Good evening Commanders, we just released Dev. Build 10. Thanks to everyone for the help in testing and trying out the new features on the preview branch.
As some of you may already know, this build not only introduces many new features but also marks an important milestone for our planned Multiplayer release.
Modules and Stations
- Mortar Turret. Long-range weapon that splits into multiple rockets when close to the target.
- Stable-pivot rotator. Rotator module with a rotating core that enables new designs
- Biominers. When a Bioforge is completed, a swarm of biominers will damage nearby structures and asteroids to generate resources. (WIP)
- 3-to-2 Extender. Converts a three-cube-wide platform into a two-cube-wide section.
- Reduced Crew cost across all armors by 50%.
- Engines now also provide a percentage of their power to all directions.
Maps & Scenery
- Debuted the Training Shipyard map for the new training experience.
- Softened nebula and dust cloud colors and refreshed dust and radiation cloud visualizers to improve battlefield readability.
Gameplay
- Introduced a Training game mode with very easy difficulty, and custom settings to ease new commanders into the controls.
- Increased ray weapons internal hit buffer to reduce cases of ion weapons not shooting through allied shields.
- Removed proximity warp disruptor fields from large asteroids.
- Fighters and corvettes now execute flyby attacks more reliably, including against derelicts, thanks to adjusted disengage behaviour.
- Wreck resources are retained after loading a save.
- When the "Wrecks Contain Research" setting is enabled, salvageable wrecks can contain the research required to construct that module or ship.
- New Starting Resources: "Insane" (starts with 4000 resources).
- Objectives that award resources now have a "Collect Reward" button instead of auto-collecting.
- Research is slightly faster at higher Game Speed settings.
- Concussion Missiles moved to Tier 2.
- Enemy Waves unlock upgrades faster, increasing difficulty especially at higher settings.
- Defense Shields recharge speed reduced by 30%.
- Challenges and wave modes tuned to match intended income and progression.
- Healer drones return to Repair Bay when it is powered off.
- Ray weapons no longer cause friendly fire.
- Hyperspace: more accurate blockage checks.
Units
- Pirate frigates equipped with Hull Rockets.
- Light ships attack behaviour tweaked for a higher hit chance.
Localization
- Added Portuguese, German, and French languages.
User Interface and Settings
- Auto-Save option added with a customizable interval.
- The overlay toggle now controls sensor and cloud range bubbles directly.
- Save and load flows provide clearer confirmation and error messaging, and returning to the main menu no longer resumes gameplay.
- Names and keybind display options cycle through four distinct states.
- Added secondary cargo bar in selection and deck panels.
- Wave counters now update after unit deaths.
- Auto-hide side panels (left/right) with hover-to-reveal; toggle available in UI settings.
- Added Idle Camera: subtle camera idle movement after a few seconds of inactivity.
- Info panel spacing and objective button layout improved; long texts now truncate correctly.
Graphics and Visual Effects
- Radiation status effect added with a new VFX.
- Nebulae and Dust Clouds are now shown on the Tactical Interface as spheres, to better highlight their size and position.
- The explosions have been upgraded, incorporating alternative effects tailored to armor systems.
Audio
- Added new unit responses for dust and radiation clouds, rally interactions, cargo deliveries, trade messages, and support calls.
- Music volume remains stable when leaving scenes, eliminating brief spikes.
Performance and Optimization
- Visibility system optimizations reduce CPU usage on idle units.
- Effects processing moved to a secondary background thread.
- Deferred Call Scheduler introduced to spread heavy tasks across ticks.
- Call-for-help has a smaller impact on combat performance by distributing calls over time.
- Reduced memory footprint across weapon, SFX, and VFX systems.
- Derelict explosions now use batched particles for steadier visuals.
Other Fixes
- Fixed rare save/load issues that could corrupt data or break compatibility with older saves.
- Fixed an issue that made it harder than intended to click on rotator commands.
- Fixed an issue that caused some asteroids to not be selectable.
- Fixed incorrect display of Fusion and Power module buff lines.
- Reduced audio spam by fixing excessive audio clips emitted by some projectiles.
- Proximity Fields no longer prevent warp from inside; destination orientation is always horizontal.
- Control groups stability improvements; fixed cases where units were sometimes lost from control groups.
Known Issues
- Enemy units may stop their attack behaviour while searching for a new target.
- The new Inline-Rotator module may initialize with a wrong initial rotation.
- Biominers are still work in progress, there may be some visual issues.
- When playing on "Locus", the Rally point may have an incorrect rotation.