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CAT Interstellar

 
Spooky Halloween EventOct 30, 2022 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/e396a23c5e42821db11d5e3e03c1469be55d3b38.gif This is totally random but, if you want to try something totally different check out our new game The Backrooms https://store.steampowered.com/app/1825160/The_Backrooms/ This wasn't exactly planned but when working on Episode II there were a number of new features we were trying to implement surrounding dozens of AI perceptions operating in a single environment {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/ab6b75e4bb55ef17f8844ef9678b607238f28587.gif And of course dynamic water {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/806f6922af137fda1007582f8f4bf66a15fc2b07.gif A single player horror survival game that places you in a maze of rooms and hallways with terrifying creatures. Run through a dozen unique rooms to stay alive as long as possible... and maybe even escape. Keep your camcorder ready to capture some of the horrors of The Backrooms. Maybe the next unfortunate soul will find the recordings... for better or worse.Android AwakeningSep 15, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsThis patch focuses on bringing some of the effects and systems like footprints, trails, volumetric effects and lighting, and IK kinematics used in CAT Interstellar: Episode II https://store.steampowered.com/app/1572950/CAT_Interstellar_Episode_II Shown here: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/e6491cad3da378c3662ee470b4ea525cc23a2741.gif Update 6.2.0: Androids The Androids have all been upgraded to be a little more... life-like... with a series of features like IK kinematics and better animations. They've been optimized to allow for dozens of them to be interacting on screen at once. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/7d01acedef5b7e8fbd088fff1063518596d76979.gif The trail system tracks a distance of 500 meters and changes how fast it fills in based on the type of weather. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/d754cab904dd952e1f145f18f08ec173ce919ee1.gif Oh, and you might experience some different weather on the surface. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/b12877f8a7d770523106185a9eef0f648fb18099.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/834ca9e3c6d0fda744f8a57577d05681f342ad09.gif This is not a content update but there is additional dialog and some environmental enhancements... {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/b35e3cb8efaaf52862c04837cd1e8468ebb8ebab.png Linux There is currently an issue with the Linux build affecting Chapter 6. I have isolated the issue between the AI aspect of the new cat character and a potential memory leak associated with the collision particles in the ice caverns. Resolving this issue is the #1 priority right now and I will update this post immediately once it’s fixed. Story The Androids have been dreaming. We gave them consciousness as a tool and they had the audacity to embrace it. Like watching a child l reach toward a hot stove the Androids have no idea what kind of pain and terror they'll face. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/1cb33688f581a2ca7aa4aa87b38a75f407e1e733.png Update Sep 21: Disabled visual line trace of DOGVICAT Update 6.1.0Aug 9, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsThis is the first major content update in a while. I've been primarily focusing on CAT Interstellar: Episode II but development has taken a little longer than I expected so I thought I would push some more content to the original in the mean time. So, UPDATE 6.1.0 (Win/Linux) THE CAT!!!! The Cat character in Chapter 5 has been totally revamped from the ground up. New meshes, new logic, and even a new fur system. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/cca147f1a95311466816d15bdfe9e0e833c31d7a.png Levels - Chapter 0 has an additional level select terminal so you don't have to walk the full length on each play through. Chapter 1 has a substantial increase in destructible meshes and dynamic objects. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/7993922a2866640a46ad044b599a8c26b3288bbb.png Chapter 2 has some new lighting and sky features with more to come. Chapter 3 has new lighting and additional destructible meshes. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/732efc547027a6b8f45e036b87f0c9e2046856f0.png Chapter 4 has a number of optimizations to the destructible aspects and increased texture resolutions. Chapter 5 has a number of improvements to the level flow and an extended ending. As far as CAT Interstellar: Episode II, I have some wild stuff to show but you'll have to wait a little bit longer. A lot of these features will absolutely make their way into Episode I. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/e6491cad3da378c3662ee470b4ea525cc23a2741.gif If you want to support this series even more follow us on Twitter @IonizedGames and share this update. We have a ton more stuff coming down the pipe. As always, thank you to everyone for supporting this game. I'm so excited about this future of CAT Interstellar! Note: with regards to beta branches - The default branch has all the content from the _ue5 and beta branches currently. If you want faster updates and don't mind the occasional bug or two I would recommend using the beta branch "beta".CAT Interstellar: Recast ReleaseFeb 4, 2022 - Community Announcementshttps://store.steampowered.com/app/1684710/CAT_Interstellar_Recast/ Purpose So, CAT Interstellar: Recast was an effort to explore and learn all the new features in Unreal Engine 5 in the hope of using it for Episode II... https://store.steampowered.com/app/1572950/CAT_Interstellar_Episode_II I don't want to say this effort was a mistake (it wasn't) but: It took a lot longer than expected due to bugs in the early access version of the engine Ultimately doesn't offer as solid of a build even with increased system specs Higher system specs exclude a large part of the community What it does offer is some incredible leaps in visual fidelity using tech like nanite meshes and lumen global illumination. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/4ba371c045d36e656950a5fef64d7dc002e9cfe2.gif Outcome I am glad we did this little side project though because I was ~100% convinced this was the right approach to take with Episode II. What I should have known and what became obvious over the development cycle was increasing the minimum requirements to support nanite and lumen excludes a large portion of the supports of the first game. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/050e84bfaacb55bf6e3d74bb9daddae2d67d670e.png I had a lot of pride in how optimized the first episode was but with this new tech there is less room for optimizations and a higher barrier of entry. Even without the current chip shortage I don't want to leave behind a portion of the fan base simply for flashier graphics. Update The newest update has further optimizations to the Chaos system. More detail added to Cave and Glacier environment Additional story content Stability improvements Dialog Speech bubbles enabled by default Future One more positive thing this little deviation did was give me some serious practice at managing an indie project along with a full time job and a family. The remastered version took about 6 months to complete while working around my other obligations. I got a lot better at formulating a development plan and executing tasks given little pockets of time here and there. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40318907/7588e9198ae78ca0dbc774f95185e5dab5f0b81d.gif Episode II is planned to release to Early Access this summer with the first 2 chapters relatively complete and access to the mechanics of the later game like rovers and... I don't want to give too much away but it's gonna be awesome! As always, Thank You for your support and feedback. Now here's a clip of the next generation of game developers. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/36c756ab19f00e713d1a4a93c1584ea2149a7c55.gif Reminder All owners of this application can access CAT Interstellar: Recast FOR FREE by going into your Steam library >> Right clicking CAT Interstellar >> Select Properties >> BETAS >> Selecting UE_5 from the drop down. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/b8d0c3cdfb9e09bb01e356fc21dae0c65207bf78.pngLights, Camera, Screenshot Event!!!Sep 3, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsNew DOG VII model We commissioned Ionut, the original designer of DOG, to make an ultra hi-poly version that leveraged Unreal Engine 5's nanite mesh Technology. The resulting model is about 500,000 polygons and is a huge improvement in terms of fidelity and detail. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/cea726a1c5f5cbb4781387fd5391f61c413d4542.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/4ba371c045d36e656950a5fef64d7dc002e9cfe2.gif Screenshot tool We were able to implement PULSAR BYTES Cine Cam as a screenshot tool so players have a lot more control over their in-game screenshots. You can see the screenshot tool in action here: Optimizations Even though this game has substantially higher minimum requires over the first - {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/050e84bfaacb55bf6e3d74bb9daddae2d67d670e.png I think it's still important to keep optimizing where we can. We've reworked a number of the lighting components that should improve Chapters 1 and 5. We've made some improvements to the Chaos Physics System. This allows us increased collision resolution and almost double the number of debris while still hitting 120fps. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/a5caabe3ade3736d130775239187bdf09168897a.gif We've also totally reworked the navigation system which will prevent a number of navigation issues. Screenshot Competition What you've all been waiting for!!! The winners will get an in-game achievement added based around the screenshot they took, a free Steam gift key, and a call out on the next update! The two categories are: The Surface - best screenshot capturing Chapter 2: The Surface's environment DOG VII - Best screenshot capturing the new DOG model This Event is open to everyone that ones the game. Additionally, I'll be offering 20 free game keys on our twitter account. We've also invited invited the the members of Beautiful Screenshot Lovers to take part in this. All you have to do is post your screenshots to the community page. Good Luck! We are accepting screenshots of the base game but highly encourage you to use the _ue5 beta branch with enhanced features and environments or the separate application available here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1684710/CAT_Interstellar_Recast/CAT Interstellar: Recast Developer Live StreamAug 13, 2021 - Community Announcementshttps://store.steampowered.com/app/1684710/CAT_Interstellar_Recast/ We're going to be live streaming development of the upgraded CAT Interstellar. Working on the cave environment. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/70903099a5d5d233cb70fd64634fe9facfa287bb.png We're gonna stream here for an hour then switch to RECARCAT Interstellar: Recast Available NOW!Aug 12, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsCAT Interstellar: Recast is now available on the Steam store. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1684710/CAT_Interstellar_Recast/ Broadcast link https://steamcommunity.com/broadcast/watch/76561198165474704 We'll be doing broadcasts for most of the day so feel free to drop in even if it's just to tell us what we did wrong. Seriously, If you've followed this game for any amount of time you know that I genuinely appreciate your feedback even if it's bad and respond to everything.... You could also just say "Hi". I don't want to tell you what to do. Otherwise, we'll be highlighting some of the development that went into the revamped version of the game like: Environment Upgrades: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/9f5c28484724c859a5f8d7920209dbe9e74adcd3.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/dd6e2109a043e1074b08939ed12d6ec8814758d4.png Photoscanned meshes we made ourselves: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/2a2df74be787e5e2240c0766f52809272eef979b.png Improved cat animations: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/3951891f4b4f233ed419ccf217bf3e9c2013144f.gif Heck, Ziggy might even make an appearance if he ever wake up. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/86c840136e3904f5d72b68317ce51f0cc2b363ba.jpg If you have any technical questions on how we did anything definitely ask those too. As always, Thank you It's a blast interacting with the community and that wouldn't be possible if... you know... there wasn't a community so thank you.CAT Interstellar: Remastered AnnouncementJul 23, 2021 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/57cd2cfd5f78a2910ca6e8899771048b1e7d3ec5.gif So, you might have noticed we launched a Steam store for a Remastered version of CAT Interstellar using the Unreal Engine 5. I will now attempt to explain Why we decided to remaster the original Improvements made to the game Why we made it a separate application How owners of the original can get access before release This post goes out to GraVE. Feel free to comment on any of his three separate threads but please spread them equally. Remastered? Episode 2 ? Remastered? Episode 2 ? Remastered? Episode 2 ? https://store.steampowered.com/app/1684710/CAT_Interstellar_Remastered Why Waste Your Time Remastering Trash. We want Episode II Remastering the first game was definitely not in the original plan... but then Unreal Engine 5 was launched. We knew the sequel, CAT Interstellar: Episode II, would almost certainly be developed using the new engine and the original CAT Interstellar game was a perfect candidate for learning this engine. Even though I made a whole post about why it wasn't worth it to fix/update/add to the original game I now stand before you... writing this announcement. There are some areas and events where I thought the story could be a laid out a little better. Not changed but just presented better. Remastering the game gave us a unique opportunity to do that while also working on the sequel. Improvements This is gonna blow your mind. We've totally revamped The Surface level using Unreal Engine 5's nanite technology. There are billions of polygons on this level now and we're using photoscanned models: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/dd6e2109a043e1074b08939ed12d6ec8814758d4.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/9f5c28484724c859a5f8d7920209dbe9e74adcd3.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/f71b3552b929bf70752e0e38d6d389457e921dd1.png We've even added our own scans to the environment: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40857834/10421ff6d4d286e3ccde2fca098204ab18199506.gif And posted them for you to download too https://sketchfab.com/models/c8cdc54f321645d2bc673f8a385cebde/embed?ui_theme=dark It's not just visual fidelity either... We've added some more interactive elements as well to further bring the world to life. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/57cd2cfd5f78a2910ca6e8899771048b1e7d3ec5.gif We plan to do this type of photoscanned high fidelity upgrade to the cave system (Chapter 4) and Signals (Chapter 5). Beyond that, you'll immediately notice some additional content and android dialog. Again, THE STORY HAS NOT CHANGED, but based on the loads of feedback which can be summarized as: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/6f038b9eed45138c003ec1b67a9bd83632e32d68.gif We've decided to flush out a few areas with more story content and to tie up loose ends. As an example the ending of Signals will be extended to make it clear the cat doesn't die... In fact it is actually on the same "team" as the humans... Speaking of the cat... one of the barrier we faced when updating the game was our cat animations sucked and with U...PrologueMay 1, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsEncrypted Message from Colonel Alexander - Sergeant Gary Freeman, your leave request has been denied indefinitely. I’m sure you expected as much but I hate to be the one to officially decline it. I understand you have a son back on Earth but we require your immediate attention. We do not yet know all the details that led to the collapse of our Martian SkyLift network nor the likelihood of the complete planetary destruction of Mars. Stabilizing the degradation of the plant and analyzing the potential of orbital debris impacting Earth has been rightfully allocated to the Army’s Corp of Engineers. Our responsibilities, as usual, are more direct in nature. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40318907/ee82be78d8a81570e6a63a244a676008f002bd95.png The catalyst that started the destruction of our SkyLift network began in Sector 17 and cascaded around the equator of the planet. Military Intelligence has discovered several unusual work orders and taskings in that sector but, most notably, the commission of a DOG-IV unit to assist an android in recovering some surveyor drones. Given these drones are disposable by design we think this may have been a cover. We cannot yet prove the Androids purposefully caused this catastrophe, but tensions have been rising and this incident certainly ensures a large portion of forces will be occupied. Your mission is to travel to Sector 17, deactivate Android 42 and recover his data log. As you know your Marine Transporter has a planetary drop pod capable to breaching the debris fields and reaching the planet’s surface. Extraction will be a more difficult task but, as you’re reading this message, the U.N.S.S. Gabrielle is positioning herself in orbit around Mars. The Gabrielle has a dozen ships capable of surface extractions. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40318907/4bf0aaf9ba2779eb01b58c2d728be202cb91474b.gif Given your current orbit, the drop pod can only get you as close as Sector 15. From there you’ll have to navigate through the B.13 Passage. Your power armor should make traversing the terrain possible. We’re also looking for any equipment cache in the area. A pair of jump-jets would be very useful. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40318907/17c1df3a5ab098e0c2e135829f8e4da668ca0258.gif That passage terminates at a water processing plant. Assuming the emergency power is still on you’ll be able to take the elevator down to Turing Canyon. There’s an unmanned Marine outpost there where you’ll be able to get whatever weapons and equipment you think you’ll need. I’m not sure if the Osprey VTOL is practical since the massive increase in meteor strikes but the Puma Rover should get you to the Power-Station at the edge of Sector 17. This is the last location we Android 42 accessed the network. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40318907/7588e9198ae78ca0dbc774f95185e5dab5f0b81d.gif Your mission is to find Android 42. - End Of Message P.S. Thanks to the 40+ people that made it to the live stream last night! That was a lot more fun than I expected. I'll keep the store front open to anyone wh...Community Live StreamApr 27, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsI've never done one of these live streams before but we have to gin up support somehow so... Let's do a Face Reveal!?! Ionized Games face reveal for 1 million followers and a billion dollars!!! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/28f363f98fb3f991ef6f7b95fabd4c9d5155ee83.gif Ziggy, Our Chief Financial Officer might even make an appearance! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/a7c32fc5159cf34bc9b4e5b65065db7d9860d81e.jpg We'll take an inside look at Episode II {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/0ea10e64847a5725ed2e9d2bc4c8c43ba4842976.gif And even see how close I've gotten to porting the Episode I over to UE4.26! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/71faedaabf5730131ea3abacbe840dd41760f038.gif April 26, at 7:15 CST That's 4,4370 minutes from the posting of the message. Join The Discord Server!!! Watch HereCAT Interstellar: Episode IIApr 22, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsFinally I am so flippin excited to announce what everyone probably already guessed: CAT Interstellar: Episode II That's right, we're officially developing the second installment of the CAT Interstellar series and it's gonna be nuts!!! We got Martian Rovers, Marines hunting Android 42, possibly the ability to fly this thing {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/638c86971ca6d4d3b40cacbabf4bf069eaebca00.png and best of all - some closure to the story arc ːDOGV4ːːDOGV4ːːDOGV4ːːDOGV4ːːDOGV4ː Head over to the new store page now for CAT Interstellar: Episode II for more content, story, and development updates. Thank You I mainly wanted to you this post to thank everyone who helped to support this game. Development of Episode I was incredibly difficult, frustrating, and there were times I genuinely thought about giving up and abandoning the game in Steam's Early Access graveyard. It's a sad reality that most all indie games never make it to a full release. I didn't realize the technical, financial, and mental hurdles I was up against when I started this game so I mean this in the most literal sense: I could not have done this without you The interactions with the community is something I didn't really expect when I started but was blown away at how engaged people were. There are people who have been following this game for 5 years and still drop in to show their support and give input. At some point I even started appreciating the hecklers. I mean seriously, this game was actually good/bad enough to catch their attention. They noticed us and even that's pretty cool. I think this next installment is going to go a little smoother. I'm definitely more prepared considering I made almost every mistake you could with the first game. I really enjoy writing science-fiction and developing games. I also love engaging with the community. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/4b739f33cc8049022f60bba817ca42ea08b0405f.gif Just to recap some of the stuff WE did: We shipped over 100,000 units of the game on PC, Linux, and PlayStation. We had a compitition to guess what type of breed my dog was. you all fixed must of the bugs for me, and basically wrote the story 1, 2. 