After collecting data from numerous system scans and running multiple simulation models our scientists finally pieced together the fate of Expedition’s initial infrastructure. While some details remain unclear, one thing is certain, most of the original stations have been destroyed and now exist only as the orbital debris fields. Whether this was the result of a Kessler effect or deliberate sabotage is irrelevant at this point.
If you find yourself caught in one of these orbital storms keep your tools handy in case you have to do some emergency repairs and check out the Kessler Update patch notes!
Kessler update will be deployed on Thursday, December 21. Servers will be down from 2PM UTC/6AM PT until 3PM UTC/7AM PT. Servers will be wiped to ensure proper patch deployment.
For private servers:
Update your server and game client
Delete save files
New Features
Debris Fields are large orbital zones filled with deadly shrapnel and derelict remains of ships and stations.
All ships, stations and EVA characters have a chance to take damage while inside a debris field. Damage and chance are affected by the strength of a debris field.
There are two major sources of damage inside a debris field, shrapnel and derelicts.
Shrapnels have a percent chance to damage all ships, modules and EVA characters. EVA characters can take cover behind modules and ships to avoid getting hit.
Derelicts spawn with a percent chance and will fly roughly in the direction of any ships and modules present inside a debris field.
Derelicts will deal normal collision damage on impact.
Ships can maneuver out of the way to avoid being hit.
Ship emblems - players can now select an emblem for their ship or a command module from the security interface.
Self Destruct - players can choose to activate self destruct sequence on their ships and stations from the security interface.
Solar power module - a new module with four solar panels power to your stations.
Second pass of localization - Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Swedish and Ukrainian languages have been added with the help of our community members on Hellion translation project.
Base power consumption - all modules/ships have a base power requirement in order to work. Power consuming systems and devices will not work if the module’s base power requirement is not met.
Base power requirement for all power consuming systems
Base power requirement for all panels
Base power requirement for turrets
Removed lights as subsystem (added to base consumption)
Systems no longer require parts in order to function. Parts now provide major bonuses to any system they are slotted in. To balance this and retain importance of parts throughout the game, basic values of all systems have been severely reduced.
- Part tiers implemented ranging from T1 (lowest) to T4 (highest)
- Catalysts are now used inside solar panels rather than servo motors
- Catalyst now improve power output
- Servo motors now reduce system’s power consumption
- Resource injectors reduce system’s resource consumption
- Core Containment now increases maximum capacitor storage
- CO2 Filters now eliminate O2 consumption of Air Filter
- Number of Warp Cells no longer determines available warp type
- Singularity Cell detonator now unlocks better warp types
- Air Processor part removed from the game
- EM Field Controller part removed from the game
- High Energy Laser part removed from the game
- Changed resource consumption of all systems to be fixed rather than dynamic
- Refining raw resources now takes time and consumes power
- Changed power consumption values of all modules and individual systems
- Changed resource consumption values of all systems
- Removed most parts from the starting scene
Warp Drive improvements - Warp Drive now consumes very little power when idle. Warping now requires a large amount of stored power from the ship’s Capacitor.
- Power supply interface changes and improvements
- Refinery interface changes and improvements
- Name-tags of players and ships on Helmet HUD
- Debris field indicators on Helmet HUD and Environmental monitors
- Players can see the orbits of ships and stations on which they have been authorized - meeting up with friends made a lot easier this way
Other Changes
- Degradation values reduced (x3)
- Repair point prioritization (collision damages exterior points first)
- Lower damage priority chance for offline systems
- Added storage shelves to Cargo Bay Module central platform
- Added turret slots to the interior and exterior of modules
- Repositioned main deck turret in ship and added another slot in cargo bay
- Cargo panel “Vent resources” function
- Added chance for parts to take damage when a system suffers damage
- Item tiers added to tooltip info
- Increased starting hull integrity of outpost and ship in the starting scene
Bug Fixes
- Scan not working after warping to another planet (not moon)
- Warping into objects
- Items health persistence
- Helmet radar target persists after destruction
- Entering wrong password for server can stuck game menu
- No effect when dying from 0 AQ
- Scan not working after warping to another planet (not moon)
- “Add crew” not working for online players on the same server
- Cargo panel can't refill jetpack fully when its on 99%
- Home station button on nav map is active after home base was destroyed
- Targets of docked modules not merging
- Refueling station tank naming is wrong
- Server crash when modules are docked in a circle
- Cannot re-pressurize cargo bay in ship
- Stuck on loading when on doomed outpost
- LSM Port B missing texture on geometry
- CM hallway doesn't change gravity
- Doomed Outpost items not spawning
- NavMap authorized vessels not showing when player and authorized vessel are not in the orbit of the same parent planet
- Decal missing in warp drive box
- Inventory can be opened on death screen after dead
Zero Gravity team
Devblog #28 - Community Art Ready For Launch
Howdy space cowboys!
