Hello!
Another update is upon us, with some new stuff to do and some quite important building system upgrades/fixes.
Scuttle Twin-Turbo Plasma Turret
Continuing our somewhat constant tradition of adding a module per update, I present you the new large turret. This time it's the U.R.A. faction's turn to get a new gun and it's my new favorite one for sure.
Its fast rate of fire makes up for the mediocre damage, and along with fast turret rotation speed it's an excellent choice for larger ships that can keep up with its demand for electric power.
Building System Upgrades
There have been a few quite significant upgrades to the system in this update, with the most prominent being able to attach stuff to derelict and abandoned ships while keeping yours intact.
Another small change that should not be understated is that module attachment points are now detected a lot better - so you should no longer see modules attaching on the other side of the ship sometimes (which, let's be frank, was annoying af).
Imgur Demo Gif
(Sorry, steam won't let me upload this one directly, despite its bad quality)
While not exactly intended, this allows you to construct makeshift orbital structures like space docks and storage facilities. I wouldn't recommend doing it a whole lot at this point however as it does bring a bit more stress to the physics engine as is ideal (and optimized at this point).
You should also note that these ships currently get stolen when you exit a system (deleted in game mechanic terms), along with the rest of the ships. You can expect an exception for this in the future, once we get more official support for this mechanic done.
More Icons, Random Events and Derelicts
To make exploration a tad bit more interesting there are now some random events in the systems you enter, marked with orange question marks.
These can then trigger a random event when you get up close. Currently limited to only spawning derelict ships and large asteroids, but we'll add a lot more of these later on.
A small, but frequently requested thing is the death spot markers which show the place where you last got rekt and exploded so you can fly back there and pick up the remaining pieces.
The derelict ships are utilizing the new building system's ability to attach stuff to abandoned ships and can either be salvaged by deconstruction or you can just attach a pod onto them and fly them away.
If there are any engines and reactors left of course.
NPC Ship AI Changes
Ships are now less dumb-as-rocks and have some new additions to their neural collection.
They will now make full use of their guns, switching sides to fire broadsides and even rear guns when they feel like it or have the most guns on that side.
Once you completely disable a ship by knocking out all of their guns and engines it's time to abandon ship:
Be careful when you try to remove all of their guns however, as the only offensive tactic left at that point is ramming. Get ready to doge.
Changelog:
Additions:
- a new weapon, the Scuttle Twin-Turbo Plasma Turret
- a new ship type - abandoned ships - which are just like regular ones but have no AI and you can attach stuff to/from them as well as your own pod - so you can switch ships with ease
- ships no longer dump all modules when you detach the last command pod, but are converted into an abandoned ship instead
- added random event spots around systems marked with orange question marks that currently spawn derelict ships and large asteroids
- added a marker at the place of your death that stays until you visit it again or leave the system
Changes:
- tanker in starlane quest now wanders around
- flak cannon mesh slightly corrected
- hud arrows now follow an ellipse instead of a circle
NPC Ship AI Changes:
- ships now launch escape pods when completely disabled, leaving behind a buildable ship
- they will now make full use of their side and rear guns as well
- the ai will attempt to ram you if it has no remaining guns to use
Fixes:
- the building system now recognises the attachment nodes that you actually want, instead of targeting some on the other side through the ship which used to be quite frustrating
- turret based weapons now render correctly in the Steam Workshop upload image
- turrets no longer twitch when pointing at things
- (kind of) fixed minigun and turret hit detection issues
- ship position is now restored correctly on load
Known issues as of 1.06:
- Some players are unable to select systems in the galaxy map after saving and loading the game (You can now use the A and D keys as a temporary workaround to switch systems in case it happens).
- The music slider does not update the volume until the options menu is closed.
- Larger ships are rather intensive on performance right now
- Task and chat windows can appear off-screen on large resolutions (2560x1440 and above)
- Random event and death spot icons don't clear up correctly in some cases
As for the next update, you can expect to see target lockon, hud improvements and even more guns.
Thanks for reading and have a good one!