🚀 Beyond Contact Version 1.0 Release Announcement 🚀
Greetings, Space Corps Operatives!
First and foremost, thank you all for your dedicated support of Beyond Contact through Early Access, we couldn't have made it to where we are without you, our steadfast community.
We appreciate your patience and contributions throughout the feedback, roadmap, and development stages of the project, and we look forward to seeing your reactions to this new and improved version of Beyond Contact.
It's been an absolute pleasure to work with the community to bring our visions together and create something that we are not only proud to share, but also really enjoy playing ourselves.
So without further delay, let's get into the information that you have all been waiting for, the release details of Beyond Contact Version 1.0!
Release Date
Beyond Contact Version 1.0 (PC Steam) will be released on Tuesday the 4th of April!
For those of you already enjoying Beyond Contact, you will automatically receive the Version 1.0 update as the game transitions out of Early Access.
Release Pricing
To celebrate the launch of Beyond Contact Version 1.0, the current Early Access price of 14.99€ (local prices may vary) will be discounted by 34% for one (1) week from release (Tuesday the 4th of April).
Following the week of discount, Beyond Contact will be then available at the Version 1.0 release price of 19.99€ (local prices may vary), so make sure to add Beyond Contact to your Wishlist now, so you'll get a notification for the Version 1.0 release discount!
Release Content
We've shared details of the release content, as well as some screenshots, concept art, and other insights in the following news posts. We encourage you to give them a read if you'd like to know more about what to expect in the Beyond Contact Version 1.0 release.
Our Research and Development team has sent us further imagery to share with our Operatives.
Research and Development
Character Concepts
Quinn, Kangah, and Professor Zaine
Professor Zaine
Professor Zaine's Mass Repairer Gadget
Fertzilier Concepts (Yield Boost)
Structures
Recycler
Fridge Update
Territory Raids/ Void Nexus/Seed
Space Corps Fissure Stabilizer
Thank you!
We hope this follow-up look into some of the teams' past research and development topics will help tide you over until we can provide a more dynamic dive into the upcoming content.
Thanks for your continued patience, love, and support. United Worlds Congress
We currently have multiple capture-and-collect teams on the surface of Ketern working on gathering footage of the gameplay advancements that you will be able to experience in future missions.
In the lead-up to release, we plan to deliver a series of videos that we hope will provide our Operatives with a more dynamic look into our progress in research and development, but also provide a clearer picture of what you and your team of Science Officers can expect when you return to Ketern.
Meanwhile, our Recon team has delivered some preliminary snapshots of an in-progress top-secret mission where some of our most elite Operatives are currently testing the newly developed Habitats, structures, research, and crafting in their growing fight over territory with the Corrupted.
Recon
Habitats
New Research Layout
New Botany Lab
Territory Wars Map Insights
Territory Wars Combat
Research and Development
Alongside the Recon team, our Research and Development department has also shared some of their early concepts for Habitats, structures, and turrets, as well as some visuals of creature and character concepts. Please keep in mind that these are prototype designs that have potentially been reworked along the way and the final version may look different.
Habitat Concepts
Turret Concepts
Kangah Concepts
Stalker Concepts
Thank you!
We hope this quick look into future content as well as some of the teams' past research and development topics will tide you over until we can provide a more dynamic dive into the upcoming content.
Thanks for your continued patience, love, and support. United Worlds Congress
It has been some time since we last made Contact, but rest assured, we have been hard at work. Our development team has been preparing for the game's departure from Early Access into launch, and we are excited to share with you all of the new features, enhancements, and fixes that we have been working on.
We realize that the lack of communication since our last update has not been ideal, but to offer some high level transparency into this, things shifted a few times during design, development, and testing which were necessary for us to get the game to where it is now, in a place we believe is very close to being ready for our 1.0 release. These shifts in our plans, as well as some other factors meant that we weren't able to share our progress along the way as we had intended. For that we apologize and we hope that we can make it up to you now with an overview of what to expect for the release version of Beyond Contact.
Over the past year, we have added a number of talented developers to our team, and together we have been able to push our vision for this game even further. We hope that you will enjoy the hard work and effort that we have put in, and we look forward to continuing to make this game something truly special in the months and years ahead.
We never expected the game to grow to such a large scale, and we are grateful for the opportunity to continue exploring the unique and beautiful universe of Space Corps. We want to thank you for your patience while we worked behind the scenes to make the game the best that it can be. Your feedback and support have been invaluable, and we look forward to continuing to work with you.
Thank you for joining us on this adventure!
Conquest Mode
A new way to play Beyond Contact
When Beyond Contact was originally released into Early Access on Steam, you played as Quinn Hicks in Story Mode. The Story Mode takes you on an epic adventure to save the planet of Ketern.
Based heavily on player feedback, the release version of Beyond Contact will now also feature Conquest Mode, along with new playable characters that are unlocked as you play, and an all new Habitat system. Conquest Mode breaks free from the linear narrative of Story Mode providing a free-form survival experience with some very unique mechanics for a survival crafting game. To make this possible, many new features have been added to the game including:
Territory Capture / Defense + world corruption systems New unique playable characters with their own individual skills and upgrade paths Character experience points & leveling A whole new Habitat construction & customization system New Farming mechanics Enhanced multiplayer features.
Introduction to Conquest Mode
(Contains Story Spoilers)
Story Mode Recap: The Void Corruption is a destructive, sentient life force that threatens to consume everything in its path. It twists and corrupts the Brachylon species, turning them into violent drones known as the Corrupted. The Brachylon civilization has been able to withstand the Void Corruption energies for millennia by using their ancient technologies to keep them at bay. However, as more and more Brachylons themselves were consumed by the Corruption, they were unable to maintain their equipment and Ketern was in danger of being completely destroyed.
Enter Quinn Hicks, the hero of Space Corps. In Story Mode, Quinn was able to single-handedly repair the Brachylon technology and save Ketern, the Brachylon civilization, and ultimately herself. However, the Void Corruption was not completely eradicated and continues to pose an ongoing threat as more of the Brachylon continue to be Corrupted. If left unchecked, the Void Corruption will spread once more across Ketern, and again consume everything in its path.
