Ostranauts News

Hey Folks!

Update v0.14.3.4 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

This is a hotfix update to our "Across the System" update, which addresses some AI airlock behaviors, pathfinding limitations, and right-click selection.

Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.

• Right clicking world items will no longer always select top-most item or hands while paperdoll UI is open.
  
• AI should now be able to walk through open airlocks even if there is a pressure difference.
  
• Better logging when AI failed a path due to airlock permissions.
  
• Pathfinders can now search more than 1511 tiles before they give up.
  

Yesterday's patch introduced a bug where right clicking world items would always re-select the top item in the stack. And holding the right mouse button would show a random body part in the MegaToolTip. This should now be fixed.

Also, a player noticed that lack of "Open Airlock" permissions would stop their character from walking across thresholds with a pressure difference, even though that airlock was already open. This would most often occur right after an airlock opened, or in cases where air was constantly flowing through a doorway.

Now, if the door is open, AI will walk through it regardless of "Open Airlocks" permissions.

And since it could sometimes be unclear why AI refuse to open an airlock, we changed the logging a bit to be clearer.

Lastly, we are trying an experiment where we give AIs more searching power when they are looking for a valid path. Previously, they had to quit after searching 1511 tiles. And this could frequently stall them on larger ships (especially when docked).

Our new limit is about double that, at 3332. And in testing so far, it doesn't appear to hamper performance much. In fact, the lower limit may have been worse if the AI tried and failed many such paths in a row.

This change should hopefully result in more AIs getting where they need to go, without cryptic errors, or no feedback at all.

As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems!

Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC

Hey Folks!

Update v0.14.3.3 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

This is a hotfix update to our "Across the System" update, which is beginning to tackle some of the performance issues we've had, plus suicidal AI pilots, and other fixes.

Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.

• Framerate hitches caused by stuck interplanetary haulers should be less common now.
  
• Framerate hitches caused by AI ships nearly out of fuel should be less common now.
  
• AI Ships will now use the correct local ATC to request help, instead of calling a hauler out from across the System.
  
• AI ships should no longer get stuck accelerators, causing them to fly at hypersonic speeds.
  
• Lag spikes caused by opening the COMMS UI should be reduced now.
  
• Refueling kiosk should now be able to recharge ships with damaged batteries.
  
• It should now be possible to choose plot-specific actions again, if they were previously hidden after completing an unrelated plot.
  
• Docking ships should not quantum tunnel into each other as often anymore.
  
• Damaged battery charge now decreases to match its decreased max charge.
  
• Using stackable items inside containers should no longer cause lost stacks or blocked grid squares.
  
• More items and tools now have higher resolution art in the paper doll and MegaTooltip UIs.
  
• The paperdoll UI should have more accurate click detection when the item sticks out from a slot.
  
• Tooltips should now use correct names instead of [us].
  
• The MegaTooltip item icons should now correctly change appearance when the item changes modes.
  
• Docked ships should no longer slowly drift apart over time.
  
• Haulers should no longer completely deplete the derelicts in the boneyard.
  
• Scavengers should stop spawning when there aren't enough ships in the boneyard.
  
• Taking the PASS ferry to OKLG_SEC outpost should no longer lock the player inside a jail cell.
  
• Crew spawn locations on stations and ships should be more reliable now, resulting in fewer crew stuck outside.
  
• The paper cheat sheet on the NAV screen should no longer stubbornly refuse to move out of the way.
  
• Exercising Strength/Cardio condition should now correctly expire after finishing using equipment.
  
• Using super fast-forward should now expire more conditions when finished.
  
• Leaving a region will no longer cause errors due to crew being docked with an already deleted station.
  
• AI ships around VORB should stop spawning without any means of thrust.
  
• Incessant targeting alarms should be fixed now, since every spawned hauler won't start out targeting the player.
  
• AI flying through atmosphere should now correctly switch to rotor usage, if available.
  
• Added more lore snippets to the loading screen, and removed non-lore snippets.
  
• Several text fixes and edits to game content.
  

One of our current priorities is to address performance issues, and this patch includes a few early steps towards that goal.

A number of framerate hitches were the result of AI ships getting stuck in various situations, causing them to try, fail, and retry the same things over and over. This could lead to chained problems of haulers being sent out unnecessarily, and those haulers getting stranded, repeating the cycle.

We were able to find and fix several of those causes, plus a few bugs in the way AI ships are spawned. And the result, at least in some save files, should be fewer hitches and unnecessary new ship spawns. And fewer over or underpopulations of ships, haulers, and derelicts.

We also found a cause of AI pilots flying at 5 km/s, 10 km/s, or sometimes faster in the area around OKLG. This appeared to be a bad variable passed to the AI right before they got into a holding pattern, causing their accelerator to be stuck "on." So they would accelerate at full thrust.

