[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Lately, we've been focusing a lot of attention on getting the Fire In the Hold (0.15) Milestone ready. It's getting closer, and we expect to be in closed beta testing as soon as this week.[/p][p][/p][p]If you want a sneak peek at some of the sensor and weapon features it'll include, check out this short video of a battle between ships:[/p][p][/p][p][/p]
Content Creator Sign-Up
[p]And speaking of closed betas, are you a content creator interested in Ostranauts? If so, fill out this form to get updates on future opportunities and promo materials as we get closer to 1.0 launch.[/p][p][/p]
QoL Patch
[p]And last, but not least, what about this patch? We're still trying to reserve some dev time to keep fixing and improving the existing game. Update v0.14.5.20 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a hotfix update to our "Inventory Overhaul" update, which includes fixes and improvements for undocking, the PDA Vizor, inventory, and others.[/p][p][/p][p]Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.[/p][p] Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback![/p]
[p]Undocking from ground stations no longer obliterates large ships.[/p]
[p]PDA Vizor presets and saving now works more reliably, and older saves with problems can be fixed via 'pda reset' console command.[/p]
[p]📢Inventory Trash slot is now in the bottom left, instead of top left.[/p]
[p]Inventory Trash slot timer now ignores fast-forward, and correctly resets when new items placed in it.[/p]
[p]Click-swapping an item in a container's inventory grid no longer makes the new item invisible outside of that grid.[/p]
[p]📢Painting item install jobs via PDA now maintains item rotation between installs.[/p]
[p]Box Sled ship type removed from starting ships.[/p]
[p]Damaged doors no longer have the Access Locks option.[/p]
[p]📢Autovents now power-on into the closed state, instead of open, to avoid losing atmosphere during a power cycle.[/p]
[p]Bash action is now available on items after a save/load.[/p]
[p]Characters will no longer get trapped in an infinite teleport loop when standing up from chairs.[/p]
[p]One of the more concerning problems we've heard reported involved large ships trying to undock from a ground station. They were frequently colliding with the ground on pushback, and sometimes causing total destruction.[/p][p] This patch adjusts the pushback to avoid collisions better in those cases, and large ships should once again be cleared for departure![/p][p][/p][p]We also heard reports that older saves had broken PDA Vizor after the last patch. So this patch improves how those settings are saved and loaded, and keeps settings between crew members. It also includes a new command users can use to factory reset their PDA if it's stuck in a bad setting. Simply open the debug console (default F3 key), and type "pda reset" to scrub the settings back to their defaults.[/p][p] A number of users requested the inventory trash slot move away from the head to avoid mis-clicks and lost items, so we swapped that with the social items slot. We also fixed the timer on trash to make it easier to undo.[/p][p] While testing this, we also found a bug that hid the cursor item when item swapping, and were able to fix that.[/p][p] Users have also requested that the PDA install painting cursor remember item orientation between each click. It turns out we had that in Ship Editor, but not the main game, so we carried that over.[/p][p] Two changes were the result of watching new players struggle with the game. First, we finally removed the Box Sled ship as a character creation option. Way too many users would suffocate trying to board that ship, not realizing it had an open floor between the airlock and cabin. We tried making this ship only appear after a few new games were started, but it wasn't enough.[/p][p] Now, you can still get the ship, but it has to be more deliberate. The ship broker should basically always have one in stock.[/p][p] Second, a lot of users would encounter damaged doors, right click on them, and see "Access Lock." And reasonably assume that was how to get them working again. So we removed that option from damaged doors.[/p][p] Another long-time player request was to change the auto-vent behaviors to start "closed" instead of open. Losing power on a ship would often mean the vents briefly open after power was restored. And in some ships, this could mean certain death, as the limited air was lost.[/p][p] They now start in closed state, to avoid this unexpected air loss.[/p][p][/p][p]Finally, we fixed a few other issues players encountered with missing Bash actions and chair dismounting.[/p][p] We hope everyone's getting settled-in for some cozy holidays! The team here at Blue Bottle Games will gradually be heading out for holiday breaks over the next few days, likely until the new year.[/p][p] I may poke my head in here and there to see if anyone needs anything, but other than that, I'm looking forward to a few days of food, a warm fire, some (arguably) friendly games of cards with the family, and maybe a homemade karaoke night or two.[/p][p] From everyone at BBG, we hope you have a safe and happy winter break, we wish you a healthy and prosperous 2026![/p][p] Best,[/p][p]Daniel Fedor[/p][p]Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC[/p]
