Hello, Astronaires!

Big news! Astronaire v0.2.0 is here, and it's a big one. We've added AI opponents, an actual win condition (yes, you can finally win now), and probably a fresh batch of bugs that I haven't found yet.

AI Opponents - It's Not Just You Anymore

No more lonely trading in the void—now you can compete against up to 8 AI opponents, each with their own skill level. Choose from:

• Easy (They kind of go wherever they like regardless of profit)
• Normal (fair competition)
• Hard (Make better trading decisions)
• Impossible (A little more calculated in their trading strategy)

These AI traders follow (mostly) the same economic rules as you. They take out loans for their ships, pay interest, receive interest, and even go bankrupt if they mess up. They also have to pay their crew and taxes—unlike my first attempt at coding them, where they mysteriously avoided both. (That bug is probably fixed now.)

They might taunt you now if they did something good too.

Win Condition! Finally!

Yes, Astronaire now has an official way to win. If all of your AI opponents go bankrupt, you’re the last trader standing and officially the best space tycoon in the galaxy. It might not be easy, but the satisfaction of seeing your competitors crash and burn (financially speaking) will be worth it.

Prefer the classic endless mode? No worries—just don’t add any AI opponents when starting a new game, and the game will recognize that you want to keep trading forever.

The "I Had to Rebuild the Game" Update

Adding AI opponents and a win condition was a bit more work than I anticipated. Turns out, I don’t actually know how to make games properly. Who knew? This update broke the game in ways I never expected, so I had to rebuild a lot of the mechanics (Like adding an actual game loop). There are almost definitely bugs still hiding in the code, so if you find any, let me know!

What’s Next?

After watching my own AI completely outcompete me, I realized players need better tools to stay ahead. So, next on the list:

• Cargo Capacity Upgrades
• Engine Upgrades – Faster ships mean getting to planets first because watching an AI trader scoop up all the best goods first is frustrating.
• Visual Improvements – Let’s be honest, the game still looks a bit dull. It’s time to make it prettier and more optimized.

That’s it for now. Have fun with the new AI opponents, try to bankrupt them all, and, as always, let me know if (when) you find any bugs!

I'd make a full change list here but honestly I'm no longer sure exactly what else I've added at this point. I'm sure I added a couple more planet utilities.