Hello explorers!

Today is the day for our usual checkup. As predicted in the last one, I was slowed down by another personal issue and I lost about 10 days having to deal with it. Thankfully, that chapter is now closed, and I’m crossing my fingers that the end of the year can be calmer and more productive.

Progress Update

On the Steam page front, I’m halfway through the main capsule illustration (the key artwork that will represent Uncharted Sectors in the Steam store). Once that’s complete and I finish the UI for the ‘Goods Details’ screen, we’ll finally be ready to go live. It’s been a long road, but I can see the finish line.

Speaking of UI, I’ve made substantial progress on the planet political shader system. It took a lot of headaches, but it now looks decent enough and can display actual game data directly on the planet surfaces, all rendered in real-time. It was definitely a must-have for the game.

Here’s the regular terrain map with no data, but with a region selected.

And here’s the population map filled with the appropriate data.

Spooktober Jam

Since the first of September, I started the Spooktober game jam, an event whose goal is to create a complete Visual Novel in just one month.

The story for my entry takes place in the Uncharted Sectors universe at an isolated Imperial archaeological dig site. You play as someone masquerading as a psychologist who joins the expedition, but things go very wrong when the ancient machines start awakening. The protagonist only learns of what happens deep in the complex second-hand and will have to make crucial choices, with life or death consequences. I’m working with a composer on this, which adds a whole new dimension to the storytelling.

The planning phase went really well. I have a solid story outline and I’m happy with the first scene’s draft. But those 10 lost days hit hard here. Originally, I hoped to deliver a fully illustrated game by month’s end, but realistically, I’ll focus on getting the complete story written and implemented, with graphics in more of a ‘storyboard’ style for now.

Looking Forward

So here we are. Limited visible progress, but things should get better on that front next month. I like the change of pace the Visual Novel experiment is giving me, and consolidating the Uncharted Sectors universe is definitely loads of fun.

As always, thank you for following this journey with me. Don’t hesitate to to reply with your thoughts, questions, or just to say hello. Your messages never fail to warm my heart.

—

Luc Toupense
Developer of Uncharted Sectors