Vizor Memory, Removing Jettison, and Other Fixes
[p]Hey Folks![/p][p] Update v0.14.5.18 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p] This is a hotfix update to our "Inventory Overhaul" update, which includes some quality of life improvements for Vizor and the QAB, plus other fixes.[/p][p][/p][p]Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.[/p][p] Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback![/p]
[p]📢Jettison menu option has been removed for all non-corpse objects.[/p]
[p]Corpses should no longer become hotter than the Sun and explode the ships/stations they are on.[/p]
[p]PDA Vizor presets should now remember their individual settings.[/p]
[p]F3 console now has a 'wipe' command to clear any stale signal box settings on the currently selected item.[/p]
[p]Signal boxes now run periodic audits of their settings to avoid stale links.[/p]
[p]Using PASS, transit, or other teleportation services while docked should no longer drain RCS on ships left behind.[/p]
[p]Docking/undocking from a ship should no longer cause damage that was leftover from previous docking encounters.[/p]
[p]4L and 8L drink flasks should now use correct image in paperdoll UI.[/p]
[p]Haul tasks involving corpses should no longer throw null reference exceptions when PDA is opened.[/p]
[p]Using PASS should no longer throw null reference exceptions if one of the involved ships tried to spawn something.[/p]
[p]Many players have mentioned accidentally jettisoning items when using the QAB (context menu), which was an unfortunate necessity before the inventory update added a Trash option. Now that Trash exists, however, we can finally remove Jettison from the QAB (except for corpses, that is).[/p][p][/p][p]Speaking of corpses, with the help of some player saves, we were finally able to figure out why some stations were becoming so hot they exploded from pressure. It turns out that our body head code had a blind spot, which if left unchecked, could cause temperatures to rise indefinitely.[/p][p][/p][p]In some cases, this happened to corpses inside EVA suits, causing them to heat up the air inside to temperatures hotter than a star. And when that helmet was removed, all air in the station would superheat, expand, and cause the station to explode.[/p][p][/p][p]The PDA Vizor app now remembers settings from preset-to-preset, which should hopefully make it less of a pain to use. And signal boxes now have some self-auditing code to help clean up stale or broken references blocking their use. (Users can also now manually reset the signal box using the F3 console's "wipe" command.)[/p][p][/p][p]PASS and other teleporting travel should no longer cause RCS fuel to go missing upon return to a vessel. And docking/undocking should no longer cause extra damage if the vessel was previously bumped by NPC ships.[/p][p] Finally, there were a few smaller null fixes, and typos corrected to fix missing sprites.[/p][p] As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems![/p][p] Best,[/p][p]Daniel Fedor[/p][p]Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC[/p]
Square Meals & Space Supplies Update
[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Update v0.14.5.17 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a hotfix update to our "Inventory Overhaul" update, which adds a load of new sprites, quality of life improvements, and some fixes.[/p][p] Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.[/p][p] Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback![/p]
General Changes
[p]New item sprite art for food and drinks.[/p]
[p]New item sprite art for medical injectors, EVA supplies, batteries, and O2 candles.[/p]
[p]📢Main Menu and Quit buttons now have a confirm dialog.[/p]
[p]📢Options Screen now has a Reset All Settings button, to restore all default game settings.[/p]
[p]📢NAV station ship labels no longer overlap.[/p]
[p]NAV and other UIs no longer close after using super fast-forward and then unpausing.[/p]
[p]MegaTooltip no longer blocks clicks in the world where it is invisible.[/p]
[p]MegaTooltip item list now scrolls instead of overflowing down screen.[/p]
