Steam 'Early Access' users will receive this update Monday, December 18th, 2017. 

The Research Update is an entirely new way to play Astroneer. As part of our Alpha launch, we wanted to lay a solid foundation by updating our core game loop. Now, using the new Catalog and Research Chamber, players can use Bytes to unlock the blueprints they want. This update also includes our first module that uses "streaming power", as well as changes to research colors and some under the hood performance changes while we continue our ongoing effort to improve game stability. Also, as mentioned earlier, we are moving into the Alpha phase of development, which means that going forward, we will be adding content and changes to the game with every update until we reach Beta. For a list of upcoming features and expected launch windows, check the roadmap update below!

You can find these updates in 0.5.0.0, the current build of the game.

The research system has been completely changed from the ground up. This will allow us to add new items to the game on a consistent basis, while giving players direct ways to unlock the items they want. Here's how it works:

We have introduced a concept called Bytes. Bytes are the way Astroneers will unlock items in the new research system.

Getting Bytes requires researching items at the new Research Chamber. Items that are researchable include: Research Chests found in the world, and resources like Compound, Resin, etc. We will be expanding the list of researchable items in the future.

Use the backpack Catalog to unlock blueprints. After you have accumulated enough bytes to unlock the items you want, open up your Catalog in your backpack to send data to Exo Dynamics in exchange for the blueprint to create said item. 



There are a few general tips for this new system. Research Chambers require a constant flow of power to continue gathering Bytes. That means power infrastructure like Batteries, Generators, Solar panels, and Wind generators will become extremely important. You can Overclock your platforms to produce more bytes by increasing the amount of power the platforms receive. 

The new Research Chamber is our first platform using "streaming" power, a system we are going to move to completely in the future. Now, rather than placing a research chest on the platform and getting a random item, you research objects to accumulate data, which you can then use to unlock whatever items you would like from your backpack. These platforms all stack, so the more powered platforms with research you have going, the more Bytes you will accumulate!



You can also Overclock your Research Chamber to accumulate Bytes faster. Examine the module connected to the platform to see the rate of Bytes, and also check if you are operating at maximum efficiency. 

Players should also be aware that after you add a researchable item to the Chamber, you cannot stop the process without destroying the contents. Cancelling for any reason means you lose the Bytes left in that subject!

The Catalog is your central hub for unlocking printable blueprints for items. Once you have enough Bytes, open the catalog using the backpack key while the backpack is open, or just click on it when your backpack is stowed. On the top if it's screen you will see the rate of Bytes Per Minute (BPM) as well as your total accumulated Bytes, and on the bottom, you can scroll through researchable items and unlock them by clicking on the green button. To cycle through the categories of research, press the buttons with the icons above the main window. 



First Implementation of the new "streaming" power system
As the first step in getting basebuilding online, the Research Chamber uses the new streaming power system to operate. That means rather than having base modules use a power bar that has to continue refilling, modules using the new mechanic search the network for sources of power and then stay connected to them as long as the power keeps coming in. 

Keeping with our ideal to try and base items in our game on actual science, we worked on updating resource colors. Items like malachite should now better reflect their real world counterparts. These are still a work in progress. 

The game now has a few usability and informational tweaks. The first is a prompt to let players know that an old save is most likely unsupported and buggy. Upon loading the older save, the game will warn you about the potential for bugs and less than ideal performance. We also added a new message of the day area on the home screen, with a link to patch notes so you can check them out anytime. 

Players will now have an on-screen prompt upon starting new saves that explains updated mechanics and content! Press F1 on your keyboard or the "View" button on your controller to pull up these tutorials at any time. 

Now, if you crash as a result of a bug, the game will automatically send a report to us for triage. We might still ask for crashdumps from time to time, but this will help us better track crashes and how many players they effect. 

Purchasers of the Astroneer soundtrack will get the new Soundtrack Volume 2 by Rutger Zuydervelt for free! If you want to purchase a physical copy, head over here! Riley also added new sounds for the Research Chamber and Catalog. 

If you want to see the other stuff that happened this month that didn't make it, check out our vlogs for weekly insight to what the team is doing. This month the team showed off some new hazard behaviors that you should be seeing in game really soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNg5TzjdVjk&t=114s

• [AS-1308] - The game now auto-saves appropriately when force quitting via the window “x” in the top right corner or by pressing ALT+F4.
  
• [AS-1713] - Fixed a visual issue where Client player’s dropship had no thrusters in Multiplayer games.
  
• [AS-1762] - Players can no longer hold objects after death or during the re-launch animation from orbit. 
  
• [AS-1816] - Fixed a few issues with quick stowing of items not interacting well with the backpack printer.
  
• [AS-1829] - Fixed the Terrain Brush color ring to reflect the player color in the 'tool disabled' state (it’s no longer fuschia).
  
• [AS-1832] - Fixed a few other instances of Client players getting stuck in a wheelie while driving a Rover in Multiplayer games. 
  
• [AS-1834] - Fixed an issue in Multiplayer games where the soil burn-off effect on the drill did not display for Client players
  
• [AS-1876] - Fixed a bug in Multiplayer games on Xbox One where the 'No Power' text and symbol were not visible on Modules to Client players 

The following major features are continuing during development, but are not included in this release. Now that we are in Alpha, you can expect to see all of these items implemented during the first half of 2018. 

We are currently working diligently with a 3rd party to start standing up the dedicated server experience. There are unanswered questions regarding ownership & persistence, but we expect to be shipping our first dedicated server experience during Q2 of 2018. 

