Devlog Update: Shooting Stars and Shaping Worlds 🌌

Hey everyone! We’ve been hard at work on our asteroid survival prototype, and it’s time to share some progress with you. This project started as a simple experiment in Unreal Engine 5, but it’s quickly becoming something we’re proud to show off.

🚀 The Ship Takes Flight

Our player ship is alive! It now moves with physics-based thrust and rotation, fires projectiles from its nose, and even has a health system. Mouse-driven rotation makes it feel snappy and responsive — perfect for dodging incoming asteroids. Shooting feels satisfying already, with bullets streaking forward at a fixed velocity.

🌑 Asteroids Everywhere

Asteroids spawn procedurally, each with random size, mesh, and velocity. Destroying them adds to your score, and the BP_AsteroidSpawner keeps track of how many remain. When the count hits zero, it’s game over — but not before you’ve racked up a high score worth bragging about.

We’re also experimenting with Nanite meshes for detailed asteroids, sculpted in Blender and ZBrush. Right now, big asteroids don’t break apart yet, but that’s coming soon. For now, Niagara particle bursts give us a fun placeholder effect.

✨ Retro Vibes, Modern Twists

The HUD is in place, showing score, lives, and levels. It’s functional, but we’re aiming for a neon-soaked retro look with stylized fonts and glowing effects.

Future features we’re excited about:

• Multiplayer Mode: Compete or cooperate with friends to clear asteroids faster.
• Power-Ups: Shields, rapid-fire, and invincibility drops to spice up the chaos.
• VR Support: Imagine piloting your ship from inside a cockpit, dodging asteroids in first-person.

🔮 What’s Next

We’re focusing on:

• Breaking large asteroids into smaller fragments.
• Adding classic screen-wrap logic (fly off one edge, reappear on the other).
• Polishing the UI with neon glow and arcade flair.
• Starting experiments with multiplayer networking.

This project is still early, but the core loop feels fun: dodge, shoot, score, repeat. We’re building toward something that blends retro arcade energy with modern UE5 visuals and systems.

Thanks for following along — your feedback keeps us motivated!