Hey everyone!

Devlog #78: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8oWRPRtc_c

Beta 21 is now available! This update adds new end-game content for the Colonial Union faction. The next big updates after this one will be adding end-game content for the W.D. Corporation and Alliance of Gentlemen factions.

To see the new content, you’ll need to be playing on a Colonial Union crew with a fairly high CU reputation (more details discussed in the devlog). The chain of events start with a special assignment to stop an asteroid from colliding with a planet. Successfully completing this mission and keeping a high reputation will allow your crew the chance to be given a special assignment by the commander of Outpost 448!

We’re very excited to add more end-game content to the galaxy. This update has been in the works for a while, but we’ve managed to solve a lot of interesting problems and build a nice set of tools to help us make content like this faster. We’d love to get your thoughts on the new content and let us know if it’s appropriately challenging!

If you’d like to experience the new content without any spoilers we recommend not reading any further.

Additions
-New Weapon: Held Beam Rifle - Similar to the healing beam. This weapon focuses on higher damage output and forgoes healing effects.
-New Weapon: Stun Grenade Launcher - Explosion can stun most enemies, stopping them in their tracks for a short time.
-New system for planetside fires - these do not spread and cannot be extinguished.
-New door type: Seamless Security Door - Opens when the crew is in possession of required item (such as a keycard).
-New door type: Quarantine Door - Door remains closed until all enemies within a given space are defeated.
-New system for spawning enemies - Enemies can now spawn when a player enters a specific area.
-New system for respawning enemies - Certain enemies can now respawn on their own.
-New slider for camera shake - From 0-200% camera shake intensity, you can find the slider in the game settings.
-New system for in-game cutscenes - Used sparingly for the occasional cinematic moment.
-New system to illustrate mission difficulty - If a mission has a suggested crew level and your crew level is lower, it will first appear red, then turn to yellow and finally look normal when you’ve reached the specific level. This is to illustrate when a mission may be especially difficult. This is will mostly be used for the end-game content but will likely be used with other missions over development.
-New system for automatically jumping ships to specified sectors, used primarily for unique story moments.
-New system for timed mission objectives - Used to add some tension to important moments or fights.
-New threat system for special enemies that track damage over time by certain players, and can target the individual currently dealing the most damage

-New Content: The Commander Center of Outpost 448 - Located on the second tier of the station. Inaccessible until ‘Report to the Commander’ CU mission has been accepted.
-New Content: Sylvassi Research lab - Located in the Sylvassi Quarter of Outpost 448
-New Content: Asteroid Level
-New Content: The Wasted Wing

-New Creature: Experiment 72
-New Creature: Stalker
-New Creature: Infected Scientist
-New Creature: Advanced Paladin
-New Creature: The Source

-New CU Mission: Stop Asteroid Crash (assigned via long range comms at CU rep 7 by CU sectors)
-New CU Mission: Report to the Commander (assigned via long range comms at CU rep 9)
-New CU Mission: The Wasted Wing (assigned by NPC Commander Darine Hatham in Command Center)
-New CU Mission: Retrieve Data Pad (assigned by NPC Alarick Soun in Command Center)
-New CU Mission: Eliminate Stalker (assigned by log in Wasted Wing)
-New CU Mission: Eliminate Infected Scientists (assigned by NPC Mat Kornoan in Wasted Wing)
-New CU Mission: Retrieve Medicine for Vilvard (assigned by NPC Noemi Prast in Wasted Wing)

-15 readable plaques and logs in Wasted Wing
-22 NPCs added for CU Wasted Wing mission
-2 NPCs who discuss Sylvassi lore added to research lab in Sylvassi Quarters of Outpost 448
-New NPC Uniform: Colonial Union Commander

Changes
-PiBot should be better at entering repair depots
-Ground combat internal values tweaked, players now take less damage overall
-Enemy humans / bandits aiming routines tweaked, this should make them slightly less accurate overall
-Garlic Biscuit should now have correct inventory visual
-NPCs will now look at the player whose turn it is in Liar’s Dice
-Crew AI will now look at players
-A few security additions have been added to the game
-During a disconnect, host will try to autosave game
-Talents have now been grouped into class specific and general, locked talents are displayed at the bottom of the list
-Crew allowance should be faster to set for captains
-Default Camera shake has been adjusted / strengthened
-Player armor has been slightly reduced overall
-The Wasted Wing station has been moved to a seperate close range sector- it’s still visible from Sector 0 but you’ll need to perform a jump in order to reach it. The sector will be jumpable when you have ‘The Wasted Wing’ mission active.
-Changes/Additions have been made to dialog of the following Outpost 448 NPCs in reaction to the Wasted Wing: Jin Saineg, Remi Hocklan, Ranchelle Fieaque, Yondia Dremera, Vera Scems, Lesia Driay, Bain, Viar Tothim, Ide Fellus, Ena Sekra, Safia Neyonus, Weise Quel, Iresa Youls, Daza Susarin, Degoh Gervam
-Changed dialog of Outpost 448 NPCs Remian Folstera and Gusiva
-The new stalker creature has been added to the crashed Roland mission.
-Food items and research materials should weigh less in your inventory, allowing players to hold
more of them.
-Gun cooling talent strength has been reduced
-Replaced dead body meshes on Tall Rock planet and Ant Colony planet
-Changed some visuals on the Ant Colony planet
-Further reduced angular drag on Roland-class ship
-The system for choosing Long range mission assignments have been tweaked
-Internal AI system that can allows bots to adjust flight distance based a specific creature.
-Tweaks to how bots use jetpacks. They now only use them when targeting a location on a different nav mesh ( i.e unreachable by foot or very uneven surfaces )