Combine that with a separate bug that got them stuck in a holding pattern, and you get ships traveling at subluminal speeds without any regard for the ships (or asteroids) in their path. Both issues should be fixed now.

We found and fixed a number of smaller bugs that could lead to big problems. One involved stacks of items getting accounting errors and stale references, which could result in lost stacks of items, or grid squares that were blocked.

A separate issue involved items failing to load when a ship was docking, aborting the entire process mid-dock, and causing the ships to overlap completely. If you ever attempted to dock, and the other ship appeared inside your own, this bug's for you. (And this fix should allow us to say good riddance to that bug!)

We also added a new batch of sprite artwork for items. And a few fixes to the paperdoll UI to make clicks more accurate with these new images. The same images are also now used in the MegaTooltip, so when you select an item to learn more, you can see the nicer artwork.

Plus many other fixes, ranging from UI glitches, to non-expiring conditions, or even crew spawning in the wrong places.

As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems!

Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC

Hey Folks!

Update v0.14.3.2 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

This is a hotfix update to our "Across the System" update, with fixes for some additional AI helmet, pathing, and install/hauling issues found this week.

Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.

• AI will stop putting suit and helmet on for tasks that don't require it. (Fixes more edge cases.)
  
• AI will no longer (un)install items from very far away if they were interrupted and AUTOTASK was reenabled.
  
• AI will no longer install/repair items without supplying ingredients if they were interrupted and AUTOTASK was reenabled.
  
• AI will no longer wander to airless rooms on the current ship, looking for safety, if the only safe air room is on a docked ship.
  
• Loading a save file with delivery/feed item tasks will no longer produce task icons that cannot be fulfilled.
  
• Right clicking to dismiss PDA orders "paint mode" will no longer click-through and select the tile below
  

While patch 0.14.3.1 fixed several AI helmet behaviors, it missed one situation where the AI would spawn new hauling tasks, only to find those tasks already existed. And it interpreted that as a failure due to traversing an airlock. This bug would mostly happen later in the game, when AI resumed older tasks.

This hotfix addresses that case, and we should now see fewer AIs putting helmets on while remaining inside the ship.

There was also a related bug or two which could appear if an AI was interrupted during a longer task like installs or repairs (often after a save/reload). When it went to resume that task, it would skip delivering input items to the job and/or do the job from too far away. This, too, should now be fixed.

A different bug was found when AI was frantically trying to find a room with air to refresh their helmet, but the nearest room was on another docked ship. It would seemingly run randomly around the current ship several times before trying the docked ship. This should now be resolved, except in some cases where the ships are too large for the pathfinder to efficiently search.

Lastly, a minor UX issue was fixed, whereby right-clicking to finish painting PDA tasks would also select the tile below the cursor. This will now correctly ignore that first click.

As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems!

Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC

Hey Folks!

Update v0.14.3.1 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

This is a feature update to our recently released "Across the System" update, with significant upgrades to the AI's handling of helmets, airlocks, hygiene, defecation, and work prioritization.

Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.

• AI can now only open airlocks when they have permissions and are wearing helmets, except emergencies.
  
• Captains can additionally walk outside without a helmet if they have permission, and the player ordered them manually to walk outside.
  
• AI should now only put a helmet and suit on immediately before they go outside, instead of randomly when pondering tasks.
  
• AI should now wear both a suit and helmet before going outside, instead of just a helmet.
  
• AI should now be smarter about refreshing their helmets safely, and will not drop them on the floor anymore.
  
• AIs should now remember their survival skills after a save/load when their name was changed during character creation.
  
• AI work priorities can now be fully set on the Roster and Duties UIs.
  
• AI AUTOTASK repairing, patching, and restoring now honors priority settings on the Duties UI.
  
• AI should no longer try to use the toilet when they cannot go.
  
• AIs can now successfully use the toilet while wearing a suit.
  
• AI will now only choose to freshen up if they are dirty.
  
• Only human intervention will allow AIs to freshen up with water now.
  
• AI shouldn't claim they cannot do a task immediately before doing it anymore.
  
• AI shouldn't cut through corners anymore when rounding them, causing them to suffocate inside the wall.
  

• There is a new tutorial for when the player's helmet air becomes fouled the first time.
  
• Cycling between crew on different ships will no longer cause ships to vanish.
  
• Ship crew no longer lose their assigned shifts in the first hour after loading a save.
  
• Emptying cargo pods no longer spawns infinite loot inside.
  
• Super Fast-Forward no longer allows studying or exercise training while unconscious.
  
• Freshen Up action is now usable on water containers, as well as the water itself.
  
• PDA and inventory UIs now slide in at realtime speeds, instead of fast-forward/slow speeds.
  
• Severe burns received during character creation is now correctly set to chronic burn scar.
  
• Several typo and other wording fixes.
  

