[Game Update] Spaced Out Testing Branch is Open! - 447728

[Ipsquiggle]

Hello friends!

Now that the new year is upon us, we've got our minds set on steadily moving Spaced Out! towards launch. With the major systems in place, we're going to begin a regular release cycle of testing and updates. Starting today, we're going to have a DLC branch open at all times that we update fairly frequently. Once every 3 weeks, we will stabilize the DLC test branch and then update the default branch of the game.

To say that a different way: DLC owners can join the test branch for frequent updates and lots of opportunities to provide feedback as features develop, or you can remain on the default branch and enjoy updates to the game every 3 weeks.

Today we're starting the public testing for our freshest content, which consists primarily of bringing many of the base game rocket modules and engines into Spaced Out!, increasing your rocketry options dramatically. (New space destinations will be coming in another update.)

Additionally, there's a large rework of the Oxygen Masks which makes them behave more like the existing suits, with lockers and checkpoints. We've also taken this opportunity to expand on the suit mechanics, by adding durability and repair to the suits. This means that there will be ongoing infrastructure required to maintain your fleet of suits rather than a single one-time cost.

As always, please let us know if you encounter any issues on the testing branch in the bug forums, and thanks for your feedback!

What does this testing branch contain so far?

Here are the changes we've made so far in this update, loosely categorized:

Spoiler

 

Content and Features

• DLC versions of some rocket engines and modules from the base game.
• Added new smaller petroleum engine.
• Balance pass on some rocket module key values (burden, engine power, engine efficiency, capacity)
• Oxygen Masks reworked to work more like the previous suit implementations.
  • Added Oxygen Mask Locker
  • Added Oxygen Mask Marker
  • Added Crafting Table (you craft Oxygen Masks here)
  • Added Oxygen Mask tech item.
  • Deprecated old OxygenMaskStation building
• Added durability system for equippable suits.
• Added new intro Alert message

Worldgen

• Swamp starting area tiles changed from Sandstone to Sedimentary Rock to match what is found in the swamp.
• Worldgen borders now gradiate temperature between the adjacent subworlds. This should prevent temperature "leakage" through abyssalite. Note: doesn't fix subworlds "spilling over" the borders.

Fixes

• Fixed issue causing invisible lines in diagnostic/resource charts
• Fixed issue preventing diagnostic/resource charts from showing a full 5 cycle history.
• Falling dupes on the edges of worlds are teleported to the telepad, rocket control station or center of world
• Made Rocket tiles invincible and non-replaceable
• Fixed Warp Portal Receiver duplicant interact sounds
• Hid Rover pivot symbol.
• Disabled Oversee Planetoid button until the world is discovered
• Sealed Suits now actually clear the "Soiled Suit" status effect when a suit is unequipped.
• Worn out jet suits now drop remaining fuel in a bottle.
• Fix for ever growing diagnostic indicator dot in world selector issue
• Fixed crash in some old saves with Yellowcake, which has been removed from the game.
• Fixed crash that would occur when choosing destinations for rockets that had no passenger modules
• Fixed issue causing small oxidizer tank to have more capacity than intended (2700->300kg)

Strings

• Renamed Porta-Pod "Mini-Pod"
• Swapped out more placeholder strings
• Worn out suits now have unique names & descriptions
• Updated strings for Korean and Russian

Animations

• Art and animation changes for solid/liquid/gas rocket port buildings
• New animations for when Duplicants and Rovers exit their landers
• Added dupe interact states for the Mini Pod
• Removed impact fx on hit state of critter and baby_critter
• Added a missing scoutbot movement animation
• Added cap symbols to launchpad to make the connection with the conduit ports look better.
• Updated the artwork for the rocket_oxidizer_tank_small
• Revised place art for the conduit ports
• added a "worn_out" state to the suit and mask anims
• Main menu dupe anim pass
• Conduit port load/unload animations
• added art that changes the form factor of some small rocket modules when to bridge with wider modules in a more appealing way.  

Sound

• Add sound for warp conduit sender/receiver duplicant interacts
• Add sounds for Sweetle and Sweetle Larva
• Hooked up some Mini-Pod sounds
• Add sounds for Rocket Orbital Deploy Cargo Module
• Add Rover sound effects.
• Add Wormwood sounds

Other

• Removed flicker fx from the launchpad light in the main menu.  Now a slow pulse.
• Trailblazer and Rover modules now have a wireframe to indicate that construction has been requested.
• Camera zooming should be smoother at low framerates and inconsistent framerates. Also, one "notch" of zoom is the same amount in both directions.
• Modified place art for launchpad and conduit port buildings
• Added status item to launch pads with rockets that have no spacefarer modules

 

 

 What is open testing?

"Open testing" means players get to test-drive new content early and give us feedback and suggestions before it goes live. Because this is an unfinished and in active development version of the game, it's pretty likely you'll encounter bugs, crashes or balance issues while playing these builds. We'll try to fix any problems that crop up as quickly as we can, but it's possible you'll lose progress in your games while playing on the Testing branch.