Fixes
-Backup CPU scaling is fixed and is no longer overpowered due to a double scaling math bug
-Fixed a collision issue found in the Outrider
-Fixed an issue that wouldn’t fully display longer lists of inventory items
-Potentially fixed an error that occasionally killed bots after teleporting
-Fixed a bug that prevented talents from fully syncing / unlocking
-Fixed a bug with the Intrepid item upgrader
-Bots should appropriately target ground turrets
-Turrets should be able to damage and kill enemies in Sand Scar Arena after players lose
-Fixed an issue that would break lighting inside of room interiors when resuscitated as a human
-Fixed a visual issue found in the captain’s quarters on the Fluffy One
-Fixed a visual issue with the ExoSuit helmet exterior and interior and supply tank on human characters
-Fixed an issue with ‘Investigate Unmanned W.D. Unit’ mission not giving rewards for completion
-Fixed a root motion issue with NPC Ide Fellus in Outpost 448
-Fixed an error that allowed non-captains to edit bot inventories
-Fixed a bug that did not properly show class preview in VR
-Fixed a bug that had AI try to heal crewmembers with the incorrect tool
-Fixed an issue found on the Outrider that would limit music played to ambient only
-Two sectors were being spawned in the base galaxy that should have been restricted to specific missions.
-Waste planet 2 (radioactive one) has been reworked and now has static radiation scrubbers instead of patrolling NPCs
-The Grim Cutlass / Intrepid Night Variant is no longer preventing players from using their flightpacks
-Further removed possibilities for fires to appear in strange places on the ship. As there are quite a few ways fires can spawn on ships, we’ve applied additional checks to all of them to hopefully ensure fires don’t appear in strange places.
-Jumbo Biscuit now has better visual and description.
-Boarding bots should now be less memory intensive
-More checks in-place to prevent AI from using locked teleporters on planets

Thanks for your time! If all goes well, the next main update will be focusing on the end-game content for the W.D. Corporation faction and its climactic mission titled “The Forsaken Flagship”.





Beta 21.1 Release Notes

Beta 21.1 is now available! The Wasted Wing should properly load and the Sylvassi biology lab should render correctly.

We occasionally have content that only shows up in internal builds, which allows us to make public builds quickly without having to manually remove parts of the game that aren’t ready yet. The Wasted Wing sector was listed to only show up in internal builds and when we did our tests with the public version we were loading saves made on the internal version, so we didn’t catch the issue.

This should now be resolved, and people loading their saves with the Wasted Wing mission active should now see a sector to jump to. Thanks for bearing with us!

Fixes
-Wasted Wing sector should properly load when the mission is active
-Sylvassi biology lab should render correctly now






Beta 21.2 Release Notes

Beta 21.2 is now available! We fixed an issue with the Wasted Wing not spawning when loaded from a pre-21.1 save. Sorry for the trouble!

Changes
-Loosened the timing restrictions for processing scrap, the timing window is about 30% bigger.

Fixes
-Wasted Wing sector should properly load when the mission is active when loaded from a pre-21.1 save
-Fixed a timing exploit possibility with the item and component upgraders






Beta 21.3 Release Notes

Beta 21.3 is now available! We have worked on a fix for missions improperly failing after loading a save. This caused any non-CU missions to fail upon load among other potential issues.

Fixes
-Missions should no longer improperly fail after being loaded from a save in certain conditions




Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Beta 20.3 is now available! It contains some fixes for reported issues and some balance changes to ship combat. Enjoy the seasonal decorations on the ships and at some of the major hubs!

Additions
-Tweaked some internal values to help slow down ship fights a little and make them slightly more survivable
-Space mines will occasionally be found around some asteroids
-Seasonal decorations have been added to various ships, planets and stations

Changes
- Asteroids should generally be closer to ships after exiting warp, giving pilots better options for cover during fights
-Inertia Thrusters now provide more rotational thrust overall, which should help make piloting more responsive. We increased the angular drag on the Intrepid and Fluffy One class vessels since they didn’t need to rotate any faster.
-Crew bots AI / navigation when selling biscuits on planets and transitioning between planet interiors has been improved
-The Burrow is now presented at night! After the holidays are over it’ll be random.

Fixes
- Artifact Mission III should now properly display a sector on the starmap (will require a new galaxy / game to take effect)
-Both rat creatures and spiders have had their attack range reduced
-Piloting area mesh seam has been fixed on the Annihilator-class starship
-Fixed a navmesh issue on the Annihilator-class starship that may have prevented AI from moving well
-Crew bots will no longer target friendly turrets in some situations (like the Sand Scar Arena)
-Layered hull armor boost now properly scales when upgraded
-Fixed an issue with the Atrium on the Destroyer-class starship that would heal and respawn players at the incorrect location
-Fixed a small visual issue in the Destroyer lounge
-Fixed a comms screen bug that would sometimes duplicate options

Thanks for your time! Progress on Beta 21 is coming along, and barring any major issues with this update, should be the next thing we release!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Devlog #77: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R92F1FX2I4

Firstly, we apologize for the lack of updates recently; we’ve been hard at work building some of the end-game content related to the Colonial Union. It will ultimately be a way for Colonial Union crews to get ahold of a Lost Colony data fragment and will hopefully be a climatic moment within their faction!

We’ve also taken some time to see family and do some research about future goals for the project. While the majority of that work will be coming in a few weeks (we’re doing some final testing and waiting for the sound effects) we thought we’d spend some time and put together a different update since it’s been a while. A lot of you have been requesting a lounge activity pretty much since our first devlog and we decided now would be a good opportunity! We’ve played around with some different ideas and ultimately decided on Liar’s Dice (also known as Dudo, Pirate’s Dice, Bluff, etc.)

A few of the reasons we went with this game:
-The rounds are quick and don’t involve a large time commitment so crews can pick it up when they find some free time, like while the captain is shopping for components.
-The number of players can fluidly change from 2 to 5.
-The mechanics are fairly simple and easy to network / build AI for.
-We think it’s pretty fun!

There are a ton of different variants of Liar’s Dice, so below we’ll outline the specific rules that we went with:

Liar’s dice is a bluffing game about stating the number of dice with a specific face. Each player secretly rolls 5 dice, and then betting begins. Players place bets on how many dice of a certain face are up amongst the total pool of dice, even though they can only see 5 of them. On a player’s turn, he or she can choose to raise the current bid or challenge it (if they think it’s false).

