- new colors for the new format - 14 August 2026
the new 4-tone color swap palette format is coming together quite nicely, i think!set up a new scene where I can tweak colors and save pre-fixe palettes for retrieval in game later - these "curated" color schemes will be mixed in with ones that get set from local star-system and planetary data as well as full randomization when things get really chaotic/exotic.the palette test scene lets me do some color work while taking a breather from other, more logically-intense work. also is a nice quick thing i can sit down, mess with for 20 minutes, and walk away while still feeling like i've made some helpful progress on the project.screenshot: sample sprites at runtime during palette test "gameplay":moving from the 3- to 4-tone palette was inspired by learning some more about how the game boy color used to handle this stuff and what specific colors were used - i used to really enjoy the way yo…
- the Widening has begun... - 10 August 2026
**As always, all assets, sounds, code, and other constituent parts of DRONE SMUGGLER were created by a human being.**DRONE SMUGGLER's sci-fi spacefaring, high-score-chasing fun is getting a new look this summer. "The Widening" is an in-progress development initiative to bring DRONE SMUGGLER gameplay into a new 16:9 aspect ratio while refactoring or redesigning core elements to better support the kind of local variability, universal verisimilitude, and overall re-play value that suits the original vision. Right now only a few parallax particle effects have been added to the new game space, giving a peaceful feeling of drifting through interstellar space.Additional updates will be coming in the near future that bring gameplay mechanics up to parity with the current Steam release - the player ship, first and foremost, but also enemies, asteroids, dropping/picking up/deploying tech modules,…
- 0.1.9 Informal Patch Notes - 5 August 2026
Informal Patch Notes for 0.1.9In no particular order, here are some notes about EA0.1.9:Fixed incorrect capitalization on HUD UIPyxel shade labels - should be rPx, gPx, and bPx (the DRONE SERIF font shows lowercase as a downward-shifted glyph, will take a look at this at some point)Reworked shield particle systems to give them more energy and rhythmReworked cargo bay controls:As in 0.1.8, holding down a cargo bay input will jettison any cargo in that bayHolding down a cargo bay input for a bay with no currently held cargo opens that bay for storageReleasing a cargo bay input for an empty bay with no cargo closes that bayConsumables/pickups from the level can only be stored in an empty bay that is open and engaged for storage(In the future, installable/craftable upgrades to the player ship will allow things like automatically opening the next available bay when cargo is near, tractor bea…
- v0.1.8 - Patch Notes & Developer Comments - 23 August 2025
v0.1.8 is here and brings a bunch of fun new things to DRONE SMUGGLER :)Here's my high score from testing for this release:While the changes introduced in 0.1.8 aren't revolutionary, there's a lot here in the background and just below the surface that helps reach my current goal of building stable, fun gameplay to build Privateer Mode around in the 0.2.0 cycle.My thinking at this point is that 0.1.9 will continue and hopefully be released sometime in the next two weeks (there are some complex features and tools on my to-do list that I'm about to dive into) - while 0.2.0 will be a longer cycle still. One thing I know for sure about 0.2+ is that I want the first patch (likely 0.2.1) to be primarily about reducing the Known Issues/"Known" Issues/Known "Issues" lists which have grown quite a bit recently (but that's because I'm playing the game more, because it's fun, so I'm not complaining…
- DS Dev Notes: 0.1.8, 0.1.9, and the path towards Privateer Mode in 0.2.0 - 16 August 2025
There have been a lot of changes in the time since the DRONE SMUGGLER Early Access launch and, since the game as of 0.1.7 is really hitting a lot of good notes for me right now, I thought this would be a good time to step back and make a plan for what's to come.I've been collecting color swatch screenshots from the HUD during 0.1.7 testing - these will serve as the basis for more "curated" color combinations while still leaving room for randomly selected ones!Recent updates have been based heavily on feelings I had during playtesting - which is to say heavily based on vibes and what can be accomplished in a few hours sitting with the engine open and a few simple ideas to implement. It has been important to me to get the foundations for Privateer Mode (more on that below if you haven't been following the game's description or announcements) into the game before delving too much into RNG-…
- v0.1.7 - Patch Notes & Developer Comments - 16 August 2025
v0.1.6 has made way for v0.1.7 - here's the best I could do... not quite as good as the one from 0.1.5 but I think I can safely say I had longer sustained fun gameplay this time around so I'll take that trade :)That's also a significantly less-upgraded ship than the 0.1.5 high score ship! I'm pretty happy with getting over 9k.I'm also really happy with what the first HEX (hardware expansion) module - the Deployable Repair Kit (or DRK; what's a sci fi game without a million initialisms and backronyms?) - has brought to the game. It gives me a reason to risk flying in front of ships instead of avoiding them and sniping asteroids... if I take damage and need a repair kit, I can only get that from fighting an enemy ship.Eventually I'll probably add in some kind of resource mechanic tied strongly to the current level's color palette (maybe tied to a HEX that serves as a cosmic forge, turning…
