Icarus Week 149 Update | Welcome to the Null Sector

Welcome to Week 149 - The Null Sector.

This new, dangerous region will test the most seasoned players. Scarce resources, no map, dangerous biomes, and a new, immersive mission chain lie before you.

For the first time you will encounter NPC's on ICARUS, and you will receive extra talent points as a mission reward

The Null Sector is a new hardcore region of the Prometheus Map which requires the New Frontiers Expansion to play.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1648532/Icarus_New_Frontiers_Expansion/

Reworking the Game

Steam have started limiting character content in posts, so a detailed outline of our strategy and how we got here will be included by me (the CEO) as the first comment in the thread below. As an aside, I have asked Valve several times if they could remove this restriction and I have not received any reply. Which is a shame, as we think providing you as much information as possible is in the interests of everyone - and limited characters in these update posts is unnecessary. If you agree - please let Valve know maybe we can get this changed. - Dean "Rocket" Hall, CEO

The Null Sector

The Null Sector region of the Prometheus Map is filled with unique challenges. It’s a considerably more difficult experience than the standard Icarus gameplay you have become familiar with. The environment, creatures, traversal, and general play all provide unique threats, so come prepared.

Scarce Resources

The Null Sector is an expansive, barren, and resource-scarce area that requires detailed planning to survive. Logistics, resource management, and cooperation in team sessions will be the difference between survival and near-certain death. For a start, we recommend bringing portable water and fuel tanks, especially when setting up forward bases.

Trail Beacons and Map Limitations

The most noticeable difference right away is the lack of a discoverable map. Even as you traverse the Null Sector, the area won’t be revealed to you, requiring you to navigate it without any familiarity to fall back on. A new type of technology - Trail Beacons - can be used instead to map out pathways through the area like a trail of breadcrumbs. The substantial atmospheric interference causing this map blackout also makes the Orbital Exchange Interface null and void, restricting you from being able to call down equipment or resources.

New Immersive Missions

Missions within the Null Sector will also be a new experience for even seasoned Icarus players. These are narrative-driven and focus on immersion, with many twists and turns. You must strike a balance between survival and pushing forward into the unknown. These missions include new detailed locations, bespoke mission structures, refined quest mechanics, and new experimental elements that prioritize quality over quantity in their design. One of these new elements is the inclusion of interactable NPCs, which is something we want to expand even further upon in the future. There are 8 Missions in total, and these are all Operations, meaning they can be triggered from Open Worlds.

The New Mission NULLSECTOR: FINALITY Provides a new reward for players - three additional Character Talent Points. These points are gained upon first-time completion and are granted to every character on your account, current and future.

The Ashlands and The Ice Sheet

There are two separate zones within the Null Sector. ‘The Ashlands' is a rocky volcanic maze with a unique biome modifier that drastically increases water consumption. 'The Icesheet’ is split into upper and lower tiers, with the lower being subject to intense whiteouts and bottomless crevasses, while the upper is less well known but is apparently home to a new, jaw-dropping creature. The Ice Sheet also has its own unique biome modifier, food takes longer to spoil when carried on your person with the caveat of increased food consumption while in this zone.

The Null Sector is a brand-new experience in its entirety. If it’s enjoyed and people feel it is a strong improvement on existing content, we’ll look to incorporate the learnings into our future expansions.

Other Notable Improvements

• New Updated Prometheus Visual Map with more detail - making it much better for traversal (excluding the Null Sector)
• New Crates for Deploying Animals when purchased from the Orbital Workshop
• Fixed the issue with the first mission on Olympus not granting 'baby steps' achievement
• The T4 Water Trough now provides a new 'Filtered Trough Water' Modifier to Mounts / Tames that drink from it. This provides food/water consumption reduction and a stamina regen buff
• Water troughs now consume water until full and no longer act as batteries. This fixes various issues, such as water tanks being unable to fill up water troughs
• Workshop items now use a purple background in inventories to help them stand out
• Fixed Interactable with Portable Biofuel Container so that when it is deployed, you can fill it up / remove biofuel with a jerry can in hand, the same way the portable water container works with canteens

Important Note Due to us unlocking a new region of the Prometheus map, the map FLOD elements had to be regenerated, meaning old rocks, ores, trees, etc, will be refreshed on existing Prometheus maps.

Next Week: Bug Fixes

Next week’s update is being kept open for any fixes required for the Null Sector. As usual, if there are any major bugs, we will push a hotfix as soon as it's ready.

The entire RocketWerkz team is also away for a couple of days next week as we go on our annual re-orientation. This is somewhat of a mini-conference internally where we share knowledge between our teams and projects and do some team building. We’ve had many new people join within the last year, so it’s also a chance for them to get to spend some time with their colleagues who they might not have got to work within their roles. This process really helps us to upskill and enhance all our current and future products and will bring some fresh ideas to Icarus going forward.

Your support makes these updates possible.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/40692/Icarus_Pets_Bundle/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/35727/Icarus_Complete_the_Set/

Changelog v2.2.24.128494

New Content

Fixed

Future Content