How’s Hellion treating you? Having trouble surviving? Don’t you worry, the Kessler Update is just around the corner and it’ll bring even more disasters your way.
Weather forecast looks a bit grim these days as we can clearly see a massive debris storm approaching, that is why we plan to observe what is happening from fortified SDS bunkers. Those of you who are not so lucky might just have to watch out once you see a debris field warning sign on your HUD. But remember, brave warriors, even under the shower of deadly scrap, one thing will be seen from the distance - symbols and signs on your ships which clearly distinguish wreckages left by brave knights from those of others.
Zero Gravity thanks you all for participating in Hellion community art contest. It’s a pleasure to have such a creative and dedicated community. We’ve chosen some of the most interesting art pieces which and they will be making their way into Hellion with the Kessler update. Here they are:
Choose your “coat of arms” on the Security Panel and it will immediately appear on dedicated places inside and outside of your ship or Command Module.
Once again, thank you for taking part in the making of Hellion together with us. All of you who are still interesting in sharing your art pieces with us, we’ll have community@zerogravitygames.com open for your applications, so we can add your creations in one of the future Hellion updates.
Until next week,
Zero Gravity team
Kessler Update Release Date
Greetings colonists!
Your ships are coming close to the Kessler Update. Be sure to take the necessary precautions since you’ll be entering the debris field on December 21.
We’ve decided to take one more week for additional testing to ensure a stable release. It is our goal to stir things up and bring a lot of excitement to the world of Hellion. Kessler will also introduce the improved Power Supply system which should make base planning and building more interesting.
We also want to say a few words regarding bug fixing, server improvements and optimization as these still remain one of the top priorities for our development team. In this regard our goal hasn’t changed since launch. We want to deliver a smooth and enjoyable experience for all colonists in the Hellion system.
Optimization on its own is a huge task which is at the moment being executed on a special dev branch because of the sheer complexity and repercussions that can affect every aspect of the game. Needless to say this is a no small task that cannot be completed within a short timeframe.
Community art contest ends today and we are looking forward to seeing your creations in Hellion. Thank you once more for taking part in this event and making the game together with us.
Finally, before we get back into our spaceships, we’d like to share these two hilarious videos which we’ve recently discovered. They are provided by courtesy of Nu Level Nerds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EoAPA9HDqM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qssObxah9Mo
Fly safe,
Zero Gravity team
Kessler Update Preview
What’s up space survivors? The next update is almost upon us and with it a bunch of new stuff that we want to share with you. New hazards, improved systems mechanics, refining rework, better loot distribution mechanics, etc.
So, where do we start? Well let’s hit it off with the most prominent (“secret”) feature of the Kessler update - debris fields.
Debris Fields
All of you who’ve had a chance to watch the movie “Gravity” should be familiar with the dangers of space collisions. Due to the very high speeds at which these impacts occur (usually in excess of 10km/s), colliding objects are often completely destroyed in the process leaving behind an expanding cloud of smaller fragments. These fragments continue on their orbits and can potentially impact other objects, creating even more high speed shrapnel. This effect is particularly devastating in densely populated orbits where a chain reaction is guaranteed to happen. This is known as the “Kessler Effect” or “Collisional Cascading”, first proposed by NASA scientist Donald J. Kessler.
So how does that translate into the game world of Hellion? Well, Hellion was the site of mankind’s first interstellar colonization effort. So, what exactly happened to the orbital infrastructure, habitats and shipyards? At least construction sites had to exist at some point in time, right? Answers to these questions can be found all over the Hellion system in the form of massive debris fields that now pollute the orbits of many planets. Scrap metal, derelict modules and broken corridors are all that remains of a once proud infrastructure meant to transform Hellion into a new home of mankind.
These fields pose a considerable hazard for any ship, station or player unlucky enough to get caught inside. While the reinforced hull of ships and modules can shrug off smaller impacts it cannot completely protect the vessel. Eventually, a hit will get through, or you might find yourself staring at a derelict module rushing towards you. Ships can avoid major collisions by moving out of the way and players can avoid damage by hiding behind modules and ships. To make things a bit more interesting (and challenging) all debris fields have varying strength and many of the best items can only be found inside the most dangerous of debris fields.
To compensate for this new hazard all degradation values have been severely reduced extending the time it takes for a fully repaired module to decay to four weeks.
