1. Name change
2. Latest development updates
2.1 Planet texture updates
2.2 Templecast units
2.3 Many designers engaged
2.4 Chat channel system
3. Discord coming soon
1. Name change
Dyne Galaxies is growing up. For a year, I have called it Dyne Galaxies, named after the nickname given to Earth after the great disaster outlined in my novel: The Living Dust (yes, I've written a 300 page novel, and no, it's not very good). Adding "Galaxies" to the name, as a way to demonstrate that it takes place in the future, felt good at the time - but with all said and done, there is no getting around that there are awkward name similarities with another, famous sci fi universe (those of you who know, you know).
After digging through the lore of the game, I landed in a new name that holds even more potential, I think, in attaining meaningful significance and becoming monumental in its role of representing the game. The new name, "Monad", or "Monad: Mega Corps" if you so desire, is taken from the backstory's reference to Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s philosophy of monadism. This meta-physically implicating philosophy plays a big part in the futuristic projection of Dyne. The use of and direct reference to Leibniz' concept of monadism is deeply ingrained in the story, making it both suitable and somewhat aesthetically pleasing. For some more details on what "monad" means in a Dyne context, I suggest reading the backstory on the Introduction page.
2. Latest development updates
In other news...
2.1 Planet texture updates: Monad has received a whole array of updates, including new planet textures (desert planet imaged above). There are more than 20 planet types in the game, some which are common and some which are extremely rare. Each type comes with different advantages to the owner, while some don't really have any - yet. There is, for an example, no aquatic construction system implemented for oceanic planets and they are therefore pretty useless.
2.2 Templecast units: Templecast is one of the playable cultures of the game. We have just finalized all 5 of the initial unique Templecast land units and space vessels. Each culture will have 3 different space ship classes, and two land units. I'll need to make a separate update on all the cultures... coming soon!
2.3 Many designers engaged: On the graphical front, we're making constant progress. I'm working with between 3-7 designers concurrently at any given time, whether it be on spaceship designs, building designs, icons or something else.
2.4 Chat channel system: I had discussions with a friend on the importance of community and collaboration. As a result of this, I developed a chat channel system (pictured below). It currently allows automatic creation of official channels on galaxy setup and private channels when players join up to create a network. It also allows 1-on-1 messaging. Still has some kinks to sort out, but it's getting there!
What is important for you in a chat system? That's what I'll need to figure out over time.
3. Discord coming soon
That's all for now! I'm planning to setup a Discord soon for anyone who is interested in joining the game development discussion. No more details for now.
And remember, business is war, war is business!