Spaceplan’s dev ‘hated how it looked’ so decided to remaster the entire game
Shoot for the starch
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The galactic clicker gameSpaceplanis getting a free remaster update for iOS, Android, and PC.
DespiteSpaceplanseeming like a casual clicker game at first, it quickly becomes something more entertaining as you expand your fleet of potato-themed probes and satellites to explore an unknown planet and the galaxy that surrounds it.
Jake Hollands,Spaceplan’s developer talked TRG through why the update is needed and what players can expect from this “much tidier remaster”. As it turns out, the improved visuals and upgraded UI have been a long time coming.
“I’ve always hated how [theSteamversion] looked because I didn’t know how to use those tools”, Hollands says. “I was just panicking and making the game as quickly as I could; I made a lot of bad decisions along the way.”
Hollands studied graphic design at University and so feels like it’s a necessity to bring the good design principles he learnt into the games he makes. “The PC version involved the wrong kinds of visual hierarchy and typography”, Hollands continues. “I hate the blue bars on the side; it always looked really weird.”
Instead of writing another 20,000-line script to try and fix the UI on PC and iOS, Hollands decided it would just be easier to remaster the entire game. The new update ofSpaceplanprovided an excellent opportunity to fix past mistakes. “I can go back to it and have some closure by making it the way that I always wanted it to be.”
Hello, would like to announce—SPACEPLAN Remaster Update, a free update out now across iOS, Android & Steam (PC & Mac)This is a rebuild of the entire game from the ground up!— Vastly better UI— 4 new tracks from @logeyG — Improved visuals, performance and UX pic.twitter.com/6pRIRflSKSJuly 27, 2023
It’s not just the UI that’s getting a slick new update. Players will also be able to enjoy four new original tracks in the game’s soundtrack. “When I told Logan [the original composer forSpaceplan] I was doing this update, he got really excited and started sending me new music.” The older soundtrack was a hyper-fixating treat, so the prospect of even more fantastic music is beyond exciting.
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However, some long-time players will be happy to know that not everything inSpaceplanis changing. As the casual clicker promotes buying various potato-like space prototypes, players found various ways to exploit their way out of paying exorbitant prices and pilling as many ‘probetatos’ onto their planet as possible.
These tens of thousands of small potato objects would eventually launch back into the atmosphere, creating beautiful flower-like murals as they flew up and away from the planet. While some of these creations were beautiful, most of them were dangerous; it would often crash the game and delete all of the progress made.
Holland has raised the bar for what it takes for players to crash the game. This being said it turns out that he decided to still leave the possibility hidden for players to find for themselves as a sort of crash course in actions and consequences.
“If people do this and drop thousands and thousands of probes on their planet, on purpose. I don’t think they should really be that surprised when their game crashes”, Hollands points out. So tread carefully in your space potato farming; after all, too much starch isn’t good for a balanced diet.
If Spaceplan doesn’t scratch your intergalactic itch, then check out thesebest space gameson PC for a range of different titles, all of which allow you to go deep into the unknown.
Elie is a Features Writer for TechRadar Gaming, here to write about anything new or slightly weird. Before writing for TRG, Elie studied for a Masters at Cardiff University JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs or editing the gaming section for their student publications.
Elie’s first step into gaming was through Pokémon but they’ve taken the natural next step in the horror genre. Any and every game that would keep you up at night is on their list to play - despite the fact that one of Elie’s biggest fears is being chased.
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