Not another Venture the Void Announcement!? Oh noes...

[PsySal]

First, screenshots:

http://www.venturethevoid.com/screens/screen01.jpg
http://www.venturethevoid.com/screens/screen02.jpg
http://www.venturethevoid.com/screens/screen03.jpg

Download link for the client (you also have to make an account in order to play)

http://www.venturethevoid.com/download.php

Now, a press release!

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October 28th 2006- Independant Game Developer Kitty Lambda is busting out a major beta test upgrade for it's online space exploration game, Venture the Void: Discover Your Outer Space Style. Warp across the far reaches of outer space as you hunt down a mysterious relic for an ancient god. Featuring rock solid gameplay, expansive, autogenerated universes, and a continuous game world panning all the way out from trees and bushes to interstellar space, Venture the Void is a game that never takes itself too seriously and dishes up surprise at every turn. This is for all of us who in our hearts have always, since early childhood, yearned passionately to be a Janitor, Pirate, Illuminati or Hero... in Outer Space!

The current beta version 0.7.1.6 greatly improves graphics card compatability and includes many bug fixes and feature additions over previous versions. There is no special approval process to play, so visit http://www.venturethevoid.com and download it today!

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Thanks guys! I have posted here before and gotten some great feedback. Please feedback away, I think I am close to releasing this game at long long last. Feels pretty good. I can't make the game something it's not, but it does seem to appeal to a certain niche of gamer which is what I was aiming for from the start.

This version represents a major improvement I think over previous ones, in terms of compatability, and in terms of gameplay. Tons of bugfixes and I have implemented a lot of suggestions.

Thanks,
Calvin

[AVataRR]

I haven't been here for a while, so I don't know how many other announcements you've posted here, but this looks really great! I downloaded the trailer expecting a movie, but it was only audio. Maybe there's an issue there. I think this game is really quite advanced and has a whole lot of potential to be really really great. But I think it's got a few issues to overcome:

1. It took a long while for me to even get started in the game. I had to register for an account outside of the game and then I had to go through a few more hoops with the unfamiliar server selection and character creation interface.

2. Controls are quite unfamiliar. Instead of using the mouse buttonts to fire, I use them to accelerate and decelerate. Kinda threw me off balance.

3. Game isn't really very fun at the beginning and takes a long while before things get really interesting.

But, I really love how the planets are actually full blown, spherical planets that can be circumnavigated. I love how you can actually go right down to the surface or move off far out in orbit. It can be a great game! Just make it friendlier to nubs like mee!

[PsySal]

Woot! I'm glad you liked it =) Thanks for your feedback.

As for #2 I think I might implement an alternate control scheme, something FPS-ey since that will be familiar to a lot of players. I've sort of had this in mind and actually it won't be too hard. A few people have mentioned it, and adding some customization would be probably really nice for players who play more games than just this one (unlike me, hehehe. =)

#1 is sort of, I have heard the opposite from some players. However I'd like to streamline it even more. I think that for some type of gamers (mmorpg players) the setup time probably seems small, but for other type of gamers it probably seems a bit longer. I have an idea which is to create an account right through the installer, not sure how wise this is though...

#3 is a legitimate criticism, the game has a bit of a learning curve. I've done a lot to pare it down and am always thinking of how, but it's difficult! =)

Thanks a ton for trying it, your feedback is most useful and encouraging! Anyone else care to try?