively bug free so if you find that anything is broken please let us know. We're still working on a few things including (in rough order of priority):

• AI improvements
• Help section
• Tutorial refinements
• Scenarios
• Private games

If you spot any bugs or have other feedback feel free to post a topic here and will get back to you as soon as we can