Conquest Mode Intro: In Conquest Mode, the player, or a team of Space Corps Operatives working together, uses advanced technology and combat skills, to establish a primary base of operations and outposts on Ketern. The goal is to hold back the advancing Corrupted hordes and protect the planet from the Void Corruption.
In a new twist, The Corrupted have been summoned by the Void to key positions on Ketern called Void Nexus that can be used to amplify the strength of the Void Corruption energies around those locations, spreading Corruption even faster. The key to victory against the Corruption is to capture and control Void Nexus by building defensible positions on them, as well as a structure that is able to remove the World Corruption from that immediate area. The more Nexus Space Corps is able to capture from the Corrupted, the more the Corruption can be contained. The Corrupted are a formidable enemy and the player must always be on guard against raiding parties.
Habitats, Structures and Epochs (Weather)
In the Early Access version of the game, players would build individual structures directly on the terrain. Now, players must build larger and more sophisticated structures called Habitats, using modular parts such as flooring, walls, and airlocks. At release, there will be two tiers of Habitat in the game.
Most structures now need to be placed inside a Habitat to work. Some more advanced structures require the higher tiered Habitat. Habitats must be connected to a power supply to provide power to the structures inside them and alongside power grid management, Habitats require the player to also expand their oxygen and heat sources as their habitats grow. Alternatively players can use airlocks to build smaller, designated safe rooms that house their heat and oxygen sources, while placing their other structures in separate rooms where oxygen and heat is not supported. The modular aspect of the Habitat gives the player freedom to design a base with a variety of unique layouts and rooms for different jobs, while Habitat controls and power switches allow the player to control the power flow and Habitat doors.
Habitats also provide protection from hazards and weather and allow players to create safe places in otherwise inhospitable biomes where they can then go on to control or influence that territory. Some Hazards such as acid and lava only require flooring to provide a safe area to operate on. Other airborne hazards such as radiation, spores and gas require flooring and walls to protect the interior environments from damage.
Epochs are new events in the game that represent weather challenges for both players and the environment of Ketern. As Epochs become more frequent and powerful, Habitats become more important because they protect players and their sources of food and resources.
Enhanced Farming
Beyond Contact now features three stages of food progression. In the first stage, players explore Ketern and find food wherever they can to survive. At the beginning of the game, food is plentiful and players can easily maintain their stamina by exploring the map and gathering and consuming food as needed from plants and animals.
As the game progresses, players will want to build a base and a Habitat to keep moving through the different tiers of gameplay. This means spending more time in one place and it becomes more rewarding to relocate plants to this base to create a farm. This becomes the preferred way of harvesting plant resources.
As the game continues, weather events called Epochs start to affect the world and become more frequent and intense. These weather events start to decrease the plant life in the environment, opening up the third stage of farming gameplay, which is building farms inside Habitats.
Habitats can protect plants from hazards and weather, but only a new type of genetically enhanced plants can be placed inside them. This introduces seed gameplay where players must gather seeds, build a Botany Laboratory, research these new upgraded plants, and then place them inside Habitats in order to continue to survive.
New Playable Characters
Commander Magella: “As I sat in the Space Corps operations room, I couldn't help but feel excited about our new team, each with their own unique style and abilities. With this team, we were confident that we could take on any challenge and protect the galaxy from the ongoing threat of The Corrupted.”
Kangah is a warrior who had spent most of his life as a brainwashed, cybernetically enhanced super soldier for the hostile faction known as The Refactors, before escaping. He has the ability to upgrade his attack and defense attributes and modify his cybernetic arm for different combat scenarios.
Professor Zaine is a seasoned veteran of Space Corps. He is one of the most intelligent humans in the galaxy and an expert in building large habitats and structures. He has the ability to create the Mass Repairer, a gadget that can heal nearby structures on mass.
Blott* is an entity of mystery and wonderment. She is innately connected with all forms of life around her and is a master botanist and gardener. She’s an expert Xenobiologist. She has the ability to transform plants to have defensive and offensive capabilities.
*Our fourth playable character Blott is currently being developed and we are hoping to get her in for launch. If she doesn't make it in time, she will be ready for the first content patch after the game is released out of Early Access
XP & Skills Upgrading
To earn XP, the player must perform actions such as crafting items, gathering resources, killing creatures, researching, mining, trading, cooking, fertilizing, scanning, discovering new biomes and completing objectives and missions, as well as capturing Void Nexus. When the player earns XP, it appears above the character's head in-game. A new character XP bar around the character's portrait indicates when the next Skill Point can be earned.
Character levels and rewarded Skill Points require a certain amount of XP. Skill points can then be used to upgrade the skills of your character, with each character having its own unique set of upgradable skills.
Updated Story Mode (Previously Campaign Mode)
(Contains Story Spoilers)
After months of hard work and in-depth collaboration with our community, Story Mode has been further polished and finally completed. The objective of Story Mode has always been to provide a satisfying and complete story experience for the player, but it has also been enhanced with many of the new features introduced by the new Conquest Mode, making it an even more immersive and engaging experience.
In Story Mode players must work to save the Brachylon civilization by stabilizing the planet of Ketern, and completing the World Forge at the Brachylon Oasis. It is a challenging task, but one that is essential for the survival of the Brachylon people.
As players progress through the Story Mode, they will encounter a wide variety of challenges and obstacles, from fierce battles with alien creatures to strategic decision-making and missions. But with determination and skill, they will be able to overcome these challenges and emerge victorious, bringing about a strong conclusion to the story and securing the future of the Brachylon civilization.
Research Tree
Previously, the research interface had been a source of confusion and frustration for players as it was just a list of items. With its complex terminology and opaque system of unlocking new technologies, it was often difficult for players to understand the consequences of their actions when conducting research, and what the trade-offs, if any, they were making with each choice. But now, with the introduction of the new graphical research tree interface, this problem has been solved. The research tree allows players to easily plan and track their research paths, giving them a clear picture of the technologies they can unlock, and the strategic trade-offs they must consider.
