Hi everyone, It's time for the 2024 roadmap! We've been having lots of conversations behind the scenes, and have some big news to share: [b]We're back to work on content-focused DLCs! [/b] There are tons of great things we want to add to the ONI universe, and they're getting too big to squeeze into free updates. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/25339032/bc74665e0224943733c79e821a44a726637eb7b8.png[/img] [h3]Wait, What? [/h3] When we were originally considering making more DLCs back in early 2022, we had just come off a three-year-long haul on Spaced Out!, and our ideas for future DLCs were all on a similar scale. Trying to make them work for both the base game and Spaced Out! was daunting. But over the past year, DLC ideas just kept coming—many of them focused on content that would be a more natural fit with the base game, Spaced Out! DLC, and each other. So after a year of smaller free updates, we're switching back to paid DLCs that'll allow us to take our derpy little colonists into wild new uncharted corners of time and space. Our plans for these modular DLCs center around new asteroids packed with new biomes, critters, plants, buildings, elements, lore and blueprints (aka cosmetic skins). At some point, we may make systems changes. If that happens, those changes will likely be added (for free) to any existing versions of the game that you may own. [h3]What's Next?[/h3] We haven't nailed down an exact schedule, but we do know that it won't involve multi-year waiting periods between DLCs! In fact, we're planning to release the first one this year. Perhaps featuring a chilly new starting asteroid... [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/25339032/fe42b67a30c1c256c69476cecda3c12f51349afb.png[/img] We'll keep releasing free quality of life updates, fixing bugs and improving performance. We're also continuing to build out the blueprints system, creating more opportunities for colony customization. You'll be able to earn blueprints through gameplay, and we expect to include new collections in DLC as well. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/25339032/31a1cb7ea510421a301f08d584b3359f7d6c3e26.png[/img] [h3]TL;DR[/h3] Our plan for this next chapter is to switch from occasional smaller free updates to content-focused paid DLCs. We're still doing free QoL updates. We know it's a big pivot! This year's ONI adventure promises to be a particularly exciting one. Thank you all for your ongoing support—it means the cosmos to us. See you at the next DLC! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/25339032/664e1133923e033fe7a140a7d89194673761a470.png[/img] [h2]FAQ[/h2] [h3] Why the change from free updates back to paid DLCs?[/h3] DLCs were always the better choice for expanding the ONI universe, but we just didn't think we could do it. Now that we have new ideas that play nicely with existing versions of the game and lend themselves well to mixing and matching later on...we're making it happen! [h3]Will these new DLCs work with both the base game and Spaced Out?[/h3] Yup! [h3]What kind of DLCs are coming? [/h3] Lots of new content: New starting asteroids, biomes, critters, plants, buildings, elements, lore and blueprints (aka cosmetic skins). We expect that each DLC will contain all of these things, but that may change depending on demand or scheduling concerns. No big plans for systems changes right now. [h3]How much will these DLCs cost? [/h3] The plan is to have them cost less than the Spaced Out! DLC. We’ll have more details as we get closer to release. [h3]How often will we get new DLCs?[/h3] The first one is scheduled to come out this year, and the turnaround time between DLCs will be (much, much) shorter than it was for Spaced Out! [h3]What's happening to blueprints (aka cosmetic skins)?[/h3] We expect that DLCs will include new blueprints, but blueprints already in the game will be attainable through gameplay. [h3]Are you still doing free QoL updates?[/h3] Yes! We're still figuring out the scale and scope for these, but we have lots of performance improvements and bug fixes on our To Do list.