We have just sent out a hotfix that addresses a few key visual bugs, crashes and more. Here is the changelog:
CHANGED:
The “Send Feedback” button now opens the Feature Upvote report site and automatically adds crucial information to the description.
FIXED:
Fixed an issue where the Dust layer disappeared after travelling a certain distance.
Added icon for Wrecked Amber King Size Bed’s scan info.
Fixed an occasional crash while moving certain critical devices between Inventory slots.
Fixed a crash that occurred when the player tried to relocate the Organic Printer in the Underdust locations’ Lifts
Fixed a crash that occurred sometimes when the player was removing modules using the Build Tool.
Fixed an issue where the Organic Printer was showing 0% health.
Fixed Wrecked Distiller typo in the Database.
Fixed an issue with Combat quests for players who finished the story before the Combat Update. The quest previously called for harvesting Dust Firecracker on the New Nature Territory location, which isn’t there.
KNOWN ISSUES:
Charged Growth Blockade’s material doesn’t show that it can be scanned.
“Inventory Full” error message can sometimes stay on the screen.
Sometimes using Deck Extractor for a longer period of time separates player’s mesh from player’s camera - it gets back to normal upon disengaging from Deck Extractor.
Sometimes the airship is not responding to handling its controls - the quickest way to solve this is to leave an airship completely and return.
Its rare, but occasionally using the Knife consumes all stamina at once - we’re investigating this issue.
Locations shouldn’t spawn near or in the mountains anymore, any further problems with it happening should be investigated as a separate issue.
Some players may experience black screen when starting a new game instead of the game’s intro. To fix this, go to the NVIDIA Control Panel, then to “Manage 3D Settings” and look for “VSync.” Then, change the “VSync” setting to “Off.”
There is an issue where players see high-contrast colours during a storm due to virus post-process effects. This happens if the player character was previously infected with Meningitis.
There will more fixes and QoL improvements coming soon. Thank you for your reports, keep 'em coming!
- Team Far From Home
The Combat Update Is Now Live!
Greetings scientists…
The day has finally arrived, our Combat Update is out of beta and is now playable for all on Steam Early Access!
EA.1.6.0 is packed with content. Including a new location type, with two variants, combat mechanics, new resources, story route changes, artifact trading & reward system, performance improvements, bug fixes, and QoL improvements, including the two highest-voted requests on Feature Upvote, moving full storage boxes and suit upgrades! Check out the combat trailer to get your first look.
DISCOUNT AND YOUR FAV BUNDLES
First off though, as part of this update, we've made Forever Skies 25% off. We've also partnered with our friends at Sengoku Dynasty, Survival: Fountain of Youth and Volcanoids to create some great survival game bundles.
If you already own any of the above games, you can get an extra 10% off Forever Skies or vice versa. Already got Forever Skies? Then check out the bundles to get an extra discount on any of these three games!
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/44700/Survival_Fountain_of_Youth_x_Forever_Skies/ Survival: Fountain of Youth is a challenging single-player open-world adventure game set on the Caribbean islands. Survive as a shipwrecked 16th-century explorer, craft tools and shelter, and uncover the secrets of both an ancient civilization and your own fate.
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/41771/Volcanoids_x_Forever_Skies/ Volcanoids is a base-building open-world survival shooter that replaces your typical base with a giant drill. Alone or with friends, explore an island plagued by eruptions, upgrade your drill, and fight robots to uncover what's been hiding beneath the surface.
As always, we recommend starting a new game with this update, as EA.1.6.0 makes significant changes to the “golden path” in the game, which becomes apparent towards the end of your first visit to the Underdust.
After failing to enter the Infected Garden, players are now tasked with finding ingredients for the Immunity Booster at two different locations nearby. Players also now only need to visit the one Infected Garden, as we felt that visiting three was overkill.
The two Dust Territories, Wild Habitat and New Nature, are slightly different to any other location you have previously visited. You will land on them with your airship just like any other tower above the dust, but it won’t be long before you descend into the smog on foot!
The Crossbow has received an overhaul with new SFX, a new reload animation and an advanced model with better handling and more bolts per round.
Our Animator, Adam, prototyping the new reload animation with items from around the studio and also the final look
As well as the standard Crossbow Bolts, players will also be able to get their hands on Poison Bolts, Charged Bolts, and Charged Mines, giving them quite a few options when facing hostiles.
But we also understand that not every player wants to engage in lethal combat, as such there are a few passive ways to deal with threats. Players will be able to craft Decoys and Stunning Traps to overcome enemies non-lethally.
Combat has also been added to the Underdust - Suburbs location as we originally promised when we released the Gardening Update back in Spring. If players choose not to start a new game to experience the story changes and have completed all current objectives, then a unique quest will be available where you can experience some of the new content via that quest
ARTIFACT TRADING STATIONS
Before the collapse of humanity, smugglers resided within these territories to hoard artifacts of the old world they believed still carried value. Here, in the vaults of these Dust Territories, players will discover a brand new mechanic, Artifact Trading Stations.
Here, you can bring all of the excess old-world artifacts you’ve found and trade them in for other items to complete your collection.
Earn Tech Fragments to increase your Trading XP which unlocks new reward tiers. You can even unlock upgrade blueprints for you, your pet companion or your airship here. FINALLY, a use for those 60 “Join Project Oxygen” posters you’ve been hoarding.
WHAT ELSE IS IN THE COMBAT UPDATE?
1. Suit upgrades such as armor and backpack levels 1-3 can now be discovered and unlocked. These have dedicated slots in your inventory. This was the most popular request on our Feature Upvote site!
2. Moving full storage boxes QoL feature is available with EA.1.6.0! Players can now move Storage Boxes with contents wherever they like onboard their Airship, making customization easier than ever. This will also work with Freezers and Cookers containing food and Engines containing fuel. This was the second most popular request on Feature Upvote, and we’re excited to make this live for all!
3. Two new outfits for the Friendly Insect, Camo Gear in the traditional green and in black.
Here is a little bug buddy tribute to remind you to never go into the ruins alone.
4. A radial menu is now available by holding down “C”. Use this to quickly access different ammo types, health, food and water.
5. A whole new range of Retro-Futuristic furniture is now available to craft. Oh, and that periodic poster you all wanted for your airship can now be picked up from the labs in the Infected Garden.
