Hey everyone, our forum mod Malus Tepes is running a new contest. It’s an animal design contest, in which we’re looking to put the winner’s design into the game. You can find the official thread here: http://board.pathea.net/index.php?topic=3102.0 The contest runs until November 8th. You can also read up on the evolution of Maria thread that we talked about last time to get a feel for what types of creatures fit the ecosystem of this world.

Now, I’m going to show you the new creation system and the build system. Mind you, they’re all works in progress, but you can see where we’re headed. The new creation system allows far greater depth for people who want to dig deeper and maker prettier objects while still remaining easy to use for the people who just want to make a block sword. It now allows people to imprint decals, import up to 16 of your own textures per object, project an image onto a surface, make sharp edges and points, and rotate templates. We’ll still be adding in bevel, smoothing, and other features. It also got an UI upgrade while we’re at it.

The build system now uses blocks and angles, in a0.7, we’ll be looking to give players the choice to use 1/2 meter blocks. Once we add in LOD, we’ll cut that down to 1/4 meter. Players will be able to build this inside the creations editor (and save as iso) or directly into the world.

Next time, I’ll give you all an update on multiplayer coop and versus.

Hey everyone, just a small update for you guys as we make our way to alpha 0.7. We now have a new official wiki thanks to Gamepedia, we’ll be updating it ourselves, so look forward to some never before released backstory regarding the universe of the game. In the future, please update this one over all the other wikis for Planet Explorers so we can concentrate our efforts on making a comprehensive wiki.

Another thing that some of you might find interesting is a new Youtube series called “The Natural History and Evolution of Marian Fauna” by a user named PLatypus. Now PLatypus actually studies evolutionary biology, so the vids are very educational. In fact, after watching these, we’ll be changing some ai designs in the future so they’re more scientifically sound.

As far as game development is concerned, we’re almost done with the new construction system. The new creation system is still getting lots of work, but we can already import our own textures into the game. On the ai side, the Puja system is being worked on. For art, we’re now working very hard on the things you’ll in in the western desert and the canyons. It’s starting to look pretty good.

Hey everyone, the name the desert moon contest running on our boards will end in a couple more days. It’s a real tight race right now, so go make your vote count!

http://board.pathea.net/index.php?topic=2866.0

There are 3 moons orbiting Maria, the first one, an icy moon, is called Freya (by vote), we’re trying to name the second one, a desert moon. We’ll have another contest naming the last one, a small rocky moon, soon.

Here are the candidates for the desert moon.

Freyr – Brother of Freya and a fertility god in the Norse mythology.

Helios – The personification of the Sun in Greek mythology.

Mirna – means peaceful / tranquil.

So here’s a0.62 available across all versions. If you already have a0.61 P version, there’s really not that many difference in this version other than bug fixes. So if you want a more bug free version, download this one.

PC Torrent: pathea.net/a062p.torrent
PC DD: http://www.indiedb.com/games/planet-explorers/downloads/planet-explorers-alpha-062-pc

Mac Torrent: pathea.net/a062m.torrent
Mac DD: http://www.indiedb.com/games/planet-explorers/downloads/planet-explorers-alpha-062-mac

Linux Torrent: pathea.net/a062l.torrent
Linux DD: http://www.indiedb.com/games/planet-explorers/downloads/planet-explorers-alpha-062-linux

For Linux users, the + and – keys can be used to zoom in now. There’s also a lock key in window option for users with multiple screens.

Also, we’re currently voting for the name of the second moon of Maria, you can vote for it here: http://board.pathea.net/index.php?topic=2750.0

Also we talk a little about stuff coming for a0.7 here: http://board.pathea.net/index.php?topic=2721.0

If you have bugs or questions, please post them on our boards, if you have problems with registration, please contact us at admin@pathea.net. If you want to resend your key, use this link.

Hey guys, we just finished up the alpha 0.61 PC build, the MAC and Linux builds will come later this week as we still need time to test them out. Here are the links:

Torrent: http://www.pathea.net/a061p.torrent

Direct: http://www.indiedb.com/games/planet-explorers/downloads/planet-explorers-alpha-061

Also, there’s no patching this time, since we sorta forgot something important, which is, we changed the terrain a lot. The terrain takes up the most space in game, and when we update it, it does it as a whole chunk. The patch itself ended up being 1.85G this time, while the entire game was 1.9G…yeah.

