Howdy survivors!

What’s new in the world of Hellion? Any new trade routes, newly formed clans or rare resources? Welcome to another Hellion blog!



Remember that poll we had last week? The one where we asked for your opinion on the new ship hull design? Well the voices have been cast and here are the results.

The winner is...



Distinct yellow color, often found on construction vehicles of the world, won the contest with 60.1% to 39.9%. A fitting result since Steropes does belong to the Altair corporation after all, but even so many of you asked simple questions: Why not both designs? Why not make them craftable? While we agree that Hellion would certainly benefit from improved player/ship customization options, we had decided to push these cosmetic features back in favor of optimization and bug-fixing. After all we don’t want you getting stuck inside your new ship, right?

Still, the amount of feedback we received is excellent and we will do our best to incorporate your suggestions and ideas. As you all know Hellion is a big place and its story is made out of many different puzzle pieces. So you might want to keep your eyes open in upcoming updates, as you never know when a new puzzle bit might catch you off guard and we’ll make sure to present it “in a fashionable way”.

Having seen the creative power of the Hellion community, we had decided to help develop it further. To this end we are adding a downloadable Fan Art Kit on our website that is a collection of visual assets that can be used to create compelling game related content. Rest assured that the kit will receive regular updates with each new game version.

With regard to content creation, most of you have surely noticed that Hellion related videos (mostly on YouTube) do not have a proper Hellion icon. Reason for this lies in the fact that Hellion doesn’t have an official Wikipedia page. Rules for content creation on Wikipedia are strict and are meant to not allow any biased opinions towards any topic. That’s why we need your help. If you have any experience with Wikipedia content, use this link for Hellion draft page . Thanks a ton in advance!


Until next warp,

Zero Gravity crew

Hello colonists!

How does it feel being stranded in deep space? Do you feel lonely? Have you considered giving names to your turrets yet? And most important - did you like Hellion story from previous weeks?



If you’ve read it, you already know that one of the main characters in the story is a “never-before-mentioned” ship, one that belongs to the Steropes class. Yes, a new ship is coming with the next update, planned for May!

As all of you know, we took an Early Access model seriously. Devs from Zero Gravity, together with our fantastic moderators, are trying to nurture this beautiful Hellion community. We read all comments, whether good or bad, and process them internally with the aim of making Hellion a game that is fully built on the grounds of well thought feedback. Hopefully, you guys are enjoying this model as much as we do.

Today we’ll continue in that manner: we invite you to help us decide which hull design for the new Steropes ship would you prefer! Here’s the link for the public poll: make a choice here .


Thank you for your time,

Altair Corporation board of directors

After finally getting into the station James wasn’t sure what to make of it. There was far more structural damage than he had expected and multiple scorch marks all over the place. Furthermore the station was in zero-g and full lockdown. The only reason he and Sam managed to get in was because the integrity had weakened enough to let them break open a few doors. Richard was locked inside one of the few still operational cryopods of the Life Support module. He looked like he’d been through hell. His suit was in shambles, multiple lacerations and punctures. It all looked like it was held by internal seals alone. At a glance James could identify several serious injuries. Punctured lung, broken leg and several broken ribs, judging by the suit damage. Still what made him pause was Richard’s right arm, scorched all the way to the elbow seals, his charred fingers still clenched around a small black object.



‘‘What the hell happened here Sam?’
‘I’m not sure…This, this is just insane.’
‘Any way we can get him out?’
‘I don’t think so’, Sam said with a sigh. ‘That cryo is the only thing keeping him alive. If we open it’, there was a pause in her voice. ‘He’d be dead in minutes…’
‘So, we need think of something else...’

A violent shudder shook the entire station and James had to grab onto an exposed girder to avoid being thrown away. He could feel the steel structure straining beneath his fingers as several large cracks appeared before his eyes. He looked over at Sam who likewise held on to a nearby wall and used thrusters to stabilize herself.