Right now the team is working on some elements that will will completely change how you build your bases, and creating "tiers" of base modules that will scale up as your Astroneer starts to master the solar system. We want there to be a sense of progression when creating bases, so that your initial base looks way different than a base belonging to a seasoned Astro. That doesn't just mean bigger, that means more complex, but also more rewarding. Right now you could technically burn organic on 30 small generators to power a big base, but what if you could just upgrade your base with more powerful and automated power sources to replace them all? The initial version of basebuilding will be shipping some time in Q1 2018. 

The first version of this is out, but that doesn't mean we are done. As with all of the new systems we are shipping, these are just base implementations that we will now work on expanding. The next steps include working on items that instantly grant you research points, and unlockable blueprints that can only be found out in the world and never be unlocked via the catalog. Expect this to keep getting more content for our next few updates. 

As a part of Terrain 2.0 we will also be introducing an entirely new weather and hazard system to challenge players. You should have gotten a taste of this in last weeks vlog. Rather than just being challenged by gas bags and dust storms, we are going to implement different kinds of weather effects, and aggressive flora that will challenge your exploration of the solar system. 

I will save you the technical talk and just say that creating new planets, biomes and caves has begun. There is still a long process to tweak the procedural system, but T2.0 is slowly being turned over from engineering to the art team so they can begin making much more complex planets with unique challenges to face. 

Wow this was a long one. Thanks to everyone who has been sharing, reporting bugs, and providing feedback on the current state of Astroneer. Keep it coming! The team is excited to continue updating the game on a regular basis.

-joe

Steam 'Early Access' users will receive this update Monday, December 18th, 2017. 

The Research Update is an entirely new way to play Astroneer. As part of our Alpha launch, we wanted to lay a solid foundation by updating our core game loop. Now, using the new Catalog and Research Chamber, players can use Bytes to unlock the blueprints they want. This update also includes our first module that uses "streaming power", as well as changes to research colors and some under the hood performance changes while we continue our ongoing effort to improve game stability. Also, as mentioned earlier, we are moving into the Alpha phase of development, which means that going forward, we will be adding content and changes to the game with every update until we reach Beta. For a list of upcoming features and expected launch windows, check the roadmap update below!

You can find these updates in 0.5.0.0, the current build of the game.

The research system has been completely changed from the ground up. This will allow us to add new items to the game on a consistent basis, while giving players direct ways to unlock the items they want. Here's how it works:

We have introduced a concept called Bytes. Bytes are the way Astroneers will unlock items in the new research system.

Getting Bytes requires researching items at the new Research Chamber. Items that are researchable include: Research Chests found in the world, and resources like Compound, Resin, etc. We will be expanding the list of researchable items in the future.

Use the backpack Catalog to unlock blueprints. After you have accumulated enough bytes to unlock the items you want, open up your Catalog in your backpack to send data to Exo Dynamics in exchange for the blueprint to create said item. 



There are a few general tips for this new system. Research Chambers require a constant flow of power to continue gathering Bytes. That means power infrastructure like Batteries, Generators, Solar panels, and Wind generators will become extremely important. You can Overclock your platforms to produce more bytes by increasing the amount of power the platforms receive. 

The new Research Chamber is our first platform using "streaming" power, a system we are going to move to completely in the future. Now, rather than placing a research chest on the platform and getting a random item, you research objects to accumulate data, which you can then use to unlock whatever items you would like from your backpack. These platforms all stack, so the more powered platforms with research you have going, the more Bytes you will accumulate!



You can also Overclock your Research Chamber to accumulate Bytes faster. Examine the module connected to the platform to see the rate of Bytes, and also check if you are operating at maximum efficiency. 

Players should also be aware that after you add a researchable item to the Chamber, you cannot stop the process without destroying the contents. Cancelling for any reason means you lose the Bytes left in that subject!

The Catalog is your central hub for unlocking printable blueprints for items. Once you have enough Bytes, open the catalog using the backpack key while the backpack is open, or just click on it when your backpack is stowed. On the top if it's screen you will see the rate of Bytes Per Minute (BPM) as well as your total accumulated Bytes, and on the bottom, you can scroll through researchable items and unlock them by clicking on the green button. To cycle through the categories of research, press the buttons with the icons above the main window. 



First Implementation of the new "streaming" power system
As the first step in getting basebuilding online, the Research Chamber uses the new streaming power system to operate. That means rather than having base modules use a power bar that has to continue refilling, modules using the new mechanic search the network for sources of power and then stay connected to them as long as the power keeps coming in. 

Keeping with our ideal to try and base items in our game on actual science, we worked on updating resource colors. Items like malachite should now better reflect their real world counterparts. These are still a work in progress. 

The game now has a few usability and informational tweaks. The first is a prompt to let players know that an old save is most likely unsupported and buggy. Upon loading the older save, the game will warn you about the potential for bugs and less than ideal performance. We also added a new message of the day area on the home screen, with a link to patch notes so you can check them out anytime. 

Players will now have an on-screen prompt upon starting new saves that explains updated mechanics and content! Press F1 on your keyboard or the "View" button on your controller to pull up these tutorials at any time. 

Now, if you crash as a result of a bug, the game will automatically send a report to us for triage. We might still ask for crashdumps from time to time, but this will help us better track crashes and how many players they effect. 

Purchasers of the Astroneer soundtrack will get the new Soundtrack Volume 2 by Rutger Zuydervelt for free! If you want to purchase a physical copy, head over here! Riley also added new sounds for the Research Chamber and Catalog. 

If you want to see the other stuff that happened this month that didn't make it, check out our vlogs for weekly insight to what the team is doing. This month the team showed off some new hazard behaviors that you should be seeing in game really soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNg5TzjdVjk&t=114s

• [AS-1308] - The game now auto-saves appropriately when force quitting via the window “x” in the top right corner or by pressing ALT+F4.
  
