The 0.8 update has been a long time coming, and I apologize for the wait. However, the time wasn’t spent idle, as this update is completely packed with updates to every aspect of the game. Some of the bigger updates are to the out-of-combat experience, so I’ll go through those first:
Hangar Update:
The visuals of the hangar have been updated to better convey the journey you’re undertaking. There’s now a forcefield keeping oxygen inside the hangar!
There is a map in the corner that shows your path through the solar system, and there are new animations for warping between sectors and launching the ship.
Salvage Update:
There is now the option when selecting multiple items to salvage at once, to select/deselect all items of a category, or even all items at once.
Shader Caching:
A good portion of the shaders should now compile on first load, reducing any potential stutter when encountering them for the first time.
There are a great many changes to the combat experience as well:
Better Controller Deadzones:
The default input handler for Unreal Engine has cross-shaped deadzones, making it hard to aim in non-orthogonal directions. I’ve updated the game to use the enhanced controller handler so that the deadzones can be circular as intended!
Consumable Auto-Trigger:
One of the hardest things to remember in the heat of battle is sometimes that you have a Shield Overload or other consumable ready that could have saved you if you only remembered to use it. Now, consumables will automatically be used if the ship gets extremely low on shields or energy, or if it starts taking hull damage. However, these systems have a cooldown before they can trigger again, so they can’t be 100% relied on to save you if you continue to take damage.
Status Icons:
The icons for the various ship statuses have been updated to better reflect what they do, and there are a few new status effects representing the automatic consumable system cooldowns. Additionally the icons have a timer at the bottom that shows the time remaining for each status effect to wear off.
New Bosses:
The Chimera has been completely reworked and features independent turrets that are chosen based on your route and can be independently destroyed. And for those who can make it that far, there is a new final boss that is sure to challenge any pilot who faces it!
New Ship:
The Ophiuchus is built to highlight a couple of the new features in its default loadout. It has the updated Thermal Beam, which works like the MMC beams do on enemy ships now, in that while firing your ship has reduced turn rate but increased maneuvering thrust. It also fits the new primary weapon.
New Weapon:
The Flak Pulse Cannon is unique so far among primary weapons in two aspects. The first is that it splits into submunitions, and the second is that in addition to a small amount of energy it consumes a small amount of resources every few shots.
New Weapon Firing Mode:
There is now the potential for weapons that begin to charge when fire is held, and discharge upon release. The Plasma Cannon now uses this firing mode by default. There is a chirp when the weapon is ready to fire, and the chirp will stop when it is at full charge.
Photon Rework:
The Photon has by default swapped its Plasma Field Grenades for a Plasma Cannon
Difficulty Tweaks:
AI has been tweaked to make it easier at lower difficulties
Lower difficulties start with some consumables
Ship Upgrades:
There are now more stats that can be upgraded, and there are new upgrades along with some balance changes to existing upgrades. Each stat now has a corresponding icon, and there will be future updates to the salvage page that better preview the stats similar to weapon mods.
Other Changes and Fixes:
New song!
Issues with pause menu fixed
Fixed issue where hangar menu incorrectly received input instead of the story intro
Beam Weapon and Damage over Time weapon scoring fixed.
Beam Collision Fixed
Black Hole weapon collision more closely aligned with visuals