When raising a bid, players must either raise the face value or the number of dice, or both. For example, if the current bid is 4 x [3]s you can raise the bid to 5 x [3]s or 2 x [4]s. As long as either the die count or face value is raised, the other can be lowered.

Players win points through challenges. If the bid was true, the player who placed the bid receives a point. If it was false, then the challenger receives a point.

The first player to reach 5 points wins the game, and a new game will start 20 seconds later!

It can be a strange game to get used to at first, but we’ve had a lot of fun with it and we hope you all will too! A few extra things to be mindful about: the number of dice in the pool changes based on how many players are playing. For example, the odds of 7 x [6]s are far less likely to happen in a 2 player game than a 5 player game. Also, since points are only awarded during challenges, you want to make bets that others may want to challenge.

In addition to this, we’ve also build a new ship class for the W.D. Corporation: the W.D. Annihilator!
The recurring theme for this ship was “advanced prototype”. Crews manning this ship are on the bleeding edge of W.D. technology. This ship is unique in its starting configuration of components. It begins the game with numerous experimental ship components that may drastically change how crews normally operate.

- Its reactor’s output is tied to the overall ship system health.
- Its hull is layered and increases armor when integrity falls
- Its warp drive gives each and every installed program / virus a single charge per jump.
- Its shield generator has a fast charge rate but a very high minimum shield integrity
- Its main turret deals fire damage to enemy ships (starting fires), but also heats up the Annihilator’s reactor faster.
- It starts with 0 credits but 20 processed scrap.
- Its basic turrets are designed to cut pieces of hull off of enemy ships, producing extra scrap

Among those starting features, it possesses two new attributes innate to the ship itself:
- It has proprietary shield stealing technology that saps enemy shields when turrets damage them. It converts 20% of damage to an enemy ship’s shields to your own shields immediately.
- It has flaky internal systems. New technology can sometimes be unreliable, and there is a chance the ship’s systems will be damaged upon exiting warp. Crews flying this ship should pay extra attention to their ship systems.


Additions
- New Ship - W.D. Annihilator - A W.D. prototype unit that’s currently being field tested in this galaxy. Equipped with multiple experimental ship components, a starting scrap pool, and shield stealing technology. It is a prototype however, which means the systems can sometimes be flaky, and exiting from warp has the chance to damage one of your ship system instances.
- Liar’s Dice - Found in the lounge of each ship. Liar’s Dice is a competitive mini-game played amongst the crewmembers of your ship. Read more about it above!
- New talent: Armor Boost - + 1 Armor per rank
- New Talent: Armor Boost II - Can be accessed when Armor Boost is fully invested
- New Talent: Health Boost II - Can be accessed when Health Boost is fully invested
- New UI Addition - Crew health indicators can now be seen in the top left corner of the interface. They can be disabled in the game settings.
- New Weapon: Healing Beam Rifle - The Scientist now starts with a healing beam rifle instead of a phase pistol. While it damages enemies it can also be pointed at fellow crew members to heal them!
-New Crew AI behavior - At Ease - If this is the highest priority, it will prompt AI crewmembers to head to the lounge to play Liar's Dice
-Crew AI should be a bit better about choosing a teleporter location closer to the captain when there are multiple options to choose from.
-Mouse Scroll Wheel can now cycle through equipped items
-New art additions to lounge areas
-New Ship Component: Strong Point Reactor - Starting reactor for Annihilator
-New Ship Component: WD XC-7 Prototype Config 4 - Starting Shield Generator for Annihilator
-New Ship Component: WD XW-5 Prototype Config 1 - Starting Warp Drive for Annihilator
-New Ship Component: WD Prototype “FlashFire: - Starting Main Turret for Annihilator
-Captains can now issue a move order / rally point by clicking the middle mouse button / scrollwheel. To currently cancel a move order, captains can issue one into space or a place not accessible via nav-mesh. Move orders will also expire on their own after 30 seconds.


Changes
-Aux Power talent has been increased from 10% to 15%. The text description has been updated too.
-Changed dialog of Ranchelle Fieaque, Weise Quel and Remhan Zesho to accommodate for changes in lore of Outpost 448
-Talents are now arranged in alphabetical order and will show unavailable talents in grey
-Captain Order “Status Update” has been renamed to “At Attention” and is now the default order when starting a new game.
-Captain Order “At Ease” is no longer the default option. Bots will not man stations on Green alert and will join in Liar’s Dice.

Fixes
-Fixed T-pose NPC found at Outpost 448
-Fixed an incorrect character preview during class selection for factions other than Colonial Union
-Fixed the descriptive text of the Aux Power Talent
-Fixed Yiria Sali’s dialog to mention Alosius Grec as a Sylvassi, not a robot
-Fixed Grey Huntsmen bounty missions for Striker, Drafters, and Biscuit Burners to appear through long range range comms only when players have accepted the Bounty Hunter’s Contract
-Fixed Rosalia Scillo at AOG hideout to open trading window
-Fixed an issue that may have sometimes prevented players from dropping items


Like we mentioned above, there is a big update arriving in a few weeks. Thanks for your patience and support and we’re hoping long pauses like this don’t happen again.




Beta 20.1 Release Notes

Fixes
-Tweaked Annihilator to fix fire visibility errors




Beta 20.2 Release Notes

Beta 20.2 is out now!

It fixes a few of the issues recently reported, thanks to those who’ve sent us reports and screenshots!

Additions
-New sound effect for the Healing Beam

Fixes
-Experiment 72 has been contained and is no longer replacing normal slime creatures. It was not meant for this update.
-Fixed a terrain error on an alien ruins planet
-Fixed a collision issue regarding the science system instance on the Annihilator
-Fixed a collision issue regarding the reactor on the Annihilator
-Fire extinguishers should work better for the larger reactors found on the Annihilator and Roland



Thank you for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Beta 19.4 is now out! This one should include a fix for those of you who have reported performance issues while playing in VR. Additionally it contains a few other fixes and additions.

