Echo #60: New year news - Sector Six

For me, 2016 was a very exciting year.

Sector Six was released on Steam and I have become a real game developer.
Not very successful, but real. That means a lot to me.

I have quit school and so far it feels like the right decision.
It's great to finally spend time meaningfully.

I finally have seen my game flourish.
After many updates and tweaks, Sector Six's mechanics finally began to work together.
I have never managed to make game work this well before.
I can finally say without any doubt that I made a good game.

I have saw players playing my game for massive amounts of time.
There are several people who spent 60+ hours playing Sector Six!

After all that happened in 2016, I have become very confident to continue making games after Sector Six is finished.

Now let's look at what updates I have managed to release in 2016!

January 24
New combat system test
I have started working on new combat in the beginning of January and by the end of it, I had a prototype of the new system.

March 30
New combat system release
It took me another two months to turn combat system prototype into something that works.

May 2
Steam release
Sector Six got released on Steam!

May 5
Minor changes
Several small changes based on Steam user feedback.

May 20
Mission IV, new rewards and new leaderboards
Many improvements to story mission system and mission that I am really proud of.
Looking forward to making more similar missions.

June 10
New enemies, new abilities and combat improvements
This update added Sustained Barrage ability and infamous dreadnoughts.

August 19
Massive graphical update
This update has vastly improved the look and feel of the game! There were hundreds of smaller changes.
With this update, Sector Six has entered beta!

October 6
Modular difficulty system, improved inventory and modified enemies
A monster update, that added a new layer of depth to Sector Six.
I could write the whole page about how much this update have influenced the game!

October 28
Modular difficulty system improvements, new enemy and new starter spaceship
Modular difficulty system was too easy, so I had to make another update to rebalance it.
This update has also added apparition enemy.

December 15
Mission V
Mission V was really hard to make! But I have introduced many new things with this mission.
Decisions, non-linear story mission, first real story boss, multiple armor bars mechanic and so on!

2016 was the year of massive growth for me and Sector Six.
After so much has been done, I believe I can finish Sector Six in 2017!

In 2017, after I will finish working on controller support I'll begin working on three secure region based updates - shops, crafting system and the Router!
Between those updates, I will work on new story missions and combat expansions.

Shops
Located in secured regions, they will allow players to buy and sell parts!
Different regions will have different shops.
For example, to get access to the generic weapon shop, you will have to secure Niss region.

Crafting system
Yes, you will be able to craft parts!
This will be a completely new way to obtain parts! Unlike getting parts from drops, you will be able to craft exact parts you need.
Want a part that is a relay, increases maximum armor and generates ether when your ship is hit?
Get materials by mining asteroids, get armor carcass, relay blueprint and ether mirror by dismantling parts, secure a region with the matter fusion facility and that part is yours!

The Router
This massive portal device located in Pylon will take you to hidden regions!
Every hidden region will be different.
Exploring hidden regions will reward you with unique parts!

New story missions
New characters, new boss fights, new reveals, [classified], plot twists, the journey to the other Sector and more!

Combat expansions
New enemies, new abilities, new region bosses, new classes, new region missions and more!

Other planned updates:

Achievements
Many new achievements!

Permanent death mode
The Elder Mechanism will not resurrect your ship if it will get destroyed!

Hardcore permanent death mode
Because just permanent death is not hardcore enough.
Your spaceships parts will be destroyed on hit.
Lose all parts and game is permanently over!

Resetting story missions
After completing the last available story mission, you will be able to do them all over again!

Part sets
Add a certain amount of parts from the same part set and you will be rewarded for unique set effects.
For example, 10 Lodeon's Parts will increase damage dealt based on how many secure regions there are.

Graphical update
Even better backgrounds, new animations, and particle effects!

2017 will be epic.
Until next time!