Edit: This post originally claimed the game would release in February. Is it really a delay if I changed my mind one week later? Well, I pushed the release to a more comfortable April 17^th. The game is finished, but I’m still getting a some incomplete vibes from it. I caught myself thinking more and more about all the things I need to cut in order to make the date. Then I immediately started thinking about the content patches that put this stuff in right after the release. And then the question became why I’m releasing at all if I’m gonna keep working on content right afterwards anyways. Stuff that will likely make it in because of that delay includes:

• Way more upgrades and gadgets.
  
• Animals and floating chunks that lead to neutral contacts to discover.
• A better final challenge at the end of the game.
• Way more training missions to unlock.
  
• More responses to alpha feedback.

The game sits at about 300 whistling right now and it has been in development for one year. So it already shapes up to be widely unprofitable, even more so with the delay. But my work is not yet done, so April it is.

Here is what I’ve been up to during the last months:

Environmental variety was a big focus in mid-development. You missions will now take place across regions, ranging from desolate ice fields, across the overgrown orbital jungle deep into the heavy industry at the planets core.

Aside from enemy presence and layouts, these zones are also distinguished by custom hazards. The industrialized core features plasma vents and sound-masking accelerators for example.

Many new objective and enemy types have been implemented to populate these zones.

(some of these have gone through multiple redesigns by now)

Late-game zones feature more confined spaces amid massive structures.

A whole bunch of new gear has been added. My favorite right now is the tripwire that can be set up between objects to create non-leathal traps, but will also trigger any other gadget it is connected to.

This also includes some heavy weapon option for when you need to go loud:

Unlockable player ships have been added and offer yet another way to change your loadout. Most provide stealth bonuses in certain environments, but some offer whole new mechanics like this holo-projector craft that can disguise itself as other ships:

Loadout selection has been streamlined into one place and now happens on this new gear carousel:

Tutorial has been reworked and now takes place in a simulation environment. This will also offer optional sim-missions, letting you get getting acquainted with late-game mechanics or face off against specific enemy types in a training environment.

If this looks interesting to you, please consider wishlisting Swirl W@tch on Steam! Alpha 2 will continue to update until the release, you are most welcome to try the game for free and give feedback throughout the next month. 

Cheers!

Stefan – Sleeper Games