Wow, I am so excited to share this build with you! It's been a long time coming and I'm absolutely thrilled we're here. As you may know, we've been pushing many builds out on the Experimental Branch in recent months. After gathering a huge amount of invaluable feedback from our community we are now releasing this update to all! From myself and all involved, I give you The Story Update!
Story Mode
Story mode takes you on a solo adventure to discover the mysteries of the Phoenix Team and your attempt to rescue Mission Specialist Dawkins. Along the way you will fight for survival that will take you across the world, deep underground, and into space.
Crafting abilities unlock through a progression in this mode, and you are rewarded with new crafting abilities as you traverse through the adventure.
Your System Computer narrates missions and provides tips and explanations for you as you go.
Complete Missions
Missions and objectives have been added throughout to give a full experience from start to finish.
Repair Design
All repairables in the Story Mode have now been properly set and designed based on progression, mineral hardness, Cyptex availability, and numerous other factors to ensure a smooth and realistic experience.
Phoenix Team Voice Logs
Find clues and logs of Phoenix Team members spread across the world as you search for the survivors. These clues will be vital for your own survival.
Cryptex Blueprints in Story Mode
We resurrected an idea we had years ago and finally added it to the game in a meaningful way. Cyptex disks c
Survival Challenge
A mode we’ve had planned internally for a long time, essentially a “Naked and Afraid” style mode where you choose a planet and starting gear and see how long you can last. Again, this is a first pass and we’ll likely add a leaderboard and permadeath to this mode - maybe even some fun contests!
As in Story Mode, crafting abilities are unlocked through mission completions and discoveries.
Creative Mode
The creative character selection now gets its own mode and now has the ability to choose a starting planet!
Main Menu Overhaul
Single Player mode selection.
Multiplayer mode selection.
Inching ever closer to our final Main Menu, this update features our new mode selection panels and improved character selection, management, and creation tools. We’re also inching closer to having each class more meaningful, which will continue to get refined as we go.
Starting Worlds for Public Servers
Now each server will have its own starting world, giving more variety and challenge.
Terrain Deformation
Large structure building has never been better with simple but powerful terrain deformation. Finally, you can build a sprawling base without the worry of hills and inclines stunting your build plans. Note this only applies to large structures - many smaller utilities and huts will just sit on top of terrain.
First Person Animations
This was a ton of work, but we now have some nice animations and FX in first person. Patching your suite has never looked better or been more immersive.
Third Person Animations
Building, crafting, eating, healing, even gathering liquid are now fully displayed through beautiful animations and sound FX.
Water Interaction
Step through and splash in the bodies of liquid. Creatures act in the liquid too!
Plant Interaction
Walking through plants now has animation and sound giving more immersion to the experience.
More Map Features
Back by popular demand we added in the filtering feature to allow for searching for minerals by type. Also, type is now listed by hardness instead of density for to better align with your gear capabilities.
Geysers and Liquids have also been added to the Map features.
Sound Mastering
A lot of time went into cleaning up all the beeps and chimes in the UI, making the sound more balanced and focusing on real world sounds for immersion as opposed to sci fi beeps and buzzes.
System Computer Voice
Speaking of sound, we have our final System Computer voice implemented and she sounds great! Missions are also given through the System voice.
Build Goal Management
A hotly requested feature, now you can add to your build goal to create an overall shopping list.
Dynamic Suit Readings
The Scientist Class backpack has been outfitted with the latest tech to display your vitals directly on the suit itself. Suit Breach, Oxygen Amount, and Health amount are now all displayed dynamically on the back of your suit.
3rd Person Animations
Player movement animations such as run, sprint, stop, strafe, and idle are properly animated and smoothed for a much more polished 3rd person experience. The Melee stance has also been removed.
Camera Zooming
Right clicking in game will zoom in and view the environment in both first and third person modes.
Physically Based Creatures
Months in the making, I am proud to introduce our first creature to receive the new AI treatment. What does "Physically Based AI" entail? It means that the creature is treated and processed as a physics object, with all the forces and collisions in the world correctly acting correctly upon it.
What does Physically Based Creatures get us? Creatures will now properly respect defensive walls, structures, utilities and anything that has collision. Creatures can now even be run over by vehicles! Also, no longer restricted to the Pathfinding Navmesh, creatures can now traverse anywhere in the world. It also means we can eventually remove the nav meshes - a huge optimization and will lead to us being able to continue with ground deformation when building large structures.
In addition to driving these creatures by physics, the actual behaviors have also been updated. Larvae will sprint at you when coming in for an attack, circle your base, and back away quickly. They've become feisty little buggers, and this AI system is far more easily expanded and less error prone than solutions we've used in the past.
Creatures are also spawned more at night, creating a "explore by day, defend by night" feeling.
Oxygen Matters Now, A Lot
Automatic replenishing of Oxygen has been moved to a Suit Attachment. This adds value to the attachment while doing something critical to gameplay - you will now be very "tethered" to your base. You will need to really plan your expeditions, going further and further with each stage of your journey. This also adds lots of value to vehicles.
Pod Crash and Furnace Now Give Oxygen
To balance the Oxygen usage, the crashed Pod contains two tanks on board that can be forever used to refill some oxygen. Once you build a Furnace, it refills your oxygen even more. Of course, once you have a HAB or enclosed vehicles like the Rover oxygen will be fully replenished.
Overall, we find this gives much more of a feeling of being in space, on another planet, and adds lots of interesting strategy.
Mission Refinements
The opening missions have been tweaked to reflect the various changes and tweaks to the balancing. More tweaking will continue as we go, eventually going into the later "levels" of the game.
Durability is Much More of A Thing
Durability balancing, screen indications, and Repair Tables have all been adjusted to create a feeling of being mindful of your gear and the Maintenace of it. This also reinforces the feeling of safety when back at the base, providing a chance to refill oxygen, fix up your gear, and reinforce your base from attacks.
Workbench Can Now Repair By Default
To balance the updated durability system, repairing has been added to the Workbench inherently. The Repair Table is still an upgrade, and now does even more repairing per repair usage, adding a time saving value to the upgrade.
Discovery Harvesting Yields Are Now Unlocked
Keeping the act of Discovering by interacting for the first time, we went ahead and removed the locks per weapon type to allow for strategy when approaching a plant or creature. Using various weapons and tools will yield different resources, and it makes sense that as a scientific explorer this information would be included in the discovery.
Dust Storms Now Damage Structures
Furthering the feeling of maintenance and the shelter of your base, along with pushing the vulnerability and dangers of survival on a distant planet, damage by weather pattern has been added. The dust storms on Proteus 2 now can damage your base objects, and Maintenace of these objects will be vital to your survival.
This also sets up possibilities for more skills and tool advantages, like being able to repair past 100% or being able to build objects that are impervious to storms.
Clearer Interactions
Just some nice quality of life displays to illustrate how much time until an action can occur, or how many objects left in a tree.
Updated Main Menu
Lots of polish on the Character Select Screens across all the modes, along with clean up of the Options area.
Updated Language Localization
Working with our community, the language files have been updated. As development occurs, new words need to be added to localization, so you still might see some words that remain in English. However, these will all be addressed by the time we leave Early Access.
Minor Balancing Throughout
Many minor balancing tweaks, for example Small Radar Dish range has been slightly expanded.
Salvaging System
We fixed the preventing of Salvaging by removing the ownership of the Salvaged item. This means that in all modes any Salvageable object found in the world is not owned by anyone, until of course, it is fully salvaged and made operational.
The progress of the Salvage is also now saved properly, meaning that the salving you have done will not be wasted if you leave the game mid salvage. This also removed a loophole where Salvageable objects become constant loot givers by cycling going to the title menu and back.
Single Player Saves
Single Player can now save at any time and will display a screenshot of your most recent save.
