Monthly Archives: October 2013

Kickstarter Update #8: Minerals & Tunneling

Click here for the full update on Kickstarter

For our last update of the week, here’s a short video about minerals and destructible environment.

Making use of the resources around you is critical to your survival on Pharus 7. Supply drops from the Eden Star are rare, so Pioneers are expected to manufacture their own equipment and base structures once they reach the surface.

To do this, the Pioneer must explore their immediate environment and seek out useful minerals. The MATA-Tool makes for a powerful mining tool as well as a formidable weapon, and makes short work of breaking down minerals, which the Pioneer can then absorb and store in their MATA-Tool.

Nvidia’s new Apex technology opens up new possibilities, giving us the ability to simulate the destruction in even more detailed and realistic ways while increasing the efficiency of the process in-game.

As you can see in the video, there is only one type of mineral present in the Tech Demo, but in the actual game we plan to have multiple minerals with different properties and uses. Refined minerals may have different strengths, mass, and varied appearance. Certain objects that you can build will require specific minerals, which might mean you have to venture far beyond the relative safety of your base and clear areas of hostiles before you can extract these precious minerals.

eden star pfx

If you’d rather upgrade your equipment than use minerals to build, your Eden Kit can Beam them to the Eden Star and give you credits in return.

Your MATA-Tool is capable of a variety of offensive and defensive abilities, but the most powerful of them use your mineral reserves directly, giving you added incentive to keep yourself stocked up!

Please leave your comments here, and on our forum. Also check out Eden Star on FacebookTwitterIndiedb and Steam Greenlight and remember to spread the word!

Thanks again! We’ll be back next week with more reveals!

 

Kickstarter Update #7: The Ika Drone

Hi everyone,
Today we’re releasing a section of lore surrounding the Drones in the Pre-Alpha Combat Tech Demo.

Designed to assist Pioneer candidates in training for the Pharus 7 mission, once on the planet, these drones will able to be deployed as robotic support, assisting players in a variety of situations.

Designed to mimic the aggressive behaviour of the Ika, instances of the Synthetic Ika (SI) Drone will be integrated into training simulations to ensure that Pioneer Candidates gain the necessary experience for deployment to Pharus 7. In these simulations, the drone is designed to target both the Eden Kit and attack candidates directly, destroying any structures that obstruct its line of fire. This behaviour has been observed as the primary tactics of the Ika, a creature thought to be drawn to the energy of the Eden Kit and is capable of de-materialising its surroundings.

Individually susceptible to the MATA-Tool abilities, the SI Drone is designed to attack in groups of three or more, mimicking the swarming behaviour of the Ikas. Agile in flight, the drones can quickly relocate to dodge attacks and maneuver around obstacles. Reinforced panels and Teslinium-assisted engines allow the drone to perform aerial attacks, bursting forward to ram moving targets with a powerful force. It will attempt to navigate around its target’s line of sight and attack from behind or above, favouring surprise attacks.

eden star ika robot

 

Designed for a similar environment to Pharus 7, the drone’s claw-tipped limbs provide a tripod of support on rocky terrain and allow it to maintain stability when aiming and firing. Armed with Tesudo Corporation rail-tech weaponry, the drone is capable of causing great damage to, and ultimately destroying materialised structures and the Eden Kit itself. The drone will also target Pioneer Candidates with this weaponry. Such aggressive behaviour is intended to equip Pioneers with the necessary skills for the mission ahead, adequate Eden Kit defence is crucial to its success.

Due to its suitability for the environment of Pharus 7, the SI Drone model is a prime candidate for program adjustment and deployment as Support Drones to assist Pioneers on the planet once training is complete. Other drone models are being evaluated for their suitability to the mission. A suitable ally command interface module for MATA-Tool is being designed to allow Pioneers to have greater control over all types of robotic allies without additional training.

Stay tuned for more updates, we’re working on a few gems!

What drones would you like to have in your arsenal? Let us know on the forums.

Thank you for your support!