Hello Galactic Captains!

We’re here with a bugfix and polish patch that irons out some issues that have come up after the full release.

Bugfixes

• Fixed a bug that caused the Team Power-up not to display in the minimap once it spawned.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused global messages (such as ‘A team powerup has spawned’) during a match not to display properly.
  
• Several ability combination issues have been addressed (i.e for the Tactical Jump, Defensive Mode, Graviton Beam, Mark Target, Stasis Bubble).
  
• Fixed a bug, which caused the Generator Overload ability to remain available even after the block was destroyed.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused players who load into a match later not to see the correct status of Point Captures in the top UI panel.
  
• Fixed a bug that sometimes displayed the team with less points in a match as the winner.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the number of ship likes not to display properly in the hangar.
  
• Fixed several bugs that caused ability icons, messages or HUD elements not to display properly.
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed to escape the map with Tactical Jump.

Potential fixes - please report if you see these bugs!

• Fixed a bug which caused ships to explode at random points during the match.
  
• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused players to get stuck in the lobby at the 0:00 mark and not progress into a match.

Progression and Reward Polish

• Based on player progression data, XP required for level ups has been slightly increased.
  
• The global reward for finishing a match has been increased to 800 Junk / XP and the reward for winning a match has been increased to 1200 Junk / XP. At the same time the impact of individual player score on the after match reward has been decreased. This has been done to further underline the importance of the team result in a match as well as streamline progression for weaker players.
  
• The reward for ship likes in the lobby has increased to 40 Junk / XP per like from 20.

After months of preparations the full release is finally here! Whether you’re a newcomer or a regular player, this changelog will guide you through the changes. For players, who returned after a longer time, we’ve also included a summary of major updates since the release in January.


The main feature of this patch is the Galactic Conquest game mode. Prepare for tactical combat that will test your pilot skills and team cooperation! This mode combines well known mechanics, such as capturing points, with unique ones like Team Powerups and Capture point upgrades. Read a detailed description of the mode in the latest Dev Diary[galacticjunkleague.com].

• Galactic Conquest is now the main game mode in the Team Battle mode which awards Xp and Junk.
  
• Three maps are available in the matchmaking rotation.
  
• All Galactic Conquest battles will be 5v5.
  
• Team Deathmatch maps are still available in the Custom Game option.

Three brand new maps are introduced into matchmaking. Each offers a different tactical challenge as well as visual experience.

Abandoned Colony is specific for its narrow corridors which support close-range combat. The only open space is the large plaza in the middle with a Team Power-up.


Junkyard Belt takes place in an open asteroid field which allows for sniping and dogfights. The map is unique in its verticality - the central Capture point is in the top middle while the Team Power-up is right below it at the bottom.


Junk Vault 1101 features a rugged landscape cut in two by a huge central cliff. Neutral teleports allow teams to attack their opponent from almost any side.


We’ve also finally improved the mini map visuals.


All successful teams need cooperation. That’s why we’ve added a chat interface. The default activation key is R. The wheel allows different options based on what you’re aiming at. You’ll be able to issue specific commands when targeting enemy and allied ships, team powerups and capture points.


Rookie Replaced by Cruiser

We’ve streamlined the game start so that new players experience the depth of the game and chose their playstyle right from the start.

• We’ve removed the Rookie Ship class from the game and replaced it with the Cruiser, which will serve as the starter class
  
• All other classes now unlock at Cruiser level 3, which the player reaches after the first match.
  
• All Rookie ships have been converted to Cruisers and Rookie class progression has been transferred to the Cruiser so that it allows the same CPU and AP.

Progression Overhaul

For the full release we’ve lowered level up requirements.
Leveling up now rewards Space Credits.
The unlock level of various blocks has been rebalanced for a smoother early game experience.


Class Role Rebalance

To highlight the overhauled class system new class icons have been designed.


The whole idea behind the class rework is that each class should offer a unique gameplay experience and have a clear role in the new game mode.The Frigate’s role is to use it’s speed to quickly reach key objectives around the map, however it should be outmatched by other classes in head-on combat. The Battleship should excel in holding points and direct combat, but suffer from low mobility and be vulnerable to long-range. The Destroyer is a long-range damage dealer and suffers at close range.The Cruiser is the support as well as a middle-ground class. These attributes have been translated into the following balance changes.