With the new research tree, players can more easily make tactical and strategic decisions that will directly affect their chances of survival in the harsh and unforgiving world of Ketern, and her sister planets. The overhauled research interface is a major improvement, and we hope it will provide a much more satisfying and engaging experience for players.
Polish and Enhancements
There has been a large number of polish updates and fixes to the game since the initial Early Access and last public update we did. We will post a more comprehensive list at release...
In the mean-time here are a few highlights:
Countless bugs fixes and gameplay enhancements have been completed. Many of the user interfaces have received an overhaul. There’s a ton of new music, sound FXs and voiceover content. Many structures received visual updates. We have introduced new multiplayer features such as multiplayer revival mechanics and shared research to encourage cooperative gameplay.
There is still so much that we want to do with Beyond Contact and we hope you are excited for us to continue developing, improving and adding new features.
Future features include ideas such as: Additional Characters Additional Planets More Habitat structures More Creatures More Community requested features
What's Next?
From now until release, we plan on sharing a deeper look into these release features including gameplay footage and some dev insights into the process of creating these new additions and what they mean for the future of Beyond Contact.
Thanks for your continued patience, love, and support. United Worlds Congress
It's also a great time to check out the progress we have made so far in Early Access, and to see what is included in our near future plans.
For more information about the updates since our Early Access launch check out these updates!
Rise of the Corrupted Part 1- Game Difficulty Options https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/877010/view/3146324000454453418
Rise of the Corrupted Part 2 - Raids Beta Branch https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/877010/view/3146324738913649593
Quality of Life Update - Expanded Game Settings, Base Building Improvements, and Map Improvements https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/877010/view/4334153583495852725
Space Corps Strikes Back! - Raids, Shared Research, Campaign Polish, Secondary Weapon Actions, Creature Behavior, and Much More! https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/877010/view/3334365787412367023
SPACE CORPS STRIKES BACK!
UPDATE NOW AVAILABLE!
Space Corps Strikes Back!
Our third Early Access Roadmap Update "Space Corps Strikes Back" is NOW AVAILABLE and includes Raids 1.0 release, Research improvements including Shared and Queued Research, a quality of life polish to the Campaign, the addition of Secondary Weapon Actions, improvements to Creature Behavior, and much, much, more!
Raids!
Prepare to face the power of the Corrupted! Legions of Corrupted and hordes of Urchins will now attack any Space Corps base or Outpost built on Ketern. Periodic attacks will keep the tension high and force you to defend your base with the newly introduced Guardian Turret!
As you spend more time on Ketern and expand your reach through the biomes, Raids will increase in ferocity, so look to the new Raid HUD which will provide you with information about upcoming Raids, including enemy type and a countdown to when the Raid will take place.
Raids are now live and on by default, unless you create a game with the custom difficulty set to Story, in which case Raids are off by default and will need to be toggled on.
Raids is a feature that will continue to evolve moving forward, this first foray into Raids can be considered a minor skirmish compared to the forces that await you in the future. Good luck Operative!
Weather Effects and Creature Behaviors
In addition to the official release of Raids, you will now also find dangerous weather effects in certain environments, as well as more diverse combinations of creature groups, abilities, and behaviors.
Guardian Turret and Weapon Upgrades
To combat the new and enhanced dangers of Ketern, you can now craft the Guardian Turret, and upgrade your weapons to include additional offensive capabilities.
Research Improvements
To speed things up while preparing for battle, improvements to research including Research Speed and Queued Research have been added, and in cooperative games, you now share research and can queue the tasks up together.
Campaign Polish
We have also completed the first major polish of the Campaign. This should make the campaign easier to navigate and improve the experience for players.
Change Log
The team has included a massive amount of improvements to Gameplay, UI, Audio, FX, and Technical aspects of the game, which we have presented in full in the Space Corps Strikes Back Change Log which can be found here: Beyond Contact - Beyond Contact Change Log 0.53.14
Some of our personal favorites to this change log are: • Health stat gains from health items have been greatly increased.
• You can now use the middle mouse button to control your camera. (without camera zoom)
• Added a visual loading progress bar to the loading screens.
• Added the ability to hide and reveal the HUD on PC. Specifically added as a request to take screenshots with the HUD. Default keybinding is set to CTRL + Z.
• Added a new crafting category for permanent upgrades.
As always, if you have bugs to report or would like to suggest gameplay features please create a suggestion in our public feature upvoter and bug tracker.
On behalf of the United Worlds Congress, we sincerely thank you for your continued patience and support and we hope you enjoy the update.
Space Corps Strikes Back Update (0.53.14)
Added Raids Version 1.0
Raids are now live and on by default, unless you create a game with the custom difficulty set to Story, in which case Raids are off by default and will need to be toggled on. The new Raid HUD which will provide you with information about upcoming Raids, including enemy type and a countdown to when the Raid will take place. Raids is a feature that will continue to evolve moving forward, this first foray into Raids can be considered a minor skirmish compared to the forces that await you in the future.
Added Improvements to Creature Behaviors
Improvements and balance changes have been made to creatures and how they spawn throughout the world. The player will find new diverse combinations of creature groups as well as a few new abilities and behaviors. A variety of creature stats such as health, damage, and aggressiveness have also been tweaked.
Added Improvements to Secondary Weapon Actions
Weapons can now be upgraded to include additional offensive capabilities. A number of weapons that can be found or fabricated will now have an optional upgrade that can be applied to give an entirely new attack. These new attacks possess considerable firepower and will help turn the tides against Ketern's most formidable foes.