Below you will find the complete changelog for the whole update. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PATCH NOTES
NEW CONTENT:
World:
New combat locations:
Wild Habitat
New Nature Territory
Combat added to locations:
Underdust: Suburbs
New resources added to locations:
Underdust: Suburbs
Enemies:
Mantis
Webling Larva
Webling Larvae Nest
Tools & Devices:
Crossbow bolt: Charged
Crossbow bolt: Poisonous
Upgraded Crossbow
Decoy
Charged Mine
Stun Mine
Backpack Upgrade Small (5 additional slots)
Backpack Upgrade Medium (10 additional slots)
Backpack Upgrade Large (20 additional slots)
Chitin Armor Suit Upgrade
Artifact Trade Station
Player:
Radial UI menu added for quick interactions with consumables and Crossbow ammunition select (hold C/D-pad Down)
Crossbow auto-reload
Using Consumables animation added
Ability to relocate devices with items inside added - actions Pick Up and Move separated
Crafting from Storage is now available for the Airship Builder
Crafting from Storage is now available for the Research Station
New Radial Menu UI added
New player parameters - damage resistance & virus resistance
New Inventory slots - Armor and Backpack
Added icon for Armor in HUD
Prestige system, related to Artifact Trade Station, allowing players acquiring new artifacts and blueprints via selling unneeded artifacts
Airship
Retro-futuristic Furniture Set Added
New Poster: Blasphemous Mantis Anatomy
Pet:
Pet Tactical Set (headwear, footwear, backpack): Camo
Pet Tactical Set (headwear, footwear, backpack): Black
New resources:
Fiberglass
Motion Detector
Liquid Oxygen
Liquid Neon
Moss Needle
Tech Fragment
New plants:
Eelair
Dust Firecracker
Diver Pearls
Summer Balm
Siren Crown
Moss Needle
Consumables & Customizations:
Mobility Booster
Advanced Medkit
Other:
Charged Growth Gate added
Show Virus effects toggle in Settings
PS5 Controller features (adaptive triggers, haptic feedback)
Overall performance improved
Additional quests guiding through combat update locations for players who have finished the storyline
Added Controller Motion Input for ADS (this option can be disabled in the Gameplay tab in Settings)
Added info about possibility to change difficulty during the game
CHANGED:
Main Quests changed from the 1st Underdust to include combat locations.
Major sounds and music update.
Basic stamina allows to run 18s instead of 10s, and hit 12 times instead of 10.
Crossbow shows indicators when reload or shooting is not possible.
Crossbow shows “Reload” widget only when reload is possible.
Crossbow differentiates ammo spread between default and aiming mode.
Crossbow has a new set of animations, sounds and UI.
Wrecked Crossbow has been moved in progression and can now be found in the Underdust: Tunnels location.
Pyrexia visual effects decreased when stamina is depleted.
Crosshair swing while being infected with Pyrexia reduced.
Raw Breathnut no longer infects player with Gastroenteritis virus.
Some posters were resized.
Quest log is scrolling when there are many unfinished quests on the screen.
Immunity Booster’s recipe changed to include new plants.
Bloom Airship modules’ recipes changed–they now require Fiberglass to build.
Fuel Tank’s recipe changed–it now requires Fiberglass to craft.
Moth Aquarium’s recipe changed–it now requires Fiberglass to craft.
Big Water Tank’s recipe changed–it now requires Fiberglass to craft.
Decorative Wings’ recipes changed–they now require Fiberglass to craft.
Moss Furniture set recipes changed–they now require Fiberglass to craft.
Lamps’ recipes changed–they now require Liquid Neon to craft.
Chitin now grants Hemorrhagic Fever sample when put into VSA.
It’s possible the player can get infected with Hemorrhagic Fever when being hit by a Mantis .
Mantis Gland resource was removed from both Underdust locations.
Periodic Table Poster from the Infected Garden can now be picked up.
“Stairs Room” name has been changed to “Staircase.”
Renamed Neon Plant to Glowweed.
Changed name of the item from "Moth Aquarium" to "Moth Vivarium."
Changes in FOV for Sprinting and ADS.
Breathnut oxygen balancing.
Quest descriptions for the tutorial area corrected to fit gameplay changes (Engine scan).
Updated the Chronic Hemo Fever and Hemo Fever entries to indicate that they can be contracted from Mantis.
Dead Mantis’ now grant 3 Chitin, each body part grants max 1, recently killed Mantis now grants 4 Chitin.
Dead Mantis corpse disappears after gathering all Chitin resources from it.
Moved the position of Noah's tablet in the Infected Garden.
Hemoglobin Purifier’s Crafting Recipe now requires Summer Balm fruit.
Removed Hemorrhagic virus from Glass Shards
Stamina doesn’t regenerate during knife swing.
Underdust: Tunnels’ tablet now gives research for Crossbow & Bolts.
Advanced Access Module study recipe should now be unlocked by scanning Access Terminal.
FIXED:
Fixed an issue with Pipes rotating with the airship movement.
Fixed an issue with missing mass/weight of decorative Wings.
Infected Garden performance tweaks.
Overgrown Lift performance tweaks.
Wind Farms performance tweaks.
Small Town performance tweaks.
Removed duplicates from the Small Town Location’s Scan Progress.
Fixed an issue where the engine rotated after relocation.
Fixed an issue where the player wasn’t getting the temporary immunity to a virus after they cured themselves and then died.
Fixed a bug where interactions on the Virus Sample Analyzer stopped working if the player fell asleep.
Fixed an issue where the player character’s movement slowed down after crouching and aiming with the crossbow.
Fixed an issue where the combat plants’ seeds entries were not included in the Studies menu.
KNOWN ISSUES:
Charged Growth Blockade’s material doesn’t show that it can be scanned.
Inventory Full error message can sometimes stay on the screen.
Sometimes using Deck Extractor for a longer period of time separates player’s mesh from player’s camera - it gets back to normal upon disengaging from Deck Extractor.
Sometimes the airship is not responding to handling its controls - the quickest way to solve this is to leave an airship completely and return.
Rarely using Knife consumes all stamina at once - we’re investigating this issue.
Locations shouldn’t spawn near or in the mountains anymore, any further issues with that happening should be investigated as a separate issue.
That is all for now, please keep sending in your Steam reviews! They help us out a great deal. We will be in touch very soon about our Steam Gift Card giveaway and our next update.
