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Alliance of the Sacred Suns : 4X/Grand Strategy
Asid:
Spring Update - Lots of Awesomeness to tell!
Thu, 25 May 2023
Greetings, presumptive rulers of the Celestial Empire! I know it’s been a while since we’ve updated the game status, but don’t worry - we’ve been very busy, and although there’s a lot of news, don’t stop reading - we come bearing gifts.
First of all, we have spent a lot of time reworking the UI and UX to be… well, more fun to use, cleaner, and more visual. We have two recent examples of this. First is the Rank Map, which is selectable from the Nexus Bar on the main UI. This screen shows graphically the entire hierarchy of the Empire - viceroys, governors, and Primes can now be seen clearly where they fit into the Empire. And it gets better!! No more cumbersome ‘fire’ Actions or begging a House Leader to allow you to fill one of their Holdings - you can make all of your changes on this screen, through the magic of drag and drop! Fire a Viceroy, and drag a Courtier into their place. Promote someone to the Celestial Council from another House, and that House Leader may let you put your choice into their old slot! You’ll be able to see House reactions to all of your moves before you confirm them, and it will be obvious which positions are open and which are not (House Leaders have the final say on their Holdings!).
Next, the Epiphany Tree has gotten a COMPLETE overhaul. We wanted it to be more graphic and more dynamic - the nodes were all the same look, and it wasn’t clear how to move through a larger tree. No more! The entire tree of an Epiphany category is now available to see and plan from the start, and you can move, pan, and zoom in and out freely on the tree! Clean, clear, and more visual: Check!
Moving on, we now have planetary and system Orbitals. These are built with Projects, but before there was no representation of them in-game. No more! Now, you can zoom in on all planetary and system orbitals to your hearts’ content, and see their status, and watch them grow as you increase their level in some cases!
Next, Actions have been updated and revised to fit the new game systemsl. We completely scrapped the old Actions and added over 40 all-new Actions to better fit the theme of the game. We focused on how a ruler would use Actions - they would look to improve their own relationships with characters, undermine their enemies’ relationships, and interact with the other Great Houses for the bulk of their time, so that’s what we focused on! We also greatly updated the UI to show the expected effects of failure and success - what other Characters and Houses will think about this Action!
In addition, conversations between you and other Characters have been greatly expanded, and the result of your conversation, for good or bad, is much clearer.
But what happens when kind words fail, and you must take sterner measures? Glad you asked… Oratory Combat 2.0!! We have completely revamped Oratory Combat to be more visual, visceral, and fun! The big change is that it is now card-driven instead of skill-driven. We made this change to make it easier and more interesting for the player to ‘build up’ their character throughout their life-it’s more visceral to get a new power or effect on a cool card with art instead of just getting ‘Intimidation +3’, which is how it worked before. Essentially, we really want to lean into the RPG element of the game.
You can power up cards (and obtain them) through experience, Events, and epiphanies! Drag and drop your cards onto the battle screen, and outwit your opponents as they use unique demeanors and personalities to rebuff your requests!! Oratory Combat will be how you deal with Court Visits, where characters or Houses issue requests or demands of you. You can accept, decline unilaterally, or convince them not to make this demand/request. If you succeed, you’ve let yourself off the hook for a potentially expensive commitment, if you fail… you may just have made things even worse!
Our main UI got a pass as well; it’s now much crisper, cleaner, leaner, and adds important information like your House treasury right in plain view!
Planets and stars also got a graphical upgrade, including entirely new planet models and lighting maps for inhabited planets, as well as true star light and motion in the planetary view!
What else? We’ve removed provinces from your attention - it ended up being an unnecessary layer of abstraction that didn’t add much to either gameplay or the UX - so we scrapped them. Now you can see your entire Empire’s influence from the Galaxy map, and select a system directly without having to enter a separate Province Mode. Province governors have been retained in the form of Constellation governors - a highly-sought after position, locked behind a mid-game tech.