Added Campaign Polish
We have also completed the first major polish of the Campaign. This should make the campaign easier to navigate and improve the experience for players. Objective Updates We’ve updated the objective requirements text to help indicate what players should be doing. ● Added wording updates for each objective requirement ● Each objective requirement now displays a relevant icon to help direct the player to what they need to do ● Added new requirements to provide more information as deemed necessary
NPC Markers
We’ve added NPC quest markers to the game. When a player is required to speak to someone, the NPC will display a yellow question mark above their head. This is also visible on world objects such as the Damaged Machine and the Captain's recorded messages. Note: these are currently not shown on all Brachylon talking objectives. This is primarily due to the fact you can talk to almost all of the Brachylon, so we did not want yellow question marks everywhere as it would add confusion. In a later pass, we will designate specific NPCs that you will need to talk to.
Improved Tracking & Map Lerping
We’d made improvements to the tracker for the objectives as well as lerping to help guide players to the correct locations. Players can now click on many of the “Travel to...” locations on the tracker or objective screen to open the map and lerp to the location. Additionally we improved the order of tracking objectives, as in the past the tracker often automatically tracked the wrong objectives. Added Shared and Queued Research Shared research is a new setting in the game that is on by default. It can be toggled off in the custom settings. ● In cooperative multiplayer, shared research will track all research performed by the players, as well as unlocking and progressing the research for everyone in the game. ● Players can also view who started the research, displayed on the right side panel in the research screen. ● When a player starts researching with Shared Research enabled, all other players will receive a small notification.
Queued Research
In both Single-player and Cooperative Multiplayer, players can now Queue Research. ● This enables players that meet the research requirement of multiple entries, to queue them while other research is in progress. ● Each player is able to move their research up and down in the queue. Players are not able to change the queue priority of a research queued by another player. Show Completed Research There is now a “Show Completed Research” button toggle which will list all completed at the bottom of your research list.
Added Permanent Weather
The game now has permanent weather in certain environments. ● Players can expect to see Fireballs in The Magma Crags and Snowstorms in Fallen Frostlands and The Frozen Peaks. ● This is to make these areas more dangerous and more interesting to traverse. Gameplay: ● Health stat gains from health items have been greatly increased. ● Using the middle mouse button to pan the camera no longer zooms the camera in. ● The maximum number of players allowed in a game has been set to 4. This is aligned with the designers direction to help with balancing and the campaign. ● The warmth radius of the Escape Pods where players spawn and respawn has been increased to ensure players loading in for the first time have warmth. ● Captured creatures are no longer set free when attempted to be picked up when the player has no inventory space. ● Fixed an issue where Gomble Grapes couldn’t spoil. They now turn into Rotten Food again. ● Fixed an issue where Quinn could be revived by an obelisk and appear to have zero health. ● Fixed an issue where players weren’t able to harvest plants that creatures had eaten. ● Fixed an issue where digging up evolved or fruitless plants would reward too many or too few plants. ● Fixed an issue where picking up a net would be interrupted by taking damage. ● Fixed an issue where projectiles were blocked by resources in the world. ● Fixed an issue where Quinn would bark about being able to fertilize the Cactus plants when they couldn’t be upgraded. ● Fixed an issue where players could continue scanning nothing when the item had been picked up by another player. ● Fixed an issue where players were able to build over harvestable resources. These building blockers are removed when the affected plants are dug up. ● Fixed an issue where creatures were not flinching when they took damage. ● Fixed an issue where equipping and un-equipping armor would incorrectly update the hazard protection provided by the unique armor sets. ● Fixed an issue where a Portable Stove would not function if two had previously been used at the same time. ● Fixed various issues with Obelisk interaction to try and prevent bugs where they couldn’t be activated. ● Fixed issues where doors and walls were blocking damage inappropriately. ● Fixed an issue where captured creatures were released when turned in causing them to become invisible.
User Interface:
● Added a visual loading progress bar to the loading screens. This replaces the previous Space Corps Logo which would often freeze. ● Added a button tooltip for deleting saves on the PLAY screen when using a controller. ● Increased Clawtooth’s dialogue portrait to better represent his size compared to Quinn's. ● Added the ability to hide and reveal the HUD on PC. Specifically added as a request to take screenshots without the HUD. Default keybinding is set to CTRL + Z. ● Added an icon for a harvested Bloom Crystal mine so players will know where they will re-spawn. ● Added a new crafting category for permanent upgrades. ● Improved hover tool-tip on obelisks to prioritize when they can be activated instead of just inspected. ● Added a visual update of the research and crafting screen list items. ● Fixed the red exclamation mark research icon not appearing under the correct circumstances. ● Fixed an issue where players could scan the same items twice. ● Fixed an issue where tabbing out of the game would make the first clicks on tabbing back into the game, not perform any action. ● Fixed an issue where loading an old save would display unread notifications for previously unlocked research tasks and schematics. ● Fixed an issue where the hover line on objects flickered at the edge of the interaction. ● Improved consistency of fonts in server settings and character windows. ● Fixed the description box on the Create screen always displaying information even if nothing is being hovered. ● Fixed an issue where the research progress yellow ring would carry over into new games. ● Fixed an issue where one time crafting schematics would not disappear from the tracker after they were crafted. ● Fixed an issue where dialogue could be triggered after entering a cinematic state, causing the dialogue to get stuck on the screen. ● Fixed an issue where the Schematics Created counter on the death screen was misleading and unclear. ● Fixed several instances of the hover tool-tips appearing over other panels. ● Fixed an issue where C.A.R.L. could get in the way of fertilizing a plant by hovering in front of it as the soil is dragged over it. ● Fixed an issue where Quinn could bark about crafting a weapon when F is pressed while dragging something from the inventory. ● Fixed an issue where resources would appear available on the map but were not there. ● Fixed an issue where the subtitles from the opening FMV would appear after the intro was skipped. ● Fixed an issue where players couldn’t move if they were using the teleporter interface and the Transporter building they interacted with got destroyed. ● Fixed an issue where other players' map pings would play all at once when another ping was performed while the map was open. ● Fixed an issue where players were not able to ping directly on top of other map icons. ● Fixed an issue where the tracker interface overlapped the dialogue interface, making it impossible to close conversations using the mouse. ● Fixed an issue where the hover tooltip panel would flicker in the wrong position. ● Fixed an issue where multiplayer notification messages were not appearing in the selected language. ● Fixed an issue where an in-game schematic unlocked notification would repeat when a specific inventory transaction was performed. ● Fixed an issue where in-game chat messages would appear over the main menu. ● Fixed an issue where the research interface could not be opened via C.A.R.L. ● Fixed an issue where the UI elements would repeat their on-boarding timing on resuming a game, delaying core UI elements from appearing. ● Fixed an issue where clicking on required research tasks as a part of the Void Power objective was not navigating to them on the research panel. ● Fixed an issue where the Out of Range text in a hover tool-tip was not appearing for long enough to be read. ● Fixed the issue where hovering other players would read To Be Completed... instead of Science Officer. ● Map icons colors have been improved to better represent what they’re assigned to. ● Fixed an issue where the player browser could not be closed while using a controller. ● Added keybind modifier support. Players can use buttons like Alt, Ctrl and Shift with additional key presses to perform actions. ● Fixed an issue where the tool-tip hover information in the crafting panel was being incorrectly capitalized.