We also tweaked the Auxiliary Reactor, making each option more powerful across the board, and added an Intruder Alert function. The Intruder Alert function should hopefully improve feedback about when the fight might be becoming more personal. For those of you who want to prevent enemies from boarding your ship (besides keeping your shield integrity up), you can pick up the new program “Quantum Defenses” which should ensure your quantum shields are online for a few crucial moments.

Additions
- Added more feedback for players when they try to customize their appearance or bot appearances, letting them know to visit a barber.
-Players can now upgrade maneuvering thrusters and inertia thrusters
-Main turrets can now be extracted
-Ship thrusters can now be extracted
-New Program: Quantum Defenses - Keeps your quantum shields online regardless on shield integrity or viruses (like gentlemens welcome) for 30 seconds. As long as a ship’s quantum shields are online, no enemies should be able to teleport.
-New NPC uniform - Human Male and Female Scientist
-New NPC uniform - Human Male and Female CU High Ranking Officer

Changes
-Extraction success rates have been slightly reduced
-Tweaked the WD HQ Station galaxy map
-Shield coprocessor charge rate has been increased

Aux Reactor Changes
-Auxiliary reactors values have been standardized based on the Intrepid
-Spotlights and Interior lights have been merged and are now named Lights
-Intruder Alarm has been added, it alerts the crew when enemies teleport onboard. It will flash a crew-wide announcement as well as add a notification to the chat box. If disabled it could provide 400 MW to the reactor.
The following information is based on an Intrepid-class ship from Beta 19.3.
-Aux Values - Atrium Healing increased from 400 to 600
-Aux Values - Oxygen Generation increased from 800 to 2000
-Aux Values - Air Filter increased from 400 to 1000
-Aux Values - Spotlights and Interior lights increased from 500 (together to 1000)
-Aux Values - Projectile Aim Assist increased from 200 to 400
-Aux Values - Cyberdefense increased from 800 to 2000
-Aux Values - Missile Lock On increased from 100 to 1200

Fixes
-Fixed a lighting issue found on Outpost 448 that would occur on lower graphics settings
-Engineering fires should now be properly displaying on the status screen, and should properly damage the engine system.
-Fixed a few issues found at WD HQ
-Fixed a bug that would occasionally allow The Swarm to drop its hull component
-Fixed a networking issue related to the Captain plotting courses on the starmap
-Fixed a sound issue regarding ship damage
-Fixed an issue with an abandoned ship not appearing
-Fixed an issue that reduced performance in VR over several minutes
-Fixed an issue related to bots getting stuck while trying to repair a system on certain ships



Beta 19.5 Release Notes

Beta 19.5 is out! This is a quick update to address some of the changes we released earlier.

Changes
-The researchable Aux Power talent’s bonus has been reduced from 40% per rank to 10%

Aux Reactor Changes
-Aux Values - Oxygen Generation decreased from 2000 to 1000
-Aux Values - Air Filter decreased from 1000 to 400
-Aux Values - Spotlights and Interior lights decreased from 1000 to 600
-Aux Values - Missile Lock On decreased from 1200 to 1000

Fixes
-Exotic shop owners should be lit correctly
-Corbin Taskerhall should now talk / sell face to face
-Bandit Drones should be less prone to attack one another
-Potentially fixed a sound effect bug related to probes




Beta 19.6 Release Notes

Beta 19.6 is out! This is just an update to fix a save issue that popped up. While working on Beta 20 we’ve been building a few new systems that involved the save-file format. Some of that code wasn’t ready to handle a pre-Beta 20 Release. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Fixes
-Saves should now load correctly.





Thank you for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Beta 19.3 is now out! Along with some fixes, it includes changes to ship hostility which make Colonial Union space safer and neutral space more dangerous. In addition we’ve changed some ship spawning properties to make reputation loss more predictable during the course of exploring the galaxy. It also adds a new Grey Huntsmen station and bounty missions.

We have spent a lot of time working on content that will likely be added in Beta 20, mainly the faction mission chain for the Colonial Union which will conclude with a bigger piece of content focused on exploring the Wasted Wing (the section of Outpost 448 that was recently severed from the main station for mysterious reasons).

We’ve also been experimenting with new networking solutions and how we might move the project over. It’s still early on that front but we feel it’s important to jump into that one prepared.

Here is a sneak peek of our work in progress: https://imgur.com/a/x1XPAw5

Additions
-Bandit Drones can now be found across the galaxy. These ships will attack any and all ships they find. Attacking them incurs no reputation loss from any faction. Bandit drones are most common in neutral space, however there is a slight chance you can find them in Colonial Union space (blue sectors) and WD territory (orange sectors).
-In game manual has been updated and now includes sections on Ship Cloaking, Ship Sensor Dish, Item and Component Upgrade Stations, a several other tweaks.
-New Sector: Grey Huntsmen Bounty Agency
-9 NPCs added to Grey Huntsmen Bounty Agency
-5 NPCs added to Planet Crash 2 (planet with blue sand and crashed W.D. security drone)
-New Bounty Mission: WANTED: U.S.S. Xarius
-New Bounty Mission: WANTED: The Butcher
-New Bounty Mission: WANTED: Crumb Cleaners
-New Bounty Mission: WANTED: Unit 10, Div #44
-New Bounty Mission: WANTED: The Striker
-New Bounty Mission: WANTED: The Umbra
-New Bounty Mission: WANTED: The Drafters
-New Bounty Mission: WANTED: Biscuit Burners
-New Mission: Hunt Infected Carrier (given by Roka at Grey Huntsmen Bounty Agency)
-New Mission: Rid of Crawlers (given by Uleq on Planet Crash 2)
-Added a locked interior room to Cornelia Station for a bounty hunting mission

