This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK):
Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'Beta Branch - Newest Changes & Experimental Features'.
Avorion
Beta Branch Patch 2.0.5 - Patchnotes
This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK):
Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'Beta Branch - Newest Changes & Experimental Features'.
Beta Branch Patch 2.0.4 - Patchnotes
This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK):
Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'Beta Branch - Newest Changes & Experimental Features'.
Gameplay
Balancing
"Buffing energy to shield converters a little more to make them more competitive. We're also reducing pirate HP to speed up combat encounters a little and make things a little easier, since especially in the core they could quickly overwhelm. Their firepower will remain untouched, this only concerns their HP, and also only for pirates."UI
"We made some major improvements to the fighter UI and the galaxy map! Plus some more generall UI goodness."Bugfixes
"As always, bug fixes marked with [UBR] are from User Bug Reports, that were submitted through our bug reporter! Thanks for your help and keep it up! :)" Beta Branch Patch 2.0.3 - Patchnotes
This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK):
Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'Beta Branch - Newest Changes & Experimental Features'.
Gameplay
"A few AI adjustments (mostly fighters) and some minor goodies."Balancing
"We're adjusting fighters slightly again because this time we overdid it a little. Those changes should tone them down slightly from their current status as indestructible killing machines. We're also giving the different shield upgrades a more distinct use."UI
"We're now communicating better what the different intricacies of the different operations are. And we've got a brand new scenario selection for Singleplayer games! Apart from that: More UI QoL and other good stuff!"Misc
Bugfixes
"No patch without some good old bug fixing! As usual, User Bug Reports that were submitted via our bug reporting tool are marked with [UBR]! Thanks to such a great community and keep it up!" Beta Branch Patch 2.0.2 - Patchnotes
This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK):
Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'Beta Branch - Newest Changes & Experimental Features'.
Gameplay
"Autopilot can now boost more, and NPC ships boost less! This should make combat feel a lot better."Balancing
"Adjusted fighters and the upgrades necessary for them some more to make them more viable for a specialized ship style. We also took a long look at the Expedition and made some very much needed improvements."UI
"Clarity improvements and overall polish to the UI, enjoy!"Bugfixes
"As always, bug fixes marked with [UBR] are from User Bug Reports, that were submitted through our bug reporter! Thanks for your help and keep it up! :)" Beta Branch Patch 2.0.1 - Patchnotes
This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK):
Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'Beta Branch - Newest Changes & Experimental Features'.
"You want the big patchnotes? Alright, you shall have the big patchnotes!"
Gameplay
"We made many improvements to ships deployed on operations: They can now show up in the area they're deployed in. But be warned, captains don't like being monitored at work. We also improved some clarity about size limits, processing power and other potential misconceptions about these mechanics."Fighters
"We said this before: 3 fighters should about equal one turret. The thing is that, contrary to turrets, you can lose fighters while deployed. Our goal with fighters is that we want carriers to be a viable playstyle, that can be powerful but requires specialization of the ship of more than just a few hangar blocks. We spent some more time on fighters and we think we're now at a point where we reached that goal."General Balancing
"We want the general early game to be more fun and less grindy, and for that we're making it easier to gain resources through other ways than mining. Apart from that, we've made some general adjustments to improve overall gameplay quality."Mining & Salvage Operation
"We added some clarity about the mining and salvaging operations, how they work and how to best fine-tune them for maximum yields. This, plus some QoL additions targeted at larger fleets."Other Operations
"Some balancing adjustments for the other operations. Also fixed some bugs, which you'll find more down below in the Bugfixes section."Galaxy Map
"We improved the general feel of sending your ships away - they shouldn't feel like they're completely gone."UI
"Much clarity stuff, and some more quality of life. Using pre-2.0 builds should now be a lot easier."Bugfixes
"We got tons of feedback and bug reports, thanks for all the commitment! As usual, User Bug Reports reported through our in-game bug reporting tool are marked with [UBR] below." The Avorion 2.0 Beta is now live!
