Update #159

Approaching Infinity

Approaching Infinity is a turn-based space RPG in the spirit of the sci-fi classics, with endless progression and exploration. Fight tactical battles or try diplomacy. Seek powerful artifacts. Mine, trade, and craft. Level up forever or attempt one of 10 victories in hardcore or adventure mode.

[h2]November didn't have a singular goal. Instead I tackled a lot of little things:[/h2] [h1]Past Lives[/h1] People have been asking for this feature for a while. Long time players may remember that it used to exist. Well, the past lives screen got overlooked in the UI overhaul. It's back! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38088504/fd4cf3e147d14db860bf4670336349e8032f1eb1.png[/img] [b]It's been keeping track of your deaths and wins all this time, and now you can see them.[/b] You may notice in the image the captain's picture. That wasn't saved in the past, but it will be for all future games. Your ship will appear too! And of course the screen can be sorted according to date, score, win or lose. [h1]Asteroid Base Updates[/h1] The most exciting development here is starting a new game with asteroid bases already unlocked. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38088504/7d385b724afa52d22255462b1257182f5f41e35e.png[/img] If you have ever unlocked unlimited asteroid bases (by completing the first and second asteroid base), you will have the option to start a game where the asteroid base faction is already established, and you don't have to meet them in sector 9, or go through any of those initial quests. They will spawn ever few sectors, and half of their rooms will already be built, and you can choose whatever you want for the other half. I also added a few new rooms: Holopaint Tech allows you to change your ship's appearance. Schematics sellers sells schematics (obv). And now the Architect gives you $750k to build new rooms, instead of a paltry $250k. You can turn in disaster records at any Galactic Transit Authority office. [h1]Caves[/h1] There are a lot of special cave types, but their appearance has been largely random. I've locked down some rules: [list] [*] Merc bases will now occur whenever certain kinds of planet has caves of exactly depth 1. [*] Higher levels of Mercenary Card skill will cause merc bases to also be spawned at depths of exactly 2 or 3 (by your skill level) , when appropriate. [*] Top level Merc bases will also have their own special entrance graphic on the map. [*] Bloom caves will now occur on toxic and corrosive planets, every few levels, but not deeper than 10 [*] Buried Silver Cities always and only occur at a terminal depth of exactly 11. [*] Narcratu Hives will now occur on irradiated planets with ultimate depths of 3,4,5,6, beginning at depth 3. [/list] Merc bases will be forced to exist every few sectors, in case you want to do their quests. Knowing where bloom caves are will help you reliably gather resources for higher-level item modification (red honey and golden pollen). [h1]Vacuum Amoebas[/h1] After re-watching the Star Trek original series episode "The Immunity Syndrome", I've made some changes to vacuum amoebas (they were originally inspired by that episode). [list] [*] They have a new unique power that sucks in energy from all nearby ships. [*] They also absorb energy from most beam weapons. [*] They can even suck up energy from planets... [*] All this energy makes them grow (they breed more amoebas!) [*] Antimatter kills them very well (unless you previously decided antimatter was "fake") [/list] [h1]Lost Colony Quests[/h1] I created a new kind of random quest, where one of the major factions lost contact with their colony and wants you to investigate. [list] [*] The quests are given by a unique ship, and they always have an excuse about why they can't do it ;) [*]There are 13 different things that could have happened to the colony, many of which have multiple sub-choices, so you aren't likely to see the same thing for a *long* time. [*] They give you the coordinates and you have to go figure it out (explore). [*] Once you have all the clues, you have to report back to that faction's embassy. [/list] [h1]Everything Else[/h1] [list] [*] I added landing/docking animations [*] [b]I nerfed the planet-side syndicate enemies![/b] [*] I fixed several achievements that weren't triggering [*] I removed unstable asteroids from the game [*] Credit pickups on star temples are now 5-10 times more valuable [*] The X/Close button in the upper left of menus now flashes slowly so you know it's there [*] I added an air pressure readout on shipwrecks [*] Power now scales more quickly in higher-difficulty games [*] I fixed the bug in asteroid bases where keyboard movement was very slow [/list] [h1]SALE[/h1] Approaching Infinity is part of the Steam Autumn Sale and is [h2]20% Off![/h2] All my other games are discounted too, so the IBOLOGY BUNDLE is an even better deal... And hey, if you already enjoy Approaching Infinity, but you haven't left a Steam review yet, I would really appreciate it. It helps. I'm getting close to 500 reviews and "overwhelmingly positive" is looking "overwhelmingly possible" ... but I need you help to get there.