Ostranauts News

[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Update v0.14.5.9 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a hotfix patch to our "Inventory Overhaul" update, which includes improvements for the tutorial and PDA Social App, plus fixes for auto-damage, UI, and other issues.[/p][p][/p][p]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.[/p][p]
Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback![/p][p][/p]

• [p]📢 Tutorial has new player-suggested steps and edits added for clarity.[/p]
• [p]Tutorial now extends through tutorial derelict to returning to OKLG to sell salvage.[/p]
• [p]Tutorial now includes optional goals found on OKLG.[/p]
• [p]Objective rollover now always shows on-screen arrow to point to target, if possible.[/p]
• [p]Tutorials will no longer produce null exceptions when a unique item ID is missing.[/p]
• [p]Objective arrow will no longer stay on screen if a control panel opens while mousing over an objective.[/p]

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• [p]📢 PDA Socials app now has a way to filter by relationship, and sort by name/closeness.[/p]
• [p]Ship's mass is now reported on NAV Logs and STATUS screens.[/p]
• [p]NAV STATUS page no longer has a line break alignment issue when reactor is live.[/p]
• [p]Character creation Work On Self now shows correct list of viable skills/hobbies.[/p]
• [p]QAB now correctly refreshes after changing selected item's name.[/p]
• [p]QAB no longer has an option to drop items, to avoid illegal stacking bugs (except corpses).[/p]

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• [p]It is no longer possible to persistence-hunt characters into having a crush on you against their preferences.[/p]
• [p]Pathfinders with airlock access but no disembark permission no longer get stuck if the path outside is through another ship.[/p]
• [p]AI ships now send undocking messages to stations when appropriate.[/p]

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[/p]

• [p]📢 Stations will now repair items while the player is away.[/p]
• [p]Ships and items no longer auto-damage each time saves are loaded.[/p]
• [p]Loose social items will now be swept up and removed on load.[/p]
• [p]Players can no longer grab items through walls.[/p]
• [p]Whodunnit plot can be closed/abandoned more reliably now, even if victim's body is absent.[/p]
• [p]The Matchmaker plot will no longer ask the player to find a mate for dead participants.[/p]
• [p]Long-duration conditions should now expire more accurately.[/p]
• [p]Police that run out of fuel while targeting player can no longer prevent Super Fast-Forward.[/p]
• [p]Dragging a corpse that has a PDA slotted no longer affects the vizor settings of the dragger.[/p]
• [p]Pirate spawning should be limited to correct stations and population counts now.[/p]
• [p]Loose tables and terminals no longer block walking.[/p]
• [p]Items will no longer infinitely duplicate if attached to inventory cursor when a control panel opens.[/p]
• [p]Uninstalling items should no longer crash the game due to a rendering/lighting bug.[/p]
• [p]Ship's logs should no longer cause null exceptions if missing on load.[/p]
• [p]Loading Markets jsons no longer has potential for naming/type collisions.[/p]
• [p]Ship editor now has a UI for adding uniquely-tagged objects to ships.[/p]
• [p]Several typos and grammar fixes.[/p]

[p][/p][p]The tutorial got a lot of attention in this update, starting with a rewrite of how we set and trigger events. This allowed us to more easily add new tutorial steps, so that the tutorial now guides the player through the tutorial derelict, and back to OKLG where they can sell their loot, and refuel for another trip.[/p][p][/p][p]Plus, we were able to add some more granular steps recommended by players, and cover some more optional steps in the OKLG starting area. And the objective rollover now shows an arrow even when the target is on-screen.[/p][p][/p][p]UIs also got some attention. Several players asked if we could do something about the chaos in the PDA Socials app, as it would get overrun with NPCs as the game continued. Now, the app has a filter for hiding certain relationships, plus several sorting options. And by default, all characters are listed alphabetically now.[/p][p][/p][p]The NAV station can now report ship's mass, and the STATUS page no longer has a line alignment bug. Character creation now shows only the skills that are active in-game, and the QAB had a few fixes applied.[/p][p][/p][p]AI should no longer fall for incompatible characters through sheer persistence, and pathfinders should now be able to handle paths that start and end on the same ship, but traverse another ship, while not having disembark permissions.[/p][p]
Finally, a range of more general issues have been addressed.[/p][p]
Stations should now be kept-up a bit better in longer saves, both repairing while the player is away, and cleaning up social items that leak onto the floor. (We're still looking for good repro steps on this social item bug, by the way!) Plus saving and loading the game will no longer auto-damage ships and stations.[/p][p][/p][p]We found and fixed an inventory bug involving reaching through walls, as well as a bug which prevented long-duration conditions from expiring in some cases.[/p][p][/p][p]Plus several other bugs that could cause trouble.[/p][p]

