The next 2 features are actually standard features. We would like to apologize for the fact that they come so late. It's only a few days after release, but we should have noticed this already in Early Access.
Key Bindings
This feature was requested and we agreed that it should come. So here it is. You'll be able to set custom keys according to your preferences.
Keyboard Layouts
The keybinds feature is accompanied by another change that ensures that the key is displayed correctly, no matter what keyboard layout you use. This is also the reason why the keybind feature was not yet integrated into the game. Now, the correct Cyrillic character will be displayed when using a Russian keyboard for example. Of course, the same applies to all other languages (even those that are not officially supported by us). However, if a character is not included in the game's font, the English version will be displayed as a fallback.
Deck Builder Filters
The filters in the deck builder have been completely revised and expanded. They now work more intuitively and you can filter by specific properties:
tier level
type (weapon or auxiliary)
specific skills like 'card draw', 'reduces energy', etc.
And for making maximum use of it, you can also combine those filters to find what you need in no time.
Speed Things Up
In order to continue our mission of making changes that you guys requested, we have made another bunch of things faster:
the 'Accelerator' sequence in the tutorial
engaging in combat
the plasma cannon explosion animation
conversation text print speed
and yep, also dying is faster... or in other words: the recovery ship will pick you up earlier
Welcome to Asteria
This update prepares the game for a full release. It's quite big, so let's jump right into the details.
3D Printer
A new station module has been added to the game. It's called the printer module and it basically puts a 3D printer like device in your space station which is able to craft some materials for you. Passively over time. You can choose from a small pallet of basic raw materials which the module should "print": Copper, Uranium, Water, Plutonium, Sulfur or Ruby.
Mission Tracker
When you click on a mission in the mission tracker, the mission log opens. It is an alternative to pressing the L key, but it takes you directly to the mission you clicked on.
Skip Everything
If you want to skip something, you can. This is true for cutscenes, combat speech (battlecry) and also for the Pottgames brand logo animation on startup.
Faster Loading
This is not really a new feature but we've seen a lot of people weren't using it. So this update turns the "reduce loading times" feature on by default. It greatly reduces loading times (initial first load takes longer, afterwards it's much faster) while using roughly twice the amount of video memory. If you're not on a low-spec GPU, it's worth it. Just in case: If you experience performance issues, go into the settings menu and turn this feature off again.
Final Cutscene
This was the major part missing for a full release of the game and it has been added in this update. For obvious reasons.... I can't give details on this one.
Hello Asteria
You'll be able to portal jump to Asteria.
Mission Log & New Mission Window
Both windows are now automatically closed when you accept/complete the last mission. There is no reason to leave them open. Sure, it only saves one click, but it's just smoother, makes more sense and feels better.
Tutorial Polish
Many of you have stated that the tutorial never explains how to fly the ship (W A D keys). For most of us gamers, it's totally intuitive but I agree that the game should explain it. Once tested out all of the ship controls, the hint vanishes. Additionally some missions were removed from the tutorial, making it cleaner and more streamlined.
Combat Polish
A few attack animations play at a higher speed now. The same applies for the end animation + the AI.
Balance Adjustments
Increased the power production of the stations reactor by +2 per second
The reactor keeps producing energy even when you're not at home
All characters start with 1000 credits more, this bonus is also granted to existing play states
Shipyards build ships twice as fast
Many blueprints require less material, power and time (you can craft twice as fast now)
There will be more asteroids in the Dark Rift system
Technical Updates
The underlying Java runtime was updated to the newest Java 17 LTS (long term support) version.
All ships got buffed significantly.