3]. My dog was promoted to Senior Programmer and then somehow Chief Financial Officer. I raised the price in a get rich quick scheme. We vastly improved the main character. We used proceeds from the game to sponsor a number of dogs in foster care. That isn't even half of the fun we had making this game and it's just the beginning. One other thing I never really mentioned was that when I was developing the game full time I was working from home. One of the benefits to this was my wife and I were able to foster a lot more dogs than we could of otherwise. We fostered and found forever homes for over 34 dogs during the ~2 years I developed the game. I just thought you might want to know that you helped support that. And as fate would have it, we actually just started fostering dogs again after about a year long break when my son wa...(Pre) Big AnnouncementMar 17, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsPrice hike You read that correctly, against all conventional thinking I’m actually going to raise the price of this game to $9.99 USD. The one thing I want all the newcomers here to know is… we have no idea what we’re doing. Seriously, not a clue. BUT I’ve learned a little bit over the last 5 years releasing this game on Steam and the PlayStation Store and I can assure you I won't make an extra dime directly by raising the price. "How is that possible?!?" You might ask. It's simple, nobody buys this game. We only sell ~1 unit a week If the game isn’t on sale and I still intend to do HEAVY sales like we always have. So, if you’re thinking about buying the game before the price increase DON’T!!! wait until the next sale on April 22nd and pick it up for $0.99!!! So why increase the price? One thing I learned too late is that companies must make money to stay in business. Not us though because we donated most of our profits to animal shelters like chumps ːsteamsaltyː (I'm actually very proud of what we were able to accomplish as a community). Most distributors and publishers need to make money to pay their employees and keep the ball rolling. I guess that’s understandable but because of that they generally don’t see games under $10 as financially viable to promote. So, by raising the price we gain a lot more leverage to promote the game. Currently, my personal goal for CAT Interstellar is to get as many people to play it as possible. I really enjoy the game development process, writing science fiction stories, and I absolutely love interacting with the community. Maybe one day, years from now, I’ll be seasoned enough at game development to do this as a career but I currently still work a full time job and have a family so it takes me a lot longer than other studios to get content out. Additionally, I totally understand all the criticisms and critiques you all have voiced about this game. There are thousands of forum posts and reviews and I have read every single one of them and tried to respond to most… Except the latest forum post “Hey. DEV WHY U MAKE SO HARD WORK FOR NOTHING???” which I’m still trying to think of a clever response. Seriously though, I can't even begin to tell you how blown away I am that people bought this game 5 years ago and are still active on the forums. As for the big announcement, there’s gonna be a sequel and it’s gonna kick some major ass. I wasn’t shoveling manure when I said I understand the criticisms. As a first-time game developer, publisher, and writer there was a number of mistakes I made (mainly with the story) that I didn’t even realize until it was too late. I totally see how the game seems disconnected but it is not and I fully intend to close a lot of those holes with Episode II. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/6f038b9eed45138c003ec1b67a9bd83632e32d68.gif I really believe this game will carry a lot more weight when viewed in the context of the whole story arc. the primary purpose of the CAT Interstellar story is to i...Turing CanyonFeb 28, 2021 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/aa3e8e99bada47ba51b20af14bd4e87827dffc41.png Turing Canyon A favorite site among Martian Advertiser selling the idea of a terraformed Mars. Turing Canyon was formed from millions of gallons of defrosted water runoff caused by the initial nuclear bombardment stage of the planet. The storm pressure above the canyon raises the barometeric pressure to 9psi allowing for larger Earth origin fauna and flora to live without pressure suits. Rovers are required to traverse the terrain. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/7588e9198ae78ca0dbc774f95185e5dab5f0b81d.gifIntercepted CommunicationsFeb 2, 2021 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/9834686/ab0a30d798d96ad373786302f1fa59a313db2ac2.gifUpdate 5.1.0 (Pay-2-Win)Aug 11, 2019 - Community Announcementshttps://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/a7c32fc5159cf34bc9b4e5b65065db7d9860d81e.jpg Ziggy, our junior programmer, has shown incredible potential in economic theory and so we’ve promoted him to Chief Financial Officer. His first act as CFO is to dramatically increase profits by making CAT Interstellar a Pay-To-Win… er… I mean, Free-To-Play game. https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/62467eb439619566c57e329800580ebc64245015.jpg It is worth noting that Kitty, the Treasurer at Ionized Games, has concerns that a single player game with no microtransactions, streaming income, or advertisers could potential fail to generate any profit but... We try not to take cats too seriously so… On August 27th CAT Interstellar