It's been a while since the last development update but here we go.

So much has changed over the last few months. Just about every aspect of the game has seen updates, improvements or complete rewrites. 

I'm not going to spend hours writing up and listing all of the changes, but Act 2 is now essentially complete with only final playtesting, bug fixing and tweaks required. 

Act 2 follows Bob and Dave as they realize that they're stuck in some sort of time/space distortion loop. Each time they escape through the jump gate they are warped back in time and their world changes. Dave becomes aware of this as they progress into Act 2 and together with Bob they must try to discover what is going on and how they can truly escape.  To do this they must discover and experiment with new Archic technology to ultimately defeat the second boss. 

This will lead into Act 3  where they will meet a new Archic character that needs their help to stop the Replicons building a super weapon that will destroy all biological life in  the galaxy. The Archic are an ancient ethereal race with the power to bend time and space.  Their technology and structures are already littered throughout the game but there's far more still to come.

Act 3 will be the focus of development going forward, leading up to the game's official release early in 2018. 

Over the last week or two I've been playtesting, bug-fixing, and fine-tuning the new changes and updates in Act 2. There's still some work to do but this is nearly complete and I recorded one of those play sessions yesterday.  You can find that video below.

Space Bob is designed for replayability, with each hour-long play session offering a very different experience to the last. There's simply not enough time in a single game for the player to see and do everything. Not even close. So, don't expect the video below to show everything that's new. The video begins after Bob and Dave have escaped through the Jump Gate for the first time. They are at the very start of Act 2. 

The video below, is a fairly typical run to the jump gate without too many spoilers of the new content. Bob stops by at the second boss but he's not ready to fight it in this game. You'll get to see many of the new planets, new structures, and new items lying around, but I didn't get a chance to use most of them. Bad RNG meant I was constantly struggling to find enough resources, and the Replicons we're soon swarming all over the place making life very difficult. I get into some very close calls, and only barely manage to escape with all my resource tanks nearly empty.

I've also been considering releasing this new build at a reduced price soon - like an early early-access here on itch.io. If you would be interested in that, at a price point of $10, let me know in the comments. The game is shaping up so well that I'm now expecting the game to be great value at $20 on initial release. If there's enough interest in an early paid alpha release it might happen. 

Thanks for stopping by to check up on development. If you would like to help playtest the new build and have the ability to stream or post videos of you doing that then leave a comment below. Those videos would not be for promotional purposes but watching other's play the game is by far the best way for developers to see what needs tweaking or changing. As a developer we already know how everything works, and how to succeed, but watching others struggle is invaluable to improving every aspect of the game.