‘Jim, the entire place is about to fall apart. We need to get him out of here.’
‘I know, give me a second.’ James’ eyes turned to one of the still working monitors. ‘Integrity is failing. No way we can tow him with us.’ His eyes darted back and forth across the room. ‘Is there a chance we can cut him out?’
‘The cryo? I don’t know, maybe. But without power and life support it won’t work.’
‘There’s got to be something we can try’, James let go of the girder. ‘I’ll head to command and see if there’s something I can do about the lockdown. You go outside and see if there’s anything we can use.’
‘Alright just be careful! I have a bad feeling about this!’
‘You and me both, Sam. You and me both.’

Getting to command module proved to be a lot more difficult than James originally thought. The entire station was locked, but he couldn’t find any emergency protocols in effect. Override codes weren’t working, even the ones Richard set just two days ago. Too many things just don’t add up! Excessive structural damage, the bloody lockdown, what happened to the failsafes?, he was furious! Then as he passed through one of the shrapnel riddled corridors he noticed that the ceiling was in ruins. Panels looked blown off and most were either shattered or melted. Did the engine blast do this? The question stayed on his mind as he tried to clear the rubble that was barring access to the command module’s upper deck.

As expected, the place was a complete mess. Broken windows, fried consoles and shattered panels everywhere he looked. Most of the damage was caused by the outside explosion, but just like in the corridors there was damage along the walls and ceiling that made little or no sense. But the real issue was the central console that somehow still had power. A full system wipe?! What the hell Richard? He entered the mainframe room and a million questions sprang up in his mind.

‘‘Sam? Do you read?’
‘Kind of. Go ahead!’, her voice was almost lost in static.
‘Can you check the external RCS?’
‘Alright. What am I looking for?’
‘If I’m right. You’ll notice at once! Meet me inside when you’re done.’

It took 10 minutes for James to get back to the life support module. By now the place was full of dust that was getting in through the massive hull breach that had effectively split the module in half. When Sam arrived she didn’t even bother with the door and got in straight through the rupture.

‘How was it?’, James turned as she floated in.
‘You were right’. So I also checked the fuel lines. All gone.’
‘And there I hoped I would be wrong’, he said with a sigh.
‘I think I’m starting to get the picture.’

After James was done recounting what he had seen on his way to the mainframe, they both remained silent for a bit.

‘So you are saying that Richard deliberately wrecked the system?’
‘I think so.’
‘But why? What reason could he have for something like that? It makes little sense!’
‘I know, I know. On its own it doesn’t, but I think that core he’s holding is the key to everything.’
‘You know that sounds a bit crazy. Right?’
James waved his hand at Richard’s pod.‘For crying out loud Sam! He ripped the mainframe core out with his bare hands! Can you imagine a guy who never does anything without a reason do something like that?!’
‘Calm down James, I believe you!’, she floated over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. ‘I know what you saw. I just can’t wrap my mind around it.’
‘I’m sorry’, he lowered his voice and took her by the hand. ‘But I don’t have a better explanation. Something went wrong during ignition. He tried to stop the sequence, realized he couldn’t and did the only thing he could which was to...’
‘Physically take out the core’, Samantha finished for him. ‘That explains the lockdown, but it would have shut down the engine not blow it up?’
‘Remember his arm? The mainframe was torched from the inside out by an electric surge.’ James looked at her. ‘That’s how his arm got burned.’
‘But if that also ignited the fuel it would mean…’
James looked at her with a grim expression. ‘That every safety mechanism in this installation failed to activate...’

To any outsider his words wouldn’t sound that strange. After all systems can fail and accidents happen. But to any AltCorp engineer it just sounded wrong. They all knew how their equipment was built and how many different safeties and redundancies existed in each of their systems. He looked over at Samantha and the look on her face gave him all the confirmation he needed. They were thinking the same thing. Whatever happened here was deliberate!

After about a minute, Sam finally lifted her head and let go of his arm. ‘I think I have a plan Jim. One that will get all of us out of here’, her voice was calm and confident.

Had someone told a few days ago that he would be glad that he was not piloting Arges, he would have just laughed. Now, he was no longer sure. Steropes was at the core of Sam’s plan and the reason why James believed they could pull it off. It was also the only chance they had to get Richard out of this place in one piece. Unlike its big brother, Steropes’ had a flexible design. It was the ship built for easy field deployment and that meant its systems weren’t as hardwired or complex as the ones on Arges. Sure it didn’t have a fusion reactor, but it didn’t really need one. The amount of power its triple capacitor banks could store, enhanced by the added core containment units Sam salvaged, were more than enough. They just had to charge them! He looked over through the cockpit and noticed Sam’s flashlight closing from the dust cloud. Now to see if they actually fit!