[/p][p]For those wondering about the "Fire in the Hold!" update (0.15), we've been working on that, as well![/p][p][/p][p]In our last sneak peek, we revealed two of the weapon types ships can carry: missiles and direct fire (rail guns and coil guns). Today, we have a third option to share: the point defense cannon (PDC).[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]As the name implies, this weapon is more defensive in nature. Modeled after PDCs in sci-fi like The Expanse, as well as more contemporary examples like the Phalanx CIWS, this weapon will auto-target and fire upon any threat that enters its firing arc.[/p][p][/p][p]In the image above, we see it fire on a variety of incoming rail gun rounds, with varying success. (Head-on targets with a low VREL are easier to hit.) Of course, in a pinch, the PDC can also be deployed against other ships at short range, as seen in the end of the above animation.[/p][p][/p][p]We've also been working on a new location for the 0.15 update. The current plan is for the new location to be in the vicinity of Ceres, in the Main Asteroid Belt.[/p][p]
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Since some players prefer more action, and some wish to just chill, we wanted to give players some agency in how much ship combat they experience. So we plan to keep OKLG fairly low-conflict, for both new and conflict-averse players. And for players who want more action, they can seek it out by leaving the starting area to where trouble is more common.[/p][p][/p][p]In the above screenshot, we see the current state of asteroid spawns and rendering. We're experimenting with various spawn densities and amounts to see what balance we can strike between complexity and performance.[/p][p][/p][p]Sensors are another important area of the 0.15 update. As mentioned in the last sneak peek, we've been experimenting with different sensor types and their behaviors. And today, we have a bit more we can show:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]
This animation shows what the area around a ship looks like as various sensor packages are enabled. It starts with the map being mostly empty, with dim, ghost-like dots jumping around in the dark.[/p][p][/p][p]As we start switching on passive sensors, optics let us see some nearby wrecks, while EM and IR sensors reveal "live" ships with transponders and "hot" equipment. We still have a limited picture, but we are in a purely listening mode, and harder to detect.[/p][p][/p][p]Switching to active sensors, we start sending out signals to listen for echos. RADAR reveals a much wider range of nearby vessels, while LIDAR helps resolve their actual shape and size. They create the best picture of our surroundings, but also broadcast our position to everyone nearby.[/p][p][/p][p]Of course, the specifics of all of these systems are still changing as we build and playtest. But hopefully, this satisfies some curiosity about what we've been up to.



Lastly, I wanted to take a moment to address Ostranauts's release date.[/p][p][/p][p]In 2024, when we announced 1.0 and our collaboration with Kitfox, we estimated that Ostranauts would release in 2025. Since then, we’ve received a lot of attention and support from both long time fans and newcomers to the game. We heard feedback saying that, while excited about new features and content, players also wanted more stability and quality of life features in Ostranauts.[/p][p][/p][p]As a result, we introduced a "Hardening Phase 1" to our Roadmap, to better address this feedback. And for most of 2025, we've split our development effort between fixing what's there now, and working on what's next.[/p][p][/p][p]So far, that plan feels like it has been the right move. Stability and usability in the game are markedly improved over this time last year, and we were able to add a few additional player-requested features along the way.[/p][p]
That said, as 2025 enters its final quarter, we think it makes the most sense for us to delay the 1.0 release to 2026. Your support over the year has given us more time, and we feel it's best to use that time to make Ostranauts the best game it can be.[/p][p][/p][p]We still expect players to get hands-on with the Fire in the Hold update by the end of this year, and more quality of life fixes and upgrades to boot. We just wanted to be clear about our plans, going forward.[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks again to all of you for your support! Because of you, we've been able to work on improving Ostranauts longer than we expected, and we can't wait to see more of the stories you create in our world.[/p]

