Astroneer's Pre-Alpha Early Access will be updated to version 0.3.10196.0 (Patch "196")
Steam 'Early Access' users will receive this update Friday July 21st.
This update adds a new item, as well as fixes to issues in both single and multiplayer sessions. We are continuing our trend of working heads down on long term projects to make Astroneer a scalable and better performing game all around. If you want to know how that is going day to day, you can check out this week's vlog, as well as the entire playlist to see how we have been progressing so far. We know content has been light, so for our next update, we will be rolling out experimental branches of the game while still updating the main branch to allow players to actually get their hands on these new updated core systems on our roadmap. We can't wait for you all who are patiently waiting to finally see the fruits of our labor!
As always, the team would like to thank everyone supporting Astroneer in early access, especially for sharing bugs, inspiration, stories, videos, and streams with us and the rest of our amazing community.
UPDATES
You will find these updates in 196, the next build of the game.
[AS-1096] - Migrated to Unreal Engine version 4.15.
[AS-1140] - Fall Damage model been refactored to use fall velocity instead of absolute height values.
[AS-1190] - A variety of error messages for joining Multiplayer games have been implemented in game and localized in all shipping languages.
[AS-1194] - Set up headless game server to begin the process of dedicated server implementation.
[AS-1196] - Worklight object is now available in the build and printable from the backpack.
[AS-1201] - Distinct Gestures and Idles for Bubble, Pajama, and Bio Suits have been added
[AS-1203] - Adjusted FX to fire off at the right times during animations.
The Game no longer triggers an autosave on the first exit from the Dropship.
Backpack shoulder auxiliary slots can hold arbitrary items again.
Oxygen tank cost restored to 1 Titanium.
Build all the worklights you want! This is the first pass on dropping in a "test item". We hope to continue work on items like this while we flesh out core systems, as well as passes on other items that we think have way more potential, like the winch, drill, and beacons, just to name a few. You also now have more personality depending on which Astroneer you choose, as well as reverting the cost of oxygen tanks to titanium. Print some now while they are cheap ;). Dedicated servers are still not ready, but the headless server instance is a good step in the right direction.
FIXES
The following bugs are now fixed. Thank you to everyone in the community who has reported and shared details with us on these issues.
[AS-1118] - Spikers should once again be visible to Client players in Multiplayer games.
[AS-1147] - Client players should no longer be generating different terrain than the Host in Multiplayer games.
[AS-1148] - Fixed a recurring crash during the object update cycle. Object updating is now more efficient.
[AS-1198] - Full tanks no longer appear empty to Client players in Multiplayer games.
[AS-1207] - The Smelter will no longer lose resource nuggets if there are no slots available on the module, nuggets will fall to the ground instead.
[AS-1234] - Fixed an edge-case, but annoying issue where players are unable to proceed with the game after clicking the take-off button at the end of the landing sequence.
[AS-1280] - Fixed a crash that occurs when players attempt to load a previously saved game from the Main Menu.
[AS-1284] - Xbox players should now be able to join a previously suspended online game session.
[AS-1296] - Fixed a nondeterministic terrain generation issue which resulted in terrain seams around the landing zone.
Several fixes to the Gravity system should reduce instances of Vehicles and unearthed objects floating away.
Fixed issue where the Smelter would be restored to a bugged state if the game was saved during the smelting process.
Fixed issue where the Research Module would be restored to a bugged state if the game was saved at the wrong moment during chest unlock.
Fixed numerical error buildup in camera system causing jitter and drift.
One of the biggest fixes is gravity for vehicles and spawned items on planets. There still might be a few edge cases here, but for the most part you should be seeing less floaty stuff. Also, multiplayer sessions where players are on different planets should be much more stable.
KNOWN ISSUES
The following minor bugs are known to be in this release and will be addressed in a future update.
Background music tracks may sometimes loop or cut out early.
Base conduit may sometimes extend off the intended trajectory.
The upgrade to the Wwise audio engine has caused some unforseen situations where music does not trigger properly. This will be fixed after this update. Also, our migration to Unreal 4.15 has caused some issues with base conduits. There is a fix in progress, but it didn't make it in time for this update. Expect to see it in the next one.
PROTOTYPING
The following major feature prototypes are going on during development, but are not included in this release. These are tasks that most of the team are focused on right now, which is the reason for the lack of large content drops. As stated above, we will now be rolling new features to experimental to expedite some of this new stuff into your hands.
Controller Prototype - New controller and interaction prototype is nearly ready for public experimental launch. This prototype tries to solve issues with the virtual cursor, and aims to bring the controller experience in parity with a mouse and keyboard configuration.
Terrain 2.0 - Completed Volcano Island prototype to prove out terrain generation in new system. Next up is generation of entire planets using this new prototype.