And yes…it’s the one you’ve been waiting for ;)
Speak soon. - Team Far From Home
Beta Hotfix #5 Now Live
Greetings scientists,
This is the last hotfix on our beta before the Combat Update goes live - it's this Friday!.
Here is what changed:
ADDED:
Translations added.
Armor HUD icon.
Icons added for:
Webling Larvae Nest
Dead Webling Larvae Nest
Charged Growth Blockade
Wrecked Small Backpack
Wrecked Medium Backpack
Boiled Summer Balm Fruit
Boiled Dust Firecracker Fruit
CHANGED:
Combat Arena shortcut in the Wild Habitat location’s Vault should be more visible.
Icons changed for:
Summer Balm Fruit
Dust Firecracker Fruit
Changed costs for crafting Backpack and its upgrades:
Small Backpack:
Chitin 50 -> 15
Moss 30 -> 15
Plastic Scrap: 15 -> 10
Medium Backpack
Small Backpack 1 -> 1
Liquid Neon 10 -> 10
Fiberglass 12 -> 35
Large Backpack:
Medium Backpack 1 -> 1
Liquid Neon 20 -> 10
Fiberglass 50 -> 50
Changed cost of Chitin Armor:
Chitin 10 -> 6
Moss 10 -> 6
Plastic Scrap 5 -> 6
Changed Armor’s durability from 8 to 10 hits.
Adding more space to the Artifact Trade Station’s shed in the Vault.
FIXED:
Hitboxes for harvesting Dust Firecracker plants improved.
The player is now able to shoot from the Upgraded Crossbow immediately after reloading it.
Dust Fertilizer typo fixed.
Mantis’ projectile attack splash sound now plays correctly.
Vendor doesn’t show 0% prompt while looking at it anymore.
Kickstarter Poster double-sided material fixed.
The sound of the Artifact Trade Station spawning should no longer play after the player loads the save.
Scan/Extraction materials added for: Advanced Medkit, Medical Reagent, Glowweed, Fiberglass Panel, Seed Bags, Hare Figure, Poster: Crossbreeding, Dust Daisy, Small Backpack, Medium Backpack, Webling Larvae Webs.
Background Icon added in the Database Entry for Wrecked Small Backpack.
Fixed the bug that would cause the player to not be able to shoot from the Crossbow.
Siren Crown Fruit can now be scanned.
KNOWN ISSUES:
Dust Fertilizer does not decrease Dust Firecracker’s cultivation time.
Blueprints already printed in the Artifact Trade Station will still be present in the device. Printing those again will result in an empty Memory Card.
Low vitality bars and viruses’ visual effects sometimes stay on the screen. This is fixed by going back to the main menu and loading the save again.
Missing collisions on new plants, there’s only collision for the fruit.
There’s no error when the player can’t craft an upgrade for the Backpack, when there are items in the Backpack’s inventory slots.
Prompt for splitting stack does not show for the items in the Backpack’s inventory.
Dead Webling Larvae Nest shows a knife icon, but the knife can’t be used for harvesting it.
Photosensitivity warning: Charged bolts' electric VFX is intensified by Underdust's fog
Upgraded crossbow sounds are not synced with the reload time.
Dead Impious Mantis shows a knife icon while looking at it, even though we don’t harvest it this way.
Dead Webling Larvae Nest shows a knife icon while looking at it, even though we don’t harvest it this way.
Underdust: Suburbs location’s combat balance needs to be improved.
Fourth knife hit on Moss Needle doesn't add the resource.
Sometimes using Deck Extractor for a longer period of time separates the player’s mesh from the player’s camera - it gets back to normal upon disengaging from the Deck Extractor.
Sometimes an airship is not responding to handling its controls - the quickest way to solve this is to leave an airship completely and return.
Rarely using Knife consumes all stamina at once - we’re investigating this issue.
Locations shouldn’t spawn near or in the mountains anymore, any further issues with that happening should be investigated as a separated issue.
In the study menu, the Eelair Fruit and Eelair Seed are assigned to the wrong location. They are currently listed under Wild Habitat, but they should be under New Nature Territory
That's all for now. More news to follow on Friday!
Beta Hotfix #4 Now Live
Greetings beta testers,
More hotfixes for you. We're very close to the Combat Update going live now, more news to follow. Here is what we fixed:
CHANGED:
Upgraded Crossbow’s mesh changed to differentiate it from the basic Crossbow.
Resistance to viruses provided by the Armor will only work for viruses which are a consequence of physical damage.
Removed Hemorrhagic virus from Glass Shards
Hemoglobin Purifier’s Crafting Recipe now requires Summer Balm fruit.
Wild Habitat location level-art improvements.
Artifact Trade Station UI improvements.
Items in the Artifact Trade Station are now differentiated by their tiers.
Added posters to Artifact Trade Station.
Artifact Trade Station’s balance improved.
Added sounds to Mantis’ spawn.
Added sounds to Mantis’ ranged attack.
New model and materials for Artifact Trade Station.
New materials for Charged Growth Blockade.
Added icon for Armor in HUD.
FIXED:
Combat locations (Wild Habitat and New Nature Territory) should no longer spawn in the mountains.
Added the missing material to wrecked airship in Vault.
Combat music no longer plays outside of combat.
Crossbow's ammo display is no longer doubled and offset.
Removed objects from combat locations platforms that would collide with the airship and cause it to bounce off.
Added Charged Bolts as an exploration reward in Underdust: Suburbs.
Motion Detector can no longer be scanned through walls.
Mantises should spawn correctly when the player goes back from the Vault to the airship.
Artifact Trade Station now shows an “Inventory Full” error when the player wants to sell something with no space in their Inventory.
The Mantis spawn animation is fixed.
Extraction is no longer possible when inventory is full.
Moss Needle can now be scanned.
Dust Firecracker can now be scanned.
Artifact Trade Station’s icon added.
Siren Crown boiled fruit’s icon added.
Dust Firecracker fruit’s icon added.
Webling Larvae’s icon added.
Webling Larvae Web’s icon added.
Fungal Markings’ icon added.
Charged Growth Blockade’s icon added.
Crossbow icons for Accuracy, Magazine Size, and Reload Speed added.
Artifact Trade Station model and materials changed.
Fiberglass scan results now shows the name of the item.
Biomass source added to combat locations.
Combat locations should no longer spawn in the mountains.
Artifact Trade Station should now show proper log message.
Disabled picking up and moving the Artifact Trade Station.
Energy Crystals are back on Wild Habitat location.
Hitbox for picking up Dust Firecracker plants from the Small Garden Pot is not precise and it might be tricky to harvest those.
Dust Fertilizer does not decrease Dust Firecracker’s cultivation time.
Blueprints already printed in the Artifact Trade Station will still be present in the device. Printing those again will result in an empty Memory Card.
Low vitality bars and viruses’ visual effects sometimes stay on the screen. This is fixed by going back to the main menu and loading the save again.
The Studies tab information for some objects found on the new combat locations might still be incorrect.
The player can hear the sound of the ATS spawning while they’re on the airship.
Missing collisions on new plants, there’s only collision for the fruit.
There’s no error when the player can’t craft an upgrade for the Backpack, when there are items in the Backpack’s inventory slots.
Prompt for splitting stack does not show for the items in the Backpack’s inventory.
Feedback for selling items in the ATS is not clear enough, there’s a notification for this action which shows under ATS’ menu.
Dead Webling Larvae Nest shows a knife icon, but the knife can’t be used for harvesting it.
Photosensitivity warning: Charged bolts' electric VFX is intensified by Underdust's fog
Shortcut between the Vault and the first Arena on Wild Habitat location is not visible enough.
Upgraded crossbow sounds are not synced with the reload time.
When the player reloads the Upgraded Crossbow, they still have to wait 4 seconds to be able to shoot.
Thats all the fixes for now. - Team Far From Home
Beta Hotfix #3 Now Live!
Greetings scientists!
Thank you for all of your initial feedback following the changes we made to the Combat Update (EA.1.6.0)
Here are the patch notes for everything we have addressed today:
CHANGED:
Crossbow Level 2 name changed to Improved Crossbow.
Crossbow Level 3 was removed.
The Crossbow’s Spread during Crouch changed from 0.25 to 0.4.
Improved Crossbow’s Magazine Size changed from 6 to 8.
Improved Crossbow’s Spread during Walk changed from 0.8 to 0.5 .
Improved Crossbow’s Spread during Sprint changed from 1.0 to 0.65
Improved Crossbow’s Spread Recovery Speed changed from 0.7 to 0.9.
Improved Crossbow’s Spread rises after Shooting changed from 0.34 to 0.25.
Improved Crossbow crafting moved to Upgrade Station
Crossbow’s ammo display’s visuals changed.
Chitin Armor’s durability increased from 4 to 8 hits.
Eelair Fruit Seed growth time changed from 8 to 5 minutes.
Crossbow, Armor, and Backpack Upgrades’ descriptions changed.
Poisoned bolts name changed to Poison Bolt.
Poison Bolt now requires Crossbow Bolt to craft.
Modish furniture set’s names changed to Retro-futuristic.
Mantis enemy’s scan information changed.
Scavengers Printer’s name changed to Artifact Trade Station, the description also changed.
Adjusted output position for printing items in Artifact Trade Station.
All items available to be bought in Artifact Trade Station should now be visible. There is currently no distinction between tiers.
HUD Log messages changed for Artifact Trade Station to suit the device’s use.
Tech Sliver name changed to Tech Fragment.
Small Backpack Module crafting recipe (CR) cost changed
Chitin: 50-> 50
Moss: 50-> 30
Plastic Scrap: 15 -> 15
Medium Backpack Module (CR) cost changed
Small Backpack Module: 70 -> 1
Liquid Neon: 25 -> 10
Fibreglass: 50->50
Large Backpack Module CR cost changed
Medium Backpack Module, 0 - > 1
Liquid Neon: 0 -> 20
Fibreglass: 0 -> 50
Tech Fragments: 50 -> 0
Basic stamina allows to run 18s instead of 10s and hit 12 times instead of 10.
Stamina doesn’t regenerate during knife swing.
Mantis jump spawner has a proper mesh, animation, SFXes and VFXes
Improved VFXes when a player hits an enemy (both a Mantis and a Webling Larva).
Dead Mantis corpse disappears after gathering all Chitin resources from it.
Both combat locations further level design and level art updates.
Glass Shards do not infect with Hemorrhage Virus anymore.
Hemoglobin Purifier Study Recipe and Crafting Recipe now need Summer Balm fruit.
FIXED:
When the player puts on or takes off the Armor or the Backpack, it should not affect the flashlight’s icon anymore.
The Tactical Pet Set (Black) can now be unlocked in the Artifact Trade Station.
Prestige bar is not visible anymore in devices other than the Artifact Trade Station.
Artifact Trade Station can now be scanned.
When the player has items in the backpack and uses sort, the backpack will not get locked anymore when all the resources from it go into the Player’s Inventory.
Chitin Armor prints as a box, instead of a flashlight.
Moving an item from Storage box to Backpack should not crash the game anymore.
Backpack does not disappear anymore after loading a save.
Armor does not disappear anymore after loading a save.
The already destroyed Charged Growth Blockade should no longer re-appear after loading the save.
Corpses found on the New Nature Territory & Wild Habitat locations should no longer have “Noah’s body” scan info.
Low stamina knife swing is no longer broken.
Player now keeps their temporary immunity to a virus after death.
Charged Mine and Stun Mine no longer stuck to walls.
Immunity Booster study recipe (SR) is no longer obtained by gathering Chitin from Impious Mantis Corpse - it has to be researched via Virus Sample Analyzer.
Icons were replaced for: Siren Crown Fruit, Dust Firecracker Fruit, Dust Firecracker Seeds, and Moss Needle.
KNOWN ISSUES:
Combat locations can still spawn in the mountains. We recommend flying to another location of the same type, if this is the case.
On the Wild Habitat location, when the player enters the arena for the first time, there should be only one Mantis. The second Mantis that jumps out from behind the wall shouldn't be there at that moment
Hitbox for picking up Dust Firecracker plants from the Small Garden Pot is not precise and it might be tricky to harvest those.
Artifact Trade Station’s mechanics are still a work in progress.
Artifact Trade Station’s model is a placeholder.
Blueprints already printed in the Artifact Trade Station’s will still be present in the device. Printing those again will result in an empty Memory Card.
To sell anything at the Artifact Trade Station’s, player has to have space available in their Inventory. There is currently no error visible when the player tries to sell artifacts with no Inventory space.
