[Spaced Out! Update] - 464793

[Ipsquiggle]

Hi friends!

This update to the testing branch brings increased resource renewability with the introduction of Space Points-Of-Interest! Equip a rocket with the new Drillcone and start dredging those interplanetary riches! This system is still pretty raw though, with lots of balance and UI changes coming. Let us know how it's working for you so far!

We've also started putting artifacts back into the game, along with a number of new and updated points-of-interest to host them. And once you're done gathering them, you can teach your Duplicants the "Demolition" Skill and wipe those Gravitas buildings off the map (if you feel so inclined).

(Please note that both these features require regenerating the world, and both are subject to more tuning, so if you're not comfortable with re-restarting, it's probably best to wait for a few more patches before starting a new game.)

We're doing a rebalance of the tech tree, with two major parts. First, we'd always intended that the new research points were "Generic", but the Atomic Collider and Atomic Research Points made it seem overly specific. These are being rebranded as the Materials Study Terminal and Materials Science Research to make this more clear. Secondly, we're shifting around techs and costs (including moving all Orbital Research costs up one tier) to reduce the burden on unlocking tier 5 techs. We're still investigating further to try and balance the integration of the new mechanics nicely into existing gameplay.

We've made changes to the Radbolt Generators and overall radiation balance. There is  increased control over Diagnostics criteria on the Diagnostics screen. Biome Codex entries have been finished up. And, be aware of some changes to bottled gasses and liquids: they can now liquefy/solidify if they get cold enough!

There's still more tuning and polish to come, but thanks in advance for checking out the test branch and letting us know how these changes are working out. And as always, please let us know if you find any bugs!

 

What does this testing branch contain so far?

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

Spoiler

Features

• Added space POI locations with renewable resources
• Added Drillcone rocket module for harvesting space POIs
• Restored artifacts to Spaced Out! and distributed them to new terrestrial POIs
• Added ability to toggle specific diagnostic criteria in the diagnostics screen

Changes and Improvements

• Bottled Gasses and Liquids can now condense/freeze
• Ores and Bottles will now produce secondary elements during phase transitions, e.g. Bottles of polluted water will make both dirt and steam when heated
• Replaced Atomic Collider with Material Study Terminal
• Radbolt generators can be configured to emit at up to 500 particle intervals
• Radbolt tuning changes to prevent obvious feedback loops. Some radiation is emitted in the form of fallout on impacts.
• Tech tree changes including adding new categories, moving buildings, and adjusting tier costs so they scale better
• Many POI buildings are now demolishable by skilled Duplicants
• Added rocket engine shutoff animations
• Asteroid selector rows display a status item based on diagnostics
• Tweaked the meter colours on some storage buildings to work when colourblind modes are turn on or off
• Rocket takeoff speed is now based on height rather than module count. Also re-tuned the takeoff acceleration curves.
• Updated codex strings from several Biomes
• Updated Korean and Russian translations
• Additional codex lore entries
• Tuned Rocket Conduit Port audio mix, adjust timing of sound events
• Fixed missing Beetiny hit sound
• Fixed missing Beeta chew sound

Bugfixes

• Rocket window tiles are no longer replaceable
• Improvements to rules for generating Classic Style Terra to reduce worldgen failures
• Fixed main menu animation issue
• Fixed crash that could occur on rocket launch
• Fix issue where rockets loaded in the takeoff or landing states would not animate their engines or release exhaust
• Fixed a couple glitches with rockets taking off/landing and skipping around or disappearing.
• Fixed issue preventing codex from showing accurate plant and critter references in some biome pages
• Radbolt generator progress meter hookup. Restored orb animation playback when more than 1/2 way to launch
• Fixed status pop text effects being visible across world boundaries
• Fixed UI elements and overlay info being displayed across world boundaries
• Sublimation Station no longer ignores gas pressure limit if a solid tile is built above it
• Diagnostic rows update when changing worlds with the screen open
• Fixed issue sometimes causing erroneous diagnostic results
• Duress to Impress effect is now applied when loading a save with an already stressed Duplicant

 

 

 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

[TuxSam123]

Well, well well, seems like Klei added comets (Space POIs) to the game.

[pether]

11 minutes ago, Ipsquiggle said:

We've also started putting artifacts back into the game, along with a number of new and updated points-of-interest to host them. And once you're done gathering them, you can teach your Duplicants the "Demolition" Skill and wipe those Gravitas buildings off the map

Does... does it mean... does it mean what I think it means...? 