Changelist:

– able to load iso files in build/adventure mode
– bullet script and other new scripts
– torches become charcoal when picked up
– andheras will run from flares (sometimes!)
– might want to check out the cave near Carter Camp
– script for ladders
– climbing ladders
– flying enemy when flying to a certain height
– chop and pick up plants in adventure
– adventure mode working
– adventure mode starting with way less things in the pack
– able to dig tin to replicate bronze with copper
– pickaxe balance
– custom shields in the creations editor
– chairs for npcs to ride in vehicles
– npc able to shoot in vehicles
– crystals for Hitomi’s quest
– repair kits in camps to fix items low in durability
– gunpowder script
– grenades
– can pause a mission in the middle, leave the npc there, do other things, come back and lead the npc on
– fixed multiple launcher, Mac, Linux bugs
– chat ui in multiplayer
– bigger ore deposits, less random (still no detector yet, working on that)
– more stable settlement
– sentry gun type 01
– fixed bugs

This build should have slightly higher framerates, but the memory problem is still there for 32 bit folks (so we still suggest you use ramsmash and/or use the lowest settings in game). Once Unity has the ability to release 64bit builds, we’ll probably do 2 builds for 64 and 32bits. If you have a problem with the build, please post it on our bugs section on our boards at: Board.pathea.net

Also you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

So we’re actually going to add quite a bit of stuff to the a0.61 build. Having a bigger team is really helping our speed and ability to tackle multiple things. The bad part is organization is a lot sloppier now since we’re keeping track of a lot more things and bugs slip through the crack easier. If all goes well, we’ll release the 0.61 patch next week (and yes, it’s a patch, although it’s still pretty big, since Unity’s asset files can’t be cut up).

– able to load iso files in build/adventure mode
– bullet script
– torches become charcoal when picked up
– script for ladders
– climbing ladders
– flying enemy when flying to a certain height
– chop and pick up plants in adventure
– adventure mode working
– adventure mode starting with way less things in the pack
– able to dig tin to replicate bronze with copper
– pickaxe balance
– custom shields in the creations editor
– chairs for npcs to ride in vehicles
– crystals for Hitomi’s quest
– repair kits in camps to fix items low in durability
– gunpowder script
– grenades
– can pause a mission in the middle, leave the npc there, do other things, come back and lead the npc on
– fixed multiple launcher, Mac, Linux bugs
– chat ui in multiplayer
– bigger ore deposits, less random
– more stable settlement
– sentry gun type 01
– fixed bugs

Hi everyone, the newest alpha build is now available. In this build we fixed the launcher problems that were plaguing the a0.6 build. Unfortunately, since the launcher was changed, you’ll need to download the whole build again instead of just a patch. We hope to test out the patching system in a0.61 coming out in a week or two. We’re also resetting everything on the server so that you’ll get a fresh register for multiplayer and activation. If you’re trying to activate with the a0.6 version now, you might have some problems, we would recommend upgrading to the current build.

Here are the torrent files, the direct links will be posted later:

PC http://www.pathea.net/a0605p.torrent

MAC http://www.pathea.net/a0605m.torrent

LINUX http://www.pathea.net/a0605l.torrent

There are some shader problems with the Mac and Linux versions, but we haven’t had time to look at them yet (in the case of Linux versions, we’re not even able to figure out what the problem is yet since Unity doesn’t have a Linux version).

Changelist

– fixed the bug in adventure mode, so you can play that now
– fixed a lot of the bugs in multiplayer, so now your name can be shorter than 6 characters
– started doing the rebalancing we talked about last time, no sentries yet
– sped up the npc run movements a lot
– fixed a bunch of story bugs
– this build should use less ram and is more stable
– fixed the crash on equipping battery in multiplayer
– mission items now update in real time in ui windows
– tree chopping saves for a bit so it doesn’t start over if the player stops
– tree chopping icon doesn’t move
– digging bug fixed, much easier to dig now
– tweaked the durability numbers
– you can now dig up tin
– lots of other small bug fixes

If you have questions or concerns, please email admin@pathea.net or post on our boards at: http:board.pathea.net. If you’re looking to resend your activation codes or need to check on their status, please use this link: http://76.76.13.107/~ppu/activation/public/resend_keys.html

Hey everyone, as many of you may know, we’re having some issues with the launcher, where some of you will be able to play the first time, then run into an initiation bug on the second launch and the game won’t start. We’re fixing that! We’re also streamlining the entire activation process so it’s very simple and straightforward. There is also the balancing issue and server issues and adventure mode loading issue and lots of other small and large mission bugs. We’re going to fix all that in a a0.605 build that should come out Monday. We’ll release the Mac and Linux builds at that time as well with the new launcher.

We’ll then release a a0.61 build that will dramatically change the way we approach the game. You can read more about it in this thread here: http://board.pathea.net/index.php?topic=1983.0 But the point is we’re going to cut the atk/hp of most enemies by a reasonable amount, the turrets will now be very hard to come by, there will now be sentry guns you can drop for 10, 20 seconds like in Borderlands. We’re now building the gameplay around run and gun style as most players seem to be playing that way. We’re aiming a0.61 at before the 24th.

Also, the email is really backed up right now, since we’re answering and fixing bugs at the same time. Please send any bugs to our boards instead of admin@pathea.net if you can, since players there can help us answer some questions as well.

