Monthly Archives: June 2014

Here’s the progress on the room system I’ve been making. This system splits up the map into different sections based on how they are connected. Here’s the system artificially turned into colors so it can be seen in action:

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There’s still a few bugs. As you can see, the system thinks these two rooms are one room when connected by an angle piece. I must have some error in the fill algorithm which finds the boundaries of each room:

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The system doesn’t understand the big airlock doors yet, either.

As I mentioned in a previous post, this system will be used for several ship simulation features. I think my goal for this next update is going to be the ability to blow the airlock, exposing the ship to hard vacuum and blasting out its atmosphere. That seems like a fun feature, and it will also mix well with the fire – no oxygen means no combustion!

The Reddit AMA I did this week was amazing! It just kept going and going- I answered questions pretty much all day, went to bed, then got up and started answering again.

You can check it out here on Reddit. I’d say only about 50% of the questions were advice on how to break into the games industry :P

Hey Guys! So I’ve been asked a few times about what’s next for Rodina. I realized I had to have an answer to this question :)

A little background: My plans for Rodina literally do include the kitchen sink, so it can be difficult to choose from a smorgasbord of possible features. But after thinking about this a little bit, I realized that despite my indecision my gut already knew what I was going to be working on.

While promoting the game the past few days, I’ve mostly just been cleaning up the project and reorganizing code. But just recently without much thought, I started work on a Room System, that would understand enclosed spaces and the way they connect to each other. Nothing too complicated, but also it would be pointless unless I was going to use it for other systems, like atmospherics, or an electrical grid. You know, the “Sim” stuff you guys voted on :P

SO! I’m going to do that! Now that I’m done with fires, I’m going to continue with simulation features. Rather than bounce around, chipping away at several boulders, I’ll try to focus on ship sim stuff for the next couple of months at least and see how much I can carve out. I think some focus will serve both me and the game very well.

After that, maybe start work on NPCs? It’ll be vote-time then for sure!

Big announcement today! Too much to talk about in text so here I am in person:

Please consider voting for Rodina on Greenlight!!! :D

So, until now, all of the versions of Rodina released have been versions 1.0.X. This release is the first one at 1.1.X.

What does this mean for customers? If you’re in the Buffet tier or above, it means nothing- you’ve purchased the right to play all versions of the game! However those in the Appetizer tier, who chose to pay under the $15 base price of the game, cannot play this version of Rodina past the usual demo limits.

To those of you in the Appetizer tier, thank you so much for trying and buying Rodina. In order to unlock this version, I ask that you either:

1. Donate again. Any amount will refresh your key for this new version. Or:
2. Donate enough to get up to that Buffet tier! Once you do, you can play all future versions of the game.

I hope that the work I’ve put in over the past few months to get Rodina more stable and fun than ever will be worth some more of your money. Rodina needs it in order to continue development! Thank you again!

I’m so pleased to announce that Rodina 1.1.0 is available for download and purchase! You can also get this version in ZIP form.

This update’s main feature is Ship Fires!

Ship fires occur infrequently when your ship takes damage in combat or after a collision. Fires spread fast so when one starts, quickly get your ship to a safe place, grab a fire extinguisher, and start extinguishing!

Note well: Using fire extinguishers leaves an area temporarily immune to fire. Use this to your advantage- often the better strategy is to box a fire in to prevent it from spreading before fighting it directly. You’ll have to be quick, otherwise your ship will end up destroyed!

1.1.0 is also a major engine update, with too many engine upgrades to list. Users who have had problems with high-performance mice will see their problems resolved. Actor management is greatly improved and optimized. The game now autosaves at important moments. The editor has undo/redo buttons.

There are also many tiny new engine features and bugfixes. The save/load menu now lists files by date. You can no longer punch through an atmosphere by using the Limnal Drive. A new section on the main menu will alert you when a new version is available. The bugfixes are legion.

Thanks to those of you who have stuck with me for so long waiting for this update! I’ll be putting out a video later this week with a bit of an explanation for what took so long and what I’m going to do in the future to improve the process. Now I know how George R. R. Martin feels :P