System improvements, part tiers and refining changes
As we’ve stated in our earlier post all systems and parts have been changed to make them a bit more interesting to manage and maintain. All modules now consume power and have a base power requirement that must be met before their systems can be brought online. In addition power consumption of all systems was adjusted to differentiate between “passive and active” systems.
You can expect passive systems to work similar to how they are now (flip them on and that’s it), while the active systems like the warp drive, air generator or refinery will consume massive amounts of energy relying mostly on capacitor instead of direct power output. Also here’s a preview of a small new module that should somewhat alleviate those increased power needs.
Refining was also changed and is no longer instantaneous. Converting raw resources into usable ones will take a certain amount of time based on the properties of the refinery being used (small starting refinery will work considerably slower compared to the one found inside a Cargo Bay Module). Since refining now consumes a lot of power, players can improve this process by upgrading their refinery with better parts. Players will also have the option to refine resources on some of the premade stations (as they come with fully equipped cargo bays) if they so choose.
Parts are no longer necessary for systems to work, but provide considerable bonuses when slotted. The bonuses parts provide are directly tied to their tier ranging from T1 (lowest) to T4 (highest). Of course, finding the best parts will be a bit tricky and will require players to visit dangerous locations.
Turrets and premade stations
Speaking of dangerous locations, turrets have also been changed. First and foremost their effective range has been increased to 50 meters, but they now also have a power requirement in order to work (tied to the base module consumption). This means that turrets in most modules that you will come across will be offline and safe to pick up. Exception to this are modules that can generate their own power (like the PSM).
This means that one of the main places where players are expected to run into active turrets is on premade stations, as they come with their own power supply. To justify the risks involved in visiting some of these stations their loot tables have been considerably improved.
Also, did we forget to mention that turrets can now be placed on the hull as well as the interior of all modules? Yup, all modules, from corridors to cargo bays. So, now you are free to plan your base without worrying if it will have sufficient number of defences.
The concept of doomed outpost was improved. Instead of spawning randomly on various orbits, doomed outposts will now exclusively spawn on collision trajectories, making them easier to identify from the Navmap. Their course will often take them through a debris field on their way down, so timing will play an important role in approaching them.They will also function similar to other premade stations and will have their own power supply systems and turrets.
Community art and decals
We want to use this opportunity to say that we are very pleased with the response we’ve received so far regarding community based artworks. Many players have already sent their work that you can check out below. The contest is open until December 12th and we encourage you all to send us even more images, regardless of whether you doubt your drawing skills or not, as our team of artists stands ready to make unfinished concepts into proper customization options.
Finally, a big thank you to everyone from the testing squad for all the hard work you’re putting in. If all goes well you can expect the Kessler update to land as early as December 14th or, if further testing is required, a week later.
Until then, fly safe and keep your ships and stations repaired. You never know when a stray shrapnel might come your way!
Community art and customization
Another week, another devblog, right? Well not today! This time we have something special in store for you guys, an artwork contest!
As we’ve stated in one of our previous blogs we would like to add community designed artworks to the world of Hellion. These images would be implemented as customization options for player owned ships and stations and would work in a similar way as the special art seen on ships during the Halloween event.
Our artists are already working on adding multiple lore based insignias, flags and coats of arms that you can use to make your ships and stations feel unique. These new options will be accessible from the security panels found in ships and command modules. Commanding officers will be able to change these options at will.
Of course, none of this would be as fun, without proper community engagement! We invite all of you to send us your own artwork so our artists can pick the most interesting designs and add them to the game so you can use them to further customize your assets.
Contest will be open until 12th of December.
Rules for the artwork:
- Please use only original artwork
- Square image format: 1024x1024
- Send your creations to community@zerogravitygames.com
- Please leave your Steam name so we can announce the best designs along with the authors
Until next time, fly safe!
Zero Gravity Team
Devblog #27 System improvements and Degradation changes
Welcome back to another devblog survivors. As the heading implies we will be talking in detail about changes coming to the degradation mechanic as well as various improvements to the systems, parts and their impact on gameplay.
Systems and base module consumption
First step in improving the system mechanic was adjusting power production and consumption values. In addition, all power consumers can now be divided into two categories: passive and active systems.
Passive systems (lights, air filter, etc.) are devices that are meant to work non-stop and as such consume power constantly. They have a relatively low power drain and can usually run on just basic power supply. Active systems (engine, warp drive, refinery, etc.) are devices that are activated to perform a specific task like execute a warp maneuver or refine a certain quantity of resources. Since they often work for very short periods of time their power requirements often exceed the maximum output of even a fully upgraded fusion reactor.
This is where capacitors come into play. They charge using excess energy from the power supply systems and prevent other systems from shutting down when consumption temporarily exceeds the total power production. Since most active systems have large power needs they will primarily rely on capacitors to keep them running.
