This patch was a while coming, but I'm sure when you see everything we've got crammed into it you'll understand why!

The first pass of traders is complete. By using the satellite contact system we added in a previous update you're able to request that traders visit your base to exchange resources. You'll find on your uniform a new slot to store a Credit Card (can be manufactured in the Electronics Printer) that will track your credits obtained via trading. The traders have varied inventories and pricing is based off the materials used to craft items - helped by raw material costs based on the rarity of minerals on your world. You'll need a landing pad and computer with a Communications motherboard in order for them to be able to land. We'll be looking to expand the range of things you can do with these satellite contacts in the future.


The first land-based vehicle can now be manufactured via a Kit (Rover Frame) on your Fabricator. This lets you place the foundations and progress through several build-states before you get your completed Rover. They'll require batteries to run and oxygen tanks if you wish to utilize the internal atmosphere. They also have a couple of storage slots on the rear to carry around Dynamic Crates or Portable Gas Tanks which can be attached using your Wrench from nearby.

So as most of you following the game know, we've spent the last few months investigating several large technical refactors as detailed in previous patch notes. Instead of letting our asset backlog grow even further, the art team were tasked with creating something we could implement with minimal programmer input, outside of the already promised scope of the game, to not only gift to the various contributors that have been particularly dedicated to helping the community, but also to allow those who had asked for a way to further support the game the means to do so.

All those in Discord with the rank Community Developer or Community Contributor should now have been sent their redemption keys for one or both of the new species packs. We'll detail these more below, but while they'll be available in any game, only those with the packs will be able to actually take control as one to play with.


The Zrillian Species Pack introduces the Zrilians, who feature a startlingly similar physiology to our own - except requiring Hydrogen to breathe and exhaling Nitrous-Oxide. This makes their ideal breathing environments particularly hazardous, and any attempt to create a breathable atmosphere for both them and humans even more-so.


The Hazardous Environment Mechanical Droid or H.E.M Droid was created to venture into the most dangerous areas of space without risking human life. They don't need to breathe like we do, but need to carefully manage their power usage as they rely on batteries to function. If unable to draw sufficient power from their battery, they'll slowly lose consciousness until they pass out.

The way Stationeers is designed made these gameplay changes incredibly simple to apply. We were able to just make a copy of the existing human lungs and change the gas values it consumed. For the Droids we were able to use our existing power consumption code, but apply consciousness damage if none was available. We already had the fade to black and passing out done for humans, so got that for free!

We did a pass several long-standing bugs around mod data loading for recipes and items, as well as made all mod data now sync from server to clients on join. This should reduce instances of issues caused by server and client having mismatched mods or mod load orders.

As always, we like to include a bit of information about what is being worked on but didn't make it this update. Work continues on the session abstraction, meaning a game lobby will be able to exist independently of the game world. This will smooth the way towards round-based play, as well as other game modes that take place across multiple worlds with the same players/inventories. We're also looking at a large optimization pass on terrain saving/loading to prevent the issue we've currently got where spawning in a lot of terrain can blow out your save size significantly. In addition to this we'll continue to evolve the Rover and trading mechanics, and start looking at expanding some systems that were put on hold so that we could focus on the recent technical refactors - like the incident and expanded scenario system. No doubt this time will also include numerous optimizations and quality of life improvements based on the feedback we receive on Discord.

Last but not least, the potential replacement for the existing tutorial is available for testing on the workshop! We're committed to improving the new player experience in the game, so as soon as we have the last few bugs squashed on this one we'll make it available to everyone.

• Fixed missing recipes for Satellite Dish Kit, Landing Pad Kit and Comms Motherboard.
  
• Fixed DLC characters not appearing for players that haven't purchased the DLC.
  
• Changed some of the trader names due to readability issues.
  
• Updated the LandingPads turned off animation.
  
• Fixed robot main menu characters eyes floating about. (Thanks GhostMan)
  
• Fixed world setting data sync and mod issue. It didn't override world setting data(SkyBoxMaterialName, TerrainPrefabName, etc) from mod or saved world.
  
• Updated Localized Text (Current 14th June).

• Fixed issue causing many object textures to appear incorrectly.

• Added first-pass of resource trading. There is a chance one of the signals will be a trader when you first contact them if you have a powered landing pad connected to the same network as the computer with the Comms motherboard, they'll be able to request to land. Your inventory is calculated from the contents of any vending machines on the same network as the computer, and this is where goods will be delivered to. See future patch notes for more details.
  
• Added Rover to survival mode. Recipe for the 'Kit (Rover Frame)' can be found in the Fabricator. You'll then need to go through several build stages before it turns into a functional Rover.
  
• Added storage connections to the rear of the Rover. You can now load up both storage slots with either a Dynamic Crate or Dynamic Gas Canister using your wrench.
  
• Added credit card slot to both the Marine and Commander uniform alongside a new Slot icon addition.
  
• Added two logic values for Satellite Dish. Strongest Signal which is pretty self explanatory, and SignalID which is a unique ID applied to each contact.
  
• Added a credit card item which can be made through the Electronics printer to handle currency.
  
• Added a new slot to the uniform to hold your shiny new credit card.
  
• Added Debug Key to help capture data for bug reports. Left CTRL + G will now print out the targeted items grid coordinates to the in game console window and the games output_log.txt.
  
• Added World settings, modded items and recipe data now properly sync to clients when joining a server.
  
  
• Fixed Debug tool for grid locations now performs a null check and added small grid coordinates if available.
  
• Fixed Rover now ejects its contents if it is destroyed.
  
• Fixed input panel popping up on client when server accesses hash reader. (Thanks spunky)
  
• Fixed only the Fertilized variant of eggs was spawnable via the creative menu and appeared in the Stationpedia. [Thanks Austin]
  
• Fixed issue where loading mod data for some items would break their functionality elsewhere in the game, ie. when being smelted. [thanks Risu]
  
• Fixed null reference exception when the game tried to select a default recipe of Fabricator before fully spawned character on creating or loading a world.
  
• Fixed mouse not appearing upon interacting with landing pad.
  
