Captain's (Developer) Log #5
Greetings, Commander. It's been a while.
We hope you've been enjoying the 0.2.0 "Flight Systems" update for the past month or so. Today, we'd like to share exciting news about our next major update: 0.3.0 "Hangar & Arsenal", the big changes it brings, and our upcoming August 22nd - 29th Playtest!
Unlike our last major update, which primarily improved gameplay clarity, expanded controller support, and added Save & Resume Run functionality, the Hangar & Arsenal update will be highly content-focused.
This means new weapons, new ships, and new augments for pilots to use in imposing their will on the stars, breaking the rebel fleets, breaking the game, and inevitably leaving the developers (us) scratching their (our) heads as to how someone achieved a leaderboard-eclipsing score of 987,675,875 (how??).
Additionally, some—well, additional—content we hadn't originally planned might be creeping into this update: new music, complete augment rebalancing, and a new game mode!
This update is just over the horizon. We're targeting early September, with the final date depending on the results of private playtests (more on this below).
Today, we'd like to pry open the oh-so-closely guarded doors to R&D and show off a little of what's coming in update 0.3.0, and how you can help influence its development.
On The Radar
New Ship: The Dreadwing
Let's kick things off with this update's (physically) largest addition to your arsenal: the Dreadwing.
This Battleship is one of three new unlockable ships joining your fleet in version 0.3.0. The titanic vessel is so big that we thought, "Wow, we could probably fit even more ships inside that thing".
So we did.
A retaliatory carrier that deploys growing Fighter wings as its Shields fail, then recalls and rebuilds them as its defenses recover.
Reprisal Wing (Dreadwing Signature Augment) - When Shields fall below 75%, 50%, and 25%, deploy 2 Machine Gun Fighters. Fighters return to dock when Shields recover above 30%, 55%, and 80%, and must re-arm before redeploying. Fighter Health and Damage increase with Subsystem component level.
We know how vehemently our pilots have vouched for drones and fleet-carrier-esque ships, so this is our first foray into the mechanic. Don't worry, production of full drone weaponry and augments is already underway for future addition.
The keen-eyed pilots among you likely noticed several new additions in that preview, including one of our prototype weapons. Let's take a look at two of them...
New Weapon: Arc Cutter
The Hangar & Arsenal update will feature four new weapons, one for each primary weapon type (Projectile, Laser, Missile, and Field), each with four weapon-specific augments.
Chief among them is the Arc Cutter. R&D heard how much our pilots enjoy 'cutting through' swarms of enemies, and they took that literally:
Persistent penetrating blade array that sweeps from 45 degrees left to 45 degrees right around the selected target direction. Additional beams create staggered trailing blades that can hit independently.
The Arc Cutter's unique Augments are:
Grand Sweep - Expands the sweep from 90 to 180 degrees while preserving angular speed.
Twin Beams - Adds two trailing beams. Each trailing beam deals 50% damage. Reduces maximum ammo by 6.
Reverse Pass - After the forward sweep, every beam reverses with a fresh hit record at 60% damage. Attack interval increased by 35%.
Convergent Array - Array begins with two opposing beams that converge on-target. Each deals 75% damage and can hit independently. Additional Projectiles add trailing beams dealing 50% damage and an alternative sweep direction.
New Weapon: Flak Cannon
Specializing in the rapid (and violent) transformation of rebel ships into their base components is the Flak Cannon:
A close-range projectile cannon that fires a wide multi-projectile blast. Its unique augments can tighten the pattern, add flechettes, ricochet after Pierce, or turn dense same-blast hits into Stun and Knockback.
The Flak Cannon's unique Augments are:
Flechette Bloom - Increases Projectiles by 4 and Spread by 50%, but reduces Damage by 15%.
Concussive Load - Enemies hit by at least 3 Projectiles from the same blast are Stunned and release a Shockwave, knocking back nearby enemies. Each additional Projectile increases Shockwave Radius by 15%.
Magnetic Choke - Reduces Spread by 50% and increases Range by 50%. Reduces Projectiles by 1.
Breach Carom - Each Projectile's first successful Pierce Ricochets it toward a nearby enemy, retaining 60% damage.
This update is estimated to ship with at least 19 new augments: 16 weapon- and component-specific and 3 ship-unique—with the potential for more based on the results of our upcoming playtest (and ratio of rebel-to-test-pilot casualties).
New Game Mode: Combat Circuit
Finally, what better way to test your new arsenal than with a new way to play? Enter the Combat Circuit.
The Combat Circuit was created for players who love Starforged Legacy's combat and buildcraft but sometimes want the faster, more direct pacing of games like Brotato (which we're huge fans of).
Its repeating fight, extract, and shop loop turns every sector into a 'build-test', while the shared Credit economy creates a choice between strengthening the current run and banking progress for later.
We've also heard the community request for a choice about when to leave a sector, and this game mode has been balanced to allow that choice. You can now decide when to activate your warp drive and leave, but beware: as your time in a sector increases, so does the threat of enemy waves.
This adds a push-your-luck tension that 'Campaign' (our traditional game mode) doesn't have. The result is a focused twelve-sector gauntlet with route choices, bosses, and the option to continue into Endless.
The Combat Circuit will have its own Leaderboard, which High Command will be monitoring during our playtest. Additionally, Weekly Leaderboard Resets are in the works to maintain a lively competition amongst our star-studded pilots.
Performance and Stability Improvements
On one last note, we're aware of the performance issues some players are experiencing, and we're actively working on additional performance and stability enhancements as part of this update.
Engine upgrades, along with new ways to group and render the salvos of bullets, lasers, and missiles our pilots are flooding the sector with, are helping us retain screen-filling chaos and keep Starforged Legacy accessible to as many machines as possible, all while we continue to build toward our ultimate goal of complete Steam Deck support. Hang(ar) in there.
Keep this intel close, pilot. You never know who—or what—might be attempting to replicate our tech. Our sensors indicate that some sectors, normally abuzz with rebel chatter, have gone silent. Stranger still, this silence seems to be getting closer.
Join the Playtest
The Hangar & Arsenal update is going to be massive, and we want to bring in our faithful test pilots to stress-test its wildest combinations!
We're hosting a playtest August 22-29th, available to all pilots who own the game.
This week-long playtest is your opportunity to truly carve a legacy amongst the stars—specifically the stars within the game. You'll also have the chance to experience our newest content early and influence its development through your feedback, which will shape the experiences of thousands of pilots across the universe. No pressure!
This playtest launch is just days away, so join our community Discord and keep your eyes peeled for additional playtest information, including how to opt in to our test branch, where and how to give your feedback, and how to earn your 'Test Pilot' wings (Discord role)!
Communication Systems Online
Receive incoming transmissions: news, announcements, devlogs, and deep-space disturbances, by following Second Shift Games on X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky, YouTube, Reddit, and TikTok, or by visiting our website: SecondShiftGames.com.
Join our community Discord to chat with the developers and fellow pilots, and give your feedback on the game!
Wishing you clear skies, Commander.
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