[Game Update] - 461084

Update Information:

Hello friends!

We're pleased to bring you the Big Asteroid Update for Spaced Out! This is the first in a series of quality-of-life focused updates. The major features of the DLC are in place and working well with each other, so now we're combing through all your feedback to fix, polish, and improve the game as much as we can!

The "big addition" (hahah) in this update is a larger "vanilla-like" starting asteroid combined with the new Spaced Out! starmap and rocketry. The existing clusters still require further balance and tuning, but we're ready to begin expanding the selection of clusters available to play on. In this update, we're adding a large, resource-rich starting asteroid that supports the classic "big base" experience. Additionally, we're putting in a “Forest start” Spaced Out! style cluster.

We're also turning our attention back towards rockets so this update features a redesigned limit for rocket engines based on rocket height instead of module count. Now an engine can sport more short modules than tall ones. Combined with a significant increase in Cargo Module capacity, there are more viable rocket combinations using the same pieces. Refined rocket automation and updated Rocket Ports allow better use of cargo bays. As well, asteroids are generated with more "headroom" for tall rockets, and a new Solar Panel Module increases rocket power options.

Check out all these changes and improvements and let us know what you think, or if you find any bugs! We'll be eagerly reading your experiences as we continue to iterate on these features and put in more fixes. Thank you so much for being with us through this Early Access.

What's New And Improved?

Main Features

New Clusters

• Added "Classic Style" Terra Cluster
  • Classic style worlds are intended to be evocative of the base game experience. They offer fewer asteroids on the starmap, but each is larger and more resource dense.
• Added "Spaced Out! Style" Forest Cluster
• Added an asteroid style selection screen to the new game flow to sort between “Spaced Out! Style” worlds and “Classic Style” worlds

Solar Panel Module    

• Added Solar Panel Module to generate onboard power for rockets

Rocketry Improvements

• Rocket maximum module count condition replaced with maximum rocket height condition
• Increased all rocket cargo module and Orbital Cargo Module capacities by 10x
• Rocket Ports have been split into two buildings each, one for loading and one for unloading for each of solid/liquid/gas conduit types
• Rocket Platform is now a "Foundation" building, it can be built floating in the air and Duplicants can stand on top of it. Art adjusted accordingly
• Put the Gantry back into the game
• Rocket Ports now require constructing on ground/tiles
• Major overhaul of the internals of Rocket Ports. They now work much more reliably, start and stop correctly, and correctly update the rocket's checklist
• The Launch Pad automation input now "takes over" launch control, either triggering launch or cancelling it based on the signal, so it can be reliably used to start and stop launches
• Added Element Filters to both Cargo Bays and Rocket Loading Ports. Loading Ports will load only materials requested by Cargo Bays onto rockets, and Rockets will only unload materials requested by Unloading Ports
• Added a mass slider to all Cargo Bays
• Adjusted internal storages of the Rocket Ports to match the capacity of the plumbing
• Reduced power consumption of the Rocket Ports
• Revisions and cleanup to Rocket Platform automation ports:
  • Output port goes green when all launch checklist items are fully checked (no warnings)
  • Input port takes over the launch button once connected. A green signal requests a launch when all Rocket Construction and Cargo Manifest items are fully checked (no warnings). A red signal cancels the current launch

Improved Moo Asteroid

• Gassy “Mooteor” showers have begun falling on the Gassy Moo Moonlet, delivering fresh Gassy Moos to the asteroid
• Redesigned Moo asteroid including a guaranteed Chlorine Gas Vent

Other Changes and Updates

Other Art Changes

• New art for Niobium Volcano
• Changes to Lead Suit Dock animation
• Added a conduit colour to Molten Cobalt
• Removed electricity effects from Research Reactor art
• Updated Interplanetary Payload and Payload Launcher animations
• Updates to Beeta Hive animation

Other Sound Changes

• Added sounds for Research Reactor and Nuclear Waste comets
• Adjustments to dynamic music playback when a Research Reactor meltdown occurs
• Added sounds for Beeta Hive

Codex Content

• Added Rocketry Tutorial to the Tips section of the codex
• Codex entry updates for some biomes
• Added codex lore entries relating to Teleporter Transmitter and Receiver
• Updated AI Research Note codex entry

Diagnostics

• Added radiation exposure and research reactor Colony Diagnostics
• Adjusted diagnostic ping animation to match notification’s animation