• The Frigate now does 64 % base damage with all weapons at a 80 % rate of fire. This amounts to 80 % base DPS.
  
• The Battleship now has a maximum range of 2500 m for all weapons. This affects the Cruise Missile and Heavy Gauss.
  
• The Destroyer now does 125 % base damage with the Cruise Missile, Heavy Gauss and Uber Gauss and 90 % damage with all other weapons.
  
• The Cruiser stays the same.
  
• Heavy Gauss and Uber Gauss projectile speed has been increased by 25 %.
  
• Phaser max range damage has been increased to 6.5/s (by about ~9 %).

The new class selection screen gives much clearer information about the roles, strengths and weaknesses of each class.

Note: We’ve refrained from further class-focused balance changes for now, because we want to let the community adjust to the different conditions of the new game mode. In the following patches we plan to implement the Module system. One module per ship will allow it to specialise on a particular function in a similar way to loadouts in other games (i.e ability resistance for the Frigate or even stronger armor for the Battleship).


Movement changes

These changes address the increased importance of mobility in the new game mode.

• Rotation speed has been increased for all ships. All ships can expect a 10 - 30 % increase - the larger the ship the larger the increase.
  
• Horizontal strafing, ascent and descent speeds speeds have been increased by 25 % to 50 % of forward movement speed.

Energy Rebalance

The purpose of this change is to make the energy system less punishing for new players. It should not significantly affect late game energy balance as these stats produce similar results to the old system with a large number of weapons.

• Base energy regeneration has been increased to 100 GJ/s. Base energy capacity has been lowered to 800 GJ.
  
• Energy generator production has been decreased to 15 GJ /s and Battery capacity has been reduced to 150 GJ.

• The Custom Game option is now available for all players in the Play menu.
  
• Multiple players can enter the same game, when they type in an identical game name.
  
• The first player to enter a Custom Game lobby is the Founder and has rights to change maps and start the match.
  
• 6 maps are available in the Custom Game interface - 3 Galactic Conquest maps and 3 Team Deathmatch maps. They follow their standard rules.
  
• Bots may be added and their ships and skill is scaled based on the average strength of human ships.

• For the first two weeks after release (July 26 - August 9) Space Credits are 50 % off! Stock up on Credits now so you’re ready for all future premium stuff.
  
• Flexible prices for bundles and ships in the Shop have been implemented. This means that your price for a block bundle adjusts if you already own some parts. That way you’ll never pay for the same thing twice!
  
• If you already own all block skins in a ship bundle, the price is now significantly lower.
  
• Three new Steam Launch DLCs with unique ships and more are out now! For the first week after release (July 26 - August 2) all DLCs are 40 % off!

Sadly, some features from the roadmap didn’t make it into this release. In the following patches you can look forward to:

• New Research Tree
  
• Repair Kits in maps
  
• Competitive features such as MMR and leagues

If you haven’t played the game since the January release, here’s a list of features added in the meantime:

• Player Profiles and Avatars
  
• Hall of Fame
  
• New Abilities
  
• Ship Likes in the Lobby
  
• US Servers, which radically reduce ping in the US and East Asia
  
• Upgraded scoring system based on matchmaking ranking
  
• New Cyber Set
  
• Daily Quests
  
• Ship Core Shield bound to ship HP
  
• Builder improvements
  
• Free Addons that cost no CPU
  
• Editing ships while waiting for matches is now possible
  
• A whole lot of balance changes!

Aaaand that's it for this changelog. There are many other smaller changes, that it's possible we didn't include every single one. Let us know, what you think about the new features and how we could improve and expand upon them on the forum HERE[forum.galacticjunkleague.com].

Hello Galactic Captains!

After weeks of preparations we’re ready to reveal the upcoming changes for the next major update. In this first part we’ll talk about our new game mode - Galactic Conquest!



The new game mode has three main objectives:

• Capturing Points
  
• Upgrading Capture Points
  
• Collecting Team Power-ups

The first one - Capturing Points - is most important to victory. Owning Capture Points generates Team Score over time. The team that reaches the limit of 1200 Team Score first, wins the match. Each of our current maps has 3 Capture Points. We expect each match to last around 12 minutes depending on how evenly matched the teams are.

