Within the Cosmos - February Development Update

Henriquejr spotted February development update for the Scifi-RPG Within the Cosmos:

February 2021: Development Update

Scanning, Hacking, Crime, new GIFs & screenshots!

Hi again everyone! Since the community update I posted in January, I've been really eager to post a more informative community update for all of you, getting more into specifics about the game, rather than just talking about the current state that it's in.

Today, I will be showcasing two important aspects of the game, which are, Scanning Mode & Crime. Each one presented unique challenges for me, but I finally feel like they're both in a place that I am happy with.

Let's start with...

Scanning
Here's how it works:
Upon entering scanning mode, your weapons will be holstered, and you'll be able to see everything near you that can be hacked, as well as any related upgrades that you've made to your scanner. Hacking can only be done while in scanning mode, and will use up some of your suits energy. How much energy the hacking will use is displayed when you look at the item you want to hack.

Hacking
Hacking was one aspect I was debating on how to handle while I was developing the game. I wondered if it would be best to have a mix of quickhacks & a hacking mini-game for certain things. I created a few different mini-games for the hacking aspect but none of them ever felt "right" to me. At the end, I decided that hacking should be determined strictly by your characters skill level (skill check), as opposed to it being determined by skill level and then also requiring you to complete a mini-game. So in turn, the only hacking in the game are quickhacks. Here are some of the quickhacks offered in the game:

Some places in the game are restricted, and as expected, these areas have some security measures in place to prevent and catch trespassers. Disabling security cameras in these locations will allow you to pass by the area that the camera is surveilling without being detected.

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