[p]Dropping an item on an incompatible slot no longer traps it behind the inventory UI.[/p]
[p]Training manuals now report/display correct skills.[/p]
[p]Over the past few weeks, the team's priority has shifted more towards 0.15 development. But that doesn't mean we're done with 0.14![/p][p][/p][p]Today's update includes a large batch of new item sprites, continuing our effort to get clearer artwork for smaller items in the game. This batch includes most of the foods and drinks available in-game, plus several of the other consumables and personal batteries.[/p][p][/p][p]We also added some player-requested features to the main UI. The game will now prompt you for confirmation when exiting to the main menu and exiting the game. And for cases where the game has stored settings that are hard to find or edit again later, we added a nuclear option to wipe all user settings data for Ostranauts on the machine.[/p][p][/p][p]In the NAV station, you'll now notice that ship labels will adjust to avoid overlapping, hopefully improving legibility in crowded spaces. The UI will also remain open if you've used super fast-forward and then unpause.[/p][p][/p][p]The Megatooltip has also received a few updates. First, we fixed the issue where it would block mouse clicks in areas where it was invisible. And we changed the way it lists multiple items in the same spot, so it uses a scrollbar instead of an endless list crossing the screen.[/p][p][/p][p]Finally, we fixed training manuals showing the wrong skill, plus a case where the item on the cursor got trapped behind the UI, getting stuck.[/p][p][/p][p]As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems![/p][p][/p][p]Best,[/p][p]Daniel Fedor[/p][p]Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC[/p][p][/p][p]PS: Also, Ostranauts is on sale this week. So if you (or a friend!) has been eyeing-up the game, now is a good time to pick it up. And if you know anyone who might dig what we're making, please spread the word![/p]
Fixes for Broken Ships, Selection Dragging, and Whodunnit
[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Update v0.14.5.15 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a hotfix update to our "Inventory Overhaul" update, which fixes some ship loading issues, panning while dragging selections, and the whodunnit plot.[/p][p][/p][p]Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.[/p][p] Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback![/p]
[p]Dragging a selection rectangle will now stay put in the world while camera pans/zooms.[/p]
[p]Ships with items falling on the floor should once again load correctly.[/p]
[p]Ships should once again be getting their full names, instead of missing the first word.[/p]
[p]Closing a whodunnit case file on a victim that was also an enemy should no longer crash the game.[/p]
[p]Station maintenance techs will be more gentle when refilling gas canisters now, to avoid detonating the station.[/p]
[p]Some players noticed that the new selection dragging feature would follow the camera around, instead of staying fixed in world space. So we adjusted the code for that to behave more intuitively.[/p][p][/p][p]We also fixed a bug that could cause an out of sync error when loading ships that had dying NPCs or breaking items. The removing/adding of parts on the ship as it loaded caused errors, and this should now work more reliably.[/p][p][/p][p]Some ships were being spawned with part of their names blank, and this was due to an error loading ship names. All future ship spawns should have full names now.[/p][p][/p][p]The whodunnit plot could cause a stack overflow in cases where the victim was an enemy, which would often freeze then crash the game. This should once again work now.[/p][p][/p][p]Finally, we toned-down the maintenance tech refill actions, so they would be less likely to refill canisters beyond explosive pressures.[/p][p][/p][p]As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems![/p][p][/p][p]Best,[/p][p]Daniel Fedor[/p][p]Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC[/p]
QoL Improvements for PDA Orders, Inventory, and Other Fixes
[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Update v0.14.5.14 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a hotfix update to our "Inventory Overhaul" update, which includes several requested quality of life enhancements, plus fixes for tutorials, UIs, and other bugs.[/p][p][/p][p]Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.[/p][p] Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback![/p]
[p]📢PDA Orders now work by dragging a selection box that fills with the order, instead of painting like a pencil.[/p]
[p]📢Holding F now force-walks to a tile, instead of picking up item in that tile.[/p]
