Homesick

Devlog 15
Another milestone reached, I made the nerd side of this game.
Basically, there are a few (20) planets that are interesting in some way, and so I made them kinda like achievements, so when you visit a planet you can find out more about it. Now, this would be difficult with gas planets, so all you need to do is just click on a planet and it will automatically show in the list. If you open the list and click on the planet you visited, you can find out some interesting (or not so interesting, idk) info about it. Just a little detail to the game, but I wanted the planets to have a little meaning.
This was like 7-10 hours of research so I am really glad I finally finished it. NO AI WAS USED IN THE PROCESS OF THE RESEARCH I tried it once, but it was no use ALL INFO IS PRIMARILY FROM WIKIPEDIA AND NASA WEBSITES.
I will go work on some details, but we are nearing the end!!!

Devlog 14
This will be a short one.
So, what I did since last devlog:
-added loading screens
-added music and sound effects
-finally made the astronaut
I don’t know if I forgot anything, I am honestly losing track of the devlogs help.
Now here comes the problem, I don’t have enough time to make the little notes about the planets, so I’ve decided to just polish the game as much as I can and ship it the way it is. I will work on some details, play-testing and add a few more easter eggs. I really imagined the game to be a lot more interesting, but turns out learning game development from scratch isn’t a walk in the park. But I am happy with the game and most importantly, WE ARE GETTING THE CERTIFICATE!!! I am not leaving this year’s Stardance without the certificate.
Anyway, I will go work on some stuff and I will see y’all at the next (and probably last) devlog

Devlog 13
It’s time to celebrateeeeeee!!!
The game is officially playable. I added the death scenes along with the victory one, and created a main menu (with one pathetic start button). I also added a restart and quit button on each death/win scene, so now you can go in loops or quit after your first death. Unless you are lucky enough to find Earth first, of course.
Technically speaking, save for a few details the game is ready for shipping if I don’t have enough time to finish it with all of its original features, and I will ship it in the way it is now if I run out of time.
What I will try to work on first though:
-gravity warning signs- there are a few planets with so low gravity, that jumping would shoot you into open space, and I made that a way to die (this probably isn’t scientifically correct, don’t quote me on this), but right now you have no way to tell which planets are those, and I won’t be so cruel to at least not give you a hint
-small info about a couple of planets- this game was always supposed to be semi-educational, with unnecessary notes to interesting planets in the game. The notes won’t be relevant to finding Earth, just a little info for those who are interested. I didn’t mention it before, because I didn’t know if I would have enough time for that, but in the end I decided that it was a pretty important part of the game and scratched some other things instead.

Time is running out so wish me luck y’all.
(P.S.: I finally designed the rocket! It’s definitely not better than the previous one, but it’s mine)

Devlog 12
Okay so we reached an important point in the game development, because now we can not only LAND ON THE PLANETS, but we can also LEAVE THE PLANETS!!! This definitely didn’t take an embarrassing amount of time (tracker speaks for itself) and we did get stuck a few times, but the aftermath is that IT WORKS!
What you can do right now:
-Travel around the space
-Die in at least 5 ways
-inspect a planet (meaning you can get a better look at it and see its name)
-choose whether you want to land on the planet or not
-actually land on the planet
-leave the planet (unless it’s a gas giant or you die in a different way)
-repeat
What’s next:
Next I am gonna make a menu screen, because right now you just jump straight into the map. Then I need to make Earth the endgame, because right now it’s the only thing that’s not interactable. After that I make some cool death scenes.
What’s coming in the far future:
I want to add an oxygen level and make some planets that will be able to refill it. I also want to add at least 3 more ways to die. I also need a starting planet that will disappear after you leave it. I wanted to add a starting animation, but I don’t think I have enough time for that. I also wanted to add some minigame(s) to make it more fun, but again, time is becoming problematic. And I REALLY wanted to add some animals on a couple of planets, but this is at the very bottom of the list and I need to concentrate on the essentials.
Wish me luck!
(current mental breakdown count: too many to keep track of)

Devlog 11
Y’ALL I’M FREE!
Well, not really yet, BUT I finally finished ALL OF THE SCENES YAY!!!
I have officially made over 30 unique exoplanet landscapes, one for each exoplanet (I am just now realizing there are planets in the Solar System as well… NEVERMIND THAT). They aren’t perfect, they aren’t polished, they aren’t gorgeous and mindblowingly stunning, but hey, at least they aren’t AI right?
On the first picture is my version of a possible landscape on Kepler-186f, which has to be one of my favorite exoplanets, if not my favorite. Because of its position and the host star dimness, it is possible that if life existed on the planet, plants would be colored in the shades of red, black and purple and I find that INSANELY cool.
NEXT UP: I am gonna make all of the planets LANDABLE, meaning that I will connect the landscapes to the planets on the map. It sounds so easy and quick, but I feel like it will take me the whole week. I really hope not. After that, the game will finally be playable, and we can move on to the details that will make it more interesting.
See y’all at my next mental breakdown, bye :)

