Thanks! I'm very happy you enjoyed the release and it was a huge milestone being able to finish that story arc in Act 3.
I've been hard at work over the past few months with regular updates on the Discord channel, but I've been neglecting the forums so apologies for that.
Here's a brief update of everything that's been going on for the next release of Solaris.
I'm planning for the next release to focus on new gameplay systems, such as building on the capital ship gameplay seen in the final couple of missions of act 3, using a LUA script by (the absolute Chad Lad) Asteroth as a baseline.
I've also been tweaking ground gameplay mechanics using another LUA script by Chadsteroth that lets you play missions in 2d. This lets you simulate vehicle travel and can have spectacular results.
The script also lets you simulate aerospace flight quite nicely, and the plan is to have these multiple gameplay types coexist seamlessly on the same map/level.
The other huge gameplay system that I've been implementing is courtesy of an amazing LUA script by the inimitable CRZgatecrusher that lets you call in reinforcements using a "Command Point" resource system. Even more incredibly, he's implemented an AI system that uses the same callin system and commmand resources, with the ability to tweak various parameters of the AI.
The plan is to have this all taking place in one giant 64x64km level, but will require several upcoming engine features post-FSO 25.2.0 to implement properly.
However I am hoping to have a limited gameplay demo coming out soon, showcasing the unit call-in and command system for others to try out, and tinker with!
