v18 Update!

INFO: The beta is available if you right click the game -> Properties -> Betas -> Select "beta" in the dropdown menu at the top.

Following a small 2 year gap, we are proud to announce that our newest update is finally upon us, with a brand new PUBLIC Beta!

We are intentionally not launching this to everyone, as we are aware of a few lingering issues. Nevertheless we want to hear what you think! If you find any bugs, you can report them either on our discord along with general feedback (Invite here).

For bugs we are now introducing an in-game Bug Reporter. Simply press F3 and fill in the details to let us know of any issues you find!

Major Changes

• Game has been updated to UE5.3, necessitating an update to the minimum system requirements. DX11 is no longer supported, and will be removed in the full release. You may encounter significant visual deformities if launching with DX11. Please do not report these.
• New sensor system added to Stellar Cartography and Isaac's bridge station. Interact with objects to zoom in and out, or use controls in the keyboard area. Set a course to enable travel via Quantum Drive! Travel time varies based on distance.
• New Mission System! Use Talla's bridge station comms panel to contact Union Central and receive a mission. Complete tasks to win missions, compare yourself to others using Steam Leaderboards, and even earn achievements!
• New shuttle take-off and landing system. Shuttles can now be flown in and out of the bay manually, and can land on the Union Dockyard and some uninhabited planets!
  (Planetscapes are an early version which we’ll expand on in the future)
• Updated the repair system. Many repair panels now require replacement parts to complete the repair. Spares can be found in nearby engineering storage rooms.
• Replaced the previous HUD Map with Hallway Directories on B-J decks for more immersive navigation.
• You can now spawn Krill ships to fight against from the Session Menu.
• New Areas to Explore:
  • Shuttle Maintenance Bay has been added to the aft end of Decks F & G. Here you can repair shuttles or switch them around. You can also transfer shuttles up to the main bay using the consoles in the Shuttlebay Control Room on Deck D.
  • New Aquatics Lab added to the fore end of Decks G & H.
  • New areas added to the Union Dockyard, including lifts and a Shuttlebay.
  • New procedural crew quarters have been added throughout Decks C-G
  • New Life Support Equipment rooms can be found throughout the ship

New Interactive Elements

• Interactive scanners added to Isaac’s Station on the bridge, Shuttle Maintenance on F Deck; Particle Physics & Geo Labs on Deck G; Soil Lab, Botany Bay, Aquatics Lab, and Pathology labs on Deck H; and Astrophysics Lab on K Deck. Setup/Calibrate the system and then use different scanning modes to find patterns. These work standalone, or as part of specific mission tasks.
• Minigames added to Security Chief’s Office on Deck A, Medical Bay and Stellar Cartography on Deck B, Dysonium Injection on Deck G, and Sensor Control Room on Deck H. These work standalone, or as part of specific mission tasks.
• New graphical Damage Control display added at the bridge engineering station. The repair list has been moved down into the keyboard area for better accessibility.
• Added new power mode and repair team secondary inputs to the helm/nav console to make ship’s functions easier to access for single-player use.

Layout Changes

• We’ve done a re-factor of the ship’s corridors to simplify them, better align the ship with canon where we understand it, organize the ship, and improve performance. To make navigation easier, we’ve also simplified the lift network, extending the main lift all the way down to K deck, and minimizing redundant lifts.
• Geo Lab & Particle Physics have been relocated to G Deck along with Dysonium Injection to better utilize the space.

Quarters Customization

• New Class D Quarters Foundation available.
• The quarters customisation library has been expanded by two new categories: Paintings and Bathroom Decor!
• Comm Scanners are now available under the "Desktop Items" category.

UI Improvements

• A new help screen (F1) has been implemented to help players understand how to use the ship’s interactive systems.
• Loading screen tips have been updated.
• Three all new loading screen backgrounds!
• Lift UI has a better look.
• All new Subtitles for the Halloween and Unknown Sector Events.

Fixes and Tweaks

• Added keybinds for Weapon Power Up/Down and Emote Wheel. Removed redundant and obsolete keybinds.
• Added a new backdrop to Character Customization for added immersion.
• Expanded our localization options, and added support for Dutch (30% complete atm)
• Tweaked ship and shuttle flight behaviors.
• Fixed pinsetter, bowling ball behavior, and lane labels in E-Sim for better gameplay (coming soon)
• Bathrooms have an all new look (and there’s less of them now)!
• Doorbells added to some doors.
• Simplified the Halloween event criteria
• Updated the bridge and shuttlebay exterior insets to Season 3 design
• Achievements are achievable once again.
• Adjusted NPC settings to better match ship areas, crew complement, and duty shifts.
• New Music! The brilliant Patrick sets the scene for the Astrophysics lab, the new Aquatics lab, as well as new space locations and planetscapes!

Graphics and Performance

• Updated to DLSS 3.7.20 and added FSR 3.1.1.

We also fixed a lot of issues (over 300 just on our new tracker) but the vast majority have not made it into these patch notes, as we don't want to drag this announcement out. There will also be higher minimum requirements and we will be using beta to figure those out.

We hope you can enjoy this update! We are still hoping to add a Mac version of v18 in the near future, but this initial build won’t include it. Also, please note that E-Sims are unavailable in the initial beta build. We expect these to return later in beta.