Greetings, Commander!
Our premier combat simulation (what you may refer to as a 'public beta branch') is now LIVE for update 0.3.0: "Hangar & Arsenal"!
Until August 29th, we're calling upon all available test pilots to explore the 4 New Weapons, 3 New Ships, Major Fixed-Power Augment Rebalancing, Combat Circuit Game Mode, and more slated to deploy with update 0.3.0, and report their feedback, findings, and suggestions to High Command!
This transmission includes how to opt in to the test, an overview of included content, and where to provide your feedback:
Opting into the Beta Branch
You can find a guide on opting into betas via Steam's documentation, or follow the guide below:
Navigate to your Steam Library and right-click Starforged Legacy in the leftmost panel. Select 'Properties' from the drop-down menu.
In the 'Properties' window that appears, select 'Game Versions & Betas' in the leftmost panel. From here, you'll see different branches of the game you may opt into. Select 'public-beta' and close this window.
Starforged Legacy will automatically queue an update for the new content. Click 'update'!
Once this update is complete, you're ready to launch!
To swap back into the base, 'live' version of the game, repeat steps one and two, but select 'Default Public Version' in the 'Game Versions & Betas' window.
Beta Content
New Weapons
Update 0.3.0 will feature four new weapons, one for each primary weapon type (Projectile, Laser, Missile, and Field):
Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Flak Cannon | Projectile | A close-range spread weapon built to clear the firing line. |
Arc Cutter | Beam | Sweeps an array of cutting beams across a wide arc, penetrating enemies and environmental obstacles. |
Gravity Missile | Missile | Pulls enemies into a gravity well before detonating. |
Compression Field | Field | Expands around the ship, then contracts, repositioning surviving enemies. |
New Pilotable Ships & Loadouts
Update 0.3.0 will feature three new unlockable ships, one for each ship-class (Frigate, Cruiser, Battleship), each with a unique, signature augment as well as four loadouts:
Starward (Frigate) - Fast escort frigate whose self-fabricating Aegis capacitors intercept incoming fire and strike enemies that breach its orbit.
Aegis Capacitor Array (Signature Augment) - Starts with three Aegis Capacitors and fabricates one every six seconds, up to a maximum of eight. Each capacitor intercepts one enemy projectile or strikes an enemy for 75% of Max Shields and knocks it back. Shield Break immediately fabricates one.
Loadout | Description | Components and Augments |
|---|---|---|
Flakscreen | Drive through the barrage. Wide flak blasts clear the firing line while stronger Shields feed every Aegis strike. | Flak Cannon; Burst Drive; Flechette Bloom; Shield Extender |
Ringwalker | Shape the battlefield into a ring. Compression Field corrals the swarm while protected Afterburners let Aegis cut through the formation. | Compression Field; Afterburner; Pressure Equalizer; Aggressive Burn |
Breaker Circuit | Break the circuit, then close it again. Opposing Arc Cutter beams converge on the firing line while Phase Drive restores Shields and every Shield Break feeds Aegis. | Arc Cutter; Phase Drive; Convergent Array; Reactive Recharge |
Breakwater | Hold the firing line. Sustained Machine Gun fire activates Supercharged Turret, while every reload accelerates BREAKWATER into a stronger Warp Drive reposition before the next barrage. | Machine Gun; Warp Drive; Supercharged Turret; Reload Rush |
Sunder (Cruiser) - An assault cruiser that tears space open with every Micro Warp, carving a damaging corridor through the enemy formation.
Riftwake (Signature Augment) - Micro Warp tears open a damaging rift along its path, instantly striking every enemy caught in the corridor. Rift damage increases with Thruster component level.
Loadout | Description | Components and Augments |
|---|---|---|
Faultline | Collapse the swarm, then cut through it. Event Horizon holds the pack inside a tight gravity well while Riftwake tears through the formation and Warp Resistance protects the exit. | Gravity Missile; Micro Warp Drive; Event Horizon; Warp Resistance |
Shock Front | Break through the line and own the landing zone. Riftwake tears through the approach, EMP Release locks down nearby survivors, and Grand Sweep carves a 180-degree arc through the formation. | Arc Cutter; Micro Warp Drive; Grand Sweep; EMP Release |
Epicenter | Make the landing point the deadliest place on the map. Riftwake cuts through the approach, Waste Heat Recycling irradiates the exit, and Concussive Load blasts surviving enemies away from the impact zone. | Flak Cannon; Micro Warp Drive; Concussive Load; Waste Heat Recycling |
Rupture | Open the lane, then split it wider. Riftwake cuts through the formation, Charging Pulse burns enemies crowding the exit, and Extended Aperture drives a wider Phase Beam through the survivors. | Phase Beam; Micro Warp Drive; Charging Pulse; Extended Aperture |
Dreadwing (Battleship) - A retaliatory carrier that deploys growing Fighter wings as its Shields fail, then recalls and rebuilds them as its defenses recover.
Reprisal Wing (Signature Augment) - When Shields fall below 75%, 50%, and 25%, deploys two Machine Gun Fighters. Fighters return when Shields recover above 30%, 55%, and 80%, and must rearm before redeploying. Fighter Health and Damage increase with Subsystem level.