We have an auto solution for re-emailing keys now! Yay! Also, make sure your email is not blocking activation@pathea.net, that’s the email we’re sending out the keys with. So if you still haven’t gotten your keys, use this:

http://76.76.13.107/~ppu/activation/public/resend_keys.html

There might have been a bug where some of the keys didn’t get send out, we think we’ve it fixed, but we shall see. For everyone that’s having trouble activating, make sure that if you’re getting a single player key, type it in “activate”, if you’re getting a multiplayer key, type it in “register”. Yes, the logic is screwed up, we’ll get it fixed in a 0.605 build coming in the next few days. Yes, we’re gonna try patch updating soon!

Plus, if you are getting multikeys, and is gifting them out, your pals will have to use the same email to register for now. We’re still trying to figure out how to make it so you can change the email to another account.

And if you have questions regarding activation, send it to admin@pathea.net, we like to have all the questions in one place instead of all over the place where we can’t see them in time. Also we’re human that need sleep and other functions, so give us at least 24 hours to reply. Don’t be angry just because we fail to reply in 10 hours. 🙁

Direct link: http://www.indiedb.com/games/planet-explorers/downloads/planet-explorers-alpha-06
Torrent: http://pathea.net/a06p.torrent

Hey all, it’s been too long, but we’re finally done with the alpha 0.6 build. There were just too many things packed into this build for us to move any faster, but we should have scheduled better. We’ll try to make the build content smaller for a0.7 (yeah right knowing our personalities) so we can hit our scheduling better.

As for alpha 0.6 itself, the build is no longer free to play, for anyone that wishes to only try out the game, please try alpha 0.53. We’ve reached a point in the game’s life where we think it’s actually worth people’s hard earned money. To get into the alpha right now, you can just pre-order it here. For early backers from Kickstarter and Paypal, we’ve been sending out your keys over the last few hours, if you don’t get your key within the next 24 hours, please contact us at admin@pathea.net, check your spam folder first though (we really screwed up and sent the email out as “hello player”). Currently, the build is for PC only, we’ll be releasing the Linux and Mac versions later this week.

Here’s the changelist for Alpha 0.6:

– flare gun with very cool flare
– blaster gun
– stun gun
– rifle tupe 2
– gatling turret
– proton turret
– battery (to power things such as blasters, shields, and other energy devices)
– 12 men hair styles
– 15 women hair styles
– 2 all new face types (f/m)
– building creation (5 types)
– launcher for game with patch updating
– minerals everywhere
– random mineral patches
– 5 new armor types
– caves everywhere
– new adventure map random seeding (with names as the seed, so “Planet Godzilla”)
– random map is now looking great and infinite
– flora on random map
– new npc system
– new npcs
– ragdolls for ai
– new forest animals
– switching items no longer have frame drop
– new save ui with instant picture taking when saving manually
– multiplayer adventure and build modes
– new inventory for multiplayer
– digging materials in multiplayer
– freed around 100MB of ram
– vertical take off craft creation
– settlement building
– new landscapes
– new missions
– new locations
– new weather
– new moon cycle
– new materials such as coal and sulfate
– player being able to load items other players made in multiplayer
– alien base
– alien ai
– personal PC UI and functions
– using shield (defaults to the ctrl key)
– energy shield
– glass windows
– invert mouse in first person and gun mode
– tree cutting progress bar
– overheating for vehicle weapons
– animals causing area damage to other animals
– items durability (include turrets and vehicles! Fix them up in the repair center for now)
– andhera queen
– flying bird small
– layerback boss
– blindatillo boss
– player being able to load items other players made in multiplayer
– Personal PC UI and functions
– newer tutorial ui
– NPC can fire ranged weapons
– better pathfinding for ai
– option to show hp change
– better animation when standing still
– more animation variations
– better cave detection to turn down the ambient (still needs work)

If you’re on a 32bit machine, we’d suggest you try using a software called Ram Smash. It clears your ram whenever you get close to the crash limit (1.7G), that way you can play the game for long periods of time without crash (the game pauses for a bit when the ram’s getting cleared).

To activate the game, please type in the email you received the key with as well as the key itself. If you cannot connect to the server, please wait a bit and try again. The activation server is in the US. If you still cannot access after 24 hours, we’ll have to troubleshoot case by case.

For multiplayer, hosting a private server allows you to play on LAN, an open server is on the lobby. So far it’s still coop only. There are still some bugs in it that we’ll attempt to address with a0.61. And yes, there will be an a0.61, we already know a lot of the bugs in the current build.

After we release some patch builds for a0.6, we’ll start moving in the direction of a0.7, which is aiming for a September release.

We didn’t get to finish the mineral magnetometer scanner tool on time for this build, so here are some locations for some of the ores (you’ll need to find the rest on your own, there are lots).

copper 11574, 9117
copper 11601, 9288
copper 10728. 7654
iron 11083, 6507
iron 11367, 7803
iron 11047, 8167
oil 11898, 7888
oil 10017, 7191
aluminum 10300, 8527
aluminum 10530, 7915
aluminum 11835, 7596
gold 11740, 7443
gold 11862, 8091
coal 10269, 7299
coal 11182, 7380
silver 11133, 8748
silver 11799, 6178

Anyway, thank you again for all your support and please enjoy the release!