• Fixed Modding recipies for the Fabricator. It didn't update screen job correctly.
  
• Fixed Consumable and Food mod data. It didn't update mod data properly.
  
• Fixed Loading issue when modified specific item in mod. It threw null exception while loading Stationpedia.
  
• Fixed Loading issue on dedicated server. Game data wasn't initializing properly.
  
• Fixed Reagents recipe bug. It didn't correctly initialize pressure and temperature values.
  
• Fixed Config cartridge values. It now returns 3 fractional digits.
  
• Fixed headlamp not using power.
  
• Fixed missing world data loading step for Centrifuge recipes. [thanks Risu]
  
• Fixed signals not being read correctly from logic reader.
  
• Fixed contacts spawning outside of scannable range on planets.
  
• Fixed credit card visual display not refreshing after purchases (Thank you for your feedback everyone!).
  
• Fixed SatelliteDish out of range spam.
  
• Fixed incorrect consumable displaying in trading interface.
  
• Fixed world loading failure when there are more than 5 worlds setting and fixed mining effect in Europa, where the wrong mining effect was being used.
  
• Fixed localized text in mods.
  
• Fixed broken Atmosphere when mining. It would sometimes throw an "Argument is out of range" exception and crash the atmospherics thread.
  
• Fixed long-standing issue preventing the proper display of bedrock textures when deep mining.
  
• Fixed display issue with the main menu characters eyes when idly looking around.

Our second patch for the week closely follows the pattern of the first. This might otherwise be a hotfix if it weren't for the impromptu addition of another new piece of kit, the new Heavy Mining Drill! We've also replaced the model on the old one.



We've also put in a couple of overlooked aspects of the Arc Welder added in the last update, namely the recipe required to craft one.

This will (hopefully) be the last couple of urgent fixes required for the main branch until we officially release the next major features to the game, so keep an eye on the beta branch and the news page for an announcement in the next few weeks!

• Added particle effect to new Arc Welder.
  
• Added Mining Drill (Heavy). Much more effective than basic mining drill but requires advanced materials to make and uses more energy.
  
• Replaced Mining Drill with new model that looks more consistent. Also is now paintable. Animation improved.
  
  
• Fixed issue with helmet being visible in first-person view after exiting any entity slot, such as a Chair, Sleeper pod or Rover.
  
• Fixed repeating error when attempting to smelt an item (eg. in the furnace) that has no reagent mixture defined.
  
• Fixed Arc Welder not using power correctly. Now consumes 2kW per weld, which equates to roughly 72 full frames per large battery.
  
• Fixed missing Mode interaction button on both old and new mining drills preventing players from selecting 'Flatten' mode.

Another little patch this week, which would typically be a hotfix post if not for the sneaky little addition of the Arc Welder. It'll take a lot of power, but is significantly less prone to exploding. You'll still have plenty of time to explode though, as the materials to craft this won't be available to you until you've been able to smelt some of the more advanced alloys.

The most impactful bug we're patching is one where eating something will result in you hearing yourself eating that thing forever, even after loading a new world - and nobody likes a loud eater. Sorry for this one, and doubly sorry it took so long to get the fix across to the main branch!

Work continues on the Rover and Trading features planned to be live on beta in the very near future, with the Rover just getting an audio pass and some tweaks on some extra features besides just personnel transport. You're able to take the Rover for a spin already if you wish, it can be spawned in creative mode. Keep in mind this is still very much in testing though, so let us know in Discord if you encounter any bugs.

• Added Arc Welding tool. This is a welding tool that uses power, rather than fuel, to weld. Useful for late game. Requires advanced resources, constructed from Tool Manufactory.
  
• Updated Localization Files (Current 14th May).
  
• Added event so that scenario authors can trigger events based on suit temperature changes.
  
• Added event so that scenario authors can set entity nutrition levels.
  
  
• Fixed null reference exception when displaying tooltip over a structure while holding non-item thing in your hands.
  
• Fixed Error caused when the game couldn't find a player to attach a 'harvested' sound to (in the case of Automated Hydroponics etc). [thanks Eearslya]
  
• Fixed Error on Dedicated Server when it tries to process its own notice message due to not having the same type of chat window as clients. [thanks Eearslya]
  
• Fixed stuck in loading screen when there is a duplicated recipe in ChemistryStation, Microwave, PaintMixer, ReagentProcessor.
  
• Fixed incorrect interaction cursor. It displayed wrong interaction cursor when picking up an item into an empty hand.
  
• Fixed hidden slots items [Thanks Risu]
  
• Fixed null reference exception when reloading world mod on workshop. It didn't clear cached data.
  
• Fixed client unable to destroy with Authoring tool fix.
  

Just a mini-update this week, we're back working on some big features. We'll save a big write-up of these for when they're fully released but a large portion of the implementation is already done, so don't expect they'll be too far away.


Your customized character can now be set on the options screen and will now be your default for any new worlds you create or join. The menu character will now also reflect these options.

You can now destroy draggable items, for those of you sick of excess crates and dynamic canisters cluttering up your little corner of Mars. This is as simple as just targeting them with an Angle Grinder equipped. Any objects contained within the destroyed item will appear in-world, and any gas remaining inside will be released when you cut into it - so be careful as a destroying a pressurized tank will be very dangerous.

A much-requested feature of the authoring tool was the ability to remove objects quickly and completely, without extra cleanup of loose dynamic items being required. You can now do this with the tool wielded by holding down your QuantityModifier key which is C by default.

These features are still being fully implemented and tested, but to give you a bit of an idea what to expect in our next big update - here:

• Added the ability to see your customized character in the main menu screen.
  
• Added the ability to deconstruct various portable atmospheric devices using the angle grinder.
  
• Added the ability to delete items and structures using the authoring tool. Delete Structures with Authoring tool by holding down the QuantityModifier key (C by default).
  
• Updated Localization Files (Current 17th April)
  
• Improved Destruction of large dynamic items with the Angle Grinder. Now applies to all draggable things, not just atmospheric devices. Also now properly ejects the contents of all slots and atmospheres when deconstructed.
  