Audio:
● Added a delayed transition to music from running between two similar biomes. For example Dense Jungle to Clearing will continue to play the previous soundtrack, to prevent music from changing rapidly. ● Added new musical stingers for first entering sub-biomes. ● Improved the audio emitted by The Forge Heart. ● The low health music track now plays correctly when Quinn re-spawns. ● Added sounds to the Join, Browse and Back buttons on the PLAY menu. ● Improved the Crog sound design and 3D placement. ● Added audio for a digging action. ● Improved sounds and 3D placement made by the Corrupted. ● Improved the pre-combat music. ● Improved the Vyperlisk’s unique battle track and sound design. ● Fixed an issue where equipment hit sounds only played once on a player, instead of on each actor hit. ● Fixed an issue where selecting to view the game credits from the options menu would play two overlapping music tracks. ● Fixed an issue where the priority of important music tracks was not high enough, leading to the incorrect track being played. ● Fixed an issue when the player was on low health, the music track would get stuck in a transition state and no music would play. ● Fixed an issue where music would stop playing after re-spawning at an obelisk. ● Fixed an issue where music would stop playing after completing the campaign.
Visuals:
● Improvements to several consume animations and portable stove animations. ● Various environmental assets are no longer allowed to appear on the spaces between rooms to prevent seams from appearing in the world. ● Added a gate to Barr Hollow that will only open when players reach that part of the game’s story. ● Various visual improvements to on-hit VFX for creatures. ● Improved the in-game lighting on terrain. ● Updated the harvested versions of Kepple plants to be more easily identifiable when they have no fruit. ● Taking damage from eating raw food no longer triggers a directional hit effect on the player. ● Fixed an issue where the oxygen bubble consumed effect was not triggering. ● Fixed texture clipping on bridges at different camera angles. ● Fixed an issue where mineable resources were not playing their break effect when they were mined. ● Fixed an issue where the doors on the Morpheus Prime would not appear. ● Fixed an issue where players would be affected by extreme wind while inside The Oasis and Morpheus Prime. ● Fixed an issue where Chitterlings were not playing their burrow animations when escaping into Resin Mounds. ● Fixed an issue where Bloom Crystal node models would reappear after harvesting them before they res-pawned. ● Fixed an issue where the Void Reactor did not have visible connections to the power grid when placed. ● Fixed various clipping issues with the Brachylon Warrior’s sitting animation. ● Fixed an issue where flares would sometimes appear to float in front of and above Quinn. ● Fixed an issue where the half closed rift at the Damaged Machine was not swirling with dangerous energy. Technical: ● Fixed a crash experienced by players that captured Phase Sprites under specific circumstances. ● Fixed an issue where the camera angle and zoom level of the game was not loaded correctly. ● Fixed an issue where interacting with Captain Jackson’s hologram was not awarding the associated achievement. ● Fixed an issue where players who had left multiplayer games left behind their unpiloted bodies. ● Fixed an issue when the window lost focus and which caused input to be stuck. ● Fixed an issue where after losing the game and restarting you would no longer be able to save.
Known Issues:
● A crash was experienced when a UI panel was opened as a piece of equipment broke from use. This is still being investigated by QA. ● Spawn Safe Zones may not protect players as intended on some seeds. ● Player custom color reset button can get blocked, any change to colors will fix this. ● When 2 players stand near a dropped portable stove they will each see 2 stove holograms. ● Performing the Void Claw’s secondary attack while standing on certain areas of templates will make Quinn’s dash appear to be performed on the spot. ● Some secondary actions don’t display cool-down indication, this is because they technically have no cool-down but when the recovery animation is cancelled with movement there is a delay between repeated attacks. ● The Brachylon gate can be walked around in some seeds. ● Super enlarged edge of world VFX can appear in some AoE attacks at night in builds
Beyond Contact Change Log 0.53.14
Added Raids Version 1.0
Raids are now live and on by default, unless you create a game with the custom difficulty set to Story, in which case Raids are off by default and will need to be toggled on. The new Raid HUD which will provide you with information about upcoming Raids, including enemy type and a countdown to when the Raid will take place. Raids is a feature that will continue to evolve moving forward, this first foray into Raids can be considered a minor skirmish compared to the forces that await you in the future.
Added Improvements to Creature Behaviors
Improvements and balance changes have been made to creatures and how they spawn throughout the world. The player will find new diverse combinations of creature groups as well as a few new abilities and behaviors. A variety of creature stats such as health, damage, and aggressiveness have also been tweaked.
Added Improvements to Secondary Weapon Actions
Weapons can now be upgraded to include additional offensive capabilities. A number of weapons that can be found or fabricated will now have an optional upgrade that can be applied to give an entirely new attack. These new attacks possess considerable firepower and will help turn the tides against Ketern's most formidable foes.
