- Official Post
Hello Spacepilots!
Today, we have several exciting changes coming to our universes – along with a brand-new event!
A Quick Word About Bit Hide-and-Seek
We received a lot of feedback about the event, both positive and negative. With new event concepts, there is always a fine line between “This feels like work” and “This is fun and something different.” We also noticed several weaknesses in the Bit Hide-and-Seek event that made parts of it feel too repetitive or frustrating. We are taking your feedback on board and will revise the event accordingly in the near future.
A quick comment from Dschi
Sometimes, we simply have to try out new event ideas to find out how well they work and whether the community enjoys them. Not everything works perfectly on the first attempt. Some ideas are very well received, while others need additional work. The team and I still hope you can see how much effort goes into creating and testing new ideas and events.
And with that, let's move straight on to the next big announcement:
New Event: The Expansion
The Expansion begins on Friday, September 11 at 00:00 CEST and runs until Thursday, September 17 at 23:59:59 CEST.
In this mini-game event, you will explore the galaxy surrounding your universe and capture sectors. Every sector you capture grants you its bonus for 7 days, meaning the bonus can remain active even after the event itself has ended. The Top 10 players in the ranking will also receive an additional final bonus for another 7 days after the event.
To go along with the event, Expansion Packages will be available in the Premium Shop until September 20.
You can find all information about fleet selection, the map, bonuses, and ways to make life more difficult for your opponents in the FAQ thread:
And that's far from everything we have for you! We have prepared several additional updates, some of which have actually been sitting in our drawer for years.
Memorial Accounts
We are introducing a new Memorial status.
Over the past years, there have unfortunately been several situations in which an alliance or part of our community has lost a fellow player. SpaceInvasion has almost 20 years of history. During that time, players have not simply met each other in a game. Real friendships have formed, relationships and even marriages have begun, and countless personal moments have been shared. Losing a long-time fellow player can therefore be a difficult moment – for you, for their friends, and for the community surrounding them.
We would like to give these players a permanent place within SpaceInvasion. Memorial status can be requested through a support ticket. Once suitable confirmation has been provided, we can convert the account accordingly.
A Memorial Account:
- can no longer be played,
- keeps only its main planet,
- receives an exclusive Memorial planet skin,
- cannot be attacked,
- and will appear in the galaxy as “Legacy – In Silent Memory.”
If you return to that system one day and see the name and planet of a former fellow player, a part of your shared history will remain within the game.
Bitmeup Missions
Also starting this Friday, the new Bitmeup Missions will become available.
These missions allow you to complete tasks across all Bitmeup games and earn Bits, our platform-wide Bitmeup currency. In SpaceInvasion, you can exchange your Bits for the Save Assistant, Alien Bonuses, Multi Productions, and other rewards.
Every day, SpaceInvasion will offer you three missions, with a maximum of two rewarded missions per day. Once per week, you can also select one weekly mission from three different options.
You can find all information about the Bitmeup Missions in the dedicated FAQ thread:
SpaceInvasion Is Going 3D!
Several years ago, we redesigned the galaxy map with new graphics and backgrounds and later added Black Holes. Even back then, our graphic designer had already prepared some of the assets with the idea of eventually displaying the entire environment in 3D.
Some long-time Bitmeup players may still remember XInvasion. With XInvasion, we launched an exciting first 3D test. However, on a large number of systems, it did not run smoothly enough. This was partly due to the technology available at the time, and partly because my own career as a 3D programmer was still very much at the beginning. For that reason, we decided against introducing a 3D galaxy map to SpaceInvasion back then.
Today, six years later, we are finally changing that!
You can now switch the galaxy map to “3D Map” in the game settings. Also new in the settings: You can finally switch the game view from “Square” to “Widescreen.” We strongly recommend using Widescreen – and of course, it also works with the classic 2D map.
On mobile devices, the 2D map will remain active for the time being.
More Than Just 3D Systems
Universe: At the furthest zoom level, you will see the universe overview with all galaxies.
Galaxy: Zoom further into a galaxy and you will see the galaxy ring containing up to 400 systems.
A Quick Note About the Technology
The galaxy map is one of the most exciting parts of SpaceInvasion, but also one of the most technically demanding. Graphics, gameplay depth, positioning, and animations all play an important role, but the most important factor is: Speed.
For players, it is extremely important that the map remains smooth and responds as quickly as possible. System changes can happen within just a few hundred milliseconds. At the same time, new content has to render quickly while animations continue to run smoothly. From a development perspective, that is a major technical challenge.
Bringing the same gameplay experience into the new 3D map is equally demanding. We still want to support fast gameplay and shortcuts – for example, launching large numbers of event flights using only mouse positioning and “E”, quickly switching left and right, and keeping the entire experience responsive within an animated 3D environment.
That takes time and a lot of optimization. So if the map occasionally lags, stutters, or takes a little longer to load on your system, please do not worry. We will continue improving the performance of the 3D map.
You can also reduce the 3D graphics quality in the settings. Some 3D objects are not yet perfect in every situation either. Nevertheless, we want to make the new view available now and give you a completely different way to experience SpaceInvasion.
The 2D Map Is Staying
There is one point that is especially important to us: The existing 2D map is not going away.
If you do not like the new 3D map or cannot use it properly on your system, you can simply continue playing as before. At the same time, we regularly hear – especially from new players – that SpaceInvasion looks outdated. With the new 3D map, we want to show that even a game approaching its 20th anniversary can continue to evolve both technically and visually.
We are very interested to hear what you think!
Feedback
As always, we would love to hear your thoughts. This time, we are particularly interested in your feedback about the Expansion event, the new 3D view, the Bitmeup Missions, the Memorial system, the various visual and style changes, and of course any other changes or decisions concerning SpaceInvasion.
You can leave your feedback here as usual:
We hope you have a great time conquering sectors in the new Expansion event and exploring the new 3D worlds of SpaceInvasion!
Best regards,
Your SpaceInvasion Team