• [AS-1713] - Fixed a visual issue where Client player’s dropship had no thrusters in Multiplayer games.
  
• [AS-1762] - Players can no longer hold objects after death or during the re-launch animation from orbit. 
  
• [AS-1816] - Fixed a few issues with quick stowing of items not interacting well with the backpack printer.
  
• [AS-1829] - Fixed the Terrain Brush color ring to reflect the player color in the 'tool disabled' state (it’s no longer fuschia).
  
• [AS-1832] - Fixed a few other instances of Client players getting stuck in a wheelie while driving a Rover in Multiplayer games. 
  
• [AS-1834] - Fixed an issue in Multiplayer games where the soil burn-off effect on the drill did not display for Client players
  
• [AS-1876] - Fixed a bug in Multiplayer games on Xbox One where the 'No Power' text and symbol were not visible on Modules to Client players 

The following major features are continuing during development, but are not included in this release. Now that we are in Alpha, you can expect to see all of these items implemented during the first half of 2018. 

We are currently working diligently with a 3rd party to start standing up the dedicated server experience. There are unanswered questions regarding ownership & persistence, but we expect to be shipping our first dedicated server experience during Q2 of 2018. 

Right now the team is working on some elements that will will completely change how you build your bases, and creating "tiers" of base modules that will scale up as your Astroneer starts to master the solar system. We want there to be a sense of progression when creating bases, so that your initial base looks way different than a base belonging to a seasoned Astro. That doesn't just mean bigger, that means more complex, but also more rewarding. Right now you could technically burn organic on 30 small generators to power a big base, but what if you could just upgrade your base with more powerful and automated power sources to replace them all? The initial version of basebuilding will be shipping some time in Q1 2018. 

The first version of this is out, but that doesn't mean we are done. As with all of the new systems we are shipping, these are just base implementations that we will now work on expanding. The next steps include working on items that instantly grant you research points, and unlockable blueprints that can only be found out in the world and never be unlocked via the catalog. Expect this to keep getting more content for our next few updates. 

As a part of Terrain 2.0 we will also be introducing an entirely new weather and hazard system to challenge players. You should have gotten a taste of this in last weeks vlog. Rather than just being challenged by gas bags and dust storms, we are going to implement different kinds of weather effects, and aggressive flora that will challenge your exploration of the solar system. 

I will save you the technical talk and just say that creating new planets, biomes and caves has begun. There is still a long process to tweak the procedural system, but T2.0 is slowly being turned over from engineering to the art team so they can begin making much more complex planets with unique challenges to face. 

Wow this was a long one. Thanks to everyone who has been sharing, reporting bugs, and providing feedback on the current state of Astroneer. Keep it coming! The team is excited to continue updating the game on a regular basis.

-joe

Astroneer's Pre-Alpha Early Access will be updated to version 0.4.10221.0

Update 221 is a followup to the Excavation update, including an update to rover connections, some quality of life changes, and bugfixes/multiplayer fixes. While we continue work on a major December milestone and large content update, we wanted to still ship a patch on our monthly cadence. 

UPDATES

You can find these updates in 0.4.101221.0, the current build of the game.

The old rover joints created all sorts of physics issues caused by the individual rover bodies flipping over, colliding with other rovers in the train, and generally just being extremely wonky. The new joints are much more rigid, allowing for more stable rover trains overall. As always, rovers are still a work in progress, and we hope to have a complete overhaul of their physics, maneuverability, and controls when we get closer to our 1.0 launch. 

Both Steam and Xbox "Play Anywhere" users should now see a "Patch Notes" button on the home screen of their game. This first iteration will point to Excavation Update changes, but in the future this link will change dynamically and have "message of the day" type information. 

This feature is a small but extremely helpful one. Currently Astroneers have three kinds of storage. Backpack space, Aux Slots (top of the backpack), and the terrain tool slots. Things like augments are useful on the terrain tool or stored in the backpack, while solar panels and small wind vanes want to be on the top of your backpack to be useful. With this new behavior, while quick stowing items, (Shift + Mouse 1) on PC (Right Trigger + X) on Xbox items will naturally try and slot to the place that makes the most sense. This should also work with items currently in your inventory, so swapping a solar panel to your aux slots should be a bit easier now!

• [AS-1822] - Implement New Music Assets
  
• [AS-1839] - Audio - Update "negative" UI sound effect
  
• [AS-1861] - Audio - cleaned up foley SFX

The "infinite" power and oxygen towers in the game have been removed. They were first implemented as a "fix" for players that got lost, but their frequency changed the exploration experience in a bad way. Exploring far away from your base should be viewed as a trek that requires planning and preparation. You can still find oxygen and power on cave walls, but otherwise, plan ahead or bring a vehicle or meet almost certain death.

If you want to see the other stuff that happened this month that didn't make it, check out our vlogs for weekly insight to what the team is doing. Of particular interest is Spencer's work on basebuilding, which caused him to visually explore what monster truck rovers might look like:

https://youtu.be/yMbaXLwTIN0

BUGFIXES

• [AS-1752] - Hydrazine Catalyzer now shows the name of the resource (Ammonium) required to make Hydrazine.
  
• [AS-1779] - Fixed an issue where the Fuel Condenser wouldn’t fill an entire canister with fuel in five battery cycles.
  
• [AS-1802] - Fixed several Multiplayer issues causing Canisters holograms to frequently not appearing for the Client player.
  
• [AS-1803] - Fixed an issue where empty canisters some times display as full on Client
  
• [AS-1805] - Fixed a Multiplayer issue where the Mineral Extractor module would become temporarily invisible for the Client player.
  
