SPACEPLAN news & patch notes

This update fixes a bug which would cause the Kinetigen Sparkifier upgrades to be significantly more powerful than intended on computers using some Continental European languages. This update also fixes issues related to Kinetigen Sparks being tied to framerate, and adds additional bits to make future debugging easier including a UI to export and send me your save if it fails to load. The UI also allows you to delete your save. This update is Windows-only. macOS is expected tomorrow. Thank you to Frankenstein and Barao in the Steam Forums for sending me their save files so that I could debug this doosie.

With the new major Remaster Update to SPACEPLAN, Logan added 5 new tracks to his lovely OST. We're calling it Side B, and it's available at no additional cost to anybody who owns the soundtrack. Side B is also available on Bandcamp, as is the Original Soundtrack... while we're linking Bandcamp, why don't you pick up his first EP, Moments—I designed the cover for that too. ːsteamthumbsupː

This update contains some small fixes and a rebalance of the Sparkifier & Item costs.

Fixes:

- New Spudalite VFX as the previous ones caused an Android crash (thanks for help debugging Benjamin & Darren!) - Planet Orbit corrector—in some cases if the game lagged significantly planets would get flung away. If this happens, a script catches them and resets their orbits. - Kinetigen & Spark Audio—fixed an issue where the Kinetigen’s sound wouldn’t blend into a gentle hum as you click more. Also reduced these sounds significantly, as well as Word Outputted sounds.

Rebalance

In the 2017 version of Spaceplan I switch to a different UI animation as the sparks become too intense. In the remaster I keep the same animation as it’s built more efficiently now. (1) In the 2017 version the Sparkifier actually broke when you switched to this animation, capping the Sparkifier Multiplier at 1.9x. (2) In the 2017 version it would also appear that the 2nd and 3rd Sparkifier upgrade don’t actually do anything, when they should have made the Sparkifier 2x & 3x more powerful. (3) Finally, in the 2017 version I had some code to reduce the Item Cost Scaling as it got too high, to make exponential price increases sting a little less. This code also didn’t work, leaving the price increases to be exponential. I fixed all of these issues in the Remaster without realising that they didn’t work in the 2017 version. This means that due to (1) the Sparkifier isn’t capped at 1.9x and quickly goes beyond it. Due to (2) the Sparkifier also becomes 2x & 3x more powerful, and due to (3) Solar Panels cost far, far less. Buying Solar Panels makes the Sparkifier more powerful. All of these changes meant that players could easily get multipliers in the thousands rather than the 2017 version’s 1.9x. Oops. I’ve put some temporary changes in place to calm this down at least a bit. They will affect new saves, but ongoing saves will only see some of these changes and continue to be a little OP. 1. Spark Effectiveness Curve—any sparks beyond around 80% of where the 1.9x cap would have been now begin to drop in effectiveness, down to a minimum of 10% of what they usually do. I didn’t want to introduce a hard cap as I do feel that more Solar Panels should always improve the Sparkifier at least a little. This change will affect all saves. 2. Sparkifier Upgrade Changes—previously you would get a 1% boost per spark, and the upgrades were broken. Now you get a 0.75% boost on the first upgrade, 1% boost on the second upgrade, and 1.25% boost on the third. This might mean slightly less effective Sparkifier at first, and ultimately a slightly more powerful one. On existing saves this won’t affect any Sparkifier Upgrades you’ve already bought, but will affect ones you’re yet to buy. 3. Item Cost Scaling—I’ve removed the reduction on item cost scaling entirely, so that it behaves like the original. This will affect all saves, but it won’t affect the current price on your save—only the increase that you’ll see on that cost after purchasing. With these changes the Sparkifier will still be more powerful than in the 2017 version, but much less so than they are right now. I’d appreciate thoughts on how this feels (on fresh saves only please!). I’d like to get changes into a future update which will appropriately change existing Saves with those changes above, and I’d like to tweak balance further to bring it closer to the 2017 version. Didn’t want to rush out changes more significant than what I’ve already done here however. You can see other known issues here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/616110/discussions/0/3809533595065731389/ Thanks for your potatience.

Update 2.0.1 fixes a bug where buying an idea (such as the Kinetigen Sparkifier) would fail to go through, leaving a duplicate in the Idea List. On reloading the game, the save file would fail to load. This fix should force Ideas to hide when bought, and fix any saves that were stuck as a result of this. If you run into any issues, please submit bugs via: https://steamcommunity.com/app/616110/discussions/0/3809533595065486642/ Thanks!

This new version of SPACEPLAN is a rebuild of the entire game from the ground up to bring it in line with current design standards and make maintenance easier to better future proof it for future devices. Key changes are— * Facelift across UI design and art style to bring the game more in line with the original vision, while maintaining the feel of the original release. * A more efficient physics system to better handle more gravitational bodies at a lower cost, meaning better performance as gameplay progresses. * Broadly improved systems to make the game’s UI feel more responsive. * New music to further flesh out the much-loved OST by Logan Gabriel.