  
• Fixed issue where chute junctions placed directly next to device inputs/outputs would not always 'connect' correctly through save/load. [thanks Risu & Zaneo]
  
• Fixed slot numbering on Battery Charger. [thanks Austin]
  
• Fixed interactable order caused by yesterdays slot number fix on Dynamic Crates. [thanks Rob The Dude]
  
• Fixed issue with DynamicCrate slot ordering. [thanks Sharidan]
  
• Fixed double brown hair issue & not being able to change hair colour without hair.
  
• Fixed authoring tool deletion; you must now hold the modifier key to delete anything, also increased the time it takes to delete from 0.1 seconds to 0.5 seconds.
  
• Fixed facial hair is now displayed on the main menu character.
  
• Fixed bug preventing automatic rotation button from automatically setting values for objects with a single rotation plane that aren't face mounted.
  
• Fixed automatic rotation on FlagSmall.
  
• Fixed atmosphere being released when destroying gas canisters with authoring tool.
  
• Fixed typo in description of bdseal and bdnsal [thanks Andir]
  
• Fixed bug that set IC stack pointer value to 0 on load regardless of what it was when saved.
  
• Fixed Inability to unwrench gas canisters from connectors.
  
• Fixed 'InvalidCastException' when targeting certain objects.
  
• Fixed Object fall-through-world protection. Made more reliable and now removes any forces applied on the falling object in an attempt to prevent any more 'accidents'.
  
• Fixed sleep command on IC only working first time it was called.

Still working through the big-ticket technical backlog, but as usual we have a bunch of fixes and your requests that are worth getting into the stable branch. We're also going to endeavour to keep the 'what we're working on' section of these notes going every patch, to more clearly illustrate that what you see in these patch notes every few weeks is not the totality of what has been done since the last update.

We've added the ability to search for recipes in manufacturing machines. For the IC programmers, we've also added a sleep command. They're small things, but many of you have been very passionately requesting them so we hope you enjoy it.

The first of many audio improvements have taken place in the last couple of weeks with the addition of a new team member dedicated to audio. In addition to bringing across some audio functionality from another project at the studio, we've been able to start looking at some of the most noticeable holes in what you hear while playing the game. We'll be experimenting with a lot of the systems and sound, so give us your feedback and keep in mind that it'll be a continually evolving thing as development continues.

Work continues on the new tutorial, and we'll look at getting this up on the workshop in the next week as well as making available the documentation for authoring your own tutorials or scenarios. Once it has been thoroughly tested, we'll look at introducing it in the beta branch. As this will ideally be a brand new replacement tutorial, we need to ensure it is a bug-free and comprehensive introduction to the game before it makes it to people playing for the first time.

Some of these have been posted in past patch notes, but rather than regularly field questions about it in Discord and on Reddit, we'll try post more regular updates for works-in-progress here.

Session Abstraction
We're working on a lobby system to break up the multiplayer and the game world. This will allow players to join a game before the world is created. The next step will be the preserve this lobby/player data even while cleaning up the world, then once we support being able to transition into a new one with the same set of people then round-based play is just around the corner.

Optimization
While we're trying to leave the bulk of optimization until more of the core features are into the game, occasionally certain things stand-out as being strong candidates for optimization. We've identified a couple of these in the last week or two, so it's too soon to speculate on how impactful they'll be - keep an eye out on the beta branch patch notes.

Audio
As mentioned above, the team now has a dedicated audio tech/programmer! The focus in the immediate future will be sounds local to the character (ie. suit noises), with additional movement sounds to go with the just-added footstep ones.

• Fixed various side effects of refactoring.

• Fixed several missing references to NitrousOxide in tooltips etc. [Credit: Risu]
  
• Fixed issue where randomize on the Character Customization screen allowed invalid selections, which if retained would prevent save games with that character from loading correctly.

• Added the ability to search when using various printers.
  
• Added sleep command to IC that pauses execution for the supplied number of seconds.
  
• Added new audio pipeline allowing greater control and supporting simpler addition of new audio assets to the game.
  
• Added first pass on footstep sounds.
  
• Added ability to include custom translations to mods, not just scenarios.
  
• Updated all prefabs that play sound as part of new audio manager.
  
• Updated Suit audio parented to local player are now 2d.
  
• Updated Localization Files (Current 19th March).
  
• Removed audio-sources form prefabs that shouldn't have them.
  
• Fixed Duplicated entries in the IC Code entry help windows.
  
• Fixed bug where IMergeable structures could be used to change ones already flagged as indestructable.
  
• Fixed null reference exception that could be caused by exploded gas canisters.
  
• Fixed broken AtmosAnalyser when accessed to already destroyed atmosphere.
  
• Fixed issue where nutrition was not being consumed, leading to hunger never increasing.
  
• Fixed issue where the printer search bar text was not resetting.
  
• Fixed bug when items leaving Sorter could get stuck when items were already in chute (props to Risu and Kamuchi)
  
• Fixed error that could occur on ListenerEffectManager when loading some Steam Workshop saves.
  
• Fixed AudioSources that are not playing are disabled.
  
• Fixed Missing font causing fabricator construction list entry titles and quantities not being displayed.
  
• Fixed error when attempting to change objects that are in the process of being destroyed since engine upgrade.
  
• Fixed remote control save command. It failed to save world.
  
• Fixed bug that would cause some structures to lock when accepting stuff from chute
  
• Fixed an issue where Hunger critical was playing at the wrong time
  
• Fixed ReadByte out of range error when receiving atmospheres from server.
  
• Fixed bug with IC Library containing 'ghost' entries at the top for missing library entries, with buttons that weren't clickable.
  
• Fixed bug preventing aliases from highlighting correctly.
  
• Fixed bug that allowed pipes/cables to be placed inside objects.
  
• Fixed fabricator recipe selection dropdown entries only displaying thumbnails without labels due to font change resulting in size value being incorrect.
  
• Fixed issue with text not appearing on the manufacturing computer due to an invalid font being specified.
  
• Fixed Fabricator bug that could cause it to lock if it export chute weren't clear.
  
