Updated 50 - Available in Beta Testing Mode (Live in 48 hours)
Hey Everyone,
Over the past couple of weeks we had many new players join Stars End, and with a higher player population we`ve received a lot more feedback. So with out 50th update we focused on fixing, polishing and improving various aspects of Stars End based on player feedback, bug reports and suggestions.
In addition we started work on making other planets in the star system more playable – but this is just the first steps, and we still recommend Beta Prairie as the main planet.
...please keep in mind that our 50th update is now only available in Steam`s beta testing mode (right click on the game, click properties, then beta, then opt in), but we expect it to be fully ready tomorrow or Wednesday.
In our next major update we will be finally introducing new characters with much higher visual fidelity, but first we have one more bug fixing and improving update coming up in a few days.
Thanks for your continuous support, and lets take a look has to offer:
Setting up New Planets
Planet audio added to Caliban planet and Cassius moon
Waypoints, resources, AI and additional fixes on Caliban planet
Underwater rocks added on Cassius moon
Cassius moon ferry landing enhanced and moved to an island
Reworked Brutus planet with terrain fixes and an LOD version added for better orbital views
Updated resources and foliage on Nox moon to use new foliage tech + spotter system
Waypoints created for some Nox moon resources
Fixed falling through Nox moon terrain and on some other players
Fixes and Additions
Fixed various bugs with capturing and holding territories
Reworked background Audio when spotter ability is active
Visual Improvement with LOD shadows
Fixed issues with two AIs being spawned in the same region
Changed how animals spawn on the planets - with less randomness, and more logic
Fixed the camera rendering line showing in the distance when flying in space ships
Fixed grass not appearing correctly in a distance when on a vehicle
When flying above the planet - can now see trees in a very long distance
Greatly increased performance when flying near the ground in a space vehicles
Fixed issues with player rotation in the vehicles breaking with passengers
Fixed atmospheres not showing for other planets while on moons
Fixed various issues with missing vehicles or items
Fixed one vehicle turning into another
Fixed a large number of exploits and inconsistencies with various items and components
Fixed double marker and components appearing in the base
Reworked the Options menu - with new layout, still a bit of polishing left
More various performance improvements with foliage rendering
Fixed terrain sometime glowing during the night on Beta Prairie
Fixed issue with Mechs floating in the air or in space
Crosshoair cursor is now properly scaled based on window resolution.
Crosshoair in the spotter mode appears larger
Spotter navpoints adjusted to scale both text and icons better
Fixed base containers not showing interaction prompt.
/Stuck command to get player unstuck can now be used on players even on the Solo server in the chat
Update 49 - More Optimization & Other Fixes
Hey Everyone,
Today`s update includes a number of important fixes addressing some of the new issues that arose after the last couple of updates.
Once again the main attention has been given to optimization - and looks like the work is finally complete. Keep in mind - there`s a rare bug effecting maybe 1 in 10 players that`s creating extra bad lag, we plan to resolve this asap.
We have also made important steps in optimizing the new grass, completed work on the look of the new water – including underwater effects. Once again - the grass has been fully redesigned, and we are finally happy with the result.
With this update we also fixed a number of exploits and duping issues, as well as looked into various issues with vehicles or connectivity not working right.
The new settlements have also been populated with NPC characters.
Thanks for your continuous support, and you can find full update details on our Steam page.
Fixes and Additions
One more full redesign of grass
Major step in optimization, winning up to 30 FPS on lower end systems
Final design for water - underwater fog and effects
Added NPCs to all the new villages
Fixed a number of bugs with disappearing vehicles
Fixed exploits with duplicating items
Fixed vehicles turning into horse
Corrected text to state Crew instead of clan on makeshift claim placement
Stopped name waypoint cutting out at a 5 meters, now is 0.5 meters
Outlaw waypoint is now marked as a nameplate and will also show in the same way
1 cooked meat now requires 1 raw meat to cook
Fixed issue with repairing and damaging buildings
Volume adjustment some sounds that were too loud - like doors opening and closing
Various performance and stability improvements across the board
Update 48 - New Grass, Water & Optimization
Hey Everyone,
We have another sizable update today, that completes the current optimization projects, as well as finally brings the new grass and water systems. Keep in mind we will still be doing some cosmetic polish and improvements on water and grass over the next week.