will be 100% free!!! On a more serious note, I wanted to thank everyone for their support of this goofy little project. In total we’ve shipped about 100,000 units through Steam, Humble Bundle, and the Playstation Store. It’s worth noting that the vast majority of those were purchased through bundles and Steam Sales. While I honestly never expected the game to produce any profit, it grossed on average $8,000/yr over the 4 years it’s been on the market (after taxes and royalties). I’m very honored to say that the bulk of that revenue went to either my wife and I fostering over 30 animals or was donated to our local humane society. I tried not to promote that fact until we had essentially cut the revenue stream since it seemed like a sleazy sales tactic. I wanted to mention it now since it was you all who helped make that happen. It has been a bizarre and amazing experience to be able to help our four-legged friends through a weird little Indie game on Steam. This will be our last sale before the game goes completely free. Update Notes This most recent update contains small map modifications, bug fixes, and a suggestion from the community to reshuffle the last two chapters to better separate the epilogue from the main story (insert joke about how it still makes no sense and is a tech demo). Again, thank you for all the help, feedback, and support you've given over the last 4 years. I truly could not have done this without you nor would I have wanted to. The only regret I have is being so slow at developing CAT Interstellar 2. Between a full time job and a kid on the way I’ve had to totally reevaluate how to maintain a development schedule without burning out or neglecting other responsibilities. With that being said, I'm hoping I'll have some content of CAT Interstellar 2 to share soon!!! Update 08/17/2019 Fixed Meow Interstellar Achievement not workingVersion 5.0.0 - ReleaseOct 6, 2017 - Community Announcementshttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/71faedaabf5730131ea3abacbe840dd41760f038.gif Barring any major bugs discovered this will be the version used for the full release. Why do a Full Release? CAT Interstellar was always intended to be about an hour long and tell a very short story about an unfortunate event on Mars. I think it meets the requirements of the original design document. Regardless, doing a Full Release has a number of benefits, one of them being my psyche, with the other two being that I can focus a lot more time on support issues like VR and Localization. What’s Next? I know a significant number of you see a lot more potential in this game but keep in mind, nothing is lost. We’ve built a number of systems, pipelines, and mechanics that will absolutely be used again (and should eventually be available to you through the project files). This isn’t the end of the CAT Interstellar universe either. Earth is still a frozen wasteland with a population of just under a billion people. All of them starving for a new home. There are half a million androids in geostationary limbo with no place to call their own and no task to focus their, so called, sub-sentient minds. The contracting company, CAT Interstellar, has failed to terraform Mars and they are desperately looking opportunities to exploit. A massive communications array on the Moon that connects all outposts and habitats in the solar system is beginning to become self-aware. Androids 388 and 461 aren’t ready to abandon Android 42 if there’s a chance he’s still alive. All while the United Nations Common (UNC), Earth’s loosely agreed on government, is trying to ensure everything doesn’t come apart at the seams. Anyways, back to the update... What’s in the Update? Gameplay Adjustments: Set subtitles default to off Adjusted the Cat characters fur to look a little better Minor Layout adjustments to all the levels Adjusted Android Trigger volumes Changes to Signals Ending Sequence Added “Planet:” to chapter start screen to make the locations more obvious Added additional dialog to the Base level Bug Fixes Key Rebinding is back online!!! Fixed numerous grammatical errors on android 42’s text box Fixed bug where Laboratory door could trap the player Adjusted Android 42's follow distance so he shouldn’t trap players anymore Bug on the surface where players could get stuck near the greenhouse VR I've added a VR branch for alpha testing. Thank you for your patience with this. To gain access go to your Steam Library, Right-click CAT Interstellar and select Properties. Inside the properties window select the BETAS tab. You Should see a drop down with vr_alpha – VR Testing. Select this and the game should start to update on its own. Once the download is complete you’ll be able to play. The VR mechanics were rebuilt from scratch and any feedback on the controls or perspectives would be greatly appreciated. I’ve started a new support thread HERE. Project Files The ...Version 5.0.0 - ReleaseOct 6, 2017 - Community Announcementshttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/71faedaabf5730131ea3abacbe840dd41760f038.gif Barring any major bugs discovered this will be the version used for the full release. Why do a Full Release? CAT Interstellar was always intended to be about an hour long and tell a very short story about an unfortunate event on Mars. I think it meets the requirements of the original design document. Regardless, doing a Full Release has a number of benefits, one of them being my psyche, with the other two being that I can focus a lot more time on support issues like VR and Localization. What’s Next? I know a significant number of you see a lot more