First of all, we would like to congratulate all with starting the transition period between summer and winter (in any order, depending on the hemisphere). We’ve made it this far into the year, so it’s a little achievement on its own.

Seeing how it is early March already you can probably guess that we’re running a little bit late with our schedule. In response to that, we can use old Blizzard’s motto: “It’ll be ready when it’s ready.” They’re not using it right now anyway, so whatever.

In this last devlog before the beta release we want to touch on a few things that were teased, but didn’t get a proper shout out.

New levels is one of those things. We’re including levels 3 and 4 of the second chapter to go with the beta release. Traverse the outer asteroids in search of Foreman Gordon in level 3, and help rescue the trapped miners in level 4! Handcrafted for your maximum enjoyment these levels make use of existing mechanics that didn’t get much feature before, as well as provide new in-game mechanics to play with.

On top of that we made a few quick adjustments to the first levels. Namely, level 1 of the first chapter will look awfully like level 2, but will cover most of the tutorial. Similarly, the level that is now level 2 has received a couple of sputniks here and there to spice up your travels. It still isn’t the ‘sick platforming’ we’re aiming to deliver, but we think that it is a step in the right direction.

Another thing we teased, but never quite explained is that most characters have voices now! Your beloved in-game characters will now not only spell out things in the little dialogue box, but also say these things through your speakers. We have a team of awesome individuals to thank for that. Their names will appear in the credits.

There is one more key mechanic we want to add to the game, and some of the preparation steps for it will make it into the beta. Namely, the player’s oxygen supply will be capped at a certain value. You will not be able to carry more oxygen on you than the said amount. We think that this change will make the game a little bit more challenging and engaging.

Lastly, controller support will have an ‘experimental’ status in beta. It’s implemented in-game, but we reserve the right to change its behavior before 1.0.

So when are we ready to share the beta? Soon, is the short answer; we’re working on it, is the longer one. We’re confident this event will happen in March. We will definitely update you closer to the date.