This update also fixes some very long standing issues - like bugs with bow breaking and others. We have one more bug fixing update coming by Wednesday, and you can expect to finally get to see new character art in the major update towards end of next week.
For now, lets take a look at today`s update 48:
Fixes and Additions
Greatly increased visual performance in most situations
FPS increased on lower end PC by as much as 30%
New grass system – with brand new visuals for all grass
Grass now renders at a much greater distance
Water completely redesigned – much better performance
Water colour and effects visuals changed
Underwater dark fog disabled for now – to be enabled shortly
Fixed a number of bugs with bow that would cause the bow to break
Added arrow reloading animation to bow after firing
Various change and improvements to how firing bow works, more realistic now
Fixed major issue with large patches of grass randomly appearing and disappearing
Fixed bug with large bodies of water not rendering when flying over them
Fixed navigation points getting stuck on screen even with spotter button disabled
Fixes issues with AI creatures not always showing when playing with other players
Grass shadows not perform better and enabled in Medium to High presets
Completed work on weather and sun cycle values – a more flexible system
On loading into the game world, AI will not rush to attack player right on loading
Reduced audio volume on very annoying airlock door sound
Reduced audio volume on respawn Pod drop
Added Mechs patrooling the roads and villages
Killing NPs now takes more work
NPCs when looted give a lot more items and credits now
Added Mechs protecting all the new villages
Fixed major bug with progress not saved after getting on ferry or nova in the tutorial missions.
Updated 47 - Fixes and Optimization
Hey Everyone,
We have a solid followup update today that fixes various performance and some of the newly introduced crash issues. We also worked
Meanwhile this update includes fixes for other planets like Nox, as well as a new approach to the middle mouse button spotter function that allows to better sort the navigation items by pressing the N key.
Also some exciting news as we have two big updates on the way that we hope to complete over the next 3 weeks.
First of all we are wrapping up work on the big character update. It includes high resolution textures on characters from skin, to hair to clothing and armor. It really helps brings the game`s visuals forward.
Once that update is complete we will also greatly populate the game world with hundreds of new NPCs living their lives in the settlements.
Next up we are adding a new intro prologue sequence - a rework of the old prologue - but much shorter, where player wakes up in stasis in the generation ship on top of Beta Prairie planet and takes either landing capsule or ferry down to the planet.
Thanks for the continuing support guys, and lets take a closer look at today`s update
Fixes and Additions
Created new system of filters for the Spotter navigation function
Added 5 filters for the spotter navigation function
Fixed common crash when traveling the game world (introduced in the last two updates)
Fixed a common freezing up crash when approaching AI creatures
Fixed various issues with AI creatures not appearing or behaving right
Fixed vehicle related crashes when getting into vehicles
Fixed major performance spike when traveling the game world
Improved general performance by several FPS
Improved male walk animations
Fixed player username not being displayed for other players
Reworked the wind system - it now plays more important role with nature environments
Fixed various issues while playing on the Nox planet - like AIs or falling through the ground
Horse jump and jetpack keys are now remappable.
Fixed vehicle not removing from world when picked up using INFO system.
Updated 46 - Reworked Planets, Visuals, New Animals
Hey Everyone,
And we are back with a major update 46. This update nearly completes the full rework of Beta Prairie planet`s level design, complete with dozens of new locations, much better terrain and roads. This milestone finally brings us to the point where we can start copying the tech and locations to other planets and start expanding the gaming world.
This update also includes various visual improvements, and the first part of working on new AI creatures, improve characters and more. We started with updating some of the character animations, and the next step will be fully reworking character art. This update also includes some of the new animals - fox and boar, plenty more new AI is on the way later this month. Finally we looked into fixing various bugs with AI, and fixed a few other bugs.
We are working on another major update due towards November 20th, it will include reworked characters, and new starting sequence that includes waking up in stasis aboard a Titan ship, before being transported to the planets surface.
