Terran’s development plan has been derailed as you may be aware. The team have been progressing with planned updates that have at this point come to a complete stop. We will not waste your time with excuses and reasoning why that is the case, only to say that we have taken this opportunity to step back, assess and plan a way forward. With that said Heathen Engineering have not shut down and will not abandon the game nor the players that have supported it.
We are not yet in a position to announce our future plans for Terran but want to let you know that we are here, and we are working away. We will not be communicating on the state of Terran again until we have some news for you, and we will be available on the forums - happy to answer any other questions we can. In the meantime, please be safe, wash your hands and we hope to see you again soon.
Patch 1102
Patch 1102 is available for PC, Mac and Linux with a host of system and gameplay improvements with more to come. Terran may be released but that doesn’t mean we have stopped listening. Many of the adjustments you’ll find in this patch were inspired by your feedback.
Research requirements have been adjusted giving you access to Dust and Rock worlds from the start as well as the Battlecruiser.
Station mechanics have been changed and will no longer force an attack. Stations now slow and damage hostile fleet elements over time giving defenders more time to react.
Sight has been changed such that you now require line of sight to see enemy fleet elements and system detail.
Warships now have a missile barrage (used in combat), missiles apply area damage and are most effective against clustered formations.
Additional Notes:
General performance improvements have been applied to several sub-systems involved with the galaxy map. This should notably improve performance in late game.
Added a notification when it has been 5min since with no active research task. This is to help remind players they aren’t currently researching anything.
Dust, Rock and Battlecruiser technologies no longer require initial research. These technologies will be available for use and upgrade from the start. This change is retroactive and will apply to existing saves.
Added links and UI elements directing players to the Terran Walkthrough play list from the tutorial screen and menu
You can no longer build space stations if you have insufficient credits and resources to do so.
Corrected issues with the in-game tutorial not accurately highlighting areas of interest in the system panel
The minimal ship count for the Fleet Editor window will now update based on the number of ship types you have added to the fleet
Star systems can no longer be colonized unless you have direct line of sight from a ship, station or star system.
Issues with Music and UI sound effects have been corrected.
Warship damage output has been increased with the addition of missile barrages. Missiles apply an area of effect damage type on impact and are most effective against tightly clustered ships.
Gar ships have new attack patterns in combat
Adjusted the frequency of damage effects on structures and Gar when in combat
Adjust the base armour and shield strength of Gar
The intro window displayed at the start of a new session has been updated to explicitly state the object, ‘Conquest’ and to describe the objective.
Station mechanics have been changed and now apply a snare and damage over time effect to hostile ships within its range. This change also applies to citadel systems
Enemy fleets and system information now requires direct line of sight, enemy influence area is still available without direct line of sight.
Terran Post-Release Plan
Heathen Engineering’s Terran to include post-release content updates.
18 March 2019 – Heathen Engineering’s Terran which releases from early access on 21-March-2019 will have post-release content updates with the first update scheduled for Q3 2019, free for owners of the game.
Watch the release trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThNwaG7Inp4 Heathen Engineering’s Terran releases from early access on 21-March-2019 but that doesn’t mean the Heathen Team will be taking a break. The post-release plan for Terran calls for continued development with the first content update to be made available free for all Terran gamers. The content patch will feature additions to ship combat, new warships and ship technologies to research with additional details to be announced closer to release. The planned release date for the upcoming content patch is late Q3 2019.
Heathen Engineering’s Terran has been in early access since 21-March-2016 and has evolved greatly over its 3-year early access period driven largely by gamer feedback. The community driven approach will continue post-release with the ‘work-in-progress’ being made available ahead of the official update via Steam beta functionality. Players can find the Terran Roadmap on Trello with up to date information on upcoming content, known issues and future plans.
Heathen Engineering’s Terran will be released on March 21st 2019!
Terran is nearing the end of Early Access but not the end of development. Over the course of Early Access Terran has evolved greatly, driven in part by you the community’s feedback and we will continue to iterate on Terran improving existing features and adding new content.
Post release will include both free content patches and paid expansions. The first free content patch coming post release will introduce a host of new warships, technologies and combat features and is planned for Q3 2019. You can keep up to date with Terran’s ongoing development via the Terran Roadmap and here on Steam via Community HUB.
Patch Update 1076
Patch 1076 is live for PC, Mac and Linux!
Patch 1076 brings support for Steam Workshop, Multi-language and another pass of bug fixes and optimizations.
For patch notes please see the 'Patch 1076 iteration' card in the Terran Roadmap.
Steam Workshop
A new Translation Tool is available on the Title screen via the Menu in the upper right corner of the screen. This tool enables players to create and update translations and publish them to the Steam Workshop for others to use.
Our goal is to expand on the in-game Workshop tools exposing as much as possible to community content creators.
Multi-language Support
We have applied a new multi-language tool integrated with Steam Workshop items. You can install new translations from the Workshop or create your own translations via the in-game Translation Tool. At current English is the only built in language though we are in the process of authoring translations for languages native to our team and will implement them as built in languages in upcoming patches.