• Fixed issue with character hair occasionally not loading correctly. [Thanks Tassyr]
  
• Fixed if a player changed their identity in game, after death they would revert to their old identity.
  
• Fixed volume not being applied correctly to speakers when loading a save due to move to new audio system.
  
• Fixed bug that made merging on some cable arrangements difficult.
  
• Fixed human being unable to respawn if completely dead.
  
• Fixed if you fall below the world you will now be teleported to the surface again.
  
  
  

Another bunch of fixes this update, with a couple of quality-of-life improvements for multiplayer and cable/pipe placement - but a lot of progress on some of the slow-burn features we've been working on for a few months.

Rather than having to remove pipes and cables to add additional connections, you can now place cables/pipes on top of each other at which point they'll merge into their larger variant with more connections. No removal required! You will, however, be required to have the normal removal tool in your off-hand - so in the case of pipes, you'll need to have a pipe kit in your active hand and a wrench in the other.

Some players have issues in multiplayer with port-forwarding and connecting to Steam Matchmaking servers. You can now host a multiplayer game using Peer-to-Peer instead, joinable either directly by IP address on the server list, or by joining off your Steam friends list.

Many improvements were made to the save process, with it now running in a separate thread. This means there will be no game 'freeze' whenever an autosave happens, but it'll still be processing the save data in the background. There will be an indicator on screen to tell you that an autosave is taking place, and you'll be unable to quit the game at this time. There will also be an audible tone when an autosave begins.

A sneak peek at the items that will be coming to the beta branch in the next week or two:

Recipe List Filtering
We're adding a search box to the top of the recipe selection window on construction machines, helping you find what you're looking for a bit easier.

New Tutorial
We have a rewritten tutorial that includes previously overlooked aspects of the game, like Mining, constructing an airlock from scratch, using access control, setting up solar power, status updates and more. This included a lot of foundation work on the system used to create these, so it'll be much easier for us to make additional tutorials on subjects like smelting, hydroponics, more advanced logic automation etc.

Client/Server Recipe Synchronization
Instead of the server assuming that the client uses the same recipes, they will now be sync'd to the client when they connect. This will allow for better mod support for multiplayer games, and reduce the likelihood of issues arising when clients are using different languages to the server.

• Added support for alternative custom voice collections (Status Voices)
  
• Added FX sounds when auto-saving
  
• Added Priority option to Existing Audio System.
  
• Added description of lr command on ProgrammableChip.
  
• Added Cables and Pipes will be merged when placed with any existing one in cell if deconstruct tool in offhand.
  
• Added save path to settings. A few player have troubles to save world in "My Documents" folder. Once you change it, it can't be uploaded to steam cloud. You need to copy your save files to other pc manually.
  
• Added Steam P2P which allows to play with your friends under NAT or VPN. There is an option in setting > Muliplay > Enable P2PHost. Once it's enabled, "Advertise Server" option is disabled. Steam P2P isn't compatible with it. You can join friend's P2P host through "Join Game" on steam overlay.
  
  
• Optimized memory usage when saving world.
  
• Improved Audio Fidelity on Helmet Open/Close.
  
• Improved saving world performance. It indicates saving message at the bottom right corner and can't leave session while saving.
  
• Removed ability to paint LED Light.
  
  
• Fixed bug that caused arc furnace to output unpredictable substances and quantities.
  
• Fixed missing syntax highlighting for lr and define commands on IC.
  
• Fixed bug that prevented logic from telling the arc furnace to print when new ore of same type entered input slot.
  
• Fixed bug that caused BatteryCellCharger to bring down power network.
  
• Fixed Incorrect value on Max distance causing Powered Sound to Play Everywhere.
  
• Fixed P2P connecting problem when it's already in game. It couldn't connect to P2P Host.
  
• Fixed total thing counts in loading screen. It was always 0.
  
• Fixed batteries in BatteryCellCharger no longer charge one at a time.
  
• Fixed BatteryCellCharger no longer wastes power if more than one battery placed requires charging.
  
• Fixed bug that prevented cables being placed immediately next to ChuteBin.
  
• Fixed null referenced exceptions in Human. Dead player's head animator wasn't set for new connected player.
  
• Fixed bug preventing cables, heavy cables and pipes from being placed in authoring mode.
  
• Fixed LED when placed from painted ItemWallLight kit will now always be white.
  
• Fixed couldn't set LED colour from Logic devices.
  
• Fixed bug allowing heavy cables to be merged into normal cables and vice versa.
  
• Fixed bug preventing painting Pipe Kit.
  
• Fixed an issue where you were unable to continue building some structures after a certain point.
  
• Fixed unexpected error message when player respawns after starting to decay. It respawned twice and accessed to uninitialized data.
  
• Fixed connection problem in password P2PHost. It failed to connect to P2PHost after input password.
  
• Fixed unable to save world when chick npc is spawned. It threw null reference exception.
  
• Fixed bug in which ladder end wouldn't return kit on deconstruction.
  
• Fixed unexpected error log when connect to dedicated server("Spawn scene object not found for 1"). It's side effect of Steam P2PHost.
  
• Fixed bug that prevented placed LED from being painted.
  
• Fixed bug preventing displaying of some Polish special characters.
  
• Fixed null references in HydroponicsAutomated. It tried to harvest potato on game client. Automated harvest is available only on host or dedicated server.
  
• Fixed broken Programmable ChipMotherboard when input enter before click it. It wasn't initialized properly.
  
• Fixed wrong access to GasDisplay. It often happened when removed device from Motherboards.
  
• Fixed wrong access to color swatch. The index was wrong and broke game logic when loading world.
  
• Fixed broken graphics when saving world over read-only attribute files. It forces to remove read-only attributes world save files.
  
• Fixed null reference when closing character creation panel in settings.
  
  
  

Everyone is back on the ground after the holidays, and work continues on the major pieces of work we mentioned toward the end of last year - with a couple of additions. As always, we've included a smaller fixes and changes.


Peer-to-peer Multiplayer
We're in the process of refactoring some of the multiplayer code to support peer-to-peer networking, which should prevent many of the issues people were seeing with port forwarding and make the multiplayer system easier for us to work with. This should be available on the beta branch tomorrow.