The Crossbow upgrade lvl 2’s mesh is identical to the regular Crossbow.
The Wild Habitat location has been modified and is still a work in progress.
Low vitality bars and viruses’ visual effects sometimes stay on the screen. This is fixed by going back to the main menu and loading the save again.
Chromatic Aberration seems to affect Crossbow’s ammo display.
The Studies tab information for objects found on the new combat locations.
Moss Needle cannot be scanned.
Dust Firecracker cannot be scanned.
Thats all for today, keep sending in your feedback! - Team Far From Home
News on the Upcoming Combat Update - Beta Content - Win a Steam Gift Card
Greetings scientists!
We’ve just pushed a massive amount of content and changes to our Beta Branch which you can now play for yourself.
Some of you have noticed that this beta has lasted a little longer than previous ones. We’ve been cooking some changes to what we first released based on your initial feedback.
We also wanted to try reward players willing to come back and give us more feedback which you can read about below. So let's get into what we’ve been up to.
WHY WE'RE TAKING MORE TIME WITH COMBAT
Back in late July, we launched the beta for our next update. The overall sentiment from players was that it was fine and that we added some decent content to the overall game loop.
However, we felt we wanted to create something a little better than just "fine". We genuinely value and take into account player feedback so we saw this as another chance to truly show that. We went over all beta gameplay feedback again and together the team mapped out what additions and improvements could be made with an extra month of development time.
We’ve made some massive changes and feel we’ve added some great features and changes not just to combat, but the whole game loop.
WHAT IS BEING ADDED/CHANGED?
The changes/additions we decided to implement can be sorted into 1 of 3 major categories:
1. Combat Overhaul Improvements to Crossbow, ammo types and traps. Suit upgrades - armor and backpacks. Mantis has improved player tracking, logic with new attacks and animations, including a ranged attack.
2. New Locations Overhaul Mantis “arena” completely revamped from scratch, expanding the size & scale of the area. Visual improvements made to both new locations, making them easier to navigate. New high-voltage gates added to locations.
3. New Mechanic (Scavengers Printer) A completely new mechanic/system was added to both new locations. Trade artifacts found in the world for others to complete your collection. Earn “Tech Sliver” to increase your Prestige and unlock new reward tiers.
You can see the full breakdown in the patch notes further below.
SOME ADDITIONS TO THE BETA ARE WORK IN PROGRESS
While playing the beta you will notice that some elements are whiteboxes/missing textures, which while they function as intended, still don’t have the finished visuals, textures etc. We wanted to test this content with our players sooner than later to see if we’ve hit the mark so we decided to release this to testing now. Rest assured, missing textures will be added very soon.
At this stage, we're mostly interested in your feedback about the changes to combat and all the new content additions, (listed below) and less interested in bug reports. Gameplay feedback is the priority right now.
Backpack tiers and armor can now be discovered and unlocked in the new locations.
NEW UPDATE RELEASE WINDOW
With all these additions, changes, and additional time for community feedback, we of course needed some extra development time. We opted to give the part of our team working on this the whole of August to make these improvements.
Therefore as it stands, this update will launch into the main game in early September.
Use Charged Bolts to clear pathways blocked by Growth Gates
SEND FEEDBACK AND STAND A CHANCE TO WIN 1 OF 10 STEAM GIFT CARDS WORTH 25 USD
We know that taking time out to provide in-depth feedback is time-consuming, especially for content we've had available for some time now.
So as a thank you to those who are helping us make the game better for everyone, we have put together a raffle where 10 beta testers who fill out the feedback form for the latest beta update will be sent a digital Steam gift card equivalent to 25 USD
REQUIREMENTS:
Please play the latest beta update and when once you have experienced the bulk of it fill out this feedback form
We will select 10 survey participants at random and will assess their feedback to see if feels legit and was filled in with actual intent and thought. So please don't just give everything a 10/10 as this will indicate to us this wasn't filled out with thought or intention to help.
The 10 winners will then be contacted by us via Steam where they will need to accept a friend request from one of our dev accounts.
STEAM PROFILE REQUIREMENTS EXPLAINED:
In the survey you see we are asking you to provide your Steam username and set your Steam profile to public. We are doing to so that we can:
1. Be sure you own Forever Skies 2. Can see the number of hours you've played in total 3. Allow us to send you your Steam Gift card
We are doing this to avoid rewarding people who simply submit answers to try win the gift cards and also to ensure we can get you your gift card if you are selected.
Details on how to change your profile privacy settings are here: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/588C-C67D-0251-C276
If you are not open to changing your profile to public for the duration of this raffle, we totally understand and you are of course still welcome to provide feedback on the beta. However, if your name is picked in the raffle we will need to pick someone else in your place if we can't find and view your Steam profile.
Crossbow Upgrade, level 2 with 10 bolts magazine size
Crossbow Upgrade, level 3 with 20 bolts magazine size
Destroyed Webling Larvae Nest model added (source of Chitin)
Scavengers Printer device available on the Wild Habitat and New Nature Territory locations
Prestige - Player reputation system (Scavengers Printer-related)
Tech Sliver - currency used in the Scavengers Printer
Artifact Lure
Backpack Upgrade Small (module level 1 - 5 additional slots)
Backpack Upgrade Medium (module level 2 - 10 additional slots)
Backpack Upgrade Large (chitin suit - 20 additional slots)
Chitin Armor Suit Upgrade
Charged Growth Gate
Throwable Mines range indicators added
New player parameters - damage resistance & virus resistance
New Inventory slots - Armor and Backpack
CHANGED:
Mantis combat behaviors, parameters and animations improved
General Crossbow handling and performance improvements
Wild Habitat location - new level design overhaul for mantis arena
New Nature Territory location level design overhauled
Webling Larvae Nest model and VFXes updated
Improved look of the Siren Crown plant
Improved look of the Dust Firecracker plant
Improved look of the Moss Needle Plant
Printer-type devices will now display blueprints in alphabetical order
Player Inventory Upgrade Slot now contains icons instead of names
Dust Firecracker now grows on Wild Habitat locations & Eelair Plants now grows on New Nature Territory locations
Study for Charged Bolt received after scanning Charged Growth Gate
Explosive Bolt / Mine name changed to Charged Bolt / Mine
Pickable Dust Firecracker plant changed to Dust Firecracker Seed
Motion Detector item now gives Motion Detector study and Charged Mine study
Pet Tactical Set in now possible to unlock in the Scavengers Printer
Modish Set is now possible to unlock in the Scavengers Printer
Artifacts are now available to buy through the Scavengers Printer
FIXED:
Speed Booster effect name fixed to Mobility Booster
Traps are not destroyed by an airship movement anymore
Dust Firecracker plant now gives seeds upon harvesting
Siren Crown plant now gives seeds upon harvesting
Cozy Furniture set models’ LOD adjustments
Missing scan materials for various objects added
Advanced Access Module icon fixed
Missing Fiberglass Database description fixed
KNOWN ISSUES:
Hitbox for picking up Dust Firecracker plants from the Small Garden Pot is not precise and it might be tricky to harvest those.