[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Update v0.14.5.6 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a hotfix update to our "Inventory Overhaul" update, which includes some quality of life enhancements for the PDA Vizor and Inventory, plus fixes for tilemap and other bugs.[/p][p][/p][p]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.[/p][p]
Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback![/p][h2][/h2]

• [p]Placing large sub-floor items near the edge of the ship no longer breaks the ship's tilemap, causing duplicate or missing rooms and/or zone errors errors on load.[/p]
• [p]📢 PDA Vizor presets now remembers user's settings per-preset.[/p]
• [p]PDA Vizor lighting and FoV settings are now independent.[/p]
• [p]Alt highlight key no longer messes with PDA Vizor's ceiling toggle settings.[/p]
• [p]Loading a save with the PowerViz preset enabled now correctly shows power paths.[/p]
• [p]📢 Item placement grid no longer obscures item sprite unless the tile below won't fit.[/p]
• [p]Ship Broker's drone preview no longer shows stacks of items from the player's other ships.[/p]

[p]One of the bigger bugs fixed here involves ships having their rooms broken, or zones smeared in stripes across the map. It turned out that certain items placed near the edge of the map would pad the map, but saving would remove that padding, invalidating tile indices. This patch addresses that case, and should stop the bug from happening, going forward.[/p][p][/p][p]Note that if your ship was affected by this bug, adding or removing any wall or floor that changes room info will cause a full room recalculation, and repair the rooms. (Zones will still need remaking, though.)[/p][p]
The PDA Vizor also got some love, with per-preset setting memory, and detangling the line of sight settings from other highlight and lighting settings. The PowerViz preset should also now render correctly when loading a save file where it was active.[/p][p][/p][p]Users reported having some trouble placing items with the new placement line overlay, particularly if the item was square and obscured by the horizontal lines. This update removes those lines over the item when that item can fit, and they now only appear when it won't fit.[/p][p][/p][p]Finally, the Ship Broker drone preview was fixed so that it won't display stacks of items from the player's ship while viewing other ships for sale.[/p][p][/p][p]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![/p][p]
[/p][p]Best,[/p][p]Daniel Fedor[/p][p]Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC[/p]

[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Update v0.14.5.5 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a feature update to our "Across the System" milestone, which improves several player-requested changes to the inventory system, among other fixes.[/p][p][/p][p]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.[/p][p]
Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback![/p][h2][/h2]

• [p]No more inventory ground window. Pickup/drop items directly in world now.[/p]
• [p]📢 Pockets and pouches are now consolidated under their parent's inventory window.[/p]
• [p]📢 Paperdoll and item grid windows can be moved around, pinned, and unpinned.[/p]
• [p]Tooltips and item highlights now work in the paperdoll area.[/p]
• [p]Paperdoll now has a Trash slot, for discarding unwanted items.[/p]
• [p]📢 Pickable items under cursor will highlight, and change cursor, when inventory UI is up.[/p]
• [p]Cursor now shows feet when inventory UI is up and item is out of range/LoS.[/p]

[h2][/h2]

• [p]New music tracks when visiting VORB and VNCA.[/p]
• [p]📢LoS range slightly longer for characters without vision impairment.[/p]

[h2][/h2]

• [p]Sleeping AIs will now force awake if they oversleep their sleep shift, or are suffocating.[/p]
• [p]AI shouldn't endlessly drop items as often when on AUTOTASK mode.[/p]
• [p]AI should no longer refuse to pick up items if there is only room in sub-containers they carry.[/p]
• [p]AI's attempting to walk from an unwalkable tile to an unwalkable tile will no longer animate in place eternally.[/p]

[h2][/h2]