[p]Crew on different ship than captain should once again be able to pick up items in inventory UI.[/p]
[p]Ships with even-sized placeholders should no longer glitch on loading, causing rooms, walls, and pathfinding to break.[/p]
[p]Tutorial should no longer get stuck if the user restarts their game without closing the app.[/p]
[p]Equipping a lamp in the left hand while a PDA is in the forearm will correctly affect lighting now.[/p]
[p]📢QAB now has an option to manually resume task on that object, if applicable.[/p]
[p]📢QAB install keeps game paused until item is placed now.[/p]
[p]Crew shouldn't interrupt captain with work complaints if the captain is busy now.[/p]
[p]Prox and tracking alarms now work for crew when captain is on another ship.[/p]
[p]📢Clicking an inventory window anywhere now brings that window to the front.[/p]
[p]Shift clicking large items on the floor no longer swaps with dolly in drag slot, if dolly has room.[/p]
[p]Right-clicking with PDA order on cursor clears cursor first, then closes PDA.[/p]
[p]Right-clicking portrait once again opens the MTT.[/p]
[p]Selling cargo no longer gets the cargo UI stuck.[/p]
[p]Aerodynamic walls no longer cause NAV UI to stutter as much.[/p]
[p]AI pilots should run out of fuel less often now.[/p]
[p]AI ships shouldn't yo-yo near docking targets any more.[/p]
[p]Yellow coveralls now have an inventory action.[/p]
[p]More UI feedback if player attempts to walk while paused.[/p]
[p]One of the bigger changes here is to how the PDA orders work, and has been a long-time player request. It is now possible to paint orders/installed items by dragging a box, and that box will fill with the order. Previously, users had to paint individual tiles like using a pencil, and this could be very time-consuming. Hopefully, now it'll be much faster to do large tasks and ship layouts, while still allowing precision work with individual tiles and dragging straight lines.[/p][p][/p][p]Right-click also now clears the cursor first, instead of clearing the cursor and closing the PDA while in PDA orders mode.[/p][p][/p][p]Players also requested a way to force walk to a tile that is occupied by an item. With the inventory open, the character would default to picking up the item if the tile was occupied, making walking in messy environments harder.[/p][p][/p][p]Furthermore, there was a bug preventing crew from picking up items if they were too far away from the captain. This is now also fixed. And some players noticed inventory windows could get stuck behind others, making them hard to separate, so we made any clicked window pop to the front for easier repositioning.[/p][p][/p][p]And, at long last, shift-clicking large objects will no longer swap with the dolly in the drag slot, if there's room![/p][p][/p][p]A more subtle bug with big implications was also fixed. Sometimes, if a ship had a placeholder on it of even tile dimensions, that ship would incorrectly load, causing all kinds of gas, pathfinder, and other issues. This is now fixed.[/p][p][/p][p]Our tutorial system had a bug after the last big patch which prevented tutorials from completing if the user quit to main menu and started a new game. This should now work normally again.[/p][p][/p][p]The left hand slot will now appropriately show lighting effects if there is a lamp in both the forearm PDA slot and hand slot.[/p][p][/p][p]The QAB had two player suggestions implemented. One is a button to manually resume a task that was abandoned, which previously wasn't possibly without using AUTOTASK. The other was to keep the game paused when Install was chosen, until the item was placed.[/p][p][/p][p]Plus several other fixes to ship AIs, UIs, etc.[/p][p] As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems![/p][p] Best,[/p][p]Daniel Fedor[/p][p]Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC[/p]
Fix for right-clicking placeholder objects
Hey Folks!
Another quick hotfix (0.14.5.12) to address an issue where users could no longer right-click to select placeholder items (e.g. an object being installed).
This patch should restore that ability. Thanks again for your patience and help in chasing down these issues!
Best, Daniel Fedor Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC
Tutorial save/load/null fixes
Hey Folks!
This is just a hotfix for the recent patch to address several null exceptions that could occur during the tutorial, particularly when saving/loading during the tutorial:
Loading a save that lacked IDs for target objects no longer causes null exceptions, and will fall-back on using the player as a target object instead.
Quitting or hot-loading a game will no longer cause null exceptions as the tutorial tries to clear listeners.