Patch Update 1066
Patch 1066 is live for PC, Mac and Linux!
Patch 1066 updates the underlying engine and addresses a number of bugs and general improvements.
For patch notes please see the 'Patch 1066 iteration' card in the Terran Roadmap.
Summary of changes follows:
Engine update applied, an additional update will be required to bring the engine to the target version and is expected to be available around the end of Q1
Corrected an issue when attacking a station where it would not be possible to auto resolve the battle.
Corrected an issue with the technology panel which would case the 'read panel' to display the wrong technologies information
Corrected an issue with Gar elements that have fled a battle that would cause them to immediately return to the site of the previous battle.
Updated various UI elements to generally improve quality and performance.
Patch Update 1034
Patch 1034 is live for PC, Mac and Linux!
Patch 1034 addresses a critical bug identified with the previous patch (#1024) where in with the system panel while viewing an unclaimed system. The bug could cause build buttons to be disabled when they should be active thus preventing players from claiming the world.
A hot fix has been built, internally tested and released to both Beta and Default targets. We will continue to iterate with frequent small patches over the coming weeks with Steam Announcements reserved for hot fixes and major patches.
For the latest view of whats being worked on head over the Terran Roadmap on Trello ... find it here.
Patch Update 1024
Patch 1024 is live for PC, Mac and Linux!
Patch 1024 brings with it a host of new features as well as polish to existing mechanics. In this patch we are introducing Gar capital ships, powerful, ornate symbols of your empire’s might. We are starting with 3 Gar to choose from and plan to introduce more options as we round out Phase 3. Each Gar has a unique visual style, stats and bonuses and 5 unique abilities.
Coupled with the new Gar capital ships is a revamped progression system, adjustments to economy balance, AI behavior and more. Below you will find a list of the major changes and additions with this patch.
Economy Report
A new metrics display detailing your economy can be found in the trade view. This view shows a breakdown of credits, resources and influence generated by population, trade hubs, industry hubs, research hubs, fleets, star systems, stations, citadels and the effect any exchange settings you may have.
Technologies
The Progression Grid system has been replaced by a Technology Research system. Clicking the Research icon in the lower left of the screen or accessing it from menu you will be presented with the technologies available to be researched. You can research any available technology and if unavailable view the technologies required to unlock it. Technologies can be further upgraded via additional research. Each addition / upgrade pass on a technology may have multiple options … for example when researching upgrades for Molten worlds you may choose to improve colony, trade, industry or research output.
Gar
Gar have been re-introduced to the game in a new incarnation. Gar are massive ornate ships that represent your organization as a whole, serving like a capital. Each Gar has a set of unique abilities which may be passive effects, active abilities or special start conditions. Passive effects and active abilities have associated technologies and can be upgraded in the new Technologies system.
Gar are now tied to the main victory condition … that is you must defeat an organization’s Gar to completely destroy them and similarly if you lose your Gar you are defeated.
Combat Improvements
The combat sections of the game have been improved with new UI updates, normalized control schemes and new input functions such as the elevation control when issuing a move order.
Exploration
Awareness is now calculated for all elements on the strategy map. In general, you will always have good awareness of map elements that are near a populated station or system or near one of your fleet elements. This change now means that you must have awareness of a system before you can claim it such as by calming a nearby system or by sending a fleet.
The intent is to add new features to the game that will require this mechanic … more on that to come.
General Balance Improvements
With the new research system, and related changes we have re-worked most of the maths involved with the game. Organizations will in general start slower needing to research and develop before they begin major expansion. Ships will need to be researched and upgraded before you start on a military conquest push, etc. The outputs of worlds, growths of populations and stats of ships have all been adjusted accordingly.
This is expected to take several iterations to balance but will offer more diverse paths to victory.
Ship Unlock
Organizations now start with a single ship technology and must research new designs and related upgrades in order to unlock additional ships. The strength of any given ship class is now dictated by the upgrade path you choose to invest in. The intent to is to expand on the roster of available ship technologies over the life of the game.
Major Engine Update
The underlying engine has been upgraded from Unity 2017 to Unity 2018 (latest stable version). This upgrade should further improve performance and help insure the tech side of the game is in a good position for future efforts e.g. gives the game a longer viable life.
Patch Update 747
Patch 747 is live for PC, Mac and Linux! 747 adds notifications, tutorial tips, improvements to AI organizations, progression and a lot more.
Notification System
A new notification system has been implemented with patch 747. Notifications appear at the top of your screen and alert you to key events in the galaxy. Tutorial Tips leverage the same system and provide advice based on the current conditions of your organization and the galaxy at large. Both the Notification and Tutorial messages are in an early state and will be further refined and expanded on as phase 3 of early access progresses.