House Generation and System ownership have gotten some love as well! Now, only one House owns an entire System and all the Holdings within - this makes Military Actions and Wars much easier to conduct, as well as makes ownership less confusing to the player. Each House will have at least one System under their control at start - and we have slightly tweaked the number of planets in a system down to four, to make them even more valuable to build up!
Have you ever wondered why your relationship changed with someone? Or why your Power went down unexpectedly? Or why your House Relationship is suddenly one level lower? Well, we have too! That’s why we’ve updated our UX with dynamic tooltips that show the factors that have changed a value over time. We’ve implemented these tooltips on the most important values in the game, including Power, Spirit, and your relationships with Houses and Characters!
And that’s just the big stuff - we’ve made a host of other smaller improvements already, and we plan on doing a lot more over the course of the summer. Speaking of summer… we mentioned a gift.
We’re pretty confident in the changes we’ve made to improve the player experience and the game's visual interface, but then we would be - it’s our game! Alliance wouldn’t be where it is today without our testers, and we’re happy to announce we plan to run another beta this summer.
The ‘Sagan’ build will comprise of everything mentioned above, plus any further changes we make beforehand, and will be a near complete vision of Alliance of the Sacred Sun’s initial early access offering.
We will announce more details soon, but anyone can sign up as long as you sign the necessary documents! Sagan is a very exciting development milestone for our small team, and we can’t wait to show you the fruits of our labors.
-Steve Hawkins
Project Lead, Alliance of the Sacred Suns
Asid:
October 2023 Dev Blog: News that won't scare you!
Wed, 18 October 2023
Hello everyone! It’s time for our quarterly update, but before I dive into what’s new (and there’s a lot), I wanted to do a bit of housekeeping:
- These blogs going forward will be increased to every 4 weeks since we now have a lot more cool stuff to share!
- We will be updating our demo soon, be on the lookout for details!
First, we have expanded our team! We have added Josh Atkinson as a UX/UI designer full-time. Josh hails from down under and has been invaluable in updating our ‘look and feel’ of the game. You will see his influence in the accompanying screenshots. Welcome Josh!
ICYMI: Because of the new hires and all of the improvements we’ve made this year, we also just want to reiterate that our release window is now 2024.
User Experience improvements
Next, I wanted to talk about our User Experience (UX). As most of you know who have been following the game for a while, the Discoverability and UX has by far been our largest challenge. Alliance has a lot of options available to the player, as well as a lot of data. Our challenge is finding a way to make these options easy to understand and access, as well as present data in a way that makes it easy for the player to find what they need without overwhelming them with a wall of numbers and/or text.
Finally, after years of iteration, we feel that we have found the solution. The solution is actually in 5 parts:
- Right-clickable objects in the game that bring up a context menu to act upon
- A comprehensive, sortable, expandable outliner similar to other Grand Strategy Games that replaces a lot of our static data
- A unified popup window design that works like Windows: they are draggable, resizable, closeable and there can be multiple ones on screen at the same time
- An Action panel native to the main screen that works on System and Planet view that shows every action you can take with a system or planet, and if it’s not available, shows why not
- ‘Sticky’ tooltips that can be expanded with more information and data, to reduce the overall size of tooltips, as well as provide ‘tooltip within tooltip’ functionality
Read on: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1113400/announcements/detail/3713839713508827453
Asid:
December Dev Blog: It's Cold In Space!
Mon, 11 December 2023
Hello all! As we get into a cold December (here in the US, anyway) we wanted to share some of the exciting things we’re working on!
First of all, we’ve made tremendous progress in updating the UI. Last month, I talked about the UX at length, so I won’t rehash the general concept, but let’s take a look at how the experience is being refined!
Previously, you had to explicitly click on a planet to be ‘sent’ there, and then you’d have a bit of an overflow of information – it could be a bit intimidating, especially for new players, with a lot of windows and tabs that weren’t always easy to understand at a glance.
