Morning, Exofarmers! Work on 1.0 is progressing nicely. We are done with adding the bulk of new content and features, and will spend the remaining time until launch polishing the experience and fixing bugs. That's where we need your help!
We will be holding a beta test for the 1.0 update, where you will be able to try out new features and content. This helps us squash bugs and fine-tune the experience!
What's the purpose of the test?
The main goal of this test is to gather feedback about the game's balance and how progression feels. It's also an opportunity to try out many of the new features coming later this year. At this point of development we're focused on balancing and polishing to make sure the whole journey through the game feels as good as possible.
To put it simply: if you love making deliveries and clearing milestones, if you're an absolute farming freak beast, we need your skills!
We recommend starting a new save for this test to experience the game as intended.
What will be in the test?
This test will include most of the additions, changes, and improvements coming to Lightyear Frontier in the 1.0 update, including:
Delivery menu overhaul and improved progression - Fewer, more meaningful deliveries that are easier to make, with the ability to queue multiple deliveries among other things
Automation changes and improvements - Auto-craft is now possible without Automators! Constructs will now use directly connected storages as their inventory for auto-crafting. Storages now have Outputs, and can now both send and receive items. You can now set filters for Storages to control which items go where. Also, up to 3 recipes can be queued for Auto-craft in Crafting Constructs.
Automators will be removed from progression and you won't be able to build new ones, but existing ones will remain. Pipes are now the key to Auto-craft
New biomes - You can now explore the southern part of the world: the Sandswept Highlands and the Hollow Marsh! That's a 40% increase in world size! (Note that these are late-game areas, so story content will be missing in the beta and not all resources may be relevant at this stage)
New Mech Parts, Tool levels, Mod Chips, and Transform modes - Including the Seed Minigun and Skyblazer flight mode!
Mech customization menu overhaul - A whole new menu and way to upgrade your parts and tools, fewer but stronger individual Mod Chips, and lots of QoL improvements
Crop rotation overhaul - Harvesting Mutated crops gives both Mutated and normal crops, and growth results are previewed when looking at a Mound
Seamless day transitions and dynamic weather - Keep playing from night to morning, with weather changing over time
New milestones
Re-balanced milestones, unlock requirements, crafting costs and more
Map & guidance improvements - Add text when placing stamps, see Animals and Trailers on the Map, scan for resources, see markers for things you need to craft, and more
Various quality of life improvements - Planning Mode for placing holograms without contributing resources, Lola can retrieve lost trailers and caches, etc
Trailblazer changes - You can now transform to the Trailblazer mode while hauling, the Trailblazer's stability is improved, boost can be held, and more
Spike Saw Swing improvement - The Spike Saw now has a sweet back-and-forth swing that improves the feel
Weak Points - Nodes, chunks, logs, and other breakables now have Weak Points that you can target for extra damage
And more!
What won't be in the test?
The test will not include the final missions, milestone, and ending of the game. We want all our players to experience that part of the game at the same time, so you'll have to wait until later this year for those!
When does the test start?
The beta test will be open from 1 September and will run until 29 September. Something real exciting is happening on that final day - keep an eye out for more news as we get closer!
Unlike previous beta tests, this beta test will not transition immediately into the release of the next update. We want to have some extra time in between so we can make any necessary adjustments based on the community's feedback. This means that any save files used in the beta test will be unavailable for some time until 1.0 releases.
How do I participate in the test?
The beta will be available via a branch here on Steam for anyone who owns Lightyear Frontier.
When the beta opens, we will make another post with instructions on how to join!
Should I participate in the test?
If the following applies to you:
You like to try new things, including things that are not explained
You're ready to see work-in-progress stuff
You enjoy experiencing weird glitches
You want to help improve Lightyear Frontier and can give healthy and constructive feedback
You looove finding and reporting bugs, ideally with clear steps on how to reproduce them
You are not scared of crashes or lost progress
Then you should join the beta! If not, you should stick to the main branch and wait until 1.0 is officially released.
If you're the type of player who loves getting lots and lots of resources and making huge deliveries, then this is your time to shine.
You will be interacting with unfinished, work-in-progress features and content. You may encounter errors and bugs and the game may crash.