UI

• All filterable storage buildings now show a tint/status item if no filter has been selected
• Notably: rocket ports, cargo modules, and oxidizer tanks
• Storage filter side screens now unfold categories with selected elements when the building is selected
• Updated Duplicant Errand name for Duplicants getting into their assigned rocket
• Added unique UI icons for all asteroids

Other Worldgen Changes

• Added new Cobalt Geyser which appears in the Forest cluster
• The starting biomes of the Spaced Out! style terra and swamp clusters now expand out a bit, effectively increasing their size
• Moved the Dreckos from the Irradiated Marsh Asteroid to the starting Swampy Asteroid in the Spaced Out! style swamp cluster
• Adjusted geysers on Marshy Asteroid
• Adjustments to prevent POIs from overlapping extreme temperature borders
• Raised the ceiling on all the asteroids to allow for more room for rockets
• Minor adjustments to minimum biome distribution on the closest asteroid in Spaced Out! style clusters
• Improved Abyssalite border drawing in extreme temperature cases to prevent magma from spilling over into adjacent biomes in most cases. Work is ongoing

Other Changes

• Disabled Radbolt Generators slowly losing stored radbolts
• Targeting Beacon no longer generates heat
• Orange tech points in Spaced Out! have been renamed to "Orbital Research" and all associated strings have been corrected. (Early Access Note: the orange points on an in-progress research will be lost the next time you load a save)
• Updated Korean, Russian and Chinese translations

Fixes

• Fixed an issue allowing rockets to attempt to land on pads too close to the space ceiling for them to fit (which would lead to crashes)
• Fixes and updates to resolve some Duplicant facial expressions animation issues
• Fixed placement of Duplicant Beeta Hive interact animation
• Duplicants correctly get their +2 science if they have both Orbital Researcher and Atomic Research skills
• Fixed many cases where required research skills were listing the wrong skill, and improved various formatting
• "WIP Skill" now properly gives its athletics bonus
• Building multiple Targeting Beacons no longer spams “No Line of Sight” status items in the Details Panel
• Fixed crash deconstructing Targeting Beacon in certain scenarios
• Asteroid hotkeys and asteroid selector button tooltips now relate to asteroids in the order they are discovered
• Fixed issues causing incorrect tooltips and broken hotkeys for switching between asteroids
• Fixed crash when trying to move camera to user preset location on a world that no longer exists
• Fixed issue preventing Automated Notifier zoom setting and user camera positions from working correctly when targeting worlds other than the currently active one
• Large Cargo Modules now show a capacity status item
• Fixed issue causing rockets to often show up under the wrong asteroid header in the UI
• Fixed issue preventing Duplicants from sorting under the correct world headers in skills screen
• Radbolts traveling through Radbolt Reflectors lose particles comparable to those lost when flying freely through space
• Fixed issue allowing germ duplication in falling water
• Rocket habitat modules no longer provide free steel and diamond when deconstructed
• Rocket habitat modules return correct masses for solid/vent/mesh tiles in their interiors when deconstructed
• Fixed issues causing Add/Change rocket module sidescreen to sometimes give incorrect information in module button tooltips
• Research Reactor's Radioactive Comets no longer collide with the building itself while it’s melting down
• Fixed rockets emitting heat and gas in stacked worlds
• Fixed crash that could happen if two Spacefarer Modules were built at the same time
• Fixed crash that would happen once the 246th Spacefarer Module was built in a save
• Fixed crash when deconstructing Spacefarer Modules with buildings on the edges of the screen (outside the rocket walls)
• Change to prevent building on the top two rows of a world similar to the base game
• Meltdown stinger now plays every time a Research Reactor meltdown is occurring, whether it's a new meltdown or loading a game with an active meltdown
• Orbital Cargo Module's mass slider correctly updates the launch checklist
• Manually loaded and plumbing loaded cargoes now have separate entries on the launch checklist
• Fixed issue causing rockets to sometimes operate at reduced speed
• Fixed issue causing rockets not to display status travel time estimate status item during flight
• Fixed issue allowing rocket Cargo Transfer Complete checklist item to briefly show incorrect status
• The "Resume" button in the main menu will load the latest DLC/Vanilla save, instead of disappearing if the top save is of the wrong type
• Fixed possible crash when destroying Spacefarer Modules