The Scavengers Printer mechanic’s are still in heavy development.
The Scavengers Printer model is a placeholder.
The already destroyed Charged Growth Blockade doesn’t save its state and will re-appear after loading the save.
Prestige bar is present in all Printer-type devices (Fabricator, Ship Workstation, etc). This bar should only be visible in the Scavengers Printer device.
Blueprints already printed in the Scavengers Printer will still be present in the device. Printing it again will result in an empty Memory Card.
To sell anything at the Scavengers Printer, player has to have space in their Inventory. There is currently no error visible when the player tries to sell artifacts with no Inventory space.
The Crossbow upgrade lvl 2 and lvl 3 mesh is identical to the regular Crossbow.
Corpses found on the New Nature Territory & Wild Habitat locations have “Noah’s body” scan info.
The Wild Habitat location has been modified and is a work in progress.
New Nature Territory & Wild Habitat locations may have incorrect entries in the study.
The Tactical Pet Set (Black) can’t be unlocked in the Scavengers Printer.
Low vitality bars and viruses’ visual effects sometimes stay on the screen. This is fixed by going back to the main menu and loading the save again.
Mantis Corpse in the Vault is not disappearing after collecting all of the chitin
Thats all for now, scientists. Let us know what you think of the new content! Speak soon!
Forever Skies Joins the "From Poland With Love" Steam Event
Hello Scientists!
We just wanted to give you a quick heads-up that we're part of the From Poland With Love Steam event!
What is the From Poland With Love Event?
Put together by our Polish brothers and sisters over at Untold Tales, the event celebrates the creativity and innovation of Polish game publishers and developers. There are 27 Polish devs or publishers taking part with over 80+ discounted games, plus a handful of some great upcoming titles.
The event runs from August 12th to August 19th, 2024 with discounts ranging from 20% to 80% off. Check out the full event here:
Here's the full list of our Polish comrades taking part:
11 Bit Studios, Anshar Studios, Awaken Realms, Bloober Team, CD Projekt Red, Creepy Jar, Different Tales, ECC Games, Eremite Games, Ex Vivo Studios, Far From Home, Flying Wild Hog, Frozen District, Galaktus, IMGN.PRO, Noobz From Poland, One More Level, Phobia Game Studio, PJ Games, Reikon Games, Slavic Magic, Sonka, Techland, The Farm 51, Untold Tales, Vile Monarch and Tomasz Wacławek!
Forever Skies Help The Planet Bundle - 25% Off
We're taking part with our Whale and Dolphin Consveration bundle so even if you already own Forever Skies, you can use the bundle to get 25% off our charity item DLC with all proceeds going to the WDC team.
We have more fixes and improvements to the EA.1.6.0 build currently on beta. Please find the full details below:
NEW CONTENT:
Added info about possibility to change difficulty during game
Added the correct icon for the wrecked Crossbow
Added new icons for seeds(Dust firecracker, Eelair Fruit, Diver Pearls, Summer Balm fruit, Siren Crown fruit)
New Mantis aggro animation
New Radial Menu UI (item wheel)
New Mantis charge attack and recovery animations
Added sounds for bolts and mines.
Add icons for Modish Furniture Set (armchair, shelf, sofa, table) and Periodic Table poster
Added “explosion effect” On enemies
Added “poison effect” On enemies
New Advanced Medkit texture
New Stagger Trap VFX
CHANGED:
Player is invisible to Mantis when hiding inside the pipe
Tweaked Webling Larva animations
Mines can now react to explosions(Adjusted mine explosion to trigger additional mine explosions)
Mantis head movement changed when charging
Updated the Chronic Hemo Fever and Hemo Fever entries to indicate that they can be contracted from Mantis
Updated the scan information for the living Mantis to indicate that it is vulnerable to both crossbows and knives, not just knives.
Dead Mantis’ now grant 3 chitin, each body part grants max 1, recently killed Mantis now grants 4 chitin
Mantis damage and HP have both been buffed
Change name of the item from "Moth Aquarium" to "Moth Vivarium"
Tweaked Crossbow animations
Updated Radar icons for new combat locations (Wild Habitat, New Nature Territory)
Moved the position of Noah's tablet in the Infected Garden.
Remove Medical Reagent from new combat locations (Wild Habitat, New Nature Territory)
In the Studies Menu, items from the new combat locations have been moved from 'Lift Variants' to the new category 'Dust Territory.'
FIXED:
Fix for improper ammo setup if you change ammo type right after shooting
Fix for a situation when the game froze during loading a save from beta
Cutting knife when on slow stamina should now be synchronised
Throwing a mine during ship movement should work
Webling Larva should spawn in Underdust: Suburbs
Fixed a bug where interactions on the Virus Sample Analyzer stopped working if the player fell asleep.
Fixed the issue with the device's “ghost” when the player moved another device
Fixed disappearing pet clothes when the player died in combat
Fixed the bug where the pet didn't return to its bed after the ship moved
Mantis will return to patrol behaviour after player death
Player character won't slow down after crouching and using the crossbow
Killed mantis won't be revived after loading the game
Webling Larva will play correct VFX on hit now
Fix Holding mine in crouch has a wrong idle animation
Fixed study names for traps and bolt
Fixed the issue where Fiber Glass was not being properly recognized after scanning in the study
Hold progress indicator will display when holding Z to move object
Fix for Improper ammo setup if you change ammo type right after shooting
Modish set collision fix
Stairs collision fix(stairs are now easy to walk on)
KNOWN ISSUES:
Languages other than English still lack translation
Some icons and final names are still missing
Combat locations can spawn in the mountains. If this happens, the collision of the mountains can block off some of the locations’ areas.