Once your team captures Points it may upgrade them by collecting Point Upgrades. These are collectible items spread around the map. Collecting a Point Upgrade grants a Capture Point one of three upgrades in this order:

• Minefield which detonates shortly after an enemy ship enters the capture area. The enemy either takes damage or has to back off until the mines explode.
  
• Junk Shield which provides cover to ships defending the point.
  
• Warpgate which creates an instant transportation portal from your team’s spawn point to the Capture Point.

It’s possible to equip one Capture Point with all of these if a team collects the Point Upgrade three times.

Three states of a Capture Point: 1. Owned by Blue Team, 2. equipped with mines, 3. equipped with a Junk Shield.


The Team Power-up spawns every two minutes usually at the center of a map. The first team to collect it receives a significant team-wide boost. Currently there are three Power-ups which spawn randomly.

• Weapon Overload - doubles damage output for all allied ships for the first 2000 damage they deal.
  
• Neutron Shield - spawns a 2000 hp protective shield around each ship.
  
• Engine Overload - grants the whole team a speed of 250 m/s for 30 seconds.

Our main goal with the new game mode was to increase the tactical depth of the game’s combat. This has been done in two ways: 1st by the introduction of several objectives (capturing, upgrading, collecting power-ups), which require teams to decide where to focus their attention; 2nd by requiring each class to contribute with their unique strengths to victory.

The Frigate has Speed so it can capture objectives faster, the Battleship can defend or push through key areas, the Destroyer is the long-range damage dealer and the Cruiser serves as support as well as a jack-of-all trades class. We’ll be making several balance changes to classes to help them fill their role even better. These will be introduced in the next dev diary. We’re also aware that the new game mode relies on ship mobility more than team deathmatch. This is why, we’ll be generally buffing mobility with the release.


The new game mode will come with three brand new maps: Abandoned Colony, Junkyard Belt, Junk Vault 1101. Here’s a sneak peak at one of them:

This map Junkyard Belt is set in an asteroid field. Another one named Abandoned Colony and featured in the top screenshot is set in a canyon environment.

And here are their minimaps, with all the main objectives displayed:

The size of the new maps is slightly larger than the current ones, but since the objectives are spread out, we think the they will become a much more significant part of gameplay. We have also tried to balance the number of open areas, which favor snipers, with corridors, which favor close range combat. The last map Junk Vault 1101 will also include neutral Warpgates, which will allow players to get to the other side of the map instantly.


As I mentioned earlier, the only victory condition will be to accumulate 1200 Victory Score, which is generated by capturing points. The reward for winning a match will be 1500 Junk and XP, while the losing players will get 500.

Along with that each player will be scored individually in the match and this will be added to their after-match reward. These are the activities that will be rewarded:

• Player kills - 120 p (same as now)
  
• Point capture - 120 p
  
• Team power-up pickup - 120 p
  
• Upgrade pickup - 60 p
  
• Using supportive abilities (such as Support Shield, Mark Target etc.) - 20 p

One benefit of this new score system is that it will allow various types of builds and gameplay styles - such as support or mobility - to receive high scores.

Alright, that’s it for this diary. Next time we’ll look at the rest of upcoming changes such as the upgraded class system, balance changes, match communication interface and other stuff. If you have any questions or suggestions, let us know on the FORUM[forum.galacticjunkleague.com] :-)

Hey there Galactic Captains!

We’re here with another exciting patch. This time, the major change is the addition of bots into matches. There are also some balance changes and bugfixes.

Bots

• JunkBots have been added to complement matchmaking matches.
  
• We have created several skill profiles for bots to create an adequate challenge for both early and late-game players. The skill and ship power rating of bots is determined based on the average power rating of human-controlled ships in a match.
  
• Matchmaking waiting times have been lowered for players across all levels, most significantly for new Rookie ship players, who will get a match almost immediately. For late-game players waiting times have also been reduced, while still leaving time for enough human players to assemble. The basic rule is this: The higher the level of a ship, the longer the waiting time and the higher the proportion of human players in a match.
  
• In this first version, bots are able to move across the map, find cover and engage against other ships with all types of weapons. Currently they are unable to use active abilities. They will also use self-destruct, when their ship is too damaged.
  
• Bots use a variety of ships made by the team. If you would like to volunteer your ship to be used as a bot, write your player ID and the ship name into the comments. Currently the bots work best with ships with a balanced energy system and passive abilities.