Her plan was simple. With base’s systems compromised they couldn’t rely on any of them and since the place was doomed anyway they would just take any parts they needed and use them to make an interface to keep Richard’s cryopod working long enough for them to reach the nearest habitat. For that, they needed power and that’s why Sam spent the last 20 minutes dismantling the station’s solar array. James went out the airlock and began welding the panels in place. She waved at him and went back into the dust cloud to start working on life support.

Once the last panel was in place he started cutting through the hull. Steropes’ systems may have been “loosely” wired, but the ship wasn’t exactly designed for what they were doing. He still had to tear the hull open to expose the conduits that brought power to the RCS thrusters, then rewire the internal components to feed power back to the capacitor. After he was finished, the ship would have all the maneuverability of a brick. If anything was to go wrong... the thought crossed his mind as he was looking at the first set of cables and he hesitated.

He looked over his shoulder towards the asteroid. It was steadily losing mass for the past 2 hours and as a result kept accelerating, spinning faster and faster with each chunk of ice and rock that it flung into space. At this point they had to hold on to the surfaces to avoid being tossed around as their jetpack thrusters were starting to have trouble countering the rotation. He knew full well what was happening. The asteroid was getting dangerously close to the breaking point. Then his eyes caught a series of faint flashes coming from the shifting dust cloud that by now covered the entire station. Sam’s cutter, he smiled. She’s still down in that mess. He turned around and started cutting. At best they had two more hours, give or take, before everything went to hell.

‘I think that’s it Jim!’, Sam said as she welded the final part in place.
‘Alright, gimme a sec. This damn thing better be working…’
‘It will.’, her voice was tired and her breathing was heavy. ‘It has to!’

They’ve both spent the last hour and a half trying to get the backup life support that Sam cut out of the station jury-rigged onto the ship. Systems room that housed their capacitor banks, air tank, RCS control and warp drive was now a total mess. They had to rip out most wall panels and rewire everything. Everything, except the ship’s warp drive, since none of them dared touch it.

James crawled from under a pile of cables and looked at one of the crudely wired access panels lying next to him. He breathed a sigh of relief when it finally activated and displayed their makeshift life support unit as “online”.

‘It’s working Sam! It’s actually working!’
‘Finally!’, he heard her say. ‘Ok, once you get us close I’ll go pick him up!’
‘Roger, I’ll have us there in a sec!’

Back behind the controls, he swung the ship around and moved it closer to the surface. He was definitely missing those thrusters he had to dismantle. The ship felt heavy and sluggish and it took a lot more effort to maintain position, especially since the asteroids rotation was getting worse. The only good thing about their situation was that most of the dust was gone by now so he could clearly see the life support module, or what was left of it. He brought them as close as he could and did his best to keep the ship leveled with the surface while Sam linked Richard’s cryopod to the improvised towing cables. Once he saw her ok signal he began gently pulling away from the asteroid until they were far enough to stabilize. He left the ship to drift away from the asteroid and went outside to help her. As they struggled to get the cryopod into the ship, James looked behind them at the spinning asteroid. There were no rocks flying towards them any more, no ice chunks, no nothing. A calm before the storm, he thought. Whether or not the asteroid finally reached an equilibrium he couldn’t say, but he wasn’t planning to stay long enough to find out. He helped Sam get the chamber into the ship, even in zero-g it still felt heavy and since both the chamber and its occupant were in bad condition, they couldn’t risk hitting any of the walls. They set it down in the corridor, just outside of the system room and connected it to the makeshift life support unit. It wasn’t perfect but it was the best they could do. Now to get us out of here!

James set a course for Eridil. At best speed they could reach the habitat in 35-40 minutes, but first they had to wait until their capacitor was charged up. Lucky that Steropes has three separate capacitor banks, he thought. Had it been just one that first hit would have left us completely stranded. He increased forward thrust to make more distance between them and the asteroid. Just five more minutes…

‘How’s he doing Sam?’
‘I’m not sure.’, she sounded worried. ‘His vitals are really low. Even with the chamber it’s bad.’
‘We’ll be at habitat in 40 minutes! Let’s pray he can hold out that long!

