State of the Game November 2025

This blog is called a devblog for a reason, so let’s start with some development updates!

Thank you so much to everyone who has given us feedback, either at Event 1 or afterwards. We had 32 people fill out the questionnaire, 24 freeform/email reviews, and a lot of direct conversations. This has all given us a really good idea of what went well and where we can refine and improve.

We are very keen to repay the investment that many of you have made in the world of Ardent Spacers already and in that spirit are committing to “radical transparency”. While we can’t share investor reports or theatrical teaser trailers (at least not yet; we are, for now, still a team of volunteers), expect to see more blog posts and opportunities for feedback between now and Event 2 as we share how the game is developing, what we are testing, and some tasty teasers about what the crew of the Ardent can expect to encounter in future.

(And as a side note, any and all feedback is still much appreciated and the teams’ inboxes are open).

The main changes are detailed below but if you only have two minutes the headlines are:

Game team has more than doubled in size to match our creative ambitions, especially with props and logistics
Cheaper site hire has freed up over £1,000 to go into props and set design
Big rethink on our approach to combat, in line with the spacefaring adventure fantasy (but still plenty of opportunities for a throwdown)
Website overhaul, with a “Mission Files” wiki (now complete) and future printable reference guides
A full overhaul of the item game; more depth, more puzzles, more roleplay
Strong “first contact” focus for Event 2

Our Current Development Plan

Here are the main areas brought up in feedback that we’re currently working on.

Plot

First contact. This is a space exploration game, and one major part of the space fantasy is meeting new cultures. For Event 2, expect a proper first contact scenario along the lines of some of your favourite scifi franchises, and for us to keep leaning into this going forward.
Enemies. We’ve taken on feedback about the galactic threats; expect to see some smaller updates on the website, and a bigger change in how we use them at events.
Less jarhead, more detectivework. This isn’t a military game, so we’re recalibrating how force is used; in particular, expect Mattock characters to have a broader range of responsibilities and way more interesting decisions to make. We’re also going to angle away from the darker side of combat and more towards the noblebright side of spacefaring.
More division specific plotlines. We had a lot of focus on the main plotline this event, and on getting the divisions to work together. Going forward, we’re going to have more opportunities for each division to take centre stage with their own chance to shine.
More scifi props and aliens. We had classic-era scifi shoestring budget for Event 1 (we’ll share a breakdown of how we spent this in the future), but for next event we have freed up at least £1,000 to go towards new costumes and environmental props to really bring the scifi element to life, and we hope to revise this figure upwards as we make more spending decisions. We do however want to keep this event around average UK sci-fi LARP prices, so won’t be making a fully immersive spaceship… yet.

Event logistics

Mission communication. In the context of the game it makes sense that players have more immediate information about their tasks at hand. To that end we’ll be making some changes: more IC and OC briefings at the start of the game (rather than during), briefings in player packs, and some more innovative approaches like mission boards.
Encounter frequency. We’re making our logistics more resilient, so encounters will happen more often and more reliably. Improved logistics will also improve responsiveness to player actions, meaning you’ll feel the impact of your choices much faster – for better or for worse!
Camp layout. For E2 we’ve booked a venue that has a lot more woodland so the player camp can be under trees. We’ll also be making sure the camp layout is a lot closer together, and will get any plans posted further in advance so we can get feedback on it.
Player packs. We’ll be making these a full 1-2 weeks in advance of Event 2.
Ammo checking and recycling rules are being reviewed for the next event. Where possible we’re going to try to gamify it so you get rewards for environmentally conscious play.

Player battles and monstering

Battles don’t match the theme of the game, so we’re getting rid of morning mass combat scenarios in favour of things more in line with the specific game fantasy. Combat will still remain as a pillar of gameplay – we’re just going to be smarter with where and why it’s used. Because of this:
Players volunteering to monster is under review. For our size of game, the benefits don’t appear to outweigh the negatives with monster slots like at event 1. This is not a game designed for everyone to get involved in combat, so there’s less worry about needing to find 50 enemies for players to fight at once.
We want to instead incentivise opt-in assistance with helping the game out. We don’t want to start a culture of guilting players for not doing a task they really dislike.

Game rules

Medicine! More medicines, more chances for big surgery scenes, and guidance on how we intend this part of the game to run at events.
Chemistry! The system at event 1 was very basic. This is being expanded and turned into the proper puzzle it deserves to be, including more props.
Physical Engineering! It’s embarrassing to admit, but we lost our main box of engineering props at E1 (best laid plans etc). That aside, we’re working to bring engineering up to the same standard as the chemistry overhaul, with a focus on 3D printed components to slot together. This will be the lengthiest game area to develop as it requires more complex 3D modelling, so expect lots of WIP renders!
Crafting! There is demand for a fully fledged crafting system. We’re looking into it, but our priority is getting the above gameplay systems up and running properly first.
Money! More ways for players to get money, and more things to spend it on, especially event-specific new items.
Items! We’re reviewing how a few of the items worked based on feedback, and want to make some others more engaging instead of “point and click to succeed”. Another big priority is making sure the item game has enough depth to keep rewarding dedicated play over multiple events, without sacrificing the flexibility aspect that will let players try new things.
Printable version! We’re working on a PDF version of the rules, and a quick reference guide, which will be published at the end of the rules review.

Website

Confusing layout for game rules. We’ve already started work on this, and have moved over to a wiki format for the rules. Some pages may be missing or have incomplete information – we’re working on it!
Online player accounts. This is a winter programming project and is likely to be the final major update on our current development timeline. More news when we have it.
Photos. You might receive a message or email asking for permission to use a photo of you from event 1 on the website, check your inboxes and spam!
Emails. We’re working on finding a new email service so we can send out bulk emails again.

Behind the Curtain

As we work on the updates, members of the team will be writing up blog posts to discuss the game’s design philosophy and dig deeper into what style of sci-fi Ardent is.

We’re aiming to make this a regular blog series over the coming months to keep you informed between the bigger game updates (and will make for excellent bathroom reading).

Want to help?

We’re spending the rest of the year laying the groundwork for Event 2, and determining what gaps need filling after our initial recruitment round in October. In January we’ll be sharing a list of roles we’re still looking for with a focus on at-event roles.

If you’re interested in helping with the development of the game, send an email to contact@ardentspacers.com and we’ll be in touch. You don’t need LARP running experience – just a love of sci-fi and time to volunteer!