AI Update
A host of improvements to the strategic AI have been implemented with patch 747. AI organizations should be more diverse and generally more aggressive with this patch. There are still aspects of the strategy game mechanics to be completed as a result the AI will not be in its best form but can now play the game to completion. Over the following several patches we will be focused on completing the remaining strategy mechanics and in so doing completing the strategic AI.
Configuration options are in the works that will enable players to modify aspects of the AI at the start of a new game. An initial AI Organizations count has been exposed, more will follow over the next several patches.
General Improvements
Recon, Tactical and Heavy ship unlocks have been tied into overall progression. Government and Corporation organizations will unlock these at 5, 15 and 25 progression points respectively. Armada organizations will start with Recon unlocked and will earn Tactical and Heavy at 10 and 20 respectively.
Defeating fleet elements, stations and citadels will now award the victor credits, resources and boost influence progression slightly. In addition, the loss of fleet, station or citadel will have a similar but greater adverse effect.
Construction and maintenance costs have been adjusted to smooth the high end of the progression curve. Maintaining large numbers of heavy fleets should be more manageable now.
Systems linked to stations or citadels receive a production bonus. For the time being this is a fixed bonus (same for all) the intent is to tie the strength of this bonus to organization progression e.g. more established organizations benefit more.
When a station is destroyed all systems that were linked to it will receive a major influence boost in favour of the organization that destroyed the station. This will accelerate the rate at which such systems convert.
Fleets that idle near un-linked (no station link) systems will periodically apply a major influence boost in favour of their organization. This will decrease the time for conversion to begin as well as decrease the time to reverse a conversion when defending such a system with a fleet.
Known Issues
AI Organizations are not managing their stations and citadels effectively, this makes it easy to blitz them in the early game as they are not building adequate defences. This will be corrected in later patches.
A few conditions have been noted in testing where stations are not changing ownership correctly when an organization is defeated e.g. remain owned by a now dead organization. This makes it impossible to claim these systems but doesn’t affect victory conditions.
Log events may occur referencing stations that have recently been destroyed. These log events do not adversely impact the game but are in error and will be corrected in a later patch.
Trade Administration for Resources / Credits fails to calculate the correct exchange rate if the organization has a negative resource production. Generally, this won’t adversely impact the game assuming you boost your base resource production before running out of resources completely e.g. build more industry improvements. We will correct this issue in upcoming patches.
While it is now possible win or lose the game, there is no fan fare for either condition e.g. we have not yet implemented the ‘Victory’ or ‘Defeat’ screens; Achievements will award on your first corp, gov and armada victory.
Patch Update 743
Patch 743 is live for PC, Mac and Linux! 743 adds 3 new ships to the game in addition to bug fixes and optimizations.
New Ships
This completes the ‘standard’ ships set of Terran. Ship sets are groupings of themed ships and the standard set is simply the set available at start of game. All the ships of the standard set feature well balanced builds e.g. stats are distributed evenly across offence, defence and mobility features. Additional ship sets will be introduced in later patches and each set will feature its own theme both in terms of build stats and in visual style.
Corvette
The smallest and fastest ship category available; corvettes are ideal for closing range quickly and engaging non-structure targets. In Terran and well most things; the best defence is simply to not get shot. Corvettes being very small and very fast excel at this. These fast ships can break up enemy formations and draw attention from hard hitting but slower fragile ships like carriers giving them time to get in position.
Dreadnought
The heavy support category, dreadnoughts have excellent armour, good speed and a health mix of turrets enabling them to engage a range of targets effectively. Dreadnoughts the ideal escort when assaulting hard targets such as stations and citadels having enough armour to survive the approach and enough firepower to make a difference when in range.
Fortress
The heaviest ship category in game. The fortress is virtually a small mobile station platform featuring a higher turret count than any other ship and heavier shielding and armour to boot. The fortress slow speed limits its use in highly mobile scenarios but a small wing of fortress ships insures dominance if only in that area.
Bug fixes and misc improvements
Corrected tooltip errors on the Skirmish configuration screen
Heavy and recon ships should now correctly be locked until the related progression node is unlocked
Achievements should be now be awarded correctly.
Note that the conquest victory related achievements cant be earned yet as a result its not possible to earn the completionist achievement.
General optimizations
There is an on-going process to optimize every system of the game, these changes should have no player visible impact aside of course from the game running better.
Known issues
We are aware of long load times when transitioning away from the galaxy map such as when loading a battle from the map or when returning to the menu from the map. This is due to the time it takes to unload the galaxy; something we do to insure better performance in battle for example. We are working to improve this with each successive patch.
AI is not brilliant
The NPC organizations are using a simplified AI for the time being, an improved AI process is under development and will be introduced in later patches. This is part of the reason the conquest victory achievements can’t be earned. Put simply the AI isn’t in it to win it yet and is simply growing and org for you to play against.
Need for a tutorial
We are aware of the need for an in-game tutorial and improvements to the game guide. These are tasks we are working on and will introduce in upcoming patches. In the mean time you can access the quick start guide by pressing F1 in game or on the web at https://www.youareterran.com/gettingstarted