Regarding performance, the Testing branch has additional debugging tools enabled to help us track down crashes. This makes the game run more slowly than the live version of the game.

Please also be aware that once a save is loaded in the Testing branch, it cannot be reopened again in the previous Live branch or previous builds.

What do I do if I find a crash or a bug?

Post it up on the Bug Tracker and we'll fix it as soon as we can. If you can attach a copy of your save file to your report, that helps us even more as we can pinpoint the source of problem more quickly.

Do I have to play the open testing build?

Nope! If you'd prefer to only play a stable build, you can continue to play in the current Default branch until the game launches in full. Playing the Open Testing build isn't necessary, but it helps us a lot to receive your feedback and reports - if you're interested, try it out!

How do I become an open tester?

There's no sign up or registration for becoming an open tester. If you own Oxygen Not Included plus the Spaced Out! DLC and want to join the Testing Branch, all you have to do is play the Open Testing build on Steam.

How do I play the open testing build?

You can switch your branch on Steam using the instructions below:

Spoiler

How to change branches in Oxygen Not Included (Steam)

• You must own the Spaced Out! DLC
• In Steam, click on Library > Games.
• Scroll down to Oxygen Not Included.
• Right-click and select Properties.
• Go to the BETAS tab.
• In the dropdown, select the name of the branch you want to play. In this case, the branch name is "public_testing"
  • This branch does not require a password.
• In that same Properties window, go to the Local Files tab and press "Verify Integrity Of Game Cache."
• Your game will be updated to the the previous branch.
• Launch and play Oxygen Not Included

 

View full update

[Primalflower]

that gif is so epic!!

[JRup]

9 minutes ago, Ipsquiggle said:

How do I become an open tester?

There's no sign up or registration for becoming an open tester. If you own Oxygen Not Included and want to join the Testing Branch, all you have to do is play the Open Testing build on Steam.

RFC:

Since this is also testing Spaced out! content, am I correct to assume we're talking about owning the DLC in this instance?

(Also yeah: Ginormous hype on that gif!)

[Ipsquiggle]

1 minute ago, JRup said:

Since this is also testing Spaced out! content, am I correct to assume we're talking about owning the DLC in this instance?

Correct, you must own the DLC. Post has been updated to make this more clear. Thanks for catching this!

[sakura_sk]

37 minutes ago, Ipsquiggle said:

Wormwood

What is Wormwood? Mealwood.? Grubfruit..? Database wormhole? 

[TripleM999]

Please implement a durability system for every piece of hardware... NOT. Durability wear for extreme situations, like overpressure, overtemperature... maybe certain elements... ok. But everyday usage? Why not add wear to every pump, or filter or what not. Quite disappointed by added regular wear for atmo suits.

Or please add divers googles without wear to avoid yuckey eyes, one of the most annoying conditions atm.

Edited January 14, 2021 by TripleM999

[Primalflower]

I love this update so much!! this nerf to suits was long overdue and i can finally use masks normally!

[Steve8]

Worldgen borders now gradiate temperature between the adjacent subworlds. This should prevent temperature "leakage" through abyssalite.

Yay! Swamp biomes don't seem to instantly boil anymore 

 

What would be nice is some explanation on how burden, rocket range, speed, etc. are related. So you can plan what rocket to use when

[EricKlei]

39 minutes ago, sakura_sk said:

What is Wormwood? Mealwood.? Grubfruit..? Database wormhole? 

Grubfruit's art file is called wormwood internally.

[Primalflower]

1 minute ago, EricKlei said:

Grubfruit's art file is called wormwood internally.

huh...my first thought was wormwood from don't starve being mentioned like herobrine as a joke, or something.

[TripleM999]

7 minutes ago, EricKlei said:

Grubfruit's art file is called wormwood internally.

i thought of mealwood cause of all the worms. 

[Xenologist]

I see that the atmo suits just need a small amount of reed fiber to repair, and doesn't seem that problematic granted it takes tens of cycles to wear down atmo suits.

3 hours ago, Ipsquiggle said:

Add Wormwood sounds

Does this in fact imply that there will be a wormwood skin that's based on the grubfruit plant?

[Primalflower]

7 minutes ago, Xenologist said:

I see that the atmo suits just need a small amount of reed fiber to repair, and doesn't seem that problematic granted it takes tens of cycles to wear down atmo suits.

Does this in fact imply that there will be a wormwood skin that's based on the grubfruit plant?

wormwood skin that makes it so he needs a divergent to bloom instead of fertilizer...! 