Loadout | Description | Components and Augments |
|---|---|---|
Scramble | Collapse enemies into a three-well gravity array, then launch the wing. Phase Drive restores Shields to recover Fighters and prepare for the next deployment. | Gravity Missile; Phase Drive; Accretion Anchor; Reactive Recharge |
Outer Ring | Hold the perimeter. Ion pulses throw close enemies back into a widening ring while missing Shields call more Fighters into the fight. | Ion Field; Afterburner; Ion Pulse; Protective Field; |
Crush Depth | Collapse the swarm. Compression Field turns forced movement into damage, and the first returning Shield charge punishes anything pressing the hangar. | Compression Field; Burst Drive; Inertial Trauma; Shield Burst |
Dead Reckoning | Slow missiles, fast recovery. Overclocked Shields cycle Fighter pairs through the hangar while Kinetic-guided Cruise Missiles erase priority targets. | Cruise Missile; Warp Drive; Kinetic Guidance; Overclocked Capacitors |
New Augments
We're seeking feedback on 19 new augments:
Name | Component | Effect |
|---|---|---|
Magnetic Choke | Flak Cannon | Reduces spread by 50% and increases range by 50%, but removes one projectile. Incompatible with Flechette Bloom. |
Flechette Bloom | Flak Cannon | Adds two projectiles and increases spread by 50%, but reduces projectile damage by 30%. Incompatible with Magnetic Choke. |
Breach Carom | Flak Cannon | The first successful Pierce from each projectile redirects it toward a nearby enemy at 60% retained damage. Requires positive Pierce. |
Concussive Load | Flak Cannon | Three same-blast projectiles hitting one enemy apply Stun and 2500 Knockback. Each additional projectile increases Knockback by 25%. |
Event Horizon | Gravity Missile | Extends the gravity well from 0.65 to 1.1 seconds and increases detonation damage by 50%, but reduces radius by 30%. |
Slingshot Mass | Gravity Missile | After the normal pull and detonation, launches surviving eligible enemies outward and briefly stuns them. Protected targets reject movement and are Stunned but still take damage. |
Accretion Anchor | Gravity Missile | The directly hit enemy becomes the moving gravity-well center. If it dies, the well remains at its death location. |
Tidal Fracture | Gravity Missile | Applies Armor Breach to survivors after detonation damage, but reduces detonation damage by 40%. |
Reverse Pass | Arc Cutter | Reverses the completed sweep with a fresh hit record at 60% damage. Total action time becomes 1.5 seconds and attack interval increases by 35%. |
Grand Sweep | Arc Cutter | Expands the sweep from 90 to 180 degrees while preserving angular speed, producing a 1.5-second pass. |
Twin Blades | Arc Cutter | Adds two trailing blades for three total. Each trailing blade deals 50% damage, and maximum ammo drops from 12 to 6. Incompatible with Convergent Array. |
Convergent Array | Arc Cutter | Locks the attack to two opposing blades that meet over the target. Each deals 75% damage and can hit independently. Additional projectile amount has no effect. Incompatible with Twin Blades. |
Focal Anchor | Compression Field | Deploys the field at the ship's firing location instead of following the ship. Doubles duration and increases pulse interval by 50%. |
Pressure Equalizer | Compression Field | Pushes nearby enemies outward and pulls distant enemies inward to a ring at 30% of field radius. Pulse interval increases by 50%. Incompatible with Vector Fold. |
Vector Fold | Compression Field | Arranges affected enemies into a line ahead of the field and Stuns enemies that reach the position. Pulse interval increases by 75%. Incompatible with Pressure Equalizer. |
Inertial Trauma | Compression Field | Deals no-crit bonus damage based on forward displacement during contraction, up to one additional weapon-damage packet. Any positive qualifying movement preserves at least one point. |
Combat Circuit Game Mode
The Combat Circuit is a focused, twelve-sector gauntlet featuring route choices, bosses, regular shops, and the option to continue into Endless:
Rather than navigating the Starmap, pilots choose between two routes that determine the challenges and rewards they'll encounter in the next sector.
Pilots decide when to activate their warp drive and leave. As time in a sector increases, however, the threat of enemy waves rises exponentially.
The Combat Circuit will have its own Leaderboard.
Augment Overhaul
Our largest change to the ship with this update is our Fixed-Power Augment Overhaul:
Augments can no longer be upgraded. Instead, augments provide a fixed benefit.
Augments are limited to eight per component.
This change encourages pilots to make informed decisions about their builds, whereas previously, many late-game and Endless runs devolved into slugfests in which each component was equipped with nearly every available augment, blurring their identities.
Miscellaneous Additions
Last but not least, a new interactable can be found drifting through the battlefield: Repair Drone Beacons:
Cost 100 Credits on map 1 and 50 more per map.
Unavailable to use at full hull or at the three-drone cap.
Deploys an unarmed, cap-exempt, untargetable, invulnerable Repair Support drone. Restores 5% of max hull immediately, and an additional 5% per second from a finite reserve equal to 50% of maximum hull.
Pilots will recognize this as a paid alternative to our current Nanite Repair Power-up (which now also utilizes Repair Support Drones).
Giving Feedback
Our primary source of collecting feedback is our Hangar & Arsenal Feedback Survey! This brief survey will ask you to rate each of our major additions and changes, and provides space to list any issues you may encounter or suggestions you might have.
Note: If you would like to receive the 'Test Pilot' role in our official Discord, be sure to include your Discord username (not just your display name) within the survey!
Speaking of, you can report your findings directly to the dev team in our community Discord!
Last but not least, we've created a dedicated Steam Discussion where you can discuss the playtest with your fellow pilots, which we'll monitor throughout the playtest.
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.
// END TRANSMISSION //