Finally they were ready and James started the countdown. One more minute and we’re out of here! As the timer reached 15, his entire screen went white. He closed his eyes and when he opened them the asteroid and Post 6 were gone. All that was left was an expanding cloud of rubble and smoke. Not this time you don’t! This time they were far enough away so he slowly aligned the ship to the warp coordinates and activated the ship’s warp drive! He could not remember the last time he was this glad to see that bright blue glow envelop the ship. He started pressurizing the rooms and got out of his seat.


Zero Gravity

Altair Corporation Steropes is a small and maneuverable industrial craft designed for heavy lifting and transport duties. Perfect for exploration, salvage and mining operations.



Get ready!


Zero Gravity

The story of Hellion begins to unfold...



"At first we relied on chance and opportunity as we looked for our place among the stars.
Today, we shape the universe and create our own destiny."
Excerpt from Daedalus launch ceremony - UNS Admiral Sandi, Earth April 11th 2292

'Sam how are we doing?', James spoke into the commlink.
'Almost there, darling', Samantha said with a playful voice.
She's totally enjoying this. Smile crossed his face as external cameras showed Sam effortlessly maneuver the new engine unit into place. 'Just checking, dear. Here's the last piece.'

He maneuvered the ship a bit closer, waited for a few secs until she gave him an OK and then pulled the undock leaver.

'Richard, Sam's nearly finished. How are things on your end?'
'So far so good. I'm doing the final system check right now. You guys want to stick around for a test drive?'
'Only if you stop referring to me as guys,' Sam barged into the commlink.
'Yea sorry about that ma'am...'
'It's the suit, Sam.', James laughed. 'You can't really blame him.'

It's been little over a year since captain James woke up from his 80 year long cryosleep. James, along with his wife Samantha and a handful of colleagues like Richard, was part of Hellion's "Stage one" deployment team. The station they were assembling, was part of the "Hecaton" project, a large asteroid capture operation in the outer belts. Post 6 was just one of many such installations, built to insert massive ore rich asteroids into stable orbits around Hellion's most promising gas giants.

'We're good to go!', Sam said as she locked the final piece of the engine puzzle in place.
'Ok, head on back. I'm coming to pick you up. Richard, all done on our end!'
'Sure thing. I'm starting the ignition sequence in five. Make sure you are both clear of the blast zone!'

James maneuvered his "Steropes" closer to Sam's position and began depressurizing the airlock. The Steropes class was considerably smaller and much more maneuverable compared to its big brother Arges, but no less capable at assembly and transport. Due to its small size, captains had to plan ahead and economize with available resources to get the most out of their ship. Fortunately he had no problem with this, but many of his colleagues would have preferred the larger and ""safer" Arges. James, Samantha and Richard were among the first Expedition personnel to wake up and for a good reason. An expert pilot, a brilliant EVA specialist and an engineering prodigy.


'Guys! There's some kind of a...', Richard's voice was cut short by a powerful wave of static and the sound of alarms going off all over the place.

For a moment the ship's instruments went dark, then the alarms started ringing. Even without the noise James could see what was going on. Only one of the asteroid's four engines was activating. The engines were embedded deep into the asteroid's rock layer and were made to work in pairs. With only one, the place would tear itself apart. Sam was still outside and he was forced to only watch as the entire asteroid slowly spun out of control. Then all he could see was a huge expanding cloud of dust, fire and smoke.

James counted to three and fired all starboard thrusters, he prayed that was enough for her to get in. Dammit! He narrowly avoided a head on collision with a massive chunk of rock but didn't have enough time to escape one of the engine support beams that came behind it. The impact sent the ship spinning out of control as the canopy cracked and the breach alarms sounded. Bringing the ship under control while trying to move them away from the incoming debris was no small feat and ship took several more hits before it was out of harm's way. As soon as he deemed it safe, James jumped out of his chair and lowered his visor.