[zach123b]

the small petroleum engine has no liquid input and dupes don't seem to fill it. 

i'd like to suggest making the small oxidizer tank larger, 300kg to 900kg, for fertilizer in sugar engine and so the small petrol engine doesn't require the large oxidizer tank.  would mean the larger petrol engine could run one tank of fuel with the small oxidizer with oxylite.  it kind of just boils down to how fast the rocket will go vs aesthetics imo so just a suggestion

and there seems to be an exploit with modules.  i built a steam engine and deconstructed then constructed a co2 engine, the max module check doesn't seem to stop rockets from taking off when manually launching but i am running debug mode

 

[darknotezero]

4 hours ago, Ipsquiggle said:

Made Rocket tiles invincible and non-replaceable

awwwwwwwwwwwww

 

but otherwise,     

[The Plum Gate]

25 minutes ago, zach123b said:

the small petroleum engine has no liquid input and dupes don't seem to fill it. 

i'd like to suggest making the small oxidizer tank larger, 300kg to 900kg, for fertilizer in sugar engine and so the small petrol engine doesn't require the large oxidizer tank.  would mean the larger petrol engine could run one tank of fuel with the small oxidizer with oxylite.  it kind of just boils down to how fast the rocket will go vs aesthetics imo so just a suggestion

and there seems to be an exploit with modules.  i built a steam engine and deconstructed then constructed a co2 engine, the max module check doesn't seem to stop rockets from taking off when manually launching but i am running debug mode

 

 

Now they can handle rocket crashing cases. I suggest it be as messy as possible.

[pether]

5 hours ago, Ipsquiggle said:

Balance pass on some rocket module key values (burden, engine power, engine efficiency, capacity)

Nobody knows what those are, can you please explain them in-game?

5 hours ago, Ipsquiggle said:

Oxygen Masks reworked to work more like the previous suit implementations.

I have a mixed feelings about this one...
One thing - it is good that masks are reusable, a step in a good direction.
Other one - sandstone cost for masks feels better than the metal ore. Too cheap? Don't know, maybe, but at least I am not reluctant to use it.
However, I really liked how simple design was with the previous Mask Station... It was really easy to setup, now I need whole infrastructure to make it... I don't like this change, I liked how primitive technology was easier to setup, now it is copy-paste of atmo suits, nothing fresh, nothing original...

5 hours ago, Ipsquiggle said:

Added durability system for equippable suits.

I don't like it... It doesn't make the game more fun, more interesting, more challenging, it just prolongs it... I like how Spaced Out changed dynamic of the game, this is step back...

Also, @Ipsquiggle my terra map generated dreckos and thimble reed on my starting asteroid - feature or a bug?

Edited January 15, 2021 by pether

[RonEmpire]

I don't like the idea of durability either.

Its bad enough the game is lagging as is.  do we really need another  'check' element for durability ?  this doesn't add any extra challenge or fun to the game.  if anything makes it annoying.

[Fleefie]

I think durability is an interesting mechanic.

In fact, i'll go as far as to say that it's a necessary part of an interesting late-game base. As long as it doesn't destroy metal like the typical repair mechanics of buildings, i'm fine with it

[Krestkz]

if you Added the idea of durability of cloth - Do it right!

its become so Stupid and Annoying - you can fix it - but Now you have to deliver atmosuit to dock Manually every time...

[Primalflower]

 

52 minutes ago, Krestkz said:

but Now you have to deliver atmosuit to dock Manually every time...

nope! When a dupe returns to a dock with a worn suit, it is automatically requested to put a new one in its place. So all you need to really do is keep an exosuit forge with a worn suit -> regular suit recipe and have sweepers deliver that to where it needs to be. 

I really love this idea, it nerfs atmo suits simply by requiring that you farm reed fiber constantly should you want to use them.

[pether]

1 minute ago, Lbphero said:

I really love this idea, it nerfs atmo suits simply by requiring that you farm reed fiber constantly should you want to use them.

Do you like the idea because it is suit nerf, or because the idea of wearing suits down seems fun and engaging for you?

In first case, I really liked how the DLC nerfed them by moving them away from starting asteroid, I don't think we need anything more atm.

In second case - can you please elaborate what do you see fun in it? Because I don't find nothing fun in it and I can already see how my dupes will fix them instead of making fun stuff, so I'd like to understand what's so great about the concept?

[Primalflower]

1 minute ago, pether said:

so I'd like to understand what's so great about the concept?

i always hated the concept of just being allowed to negate all sorts of environmental flaws in your asteroid save for a tiny little bubble that your dupes sleep in.

What this change does is add some small semblance of a downside to that concept, in the form of the requirement to constantly farm reed fiber when necessary in order to keep up with the material costs.

Aside from that, I appreciate this change making the exosuit forge useful past the first creations of atmo suits. 

[Natjur]

Have they fixed the free steel and diamond yet when you recycle a ship module?

[uprisingCAT]

 any idea when the radiation system be unlocked? also isoresin and fullerene ? also the huge starting biome and meteor showers?

i'm so impatient

ps:also will the existing world get the new destination in their starmap? is there any chance of having space stations?

Edited January 15, 2021 by uprisingCAT