SU Jellyfish
base mining time: down from 4s to 2.5s
travel speed: up from 30 to 40
fuel capacity: down from 40k to 32k
SU Tadpole
base mining time: down from 4s to 2.5s
travel speed: up from 38 to 50
fuel capacity: up from 60k to 72k
SU Dolphin
base mining time: down from 4s to 2.5s
travel speed: up from 50 to 70
fuel capacity: up from 100k to 120k
SU Whale
base mining time: down from 6s to 4s
travel speed: up from 78 to 120
fuel capacity: up from 240k to 480k
SU Shark
base mining time: down from 8s to 5s
travel speed: up from 100 to 150
fuel capacity: up from 500k to 1M
Sirus X
base mining time: down from 6s to 4s
travel speed: up from 40 to 55
fuel capacity: up from 70k to 78k
Dreadnought X
base mining time: down from 6s to 4s
travel speed: up from 75 to 100
fuel capacity: up from 200k to 400k
Elusive Anger
base mining time: down from 6s to 4s
travel speed: up from 44 to 60
fuel capacity: up from 68k to 81.6k
G-Nuria
base mining time: down from 3s to 2s
travel speed: up from 40 to 50
fuel capacity: up from 60k to 72k
G-Harbringer
base mining time: down from 3s to 2s
travel speed: up from 50 to 70
fuel capacity: up from 100k to 120k
C-8472
base mining time: down from 6s to 4s
travel speed: up from 54 to 75
fuel capacity: up from 130k to 156k
C-20544
base mining time: down from 4s to 3s
travel speed: up from 77 to 110
fuel capacity: up from 245k to 490k
Eldrin
base mining time: down from 6s to 4s
travel speed: up from 52 to 80
fuel capacity: up from 140k to 168k
Tanelia
base mining time: down from 6s to 4s
travel speed: up from 80 to 110
fuel capacity: up from 250k to 500k
Hostile ships in any Eltaor Battle Simulator will now display a proper name instead of just "Enemy Ship"
Fixed some texts that were exceeding the given space
Lana Newhouse starts with a healthy ship hull now, 3 hull points were missing
Beta Branch Critical Bug
I've fixed a bug in the save file updater. Don't worry if you've purchased the game on the Steam store, you're not affected by the bug that existed before this update. Though if you're a Beta tester... your save file might be in a corrupted state. Nothing too dramatic, you can still play and might not notice anything. But it's still a bad condition for testing as "things" might not necessarily reflect the original gameplay.
More?
Yes, there is more in this update. I just don't want to bloat this update note any further. You may find some of the things not mentioned, but most of them are just tiny tweaks that improve things here and there without anyone even noticing that it was worse before.
The community update
Happy holidays!
This update brings several improvements, mostly based on community feedback. Thank you for your suggestions, we have taken them on board.
Database
There is now the possibility to browse blueprints while on the ship. We have called this feature database because it can be extended in the future to show more information. Hotkey: K
Move Items Easily
Items of the same type can now be moved with a simple Shift + Click and no longer have to be clicked on individually. The same principle also works when buying or selling items. If the button is clicked with the Shift key held down, as many items as possible are bought/sold.
Map Icon Captions
Especially at the beginning it is difficult to remember the meaning of icons on the map, so we have added labels.
Loot
Enemies are more likely to drop a card instead of a blueprint now. With this change, we are trying to reduce the grind a bit at this point.
Ship Adjustments
SU Jellyfish: +25% travel speed
SU Tadpole: +35% travel speed
Sirus X: +33% travel speed
Elusive Anger: +38% travel speed
G-Nuria: +42% travel speed
SU Dolphin: +25% travel speed
G-Harbringer: +25% travel speed
C-8472: +8% travel speed
Eldrin: +13% travel speed
The builder ship that follows you to build a station for you has also been adjusted. It's much faster now, so you usually don't have to wait for its arrival.
Tournaments
The identification chip required for participation in a tournament can now alternatively be purchased at any stadium. It is still cheaper to craft this chip yourself. However, if you run out of this chip, it can now be purchased.
The Final Battle
The final battle was not well balanced. In order not to spoil anything here, we will only give you the following information: The fight has been completely reworked and should now be much more exciting.
Hotfix for Linux
This is a very small hotfix update that fixes a crash on Linux systems. Thanks for the feedback!
Small Update
Hello people of the portals, we have pushed a small update to ensure a smoother experience for beginners.
The SU-Tadpole can no longer be crafted. The ship is now granted as a reward of a mission to be able to upgrade to a better ship sooner. Other ships are not affected. This should give you a comfortable start to the game.
We have reduced the distance of a few stations in the Alpha Centauri system to shorten the flight time in the early stages of the game.
We're listening to community feedback and are ready to make more micro adjustments like this until it feels perfect.