Beta Branch Note: These changes are currently available on the beta branch. The beta branch is for testing experimental changes and for finding and fixing errors.
This is how you get access to the beta branch (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK):
Right-Click on Avorion in your Steam list, Properties -> Betas -> Select branch 'Beta Branch - Newest Changes & Experimental Features'.
General Gameplay
"So much has happened! It's far too much to list in these notes for now, so we'll only list the biggest changes! We had plenty of balancing changes as well, and we'll keep an eye on things to make sure that things stay smooth!"Balancing
"Just like the other changes, a lot has happened here and we're listing on the most important ones! You should check out the other topics for some balancing changes that were made there."UI Redesign
"We all know it was necessary, and things look so much better now! We hope you enjoy it just as much as we do!"Auto-Targeting
"No more 50% penalty but full control over which turrets should fire independently!"New Progression
"The new progession is meant to challenge you on your way to the center of the galaxy. Players will be required to prove themselves in a new area before they can get their hands on the new building knowledge. But if you don't like that, you can just go for Avorion Classic!"Crew Rework
"Hiring crew was sometimes a rather tedious task, and the amount of crew necessary for some ships was a little overwhelming. With 2.0, we want to give you the options of either having a more bare-bones crew on the ship or investing in a fully functional crew that will boost your ship's performance to 200%!"Map Commands
"More work for your captains - less for you! With the new map commands you can now easily send your ship on a longer mission to collect resources, trade, explore and more!"Captains
"We gave captains more character - and a class. And traits. And levels."Fighter Rework
"We want the carrier-playstyle to be more of a specialization that's worth it - so we're making things easier but we'll also require you to specialize your ship more to, uh, carrier more."Autopilot
"Every ship now has an autopilot that will take over when you give it an order, especially when you're sitting in it."Central/Outer Faction Area
"To give the factions on the map more feeling of actual civilizations, they'll now have a central and outer region in their area. More commerce in the inner regions, more outlawnessness (is that a word?) in the outer regions."Tutorial & Encyclopedia Improvements
"We brought the tutorial more up to date and made it easier for new players to start out in this complex game."Player Profile
"You can now keep track of your achieved milestones and possibilities of what's to come in the Player Profile!"Hyperspace Improvements
"You know a feature isn't really top-quality when people Alt-Tab out of your game to do something else while waiting for hyperspace cooldown. So we made Hyperspace Travel more engaging and fun, and most importantly: Less annoying!"Miscellaneous
"Hooray if you made it all the way down here! As a reward, have a few more things that were impactful enough to be worth mentioning in this wall of text."Bugfixes
"We actually fixed way, way more bugs than those, but those were the most important ones. So we're listing them here to shame them." Update 2.0 Newsflash - Ready for Beta!
All the planned improvements have been implemented, the coffee has been drunk and the hype is reaching the limits! That is why we will keep it short today:
We will start the Update 2.0 Beta tomorrow!
We will inform you about the exact start time separately tomorrow. Until then, you can prepare some snacks and put the energy drinks in the fridge, because it's going to start soon!
Update 2.0 Newsflash - Fighter Improvements
Fighters
We all know them - we all love them: Fighters! The only problem is that our little helpers have brought a lot of work with them until now. We want to improve on that front with Update 2.0 and save you a lot of time!
Let’s start with the fact that the fighter pilots will no longer sit in the fighter itself, but will stay on your carrier and control the fighters remotely. That way you no longer have to worry about your pilots constantly dying in combat and won't have to look for replacements anymore!
Starting with update 2.0 you will get one skin per squad and not per fighter. The new system will introduce rendering performance improvements when fighters are deployed, and network performance improvements for the mothership when they aren’t.
And on top of that: Fighters will only cost 50% of resources to produce in the future, plus they'll start boosting when flying longer distances! Yaaay!
Insiders know that Fighters can be SUPER OP, so we’ll have to introduce some restrictions, too, sorry!