Changes
-Neutral space has been tweaked to be more dangerous, this should hopefully make it feel more chaotic and lawless.
-CU space has been tweaked to be less dangerous to ships of other factions. These sectors are meant to reflect civilization so CU ships and drones should only fire upon flagged ships.
-Crewed AOG ships now have the chance to be more directly hostile to other ships
-The Grim Cutlass sector commander is now considered flagged.
-Ship Processors should now get better when upgraded
-Updated Planet Crash 2 (planet with blue sand and crashed W.D. security drone)
-Original 5 Grey Huntsmen bounty missions have been updated with adjusted credit rewards
-It is now possible to join the Grey Huntsmen at the Grey Huntsmen Bounty Agency

Fixes
-Made some performance optimizations to the starmap when loaded
-Fixed an issue that wouldn’t prompt a mission failure in some circumstances
-Fixed an incorrectly spawning sector that should only be available during a Colonial Union mission
-Fixed an issue that could cause corruption of item unlock progress
-Fixed a visual issue regarding the Item upgrade station on the Destroyer
-Fixed some pathing issues found at Cornelia Station
-Fixed a teleportation issue found at Cornelia Station
-Ancient Sentry no longer associated with the Polytechnic Federation
-Removed two mission-related planets from generating in the base galaxy
-Fixed an issue with long range comms in “Help CU Roland in Alliance Ambush” mission

Thank you for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Devlog #76: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y-HxPSej8w

Beta 19.2 is out now! This update contains a bit more than changes and fixes; we’ve added a few new systems which you can learn more about in the devlog or by reading further!

This update adds two new ship stations: the Installed Component Upgrader and the Item Upgrader. These systems can usually be found in the engineering room and weapons area respectively. We’ve also added a new resource: Processed Scrap, which can be collected from pieces of scrap and used to upgrade components and items.

To use the item upgrading station, equip the item you want upgraded, and press R. Then find someone who has the Item Upgrader Operator talent to perform the upgrade for you. You can also add this talent yourself, but the weapons specialist and the captain start the game with the talent already installed.

Important notes about the Item Upgrader:

• The maximum level an item can reach by upgrading is 5.
  
• Anyone can place their item on the station, but only a crewmember with the talent can perform the upgrade.
  
• The Scanner cannot currently be upgraded.
  
• Your ship does not need to be in a sector with a repair depot, you can upgrade items anywhere.

Similarly, the Engineer and Captain also begin play with the Component Upgrader Operator talent. To use the component upgrading station, be sure your ship is in a sector with a repair depot. Then use the component upgrader screen to cycle through your installed components and select which one you want to upgrade.

Important notes about the Installed Component Upgrader:

• To upgrade a ship component you must be in a sector with a repair depot.
  
• The maximum level to which you can upgrade a component is 10.
  
• Certain components are inherently better than others, so keep that in mind when deciding to upgrade. For example: a level 3 Adelaide Thruster is still less powerful than a level 1 Racing Thruster.
  
• Certain components (like programs and viruses) cannot be upgraded.
  
• Currently certain ship processors do not improve when upgraded.
  
• This ship system cannot be used to upgrade components in the cargo area.
  
• You must have the appropriate talent in order to perform the upgrade.

Additions
-New System: Process Scrap - Players with the Item or Component Upgrader Operator talents can process scrap by holding R next to the object. You’ll need to succeed at a small timing obstacle to succeed (release ‘R’ when the bar reaches the middle white line). You can fail up to three times per jump before you are prevented from processing any more scrap.
- New Ship System: Installed Component Upgrader - Found in the engineering sections of each ship, this station uses processed scrap to increase the levels of certain installed ship components.
-New Ship System: Item Upgrader - Usually found near the weapons area on each ship, this station uses processed scrap to increase the levels of most equipable items.
-New Talent: Item Upgrader Operator
-New Talent: Component Upgrader Operator
-New Captain Notifications: Item Upgraded, Component Upgraded, Crewmember Processed Scrap

Changes
-Ship component shops at Outpost 448 and WD HQ have doubled their selection of components
-Neutral reputation will no longer affect shop prices in neutral stores (including exotic shops)
-Sensor object has been added to the “Too close to star” blind jump scenario. This should help communicate to players that it’s a dangerous sector.
-Larger groups of Scout Drones are less likely to appear in sectors
-The Captain talent “Advanced Training” is replaced with “Heavy Armor Training”: a talent that boosts the crewmembers’ individual armor ratings

Fixes
-Fixed a linux keyboard input issue that caused repeated characters when typing
-Fixed a linux input issue that caused stuttering player movement
-Fixed an issue that could potentially damage players interacting with the Starmap
-Fixed an issue involving jetpacking and player movement being disabled while the Starmap was open
-Fixed an animation issue found at The Estate
-Fixed a geometry seam found on the Roland
-Fixed an issue with the Fluffy Biscuit robots not selling items on the FB automated Trading stations
-“The Trader” NPC found near a destroyed satellite relay now functions as a normal shop as well
-Fixed an issue that prevented certain bots from talking at the general automated trading stations
-Fixed the Heal Grenade explosion effect. It should now heal players correctly
-Fixed a ship hailing issue that could cause networking problems in certain situations

Thank you for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Devlog #75: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyZx8616qVU

Beta 19 is now out! This update adds a new type of content: battle races! Battle races are pretty much what you might expect them to be; multiple ships compete to be the first around the track while they barrage each other with turrets and lasers. To spice things up each race track has their own assortment of benefits and hazards, from a giant unstable spinning laser machine to the entire track being inside of an electrical ion storm!

These races are balanced to pose a challenge, so starting ships likely won’t fare too well and certain ship types may inherently be at a disadvantage due to poorer maneuverability or other factors. Upgrading the various ship thrusters and ensuring that you have a good reactor--as well as using good teamwork and communication--will be important in giving your ship a fighting chance!

To try out a battle race, you can warp towards the storm on your starmap. When you arrive in a race sector you’ll have the chance to fly through the race track on your own to get a feel for the various obstacles and layout. Once you’re ready, the captain can board the station, find the race registration screen and click enter! You’ll have 30 seconds to prepare yourselves and the race will begin. You only have one chance at winning each race, so make sure to save beforehand if you want to keep trying it! (any loaded saves made during the race won’t allow you to retry the race)



This update is also the first chunk of Lost Colony related content we’ve added. By that we mean that when the Lost Colony is added to the game, winning these races may be one of the several ways crews can gain more information on where the Lost Colony is located.

