[Game Update] - 469668

Update Information:

Hello everyone!

Welcome, one and all! It's a whole new testing branch for both Spaced Out! and the ONI Base Game!

Base Game: The Mergedown is Happening!

There's been a big project going on over in Spaced Out!, to unify the code-bases between the original and Spaced Out! versions of the game. Now on public_testing, both versions of the game will be running on the same code. This mergedown has been a pretty epic process, and this is the second last step before all versions of the game are running on the same code-base. When this update goes live in 2 weeks, mergedown will be complete and everyone will be running on the same code!

For those who haven't been following along with the Spaced Out! forums, here's what's been happening:

While our attention has been mostly on the DLC lately, our desire has always been to improve and evolve the game as a whole. There are a number of changes we've made in Spaced Out which are just general good improvements to the game, or that we had planned for the base game all along but finally got the opportunity to implement during Spaced Out development.

Of course, this includes the many bug fixes and minor improvements we've made during Spaced Out's development, including fixing several major simulation bugs and countless typos. It also means modding should be simplified because there is only one version of the game to mod against.

This patch includes some major code updates, including a new Modding API and an upgraded version of the Unity engine. There will be pains in the short term while mods are updated (please give modders a chance to catch up!) but these will increase the stability and growth of the game into the future.

There are several features that we began work on during Spaced Out which are now going to be part of the Base Game, for all players! These include:

• New traits, including traits that grant skills to Duplicants right out of the printing pod
• Some shuffling of the tech tree, notably moving most of the Conveyor Rails techs one tier earlier
• Updated food storage mechanics, making refrigeration easier and more effective, but removing exploits and creating a natural progression for fully preserving food
• Meter Valves allow sending precise amounts of material down a pipe, manually or using automation
• Oxygen Masks are a new low-tier suit, allow Duplicants to work for longer in low-oxygen areas but not protecting them from harsh environments
• Suit durability mechanics will be available in the base game (off by default), which add some upkeep costs for suits so they aren't so overpowered
• "Stinging eyes" and related debuffs give more reason to be cautious with chlorine and other gasses and liquids
• The Diagnostics panel, updated Resource screen, and other UI improvements make it easier to stay on top of what's happening in the base
• Demolition skill allows Duplicants to destroy those Gravitas ruins once and for all

All other new content (in particular, the new rockets and multi-asteroid starmap, and radiation buildings and overlay) will remain in Spaced Out only.

We're still working through a long list of things to separate between the two versions of the game, so if you see something in the base game that doesn't look like it belongs, please report it in the bug forums.

Spaced Out: Continuing Polish and Fixes

As the Spaced Out! DLC gets closer to launching, we're continuing to focus on polish, bug fixes, and tying up loose ends.

We're continuing to refine worldgen tuning, and have added a "Classic Forest Start" cluster to play on. There's lots of finalized animation and sound effects coming down the pipe, including new art and leak mechanics for nuclear waste barrels. We're also spending more time looking at performance and have some promising leads.

There is a new Artifact Analysis Station, which will allow Duplicants to remove "encrusted" artifacts they discover, to display them in their full glory (and maybe gain a little something special along the way). We also added a few new Spaced Out!-exclusive artifacts.

Thanks for sticking with us through this large technical challenge. If you notice anything that seems to be amiss between the two versions of the game, please report it as a bug! And as always, we'd love to hear any other feedback you have. Take care!

 

 What does this testing branch contain so far?

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

Known Issues

Some users are experiencing a graphical error causing "ghost tiles" to appear on screen. The issue is discussed here.

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: