The default branch of Starcom: Unknown Space has been updated to the Ganymede build, which incorporates the combined changes of several opt-in betas the players have been testing. This build is not save compatible with Draconis, but if you were in the middle of a playthrough, you can still finish it by switching back to the Draconis Rollback build:
Details on Beta updates and how to switch to them can be found here.
As outlined in a recent blog post, Ganymede has roughly 50% more content than Draconis, and twice as much content as Betelgeuse (the first Early Access release).
While most players are having a great time with the update, there are still some issues. The biggest being there are some points where some players find themselves "stuck" and unsure where to progress. Sometimes this is due to the mission log being unclear, the player doing things in an unexpected order, or an outright bug. If you find yourself at a point where you can't figure out what to do next for any significant amount of time, check in the discussion forums. If your issue isn't addressed there, let me know.
Summary of the major changes since Draconis (with minimal spoilers):
- Additional content, anomalies, missions, factions
- Several new technologies and modules
- Changes to skill checks, UI and numerous skill check anomalies
- Changes to crew skill progression
- Changes to various ship AIs
- "Smart" autopilot can plot trip using fast-travel nodes
- Player can allow autopilot to continue while ship menu is open (will pause if threats or unknown objects are detected)
- New music tracks, changes to music triggers
- New achievements (not fully tested)
- New planet types
- Void drag formula changes
- Explored system void drag reduction
- Changes to trade system, initialization, pricing
- Changes to NPC drone squadron AI
- Changes to sector/persistent coordinate normalization
- Changes to NPC encounter generation
- Changes to trade system
- Player can rename crew members
- Repair system now prioritizes surveyor module
- Increased max thermal penalty from 30% to 40% and updated thermal analysis (which incorrectly had a max of 20%)
- Procedural anomalies avoid choosing same anomaly in succession
- Fully explored planets dimmer on map
- Fixed duplicate log entries due to bug
- Additionally, now suppress log entries with identical text (e.g., exact same conversation repeated)
- Fix for music volume changes not persisting
- HUD notifies player of XP progression and new missions
- Fixed issue where survey lander path would go very wide after first launch
- Fixed guns should now favor locked target, if any
- Fix for null ref pooling exception in late game scenario
- Changes VFX for several particle systems to eliminate a potential performance bottleneck
- Adds experimental mouse steering option
- Cursor changes when hovering an external web link (e.g., to the discussion forum)
- Changes to content loading system
- F8 feedback now can include latest save
- Clarified several mission points
- Numerous minor bug fixes and typos
As always, you can give feedback in game at any time by pressing the F8 key, or in the Steam Discussion Forums.
Thanks for playing Starcom: Unknown Space in Early Access!
- Kevin