potential in this game but keep in mind, nothing is lost. We’ve built a number of systems, pipelines, and mechanics that will absolutely be used again (and should eventually be available to you through the project files). This isn’t the end of the CAT Interstellar universe either. Earth is still a frozen wasteland with a population of just under a billion people. All of them starving for a new home. There are half a million androids in geostationary limbo with no place to call their own and no task to focus their, so called, sub-sentient minds. The contracting company, CAT Interstellar, has failed to terraform Mars and they are desperately looking opportunities to exploit. A massive communications array on the Moon that connects all outposts and habitats in the solar system is beginning to become self-aware. Androids 388 and 461 aren’t ready to abandon Android 42 if there’s a chance he’s still alive. All while the United Nations Common (UNC), Earth’s loosely agreed on government, is trying to ensure everything doesn’t come apart at the seams. Anyways, back to the update... What’s in the Update? Gameplay Adjustments: Set subtitles default to off Adjusted the Cat characters fur to look a little better Minor Layout adjustments to all the levels Adjusted Android Trigger volumes Changes to Signals Ending Sequence Added “Planet:” to chapter start screen to make the locations more obvious Added additional dialog to the Base level Bug Fixes Key Rebinding is back online!!! Fixed numerous grammatical errors on android 42’s text box Fixed bug where Laboratory door could trap the player Adjusted Android 42's follow distance so he shouldn’t trap players anymore Bug on the surface where players could get stuck near the greenhouse VR I've added a VR branch for alpha testing. Thank you for your patience with this. To gain access go to your Steam Library, Right-click CAT Interstellar and select Properties. Inside the properties window select the BETAS tab. You Should see a drop down with vr_alpha – VR Testing. Select this and the game should start to update on its own. Once the download is complete you’ll be able to play. The VR mechanics were rebuilt from scratch and any feedback on the controls or perspectives would be greatly appreciated. I’ve started a new support thread HERE. Project Files The ...Update 4.0.1 (Story)Aug 11, 2017 - Community Announcementshttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/bc5d5b690a5a374c09b98e79383140cbdecd9f06.jpg TL;DR this is the full story of CAT Interstellar with the subtitle system re-vamped. This build is worth another play-through from beginning to end. Content Cave scene ending with all triggers and key events. Signals full sequence of events. Credits completed. Added additional dialog sequences to “The Base” and “Credits”. Adjustments Added a second Android type. Adjusted mechanics of the Cat character to make the movement a little smoother. Speech Bubbles (Subtitles) are now enabled by default. Bug fixes Missing rocks allowed the player to get behind the wind tunnel. Numerous subtitle fixes. Known Issues: “Signals” start screen cut off the last ‘L’. Music at the end of “The Caves” is buggy. Key rebinding is still down. Project Files The only thing holding this up is the audio files. I’m trying to commission some audio effects for release under a creative commons license. Once that’s complete, I’ll push the first project version which primarily consists of all the code, animations, texture, and shaders for DOG. To Do Improve the 2D graphics for in-game consoles. Re-record key dialog. Add more ambient sounds, effects, and props. I’ve moved the release date back (again) to September 8th. I kind of screwed myself by doing a sale the last 2 weeks. I’ll go into a lot more detail about the business side of things but first I need to read through the SteamWorks documentation again and verify all the information I’m allowed to release. Having information on the business side of game development will be as helpful as the project files. Purpose The goal of this project is to tell a science fiction story that can be completed in a single sitting. I’m fully aware that if I was smarter I would be making mad cash with a multiplayer survivor game. I just personally don't have the free time anymore to level a character up or win an argument on the internet. That’s the audience I’ve been going after since day one. I’ve tried to make that as clear as possible on the store page but if you have any idea how to convey that better please let me know. http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/28f363f98fb3f991ef6f7b95fabd4c9d5155ee83.gif Maybe we'll try to get rich next time. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Community A few months ago we donated some of the game profit in the hopes of helping a few foster dogs and I thought it was a good time to give you an update: http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/fdd757453ccbe8c4097641a6be2ed4fac6839e61.pnghttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/cd25f85655be2d0d3c723a02aafbcd072a98371f.png Bojangles and Roxy both got adopted by great families and are F'ing loving life. -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.c...Update 4.0.1 (Story)Aug 11, 2017 - Community Announcementshttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/bc5d5b690a5a374c09b98e79383140cbdecd9f06.jpg TL;DR this is the full story of CAT Interstellar with the subtitle system re-vamped. This build is worth another play-through from beginning to end. Content Cave scene ending with all triggers and key events. Signals full sequence of