Here`s a preview of some of the visual and level design updates, as well as the new FPS horse riding mode. Patch notes are bellow.
Fixes and Additions
Completed design of human settlements on Beta Prairie
Reworked the roads all over Beta Prairie with new art
Added a dozen new small hamlets and villages around Beta Prairie
Added road signs, power cables, and a lot more props around Beta Prairie settlements
Added new animals - Fox and Boar to Beta Prairie
Reworked the look of the Beta Prairie Bear
Visual improvements - reworked motion blur
Visual improvements - added dirty lenses camera effect
Visual improvements - improved the rendering of the character not to stand out
New set of walk, run and spring animations for the characters
Riding a horse now possible with FPS camera
It`s easier to escape hostile AI creatures by running away now
Fixed vast number of issues with AI not showing, disappearing, or not working right
Updated 45 - Fixing Crews and AI
Hey Everyone,
We have a smaller update today that comes with some critical fixes. First of all – the crews issues has been resolved. So new players can now form new crews.
We have also done a major rewrite of the AI code, fixing a number of bugs, and adding some improvements.
In addition various collision issues with AI were solved, so you will no longer see them walking in place or going through walls.
And of importance – when crafting, it will now only offer to craft multiple items for resources, and not for bigger items like tools, workstations e.t.c
There are a dozen of other fixes, including polishing Clayton, terrain, polish to nature sound effects, added nature sound effects slider and more.
We`ll follow up with a bigger update next week.
Fixes and Additions
Fixed new crews not creating on some servers
Craftable items that aren't stackable now only set to one at a time when crafting
Fixes for terrain/grass issues in clayton town
AI is now louder when attacking
Improved the look of various particle effect, especially for impact
Fixed AI going through building walls
Fixed AI sometimes walking in one spot
Environment audio slider added to sounds otions
Removed hair on village merchant due to issue
Update 44 - Balancing and Graphics
Hey Everyone,
We have a bigger update today that worked on all areas of the game. First you will notice visual improvements both in FPS and TPS camera (you might need to reset Visual Settings to see the changes in fov). We continued to improve Spotter mode – now allowing more options when cycling resources, and full free camera view when holding MMB while on a horse or a ground vehicle.
We have also reworked how AI works on beta prairie – so you will no longer be facing bears at every corner. This update also fixes a lot of minor issues across the board, especially polishing the early game – making startup quests easier, and less confusing.
Thanks for your continuous support!
Fixes and Additions
Improved how the game looks both in FPS and TPS view (might need to reset visual settings for this to take effect)
Default fov is now 70
Fixed bugs with resources spotter not working right at fov other than 60
New resources spotter spotter controls for all ground vehicles, allows totally free camera
Bears reduced on beta prairie by 40%, trawlers reduced by about half that
Fixed character names not shown when approaching other players
There`s new Resources Only mode for spotter, toggled with N key
Readjusted tree hit points to be a lot less
Metal ruins wont spawn under the ocean anymore
Empty Bottle reduced from 25 credits to 5.
Changes in mission descriptions related to the usage of the Spotter and cooking meat.
Completing the cooking mission will accept both Cooked Meat and Smoked Meat.
Fixed localization system not being able to dynamically show mouse button names
Updated the mission that mentions the usage of the Spotter
Fixed issues with placing fire pit, sleeping bag etc and not being able to pick them up
Update 43 - More Fixes
Hey Everyone,
We are wrapping up the update that`s coming tomorrow evening - here`s a preview for now.
And we are back with another smaller update, as we are looking to fix the last remaining bugs created after our visual and audio update. Today`s update fixes a lot of network problems, especially the issues you must have noticed when riding horses with other players.
The various sliding doors that didn`t work has also been fixed. Spotter function has been improved and cleaned up quite a bit. Aside from a dozen other bugs fixes, by popular demand, we also removed Oraphants from Nox. We will continue with another update towards the Thanksgiving weekend.
Thanks for your continuous support!
