Caretakers,

The arch.

You may have walked past it for 20 hours. Maybe 50. Maybe more.

In Update 6, it finally turns on.

It has an address.

It opens.

PROJECT CROSSING begins.

The first active Transfer Gate connects Lazarus Complex to North Bastion, a completely frozen mountain region where the main story continues, cold becomes a survival threat, and Anna starts recognizing things she should not remember.

This is also, somehow, our eighth Early Access update while being called Update 6.0. Two extra updates happened along the way because we had things ready and saw no reason to make you wait for them.

▶ Watch the Update 6.0 trailer:

▶ Full patch notes: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1783560/discussions/0/564797030489213918/

▶ Discord: discord.gg/channel37

The Last Caretaker is also 20% off through October 25.

THE SHORT VERSION FOR HUMANS

1. PROJECT CROSSING is active. The arch is a Transfer Gate, and the first route leads to North Bastion.

2. North Bastion is open. Explore a new frozen mountain region with its own dock, hangar, central spire, facilities, infrastructure, records, loot, enemies, and story.

3. Cold now matters. Low temperatures slow and damage the Caretaker.

4. Build heat. Small, medium, and large heaters, a boiler, the Methane Extractor, and single-use methane canisters are now part of survival.

5. Ice blocks the way. Melt it with heat or break through it.

6. Anna’s story continues. North Bastion remembers her. Anna does not remember North Bastion.

7. Your machines waste less of your time. Systems now catch up much faster after you leave a location and return.

8. Gyrocopter handling improved with improved steering and vertical control.

9. Exploration tools are better. Custom map markers, cursor-based map and Grid Scanner zoom, clearer hidden connections, and improved module socket information.

10. New accessibility options include a dedicated Accessibility tab and Motion Comfort settings.

11. Performance is improved with less exploration stutter and smoother gameplay around large numbers of enemies, cables, and modules.

12. Lots of fixes. Saves, quests, gates, vehicles, ladders, enemies, cables, modules, visuals, audio, collision, progression, and crashes all received another large pass.

THE NOT SO SHORT VERSION FOR CARETAKERS

PROJECT CROSSING

That arch was never decoration.

The structure at Lazarus is part of PROJECT CROSSING, an old network of Transfer Gates built to connect registered locations across enormous distances.

Update 6 begins the quest to understand what it is, restore it, give it what it needs, enter a valid destination address, and make the first crossing.

The first connection leads from Lazarus Complex to North Bastion.

This is not a fast-travel option hidden in a menu. The Gate exists in the world. It needs power. It has an address. It has systems, hardware, requirements, and a physical destination.

Once a Gate is open, the console also provides a Recall option that lets you return to where you came from without paying for another crossing.

You can even take a vehicle through.

The world just became more reachable.

And considerably stranger.

NORTH BASTION

North Bastion is a new snowy mountain region built around one of the largest facilities we have added to the game so far.

The area includes a dock, hangar, central spire, industrial spaces, utility infrastructure, interior facilities, tunnels, frozen rooms, records, loot, enemies, and new story content.

The main quest continues here.

North Bastion is not simply another place to salvage.

It changes what the environment can do to you.

SURVIVE THE COLD

Cold is now a real gameplay system.

When temperatures fall far enough, the Caretaker slows down and begins taking damage. The HUD shows temperature when conditions become dangerous.

To survive, you can build:

1. Small Heater

2. Medium Heater

3. Large Heater

4. Boiler

5. Methane Extractor

6. Single-use Methane Canisters

Different heaters have different strengths, ranges, and efficiency.

Areas you successfully warm now remain warm instead of slowly losing that progress.

The Flamethrower and Flame Pistol also produce heat, giving existing equipment a new use.

Cold reaches into the environment too. Some passages are blocked by ice and have to be melted with heat or physically broken open.

Even the Gyrocopter is affected by extreme cold.

Apparently taking a flying machine into a frozen mountain has consequences.

ANNA

Anna recognizes North Bastion.

She should not.