Hot-loading or starting a new game after one game has been played in the same session no longer causes missing objective targets.
Sorry for the inconveniences these errors caused! Hopefully, this stabilizes most of the issues players have been running into, so they can get back to enjoying the game.
Let us know if you run into any other issues!
Best, Daniel Fedor Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC
Fixes for remote crew pickup, softlocked infinite tickers, and tutorials
[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Update v0.14.5.10 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a hotfix update to our "Inventory Overhaul" update, which includes a fix for softlocked characters, crew item pickups, and tutorials getting stuck.[/p][p][/p][p]Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.[/p][p][/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/34518042/30853f662c2747b1366e56ad5f761393180fa43e.png"][/p]
[p]Characters will no longer become permanently softlocked if they receive a permanent condition during fast-forward.[/p]
[p]Non-captain crew can once again pick up items when away from the captain.[/p]
[p]Saving and loading the game during the tutorial will no longer break the tutorial.[/p]
[p]The biggest fix here was for characters getting softlocked. In some games, characters would get stuck forever if fast-forward added a condition to them with no expiration, and the issue could persist across saves. This patch will prevent that from happening in the future, and should fix the broken timer on existing saves.[/p][p][/p][p]Another fix involved crew members using the inventory to pick up items. This was incorrectly using the captain to determine reach range, and could break crew picking up items when they were too far away. This should also once again work.[/p][p][/p][p]Finally, it was possible to break the tutorial sequence by saving, quitting, and reloading during the tutorial. Today's patch will stop that from happening in the future, but existing saves with a broken tutorial will not resume the tutorial, unfortunately.[/p][p][/p][p]As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems![/p][p][/p][p]Best,[/p][p]Daniel Fedor[/p][p]Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC[/p][p][/p]
Project Update, Plus Tutorial, PDA Social App, Auto-damage and Other Changes
[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Update v0.14.5.9 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a hotfix patch to our "Inventory Overhaul" update, which includes improvements for the tutorial and PDA Social App, plus fixes for auto-damage, UI, and other issues.[/p][p][/p][p]Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.[/p][p] Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback![/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/34518042/b78c461c3b362d5ba2a44b4b699035a98e109719.png"][TAG-20][/p]
[p]📢 Tutorial has new player-suggested steps and edits added for clarity.[/p]
[p]Tutorial now extends through tutorial derelict to returning to OKLG to sell salvage.[/p]
[p]Tutorial now includes optional goals found on OKLG.[/p]
[p]Objective rollover now always shows on-screen arrow to point to target, if possible.[/p]
[p]Tutorials will no longer produce null exceptions when a unique item ID is missing.[/p]
[p]Objective arrow will no longer stay on screen if a control panel opens while mousing over an objective.[/p]
[p]📢 Stations will now repair items while the player is away.[/p]
[p]Ships and items no longer auto-damage each time saves are loaded.[/p]
[p]Loose social items will now be swept up and removed on load.[/p]
[p]Players can no longer grab items through walls.[/p]
[p]Whodunnit plot can be closed/abandoned more reliably now, even if victim's body is absent.[/p]
[p]The Matchmaker plot will no longer ask the player to find a mate for dead participants.[/p]
[p]Long-duration conditions should now expire more accurately.[/p]
[p]Police that run out of fuel while targeting player can no longer prevent Super Fast-Forward.[/p]
[p]Dragging a corpse that has a PDA slotted no longer affects the vizor settings of the dragger.[/p]
[p]Pirate spawning should be limited to correct stations and population counts now.[/p]
[p]Loose tables and terminals no longer block walking.[/p]
[p]Items will no longer infinitely duplicate if attached to inventory cursor when a control panel opens.[/p]
[p]Uninstalling items should no longer crash the game due to a rendering/lighting bug.[/p]
[p]Ship's logs should no longer cause null exceptions if missing on load.[/p]
[p]Loading Markets jsons no longer has potential for naming/type collisions.[/p]
[p]Ship editor now has a UI for adding uniquely-tagged objects to ships.[/p]
[p]Several typos and grammar fixes.[/p]
