Adrift is a game we set out to make in the summer of 2013. The original concept was to make a game where players band together to repel swarms of space pirates and asteroids by building a base of turrets and working together to deal with threats. As with many indies we constantly have to struggle with funding, and after our unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign we were pretty discouraged. In the last years we've been working on small pieces of this project off and on, but nothing like we were when we first started out. Not until a few months ago that is, when we found out that Adrift had been successfully Greenlit on Steam!
Our new plan of action is to redesign the game from the ground up while still focusing on the original concept. Looking back, we've noticed a few shortcomings with our original design and are going to attack them head on.
Firstly, our art is getting a complete overhaul. I myself did all the art for the prototype, and have been ripping the original content apart. I'm doing this not only because I know I can do better, but because I have recruited another artist to the team and together we've been making great things. So far we have finished new models for all the player ships and the pirates and are in the process of UV mapping and rigging them for animation. Rest assured, once the texturing process is done I'll be posting comparisons of the old and the new. Once we finish these tasks, we'll be updating the particles and begin the process of adding new enemy types and hazards to the game.
In terms of design we have essentially just amped up all aspects of the game, enemy wave generation, customization, skill trees, UI, networking, and game modes. Our programmer and designer are well under way designing and implementing all of these features, and most exciting of all our steam integration. Steam has allowed us so much more flexibility in terms of multiplayer functionality than we had before. Originally we had to use a direct connect IP system and hosts were required to forward their ports, it was a massive hassle. We now have access to the Steam lobby system, which not only allows us to connect through the friends tab, but makes it so port forwarding is not required. We believe that this alone will make the game much more enjoyable, since we'll be able to spare our players a lot of headaches while dealing with connection issues.
Finally, we have decided to change the name of the game, which you might have noticed already. We are changing the name from "Adrift" to "Stardrift Nomads" not only because it is more recognizable, but it is more illustrative of the concept of the game as a whole. Going forward we hope to offer more frequent updates, so keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks as we are planning to start releasing more content soon!
Thanks for reading everyone.