For dozens of hours she has been a voice accompanying the Caretaker through the world. In North Bastion, that relationship changes.

There are new records, new voice-over, new interactions, and a major continuation of her story.

For the first time, you may finally meet her.

We are not saying what happens after that.

Go north.

SYSTEMS SHOULD WORK WHEN YOU ARE NOT LOOKING AT THEM

This one came directly from player feedback.

When you build a working production system, you should not have to stand beside it waiting for it to do its job.

Modules now catch up much faster after you have been away from a location, while keeping the process from slowing down the game.

That applies across your systems, not only one specific machine.

Build something that works.

Leave.

Go do something else.

Come back.

It should have been doing its job.

GYROCOPTER AND VEHICLES

Gyrocopter handling has received another major pass.

Vertical control is better.

Steering is better.

The Gyrocopter can now be switched off while on water.

Cold temperatures can affect rotor performance.

Several vehicle, save-position, camera, audio, and interaction issues have also been fixed.

And yes, you can fly through an active Transfer Gate.

We checked.

MAP, GRID SCANNER AND BUILDING

The world map and Grid Scanner now zoom toward the cursor instead of simply zooming toward the center of the screen.

You can now place and remove your own markers on the world map.

The Grid Scanner makes hidden connections and groups easier to understand.

When placing modules, sockets now show:

1. Which resource they use

2. Which direction that resource flows

Resource balancing between modules now works by percentage rather than fixed amounts.

Quest items now have their own category in the Fabricator and build menus.

You can build on door frames.

Newly fabricated objects can optionally be placed facing you.

Dismantling and repairing are also less easily interrupted.

Recyclable items now show how long recycling takes and how much electricity it uses.

ACCESSIBILITY AND MOVEMENT

A new Accessibility tab has been added to the options menu.

It includes new Motion Comfort settings.

Ladders also have one highly advanced technological improvement:

Crouch while climbing down and you slide.

Humanity survived long enough to invent this.

COMBAT AND ENEMIES

Enemy navigation and engagement have been improved, including their ability to find and engage the player from greater distances.

Sharks now correctly attack in melee.

Felis pathing has been improved.

Laserbobs no longer create a swarm after they are already dead.

Sea mines once again deal damage.

The drone light is more effective against the night swarm.

Several hit, damage, destruction, egg sack, tentacle, and growth effects have also been improved.

Freezing regions also affect what kinds of creatures can survive there.

PERFORMANCE

Update 6 includes another large performance pass.

Exploration stutter has been reduced.

Gameplay is smoother around large numbers of:

1. Enemies

2. Cables

3. Modules

Several major lag sources have been fixed, including oxygen generators and switching control between the Caretaker, drones, and vehicles.

Additional work has gone into world streaming, environment systems, combat processing, temperature simulation, fog, materials, and rendering.

The goal remains the same: keep expanding the game without making the old world heavier every time we do it.

VISUAL AND AUDIO IMPROVEMENTS

Underwater visuals have been improved, with fog and lighting reacting more naturally to depth.

Weather audio has been improved.

Fog behaves better indoors.

High-quality fog is smoother.

Low and Medium fog quality issues have been fixed.

Maximum HDR peak brightness has been increased to 4000 nits.

Snow, frost, ice, surfaces, waves, explosions, impacts, and several environmental materials have received additional work.

Loudspeakers have updated recordings and playlist support.

Quest voice-over has been made more consistent and overlapping voice lines have been reduced.