- v0.1.6 Update - Asteroids & Spawn Rate Tuning! - 14 August 2025
v0.1.6 Update - Asteroids & Spawn Rate Tuning!First and foremost, here's my v0.1.5 high score:There was a point in the pre-EA prototype life of this game where I had the difficulty and spawn rate tuned really well for certain ships - I had put up a high score of like 30,000 (thanks to a high hit combo multiplier and a ridiculously valuable asteroid) and the difficulty and spawn rates felt like they scaled really well as time went on in the session. But it was only for certain ship stat values and it was more variable than I would have liked - some levels felt completely overwhelming and unfair and others were boring and empty.So I scrapped a bunch of the code dealing with spawn rate and difficulty and focused on getting the enemy ships and asteroids tuned in so they at least had appropriate stats. I never got around to revisiting the spawn rate code though...... until now! It was bother…
- v0.1.5 Update - Minor - 12 August 2025
Change Log - DRONE SMUGGLER v0.1.5 Early Access - Repair Kits!FixesFixed an issue that caused a crash when the game launched on a machine with no detected gamepads/controllersChangesAdded some hue and scale variation to the "movement particles" effectAdjusted volume level of The Great Resonator from -3.0db to -5.0dbAdded framework for ship upgrades to be generated and installed/activatedSome enemy ships now spawn with a single cargo item - a HEX (hardware expansion) known as a Deployable Repair Kit (DRK)These drop when the enemy is destroyed and are picked up when the player flies over them Once picked up, they provide the player with a nanobot repair package they can deploy by pressing the "Activate Consumable Mod" key (L-SHIFT / Square / X / Left Action Button)A DRK module carried by the player will be shown when the HUD is visible, providing a primitive way of indicating whether or n…
- Dev Notes: A brief look at the ship modification framework! - 10 August 2025
Dev Notes: What ways will DRONE SMUGGLER allow players to modify their ship's performance and features?Hey there! Thanks for checking out DRONE SMUGGLER... while hard work is underway to bring forth some of the more roguelite-ish features for ship upgrades I thought it was important to share some of the philosophy behind the ways those upgrades will be structured.Here's a text transcription of the notes from the embedded image as well as a few extra thoughts on how those features will be implemented in the early access version of DRONE SMUGGLER:Engineering - "ENG"From the notes:"A non-stacking, one-at-a-time set of modifications to ship stats (e.g., +2 AGI / -1 POW / -2 HUL). Cannot have RTMs \ directly applied but can be affected by RTMs applied elsewhere."Engineering will give players a reason to explore, discover, and return to specific shadespace broadcast stations throughout the ga…
- v0.1.4 Update - Minor - 9 August 2025
Change Log - DRONE SMUGGLER v0.1.4 Early AccessFixes:Fixed an issue where the spawn rate scaling (relative to score / high score) was adding the level's minimum spawn rate each time it was updated while the score was less than the high scoreChanges:Pause menu displays current application version number in the bottom rightHigh, Mid, and Low color option packs now have 37 color slots eachAdded a 1.25% stacking decrease to the spawn cooldown time for each combo multiplier over 1.0xAsteroids received a 50% buff to hull after spawning to give them a bit more staying powerPlayer ship now displays RCS-style thruster jets/cones when thruster input is given and the ship can still accelerate in that directionThe color of these cones is a transform of one of the ship's palette colorsKnown Issues:Some color combinations can create problematic visualsSome thruster colors end up being too dark becaus…
- v0.1.3ea Update - Minor - 22 July 2025
Change Log - DRONE SMUGGLER v0.1.3 Early AccessFixes:Corrected spacing and sizing of shadescopy analysis UI elements (the colored bars at the bottom of the HUD) so that they should now appear more uniformChanges:Directional input and button activation input for controllers now functions on the level end screen / "death" screen - it should now be possible to use the TRY AGAIN button as well as all 4 stat buy and all 4 stat sell buttons using controller input onlyKnown Issues:Controller input still cannot access the SHIP NAME element in the level end screen UI - a virtual keyboard for controller text input will be provided in a future buildController rumble is not applied when using retrothrusters to arrest the ship's momentum
- v0.1.2ea Update - Minor - 15 July 2025
Change Log - DRONE SMUGGLER v0.1.2 Early AccessFixes:Asteroids now factor in their attributes correctly when determining lateral (side-to-side) and angular (rotation) velocityAsteroids now have a (still relatively intense) upper limit on lateral and angular velocitiesController vibration now works correctly for ship movement (except for retrothruster input - see Known Issues) and pause screen interactionsChanges:added "The Great Resonator" to the shadespace conductor's available background music tracksKnown Issues:Controller input doesn't work on the level-end screen (after player ship is destroyed)Controller rumble is not applied when using retrothrusters to arrest the ship's momentumNot enough blue variation in the available colors for the level palettes
