Ships That Fight Underground Kickstarter Update

Hi there, my name is Matt Scott, and I’m the CEO of Little Orbit.

Welcome to this (long overdue) update for Kickstarter backers of the Descent: Underground project.

Honestly, the hardest part of writing this first update is figuring out where to start. It's been a roller coaster for LIttle Orbit since 2017, and just when we thought the clouds had parted, something else was always around the corner for us to sort out before we had something concrete to share. With that in mind, I'm just going to skip the entire backstory. I'm not interested in rehashing how we got here - I'm more excited to finally share progress and where we are.

Before I jump in, I do want to acknowledge that some aspects of the project have changed. For better or worse, Little Orbit is now solely in charge of delivering the game you backed, and the name has changed. During the last couple years we lost the rights to the "Descent" brand, and we weren't able to renegotiate a fair deal with Interplay. Rather than give up on the game, we are moving forward with a new name: Ships that Fight Underground. Or as we affectionately like to call it: S.T.F.U. On a more positive note, the intervening years have given us a great deal of time to take a hard look at the design to freshen some of it up. That means that some of the ships and other aspects of the game have been modified to expand the overall features in a direction that we feel is more fun.

We are still going to provide all the ships to backers that were part of the Kickstarter campaign, but since we are now staggering their release, backers will get them as they become available in the game's development cycle. Rest assured we are attempting to follow the original backer tiers as closely as possible as it relates to game utility items. This will include priority access to closed and open beta and some extra goodies we have planned.

I am personally very excited for everyone to finally play the game they supported. We've spent lots of time making sure the game has something for everyone:

• Flying unique class based ships across various roles either solo or in a team

• A living single-player and co-op hub that will grow and change with player interactions

• Customizing your ships with mods and unlocking their tech trees through crafting and leveling mechanics

• Competing with friends against the AI in PVE Co-op "Asteroid Runs"

• Experiencing intense multiplayer PvP matches across a wide range of maps and modes

Even better - the game is almost ready to put in your hands! We are now finishing up development on a new Early Access candidate so you can get in! We have just started testing with a group of backers and community members, and we will be steadily opening access to more backers throughout Q2 2023.

Here is a quick rundown on some of the things we have in store for you.

Fight with your friends

This is my favorite new feature that we spent a lot of time talking about during the game's previous development but never got off the ground. Since we took over, the team has invested lots of time and energy into building out a PVE Co-op mode that will blow you away.

This new mode embraces a UGC (user generated content) model where players create their own "Asteroid Run" using an in-game level designer that other players can team up to invade.

While more information will follow when this system is ready for release, here are some of the highlights:

• Each player can design their level with a limited budget of Nano (our fabrication resource) that can be used to place enemy spawners and turrets alongside a limited amount of Resource harvest points that they also have to place.
• Designers then recruit 2 friends to play their own level and beat it before the new Asteroid Run is online for players at large.
• Once published, any 3 players can team up to invade a player made level and compete against the AI for resources and rewards.
• Beating a level means that the invading team was able to harvest enough resources and blow the reactor or complete various secondary goals.

A unique ship for every pilot

After deconstructing what it means to have a ship in the STFUniverse, we determined it would benefit single player, PVE co-op, and PVP multiplayer to further define ship roles and remove the tiers. During play testing it didn't make sense to bury unique ship types behind paywalls or experience gates which would limit how many players could access them. With that in mind, we've reworked the initial 20 ship types to fall into 5 distinct roles.

• Assault: Ships primarily designed to destroy other ships and drones. Fast, fragile, and lethal.

• Defense: Ships designed to take a beating in combat and protect others. Slow but durable.

• Engineer: Ships using nano tech to bolster the offensive and defensive capabilities of others. Able to carry a large variety of technology.

• Hauler: Ships modified to carry more resources than others. Slow and defensive, but able to move large amounts of ore.

• Miner: Ships designed to destroy minerals or other natural resources quickly and efficiently. Mixed combat functionality.

Each quarter we have a plan to release new content that includes new ship types, missions, PVP maps, game modes, cosmetics, and craftable mods. Along the way, we will be introducing new level design features for our Asteroid Run design system so that there is always a new challenge for players to beat.

Deep ship customization through resource mining and crafting

During our review of the game, we also felt the single biggest thing missing was crafting and customization. The entire premise of mining asteroids for resources is central to the narrative behind players fighting each other, but it wasn't well represented in the game.

We have significantly expanded the resource collection aspect of the game to include various crystals and minerals that can be harvested throughout game modes. This gives us lots of alternate objectives during regular missions that players can engage in if they want.

Within the crafting system we have implemented new forms of customization and player progression including:

• Ship leveling mechanics related to your pilot's mastery of a ship

• Tech Trees that are unique to each ship

• Performance Mods slots on all ships including weapons, hull, and utility

• Harvesting and crafting systems that merge into Mod fabrication and upgrades

Generally there is a balancing act when using performance mods such as increased weapon damage creating an energy deficit with a ship's thrusters (more damage but less speed). We feel this balancing act will be a big part of the fun as players get to fine tune their ship to match their play style.

Stand out in the crowd

In regards to cosmetics, we have really upped the choices. Not only have we expanded the decals, paint jobs, and ship trails, but those can all be equipped to a ship through our Mod system. And this is just the beginning!

We have a lot of plans coming that will give players the ability to make and sell cosmetic mods themselves to give near limitless customization capabilities for player ships.

Legendary kits

We have also added in a new classification called Legendary Kits. These are themed cosmetics that include a unique performance mod. At launch we plan to have 1 legendary kit per ship.

Extensive Lore

Lastly, the STFUniverse deserves a rich lore integrated throughout the single player and multiplayer experiences to tie everything together. We have expanded on the original storyline to formalize the various corporate factions that players can join to fight for control of resources in the asteroid belt. Our story will slowly roll out with players getting a front row seat as the balance of power shifts.