As you might have noticed we've been a little bit quiet lately, but for good reason! We've been hard at work on not one but TWO new features for Star Trucker. [/p][p] [/p]
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The What
[p]These big new features are “BUSINESS VENTURES” and “INTERIOR CAB CUSTOMIZATION”.There will be more to say about each in future Dev Blogs but for now we’ll provide a bit of an overview alongside some new screengrabs...
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Business Ventures
[p]These gradually unlock as you meet specific requirements and provide an extra layer of metagame and progression. Each Venture will have its own unique set of job types, ranks and rewards.Not only that but each venture has a new voiced NPC for you to interact with.
[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/44232392/09dfa82a11b93c6d5d84b04577ca5bddff3ad7c4.jpg"][/img]For example the initial venture “Galactic Handyman” unlocks after an early freight delivery and introduces you to King Vinny. He’s being stretched thin and could really do with an extra pair of hands to help with a long list of client jobs.
From switching out billboard ads to fixing up stations and infrastructure, they’ll be a steady stream of jobs for you to take. We hope these tasks provide a nice palette cleanser between freight hauls - or if planned carefully - something to do while en-route to your next drop zone.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/44232392/5dcfdfa19dda82d098fb3b5e75992e6ed8be67c2.gif"][/img][/p]
Interior Cab Customization
[p]We’ve always wanted to provide more options for players to make their cab feel unique to them. To that extent some of the cab had already been built with this in mind including a system that allows material switching and colorization.There’s a lot of other ways you can customize your cab too, from lighting trims and maglock toppers to new bedding and space suits.
[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/44232392/e6e3f3451c094d683fbed76f0ee34882c2bcf36d.jpg"][/img][/p][p]Of course there’s also going to be a bunch of dashboard accessories for you to equip, all of which attach to little accessory holders to prevent them flying off in zero-g. Some will animate too, either from various truck states or player interactions…
[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/44232392/c0bb15b9f77de5b972a4e661ae05f419cf7c2d68.gif"][/img][/p]
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The When
[p]Progress has been a little slower than we’d hoped but we’re getting there. Our initial set of interior customizations are complete and we have the basics of the venture system up and running. However there’s still quite a lot to do in terms of the extra jobs you’ll be able to take.Once we factor in polish, balance tweaks and bug fixing it’s likely that the earliest this update will drop is April. This is a couple months later than we’d hoped but we’d rather get this update right and not burn ourselves out over the holidays. We hope you all understand.[/p][p]
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/44232392/2f796c3fa8937115654492152b3c542af94f5e4e.jpg"][/img][/p]
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The Why
[p]Thanks to all the support from the community (and our publisher Raw Fury) we've had the rare privilege of being able to continue work on Star Trucker beyond the initial release. Cut features such as freeplay, photo mode and peripheral support all made it back in and with this next update we’ll finally have a way to provide new content, challenges and rewards.Why are we doing this? In short because we want Star Trucker to be a better game. We’ve known for a while that players want more goals and job variety. Both during their early-mid game sessions but also after the side jobs have been completed (or when playing the freeplay mode).
It's been a big undertaking and taken a LOT of planning but we hope it will provide a lot of enjoyment for both new players and veterans alike!
[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/44232392/66b4fd835097343dc6b0ba02d619f6978f306442.jpg"][/img][/p]
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But that's not all...
[p]Although these two features have been taking up the majority of our time, we've continued to chip away on various other tasks such as optimizing the job generation system and investigating weirdness around specific peripheral combinations.We’ve also been working through some long standing issues including a potential fix for the elusive warp asteroid collision bug. We’ve been chasing this one for a loooooong time and are hopeful that QA will finally give the fix a thumbs up after some vigorous warp tests.
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Seasonal Sign-Off
[p]And just like that we’ve reached the end of another dev blog. We know it sucks that the next update is still a little way off but hopefully this sneak peek leaves you intrigued, and hopefully a little bit excited, for what’s to come.When we return from the festive break we’ll talk a bit more about these new features and give you the low-down on some of the fabulous people we’ve been working with to bring them to fruition.
Until then, happy holidays and we’ll see you all in 2026 for what should be a fantastic new year![/p]
- [p]Dave & Dan ( aka Monster & Monster ) [/p][/*]
