Here’s the full list of games in the PAX1o this year: http://prime.paxsite.com/pax10.php I personally recommend Jamestown. I don’t play much bullet-hell shooters but I loved this one so much I put 12 hours of playtime into it and got some of the really hard achievements!

In addition Solar 2 was also selected as a semi-finalist in the DreamBuildPlay 2011 XNA competition. All the semi-finalists will be playable at PAX… so… Solar 2 will be there twice! Also, Solar 2 has been selected as a finalist in several categories at the awards at Freeplay, which is an Indie Game Festival in Australia.

In other news I’m still chugging away at Solar 2 development. There’s a lot of distractions though, being a one-man team means I’ve got to handle everything so it’s easy to get bogged down. But I’m half way through an update to add some challenge missions, some of the missions will be playable on my PAX build. I’m away for nearly a month in the US/Canada so that’ll certainly delay this.

These challenge missions are there to add some more content and replayability to the game. They’re also there for those that didn’t really like the story missions and so didn’t work through to the good ones, so these challenge missions are a collection of some of the cooler missions that can be done. It will be a free update.

So how about more depth into the sandbox? Trust me, I’ve been thinking about that for a while and the only way to add more stuff is to drastically change all the gameplay mechanics and controls, which would require redoing a whole ton of stuff and balancing from scratch. That’s a bit too much from an already released game, especially since some people might prefer how it is now instead of any changes I might make.

If I make a Solar 3 (which I probably will eventually) I’ll be able to implement all the suggestions people have made about Solar 2 and build the game from the ground up. It’ll have the same core sandbox gameplay, but will be more focused on being a simulation/RPG type game instead of a simple action game. I’ll have some open Betas for it too and get much more feedback.

Don’t hold your breath on that one though, I’m already planning my next major game for Steam

This version has no DRM at all and no 3rd party stuff like Steam, it’s just a completely stand-alone game you can install and run anywhere. Note that you cannot activate the game on Steam when you get it on GamersGate, the whole idea was to make something that didn’t need Steam or anything.

DRM doesn’t work unless it’s so restrictive that it starts impacting on legit users, otherwise it is fairly useless, so that’s why I’ve gone totally DRM free with Solar 2. So yeah, don’t abuse it! If piracy sky rockets then I’ll try DRM next time as it may end up better overall, but I hope it doesn’t come to that.

I know I talked about charging for the OST but Solar 2 has done so well that I’m perfectly happy to release it for free! Although if you really enjoy the music please support the composer (JP Neufeld) with a PayPal donation, that way he can spend more time making even more awesome music!

Solar 2 OST Free Download Locations: IndieDB | FileDropper | MediaFire
The soundtrack is free to download but like any soundtrack it’s protected under copyright and you can’t use it for commercial purposes without talking to me first.

In addition here are some awesome Solar 2 wallpapers. The artwork was done by Kamikaye.

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Solar 2 is currently available on Steam and XBLIG

Enjoy!

That’s about $5. Why is it half the price of the PC versions?

• 400 ms points is the max price you can set games on Xbox LIVE Indie Games
• Less ships and other performance cuts, due to slow Xbox CPU
• Minor graphical cuts, due to slow Xbox GPU
• Saves less frequently, due to slow Xbox HDD
• No keyboard cheats and less God Options
• Slower updates, I have to pass updates through a review system which is slow
• Lower quality audio (which is why the file size is about 15mb less)
• Won’t support non-English languages, the PC version can have fan translations
• Time limited demo

So, if these things don’t bother you, then sure, go for the Xbox 360 version! But I do consider the PC version to be superior.

There is nothing more to say, go check it out! There is a free demo too if you want to try before you buy.

Xbox LIVE Indie Games version will be out within a week, and a GamersGate version with no 3rd party stuff or DRM will be available 1st July.

Solar 2 is done! Time to release it. Expect it to come available on Steam for $10 about June 17th! Xbox LIVE Indie Games version and other PC versions will shortly follow. All versions will have a free demo.

Here is the final trailer for the release, enjoy!

I have nothing else to say really. Just keep your eye out for it!

I said June in my trailer and that still looks about right. Solar 2 should be hitting Steam in late-June, with other retailers (including a DRM-free GamersGate version) in the following weeks. Xbox LIVE Indie Games might take a bit longer as I haven’t really put much thought into Xbox yet, but shouldn’t be more than a few weeks after the Steam release.

The game is pretty much complete at this point, I’m just polishing it and testing it. Man it’s come together well. I’m very, very pleased with this game. It’s got a decent amount of content too, took me over 2 hours to beat the game rushing through as fast as I possibly could (and I’m a Solar 2 expert!) and it would be another hour of rushing for all the achievements and rest of the content. Speaking of the achievements, here’s all 18 of them (found in all versions, but they are “official” achievements on Steam).

Why yes, that is a sad kitty. And yes, that is a planet holding a guitar, a star wielding a knife and a star with a beard.

I found during testing that the gameplay was as fun and “Solarish” as ever, but the commentary and mission instructions were a bit dry. So taking a page out of the book of “Portal” I’ve spruced it up and made it as ridiculous and absurd as I could get. Sometimes it’s even funny. There are some crazy motivations behind these otherwise simple missions. Psychological experiments? Robberies? Religious cults? Boxing matches? Hitmen? Love? Friendship? Extinctions? Concerts?

A concert and laser light show on a planet. Why? IT’S MY GAME, AND IF I WANT A LASER LIGHT SHOW ON A PLANET I’LL DAMN WELL DO IT.

Also, the Solar 2 Soundtrack should be released very soon after the Steam release, and will also include all the music of Solar 1. It’ll be something like $4-$5.

Solar 2 will be coming to Steam and various other PC distributors (I’ll announce those when they are sorted) approximately in June (could be a little later if I am caught up with problems). The game is also coming to Xbox Indie Games probably a little later.

The price will be US $10 for all PC versions and 400ms points for the Xbox 360 version.

Solar 2 is an open-world, sandbox game where you play as asteroids, planets and stars in an infinite universe. The game will feature many missions all activated and played during the extensive sandbox mode. I guess you could say the game is structured a bit like GTA, non-linear missions punctuated by a vast sandbox world. You can grow your system, destroy other systems, gather objects to become more powerful, grow and nuture the life growing in your system or just use the planets as wrecking balls. There are many ways to tackle the missions, if something isn’t working take a step back and think again. Other features include hidden missions, game modifying physics options, secrets to discover and more.

The Solar 2 soundtrack is by JP Neufeld, who also did the Solar 1 track. Solar 2 will feature over 30-40 minutes of original music. A Solar 2 Soundtrack will be released sometime after release for a small fee which will go towards the career of this aspiring composer!

For the rest of the differences, get out and play all 3 games. You’ll find they are all quite unique in their own ways and offer very different experiences to the players.

Also, Solar 1 was released 6 months before Osmos was released, so of course I didn’t copy it. Never heard about Orbient nor did I even own a Wii until a year after Solar 1 was released. I still haven’t played either of those games.

How come people don’t complain that all 2D platformers have exactly the same core mechanics anyway. Same with FPS games. Maybe Orbient, Osmos and Solar will be the grandfathers to a whole new genre of games, the 2D top-down circle physics game!

Not much gameplay, as you might expect for a 3 day game, but it’s good for a quick chuckle and something to show your friends.

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