The addition of bots to the game serves two purposes. First it should give new players quick and balanced matches so that they have enough time to learn and get through the early levels, before facing off against highly skilled opponents. Second they serve as ‘filler’ enemies for mid- and late-game matches. While we are quite satisfied with the early game bots, we understand they will require more tweaking for late game matches (such as being able to use abilities). Please, let us know, what are your impressions!


Balance

• Tactical Swap charge time has been raised to 6 sec from 3 for all levels. The cooldown remains at 35 s.
  
• Magnetic Cannon’s projectile diameter has been decreased from 300 m to 200 m. Max range at lvl 10 has been lowered to 4000 m down from 5000 m, the range at lvl 0 (3500 m) stays the same. This has been done so that there is a narrow range gap for snipers, where they can’t be reached by this ability. The decreased diameter should allow fast ships to avoid being hit some of the time. Note: There is a known issue, that the tooltip does not display the correct range.

For the following patches we’re preparing more balance changes, which will entail functional changes to some abilities (i.e the max damage cap for Plasma Ball). There will also be other balance changes to adjust the game to the requirements of the new game mode. These will be announced before the release, so that we may get your feedback.


Polish / Bugfixes

• Tooltips have been added for the Profile, Daily quest and Friend buttons in the hangar.
  
• Fixed a bug, that caused some abilities to not initialize for a match (the 3D model was on the ship, but the icon was missing and the ability could not be used)

That’s it for this patch. Let us know, what you think of the bots - their skill, ships, names anything. If you’d like to volunteer some of your ships to be used as bots, write your player ID and shipname in the comments.

One more thing. In the following weeks we will be releasing more details about upcoming features such as the new game mode, so stay tuned!

Enter our 3rd ship building contest and win cool and comfy galactic T-Shirts and Hoodies! (check them here: https://shop.pixelfederation.com/shop/?orderby=date )

The theme is: ALIENS 👽

Post a screenshot of your ship design to our Facebook page and don’t forget to mention what your inspiration was (a book/ movie/ game etc…). Also, please send us only 1 screenshot per ship.

Galactic Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/galacticjunkleague/

On Thursday, June 15th, we'll reveal the winners. This time, the devs will choose who won.

Ahoy Captains!

We’re here with another update. This time we’ve included a brand new feature for all ship-builders: Ship Stickerz (Beta)! Other than that you can look forward to some balance changes and bugfixes.

Stickerz

• 16 new Stickerz have been added to the ingame Shop based on WW2 bomber nose art.
  
• In the Shop they are available in the Stickerz tab in 8 packs of 2 sticker visuals each - some cost SC and others Junk.
  
• Each Sticker is available in 4 skin variations to account for various placement situations and sizes (a large one connectable from the back side, a large one connectable from the bottom and small variations connectable from the back side and bottom).
  
• Functionally, Stickerz have the same attributes as Addons: no colliders, don’t block weapon fire, are part of the Free Addons counter.

With the Stickerz feature, we want to give ship builders an easy-to use and cheap option to customize their ships. With regards to usability they’re still in Beta, so let us know what you think of them. We’re also looking for suggestions, what the next batch should be like.

Balance

• Super Support Shield HP has been buffed to 1000 - 2000 HP (lvl 0 - 10) from 600 - 1200. Casting range has been increased to 4000 - 5000 m from 2500 m.
  
• Tactical Swap charge time has been reduced to 3 s from 5 s. Cooldown has been reduced from 50 - 40 s to 35 - 30 s.
  
• Bang! charge time has been reduced to 7 s.

With balance changes we’ve focused on new abilities based on player feedback and our performance stats. There are other reported issues we’ll looking into such as the max damage cap for the Plasma Ball and possible Bang! Abuses. It you have more info about these issues or other balance issues, please let us know.

Bugfixes / Tech changes

• All ability and weapon particle effects have been optimized. This will improve performance in situations, when a large number of abilities or weapons is used at once.
  
• A builder bug, which made it possible to stack several blocks in one place, has been fixed.
  
• A bug, that caused some buttons in the Hangar do disappear after a party match, has been fixed.
  
• The Junk/XP rewards for likes in the Pre-match Lobby now update after Boosting the match.
  
• Fixed a bug, that caused Weapon Overload to increase a ship's energy consumption by 100 % instead of the intended 50 %.