Multiplayer Saves
Multiplayer Save keeps the Automatic Save system, which records everything each player does at regular intervals.
Thousands of Minor Tweaks
Too much to list, but we’re sure you’ll notice as you play through the experience. Just hundreds and hundreds of tiny adjustments to dial in the final polish.
Change List
Added - missions in all modes except Creative
Added - Crab larvae sound
Added - Sound pass on Utilities
Added - Sound pass on Airlock
Added - Terrain Deformation
Added - Sound pass on Player movement
Added - Sound pass on Player voice sounds
Added - Sound pass on in game UI
Added - Sound pass on Main Menu UI
Added - Additive Build Goal
Added - third person animations
Added - first person animations
Added - Water interaction
Added - mission to get oxygen from pod
Added - system Computer voice to missions
Added - Plant interaction
Added - Gasses and liquids added to map
Added - Map filters by hardness
Added - Mouse over map icons shows type
Added - Dust storm damage logic added to not damage interior structures or objects behind terrain
Added - Progressive unlock system in Story mode of all crafting abilities and recipes
Added - Save Option from menu in Story and Creative mode
Added - Combat balance pass for early game weapons and creatures
Added - Sounds for drinking and eating
Added - Geyser sounds
Added - Giant worm has been added to some craters - mwa ha ha!
Added - Crafting Table UI expanded
Added - Skills and Stats are now on the same screen
Added - Patch Tape screen FX
Added - Sound and FX added to dismantle action
Added - Save game image added to confirm quit screens
Added - ground vignette in Main Menu for each world
Added - Saving and autosaving by mode
Added - Progressive crafting unlocks by mode
Added - Crafting Table progressive unlocks by mode
Added - opening shot in Story mode
Added - Ground Deformation
Added - support to remove grass when building
Added - Suit readouts to backpack for Scientist
Added - interaction context menu for Fabricated objects
Added - fade in and out during character select in Main Menu
Added - support to remove cursor when viewing characters in Menu
Added - support to removing cursor when navigating the map in Map mode
Added - support to adjust first person camera sway
Added - Foot IK interpolates in based on movement speed, reducing foot artifacts while climbing
Added - Water interaction
Added - Both camera modes can now zoom to see into the distance
Added - Footsteps now create dust
Added - cinematic camera shot of Pod destruction
Added - Time Stamp to Single Player Character Select Profiles
Added - Time Stamp to Private Universe Select Profiles
Added - Time Stamp to Public Universe Select Profiles
Added - Salvage Objects save in all modes properly
Added - build small satellite dish mission
Added - Oxygen replenishing feature to Workbench
Added - color coding to replenish triggers
Added - display to show how much time is remaining on cooldowns
Added - color coded info to harvesting amounts of plants and trees
Added - support for harvestable segments to be skinned
Added - support for crafting tables to have the option of repairing functionality
Added - support to get upgrade from buildable objects in code
Added - support for durability hit flash on item icons
Added - support to display quick slots when receiving a durability penalty
Added - Repair tables now display the amount of repair and modifier
Added - more intelligent creature spawning to allow balance frequency of encounters and difficulty
Added - support to spawn any creature from under the ground
Added - legacy AStar support to new AI behaviors
Added - proper hit stunning of creatures
Added - prop blood spawning when hitting creatures
Added - skinning support to consumable items
Added - skinning action to player control system
Added - further support for skinning creatures across weapon system
Added - debug support to display interface object
Added - player sounds for getting hurt in various ways
Added - grunt sound when taking damage from fall
Added - button down holding interface for crafting actions
Added - support to play skinning animations on creatures when harvesting
Added - support to flash durability penalty
Added - polished fading in and out throughout Main Menu
Added - gas to geysers for testing/developing modes
Added - support to properly record all structures in save game display
Added - support to properly record all utilities in save game display
Added - support to damage structures during weather patterns
Added - support to change brightness of stars based on location and time
Added - creature skinning animation in 3rd person
Added - structures and utilities icons to properly display in Avatar Selection screen
Added - Larvae animations
Added - upgraded blood FX to creature hits
Added - Story dialogue in the early part of the story adventure
Changed - Save System in Single Player Mode
Changed - Updated localization files
Changed - Updated Main Menu
Changed - Updated Character Select screen in Main Menu
Changed - Updated language interface in Options
Changed - Updated Options interface
Changed - Updated Key Binding interface
Changed - Updated Server Buttons in Main Menu
Changed - Updated Character Buttons in Main Menu
Changed - oxygen no longer replenished automatically
Changed - Improvements to Mission Interface
Changed - Improvements to inventory object icons
Changed - Updated terrain files
Changed - Rebalancing of crash site pod objects
Changed - Minor adjustments and fixes to some structures and vehicles
Changed - Small Satellite Dish now has a larger detection radius
Changed - Reordered intro missions slightly
Changed - Minor changes to recipes in Workbench
Changed - Forge required much less to build
Changed - Ghost and Sentry have been upgraded to retro fit the new AI system
Changed - Charred Alen Bits now give more nutrition
Changed - Oxygenator now can refill oxygen completely
Changed - Updated Larvae to new physically based AI
Changed - Updated Player to include all new systems
Changed - Updated repair table function to work with all systems
Changed - utility upgrades to build automatically and not need the blueprint interface
Changed - creature indicators to only display health when hit
Changed - Improved knockback on creatures
Changed - Improved death ragdoll on creatures
Changed - Increased durability usage when firing guns
Changed - Increased durability usage when repairing and salvaging
Changed - Balancing of player sound
Changed - Less player breathing in idle and low impact states
Changed - More player breathing sound when hurt or in danger
Changed - Increased heart sound during stamina penalty
Changed - Increased footstep sounds
Changed - Lessened amount of hunger and oxygen used when using melee weapons and chisels
Changed - balancing of durability rules
Changed - Set Player Leveling to have a more steep XP curve
Changed - mouse cursor to no longer turn off in map mode or in character rotation
Changed - Hut and Bed saving text to "Save Successful" instead of "Location Saved"
Changed - Improved 3rd person character animations
Changed - Improved starting and stopping in 3rd person
Changed - Audiomixer settings for player sounds
Changed - Updated soundtracks for all levels
Changed - Updated particle shaders
Changed - Updated blood shaders
Changed - Updated all Geyser Particle Systems
Changed - Updated grass shaders
Changed - Outlining is not more selective based on what mode or tool you are using
Changed - cleaned up always up redicle activations
Changed - updated suit breach overlay
Changed - Highlighting of objects is now more clear, based on if you have a tool equipped
Changed - Cleaned up Main Menu avatar load screen
Changed - First Person Bob values for less roll and more step movement
Changed - Hover IK is now smoother
Changed - version of Unity to latest LTS
Changed - Improved lighting and rendering in Proteus levels
Changed - Improved Proteus mine art
Changed - Cleaned up liquid gathering
Changed - Updated missions
Changed - Crash site is now spawned and harvestable in Challenge and Multiplayer modes
Changed - Highlighter clean up
Changed - HUD interaction UI clean up
Changed - Faster tool harvesting and repairing
Changed - Overhauled repair system to be more detailed and responsive
Changed - Improve UI alert placement and auto shadow when over other UI
Changed - Map feature overhaul
Changed - 3rd person hit detection clean up
Changed - Updated starting mission in Story Mode
Changed - Time to use bed has been reduced
Changed - Save game and auto save game clean up
Changed - Crafting button clean up throughout
Changed - Characters now have starting stats auto applied
Changed - Fuel amounts have been balanced by giving more fuel to objects