If the game is played from an older save (from the ending of the 1st Underdust questline up to creating the plant's hologram), there might appear some issues in the progression. We recommend starting a new save or playing on a save in which the main questline has already been completed to avoid these problems.
Beta Hotfix Now Live - EA.1.6.0 (#31075)
Greetings beta scientists,
We just released a hotfix for the current beta content (EA.1.6.0). This includes fixes for many of the issues you, our awesome community reported, but also includes a bit of new content too.
Here are the full details...
NEW CONTENT:
Pet Tactical Set (headwear, footwear, backpack): Camo
Pet Tactical Set (headwear, footwear, backpack): Black
Crafting from Storage is now available on the Research Station
Cozy Furniture set added
Added VFX for the Poisonous and Explosive Bolts
Added VFX to the Decoy, Explosive Mine, and Stun Mine
Added Controller Motion Input for ADS (this option can be disabled in the Gameplay tab in Settings)
CHANGED:
Periodic Table Poster from the Infected Garden can now be picked up
“Stairs Room” name has been changed to “Staircase”
New hostile enemies added to Underdust: Suburbs
New meshes, materials, and animations for Decoy, Explosive Mine, and Stun Mine
Combat difficulty re-balanced (work in progress)
Mantis gameplay improved, fixed some issues when it was blocked during combat
Improved Mantis melee attack animation
Icons added for the majority of new items
Liquid colour changed on Liquid Neon’s icon
New resources added to the Underdust: Suburbs
“Chirping Decoy” name changed to “Decoy”
“Throwable Mine” name changed to “Explosive Mine”
“Stunning Trap” name changed to “Stun Mine”
The pet will now disappear when the player enters combat, and will re-appear when it’s safe
Webling Larvae Nest now grants Chitin when destroyed
It’s possible the player can get infected with Hemorrhagic Fever when being hit by a Mantis
Changes in FOV for Sprinting and ADS
Breathnut oxygen balancing
Quest descriptions for the tutorial area corrected to fit gameplay changes (Engine scan)
Slight changes to the mesh and animations of the Webling Larvae Nest
Separated Move and Pick Up actions, they now are bound to different keys
Renamed Forbidden Garden to Wild Habitat
Renamed the Neon Plant to Glowweed
Renamed the Sulfur Plant to Dust Firecracker
Renamed the Moss Plant to Moss Needle
FIXED:
Performance improvements to the new locations
Airship Builder: Expand Balloon crafting from storage issue fixed
Underdust: Tunnels’ tablet now gives research for Crossbow & Bolts
Advanced Access Module study recipe should be unlocked by scanning Access Terminal
Engine rotating after relocation bug fixed
Added material to the vines around the New Nature Territory
Improved visibility of some of the new resources
Collision from nearby mountains should not block the player from accessing the new locations now
Removed duplicates from the Small Town Location’s Scan Progress
Removed Fiberglass panel from Locations Scan Progress
Mantis should no longer grant “Praying Mantis Corpse” scan information while still alive
Various typos fixed
During “Get the Immunity Booster” quest, the exclamation mark on the Radar now disappears once proper resources are collected
Improvements to enemy navmesh on combat locations
KNOWN ISSUES:
Languages other than English lacks translation yet
Some icons and proper names are still missing
Combat locations can spawn in the mountains. If this happens, the collision of the mountains can block off some of the locations’ areas.
Throwing the Throwable Mine, Stunning Trap or Chirping Decoy inside the Airship is broken
The radial UI is a work in progress
If the game is played from an older save (from the ending of the 1st Underdust questline up to creating the plant's hologram), there might appear some issues in the progression. We recommend starting a new save or playing on a save in which the main questline has already been completed to avoid these problems.
Holding mine in crouch has a wrong idle animation
Webling Larva doesn’t work on Underdust: Suburbs
Thats all for now, thank you for continuing to support the game with your valuable feedback.
Team Far From Home
Combat Update (EA.1.6.0) NOW LIVE ON BETA
Greetings scientists…
As per the title, the Combat Update is now live on our beta branch and can be played RIGHT NOW!
EA.1.6.0 features two new location variants, combat mechanics, new resources, story route changes, performance improvements, bug fixes, and a few QoL improvements, including the highest-voted request on Feature Upvote regarding moving storage boxes!
More cool items will be added when the Combat Update goes live on the main branch, but for now let's get stuck into what you can expect from the update in beta.
Our team put a lot of work into the combat aspect of this update, so we're asking our avid beta testers to please fill our survey after playing.
This way we can dig deeper into your feedback and thoughts on how the game is shaping up.
Introducing Combat & Changes To Story
As always, we recommend starting a new game with this latest update, as EA.1.6.0 makes significant changes to the “golden path” in the game, which becomes apparent towards the end of your first visit to the Underdust.
Previously players had to find ingredients such as the Mantis Glands, Dust Daisies or Patats, and a Medical Reagent to make an Immunity Booster to enter 3 different Infected Garden locations to acquire the research on the cure, this is no longer the case with the EA.1.6.0 update…
After failing to enter the Infected Garden, players are now tasked with finding ingredients for the Immunity Booster at two different locations nearby. Players also now only need to visit the one Infected Garden, instead of three.
The two new locations are Underdust variants but with a slight difference. There are no surface lifts in sight here. Instead, you will be descending on foot!
The Crossbow has received an overhaul with new sound effects and a reload animation. As well as the standard Crossbow Bolts, players will also be able to get their hands on Poison Bolts, Explosive Bolts, and Throwable Mines, giving them quite a few options when facing hostiles.
But we also understand that not every player wants to engage in lethal combat, as such there are a few passive ways to deal with threats, players will also be able to craft Chirping Decoys and Stunning Traps to overcome enemies non-lethally.
If players choose not to start a new game to experience the story changes, and have completed all current objectives, then a unique quest will be available where you can experience some of the new content.
The challenge level in these locations is based on your difficulty settings, but will also get harder as you progress the story. So be sure to craft plenty of Oxygen Boosters, Endurance Boosters and Blood Coagulator Boosters if you plan to head to other “Combat Arena’s”, they’re sure to come in handy.
Finally, combat has been added to the Underdust - Suburbs location as we originally promised when we released the Gardening Update back in Spring.