UPDATE:
This patch was re-released on May 30th as v 0.1.1142 after a rollback on May 26. All players, who have bought Stickerz before the rollback, will be able to use them again after this patch.

That’s it for this patch! Let us know, what you think of Stickerz, and if there are any other balance problems.

Cheers!

Dear Junkers,

due to the current errors in the game, there will be a 3-hour outage until approximately 18:00 GMT. The game will be reverted to the previous version afterwards. This means that all the new content (added in today's patch) will be temporarily removed from the game.

Thank you for your patience!

GJL Devs

Hello, we're here with a small hotfix patch. If fixes to following issues:

• Fixed a bug, that caused weapon sounds not to play every time (fixed with client patch 0.1.1139).
  
• Fixed a bug, that caused the self-destruct option to activate when typing 'K' in the in-match chat.
  
• Fixed a bug, that caused the position of the Cyber Mega Armor 3D model to not match with the block's functional position.

Hey there Junker Captains!

We’re already working hard to bring you the next major update for Galactic Junk League! The preliminary release date is set for late July. In this roadmap we’ll reveal new features you can look forward to with the major update as well as in the smaller updates in the meantime.

The major update will feature three huge new features:

• New game mode with new maps
  
• Class system rewamp
  
• Competitive play

Smaller patches in the meantime will include:

• AI Bots
  
• Stickers and decals
  
• Improved minimap and team communication options
  
• Shop improvements

New game mode with new maps

We’ll be introducing the Galactic Junk Match as our main game mode for matchmaking. This game mode will combine familiar mechanics from other games (such as capture points) with some unique to GJL (team power-ups, capture point junk upgrades). More details will be revealed in a few weeks, since now we’re still in the prototyping phase.

With this change, we want to achieve 3 goals: 1. Significantly boost the tactical aspect of matches, 2. Promote teamwork and team communication, 3. Make playstyles other than damage dealing viable (i.e. support, mobility, damage tanking).

Three maps are planned to be released with the new game mode. Along with this we’ll release an improved team communication system and a new scoring system, which will put greater emphasis on team results.


Class System Rewamp

Thanks to the Steam early access release we now have enough feedback and data to improve the class system and progression. The goal of these changes is to make playing each class a more unique experience, give them a clearer role in combat and increase the rock-paper-scissors dynamic. The core changes will be:

1. The Cruiser will replace the Rookie ship as the starter class.
   
2. All classes will become available after the tutorial phase, with their ‘defining’ unique blocks unlocked right away (i.e. the Frigate’s Heavy Thruster).
   
3. Classes will be overhauled to make them more efficient at their intended roles with balance changes and new class-specific Modules. For instance the Destroyer will become even more focused on long-range combat at a cost of reduced short range strength.

The specifics will be revealed in a separate dev diary. The progression changes will not harm existing player’s progress. Along with this we’ll be introducing a brand new research screen and a class selection screen and rebalancing early-game block unlock levels and research costs.


Competitive play

The third major feature introduced in the update will be the addition of ranked matches. The goal of this change is to support the competitive aspect of the game and give our core playerbase an attractive goal they can work towards. We’re still working out the details of this one, so more info will be revealed in a few weeks.


AI Ships

One of the features, you can look forward to within the next month, are AI bots. In the first iteration they will be used as opponents for Rookie ships so that new players get a more appropriate challenge with a short waiting time. In the future as we create more advanced AI we’ll be able to use for higer level matches as-well.


Ship Stickerz

For players, who want to turn the swag on their ships to the max, we’ll be adding visual Stickerz (remember the 90s? :-) ). These will function the same way as addons. That means they won’t interfere with the gameplay in any way. The first batch will feature more than 50 stickerz based on World War 2 bomber nose art. These will be added with the following update. Here’s a small sample:
Shop Polish

We’ll add flexible prices for ships and block bundles so that it reflects the number of blocks you already own from a specific bundle (i.e. if you already own ½ of a 500 SC bundle, it will only cost 250 SC for you).


That’s it for this week, Junkers. As you can see, the upcoming features are quite large and will significantly expand the game in almost every area. It won’t be easy to get it right, which is why we’ll be relying on the feedback of you guys once we reveal all the details! Tell us what you think on the FORUM[forum.galacticjunkleague.com].

Martin 'Gajxo' Gajarsky
Game Designer