We have decided to go with a more independent navigation flow within the stellar view, with basic information about a planet ‘fading in’ as you approach it with zoom. You can still click on it, but you can also zoom in on it and the selected information panel in the bottom-center of the screen will change to show that info, without having to ‘commit’ to the choice. In this way, you can zoom in to look at things like orbitals, orbiting fleets/ships, and trade without having to zoom all the way in.
Read on: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1113400/announcements/detail/3889484725164399521
Asid:
January 2024 Dev Blog: Military Matters
Tue, 30 January 2024
When diplomacy requires other means.
Hello everyone! Hope everyone had a good holiday and are ready for the new year! We’re so excited for what the new year will bring Alliance, and we wanted to focus on the revised and updated military system - this will describe the updated system that we will be testing in preparation for our next public beta!
Please note: All development blogs that discuss systems in progress are snapshots of the game at a moment in its development process. Depending on feedback, those systems, including the military, may change further before release. These blogs are a nice way for you to get ‘under the hood’ with us to understand why systems are designed a certain way, and why certain changes were/are being made! TLDR: This system as described may or may not represent the final 1.0 release system!
ALL IMAGES in this blog are APPROVED DESIGN MOCKUPS that represent the look of the final UI. They are NOT screenshots.
THE BASICS
First of all, and most important, we have removed the concept of having to create operations to do things in Alliance. We decided that this was way too complex for what players wanted to do, which was basically take some ships and attack a target. So we’ve streamlined the process by removing operations and Operation Points entirely.
In the new concept we’re testing, instead of icons, ships are now actually represented as 3D objects in space, and can be selected either marquee-box style or through the Imperial Organizer. Once ships are selected, you can select a target - a ship/fleet, orbital, system, or planet; or you can select a target first and then add ships to target it, and the selected ships will act appropriately based on what type of ships they are without any further management from you!
For example, if you select a scout ship, and then select a system, it will explore the system. If you select several missile ships and group them with some combat ships, and then select an orbital in a system or planet, the missile ships will attack the orbitals while the combat ships will intercept any ships that attempt to attack the missile ships. If you select several transport ships, and then select a planet, they will attempt to attack the planet with troops, and so on. The fleet will act dynamically depending on what type of ship it is and the target assigned, so as the player, you just select the ships, the target, and go!
Command ships are still in the game, but are now optional to use. You can only deploy a command ship if it has an admiral. Admirals have up to 2 military traits, such as ‘Ground Specialist’ or ‘Bombardier’ that improve the relevant ship's capabilities as long as they are in the same system as the command ship. If the command ship is destroyed, the admiral is killed, so that’s a risk the player needs to consider!
Read on... https://steamcommunity.com/games/1113400/announcements/detail/3998701272140375112
Asid:
A New Year, A Comprehensive Update on Alliance
Wed, 15 January 2025
Discussing the present, future, and past
Hey everyone! Sorry it?s been so long since we?ve had an update, so this will be a pretty
comprehensive one. This was a very tough document to write, and has gone through many
revisions and pauses, but what you?re reading now is the end result. Be warned this will be a very
long blog.
First of all, I?m truly sorry I haven?t been more communicative across our various channels.
Frankly, I?m quite glad to finally be writing this, as it will explain a lot of questions I?m sure many
of you have had - I can finally answer most of them!
I?ll start with the lead: Although we have been in negotiations with several major publishers - you
would instantly recognize any of them - and in one case for over four months(!) we have not
been able to find a publisher that will commit to the resources needed to properly complete
Alliance. There is a lot of interest in the game itself - the game, per se, has never been the issue;
the issue is the ability of a first-time team to complete such a large project. That not only
includes the coding of the actual game, but everything that goes with it on the periphery:
play-testing, balancing, in-game documentation, optimization, bug-fixing, etc.
