i fix a bug in #SpacestationDefense where the station auto-builder would sometimes not reserve 12 Scrap for the Probe, causing the cost of the Probe to be taken out of the leftover Scrap that you were supposed to start with.

excited for the #WebAssembly build of #SpacestationDefense! Almost all the pieces are in the place, I've figured out how to wrangle #emscripten into cooperating. I just need the #zig folks to release async support and then I can write the necessary websocket API.

#SpacestationDefense news

so, I'm not done reconsidering the fundamental design of the game, but I decided to release an update with the current state of things. Shields are a completely different concept. Ships don't have shields, hangar repair works totally differently, and the game has been completely rebalanced to ensure that turrets are still more efficient than ships despite ships being able to be repaired for free while turrets can't. The Shield Overcharge card has been temporarily removed, and the orphan rule has been removed - station components can't get disconnected. I think the game is too easy in its current state, but I'll deal with that later.

I'm still not sure if I'll keep the shield redesign or not. But I'm pretty sure I'll keep everything else.

#SpacestationDefense news

I'm working on a huge rule change.

A friend of mine suggested that shields should reduce damage instead of blocking it with their own meter. they said that it feels wasteful to have a component health system and only use it as a loss condition, and that it'd be more fun if losing components was regular and inevitable, but less harsh.

Obviously, this would come with a lot of other changes. Shield Generators would reduced to 2 power states. Ships wouldn't have shields, and I'd change the way repair in Hangars works: instead of costing scrap, it costs power and time, and Hangars would have a power toggle like most other components.

the orphan rule would be removed (something i've thought about doing anyway). destroyed components would stick around connecting the things they used to connect, but ships would be able to move through the wreckage and you could build over it just like it was empty space.

Also, the effect of Shield Generators would be stronger nearby (also something I was thinking about doing anyway).

The Repair card's buff might be reverted. Salvage would be a lot more relevant. Shield Overcharge would need to be redesigned.

sbig news on #SpacestationDefense! I'm releasing an update with the following:

* Greatly simplified pathfinding which increases performance by 3x! The only thing that seems to behave slightly worse is Probes looking for scrap. I might improve their AI later, but the performance and simplicity enhancements were too big to skip. It has made it possible to remove the time limit on pathfinding.

* Pylon AI improvement! They'll now automatically try to stay close to allied ships!

* Shield Generators have been simplified! Instead of 2 independent toggles for charging and projecting, they now have 3 states: off, on, and hiding (charging without projecting). on and hiding both consume 1 power per second.

* Balance change to Power Generators: they generate 2 power per second (since Shield Generators consume less now) but can store up to 30.

* Fix for a longstanding Hangar bug where ships wouldn't be able to launch if the only available direction was straight down. This bug has been in there probably since Hangars were first implemented.

* Meow

i'm excited for the release of #zig 0.11, but also anxious because i'm afraid it won't include async support, meaning #SpacestationDefense 's server will be stuck on 0.10.1 for another long time

considering a rule change to #SpacestationDefense: Shield Generators don't take power to project.

i'm very aware of the game being an APM grind. it's part of the point: it takes multiple players to manage everything well. but maybe this part of the APM grind should go, because it's too artificial: there's no reason a shield generator couldn't automatically turn off projecting except when it's taking fire. just like i made laser turrets smart enough to automatically target bombers instead of fighters.

or they do take power, but only when under fire.