• [AS-1806] - Fixed an issue where the ‘'Enclosed 1-Seat' would be un-selectable in Vehicle Bay after the player cycled away from printing it.
  
• [AS-1815] - Player can no longer jump infinitely off of items on the deform tool with the backpack open.
  
• [AS-1817] - Fixed issues with inconsistent power usage by Augments.
  
• [AS-1818] - Objects dropped from backpack upon death are no longer buried when the player returns, instead items that were slotted into the Deform Tool are now found on a Deform Tool near the body.
  
• [AS-1819] - Fixed some awkwardness for players getting out of vehicles while they were upside down.
  
• [AS-1830] - Fixed a major Multiplayer issue which prevented players from rejoining a game after they quit to the Main Menu.
  
• [AS-1831] - Fixed a Multiplayer issue where Tether lines would not go dark for Client players when they were disconnected from an oxygen source
  
• [AS-1835] - Fixed a visual-only bug in Multiplayer games where the Mineral Extractor canisters looked full for Client players
  
• [AS-1856] - Crane controls once again work for gamepads!
  
• [AS-1868] - Fixed a crash in Multiplayer games that occurred when Client players left the game while seated in the respawn Habitat.
  
• [AS-1906] - Instances of the hilarious, yet annoying Rover Rodeo have been reduced, but may still occur in extraordinarily laggy network situations.

Thanks to the community for reporting, documenting and triage-ing bugs for us to smash!

ROADMAP HIGHLIGHT

The following major features are continuing during development, but are not included in this release. This month we spent a ton of time working on "spec" documents for future features like weather/climate, hazardous discoveries, new UI and more. View our full roadmap here. https://trello.com/b/UoZgKrd3/astroneer-development-roadmap

We now have a fully operating dedicated server running in house! Brendan tweeted last week:

"Just brought online our first always-on @astroneergame headless dedicated server in the studio. It gets automatic updates from daily builds." "Still a ways from a public roll-out, but a big step closer."

Carl has continued work on dedicated servers, and we are moving towards the goal of having them roll out to the larger community!

Terrain 2.0 tech is moving along well! We now have the new tech in-engine and work has begun on authoring tools, which will allow us to start crafting new biomes, caves, & planets! There has also been a ton of work to figure out what weather (& weather related dynamic events like lightning, sandstorms, radiation, heat & cold) might look like in an updated planet in Astroneer.

The power system and basebuilding system is making lots of progress. As mentioned above, basebuilding had some unanswered questions around moving base modules, which spawned visual explorations for xl rovers that can house and move base modules.

We have internally playtested, revised, and subsequently playtested another version of the new research 2.1* gameplay loop. We are now balancing and tweaking it for a larger rollout.

Next month's CU is going to be a big one, as we are celebrating our one year anniversary of launching into early access, and are looking forward to announcing a major milestone in Astroneer's development! Thanks to everyone who has been sharing, reporting bugs, and providing feedback on the current state of Astroneer! I am looking forward to sharing our plans for December soon :).

-jt

Astroneer's Pre-Alpha Early Access will be updated to version 0.4.10221.0

Update 221 is a followup to the Excavation update, including an update to rover connections, some quality of life changes, and bugfixes/multiplayer fixes. While we continue work on a major December milestone and large content update, we wanted to still ship a patch on our monthly cadence. 

UPDATES

You can find these updates in 0.4.101221.0, the current build of the game.

The old rover joints created all sorts of physics issues caused by the individual rover bodies flipping over, colliding with other rovers in the train, and generally just being extremely wonky. The new joints are much more rigid, allowing for more stable rover trains overall. As always, rovers are still a work in progress, and we hope to have a complete overhaul of their physics, maneuverability, and controls when we get closer to our 1.0 launch. 

Both Steam and Xbox "Play Anywhere" users should now see a "Patch Notes" button on the home screen of their game. This first iteration will point to Excavation Update changes, but in the future this link will change dynamically and have "message of the day" type information. 

This feature is a small but extremely helpful one. Currently Astroneers have three kinds of storage. Backpack space, Aux Slots (top of the backpack), and the terrain tool slots. Things like augments are useful on the terrain tool or stored in the backpack, while solar panels and small wind vanes want to be on the top of your backpack to be useful. With this new behavior, while quick stowing items, (Shift + Mouse 1) on PC (Right Trigger + X) on Xbox items will naturally try and slot to the place that makes the most sense. This should also work with items currently in your inventory, so swapping a solar panel to your aux slots should be a bit easier now!

• [AS-1822] - Implement New Music Assets
  
• [AS-1839] - Audio - Update "negative" UI sound effect
  
• [AS-1861] - Audio - cleaned up foley SFX

The "infinite" power and oxygen towers in the game have been removed. They were first implemented as a "fix" for players that got lost, but their frequency changed the exploration experience in a bad way. Exploring far away from your base should be viewed as a trek that requires planning and preparation. You can still find oxygen and power on cave walls, but otherwise, plan ahead or bring a vehicle or meet almost certain death.

If you want to see the other stuff that happened this month that didn't make it, check out our vlogs for weekly insight to what the team is doing. Of particular interest is Spencer's work on basebuilding, which caused him to visually explore what monster truck rovers might look like:

https://youtu.be/yMbaXLwTIN0

BUGFIXES

• [AS-1752] - Hydrazine Catalyzer now shows the name of the resource (Ammonium) required to make Hydrazine.
  
• [AS-1779] - Fixed an issue where the Fuel Condenser wouldn’t fill an entire canister with fuel in five battery cycles.
  
• [AS-1802] - Fixed several Multiplayer issues causing Canisters holograms to frequently not appearing for the Client player.
  