As a result, I have allowed our team to pursue other projects for now. I don?t know how long it
will take to find a publisher, and it?s not fair to them to keep them ?on the hook? with such
uncertainty. They understand the situation and we will remain in touch.
So how did we get here, and what?s the plan going forward? I?ll address how we got here shortly,
but I want to get to the plan for those who don?t want to wade through an extended in-progress
mortem.
Over the last 8 months or so, I have been working a lot on my professional programming and
engine skills (Alliance uses Unity) and have been working on certifications both with Unity and
Microsoft to become truly proficient on a professional level - I?m essentially self-taught and this
approach has left me with a lot of gaps in my knowledge, gaps that I haven?t really needed to fill
until this year. So I?ve plunged into it, and I can say that my knowledge and abilities have grown
to the point where I can essentially continue to work on Alliance myself - most of the key
systems/UI/art/program structure is complete, so it?s really a matter of continuing to extend,
polish, and test what?s there.
But my focus right now is on a project that I?ve had on the backburner for a while, called Boss
Slayer: Zero. It?s a game that I designed originally as a board game, then extended the system
and story to fit a world I had in my mind around this game. It?s currently in advanced prototype
status, programmed using Unity 2023 LTS, and most crucially, is a project that was organized
and developed from the ground up the ?proper? way - with a paper prototype, a small testbed for
the main concepts, a full (and living) game design document, and a planned, incremental
approach to building and expanding the game.
What is Boss Slayer: Zero? It?s basically a tactical combat game where you fight in virtual arenas
against? a boss. Yes, like in RPGs. Think XCOM mechanics, but with one ?soldier? with many
more options and actions available, against individual aliens in a confined space. There is a
strategic layer that allows you to develop and improve your Fighter (what you are called in the
game) by cashing in Data (basically experience) and Prestige (what you gain from defeating
Bosses).
The idea behind the career mode is that in the future, you have been uploaded into a VR system
called JANUS that is run by an entity called The Judge. You participate in battles against bosses
that are viewed by millions of people in VR systems that they have/can access, and as you win
battles, you gain Followers that allow you to rank up, gain Prestige that leads to higher-level
Boss battles, and gain access to improved weapons, equipment, and combat programs(!) If you
lose too many battles, you lose Followers, and if you have too few Followers, you?re? deleted
forever, as you?re basically ?cold Prada? at that point in the show. There?s also a story mode that I
don?t want to spoil but I?m really proud of it and can?t wait to show it off!
So I?m currently soliciting feedback on the prototype build, and depending on that feedback, I
will start to prepare BS:0 for a very early access release. It?s a risk, especially considering the
development history of Alliance, but one huge difference is that I?ve focused on the game loop,
stability, and basic functionality from the very start - it already has a save/load system, a full
tutorial (using tools I developed for Unity!) that I?m really proud of - it?s funny, it tells the story of
your situation, and it slowly walks you through the basics of the combat system in BS:0. As a
result, anyone who plays the prototype will be up to speed without a cumbersome amount of
external documentation, and will be able to play quick battles after doing the story tutorial.
(there are currently 2 modes; story/tutorial and quick battle; there will also be a career mode as
described above and a battle setup mode where you can explicitly select a pre-made boss (or
have one procedurally generated), your setup, and the arena, as well as any special systems. I
have considered adding multiplayer, but that?s a new frontier for me so it?s currently not an
option; nevertheless, I have organized the game structure to (hopefully) more easily incorporate
such a mode if it gets added.
I hope to use the revenue from BS:0 to continue to develop it - I also have a second job
and it brings in enough income for me to essentially ?work for free? on BS:0, so any revenues will
be allocated to improving the content (UI, models, art, etc). As a result, the EA pricing for BS:0
will be very low to start - haven?t finalized it yet but it will be no more than $10 USD to start.