In addition to these changes all modules and ships will have a “base power consumption” that must be met in order to activate or “online” a module. Base power consumption counts as a passive system and represents the minimum amount of power a module needs to properly function (lights, doors, power distribution, etc). Any specialized system like the life support or refinery will automatically go offline if their module is deactivated. The same holds true for turrets, if the module is deactivated all connected turrets will be offline.
All of these changes are accompanied by a complete overhaul of the systems UI that will provide players with all the necessary information and eliminate any confusion as to how a certain system works or how much resources it consumes.
Degradation
The new degradation mechanics has been the focus of numerous debates. While some topics focused on discussing its immersiveness and mechanic improvements, others focused on the current rate of decay and pointed out several gameplay issues. One of the more problematic is the fact that breaches can occur rather quickly, regardless of the module’s overall hull integrity. This can lead to a complete atmosphere loss that the player is unable to prevent or counter in any way. One of the first changes we are introducing is the prioritisation of repair points.
Collision damage will now primarily cause external damage. As breaches are tied to external repair points they have the highest chance of activating in case of a collision. Chance of a breach triggering is directly tied to the amount of collision damage received.
Degradation on the other hand is primarily focused on causing internal damage and system malfunctions. Degradation will eventually start causing external damage that can lead to a breach, but this will only happen once module’s overall hull integrity drops extremely low.
System damage and fires can still occur from both degradation and collision damage as well as nearby exploding grenades. Additionally if a system completely malfunctions it will short-circuit and possibly fry some or all of its parts (more on this mechanic below).
Finally, at the moment we are testing several ways to make degradation less punishing for players that simply cannot spend hours upon hours in game each week. We want degradation to slow down the player’s progress not annihilate it completely.
Parts
Following the implementation of damage and repair, as well as improvements to the system mechanic we realized that parts had to be adjusted in order to better fit with the new features. Probably the most drastic change is that systems no longer require parts in order to function. Considering that systems can now malfunction as a direct result of taking damage, having more ways for systems to “break down” felt like overkill. So we had decided to change parts from “something that is only there to break down” into “upgrades”.
Instead of providing penalties, all parts now provide bonuses to the systems they are attached to. These bonuses include reduced power consumption, increased output, better capacity, reduced resource consumption, etc. They also come in several tiers, with each tier being better and much harder to find than the last. Some parts like the CO2 filter fall outside of this pattern and provide unique benefits to their respective systems.
As mentioned above, once a system fails completely as a result of damage, its connected parts have a chance to short-circuit and fry. Parts can also be destroyed by direct damage from weapons or melee attacks. So if you plan on raiding someone’s base, watch out when throwing grenades, as high tier parts are scarce and difficult to come by.
That’s all for today folks and in case you are wondering about that “secret feature” that we’ve mentioned, here’s a hint: you might need a very sturdy umbrella…
Until next time, fly safe!
ZeroGravityTeam
Hellion on Steam Autumn Sale
Welcome back colonists! Autumn is slowly coming to an end, and what better way to send it off than a sale. If you haven’t had a chance to grab Hellion yet, you can use this opportunity to do so at a 25% discount during the Steam Autumn Sale.
We want to use this opportunity to thank you all for your feedback on Hellion’s latest update. One of the most discussed topics was, as was expected, the new degradation mechanics. The Don’t Panic! Update, saw the first installation of this feature and we were eager to to hear your opinions after spending some time in this new environment. What we can say is that we had gathered your comments, discussed various options at length and finally decided to make some much requested improvements.
Also, Halloween special art influenced many of the comments which made us think that maybe Hellion’s community would be interested in expressing its creativity in Hellion. So, here’s our question: How would you like to have your own graphic design imported into the game so it can be used by all players to make their ships and stations look special? If you are interested, let us know in the comments below.
One more thing. A secret game feature for the next update (0.2.6) is being tested as we write this. If all goes well, it will be revealed in our next devblog.
Aaand...don’t forget to nominate Hellion for a Steam award!
So stay tuned for future updates and, as always, fly safe,
Zero Gravity team
Devblog #26 Systematization
What’s up survivors, it’s been awhile! We sure hope the latest update is treating you well and that you will continue to voice your concerns, critique, and suggestions (praise is also welcomed).
During the past few weeks we’ve been collecting and analyzing community feedback and working on Hellion’s next update. We believe it will bring several much wanted improvements, address a number of gameplay issues pointed out so far and further expand the gameplay introduced in the Don’t Panic update.
Today’s dev blog will outline various changes coming in the next update that is expected to land mid December. Next installation of our blog will bring a detailed preview of the update.