Pipe & Cable Placement Improvements
We're also adding a quality-of-life feature based on a very old suggestion from Discord - you'll no longer need to remove cables or pipes to add additional connections. eg. A straight cable can be turned into a T junction with the addition of a corner piece, instead of having to remove it and replace it with the variant you want.

Scenario and Incident Expansion
It's not noted in the patch notes below, but there has been a lot of new functionality added to the XML-authored scenario tool-set, allowing scenario authors to create objectives based on the state of an interactable (open a door, close a chest, turn on a machine), pipe pressure, death of an entity, mine a certain number of voxel chunks and many more. We've also introduced EventActions which occur at the beginning and end of a mission stage, this allows mission authors to directly affect the world by spawning in objects, changing object states etc. While these will be available to everyone who wants to author scenarios, we're primarily adding them for use in an expanded tutorial system in the works.

All of this functionality has also been added to the incident system, which is used to script random events that will be added to the game once we've authored some and figured out a nice way to notify the player that they're taking place!

Patch note title image credit goes to UhOhPolio and their creative use of the various cosmetic cladding options available to create this stylish workshop.

• Added a LogicType ForceWrite that, if set to a value above 0, will trigger any LogicWriter to resend its current value.
  
• Added Opacity Toggle Button to the IC Code input window to toggle the transparent background. You'll find it at the top to the left of the help buttons.
  
• Fixed Error message spam when trying to complete a mission with an atmosphere-related objective (such as the hydroponics one in the Mars mission) due to no support for playing UI audio outside the main thread.
  
• Added LogicType and LogicSlotType descriptions to localization system.
  
• Added descriptions for PrefabHash.
  
• Added ability to retrieve object's (and slot object's) PrefabHash.
  
• Added sounds to warn you of appearance of new critical and warning states.
  
• Improved home/end/delete/backspace key behaviour in IC IDE.
  
• Improved voxel generating logics. Generating voxel close to object first.
  
• Changed LogicWriterSwitch saving so that it successfully loads the older version of saves.
  
• Changed side of Sleeper player gets out of from base to side with on/off button.
  
• Optimized terrain generation to reduce stuttering when generating a large number of chunks.
  
• Optimized camera filter effects so that it uses less memory and CPU.
  
• Reduced volume of menu music file to bring it back to the level it's supposed to be at (a recent prior update had removed a volume reduction at some other stage in the chain).
  
• Changed Lists in the Stationpedia from paragraphs to one entry per line for clarity.
  
• Moved the Randomize button in Appearance menu so it doesn't jump around when turning on and off Facial Hair options
  
  
• Fixed tooltip comment on LogicWriterSwitch switch.
  
• Fixed Issue causing the Escape From Mars mission to skip the plant growth task, due to a missing check to ensure a plant had actually grown before seeing if it had grown enough.
  
• Fixed setting ForceWrite on LogicWriters caused a write even if they were turned off.
  
• Fixed setting ForceWrite multiple times within a single tick would cause the value to be written multiple times within a single tick.
  
• Fixed bug preventing ChuteBin from locking.
  
• Fixed Logic Writer devices now no longer resend values on load.
  
• Fixed Jetpack on/off state not persisting through save/load.
  
• Fixed the moving item slot sound from playing to everyone, is now playing locally.
  
• Fixed Bug where when loading settings, if the settings.xml file was present, but empty, it would still attempt to load utilize the contents causing errors. Now if the settings file cannot be loaded completely without errors the game will not attempt to use it.
  
• Fixed issue where jetpack is invisible after dropping it from your InventorySlot.
  
• Fixed player being able to pass through glass top of Sleeper.
  
• Fixed player sometimes colliding with Sleeper when exiting.
  
• Fixed bug that allowed frames to be built over dynamic crates.
  
• Fixed issue where status' sometimes failed to redisplay upon opening a new world.
  
• Fixed notification sounds spamming on game start.
  
• Fixed corpses and unconscious players no longer blink.
  
• Fixed memory leak when initializing game.
  
• Fixed Music Volume slider not setting the volume correctly.
  
• Fixed an issue with UI button hovering sound conflicting with itself.
  
• Fixed Issue with the models for some paint cans not being correctly colored.
  
• Fixed the sound channel displayed in the Audio settings.
  
• Fixed broken button animation for Appearance in Settings
  
• Updated Localization Files (Current 21st Jan)

This time last year we were just coming off the back of Early Access release, so where the last post took a look at where we were going, in this one I'd like to take a look at where we've come from.

Here's a summary of the major additions to the game while we've been in early access in the last 12 months. It's hard to even imagine the game without world atmospheres or the logic chip system now, so I can't wait to see what this list looks like at the end of 2019!

• Logic System (followed 6 months later by the programmable IC's)
  
• World Atmospheres
  
• Mars, Europa and systems for planet Variation (day/night temperature curve, solar strength etc)
  
• Hunger Mechanics
  
• Third-person camera
  
• Workshop support for mods and IC code.
  
• Stationpedia
  
• Scenario System
  
• UI Refresh accross the board (menus, server browser, mouse UI, recipe selection, text entry for labeller etc)
  
• Content (Plants, cosmetic cladding, wall types, weapons, planets, clothing/gear, structures)
  
• Massive performance optimizations for terrain, and stuttering in general (with more to come)
  
• And much more...

While many of these were things we had already envisioned, one thing we didn't count on was the massive level of support we've received from the community over the year. Stationeers is a challenging game, and teaching people how to interact with all the various systems will be an ongoing battle. The tutorial is on its 4th major iteration and certainly not the last, with a more fleshed-out tutorial campaign being planned for the new year. Personally, the thing I've found most endearing about the community is their willingness to answer questions on Discord, Reddit or the Steam Community board - but this is supplemented by a massive library of tutorials on Youtube. Add to this the team of dedicated individuals providing translations for the game in 14 different languages and thanks to everyones combined efforts the game is accessible to audiences it otherwise wouldn't be.