So that?s the present, and the immediate future. What about Alliance? Well, I do plan to continue
working on it slowly in my spare time - I estimate it will take about 100 man-hours of
programming and bug-fixing to bring it to a state where I can upload it to the mainline for those
who bought the original version, Imperia, all those years ago. It?s important to me that you see
the progress we?ve made- we?ve made tremendous strides in the UI, the tooltip system, and the
performance over the last several years. We were headed in the right direction, and the design is
one that I'm very excited about; once we can bring the game into a proper EA state I hope those
who have stuck with us will see what we?ve been working on. I?ve also decided to use that build
to create a new demo once it?s ready; I don?t want to get into the habit of creating ETAs that I
can?t make, so I?ll just say that I hope to release it fairly close to the BS:0 demo/public prototype.
I will say this: Alliance will be released at some point. There has been too much time, too many
resources, and a lot of blood, sweat, money, and tears invested for it not to. What I don?t want is
to do a ?EA dump? and compromise the project I and many others have worked so hard on. I will
admit I considered it. Strongly, for a time. But ultimately, I decided to try to keep the vision I?ve
had for many years. If/when we are picked up by another publisher, this will give them the
freedom to market and pivot the game as they wish.
As for me? I won?t beat around the bush: Last year was brutal. Personally, professionally, and
mentally. It was easily the toughest year of my life. That?s a big reason you didn?t hear much
from me - I just wasn?t up to it mentally. For those who remember the Imperia days, you
remember (hopefully) how responsive I was to the community, and I look forward to getting
back to that level of activity. The reasons why Alliance hasn?t yet made it over the finish line start
and end with me, and my inability to lead and manage a project of this size while also fighting
severe ADHD and its side effects (depression, procrastination, low self-confidence, etc).
Put simply, we didn?t finish the game on time because I didn?t stick to a vision for the game, I
didn?t treat it like a business, and I allowed feature creep to set in before we had to make tough
decisions last year about what we could truly deliver for an EA vs. a full release. It eventually
became overwhelming, and things sort of moved from there.
So, in June of last year, I finally made the decision to get my ADHD treated. It?s something I?ve
had all my life, and looking back on my life, it has set me back in so many areas. I won?t turn this
into a ADHD support/pity post, but I will just say two things: a) I will regret for the rest of my life
that I wasn?t treated much, much earlier and b) now that I am, I am so excited for the future of
what I can do - BS:0 is the first ?fruit? of that new focus and a ?properly wired brain?, but obviously
the benefits will eventually trickle down into Alliance as well.
At any rate, if you?ve made it this far, thank you for your support. I do truly believe Alliance will be
released - it?s too far along not to, and I?m not a huge publisher who has to make the decision to
kill a project. I know immeasurably more about the game industry and the game development
cycle than I did when I started this journey years ago, and though it?s hard-won knowledge, it will
stay with me forever.
One final note: to publicly thank and acknowledge Hooded Horse. Alliance was their first signing
beyond Terra Invicta, and it?s been quite a ride. Tim, Snow, and the rest of HH has been nothing
but supportive and frankly gave us much more runway than we perhaps deserved, and I strongly
encourage any smaller developer who has a dream and a truly original idea to reach out to them.
You never know, and I firmly believe the industry is stronger as a whole when there are
publishers willing to take a risk on a smaller/unknown idea or game. Not all of them pan out, but
when they do, they can change genres, and HH is an example of a publisher who follows that
ethos.
Stay tuned for more information on BS:0 and Alliance - now that I?m freelance again, so to
speak, I?ll be much more active on these forums/Discord, and when the BS:0 Steam page is
launched (soon, no ETA) I?ll be active there as well. I will be renaming the Alliance Discord to
KatHawk Studios, and adding some channels for BS:0 if you?re interested in that project. The link to join is here: https://discord.gg/R4fCFZWGgG
Also, If you're interested in the current progress/state of Alliance, you can watch our in-house tutorial video here:
This was an internal video that we used to orient beta testers to the key concepts and UI systems of Alliance of the Sacred Suns.
For the Celestial Empire, forever,
Steve
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