• [AS-1803] - Fixed an issue where empty canisters some times display as full on Client
  
• [AS-1805] - Fixed a Multiplayer issue where the Mineral Extractor module would become temporarily invisible for the Client player.
  
• [AS-1806] - Fixed an issue where the ‘'Enclosed 1-Seat' would be un-selectable in Vehicle Bay after the player cycled away from printing it.
  
• [AS-1815] - Player can no longer jump infinitely off of items on the deform tool with the backpack open.
  
• [AS-1817] - Fixed issues with inconsistent power usage by Augments.
  
• [AS-1818] - Objects dropped from backpack upon death are no longer buried when the player returns, instead items that were slotted into the Deform Tool are now found on a Deform Tool near the body.
  
• [AS-1819] - Fixed some awkwardness for players getting out of vehicles while they were upside down.
  
• [AS-1830] - Fixed a major Multiplayer issue which prevented players from rejoining a game after they quit to the Main Menu.
  
• [AS-1831] - Fixed a Multiplayer issue where Tether lines would not go dark for Client players when they were disconnected from an oxygen source
  
• [AS-1835] - Fixed a visual-only bug in Multiplayer games where the Mineral Extractor canisters looked full for Client players
  
• [AS-1856] - Crane controls once again work for gamepads!
  
• [AS-1868] - Fixed a crash in Multiplayer games that occurred when Client players left the game while seated in the respawn Habitat.
  
• [AS-1906] - Instances of the hilarious, yet annoying Rover Rodeo have been reduced, but may still occur in extraordinarily laggy network situations.

Thanks to the community for reporting, documenting and triage-ing bugs for us to smash!

ROADMAP HIGHLIGHT

The following major features are continuing during development, but are not included in this release. This month we spent a ton of time working on "spec" documents for future features like weather/climate, hazardous discoveries, new UI and more. View our full roadmap here. https://trello.com/b/UoZgKrd3/astroneer-development-roadmap

We now have a fully operating dedicated server running in house! Brendan tweeted last week:

"Just brought online our first always-on @astroneergame headless dedicated server in the studio. It gets automatic updates from daily builds." "Still a ways from a public roll-out, but a big step closer."

Carl has continued work on dedicated servers, and we are moving towards the goal of having them roll out to the larger community!

Terrain 2.0 tech is moving along well! We now have the new tech in-engine and work has begun on authoring tools, which will allow us to start crafting new biomes, caves, & planets! There has also been a ton of work to figure out what weather (& weather related dynamic events like lightning, sandstorms, radiation, heat & cold) might look like in an updated planet in Astroneer.

The power system and basebuilding system is making lots of progress. As mentioned above, basebuilding had some unanswered questions around moving base modules, which spawned visual explorations for xl rovers that can house and move base modules.

We have internally playtested, revised, and subsequently playtested another version of the new research 2.1* gameplay loop. We are now balancing and tweaking it for a larger rollout.

Next month's CU is going to be a big one, as we are celebrating our one year anniversary of launching into early access, and are looking forward to announcing a major milestone in Astroneer's development! Thanks to everyone who has been sharing, reporting bugs, and providing feedback on the current state of Astroneer! I am looking forward to sharing our plans for December soon :).

-jt

This week's vlog covers Spencer's exploration around large rovers, and Carl talks about progress with dedicated servers!



As part of our push to make modular bases a part of the Astroneer core gameplay experience, Spencer worked on some visual mockups of what rovers that could potentially carry base components might look like! Watch for more details below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMbaXLwTIN0&t=336s
Carl also talks about how dedicated server work is going, and reveals that we have our first headless dedicated server running 24/7 in the SES studio! It still needs a decent amount of work, but this is another step in the process of getting servers rolled out for community use.

Make sure you subscribe to our youtube channel for weekly updates directly from the System Era studio!

This week's vlog covers Spencer's exploration around large rovers, and Carl talks about progress with dedicated servers!



As part of our push to make modular bases a part of the Astroneer core gameplay experience, Spencer worked on some visual mockups of what rovers that could potentially carry base components might look like! Watch for more details below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMbaXLwTIN0&t=336s
Carl also talks about how dedicated server work is going, and reveals that we have our first headless dedicated server running 24/7 in the SES studio! It still needs a decent amount of work, but this is another step in the process of getting servers rolled out for community use.

Make sure you subscribe to our youtube channel for weekly updates directly from the System Era studio!

Astroneer's Pre-Alpha Early Access will be updated to version 0.4.10215.0 (The Excavation Update)



The "Excavation" Update includes new modules & items to craft, an entirely new core gameplay loop, and quality of life updates. It also includes some crucial fixes for vehicles and tweaks to research RNG ahead of Research 2.0 changes. We would like to sincerely thank Early Access players for their feedback in the Experimental 002 test, as that information helped us make changes that eventually made it into this update.

Disclaimer: Up until this point, we have worked hard to make sure older saves were compatible with the newest versions of Astroneer. While old saves will be "compatible" with our newest update, we highly recommend you start a fresh save. Use old saves at your own risk, and please keep bug reports limited to savegames that were started fresh during 215!

UPDATES

You can find these updates in 0.4.101215.0, the current build of the game.

The Reusable Canister is an important part of the Excavation Update. You can now print these canisters from your backpack for one Resin. In 215, they serve as the primary way to store collected soil and refined hydrazine from the new Hydrazine Catalyzer. In the future, we would like these canisters to hold all of the liquid resources Astroneers might encounter or create.


The Mineral Extractor is a completely new module used to extract resources from all of the terrain beneath your Astroneer's feet. It works by taking sediment gathered into Reusable Canisters and filtering it, resulting in the resource of your choice. To create resources, simply gather sediment into reusable canisters using your Terrain Tool. Then feed that gathered sediment into the module's reservoir, and place a sample in the center of the centrifuge. Upon activation, the Extractor will fill its canisters with sediment, and extract out the requested resource. Mineral extraction has entirely new ratios for output, and now includes additional resources not found in our experimental test. The output values and list of resources available will most likely change in the future.