Added Campaign Polish
We have also completed the first major polish of the Campaign. This should make the campaign easier to navigate and improve the experience for players. Objective Updates We’ve updated the objective requirements text to help indicate what players should be doing. ● Added wording updates for each objective requirement ● Each objective requirement now displays a relevant icon to help direct the player to what they need to do ● Added new requirements to provide more information as deemed necessary
NPC Markers
We’ve added NPC quest markers to the game. When a player is required to speak to someone, the NPC will display a yellow question mark above their head. This is also visible on world objects such as the Damaged Machine and the Captain's recorded messages. Note: these are currently not shown on all Brachylon talking objectives. This is primarily due to the fact you can talk to almost all of the Brachylon, so we did not want yellow question marks everywhere as it would add confusion. In a later pass, we will designate specific NPCs that you will need to talk to.
Improved Tracking & Map Lerping
We’d made improvements to the tracker for the objectives as well as lerping to help guide players to the correct locations. Players can now click on many of the “Travel to...” locations on the tracker or objective screen to open the map and lerp to the location. Additionally we improved the order of tracking objectives, as in the past the tracker often automatically tracked the wrong objectives. Added Shared and Queued Research Shared research is a new setting in the game that is on by default. It can be toggled off in the custom settings. ● In cooperative multiplayer, shared research will track all research performed by the players, as well as unlocking and progressing the research for everyone in the game. ● Players can also view who started the research, displayed on the right side panel in the research screen. ● When a player starts researching with Shared Research enabled, all other players will receive a small notification.
Queued Research
In both Single-player and Cooperative Multiplayer, players can now Queue Research. ● This enables players that meet the research requirement of multiple entries, to queue them while other research is in progress. ● Each player is able to move their research up and down in the queue. Players are not able to change the queue priority of a research queued by another player. Show Completed Research There is now a “Show Completed Research” button toggle which will list all completed at the bottom of your research list.
Added Permanent Weather
The game now has permanent weather in certain environments. ● Players can expect to see Fireballs in The Magma Crags and Snowstorms in Fallen Frostlands and The Frozen Peaks. ● This is to make these areas more dangerous and more interesting to traverse. Gameplay: ● Health stat gains from health items have been greatly increased. ● Using the middle mouse button to pan the camera no longer zooms the camera in. ● The maximum number of players allowed in a game has been set to 4. This is aligned with the designers direction to help with balancing and the campaign. ● The warmth radius of the Escape Pods where players spawn and respawn has been increased to ensure players loading in for the first time have warmth. ● Captured creatures are no longer set free when attempted to be picked up when the player has no inventory space. ● Fixed an issue where Gomble Grapes couldn’t spoil. They now turn into Rotten Food again. ● Fixed an issue where Quinn could be revived by an obelisk and appear to have zero health. ● Fixed an issue where players weren’t able to harvest plants that creatures had eaten. ● Fixed an issue where digging up evolved or fruitless plants would reward too many or too few plants. ● Fixed an issue where picking up a net would be interrupted by taking damage. ● Fixed an issue where projectiles were blocked by resources in the world. ● Fixed an issue where Quinn would bark about being able to fertilize the Cactus plants when they couldn’t be upgraded. ● Fixed an issue where players could continue scanning nothing when the item had been picked up by another player. ● Fixed an issue where players were able to build over harvestable resources. These building blockers are removed when the affected plants are dug up. ● Fixed an issue where creatures were not flinching when they took damage. ● Fixed an issue where equipping and un-equipping armor would incorrectly update the hazard protection provided by the unique armor sets. ● Fixed an issue where a Portable Stove would not function if two had previously been used at the same time. ● Fixed various issues with Obelisk interaction to try and prevent bugs where they couldn’t be activated. ● Fixed issues where doors and walls were blocking damage inappropriately. ● Fixed an issue where captured creatures were released when turned in causing them to become invisible.
User Interface:
● Added a visual loading progress bar to the loading screens. This replaces the previous Space Corps Logo which would often freeze. ● Added a button tooltip for deleting saves on the PLAY screen when using a controller. ● Increased Clawtooth’s dialogue portrait to better represent his size compared to Quinn's. ● Added the ability to hide and reveal the HUD on PC. Specifically added as a request to take screenshots without the HUD. Default keybinding is set to CTRL + Z. ● Added an icon for a harvested Bloom Crystal mine so players will know where they will re-spawn. ● Added a new crafting category for permanent upgrades. ● Improved hover tool-tip on obelisks to prioritize when they can be activated instead of just inspected. ● Added a visual update of the research and crafting screen list items. ● Fixed the red exclamation mark research icon not appearing under the correct circumstances. ● Fixed an issue where players could scan the same items twice. ● Fixed an issue where tabbing out of the game would make the first clicks on tabbing back into the game, not perform any action. ● Fixed an issue where loading an old save would display unread notifications for previously unlocked research tasks and schematics. ● Fixed an issue where the hover line on objects flickered at the edge of the interaction. ● Improved consistency of fonts in server settings and character windows. ● Fixed the description box on the Create screen always displaying information even if nothing is being hovered. ● Fixed an issue where the research progress yellow ring would carry over into new games. ● Fixed an issue where one time crafting schematics would not disappear from the tracker after they were crafted. ● Fixed an issue where dialogue could be triggered after entering a cinematic state, causing the dialogue to get stuck on the screen. ● Fixed an issue where the Schematics Created counter on the death screen was misleading and unclear. ● Fixed several instances of the hover tool-tips appearing over other panels. ● Fixed an issue where C.A.R.L. could get in the way of fertilizing a plant by hovering in front of it as the soil is dragged over it. ● Fixed an issue where Quinn could bark about crafting a weapon when F is pressed while dragging something from the inventory. ● Fixed an issue where resources would appear available on the map but were not there. ● Fixed an issue where the subtitles from the opening FMV would appear after the intro was skipped. ● Fixed an issue where players couldn’t move if they were using the teleporter interface and the Transporter building they interacted with got destroyed. ● Fixed an issue where other players' map pings would play all at once when another ping was performed while the map was open. ● Fixed an issue where players were not able to ping directly on top of other map icons. ● Fixed an issue where the tracker interface overlapped the dialogue interface, making it impossible to close conversations using the mouse. ● Fixed an issue where the hover tooltip panel would flicker in the wrong position. ● Fixed an issue where multiplayer notification messages were not appearing in the selected language. ● Fixed an issue where an in-game schematic unlocked notification would repeat when a specific inventory transaction was performed. ● Fixed an issue where in-game chat messages would appear over the main menu. ● Fixed an issue where the research interface could not be opened via C.A.R.L. ● Fixed an issue where the UI elements would repeat their on-boarding timing on resuming a game, delaying core UI elements from appearing. ● Fixed an issue where clicking on required research tasks as a part of the Void Power objective was not navigating to them on the research panel. ● Fixed an issue where the Out of Range text in a hover tool-tip was not appearing for long enough to be read. ● Fixed the issue where hovering other players would read To Be Completed... instead of Science Officer. ● Map icons colors have been improved to better represent what they’re assigned to. ● Fixed an issue where the player browser could not be closed while using a controller. ● Added keybind modifier support. Players can use buttons like Alt, Ctrl and Shift with additional key presses to perform actions. ● Fixed an issue where the tool-tip hover information in the crafting panel was being incorrectly capitalized.
