New Release Alpha 0.23b

This Release represents a huge overhaul with new meshes, new shadows and new base layout.
Changelog:

• New texture shadow system - As mentioned in the blog post had become necessary for several reasons, but I am very pleased about how the CPU usage is reduced. They have flaws but I think the net balance is positive.
• Updated and expanded shaders - Became necessary since the previous shaders were not meant for texture shadows
• New male mesh - Generated with makehuman
• New female mesh - Generated with makehuman
• New animations - They are only new in the sense that I had to completely redo the existing ones, some still require work
• New base layout - With the possibility of transparent materials new possibilities for the base layout emerged.
• Redesign of several objects

With these changes several mechanics broke and I have not fixed all. There are currently only one hair and cloth meshes and the customization is essentially limited to changing colors. There may be bugs, although I fixed most I know of.

Station redesign

As announced, with the new shadow system and the possibility to use transparent materials, the design of the station is iterated. Here is a render image of the latest iteration. There is a lot of glass, because with the previous setup it was possible there was an impenetrable wall between the camera and the NPC & player.

 This is an early ingame view of the station. There are missing textures and unfinished materials. The transparent material works, the appearance might be improved with a shader in the future/coming iterations.

New shadow implementation

To this point MoonBase69 implemented a shadow technique called 'Stencil-shadows'. It is easy to set up, yields accurate shadows and supports self-shadowing. There are however two drawbacks:

• Stencil shadows are calculated on the CPU and becomes more expensive in terms of computation time. With the new high-poly meshes from makehuman the framerate suffers. In fact, the performance was essentially limited by the CPU even before the new meshes.
• Stencil shadows do not work well with transparent materials. I do however want to have transparent materials, maybe for clothing but surely for windows instead of walls to give the station a more open look.

Because of this the shadow technique is currently being changed to 'Texture-shadows'. They are calculated on the GPU and can handle transparent materials. They do have however other issues, notably they require some efforts to enable self-shadowing.

Getting this system working took a while and is not finalized, but the result for a demo scene do look good and a early implementation in the main scene does indicate a significant drop in terms of CPU load.

Feature request

If you are missing a feature or have an idea for a gameplay mechanic, the comment section of this post would be the best way to tell me!

Characters of MoonBase69

The crew of MoonBase 69 consists of eight females and the male commander. Each character has a different background, personality and profession. This post provides a summary on this topic.

The content of this post is still Work in Progress and will be updated as the development progresses.

Security Officer
Works in the security office (a combination of armory and gym) and has the task to protect the station against threats and ensure order.
Due to the nature of the job/training I'd envision her to be more loyal and obedient compared to the rest of the station.

Engineer
Works in the development section of the engineering bay and creates blueprints that allows the manufacturing of new objects.


Mechanic
Works in the construction section of the engineering bay and manufactures new objects from blueprints.

Personal Assistant (Second in Command)
Works in the command center and provides the player with necessary information, tasks and opportunities.

Communication officer
Works in the command center at the communication console. She manager the exchange of information between mission control and other missions to nearby planets.

Scientist
 Can perform research on several topics (probably probes from the moons environment). Results of these research can used in the development section to create new blueprints.

Doctor
Has the task to make sure the crew is healthy. Has access to several drugs that can affect characters.
She is the first crew member that will notice that the artificial wombs are missing.

Inquisitor
Ensures that the loyalty for the empire within the crew is high at all times.
She would have some fanatic trait and will do nearly everything if it bears the seal of the empire.

If you have any idea about a trait a character should have or regarding the professions, leave a comment!

The station of MoonBase 69

MoonBase 69 takes place in a station on the surface of a significant sized moon. It needs to provide a gameplay environment that represents the available interactions the characters (can) have. This includes most significantly the characters role and the resulting daily schedule. This schedule consists effectively of Sleep, Work and Free-time. The station therefore provides sleeping cells for each character, comparably large working areas and some simple recreational areas.

Floor plan - Work in progress

While the sleeping cells will look very similar, the furniture and equipment of the working area depends on the profession of each character working in this room. This furniture is usually only used by one character and will also enable unique (sexual) interactions. The furniture in the recreational areas fulfill a similar purpose, however they can be used by different characters.

More information about the individual rooms furniture and equipment will added as the development progresses.

If you have any suggestions, wishes or ideas regarding the rooms purpose and/or equipment leave a comment!

About MoonBase 69

MoonBase 69 is an 3D real-time adult game, where you take control of the commander of a distant space station on the surface of a moon. Your mission is to ensure a quick population of this enclave.

The final game will be free, but you can financially support its development by pledging at the patreon campaign.

Story and Setting
After decades of continuous and fierce war the empire holds control over the entire solar system. In order to ensure further expansion, the High Council decided to send exploration missions to nearby systems. These are seen as a first step towards colonizing new planets and moons, they require crews with skills and knowledge to establish, maintain and expand the first manned structures. This includes the ability to (re)-produce and breed the new a new generation of humans that populate that populate the newly acquired space. This is supposed to be done with artificial wombs and breeding chambers.
You are the commander of mission number 69 and on your way to the moon of the planet Entai and you are responsible for ensuring a successful breeding. This may prove to be challenging, since the administration decided that the use of artificial methods is too unreliable. Therefore you have to achieve this goal by more natural means, however your all female crew was selected for other criteria than lewdness and sex drive. You have to find ways to convince your crew within 60 days that the classical way is the best way.

Game and Technology
The game is 3D-rendered and simulated in real time. The characters are customizable by using clothes and coloring as well as modification of the mesh itself during run-time. Each character follows and individual schedule that matches its profession. It also features an mod-able dialogue and quest system.