We would like to take a moment to acknowledge the outstanding work of one particular individual - Discord user Dragon, who took it upon themselves to configure a tool for localization tracking and support. This has provided a useful interface to track localization efforts of the game, giving volunteers a one-stop-shop for translating various pieces of Text from Stationeers into one of the 14 languages currently supported. This work would of course be all for naught if it weren't for the assistance of our dedicated translators. This is not a complete list, just those currently signed up to the tool and those responsible for some of the more recent submissions through the old Discord-based system. Apologies to anyone we've missed!

• Dragon
  
• EmreAdv
  
• AstralWalker
  
• DemonCZ
  
• Croco
  
• Mekko
  
• socramazibi
  
• semTex.
  
• ShiaNox
  
• Dax
  
• STD
  
• Harpi
  
• lill
  
• Spiike
  
• vikjITA
  
• Mustard
  
• Daedalusxxx
  
• comel11
  
• -Ulitka-
  
• organiq
  
• Bonbon_kocher
  
• Von Meister
  
• samuelcseto
  
• TFlippy
  
• YuanYu
  
• DinhoBRJ
  
• Pip

And while on the subject of foreign-language support - A special shout-out is in order for the community of the Unofficial Stationeers French-Language Discord Server and to Tioris (Psi) who sent us this save showing his base ready for the holiday season.



On that note, the studio will be closed for the next few weeks, so we'll see you back in mid-January re-energized and ready to kick off another year of Stationeers development!

• Added logic type support for Pressure, Quantity, Temperature, RatioCarbonDioxide, RatioNitrogen, RationOxygen, RationPollutant, RatioVolatiles, RationWater, and RationNitrousOxide to TankLarge and TankSmall (reporter's credit to SunRazor)
  
• Added a field to display your current system speaker mode found in the settings menu, under Audio.
  
• Added UI audio feedback when moving an item to a hand slot.
  
• Added Voice notifications now play once when enabled in the Audio Settings menu.
  
• Updated Localized Text Dictionaries. (Current 10th December)
  
• Fixed the MainMenu music still playing quietly even when the volume was set to 0.
  
• Fixed command descriptions for the *al commands on the programmable chip.
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented clients from selecting backwards on logic chips
  
• Fixed Autosave running even on multiplayer clients if autosave settings were changed after you connected.
  
• Fixed bug of players getting stuck on LadderEnd when trying to descend
  
• Fixed un-localized text field in tutorial on powering your spacesuit stage.
  
• Fixed bug that prevented players passing through the gap in the Ladder Platform
  
• Fixed plants yielding between 2 and HarvestYield+1 depending on how they were harvested
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed the player to have a fully grown plant in their hand
  
• Fixed bug in which player getting out of chair would be instantly killed.
  
• Fixed bug which allowed players getting off the top of ladders to clip through objects
  
• Fixed bug that was causing setting input on logic batch writer to freeze game.
  
• Fixed NullReferenceException error on Dedicated servers when trying to play some of the new slot interaction UI audio elements.
  
• Fixed some of the IC chip instruction descriptions (reporters credit to EinBerliner)
  
• Fixed added Plastic Sheets to first locker you find in the Escape From Mars scenario, as the recent addition of manufacturing machine build states had made it unintentionally challenging to progress without them.
  
• Fixed issue with Tutorial caused by a change in how chairs are placed resulting in required suit filter being impossible to pick up.
  
• Tweaked the look of the Tutorial panel to match the new look of the IC Editor help windows

Trying something a bit new this week. Normally we structure patches around one-or-two significant new features that have been added to the game. Unfortunately nothing is quite ready to release, but we do have a large number of small improvements, bug fixes and quality of life additions that I think everyone playing on the stable branch will appreciate. So here they are!


We're going through adding functionality to what you can already do with the Communications Motherboard. This is mostly based around finding storage devices on the same data network and collating their contents. This will determine which items are available to trade. The means to transfer goods between yourself and the trade vessel will be pretty 'magical' to start with, but the shuttle landing process will be added after that.


At this point of development it becomes clear what big packages of existing work needs to be reconsidered, because you get a better idea of what is fun in the game, where your performance problems are, and what is actually realistic to achieve. We've identified four key areas that we need to redevelop and are starting work to finish these off. Once these are done, we will have the broad platform in place for the complete game - and then just need to focus on the stuff around it.

Remember these are only intended plans and we go into them considering if they are possible. Where they're not, we will have to change and adapt, dropping what we can't do or what isn't fun. Don't consider these absolutes!

Zero-point Shifting

Our game engine (Unity), like nearly all others, uses "float" precision for "vectors" - vectors are used to position things in the game world. This means that each "number" in the position (x,y,z) has a fixed number of bits in which it can be stored. For a float that number of bits is 32. Each number in the position is effectively stored as two values: the "significand" and the "exponent". The significand store the significant digits of the number up to a fixed amount, and the exponent stores the order of magnitude of the number, also up to a fixed amount. In a float these fixed amounts are 23 and 8 bits respectively. Because a high value of the exponent results in the gap between numbers that the computer can represent becoming larger, the further the number is from zero the less absolute precision it has. The practical result of this is the as you get further from the origin (0,0,0) the physics objects start "shaking" because you don't have enough precision for smooth movement.

The solution to this is to abstract the "meta" position of the object (i.e. the position of it in the game universe) from the "rendered" position of the object (i.e. the position of the object in the game scene). This means when the player gets a certain distance from the origin we move the character back to the origin and adjust the position of everything else so those things keep the same position relative to the player.

In essence, it's a pretty simply thing to do. In practice, because position is handled nearly everywhere, it's quite laborious and fraught with bugs to implement.

What does this allow us to do? This allows us to offer much, much bigger worlds to the players. Allowing them to explore beyond the current limit before things break, which is 5km³. We need this for vehicles such as rovers, drones, air vessels, etc...

Multiplayer Netcode / Object Virtualization

The game sends a lot of data to clients. We're using the early unity version of UNET for networking, with a mix of high level and low level network messaging. Sometimes we have our own serialization of network messages and sometimes we use Unity's helpers to have it do the heavy lifting. This means we have a lot of memory turnover (garbage) and cleaning this up is what causes game stutter every few seconds. Network messages aren't the only source of this, but they're a major contributor. Even when playing alone the game runs as a server and sends messages to itself, so it still contributes to the problem when playing alone.