Audio:
● Added a delayed transition to music from running between two similar biomes. For example Dense Jungle to Clearing will continue to play the previous soundtrack, to prevent music from changing rapidly. ● Added new musical stingers for first entering sub-biomes. ● Improved the audio emitted by The Forge Heart. ● The low health music track now plays correctly when Quinn re-spawns. ● Added sounds to the Join, Browse and Back buttons on the PLAY menu. ● Improved the Crog sound design and 3D placement. ● Added audio for a digging action. ● Improved sounds and 3D placement made by the Corrupted. ● Improved the pre-combat music. ● Improved the Vyperlisk’s unique battle track and sound design. ● Fixed an issue where equipment hit sounds only played once on a player, instead of on each actor hit. ● Fixed an issue where selecting to view the game credits from the options menu would play two overlapping music tracks. ● Fixed an issue where the priority of important music tracks was not high enough, leading to the incorrect track being played. ● Fixed an issue when the player was on low health, the music track would get stuck in a transition state and no music would play. ● Fixed an issue where music would stop playing after re-spawning at an obelisk. ● Fixed an issue where music would stop playing after completing the campaign.
Visuals:
● Improvements to several consume animations and portable stove animations. ● Various environmental assets are no longer allowed to appear on the spaces between rooms to prevent seams from appearing in the world. ● Added a gate to Barr Hollow that will only open when players reach that part of the game’s story. ● Various visual improvements to on-hit VFX for creatures. ● Improved the in-game lighting on terrain. ● Updated the harvested versions of Kepple plants to be more easily identifiable when they have no fruit. ● Taking damage from eating raw food no longer triggers a directional hit effect on the player. ● Fixed an issue where the oxygen bubble consumed effect was not triggering. ● Fixed texture clipping on bridges at different camera angles. ● Fixed an issue where mineable resources were not playing their break effect when they were mined. ● Fixed an issue where the doors on the Morpheus Prime would not appear. ● Fixed an issue where players would be affected by extreme wind while inside The Oasis and Morpheus Prime. ● Fixed an issue where Chitterlings were not playing their burrow animations when escaping into Resin Mounds. ● Fixed an issue where Bloom Crystal node models would reappear after harvesting them before they res-pawned. ● Fixed an issue where the Void Reactor did not have visible connections to the power grid when placed. ● Fixed various clipping issues with the Brachylon Warrior’s sitting animation. ● Fixed an issue where flares would sometimes appear to float in front of and above Quinn. ● Fixed an issue where the half closed rift at the Damaged Machine was not swirling with dangerous energy. Technical: ● Fixed a crash experienced by players that captured Phase Sprites under specific circumstances. ● Fixed an issue where the camera angle and zoom level of the game was not loaded correctly. ● Fixed an issue where interacting with Captain Jackson’s hologram was not awarding the associated achievement. ● Fixed an issue where players who had left multiplayer games left behind their unpiloted bodies. ● Fixed an issue when the window lost focus and which caused input to be stuck. ● Fixed an issue where after losing the game and restarting you would no longer be able to save.
Known Issues:
● A crash was experienced when a UI panel was opened as a piece of equipment broke from use. This is still being investigated by QA. ● Spawn Safe Zones may not protect players as intended on some seeds. ● Player custom color reset button can get blocked, any change to colors will fix this. ● When 2 players stand near a dropped portable stove they will each see 2 stove holograms. ● Performing the Void Claw’s secondary attack while standing on certain areas of templates will make Quinn’s dash appear to be performed on the spot. ● Some secondary actions don’t display cool-down indication, this is because they technically have no cool-down but when the recovery animation is cancelled with movement there is a delay between repeated attacks. ● The Brachylon gate can be walked around in some seeds. ● Super enlarged edge of world VFX can appear in some AoE attacks at night in builds
Version 0.52.8 Change Log
Teleporter Network & More
Gameplay:
A new teleporter network has been added to the game. Players can no longer directly teleport to a Transporter from anywhere. Players must now interact with the Transporter to teleport. Players can now teleport between active Obelisks and Transporters.
The functionality of Forcefield Walls has been changed. Forcefield Walls now require power and the player can run through them.
Forcefield Doors have been removed due to being able to now run through Forcefield Walls.
Forcefield walls now regenerate health while powered.
Item stack size limits have been increased. The Basic Locker now stacks items to 100 and Storage Vault to roughly double their inventory limit.
Players can now rotate the camera with the middle mouse button.
Picking up items next to a deployed Portable Stove will now prioritize the items instead of the Stove.