Edited May 20, 2021 by pether
OMG YES! It does! OMG KLEI I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

[Tzunki]

Quote

• Many POI buildings are now demolishable by skilled Duplicants

Now i am a little bit horny. My obsessive-compulsive disorder will be pleased

 

[sakura_sk]

That.. that's too many things..! 

[Technoincubus]

Overall implementation of Space Research is alwful. You pile plastic and just launch rockets to research some vital researches to research everything as fast as possible. It is awful and one of the most artifical and tedious hardcaps in the game.

It is literally "launch several times and never touch it again" thing and obvious bad design.

[TuxSam123]

1 minute ago, Technoincubus said:

Overall implementation of Space Research is alwful. You pile plastic and just launch rockets to research some vital researches to research everything as fast as possible. It is awful and one of the most artifical and tedious hardcaps in the game.

It is literally "launch several times and never touch it again" thing and obvious bad design.

I very much disagree with you, good sir. I, for one really like that, to access the high tier tecnologies, you have to use the game's mechanics. 

[Gurgel]

That thing in the picture looks ... broken? 

But POIs that can be demolished! And more stuff in space!

Excellent, I like where this is going.

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by Gurgel

[pether]

Just now, TuxSam123 said:

I very much disagree with you, good sir. I, for one really like that, to access the high tier tecnologies, you have to use the game's mechanics. 

I believe the main flaw of the system is that is one-time thing. You send your researcher for one flight, make him research everything, land back and demolish your space lab.

As much as I like the idea of techs researchable ONLY in space, I can see the flaws. Not sure how to make it better? Maybe allow research to be done only in specific space-anomaly hexes? There could be fixed amount of them, and once you finish studying one of them, you must flight to the next to get more space techs. This way you would be encouraged to improve your rockets to fly farther into space. 

To avoid dead lock when you don't have engines that can travel that far, fully studied anomalies could allow for future research, but in slower pace, so you could always have backup plan, even if it were not optimal

[Cystof]

Pliers... Give them to me please... You already made one of the most importamt mods unnecessary, don't stop there... 

[pether]

6 minutes ago, Gurgel said:

That thing in the picture looks ... broken? 

Agreed. Looks like there was poor pip stucked between cogs, and now they can't rotate.

Also, if I understand correctly this thing is supposed to drill into space POI? Then it needs some drill on the top, even small one. Or some mechanical pickaxes moving there and back... Unless I don't understand what that machine does...

[TuxSam123]

Just now, pether said:

Agreed. Looks like there was poor pip stucked between cogs, and now they can't rotate.

Also, if I understand correctly this thing is supposed to drill into space POI? Then it needs some drill on the top, even small one. Or some mechanical pickaxes moving there and back... Unless I don't understand what that machine does...

I agree, it does look like something is jamming the cogs, like a shove vole. As you can see on the image, the drill replaces the nosecone. I believe that space poi will spawn around the map and if you fly there with the drill module, you'll be able to gain artifacts and such.

12 minutes ago, Gurgel said:

That thing in the picture looks ... broken?

You know it's broken because the top gear doesn't spin.

 

[spkthed]

Welp, you just addressed one of the most requested features so far. And... I think it's official - Space is fixed! WAHOO!

THANK YOU KLEI!

34 minutes ago, TuxSam123 said:

I very much disagree with you, good sir. I, for one really like that, to access the high tier tecnologies, you have to use the game's mechanics. 

Agree. Also, I don't zerg it. I push to get a rocket updated and then I just research while in-flight while populating new planets. The new system gives you more reasons to do that anyway. This is a huge win/win!

[goboking]

I knew this was going to be a doozie of an update the moment I opened the link and saw that picture, but nothing could have prepared me for this...

1 hour ago, Ipsquiggle said:

you can teach your Duplicants the "Demolition" Skill and wipe those Gravitas buildings off the map (if you feel so inclined).

Words cannot express my joy, so I'll let Meep do it for me.

[0xFADE]

Well that is cool but on the other hand having to start over again isn't.  But once it is all properly fleshed out it will be.

[SackMaggie]

Alright update finished time to jump in!

[Primalflower]

i still cant deconstruct the cryo tank...but i think thats about it 

[sakura_sk]

Yay! Dev generator got a sibling in rocket category! 

[goboking]

46 minutes ago, Technoincubus said:

Overall implementation of Space Research is alwful. You pile plastic and just launch rockets to research some vital researches to research everything as fast as possible. It is awful and one of the most artifical and tedious hardcaps in the game.