Unity is releasing a new network package soon, and we'll be evaluating whether to use that, or to abstract out objects completely. This means that, like the zero point shifting above, we might have game objects existing "virtually" in a universe sense as pure data constructs, and only turn them into "game" objects when we need to render them. This means we can have a "pool" of such objects and when we need to draw one, we simply apply the "virtual" objects details to it and plop it in world. This would give tremendous performance improvements, both in memory and in CPU. The result would be quite remarkable. But it's worth considering this is, in fact, a huge amount of work and quite risky.

We can't 100% commit to which option we choose, but at the very least some level of multiplayer refactoring will occur.

What does this allow us to to? Potentially tremendous performance improvement, not just for multiplayer but also for single player if game objects are virtualized. This means better frame rate and order of magnitude amounts of game objects that could be supported.

Session Abstraction

Big words! What does this mean? Simply put, this means cleaning up our quite messy initialization procedures when you start a game. We need to abstract out elements of this and clean it up. By doing this we really open up the door for what "types" of games we can support. Want to replay the same save again and again as a round like SS13? Can do! Want to make a MP deathmatch arena? Sure can! Want to create a coop-mission challenge? Yep that too!

What does this allow us to do? In addition to cleaning up the game setup and removing many pesky connection bugs, this allows us to restart the game while clients are connected, as well as support advanced gameplay modes such as round-based play.

Game-world Migrations

Off the back of the previous work, we want to be able to migrate one game world to another. We actually already have this work mostly done, and we were actually going to support it via migrating to new sessions. This meant four players could migrate to a new session when they wanted to take a mothership somewhere, but the other players in the world could continue. It "mostly" works. But it's really, really complicated. Complicated is bad. If this wasn't a niche game, we'd probably go down this route. But it's a niche game and we have to embrace that. This means we need to go for safe options, ones that we know we can do without over committing and not delivering.

So we're going to dial back that system a bit. You'll be able to take everyone currently playing, get on a vessel, and go to a new world. Using the session abstraction this means:

• Save out what is going to the new world (players on ship, stuff on ship)
  
• Delete everything except player "brains"
  
• Make the new world
  
• Create the stuff we saved out
  
• Start the game

Sounds pretty simple right? Once we've done session abstraction, yeah!

What does this allow us to do? Away missions, basically. It allows you to continue game sessions over many worlds. Build a ship, fly it somewhere new, fly back to your old place. The main caveat we're likely to make is requiring everyone in the play session to migrate at once, rather than splitting the session into instances.

So while not a complete road-map, this will hopefully give players a good idea of what we're looking at working towards over the next few months. If you have any questions, hop into Discord!

• Fixed bug that prevented second input on chips being set.

• Added new uniform models for when they're un-equipped to replace the original flat box models that they've had since release.
  
• Added 'Appearance' button to the settings screen. This functions the same as the character creation screen that has always been accessible in-game, but sets a preset character that will be used when you create a new world. This will be extended later to work with joining multiplayer games.
  
• Added Localized text (translation) support to the New World screen.
  
• Added Atmospherics Tablet Cartridge can now be used to read the internal atmosphere of another Stationeer's suit. Good for diagnosing unconscious players! Thanks to Sim and Neouni for the suggestion.
  
• Added dimmed backgrounds to all windows and dialog boxes to better prompt the user on what's currently interactable.
  
• Added a define command to the IC that allows programmers to create constant values without using a register.
  
• Added more sounds to UI including the character creation menu.
  
• Added moustache facial hair variants for November.
  
• Added in-game sounds for task, mission and stage completion, adding an object to your hand slot and opening and closing inventory windows.
  
• Added some more missing interface sounds in the menus.
  
• Added Holding the smart-rotate key as a modifier (default: C) now lets you loop through logic device pin options backwards.
  
• Added Green as a new available hair colour.
  
• Adjusted Prompt, Alert and Confirm dialog boxes to be more consistent with each other and adjust their size to the content inside better.
  
• Adjusted IC Script Editor window layout to be more consistent with other windows in the game.
  
• Adjusted Text Input window layout to be more consistent.
  
• Adjusted max radius an many looping sounds to reduce sonic clutter. WIP.
  
• Adjusted IC help windows to be longer, showing more items.
  
• Changed Debug Log file entries to exclude some unnecessary data and replace it with some metrics that are more useful for troubleshooting, like server type and loaded mods. The game log file can be found in %userprofile%\AppData\LocalLow\Rocketwerkz\Stationeers\output_log.txt and is immensely useful if you're reporting a bug - particularly ones where an error was displayed in the lower-left corner of your screen.
  
• Improvement IC better supports coding with enum values.
  
• Improvement Devices on device pins are now sorted unibetically (= alphabetically, give or take).
  
• Updated Localization Files (Current 29th November)
  
  
• Fixed text jumping around when resizing the Stationpedia.
  
• Fixed a pretty major issue with a 'default active' sound that was causing it to use up all available sound voices, preventing any other sounds from playing. Complex stations should now sound much better, but there is still WIP on this.
  
• Fixed a bug where combining pipe networks wasn't calculating new combined total atmosphere properly.
  
• Fixed a bug where removing a pipe from the end of a network would clear the atmosphere contents.
  
• Fixed a bug where removal of a pipe from a network wouldn't divide up atmosphere properly.
  
• Fixed the documentation for lr on the IC.
  
• Fixed Dynamic Hydroponics attached to a Tank Connector not being removable, due to not having an animation controller.
  
• Fixed Prompt dialog boxes jumping in size occasionally.
  
• Fixed bug in which battery wall light would drain power even when off.
  
• Fixed bug in which battery wall light would remain on even after battery discharged.
  
• Fixed Digital Valves are no longer forced into an error state by being fully enclosed in a frame.
  
• Fixed Issue starting new worlds due to previous WorldSettings change and dependency on worlds names not being changed.
  