'Sam!' Are you ok? Sam!' He found her slumped against the airlock wall, her helmet cracked. His heart skipped a beat. 'Don't do that to me girl!', he yelled as he pulled her into the prep room. A quick glance over the monitor confirmed he could take off her helmet. 15 minutes of air left, not good! He checked her pulse and pulled a stim out of his pack. Work you damn thing, work! When he felt her shift in his arms he let out a sigh of relief. Longest damn minute of my life!

Well hi there…', her eyes slowly opened.
'Damn it Sam!', he tightened his grip. 'You had me scared shitless! Are you ok?'
'Ouch! Easy there, I hurt all over…', she gasped. 'My suit stopped most of it, I think.'
'You hit your head. Can you stand?' She gave a small nod and he helped her to her feet.
'What the hell happened out there Jim? All I heard was alarms going off, then there was a flash…'
'Something went wrong with the engine sequence, only one of them fired.'
'Only one?', her eyes went wide. 'What about the station, what about Richard!?'
'I don't know yet.', he looked away. 'I barely got the ship out of harm's way.'
She noticed his hesitation and grabbed his hand. 'You did the best you could! Now lets see what the two of us can do.'
James raised his head and looked at her. Shock, pain and confusion were gone from her eyes and she stood there calm and confident, as always.
'You sure you want to go back out there?'
She threw him a smug smile. 'Why? You know someone better?

Within seconds he was back in the pilot seat. Their radar was acting up, several starboard thrusters and the main comms array were severely damaged. Three hull breaches in total and a piece of shrapnel lodged in one of the capacitor banks. Could have been worse, he thought.
The two functioned like clockwork, James routed what little air remained back into the air-tank and tweaked the systems to draw less power then went to work on the capacitor. By the time he finished, she was done fixing the hull and got 3 out of 5 thrusters working. James got back into his chair and started looking for Post 6.

'Sam better get back in your seat. This is gonna be a rough ride. We have a runaway asteroid to catch!'

Catching up proved to be a lot more difficult than James initially thought. The asteroid was spinning violently and already falling apart under pressure, sending wave after wave of debris into space. As James took a dive beneath one of the larger ice chunks a storm of smaller fragments crashed against the cracked canopy. With his radar damaged, and several thrusters barely working it turned into a rigged game of dodgeball or a space version of Russian roulette. Finally, he saw an opening.

'Richard was in the command module right?'
'I think so, why?'
'Because I'm gonna use that cargo as cover!'

James added more strength to the thrusters and went straight towards the next ice wave. He reached the module's shadow with a second to spare, dove beneath it just as a huge chunk of ice crashed against the massive doors and burned towards the rocky surface. We made it!

'Hell! I think I just aged 30 years!', James breathed out a sigh of relief.
'Wouldn't that make you...What? Like 140?', he heard Sam say from her seat.

James threw her a quick glance and caught her pale smile through the visor. He laughed and turned towards Post 6. He got them closer to the surface and avoided large cracks and the shrapnel they were spewing. As the station's remains came into view James remembered why he liked Steropes so much. The stunt they've just pulled? It would have been impossible with Arges. Better armor would have come in handy for sure, but it would make little difference if they got hit by even one of the larger chunks. Not to mention that its size would have made using cargo for cover all but pointless. James tightened his grip on the controls and moved towards the command module.
Post 6 was in bad shape. With the exception of the cargo bay most modules were still connected, but severely damaged. The station was anchored near the asteroid's center of mass, which let it avoid most of the G forces that were tearing the asteroid apart but that couldn't protect it from the explosion and debris. There were holes everywhere, and the entire side facing the crater left by the malfunctioning engine was scorched.

'...can anyone hear me. I repeat, James, Sam is anyone still there?', Richard's voice came on the radio, but it was weak, very weak.
'Can't we answer?', Sam asked. Worried look on her face.
'No. Our transmitter is busted and there is too much interference for short range radio.'
'Ok. Get close and look for a place to dock. Once I'm in the station I should be able to reach him.'
'Just be careful, alright?', James barely managed a smile.
'Aren't I always?', with that she went to the airlock.

James got them as close as possible and could see her dive straight to the surface. The entire landscape looked eerie, almost like a slow motion scene from a horror movie. A thick layer of ice dust enveloped the surface like a cloud, obscuring razor sharp edges beneath while the larger rocks slowly bounced back and forth as the land shifted. At the corner of his eye he could see a figure fearlessly darting through that frozen hell towards the command module tower. And then she disappeared inside. A thousand things could go wrong there in an instant, but James pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on flying. He noticed an exposed docking port further from the command module, near one of the broken airlocks and moved in to dock.
Docking itself was a bit harder than usual, with all the circular motion to compensate for, but James was not ready for what followed. The moment docking clamps closed and the vessels connected a violent shudder shook the ship, then another, and another. All followed by sounds of breaking rock, torn metal and cracking ice. If there is a hell, I think we've found its soundtrack. Comms were filled with nothing but static with no trace of either Richard or Sam. He waited for what seemed like an eternity when the hellish cacophony of the outside got interrupted by the static from the suit's radio. It was Sam.

'James, can you hear me?'
'Sam! I hear you but barely. Did you find him?'
'I did, but it's not good James…', her voice was trembling. 'You have to come down here…'


End of part I

Enjoy!


https://youtu.be/quGamgod4Fs

It’s time to warm up those warp drives and set course for the nearest industrial zone. Debris fields and dangerous orbits should pose no problem for the experienced space survivors looking to get their hands on some prime salvage and a chance to find a brand new… ehm... Slightly less banged up Fabricator module.




Your feedback is of great importance for the development of Hellion. That’s why we’ve installed a new feedback tracker which can be accessed here: http://feedback.zerogravitygames.com/
Before submitting your ideas, be sure to follow the instructions: https://goo.gl/PJAc3n

Also, we invite you to join Hellion community on Discord: https://discord.gg/hellion


Fly safe,
Zero Gravity team

What’s up everyone? The wait is over and the Craftwork Update is upon us and with it the next major feature of Hellion: Crafting! Along with being able to build parts, suits, weapons, etc the new update comes with a myriad of improvements to basic systems, user interface as well as a large number of bug fixes and quality of life improvements.



Craftwork Update will be deployed today (Thursday, March 1). Servers will be down from 5PM UTC/9AM PT until 6PM UTC/10AM PT. Servers will be wiped to ensure proper patch deployment.

For private servers:

Update your server and game client
Delete save files




Crafting mechanic - starting with the Craftwork update players will have the option of crafting any piece of equipment in the game, from parts and warp cells to suits and turrets. Crafting is only possible from the new Fabricator module and requires new crafting resources alloys, carbon fibers and circuits as well as old refined resources.

• Crafting resources can be obtained by placing existing items in the Fabricator’s recycling unit. Note that recycling items will yield only a fraction of their manufacturing cost.
  
• New “scrap items” added. These items can only be found on derelicts and will yield a high amount of crafting resources when recycled.
  
• Fabricator module added to the game

Volumetric Lighting - volumetric lights option can be toggled on/off from the options menu.




Major improvements to airlocks, life support system, cargo interface and the security interface.

• Air added as a new resource. Air can be transferred between cargo holds and can be refined back into Oxygen and Nitrogen when needed.
  
• Air Tank storage added to the life support system. This tank serves as storage for pressurizing and depressurizing rooms and airlocks.
  
• Air Generator now produces air that is immediately stored inside the air tank.
  
• All rooms can now be pressurized/depressurized or vented from the LS interface.
  
• Players will now start suffocating when the Air Quality in a room reaches 20% instead of 0. Interface panels have been updated to account for these changes.
  
• CO2 filters now completely eliminate oxygen consumption of the Air Filter but slowly degrade with use.
  
• Airlocks now operate much faster and require a working life support to operate. Without space in the Air Tank or a working life support players will only have the option to override the airlock and vent the air.
  
• Changed the cargo interface to be in line with the visual changes to the -
  Power Supply and Life Support interface.
  
• Nitrogen Minerals renamed to Nitrates, Heavy Ice replaced with Regolith and Deuterium replaced with Helium-3.
  
• Changed all resource icons for improved visibility.
  
• Adding Command module to your base will now prevent unauthorized personnel from accessing any of the system panels.
  
• Locked all outside maintenance shaft hatches to prevent players from bypassing locked doors.
  
• Added Life Support and Power Supply interface panels to the Command Module.

Propulsion changes

• Warp with multiple modules. Up to 3 docked modules can now be moved at once at the cost of increased Warp Cell consumption (x2, x3, x4).
  
