New Upgrade System

One of the most important and most common suggestions that came out of the TIGSource Aurora feedback thread was that I make some suns more valuable than others. Some suggested defensive bonuses or special terrain for this purpose, but I decided to go with the most direct route I could.

So there's now a new system for upgrading suns. Each sun/seed has a maximum power, and players can upgrade up to that level. So some suns are level one and are limited to that. Others can go up to level three, making them high-cost and high-value bases. Also, the double-power stars have been removed. I think they ultimately confused things, and their original purpose (performance boosting) isn't so critical anymore. So now double-power suns just produce two stars at a time.

The new upgrade system called for a new way of displaying the different potential levels. I scaled up the suns when they got upgraded, and I put faded rings around suns to indicate when they could be upgraded further. I'm not entirely satisfied with that interface yet, but here's a screenshot of some new upgraded suns:

Development Resumed

Having finished my term of employment at Bethesda, gone back to school, and regained access to my desktop computer, I've started working on Aurora once again. The only hitch is that I'm set up for a terribly difficult term, and the list of things to do in Aurora has grown steadily over the summer. Lots of new suggestions and feedback needs to be taken into account.

The goal now is to have it done by the end of October so that I can submit it in the IGF Student Showcase. It's my last chance!