Demo Preparations
In preparation for the demo release, the following content has been removed:
Alien Faction: The alien faction has been removed for rework and reimplementation at a later date or with the complete version of the game.
Player Ships: The pool of player ships has been reduced to one of each classification (Cruiser, Frigate, and Battleship), being the Ironhide, Nova Lance, and Nemesis.
Despite the smaller number of playable ships, each ship now has two additional alternate loadouts that can be unlocked by completing missions.
Players start with only the Ironhide (Cruiser) by default, and unlock the Nova Lance (Frigate) and Nemesis (Battleship) by completing a run and winning a run, respectively.
New Content
Map Modifiers
Ion Storms: Lightning strikes randomly across the map.
Getting hit reduces Shield Capacity by 25%.
Reduces Shield Recharge Rate by 100% for 10 seconds.
Nebula: Region is clouded, reducing visibility.
All weapon targeting range is reduced to a maximum of 60M.
Gravity Wells: Small gravity wells pull you toward their centers.
Center contact deals damage to enemies.
Players get "Black Hole's Touch" effect: +100% Max Hull and Shield, -50% Damage.
Gravitational Anomalies: Random spawning gravitational anomalies.
Function is the same as Gravity Wells, but larger.
3-second lifespan.
Cruise Missile Redesign
New Firing Pattern: Missiles now fire straight up, arc over, and come down on targets from above.
Partial Gamepad Support
Most menus and gameplay now support gamepad navigation (Skill Tree and Shop UI still pending support).
Loadout System
Three Configurations: Each ship now has a default and two unlockable alternative loadouts.
Additional alternate loadouts can be unlocked by completing missions viewable on the ship selection screen.
Balance Changes
Map Modifiers
Removed Modifiers: These did not have the desired gameplay impacts that are expected from this system and have been removed for the time being: Weapon Instability, Energy Fluctuations, Elite Forces, Rapid Response, and Overwhelming Numbers.
Weapon Balance
Cruise Missiles:
Damage increased from 18 to 24.
Speed increased from 4000 to 5500.
The initial speed of the projectile increased from 1000 to 2000.
Cluster Warhead: Projectiles now have a 3-second lifespan.
Fragmented Rounds: Max pierce set to 10.
Enemy Balance
Pirate Battleship Contaminator:
Weapon loadout changed from 'Auto Slugger' to 'Rad Thrower'.
Damage and attack speed rebalanced.
Enemy Spawning:
Fixed groups no longer spawning when the max enemy count is reached.
Increased number of single enemies spawning.
Enemy Sizes: Some enemies have been increased in size for improved visibility.
Progression
Experience Requirements: Increased past level 40 for extended late-game progression.
Mission Balance
Gas Control: No longer loses progress when you leave the capture zone.
Mineable Missions: Base crystal value increased from 6 to 8.
Environment
Large Asteroids: Improved obstacle navigation to prevent enemies from becoming stuck.
Visual Enhancements
VFX
Thermoflux Projector: New, improved explosion VFX.
Rad Thrower: Projectile VFX updated to not die on lifetime end, new impact VFX.
Radiation Projectiles: Updated to look better with local space.
Explosion Spheres: Rotated 90 degrees on the Y axis to hide circle tops.
Smoke Dither: Updated material for better particle color usage.
Sakashima Sundrive: VFX now properly ends if thrusters are cancelled early.
Optimizations
New Rendering System: Masked materials with dithering replace transparent materials.
Opacity Settings: Changed from 0.01-0.9 to 0-1 scale.
Slider Control: A new slider parameter enables per-effect opacity control.
Performance Gains: Significant FPS improvements across all scenarios.
Rebel Cruiser Models: Base, Demolition, Irradiated, Junkyard, and Ranged Rebel Cruiser models have undergone significant optimization.
Ship Destruction
Rebel Cruisers: Now break apart when they explode.
Enemy Death: Now includes debris effects with new Rebel debris material.
Content Polish
Enemy Visuals:
Cell shading color slightly brighter.
Outlines changed to be clearer.
Upgrade Interactable: New mesh and symbol.
Fixed Thruster Positions: Rebel Cruiser thruster sizes and positions corrected.
Audio Improvements
Clock Tick Sound: New sound added to the end of the map countdown.
Mining Laser: Volume reduced from 1.0 to 0.05.
CWM Missile Rocket: Added attenuation to prevent sounding at player location.
Concurrency Systems:
Mining and Impact cues now have concurrency sets.
Pickup VFX trails capped at 25 active trails.
Bugfixes
Vulnerability Overload: Fixed negative damage scaling.
Piercing Weapons: Fixed piercing weapons not piercing asteroids.
Cruise Missile: Added minimum homing increase to prevent missing targets.
Swarm Missile: Fixed timers continuing while projectiles were in the pool.
Hardened Bullets: Fixed level 5 displaying a 10% increase instead of 100%.
Prime Condition: Fixed being on the incorrect starting component.
AI Manager: Fixed issues where enemies could become invulnerable.