When crews overcome certain parts of the game, they will be rewarded with Lost Colony Data Fragments. Lost Colony Data Fragments will be highly sought after and dangerous to hold onto, but once a crew has collected enough of these data fragments, they will be able to move one step closer to finding the Lost Colony. Winning these races will eventually reward your crew with one such fragment.

We are also planning on having a unique and challenging quest line for each faction, exploring the themes of that faction and allowing your crew to rise up the ranks. Each one of those faction mission lines will also grant a data fragment. There will also be several non-faction restricted ways your crew can come across more data fragments (such as these races). Our goal with this is to hopefully reward exploration and offer several different paths a crew can take to find the Lost Colony, making the main campaign more replayable in the process.

Let us know if you have any questions or feedback, and thanks for reading!



Additions
-New Racing UI - This new interface replaces the normal ship information cards in the upper right corner of the screen with a new list visual that shows the positions of each racing ship along with the relative location on the track.
-New Environment Hazard: Overcharge - Being near a Stormbringer or near other ships inside of an ion storm will cause your ship to accumulate overcharge. This is displayed by the electrical effects coming off of your ship and a blue meter on the screen. As overcharge increases, your ship’s reactor will begin to output more energy and the lights on your ship will begin to brighten. If you accumulate too much, however, your ship will shut down and your crew will need to startup the ship again.
-New Sector: Dutain’s Garage (Race) - One of the two starting race tracks with a mix of corners and straight aways.
-New Sector: W.D. Mining Station 41X (Race) - The second of the two starting race tracks with a heavy focus on sharp turns and temperature/fire control.
-New Sector: The Ion Port (Race) - The third and final race, requires wins from both previous races in order to compete. The open track is battered by a massive super-storm which can cause electrical overcharge if two ships are close to one another. This sector also sends boarding bots to damage your ship systems and crew, so keeping your quantum shields online is a much higher priority.

-Race Hazard: Heat Gas - Flying through these pockets of superheated gases will increase reactor temperature and potentially start fires on your ship
-Race Hazard: Small Lasers - Slowly moving laser fields your ship must navigate through, hitting a laser will cause damage to your shields and ship
-Race Hazard: Turrets - Large Turrets will target and fire upon ships in the first place position
-Race Hazard: Massive Laser Ball - Rotates around dealing large amounts of damage to things in its path
-Race Hazard: Stormbringer - Large ball emitting a dangerous electrical field, contributes to ship overcharge
-Race Hazard: Heating Vents - Large structure that continuously vent super hot gases, these work like heat volumes but can also violently push the ship around if the pilot is caught in one of them.
-Race Hazard: Asteroid Fields - Groups of smaller asteroids fly through these fields, so pilots should be ready for evasive maneuvers
-Race Hazard: Boarding Bots - Will potentially board your ship (provided the quantum shields are offline) and cause damage to ship systems and crewmembers.
-Race Benefit: Program Pickups - Small blue points of light that can be found on the tracks, pilots can fly through them to fully recharge all installed programs
-Race Benefit: Ice Dust - flying through these pockets of cold dust will lower reactor temperature
-New Food Item: Racing Noodles
-New Food Item: Chilled Noodles
-New Food Item: Crispy Noodles
-New Food Item: Grubhaven Noodles
-New Food Item: Swamp Noodles
-New Food Item: Premium Noodles
-New Ship Component: Mega Turret: Rapid Fire - Can be acquired after winning the final race (The Ion Port)
-New Ship Component: Program: Digital Coolant - Instantly cools 30% of total reactor temperature; can be acquired after winning the Dutain’s Garage race
-New Ship Component: Discharge - Instantly removes 30% of total overcharge accumulated; can be acquired after winning the W.D. Mining Station 41X race
-New ship exterior meshes for both Outrider and Cruiser racing ships
-New Human Male Cosmetic Item: Headplate - unlocked after winning the final race
-New Human Female Cosmetic Item: Headplate - unlocked after winning the final race
-New AI override: Crew is Currently Racing
-New Starmap Asset - Ion Storm
-New conditional pickup component type allows players to see a component but must meet a requirement before they can take it.
-Added 64 NPCs across the 3 racing stations

Changes
-Lowered the temperature effect of heat gas emitted by molten asteroids
-Exosuit helmet interior and exterior meshes have been updated
-Exosuit glass frost effect has been tweaked
-Reduced bonuses for Pilot’s thrust and rotation talents
-Reduced bonus for Scientist’s sensor boost talent
-Reduced bonus for Captain’s run speed talent
-Drastically improved the jump charge capabilities of a ship without a jump processor installed
-Added “U.S.S.” prefix to Gallantry and Valiance. Tweaked some CU mission briefings to include prefix. Also fixed abandoned Intrepid (U.S.S. Centuria) to display correct name.
-Infection spread rate has been reduced, a fixed cap on maximum spread is now enforced around 30%
-AI bots will now equip exosuits on your ship if the environment is hazardous to them
-Default AI priorities have been updated, adding new overrides for racing and a few tweaks to selling biscuits. Engineer bots will put full power into engines, weapon specialist bots will target the engineering of other ships with their missiles and Sci bot will use programs faster.
-Improved the mission indicator visuals
-Replaced the FB logo on the character customize menu with the newer version
-Shop may now sell higher level ship components
-Intro screen transitions smoother if skipped
-The compare ship components menu should be a little clearer when illustrating the before and after values of the components in question.

Fixes
-Potentially fixed a physics issue that occasionally causes players to disappear. If anyone still experiences this issue, we’d love to know what ship and/or planet you were interacting with!
-Fixed an issue that caused a network bug with entering and exiting the Sensor Dish
-Fixed an issue that would prevent players from drinking drinks
-Fixed a few geometry issues on the Stargazer
-Fixed a few geometry issues on the Roland
-Fixed a potential performance issue that would occur after executing several virus programs
-Fixed an issue with Cyberdefense Processors not adding the appropriate Cyberdefense
-Fixed an issue that would still allows players to finish missions even if specific mission items were sold or no longer in their possession
-Fixed a potential performance bug relating to ship and shield colliders


Thank you for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team




Beta 19.1
-Fixed issue that caused some screens to not be interactive

Hey everyone!