FIXES FIXES FIXES AS DETAILS

1. Fixed several crashes, including crashes while saving and when loading damaged saves.

2. Fixed severe lag caused by Oxygen Generators.

3. Fixed severe lag when switching control to or from drones and vehicles.

4. Fixed graphics settings not updating correctly after changing graphics cards.

5. Fixed some graphics settings not being saved.

6. Fixed the Vessel of Tomorrow engine cylinder task not completing.

7. Fixed the Rollerboi Factory quest becoming blocked on older saves.

8. Fixed First Light quest steps becoming unfinished.

9. Fixed First Light not completing when several Lumilite Fabricators were placed.

10. Fixed whales not spawning after completing their quest.

11. Fixed multiple ladder collision and movement issues.

12. Fixed free look not working correctly on ladders.

13. Fixed the Caretaker getting stuck after switching from a ladder to a drone or vehicle.

14. Fixed the boat position not always saving correctly.

15. Fixed water appearing inside the boat.

16. Fixed the boat map marker appearing at the wrong size.

17. Fixed Copper Scraps taking too long to recycle.

18. Fixed Eden tiles returning the wrong item or amount when dismantled.

19. Fixed the Rhino Dismantler being able to dismantle Gyrocopter and JetSki containers.

20. Fixed Fabricators draining power when required parts were missing.

21. Fixed stowed items not being restored correctly.

22. Fixed cables pulling on stowed items.

23. Fixed the Recycler recycling items stored on your back.

24. Fixed fruit grow timers not updating.

25. Fixed pears growing upside down.

26. Fixed fruit showing a pick-up prompt before it had finished growing.

27. Fixed sharks failing to attack in melee.

28. Fixed Felis units getting stuck while moving.

29. Fixed Laserbobs spawning a swarm after death.

30. Fixed egg sacks taking damage from attacks that missed them.

31. Fixed destroyed egg sack shadows remaining visible.

32. Fixed Sea Mines not dealing damage.

33. Fixed dropped items failing to float underwater.

34. Fixed Glowsticks not working underwater.

35. Fixed stretched cables and incorrect cable-transfer visuals.

36. Fixed connected Power Triodes becoming impossible to remove after loading.

37. Fixed Bot Heal Station issues.

38. Fixed incorrect Recovery Grinder electricity consumption.

39. Fixed trash spawning inside boats.

40. Fixed night-swarm trash remaining indefinitely.

41. Fixed the character jittering while turning.

42. Fixed the character facing the wrong direction when entering the Gyrocopter.

43. Fixed JetSki sound and smoke issues.

44. Fixed sounds continuing to play after they should have stopped.

45. Fixed cloud-shadow flickering near the horizon.

46. Fixed broken materials across several items, modules, generators, sleeping bags, posters, and the Caretaker.

47. Fixed food becoming too dark on Low graphics settings.

48. Fixed save import not opening the correct dialog from the New Game menu.

49. Fixed several loudspeaker playback issues.

50. Fixed several missing or incorrect materials.

51. Fixed several quest, progression, collision, save, and world-state issues discovered during Community Alpha and Beta.

52. Fixed loudspeaker events occasionally appearing in the playback queue before the event responsible for scheduling them had executed.

53. Fixed several material-state records containing valid references to objects that had never existed in the current save.

54. Fixed Anna asking why we keep changing this line.

Anna: please stop fixing me

There are more.

That is why the full patch notes link exists:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1783560/discussions/0/564797030489213918/

FEEDBACK

We continue to read Steam Discussions, Discord reports, crash data, Community Alpha and Beta feedback, and reports sent through the game.

A lot of Update 6 comes directly from that.

One example is production catch-up. Players told us very clearly that once they had built a working system, standing next to it waiting for resources was not interesting gameplay.

Agreed.

So the system changed.

The same applies to movement, performance, Gyrocopter handling, map usability, UI readability, quest blockers, and hundreds of smaller things that are much easier to spot once thousands of people are actually living inside the game.

If something breaks, the most useful reports still include:

1. What you were doing

2. What you expected to happen

3. What actually happened

4. Steps to reproduce, if possible

5. Screenshot or video, if available

6. Your save file

Discord: discord.gg/channel37

Keep it coming.

ONE ASK

If you have been away for a while, update the game and go back to Lazarus.

Find the arch.

It is not decoration anymore.

And if you like where The Last Caretaker is going, a Steam review remains one of the clearest signals you can send us.

Update 6.0: The Jump is live now.

The Last Caretaker is 20% off through October 25.

Safe travels!
-- Channel37