Systems
One of our objectives with the next update is to rework and rebalance the way systems work in Hellion. At the moment systems are something that players activate and then forget about. We aim to change that in a way that makes systems, and in turn base-building, essential to player survival and one of the key factors when making decisions.
In this regard Power Supply system is our main focus, as we want to completely change the current balance of resources, output and power requirements between ships, stations and individual modules.
Our second goal is to rework the Life Support system and rebalance O2 and Nitrogen consumptions to bring them in line with changes to the power supply system. Also important to note is that we want to make a clear distinction between using a jetpack and having a fully operational environmental control system, with the other being far superior in terms of resource consumption.
UI improvements
Next on the list is a series of improvements to the user interface as one of the often voiced complaints was that many of the UIs, especially power supply and life support were unclear, confusing or simply inadequate for proper station management.
The new interface is designed to be simple, clear and intuitive and should make station management (regardless of the number of modules) faster and more enjoyable. We expect it to solve most if not all of the issues players have with system management while also providing sufficient information regarding consumption, production and power requirements to make it easier for new players to learn and understand.
Parts
Don’t Panic update introduced system damage and malfunctions without touching the way parts currently work. One key feature of the next update will be a full rework of the way parts work and interact with different systems.
Contrary to the current mechanics, where players collect a bunch of different parts just to have spares in case they break down, we want each part to be important with rare “higher tier” parts providing a considerable bonus to systems they are attached to.
Localization
We want to use this opportunity to thank everyone for their efforts in community-based localization process as the level of dedication and attention to detail far exceeded our expectations in this regard. Eighty people gave their best during the weekend to make this possible. Join them in our continuous effort to make Hellion available all over the galaxy. Starting from today, a new set of languages will be imported into the game, ready to be approved by community. If you have any translation suggestions or you want to have Hellion localized in your native language you can visit our localization project.
Discord integration
We are also proud to announce that our work on Hellion’s rich presence for Discord is also nearing completion. We are looking forward to letting you try it out as soon as it’s finished.
Roadmap
Also, we have updated our roadmap so you can keep track of the development process.
That’s all for today folks! Stay tuned for future dev blogs when we will talk in-depth about all of the changes outlined so far, as well as some new features that haven’t been announced yet!
Until next time, fly safe and mind your oxygen level!
Zero Gravity Team
Hellion - Localization
Scientists from H.A.D.E.S Labs are currently scouring the Hellion system in order to pinpoint the origin of a mysterious signal recently caught by the Expedition’s Askatar Observatory. So far their efforts have been unsuccessful as the signal is heavily encrypted by a very intelligent algorithm...
Dear players, for the last couple of months, we’ve been working on a localization of Hellion. We wanted Hellion to be available in as many languages as possible, so people from all around the world could enjoy space adventures in their native languages. What we’ve found is that the task which we thought would be a simple matter for any experienced translator, actually proved far more difficult than we had expected. Hellion is a special game in many ways. It’s a hard-core game meant to be played and enjoyed by real sci-fi fans, often requiring at least basic understanding of physics and space exploration. Any professional translator, regardless of their skill, must also fit within this sci-fi niche to do the job properly. Statistically, that is a very unlikely scenario.
On the other hand, some players took action and made translations on their own. They wanted to have Hellion localized so their friends could play it in a local language. And they did a great job! Thanks to Mulbity, =V=Heromant and AAAlexander we have Hellion in Chinese, Russian and Italian respectively. Now we are absolutely sure that we need your help in order to localize Hellion properly.
That’s why we decided to put the Hellion localization project to the Crowdin platform. If you like the game, and you want to help translate it into your native language, please visit our project page here: https://crowdin.com/project/hellion-zero-gravity
If you have any questions please send an email to support@zerogravitygames.com
Thank you very much for the amazing support! Next week, we’ll be announcing a new stuff coming in the next update.
Until then, fly safe.
Zero Gravity team
Hellion Halloween
Welcome back survivors! This weekend you can expect a slightly different experience, as Halloween is coming to Hellion! There was always something scary about Burner, but the latest readings are just weird…
Until November 1st, Hellion will be a part of Steam Halloween sale and you can get it at 25% discount!
Also, we bring you a mini update which, aside from adding several scary things, also addresses few issues affecting server stability and NavMap object grouping.
"This update does not require a server wipe"
Changelog
Temporary Halloween candies
Server stability improvement
NavMap object grouping problem
Bug Fixes
Excessive vessel explosion blast radius
Turret max. health stuck at 100 HP
Ohh and next time you enter someone’s base, make sure to say “Trick or treat!”