Devlog 10
Y’all, we are making progress! Very slow one though. I’ve been working on the scenes and, we are moving, and I have around 10 more to make. We are gonna ignore the fact that they are the worst ones.
Among others, I made the Mars scene, and hear me out, okay, I just HAD TO add the cat ears to the sun now come on (first pic) like it was seriously asking for it. I also wanted to add some funny text next to it, but I am a left-handed person using the mouse with my right hand (don’t ask, idk) and it ended up looking terrible (for the record, my normal handwriting isn’t any better, but yea).
NEXT, I am going to finish the scenes (I know I said something similar last time, but it’s a slow process and I hate it) and then connect them to their planets or whatever aand idk.
Here are some pictures, pay them some respect, or don’t.

Devlog 9
Y’all, I’m backk! I kinda slowed down on the project, I’m losing motivation slightly, because drawing all these scenes is taking AGES, and when I compare the amazing projects y’all are making to my little silly rocket game, I just wanna quit. But I am not giving up (yet).
So far, I’ve made a couple of the scenes, and finished all the scenes for the Lich pulsar planets (let’s act like there’s not only 3 of them) and a few gas planets. There are still a lot of them to do, but there is some progress.
I will keep y’all updated on how it’s (not) going aaand I hope you have a nice day!
(pic: a heavily judgmental kiwi bird on Alpha Centauri A b)

Devlog 8
I started drawing the scenes for the planets and let me tell you, not a fun process… This one took over an hour and a half, and considering the fact that I have like 5 million more to make, my project will be 5% coding, 10% building and 85% Lapse…
Anyway, I am trying to be as scientifically accurate as possible, but considering how little information we have about most exoplanets I will have to use my imagination quite a bit.
Just like the rocket, the astronaut is just there for testing, not the final version because I am keeping the worst parts for last.
(pic: background for Poltergeist, an exoplanet orbiting the Lich pulsar)

Devlog 7
I finally finished the map, so now there are all of the planets, and stars, and other things waiting to kill you. I also added a bunch of asteroids that are just there… but you probably don’t want to crash into them.
I still haven’t fixed the camera transition (I honestly forgot), but first I will concentrate on drawing the scenes for the planets you will be able to land on. So far so good, but it will go downhill pretty soon, I can feel it.

Devlog 6
I finished designing the exoplanets (yipee) and that’s all for now. All of the planets are inspired by whatever Google fed me, so it’s not completely made up. My head hurts, but I will be back after the weekend. Let me know what you think of the planets :) Have a nice weekend!!

Devlog 5
I made the Alpha Centauri system, though you can’t land on the planets yet, just get yourself killed in the stars. I’m designing all of the exoplanets, because Google images aren’t any good. I also drew the star types (they aren’t perfect, but oh well) for the same reason. I still have 9 star systems and around 20 planets to make, but I feel like the map will still be quite empty, so if you have suggestions on cool exoplanets that I could add, let me know :)

Devlog 4
Today I figured out how to make landing possible (which definitely didn’t take a ridiculous amount of time), and I am quite satisfied with how it works, but it’s still missing transitions between cameras, so I will work on that later. I’m not happy with the planet font, but it’ll have to do for now. I made the gas planets landable, but there are still so many of them to do, and it’s not a fun process… send help.

Devlog 3
I added stars to the map background, because it was hard to tell if you were moving and which direction you were going. I also added orbits to the planets (they are there, I promise), because without them, it was almost impossible to find any planets.
Also, I fixed the black hole, and next I want to figure out how to make the planets landable. (I’m new to Godot and I’m learning as I go, so bear with me)
Wish me luck!

Devlog 2
I finished making the backgrounds for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. I also added a black hole that pulls you towards it, but I am not quite happy with how it works so I will be working on that.
Also, I am adding easter eggs even before the actual game is working… Anyway, I’m a fan of birds so I am just adding random birds in random spots. Hope you like them! (pic: duck on Neptune)

Devlog 1
I am making a space game in Godot, where you play as an astronaut who woke up stranded on an alien planet and has to find his way back to Earth.
So far I’ve made the rocket, the solar system, and the map where you travel around and look for planets. I’ve also started drawing backgrounds for planets that you will be able to land on.
I plan on drawing the rocket myself and possibly even the planets if I have enough time for it, but for now it is just so I am able to test if the game works (which it doesn’t most of the time)
(Also please ignore the 8 hours 💀, I had to restart after about 5 hours because I didn’t like it)