In order to equip your ship with more than one squad of fighters, you will need the right subsystems installed. We want to make the carrier playstyle easier, but it will require more specialization of your ship. 10 squads on a full carrier are equal to 40 turrets! So the effort will definitely be worth it! We will also keep an eye on this feature and tweak it some more if necessary.
Finally, one more community request: Fighter squads can be grouped now!
Cargo shuttles
Cargo shuttles the way you know them now will be removed. The effort behind them is too time-consuming and nerve-wrecking. We’ll replace the cargo shuttles with NPC shuttles to reduce the effort for transporting goods between factories. NPC shuttles will automatically fly between the factories you’ve configured to trade with each other. You will no longer have to hire pilots, create hangars and so on...
And last but not least: We are planning to start the beta for update 2.0 next week! ;)
Update 2.0 Newsflash - Community Suggestions
You have actively posted your game suggestions for Avorion in our forum and voted for them. At this point, first of all, thank you from the whole team, it makes us very happy to see how much passion you all bring in!
So here's a summary of the suggestions that made it into Update 2.0:
*Right click on the Screenshot - Open in new tab*
Directly implemented suggestions:
- Build mode: set root block manually
- Free camera in build mode
- Optionally selectable: show faction colors instead of relationships on the galaxy map
- Ships calling for help die too fast
- “Captain, do this. Even if I am there” / command your own ship - activate autopilot
- Improvements to Legendary turrets
- Pirate Carriers
- Improve the storage proportioning of the factories
Indirectly Implemented Suggestions:
- Fighter speed (Has been improved in the Fighter Rework)
- Easy applying of a fighter skin to a squad (Has been improved in the Fighter Rework)
- Easier configuration of factory to factory trade (e.g. cargo shuttles, supply command)
- Easier supply of torpedoes (torpedo loot drops)
- Difficulty options update (scenario: free play)
- “We really need a better repair system” (Towing service)
- Bulletin board improvements (Has been improved with the sector overview)
Unfortunately we can't take over all your ideas,since sometimes they do not match with our vision of Avorion. Nevertheless, we have added tons of smaller improvements, which would go beyond the limits of this post. We have implemented for example a workshop filter to select materials according to already learned material knowledge and improved the unbranding of stolen goods. In addition, the trading subsystems have been buffed so that low rarities are now more effective.
It is definitely worthwhile to visit the forum from time to time, to suggest and vote, maybe next time your personal favorite will be on the list!
https://forum.avorion.net/index.php?/forum/8-suggestions-idea-voting/
Update 2.0 Newsflash - Loot Transporter & Ship Reconstruction
Loot Transporter
Getting really good loot usually takes a bit of work... With Update 2.0, we're making it a little easier for you, as the Loot Transporter is a sure way to know that there's some really great stuff to be captured! The transporter sometimes travels with pirates and is responsible for transporting the loot of their raids. You can imagine what he has in his bags! Since he has a lot to haul, there was unfortunately no room on his ship for turrets, so he makes a relatively quick getaway as soon as you attack him. The lucky ones among you who manage to destroy his ship despite the restricted time limit will be rewarded with a bunch of valuable loot!
Ship Reconstruction
Who has never wrecked a ship? Nobody, probably. In such a case, the well-known reconstruction token is usually the first thing you need to get the destroyed ship ready to go again - as long as you have a token at that time.
We would like to make this feature less complicated and more comprehensible, so it should be easier to understand for Avorion beginners in the future.
The tokens will no longer exist starting with Update 2.0, instead we are implementing a new Towing Service at Repair Docks! In the future you will be able to simply fly to a Repair Dock and ask them to pick up the broken ship. The ship will then be brought to you and made ready to use (read: quickly cobbled together) again for a small price, so that you can immediately continue flying! Some additional repairs might be necessary, though. Good thing you’re already at a Repair Dock.
If you don't feel like looking for a Repair Dock first, you can purchase a Reconstruction Kit. With those you can make your ship ready to fly again on the (destruction) spot. You’ll be immediately ready to go, but will need a few more repairs.