Hello all! It's been a while since updating via our store page :D We moved to update the dev diaries via the Steam forums after being asked to do it there instead, but it seems that people are missing them that way. So I'll now be posting them the old way and the new way :D For your reference, the forums are [url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/1332100/discussions]here[/url], they contain the updates, discussions, roadmap, role-play groups, support, and content creators/Dan's streams. Be sure to subscribe to them! What can I say about this year so far...well, I'm tired for starters! :D We had an amazing Kickstarter campaign, and we love you all for it! We far surpassed our goal of £65k by a staggering £402,085 ( taking home £362,657.61 after fees), with an amazing 5761 backers! Everyone who backed Captain and above will have received their development build keys by email, and they are designing and creating the game alongside Fleetyard as I type. We also have quite a few Commanders upgrading their pledges and new backers via our Ko-Fi shop <3 Every penny goes towards creating Starship Simulator! [b]So, on to the update for this year[/b]: We've been working hard on patch[b] 0.225.1.0[/b], which will serve as the next public demo update. This update will focuses on three main areas: [b]1 - Magellan Class Overhaul[/b]. Our Magellan Class vessel has been subject to a number of tweaks and alterations over the past couple of years, but we've now settled on her final form. Our plan for patch 0.225.1.0 is to have the new hull shape roughly implemented, with most of the new interior framework completed. Here's how she's looking right now; [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40608420/974065c2d322cf94966a75d4f0ae508e0187bb83.jpg[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40608420/0928e0f051c1ff0340c502456acb2d19fcdd230c.jpg[/img] [b]2 - Planetary Scanning & Sensors UI Overhaul[/b]. The new sensors interface has been designed around gradually revealing more information about a star system over distance. There are four modes; The GPS mode shows you where your ship is in relation to the galaxy, and allows you to select any given sector to see an overview of which type of stars can be found there. The Long Range mode displays star systems within a radius of your current location, and upon selecting one, it will display an Orrery Map of that system. The type of planets found in the system will be listed as "Unknown" until you perform a long range survey, at which point more details will be revealed. Similarly, the Medium Range sensors will also generate an Orrery Map when within 30,000 AU of a star system, and upon conducting a Medium Range Survey a greater amount of information will be uncovered, such as the type of atmosphere around each planet, and the presence of any moons. The Short Range mode has a range of 2,000,000km, and this is used to conduct the most detailed scans. The output of this mode will reveal planetary surface details, such as topological maps and the presence of any life. The new sensors UI clearly displays the current knowledge level for any given star system, allowing the player to explore each system in greater depth over time. With patch 0.225.1.0 you will start finding life across the whole of the galaxy, at first in the form of text descriptions, but over time that life will be physicalised. If you've been watching our developer Dan's [url=https://www.youtube.com/@StarshipSimulator/streams]Streams[/url] you'll have seen that we now have basic procedural political states implemented and working, and new UI's. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40608420/ad58e6479623d0fbf9e2e00d01e258095fb80eec.jpg[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40608420/ea6df4d19ee51122b40010a9c78506505bda4967.jpg[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40608420/bb2c5015876ee76e46bfb0aaa6101c3b6ed1c193.jpg[/img] [b]3 - Real World Data Expansion[/b]. In the current demo, there are several thousand real-world stars in the game, but with patch 0.225.1.0 we're increasing that to 18.2 million stars from the Gaia DR3 catalogue, covering a radius of 2000ly around Sol. In addition to having a massive number of real-world stars in our galaxy, we're also referencing the latest papers to create an incredibly realistic galactic structure as well, using the Maser astrometry data; [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40608420/e9ab2f772da89eeacb0bffe74907d5c75db7c216.png[/img] If you'd like to know more on this, I'd recommend checking out this paper: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/8/8/390 Without wanting to toot our own horn too much, this does make our galaxy the most accurate and realistic Milky Way available in any game, ever! :D [b]Recruitment[/b] We are actively recruiting for a number of roles on the team, specifically: A concept artist specialising in starship and general sci-fi vehicle design. A 3D modeller with experience building sci-vehicles. A 3D modeller with experience building characters/organics. A LAMP web developer to build our online platform. An Unreal Engine shader artist, with a specific focus on volumetric effects. An Unreal Engine C++/Blueprint generalist, with experience building character systems. An experienced Unreal Engine C++ coder. With this team in place we'll be in a good position to deliver the level of quality we're aiming for. if you or someone you know is interested in working for the team, then please get in touch so we can discuss further. Please be aware however, due to international tax/laws we are only able to take on full-time staff in the UK. Any non-UK applicants will be contract based only. [b]Where to next?[/b] Once patch 0.225.1.0 is polished and released, the very next thing we'll be doing is putting out a VR test build using that same version of the game. Once that is released we'll shift focus onto patch 0.226.1.0, which will focus on controller support, bridge NPCs, moons, a new bridge look, controller support, keybinds, and generally having the ship collide and interact with much smaller objects such as asteroids. As always, we're continually blown away by the support we receive from our amazing community, and we honestly couldn't love you more. Be sure to join us on [url=https://discord.gg/eDSQvpgdUX]Discord[/url] if you want daily progress updates, and remember to subscribe to our YouTube so that you don't miss our bi-weekly developer streams! (Wednesdays & Sundays at 8pm BST) [previewyoutube=hZxDDp7atIQ;leftthumb][/previewyoutube]