I'm okay with requiring plastic as a resource, as that's in line with the lower tiered research stations.  I'm also okay with requiring us to do some space exploration to research advanced space tech.  It's the combination of the two requirements that make it feel clunky to me.  I'd be fine with one or the other, or even both if the orbital microlab didn't have to be built in a rocket.

[evilcat19xx]

1 hour ago, Ipsquiggle said:

This update to the testing branch brings increased resource renewability with the introduction of Space Points-Of-Interest! Equip a rocket with the new Drillcone and start dredging those interplanetary riches!

This is a great addition in the right direction! 
The Oni's community was discussing the comets for the past few days, and here they are.
Thank you for the regular updates!

[Yunru]

1 hour ago, Ipsquiggle said:

Rocket window tiles are no longer replaceable

I feel unreasonably vindicated. 

Much love. 

59 minutes ago, pether said:

Not sure how to make it better?

Space stations man, space stations! 

[sakura_sk]

I see artifacts... I can see artifacts everywhere 

1 hour ago, pether said:

Also, if I understand correctly this thing is supposed to drill into space POI?

It drills. You collect. Simple as that  

It will be a fun weekend 

[crbd115]

This makes the space map seem so much more interesting. Glad all that empty space is getting filled in a bit.

So my main question is, is the drill used for all the poi? Including the gas clouds?
Edit: just noticed also there is a helium cloud in there, does that mean there will be plans to make use of helium now?
clicking on it just shows hydrogen water and niobium

Edited May 20, 2021 by crbd115

[Brian.oni]

These were the ones I could spot on my first map 

Spoiler

Gilded Asteroid Field (Gold; Fullerene; Pyrite)

Oily Asteroid Field (Methane*; Carbon Dioxide*; Crude Oil; Petroleum) *Frozen

Frozen Ore (Copper Ore; Ice; Aluminum Ore; Cobalt Ore)

Glimmering Asteroid Field (Tungsten; Wolframite)

Helium Cloud (Water; Hydrogen; Niobium)

Organic Mass (Algae; Slime; Polluted Oxygen; Dirt)

Rocky Asteroid Field (Copper Ore; Sedimentary Rock; Igneous Rock)

Interstellar Ocean (Ice; Salt Water; Brine; Salt)

Oxygen Rich Asteroid Field (Polluted Oxygen; Water; Ice)

Sandy Ore Field (Sandstone; Algae; Copper Ore; Sand)

Carbon Asteroid Field (Refined Carbon; Coal; Diamond)

Exploded Gas Giant (Natural Gas; Hydrogen)

Metallic Asteroid Field (Iron; Copper; Obsidian)

Radioactive Asteroid Field (Uranium Ore; Sulfur; Bleach Stone; Rust)

Radioactive Gas Cloud (Uranium Ore; Chlorine; Carbon Dioxide)

Chlorine Cloud (Bleach Stone; Chlorine)

Exploded Ice Giant (Ice; Carbon dioxide*; Methane*; Oxygen)

Swampy Ore Field (Mud; Polluted Dirt; Cobalt ore)

Satellite Asteroid Field (Steel; Copper; Glass)

Forest Ore Field (Igneous Rock; Aluminum Ore; Carbon Dioxide

Salty Asteroid Field (Carbon Dioxide; Salt Water; Brine)

Oxidized Asteroid Field (Carbon Dioxide; Rust)

Ice Asteroid Field (Ice; Carbon Dioxide*; Oxygen*)

Anyone spot any different ones?

Other info, there's no notes about regen rates for the materials (just current mass), but it does seem to be regening.   Also, a quick flight to the sand ore field pulled back different amounts of the available elements so I'm guessing there are % amounts to the different elements similar to vanilla.   Extraction rate at the first poi was 7.5kg/s iirc.

Edited May 20, 2021 by Brian.oni
Added more POIs

[Nase]

Love the Space POI's. Really looking forward to these changes!

Curious if there's any plan to integrate that system with Orbital Research - having to send a research module to a specific POI feels like it would be more interesting than just sending a rocket up into orbit a couple of times to run the microlab.

And if such research "exhausts" the POI, having to go further and further out would create natural incentive to build more rocket systems, even on the larger Terra start. Although, I could also see the case against gating orbital research behind building more advanced rockets. But overall, I think it would be a good combination of using different mechanics to advance the tech tree, and elevate (heh) "Orbital" Research into a more interesting game mechanic.

Edited May 20, 2021 by Nase