Interplanetary Alpha

Hello, everyone! As you may have noticed, we've had some big things happening recently. We released a new alpha gameplay trailer, have been handing out alpha test codes to willing participants and even got featured on Rock, Paper, Shotgun! Feels good, man.

Today, we'll be going into more detail about the alpha (which you can get here, once you've pinged us about a code.)

Interplanetary Alpha Features

So, what is actually included in the Windows alpha version? Well, the very basic gameplay is there, but being an alpha version, even that's not shaped to perfection yet. It is possible to finish a match and even have a bit of fun doing it! The proper feature list is:

• Hotseat and LAN multiplayer
• Hotseat is currently restricted to two players, while LAN allows for more. Because the feature is not finished however, the game ends if the host loses.
• Structure building
• You can purchase and set some basic structures on your planet, forming Power Grids. It is also possible to repair, sell and reconnect buildings to the Power Grid.
• Power Grid
• You can connect structures together, so that they're linked to a Power Plant that keeps them online.
• Cities
• The function of Cities is greatly simplified in this version: they act as your planet's health, their population grows, they generate Material and Energy and act as connection points for your Power Grids.
• Resource Management
• It is possible to gather Material and Energy, using Mines and Power Plants.
• Defenses
• Forcefield and Kinetic Defense can be built to defend your planet, for the cost of Energy.
• Firing weapons
• Basic versions of railgun, missile and laser are usable. In the current build, the missile doesn't always hit where it's supposed to.

These are the features you can test. We really welcome all kinds of comments, whether you think something would work better differently or that some features are unbalanced. It's very easy to change the basic values, such as weapon damage and planet speeds, but bigger changes take more time.

A big thing we want to get comments on is the targeting and firing of weapons. Is it fun? Does it work? All the values of the planetary system, from gravities to planet sizes, are easily fixable, so don't hesitate to give your thoughts! 

What's to come?

We are planning on updating the alpha version periodically, so people can also test newer features. This will go on until we reach what we determine to be the beta-stage.

Some features to be expected sooner or later:

• Single player against AI
• Intelligence mode
• Adds some fog of war-like features
• Technology progression
• A tech tree allows players to choose their strategy better and unlock new buildings and bonuses
• Expanded City functionality
• The players will be able to allocate the population to work on Projects that give certain bonuses
• More features!

Happy testing everyone! Send us comments and we'll take your experiences into account when planning the next build!