Today's update includes a pretty significant reworking of how AI handles airlocks, helmets, work, and their personal needs.

Players have long reported issues with the AI seemingly putting their helmets on for no reason, forgetting to take them off, dropping them on the floor, and worst of all, spacing themselves unexpectedly while performing other tasks.

Part of this stems from the way our pathfinding code worked. The pathfinding code was trying to be smart, and making decisions about airlocks and helmets, and this was often at odds with the thing the AI or player was trying to do. So we pulled all of that decision-making code out of pathfinder and put it up near where the AI was deciding what to do instead.

Now, the pathfinder code merely tells the requesting AI if it can do the path and how, or else why it couldn't. And the AI decides from there what to do about it.

We also tightened-up the graphics on lev- just kidding! We tightened-up the airlock permissions matrix to be more rigorous about what is allowed vs. not. And in most cases now, AI will only use airlocks if they have both permission and a suit plus helmet.

Emergencies (like suffocation) will override permissions temporarily, and there's one case where the AI will go through an airlock without a helmet if the player directly orders them to go to a spot outside. (Also intended for emergencies.)

Adding on to that, the AI behavior for finding a helmet and suit got an upgrade, and you should begin seeing AIs grab their suits first, and then helmet, before heading outside.

We've noticed many new players could also use a bit of help with helmet discipline, so we've added a new tutorial that appears the first time your helmet's air becomes fouled. It will instruct the user to find a safe room to refresh their helmet, since this is not necessarily intuitive to anyone who might be used to suits with O2 systems.

While we were in the code for work tasks vs. airlocks, we finally had a chance to circle back to the long-ignored Duties UI. Some players may not have even known it was there!



This UI lets the player prioritize certain types of tasks. It previously included some categories that made no sense or were unavailable, while missing some others that would help with granularity.

When the player adds new tasks via the PDA, and an AI is in AUTOTASK mode (at the bottom of the HUD, next to the crew portraits), AI will look at this chart when deciding what to do next. They'll look at the row with their name, and first do all 1s, then 2s, 3s, and finally 4s. And they'll read them left to right.

So in the above image, Madelyn will prioritize repairs over all else, then proceed with Operating (toggling switches, opening doors, etc.), Patching, Constructing, Restoring, Demolishing (and Scrapping, Dismantling), and finally Hauling.

Meanwhile, Naomi will prioritize Construction tasks. And Ashley will be a Hauler above all else.

You can get to this UI via the Roster UI, by clicking the bumper on the right, like so:



Note that the RESTORE PARTS toggle on this Roster UI also uses the same Duties priorities.

Separate from all of the above, the AI behaviors around hygiene and defecation should now be more under control, too. We curbed some of their excessive use of those actions, and made it easier to do for the player in some other cases.

One pair of subtle, but troublesome bugs also contributed to weird AI behavior in the past.

The first issue was that any character that was renamed during character creation lost all of their basic AI behaviors as soon as a save/load happened. This was due to the behaviors being assigned by name when the character was spawned, but not having that name updated later.

The second issue was that crew shifts were not being reassigned when the game was loaded from a save, until the next hour had passed. So for the first hour after loading a save, AI would frequently behave as if on free time.

We also had a chance to fix a few more general bugs. Cycling to crew on other ships was causing ships to vanish. Emptying cargo pods would cause them to spontaneously spawn new contents. Super fast-forward would report impossible activities. All of the above should be working normally again.

And we're not done yet! We also have some work planned to improve the starting tutorials, AI food/water usage, performance optimization, etc. All of this will be coming in future patches.

As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems!

Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC

Hey Folks!

Ostranauts v0.14.2.13 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.

This is a hotfix update to our recently released "Across the System" update, which fixes unowned ships after character creation, and ship editor nulls when clicking Crew Sim.

Saves from v0.14.0.0 and later should work. Note that if you were experiencing issues in the older save, this patch may fix some, but others may persist depending on the cause.

• Using Work On Self right before choosing a starting ship will not longer make that ship unowned.
  
• Clicking Crew Sim within Ship Editor will no longer produce errors if the ship had no breathable rooms.
  

Just a quick hotfix today to address the main issue of characters starting the game without their ships owned or mortgaged.

It turns out our new Work On Self page could introduce a ship ownership bug if you used it right before choosing a ship. (Using Seek Adventure after Work On Self is a work around.)

Today's hotfix addresses that bug, and you should once again be able to complete character creation and end up owning a ship, even if you use Work On Self right at the end. (Note that certain events can still result in unowned ships. E.g. the gambling one)

The other fix is for the Ship Editor, which could throw errors if the user tried to use Crew Sim and the ship had only airless tiles. This should once again be working normally.

As always, there's plenty more for us to fix, change, and add! And we'll be continuing in roughly that order. In the meantime, let us know if this patch helps you out, as well as if it reveals new problems!

Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC