Hey Folks!
Ostranauts v0.9.0.0 is now available on Steam. Named "Wear and Tear," this patch represents a major feature update, and includes a batch of new content plus fresh gameplay loops to explore.
As the name suggests, the "Wear and Tear" patch adds new functionality to the game wherein items, equipment, and ship parts degrade and take damage in new ways.
Gone are the days of pristine derelicts in the Boneyard. What you'll find now is that every ship is in a unique state of disrepair, with major parts that suffer nuanced fail conditions like gas leaks, thruster sputter, power shorts, light flickers, efficiency drops, and even internal component failure.
With these new problems to solve, you and your crew will need the right tools to get vessels in working order. So we've included a range of new toys to play with, from friction welders to angle grinders, all powered by a new chargeable battery system that works with EVA suits as well.
For best results, you are encouraged to start a new character.
Old saves will not work in v0.9.x and later. However, we have created a new opt-in branch on Steam called "legacy_08" if you wish to continue your current v0.8.x character. See Steam's Tech Support forums for more info on opting-into other branches.
On to the changes!
- Added item condition % to the game
- Added procedural wear visuals based on item condition %
- Added Item condition % noted in inventory tooltips
- Added damage over time to most ship parts. A new part is completely dead after 20 years.
- Added damage through usage, bashing, and accidents to most ship parts.
- Added nav station software failure locking user out until they "debug error" on it (like repairing)
- Added nav station has a 15% chance of software failure upon switching into (damaged) state
- Added nav station has a 1% chance of software failure for every hour (on)
- Added switching nav station off and on again has a 5% chance of fixing software errors (just like real life!)
- Added flickering to severely damaged items with lights
- Added sparking to severely damaged items with power
- Added code to sputter RCS audio and thrust amount when 1 or more RCS damaged.
- Added leaking to severely damaged items with gas
- Changed gas containers to remove their contents into room when destroyed.
- Fixed a bug that would re-damage items every time a save was loaded
- Added predetermined random damage amounts to stations
- Changed derelict gas canisters to now start partially emptied.
- Added Hotkey to toggle health/energy bar tooltip (X)
- Added Hotkey to damage the ship (Shift + K) [only works in unlockdebug mode]
- Added code to play audio effect when gas leaks.
- Added damaged versions of air pump to game.
- Added code to make air pumps degrade into damaged versions.
- Added ability to install and uninstall damaged air pumps.
- Added chance of sudden part failure on ships where there is significant part damage.
- Added code to reset tension timer in plot manager when parts fail due to time or use.
- Changed all breakable objects to only drop some of their repair components when damaged.
- Added breakable non-hull objects, which can be repaired, to game.
- Added ability to repair broken objects with components.
- Changed damaged light flickering to alternate less frequently.
- Changed damaged light to stop flickering while game paused.
- Changed gas canisters & batteries to be only partially full on derelicts
- Added Halvorson stir friction welder.
- Added Gott angle grinder.
- Added Gott Soldering Iron.
- Added Horang Screwdriver.
- Added Small and Large Sized Toolboxes
- Added battery & battery charger for Halvorson products.
- Added battery & battery charger for Gott products.
- Added battery & battery charger for Weber Laser torch.
- Added disposable BB batteries to game.
- Changed work lamp to use BB batteries.
- Changed ship battery recharge rates to be more realistic.
- Changed ship batteries to have lower capacity when damaged.
- Changed EVA suit to drain battery 10x slower.
- Added EVA battery recharging station to game.
- Added EVA recharging station to OKLG.
- Added Facilities Fee to OKLG docking fees.
- Fixed a bug that prevented containers from updating their appearances if item dropped inside them in inventory.
- Changed Tools to use different sprites if they have a battery inside
- Added message in the log when an interaction fails due to low power
- Added message in the log when tool power falls below 5%
- Added Hotkey to cycle between crew (Tab)
- Changed cycling to crew on other ships now loads that ship
- Changed crew to auto-undamage things on owned ships if their AI is enabled
- Changed crew to start with AI, and is disabled by manually ordering them around.
- Added a new AI Mode button is down near status info in HUD to allow re-enabling AI
- Added context menu options to toggle AI mode on crew.
- Changed AI to now path through double-airlocks without fiddling if you manually order them to
- Changed NPCs to repeat themselves less in conversations
- Changed Fixer to be more profitable. Licensed Kiosk less profitable. Should be more balanced.
- Changed captain to start with 24h schedule entirely set to "Work"
- Fixed game to not return to 1x speed if emergency happens at <1x speed
- Fixed Crew Sight, now you see from the perspective of who you control
- Changed hiring negotiation to use social combat.
- Changed game to have optional task ownership.
- Added code to make crew AI prefer personally owned tasks over all-crew tasks when getting work.
- Changed AI to ignore crew tasks if in AI manual mode.
- Changed game to make context menu actions owned by current crew member.
- Changed AI to skip looking for things to undamage when in AI manual mode.
- Fixed a bug that caused derelicts to play lots of damaging noises when first docking to them.
- Changed install times to be shorter for canisters, walls, floors, beds, chairs, and other simple jobs.
- Changed police shakedown conversation to be forced to end faster.
- Fixed refuel kiosk hiding numbers in 4:3 aspect ratio.
- Fixed refuel kiosk not showing outstanding fines on screen, causing kiosk to claim insufficient funds despite user having more money than listed total.
- Changed progress bar to show progress rate based on skills and tools.
- Fixed a bug that caused all PDA tasks to be owned by currently selected crew.
- Changed AI manual to allow taking work tasks they don't personally own.
- Fixed a bug that caused a crash if user cycled to off-ship, non-captain crew and attempted to save.
- Changed AI to bother player and anyone sleeping/working 99% less often.
- Changed game to let captain's AI automatically deal with NPC chatter most of the time, instead of raising the UI.
- Changed events like micrometeoroid to only happen when game unpaused.
- Fixed a bug that caused Disembark Fail to appear in NPC context menus.
- Fixed missing friendly name on loose, damaged nav station.
- Changed task tooltip to show all tasks in current tile, not just top one.
- Added more appropriate starting equipment to NPC scavs on OKLG.
- Changed task manager to leave tasks open until done, instead of until they were started.
- Fixed a bug that caused AI to wander around attempting to equip installed floors for comfort.
- Changed AI to ignore items that are like new when looking for things to undamage.
- Fixed a bug that caused installing a part to fail if controlling crew on different ship from captain.
- Fixed a bug that caused debug air pumps and conduits to appear in inventory/trade lists.
- Fixed a bug that caused items to appear in impossible places after an uninstall or other modeswitch.
- Fixed a bug that caused inventory items to disappear if they were on a blocker grid space when picked up.
- Added photosensitivity warning to game loading screen as the game contains more sparks, flashing lights etc.
- Added motor component.
- Added heat sink component
- Added motherboard component
- Added ability to repair damaged air pump with a motor.
- Changed uninstalling to always place resulting object in same spot, to avoid placing outside ship.
- Fixed a bug that caused traders to spawn empty containers and tools, instead of their normal contents.
- Fixed a bug that allowed player to select dead crew members.
- Added code to cycle to next crew if currently selected crew dies.
- Added random damage to OKLG stations according to their maintenance levels.
- Fixed a bug that would log when an item gave itself to player.
- Changed AI to prefer using items in hands first, then carried items, then items on floor based on distance.
- Changed battery charge info in top right tooltip to show percent instead of many decimal kWh.
- Fixed a bug that could break saving the game if an installable object had null list of components inside it.
- Fixed a bug that allowed tools to be used to repair themselves.
- Fixed a bug that caused inventory item to be unusable if player was facing a wall.
- Fixed a bug that meant crew would never pay back Death Pay upon being fired or quitting
- Fixed a bug that meant crew salary would remain on the roster after being fired or quitting
- Added extra persuasion conversation when crew quits to try win them back
- Added extra dialogue to allow crew to quit amicably or aggressively
- Added ability for crew to have conversations without interrupting the player with a popup every time
- Fixed a bug that could sometimes cause UI fade-ins to leave UI unclickable.
- Fixed a bug that prevented sitting in chairs.
- Added save version warning message to loading screen.
As you can tell from the changelist above, the new patch is focused on creating a more complex, dynamic, and customizable journey from busted ship to zooming whip. As a first level of complexity we've designed a custom shader that procedurally applies damage and visual noise to every item in the game. This damage increases over time and can break the part when it reaches capacity, so you'll have to use the restore action to keep parts in working condition.
On top of that, crucial ship parts like Nav Stations and RCS systems are now made up of internal components such as motors, motherboards and heat sinks. This means repairing them isn't as easy as a simple restore action, as you'll need the right components to make them work.
In addition, broken ship parts are no longer a binary of "working" or "not working." Instead, parts fail in dynamic and variable ways, from efficiency loss to gas leaks to intermittent thruster sputtering. These failures combine to create crises unique to your game story, and force you to creatively problem solve or else face doom in the void.
We wouldn't want you to go it alone, so as another feature we've spruced up our crew and AI system. Crew members now automatically restore your ship as a default behaviour, assuming you've given them the right tools. We've added a new Behavior: Auto/Manual mode toggle, just in case you want to tab from crew member to crew member and micro every action yourself.
As always, please tell us what you think! We thrive on your feedback and love to hear from our players in Discord and beyond.
Thanks for reading and…oh crap. What was that noise? If that's my Hydra failing again, I swear...
Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC