April Dev Update & CSC Original Score
Hello Commanders,
You’re all long overdue for a CSC update so we’re releasing a feature update next week and want to get into the details with you about it in this post. We also thought we would share a behind the scenes look at our team. So let’s get right into it!
Behind the Scenes
We wanted to share with you guys some of the CSC heroes here at Lucid Sight who have put a lot of heart and effort into the game. Here’s a peek at Lucid Sight in action.
Modules
In preparation for our module sale, mining has gotten a hefty (one might even say beefy) update. We’ve expanded our mining lasers and ore scanners, something we offered a sneak peek of in a previous post. These scanners and lasers have varying power rates, so be sure to equip the one that your ship can utilize to its best potential.
Let’s say you’re a miner that focuses on Trilite to craft TCF. You can equip the Trilite Alpha Core Scanner and mine with the Trilite Extractor Beam to ensure you’re not wasting any power or time on other asteroids. Or if you’re not concerned about mining Trilite and instead need some common ore, then the Common Core CJ2 Scanner and the HCP Mining Laser might be more for you. With these added varieties, specialized mining has come to life. These new modules will be available to everyone during our module sale, but in the meantime, we wanted to share with you guys the Pharos Lodestar 7 Beam; a heavy-duty beam that can search out the most precious materials.
We’ve also added 2 new modules for you all to test out: the Phantom Spark Device RR1 and the Predator HX2 Scrambler. The Phantom Spark Device RR1 is a cloaking module that will render your ship invisible to others. It’s great when you want to be stealthy and avoid having others know where you are. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Predator HX2 Scrambler that can detect ships using cloaking. Are you being attacked and can’t seem to find the culprit? Have this module handy to uncover the stealthy offender.
We’re working hard on getting all the modules out to you guys through our sale and will keep you updated when we have a hard sale date. In the meantime, enjoy these new module additions!
Asteroids
We’ve added some new asteroid types for you all to mine. These new asteroids feature some alien vegetation and will offer a peek into what harvesting will be like. You can mine these for ore, but in the future, these will also offer some unknown organic materials that you will be able to harvest. Careful! You’ll want to harvest these first before you mine them. If you try to mine them before harvesting, your beam will destroy the vegetation, making them unharvestable. Take a tour of the galaxy to take a look at these new beauties firsthand!
TCF & Jumpgate
TCF (Trilite Concentrate Fuel) functionality has also been integrated and is free to refuel at stations. While free for now, when refining & crafting is introduced, users will refine their Trilite into Trilite shards and then craft it into fuel. TCF is the main fuel that powers FTL drives and is a necessity for interstellar travel, especially if you want to keep your traveling times on the lower end. You can use your TCF to FTL to other systems or take advantage of another new feature: the Jumpgate.
Getting around the universe just got easier. Don’t want to use too much of your TCF on traveling to a new system? Use a Jumpgate instead. During this current early alpha, it’s free to use but will eventually require users to pay its toll with in-game currency.
Destroyed State
While no one wants their ship to be destroyed, sometimes it’s inevitable when flying through areas like fringe space and exploring the less traversed expanses. Currently, when your ship has been destroyed, you’re ejected into your escape pod. While in your pod, other ships cannot shoot you. You can make your way to a station and reclaim your destroyed ship there. During early alpha, reclaiming your ship is free but will eventually have a cost.
Harvesting & Creatures
If you’re in our discord you might have seen a sneak peek to a new edition to the CSC Universe: the space whale. What you didn’t see is that there is a second creature as well, the space ray! Both of these gentle giants are roaming around the galaxy. And while you can’t interact with them yet, you’ll be able to harvest these creatures in the future.
While Harvesting hasn’t been implemented yet, we’ve been working hard on it. By harvesting creatures and vegetative asteroids, you will receive a type of organic material that can then be refined into food for when you have colonists to feed. Just like mining, you will have to have harvesting beam modules and each will have its own pros and cons.
UI, Optimization, and More
We’ve also made some UI updates as well as an update to our planetary shaders. What’s more, our build size has been optimized (half the previous size). You also might notice when targeting an NPC or other players that their holographic icons appear. The list doesn’t end there, we have added a screenshot functionality. All the above screenshots were taken with this new tool. To screenshot in game press `k` and take a screenshot with `c.` A countdown was also added when engaging in slipstream and FTL.
CSC is getting an Original Score / Music
And finally, we’ve added the first few tracks of our original score to the game. You will now enjoy CSC Original Music as while exploring, mining, and battling. We worked with Chris Tilton for these tracks, and couldn’t be more thrilled to have such a talented composer creating music for CSC. Chris got his start in the industry working as an apprentice for composer Michael Giacchino in 2001 and most notably has composed music for Assassin’s Creed Unity, SimCity and on the TV show Fringe. He has collaborated with other heavyweights such as J.J. Abrams and has worked on the music team for several major motion pictures. We’re beyond excited to have him aboard and hope you enjoy traversing the galaxy to these new tracks!
While we haven’t included the main theme track for CSC here is a quick sneak peek at what is to come…
That's all for today Commanders, we will be wrapping up this next build for release next week (sorry no internals of stations, yet..) and then we are setting our sights on going live with our new module and ship sale very soon, more details are coming!
Fly safe commanders, see you all in the next post!