• Fixed sound clashes in the main menu.
  
• Fixed inventory sounds playing at once when you start a new game.
  
• Fixed issue with new moustache variant for third face style.
  
• Fixed error whenever destroying the Portable Solar, as it was trying to start generating power, despite it being in the process of being destroyed.
  
• Fixed the majority of misaligned and overflowing text within menus and on buttons. Text should now autosize and stay within their bounds. Especially noticeable when using a localized language.
  
• Fixed Error when trying to recycle the Portable Solar, as it was trying to run solar-charging code like whenever you drop it, despite it being in the process of being destroyed.
  
• Fixed instances where duplicate sounds were playing when navigating menus.
  
• Fixed Issue with the full beard on one of the face variants not displaying properly.
  
• Fixed issue on loading characters where organ creation could fail, resulting in immediate death.
  
• Fixed NullReferenceException error that could occur if the UI Audio Manager attempted to play audio before it had properly initialized.
  
• Fixed a bug in which the GasDisplay could show incorrect units if cycled through temperature (finders credit to EinBerliner).
  
• Fixed incorrect close tag in ChangeSettingToFor value.
  
• Fixed bug on IC where defines weren't storing hashes correctly.

Mostly odds-and-ends this week, with a few new quality-of-life features and fixes but mostly just building on the foundation of the game. Things like the military gear may not obviously fit into most of the game as it stands, but the less obvious things like the new character rig will greatly improve our workflow for working with characters down the line. Audio work continues, with the newest member of our team taking the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the basics of the UI and Audio system in game before moving onto some of the more challenging development areas.

Additionally, we're rapidly approaching the end of our first year in Early Access. We'll be putting together a brief video looking at what has been achieved throughout the year and what the future will bring for Stationeers. You can expect to see this in the next few weeks.


Later in development we're going to want to add more variance to characters with gear options and role-based outfits. In order to prepare for that, we've fixed a long-standing issue with the character rig, which should resolve several outstanding animation/appearance bugs, mostly affecting female characters.

We're continuing to fill the void that some players may have noticed, with the addition of interface audio to the settings screen. This work will continue over the following weeks with the mission/task UI and inventory receving some long overdue audio feedback. After that's out of the way we'll move onto some of the more technically challenging sound implementations to round out this so-far neglected aspect of Stationeers.

• Fixed Null Errors that could be encountered on load due to issues getting an invalid game install path from Steam.

• Added Wall Light Battery variant. This has only a data port, but takes a battery as a power source so is useful as an emergency or temporary source of power.
  
• Added Suit Storage will now recharge batteries that are put in it, including batteries inside head torches and marine helmets.
  
• Added new character rig and models. This is a visual improvement to provide a better and more consistent visual result for characters, while still using the same rig for both male and female.
  
• Added Marine Helmet, Armor, and Uniform. Constructed on the Tool Manufactory. Helmet has a battery slot, and a lamp. Armor has four internal slots for storage. Currently does nothing special this is the first pass and will be extended later.
  
• Added first pass of controller support. Currently no defaults, so you have to set your own axis definitions. Added button images for Xbox One Controller (other controller image support to come later).
  
• Added Major refresh of Localized text files. Untranslated keys are no longer included in every XML file, as missing keys now default back to english. See the #localization channel in Discord for more details.
  
• Added branches and ternary operators to the IC to complete the missing ones.
  
• Added interface audio to the settings menu.
  
  
• Improvement JumpTags can now be used as variables on the IC. The value of the variable is equal to the line number the tag is defined on.
  
• Changed Plants no longer take damage from being in an atmosphere that doesn't contain what they need to breathe. They'll still take damage incorrect temperatures, presence of toxins or lack of water, however.
  
• Updated Localization Files (Current to 10th November)
  
  
• Fixed Disk Slot on Air Conditioner and Wall Cooler allowing any item to be inserted.
  
• Fixed Re-scaled audio settings sliders to a max of 100, this being identical to what was previously the default setting of 80. If you had volumes below the previous default value they will have been scaled accordingly, so no volumes should be any different unless you were using settings above 80.
  
• Fixed issue where IC housing dropdown list entries were not cleared when removing a ProgrammableChipMotherboard from a computer, leaving them visible in the world and attached to the motherboard.
  
• Fixed slightly less shadow from helmet when looking at player shadow. Was caused by incorrect layer assignment on one of the scene directional lights.
  
• Fixed skin color not changing to correct body when wearing uniform. Now skin correct color on hands and arms while wearing uniforms.
  
• Fixed Headlamp not counted as a "light" for the purposes of the Light key and status indicator. Now all helmets with lights, and headlamp, will be togglable with this.
  
• Fixed bug where powered item status indicator would stay on when dropping an item while it was turned to on.
  
• Fixed Randomize button in Character Creation screen did not randomize all attributes. Also did some slight optimization on character creation screen. More to come with this.
  
• Fixed StationContact buttons now more clearly display whether or not they're within contactable range.
  
• Fixed issue dropping objects since yesterdays beta update introducing controller support due to it still using an old input system.
  
• Fixed DynamicCrate missing Lock interactable, causing Debug.Log spam and lowering FPS when looking at crate.
  
• Fixed a bug in which a graph with a line y=0 would prevent interaction with consoles on either side of it.
  
• Fixed Jetpack animations for directional movement not working properly due to controls refactor.
  
• Fixed Playing of interface audio, game sounds and voice notifications are now gated behind checks that your master volume and volume for that particular channel is above 0.
  
• Fixed Tooltip Opacity slider values not rounding correctly.
  
• Fixed a big frame counter running in duplicate and reduced more memory allocation.
  
• Fixed Volume scale readjusted to now bottom out at -40db instead of -80db, making more of the slider range useful.
  
• Fixed a item kit composite floor grating bug where the kit claimed there were five options rather than the actual four.
  
• Fixed Game now more gracefully handles instances where Steam isn't running, displaying a prompt rather than just a wall of log error text.
  
• Fixed invalid construction option entries on ItemKitBasket and ItemKitWallIron (Thanks supakadai & Sli in Discord).