The Space Pizza Oven Hydrazine Catalyzer is now available. The conversion of Hydrazine from a crystalline deposit to fully refined resource in a container was never the intended final experience for gathering fuel. Now, when you would like to fuel a shuttle or thruster, use your terrain tool to gather ammonium crystals, and then catalyze them in this new module. Resuable Canisters are also required to store this newly created Hydrazine fuel. In the future, we hope to possibly use the catalyzer for the conversion of other minerals.

The boost mod is a new tool used to gather soil augment allows for rapid deforming, at the cost of drawing power from your backpack battery.

The fuel condenser now requires multiple charges to create a full canister of refined Hydrazine, and also reusable canisters to put that Hydrazine in. The good news is, this is now our first automated module in the game. Attach medium storage units to this and all of the new modules, and watch them pick and place items when necessary.

There have been significant changes to the backpack power system to better suit our intended progression path. Changes listed below:

• Deforming, flattening, or removing terrain no longer uses backpack battery power. Deform forever!
  
• The backpack no longer "trickle charges". That means if you run out of power, you are out until you can generate or find more. Be careful!
  
• Printing from the backpack printer now draws power
  
• Augments also now draw power when activated on your terrain tool.

There is also a big change when it comes to portable power generation! The solar panel and small generator have swapped places. Now, the most accessible power in the early game is the non renewable organic based small generator. Printable for one compound, these generators run on foliage gathered from the world. (If you never noticed, grass and bushes with bright colors yield organic.) Although this might seem like a cumbersome change, the small generator allows you to create power both above and below ground at any time. Rather than wait at your base till the sun comes up, you can head underground knowing you will almost always be able to find organic. Removing the trickle charge, and making the small generator more prominent decreases the amount of time you are just waiting around for power to come back, and lets you make deliberate choices about what you want to do.

After playing for a bit and unlocking the smelter, you can then make the neccessary copper to unlock the power of the sun. We feel like solar energy in the early game made progression too easy, and didn't present any interesting choices related to power. Most people made small solar panels for their base and themselves within five minutes of every new game and never really had to think about power generation ever again.


The drill has long been a great looking piece of machinery, with very little practical use. Now, whenever a drill is used on a vehicle, any connected reusable containers on any slot of the vehicle will fill with the deformed terrain. The above image has a rover train with 64 connected canisters, and the drill head can feed them all!

• Adding terrain now requires stored terrain from reusable containers
  
• Research has received a tuning pass to make it a bit less punishing, in anticipation of Research 2.0 changes.
  
• Medium Solar is now unlocked for every new save
  
• [AS-1575] - Added a new Soil Hose to the Deform Tool to show Soil usage between the Deform Tool and Canisters in the Backpack.
  
• [AS-1576] - Added Soil gauge to the Terrain Brush
  
• [AS-1579] - Updated Deform Tool to have a burn off valve to indicate lost terrain when Canisters are full
  
• Revised Soil usage to have a 1:1 relationship with changes made to terrain. ‘Flatten’ mode now collects or consumes Soil contextually.
  
• [AS-1572] - Opening Backpack while the Deform Tool is equipped will now pop out the Deform Tool automatically. Likewise, closing the Backpack with the Deform Tool popped out will automatically equip it.
  
• Pressing the Deform Tool ‘equip’ button/key while the Backpack is open will toggle popping out the Deform Tool instead of closing the backpack and equipping it.
  
• [AS-1573] - Indicator slots can now pull resources from Deform Tool in addition to the the Backpack.
  
• Deform Tool slots are now available when quick-storing items to the Backpack.
  
• When dying, any items attached to the Deform Tool or Backpack’s auxiliary slots are dropped with the Backpack itself instead respawning with the Player.
  
• [AS-1583] - When respawning, the Astroneer will now descend from the Space Station in their Habitat.
  
• Added new tutorial sequence to introduce Soil collection and changes to power usage. (Note that new saves will have to complete this tutorial before all starting recipes are made available)
  
• All Augment recipes now (temporarily) unlocked until the new Research System is released. Have fun!

• [AS-1614] Mixed, Mastered, & Implemented new music assets

Our composer Rutger has submitted some new music for Astroneer. You should be hearing this new music in-game intermittently.

BUGFIXES

• [AS-1450] - The Thruster now plays sounds when it activates and deactivates
  
• [AS-1516] - Fixed an issue where audio occasionally did not play when removing terrain
  
• [AS-1549] - Fixed an issue where Beacon icons would become inaccurate while viewing from orbit
  
• [AS-1554] - Partially fixed an issue where dead Astroneer backpacks would use world lighting, making it difficult to see what it is on them in low light situations. Future updates will have a more complete fix.
  
• [AS-1709] - Beacon collision model has been changed so it is no longer spherical. No more escaping Beacons!
  
• [AS-1720] - Driving past conduits on Rovers no longer pops attached objects off the front and back connectors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!1
  
• [AS-1740] - Fixed an issue where Rovers would fly into space when loading a save from a rover seat
  
• [AS-1742] - Fixed several issues with Rovers displaying inconsistent physics
  
• [AS-1745] - Fixed an issue with Rovers not having the power to perform basic intended functionality
  
• [AS-1758] - Sandstorm Attenuation should now be working properly
  
• [AS-1763] - Fixed an issue where Rovers would load in incorrect positions when quitting to Main Menu then reloading the Saved Game.