Modularity - Completed second vehicle modularity prototype for internal playtesting. More concrete details coming within the next few weeks, including possible experimental branch public playtesting.
Research 2.0 - Astroneer ID Card and Interaction Point prototype worked on. Progress made on potential systems for more meaningful research progression. More concrete details coming within the next few weeks, including possible experimental branch public playtesting.
Now that the initial explorations have been done, the team is narrowing it's scope on the boulders on our roadmap. Concrete decisions are being made, resulting in more fleshed out versions of all of these boulders. As addressed in last week's Q&A, our team will now all focus on specific boulders for each content update going forward to bring them to life for experimental testing and or public releases. With the addition of two engineers since our last update, our capacity to move on these big systems has been largely upgraded.
If you have any feedback, suggestions, or bugs to report resulting from this update, you can leave them in this thread on our forums!
Thanks and enjoy!
-joe
SES Weekly Comms - 7/13/17
Greetings Astroneers!
This week at System Era, we are talking about our new test item The Worklight, showing off new animations, and continuing work on our roadmapped large boulder sized tasks related to terrain, online persistence, and controls. We have been scaling up the team most notably in the engineering department, and we are now seeing some concrete evidence of that.
First check out this weeks vlog so you can see EXACTLY what we are up to. In a totally non creepy way.
https://youtu.be/L0OXQhRfaIo
Then, watch the stream with all the details regarding our new item.
https://youtu.be/cM7hUbeP2WM?t=6m12s
The Worklight
While some of the large efforts on our roadmap are being worked on, we are going to be rolling out items like this, as well as features into the experimental branch for you all to test. This first one is a bit of a smaller piece, but we hope to flesh it out (with your help) over time to make sure it has way more functionality.
SES Video
Besides the aforementioned stream & vlog, last week we also rolled out another episode of the Q&A, where we talked about the difficulties of bringing creatures into the game, audio, & plenty of other stuff. Also worth mentioning is last week’s vlog, where Zabir showed off his Terrain 2.0 prototype, which can bring all sorts of new features to the Astroneer planetary landscape, including things like volcanoes, beaches, and (POSSIBLY) water!
https://youtu.be/JtvuK7UK730
The Team
We added some new members to the Astroneer development squad! Since we last updated, Elijah O’Rear and Sam Wolpert have both joined the team! With these hires, we have effectively doubled the engineering manpower under our roof, which will greatly help us going forward. You will already get a little taste of that with the addition of the worklight when it comes out in our next update.
As always, thanks for reading, and I will be back next week with another update letting you all know what is happening over here.
-joe
ICYMI: We're vlogging Astroneer's development
Hey all, Joe here!
It's been about a month since I have joined the team, with the explicit task of being extremely transparent with you all about Astroneer's development. One of the ways I was most excited to do this was by literally just vlogging things while they happen. We are loving the feedback that has been coming in so far, and figured it was time to announce it here.
We just rolled out our new communication plan in this week's Vlog 006, which outlines where you can expect to see what we are working on.
We also posted one last Saturday, where we go over the newest controller prototype!
These are going to be the de facto way to keep up with development between updates. Within them we have shown off prototypes for modular vehicles, potential controller overhauls, new Astro suits, and a multitude of other things. Keep in mind, some of these things are a long way out, but I think it is important you see where we are in the process and offer input as these things develop over time. I hope you enjoy watching this all grow as much as I have so far. If you are digging these, make sure you subscribe to the SES youtube channel to get updated when we post.
I'll be back next week with more information about our next game update, including some possible experimental branch testing that we want you all to get your hands on.
Want even MORE Astroneer? You can follow me on twitter @staymighty, and you should follow Astroneer on Facebook, and Twitter as well!
Patch 189 is out!
Astroneer's Pre-Alpha Early Access version has just been updated to 0.3.10189.0 (Patch "189")
Steam 'Early Access' users will receive this update immediately.
This small patch focuses on fixing some longstanding issues while the team works on prototyping items in our "Immediate Priorities" section of the roadmap. Patch notes will now also include a section for tracking in-progress tasks, to keep you updated on things that are coming down the pipeline.
As always, the team would like to thank everyone supporting Astroneer in early access, especially for sharing bugs, inspiration, stories, videos, and streams with us and the rest of our amazing community.
UPDATES
You can find these updates in 189, the current build of the game.
[AS-1082] - Implemented raw logging for join errors in multiplayer games
[AS-1083] - Implemented player-facing messages for join errors in multiplayer games
Multiplayer joining and error logging is still a work in progress, but at the very least you can now troubleshoot when things do go wrong.
[AS-1159] - Rover center of gravity has been lowered, improving handling
Rovers still have a way to go, but the center of gravity change will help them to stay a little bit lower to the ground when traversing planets.
