Hello everyone,

The demo has been put back online to gather more feedback and address the few remaining issues here and there. Some time ago, Jean-Baptiste joined the project to handle the English translation. He brought many interesting ideas, and I decided to entrust him with the writing of dialogues and lore. He took over all the dialogues and a significant portion of the demo's texts.
This devlog will focus on the lore and the campaign accompanying the early access. I'll now hand it over to Jean-Baptiste, who will present it all. Enjoy your reading.

Hello!!

I'm delighted to introduce you further to the universe of Station9. In this story, I aimed to explore themes of international cooperation, space exploration, and environmental sustainability. Every narrative choice has been guided by the idea that our ability to overcome global challenges lies in our unity and collective ingenuity. Station9 thus offers players the opportunity to engage in this extraordinary adventure in an immersive and engaging way.

In a distant future in 2052, humanity stands at a crossroads. Earth's resources are dwindling, the climate is changing, and our survival as a species is directly threatened. However, in this dark context, a glimmer of hope emerges when a meteorite crashes in Poland in the Białowieża Forest. Events unfold as scientists discover something new by studying its composition: Draxen, an energy source from the far reaches of space.

In 2056, the planet SE-20269.02, referenced a few years earlier and quickly renamed Promethea, turns out to have enormous Draxen deposits. This extraordinary, clean, and inexhaustible resource becomes the cornerstone of an unprecedented international effort to overcome the only obstacle, which is the distance. Located around a red dwarf YZ Ceti, also known as Luyten's Star, in the constellation of the Whale (Cetus), approximately 12.1 light-years from Earth.

In 2059, after three years of meetings, informal discussions, and summits, the OERS (Organization for Exploration and Space Research) is established, a partnership comprising the United States, Russia, China, the European Space Agency (ESA), and cooperating countries, India and Japan, representing 2.5 billion people in a world populated by 8.3 billion souls. Research is pushed in all directions in the following years. In 2062, the first spacecraft with an Advanced Ionic Propulsion engine integrating miniaturized fusion reactors with Draxen achieves four times the speed of light. In 2066, "TerraNex Station," the low Earth orbit spaceport, is inaugurated.

In 2078, the first drilling station is now operational, while other stations progress rapidly thanks to the experience gained with Station1. The exploration and exploitation of Promethea's resources enter a new era. We are now in 2082, and Station9 is about to be activated, and to answer your question: Yes, you will be in charge.

As you can see, I've spent a lot of time making the game's universe credible so that when you take command of Station 9, you can understand the events that led to exploiting a deposit on a planet located 14.21 light-years from Earth. These events are linked to the Station9 scenario.

Speaking of the scenario, it's progressing; the main plot is finished. The writing of dialogues and events is currently underway.
That's it for today, all that's left is to wish you a happy and prosperous new year!

Hello everyone, I hope you had a great summer!
After a lot of feedback on the Station9 demo, I decided to remove it from the store in order to improve it. So I'm going to take a step-by-step look at the changes I've made to the game over these rainy summer months.

Perhaps the most obvious changes are in the lighting of the various spaces. When I started developing Station9, the floors were smaller and the rooms more brightly lit. But by increasing the size of the levels and the number of objects visible on the screen, lighting consumed a lot of graphic resources, which is currently a major issue for 3D games. At first, I tried to compromise, but the result was really average. So I decided to set up a single light source for the entire space.

The performance problem solved, I was able to change the look of the floor.
The rooms are about to get a little visual update: here are some objects before their texture is added!

The redesign of the UI (User Interface: all visual components enabling players to interact with the game) was the other big project. The aim was to make it simpler and clearer. Thanks to feedback from the demo, I started to remove superfluous elements, replacing certain texts with icons where possible. I've also removed certain tabs to facilitate access to information on the game, in the tutorial for example. The experience is now much smoother and more enjoyable!

The final major change concerns the technology tree. Previously, technologies were unlocked over time, and the tree was poorly organized.
The player wasn't active: he or she simply had to start the process of acquiring a new skill or technology, then wait for it to be unlocked.
To reduce this feeling of waiting, a research lab has been added. Assign researchers to it, and they will generate points that will be used to unlock the various technologies. The more researchers you have, the faster the points will arrive.
The tree has also been reorganized, and after several attempts, I've opted for a fairly classic but effective layout. Tiers are now unlocked according to the level of your station.

The new demo is currently being translated and I hope to be able to put it online in a few days. I can't wait to see the feedback on all these changes!