Beta 18.7 is now out! We are still working on Beta 19, but since we managed to find a fix for the teleportation issue, we decided it was worth it to get that fix out sooner rather than later.

Changes
-Intrepid-Class starship and its night variant have bathroom doors
-Roland crew area have shower and bathroom doors
-Stargazer-class ship have bathroom doors
-Added color descriptions to research material taxonomies in Kavin Arent’s dialog at Burrow
-Added support for OpenGL rendering on Windows (use -force-glcore as a command line argument)

Fixes
-Fixed a potential issue with disappearing wandering NPCs on Outpost 448
-Fixed a collision issue on the Carrier
-Fixed a culling issue on the WD Cruiser
-Fixed an issue that caused twisters to not damage clients
-Fixed an issue that would occasionally have clients fall through maps after teleporting
-Fixed an issue with respawning after reclaiming your ship
-Fixed positioning / visibility issues with fires spawning from fire-based ship damage
-Fixed Fluffy Biscuit radar screen

Thank you for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Beta 18.6 is now available!

These changes were supposed to go in Beta 19, but were released early in order to be compliant with the new EU data privacy regulations. We’ve disabled all analytics and reporting from the game until we sort out a better solution for player data / privacy settings.

The majority of changes are smaller quality of life improvements and additions.

Beta 19 will introduce new content and will be released once we do a bit more balancing and get some sounds in.

Additions
-Added an additional direction sign to the Intrepid-Class Starship
-Added direction signs to the Outrider-Class Starship
-Added direction signs to the Stargazer-Class Starship
-Added direction signs to the Carrier-Class Starship
-Added direction signs to the Fluffy One-Class Starship
-Added direction signs to the Cruiser-Class Starship
-Added an additional Teleporter towards the front of the Estate
-Added additional teleporters to Cornelia Station
-Added some pickups in a dangerous part of the Estate
-Added a custom cursor to the game, which will replace the default computer cursor image. This cursor will also change color based on the class you are currently playing as, similar to how the tab menu works.
-All ship startup switchboards now have appropriate labeling on each switch
-Atriums are now labeled as medical aid stations, to hopefully inform new players that this is where they may be healed (provided the auxiliary reactor screen is sending power to them)
-Oribit , Fixed and Hybrid pilot camera settings will now adjust based on collision in the sector (less likely to clip through and show backfaces)
-Pilot HUD now shows thrust rating
-Pilot HUD now shows reactor temp percentage
-Added a galaxy map legend, which illustrates the various sector types and faction territories / jurisdictions
-New NPC visual: Female Civilian 1 Amputee
-New NPC visual: Female Civilian 2 Amputee
-New NPC visual: Male Civilian 1 Amputee 1
-New NPC visual: Male Civilian 1 Amputee 2
-New NPC visual: Male Civilian 2 Amputee
-Added transition doors to the Sylvassi Quarter environment area on Outpost 448

Changes
-Overcharge program has been renamed to Overdrive
-Tweaked ship teleporter pads to help make them more distinct.
-Character dialogue windows now have an option for ending the conversation, alternatively you can press the X button in the corner or press R again.
-Removed the jetpack restrictions on all remaining ships, this hopefully removes some potential confusion especially for newer players
-Ship components are better labeled based on if they are contraband (red), experimental (yellow) or special (quest related, blue)
-Items are also better labeled in the above mentioned format
-Special items (quest related) can no longer be destroyed or dropped. They may still be sold, however.
-Teleporter screens no longer give the option to teleport to the ship you are currently on
-Dialogue window border has been tweaked
-Thrust Booster warp drive program now adds +6 thrust instead of multiplying thrust
-Character names and health bars are now shown through geometry within a certain distance, this may help with locating positions of crew members on ships


Fixes
-Fixed an issue with the floating robots found at The Estate
-Fixed a visual issue on the Carrier-Class Starship
-Fixed a space collision issue in Sector 0
-Fixed a few visual issues in Outpost 448
-Fixed a visual issue in Cornelia Station
-Fixed a temperature effect in the Sylvassi Quarter on Outpost 448

Thank you for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team

Hey everyone!

Beta 18 is now available!

Also for the next week the game is available for 40% off!

Devlog #74: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx6m8wcNlHw

This update is focused on revamping the character art in PULSAR and adds two new playable races: the Sylvassi and robots! Player and NPC models have been replaced with a new, slightly more stylized look. This style allowed us to make a lot of extra improvements that we feel will better the experience of the game. It's different, but we're happy with the new characters and hope you guys like them too!

New Races:

The Sylvassi are an alien race that were embroiled in conflict with the humans during the Old Wars and are still recovering from those days. They possess a cloaking ability that allows them to go "invisible" for a short time, letting them flee from or reposition themselves in combat. They need a liquid methane environment to survive and are immune to extreme cold, but as liquid methane is highly flammable, they take extra damage from fires.

Sylvassi home worlds are cold and comprised largely of liquid methane, though many Sylvassi have grown up enclosed in their suits. A good number alive today are part of the first generation born free of the W.D. Corporation labor worlds since the end of the Old Wars. In the past century, more Sylvassi have begun to forge their own paths; some have joined the Colonial Union, others have found sanctuary in the Alliance of Gentlemen, and others still have pursued their own ambitions and joined the W.D. Corporation by choice.

Humanoid Robots are common in the galaxy, but are just beginning to branch out as full time crewmembers on starships. They don't gain nourishment from regular food, but a repair tool can patch them up. They are immune to all hostile environment types (no oxygen, extreme heat and cold, toxic atmospheres), though they are still susceptible to radiation.