Thrusters are now 10x as fun as they were before. (Seen in SES Vlog 004, enjoy!) Thrusters are still in the experimental stage, and will likely play a much bigger role when modularity is further along (see below for more details) but for now, use their upgraded thrust at your own peril, or enjoyment ;)
The following bugs are now fixed. Thank you to everyone in the community who has reported and shared details with us on these issues.
[AS-1152] - Fixed an issue where players became stuck inside the Habitat
This longtime bug should now never happen again.
PROTOTYPING
The following major feature prototypes are going on during development, but are not included in this release
Gamepad controls - handedness input
Gamepad controls - proximity selection
Modularity - vehicle modularity system
Terrain 2.0 - terrain lookdev exploration / proof of concept
Research - progression mechanics
Customization - expanding Astroneer suit options
The team is working diligently on a bunch of our core mechanics right now, as well as some under the hood updates to make the game more stable and efficient. In our newest SES Vlog 004 you can get a glimpse into how vehicle modularity is coming along, as well as a look at a new Astroneer suit in engine.
What you might not see in this list is the highly anticipated fix to floating rovers and items. We are working on this, but the fix didn't make this patch due to complications resulting from an engine upgrade. We will update with more information as soon as we have a solid date.
Astroneer Development Roadmap: Pre-Alpha And Beyond
To follow up after yesterday's look back, our producer Veronica just posted the updated development roadmap for the future of Astroneer. You can check that out right here. Looking forward to showing off progress on these new systems in the coming weeks!
-joe
THE LAST SIX MONTHS & THE FUTURE
Since we are at the 6 month mark, Adam decided to take a look back at the last few months and do a post-mortem, as well as talk a little bit about Astroneer's bright future. Read it here!
-joe
Patch 182 released!
Astroneer's Pre-Alpha Early Access version has just been updated to 0.3.10182.0 (Patch "182").
Steam 'Early Access' users will receive this update immediately.
This patch primarily focuses on a number of user-reported bugs and issues for Astroneer's pre-alpha. The team would like to thank everyone who is supporting Astroneer this early on and especially to those sharing bugs, crashes, ideas, and stories with us and the rest of the community.
Next week Veronica will share and discuss updates coming to the road map of Astroneer's development. Our team has nearly doubled in size since we launched on early access back in December '16. Since our team has grown so much we wanted to ensure the Road Map best reflected our teams goals and we can't wait to share that with you.
UPDATES
You can find these updates in 182, the current build of the game.
[AS-1018] - Steam now automatically uploads crash logs.
[AS-1078] - Backpack visual design has been updated and new animations applied.
[AS-1080] - Item names have been updated to better reflect their size. (e.g. Medium Rover, Large Rover, etc.).
FIXES
The following bugs are now fixed. Thank you to everyone in the community who had reported and shared details with us on these issues.
[AS-864] - Fixed input inconsistencies in the Control Menu.
[AS-866] - When exiting a Shuttle docked at the Vehicle Bay, the Astroneer should no longer become stuck.
[AS-913] - Fixed an issue where certain objects were still appeared gray after a saved game was reloaded.
[AS-943] - Fixed an issue with solar panels failing to charge after loading a previously saved game.
[AS-978] - Fixed a minor art overlap with the Research module hologram and research chests.
[AS-979] - Even more rocks now despawn after being dug up.
[AS-998] - Decorators no longer spawn on deformed terrain.
[AS-999] - Vehicles no longer automatically eject Astroneers.
[AS-1003] - Decorators now clean up appropriately when a module is built on top of them.
[AS-1007] - Fixed an intermittent issue where space station launch buttons would stop working.
[AS-1008] - Fixed an issue where Dropships would remain on a planet if a player's game crashes mid-travel.
[AS-1013] - Fixed an issue where deform tools would be left behind in saved games that were generated in Multiplayer.
[AS-1022] - Smelters no longer generate partial resources.
[AS-1029] - Fixed an issue with objects floating as a player moves away from them.
[AS-1032] - Gas Bag explosions audio now plays correctly in Multiplayer.
[AS-1040] - Fixed issues with the Drill Head that prevented terrain deformation.
[AS-1075] - Fixed an issue where Seats printed by the Vehicle Bay could not be removed from Rovers.
[AS-1100] - Fixed minor audio issue with the Backpack printer.
[AS-1105] - Items ejected from Backpacks can once again be picked up by players in Multiplayer.
[AS-1116] - Fixed Winch cable issues in Multiplayer.
Fixed crashing issues caused by broken landing zones in Multiplayer.
Fixed several issues where item input indicators were missing in Multiplayer.
Fix an issue where player color differentiation did not persist after loading a saved game.
Gas bags in caves now despawn after being destroyed.
+1 to Team
Photographer, videographer, media author, and fan; Joe has joined our team this week.
Being transparent and open about Astroneer's development and the team building it is an important goal our team has set for itself. Joe joins the team this week to head up Communications and help us reach that goal.
