Patch 1.0.2: gamepad overhaul, finer aiming, a longer tutorial

Space Defender: Frontier Squadron · published · build 25564537

Patch 1.0.2 is out, with a big pass on gamepad play and ship handling, plus a longer tutorial.

Gamepad

  • New button icons (A green, B red, X blue, Y yellow) on menus, prompts, the tutorial, docking and the map.
  • Menus: LB/RB switch tabs and LT/RT switch sub-tabs. The stick no longer jumps to the wrong row, and focus is no longer lost after switching between keyboard and gamepad.
  • Docked shortcuts: Y missions, X trade, LT hangar, RT repair, B take off.
  • Items: X buys or sells, Y equips or removes. Empty slots can be selected to equip something.
  • Fixed: A did not always dock, and the gamepad stopped responding after a progress reset.

Piloting

  • Sharper turns, a gentle brake when you let go, and less sideways drift when you change direction.
  • Heavy hulls now turn with real inertia: a Bastion swings round slowly and eases to a stop, while light fighters stay nimble.
  • Finer aiming on the right stick: small corrections are smoothed, your aim is kept when you release the stick, and the aim assist now slows your aim on a target instead of pulling it.
  • Touch: tap an enemy to lock it, tap it again to release it. The lock lets go when the target leaves the screen, and rocks no longer get locked.

Tutorial & story

  • New "Mining" step: destroy an ore rock and collect its nuggets. The tutorial also covers zoom, the map and the ship menu.
  • Short introductions along the way: Voss lends you a wingman before the Chokepoint, then explains energy, and Ilse Marin introduces research.
  • Priority orders: your ship takes off right away and a marker shows the way. The first missions are shorter.
  • Spaceports now greet you with a short transmission on your first visit.

Interface & world

  • The default HUD is the sober style, 30 % larger. The objective now sits at the top right.
  • A large red AMBUSH banner.
  • NPC ships now fly to their berth instead of teleporting, and miners no longer vanish into stations.
  • Spaceport turrets no longer fire into empty space.
  • Turrets no longer shimmer when zoomed out, and asteroids are brighter.
  • The download is lighter: about 28 MB of unused art has been removed.

The update downloads automatically through Steam, and the demo gets the same changes. Tell us what you think on the forum or on Discord. Good hunting, pilots!