Back up!
The planned maintenance window is over, and we expect no further disruption. We apologise for the inconvenience.
The planned maintenance window is over, and we expect no further disruption. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Ascent - The Space Game
- Released
- Apr 11, 2016
- Platforms
- Windows
- Last updated
Updates & announcements
- Developer postOriginal post
- Developer post
Server Maintenance Today
Servers are going offline today for maintenance. We will post another announcement when they are back up.
Original postServers are going offline today for maintenance. We will post another announcement when they are back up.
- Developer post
We Are Back!
Apologies for the inconvenience.
Original postApologies for the inconvenience.
- Developer post
Power outage at data centre - servers offline
The power is out at our data center. We have shut down cleanly, so expect no data loss. Will post an update when it returns or we have an ETA.
Original postThe power is out at our data center. We have shut down cleanly, so expect no data loss.
Will post an update when it returns or we have an ETA.
- Developer post
Aaaand we're back
We have had to roll back a few hours of the database but everything is back to normal now. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Original postWe have had to roll back a few hours of the database but everything is back to normal now. Apologies for the inconvenience.
- Developer post
Unscheduled outage
Our data centre is without power right now and we will be offline for the next several hours. Apologies for the inconvenience. We will post an update when service is restored.
Original postOur data centre is without power right now and we will be offline for the next several hours.
Apologies for the inconvenience. We will post an update when service is restored.
- Developer post
System Maintenance Window
From 9pm Thursday 19th October to 6:30am Friday 20th October, UTC, there will be a maintenance window. Players will be unable to connect during this window. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Original postFrom 9pm Thursday 19th October to 6:30am Friday 20th October, UTC, there will be a maintenance window.
Players will be unable to connect during this window.
We apologise for the inconvenience.
- Developer post
Power System Maintenance
Our systems will be offline for a few hours from late Wednesday night (21st June) UTC to Thursday morning. Players will be unable to connect during this time. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Original postOur systems will be offline for a few hours from late Wednesday night (21st June) UTC to Thursday morning.
Players will be unable to connect during this time.
Apologies for the inconvenience.
- Developer post
Server side email issues resolved
Our game servers have had some issues contacting people with gmail email addresses. This is now resolved - you should no longer have any problems with email. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Original postOur game servers have had some issues contacting people with gmail email addresses. This is now resolved - you should no longer have any problems with email.
We apologise for the inconvenience.
- Developer post
Upcoming update: The Procedural City
We're working on a new client update which will include: A new engine version, the latest stable available to us meaning performance, visual and stability enhancements The new "Procedural City" system for displaying colonies. The Procedural City renders each of your buildings uni
Original postWe're working on a new client update which will include:
- A new engine version, the latest stable available to us meaning performance, visual and stability enhancements
- The new "Procedural City" system for displaying colonies.
The Procedural City renders each of your buildings uniquely, so that, for example, no two residential buildings or two office buildings look identical anymore. As you can see from the screenshots, this is well underway and already looking like a huge improvement for colonies.
As part of the update, "transport grid" tiles will be expanded into a combined road and rail tile, with upgradeable utilities (power/water/sewage) in the future.
How will your colony look after the update?
- Developer post
Power Infrastructure Maintenance 02:30-03:30 10-March-2023 UTC
Due to power infrastructure maintenance, Ascent servers may be offline for periods between 02:30-03:30 10-March-2023 UTC.
Original postDue to power infrastructure maintenance, Ascent servers may be offline for periods between 02:30-03:30 10-March-2023 UTC.
- Developer post
Develop Exploits for Operating Systems
Your NPCs can now develop an exploit for an operating system. This is a difficult task requiring InfoSec theoretical and practical knowledge. The task gets harder for higher level operating systems, however it's easier for operating systems you have a copy of, and even easier if
Original postYour NPCs can now develop an exploit for an operating system. This is a difficult task requiring InfoSec theoretical and practical knowledge. The task gets harder for higher level operating systems, however it's easier for operating systems you have a copy of, and even easier if you have the source.
Exploits will later be used for hacking. Developing exploits against your own operating systems will make upgrading your OSes to higher levels easier - making them harder to hack for other players.
- Developer post
Server-Side patch: New NPC Missions
New NPC Missions have been added: InfoSys education job at universities (used to install software etc) Install Operating System job In addition, NPC Missions can now be unique (i.e. can only be run once or one at a time). Some minor bugs have also been fixed.
Original postNew NPC Missions have been added:
- InfoSys education job at universities (used to install software etc)
- Install Operating System job
In addition, NPC Missions can now be unique (i.e. can only be run once or one at a time).
Some minor bugs have also been fixed.
- Developer post
Develop your own Operating System
There is a new NPC mission type: Develop New Operating System You can (so far) only have one OS per player account, but with upgrades will come many versions. Exploits and upgrades are next!
Original postThere is a new NPC mission type: Develop New Operating System
You can (so far) only have one OS per player account, but with upgrades will come many versions.
Exploits and upgrades are next!
- Developer post
New NPC Missions, Update Season
In the first of a number of updates, there are new NPC missions available for training: Software Development Information Security These skills will be used in offensive and defensive Information Security missions within Signals Intelligence. Intel missions build (or defend agains
Original postIn the first of a number of updates, there are new NPC missions available for training:
- Software Development
- Information Security
These skills will be used in offensive and defensive Information Security missions within Signals Intelligence. Intel missions build (or defend against) Intelligence Networks which are used in other missions.
Up until now only HumInt missions were available. SigInt will comprise all aspects of Intelligence from intercepting EM (radio) signals through Information Security and hacking.
- Developer post
Unplanned service interruption (RESOLVED)
Update: This situation has been resolved. We have restored the service without needing any rollbacks and everything is operational again. Once again we apologise for the unexpected unavailability period. Our game servers are temporarily inaccessible right now. This outage is unpl
Original postUpdate: This situation has been resolved. We have restored the service without needing any rollbacks and everything is operational again. Once again we apologise for the unexpected unavailability period.
Our game servers are temporarily inaccessible right now. This outage is unplanned, but we hope to restore service soon. We expect resolution today so don't panic.
Update #1: ETA to resolution is about 12 hours from now. (It's 10:34 UTC now)
The problem is a faulty storage controller, and those are always lots of fun. The good news is we're able to recover the live data, which means no rollbacks, the bad news is that this is a slower process than reverting to yesterday's backups. So nobody loses anything except playing time, but we're going to be offline a bit longer than expected.
Apologies for the inconvenience!
- Developer post
Small patch to resolve network issues some players were experiencing
After testing some different build options, we have found a combination that appears to resolve network issues some players were experiencing. We were never able to reproduce the problem ourselves, so this was a bit of a nightmare to resolve.
Original postAfter testing some different build options, we have found a combination that appears to resolve network issues some players were experiencing. We were never able to reproduce the problem ourselves, so this was a bit of a nightmare to resolve.
- Developer post
NPC Crew Missions Are Live
A series of missions have been added for your NPC crew. You can now send crew on missions away from your ship. At one of your colonies or any other player's colony, new missions can now appear under your "ship and crew management" tab. Crew sent on missions can develop their skil
Original postA series of missions have been added for your NPC crew. You can now send crew on missions away from your ship.
At one of your colonies or any other player's colony, new missions can now appear under your "ship and crew management" tab.
Crew sent on missions can develop their skills and attributes. Some missions are designed specifically to develop NPC skills and attributes, while others can have a lasting impact on the colony.
- Education missions train skills and attributes.
- Ground Combat Patrols can increase the political stability of a colony that has lapsed
- Intelligence missions can establish or expand your Intelligence Networks, which can aid in other missions
More of these missions are being unlocked every few days as we expand this feature, so keep an eye out for them. New missions will be in these categories, and new categories will be added soon:
- Propaganda missions (can influence voting)
- Destabilisation missions (can reduce stability which is desired for criminal enterprise missions)
- Criminal enterprise missions. These both increase criminal activity and will return crime-based rewards
- Policing missions (can reduce criminal activity)
- Developer post
Quick Patch
Biocomputers now increase ship traits 5% faster than regular computers Window opacity has been increased for most UI windows for readability’s sake The physics response to collisions has been toned down in some circumstances to make landing easier and reduce issues people were ha
Original post- Biocomputers now increase ship traits 5% faster than regular computers
- Window opacity has been increased for most UI windows for readability’s sake
- The physics response to collisions has been toned down in some circumstances to make landing easier and reduce issues people were having with Customs Patrols colliding with them on warp-in
- Some in-progress work to the Crew Away Missions system (not usable by players yet)
- Developer post
Ship Traits!
Ships can now earn special traits when you fly them and undertake activities in Ascent. So far players have discovered three: Miner - gives a small bonus to yield and a significant one to mining beam range per level Fast Turner - gives a bonus to turning speed for large ships Tou
Original postShips can now earn special traits when you fly them and undertake activities in Ascent.
So far players have discovered three:
- Miner - gives a small bonus to yield and a significant one to mining beam range per level
- Fast Turner - gives a bonus to turning speed for large ships
- Tough - gives different bonuses to combat resilience at each of the first three levels
All ship traits are open ended, with the difficulty of upgrading to the next level getting harder with each level attained.
We will add more traits in the future; the system was designed with lots of open-ended expansion in mind.
Make your ship truly unique today with the new trait system!