The team heard your feedback about rovers and worked during our bugfix week to fix them up. As always though, we want to remind you that they are a work in progress! Thanks to the community for reporting, documenting and triage-ing bugs for us to smash!

PROTOTYPING ROADMAP HIGHLIGHT

The following major features are continuing during development, but are not included in this release. Since we are (mostly) out of the prototyping phase, we can start calling this section the roadmap highlight, where we talk about some of the major work being done behind the scenes.

Dedicated servers are moving along nicely. Carl spoke to us on the vlog about what he was specifically working on at the time, including demoing 8 Astroneers on one dedicated server build here locally. The player number is still TBD, and to be fair none of those 8 users were moving or deforming or any of the other things users might do. We can say though that since then we have made great progress, including figuring out the plan for UI and the systems necessary to allow dedicated servers to work within Astroneer. Now we need to build them. Lots of work yet to be done, but some intrepid discord users noticed that SES has uploaded something into the tools section on steam. ;)

T2.0 is now in engine and deformable. That means work has begun to figure out the new authoring tools, as well as optimizing it so we can start creating the interesting terrain that this new, much more efficient system will allow for.

While the team was working on this newest update, We didn't want to completely drop any of the boulders we have been pushing towards. To save time and not take away too much from development, Samantha made a paper prototype to work out the modularity game loop. We will have more details about the results of that prototype soon!

Wow this was a SUPER long one. Go forth and live off the land now. Have fun and we can't wait to hear about what you think!

-jt

Astroneer's Pre-Alpha Early Access will be updated to version 0.4.10215.0 (The Excavation Update)



The "Excavation" Update includes new modules & items to craft, an entirely new core gameplay loop, and quality of life updates. It also includes some crucial fixes for vehicles and tweaks to research RNG ahead of Research 2.0 changes. We would like to sincerely thank Early Access players for their feedback in the Experimental 002 test, as that information helped us make changes that eventually made it into this update.

Disclaimer: Up until this point, we have worked hard to make sure older saves were compatible with the newest versions of Astroneer. While old saves will be "compatible" with our newest update, we highly recommend you start a fresh save. Use old saves at your own risk, and please keep bug reports limited to savegames that were started fresh during 215!

UPDATES

You can find these updates in 0.4.101215.0, the current build of the game.

The Reusable Canister is an important part of the Excavation Update. You can now print these canisters from your backpack for one Resin. In 215, they serve as the primary way to store collected soil and refined hydrazine from the new Hydrazine Catalyzer. In the future, we would like these canisters to hold all of the liquid resources Astroneers might encounter or create.


The Mineral Extractor is a completely new module used to extract resources from all of the terrain beneath your Astroneer's feet. It works by taking sediment gathered into Reusable Canisters and filtering it, resulting in the resource of your choice. To create resources, simply gather sediment into reusable canisters using your Terrain Tool. Then feed that gathered sediment into the module's reservoir, and place a sample in the center of the centrifuge. Upon activation, the Extractor will fill its canisters with sediment, and extract out the requested resource. Mineral extraction has entirely new ratios for output, and now includes additional resources not found in our experimental test. The output values and list of resources available will most likely change in the future.


The Space Pizza Oven Hydrazine Catalyzer is now available. The conversion of Hydrazine from a crystalline deposit to fully refined resource in a container was never the intended final experience for gathering fuel. Now, when you would like to fuel a shuttle or thruster, use your terrain tool to gather ammonium crystals, and then catalyze them in this new module. Resuable Canisters are also required to store this newly created Hydrazine fuel. In the future, we hope to possibly use the catalyzer for the conversion of other minerals.

The boost mod is a new tool used to gather soil augment allows for rapid deforming, at the cost of drawing power from your backpack battery.

The fuel condenser now requires multiple charges to create a full canister of refined Hydrazine, and also reusable canisters to put that Hydrazine in. The good news is, this is now our first automated module in the game. Attach medium storage units to this and all of the new modules, and watch them pick and place items when necessary.

There have been significant changes to the backpack power system to better suit our intended progression path. Changes listed below:

• Deforming, flattening, or removing terrain no longer uses backpack battery power. Deform forever!
  
• The backpack no longer "trickle charges". That means if you run out of power, you are out until you can generate or find more. Be careful!
  
• Printing from the backpack printer now draws power
  
• Augments also now draw power when activated on your terrain tool.

There is also a big change when it comes to portable power generation! The solar panel and small generator have swapped places. Now, the most accessible power in the early game is the non renewable organic based small generator. Printable for one compound, these generators run on foliage gathered from the world. (If you never noticed, grass and bushes with bright colors yield organic.) Although this might seem like a cumbersome change, the small generator allows you to create power both above and below ground at any time. Rather than wait at your base till the sun comes up, you can head underground knowing you will almost always be able to find organic. Removing the trickle charge, and making the small generator more prominent decreases the amount of time you are just waiting around for power to come back, and lets you make deliberate choices about what you want to do.

After playing for a bit and unlocking the smelter, you can then make the neccessary copper to unlock the power of the sun. We feel like solar energy in the early game made progression too easy, and didn't present any interesting choices related to power. Most people made small solar panels for their base and themselves within five minutes of every new game and never really had to think about power generation ever again.


The drill has long been a great looking piece of machinery, with very little practical use. Now, whenever a drill is used on a vehicle, any connected reusable containers on any slot of the vehicle will fill with the deformed terrain. The above image has a rover train with 64 connected canisters, and the drill head can feed them all!

• Adding terrain now requires stored terrain from reusable containers
  
• Research has received a tuning pass to make it a bit less punishing, in anticipation of Research 2.0 changes.
  