Added a delay before respawning to show Quinn's death animation instead of instantly respawning.
Scanning a captured creature on the ground before it’s picked up now scans the creature correctly.
Corrupted weapons found in the world now have lower durability to prevent players from stockpiling them at their base.
The Airsynth was removed as the scan reward from the Destroyed Escape Pod and replaced by a Thermo Stick.
Players can no longer build structures on bridges.
Void Rifts that previously spawned next to story objectives that blocked progression will now be regenerated elsewhere.
Players are now able to run out of Void Rifts easily without being pulled into the center and instantly dying.
The Plasma Welder now repairs faster and has more durability.
Fixed a bug where the Brachylon Obelisk could not be activated after activating another Obelisk first.
Fixed a bug where you could not interact with buildings while holding a Plasma Welder.
Fixed a bug where Void Rifts would reset a lit Thermo Stick once the Void Rift was destroyed and dropped items.
Fixed a bug where items on the ground would block attacks from creatures, preventing them from taking damage.
User Interface:
Player Bases now have an icon to display where they are on the map.
Player Bases now have auto-generated biome-specific names.
Unscanned items will no longer be displayed as grey when they can be placed in a storage container.
Added the final cinematic to the game. This is played when the player chooses to leave the planet at the end of the campaign.
Reduced the starting delay for the cinematic after fully repairing the World Forge.
Large notifications and creature notifications are now ignored while in a cinematic.
The Oxygen Drain Rate displayed on Oxygen Equipment and the Player Interface screen has been updated to be easier to understand.
Updated various icons on the map, updating their art and increasing/decreasing their size.
Updated various icons in the inventory, including specific captured creatures icons, and player equipment such as the Power Pickaxe, Power Shovel, Net, and more.
Updated the icons on the Character Interface screen.
Improved the Objective requirement layout. The tick is now green, text no longer clips on the right side and the confusing “task” text was removed.
Added Koch Media / Deep Silver Credits to the game.
The main menu message pop ‘OK’ button (that displays after disconnecting, being kicked, server closed, invalid server name, etc.) is now centered.
Updated the latest translations, fixing grammatical errors and adding missing text.
When using a controller, the inventory now wraps from one side to the other.
Removed the Default button on the Extras Tab in the Options screen.
Players and buildings now display the distance to them when tracked on the map.
The Research ring (around the hud icon) now updates correctly based on the research speed setting.
NPC dialogue portraits are now displayed behind the inventory.
The save game deletion key on the saved game list is now displayed when using a controller.
Plants that have been fertilized now display (Evolving) instead of (Growing).
Fixed a bug where if a player died with a building inventory open, other players could no longer open it.
Fixed a bug when using a controller, closing a storage container would not actually close it.
Fixed a bug where hovering over the Scanner requirement in the Research Interface would display the Scanner as needing to be discovered.
Research and Crafting list items now resize their text based on the length/number of the words.
Fixed a bug when clicking ESC instantly after respawning would quit and delete the saved game.
Fixed a bug where the right mouse button could be held to move the map.
Fixed a bug where the data icons would disappear after placing structures.
Fixed a bug where clicking on the dehydrated dead Brachylon would display numbers instead of text with subtitles on.
Fixed a bug where the Captured Shock Sprite’s icon was greyed out when the player had the Shock Sprite Generator’s inventory open.
Fixed a bug where players rejoining a server would not display the doomsday countdown if it was active.
Fixed a bug where the Obelisks would not display the correct state on the map (Respawn available, Respawn Unavailable etc).
Fixed several issues where the terrain was displayed incorrectly on the map, leaving streaks instead of outlines of rocks.
Audio:
Added several new sounds into the game such as inserting fuel into buildings, swapping armor, missing Bloom Sprite attack audio, and more.
Adjusted various audio in the game that was playing incorrectly, either too loud or too quiet.
Fixed an issue where the low health music would stop when the player was on low health.
Fixed an issue when the ambient sound was not changing during dusk or night.
Visuals:
Static terrain details (such as grass) will now hide when buildings are placed in close proximity.
Updated various models in-game including the Net, Power Shovel, Power Pick, and Void Crystal.
Polished various effects in the game including creature attacks, creature hit effects, creature blood effects, and others.
Updated various environmental assets to fix graphical issues, holes in the ground, and floating terrain.
Fixed several instances where the player could get stuck between environment assets.
Fixed a bug where the Fireballs effect was ending early instead of fading out.
Fixed a bug where the Healing Rod would appear invisible on the ground.
Fixed a visual glitch where plants and foliage would jitter when running past them.
Technical:
Fixed several instances where the game could crash.
Fixed a bug where losing internet connection in a single-player game would kick the player back to the main menu.
Fixed various Steam achievements not unlocking correctly.
Known Issues:
Creating a new game may fail to load the world. Resuming old games works fine.
During long sessions, some powered buildings can passively drain power instead of when they are only in use.
Teleporting wipes the tracked directional arrows on the mini-map.
Inputs being performed are repeated when tabbing out of the game via click.
Octomians can be pushed to appear as though they are walking up the sides of the ship.
Lava deals no damage to Quinn after a save and load.
Doomsday timer/music never goes away after specific actions.
20% Off Beyond Contact
Attention Space Corps Operatives!
Now is a great time to add Beyond Contact to your Steam Library and get involved with our community influenced game development!
From Wednesday 09/03/22 at 19:00 CET, through 11/03/22 19:00 CET Beyond Contact will be 20% off in the Steam store.
It's also a great time to check out the progress we have made so far in Early Access, and to see what is included in our near future plans.
For more information about the updates since our Early Access launch check out these updates!
Rise of the Corrupted Part 1- Game Difficulty Options https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/877010/view/3146324000454453418
Rise of the Corrupted Part 2 - Raids Beta Branch https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/877010/view/3146324738913649593
Quality of Life Update - Expanded Game Settings, Base Building Improvements, and Map Improvements https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/877010/view/4334153583495852725
STEAM DISCUSSIONS