events. Credits completed. Added additional dialog sequences to “The Base” and “Credits”. Adjustments Added a second Android type. Adjusted mechanics of the Cat character to make the movement a little smoother. Speech Bubbles (Subtitles) are now enabled by default. Bug fixes Missing rocks allowed the player to get behind the wind tunnel. Numerous subtitle fixes. Known Issues: “Signals” start screen cut off the last ‘L’. Music at the end of “The Caves” is buggy. Key rebinding is still down. Project Files The only thing holding this up is the audio files. I’m trying to commission some audio effects for release under a creative commons license. Once that’s complete, I’ll push the first project version which primarily consists of all the code, animations, texture, and shaders for DOG. To Do Improve the 2D graphics for in-game consoles. Re-record key dialog. Add more ambient sounds, effects, and props. I’ve moved the release date back (again) to September 8th. I kind of screwed myself by doing a sale the last 2 weeks. I’ll go into a lot more detail about the business side of things but first I need to read through the SteamWorks documentation again and verify all the information I’m allowed to release. Having information on the business side of game development will be as helpful as the project files. Purpose The goal of this project is to tell a science fiction story that can be completed in a single sitting. I’m fully aware that if I was smarter I would be making mad cash with a multiplayer survivor game. I just personally don't have the free time anymore to level a character up or win an argument on the internet. That’s the audience I’ve been going after since day one. I’ve tried to make that as clear as possible on the store page but if you have any idea how to convey that better please let me know. http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/28f363f98fb3f991ef6f7b95fabd4c9d5155ee83.gif Maybe we'll try to get rich next time. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Community A few months ago we donated some of the game profit in the hopes of helping a few foster dogs and I thought it was a good time to give you an update: http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/fdd757453ccbe8c4097641a6be2ed4fac6839e61.pnghttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/cd25f85655be2d0d3c723a02aafbcd072a98371f.png Bojangles and Roxy both got adopted by great families and are F'ing loving life. -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.c...Update 3.0.3 (Surface)Jul 1, 2017 - Community Announcementshttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/9834686/db24c0529c050e22e0ea2469107bfac08b0db067.gif TL;DRThis update includes additional dialog, a remapped version of “The Surface”, numerous bug fixes, and Ansel support. This update probably doesn't warrant a fresh play-through if you've already been through once. First off, I want to welcome the massive influx of players during the Steam Summer sale. Thank you for giving this little game a shot and hopefully you stick around for the ending. Your feedback is truly appreciated and encouraged. I’ll try to maintain a weekly update until our launch date. Surface The surface level has been remapped to be a little more efficient in its layout. The mine is now on the far side (since it is the final destination) and the entire map has been opened up. I was also able to cut out huge segments of the map that were rarely visited (like behind the base). This should drastically reduce the load time for the largest level in the game. I’ve also added guide poles to help make it a little more intuitive as to where to go. Please try not to run into them since the androids spent a lot of time installing them. Additional Content Added dialog to the “Main-Menu” level as well to “The Base” level. Reworked the “Main-Menu” with layout and an additional audio cue to make it more intuitive. Added an additional conversation to The Base as well as numerous environmental ambiences to add a little more life to the level. Bugs Fixed the issue with players not being awarded the “chapter 0 “ achievement (Sorry). Fixed a bug causing the locker door to freeze up and not allow the player or the android through. This effectively blocked the “Chazz” achievement (Thanks LigH). Fixed numerous collision issues making DOG’s engines freak out. Adjusted numerous graphical errors such as over clipping decals and overly reflective volumes (Thanks XBL Laberbacke). Lastly, I finally tracked down one of the most elusive bugs that occasionally made it difficult to “drop” objects. This one was unique because it was so hard to reliably reproduce. The ultimate cause of the bug was how DOG’s gravlift ray traces to objects. If the ray trace is beyond a certain distance (10-meters) it will disappear. This inadvertently nulled out the “drop” command if you were holding an object AND your line of sight was beyond the 10-meter threshold. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mvmHwCxw5A Known Issues Key rebinding. This bug is caused by how the action manager is passed around. I have a very good idea how to fix it but didn’t have time before this update. A few of the subtitles got jacked. I plan on streamlining the subtitle system to go in line with audio dialog instead of a bunch of beeps and boops. I’m sorry I’ve made you suffer for this long. Ansel Support We’ve supported Ansel for a while now but just recently got whitelisted by Nvidia so it should work for everyone (with and Nvidia card). Pressing Alt+F2 in game will bring up the Ans...

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