Ahoy there, after almost TWO years, we’ve finally made it! Galcon 2 is launching on Desktop / Steam today! Galcon 2 is Free-to-play with In-App-Purchases. You can get it for Steam here, or directly here for PC/Mac/Linux/Android.

It has been a great couple of years, and I really really appreciate all the help the community gave towards making this game possible. I want to give a special thanks to the benefactors: Synozeer, Evan Rattner, Starkonja, Milagre, Strom, Mark Green, newpoweR,Eric “Guitee” Guite, Tom “Tomatzo” Andreae, Chris Paras, Gareth Jenkins, Mafl, Bas Hendrickx, Pittsburgh – Go Steelers!, dsent, tav, Mom and Dad, Langoulant, tinny, MARKUSON, Logan C. Espey.

And a special thanks to the community regulars: esparano, marky1991, chi-ro, tycho2, zamrai, KlR4, medeman, KylerCA, dart, tim_saxton, melek, sidekick, neverwins, guitee, black5535, hollander, sky_lark, LjuboM, terces, mafl, xStatiCa, tinny, cj64, concretewave, coolhwip, nse_monsta.

To go along with this launch I’ve updated the game with a new co-op campaign mode as well as a bunch of fun holiday goodies, like these sweet Santa trophies!

Hope to see you online!!

-Phil

P.S. The iOS version has been submitted to Apple! I can’t promise anything, but I sure hope to see it released before Christmas!

Hey there! Just a quick update before the holiday, ready for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. iOS Testflight will be mailed out shortly.

A few things fixed in this build:

– Improvements to tournament and clan features
– Steam beta launch
– Fixed server sync issues
– Fixed other misc bugs

The main reason for this update was to tell you about the special Thanksgiving features this week! You can buy drumstick shaped ships and host turkey tournaments all week! Be sure to check ‘em out!

Have fun!
-Phil

Ahoy there, 1.0.3 is now available on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. iOS / TestFlight users will get an email shortly.

It’s only been a few days since the last update, but I wanted to get these changes out before the weekend. Lots of polish here:

– Added automatic sync of new images, sounds during login. You can see this in action in the login news! I’ll be able to use this to do small updates of the game without having to do new builds and re-approval on all platforms.
– Added a tournament trophy fanfare and display of tournament results when they are awarded.
– Further attempts at fixing graphic glitches with some video cards. Do post if you have any problems (or if you had problems and they are fixed now!)
– Fixed the g2.state = “menu” bug that most mods were crashing from.
– Fixed the box select graphics so they don’t look awful.
– Updated the server list with better organization and more room.
– Improved layout in tournament stats pages, and all pages that displayed the galaxy map.
– Improved speed of login.
– Changed “Vitality Points” back to “Experience Points”

Do post in the forums and feedback or comments! Thanks to everyone who has been helping out! I’m really excited to launch this game more widely soon!

Have fun!
-Phil

Ahoy there, another Galcon 2 update has arrived! Anyone can get it for Windows, Mac, Linux, or Android. iOS / TestFlight users will be emailed shortly.

Here are the most exciting new features:

– Added Video Quality option, so on low-end devices you can select “Good” instead of “Best” for an increase of up to 1.5x in frame-rate (by my tests on my older devices.)
– Added Summary, Matches, and Log view of stats for tournaments.
– Fixed graphics bugs where textures wouldn’t load properly on some Windows 8 systems.
– Optimization to the graphics and audio loops.

And here are the rest of the tiny changes:

– Re-enabled CTRL-H to disable the HUD.
– Changed default co-op game sizes to 3/6.
– Made pause / chat buttons less likely to be toggled accidentally.
– Made right-click UI more consistent with drag-n-drop UI.
– Only show news once per play session.
– Changed audio so that /surrender isn’t so loud.
– Fixed standoff detection.
– Decreased time between end of game and lobby.
– Stop logging games after a trophy has been awarded in a tournament.

Have fun! Do post in the forums with any feedback you have!
-Phil

P.S. There is an easter egg in this build. I’ve already given one hint in the forums “TILDE” … I’ll give another hint here: “Works on all platforms.”

Ahoy there, it’s been a great “fan premier” week for Galcon 2! You can download the latest update for Windows, Mac, Linux, or Android. iOS / TestFlight will be available shortly.

I’ve added a button so backers can claim their backer trophy into the beta section. Please claim your trophy!

There have been games running almost all the time for the last week, so the servers have had some good workout. The feedback I got was also great, and I’ve done a ton of bug fixing and feature updates. Here is a pretty exhaustive list:

– Fixed several server crash bugs, as well as several login bugs.
– Added SYMMETRY for teams!
– Added /topic for custom servers and changed the defaults for /strict and /approval to be off. The server is also locked while admins are doing admin stuff.
– Custom server settings are now remembered between sessions. Also customizatoins are remembered between sectors. AND sectors and customizatoins are all on the same screen now.
– Double /surrender also destroys your fleets.
– Standoff timer a bit less sensitive now.
– /approve /unapprove doesn’t also toggle /away /play for users.
– Co-op mode overhauled so that it does not reset after the team dies, instead you drop down a level for a retry.
– Fixed Android web browser opening.
– Fixed ZeroLag team games bugs. Also fixed co-op drop-ins.
– Added a “Donate to Clan” button for transferring Galcoins into your clan.
– Removed the “house rake” from bets, while adding in a cost to running a tournament. Now all the rake goes to your clan. (This change is basically economically equivalent to what we had before, but it makes betting easier to understand and makes “Donate to Clan” possible.)
– Added new SFX for /gg and approval.
– Added an easter egg (also HUD mode is hidden within the easter egg ..!) can anyone find it?
– Tournaments can now award 1st, 2nd, 3rd places.