• Medium Solar is now unlocked for every new save
  
• [AS-1575] - Added a new Soil Hose to the Deform Tool to show Soil usage between the Deform Tool and Canisters in the Backpack.
  
• [AS-1576] - Added Soil gauge to the Terrain Brush
  
• [AS-1579] - Updated Deform Tool to have a burn off valve to indicate lost terrain when Canisters are full
  
• Revised Soil usage to have a 1:1 relationship with changes made to terrain. ‘Flatten’ mode now collects or consumes Soil contextually.
  
• [AS-1572] - Opening Backpack while the Deform Tool is equipped will now pop out the Deform Tool automatically. Likewise, closing the Backpack with the Deform Tool popped out will automatically equip it.
  
• Pressing the Deform Tool ‘equip’ button/key while the Backpack is open will toggle popping out the Deform Tool instead of closing the backpack and equipping it.
  
• [AS-1573] - Indicator slots can now pull resources from Deform Tool in addition to the the Backpack.
  
• Deform Tool slots are now available when quick-storing items to the Backpack.
  
• When dying, any items attached to the Deform Tool or Backpack’s auxiliary slots are dropped with the Backpack itself instead respawning with the Player.
  
• [AS-1583] - When respawning, the Astroneer will now descend from the Space Station in their Habitat.
  
• Added new tutorial sequence to introduce Soil collection and changes to power usage. (Note that new saves will have to complete this tutorial before all starting recipes are made available)
  
• All Augment recipes now (temporarily) unlocked until the new Research System is released. Have fun!

• [AS-1614] Mixed, Mastered, & Implemented new music assets

Our composer Rutger has submitted some new music for Astroneer. You should be hearing this new music in-game intermittently.

BUGFIXES

• [AS-1450] - The Thruster now plays sounds when it activates and deactivates
  
• [AS-1516] - Fixed an issue where audio occasionally did not play when removing terrain
  
• [AS-1549] - Fixed an issue where Beacon icons would become inaccurate while viewing from orbit
  
• [AS-1554] - Partially fixed an issue where dead Astroneer backpacks would use world lighting, making it difficult to see what it is on them in low light situations. Future updates will have a more complete fix.
  
• [AS-1709] - Beacon collision model has been changed so it is no longer spherical. No more escaping Beacons!
  
• [AS-1720] - Driving past conduits on Rovers no longer pops attached objects off the front and back connectors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!1
  
• [AS-1740] - Fixed an issue where Rovers would fly into space when loading a save from a rover seat
  
• [AS-1742] - Fixed several issues with Rovers displaying inconsistent physics
  
• [AS-1745] - Fixed an issue with Rovers not having the power to perform basic intended functionality
  
• [AS-1758] - Sandstorm Attenuation should now be working properly
  
• [AS-1763] - Fixed an issue where Rovers would load in incorrect positions when quitting to Main Menu then reloading the Saved Game.

The team heard your feedback about rovers and worked during our bugfix week to fix them up. As always though, we want to remind you that they are a work in progress! Thanks to the community for reporting, documenting and triage-ing bugs for us to smash!

PROTOTYPING ROADMAP HIGHLIGHT

The following major features are continuing during development, but are not included in this release. Since we are (mostly) out of the prototyping phase, we can start calling this section the roadmap highlight, where we talk about some of the major work being done behind the scenes.

Dedicated servers are moving along nicely. Carl spoke to us on the vlog about what he was specifically working on at the time, including demoing 8 Astroneers on one dedicated server build here locally. The player number is still TBD, and to be fair none of those 8 users were moving or deforming or any of the other things users might do. We can say though that since then we have made great progress, including figuring out the plan for UI and the systems necessary to allow dedicated servers to work within Astroneer. Now we need to build them. Lots of work yet to be done, but some intrepid discord users noticed that SES has uploaded something into the tools section on steam. ;)

T2.0 is now in engine and deformable. That means work has begun to figure out the new authoring tools, as well as optimizing it so we can start creating the interesting terrain that this new, much more efficient system will allow for.

While the team was working on this newest update, We didn't want to completely drop any of the boulders we have been pushing towards. To save time and not take away too much from development, Samantha made a paper prototype to work out the modularity game loop. We will have more details about the results of that prototype soon!

Wow this was a SUPER long one. Go forth and live off the land now. Have fun and we can't wait to hear about what you think!

-jt

Hey All! This week at SES has us arting up new modules, making progress on dedicated servers, and recording brand new sounds.



If you didn't know, we have been posting on Youtube to keep you all informed on development happenings while we make our way closer and closer to Astroneer's Alpha! While I have you here, I want to remind you that we have lots of other places where we post about development, namely:

Twitter l Youtube l Facebook l Reddit l Official Forums
InstagramDiscord Twitch

Now for the matter at hand. On this week's vlog, Spencer walks us through his creative process for making new modules, like the ones you see above. We also go into a little detail about the new canisters we are working on, and a tease about our modularity paper prototype that we will reveal more about next week. Watch it below:

https://youtu.be/dnjz-4t7Dy0

As for last week, Spencer showed off some new art as well, but the star of the show was our new engineer Carl, who was running 8 Astroneers on a local dedicated server. He breaks down what has to happen now to get it up and running for the public, so watch the video below for full details.

https://youtu.be/RrTGSSdjN7I

Also if you missed it, Riley and Myself streamed making sounds for the above new modules on Twitch. The replay is on youtube which you can watch here for all the #buttcam you can handle. ;)

https://youtu.be/xAaeTDxTxvY

Stay tuned for details about our next update, which will include new content for you all to sink your teeth into. Cheers!

-joe

PS: If you are a content creator on youtube/twitch/mixer etc..., that has or wants to make Astroneer content, hit me up on twitter. Some exciting things happening soon ;)