Often employed for automated trading stations or labor in conditions that are otherwise dangerous to living organisms. Recently, however, there has been a rise of seemingly sentient machines who are joining crews and fulfilling roles that have been traditionally performed by biological persons. As robots are particularly resistant to hostile environments, they are well-suited for planetary missions and the unexpected perils of work aboard a starship.

Humans now have a special ability as well. They tend to cling to life, and once per jump a fellow crewmember has the opportunity to revive a fallen human.

Humans have recovered some of their former glory since the dark ages after the Old Wars, and they have become a prominent intergalactic presence. Their innate drive for exploration has propelled them across many galaxies, discovering new worlds and paving the way for those who would follow. Though they are ill-suited for many environments, their tenacity, ingenuity, and will to survive rival even the most resilient of species.


As for the updated character models, we wanted proper uniforms for each faction, crisper silhouettes, more customization options, and characters that could work well in nearly every lighting angle we could throw at them. Because the new style doesn't use traditional texturing techniques, it's quick to make and cheaper on the CPU. We've made an interesting shader that allows us to forgo many of the textures the previous characters needed, which reduces the number of draw calls per character. We optimized the NPC character rigs for the same effect.

We’ve also taken a look at player progression and offering new customization unlocks for certain accomplishments or milestones within the game (no micro-transactions or loot boxes needed). Flaunt your accomplishments, if you so choose.


Additions
-Play as Human, Sylvassi or Robot crewmembers
-New appearance menu and more unlockable cosmetic items
-Sylvassi can cloak themselves to prevent enemies from targeting them for a short time, this personal cloaking field is shut down if the player shoots their weapon, similar to ship cloaking.
-Robots can be healed with repair tools
-Humans can be revived once per jump
-New Statistics menu that can show various info about your time playing the game. This can be accessed from the main menu.
-You can now access the character appearance / customization menu from the main menu
-The Barber is now a place where you can change your race/appearing during play. Since there are mechanical differences to each race now, we’ve decided to only allow in-game changes through the Barber located in the major hubs of the galaxy.
-New AI Behavior: Revive Crewmate
-New AI Behavior: Repair Crewmate
- Sylvassi AI characters should cloak themselves automatically when their low on health
-New AI Custom Event: Repairable crewmate is nearby
-New AI Custom Event: Repair gun is equipped
-New AI Custom Event: Nearby crewmate can be revived
-General AI Tweak: The “Close To Captain” Behavior stops bots from continuously running around when they are near you. They are more likely to stand near you calmly now.
-Status screen has been added to Outrider engineering bay
-Added a splash screen with various logos and a photosensitivity warning
-Game Options menu now contains option for profanity filter. It will be on by default.


Character Art
-3 Human Male Faces
-3 Human Female Faces
-10 Human Skin Colors
-11 Male Hairstyle Options
-8 Male Hats
-10 Male Facial Hair Options
-12 Female Hairstyle Options
-8 Female Hats
-26 Human Face Prop Variants
-New Uniform: Colonial Union (Human male and female)
-New Uniform: W.D. Corporation (Human male and female)
-New Uniform: Alliance of Gentlemen (Human male and female)
-New Uniform: Fluffy Biscuit Co. (Human male and female)
-New Uniform: 2 Civilian variants (Human male and female)
-3 Sylvassi Faces
-10 Sylvassi Skin Colors
-7 Sylvassi Head Markings
-7 Sylvassi Face Props
-New Uniform: Sylvassi Suit and Helmet
-6 Robot Heads
-10 Robot Paint Colors
-New Bodies: 4 Robot Humanoid Bodies
-New shoulder light and flight pack meshes
-New player movement animations
-New interaction animations
-Over 400 NPCs have been replaced with the new style and animations across all planets, stations, ships and hubs.
-All metal bandits have received the art update too


Changes
-Colonial Union hub “Outpost 448” has been revamped. It is slightly more consolidated and now includes Sylvassi quarters, a hydroponics lab, and a Fluffy Biscuit shop. Certain NPCs have been changed, removed, or had their dialog updated.
-NPC names now show up over their heads when looking at them
-New mission visual indicators when an NPC has a mission available
-New mission visual indicators when an NPC has a mission to complete
-Handheld scanner also displays mission indicators to help you find important NPCs
-Added more props to certain sections of Cornelia Station
-You can now see your character during the class select menu and can make modifications to your appearance before joining the game.
-Status screen has been added to the engineering section of the Outrider-class starship
-All Exotic shops will now deal in Contraband items (selling and buying them)


Fixes
-Fixed visual issues that caused players to disappear when on ships
-Temperature fixed in abandoned WD Destroyer
-Dark Drive should now show up for sale in exotic shops
-Fluffy Biscuit factories now sell biscuits
-Fixed a collision issue found on a WD toxic waste planet
-Fixed a collision issue on CU toxic planet
-Fixed a visual error on the CU warp coil refinery
-Fixed a visual error at the interdimensional research station
-Fixed a scrolling UV issue in the borthix lab on the Estate
-Fixed some potential typed input issues when typing in the chat box
-Fixed a collision issue found at the Burrow
-Fixed a visual issue found at the Burrow
-Fixed a visual mismatch for a nuke ship component



Thank you for your time!

Best,
The Leafy Games Team


Beta 18.1 Release Notes

Fixes
-Sylvassi cloak input binding no longer requires resetting input bindings
-A few small changes to prevent some internal exceptions that were reported

Beta 18.2 Release Notes

Fixes
-Fixed Fluffy Biscuit ship ranking board
-Scanner IK / animation updates to improve positioning

Beta 18.3 Release Notes

Fixes
-Fixed extractor UI

Beta 18.4 Release Notes

Fixes
-Fixed Fluffy Biscuit creation station UI on Fluffy One
-Improvements to help avoid teleportation issues and stuck in ground issues
-Fixed bots targeting friendly ground turrets

Beta 18.5 Release Notes

Fixes
-Fixed Fluffy Biscuit crate remaining UI on Fluffy One
-Tweaked camera properties to make handheld scanner more visible when using it
-Fixed AI priority override menu issue preventing edit button from appearing