This week we have decided on a date when we want to hit alpha internally. It means now we have a clearly defined and much tighter schedule. Consequently, by realizing how little time is left we were able to work twice as hard this week :)

So, here is a list of additions this time:

• Moved planets from a prototype build to the actual game.
• Added new ship model into the game.
  
• Added very nice space backgrounds and stars with parallax effect. Everything is procedurally generated of course.
• Started working on a procedural star generation and animation.
• Did some work on the HUD. Now it actually displays current information and updates in real time.
• Added radar to the HUD.
• Implemented weapon grouping. Each ship can equip several weapons (usually between 2 and 5) and you can bind each of these weapons to one of the weapons groups. By default you can fire each group with left, middle and right mouse buttons making it really easy and convenient to use different weapons configurations in the game. This will make space combat much more diverse than just firing a single weapon all the time.
• Did some work on the inventory. For example now it is possible to combine and divide stacks of items.
• Added slight tilt to the camera, as a result all objects in space now look much better and feel more “3D”.