• [p]Save files with empty AI action memories will no longer fail to load.[/p]
• [p]Ships with placeholder tiles along edges will no longer cause zone/room errors on load.[/p]
• [p]Loading a save where a non-Default Vizor setting was active now allows returning to Default via hotkey.[/p]
• [p]There should be fewer null exceptions thrown when reloading a save from the Escape menu now.[/p]
• [p]Splash screen now appears immediately after launching the app, instead of after all game data loaded.[/p]
• [p]Loading a save after renaming an item no longer auto-selects that item.[/p]

[h2][/h2]

• [p]Game should no longer freeze indefinitely when all batteries on the ship are drained.[/p]
• [p]Super fast-forward while an LEO or pirate was docked will no longer teleport the player to the nearest station.[/p]
• [p]Super Fast Forward will no longer have null errors due to missing stations, causing infinite-time death.[/p]
• [p]Special events and deaths in Super Fast Forward now correctly use RNG tables.[/p]
• [p]Taking off a helmet while paused and then using Super Fast Forward no longer insta-kills players.[/p]
• [p]Characters walking into ship edge tiles created by placeholders no longer spike their CO2 build-up.[/p]
• [p]Broken bones now heal correctly over time.[/p]
• [p]The EVA suit's battery will no longer drain when the suit is equipped in a hand slot.[/p]
• [p]The EVA suit's remaining charge now works in the MegaTooltip.[/p]
• [p]Field coils now work more consistently with other sub-floor fixtures, like fusion canisters.[/p]
• [p]Sub-floor bins can now be filtered in the PDA orders like other floors.[/p]
• [p]Attempting to add a zone along the boundary of a docked ship should now work reliably.[/p]
• [p]San Diego mall now has adequate cooling to avoid killing anyone not in an EVA suit. (New games only.)[/p]
• [p]NAV and COMMs UI both use consistent range info now.[/p]
• [p]Breakout Turf floor uses correct sprite now.[/p]
• [p]Several typo fixes.[/p]

[h2][/h2]

• [p]📢Modding: FaceAnim2.aPartNames is now defined by loot.json TXTFacePartNames, instead of hard-coded.[/p]
• [p]📢Modding: FaceAnim2.aLayers array driven by loot.json TXTFacePartOrder, instead of hard-coded.[/p]
• [p]Modding: Added support for animated sprites, with an example "Heater Model B" in cooverlays.[/p]

[p]
The biggest change in this update is to how inventory works. The ground grid is now gone, and you can pick-up and place items directly in the world.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The ground window created a number of issues that were pretty hard to solve. And what's more, just about every new user we watched play the game would intuitively try to drop items into the world, not the ground window. So we decided to make it work the way most users initially expect it to.[/p][p][/p][p]Players have also been asking for some improvements to the inventory UI itself. One of the biggest requests was for pockets to consolidate more efficiently. Another was to make windows remember where the user moved them. And the ability to move the paperdoll itself.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]
So in this update, we changed the way pockets rendered to be consolidated under their parent's window, and added code to restore window positions the next time the UI opened.[/p][p][/p][p]There is also a new rule: the inventory will not close with an item on the cursor. This was necessary to avoid "ghost" items and other stacking item bugs that could break saves. Now, if a user wants to exit the UI, they'll have to find a valid home for it, or walk to a place that has space.[/p][p]
We've also added a new Trash slot, in case there were situations where it is impossible to find space for a cursor item on an entire ship, as well as to let users tidy-up space more conveniently.[/p][p]
You'll also notice some other, minor changes, like tooltips and item highlights now working in the paperdoll. Plus some cursor icon changes to help with usability.[/p][p]
This patch also includes 2 new soundtrack pieces from Josh Culler, which you'll hear when visiting VORB/Venus Orbital and VNCA/Newcal aerostat maps. VORB, in particular, was the first place many players would see after their first, grueling torch drive trip. And it'll be nice to have something new to hear upon arrival![/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Apart from the above, the update also includes a range of fixes for things like AI behaviors, loading and saving, super fast-forward, and other issues.[/p][p]
Plus, some new modding features for our more technical users![/p][p]
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![/p][p][/p][p]Best,[/p][p]Daniel Fedor[/p][p]Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC[/p]