Fixes and Additions
Fixed major issues with players seeing weird animations when riding horses together
Various network fixes and improvements to fix issues with players sometimes not seeing each other when in vehicles on horses
Fixed some exploits and errors when picking up vehicles
Fixed all instances of broken automatic doors all other the star system
Corrected doors to al stores in Clayton town not working
Disabled Oraphants spawning on Nox
Scrap Structures renamed to Metal Ruins to match the tutorial and not confuse players
Rework waypoints system to be much cleaner, without showing too much common stuff like sticks and fiber pushes
Player can now see important Waypoints from way longer distance
New Clayton Town waypoint
Fixed spaceport waypoint position
Update 42 - Follow Up & Sale Event
Hey Everyone,
Follow-up Update
We have a minor follow up update today that cleans up things after last weeks major update 41. Today`s update fixes some bugs and improve terrain rendering. We Also worked on fixing the dual bush and dual trees scenarios, as well as fixed issues like consuming multiple stacks of item used. Other fixes resolve spawning plants in the middle of buildings.
We will continue with a larger update next week that we hope will resolve last of remaining issues from the big 41st update. We also plan to more improvements to the new spotter function - thanks for all the feedback
Major Sale Event
To celebrate the major milestone update from last week, we are putting Stars End on it`s biggest sale to-date with 58% off. This is a great time to get into the game, as the world and visuals are finally on the level. Glad to see some new players in-game already!
Myself and other mods will be in-game to help with any issues you might have.
Patch Notes
And so lets take a look at what Update 42 has in store:
Fixes and Additions
Various improvements to the new trees and terrain systems
Trees no longer show inside the buildings
Trees will no longer grow in the middle of roads
Fixed trees sometimes growing in the same spot
Fixed bushes, stone and other objects being in the same spot
Improvements to grass rendering
Fixed consuming stacks items using entire stack of items
Fixed refueling spaceships using several fuels as once
Minable asteroid nav points fixed and show show at longer distance
Fxied some trees flickering due to odd wind animations
Minor performance fixes, still an issue with performance on some AI cards
Major Sale & Update 41 - Visual & Audio Rework
Hey Everyone,
Major Sale Event
To celebrate the major milestone update, we are putting Stars End on it`s biggest sale to-date with 58% off. This is a great time to get into the game, as the world and visuals are finally on the level.
Update 41
We are finally ready to bring you the long awaited update 41. We had a number of a delays - as we kept on adding new features, and also had to spend couple of weeks with this update in beta testing. But finally - it`s ready...
Please keep in mind, that we only had only a few players help us test the beta, and this is our biggest update so far... So we still expect a few issues to pop-up during the next few days. But we`ll be working on the fixes as soon any issues are reported, and expect a couple of follow up updates later this week.
Visual & Audio Rework
The main features of this update is the completely redesigned planet environments. Combined with ability to display hundreds of terrain objects like trees on screen, and better performance, we were able to transform how the game looks, starting from the main Beta Prairie planet. We have also redesigned audio system and reworked how player now locates objects in the world – hold the Middle Mouse Button to discover this feature.
If you play it - please keep in mind that you need to hold middle mouse button to activate spotter ability and see nav points.
And here`s the patch notes for Update 41:
Major New Features
Fully redesigned Beta Prairie planet with new trees, grass, terrain and more
Fully redesigned environmental sound engine with individual sounds from objects
New day, night, weather and rain sound effects
New spotter system – hold Middle Mouse Button to scan for resources and nav points
Resources completely rebalanced for an easier access
New engine terrain features allowing placing large number of terrain objects
New engine features greatly increasing performance
Added new Spotter item system that allows scanning for resources
Updated material used on most buildings on Beta Prairie
Redesigned most building exteriors and interior walls on Beta Prairie
Fixes and Additions
Reworked hand combat – simple left mouse button click now
Reworked melee combat – longer range, hits always land
Can now sneak up on AI creatures, out of line of sight, or by using crouch or prone
AI creatures will stop chasing player if he`s far enough from them
FOV setting max value decreased to 90.
Mining and cutting trees now easier with longer range
Improved the look of the roads with grass going all the way towards the asphalt
Update to main menu news and other sections
Updates to Compass GUI
Fix for land mines not expiring and not removing when destroyed.
Players who disconnect do not get spawned in another player's vehicle.