• Ship engines can now properly be used to change orbits of docked stations.

• Added “Join Hellion on Discord” option to the game menu
  
• Added Gamepedia link to the game menu
  
• Added UI tooltips on hover for all interface panels
  
• Added UI tooltips for interaction points (switches, leavers, attach points, etc.)
  
• Added System Information help screens for all System Interface Panels
  
• Added new tutorial triggers and messages to the starting scene
  
• Replaced old loading messages with “gameplay tips”
  
• Other improvements
  
• Warp drive changes
  
• Door UI Decal improvement
  
• Different Post effects for map camera and player camera
  
• Helmet visor glass effect as post effect
  
• Removed airlock from ship’s elevator
  
• Localization improvements missing strings
  
• Elevator Indication Decals
  
• Anti Aliasing selection in options
  
• Item tooltips for recycled resources yield
  
• Environmental monitor added to cryopod
  
• CQM module scene and light optimization
  
• Ship shelf attach points improvement
  
• Borderless window
  
• Helmet UI improvement
  
• Added tooltips on/off in options
  
• Changed pressure value for all found modules to 0
  
• Power Supply light optimization
  
• Command Module light optimization
  
• Life Support light optimization
  
• Output_log.txt transferred to (C:\Users\USER\AppData\LocalLow\ZeroGravity\HELLION\output_log.txt)

• Server client communication after login problem preventing players from equipping helmets
  
• Pressure hazard not showing up on doors in certain cases
  
• Different ship solar panel malfunction values for input and output
  
• Helmet radar showing premade stations as multiple modules instead of a single station
  
• CBM extinguisher attach points in wrong positions
  
• Turrets losing animations when power is turned off and on
  
• Keyboard options reverted after client reset
  
• Power supply power source list scroll not working
  
• Stuck on connecting to main server when choosing Russian language
  
• Post effects not applying when loading settings
  
• Wrong CBM refining and power consumption values
  
• Missing hotkeys for EVA suit
  
• Double confirmation popup when changing game Quality
  
• Invert mouse option not working
  
• Stuck at "connecting to invite" screen
  
• Unusable shelf in the CQM module
  
• English typos present in rescue ship functionality
  
• Station not allowing docking and targeted module list showing Outpost only
  
• Ship cannot warp when grappled to another ship
  
• Using any control panel with item under the character, causes take off as in zero gravity
  
• Server list - connect button icon overlapping with connect button border
  
• Environmental panels showing red air quality values when player is not in any danger
  
• Ship changing position on match velocity
  
• Jetpack resource consumption problem, Oxygen and Power not used when decimal number is left in the tank
  
• Inverted commands when moving more then one docked module
  
• Outpost corridor A gravity not changing after undocking
  
• Stations showing up as individual "invisible" undocked modules on radar.
  
• Ship Docking Port still Glows after Docking to AM
  
• ALT+TAB while in Cryopod disables Mouse Control

Zero Gravity

Hello everyone!

Today is a very special day for Hellion, as it marks its birthday, so to speak. Exactly one year ago, Hellion embarked on its journey on Steam Early Access. It is said that every great journey changes you and Hellion was no exception. The game had changed a lot during the past 12 months and we want to make a short retrospective about these changes.



No one can deny that Hellion had a rocky launch day on February 24th, 2017. Its rusty feel, scarry environment and unforgiving gameplay weren’t for everyone and bumpy warp jumps certainly didn’t help much. That’s why the Zero Gravity crew did everything we could to improve the experience and make it more comfortable in the following days. We’ve seen many mechanics change and improve, user interface getting better and a lot of new features. Hellion saw nineteen updates since then, with the twentieth coming out next week.

After a year of orbiting around planets and moons, with thousands of “crashes into planets”, millions of looted stations and tons of oxygen used up, there is one thing that we as the developers consider the game’s greatest achievement - the Hellion Community. You guys, you are incredible! We had always hoped to get quality feedback from the community, but this became something more than that. This is an example of cooperation between devs and players. Everyday we read your bug reports, we talk about your suggestions and ideas and we watch your streams and videos.

We hope to continue and improve this relationship moving forward and let Hellion adapt, grow and evolve into a great game, one that we all love and want to play. Thank you all very much for this wonderful year!

Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/hellion

Zero Gravity team

Welcome back survivors! Ready for Craftwork preview, Part 2? Alright! Then let’s dive into the crafting system that was only mentioned in our last post. Reminder: Craftwork Update is coming out on March 1, 2018.




Player progression in Hellion always felt a bit off, especially since the rework of the entire system mechanics and the introduction of new parts. While searching for the right parts and modules is certainly fun, failing to find that one part you really need due to RNG can be a frustrating experience. In order to lessen the RNG impact on gameplay we resorted to scattering a large number of parts and equipment throughout the derelicts and modules to ensure that players can easily find them once they’ve reached a certain zone.

While this made it easier for new players to obtain gear and upgrades it also created an overabundance of high tier parts and items for players who knew where to go and what to look for.



Another problem with the aforementioned system was that building and upgrading your base added little to the gameplay experience as it was almost completely disconnected from the core loop. In terms of improving your parts and equipment, a fully built base provides absolutely no benefit over the starting outpost.

We aim to change that with the introduction of crafting mechanics. Giving players the ability to craft exactly what they need means that they would no longer be at the mercy of RNG when it comes to upgrading their gear. However we do not want to remove the element of surprise and excitement when you do find something you weren’t expecting.

As an example, having multiple EVA helmets and jetpacks is useless until you find the suit and finding more of them just adds to the frustration. With the introduction of crafting, finding any piece of the EVA gear becomes meaningful since you will have one less item to craft. And in case you find multiple pieces that you do not need, you can break them down in order to craft the parts required to complete the set.

Needless to say this will also remove or at least severely reduce the odds of you running out of Warp Cells.


Another issue we’ve had with the crafting system was its immersion. Simply combining some electronic parts with spare plastic by hand isn’t enough to give you a cellphone, not to mention a functional part for a futuristic spaceship. That meant that the standard and intuitive crafting system “combine item A with item B to get item C” was out of the question. We needed a system that would tie in with the rest of the game’s mechanic while also looking realistic and immersive. So... How are things made in the 24th century when you find yourself stranded almost a thousand lightyears from Earth?



Glad you asked! Introducing the Altair Corporation’s mobile manufacturing system: the AltCorp Fabricator Module ™ . This scaled-down fabrication unit comes with a large storage space, integrated cargo hold and a state of the art production unit that combines latest advancements in CNC technology with industrial 3D printing solutions. To further complement the system each AltCorp Fabricator Module ™ also features a dedicated Recycling Unit that is capable of breaking down any on-site items into base components that can be used to craft whatever is necessary.


As we’ve mentioned earlier, our goal with crafting was to close the core gameplay loop. In order to craft any items players will first have to gain access to the Fabricator module. This can be done in two ways: by flying to one of the premade stations and using their refining and fabrication facilities, or by attaching the fabricator module to your base. Since manufacturing items and parts is rather energy intensive you might want to upgrade your power output, or at least ensure that you have enough power stored in the capacitor.

The second part involves obtaining sufficient crafting materials by salvaging them off of various derelicts. This will require you to first strip derelicts and modules of any valuables and then use the fabricators Recycling Unit to break them down into crafting components.



In addition to regular items and parts that you will still be able to find, we are introducing a new type of item: salvage. These “parts” will be exclusive to derelict modules and will yield a high amount of crafting components when recycled, as opposed to standard items that will yield only a fraction of their production cost. Location and “danger level” of the zone will affect the number of salvageable items as well as the composition of crafting materials that you get out of recycling.



New crafting resources include alloys, carbon fibers and circuits. Alloys are fairly plentiful in all zones and represent the most basic crafting resource. Carbon fibers are somewhat less common but most basic items won’t require a large amount of them. Finally circuits are pretty rare and never needed in large quantities. In addition to crafting resources, certain items (like Warp Cells) will also require a substantial amount of refined resources.

With all the changes coming in this update we had to make some improvements to the Cargo Interface to make room for the new crafting system and to make using and transferring resources faster and easier to understand.



Finally, this weekend on Steam Store: enjoy a 25% Hellion discount while celebrating Lunar New Year!

Set your mind on the Moon and fly safe,

Zero Gravity