[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Update v0.14.4.9 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a hotfix update to our "Across the System" milestone, which fixes errors that could occur when reloading a save from the in-game Esc menu.[/p][p][/p][p]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.[/p][p][/p][h2][/h2]

• [p]Reloading the game from the in-game Esc menu should no longer produce errors.[/p]

[p]Some players reported the 0.14.4.8 build was throwing errors when they attempted to reload a save from within the game's Esc menu. This wouldn't happen in all cases, but frequently would occur if a new game was started, quicksaved, then immediately reloaded.[/p][p]
This hotfix addresses that bug, and it should now load games error-free in that situation.[/p][p][/p][p]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![/p][p][/p][p]Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC[/p]

[p]Hey Folks![/p][p][/p][p]Update v0.14.4.8 is now available on Steam, and your clients should be updating shortly.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a hotfix update to our "Across the System" milestone, which makes several improvements to AI, as well as some performance enhancements.[/p][p][/p][p]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.[/p][p]
Note: 📢 indicates changes inspired by community feedback![/p][h2]General Changes[/h2]

• [p]📢 The X hotkey now cycles PDA Vizor modes, instead of just opening the PDA Vizor.[/p]
• [p]Exiting to the Main Menu should now be faster, and result in significantly less RAM inflation.[/p]
• [p]AI Jettison rules changed to improve framerate hitching, and prevent AI from jettisoning items for fun.[/p]
• [p]📢 AI should now sleep more reliably during sleep shift (when sleepy).[/p]
• [p]AI will no longer resume watching TV before they started watching it.[/p]
• [p]PDA NAVLINK ship renaming will no longer pause/unpause/etc. the game while typing.[/p]
• [p]Players can no longer rename NPCs or robots, which could break the game.[/p]
• [p]Interactions can now append notes to PDA Notes (for modding and future use).[/p]
• [p]The text on the PDA PASS app is no longer cut off.[/p]

[p]Players have been pretty excited about the new PDA features, overall. One thing many players immediately missed, though, was the directness of the old hotkey's toggling of DamageViz/PowerViz on and off. So we've switched the X (default) hotkey back to immediately toggling the Vizor overlay on/off again. It will now cycle through all available modes on your PDA (including back to Default). The L hotkey remains as-is, opening and closing the Vizor app.[/p][p][/p][p]Performance got a bit more attention this patch, with a pretty big change to the way the game exits back to the Main Menu. Previously, it would significantly inflate RAM usage each time it returned to the Main Menu. Usually to the tune of hundreds of MB, and sometimes more.[/p][p][/p][p]
[/p][p]This patch optimizes the way we load data, and reuses existing data more efficiently. The result is less RAM inflation when returning to the Main Menu, which also happens faster now as a bonus![/p][p]
AIs also had some work done this patch.[/p][p]
First, we fixed a bug where AI could jettison things for fun. And it turned out this was also a performance hog, since it could check the jettison action on every map object each time it had a free moment. AI should no longer be doing this now.[/p][p][/p][p]
[/p][p]We also made some changes to how the AI behaves in Sleep shifts. Previously, AI treated Sleep shift as a sort of free time, and often didn't get around to actually sleeping. Now, if they are even a little sleepy, they will prefer to sleep first, unless they have a serious survival need (like breathing, staving, etc.). Only after they are fully-rested will they pursue other activities.[/p][p]
This patch also includes a few other minor UI and AI fixes.[/p][p][/p][h2]Kitfox Festival[/h2][p]Also, today is the first day of the Kitfox Festival, and we're celebrating with 20% off Ostranauts till August 14th! You can also pick up the rest of the games in the Kitfox catalogue on sale during the event.[/p][p][/p][p]Furthermore, our friends at A Sharp (designers of King of Dragon Pass and Six Ages) also just announced their brand new procedural adventure game, Thousand Hells: The Underworld Heists. If you're into tactical battles and underworld mythology then this might be for you. You can watch the announcement trailer here:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]and wishlist the game on Steam here: [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]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![/p][p][/p][p]Best,
Daniel Fedor
Founder, Blue Bottle Games, LLC[/p]