Moving Filled Storage Boxes & More
At the time of writing, the suggestion to move Storage Boxes is sat at the top of the pile of your feature requests with 500 upvotes on our Feature Upvote Site. We are excited to announce that this QoL feature is available with EA.1.6.0! Players can now move Storage Boxes with contents and move them wherever they like onboard their Airship, making customization easier than ever. Just hold down Q on the box you want to move and a “ghost” of the storage box will be created in your hands. Simply place it in your chosen spot and the box and its contents will be instantly transported! This will also work with Freezers and Cookers containing food and Engines containing fuel.
We have worked on overall performance in the game as many had reported a significant drop in frames while playing. Please let us know how the game is running for you now!
We’ve also added a Quick Select Wheel menu to make your life a little easier (very handy when fending off a deadly Mantis), eating and drinking animations and Airship Builder crafting from storage QoL among other additions. And you can expect even more items when we come out of beta!
IMPORTANT REMINDER
If the game is played from an older save (from the ending of the 1st Underdust questline up to creating the Evolved Flora Hologram), some issues might appear in the progression. We recommend starting a new save or playing on a save in which the main questline has already been completed to avoid these problems.
Radial UI menu added for quick interactions with consumables and Crossbow ammunition select (hold C/D-pad Down)
Crossbow auto-reload
Using Consumables animation added
Ability to relocate devices with items inside added (for now bound to hold Q/D-pad Down)
Craft from Storage QoL is now available for the Airship Builder
New resources:
Fiberglass
Motion Detector
Liquid Oxygen
Liquid Neon
Moss
New plants:
Eelair
Sulfur Plant
Diver Pearls
Summer Balm
Siren Crown
Moss Plant
Boiled Summer Balm
Boiled Siren Crown
Consumables & Customizations:
Speed Booster - Mobilty Booster
Advanced Medkit
Other:
Show Virus effects toggle in Settings
PS5 Controller features (adaptive triggers, haptic feedback)
Overall performance improved
Additional quests guiding through combat update locations for players who have finished the storyline
CHANGED:
Main Quests changed from the 1st Underdust to include combat locations
Stamina consumption while using Knife/Aircutter buffed for combat
Crossbow ammo clip size changed from 5 to 10
Crossbow shows indicators when reload or shooting is not possible
Crossbow shows “Reload” widget only when reload is possible
Crossbow automatically starts reload after shooting last loaded bolt
Crossbow differentiates ammo spread between default and aiming mode
Crossbow has a new set of animations and sounds
Wrecked Crossbow has been moved in progression and can now be found in the Underdust: Tunnels location
Pyrexia visual effects decreased when stamina is depleted
Crosshair swing while being infected with Pyrexia reduced
Raw Breathnut no longer infects player with Gastroenteritis virus
Some posters were resized
Quest log is scrolling when there are many unfinished quests on the screen
Immunity Booster recipe resources changed to include new plants
Bloom Airship modules’ recipes changed–they now require Fiberglass to build
Fuel Tank’s recipe changed–it now requires Fiberglass to craft
Moth Aquarium’s recipe changed–it now requires Fiberglass to craft
Big Water Tank’s recipe changed–it now requires Fiberglass to craft
Decorative Wings’ recipes changed–they now require Fiberglass to craft
Moss Furniture set recipes changed–they now require Fiberglass to craft
Lamps’ recipes changed–they now require Liquid Neon to craft
Major sounds and music update
Chitin now grants Hemorrhagic Fever sample when put into VSA
Mantis Gland resource was removed from the 1st Underdust location (it is yet to be removed from the 2nd Underdust location. Item now has no purpose)
FIXED:
Fixed issue with Pipes rotating with the airship movement
Missing mass / weight of decorative Wings added
Infected Garden performance tweaks
Overgrown Lift performance tweaks
Wind Farms performance tweaks
Small Town performance tweaks
KNOWN ISSUES:
Languages other than English lacks translation yet
New locations are not finalised yet
Some icons and proper names are missing
The Throwable Mine, Stunning Trap and Chirping Decoy meshes are placeholders
Throwing the Throwable Mine, Stunning Trap or Chirping Decoy inside the Airship is broken
The radial UI is a work in progress
If the game is played from an older save (from the ending of the 1st Underdust questline up to creating the plant's hologram), there might appear some issues in the progression. We recommend starting a new save or playing on a save in which the main questline has already been completed to avoid these problems.
The pet's behavior in combat locations is currently a work in progress
Crafting from Storage for Research Station is not supported (yet)
Open the Steam application on your PC and locate Forever Skies in your games library
Right click - PROPERTIES- BETAS
Put in the password: BlimpWorkshop
From the dropdown menu select the beta branch tilted: beta_flight
Press the blue “Opt into beta_flight…” button
In your Games Library click on Forever Skies [beta_flight]
Install the Test Branch
How To Create and Load Existing Saves into the Test Branch
Your existing saves for the main game are stored in a different folder compared to your saves on the test branch. If you want to continue and test the game using your existing progress, you’ll need to do the following:
Locate your save files on your PC. By default they should be stored in the following file path:
As a precaution make a 2nd copy of your save file and paste it somewhere on your desktop or in a safe folder. This way you can ensure you have a clean, backup save just in case.
After you have done the above, you can start the Forever Skies Test Branch from Steam and your save will be present when you select “CONTINUE”
Existing Saves Won’t be Affected but use an Imported Save To Play the Test Branch
Your existing saves, progress, and any custom settings you’ve set in from the main game won’t be carried over to the Test Branch. Your pc will see this as if you are installing and playing the game for the first time ever. Likewise, by playing on the Test Branch, your main saves should not be affected at all.
This also means any progress on the test branch will not be carried over to the main game once the update is live. The test branch is designed to allow you to explore and test new features without impacting your current progress.
Players can opt to play the test branch starting a fresh save, however, if you want to test new content with your existing progress, airship, etc (and we suggest you do) you will need to make a copy of your main game save and import it into the test branch. Instructions on how to do it can be found below.
Where to Submit Bugs
All bugs or issues that you encounter while playing should be submitted via the FEEDBACK TOOL that you can find in-game when pausing the game. Subsequently, you can find the tool under this link too:
https://www.farfromhomegames.com/en/playtests
You can also submit bugs and keep up to date on features via our Feature Upvote site - https://forever-skies.featureupvote.com/