And there might just be a few other things I didn’t list! I hope you like this update. Please leave feedback on the forums! If this update goes well, I’ll work towards getting the game properly launched on more platforms soon!

Thanks!
-Phil

Ahoy there! Welcome to the Galcon 2 Fans-Premier Launch! The game is finally available to EVERYONE on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android! Check it out, create a clan, invite your friends, and have fun! (iOS TestFlight will be sent out shortly.) Server build also available for CentOS 7.

This means the game is now out of Beta, so all stats, ranks, trophies, and Galcoins will not be reset again unless there is a serious problem. You can now access your backer Galcoins and transfer them into Galcon 2 user accounts here.

Right now you can purchase Galcoins using PayPal, the in-game store contains a custom link. Also the forums are now live for anyone to access too!

Going forward from here, I plan on launching on the iOS App Store. Stores like Steam and Google Play are “to be determined” at this point. I don’t have any release dates yet.

I hope everyone has fun playing Galcon 2! I’ll be on quite a bit this week to hang out and play! (Including for the next few hours!)

-Phil

P.S. Just another special thanks to all the backers and beta testers who helped get this game where it is today! Your support and feedback has been huge in helping develop this game.

Ahoy there! beta35 is ready for action! Backers may check it out for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. iOS / TestFlight will be sent out shortly.

Updates to the game:

– Fixed UI issues and various bugs.
– Optimized memory usage, improved performance on all systems. Press CTRL-H for the debug HUD showing FPS, Lag, Items, and Particle stats.
– Quick login for new users (sign in without a Galcon.com account.)
– Better support for font size control. (Especially handy for your new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6+!)

Updates to the server:

– Transitioned all servers to a new host. (This is exciting because it means I’ll be able to scale up and down more easily depending on the needs of the community.)
– Custom server build of game to optimize CPU usage. (This is important, so that I can host many servers on a single core.)
– Upgraded website with SSL, database upgrade, and code optimizations.

That’s just a birds eye view of around 100 changes to the game and servers. Also, for anyone who is interested, the server build is available. It is custom build for CentOS 7. Get it here.

At this point, I’ve got a much shorter list of things to get done before the launch! Mostly a few more bug fixes, database improvements, and payment integration. (After that comes all the things that go along with a launch, like creating trailers and whatnot.)

Have fun! Do stop by the forums if you have feedback or any questions!

-Phil

Howdy y’all! Welcome to another beta The game is getting close to launch (not sure how close, exactly, but … getting there!) For the backers, I’ve got Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android downloads and iOS Testflight builds sent out soon.

Over 50 things done for this build, most of them are tiny bug fixes, changes. Here’s a couple highlights though:

– App Icon! It took some wrangling but I managed to get the Galcon 2 box art to look great on an icon!

– Major security overhaul.

– Added a credits page (you can see it by clicking on the “i” on the corner of the main menu screen.) I definitely appreciate everyone who has helped out in the beta, but I gave a special shout out to the players who showed up after most betas to give feedback on the forums.

– I’ve cleaned up the ship shapes, there’s a new V shaped ship available!

As always, please leave feedback in the forums!

Thanks! I’ll be online for the next hour if anyone wants to play a bit!
-Phil

P.S. If you happen to be going to the Colorado State Fair this weekend, look for us in the Goat barn! We’re “GOAT-O-RAMA” and we’re running the Goat of Many Colors contest.

Ahoy there, new beta available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. iOS TestFlight builds will be available shortly.

A smaller update today. A few miscellaneous bug fixes and another overhaul of the ZeroLag system. I’ve added a few more auto-corrections and removed the planet-takeover prediction. The main reason for this update being so soon is that I felt the previous build wasn’t working very well at all with planets changing ownership unexpectedly and surrenders not appearing to work.

At this point I think the game is heading towards a wider release in the near future. Not quite sure how near, as I’ve still got a fair amount of things to do to get the game there, but soon I hope to get more players in so the game can start developing a community!

Thanks! As always, please leave feedback in the forums.
-Phil

P.S. I’ll be online for about an hour if anyone wants to give it a whirl.

Hey, got another beta ready today! Backers can get it for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. iOS build will be sent out via TestFlight shortly.

beta32 has some 50 bug fixes and improvements. Here are the highlights:

– Major optimization to the ZeroLag code, fixing the “jerky ships” on iOS and Android.

– Several UI changes: right-click sends on down (desktop), an extra finger tap in space cancels all commands (mobile). Made right-click in empty space have no effect (desktop). Improved single fleet selection.

– Major improvements to the ZeroLag code, fixing inaccurate initial fleet sizes on short attacks, also removal of wait on server confirmation for planet ownership changes (makes initial neutral attacks instantaneous.)

– Added an application system whereby people can apply to join a clan. Clan chiefs can reject or invite those players.

– Customized game wins count towards your XP in sectors. 4 player symmetrical maps are mirrored now. In-lobby indication of map size now shown with an icon.

iOS users – once a year Apple lets me reset my beta testers list. I’m completely resetting the list, so even if you have been getting betas, you need to sign up again. Please go to the forums for the details.

Thanks!
-Phil

P.S. I’m not sure when I’m going to be online over the next day or so, but I’ll definitely be around sometimes! As always, stop by the forums and leave some feedback!