Changed - Upgrade utilities have been cleaned up
Changed - All in game UI panels have been updated
Changed - Crafting is faster throughout
Changed - Repairing is faster throughout
Changed - Improved repair and tool sounds and FX
Changed - Game options have been cleaned up
Changed - Logic added for interior helmet
Changed - Interior helmet graphics and lighting pass
Changed - Improved sound and atmosphere in Proteus mines
Changed - Cleaned up loading into levels
Changed - Load screen now shows images based on world being loaded
Changed - Improved movement and speed in low atmosphere or gravity worlds
Changed - Characters in Main Menu are now sorted by date properly
Fixed - Repair persistence
Fixed - crafting table recipe taking bug
Fixed - space travel save bug
Fixed - transparent FX sorting with atmosphere
Fixed - Melee stance when right clicking in 3rd person
Fixed - Weapon idle animation cleaned up
Fixed - Player IK clean up
Fixed - repairing objects with recipes
Fixed - Picking up Inflatable Domes
Fixed - Crafting table buttons now refresh properly
Fixed - Minerals and plants anchored in Proteus levels
Fixed - wrong attachments showing in Main Menu
Fixed - Reflection graphics overhaul and fixes
Fixed - weather and rain no longer enter structures on Proteus 2 B
Fixed - Audio Mixing of outdoor sounds
Fixed - Main Menu multiplayer mode selection interface for new layout
Fixed - fire reappearing on crashed pod when returning to game
Fixed - First Person camera is now more smooth
Fixed - Pod save on first play
Fixed - Missions not appearing on subsequent plays
Fixed - Center Indicator in opening Tutorial
Fixed - Center Indicator while running
Fixed - Center Indicator when returning to game
Fixed - destruction fire no longer displays on subsequent plays
Fixed - running up steep hills no longer accelerates you
Fixed - Repairable objects no longer have an Inspect option of no details are given through design
Fixed - Salvaging objects interaction and harvesting
Fixed - Time Stamp on Cycled Servers in Character Selection Profiles
Fixed - data saving on Crash Site
Fixed - Zinc mineral LODs no long pop
Fixed - Furnace now has proper icons for all upgrades
Fixed - Workbench upgrade icons
Fixed - to Crash Site object save game data
Fixed - durability usage on equipped items
Fixed - Clean up of one shot audio functions
Fixed - null instances on PF particle systems
Fixed - creatures spazing out in ragdoll form
Fixed - Clean up of new AI system debug target indicators
Fixed - Cleaned up durability system on inventory objects
Fixed - left hand in IK system when holding rifles
Fixed - to Timed Destroy function
Fixed - Cleaned up creature damage system to show particles
Fixed - Cleaned up planet names displayed from save games
Fixed - Minor material fixes
Fixed - Build Goals now increment and clear correctly
Fixed - Item crafting no longer takes double items
Fixed - Black screen when loading in from a legacy save game
Fixed - Item crafting now uses items in the crafting table as designed and is no longer a cheat
Fixed - Solar Panel repair mission in Story Mode
Fixed - Dialogue queue to restrict the System Computer from talking over herself
Removed - Royalty Free Music
Removed - Collect hide mission
Removed - the building of kits for various objects
Removed - ownership on repairable objects for now
Removed - storage ownership for now
Removed - notice that oxygen is replenishing
Removed - unneeded debug log
Removed - harvesting locks after discovering new plant or creature
Removed - ownership on fuel systems
Removed - ownership when salvaging
Removed - unneeded collision detection from interface system
Removed - vehicle ownership for now
Removed - ownership on elevators for now
Removed - ownership from repairing structures
Removed - Early Access text from all menus
Removed - step in avatar screen in Main Menu
As I've stated in the last Experiemental Build, this build is a special one for me. I feel it successfully incorporates so many of the numerous features we’ve built over the years and uses them in a way that drives a narrative in an open world genre.
From here, we’re onto our final build for Early Access release. This final push will be focused on creatures, weapons, and any other touch needed prior to release.
In the meantime be sure to join our Official Discord Server .
-Brian
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
- Yoda