[p][/p][p]The tutorial got a lot of attention in this update, starting with a rewrite of how we set and trigger events. This allowed us to more easily add new tutorial steps, so that the tutorial now guides the player through the tutorial derelict, and back to OKLG where they can sell their loot, and refuel for another trip.[/p][p][/p][p]Plus, we were able to add some more granular steps recommended by players, and cover some more optional steps in the OKLG starting area. And the objective rollover now shows an arrow even when the target is on-screen.[/p][p][/p][p]UIs also got some attention. Several players asked if we could do something about the chaos in the PDA Socials app, as it would get overrun with NPCs as the game continued. Now, the app has a filter for hiding certain relationships, plus several sorting options. And by default, all characters are listed alphabetically now.[/p][p][/p][p]The NAV station can now report ship's mass, and the STATUS page no longer has a line alignment bug. Character creation now shows only the skills that are active in-game, and the QAB had a few fixes applied.[/p][p][/p][p]AI should no longer fall for incompatible characters through sheer persistence, and pathfinders should now be able to handle paths that start and end on the same ship, but traverse another ship, while not having disembark permissions.[/p][p] Finally, a range of more general issues have been addressed.[/p][p] Stations should now be kept-up a bit better in longer saves, both repairing while the player is away, and cleaning up social items that leak onto the floor. (We're still looking for good repro steps on this social item bug, by the way!) Plus saving and loading the game will no longer auto-damage ships and stations.[/p][p][/p][p]We found and fixed an inventory bug involving reaching through walls, as well as a bug which prevented long-duration conditions from expiring in some cases.[/p][p][/p][p]Plus several other bugs that could cause trouble.[/p][p] [img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/34518042/e25575e3553e403942124e1c0d184fd9eded2230.png"][TAG-204] [/p][p]For those wondering about the "Fire in the Hold!" update (0.15), we've been working on that, as well![/p][p][/p][p]In our last sneak peek, we revealed two of the weapon types ships can carry: missiles and direct fire (rail guns and coil guns). Today, we have a third option to share: the point defense cannon (PDC).[/p][p][/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/34518042/7a9cbacad68ea989b8b1003d40f607ac99555c7f.gif"][TAG-220][/p][p][/p][p]As the name implies, this weapon is more defensive in nature. Modeled after PDCs in sci-fi like The Expanse, as well as more contemporary examples like the Phalanx CIWS, this weapon will auto-target and fire upon any threat that enters its firing arc.[/p][p][/p][p]In the image above, we see it fire on a variety of incoming rail gun rounds, with varying success. (Head-on targets with a low VREL are easier to hit.) Of course, in a pinch, the PDC can also be deployed against other ships at short range, as seen in the end of the above animation.[/p][p][/p][p]We've also been working on a new location for the 0.15 update. The current plan is for the new location to be in the vicinity of Ceres, in the Main Asteroid Belt.[/p][p] [img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/34518042/9f21c3310968e17532f13f21f109f735248a4276.png"][/p][p] Since some players prefer more action, and some wish to just chill, we wanted to give players some agency in how much ship combat they experience. So we plan to keep OKLG fairly low-conflict, for both new and conflict-averse players. And for players who want more action, they can seek it out by leaving the starting area to where trouble is more common.[/p][p][/p][p]In the above screenshot, we see the current state of asteroid spawns and rendering. We're experimenting with various spawn densities and amounts to see what balance we can strike between complexity and performance.[/p][p][/p][p]Sensors are another important area of the 0.15 update. As mentioned in the last sneak peek, we've been experimenting with different sensor types and their behaviors. And today, we have a bit more we can show:[/p][p][/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/34518042/52f8483faf77a612abe5c8635ef48c370d78ce0b.gif"][/p][p] This animation shows what the area around a ship looks like as various sensor packages are enabled. It starts with the map being mostly empty, with dim, ghost-like dots jumping around in the dark.[/p][p][/p][p]As we start switching on passive sensors, optics let us see some nearby wrecks, while EM and IR sensors reveal "live" ships with transponders and "hot" equipment. We still have a limited picture, but we are in a purely listening mode, and harder to detect.[/p][p][/p][p]Switching to active sensors, we start sending out signals to listen for echos. RADAR reveals a much wider range of nearby vessels, while LIDAR helps resolve their actual shape and size. They create the best picture of our surroundings, but also broadcast our position to everyone nearby.[/p][p][/p][p]Of course, the specifics of all of these systems are still changing as we build and playtest. But hopefully, this satisfies some curiosity about what we've been up to.
Lastly, I wanted to take a moment to address Ostranauts's release date.[/p][p][/p][p]In 2024, when we announced 1.0 and our collaboration with Kitfox, we estimated that Ostranauts would release in 2025. Since then, we’ve received a lot of attention and support from both long time fans and newcomers to the game. We heard feedback saying that, while excited about new features and content, players also wanted more stability and quality of life features in Ostranauts.[/p][p][/p][p]As a result, we introduced a "Hardening Phase 1" to our Roadmap, to better address this feedback. And for most of 2025, we've split our development effort between fixing what's there now, and working on what's next.[/p][p][/p][p]So far, that plan feels like it has been the right move. Stability and usability in the game are markedly improved over this time last year, and we were able to add a few additional player-requested features along the way.[/p][p] That said, as 2025 enters its final quarter, we think it makes the most sense for us to delay the 1.0 release to 2026. Your support over the year has given us more time, and we feel it's best to use that time to make Ostranauts the best game it can be.[/p][p][/p][p]We still expect players to get hands-on with the Fire in the Hold update by the end of this year, and more quality of life fixes and upgrades to boot. We just wanted to be clear about our plans, going forward.[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks again to all of you for your support! Because of you, we've been able to work on improving Ostranauts longer than we expected, and we can't wait to see more of the stories you create in our world.[/p]
Fixes for PDA Vizor, Tilemaps, and Item Placement
[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Update v0.14.5.6 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a hotfix update to our "Inventory Overhaul" update, which includes some quality of life enhancements for the PDA Vizor and Inventory, plus fixes for tilemap and other bugs.[/p][p][/p][p]Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.[/p][p] Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback![/p]
[p]Placing large sub-floor items near the edge of the ship no longer breaks the ship's tilemap, causing duplicate or missing rooms and/or zone errors errors on load.[/p]
[p]📢 PDA Vizor presets now remembers user's settings per-preset.[/p]
[p]PDA Vizor lighting and FoV settings are now independent.[/p]
[p]Alt highlight key no longer messes with PDA Vizor's ceiling toggle settings.[/p]
[p]Loading a save with the PowerViz preset enabled now correctly shows power paths.[/p]
[p]📢 Item placement grid no longer obscures item sprite unless the tile below won't fit.[/p]
[p]Ship Broker's drone preview no longer shows stacks of items from the player's other ships.[/p]
[p]One of the bigger bugs fixed here involves ships having their rooms broken, or zones smeared in stripes across the map. It turned out that certain items placed near the edge of the map would pad the map, but saving would remove that padding, invalidating tile indices. This patch addresses that case, and should stop the bug from happening, going forward.[/p][p][/p][p]Note that if your ship was affected by this bug, adding or removing any wall or floor that changes room info will cause a full room recalculation, and repair the rooms. (Zones will still need remaking, though.)[/p][p] The PDA Vizor also got some love, with per-preset setting memory, and detangling the line of sight settings from other highlight and lighting settings. The PowerViz preset should also now render correctly when loading a save file where it was active.[/p][p][/p][p]Users reported having some trouble placing items with the new placement line overlay, particularly if the item was square and obscured by the horizontal lines. This update removes those lines over the item when that item can fit, and they now only appear when it won't fit.[/p][p][/p][p]Finally, the Ship Broker drone preview was fixed so that it won't display stacks of items from the player's ship while viewing other ships for sale.[/p][p][/p][p]As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems![/p][p] [/p][p]Best,[/p][p]Daniel Fedor[/p][p]Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC[/p]
